King Shura

Chapter 71. Cho Ryu Hyang Fights a Harmonious Expert

ED: Chrysanthemum

Un Hui observed his young master carefully from the darkness. For the last few days, he had observed Cho Ryu Hyang as carefully as possible. However, frustration was the only thing that could be seen on his face.

‘What is it?’

His young master had fainted a few days ago, and when his young master woke up, something had changed.

He couldn’t say exactly what had changed, but Un Hui was definitely able to feel that something was different.

‘There’s something that I’m unable to notice?’

A harmonious expert’s senses far exceeded those of normal humans. Even with senses like those, Un Hui was unable to see what had changed within Cho Ryu Hyang. That made him feel even more suspicious.

Un Hui looked over his young master once more with a careful gaze. He didn’t know exactly what this change that overcame his young master was, but he felt that it was incredibly important.

He couldn’t have been more correct.

* * *

‘Interesting.’

Cho Ryu Hyang looked over his body once, and smiled.

The ‘Ryun’ of the Moon Edge Blade Technique.

Once he figured out everything about it, he could feel total control over his body. He could even see how each cell of his body responded actively even to small movements.

It was unfamiliar at first, much like how walking is to a baby, but as time passed, he grew accustomed to it. At this point, he was able to feel the changes in his body without feeling unrest.

‘And……’

The biggest change that he went through wasn’t related to his body. Cho Ryu Hyang slowly closed his eyes and walked. Strangely, even when his vision was completely gone, he could still walk confidently.

‘This really is interesting.’

Everything around him was vividly drawn out in his mind. He could make out every single one of the little pebbles on the sidewalk. Thanks to this, he didn’t have any problems at all walking with his eyes closed.

The biggest obstacle in the Moon Edge Blade Technique, “Ryun”. Once he understood what “Ryun” was, he was able to earn something very special. He was able to earn this ‘area’ around him.

‘About twenty steps…….’

The area reached only up to twenty of Cho Ryu Hyang’s footsteps. But even so, he could ‘see’ everything within that area even without proper eyesight.

On the way of going back to his living quarters after saying farewell to his teacher, Cho Ryu Hyang stopped. He opened his eyes and looked forward.

‘There’s something there.’

At the very edge of his ‘area’. There was something there. His godly eyes activated instantly, and something strange came up in Cho Ryu Hyang’s eyes.

‘A person?’

It seemed that Un Hui had also realized that there was someone hiding in front of Cho Ryu Hyang.

He could see Un Hui moving forward at an extreme speed. At that moment, he could hear what his teacher had said just moments ago.

[You’ll have a pretty interesting present waiting for you when you get back.]

When Cho Ryu Hyang thought of that playful voice, he quickly raised his hands.

“It’s fine. He’s a guest.”

Cho Ryu Hyang was confident that the man crouching in front of his living quarters was the present that his teacher had talked about.

His prediction was correct. Un Hui made a complicated face as he stayed hidden in the shadows.

‘Again?’

He has this feeling every time he is near his master, but his master really had a talent for finding people who were hiding. Something like this usually hurt the pride of the person hiding.

Cho Ryu Hyang walked forward, and looked at the man who was looking at him while crouching.

‘Seventy…….’

When he looked over with his vision, the man turned out to have a talent value of seventy. This was truly a larger number than he had expected.

‘Looks like there are only talented people in the church.’

Come to think of it, everyone he met so far exceeded the number seventy.

He didn’t know if the church was just this powerful or if just every person he was meeting was just this talented, but seeing how the church attained so many talents just proved that it was the greatest power at the moment in the world.

Was it because his teacher was extremely talented? It seemed like multiple talented people just sprang up in the vicinity of the Pope.

While Cho Ryu Hyang was thinking this, the man who had been crouching stood up.

“I was waiting for you.”

Cho Ryu Hyang looked at the young man in front of him with a confused face.

‘Who is he?’

He was curious of this man who dared to talk like this in front of the Heir of the church. Just when he was about to ask the man who he was, the man opened his mouth first.

“I made a bet with the Pope. If I beat you, I’d be able to take your place as the Pope; however, if I lost, I’d have to be your underling.”

“…….”

Cho Ryu Hyang’s lips twitched without him even realizing it. He could now realize what Gongson Chun Gi was going for here. After surveying the young man for a bit, Cho Ryu Hyang became curious.

‘This is…….’

This didn’t feel normal. After thinking for a bit, he turned to Un Hui for a second, then back to the young man. He carefully opened his mouth.

“Harmonious expert?”

The young man nodded; Cho Ryu Hyang readjusted his glasses when he saw the man do this. He thought of his teacher laughing in the background, then quietly complained to himself in his mind.

‘What a fun little prank you’ve played on me.’

He didn’t know who this man in front of him was, but there was one thing he was sure of.

He had to take down a Harmonious expert, a person who exceeded the limits of the human body.

How should he fight someone like this? While Cho Ryu Hyang was thinking, the young man opened his mouth.

“Can we start?”

Cho Ryu Hyang touched his glasses and opened his mouth.

“Can I ask you something before we start?”

“Sure.”

“What is your name?”

“My name? I’m No Jin Nyung.”

Who?

Cho Ryu Hyang repressed himself from saying that question out loud, and made a confused face.

‘What the heck?’

The man in front of him should have a pretty high position within the church since he was able to make a bet with the Pope himself, though Cho Ryu Hyang was unable to figure out what job the man had.

“I want to be the Pope. That’s why I’ll take you down.”

“…….”

Cho Ryu Hyang felt his head cool. He could feel honesty in No Jin Nyung’s voice.

‘He’s not joking.’

Cho Ryu Hyang, who had been looking at this whole thing in a playful manner, reflected back on himself. To a person like this, anything close to jokes never work.

Once he realized this, Cho Ryu Hyang gave up on actually fighting the man. He might’ve achieved “Ryun”, but it didn’t mean that he was invincible just yet.

He wasn’t dumb enough to try and go head on against a Harmonious expert.

Instead, Cho Ryu Hyang decided to use his secret weapon. He was more confident in this area of fighting after all.

After looking over the whole area calmly, Cho Ryu Hyang faintly smiled and opened his mouth.

“I’m ready.”

“Can I go, then?”

Cho Ryu Hyang nodded. At that moment, No Jin Nyung jumped forward with extreme speed.

* * *

Formations were truly strange things.

As long as the creator was able to set a certain pattern to the area surrounding him, he could create an artificial space with a small amount of resources.

Of course, this only applied to experts of formation-making.

‘He’s coming.’

To be truthful, Cho Ryu Hyang had moved even before No Jin Nyung. There was no way he could act faster than a Harmonious expert like No Jin Nyung.

But just about the time when he started to move towards his target, he had to reset everything that he had planned prior to the battle.

‘Danger!’

Pan–!

Cho Ryu Hyang barely dodged No Jin Nyung’s strike, rolled on the floor, then stood back up with a very complicated face.

“Eh? You dodged that?”

“…….”

It seemed a harmonious expert was much stronger than he had initially thought.

‘This is too much.’

He had calculated No Jin Nyung’s speed based off Un Hui’s usual speed. But wasn’t this speed displayed by No Jin Nyung much faster than what he had predicted? Un Hui never moved at such speeds.

‘So he never went all out.’

Un Hui was a Harmonious expert. Based on numbers alone, he was stronger than No Jin Nyung. That just went to show that Un Hui never went all-out before.

Cho Ryu Hyang bit his lip. Unlike Un Hui, No Jin Nyung really was going all out.

There would obviously be a major speed difference between the two. Just dodging that first strike was a miracle in itself.

What should he do, then? Cho Ryu Hyang quickly made his decision when he saw that his opponent was about to make his move.

‘Moon Edge Blade Technique.’

Would it work against a Harmonious expert? He still was unskilled at controlling it……. Cho Ryu Hyang shook off all the insecurities he was going through, and breathed a little.

No Jin Nyung moved at this moment. Cho Ryu Hyang pushed his senses as much as possible and jumped sideways.

‘A kick from below…….’

Strangely enough, he could see the opponent’s movements extremely clearly. But he wasn’t able to react to it fast enough.

With the Moon Edge Blade Technique, he was able to see but not react. Cho Ryu Hyang could only stare at No Jin Nyung’s fee that drove itself straight into his abdomen.

Bam–!

Screen Shot 2016-01-09 at 2.31.02 AM.png

Cho Ryu Hyang flew backwards with a sound that resembled an explosion.

Craack–!

A sound of branches and stones hitting Cho Ryu Hyang’s body could be heard. Un Hui, who was distanced a little far from both of them, made a dazed face for a moment.

No Jin Nyung’s kick was too fast even for him.

“You…….”

Un Hui came out of hiding and ground his teeth. Even if this whole thing was a bet, they were dealing with his master here. His master was on the brink of death, thanks to a kick from No Jin Nyung.

No, Un Hui thought his master was dead. The kick from before was a serious strike from a Harmonious expert even most normal experts would die from such a kick.

But his master was just a child, wasn’t he? There was no way that his master was alive. When Un Hui thought this much, killing intent just started to smolder out of his body.

“Eh? Ehh?”

The moment when No Jin Nyung’s eyes widened from surprise at seeing Un Hui.

“I……. I’m f, fine.”

When Un Hui heard Cho Ryu Hyang’s thin voice, his figure stretched out like a rubber band and instantly appeared next to Cho Ryu Hyang.

“Are you really all right?”

Cho Ryu Hyang nodded, then smiled subconsciously.

“I’m fine.”

“…….”

Fine? No way. What was up with that massive sound just a moment ago, then? Un Hui couldn’t bring himself to say these questions.

That was because his master was just sitting there, covered in dirt, smiling like an idiot.

‘How’s he…… fine?’

Cho Ryu Hyang stood back up under the confused gaze of Un Hui.

“Hup.”

After standing back up, Cho Ryu Hyang dusted himself off a little, then looked back at No Jin Nyung. His eyes were full of confidence that weren’t there just a moment ago.

“Let’s start again.”

No Jin Nyung glanced at Un Hui, then nodded. Un Hui appearing out of nowhere discomforted him a bit, but it didn’t look like the man was going to interfere.

Actually what worried him the most was Cho Ryu Hyang. The boy somehow seemed fine after being blown off by his kick.

‘I must’ve just grazed him or something.’

It looked like he subconsciously controlled his strength because he didn’t want to kill the boy. Un Hui began to collect strength in his legs again while thinking that.

Cho Ryu Hyang just smiled.