Chapter 113
Chapter 113
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 113
Chapter Title: The Ancient Usurper Awakens
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Whummm!
The blood and flesh floating in the air began to stir. They were drawn toward the coffin, clinging to the bone fragments. Like kneading mud into pottery, a distinct human form was taking shape.
Yuk Jin-yang gripped the sheath of his Azure Wave Sword. The evil qi seeping from the coffin was growing thicker by the moment. It carried the rancid stench of a thoroughly decayed corpse.
A torrent of questions flashed through his mind.
The identity of this ominous coffin, the sudden bizarre phenomenon, and the emergence of the White Lotus Cult.
A chain of events he couldn't unravel. Amid it all, his senses screamed in alarm. Without facing a peerless master, an inexplicably crushing pressure bore down on him.
It wasn't just Yuk Jin-yang. Everyone else felt it too. King Cho's face hardened as he gestured. The generals urgently relayed his orders to the soldiers.
"Everyone, on your feet! Reform the ranks!"
"Any laggards die by this blade first."
"Crossbowmen, load your bolts. Shield bearers, forward!"
The soldiers moved with perfect discipline. They reformed their formation and leveled their weapons at the enemy.
"Fire!"
The arrows launched in unison.
Whoosh!
Suddenly, the wind howled.
The hazy form ballooned in an instant, descending as a ferocious whirlwind. It tore through the air and gouged the earth, roaring savagely while cradling the White Lotus cultists protectively within.
Before the massive, quaking flow of qi, the arrows were utterly powerless. They scattered and shattered harmlessly, not a single one reaching its mark.
The crossbowmen gaped, unable even to reload. The generals didn't press them. They too were at a loss, faces pale with bewilderment.
Yuk Jin-yang instinctively drew his sword. But he didn't charge ahead. He had already grasped the nature of this phenomenon, at least in broad strokes.
"Insane."
Yuk Jin-yang couldn't help but admire it. Enemy or not, it was masterful work.
Dozens of spells intertwined in resonance.
Each was a fiendishly complex absolute art on its own, but weaving them into one without conflict was a skill worthy of the ages.
A flawless seamlessness that made the phrase "heavenly silk without stitch" feel inadequate.
"But that just traps them in there too."
Their formation was designed solely to divide inside from outside. They couldn't interfere with the White Lotus cultists either.
"Those bastards were waiting for us here from the start. No way they set up a formation that size on the fly."
Won-yeong muttered as if to herself. Yuk Jin-yang countered.
"If it was an ambush, did they really need a formation like that?"
"There must be a reason."
Won-yeong nodded toward the spots where corpses lay strewn.
"Maybe they needed a mass of bodies. They couldn't just let the Return Sword Society kill them willingly. Even if those guys won, there'd be corpses left."
"So they came for tribute from the beginning."
"Exactly. Probably some ritual. The souls of the dead aren't scattering—they're being pulled right there."
"Souls...? Even with profound yin-yang arts, you can't just see those, can you?"
Won-yeong pointed to her blue eyes, reminiscent of a clear sky. Their hue was deeper than usual.
"Things senses can't detect, these eyes can see."
"So those eyes aren't just unusually colored."
"No Western blood in me or anything."
Won-yeong let out a light chuckle before adding,
"Nothing fancy. Just insight into the flow of qi, let's say."
Yuk Jin-yang flinched.
The origins of one's martial arts were a taboo best kept secret. Even explaining abilities rather than formulas felt awkward. Allies could turn foes at any moment.
Yet Won-yeong showed no concern. As if complete trust had taken root between them.
"A little application, and you can pierce even异質 beings that shouldn't exist in this sahā world. It devours an insane amount of qi, so I don't use it often."
Yuk Jin-yang let out a dry laugh. Insight into qi flow—she had reached a pinnacle others needed peerless yin-yang arts for.
"Save the bragging for later."
Yu-baek had approached unnoticed and cut into the conversation.
"Senior, can't those peerless eyes peer inside that bizarre flow?"
"I can."
Won-yeong replied curtly, turning her gaze.
"The stone coffin's lid and inside have something written... not modern script. Seal script?"
Her brow furrowed as she haltingly deciphered it.
"Gongson Sul impersonated a magistrate by killing him and wearing his face. When winds of chaos blew across the land, he dared claim the throne as emperor."
"He slaughtered countless lives, tormented them, defied heaven's will, and thus shall suffer eternally."
"Moreover, those who pity him, open the coffin to retrieve the corpse, or perform rites to soothe the spirit shall share his torment."
Eerie phrases one after another. Won-yeong's expression had hardened. Yu-baek scoffed mockingly.
"Gongson Sul? The pretender who died over a millennium ago?"
"Yes. But among Ghost Valley's assassins, he's enshrined as a god alongside Hyung-ga. No telling what the White Lotus Cult plans with that body—we need to evacuate His Highness King Cho first."
A heavy voice blanketed the field. It echoed from all directions, impossible to pinpoint. Six Directions Transmission Voice—an ultimate sound art of supreme masters.
The gale cut off abruptly.
A sinister qi crept forth insidiously. Like deep evening shadows, thick and elongated. Though the formation had dissolved, the gloom sharpened, spreading further.
At its center stood an unfamiliar man, eight chi tall. Was he even human, or some yokai? Eyes like embedded rubies gleamed with murderous intent.
Standing motionless, his presence dominated. More so than even the Return Sword Leader.
Had such a figure been among the cultists, they never would have overlooked him. In other words, he had only now revealed himself.
Yuk Jin-yang easily inferred his identity.
Gongson Sul. The ancient pretender emperor slumbering in the stone coffin—the great assassin who once shook the world—had manifested anew.
Gongson Sul's lips twitched as he spoke. Yuk Jin-yang heightened his hearing with Sensory Dao.
"Indeed, it truly succeeded. I thought the shamans and sorcerers, barely versed in soul contact, were spouting empty boasts."
"We'll clear up your misconceptions about us in time. For now, more pressing matters remain."
A bewitching woman from Ghost Valley at his side smiled eerily.
"We summoned your soul wandering the nine heavens and prepared a new body. We've upheld every promise—now it's your turn."
"Yes, quite so. Bound as I am, after all."
Gongson Sul turned, scanning the group. The moment their eyes met, a sinking mire crushed his shoulders.
"A Yu clansman. I sense the qi."
Yu-baek flinched. Emperor Guangwu, who executed Gongson Sul, was his distant ancestor.
"Motivation enough for battle."
The final words rang right beside him. No footstep sounded as he leaped across vast distance in an instant. Beyond Void Treading—Flying Divine Steps.
No time for shock. A heavy vibration from his aura, and the palm strike extended. Qi hot and intense as blazing sun erupted.
As Gongson Sul fully extended his arm, formless qi exploded from his palm. Yuk Jin-yang's vision flashed pure white. Like a thunderbolt detonating before his eyes.
A single blow.
Too much to block, too much even to react. Realization came late, after rolling across the ground for what felt like ages.
Regaining his senses, Yuk Jin-yang was stunned. He had been flung dozens of paces from his original spot. A long trench scarred where he'd passed.
'Not even a direct hit.'
Yuk Jin-yang felt anew the gulf with a peerless master. He understood what a warrior etched in blue history truly was.
The absolute ruler who once dominated the jianghu wielded power like natural law. No matter the millennia, the essence of martial might endured.
For now, he couldn't even fathom the boundless depths of the man's inaction.
'The seniors?'
Won-yeong and Yu-baek lay sprawled far off. They'd split to flank him, but taken worse wounds for it.
The ringing shock faded. Hearing returned with hellish screams. Amid rising dust clouds, blood rained like downpour.
Screams, spraying blood, bodies flung through the haze—all from the royal army.
They shielded the fainted Return Sword Society members willingly. Knowing full well they couldn't match him.
"Ngh."
A groan escaped gritted teeth, blood trickling. Just the shockwave had done this. How monstrous his palm strength?
Yuk Jin-yang circulated Moon Maiden Divine Art qi to mend his internals. Mere patch, but no time to quibble.
Leaning on Azure Wave, he rose. Ignoring creaking limbs, he stepped forward.
True Ultimate Storm Step.
The Void Treading that astonished the Return Sword Leader unfolded again. He pierced gray dust in a flash, intervening in the one-sided slaughter.
Through swirling sleet-like smoke, Gongson Sul's hazy form appeared. Yuk Jin-yang thrust Azure Wave straight.
Clang!
Gongson Sul swatted it aside like an annoying insect—with his arm alone.
Yet Azure Wave rebounded. Due to the full-body Protective Gang Qi, evolved from Protective Qi—an invisible true qi barrier overwhelming in disparity.
A chill raced up his spine. Just entering range, murderous aura stabbed like arrows.
"Steps that sweep qi. An intriguing notion. Over a millennium and centuries—rivers and mountains change greatly, and martial learning has advanced considerably."
'He saw that from way over there?'
Dismay flickered as curt critique reached his ears.
"But still unripe."
In that instant, razor-sharp qi lanced like frost. Keen as a blade, slicing vital points.
Yuk Jin-yang instinctively unleashed his ultimate technique. Pure gut: don't, and die.
Twisting his stance, he swung Sword Shadow Phantom Strike. Full-body force, packed with inner power—enough to sweep away the enveloping dust veil.
Thud.
Yuk Jin-yang doubted his eyes.
The mighty Azure Wave halted before Gongson Sul's face. By a mere vertical hand blade. The colorless Protective Gang Qi blazed like fiery heat across his form.
"Wait your turn. You're surely among this era's top juniors. A shame to behead in one stroke."
A heavy impact smashed his side; his form flew. He'd twisted at the last breath, yet ribs cracked.
Gongson Sul turned with a sneer. His gaze fixed on the still-dazed seniors.
'No.'
Right then.
A low voice pinned the field. Six Directions again. Impossible to ignore.
Gongson Sul's motion to finish Won-yeong and Yu-baek halted abruptly.
He slowly turned to the opposite side. Yuk Jin-yang couldn't help looking up instinctively. A long shadow loomed overhead.
"All good now. This old man's arrived."
Yangtze Overlord Dragon, Yuk Mu-hyeok.
The absolute of this era gazed upon the ancient assassin.