I Became an Outcast the Martial Arts Masters are Obsessed With – Chapter 18

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: TushChen
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“Uwaaah!”

“No!”

“Ahhh!”

Erasing the screams of the crowd from my mind, I focused intently.

Now was the real deal.

I had to make Gang Jun seem like a true expert through superb acting.

The staggering Gang Jun took a defensive stance when he saw me leaping at him, his eyes wide with surprise.

The moment our swords met, I twisted my blade.

Zzzing!

Sparks flew spectacularly as Gang Jun stumbled back.

Although the point of contact was the upper part of the sword, I had deliberately twisted the blade downward, so the actual force of the impact was, at the very end, the base of the blade.

With the visual effect of the sparks and from the perspective of a martial artist, it would seem like Gang Jun had skillfully drawn my attack all the way down to the very base of his sword to block it.

Additionally, I stabilized his center of gravity, which had been unsteady from catching the fourth Black Bandit, by focusing strength at the base of the blade.

Well, his balance was corrected for him, but except for me, everyone would have thought he had cleverly used force or was lucky.

“Tch, you have some skill!”

After whirling my sword around once, I immediately went on the offensive.

I had mastered a total of three sword techniques.

[Bright Moon Sword Technique], [Flowing Wind Sword Technique], and [Thousand Heavens Sword Technique].

The Bright Moon Sword Technique focuses on defensive moves, while the Thousand Heavens Sword Technique focuses on offensive moves.

The Flowing Wind Sword Technique… contains the principles of four-image projection and illusory realms that the martial world goes crazy over.

The Flowing Wind Sword Technique is used to deflect or block attacks by relying on probability when facing a stronger opponent to truly survive, so I had no use for it today.

What I needed to use was the Bright Moon Sword Technique.

I learned the Bright Moon Sword Technique from the numerous sword techniques in Murim Cheonha because it had one differentiating characteristic compared to other sword techniques.

Preemptive defense.

Thanks to the sword move [Moonlit Tracks].

One could think that preemptive defense is ultimately an attack, which would be correct.

However, as always, everyone can fit the big picture together, and the details underneath determine victory or defeat.

The Moonlit Tracks is incredibly flashy despite being a measly second-rate sword technique because it contains the principle of illusions.

It has almost no offensive power, but it is easy to recover from.

It is a preemptive defense that blocks the opponent’s attack flow once.

Swooosh!

The Moonlit Tracks display the pinnacle of flashiness with the added effect of gambling skills that enhance illusion-type martial arts.

“Uwaaaaah!!”

Gang Jun swung his sword wildly.

As a mere second-rate warrior, where would he have tasted such an illusion sword before?

I probably appeared to be wielding about three swords at once in Gang Jun’s eyes.

He called himself One-Step Three-Sword, but to him, I was probably unleashing 4-5 swords per step.

But it seemed his nickname, One-Step Three-Sword, wasn’t just empty words.

When he became desperate, his accurate skills emerged, and he was blocking the Moonlit Tracks quite well.

Gang Jun seemed to be the type to get tense in real battles, and his skills came alive when he was frantically attacking.

The sword strikes Gang Jun was frantically extending were probably his true abilities.

Clang! Clang! Kang!

Above all, it was creating a spectacular scene, which I was delighted with.

Gang Jun’s appearance of barely blocking or dodging my sword strikes was nail-biting.

Swish!

“Ah!”

“Keep going! Hero!”

“Taegyeong Sect! Taegyeong Sect! One-Step Three-Sword!”

When my sword grazed Gang Jun’s lower jaw, the crowd went wild.

It was a genuinely close match!

When Gang Jun started responding to some degree, I also freely unleashed my sword.

After all, the Moonlit Tracks had an offensive power that could, at best, only graze clothing, so I could also boldly extend my sword.

A cut on the face that splits the skin might cause an uproar on Earth.

Still, with the strangely developed external medicine and internal energy, even that level of injury heals without a trace just by applying medicine.

Kang! Kang! Ching! Ting!

Rapidly exchanged sword strikes, and in the midst of that, Gang Jun occasionally deflected my sword by a hair’s breadth or getting cuts on his body when he couldn’t respond.

Whenever Gang Jun narrowly dodged or got cut, the crowd gasped.

The atmosphere at the scene had now reached its peak.

Not only all the people in the market but even Gang Jun and I were immersed in the current match.

There’s a saying, “Leave when the applause is loudest,” for a reason.

The scene could be ruined if I tried to show 120% or 150% of Gang Jun’s best skills while he was in a heightened state.

Now, it was time to wrap things up.

Let’s see, what would be suitable for the finale?

The best scenario would be for Gang Jun to break through my sword and deliver a finishing move.

Still, Gang Jun was utterly focused on blocking my sword.

It seemed difficult to expect more than that with Gang Jun’s abilities.

So, I had to reveal an opening.

In fact, it would be solved if I just pretended to sprain my ankle once, but when Ho Cheon-an’s legend was being updated, just spraining my ankle on bare ground?

Then, that guy Gang Jun would say he got lucky that the outcast’s foot had slipped on the ground.

Something like that would come out.

Thud.

That’s when it happened.

A chestnut that had been rolling around was kicked by my foot.

Was it one that had spilled out from the chestnut basket I had kicked earlier?

A new scenario instantly popped into my mind.

One that Gang Jun could sufficiently handle with his current skills while still intense.

Clang!!

I deflected Gang Jun’s sword with an actual strike, not the Moonlit Tracks.

Gang Jun couldn’t withstand the force and staggered.

In fact, the difference in skill between Gang Jun and me was just as it appeared in the current scene.

He probably wouldn’t last even three seconds if I swung my sword earnestly.

“Haha, Gang Jun! You’re mine!”

Ahhh!!

With the surrounding exclamations as background music, I lifted my sword above my head.

“Die, Gang Jun!”

Nooo!

It can’t be!

Along with the cries from the surroundings, I took a step forward.

And as I brought my sword down, I stepped on a chestnut.

“Oh!”

As the chestnut was crushed, my stance crumbled simultaneously, my posture was disrupted, and the trajectory of my sword curved.

As a result, the finishing sword strike simply grazed past Gang Jun.

Gang Jun was also a martial artist.

He reflexively thrust his sword at my collapsed posture and the opening created by my failed attack.

At my face.

Wait, at my fucking face?

This crazy bastard until the end.

Usually, one aims for the hand to subdue an opponent, but this bastard just straight up thrusts his sword at the face?

I prepared for the following line, expecting to drop my sword from a moderate attack.

Still, I hurriedly put strength into my sword and deflected it.

Clang!

Swish!

He must have thrust to kill because even though I hastily deflected it, I couldn’t block it completely, and the sword grazed my face.

Should I kill him?

Feeling the stinging pain on my face.

The thought of just flipping things over, Black Cat’s training be damned, crossed my mind.

In an instant, the market street fell silent.

Killing intent.

The fact that Gang Jun’s sword had grazed my cheek was simply good luck.

Literally, good luck.

It wouldn’t have been strange if luck had exploded here to produce this result.

Despite my hurried defense, it was imperfect, and I hadn’t considered the deflected angle.

If that sword had flown towards my eyes, forehead, or neck, I might have really died.

Anger from nearly dying for real made me momentarily consider killing Gang Jun, so the killing intent I released was probably at a level these crowds had never experienced before.

Right.

Let’s endure it just once.

Black Cat was here, and today’s performance was no joke, so was I going to throw it away?

That guy also got a cut on his face, so he might be a little angry, too.

Since I decided to provide service today anyway, let’s do it properly.

Swish.

I dragged my foot.

Gang Jun and the crowd, who had been focusing on my every move, overwhelmed by my killing intent, turned their attention to my foot.

The traces of the crushed chestnut!

A muffled atmosphere spread among the crowd, although I hadn’t made a sound out of fear.

They also understood why I had swung at the air and shown an opening.

The chestnut that happened to be in that spot the moment I took a step at the critical moment caused my attack to miss!

“…It’s been bothering me since earlier.”

Intentionally releasing a faint killing intent, I looked back.

An old woman’s pale face trembled with a half-filled chestnut basket.

I didn’t feel particularly sorry.

In the end, after this play, the Taegyeong Sect would give her considerable money under the pretext of consolation.

This was when the chestnut price would increase substantially, which would have been the only compensation she received.

I intentionally dragged my foot with slow movements as I turned my body.

Even if they lacked awareness, they could guess that I wouldn’t leave the old woman alone when I turned around in this situation.

I believed in Gang Jun.

I believed in Gang Jun’s burning sense of justice.

What did Gang Jun do when the second Black Bandit was crushed under my foot?

Didn’t he launch a surprise attack, unable to resist that vile instinct when he saw my unstable posture?

But in the current situation where I had half-turned my back, would he suppress that instinct?

That was impossible.

“No!”

“Move aside!”

Clang!

Gang Jun unleashed the fiercest attack yet.

His eyes burning with hope, thinking that if the previous strike had gone well, he could have finished me off, were deeply annoying.

For a moment, I almost swung my sword too hard out of anger.

My face turned bright red.

As expected, it was an application of gambling skills.

When the technique of manipulating facial expressions reaches its peak, one can control their complexion like this.

Well, anyone can make a red face just by putting strength into their face.

“Damn it, an internal injury!”

Should a guy like this be allowed to be part of the righteous faction?

I was the one who dropped hints to allow them to deduce, ‘This guy suffered an internal injury because his foot slipped while preparing the final blow earlier!’

Still…

No matter what, when he hears the news that his opponent has weakened, his face color changes, and the strength in his arms and legs changes, he charges straight in.

Is this really the quality of the righteous faction?

Since there are no evil factions in Sacheon, even bastards like him are called the righteous faction.

My intestines suddenly twisted when I imagined Gang Jun being called a hero starting tomorrow due to today’s performance.

“Haaaah! Taegyeong’s Wrath!”

Because my motivation had nearly hit rock bottom due to Gang Jun’s appearance, I let myself be pushed back by that strike as if I were overpowered, dropping my sword.

I’ll just charge the Taegyeong Sect ten times the sword price.

“Ugh…!! You bastard!”

I staggered back two steps.

I focused my gaze on my hand.

I felt the crowd’s gazes and Gang Jun concentrating on my hand.

My hand was trembling like an aspen tree.

A state where anyone could see I couldn’t fight anymore.

I retreated step by step, alternately glaring at the old woman and Gang Jun.

The old woman took a step back at my poisonous appearance.

Gang Jun also noticed my gaze and hurriedly blocked the old woman.

That bastard’s professionalism was the problem.

Why would I give such a treat to such a guy until the end?

Anyway, now it was indeed the end.

“…I’ll remember this, [Taegyeong Sect’s]! [One-Step Three-Sword]! [Gang Jun]! I won’t forget today’s grudge!”

Exaggeratedly bowing my upper body forward as if I would collapse at any moment, I retreated into the back alley.

Waaaaaah!!!

Gang Jun! Gang Jun!

One-Step Three-Sword! One-Step Three-Sword!!

Taegyeong Sect!! Taegyeong Sect!! Taegyeong Sect!!

“Phew, damn it, that was really tough.”

“You did well, senior.”

Black Cat, who had followed me without anyone noticing, stood beside me.

“It wasn’t a typical intermediate request situation, so keep that in mind. What you should learn today is that the situation in the field is always changing. You have to respond in a situation where the opponent doesn’t know me, and I don’t know the opponent, and you can’t give the crowd a chance to guess what’s underneath. Being a Sacheon outcast is really a crappy job.”

“I knew it in theory, but today’s request was really… I don’t know how to express it.”

Black Cat seemed quite impressed by today’s performance, her voice excited.

Well, witnessing Ho Cheon-an’s legend firsthand on her first request, how moved would she be?

If I were Black Cat, I might have shed tears and applauded.

“At times like this, you can do this.”

I gave a thumbs up.

Black Cat, staring at me, gave a double thumbs up with both hands.

That sight looked strangely cute, making me chuckle.

She was a fast-learning junior.

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