Chapter 20
Kwaaaaaah!
Even in a situation where a single misstep could send him plummeting down a thousand-chi cliff, there was not the slightest hesitation in Shin-Hyuk’s footsteps.
Although the environment prevented him from properly using his foot techniques, his steps were impossibly light.
Reaching directly in front of Cheok Nosa, Shin-Hyuk thrust his sword forward.
Not once did he think that Cheok Nosa might be in danger.
Even if he put his full strength into the stab, he had no certainty that it could even scratch Cheok Nosa’s skin.
Cheok Nosa, wearing a faint smile, extended his hand toward Shin-Hyuk’s full-force stab.
Slow yet fast, simple yet profound — a single strike of exquisite timing.
Had things gone differently, Shin-Hyuk might have had his sword taken away the moment the battle began, but he maintained a blank expression as he unleashed his technique.
“Twist Thrust.”
“…!”
Shin-Hyuk Style, Chapter 1 – Twist Thrust.
The snake-like, off-beat thrust cleverly slipped past Cheok Nosa’s hand and pierced toward his heart.
The attack flowed past Cheok Nosa’s hand as if water, aiming for his heart, causing the old warrior a momentary flicker of surprise.
Jjeeeong!
Of course, this didn’t mean it succeeded.
Before he realized it, the smooth return of Cheok Nosa’s palm perfectly intercepted the tip of the sword.
It was a clash of a body made of fabric and a Unique+ grade sword — a main material of unique grade reinforced with rare-grade components.
By all appearances, the sword should have won, but astonishingly, the outcome was the exact opposite.
“Kuh!”
Shin-Hyuk collided with Cheok Nosa’s palm and received serious internal damage.
The impact was due to the rebound resilience inherent in Cheok Nosa’s strong physique.
By contrast, Cheok Nosa’s palm didn’t even show a single scratch. Well, there might have been micro-scratches, but they disappeared long before anyone could notice.
Shin-Hyuk stepped back, nursing his internal injuries.
As he gathered himself, Cheok Nosa moved forward like drifting clouds, announcing:
“This time, I shall go.”
“…!”
Cheok Nosa, after intercepting Shin-Hyuk’s attack, glided closer in a flowing motion.
Realizing the old master was next to him, Shin-Hyuk gritted his teeth and flung his sword.
Of course, remembering the previous outcome, he avoided directly colliding with Cheok Nosa’s body.
Instead, he struck at the air with his mana, pushing Cheok Nosa back.
It was only a slight distance, but it bought him precious time.
Watching Cheok Nosa’s incoming hand, Shin-Hyuk angled his sword and used:
“Back-Edge Catch.”
Shin-Hyuk Style, Chapter 3 – Back-Edge Catch.
A technique to deflect an incoming attack along the angled back edge of the blade.
A sound and shock that seemed impossible for an impact with a palm, yet Shin-Hyuk endured it.
Having experienced it once already, he was prepared and deflected as much force as possible.
Still, some residual shock remained, so Shin-Hyuk used a twisting step to widen the distance.
“Trying to run, are we? But this place isn’t that wide. How long can you escape—”
Shweeeek!
Cheok Nosa, closing in tightly, flinched slightly at Shin-Hyuk’s flying sword.
He was a martial god — naturally, he would instinctively react to a thrown weapon.
Thus, he responded a fraction late with: Shin-Hyuk Style, Chapter 7 – Weapon Throw.
Thud!
The sword bounced off Cheok Nosa’s arm and rolled to the ground.
Another player might have panicked at this, but Shin-Hyuk ignored it completely, immediately pulling a bow and arrows from his inventory.
It didn’t stop there.
“Undine, Kasa, Sylph, Gnome.”
Four lower-tier spirits appeared in response to Shin-Hyuk’s call.
They infused power into his bow and arrows, temporarily raising their rank to near rare grade.
Shin-Hyuk’s archery now targeted Cheok Nosa precisely.
Pip-pip-pip-ping!
In a flash, Shin-Hyuk fired a dozen arrows in a near-miraculous display.
Shin-Hyuk Style, Chapter 4 – Rapid Fire.
Each arrow aimed for Cheok Nosa’s vital points: joints of arms and legs, eyebrows and philtrum, chest and abdomen, even groin.
Cheok Nosa’s expression revealed his disbelief at the audacity of arrows flying toward his own groin.
Yet Cheok Nosa’s defense was perfect.
Turder-de-dup!
Like the thousand-armed Guanyin, his hands multiplied in an instant, intercepting every arrow.
A technique so refined that it nullified the attacks completely.
Despite his attacks being rendered ineffective, Shin-Hyuk’s eyes blazed with determination.
Cheok Nosa let out a hearty laugh, enjoying the sincerity of the young fighter before him:
“Hahaha! Come! I’ll take all your strength!”
Shin-Hyuk responded by pulling out an assortment of weapons from his inventory.
Chajajajajajak!
Throwing weapons at unimaginable speed — swords, spears, axes, daggers — they swarmed toward Cheok Nosa, who deflected them effortlessly with his hands.
Amid this, Shin-Hyuk vanished.
“…Behind!”
Though he had slightly lowered his guard for Shin-Hyuk, the martial god’s instincts didn’t fail.
Feeling Shin-Hyuk preparing a strike from behind, Cheok Nosa lightly pivoted.
“A fist?”
Shin-Hyuk’s clenched fist came into view.
Simultaneously:
Pawooow!
Shin-Hyuk Style, Chapter 6 – Soul Thrust.
A fist strike combining the secrets of Falkyung and Kwonpung.
It aimed to shake the inside rather than hit externally, using Kwonpung to avoid direct impact and Falkyung to disrupt from within.
Even Cheok Nosa couldn’t fully block this at such close range.
Allowing a few hits, he smiled wryly:
“Heavy. Aren’t you being a bit cruel to an old man?”
“You agreed to take my full strength, Cheok Nosa.”
“Krhm, but… if this ends here, it feels a bit lacking…”
“I expected that.”
“What do you mean?”
“Be careful. Even adjusted to your level, I may hurt a little.”
Cheok Nosa grinned heartily, clearly pleased with Shin-Hyuk’s acknowledgment and subtle warning.
Returning to his original stance — one hand behind his back, the other extended — he awaited Shin-Hyuk’s next move.
Shin-Hyuk unleashed all his mana.
Kugugugugugu!
“Hooh!”
Cheok Nosa immediately understood what was coming and marveled, but Shin-Hyuk ignored him, preparing his final move:
“…Overload.”
Shin-Hyuk Style, Chapter 10 – Overload.
By overcharging his mana, he pushed his body beyond its natural limits for a brief moment.
A single misstep could shatter his mana channels, making it a dangerous and elite-only technique.
Shin-Hyuk, in his previous life, mastered it better than anyone.
“All set.”
His body, once just at the Gold-tier threshold, surged to Platinum level.
With this, Shin-Hyuk’s final move was:
“Patheon Destruction Style – Celestial Annihilation Soaring Strike.”
Cheok Nosa’s martial art.
Though the same name as the technique Shin-Hyuk had used through the waves, this one was entirely different.
His body enhanced, mana boiling like molten lava, the Celestial Annihilation Soaring Strike now carried entirely new force.
“…Truly magnificent. I cannot remain idle.”
Cheok Nosa, the originator of the style, wielded invisible flying blades compressed from air and mana.
“Patheon Destruction Style.”
“…!!!”
The technique from the master’s own hands, previously witnessed by Shin-Hyuk, was no longer just the Soaring Strike.
Like two suns never sharing one sky, only one soaring bird would exist.
Cheok Nosa aimed his invisible flying blades at the celestial bird, now descending toward him.
“Celestial Annihilation Extreme Thunder Blades!”
“…!!!”
Ping!
Though dozens of invisible blades flew, only a single shattering sound was heard.
A shockingly precise, rapid attack — the strongest thunder imbued in a blade.
The massive celestial bird was struck and fell with a mournful cry.
Shin-Hyuk collapsed from the recoil of Overload.
[Skill: Patheon Destruction Style [B] acquired.]
[Skill: Fist Technique [E] absorbed into Patheon Destruction Style [B].]
The last messages Shin-Hyuk saw made him smile even as he fainted:
“Not ready for full discipleship, so a temporary disciple will do. I’ll give a fitting gift as well.”
[Title: Martial God’s Disciple (Temporary) acquired.]
[Skill: Taeguk Divine Skill [D] acquired.]
Cheok Nosa’s gifts, plentiful as a grandmother’s holiday feast, were a bonus.
