Chapter 188
Chapter 188
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 188
Chapter Title: Part 5. Resentment Builds Unknowingly (1)
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Choyeoun looked up and scanned his surroundings.
He was currently on a desolate official road. All that was visible was barren land and a yellowish sky.
The bleak landscape made Choyeoun and his junior brothers' hearts sink as well.
"Hoo!"
Choyeoun let out a sigh.
It had already been over four months since they had been roaming northern Zhongyuan in search of the Demonic Cult's base. They had scoured every corner of Shanxi Province. Yet they hadn't found a single place that could be called a Demonic Cult stronghold.
Because of that, Choyeoun and his juniors were thoroughly exhausted.
One of his junior brothers, Jeong Gyeon-hwi, called out to him in a subdued voice.
"Senior Brother?"
"Why?"
"Shouldn't we head back now?"
"Hmm."
"No matter how I think about it, there's nothing more to find by searching Shanxi further. If it hasn't turned up after all this, it probably isn't here."
"I think the same. But we can't just turn back on our own accord, so it's frustrating."
Normally, they would exchange jokes freely, but the endless journey had worn them down, stealing away even their smiles.
It was then.
"Eldest Senior Brother!"
The youngest among them, Sang Gwan-su, called out to Choyeoun.
"What's wrong?"
"Over there?"
Sang Gwan-su pointed at the sky.
A single hawk was circling in place in the sky.
Choyeoun's eyes gleamed.
"A messenger hawk?"
He extended his hand toward the sky. The hawk shot down like an arrow and perched on his forearm.
A small tube was tied to the hawk's leg. Inside the tube was a tightly rolled-up letter.
As Choyeoun read the letter, his expression turned grave.
Jeong Gyeon-hwi asked.
"What's the matter, Senior Brother?"
"We've been ordered to join the Sakju branch immediately."
"Sakju?"
"Yes. It seems the Sakju branch has become a target of the Demonic Cult. They're ordering us to link up and bolster defenses."
"The situation must be more serious than we thought."
"It seems countless people have already died. We'll need to steel ourselves."
"Don't worry, Senior Brother. We're warriors of the Hundred Battles Sect. We've been prepared from the start."
"Good!"
It was as Choyeoun nodded.
From the opposite side of the road where they stood, a group of people was approaching.
They looked like they had traveled a long way, with thick dust caked on their hair and shoulders.
They were pulling two baggage wagons, apparently an escort agency or merchants passing through.
"Senior Brother?"
"Step aside and let them pass."
"Understood."
At Choyeoun's order, Jeong Gyeon-hwi directed the juniors to move to the side of the road. The apparent leader of the group slightly raised his hat in thanks.
Choyeoun also gave a slight bow in return.
Rumble!
The sound of wagon wheels echoed along the road.
Choyeoun stood to the side, indifferently observing the passing group.
They all wore hats and capes, with ornate sword sheaths bearing intricate patterns at their waists.
On the wagon they pulled lay a man with his face covered by a hat. He seemed to be sleeping, paying no attention to Choyeoun's group.
As Choyeoun watched the hatted warrior, he felt a prickling sensation like needles jabbing his brow and flinched.
'What is this?'
Then, a fishy blood scent assaulted his nose.
Choyeoun's expression hardened.
At that moment, the man on the wagon raised his hand. The wagon and the group came to a halt.
He sat up and looked at Choyeoun. His voice flowed out from beneath the hat.
"You have sharp senses."
"You?"
"Tsk! I was hoping to just pass by."
Choyeoun shouted to his juniors.
"Everyone, be on guard!"
Hearing his voice, the juniors quickly retreated and warily eyed the strangers.
The hatted man shook his head and stepped down from the wagon.
Choyeoun glared at him.
"Who are you?"
"I'm a newcomer to the martial world, so you wouldn't know the name."
The man removed his hat, revealing a refined face.
Handsome features, firmly set lips, and sharp eyes were laid bare.
The moment he saw the man's face, Choyeoun felt a chill run down his spine. The aura emanating from the man put him on edge.
The man smiled.
"But I'll tell you specially. My name is Jo Ja-kyeong."
"Jo Ja-kyeong?"
"Now you reveal yours."
"I'm Choyeoun."
"Drifting Cloud Dragon?"
"You know me?"
"Bigger fish than I expected. To run into you here of all places."
The man who called himself Jo Ja-kyeong looked slightly troubled. But a smile soon crept onto his face.
"Since we've met, no helping it. I've always wanted to cross swords with those Nine Dragons someday. The Drifting Cloud Dragon should suffice in their stead."
Killing intent laced his voice.
A furrow formed between Choyeoun's brows.
"Demonic... Cult?"
It slipped out unwittingly. Jo Ja-kyeong didn't deny it.
"I'm Jo Ja-kyeong, Captain of the New Cult's Heaven-Upending Squad. That's my true identity."
"Then?"
"Meeting on the road was chance, but I want to settle things with you. I've heard so much about you and the Nine Dragons."
Jo Ja-kyeong laughed.
The blood scent Choyeoun had smelled was emanating from Jo Ja-kyeong's body. Having killed so many, it had naturally seeped into him.
Choyeoun gritted his teeth.
"Heaven-Upending? Flipping the heavens? Arrogant."
"You'll know if it's arrogance once you experience it."
Jo Ja-kyeong laughed as he approached Choyeoun.
Powerful killing intent bore down on him. It was intense enough to intimidate even those at the peak of martial arts. But Choyeoun didn't flinch in the slightest.
This level of killing intent was nothing.
He had met someone with several times this much before. Having shared experiences with that person, he could move naturally even under terrifying killing intent. But his juniors could not.
Overwhelmed by Jo Ja-kyeong's killing intent, the juniors stood frozen, bodies rigid.
Choyeoun shouted.
"Everyone, snap out of it!"
His lion's roar awakened their senses.
In that instant, Jo Ja-kyeong's subordinates lunged at Choyeoun's juniors.
Taking that as the signal, Choyeoun and Jo Ja-kyeong clashed.
Swoosh!
Jo Ja-kyeong's sword cleaved through space.
No form, no technique—just the shortest cut through space. Yet that simple swordsmanship was chillingly sharp.
Choyeoun's form was helplessly pushed back. Jo Ja-kyeong never let go of the momentum he had seized.
His sword slithered like a viper toward Choyeoun's vital points.
Swoosh!
The sword wind slicing at flesh stung Choyeoun's skin.
Choyeoun's eyebrows twitched.
'This guy's sword path is alive.'
Even then, Jo Ja-kyeong's sword thrust toward his brow.
Sword and body as one.
Yet he used no extreme methods that consumed qi like sword energy or sword aura.
It was an utterly efficient and extreme sword art.
Not a swordsmanship one could master by endlessly repeating forms. It was ingrained through countless battles and bloodbaths.
As if reading Choyeoun's thoughts, Jo Ja-kyeong said coldly.
"It's called the Battle Sword Style."
Swoosh!
Yet his sword did not stop.
The Demonic Cult's history spanned over a thousand years. In that long time, countless branches had risen and fallen within it.
The Battle Sword Style was one such. A branch that had survived over a millennium. It was that unique and strong.
The Battle Sword Style had no fixed forms or techniques. It swung the sword according to the moment's situation and survived.
The longer it survived, the stronger it grew, and those who endured to the end left their mark on Demonic Cult history.
Jo Ja-kyeong was the current inheritor of the Battle Sword Style.
His sword was vicious and fearsome. Wounds appeared all over Choyeoun's body.
From light skin cuts to fairly deep ones, of various kinds.
"Hmph!"
But Choyeoun showed no intimidation and scoffed.
If he was the inheritor of the Battle Sword Style, then he had the Eight Wastes Divine Fist. And its inheritor never retreated.
"Haat!"
He unleashed an ultimate technique of the Eight Wastes Divine Fist.
Boom!
For the first time, sword and fist collided.
Amid the explosion, their bodies shook.
Though they must have taken considerable shock, neither yielded.
"Not bad."
"You're not bad yourself."
Their sword and fist clashed once more.
Clang!
A metallic clash rang out as steel sword met flesh-and-blood fist.
"Cha!"
Choyeoun unleashed the Eight Wastes Divine Fist's ultimate, Eight Wastes Myriad Hammers.
An attack carrying the weight of ten thousand catties.
Clang!
With a metallic sound on another level, Jo Ja-kyeong's body slid back. A faint trace of blood appeared at his mouth. He had taken internal injuries.
But Choyeoun's complexion wasn't great either. He too felt his qi and blood churning and was desperately suppressing it.
Though Jo Ja-kyeong hadn't deployed sword energy or aura, his sword was infused with penetrating energy akin to Piercing Meridian.
Piercing Meridian with a sword? An unheard-of technique.
Thud!
Jo Ja-kyeong's body lightly kicked off the ground.
His sword, tracing a large arc, unleashed a half-moon shaped sword energy.
Half-Moon Tribulation.
A unique sword energy of the Battle Sword Style, different from ordinary ones.
Boom!
"Urk!"
For the first time, a stifled groan escaped Choyeoun. It felt like being struck by a massive iron hammer; his whole body ached.
Even after dispersing it with the Eight Wastes Divine Fist's ultimate, the impact was this much.
Choyeoun staggered for a moment. But he soon forcibly steadied his qi and blood and charged at Jo Ja-kyeong.
"Chaa!"
Ultimates of the Eight Wastes Divine Fist erupted in succession.
Eight Wastes Subduing Demons, Eight Wastes Invincible.
Boom boom!
Explosions rang out repeatedly.
Storm-like qi waves raged outward, shattered stone fragments flying like hidden weapons.
The two fought like madmen.
Fighting, fighting again, burning everything they had in battle.
Their bodies were drenched in blood. Yet neither retreated.
They were like demons possessed by the madness of combat.
Slash!
Boom!
Choyeoun's side was deeply gashed, and Jo Ja-kyeong was flung back as if struck by a boulder.
This wound was severe; both collapsed, unable to move.
"Senior Brother!"
"Captain!"
Choyeoun's juniors and the Heaven-Upending Squad warriors rushed toward the pair.