Chapter 227
Chapter 227
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 227
Chapter Title: Fierce Waves Sweep Away the Sandcastle (2)
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Choi Yeon-un stepped forward.
“Master!”
“It’s been a while.”
A middle-aged man stood in front of the main gate of the Sakju Branch, holding a large flag.
His hair was a wild mess like a magpie’s nest, his clothes ragged as if worn a hundred times, and a massive sword hung at his waist. Nothing about the man was ordinary.
He was Jang Il-san, Choi Yeon-un’s master. The flag he held was the Hundred Battles Unconquered Flag, the pride and symbol of the Hundred Battles Sect.
Where the Hundred Battles Unconquered Flag stood was the Hundred Battles Sect itself.
Hundreds of warriors lined up behind Jang Il-san were all the sect’s elites. It was as if the entire Hundred Battles Sect had relocated here.
They clamored noisily at the sight of Choi Yeon-un.
“Long time no see, Young Leader.”
“You beat the Nine Dragons, huh? Can’t even call you Drunken Cloud Dragon anymore. Ah, those good old days are gone.”
“Still, Drunken Cloud Dragon suits the Young Leader. He’s so alluring when his eyes glaze over from drink.”
“Ah! That’s just rotten pollack eyes. Look closely. Don’t his eyes look all vacant right now too?”
The Hundred Battles Sect elites chattered boisterously at Choi Yeon-un.
Choi Yeon-un’s face twisted at their rudeness, which lacked even the dirt under a fingernail in manners.
“Damn it! Have to see these unlucky mugs again.”
“Wahaha! Why? We’re thrilled.”
“Thrilled my ass.”
Choi Yeon-un spat on the ground. But his expression wasn’t all that displeased.
Jang Il-san laughed as he looked at Choi Yeon-un.
“You’ve had it rough leading the juniors around all this time.”
“Nah, it wasn’t that bad. More importantly, did you bring the entire force here?”
“Of course. The fate of the martial world will be decided here.”
“Well, glad you made it.”
“You’ve done well too.”
Master and disciple gazed at each other with fervent eyes.
Jang Il-san brimmed with more vitality than ever. He could smell the battlefield here.
Jang Il-san turned to the Hundred Battles Sect disciples he had brought and spoke.
“This is our battlefield. We’ll fight with the resolve to bury our bones here. Is everyone prepared?”
“Of course, Sect Leader.”
“We’re ready to die.”
The Hundred Battles Sect disciples roared in unison. Just moments ago they had seemed disorganized and rowdy, but now they were utterly resolute, turned one hundred and eighty degrees.
Choi Yeon-un gave a slight smile.
This was the true face of the Hundred Battles Sect. They lived freer than anyone in peacetime, but before the mortal enemy of the Demonic Cult, they bared their fangs like wolves.
Jang Il-san shouted.
“Good! We establish our base here. Everyone, move!”
“Yes!”
The Hundred Battles Sect disciples responded thunderously and moved with perfect discipline.
Jang Il-san tossed the massive Hundred Battles Unconquered Flag in his hand to Choi Yeon-un.
Thud!
Choi Yeon-un caught it reflexively, a puzzled look crossing his face.
“Why this?”
“You think I’m gonna carry it around at my age? You hold it from now on.”
“Mas……ter!”
At the unexpected words, Choi Yeon-un’s eyes wavered.
The Hundred Battles Unconquered Flag was the sacred treasure symbolizing the Hundred Battles Sect. Handing it over meant he trusted Choi Yeon-un that much.
Jang Il-san clicked his tongue at the感動 Choi Yeon-un.
“No need to get so emotional. I can’t carry this heavy thing forever, can I? My back hurts too much to hold it long these days.”
“Master.”
“Still, beating Nam-hak was well done. I’m glad you’re finally pulling your weight.”
With his praise, Jang Il-san turned around. He walked inside, leaving Choi Yeon-un behind.
Left alone, Choi Yeon-un gazed at the Hundred Battles Unconquered Flag in his hand.
“I’ll make sure not to disgrace this flag.”
He felt a weight of ten thousand catties from it. It was the honor the Hundred Battles Sect had built and the reverence the martial world’s powerhouses held for the flag.
After savoring the Hundred Battles Unconquered Flag for a long while, Choi Yeon-un stepped into the Sakju Branch.
It was early morning, but the Sakju Branch bustled with people. Naturally, their eyes turned to Choi Yeon-un.
Among them was Dan Hwa-ran, the head of the Secret Charm Hall.
She had originally been tasked with protecting Immortal Hyeon So, but after he left with Dam Ho, she had been floating around without specific duties.
“Senior Brother Choi.”
“Ah! Sister Dan.”
“That in your hand… don’t tell me it’s the Hundred Bat……”
“Hundred Battles Unconquered Flag, yep.”
“Then Master Jang is here?”
Dan Hwa-ran’s eyes widened.
Choi Yeon-un smirked and replied.
“Yeah! Master came. Brought every Hundred Battles Sect disciple.”
“Ah!”
Dan Hwa-ran let out an involuntary exclamation.
“Go see him quick. Master’s probably missing you too.”
“Yes!”
With a spirited reply, Dan Hwa-ran dashed off. Then, as if remembering something, she stopped and turned back.
“Senior Brother Choi!”
“Yeah?”
“It suits you.”
“What does?”
“That flag, the Hundred Battles Unconquered Flag… It suits you.”
Dan Hwa-ran’s face was flushed red all over. But she was too far away for Choi Yeon-un to notice.
Dan Hwa-ran hurried off, and the alone Choi Yeon-un smiled.
He didn’t feel bad. No, he felt good.
“Hwa-ran.”
His grip tightened on the Hundred Battles Unconquered Flag.
Meanwhile, someone watched the scene from afar. The woman with a curvaceous figure and face veiled in gauze was Eun Yu-gyeong.
“That’s the Hundred Battles Unconquered Flag.”
A complex, subtle light flickered in Eun Yu-gyeong’s eyes.
To the righteous faction, including the Murim Alliance, the Hundred Battles Unconquered Flag symbolized glory and victory. But to the Demonic Cult warriors, it meant humiliation and defeat. Even now, most Demonic Cult warriors burned with rage at the sight of it.
Though she had a neutral disposition, Eun Yu-gyeong was still a Demonic Cult warrior. She couldn’t feel at ease seeing the Hundred Battles Unconquered Flag either.
“Whew!”
Eun Yu-gyeong let out a quiet sigh.
If word got out that the Hundred Battles Unconquered Flag was here, the Demonic Cult would come charging even more fiercely.
“Must secure the sacred relic before that.”
First priority was locating the Pure Way Sect’s residence.
***
Bang Jin-bo came looking for Dam Ho.
“Brother!”
His face was full of smiles. Ever since reuniting with Dam Ho, he had been grinning ear to ear.
Hwang Gyeong-mun had teased him about whether Hwang Gyeong-mun liked it that much, but Bang Jin-bo didn’t care. Just being under the same sky as Dam Ho made him happy.
“What’s up?”
“Nothing much. Can I sit here?”
Bang Jin-bo pointed to the spot next to Dam Ho. Dam Ho nodded for him to sit. Bang Jin-bo promptly plopped down beside him.
“Hehe!”
Laughter burst out naturally. Bang Jin-bo didn’t bother hiding it. In front of Dam Ho, he was always honest.
“How’ve you been?”
“Good. The Chief Banner Leader and sister take good care of me.”
Over time, Bang Jin-bo’s eyes had deepened considerably. All the thinking he did alone had made him more mature. Yet in front of Dam Ho, he always turned into a child.
“I’ve learned martial arts too.”
“Yeah?”
“Yes! It’s called Five Elements Gentleman Art… The Chief Banner Leader taught me.”
Bang Jin-bo boasted proudly.
Since learning the Five Elements Gentleman Art, his confidence had grown bit by bit. It showed in his expression.
Dam Ho looked at Bang Jin-bo.
Like a child awaiting praise, Bang Jin-bo gazed at Dam Ho with sparkling eyes.
Dam Ho reached out and ruffled Bang Jin-bo’s hair.
“Well done.”
“Hehe!”
Bang Jin-bo laughed.
Dam Ho’s hand was rough and calloused.
To others, it was a fearsome hand that dealt death, but Bang Jin-bo felt a thread of warmth in it. He had missed that warmth so much.
“I’ll check your martial arts. Circulate the Five Elements Gentleman Art.”
“Really?”
“Yeah!”
“Yes!”
Bang Jin-bo replied energetically and sat cross-legged. Then he circulated the Five Elements Gentleman Art.
He had learned it only a few months ago. His attainment was minimal. But Bang Jin-bo poured all his effort into circulating it.
A faint energy stirred in his dantian.
‘Move.’
Bang Jin-bo willed the qi to flow.
The Five Elements Gentleman Art literally meant operating the five energies of water, wood, fire, earth, and metal. The key was harmonizing them without bias toward any one.
Dam Ho silently watched Bang Jin-bo circulate the Five Elements Gentleman Art. He felt a strand of energy moving.
The energy was exceedingly faint. But it was pure. As clear and clean as Bang Jin-bo’s nature.
Dam Ho took Bang Jin-bo’s pulse. The energy inside became even clearer.
‘Hot energy. Especially strong in fire qi.’
It was perhaps inevitable.
Bang Jin-bo had cooked by hot furnaces since childhood. Unknowingly, he had grown accustomed to fire and developed a constitution receptive to it.
Compared to the fire energy, the others were negligible. Especially the water energy, which countered fire, was barely detectable.
Dam Ho focused his mind further to feel Bang Jin-bo’s internal energy. He clearly sensed the fire energy leading the others, swirling through the body.
Fire energy signified ascent. It always tried to rise upward. With fire so dominant, the other energies followed, rushing to Bang Jin-bo’s head. His face flushed red as if congested with blood.
“Fire is hot, so it seeks lightness and the upper position, while water is cold, so it claims heaviness and the lower. The mind is the same. Fiery hot thoughts rise upward, while阴 cold rationality sinks below.”
At Dam Ho’s words, Bang Jin-bo’s body jolted. Like rain in drought, they pierced exactly the essence he had craved.
“Gathering water energy is simple. Lower your cold rationality, and wood will sprout. Wood will root in the earth. Wood fuels fire, fire melts metal—thus the cycle completes.”
Dam Ho didn’t know the Five Elements Gentleman Art. But when one art reaches the pinnacle, grasping the principles of others isn’t hard.
That was Dam Ho’s current realm.
Having ascended Solitary Flow Style, he could see the truths of other arts. The Five Elements Gentleman Art was no exception.
Just by observing Bang Jin-bo circulate, he pinpointed and conveyed its core.
Bang Jin-bo’s body trembled. Dam Ho’s instruction shook him to the core.
Suddenly, Dam Ho infused internal energy into Bang Jin-bo’s body.
This was a great risk even for Dam Ho. His energy, built with Dark Soul Heart Art, was extremely destructive and couldn’t be casually transferred. He had always avoided injecting it into others.
But this moment, it felt right. Though the Dark Soul Heart Art hadn’t changed, he brimmed with inexplicable confidence.
Dam Ho trusted his instinct.
He stimulated Bang Jin-bo’s Five Elements Gentleman Art with Dark Soul Heart Art. Before the rough, destructive surge, the built-up energy had no choice but to yield.
“Hmm!”
A groan escaped Bang Jin-bo’s lips.
It felt like massive flames whirled through his body. Dam Ho’s profound energy dragged the Five Elements Gentleman Art qi, burning away the impurities accumulated inside.
The stagnant impurities blocking meridians crumbled before Dam Ho’s terrifying power.
Dam Ho showed no mercy.
Water energy rose against fire, wood sprouted, earth formed the base. Metal energy joined, finally shaping Bang Jin-bo’s Five Elements Gentleman Art solidly.
Only then did Dam Ho release Bang Jin-bo’s pulse.
The start was hard, but with Dam Ho opening the channel, the Five Elements Gentleman Art began positive circulation.
How far Bang Jin-bo’s attainment would go, even Dam Ho couldn’t know. But with effort, he could reach quite a high realm.
Once his martial arts advanced, it would greatly aid the path Bang Jin-bo sought.
‘Follow the path you want. Even if it’s thorny. I will too…’
His thoughts grew clearer.