Chapter 156
Chapter 156
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 156
Chapter Title: Shura White Sword
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Wi Seong-cheon dusted off his hands ostentatiously amid the seven sprawled Saints.
Baek Ri-hyang fell silent for a moment as she watched him turn toward her with a smug expression.
“……Not bad.”
“Is that all?”
“I’m more puzzled than impressed. Why didn’t you kill them?”
She pointed at the fallen Saints. Wi Seong-cheon, who had been staring at her blankly, shrugged.
“No need to kill them. Just taking their tokens is enough, right?”
“True. Just taking the tokens is enough.”
“They’re not threats worth worrying about as loose ends.”
“Not for you, maybe. But they’re plenty threatening to me.”
Baek Ri-hyang’s voice grew icy cold.
“You’re not staying in the Black Forest forever.”
“You’ll become a Six-Star Saint. If you’re at the center of the Black Forest…”
“There’s no guarantee I can hold onto the Six-Star Saint position after you leave.”
Her eyes turned a complete blood-red.
“Don’t want to dirty your hands with this kind of thing? I get it. I’m not in a position to force filthy work like this on you. But listen, Hidden Dragon. I won’t see your actions as hypocrisy—I’ll understand them—so I’d appreciate it if you’d understand me too.”
“……How?”
“I don’t want to leave any loose ends.”
Baek Ri-hyang approached, emphasizing her words with force. Wi Seong-cheon could see her trembling pupils forcibly steadying themselves.
“Instead of killing them, you turned them into cripples, but they were still Four-Star Saints. Even if they drop to One-Star Saints after losing their tokens, I doubt the One-Star Saints wandering the coast will take down these crippled bastards.”
“Fair enough.”
“They’ll come to hate you and me for this. That hatred will be directed more at me than you. Because I seem like an easy target.”
“Yeah.”
“Want me to ease your mind a bit? The ones who become One-Star Saints will slaughter low-rank Saints indiscriminately to regain their former status. They’ll hack men to pieces, and for women… well, they might rape them. Hard to hear?”
“Not really.”
“It’s no exaggeration. Those who fall to the abyss and claw their way back become more vicious and filthy. So…”
The words pouring from Baek Ri-hyang’s mouth.
They weren’t meant to convince Wi Seong-cheon. They were words to convince herself. In the end, she stopped in front of him.
“……You gonna stop me?”
“Feels like you want me to.”
“No, I don’t. I can’t leave loose ends. This kind of thing has to be done thoroughly.”
Baek Ri-hyang shook her head vigorously. Wi Seong-cheon stared at her for a moment before slowly turning away. There was no reason to stop her. Her words weren’t incomprehensible, and this wasn’t the Heavenly Academy—it was the Black Forest.
Demonic faction, not orthodox.
A clear crunching sound rang out. The sound of her biting her lip. Then came dull thuds. Wi Seong-cheon ignored the sudden rush of blood scent.
He had turned away but didn’t leave her behind. He stood there, waiting a moment. Sounds of steadying breaths. More lip-biting.
“What’re you doing?”
Baek Ri-hyang approached. Glancing at her beside him, her face was pale. But her eyes weren’t red-rimmed. She wasn’t used to it and hated it. But it wasn’t her first time.
“Waiting for you.”
“……I’m here. Let’s go.”
Wi Seong-cheon nodded. Midnight hadn’t struck yet. Normally it wouldn’t, but on Blood Token nights, the bell on the city walls tolled at midnight.
Find the Blood Token hidden in the forest before the bell rang. Or hunt the hunters chasing Blood Tokens.
“Think they ran, or are they waiting?”
“If they’ve got confidence, they’re waiting. If not, they ran.”
Shura White Sword, Weightless Black Swallow, and Crimson Turban Radiant Hatchet were among the elite of the Five-Star Saints.
“Weightless Black Swallow and Shura White Sword have Saints in the city acting like their underlings.”
“Chance their underlings betray them?”
“Not zero. But if there’s any loyalty among them, they’ll protect each other and hunt the hunters.”
“And Crimson Turban Radiant Hatchet?”
“……As far as I know, that one doesn’t have a faction.”
Various scents wafted from spots across the vast forest. Metal, sweat from tension. Wi Seong-cheon’s keen senses picked up every one clearly.
A sense that had pierced the Seven Shadow Silence of the Shadow Assassins Clan—the unparalleled stealth art of the martial world. There was no way it would miss lesser stealth.
‘Catch every visible one as I go?’
He couldn’t think of it so simply. Catching them wasn’t hard. But to leave no loose ends, he’d have to kill them. Wi Seong-cheon wasn’t keen on that.
Even if he didn’t kill, Baek Ri-hyang would step in and finish them, but he wasn’t keen on that either.
“Shura White Sword, Weightless Black Swallow, Crimson Turban Radiant Hatchet.”
“……What?”
“Which of the three deserves death most?”
Baek Ri-hyang looked flustered at the sudden question. She hesitated, then shook her head.
“……Once we track them down, they’re all bound to have stains.”
“Can’t pick, huh?”
“……Add personal grudges?”
“Grudges unrelated to me. Fine, whatever.”
Who’d have thought he’d be tested like this. Wi Seong-cheon chuckled wryly, stroking his face.
He thought he’d steeled himself long ago, but facing it now, not so much.
Wi Seong-cheon’s first and last killing had been Supreme Palm Zhang on the way to the Heavenly Academy. He hadn’t killed since. No need.
‘Yeah, I see.’
What Jeong Mi-ju meant by asking him to look after Uha Yeon. He understood now. Righteous Heaven Academy students from the orthodox martial world weren’t used to this.
No matter how strong their martial arts. This unfamiliarity gnawed at the heart. Killing wasn’t always forced. But considering loose ends, killing cleanly was best.
“……If you don’t want to kill…”
Baek Ri-hyang hesitated.
Wi Seong-cheon quietly turned to look at her.
“……I won’t force you.”
“If I don’t, you’ll do it instead.”
“I can handle the cleanup.”
“You think I can’t do what you can?”
Wi Seong-cheon chuckled and shook his head. His pace quickened. Baek Ri-hyang panicked at the sudden speed but hurried her lightness skill to keep up.
“H-hey, you know where you’re going?”
“Of course.”
He didn’t know who was in this direction. Among the choices, he picked this one.
Because of the foul stench assaulting his nose even from afar.
Dong!
The bell tolled from the city gate. The moment it did, the stench intensified. It wasn’t just from the direction he was heading. Scents wafted from everywhere.
But the strongest was from the direction he chose.
The village outside the city walls.
Shura White Sword had picked one of the villages. He’d arrived before midnight.
The rule against attacking Saints before the bell applied to him too, Blood Token in hand.
No attacks allowed.
That was enough. The Four-Star Saints who’d made the village their base couldn’t dare pass the Shura White Sword blocking the entrance.
They couldn’t attack him, and he couldn’t attack them. So just pass without issue, right?
That wasn’t possible either. Even without attacking, blocking the path was easy. And the dozen-plus Five-Star Saints who’d followed Shura White Sword thoroughly sealed the retreat.
“Fourth one already. Can’t keep this up.”
Shura White Sword brought a liquor bottle from the city to his lips. Drops now fell from the emptied bottle.
“Does that mean you’re promoting now, bro?”
“No way it’s bad luck giving me another token. Must be the esteemed Black Serpent Leader kicking my ass. Time to promote smartly, yeah?”
Shura White Sword chuckled as if joking. His followers burst into laughter.
Their group had no official name. Just years of drinking and whoring together.
Bonds had formed, stories shared. Today, they moved as one.
“Stars have been borderline for ages. Time to promote.”
“Picked her up from a brothel, though. Word is something big’s coming central-side soon.”
“Heard that too. Divine arts manuals and elixirs getting handed out?”
Shura White Sword’s eyes gleamed.
“Perfect timing.”
“With your skills, bro, you should’ve shaken the center ages ago.”
“Went early, I’d be caught early. Now’s perfect. Everyone’s focused on Black Heaven Young Lord and those Heavenly Academy monks.”
“No ambition to become Black Demon King’s disciple?”
“Get involved, I’d explode first. Not my caliber.”
Crack!
The bottle Shura White Sword threw shattered against a corpse’s head. The village Saints alive until just before midnight… were butchered the instant the bell rang. Shura White Sword’s doing.
“Gonna bide time, suck some honey. Greed, huh… If anything, I crave Jeokrin more than Black Demon King’s disciple spot.”
“Leader’s too much. Handing that peerless beauty Jeokrin to the orthodox…”
“Setting this stage after handing her over means come find her yourself.”
Coming now, huh. Shura White Sword sensed approaching presences. A few from afar, hesitating. Overwhelmed knowing multiple camps here. Smart one, sizing up.
“Anyway. I’m promoting and heading central. You lot play around then join. If coming, come late. Purge next year probably.”
“Might promote with you this time, bro.”
“Not bad. Like I said, trash hunting me—you divide ’em up. I’m full.”
The Saints cackled. That’s how they’d always been. Even if Shura White Sword or another got a token, they banded together.
Killed those hunting them, roaming Four-Star Saints, other tokens. Danger eased greatly after.
Why no promotion to Six-Star.
City life lacked nothing. Together, no fear of tokens; dominated other Saints in city.
Craved novelty? Exit together.
Forest and coast. Crushing hopeful younglings’ dreams thrilled; hunting despairing hiders brought hunt’s joy.
Not just Shura White Sword indulged. Such Saints existed before he came.
Even rival Weightless Black Swallow whored with a gang like him. Solos like Crimson Turban Radiant Hatchet rare.
But city indulgence can’t last. Heavenly Academy exchange brought big changes to Black Forest.
Ignore it? But Shura White Sword felt his chest stir with winds of change for first time in ages.
Not just him. His city crew felt the same storm.
They didn’t dream of catching Black Heaven Young Lord for Black Demon King disciple, but wanted big deeds in this turbulence.
‘Kinda wasteful.’
City pleasures were sweet. Saints and non-Saints alike watched his eyes.
Even instructors he met eyed cautiously.
But center wouldn’t allow such laxity. Promotion bittersweet.
Still.
Survive this upheaval? Rule not just Black Forest’s remote island city, but demonic martial world proudly.
That thought made regrets bearable.
This massive storm ignited such greed in Shura White Sword and Saints.
“Who’s this?”
Two approached straight without turning.
Shura White Sword looked surprised.
“Miss Baek Ri-hyang and… bat bastard.”
“Wow.”
Wi Seong-cheon burst into honest laughter at Shura White Sword’s jab.
“Bat, huh. Been ages since I heard that.”
“Why? Call you Hidden Dragon?”
“Call me whatever. Heard your moniker, but no intent to use it.”
Wi Seong-cheon stepped forward, naturally blocking Baek Ri-hyang.
“So call me whatever you want.”
His head tilted cockily. He eyed the corpses strewn around the chair Shura White Sword lounged on.
Execution ground scene.
Clear resistance traces on sprawled bodies. But they hadn’t resisted at death. Acupoints sealed, knees buckled.
Then throats slit.
No desire to count rolling heads. Wi Seong-cheon feigned indifference. Ignored boiling emotions for now.
Liquor scent from rolling heads. Mixed with excrement stench, blood.
Damp forest air masterfully blended stenches in short time.
Wi Seong-cheon felt nausea from inhaled air.
“First time seeing this?”
“Look at the kid’s stiff face.”
“First corpse? Martial artist your age never killed?”
Shura White Sword and crew cackled at silent Wi Seong-cheon. Shura White Sword, eyeing him mockingly, turned to Baek Ri-hyang.
“Miss. If gathering a crew, pick proper ones. Why pair with trash, hurting my heart?”
“Bro, don’t say that. Think miss wanted that trash? No one else to grab.”
Baek Ri-hyang’s face stiffened at exchanged giggles. Shura White Sword, hearing mockery, raised a hand to stop it.
“Miss in tough spot, I get it. Needed help, why not tip me off?”
His narrowed eyes scanned her up and down. She bit her lower lip at the blatant gaze.
“Good thing.”
Wi Seong-cheon muttered abruptly.
Women’s uniforms shredded. Heads severed—who was who, impossible.
“Picked well, seems.”
Some headless men had limbs hacked. Guts from deep belly gashes mingled grotesquely with dead blood.
“No need to wail about being late.”
Half to himself.
Wi Seong-cheon didn’t know the dead Saints here. Feeling guilt for unknown Saints after witnessing this? Laughable.
But rage? Yes.
“Hey.”
He eyed wide-eyed Shura White Sword, other Saints.
Reverse Flow moved acupoints, Body Opening released them.
“I’m about to kill you all now.”
No need to feign indifference anymore.
Wi Seong-cheon listened to ignored emotions. Boiling fury heated blood in veins.
“If you don’t wanna die, kill me.”
Sounded like warning, but Wi Seong-cheon didn’t say it as one.
With quiet verdict, his body vanished.