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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Chaos
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The moment the unorthodox martial artists charged, Namgung-Woo’s vision filled with their faces… and the weapons in their hands.
The first attack was an arrow.
An arrow imbued with internal energy.
Tearing through the air in a straight line, it was more like a flash of light.
It was the signature technique of Gui Gung-yeop Na-tal, one of the Banun Clan’s four Peak Realm experts: the Hunting Lightning Chasing Bow.
Sweeaeaeaek-Taaang-!
Namgung-Woo deflected the incoming arrow with his sword.
Even though the energy was transferred through an external object, the force behind it was incredibly powerful.
‘Not Sword Qi. A follow-up attack is coming!’
The power generated from the Infinite Steps’ ground-stomp amplified through the subtle rotation of his body and flowed into his arms.
The Thirteen Lightning Sword Techniques’ Chilling Lightning Strike descended, imbued with Sword Qi.
SHRAANG!
A roar different in magnitude from the first arrow.
The iron arrowhead, condensed with Sword Qi, shattered against Namgung-Woo’s sword strike.
Amazingly, Namgung-Woo wielded his sword with one hand. His other, empty hand, grabbed a spear shaft thrusting from an angle.
The Nine Walls Divine Fist.
Among the generally aggressive Namgung Family martial arts, this fist technique, which emphasized defense, struck the spear shaft.
Thud! BOOM!
With the sound of the spear shaft cracking, Namgung-Woo spun.
Three arrows, a technique called the Three-Headed Annihilation, grazed his robes as he generated wind with the finesse of the Heavenly Wind Divine Movement.
Four exchanges in total.
His time holding off the combined attack of two Banun Clan Peak Realm experts alone ended there.
“You fiend! I shall be your opponent!”
The spear, which had been hurtling towards Namgung-Woo, twisted like a snake and lunged at the roaring old Daoist.
But that was precisely what Tae-mun Jin-in had wanted.
The Hengsan Sect’s signature technique, the Returning Wind Falling Goose Sword, spun the spear shaft around and sliced into the spearman’s grip.
Pisyut-!
Blood spurted.
But Tae-mun Jin-in’s sword never wavered from its chosen target.
With the Fleeting Moment Steps, Tae-mun Jin-in instantly closed the distance to the spearman.
His sword style had seamlessly transitioned from the Returning Wind Falling Goose Sword to the Mist Cloud Dispersing Sword Technique, which incorporated the finesse of illusionary swordsmanship.
Tae-mun Jin-in’s sword image fell upon the spearman’s wrist.
The opponent acted without hesitation, immediately letting go of the spear.
Any martial artist cherished their weapon, but this opponent showed no such attachment.
A fierce desire for life.
Martial arts, beloved weapons – all were insignificant before one’s own life.
Such was the mindset of the Banun Clan martial artists, who chased immortality.
And that was a heretical path that Tae-mun Jin-in, whose way of thinking was closer to that of a martial artist than a Daoist, could never accept.
“Strike—!!”
With a roar, Tae-mun Jin-in’s sword drew a semicircle towards the spearman’s neck.
The sword image reflected on the wrist, a feint born from the principles of illusionary swordsmanship.
Just as the ultimate technique of the Mist Cloud Dispersing Sword Technique, the Shadow Illusion Sword, was about to slit the spearman’s throat, Namgung-Woo grabbed Tae-mun Jin-in and leaped backward.
“Nam Woo!”
“…I’m here.”
Tae-mun Jin-in no longer pressed Namgung-Woo for an explanation.
I’m here.
Those two words were enough.
“…Thank you. I almost died with him.”
Beside the spearman, whom Tae-mun Jin-in had been a hair’s breadth from decapitating, stood a figure in familiar greyish-black robes, rippling from the residual force of the previous exchange.
“As expected. Your eyes are too good. It was an extremely stealthy ambush, yet you noticed.”
The man made no secret of his intention to use the spearman as bait to eliminate Tae-mun Jin-in first, perhaps still bothered by their previous joint attack.
“Jin-in, I’ll take this.”
“…Can you handle him alone? He’s the Five Yin Demonic Emperor!”
The man let out a small “Hoo-” sound, as if impressed that his title was known.
The Zhuge Family wasn’t so naive as to dismiss an unknown entity with unfamiliar martial arts as some reclusive master who had suddenly appeared.
They had searched old records and sought advice from others to uncover the man’s identity.
And they finally found it.
The Five Yin Demonic Emperor, Aban.
This man was an expert from a generation active more than fifty years ago, during the Blood Cult Calamity.
At that time, when the righteous and unorthodox factions united against the Blood Cult, Aban fought as a top unorthodox expert and was believed to have died.
But the true history was different.
The Five Yin Demonic Emperor had survived and joined the Banun Clan to avoid death.
That was the truth.
“If Tae-mun Jin-in is tied down here, it will create an opening elsewhere. Please protect the Azure Sky Group.”
“…Don’t worry. I won’t let any of them die.”
There was no time for leisure. Tae-mun Jin-in made a swift decision.
Promising Namgung-Woo he would do his best to ensure the Azure Sky Group’s safety, he quickly departed.
“You should go too.”
“Understood.”
Just as Namgung-Woo sent Tae-mun Jin-in away, the Five Yin Demonic Emperor also dismissed the spearman.
Unlike the righteous martial artists, whose pure internal energy allowed for smooth joint attacks even with slight differences in nature, the unorthodox martial artists’ joint attacks were far more limited.
Wasn’t it the way of the world for many good people to catch one bad one?
The Five Yin Demonic Emperor’s internal energy, in particular, was so peculiar that, unless he was using someone as a human shield, it was better for him to fight alone.
“Three years ago… no, was it fifty-three? When you’ve slept for a long time, sometimes it’s hard to adjust.”
“What are you trying to say?”
“I’ll speak as I please. It was three years ago. The righteous-unorthodox allied forces launched an operation to attack the Blood Cult’s hidden lair. Many died. But we won. We destroyed a branch of the Blood Cult and seized its legacy. If I had taken that, I wouldn’t have had to join hands with a brat like Dongfang Huo.”
The Five Yin Demonic Emperor suddenly brought up an old story in the middle of the battlefield.
Namgung-Woo tightened his grip on his sword hilt.
The moment an opening appeared, he intended to strike without hesitation.
But the Five Yin Demonic Emperor, even while leisurely recounting his tale, revealed no weaknesses.
“There was someone who prevented me from taking it.”
[The Sword Emperor, Namgung Jin]
Did he not even want to utter the name? It was conveyed through voice transmission.
Namgung-Woo thought he understood why.
Though his body was controlled to an extreme degree, his Ever-Clear Vision had detected a faint fear in the Five Yin Demonic Emperor.
“What is your relationship with him?”
A heavy voice flowed out.
Did it possess a magic that could stop fights and draw attention?
Those around them, who had been clashing fiercely, gradually lessened their intensity and began to step back.
The Five Yin Demonic Emperor’s eerie aura spread, lowering the surrounding temperature, making the humid air mixed with the moisture from Xia Honghu even heavier, making it difficult to breathe.
Amidst the focused gazes, the Five Yin Demonic Emperor looked at only one person.
The handsome young man with shining blue eyes and an expressionless face.
Eyes that pierced the soul.
How many had looked at him, the one called the Five Yin Demonic Emperor, with such unwavering eyes?
The incarnation of demonic arts.
A man even the Blood Cultists called a demon.
Even his superiors and colleagues looked at him with fear-tinged eyes.
Except for one.
A minuscule crack appeared in Namgung-Woo’s firm lips.
“Well.”
And he sneered.
“It’s probably what you think.”
In terms of seniority, the gap between them was like heaven and earth.
Yet, Namgung-Woo answered without a shred of respect.
The nature of the Five Yin Demonic Emperor’s aura changed in an instant.
Beyond just making it difficult to breathe, it was a killing intent filled with the strong will to not even allow breathing.
A terrifying killing intent erupted from the Five Yin Demonic Emperor, so potent that even Namgung-Woo, clad in his Heavenly Steel Protective Qi, felt a tingling sensation.
“A detestable bloodline. Do you intend to obstruct me to the very end!”
The Five Yin Demonic Emperor’s surging demonic Qi lunged at Namgung-Woo.
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“Oh no! It’s already started!”
An old monk, pushing through the crowd of onlookers, lamented as he surveyed the battlefield.
It was Hang-wi, the warrior monk from Hwaseong Temple.
Despite being an expert who had mastered martial arts to the Peak Realm, Hang-wi’s breathing was completely disheveled.
It was proof that he had exhausted almost all his internal energy and pushed his body to its limits to get here.
“Monk, Monk Hang-wi! It’s dangerous to go alone!”
The Hwaseong Temple warrior monks who had rushed with Hang-wi panted as they caught up.
They quickly surrounded Hang-wi, fearing an ambush.
Hang-wi’s eyes darted around, scanning the battlefield. His role was not to join the fight, but to deliver an item safely.
Clutching the wooden box in his arms tightly, Hang-wi looked towards the place where the most violent energy on the battlefield could be felt.
The owner of this wooden box was there.
“There… Geum-jong-ah, we have to go there.”
When Hang-wi pointed to the spot he had seen, Geum-jong, horrified, tried to dissuade him.
“Huh? There? No! You’ll get caught in the shockwaves and die! Even if Senior Brother Geum-shin were here, it would be impossible.”
“Still, we must go. Didn’t we make a promise?”
“If it gets stolen or lost, wouldn’t that defeat the purpose? We should wait for a better opportunity…”
“Hey, monks.”
Just as Geum-jong was calmly trying to persuade Hang-wi, a clear voice suddenly interrupted him.
But the problem wasn’t just the interruption.
The voice came from inside the warrior monks’ protective circle.
Geum-jong, his face filled with astonishment, creaked his head towards the source of the voice.
“That, who are you giving it to?”
The female Taoist, dressed in suspicious attire, asked.
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