Murim Troubleshooter Dan Mujin

Chapter 72: Breakthrough

They say that enemies often meet on a narrow bridge.

The Small Scalpel Blade, Murong Hui—overshadowed by the Azure Cloud Sword, yet still a genius of the blade who awakened Sword Qi at a young age.

And he was also the one who had long tormented the other persona inside me, Murong Cheongjin.

A person who could be considered a fated adversary.

‘Someone’s gaze is stinging.’

I turned my eyes toward the nearby VIP seats.

There, I saw a middle-aged man glaring daggers at me—it was none other than the Murong Clan Head, Murong Cheon.

To the unaware, he might appear like a dignified scholar, but I knew of the icy temperament hidden inside.

A man who prioritized his clan over his own family, one who would do anything for the clan’s prosperity.

And did he know? That right now, on this dueling stage, two of his fully grown sons were standing?

Heh.

If he had known, he wouldn’t have left the matchups like this. He would’ve done something to split them apart.

So that he could aim for both victory and runner-up positions.

“Waaaaah—!”

The crowd roared as Murong Hui, the star of this Dragon-Phoenix Tournament, raised his sword high before the duel began.

Compared to the previous match against the Geumgang Fist Hyesung, the audience’s reaction was on another level.

As far as I was concerned, he was too much of a jerk to be this popular, but it seemed quite a few Murim spectators had gathered for this duel.

“Small Scalpel Blade! Small Scalpel Blade!”

“Take down that stray dog who climbed up here by luck!”

“Now’s your chance to win since the Azure Cloud Sword isn’t here!”

“Hey man, that’s not something you need to say out loud!”

Usually, martial artists are the type who don’t even dare to squeak, but in a massive tournament where people gather like clouds, there’s always someone bold enough to spout off.

Those voices came from a few uncouth people in the audience right behind me.

“Cocky bastards…….”

Murong Hui ground his teeth at one spectator who mentioned the Azure Cloud Sword.

Right, I remember now. Ever since long ago, he was always compared to Namgung Clan’s Azure Cloud Sword, igniting a fierce rivalry within him.

“The person I hate the most in this world is that Azure Cloud Sword bastard.”

Without being asked, Murong Hui began speaking with an unprompted preamble before the duel.

So the person he hated most wasn’t me, huh.

“Why go that far?”

“Because that guy… no matter how hard I tried, I could always feel that overwhelming something I could never catch up to.”

Every time they met, he was reminded of a wall that effort alone could not overcome. He said that he was engulfed in frustration and resentment every time.

“It was just like looking at that third one…….”

I flinched slightly.

Why was he bringing me up here?

“If you mean the third son of the Murong Clan, I’ve heard he passed away after suffering from chronic illness.”

That was the story spread publicly. That way, they could justify essentially imprisoning him from various events.

“Hmph, frail, my ass. If he had only made up his mind, by now… Huh, never mind. It’s all in the past anyway.”

After saying that, he pointed his sword at me.

As if he intended to go all-out from the beginning, blue Sword Qi began radiating intensely from his blade.

“So much useless chatter. Like they said, I’m going to win anyway, so I suggest you don’t bother resisting.”

In other words, fall quickly for the sake of the star of this Dragon-Phoenix Tournament. Truly, he was the same arrogant Hyung as always.

And all that talk about unreachable effort—wasn’t he a prodigy who had already reached the Peak Master Level at the age of eighteen?

From others’ perspectives, it would be understandable to feel jealous.

“You never know until you measure the long and short, do you?”

“Hmph, only a fool would say that.”

With those words, intense momentum filled the dueling arena. Our weapons aimed at one another.

As the atmosphere reached a climax, the judge waved the red flag to signal the start of the duel. A roar erupted from the audience.

“And just like Father said, you’re utterly foolish!”

How dare I challenge someone who had reached the later stage of Peak Master Level? Murong Hui roared ferociously, drawing up his internal energy.

Swiish—!

True to his nickname, Thunder Sword, the gleaming blade surged toward me like lightning.

A lightning-fast slash from the Sword Flash of Heaven and Earth. It truly was a swift blade worthy of Murong Clan’s pride.

Clack!

But today, that pride was halted before my staff.

Murong Hui’s eyes widened at the staff that blocked him—almost as if it knew exactly where to be.

“What the…….”

Through the clashing blades, I felt his intense agitation and tremor.

“I told you, you never know until you try.”

I had already nearly died once. This was a sword technique Heaven-Slaying Star had drilled into my bones.

Just by observing footwork, the tip of a foot, or a shift of the shoulder, I could tell what move was coming next—and the appropriate counter would flash through my mind.

“Time to get beaten up a bit today, Small Scalpel Blade.”

It wasn’t for nothing that I named this staff Hell-Revenge Staff.

The surging, intense internal energy at the tip of the staff—this was a manifestation of Murong Cheongjin’s grudge built up over time.

Taat!

“Take this!”

Murong Hui disliked the stray named Dan Mujin who stood before him.

He hated the types who hovered between the orthodox and unorthodox, rubbing elbows with the Murim Alliance. He hated even more how that guy spoke so casually with his sister.

So when the chance arose, he’d decided to expose the real skills of this lucky bastard to the entire world.

Ttak! Ttak!

But something was going wrong.

Every time he extended his blade, Dan Mujin countered as if he had known in advance, striking back every time.

“What the hell!”

A sharp fifth technique stabbed through the air. Though his blade brimmed with Sword Qi, that damn stick showed no sign of breaking.

It wasn’t made of Ten-Thousand-Year Iron, nor was it enveloped in Qi, yet even after barely scratching it, that cudgel would immediately launch a counterattack.

“What the hell is that thing!”

As the duel went completely off his expectations, Murong Hui shouted in rage.

Dan Mujin snorted and muttered briefly.

“What else? It’s a lesson in manners.”

Could it be that his Sword Flash of Heaven and Earth was being completely predicted by that bastard?

Murong Hui tried to deny such an unsettling thought, swinging his sword even more violently.

His Shadow Steps stirred. The internal energy bursting from his toes, his fury-laden sword strikes, rained down over and over upon the stray’s skull.

But that stray blocked every strike with no more than scratches or bursts of blood vessels, then began to execute mystifying footwork.

The bastard’s form suddenly blurred and quickly closed the distance, swinging his staff with the front hem.

Ttak!

Though I blocked in haste, the cudgel bounced along the blade and slammed down on his crown.

From that blow, which sent a numbing jolt through all four limbs, Murong Hui let out a painful scream.

“Keugh!”

He staggered back, eventually retreating several steps.

At this point, it seemed he had no choice but to accept a premise he had so desperately tried to deny.

“Who did you learn that sword technique from……?”

Someone had clearly taught him the Sword Flash of Heaven and Earth for this duel.

If not, there was no way to explain those movements that seemed to predict his sword paths.

“Who else? Your sister.”

But the reply he received was even more unbelievable.

Murong Hui shook his head violently, as if it made no sense.

“……Nonsense! That can’t be true!”

A single drop of blood trickled down my chin.

I touched the thin blood trail that had been drawn across my cheek.

And not just there—my body had numerous scrapes carved into it.

I did try to block them, but they came in such rapid succession that they grazed through multiple parts of my body.

‘So this is what Peak Master Level speed looks like, huh.’

Even knowing, I couldn’t fully evade the overwhelming speed of that blade.

He was whining earlier about sensing a wall of talent when looking at me and the Azure Cloud Sword, but seeing this now, I found it laughable.

‘Killing intent.’

Right. If he had at least harbored a heavy killing intent, wanting to kill me for real, reading his trajectory might have been easier.

But since he was from the Righteous Sect and this was a duel, it seemed he was avoiding any true lethal techniques.

‘Then I just have to draw out that killing intent.’

I formed a plan as I watched him seethe from my earlier statement.

“Why would my sister teach a bastard like you! Just to make you fight me!”

Apparently, Murong Cheonghye was some sort of trigger point for his emotions.

Murong Hui screeched in denial, yelling that it couldn’t be true.

“She came to me, asking if I could beat up an asshole like you with zero morals.”

“……Utter nonsense! My sister would never say that!”

Of course, the real reason was because she needed me to win in order to win a bet with Murong Cheon.

But that bastard didn’t know. His head must be about ready to explode.

“Believe what you want. But reality is, some random stray is easily blocking your sword strikes.”

“……”

“Seems like you’re not well-liked in your clan, huh? If you had lived like a decent human being, your own family wouldn’t have turned on you like this……”

“Grr, shut your mouth, you damned stray……!”

They say you find out who’s been swimming naked when the tide goes out.

Ever since the third son’s departure, Murong Hui couldn’t accept the fact that he had become the Murong Clan’s prized child. In his rage, he launched a furious strike at me.

He poured killing intent into every movement and swing of his sword.

Ttak-tak-tatak—!

The flashing swift blade rained down like a summer storm. In response, the Hell-Revenge Staff displayed a dazzling defense.

A brilliant exchange lit up the air. The fierce auras of both sides exploded in Qi waves, sweeping across the duel arena.

‘Now this finally feels like a real duel.’

Even Murong Cheon, up in the stands, looked enraged. It seemed my provocation had worked.

When I started reading his killing intent and no longer allowed even a single scratch, Murong Hui’s face twisted further with disbelief.

“T-this makes no sense……!”

“It makes perfect sense!”

It made all the sense in the world if the opponent was the Murong Clan’s discarded child, a Heaven-Slaying Star who had quickly learned the martial art used to try and kill him.

Sensing a flash of opportunity, I slammed down the sword that came slicing through the death line and stomped the ground with force.

Then, seeing Murong Hui’s shocked face inches away from mine—

I spotted his sword drawing back defensively and, in that split-second opening, shoved my fist forward with all my strength.

Thwack!

A sound like a leather drum bursting.

With that one punch, filled with the violent teachings of an old man, Murong Hui’s teeth scattered as he was flung out of the arena.

“Kraugh!”

“So, who are you exactly?”

Vice Captain of the Demon-Slaying Unit, Murong Cheonghye.

She asked this while looking at the mysterious man who had suddenly shown up and aided in capturing Hyesung with overwhelming information and manpower.

Her family had already cast her out, so there was no reason they would assist her, and she rubbed her slender chin in confusion.

“I am the Righteous Wind Hero, Ma Jungcheon.”

It was a name she’d heard before. But she didn’t recall any force with such numbers based in Shanxi.

“What’s your real identity?”

“Does it matter? What matters is that we worked together to catch that bastard, right?”

The man pointed to the imposter of Hyesung, now encircled by raggedly dressed people and finally beaten to a pulp by the Evil-Slaying Demoness at the end of his escape attempt.

He had a point, but something still didn’t sit right, and Murong Cheonghye’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“Then at least tell me why you’re helping.”

“Well, not for my own promotion… They say the four seas are all brothers, right? As fellow members of the Righteous Sect, we should help each other. Yes.”

An inexplicable man. His main sphere of activity was said to be Kaifeng, but surely he wasn’t part of that faction.

Last she heard, that group was floundering after losing their leader.

“Anyway, fine. I’ll accept your help…”

This wasn’t the urgent matter right now. With those words, she turned and grabbed the collar of a bald man dressed in Shaolin robes.

She had encountered Hyesung a few times in past Righteous Sect events. Back then, he had indeed been a righteous youth, fitting of Shaolin.

“There’s a lot I want to ask you.”

Her eyes burned with murderous intent toward the wicked.

The Evil-Slaying Demoness revealed a ruthless expression she had never once shown in front of the virtuous.