Chapter 73
Chapter 73
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 73
Chapter Title: Lion Blade King
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‘This guy’s got some real guts.’
The Lion Blade King inwardly marveled at Un Hwi, who faced his killing intent head-on without faltering much.
He had raised many disciples and sons, but ones with this kind of boldness were exceedingly rare.
In truth, up until he heard that his second disciple had been defeated, the Lion Blade King had no intention of showing himself in Sichuan Province.
He had even scoffed at the fool of a disciple.
How little must he have trained to lose to someone not even in his thirties?
Still, the honor of the Lion Blade Sect had to be upheld, so he planned to send his chief disciple to avenge the loss in his stead.
The problem lay in the urgent letter from the Sword Guard captain, whom he had sent along to serve the second disciple.
—...The young master and twenty Sword Guard members had their blades snapped in a single exchange...
A single exchange. One clash.
Those words struck the Lion Blade King like a thunderbolt.
No matter how much of a disappointment his second disciple was compared to the first or the others, he was still a disciple the Lion Blade King had personally trained.
He possessed both talent and ferocity—enough to represent the Lion Blade Sect anywhere in the world, or so he had believed.
Yet to lose in one exchange?
It reminded him of his own duel, where the Azure Sky Sword Emperor’s single stroke had shattered both his blade and his pride.
‘Your single blade stroke has only just reached the Martial Peak. You can’t even see what’s at your feet properly—how dare you presume to gaze upon the Stellar Path?’
‘Martial Peak’ referred to the supreme realm a martial artist could attain, the Ascendant Pinnacle of Perfection.
And ‘Stellar Path’ meant the Gazing Heaven Stellar Path, which went beyond that to glimpse ascension and nirvana.
The Gazing Heaven Stellar Path, in particular, was a realm known only in legends: one that followed the celestial orbit, tracing the paths of the stars to read the secrets of heaven and store heavenly energy in the dantian.
When one’s body was suffused with stellar qi, both spirit and flesh would transform into starlight and rise to the heavens...
Of course, most martial artists regarded this realm as mere vague conjecture.
Human imagination had always been boundless since ancient times. The vast majority never even reached the Martial Peak despite a lifetime of toil, yet they dreamed up even higher realms, birthing such fanciful tales.
The Lion Blade King thought the same.
He had only just ascended to the Martial Peak himself.
The true summit was still dizzyingly far off, but reaching even this height had demanded a lifetime of relentless effort and passion. There was no way any realm beyond existed—or so he believed.
At least, until his duel with the Azure Sky Sword Emperor.
But the Sword Emperor had declared it.
The Stellar Path does exist.
You, who haven’t even set foot on the peak, cannot hope to challenge me as I pursue the flow of the stars.
In that moment, the Lion Blade King felt all the convictions and beliefs he had built his life upon crumble to dust.
At first, he suspected the Sword Emperor was just bluffing to show off, but the man he knew wasn’t the type for empty bluster—and that gaze he had shown mid-speech was unforgettable.
A gaze of pity.
The Sword Emperor’s eyes, regarding his plight, held no view of the Lion Blade King as an equal.
From the start, the Sword Emperor’s perspective had been utterly different from his own.
He was desperately scrambling toward the peak to complete his ascent, while the Sword Emperor already stood atop it, the world at his feet as he gazed at the heavens.
How vast was the gulf between them?
Likely far greater than the gap between himself and a third-rate wanderer.
‘Do all the Ten Great Masters of the World possess eyes like that?’
From that day, the Lion Blade King began his secluded training.
All to gain eyes like the Sword Emperor’s.
A lion must always be the undisputed king of the pack; the moment it fell behind, the other beasts would tear it apart.
So he had to become a true lion first.
That was why he paid little mind when his subordinates sent his second disciple after the Sword Emperor’s late-born daughter in his stead for revenge.
He had no time for such trivial matters now.
Yet the news of his second disciple’s defeat in one exchange overlapped eerily with his own plight.
‘The Sichuan Tang Clan had the Dark Venerable. Someone with a higher perspective than even the Sword Emperor, never lower...’
The Dark Venerable was one of the top contenders among the Ten Great Masters.
Unlike the Azure Sky Sword Emperor, it wouldn’t be surprising if he had already attained the Gazing Heaven Stellar Path.
‘Did he pass down his teachings?’
The Wild Storm Wild Knight had once been adopted by the Dark Venerable, earning such favor that rumors swirled he would become the next Tang Clan head.
It wouldn’t be odd if those teachings had flowed to him, and then to his son.
‘If there’s some flaw in the martial arts I’ve built all these years... perhaps witnessing the Dark Venerable’s arts could yield a clue.’
Lately, he had been thinking that the Golden Lion Blade Technique might have reached its limit.
Unlike the arts of famed sects with centuries of history, the Golden Lion Blade Technique contained only his own lifetime of refinement.
If so, he wanted to shatter that innate limitation somehow.
That was why he had chosen to journey to Sichuan.
To witness the Dark Venerable’s martial arts firsthand.
Once he saw with his own eyes how the arts of a Ten Great Master differed from his Golden Lion Blade Technique, the path to the true peak of the Martial Peak might reveal itself.
And now.
The Lion Blade King stood before Un Hwi.
The one who had supposedly crushed his second disciple and over twenty Sword Guards in one clash.
But the letter must have understated it.
This was no mere man—this was a monster beyond that.
Pale skin like a scholar’s, a slender build, yet perfectly honed frame and muscles. Refined features exuding a subtle chill, lending an air of mystery.
Clearly a rare eccentric.
His eyes, especially, evoked the Lion Blade King’s own days as a wandering swordsman.
‘The eyes of a true martial artist. It’s been ages since I last saw such a gaze.’
Un Hwi faced the overwhelming foe with thick battle lust shining through.
He wanted to fight, to grow stronger, to gain more experience—that raw yearning laid bare.
The pure, vigorous blood of youth alone.
For the first time in ages, the Lion Blade King felt his skin prickle.
He was thoroughly pleased.
Nothing was more thrilling than breaking a man like this.
Clank!
A ferocious smile curled his lips as he gripped his Golden Lion Blade anew.
* * *
「That insolent bastard!!」
「Young cult leader, punish that rogue harshly! To dare point a blade at you!!」
「Charging in with robes flapping just because his disciple got a beating!」
「He acts all bold and hearty on the outside, but his vessel’s no bigger than a soy sauce dish! There’s a reason he never made the Ten Great Masters!!」
The short-tempered old man who had rushed from afar in Gui Prefecture all the way to Nine Dragons County in Sichuan for his disciple’s revenge.
That was the Lion Blade King’s first impression etched in the ghosts’ minds.
I wasn’t much different.
He looked ready to keep swinging that sword endlessly—what now?
Fortunately, it seemed I wouldn’t have to keep entertaining the Lion Blade King myself.
『Had I known Senior Wi Ji would grace us with your presence, I would have come out to face you myself. Why arrive so suddenly without any notice?』
With aura rivaling the Lion Blade King’s, all eyes turned to the wall.
Flutter!
Thud!
Tang Ho-san landed atop the wall, robes billowing, flanked by his personal guard.
In that instant, the Lion Blade King’s thick killing intent vanished as if it were a lie.
「Oh?」
「I knew the Wild Storm Wild Knight was hiding his strength, but on par with the Lion Blade King?」
「He might lag a move or two at most. This is unexpected.」
The Lion Blade King felt it too, his eyebrow twitching.
“After the Wild Storm Wild Knight went into seclusion, they said the storm had died and only the Nine Dragons Hidden Knight remained. All rumors, it seems.”
Nine Dragons Hidden Knight.
A mocking nickname for Tang Ho-san, who had secluded himself in Nine Dragons County, his youthful ferocity faded.
“What if he’s a wild knight or a hidden one? The important thing is we can meet face-to-face like this and talk safely.”
“Same as always—stern face, but your silver tongue hasn’t dulled.”
The Lion Blade King seemed acquainted with Tang Ho-san.
He spoke gruffly with his blade slung over one shoulder, but nostalgia laced his tone.
Tang Ho-san replied.
“You seem to have business with my son. Rather than standing here, why not come inside and continue the talk?”
“Why? Afraid I’ll harm your boy?”
“Perish the thought. With so many eyes watching, I just thought you’d be more comfortable indoors.”
Why not resolve the grudge from Do Castle here under prying eyes, but talk it out inside?
Tang Ho-san was skirting the question carefully.
But the twisted smile on the Lion Blade King’s lips only widened.
“I like it right here, though?”
“Then.”
In a flash, Tang Ho-san’s eyes gleamed.
“I’ll have to treat Senior accordingly.”
Rumble!
A wild storm swirled around him.
The wall and ground shook violently.
Rumble rumble...
The onlookers paled. Even the Pure Wind Pavilion agents were no exception.
I quickly summoned a whirlwind to barely deflect Tang Ho-san’s gale outward.
Only I, along with Yu Su-min, Sima Seon, Tang Gon, and a few others of similar caliber could properly perceive this clash.
“If Senior Wi Ji intends to demand satisfaction from Hui over the grudge at Do Castle in a manner unbefitting your age, you’ll find it hard to achieve without first snapping this Tang’s neck.”
Tang Ho-san’s gale was on another level from mine.
I watched it unfold.
The power Tang Ho-san had shown at Wind Flower Pavilion was but a trivial fraction of his true strength.
“Do you think I, the Blade King, would hesitate just because you speak so righteously? I’ve never cared for the world’s gaze, then or now.”
The Lion Blade King’s sharp gaze turned toward me.
“A lion cannot afford defeat. But even more unforgivable is submission. Die, and your name endures; bow your head, and you’re mere prey. That’s how I raised my disciple and Sword Guards. Yet your son bent those cub lions to his will!”
The Lion Blade King’s killing intent began to take tangible form.
A golden wave surged, repelling the gale.
Golden Lion Battle Qi.
“So I wish to see for myself. Whether your son is truly worthy. If he is, I’ll snap my disciple’s and men’s blades myself. If not, I’ll break your son’s limbs.”
“Then, as I said, you’ll have to break this Tang’s neck first.”
“If that’s what you want.”
The gale and lion battle qi collided in perfect equilibrium.
The Pure Wind Pavilion agents formed ranks in unison, crossbows trained on the Lion Blade King.
「What—」
「Isn’t that the Scattering Death Crossbow?」
「Thought they’d scrapped those ages ago, but they kept them after all?」
‘Scattering Death Crossbow?’
The ghosts were uniformly stunned.
When I asked what it was, Onma answered for them.
「A weapon the Wild Storm Corps once used, my lord. They were famed for their brutal combat style and mastery of gunpowder arms, and the Scattering Death Crossbow was their signature piece.」
The Wild Storm Corps always unleashed it before full battle, they said.
The iron bolts were packed with explosives, detonating massively on impact.
「After a hundred explosive bolts rain down, the area’s reduced to rubble. Forces hostile to the Wild Storm Corps feared it most... and now they’ve brought it out.」
In other words, they were signaling readiness to treat the Lion Blade King as an enemy and eliminate him if needed.
But the Lion Blade King didn’t withdraw his battle qi even before such savage weapons.
No—he erupted even more explosively.
“As expected... you’ve tossed our old pact to the dogs, haven’t you?”
“That pact forbade deploying the Wild Storm Corps abroad again, not scrapping them entirely. But if Senior insists on enmity to the end, we have no choice. Self-defense only.”
“Always so slick with words. But that doesn’t erase breaking the pact. Sword Guards, forward!”
Clatter!
At that moment, a band of warriors drew blades behind the Lion Blade King, charging at ferocious speed.
The Sword Guard main force, arriving a step behind their lord.
The Pure Wind Pavilion’s momentum with the Scattering Death Crossbows sharpened further.
Nine Dragons Branch Family versus Lion Blade Sect.
The two forces’ deadly standoff teetered on the brink of eruption.
Reincarnation Martial God