Chapter 70
Chapter 70
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 70
Chapter Title: Manifestation of Madness (5)
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BOOM!
Yi Jongbaek, who hadn't even drawn his sword, vomited blood and was sent flying.
His scabbard crumpled, and the blade shattered into pieces. If he hadn't blocked with it, he would have suffered at least severe injuries.
"Cough! R-run away!"
He realized it from a single exchange.
Even he, the third strongest in the Hong Sword Clan, couldn't block a single blow. It was pointless for the swordsmen to charge in wildly.
BAM!
Three swordsmen vomited blood and were flung back.
A light gesture carried tremendous palm force. Even a casual swing unleashed Force Emission, and despite being out of his mind, he wielded devastating martial arts.
"Raaargh!!"
The roar he bellowed with his head thrown back was no different from a beast's howl.
The swordsmen's faces turned pale.
"Demonic arts?!"
He could tell even without having seen it before. Demonic Energy was that alien.
Yi Jongbaek sprang to his feet and snatched up a fallen swordsman's blade.
"Assemble every swordsman in the clan! The patriarch…!"
Yi Jongbaek couldn't finish his words.
That's right. That man was the patriarch.
Why on earth had the patriarch cultivated demonic arts?
"What are you sitting around for?!"
Thwack!
As Hong Junak charged toward Yi Jongbaek, Murong Bi appeared to his left.
Thud!
He launched his body, smashing his knee into Hong Junak's face, sending him flying to the right and crashing down.
He rose immediately upon falling. Protected by Demonic Energy, his face was unscathed.
"Grrr."
"Get your head straight and fight me properly! That way, it'll be easier for me!"
Despite the casual tone, his voice was low and intense with power.
Yi Jongbaek snapped out of it.
"Wh-who are you?!"
His build was slender, his face masked. Only his eyes were visible, giving no clue to his identity.
Murong Bi glanced at Hong Junak.
"Remember what I said? Be on guard the moment you see something in his hand."
Four pebbles were clutched in his left hand.
"Raaargh!"
Hong Junak charged again.
Murong Bi spun his body mercilessly.
It flew so fast that even Hong Junak, with his beastly senses, couldn't block it.
Thwack-thwack-thwack!
Pebbles struck his forehead, chest, thigh, and broken shoulder without fail.
Every shot hit true.
The effects were remarkable.
"Guh!"
Hong Junak staggered, head bowed. His forehead and broken shoulder hurt the most, though everywhere throbbed.
Murong Bi gave him no respite.
Boom!
He kicked a fallen sword, sending it flying like a flying sword technique.
Hong Junak swung his left arm desperately.
Clang!
The iron sword veered aside.
In that instant of kicking, Murong Bi infused Mixed Origin True Qi. Hong Junak's left hand became a bloody mess.
'Now!'
Flying Heaven Golden Steps instantly shifted to Silver Forest Escort.
Murong Bi gripped his drawn iron club with both hands and swung with full force.
Slash!
Yi Jongbaek's eyes bulged.
'I-impossible!'
Hong Junak's right shoulder slowly split open.
Thud!
The severed arm twitched on the ground.
He'd sliced off an arm with an iron club. It was a divine technique unlike any other.
'Sword Qi Wounds Man!'
Yes, it had to be Sword Qi.
The pinnacle realm every swordsman aspired to.
And he'd formed Sword Qi with a blunt iron club—no ordinary master could do that.
"Twisting like that? Not bad, you little shit."
Even in a life-or-death fight, he managed such words.
But he showed no mercy to the fool.
"What are you doing?!"
A voice far more booming than before jolted Yi Jongbaek back to reality.
"Demonic Energy clouds the mind! Focus!"
"Y-yes, sir!"
Despite the youthful voice, its authority and boldness were terrifying. He couldn't help but obey.
Yi Jongbaek hurriedly rallied the swordsmen.
"When reinforcements arrive, switch to Martial Sword Grand Array! For now, Small Array to disrupt the patriarch's mind…!"
Yi Jongbaek bit his lip mid-order.
It was absurd even as he said it.
'That's not Qi Deviation.'
Even in Qi Deviation, he couldn't emit such Demonic Energy. Any impure inner arts would have been purged.
The patriarch had cultivated demonic arts.
Terrifying demonic arts, at that.
"Disrupt the demon's mind!"
"Yes!"
Clang-clang!
It sounded like striking iron plates, not flesh.
Losing one arm hadn't weakened Hong Junak. His movements grew erratic, but his power seemed stronger, his skin tougher.
Murong Bi unleashed a barrage against him.
Thud-thud! Boom! Bang!
The club smashed his head, a knee crushed his jaw. He shoved the chest with his shoulder to create distance, then spun to drive the club into the solar plexus.
Divine, superhuman movement.
'Terrifying.'
Yi Jongbaek swallowed unconsciously.
'Every strike is a lethal blow. Linking them so fluidly…?'
Sizzle.
The swordsmen gradually intensified their pressure.
Hong Junak's face twisted.
"Grah!"
Amid his bellow, he suddenly turned.
'This bastard?'
Murong Bi's eyes narrowed.
With his attention split, it was far easier. A bit more pummeling, and he could shatter the demonic arts and kill him.
But now he was turning.
Smack!
Yi Jongbaek, closer, moved faster than Murong Bi.
"Patriarch!"
He poured inner power into a fallen sword.
"Please, snap out of it!"
Yi Jongbaek swung with full might.
The target: Hong Junak's thigh.
Murong Bi's face twisted.
"You saw that empty-headed fool?!"
Clang! Thud!
The sword's price was a minor gash on the demon's thigh.
Yi Jongbaek staggered back, shoulder smashed. Hong Junak brushed past him.
Whoosh!
Tremendous speed.
He'd poured all remaining strength into lightness skill. Even Murong Bi struggled to keep up.
That was when it happened.
"Kyaaak!"
"Wh-what?!"
The still-burning pavilion nearby.
Azure Sword Unit swordsmen, workers, and maids clustered there. They finally spotted Hong Junak.
"A monster!"
One cry voiced everyone's thoughts.
Bloodshot eyes with no whites, mouth foaming with saliva, flushed dark-red face, missing right arm.
Plus, Demonic Energy redder than fire billowing as he ran.
Firelight cast shadows on his face—he looked every bit the monster.
"B-block him!"
BOOM!
The swordsman who shouted flew back, bloodied.
An instinctive Analysis Palm. The swordsman's bones shattered; he didn't survive.
A cruel smile crept across Hong Junak's face.
Workers, maids—even swordsmen froze in terror, unable to twitch a finger.
"Everyone, fall back!"
Snap!
Hong Junak veered at the voice behind him.
Toward the young maids.
"Heup!"
"Kyaaak!"
Hong Junak burst into ecstatic laughter at their screams.
"Kuhahaha!"
The venomous laugh spread hotter, thicker fear than the flames.
It reeked of lustful intent, as if he'd ravage the young women right then.
Everyone sensed it instinctively. Hong Junak's Demonic Energy was that blatant and clear.
Yet no one moved.
That was Demonic Energy's terror. It amplified base human desires into madness, binding limbs with sheer presence.
Murong Bi's face hardened.
'No.'
Hong Junak reached out his bloody left hand.
Aiming to rip clothes—but laced with Demonic Energy, it'd pierce flesh and bone. No control possible.
'…Damn it.'
Too slow.
She'd die before he grabbed. Unarmed girls uninvolved in this fight.
No time to hesitate.
Murong Bi closed his eyes and stomped hard.
Thud!
The ground quaked.
Invisible waves rippled from his forceful step.
Bzzz!
A sound like swarming bees filled his ears.
Murong Bi opened his eyes.
'…'
A silent world.
His vision slowed.
As if he'd entered another time flow alone. Brain Gate True Qi hyper-activated, accelerating neural transmission.
Mixed Origin True Qi split into dozens of strands, surging to his legs.
Pop. Drip. Pop.
Sealed meridians reopened, pain like needle pricks stacking dozens, hundreds of times.
Forcibly unleashed legendary art.
He couldn't even use one-tenth properly, but now it was better than nothing.
Murong Bi moved.
Like a dream, an illusion.
Like vanishing bubbles, bodiless shadows.
Whoosh!
Space compressed; he arrived between Hong Junak and the maid.
Hong Junak's arm extended slowly.
His beaming face shifted to surprise, bit by bit.
'Damn, out of breath…'
One of Bright Martial Sovereign Murong Cheon's exclusive arts, the world's greatest lightness skill: Dream Illusion Bubble Shadow Body Technique.
Just crossing this distance disrupted his breathing, halved his remaining qi. That was its level.
But he couldn't stop.
Hong Sword Clan inner courtyard swordsmen were too incompetent. Civilians got caught in the crossfire.
No time for calm strategy.
'Shadow, don't miss this bastard!'
Whoosh!
Mixed Origin True Qi from his toes surged like lightning to his hands.
Crunch!
Reinforced grip crumpled the iron club.
One hand fisted, the other open wide, he swung.
Whoosh!
A small vortex spun at his left palm's center. Even in slowed time, it whirled fast.
Humm!
It accelerated, density of rotational force skyrocketing exponentially.
Following Dream Illusion Bubble Shadow Body Technique: Martial Alliance Leader's exclusive ultimate.
Brocade Pattern Five Rings Palm slammed into Hong Junak's chest.
BOOM!
A massive explosion sprayed blood.
Droplets evaporated instantly, unable to withstand the rotational heat.
Thud-thud-thud!
Shattered upper torso chunks hit the ground carelessly.
Boom!
"Kyak!"
Maids behind Murong Bi toppled backward from the shockwave of his sudden high-speed dash.
Their butts might sting, but no injuries.
"Hah!"
Yi Jongbaek and the swordsmen gaped.
Sizzle!
Hong Junak's lower half, rolling on the ground, smoked white vapor rigidly.
One strike.
A world's rare ultimate technique.
No wonder souls fled at the sight—not just for warriors, but anyone.
"…Grr."
Murong Bi trembled in the Brocade Pattern Five Rings Palm stance.
"Sh-Shadow."
Whoosh!
Perfect timing.
As all stared dumbstruck at Hong Junak's lower half, Shadow approached through darkness, hoisted Murong Bi, and dashed toward the wall in an instant.
Only then did they realize an intruder, but still couldn't move.
"A martial art like this in the world…."
Despair crossed Yi Jongbaek's face.
Seeing such greatness dulled even the shock of their patriarch turning demon.
That day, the Hong Sword Clan's bloodline marched to the Yellow Springs en masse.
Just over ten days after Murong Cheon's return, the pinnacle force's leadership crumbled.