Chapter 138. Trying to Row a Boat On Land (9)
Just by sensing the Spear Martial Minister’s aura and seeing how he held his spear, the Night Spear Devil could tell that the man was very much at his level. In other words, the Spear Martial Minister was also an Absolute Master.
“Fine, let’s see how strong the martial artists of the gangho are. I’ve especially been curious about how strong you are, Night Spear Devil.”
“Then, I guess you’re my opponent today,” Sang-Woon quipped.
In response to the Palm Martial Emperor’s words, the Palm Martial Minister just sneered silently. Seeing him not respond, the Palm Martial Emperor smiled and continued. “Still, I’m going to win. You can be sure of that.”
“...?”
“I got the upper hand in this game.”[1]
***
Already having gone past the first chamber, Si-Hyeon quickly reached the second.
The moment her hand touched the piece of amethyst placed on an altar in the middle of the massive stone chamber, her body rose into the air.
“Aaahhh...!”
A moan escaped her lips.
A black gauze-like aura wrapped around Si-Hyeon.
“Oh!!! The second seal is being released! Oh, Heavenly Demon!!!”
The elders and cultists of the Heavenly Demon Cult who had fought with all their might to protect Si-Hyeon shed tears of joy.
They remembered the past all too well. After the Heavenly Demon was slain by the Absolute Masters of the Central Plains and the powers of the Heavenly Demon were sealed due to Martial Heaven’s tricks, they had no choice but to lie low and spend their days waiting in anxiety. Now, this girl was their hope—the one who was destined to break the three seals and become the Heavenly Demon.
The Great Elder of the Heavenly Demon Cult, the White Blood Demon Master, gritted his teeth.
“Martial Heaven, you bastards, it won’t be long now. When the new Heavenly Demon is born, she’ll drain you of your blood, drink it, and feast on your flesh while you still breathe.”
The demonic qi emanating from Si-Hyeon’s body gradually grew stronger. Moreover, as if her body was being recast, all of the hidden injuries and impurities she had accumulated in her body throughout her life were being purged, and her already pristine skin was purified even further.
The White Blood Demon Monarch, who was watching Si-Hyeon with a devout expression filled with emotion, suddenly looked behind him and let out a loud roar, his bloodlust-filled aura blasting outward.
“Block the entrance! A horde of enemies is coming. It’s those dirty Martial Heaven bastards. They’re coming again. We must defend the Heavenly Maiden! Stop them with your lives!”
“Understood!”
The heads and elites of the Heavenly Demon Cult’s Sword Demon Cabinet and Saber Demon Cabinet rushed to stop Martial Heaven’s advance.
The Blood Heaven Asura Squadron and the Heavenly Demon Black Martial Squadron had stayed behind to hold Martial Heaven down, and even now, many of them hadn’t returned to their second defensive line, so they were assumed dead.
This time, the Twin Sword and Saber Cabinets had to step forward.
Just after they left the chamber, the demonic qi surrounding Si-Hyeon darkened further, reaching its peak.
“AGH!!!”
An incredibly powerful burst of energy exploded from her mouth, and at the same time, all of the demonic qi was quickly absorbed through the pores of her entire body.
Although her eyes were still blank, a bewitching smile spread across her lips as she fell from the air and landed on the floor.
“Now... I have to go to the third one.”
She started moving forward again as the figures of the Heavenly Demon Cult followed behind.
“Blade Faction Lord. As you may already know, we’re currently in the midst of our Cult's greatest crisis. Even the slightest mistake cannot be tolerated. Use your abilities to the fullest, lest you end up regretting it. Burn with determination and fight with ten times your strength!”
“Understood!”
The Blade Faction Lord wasn’t the only one guarding Si-Hyeon from the shadows. There was also the Dark Sword, one of the Cult’s two foundation protectors.
“Dark Sword, I’ll leave it to you. Please do your best to protect the Heavenly Maiden.”
“Understood. I’ll protect her even if it costs me my life.”
***
“Stop right there!”
This time, eleven youths blocked Woo-Moon’s path. As if they had undergone a fierce battle, three of them were even covered in blood and seriously injured.
‘It’s pretty impressive to see how they’re still able to stand on their own two legs, even with those injuries. Grandfather was right. The people of the Heavenly Demon Cult have unassailable willpower.’
Woo-Moon could tell from the demonic qi emanating from their bodies that they weren’t from Martial Heaven but rather from the Heavenly Demon Cult.
Suppressing his impatience, he spoke calmly, “I can’t stop here. Get out of the way; I have to go save my junior sister.”
Leaning on his sword with disheveled hair and blood-soaked clothes, the Blood Heaven Asura Captain Hwi Ji-Gang raised his head and glared at Woo-Moon, bloodlust flashing through his eyes.
“Stop talking bullshit, you disgusting, dirty weed of Martial Heaven!”
Crack!!!
The demonic saber that only the Blood Heaven Asura Captain could use, the Asura Saber, cleaved through the ground, and sparks flew in all directions.
Hwi Ji-Gang’s momentum was quite ferocious as he ran toward Woo-Moon at high speed. Above all, it seemed as though a tremendous bloodlust was cleaving through his body before the Asura Saber even reached him.
‘Resentment and bloodlust... it seems you have extremely bad memories of Martial Heaven.’
“I’m not from Martial Heaven, but I guess I can’t help if you want to fight. I’ll use force to clear my path to save my junior sister!”
Clang!
The Asura Saber and Woo-Moon’s Inkblade collided with each other, sparks burning the air.
A strange look appeared in Hwi Ji-Gang’s eyes.
“That’s pretty impressive, dog of Martial Heaven!”
The Asura Saber cleaved down with deadly force in a diagonal line, aiming for Woo-Moon’s neck.
“I told you, I’m not from Martial Heaven!”
Inkblade flashed through Raging Wind and knocked aside the Asura Saber in a single movement as Woo-Moon used the Divine Phantasm Steps to flicker in front of Hwi Ji-Gang, simultaneously appearing in front of the captain and to his side.
Suddenly, Cold Snow ensued!
“Ugh!”
Hwi Ji-Gang was startled at the sight of Inkblade sliding down the spine of his saber the moment he blocked Woo-Moon’s attack, forcing him to use Illusive Shift immediately.
However, Woo-Moon immediately shattered Hwi Ji-Gang’s illusion in turn.
Rumble!!
Asura Saber trembled as a black thread began to pour out from its edge, quickly wrapping around the blade tightly to create a vivid saber aura.
‘Is this the true strength of the Heavenly Demon Cult? I haven’t run into anyone at our age with this level of cultivation anywhere—whether it be the Justice Coalition, the Hegemon Clan, or the Black Bull Gang.’
Woo-Moon was puzzled. Hwi Ji-Gang, who looked even younger than he was, had already reached the Transcendent stage.
Hwi Ji-Gang’s saber flashed.
At the same time, Woo-Moon predicted Hwi Ji-Gang’s actions in advance and leaped into the air.
“Agh!”
“Ahh!!!!”
About a dozen Martial Heaven warriors who were chasing Woo-Moon from behind were cleaved into pieces by the saber aura. Seeing them, Hwi Ji-Gang no longer paid any attention to Woo-Moon, calling out to his men.
“Kill all of those Martial Heaven bastards!!”
Hwi Ji-Gang rushed toward the Martial Heaven warriors with his men.
Then, he turned his gaze upward to see Woo-Moon hanging from the ceiling; his fingers plunged into the stone as he used the Nine Yin White Bone Claw.
“Hmpf!”
Hwi Ji-Gang now agreed that Woo-Moon wasn’t a member of Martial Heaven. However, that actually made him even more upset.
‘That bastard isn’t even from Martial Heaven. Is a brat from the Righteous Faction really stronger than me?’
As the Blood Heaven Asura Squadron began to fight the Martial Heaven warriors, Woo-Moon kicked off the ceiling and leaped through the air like he was floating toward the depths where Si-Hyeon seemed to be hidden.
‘Just what the hell is going on here?’
No matter how much he wracked his brain, he just couldn’t figure out what was going on. There was still too little information.
“Regardless, I will save junior sister. No matter what.”
The Heavenly Demon Mound didn’t only have a single path. There were tens, hundreds... no, thousands of passages that went in all directions. Woo-Moon’s anger soared; he was frustrated by the repeated splits in the path as well as the Martial Heaven warriors running toward him from some of the other paths, keeping him from proceeding any further.
“Get out of my way. I don’t know what you’re plotting for my junior sister, but I’ll kill all of you if any of you get in my way right now.”
“Junior sister?” said in puzzlement one of the people who had just appeared.
He seemed to be the leader of the Martial Heaven warriors before Woo-Moon. The adjutant next to him answered, “Seeing as how he calls that bitch ‘junior sister,’ this brat seems to be Song Woo-Moon, the current rising star within the murim.”
Sang Moon-Jong, one of the upper-rankers of Martial Heaven’s Seventy-Two Heavenly Dippers, looked at Woo-Moon with a disdainful gaze.
“She isn’t someone a brat like you can save just because you say you want to. I’ll show you a rare taste of mercy this time, so turn around and go back if you don’t want to get yourself caught up in a fight between behemoths.”
“Mercy? Thank you, but you can spare that for yourself.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Woo-Moon disappeared.
Immediately, he appeared ten steps before Sang Moon-Jong and rushed him, leaving an afterimage behind.
Sang Moon-Jong had looked down on Woo-Moon simply because of his young age and the fact that he wasn’t a member of either Martial Heaven or the Heavenly Demon Cult but rather a normal member of the murim. However, he was forced to throw a fist out in surprise as Woo-Moon’s movement technique far exceeded his expectations.
Bang!
As a powerful soundwave blasted through the room, Woo-Moon borrowed the force of Sang Moon-Jong’s fist force and spun like a top, his sword slashing out in all directions.
Amidst the dazzling swordsmanship, the vague shape of a plum blossom began to appear.
Woo-Moon moved instinctively, without using any of the techniques of the Gentle Celestial Sword. However, even in his instinctive movement, Woo-Moon’s sword slowly began to follow a certain rhythm.
Having had the opportunity to study the swordsmanship of his younger brother and the other talents of Mount Hua, as Woo-Moon swung his sword instinctively, he unconsciously deciphered the Mount Hua Sword.
It was an incredibly flamboyant attack.
Sang Moon-Jong looked nervous, but the next moment, it was as if he had hypnotized himself, falling into a trance where he responded to the attacks reflexively.
‘I can’t keep getting cornered like this!’
Sang Moon-Jong grit his teeth, preparing himself for the inevitable injury, and struck out with both fists at the same time.
Bang!
Sang Moon-Jong’s face turned pale, while Woo-Moon flew backward, his outer robe flapping in the wind as he landed stably.
Feeling as though he would lose control of his breathing technique and suffer a backlash if he spoke, Sang Moon-Jong kept his mouth shut tightly and looked over at his adjutant before turning to his subordinates behind him.
However...
Something was strange.
Of his fifty men, as many as fifteen were lying on the ground, slaughtered silently.
“What the...cough!”
The moment he opened his mouth in rage and shock, Sang Moon-Jong choked, then vomited blood. He had suffered a backlash.
Even at that moment, his subordinates still hadn’t realized that their fellow warriors behind them had been killed, and it was only when his adjutant turned around that they all realized it too late.
“W-what the hell happ—fuck, it’s that bitch who inherited the Death God’s assassination arts!” the adjutant shouted, realizing mid-sentence what was going on. This was the work of that girl who was always by Woo-Moon’s side.
As Woo-Moon and Sang Moon-Jong fought, and while everyone had been distracted, she had moved behind them and assassinated them one by one.
Woo-Moon grinned at their words and kicked off the ground, leaping toward the wall on his right and running toward the ceiling.
Raging Wind!
“Ugh!”
Already suffering from internal injuries, Sang Moon-Jong stumbled heavily as soon as he blocked Woo-Moon’s sword.
“Help Heavenly Dipper Sang!”
Following the adjutant’s orders, the remaining subordinates rushed out to attack Woo-Moon. However, crossbow bolts instantly lodged themselves into the foreheads of the three people at the forefront.
Thwip, thwip, thwip!
It was Ma-Ra’s handiwork.
As those who stood in his way fell, Woo-Moon’s sword flashed.
Squelch!
Sang Moon-Jong’s arm was severed at the shoulder, blood gushing out. At the same time, two Silver Moon Discs landed back in Ma-Ra’s hands.
“Agh!”
Each Silver Moon Disc had taken three lives along the way.
“Die!!!”
In a split second, the remaining enemies surrounded Woo-Moon and raised their weapons.
Clang, clang, clang, clang!
The Impenetrable Golden Wall spread out in all directions to block the attacks before transitioning to Golden Wall Severing Void and spinning through the air.
A gigantic golden disc formed of sword aura tore through the air!
Squelch! Squelch!
In an instant, Golden Wall Severing Void bisected almost a dozen Martial Heaven warriors.
“What do you think? Have you figured out which one of us is the one who needs mercy?” Woo-Moon said as he unleashed four Raging Winds toward Sang Moon-Jong in succession.
In a panic, Sang Moon-Jong punched forward repeatedly with his remaining fist. However, he was unable to stop the four Raging Winds in a row, as he was already injured heavily.
Squelch!
Lightflash pierced into Sang Moon-Jong’s heart.
“Ugh... To think I die...to some murim brat...”
Martial Heaven classified several groups, including the Heavenly Demon Cult, as part of the True Murim.[2]
Most of the clans and sects belonging to the True Murim weren’t active in the gangho but were instead hiding or living among themselves in an isolationist manner.
They were the only ones whom Martial Heaven paid attention to.
The ones who revealed themselves, the forces out in the real world, like the Justice Coalition, the Hegemon Clan, or the Black Bull Gang, weren’t enough to be paid attention to. That was why, until the very end, Sang Moon-Jong couldn’t help but be dumbfounded that a mere Song Woo-Moon was able to match him in battle.
“That’s the way the world is. I guess you haven’t seen reality just yet.”
Woo-Moon slowly pulled his sword out of Sang Moon-Jong’s body, making sure the man felt every bit of it while he died.
1. Yes, the Palm Martial Emperor is making a hand pun. Very humerus. ☜
2. More accurately, 裏面武林, or the “inner face of murim.” In this context, it refers to the “real” murim sects, as in, everyone not on that list is considered fake. ☜