Chapter 56: Identity (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 56: Identity (3)
Buzz, buzz!
The crowd erupted in a low roar. With Sama Chak’s sudden appearance, every eye in the hall was fixed on him.
It was only natural, as the majority of those present had no idea who he was.
-Wait. How did that man get here?
...How should I know?
The only people who knew I was here were my maternal grandfather, Sama Yeong, and Miyeom.
Judging by the circumstances, Sama Yeong must have told him.
Besides, the human skin mask I’m wearing was crafted by Sama Chak himself, so he would have recognized me instantly.
“Brother Sama!”
Just then, Gu Yang-gyeong, the Sect Leader of the Seomgyeong Martial Sect, cried out in shock upon seeing him.
What? Does he actually know him?
“Junior Brother Gu. It’s been a long time,” Sama Chak replied nonchalantly, as if he indeed knew him.
Sama Chak was known for being eccentric and solitary, so I never imagined he would have any social ties. Who would have guessed he knew the leader of one of Peerless Fortress’s Four Great Martial Sects?
While everyone was reeling in confusion, the name escaped the lips of the fake Muchen Sword Emperor, Tian Wuxing.
“Sama Chak!”
At those words, everyone in the vicinity was struck with pure terror.
“Sama Chak?”
“One of the Four Great Villains?”
“That man is the Moon Evil Sword, Sama Chak?”
In the Central Plains, the Four Great Villains were classified as the most dangerous entities in existence.
And among them, Sama Chak was a powerhouse who ranked within the top five even when including the Eight Great Masters. It was only natural for everyone to be stunned.
Upon learning Sama Chak’s identity, even my biological father, Merciless Wind God Jin Seong-baek, showed visible signs of tension.
With three of the Central Plains' twelve strongest masters gathered in one place, no one could predict what kind of disaster might unfold.
Jin Seong-baek looked at him and spoke.
“Sama Chak. What brings a man of your stature to this fortress...?”
Before he could even finish his sentence, Sama Chak looked at the fake Muchen Sword Emperor and spoke.
“So you’ve been clinging to life like a parasite in a place like this, Mu Ak.”
‘!!!’
The crowd stirred once again.
I, too, was momentarily speechless upon hearing that name.
Lesser Conversation Sword asked me, sounding puzzled.
-What’s wrong? Is he someone famous?
‘He was one of the former Five Great Villains.’
-What?
After the Great Orthodox-Evil War, the hierarchy solidified into the Eight Great Masters and the Four Great Villains, but before that, there was a time when they were called the Seven Great Masters and the Five Great Villains.
Back then, two of the Five Great Villains died, and with the emergence of Killing Fiend Jue Xin, the group became the current Four Great Villains.
One of those deceased Five Great Villains was the previous Blood Demon, and the other was the White-Faced Ghost, Mu Ak.
-You mean a man who’s supposed to be dead is actually alive?
I didn't know for sure either.
By the time I had grown up, he was already known to be dead.
However, hearing his identity made one thing click into place.
-What is it?
I’d heard that Mu Ak’s alias, the White-Faced Ghost, came from his ghostly skill in disguise.
Usually, human skin masks are made from the skin of corpses or animal hides, but they said the White-Faced Ghost was different.
I heard he had reached a peerless realm in the art of masks, possessing a technique so sophisticated he could perfectly mimic a living person.
-Oh. So that’s why his skin stretched like that. He had that kind of technology.
But thinking about it, he was an incredibly bold man.
If he truly was the White-Faced Ghost, Mu Ak, then he hadn't just deceived anyone—he had replaced one of the Eight Great Masters and stolen his position.
No one would have ever dared to come up with such a dangerous and audacious plan.
“Mu Ak? Ha!”
“To think that wicked old monster was hiding in our fortress, impersonating you!”
Both Gu Yang-gyeong and Wang Chuyi were utterly flabbergasted.
However, I became curious about the relationship between Sama Chak and that man.
Sama Chak’s tone suggested he knew him personally, far beyond just identifying him by his mask-making skills.
The fake Tian Wuxing—no, Mu Ak—who held the key to everything, finally spoke.
“Have you been looking for me, Moon Evil Sword?”
Sama Chak snorted at the question.
“Looking for you? Don’t make me laugh.”
“Then why have you appeared here?”
“I have no reason to explain myself to the likes of you.”
Ping!
As soon as he finished speaking, a steel ball from Sama Chak’s fingers shot toward Mu Ak’s brow, propelled by Flicking Finger Divine Power.
Mu Ak snatched it out of the air.
The sound of something spinning rapidly could be heard from within his grip.
Thud!
Mu Ak slammed it onto the ground.
The center of his palm was stained red.
This alone was enough to show that Sama Chak’s internal power was a level above his.
-You can’t even catch those.
Do you really have to remind me?
Regardless, Sama Chak’s attitude toward him was anything but friendly.
Mu Ak’s eyes darted around the room before he spoke.
“I have no desire to fight you, Moon Evil Sword.”
Something unexpected happened.
Mu Ak was lowering himself.
Even if he was in a disadvantageous position, he was still one of the former Five Great Villains.
Sama Chak replied coldly.
“Then you shouldn't have let me see you.”
At those words, Mu Ak bit his lip hard and said, “It’s not like I wanted to be seen. And as per our agreement back then, the name White-Faced Ghost hasn't appeared in the martial world until now, has it?”
Good heavens.
If what he said was true, it meant Sama Chak was the one who had made him disappear from the martial world in the first place.
Sama Chak asked in a frigid voice.
“Who restored your martial arts?”
At the question, Mu Ak clamped his mouth shut.
Based on this, I could guess that Sama Chak had likely crippled his martial arts in the past.
Mu Ak, his eyes still darting around, tried to bolt in a direction where neither Sama Chak nor Jin Seong-baek was standing.
However, Jin Seong-baek blocked his path with lightness skill as swift as the wind.
“You cannot escape.”
“Jin Seong-baek, you bastard.”
He wasn't called the Wind God for nothing.
Mu Ak bit his lip again and spoke in a voice thick with rage.
“Do men called the Eight Great Masters and the Four Great Villains intend to gang up on one old man? Are you not ashamed of your martial prowess...?”
Ping!
Before he could finish, another steel ball flew from Sama Chak’s hand.
“Hut!”
Mu Ak spun like a top to dodge the ball.
Jin Seong-baek, standing on the opposite side, deflected the ball with a leg technique.
Thanks to that, the ball ended up embedded in Mu Ak’s thigh.
Thwack!
“Urgh!”
It would have been better if it had pierced through, but as expected of a former villain, it only dug in slightly.
When the villain flexed his thigh muscles, the steel ball popped out of his flesh.
“You bastards!”
Unintentionally, the two great masters had performed a coordinated attack.
Mu Ak gritted his teeth.
“This place shall be your grave.”
Sama Chak approached him, exuding an overbearing aura as if he were the King of the Underworld himself.
At this, my biological father, Merciless Wind God Jin Seong-baek, gave a polite fist-and-palm salute and said, “I am truly grateful for your help in freeing the hostage just now. However, this matter is closely related to this fortress, so I ask that you step aside and let me and Peerless Fortress handle it.”
“Hmph!”
Despite the polite request, Sama Chak didn't care at all and continued his approach.
He looked ready to seize and kill Mu Ak right then and there.
“Damn you all!”
At that, Mu Ak stomped his foot violently against the floor.
Boom!
In that instant, the stones of the floor shattered, and the fragments flew in all directions.
It seemed he intended to pin them down momentarily with the debris infused with internal power so he could escape.
However, neither Jin Seong-baek nor Sama Chak had any intention of letting him go.
Swish, swish, swish!
Jin Seong-baek, having easily bypassed the fragments with a palm technique, launched a kick toward Mu Ak’s neck. Similarly, Sama Chak, who had blocked the debris with his killing intent, fired a Sword Formula Finger toward the man's brow.
Mu Ak hurriedly formed Sword Formula Fingers with both hands to block the attacks of the two masters.
However...
“Urgh!”
Skreeeeee!
To begin with, both of them possessed power equal to or greater than his.
Naturally, having taken the attacks of two great masters simultaneously, he was forced back several paces.
Sama Chak spoke to Jin Seong-baek as if giving a warning.
“Do not interfere.”
With those words, he lunged toward the retreating Mu Ak.
Jin Seong-baek frowned slightly.
“I told you, this is the fortress’s business.”
After saying that, he also lunged toward Mu Ak, unleashing an offensive.
The amusing thing was that while both told the other not to interfere, they were performing ultimate techniques against Mu Ak while doing their best not to get in each other's way.
As a result, it was Mu Ak who was suffering.
“Y-you bastards!”
Bam, bam, bam!
Mu Ak’s hands became a blur as he desperately tried to fend off their moves, the air screaming with the force of their blows, but it was impossible to hold out against two of the Eight Great Masters.
Thwack!
“Gah!”
While dodging an ultimate move, Jin Seong-baek’s kick slammed into Mu Ak’s neck.
Impressively, even while being hit, he used a redirection technique to vent the internal power through his feet.
Cr-crack!
The ground beneath him shattered.
As he discharged the force and threw himself backward, Sama Chak caught up with him with eerie footwork and pierced his chest with a Sword Formula Finger.
Stab!
Blood sprayed from Mu Ak’s mouth.
Realizing he would be killed if he stopped there, Mu Ak tried to generate killing intent with his own Sword Formula Finger to force Sama Chak away.
But in that instant, Sama Chak drew his precious sword with lightning-fast speed and severed the man's wrist in a single stroke.
Slash!
“Aaaargh!”
Whoosh!
Simultaneously, Jin Seong-baek’s figure appeared in the air like the wind, spinning violently as he crushed the man's head downward.
“Gurgle-ack!”
With a bizarre scream, Mu Ak’s legs were driven into the ground.
By the time he was buried up to his thighs, Jin Seong-baek, who had been spinning above him, landed lightly on the ground.
Mu Ak, his face pale and looking half-dead, muttered.
“You... cowardly... bastards... two against one...”
He seemed truly indignant.
But soon, his strength failed him, and his head slumped as he lost consciousness.
Sama Chak leveled his sword at the man's neck.
Jin Seong-baek quickly kicked the blade away.
Clang!
“You must not kill him yet. He still has loose ends to tie up with this fortress.”
To Jin Seong-baek’s words, Sama Chak replied in a cold voice.
“That is none of my concern.”
With that, Sama Chak swung his sword toward Mu Ak’s neck once more.
Jin Seong-baek struck the flat of the blade with a kick that left an afterimage.
Having his sword blocked twice, one of Sama Chak’s eyebrows arched upward.
“I have no intention of letting him live either. However, this man claimed to be in league with a certain faction. We must find out who they are.”
Sama Chak let out a shallow breath at Jin Seong-baek’s words.
Then, he finally sheathed his sword.
It seemed the situation was being resolved peacefully.
However...
“I shall yield this man to you. But your continued disregard for my warnings makes it seem as though you take me lightly.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Sama Chak fired a Sword Formula Finger at Jin Seong-baek.
Jin Seong-baek tilted his head to the side, dodging it.
“As expected of the Wind God.”
Sama Chak gave a thin smirk, and with an expression full of fighting spirit, he changed the direction of his Sword Formula Finger.
Jin Seong-baek used his swift body lightening method to evade the onslaught.
Just moments ago, they had been unintentionally cooperating against a common enemy, but now they were fighting each other.
-Un-hwi! Your biological father and your father-in-law are fighting!
-The previous owner said that marriage isn't just between two people, but between two families. Stop them before things get out of hand.
What on earth are these two talking about?
Regardless, I did need to stop them before things got worse.
“Please look after Sect Leader Tian.”
I practically dumped the real Tian Wuxing, whom I had been carrying on my back, onto Sect Leader Wang Chuyi of the Sea King Fortress and lunged toward them.
But someone brushed past me and got there first.
‘Huh?’
It was Gu Yang-gyeong, the Sect Leader of the Seomgyeong Martial Sect.
“Stop!”
Gu Yang-gyeong shouted at them and threw himself between the two combatants.
I arrived in front of them as well, though a step behind.
“Junior Brother Gu. What are you doing?”
At Sama Chak’s question, Gu Yang-gyeong gave a fist-and-palm salute to both men in turn and said, “You two have no deep grudge against each other, so why must you clash over something like this? Brother Sama, for the sake of this sworn brother’s face, please let your anger subside.”
At those words, Jin Seong-baek asked in confusion, “Sect Leader Gu. Are you acquainted with this man?”
Everyone’s attention focused on his question.
And for good reason—Sama Chak was a dangerous man known as one of the Four Great Villains.
It was only natural to be suspicious when Gu Yang-gyeong, the leader of one of the Four Great Martial Sects, stepped forward to mediate for a man with so many enemies and grudges.
Gu Yang-gyeong glanced somewhere.
Standing where he looked was his son, who had been captured by Mu Ak’s subordinate earlier.
It seemed Gu Yang-gyeong felt a deep sense of gratitude toward Sama Chak for saving his son.
“Acquainted? Brother Sama and I are sworn brothers.”
‘Ah!’
So that’s why they were addressing each other that way.
The crowd buzzed, clearly as surprised as I was.
Just then, Wang Chuyi, the Sect Leader of the Sea King Fortress who had ended up holding Tian Wuxing, approached them.
He asked, “Sect Leader Gu. Is that true?”
“Why would I, Gu, speak with a forked tongue?”
“Good grief.”
Wang Chuyi let out a sigh, looking truly troubled.
He clearly didn't approve of an association with one of the Four Great Villains.
The atmosphere among the crowd was much the same.
However, Gu Yang-gyeong, perhaps wanting to repay the favor, said something completely unexpected.
“Brother Sama is like family to me. The reason my sworn brother saved my son and Sect Leader Wang’s grandson must be because of the prenatal betrothal we agreed upon years ago.”
‘!?’
Prenatal betrothal?
What is he talking about now?
For a moment, I doubted my own ears.
Then, Sama Chak spoke in his characteristically frigid voice.
“Why bring up a dusty old promise made in the heat of youth? Our paths diverged long ago.”
“How can you say that, Brother Sama? If this sworn brother cared about the opinions of others, how could I have remembered that promise until now?”
-Un-hwi. What on earth is going on?
I couldn't even hear the sword's voice.
Instead, I was thinking back to my life before the regression.
I had often wondered why Sama Chak had joined Peerless Fortress.
No matter how much I thought about it, given his personality, he wasn't the type to settle down anywhere.
But now, that mystery was finally solved.
Sama Chak frowned and spoke.
“This has become troublesome.”
“What do you mean?”
Sama Chak turned his gaze toward me and said, “You heard that, didn't you? What do you think about this?”
Ah... he got me.
I never expected him to ask me such a question here.
I had come to stop him from fighting my biological father, only to be blindsided.
Gu Yang-gyeong asked, sounding confused, “Wait. Why are you asking that young man?”
“My daughter’s heart belongs to that brat.”
‘!?’
At those words, everyone turned to look at me with shocked faces.
I was reeling from the bombshell he had just dropped, but the situation didn't end there.
Jin Seong-baek suddenly stepped forward and spoke.
“What are you talking about? This young hero is someone who belongs in the Orthodox faction.”
‘What?’
Wait a minute.
Does this mean Jin Seong-baek knows my identity?
I had shown him the token of the Flying Moon Hero Sect, but I was wearing a human skin mask, and I thought he might not know that my mother had become a concubine of the Yikyang So family.
But the word "Orthodox" had come out of his mouth.
"Orthodox?"
Sama Chak furrowed his brow and looked at me.
My mind was about to become a tangled mess, but then even more unexpected words tumbled out of Jin Seong-baek’s mouth.
“Could the child the young hero was trying to save be this man’s daughter?”
At those words, Sama Chak’s expression hardened terrifyingly.
‘.......Ah.’
I’m going crazy.
The situation has become a complete disaster.