Chapter 260
Chapter 260
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 260
Chapter Title: Chapter 4. Time Changes Many Things (1)
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Eun Ga-bo's merchant caravan raced along the official road at breakneck speed. Fortunately, the road leading up to the base of Mount Hua was well-maintained, so there were no major issues.
They were almost at the foot of Mount Hua now.
"We're almost there."
It was just as Jeok Yongcheon let out a sigh of relief.
Hiiing!
Suddenly, the horses up ahead let out harsh whinnies and tumbled forward. The wagons they pulled flipped over in the aftermath, blocking the road.
"Stop!"
The carriages following behind came to an abrupt halt upon seeing the scene.
"What happened?"
Jeok Yongcheon leaped down from his horse and hurried forward. There, he saw the struggling horses that had fallen and the wreckage of the overturned wagons. Most conspicuously, a thick iron wire stretched across the road.
The galloping horses had clearly gotten their legs caught in the wire and toppled.
"What is this? Everyone, stay alert."
Along with shouts of warning, Jeok Yongcheon drew his sword.
Pa-pat!
At that moment, a group burst out from the bushes on both sides of the road. Over a hundred warriors dressed in yellow, red, blue, black, and white.
"Who the hell are you?"
Jeok Yongcheon glared at them and shouted. But instead of answering, the attackers charged.
Chaeng-chaeng!
"Ugh! Block them!"
"You bastards..."
The clash of weapons and curses echoed everywhere.
The attackers were none other than the Five Elements Annihilation Squad. They assaulted Eun Ga-bo's merchant caravan mercilessly.
"Uwaaak!"
"Spare me!"
The caravan turned into a hellscape in an instant. Screams filled the air, mingled with the chaotic clang of metal.
Eun So-cheong poked her head out the carriage window.
"What's going on?"
"We're under attack, miss."
"Attack?"
"Don't come out. Stay inside."
"But... I understand."
Eun So-cheong bit her lip and nodded.
Though she was a genius in commerce, her martial arts were nothing special. In this situation, it was a blessing if she didn't become a liability.
Moreover, her usual bodyguard, the Silver Sword Ghost Hand Jong Ri-su, was not with her now. It was truly the worst possible scenario.
Eun So-cheong thought of Eun Yu-kyung.
'Was this why he said he was sorry?'
These attackers were undoubtedly the ones pursuing Eun Yu-kyung.
Even as she thought that, the battle was reaching its climax.
The situation was grim. Those falling with screams were mostly the caravan's warriors. It was an overwhelming difference in power.
The Five Elements Annihilation Squad was truly terrifying. They swung their weapons silently, like mutes.
Jeok Yongcheon trembled with rage at the sight.
"These bastards are human butchers."
One could discern the intent behind a martial art from its forms. The techniques of the Five Elements Annihilation Squad were designed purely for maximum efficiency in killing humans. There was no dao or philosophy in them—just the pinnacle of simplicity, the martial arts of a slaughterer.
Five members of the Five Elements Annihilation Squad latched onto Jeok Yongcheon.
Kaka-kang!
Their assault came relentlessly, like wagon wheels with no gap to breathe. Jeok Yongcheon had to swing his sword ceaselessly to block their attacks.
Before he knew it, his back was soaked with sweat.
The force in their strikes was incredibly fierce. Though Jeok Yongcheon was a peak-level master, the unending barrage that spared no bodies chilled him to the bone.
"Keuk!"
"Euk!"
Even now, the caravan's warriors were dropping one by one with screams, fewer than half remaining.
That was when he saw it—members of the Five Elements Annihilation Squad approaching the carriage.
"Stop!"
Jeok Yongcheon tried to rush toward them, but the ones clinging to him held on tenaciously.
In the meantime, the attackers reached the carriage and raised their swords. They aimed to stab right through, killing Eun So-cheong inside.
Jeok Yongcheon's face drained of color at the sight.
"N-No!"
It was the moment his desperate cry rang out.
"To dare commit slaughter on Mount Hua."
With a cold voice, over a dozen warriors leaped into the fray.
"They're definitely Demonic Cultists."
"Slaughter every last one of these fiends."
The newcomers swept through the Five Elements Annihilation Squad that had been ravaging the caravan with terrifying momentum.
Swae-ae-ak!
Fierce slicing sounds tore through the air.
The Annihilation Squad members, who had been butchering the caravan, were pushed back by the momentum of these new arrivals.
"What in the world?"
Jeok Yongcheon stared in disbelief.
The newcomers were ordinary-looking Daoist priests in hemp robes. But the aura they exuded was anything but ordinary.
A lofty, chilling energy swirled around them, like plum blossoms blooming through midwinter's bite. Each swing of their swords seemed to make plum blossoms bloom in the air.
"P-Plum Blossom Sword?"
Jeok Yongcheon recognized their martial art at a glance. How could he not?
The Twenty-Four Plum Blossom Sword Forms they displayed were one of Mount Hua Sect's most famous techniques. And only the elite Thirty-Six Plum Blossom Sword Masters of Mount Hua could wield them.
"B-But the Thirty-Six Plum Blossom Sword Masters were all wiped out."
Jeok Yongcheon muttered blankly, forgetting he was under joint attack.
Three years ago, during Mount Hua's great catastrophe, nearly all the first- and second-generation disciples, including the Thirty-Six, had perished. No one in the martial world was unaware of that.
With the core first-generation disciples and the backbone second-generation wiped out, everyone thought Mount Hua could never regain its former glory.
Reviving lost techniques was nearly impossible. Especially not elites like the Thirty-Six Sword Masters, who required generations of guidance, teachings, and full sect support to cultivate.
That was why everyone believed Mount Hua was finished.
Even regaining past glory would take decades, and only if luck was on their side—that was the consensus.
Yet now, as if mocking that consensus, Daoists wielding the Twenty-Four Plum Blossom Sword Forms appeared. It was impossible without the Thirty-Six.
Swae-ae-ak!
"Kuuk!"
"Keok!"
Their swords were truly fearsome. They cut down the demonic butchers without mercy. The scene was so surreal it felt unreal.
"My god! The Thirty-Six Plum Blossom Sword Masters."
Not just Jeok Yongcheon—the entire caravan was awestruck by their prowess.
Shii-ga-ak!
Their swords cleaved the air.
Warriors of that caliber didn't bother manifesting sword qi unnecessarily. They maximized the sword's essence without wasting inner energy.
The Thirty-Six Plum Blossom Sword Masters were unstoppable.
With every swing, one Annihilation Squad member lost their life—like farmers harvesting in autumn.
"Keuk!"
"Keok!"
Screams echoed from all sides.
The caravan warriors didn't dare join the fight and retreated, staring dumbfounded.
"My god! Are those really Mount Hua Daoists?"
"Didn't Mount Hua fall already? How do they have this kind of force...?"
"The world was wrong. Mount Hua never fell. How could a sect with warriors like that fall?"
They watched, entranced, as the Thirty-Six fought.
Their swordplay was supremely efficient—like branches pruned of twigs, striking the shortest path to claim lives.
It was different from the traditional Twenty-Four Forms.
The essence was the same, but optimized for taking human lives.
"You bastards!"
Finally, the Annihilation Squad's leader, Ya Hon, bellowed in fury.
He could hardly believe a mere dozen or so Plum Blossom Sword Masters were overwhelming his Five Elements Annihilation Squad.
"This can't be... Didn't Mount Hua lose all its vitality?"
"It did."
One of the Sword Masters approached Ya Hon and replied coldly.
Ya Hon demanded.
"Are you really the Thirty-Six Plum Blossom Sword Masters?"
"Yes. We are indeed the Thirty-Six Plum Blossom Sword Masters."
"Then? You were clearly wiped out three years ago."
"True. The previous generation of Thirty-Six was massacred by the likes of you. We are the new Thirty-Six who carry on their legacy."
"N-New... Thirty-Six Plum Blossom Sword Masters?"
"Correct."
Daoist Won Myeong answered coldly.
Won Myeong was a third-generation disciple of Mount Hua Sect.
During the great catastrophe three years ago, he and other third-generation disciples had hidden in the rear hall and barely survived.
His master died, his grandmaster died, and countless others perished.
He had never cried so much in his life. He cried until no tears remained.
Back then, only despair was left. With all the sect elders slain, he thought Mount Hua was done.
But Mount Hua endured. Its hidden strength was far beyond what the world knew.
Mount Hua rebuilt from the ruins. From scorched earth, it raised new warriors, creating something from nothing.
The result was these new Thirty-Six Plum Blossom Sword Masters.
Not even all of them—just a portion. Yet they overwhelmed the Annihilation Squad.
Won Myeong roared.
"To dare set your filthy feet on Mount Hua. I will never forgive you."
"Kuuk!"
Won Myeong charged at Ya Hon.
Swae-ae-ak!
His sword sliced the air toward Ya Hon's neck. Ya Hon barely parried with a defensive stance.
Dda-ang!
Won Myeong's sword rebounded. But it traced a graceful arc, targeting Ya Hon's neck once more.
Powerful yet elegant, soft yet ferocious.
Ya Hon gritted his teeth and deflected it again. But like a magnet, the sword snapped back toward him.
Lines overlapped, leaving afterimages in the air. The myriad lines formed a single plum blossom.
It was the ultimate technique of the Twenty-Four Forms: Plum Blossom Chaotic Blood Wind.
The plum blossom Won Myeong conjured scattered wildly in the bloody gale. Ya Hon clenched his teeth and unleashed his strongest move, Ink Spirit Void Strike.
Dazzling sword qi erupted from his blade, smashing into Won Myeong's plum blossom.
The plum blossom and sword qi clashed.
Kukwang-kwang!
Ya Hon's sword qi flickered out like a candle in the gale from the plum blossom.
"Kyaek!"
Ya Hon screamed in agony as the slashing wind tore through him, collapsing covered in blood.
Kneeling, he muttered.
"H-How can mere Plum Blossom... Sword Masters possess such power?"
Even the previous generation didn't have this level of might. Though elite in Mount Hua, they couldn't overwhelm him, the leader of the Annihilation Squad, like this.
These young Sword Masters surpassed their predecessors by far. Ya Hon couldn't comprehend it.
"H-How?"
"You wouldn't know. The hell we've endured. We spar life-and-death with him every day."
"Him...?"
"Yes! The Volcanic Fist Demon. We've fought daily just to survive him."
Murderous intent filled Won Myeong's eyes.