Chapter 107
Chapter 107
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 107
Chapter Title: Part 3. Party Crashers Are Bound to Show Up at a Feast (1)
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People often called the Peng Clan the Tiger Family.
An unusually high number of sons were born into the clan, and the boys raised under its banner were exceptionally belligerent. These young tigers, unafraid of battle, grew into the sturdy pillars of the family, allowing the Peng Clan to flourish for hundreds of years.
The clan's signature technique, the Five Tigers Gate-Severing Blade, embodied their aggressive nature perfectly.
Peng Muhyeong was an elder of the Peng Clan. A master of the Five Tigers Gate-Severing Blade, he was infamous within the clan for his fiery temper.
Once he got riled up, he charged forward without a thought for what lay behind him, and there was scarcely anyone in the Peng Clan who could rein him in—not even the family head, Peng Cheonwol.
Peng Muhyeong was heading to Lake Dongting as the Peng Clan's representative. Around him rode about thirty young Peng warriors, members of the Five Tigers Squad, one of the clan's core forces.
Only those who could cast aside their lives like pebbles for the Peng Clan were admitted to the Five Tigers Squad. Their loyalty to the clan was utterly blind.
Riding beside Peng Muhyeong was Peng Kwangyeong, the vice leader of the Five Tigers Squad. He was a man in his early thirties, his fierce features and sturdy build a testament to his Peng bloodline.
After riding for some time, Peng Kwangyeong spoke up.
"Lake Dongting isn't far now. Can't we slow the horses a bit, Elder?"
"You look worn out."
"No, I'm not."
"Don't lie. I'm tired too. Alright, the horses seem spent as well, so let's ease up."
Peng Muhyeong pulled back on his reins first. The galloping horse slowed its pace.
"Whew!"
Only then did the Five Tigers Squad members behind him exhale in relief.
Thanks to Peng Muhyeong's relentless riding, they'd been in the saddle all day. Even for these seasoned riders, their aching rears were unavoidable.
As Peng Muhyeong rode at a leisurely pace, he suddenly spoke.
"I wonder if Manyeong made it there safely."
"He wasn't alone, was he? He's probably arrived and resting."
"You're right."
Peng Muhyeong nodded at Peng Kwangyeong's response.
His face, marked by the passage of time with a full white beard, burned with eyes fiercer than in his youth.
He turned to Peng Kwangyeong.
"This gathering at Lake Dongting is crucial. You have to stake your claim early, or you'll get pushed aside."
"I know."
"There'll be a fierce clash of auras once we arrive. We can't afford to yield an inch."
"We're the Peng Clan's Five Tigers Squad. Don't worry."
"Hmph! Getting old makes me fret more. You'll handle it just fine, I suppose."
Peng Muhyeong wrinkled his nose. Peng Kwangyeong smiled subtly in response.
To outsiders, Peng Muhyeong was as terrifying as a tiger, but to those who knew him well, like Peng Kwangyeong, he had an oddly endearing side.
"Hmm!"
Suddenly, Peng Muhyeong's expression hardened.
Standing on the opposite side of the official road they were traveling stood a single man.
Peng Muhyeong's pupils flickered.
The man, clad in a rare golden robe, exuded an overwhelming presence.
His face was concealed by a matching golden mask. To an ignorant onlooker, he might seem like someone with an excessive fondness for gold.
But none of the Peng warriors thought that. They couldn't. They all sensed the man was no ordinary foe.
Peng Muhyeong slowly urged his horse toward the golden-masked man.
"This is a public road for all to use. Blocking it like that keeps others from passing."
"Who's left to pass anyway? What's it matter?"
His voice, muffled by the full-face golden mask, boomed like a temple bell, giving it an eerie chill.
Peng Muhyeong furrowed his brow.
"No one left to pass? Looks like you don't see us."
"Didn't I say? You're not passing."
"You know we're Peng Clan warriors, and you still spout such nonsense?"
"That's exactly why."
"Hmm! Because we're the Peng Clan? So we've been the target from the start."
Peng Muhyeong's voice grew icy.
There were no coincidences in the jianghu. If someone blocked the road, there had to be a reason.
"Any grudge against the Peng Clan?"
"No."
"Then why?"
"No better sacrifice."
"What?"
"I mean you're suitable as an offering."
Peng Muhyeong's face stiffened. The Five Tigers Squad members reacted the same.
"I can't abide such drivel. How dare you insult Peng Clan warriors? On your knees!"
One of the Five Tigers Squad members suddenly charged at the golden-masked man. A nangado saber was already in his hand.
Shwak!
"Halt!"
Peng Muhyeong shouted too late—the warrior's blade had already reached the man's chest.
At that instant, the golden-masked man's shoulders twitched.
Boom!
"Kugh!"
The Five Tigers warrior's scream followed. His nangado flew far away, and his head snapped sideways, slamming into the ground.
"Yoo Young-ah!"
The other squad members checked their fallen comrade. Rage soon lit their faces.
"Yoo Young's... dead."
The attacker's chest was caved in. Shattered ribs pierced through his skin.
The foe had slain Peng Yooyoung in a single strike. Terrifying power.
Rage flared in Peng Muhyeong's eyes.
He stepped toward the golden-masked man.
"You dare kill a Peng Clan warrior. Think you can bear the clan's wrath?"
"If I lacked confidence, I wouldn't have started."
"What's your name?"
"No name worth telling the Peng Clan. If you must call me something, use Forbidden Demon Messenger."
"Forbidden Demon Messenger... I'll hack off your limbs and rip out your heart."
Peng Muhyeong drew the saber at his waist.
It was twice the size of a typical blade.
Custom-made for Peng Muhyeong, whose strength surpassed other Peng warriors despite his age.
Forged from darksteel, it weighed three or four times more than ordinary sabers, boasting immense destructive power.
"Chaha!"
Peng Muhyeong swung his darksteel saber at the Forbidden Demon Messenger.
Shyaaak!
Blade energy exploded from the saber like fireworks. He was going all out from the start.
A smile crept across the face hidden by the Messenger's mask.
"Yes! That's more like it."
Sruk!
As if pulled by invisible strings, the Messenger's body ghosted sideways without a sound.
Boom!
Peng Muhyeong's strike left only a massive crater in the ground.
"Kh!"
Wasting his attack, Peng Muhyeong whipped his head around to track the Messenger.
In that moment, the Messenger was assaulting the Five Tigers Squad.
Chwaang!
The hem of his robe rose like a blade. Infused with qi, it was harder than steel plate.
Shygaak!
The blade-like sleeve swept over the squad like a storm.
Only a few managed to block with their sabers. Most stood frozen, unable to react.
Peng Kwangyeong shouted.
"Everyone alright?"
"V-Vice Leader."
"Kuh!"
But the responses were agonized cries.
"What?"
Peng Kwangyeong spun around to see over a dozen squad members clutching their throats.
Their necks, gripped desperately with both hands, were drenched in blood. Crimson streamed between their fingers.
They tried to staunch the flow, but it was futile. Strength fled their hands, and they collapsed.
In an instant, over a dozen Five Tigers Squad members lost their lives. Peng Kwangyeong's face drained white.
Then the Messenger veered toward him, employing his ghostly movement technique.
Shygaak!
The razor-sharp sleeve sliced for his throat.
No dodging, no retreating—his brothers stood behind him.
Peng Kwangyeong hastily raised his saber to guard.
The Messenger's sleeve struck it dead-on.
Craaack!
"Kuh!"
The massive impact jolted his body. It felt like being smashed by a boulder—his entire frame buzzed.
No chance for counterattack. His armor tore; he nearly lost his grip on the saber.
Then the Messenger's voice rang out.
"Kh! Not bad."
Mockery dripped from the words. Peng Kwangyeong couldn't even retort.
Shygaak!
The Messenger brushed past him to target the others.
"You bastard! Stop right there!"
Peng Muhyeong pursued urgently. Despite his full-speed footwork, the gap didn't close.
Even with Peng Muhyeong on his tail, the Messenger continued the slaughter.
"Uwaaak!"
"Kuh!"
Screams echoed in his wake as squad members fell, their throats and chests split wide like saber wounds.
"You!"
Bloodshot veins bulged in Peng Muhyeong's eyes.
Though he could shake off the pursuit, the Messenger didn't. He toyed with Peng Muhyeong, dragging him along while massacring the Peng warriors.
"Peng Muhyeong roared.
"I'll kill you!"
He swung his saber wide. The blade energy hurtled toward the Messenger.
The straight-flying qi seemed poised to impale his back. Then the Messenger's body shot into the air.
Kwaang!
"Kyaaak!"
Peng Muhyeong's sword qi engulfed innocent Peng warriors instead. Three disciples perished.
"Uwaaa! I'll kill you!"
Having slain his own kin by accident, Peng Muhyeong bellowed in fury.
Reason had fled his mind.
He unleashed Iron Blood Red Star Blade, one of the Peng Clan's secret arts.
Chwiiihwak!
Crimson sword qi fanned out like a peacock's tail.
Anticipating the Messenger's dodge, Peng Muhyeong prepared his follow-up.
But the Messenger mocked his prediction, halting in place and spinning at terrifying speed.
Shyaaak!
Something sharp shot from his whirling body.
A long, thin cluster of light, like a whip.
It swept over Peng Muhyeong and the squad.
Peng Muhyeong's eyes bulged.
"G-Gang Qi?"
In disbelief, he looked at his chest. A straight red line marked it, as if ruled by a blade.
The gang qi's graze.
Drip.
Like ink in a water basin, the red line spread across his chest.
He wasn't alone. Every Five Tigers Squad member's chest bore the same line.
"El... Elder."
Peng Kwangyeong cried out.
Then Peng Muhyeong and the squad members' bodies split in two, collapsing.
Guts and blood soaked the ground. Amid the carnage stood the lone Forbidden Demon Messenger.
Despite the slaughter, not a drop stained his golden robe.
"You are the first offerings for our cult's revival. Consider it an honor."
With those chilling words, he vanished.
Only after a long while did someone rise shakily from the bisected corpses.
It was Peng Kwangyeong, covered in blood. A red line marked his chest too, but shallow.
The gang qi's force had weakened, sparing him alone.
"Kuh! Elder. Brothers."
Tears streamed from his eyes at the loss.
"I have to report this."
He bit his lip until it bled.
Peng Kwangyeong didn't know.
Other sects besides the Peng Clan had been ambushed too.