Chapter 157
Chapter 157
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 157
Chapter Title: What Kind of Uncle Is This?
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The representative techniques of the Slaying Demon Ghost Sect were divided into five major categories.
Slaying Immortal.
Executing Immortal.
Severing Immortal.
Trapping Immortal.
And Killing Immortal.
All of them carried the meaning of "slaying immortals," so they were collectively referred to as the Five Immortal-Slaying Absolutes.
Originally, the Slaying Demon Ghost Sect was the descendants of a mysterious organization called the Killing Curtain, which had branched off from the righteous immortal path of Dongye.
Though it stemmed from the righteous immortal path, it was closer to having fled with grudges, so their immortal arts were heavily focused on killing techniques, and the identity of the Killing Curtain gradually devolved into that of an assassin organization.
Slaying Immortal was one of them.
The Thunderclap Slaying Immortal Art.
It was a martial art that transformed immortal arts capable of wielding lightning qi, the fastest and most ferocious property between heaven and earth, into a technique.
Thus, the Thunderclap Slaying Immortal Art boasted sharp and violent characteristics.
That was why every technique Gong Son-beom unleashed shared similar traits.
"A mere lackey of the Ghost Sect dares to show up in a place like this!"
"No wonder the martial arts from the Central Plains felt so bizarre...! It makes sense now if Ghost Sect immortal arts have been mixed in!"
"Following the North Sea Sect, we've caught another tail, have we not? This secures proof of the Ghost Sect's involvement in the Joint Faction incident. Now we just need to pull the tail and confirm the main body!"
The wraiths were even more elated than I was.
Having already taken down the North Sea Sect Leader as one tail, their morale was piercing the heavens.
It was a positive change.
But Gong Son-beom clearly didn't see it that way.
"What I believed in? You've gotten all high and mighty just from blocking one attack. Let's see if you can block this one too!"
Gong Son-beom didn't seem to realize that I'd figured out his identity. He probably thought I was just getting cocky after saving my sister.
But I knew scum like you all too well.
That strike he'd put his full power into had been casually caught by me—must've bruised your ego, huh?
And coming from someone using some ambiguous technique that was hard to even classify as swordsmanship or immortal art, while priding yourself on your hundred battles—yeah, that must've pissed you off.
So in front of all these people, you want to crush my nose even more. Right?
Sure enough.
Flash!
Suddenly, flames erupted from Gong Son-beom's eyes.
Proof that he'd raised his internal energy to its maximum.
The bastard turned into the wind.
Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh-whoosh!
Boom-boom-boom-boom!
Gong Son-beom unleashed a relentless barrage.
Attacks accelerated by intense internal energy.
Taken individually, they were too straightforward and simplistic in trajectory, but that's precisely what made them all the more destructive.
This alone would probably break most average martial artists with ease.
But the problem was that I wasn't behind in destructive power or speed either.
I had the Mara Heavenly Sword Forms.
Having reached a profound realm, I was no longer bound by weapons.
My swinging hand blade became sword lightning.
My upward kick turned into sword essence.
The gale swirling around my body became sword wind and sword net.
The state of unity between body and sword wasn't some distant goal.
Thus, I casually blocked or deflected all of Gong Son-beom's bombardment.
As the two destructive techniques clashed repeatedly, a fierce battle erupted.
Dust clouds billowed thickly, and sword ki scattered in all directions.
"Huh—"
"Are they trying to kill each other? This isn't just a simple clash of nerves—"
In particular, Dang Gwi-jin's eyes trembled greatly from afar, having retreated from the battlefield.
The other three women were equally astonished.
They probably hadn't expected the fight to escalate this far.
Yet at the same time, they felt a sense of inferiority toward Gong Son-beom's prowess, who had handled all four of them without going all out, and swallowed dryly at my skill in casually matching his hundred battles.
Though they too had progressed quickly, I'd already surpassed them by a wide margin.
"Not bad... Very well done. Honestly, I thought your previous battles had your reputation overhyped beyond your actual skill, but it seems I was mistaken."
A glint appeared in Gong Son-beom's eyes.
Heh.
I couldn't help but let out a chuckle.
Gong Son-beom's eyes narrowed slightly.
"What's so funny?"
"You must be trying hard to act unflappable and hearty despite being rattled."
"...What?"
"What? Surprised because I hit a nerve?"
"What are you—"
"You thought you could easily crush someone like me, raised like a flower in a greenhouse at the Tang Clan, and boost your fame. But it's not working out, so you're pissed, aren't you?"
"If you're trying to insult me, I won't hold back."
"And if you don't? What are you gonna do?"
"What did you say?"
I grinned viciously, baring my canines.
"I know your type all too well. You think the whole world is in the palm of your hand, and that people are too stupid to be anything but playthings for your silver tongue."
"!!"
"You pit people against each other, ostracize them, and even resort to witch hunts just to build your group's unity."
"......"
"What I hate most are bastards like you. The more I see, the more I want to puke."
The "fox den" in Vile Fox Den referred to a cunning fox's lair.
With that clever head of yours acquiring the Ghost Sect's Slaying Immortal arts, how easy must this world have looked to you?
That's why you infiltrated the Tang Clan branch.
You figured you could seize the New Stormwind Corps, drive out me or the Punishment Division, and turn it into your private army with ease.
Then the New Stormwind Corps wouldn't be a weeping wall protecting the Central Plains martial world—it'd be an arrow aimed at its throat.
But there was something you didn't know.
The person in here who knows more about the Divine Cult than anyone in the world.
And that you not only failed to recruit him as an ally but planned to cast him out.
Gong Son-beom was certainly cunning. No demonic qi could be sensed in his strikes at all.
Even other renowned masters wouldn't suspect he'd cultivated demonic arts.
But I was different.
Being in the same boat of hiding my own demonic qi made it even easier for me to detect the concealed demonic arts within him.
Even now was the same.
With every exchange of blows, I could thoroughly sense the traces of hidden demonic qi.
It was certain.
He was a plant sown by the Slaying Demon Ghost Sect.
"And do you know the biggest reason I can't just leave you be?"
I deflected his assault aimed at my chest to the side and raised my hand blade sharply to strike his nape.
It was the Rending Wind Unity Sword Lightning.
"It's because a punk like you nearly hurt my sister!"
"!!!"
Gong Son-beom hurriedly crossed his arms to block.
Boom!
Rumble—
A massive explosion erupted.
Gong Son-beom was violently pushed back, then spat up a gush of blood.
Not just internal injuries, but I'd infiltrated him with a heavy dose of Wandering Cold Poison via my Capturing Hand, tangling his qi and blood.
Special recipe with Heart-Piercing Ice Poison added, you bastard. Go ahead and savor it. I've got plenty—eat till you're bursting.
His complexion turned pallid in an instant.
"How does a kid your age achieve such proficiency in poison arts...?!"
"Hey, hey. When you're at a disadvantage, you attack my age first."
"I'm not attacking—I'm just commenting on such attainment—"
"Tang Clan folks use poison, don't they? What else would they use? You're nitpicking over the weirdest crap."
"!!"
Gong Son-beom's face flushed beet red.
Unable to win with words either, he was seething with rage.
His internal injuries worsened, and he vomited more blood.
"As expected of the Young Cult Leader's eloquence! It even aggravates the enemy's internal wounds further!"
"The Young Cult Leader has always been the type to excel more at attacking elders than respecting them!!"
"A heretic lackey who doesn't know the Young Cult Leader can never hope to match him!"
Ignoring the wraiths' words—which were hard to tell if praise or insults—I kicked off the ground again.
First, I needed to subdue him.
I had no intention of immediately exposing him as a Demonic Cult plant to the world.
I needed to interrogate him first.
If necessary, I'd kill him and bind him with a golden chain lock.
Screech!
Gong Son-beom took a long breath to calm his shaken mind.
He truly hadn't earned the supreme realm through gambling alone.
Flash!
The Vile Fox Divine Steps unfolded.
The four clones—Swift Step, Dull Heaven, Shadow Form, and Annihilation—pressed me simultaneously in their respective ways.
I prepared the Ten Heavenly Demon Flow's World-Dominating Aura.
By expelling my internal energy outward all at once to form a protective qi barrier to block their first assault, then counter with a reverse burst to subdue the main body.
Ghost Sect techniques and all—their every feint and real move were already mapped in my mind.
But then, the lightning qi surrounding him suddenly changed nature.
It felt not like demonic arts, but the righteous and grand divine ki of the orthodox factions.
'Wait. Isn't this... Thunder Pursuit?'
My eyes widened slightly.
"Uh?!"
"How does a Ghost Sect spy know the South Palace Clan's technique—"
But no new clash occurred.
Because of an intruder who barged in midway.
"Both of you, stop this."
Boom!!
He wore the green storm robe symbolizing the Verdant Supreme Troop.
But one character embroidered at the hem particularly caught my eye.
—Overlord.
The character always invoked when speaking of the Western Overlord Tang Clan, and the symbol of the man himself.
Verdant Venerable Overlord, Tang Sa-uk.
If the old Stormwind Corps had the Stormwind Wild Hero Tang Ho-san, then the Verdant Supreme Troop had this man as its famed leader.
During the Nine Dragons Great Battle, he'd been away on external duties, joining midway while returning to the Tang Clan branch.
Gong Son-beom and I simultaneously retreated from our positions.
Cold sweat trickled down my back.
This man... was incredibly strong.
To the point where, without the Dark Venerable, he might have become Tang Clan Leader long ago.
"Regardless of the reason, private disputes between examinees that could adversely affect the exam are prohibited. Accordingly, I hereby issue a ten-day confinement order to both of you."
No objections were allowed.
If I spouted nonsense here, his eyes conveyed he'd immediately enforce it with force, radiating killing intent.
* * *
Gong Son-beom and I were each locked in our rooms.
We'd be confined to separate carriages during travel.
It was called confinement, but it was essentially imprisonment until we reached the Tang Clan branch.
"You old man, I had my suspicions ever since you asked about the Vile Fox Den... What am I supposed to do if you go causing trouble right after?"
Tang Gon pressed his forehead with a hand, sighing as if it gave him a headache.
Heh.
I chuckled lightly.
A deep furrow formed between Tang Gon's brows.
"You're laughing right now?!"
"What about Sis? Is she okay?"
"...I really shouldn't say this, but Lady Gwi-jin has been given a two-day confinement too."
It couldn't be helped.
Even if Dang Gwi-jin had stepped in as an enforcer, one couldn't say there were no emotions involved.
"But she looked like she had a lot on her mind."
I nodded quietly.
For her, pulling out the Azure Ghost Mask Technique and still losing was like her first real defeat.
And she'd realized her critical weakness, so I could only hope it became good stimulus for growth.
"But honestly, you didn't need to fight that hard, did you? You could've just held them back. Why get so heated?"
Tang Gon asked in a serious tone.
What a scary guy. He seemed to have noticed even my subtle psychological shifts.
But I just smiled without answering.
Tang Gon glared at me disapprovingly but eventually sighed in surrender.
"Yeah, yeah. There's something you know that I don't again. But please, be more cautious next time. Lots of eyes are on the Branch Leader."
"Public opinion isn't great, huh?"
"Didn't I tell you? Opinion on the Vile Fox Den is generally favorable. Even among the renowned masters, there are murmurs that the Branch Leader overreacted. You know what I mean, right?"
"Yeah. Got it. I'll be careful next time."
"You always say the right things. But put in that situation again, you'll stick your head in first anyway."
"Heh heh. My guardian knight knows me too well, huh?"
"I didn't particularly want to know!!"
Tang Gon's grumbling voice was laced with concern for me.
What kind of uncle is this prickly?
Meanwhile, strong doubts about Gong Son-beom lingered in the corner of my mind.
I'd pegged him as a Ghost Sect spy, but he even used South Palace Clan techniques.
What the hell was his true identity?
"Oh, and about the rumor that the Vile Fox Den guy was blabbing about the Branch Leader during the day."
I perked up my ears, hoping for a clue to whatever scheme the bastard was plotting.
But then.
"By any chance, on the day of the Nine Dragons Great Battle—"
After hearing the whole story, my eyes widened slightly.
And soon turned into a smile.
Ha.
This bastard?
Sowing these pumpkin seeds behind my back?