Chapter 221
Chapter 221
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 221
Chapter Title: Book 7. Even If I Leave, I Leave by My Own Will (3)
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Jin Mu-yeong's eyes gleamed coldly.
The one blocking his path now was a martial artist reputed to be the most dangerous in the martial world.
Though he had entered the jianghu far later than the Nine Dragons, he was the sole warrior evaluated as superior to them. That man was Dam Ho, standing right before him.
Jin Mu-yeong clenched his fist tightly.
The shock from the hand Dam Ho had deflected was no small thing. The tingling vibration made him feel deeply unsettled.
Just facing Dam Ho made the blood in his entire body feel as if it were turning ice-cold. Yet he smiled.
"Brother Dam. Do you not realize that your actions right now are only making things harder for Yeon-un?"
"......"
"This is an internal matter of the Murim Alliance. It's not something for an outsider like you to interfere in."
"Is ambushing someone also an internal Alliance matter?"
"Don't misunderstand. It was merely an intention to resolve things smoothly."
"It seems Wudang raises loaches instead of sword heroes."
In that instant, Jin Mu-yeong's face stiffened rigidly. Nor was that all. Everyone gathered in the grand training ground held their breath.
Dam Ho had called Jin Mu-yeong a loach. Jin Mu-yeong, hailed as Wudang's greatest prodigy in a century.
Jin Mu-yeong stared at Dam Ho with an expression of disbelief.
"What did you just say?"
"I said loach."
"......"
A flash of anger surfaced on Jin Mu-yeong's face, which had always borne a faint smile. Conversely, his rationality sank even colder.
For a moment, he glanced around.
Countless gazes were focused on him. Among them were high-ranking officials of the Murim Alliance. They too wore troubled expressions at Dam Ho's intervention.
Jin Mu-yeong thought it was for the best.
'A mountain I must cross someday anyway.'
Dam Ho was a colossal peak.
Everyone thought so. Ever since he slew the Ten-Li-No-Life Xiao Tian Shan, his fame had blazed to an untouchable height.
To Jin Mu-yeong, who secretly aimed for the title of next greatest under heaven, he was a towering obstacle that had to be overcome sooner or later. He had planned to bide his time patiently, but with the stage now set, there was no reason to hesitate.
"Brother Dam. You are a man who does not belong here."
His voice was exceedingly low, yet infused with immense inner power, resounding clearly in everyone's ears. That made it all the easier to imprint.
"You are undoubtedly strong, one of the great warriors who will lead this era. But you lack any sense of duty or conviction. You simply smash through whatever blocks your path and press on."
Jin Mu-yeong paused briefly and looked around.
Everyone was leaning in to his words. Their attention was at its peak, emotionally investing in his voice.
Catching his breath, Jin Mu-yeong raised his tone.
"I acknowledge you as a hegemon. However, this war is not one of conquest. It is a war to uphold justice in the martial world, one requiring noble sacrificial spirit. This is not your war. Your existence does not aid us or this war. Please withdraw from here."
Jin Mu-yeong's voice grew louder, sweeping through people's hearts like a storm.
'Jin Mu-yeong.'
Choi Yeon-un ground his teeth.
Jin Mu-yeong was slyly inciting the heroes gathered here.
The heroes needed Dam Ho yet feared him. Jin Mu-yeong's eloquence cunningly exploited their anxious psyches.
He hadn't expected Jin Mu-yeong to sway people with such devious rhetoric. In truth, many were already falling for it and nodding along.
"Indeed. This is a war of the jianghu folk. One who defies the martial world's order has no place in it."
"If the Fist Demon wishes to join this war, he must follow the Murim Alliance's rules."
"How long will you act like a lone wolf, doing as you please?"
It started with one or two voices, but they spread like wildfire, soon with most of the crowd condemning Dam Ho.
'Damn it!'
Not only Choi Yeon-un but Ha So-wol was flustered too.
They hadn't anticipated so many would side with Jin Mu-yeong. Crowd psychology was truly fearsome, twisting a few voices into the will of the masses.
A few with any sense of awareness knew something was wrong, but they were silenced by the mob's roar.
"Step down."
"Is strength all that matters?"
"The Fist Demon is a demon too. No different from the Demonic Cult."
The people's voices poured down on Dam Ho like a thousand catties of weight.
Jin Mu-yeong stared straight at Dam Ho.
"Have you seen? This is the will of the crowd. The jianghu does not want you here. Don't you have no reason to stay either? You've met the master you've longed for so much. Please leave this place and live freely. That is the path that benefits all."
"Is that so? Is that what everyone wants?"
"Yes."
Jin Mu-yeong smiled in response to Dam Ho's question.
Hope lit up the faces of the Nine Dragons, save Ha So-wol. To them, Dam Ho was a thorn in the eye, not just Jin Mu-yeong.
The righteous-demonic great war was their golden chance to soar with the dragon pearl in hand, but Dam Ho's presence overshadowed them, dimming their light.
'We must drive him out of here no matter what.'
'The ones to claim glory here must be us.'
The Nine Dragons exchanged glances.
Unable to bear it any longer, Choi Yeon-un shouted.
"Talk sense, Jin Mu-yeong! Because of Dam Ho, countless lives were saved. Is some petty justification more precious than people's lives? And you lot, enough!"
Choi Yeon-un glared at the heroes in the grand training ground. But those swayed by Jin Mu-yeong's words felt no shame.
All the warriors here hailed from great sects. They were already the privileged class, viewing Dam Ho as a threat to their rights and status.
Choi Yeon-un despaired at the sight of such heroes.
"Damn it all!"
He wished he could crawl into a rat hole. At a time when they needed every hand, they were blinded by trivial interests and fracturing apart.
Above all, he was most disappointed in the Nine Dragons, led by Jin Mu-yeong. They had lit the fuse of division.
"Jin... Mu-yeong. Even so, I thought of you as the leader of the Nine Dragons... I'm truly disappointed."
Jin Mu-yeong did not reply. No, he couldn't.
He felt a twinge of shame too. But he consoled himself that there was no choice, brainwashing his own mind. His fear of Dam Ho was that immense.
Jin Mu-yeong's gaze turned to Dam Ho.
Up to then, Dam Ho had said nothing. His unchanging expression made it impossible to read his thoughts, heightening the unease.
Still, Jin Mu-yeong wasn't worried. The mood had already swung their way. No matter how strong Dam Ho's martial arts, he couldn't reverse a tilted tide.
'What will you do?'
Jin Mu-yeong asked with his eyes.
Now it was Dam Ho's turn to answer.
"So you're telling me to leave this place. Is that it?"
"Yes. There's a saying to exit to applause. No one will curse Brother Dam for withdrawing now. On the contrary, they will applaud your deeds."
"It does sound plausible."
Dam Ho nodded. Hope bloomed on the Nine Dragons' faces. Had Dam Ho rejected Jin Mu-yeong's proposal, it would have given them quite the headache.
Dam Ho didn't miss the warriors' reactions.
At least among those in this grand training ground, few truly wanted him here.
A fierce light flickered in Dam Ho's eyes.
"Fine! I'll leave."
"Really... is that so?"
Jin Mu-yeong's confirming voice trembled. Everything was falling into place as he intended, just one step away.
"It's real."
"An excellent decision. Everyone will praise Brother Dam's agonized choice."
"But..."
"Yes?"
"Not like this."
"What?"
"I'm not leaving just because I was played by your three-inch tongue."
"That's..."
In that instant, Dam Ho's figure vanished from Jin Mu-yeong's sight.
A chilling premonition gripped Jin Mu-yeong, who hastily circulated his inner power.
Kwaang!
"Keuk!"
With a stifled groan, Jin Mu-yeong's body slid backward. In the spot where he had stood, Dam Ho remained, fist extended.
Jin Mu-yeong felt his hair stand on end. His crossed arms in an X throbbed with pain. Had his reaction been even a fraction slower, a gaping hole would have punched through his chest.
Killing intent swirled in Jin Mu-yeong's eyes.
"What is the meaning of this?"
"Even if I leave, I don't just leave."
"You..."
"I thought Wudang would raise someone a bit more convincing, but what a disappointment. A loach slick only with tongue oil."
"Fist... Demon!"
Jin Mu-yeong flew into rage.
The cold rationality he had maintained so sharply crumbled in an instant, like a sandcastle swept away by water.
Selected by the thousand-year Wudang Sect, raised amid everyone's expectations. No one had ever spouted such nonsense at him. Not even Wudang's elders.
Chyaang!
Jin Mu-yeong drew the prized sword at his waist.
Wudang's true ultimate art lay not in fists, but in the sword. So he believed. Thus he delved into the sword, achieving the results he desired.
"Cha-at!"
Jin Mu-yeong's sword traced a beautiful arc. The soft yet resilient line extended to Dam Ho's throat.
Taiji Sword.
Wudang's proudest sword art unfolded in Jin Mu-yeong's hands. His sword and body formed the Taiji.
Kwaang!
But Jin Mu-yeong's sword was blocked by Dam Ho before completing its perfect Taiji.
Having deflected Jin Mu-yeong's sword like striking a loach, Dam Ho unleashed Charging Step.
Kwang!
With a powerful advance, Dam Ho's body shot forward in a straight line.
"Keut!"
Jin Mu-yeong executed the Taiji Star Mark stance. A Taiji-shaped sword veil formed around him.
Kwaang!
Dam Ho's Smashing Chase struck the sword veil.
His face turned ashen black from the impact exceeding expectations. But he was a top warrior among the Nine Dragons.
Shyaaak!
He swiftly switched from defense to offense.
In an instant, his sword split into dozens, hundreds, shooting toward Dam Ho.
A martial art honed for over twenty years. In crisis, Wudang's ultimate Taiji Sword techniques flowed as naturally as breathing.
Countless Taiji formed and vanished in the air. Small Taiji gathered, forming a massive Taiji pattern.
The Taiji pattern was no mere line of sword qi. It was harmony born of sword force.
Taiji Eclipse.
Kuwaa!
Wudang's supreme Taiji Sword technique unleashed toward Dam Ho.
A stance poured with his all. Even in solitary wall-facing training, he had never executed it this perfectly.
Suddenly, greed reared its head within him.
'I will shatter your legend. And become the new legend myself.'
As one who mastered the Taiji Sword, he was more than qualified.
Dam Ho launched himself at the Taiji Eclipse. His form resembled a moth plunging into flame.
Jin Mu-yeong was certain of victory.
Then—
Kuwaa!
Suddenly, a fierce rotation of qi erupted around Dam Ho's body. It was the Violent Demon Force.
Kukwakwa kwang!
As Violent Demon Force clashed with Taiji Eclipse, a storm of qi raged outward. Heroes caught in it scattered like fallen leaves.
Jin Mu-yeong's eyes bulged wide.
His supreme technique was crumbling. The Taiji force was swept away by Violent Demon Force, opening a straight path between him and Dam Ho.
Dam Ho crossed it.
In a single step, space contracted.
Tting!
Jin Mu-yeong hastily unleashed a vital-point sword stance against Dam Ho, but it was deflected by Golden Turtle Shell.
Puk buk puk!
"Kuhuk!"
Dam Ho's fists rained down on Jin Mu-yeong's body. His knee buckled, his back bent like a shrimp. Over a dozen fists and knees hammered his lowered face.
Jin Mu-yeong's mouth gaped at the unprecedented agony.
Chak!
Dam Ho grabbed his collar. Then Earth-Splitting Strike unfolded.
As his body flipped and the ground rushed up, Jin Mu-yeong's mind went blank white.
In that moment, someone's voice rang out.
"Dam Ho!"
Kwaang!