Chapter 238: East, Celestial Academy (3)
Hello everyone, Galaxy here with some bad news.
A few days ago I found out that the author dropped the novel and I lost my motivation to continue translating this novel so after struggling with the issue for a few days I decided to stop.
I’m sorry for not finishing this novel but a have zero motivation to translate an incomplete work, however if anyone is interested to continue translating or wants to read the raws dm me on discord, I have all the raws downloaded.
And finally all the coins used to buy ch this week have been refunded.
“Hmph, hmph…”
I stopped looking down at Huang Bojin, whose eyes were rolling back in his head, and turned away.
It wasn’t long before Huang Bojin was completely stunned, and Guan Zhu’s voice was immediately heard.
“Winner……Zetto of Innocence Academy.”
Guan Zhu, unhappy with the outcome, paused for a moment before finally declaring.
“Waaaaaah!!!”
The crowd erupted in cheers. However, unlike at the beginning of the duel, the cheers were barely audible in the direction of the Celestial Academy.
Perhaps it was because the sight of Huang Bojin lying on the ground was so devastating.
They must be thinking: I wonder if I’ll end up like him if I go out to fight.
This overwhelming victory must have been enough to strike fear into the hearts of the students of the other side.
I’ll play the villain if it makes me feel better.
“Bring a stretcher and take him away.”
Huang Bojin, lying on the ground, is carried away on a stretcher while Guan Zhu clicks his tongue, then turns to me.
“Cadet Zetto, should that be considered a killing?”
“A mere broken bone doesn’t kill a martial artist, and don’t you know what they say about bones getting stronger after they’re broken? In a way, I was helping him.”
Of course, if it were a normal person, it wouldn’t be strange if he died of shock, but Huang Bojin was a martial artist and I only beat him up to the point where he wouldn’t die.
“Funny… What a funny thing to say. After defeating one of the Huang family’s brats, you’ve become so proud of yourself…”
The feverish Guan Zhu laughed in disbelief at my shameless words.
“…Now, the next challenger, forward!”
Guan Zhu mumbles to himself, and once again, he has found a challenger for the martial arts tournament.
I wonder who will step forward now since I knew this would not be the end of it.
Huang Bojin was one of the top three people in the Celestial Academy in terms of bad luck, but he was not even in the top ten in terms of merit.
There are two main types of students at the Celestial Academy.
There are those who are recognized for their talent and start learning martial arts at the Celestial Academy, and there are those who already have a good backing, such as a clan or family, and don’t need to go to the Celestial Academy.
Needless to say, the latter are more common.
So, you might be wondering.
Why do they go to the Celestial Academy?
For a clan or family, the Celestial Academy is a kind of giant test.
Their goal is to step onto the stage of the academy and determine which school’s martial arts are superior and which family is superior.
Such is the case with Huang Bojin of the Huang Clan, but he has long since been eliminated from the race.
In the first place, the Huang family didn’t expect too much from a less talented youngster like him. If the Huang family wanted anything from him, it would be to keep the family name intact.
In any case, I had to agree that Huang Bojin was a brat.
There were plenty of people better than him but that doesn’t mean he can beat me.
I tapped Sierra idly and waited for the next challenger.
“I’m out.”
Soon enough, a challenger appeared.
“Jin Soje of the Jeomchang Sect…”
“Jin Soje is already competing?”
“This thing is on fire.”
It was still early and my victory was overwhelming, but since it was just Hwang Bojin, I was expecting a big name to appear, but judging by the buzz of the students in the halls, she was quite a big name.
Jin Soje was slowly making her way to the stage.
She was a pampered disciple of the Jeomchang Sect and one of the two beauties of the academy, the two flowers that bloomed on Celestial Island.
“……”
Jin Soje, who went up to the stage, stared at ‘Sierra’ who was on my waist. She was a tough opponent.
If the previous Huang Bo-jin was only top-notch, she had reached the edge of the peak, a level higher than that.
Although Jin Soje was not the type of person to appear in a position like this…
‘…It seems that the second chapter of the Reverse Heaven has stirred her up.’
It was understandable, as she was a figure in the Divination Sect known for her skill with the sword…
***
“That’s not good. That blind man.”
“You didn’t ignore him because he was blind, did you?”
“Of course not. It’s Murim, after all, and someone like him should be paid attention to, don’t you think?”
At my question, Tang Xiuye, who was standing next to me, clapped her hands.
“What’s a person like that?”
“Umm…Someone suspicious but handsome?”
“That’s not the answer I was expecting. And do you still recognize that face?”
“Then if you don’t see that face, what do you see? What, were you looking at Huang Bojin’s backside?”
“…You know, Xiuye, I was wondering.”
“What else?”
Jin Soje paused, then repeated in a stern voice as I abruptly changed the subject.
“His sword or my sword, which sword is faster?”
Huang Bojin didn’t even have time to shout his surrender before he collapsed.
It was a swift sword that others couldn’t even track with their eyes, but at least I could see his movements in that split second.
It started with the flow of qi circulating through his body twisting backwards.
Then, with explosive speed, a sword strike hit Huang Bojin’s right wrist and the impact was enough to shatter his bones.
If it weren’t for the reverse blade, Huang Bojin’s wrist would have been gently sliced off.
The subsequent strikes crushed the bones of his limbs, except for his ribs and skull.
It wasn’t as if he had enhanced his physical abilities by cultivating the internal arts. It was purely a matter of speed.
That makes it even more interesting.
The muscles of martial artists who utilize the inner force are much stronger than the muscles of ordinary people, even more so if it’s the muscles of Huang Bojin.
However, that blind man had shattered Huang Bojin’s bones so easily. It was as if the blind man knew exactly where to strike to shatter the bone.
In that respect, it felt quite similar to the Silent Sword Method, even though there was a difference between dots and lines.
‘He may be blind, but his sword is sharp.’
He was much better at identifying weaknesses than I was.
It sounds ridiculous, but his eyes are better than mine.
I was scared to death that he was actually blind.
“You sound uncharacteristically weak. Of course you’re faster, right?”
“This time is different.”
“Hmph…It seems like there are only cowards here anyway, so why don’t you go first?”
Tang Xiuye said as she glanced around.
As she said, no challengers had appeared yet.
“That doesn’t mean I can’t go first.”
“…”
I cocked my head to the side.
She was a scion of the Tang family, a family known for its poisonous arts and rain water, so she was reluctant to participate in these duels, where killing was forbidden since she couldn’t see the fun in it.
“So please leave on my behalf. Didn’t you hear what Guan Zhu said? It’s for socializing. Is it hard for you to get acquainted with a handsome man on behalf of a friend?”
“What if I lose?”
“What, are you going to ask him to marry you?”
“Ha, what do you mean…?”
Jin Soje laughed faintly at the lame jokes that followed and walked offstage.
“I’ll be out.”
I stepped onto the stage with the now familiar expectation.
The moment I stepped on the stage I didn’t take in anything else and my eyes were solely on his waistline.
His eyes, on the other hand, were focused on something else.
“…I’m Zetto from the Innocence Academy.”
It was impossible to tell since his face, covered in pure white bandages, only conveyed mystery.
“I’m Jin Soje of the Celestial Academy.”
-Grrrr.
After exchanging formal greetings, he drew his sword.
The red-edged sword was even more beautiful up close, resembling a finely carved work of art.
By the way, this is the first time I’ve faced an opponent like him.
The way he holds the sword changes the sword routes he can use, depending on his arm and the way he holds it.
I had faced a left-handed swordsman before, and I remembered it being quite tricky so I wondered what his sword would be like.
-Grrr.
His sword was lighter than a typical double-edged sword and a bit thinner in area so I can tell just by looking at it that it was specialized for stabbing rather than cutting.
“For the record, I’m more used to stabbing than slashing.”
“……”
At the sound of my voice, Zetto tilted his head in question.
“I didn’t want to make an unjustified move just because my opponent was blind, it’s a unique sword.”
“That’s kind of you, then I’ll ask you a question.”
“What is it?”
“Is that sword…a special sword to you?”
I looked down at the sword in my hand at his question.
“……”
I couldn’t figure out the intent of his question.
This sword had been given to me by Master Zhang Wenyin the day before I had left the Sect’s headquarters for a while and headed to the academy.
He explained that it wasn’t a famous sword with a name, but it had been wielded when he was the same age as me.
It was not encrusted with expensive jewelry, but it was more valuable to me than any other sword.
“…It’s just an ordinary sword.”
“That’s good, then, because I don’t want to spend a lot of time on it.”
But explaining this to a man who has black hair and doesn’t look like he’s from the East would only make me talk longer.
For now, I had to speak with my sword, not my mouth.
I slowed my breathing and as I did, I noticed that something had changed in him so I asked him.
“Why aren’t you reversing the blade?”
He had been using a reverse blade when he was fighting Huang Bojin earlier, so I assumed he was doing it for personal reasons.
TLN: Reverse blade is different from reverse grip. Reverse blade is when he holds the sword with the blunt edge of the sword in front.
“Why would I do that?”
He shook his head, giving me a questioning tone.
“Surely, just a moment ago…”
“Because unlike just now, I don’t have to break any bones this time.”
“……”
What a weird guy.
The thought flashed through my mind, albeit briefly, at the meaningless answer.
It wasn’t until the duel had begun and I’d exchanged a dozen or so words with him that I realized what he meant.
He was a…’shredder’.