Chapter 43
Chapter 43
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 43
Chapter Title: Chapter 5: Special Abilities (1)
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There exist things called special abilities.
They are innate powers, referring to extraordinary capabilities that ordinary people do not possess.
These are fundamentally different from abilities developed through practicing martial arts and cultivating internal energy. They apply to cases where someone who has never once cultivated an internal energy heart method can casually wield powers honed through peerless talent and effort across the ages.
According to the views of renowned shamans from the shaman houses, the emergence of these special ability users suddenly increased twenty to thirty years before the onset of these chaotic times. From powers like monstrous strength, body compression, and indestructibility—abilities anyone can cultivate within the martial arts domain—to flight, x-ray vision, and regeneration that transcend the martial arts domain entirely, those born with bizarre special abilities have begun striding across the world.
A prime example is the Demon God Eye of the Illusion God Wolhyeon. The power of the Demon God Eye is regarded by the shaman houses as the most dangerous and difficult-to-control among the special abilities they pay close attention to, to the point that even Wolhyeon himself is questioned whether he can wield it perfectly... (abridged)...
The Demon Sword of Wudang and the telekinesis of the North Wind Group's leader are known to have been obtained through the Wudang Sect's Tai Chi Ocean, but in truth, they are innate special abilities, with the Tai Chi Ocean merely serving to amplify them—this is the general interpretation among the shaman houses. This is fundamentally different from the Gale Sword of Huashan, who wields the Resonance Technique through the Death Spirit Sword... (abridged)...
Among confirmed abilities is the regeneration power.
Well-known possessors of this ability are the two Dharma Protectors of the Heavenly Dragon Merchant Guild. They possess such potent regenerative powers that their bodies approach indestructibility, and they displayed unyielding valor even in battle against the invincible monster Witacheon. Their strength is speculated to stem from physical modifications via sorcery, aimed at the war against Witacheon, though views exist that it is an innate ability.
Additionally, there is unconfirmed regeneration power, with intelligence indicating a special ability user in the Hebei Pang Clan as well. His ability is considered entirely heterogeneous even from the spell power spoken of in the shaman houses. However, the regeneration power he is known or suspected to possess manifests regardless of whether the injury is a severance or a piercing wound, with wild rumors of defect restoration, revival after death, transfer of the ability to others, and the like, requiring repeated thorough investigation... (abridged)...
*From the Martial Arts Volume of the Comprehensive Central Plains Martial Records, Final Chapter: Unclassified, Extra.*
Zhongguang, Pang Zhongguang, did not hurry.
Escorting two women along a forest path late at night was no simple task. It was even more so when enemies could be lurking everywhere.
The Heaven-Pacifying Squad showed no mercy in combat.
Most of the enemies had no prior grudge against the Heaven-Pacifying Squad originally, but that was no longer the case. They had multiplied the number of hostile factions. Of course, he felt no fear whatsoever.
The Heaven-Pacifying Squad was trained to respond perfectly even in such situations.
The Hebei Pang Clan was a vast family. During the various annual events, the Heaven-Pacifying Squad handled both the escorting of key figures and the conducting of ceremonies.
Not every woman in the Pang Clan was a martial arts master. Many sons of marriageable age were wed to the daughters of high officials and nobles, half by choice and half by arrangement. Likewise, daughters of marriageable age were often sent off in similar marriages.
Among those incorporated into the clan this way, there were many—men and women alike—who had not properly learned martial arts. Even if they had learned some, they still required escorts.
Thus, such duties were familiar to the Heaven-Pacifying Squad warriors.
Pang Zhongguang himself had once guarded the wife of the Four Heroes Elder for a full year. By his experience, these young ladies Seol and Hyang were exceptionally easy to escort. Compared to Madam Lee, the main wife, it would not be an exaggeration to say they were like well-trained clan warriors.
‘If they were all like this, the Heaven-Pacifying Squad's prowess would be at least half a level higher.’
It wasted so much time.
Excuses like "The flowers are pretty" or "The sunlight is warm" could be made up on the spot. Leisurely, lazy strolls were endless torment for the warriors.
Highborn noble daughters, raised without want, failed to grasp that the wives of the prestigious Pang Clan could become targets of assassination or abduction. Their comfort bred ignorance, and their ignorance bred a lack of consideration.
The Three Heroes Elder called it endurance training, no different from martial cultivation, but no matter how wise and insightful the Three Heroes Elder was, Pang Zhongguang could not agree.
“Warriors are approaching. Can you stay silent?”
Pang Zhongguang whispered.
Seol and Hyang made no sound in reply.
They merely nodded and suppressed their presence by regulating their breathing with their heart methods. They were clever women. He did not know what internal energy heart methods they practiced, but their fundamentals seemed solid. Both were quite attractive as well. The Pang Clan main house saw so many beauties coming and going that they did not stand out glaringly, but they had faces plenty alluring enough.
Then a certain fact occurred to him.
His brows furrowed sharply.
‘It’s not them stirring trouble again, is it?’
Seol and Hyang were under the protection of Cheonwi and Oho.
The exact timeframe did not matter.
Cheonwi was the type to cause a mountain of trouble in half a day. Thinking of Cheonwi always soured Pang Zhongguang's mood. Cheonwi was the shame of the main house. He believed there would never be another scoundrel like him in the world. Though blood kin sharing the same surname, he had wished for his death or injury more than once or twice.
‘Danmun’s a problem too.’
Oho, Cheonwi, and Danmun had been inseparable for some time now.
He acknowledged Oho. In terms of martial arts alone, Danmun deserved recognition too, but Danmun seemed somehow defective. He was as bizarre as Cheonwi.
‘Too many blood kin is a problem too.’
The Pang family numbered many.
Whether direct descendants, branch lines, granted surnames, or granted names, all were called Pang without distinction. He had heard that in other great clans like the Sichuan Tang Clan, conflicts between direct and branch lines were a perennial issue. The Pang Clan had no such thing. Of course, that was a good thing. Pang Zhongguang himself was close to pureblood by genealogy, but that mattered little. It was not something to boast about; he had learned and fully accepted it. What the Pang Clan valued above bloodline was ability alone.
If one's ability fell short, not even the sons of the current Pang Clan head were guaranteed the successor position. Conversely, even a Pang with a granted name could become clan head if they proved their leadership and skill. Of course, no outsider with a granted surname had ever risen to clan head, but after two or three generations, it was entirely possible. That was how it had been for centuries. Naturally, Pang Zhongguang could become a clan head candidate in the distant future. Every member of the Heaven-Pacifying Squad could.
The grievance was that the Shadow Secret Squad members could rise similarly.
Cheonwi and Danmun could climb as high as their abilities allowed. Pang Zhongguang believed they should not.
Positions and roles within the clan should be the result of accumulated life achievements.
To reach a respected station, one must shun vice from youth, endure patiently, and strive diligently. The career built thereby should be spotless, or at least blemished only minimally enough to tolerate.
Cheonwi was covered in blemishes.
Womanizing and gambling were a given, along with property damage from drunken binges, insults to high officials and nobles, and even unconfirmed scandals with the clan's noblewomen. Among the Hebei Pang Clan's forty-eight gate rules, it was faster to count what he had kept than what he had broken.
The Heaven-Pacifying Squad would have expelled him long ago. Any martial house should. Yet Cheonwi fully exploited the Shadow Secret Squad's intelligence and negotiation power to cling to his position unscathed. That was the point where his disgust peaked.
‘A disgrace.’
To Pang Zhongguang, the clan was like a faith.
For the clan's glory, he could sacrifice his life without hesitation. But his faith was not blind. He well knew the clan could not be right in every way.
Ignoring the clan's flaws would not truly safeguard its glory. If there were maladies in the clan, they must be cured. Cheonwi and Danmun were precisely those maladies.
Diagnosing the maladies required procedure.
Treatment must follow diagnosis.
If judged harmful to the clan, expulsion was proper.
Stripping the surname was the best method. The Pang Clan reaped countless benefits in the North Hebei martial world from that single character, Pang. Benefits were privileges granted only to the qualified. When the unqualified enjoyed them, problems inevitably arose.
No matter how exceptional his mother the warrior had been, maintaining a vast estate and servants for Cheonwi in his state was nothing short of massive waste.
And now, at last, it was ending.
It was fortunate that things were finally being sorted this time.
The reports alone sufficed. Cheonwi had almost no chance of survival.
Even calling it malice, he had no defense. Wishing death on blood kin was certainly not proper conduct.
He knew better than anyone that it was not the mindset a righteous warrior should have.
What was truly right for the clan.
That alone mattered most to him.
Uprooting rotten sprouts early was proper. Zhongguang rationalized his beliefs that way. Danmun at least had room for improvement. If Cheonwi was a malignant tumor to excise, Danmun was a treatable wound. He had often thought Danmun strange, but he had never wished him dead. If properly guided righteously, Danmun's martial talent would undoubtedly become a great asset to the Pang Clan in the future.
‘They’re coming.’
He set aside his tangled thoughts and focused his mind. A group of warriors was approaching.
Focus was hard.
Thinking that Cheonwi, whom he had loathed for so long, was truly about to die stirred strange feelings. With the tumor excised, it should feel refreshing, but it did not particularly. Still, someone had to think it. For the clan, he could become hero or demon alike.
‘They’re retreating.’
Just as he struggled to concentrate, it worked out.
A group of warriors approached from beyond the yellow forest canopy before withdrawing. They seemed not to have detected this side. The Heaven-Pacifying Squad was strong, but Zhongguang was cautious. Avoiding unnecessary fights was wisest. In a region where peak masters like the White Sword Heavenly Demon prowled, one show of force sufficed.
“We move.”
Zhongguang said softly and stepped forward.
Seol and Hyang followed right behind him, while the four Heaven-Pacifying Squad warriors covered the flanks and rear.
They just needed to reach Jinyuan District south of Taewon Prefecture. Inside Jinyuan District, three squads totaling twenty-four men from the Pang Clan's universal strike force, the Justice Guard Squad, were on standby, and one such squad was heading this way now. With the Heaven-Pacifying Squad in the lead and the Justice Guard Squad joining, no one would dare touch them unless prepared for all-out war with the Pang Clan.
“Let’s pick up the pace.”
The clash of weapons echoed from the distant woods. It was a chaotic melee where friend and foe blurred. He knew without seeing.
With Cheonwi and Oho gone, the Great East Manor and Taehaeng Gang warriors had no choice but to seek other targets. Having failed in their pursuit and grown frenzied, they were now locked in fierce attrition with the many unidentified warriors scattered through these woods.
As was the way of rivers-and-lakes quarrels, it was inevitably a chain of losses. But to Zhongguang, it was not a meaningless fight.
He too had received a report upon deployment here.
The clash between Great East Manor and Taehaeng Gang was not mere factional strife; a mastermind had orchestrated it. The unidentified warriors filling the woods were that mastermind's agents.
As Great East Manor and Taehaeng Gang fought them, they would draw one step closer to the truth.
Thus, the fight held meaning. Moreover, it was no detriment to Zhongguang and the Heaven-Pacifying Squad. The noise of battle would mask their movements.
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