Surviving as a Cripple in Murim – Chapter 69

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Teottry
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If Taegu-zzang were a Zanpakutō, its release command would probably be, “Break, Taegu-zzang.” (you know, like Bleach)

It seemed to break every time he used it in a fight, whether against a half-dragon or a Heavenly Demon Sect assassin.

It was ridiculously unfair.

But there was nothing he could do about it.

Taegu-zzang was cute, strong, and popular, so it was bound to attract unwanted attention.

He, too, was handsome, kind, and a talented martial artist, so perhaps heaven, jealous of his many blessings, had cursed him with a crippled leg. Perhaps.

It couldn’t be helped. It was the burden of the strong.

He swiftly retreated, narrowly avoiding a sword strike aimed at his throat, then blocked a thrust to his side with the broken staff.

He had to overcome this.

He focused his energy into his eyes, observing the two girls, known as Tian Quan (Megrez) and Yu Heng (Alioth), as they attacked him relentlessly.

It was a rather unusual situation, being attacked by beautiful girls…

If they weren’t wielding swords, it would be like a scene from one of the light novels he had been obsessed with in his youth, where beautiful girls would fall from the sky.

Looking back, it was a rather disturbing childhood fantasy, hoping for girls to fall from the sky.

But that wasn’t important now.

He used the Emptiness Illumination Fist to deflect the force of their attacks, creating openings, but it was useless. Like a two-headed snake, if one head was neutralized, the other would immediately strike.

They were skilled, their teamwork seamless, each covering the other’s weaknesses, their attacks relentless.

It was like a game of Go, where he was steadily losing territory, his options dwindling.

And as the attacks continued, he was forced back,

driven into the corner of the inn, the very corner where he had created a gaping hole with the Frost Treading Ice Shattering Palm, leaving him with nowhere to retreat.

“Hee-hee~ I had high hopes for you, after seeing you challenge Master so boldly, but you’re nothing special.”

Tian Quan frowned at Yu Heng’s mocking tone, her disdain for Mancheon evident.

“Yu Heng, don’t be careless. Underestimating your opponent is a bad habit.”

“You’re always nagging. I’m not underestimating him. I’m just… disappointed.”

“That is underestimating him.”

“Well, don’t be too hard on her. Despite her words, her attacks are flawless. She’s probably just trying to make him lower his guard.”

Tian Quan and Yu Heng narrowed their eyes, glaring at Mancheon, who had casually joined their conversation. Their grips on their swords tightened, their killing intent intensifying.

“It seems we are the ones being underestimated.”

“Indeed.”

He wasn’t underestimating them, nor was he mocking them. He was simply tired of being on the defensive.

He wanted to take control of the situation.

His amber eyes, belying his casual demeanor, gleamed with a predatory light as he watched them approach, like a beast waiting to pounce.

He threw the broken staff at Yu Heng. The already-damaged staff shattered into splinters as her blade sliced through it.

He lunged forward, reversing his earlier retreat, closing the distance.

He moved towards the small opening created by her deflected attack, towards the blades coming from both sides.

His plan was simple: take out one quickly, then the other.

He needed a powerful technique to break their seamless teamwork.

He wanted to unleash the Fudō Myō-ō Steps or the Frost Treading Ice Shattering Palm, but those techniques consumed too much internal energy, and he couldn’t afford to exhaust himself, especially with more enemies likely lurking nearby.

And the Frost Treading Ice Shattering Palm, a technique he had only recently learned, was still too slow, leaving him vulnerable to counterattacks. So…

He shifted his center of gravity using the Thousand-Pound Weight, channeling the energy of Fudō Myō-ō from his dantian, focusing it into his left arm, increasing its weight.

He prepared to unleash the Wisdom King Fist, a technique he had been advised by Muk-gang to seal away.

He drew upon the memories of that desperate battle, clenching his fist, ready to strike.

The Wisdom King’s crushing blow…

“What’s this? Such a slow punch?”

failed to connect. His body, weighed down by the Thousand-Pound Weight, was too slow, his movements sluggish, disrupting the flow of the technique.

‘Relying on luck twice in a fight is suicide.’

Muk-gang’s calm voice echoed in his mind.

He had trained, had mastered the Thousand-Pound Weight, and had thought he could use the technique in actual combat, but it seemed he was wrong.

‘Dammit… I should have listened to Uncle…’

But regret was useless.

He quickly dispelled the technique and used the Emptiness Illumination Fist to block the incoming blades aimed at his throat, but the movement left his torso exposed, and Tian Quan and Yu Heng’s palm strikes connected.

“Oof~?!”

A single mistake had shifted the balance of the fight. He coughed up blood as he was sent flying, crashing into the wall.

-Crash!!

Through his blurred vision, he saw them approaching, intent on finishing him off.

He had to regain his senses, had to move, but

his body wouldn’t obey.

‘You’re using too much force with the Thousand-Pound Weight. Try relaxing.’

What… what had that meant…?

He clung to the cryptic advice, offered by an unknown benefactor, as darkness closed in.

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“Wake… Cheoni… Mancheon!”

A powerful yet gentle voice called out to him, and he slowly opened his eyes, a strange, misty landscape swirling around him.

“Wake up, Mancheon!!”

He saw a large, unattractive old man, his face red with exertion, a bright light shining behind him, shouting his name. It was his master.

“M-Master?!”

“We’re facing communists who have desecrated my grave! Get up! Get up!!”

Judging from the situation, he was dreaming, his mind conjuring this bizarre scenario while he was unconscious, mid-battle.

“Master… this is a fantasy world. There are no communists here.”

“No communists?! That’s a relief! Now, get up! You’ll die if you stay down!!”

His master’s booming voice echoed through the dream, shaking him awake. But even if he woke up…

if he couldn’t properly execute the Wisdom King Fist, it would only lead to the same outcome. So, he asked his master desperately,

“Master, w-wait! What did you mean about relaxing while using the Thousand-Pound Weight? What about the Wisdom King Fist?”

“You already know the answer!!”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

His master looked at him, his face a mixture of confusion and exasperation, at his rambling, nonsensical question, a question born from the confusion and desperation he had felt before losing consciousness.

And then, as if realizing they were running out of time,

his master’s eyes widened, and he shouted, his voice like thunder, a final lesson for his fading disciple.

“The highest good is like water (上善若水)!!!!!”

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Fortunately, his body reacted instinctively to the imminent danger.

He quickly executed the Frost Treading Ice Shattering Palm, throwing himself to the ground and rolling. He heard the shink of blades narrowly missing him, embedding themselves in the wall.

“Pathetic.”

“You’re… surprisingly tenacious.”

He ignored Tian Quan and Yu Heng’s taunts as he rolled away, creating distance. He understood now.

He had found his answer. He had achieved enlightenment.

The highest good is like water (上善若水), a passage from Lao Tzu’s Tao Te Ching, meaning that the best way to live is to be like water.

Water was the answer.

He had known all along, the solution hidden within the lessons he had learned.

‘it is currently running rampant through your bloodstream. You must learn to control your mind and body through meditation.’

‘You’re using too much force with the Thousand-Pound Weight. Try relaxing.’

‘Hee-hee~ Don’t forget the debt you owe me! Carve it into your very blood!!’

He stopped rolling like a baby seal, desperate to survive, and stood up, ready to fight.

The human body was seventy percent water.

He couldn’t fight effectively if his body was rigid, tense, his muscles locked.

He had to be like water. Fluid. Adaptable.

He had to move swiftly. Therefore…

“Let’s finish this!”

“……”

It was simple, really.

He exhaled, circulating his internal energy through his meridians.

‘My heart surges! Etched in my blood! The rhythm of life!’

He punched towards the incoming blades. He channeled the Wisdom King’s energy, letting it flow like a raging river eroding stone, rough, untamed.

‘Ripple Drive Overdrive!!’

Just before impact, he focused all his weight into his fist.

The Wisdom King Fist.

A dark red aura, like boiling water, erupted from his fist, enveloping his left arm.

The Wisdom King’s crushing blow shattered the blades, sending their wielders flying.

BOOM!!

The tide of the battle turned in a single strike.

“Yu… Heng…?”

Tian Quan stared in disbelief at her companion, who had just been sent crashing through the wall, her eyes fixed on Mancheon’s left arm, wreathed in a dark red aura.

“What… what was that…?”

Mancheon answered her question calmly.

“Brazo Izquierda Del Diablo.”

“What?”

“The Devil’s Left Arm.”

Tian Quan’s face contorted in rage at his mocking, nonsensical reply, and she lunged forward, her blade wreathed in blue energy, her expression desperate.

“Are you… mocking me?!”

He wasn’t mocking her, nor was he underestimating her.

Twin Hand Combat.

He simply wanted to disrupt her rhythm, to break her focus.

Left – Wisdom King Fist, Right – Emptiness Illumination Fist.

He deflected her attack, her blade shaking wildly, fueled by fear and rage, with his right hand, then punched her exposed torso with his left hand.

The sound of a body crashing through a wall echoed through the inn once more.

-BOOM!!

He looked at the third hole he had created in the inn, and, addressing his absent opponents, he muttered,

“Stay down.”

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“Honestly~ these aspiring young martial artists… acting like they’re so important with their Dragon and Phoenix titles~”

Ma Yang smirked, gently stroking Xue Yuehua’s cheek as the girl cowered, tears welling up in her eyes.

“They’re just frogs in a well, ignorant of the true dangers of the world.”

Yuehua couldn’t respond.

Her bodyguards had been defeated, Xiaoshao, whom she had relied on for emotional support, had been carried away, and…

She looked at the unknown master before her, her golden eyes wide with terror.

The difference in their skill levels was insurmountable, as vast as the difference between heaven and earth.

“H-hic…”

She trembled like a frog that had just encountered the vastness of the ocean for the first time.

Just as she thought it was over,

a loud crash echoed through the air as a nearby wall exploded, and a figure, seemingly unconscious, came tumbling out, rolling on the ground.

“Huh?”

“Yu Heng?”

Friend and foe alike stared at the destroyed wall.

-BOOM!!

Another explosion, another hole in the wall, and Tian Quan, Ma Yang’s most trusted disciple, came crashing down, unconscious.

-Tap… tap…

And then, a figure, leaning on a staff, emerged from the rubble, His limp was clearly visible.

“Hey, you cougar, stop picking on these cute kids and play with me instead.”

He smiled, his face like that of a wolf.

“I’ll show you a good time.”

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Chad’s is that you??? 🤣🤣