Chapter 229
Chapter 229
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 229
Chapter Title: Part 2. Even a Tower Carefully Built Collapses in an Instant (1)
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“Ugh! How the hell did they breach our perimeter?”
“We don’t have time for idle talk like that right now. Move, quickly.”
“Yes, Master.”
At the sudden commotion, Cho Yeon-un and Jang Il-san rushed outside.
“Gate Master.”
“Senior Brother!”
By then, the warriors of the Hundred Battles Gate had already gathered outside.
Jang Il-san shouted toward them.
“No time. Yeon-un, take the juniors and check the inner defenses. Everyone else, with me—we block the external assault.”
“Yes, Master.”
“Understood!”
Cho Yeon-un and the Hundred Battles Gate disciples replied in unison.
Jang Il-san and the disciples dashed outward, while Cho Yeon-un and his juniors raced toward the heart of the Sakju Branch.
Cho Yeon-un gritted his teeth. In his hand, he gripped the Hundred Battles Succession Flag.
This was the first battle fought beneath that flag. He couldn’t afford to show an unsightly display.
It was then.
“Cho Yeon-un.”
Shuwaaang!
A sharp cry rang out suddenly, accompanied by a fierce sword qi flying toward him. Cho Yeon-un didn’t panic and unleashed the Eight Emperors Divine Fist toward the sword qi.
Puuung!
The sword qi clashed with the fist qi and dissipated.
Cho Yeon-un’s gaze turned toward the one who had unleashed it.
“You...?”
“Long time no see.”
The man who had sent the sword qi replied coldly.
The man with an icy expression like frozen frost was none other than the Flipping Heaven Squad Leader, Jo Ja-kyeong.
The Flipping Heaven Squad was arrayed around Jo Ja-kyeong. Having already clashed with them once before, Cho Yeon-un’s juniors couldn’t help but tense up.
“Jo Ja-kyeong, was it?”
“You still remember.”
Tension flickered across Cho Yeon-un’s face.
Jo Ja-kyeong was the strongest opponent he had ever fought.
“How are you...?”
“I came for you.”
“For me?”
“You’re the only one I couldn’t settle things with.”
“For such a foolish reason?”
Cho Yeon-un briefly wore an incredulous expression.
A pivotal battle was unfolding, one tied to the fate of the Martial Alliance and the Demonic Cult. The Demonic Cult sought to topple the Martial Alliance and establish demonic supremacy over the world, while the Martial Alliance aimed to repel the Demonic Cult and uphold justice in the jianghu.
To bring up a personal grudge amid such a critical fight?
“Are you insane?”
“Hmph!”
Jo Ja-kyeong snorted at Cho Yeon-un’s baffled words. Murderous intent swirled in his eyes.
Jo Ja-kyeong pointed his sword at Cho Yeon-un.
“Today, only one of us leaves this place alive, Cho Yeon-un.”
“Damn it!”
Cho Yeon-un ground his teeth.
Even now, fierce battles raged throughout the Sakju Branch. It chafed that he was forced to tangle with Jo Ja-kyeong at such a crucial moment.
But Cho Yeon-un quickly changed his mind. Jo Ja-kyeong was a Demonic Cult warrior, and an important one at that. Dealing with him wouldn’t be such a bad thing after all.
“Fine.”
With his reply, Cho Yeon-un slammed the Hundred Battles Succession Flag down with all his might.
Kwang!
With a massive boom, the flag plunged deep into the ground.
A wind blew, and the enormous banner fluttered, exuding tremendous majesty.
The moment he confirmed the flag’s true form, Jo Ja-kyeong’s face hardened like stone.
To the Demonic Cult warriors, the Hundred Battles Succession Flag was a symbol of humiliation. Jo Ja-kyeong was no exception.
“Perfect. That flag... I’ll tear it to shreds.”
“Try it if you can.”
Cho Yeon-un crooked his finger.
Standing tall beneath the Hundred Battles Succession Flag, he evoked the image of a war god.
“Chaaat!”
Jo Ja-kyeong kicked off the ground and charged. The sword in his hand blazed with brilliant light.
Battle Sword Style.
Among the Demonic Cult’s many branches, this sword art renowned for its prowess in real combat unfolded toward Cho Yeon-un.
Jjee-eoung!
With the clash between the two as the signal, the Hundred Battles Gate warriors collided with the Flipping Heaven Squad.
***
While the Sakju Branch was plunged into utter chaos by the Demonic Cult’s invasion, Eun Yu-kyeong lifted her head and gazed at the sky.
She saw a kite fluttering away, its purpose fulfilled.
“The Heavenly Demon Monk has made his move.”
Even within the Demonic Cult, the Upper Limit Heaven commanded several ultra-secret combat units. Unlike ordinary warriors, they specialized in just one or two fields.
Infiltrating from high altitudes via kites or boring through caves to create secret passages—these were no great feats for them.
They would infiltrate the enemy lines in secret to sow internal chaos, then strike from outside in coordination.
That was the Upper Limit Heaven’s basic plan. The issue had been the timing of the assault. Eun Yu-kyeong had thought it would come days later. In fact, the Upper Limit Heaven had told her as much.
“And yet they moved this quickly... Does that mean they truly don’t trust me after all?”
A deep shadow fell over Eun Yu-kyeong’s face.
She had anticipated it to some degree, but having the suspicion laid bare weighed heavily on her heart. Even for the Saintess Eun Yu-kyeong, the Upper Limit Heaven was a daunting existence. Especially since she couldn’t fathom his true intentions, it burdened her mind all the more.
“With things as they are, I must secure the sacred relic no matter what.”
She had already located the lodgings of Daoist Tae-eul and the Mysterious Dao Sect warriors. It was just that the defenses were too tight for her to approach.
Eun Yu-kyeong unleashed the Empty Spirit Cloud Mist Step. It was a Demonic Cult secret movement technique that concealed one’s form and presence within the air.
As she moved with lightness skill while hidden by the Empty Spirit Cloud Mist Step, her eyes took in countless corpses and scenes of combat.
Piles of bodies formed mountains, and the blood they shed formed streams. Just a few hours prior, the Sakju Branch had brimmed with vitality, but now it was shrouded in the thick aura of death.
Far more Martial Alliance warriors lay dead than Demonic Cult ones. Even Eun Yu-kyeong’s heart wasn’t at ease as she beheld the sight.
Though they fought due to differing ideologies and allegiances, the Martial Alliance warriors were still people all the same.
‘How long can the Divine Cult’s holy war last, turning the corpses of so many into its castle walls?’
Human grudges weren’t easily forgotten even after decades or centuries. Blood-soaked grudges, especially, persisted across generations. This was all the truer for warriors who cultivated martial arts.
She couldn’t continue an endless war. To avert that worst-case scenario, she needed the sacred relic.
Eun Yu-kyeong increased her speed and arrived where Daoist Tae-eul and the Mysterious Dao Sect warriors were holding out.
“Block them.”
“Yaaah!”
A fierce battle was already underway there.
Black shadows who had infiltrated the Sakju Branch via kites were attacking the Mysterious Dao Sect disciples and Daoist Tae-eul.
Eun Yu-kyeong recognized their identities at a glance.
‘Illusion Demon Squad.’
A secret combat unit under the Upper Limit Heaven.
Everything about the Illusion Demon Squad was shrouded in utmost secrecy. Only the Upper Limit Heaven knew their numbers or origins.
A warrior of Eun Yu-kyeong’s caliber could handle one or two Illusion Demon Squad members without much difficulty. But if five or more banded together, it was a different story.
The Illusion Demon Squad’s strength lay not in individuals, but in their combined assault, where their power surged exponentially. Above all, the Illusion Demon Squad warriors feared not death.
Every human dreaded standing at the crossroads of life and death. That was the instinct of living beings. But the Illusion Demon Squad knew no such thing.
If the Upper Limit Heaven ordered them to cut off their arms, they did so without hesitation. If commanded to die, they plunged into fire pits without a second thought.
That was the Illusion Demon Squad.
Like death-fearing moths, the Illusion Demon Squad charged at the Mysterious Dao Sect disciples.
Kwadeuk!
Flesh tore away, and the gruesome sound of breaking bones echoed.
If swords failed, they threw their very bodies into the fray—that was the Illusion Demon Squad’s way. Thus, only mangled corpses remained in their wake.
At that moment, a warrior radiating intense aura stepped forward.
“To think demonic riffraff dares invade here. You must have a death wish.”
With a thunderous voice, an elderly warrior swung a famous sword embedded with seven-colored jewels. It was none other than Daoist Tae-eul, sect leader of the Mysterious Dao Sect.
Shiiiaak!
Each swing of his sword sent sharp sword qi lancing out.
Even as pillars were sliced like radishes and walls shattered like earthenware, the Illusion Demon Squad showed no intimidation.
Kakakakakang!
Five swords simultaneously blocked Daoist Tae-eul’s sword qi. One alone would have been severed, but combined with their inner energies, they parried it effortlessly.
Daoist Tae-eul’s eyebrows twitched.
“How dare you!”
Fury boiling over, he leaped into the air.
The Southern Heaven Sword in his hand spewed sword qi like an opened fan.
Kiiiiaaa!
Seven-colored sword qi, blended like rainbow light, sliced through the air amid eerie wails.
In an instant, a dozen or so Illusion Demon Squad warriors exposed to the seven-colored sword qi froze like statues. The piercing wails had stimulated their eardrums, momentarily robbing them of balance.
Seung!
The seven-colored sword qi rent their bodies.
For a brief moment, they stood dazed, then red lines appeared as if drawn by a brush. Blood trickled along the lines, and their bodies split in two, collapsing.
It was the stance Returning to Heaven Demon Shadow.
The ultimate technique of the Mysterious Dao Sect’s supreme art, Cold Light Demon Subduing Sword, capable of subduing all evil demons.
Daoist Tae-eul unleashed Returning to Heaven Demon Shadow repeatedly. Without fail, Illusion Demon Squad warriors perished each time the fan-like seven-colored sword qi extended. Yet they charged at him without hesitation.
His eyes gleamed ferociously at their disregard for their own lives.
“You’re just like those ones.”
Memories of that day suddenly resurfaced.
Over thirty years ago, during the invasion of the Demonic Cult’s holy war.
Back then, similar figures had blocked him—lifeless puppets who feared death not at all.
The difference was that these opponents exuded a more refined aura.
More ruthless, stronger. And smarter. Those from thirty years ago had charged mindlessly, ignorant of joint attacks, but these coordinated with cunning precision.
“Wicked Demonic Cult scum. No matter how many of you come, it matters not. Today, I’ll slay you all and establish justice in the jianghu.”
He raised the Southern Heaven Sword high. The seven-colored pearl embedded in the blade glowed.
In that instant, Eun Yu-kyeong’s eyes flickered.
‘No way?’
She launched herself toward Daoist Tae-eul.
Tak! Tak!
With just two leaps, she closed in before his face, her sword whipping out fiercely.
Shiiiaak!
Her sword targeted his wrist. Enraged, Daoist Tae-eul bellowed and formed a sword barrier.
“You vixen! A sneak attack, eh?”
Jjee-eoung!
Eun Yu-kyeong’s sword rebounded. But she deftly twisted her wrist and swung again.
Her sword now aimed for his vital points.
Shuuu!
The Falling Moon Divine Sword, transmitted only to the Saintess, unfolded.
Daoist Tae-eul shuddered, struck by a dizzying sense of isolation as if trapped in a world of sword shadows.
In that moment, sword qi resembling a falling moon plummeted toward him.
Kwaaaang!
Dust billowed, and Daoist Tae-eul flew back with a stifled groan. His face paled as if he’d suffered significant internal injuries.
Eun Yu-kyeong pursued, slamming a palm into his chest and twisting his wrist.
“Keheok!”
Daoist Tae-eul vomited blood and dropped the Southern Heaven Sword.
With Golden Rope Technique, Eun Yu-kyeong snatched the Southern Heaven Sword and vanished from his sight in an instant.
“N-No!”
Daoist Tae-eul’s anguished cry echoed through the hall upon losing his sect’s treasure. But it was soon drowned out by the Illusion Demon Squad.
Right after Eun Yu-kyeong vanished, someone emerged from the shadows.
It was a man in his early forties clad in a blue robe. His strikingly pale skin, as if he’d never seen sunlight, was particularly memorable. It was none other than the Heavenly Demon Monk of the Upper Limit Heaven, Sang Han-cheon.
“Hmm.”
He gazed meaningfully at the spot where Eun Yu-kyeong had disappeared.