Chapter 25
Chapter 25
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 25
Chapter Title: Victory Over Guangdong
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Thunk!
The sound came as Jin Cha-geon's headless corpse toppled backward.
"Th-this mad..."
Bae Ji-hak muttered in a daze. The Jin Clan warriors were the same. The shock of losing a direct blood relative was immense.
"Does that even make sense?"
"No, I've never seen anything like it. Where the hell did that guy come from?"
"Even the Black Sword Sect Leader would've lost his head to that kid. I was hoping for reinforcements, but no chance now."
The Jin Clan warriors buzzed with unease. Jin Cha-geon had been a master of the Guangdong Jin Clan, one who could rival even their young lord. No one had imagined he'd turn into a guest ghost after just ten exchanges.
In stark contrast, their allies erupted in cheers and stomped the ground. Even though it was just a few dozen men, it shook the earth. Their reaction was that fierce.
Only Sa Jong-seop kept his cool. He stepped forward slowly and stood beside Yuk Jin-yang, as if ready to step in himself.
But the reason was different. He'd noticed Yuk Jin-yang's condition and was acting as a protector.
—He looks drained.
Yuk Jin-yang nodded without replying.
—Just hold on a bit longer. Collapsing now would look bad.
Sa Jong-seop drew the five-foot longsword from his back and aimed it at Bae Ji-hak.
"Everyone, charge!"
Waaaaah!
The shout swept across the field turned to ashes.
The warriors leaped forward in formation, their stomping feet shaking the ground. Amid the thick clouds of dust, auras and deadly strikes flew wildly. It was a chaotic melee that made one's head spin just watching.
'I could probably unleash one more absolute strike.'
Yuk Jin-yang smiled wearily. Mixed in was admiration for the body he'd inherited. Even without fully opening the middle dantian, his recovery speed was on another level compared to his past life.
He stepped back from the fight to survey the battlefield. It looked even, but the Guangdong Jin Clan was gradually being pushed back.
Bae Ji-hak's attitude was the most striking. Even with his lord's son dead, his first thought was to flee. He even seemed terrified.
"You leech-like bastard!"
Bae Ji-hak swung his sword in disgust. Sa Jong-seop parried lightly and kept pressing forward with steady footwork, leaving no room for escape.
"Today, I'll cut off your head and offer it to my sect."
"Who says you'll get it?"
Sa Jong-seop staggered back two steps from the mighty swing. Seizing the gap, Bae Ji-hak shouted.
"Azure Swallow Division, protect me!"
"How dare you utter that name!"
Sa Jong-seop bellowed, eyes bulging. He clung to Bae Ji-hak even more relentlessly. He'd completely lost his composure—the most dangerous state for any expert, high or low.
Sure enough, someone targeted his back. Masked men with twin swords and longswords broke from the melee to aid Bae Ji-hak.
Yuk Jin-yang unleashed Moon Stream Subtle Steps. Ignoring the screams of his joints and muscles, he stepped forward. The moment he entered the fray, enemies targeted him amid the chaos.
He focused solely on evasion, no counterattacks. Like flowing along a river current, he slipped effortlessly between weapon trajectories.
Thanks to that, he made it just in time.
Clang!
The Silver Dew Sword glanced off, deflecting the opponent's strike. Sa Jong-seop snapped to his senses, his face twisting in realization.
—You okay?
"I'm managing. But it looks like he's already slipped away."
Bae Ji-hak had turned and fled, leaving only his summoned subordinates behind. Sa Jong-seop glared at the two masked men.
"Surrender. For old times' sake, I'll spare your lives."
"......"
"That bastard abandoned you!"
"......We're sorry, White Tide Division Leader."
They raised their weapons, signaling their intent.
It wasn't until dawn that the battle fully ended. A crushing victory for Flying Stream Pavilion and Haenam Sect. With Bae Ji-hak fled, no one could stand against Sa Jong-seop.
Cheers of victory and survival echoed. But Sa Jong-seop stood a step apart from the excited crowd, gazing at the corpses strewn across the cold wasteland.
They all wore blue masks embroidered with swallows. Yuk Jin-yang approached and asked.
"Those are the Azure Swallow Division?"
"Yes. On the day Bae Ji-hak betrayed the sect, half were captured or killed in pursuit, and the other half stubbornly followed him to the end."
Sa Jong-seop turned slowly.
"Foolish bunch."
"......"
"So, what are your plans now?"
"Shouldn't we finish the fight with the Guangdong Jin Clan?"
Sa Jong-seop shook his head.
"It won't end easily. Fights between giant factions rarely do. Even if it does, it's seldom clean."
Clashes between massive groups meant heavy losses on both sides. Still, Yuk Jin-yang worried what decision the Jin Clan head would make. Would he choose reason even after losing his second son?
"Why not stay at Haenam Sect's main base for a while and recover?"
Yuk Jin-yang glanced back. Flying Stream Pavilion warriors looked at him with pleading eyes. They had indeed lacked rest.
Besides, there was one thing nagging him about Hainan Island. His grandfather's words.
'One of our distant ancestors had ties to Hainan Island.'
It was worth investigating. Yuk Jin-yang clasped his fists in gratitude.
"It would be a great honor if you invite me."
"From today, you may visit Hainan anytime and receive guest of honor treatment. I guarantee it in the name of Haenam Sect's White Tide Division Leader, Sa Jong-seop."
It was just before dawn. Cloud Sea Hall Leader Yuk Seo was already meeting someone early. To receive a report from a subordinate planted in the Grand Steward's office.
"Intelligence from Guangdong Province."
"Guangdong? Isn't that where Jin-yang is right now? Related to him?"
"I believe so."
Yuk Seo raised an eyebrow.
"That's vague."
"S-sorry. But it came through a secret channel under the Grand Steward himself, so I couldn't get the full details. I barely pieced together fragments."
"The Grand Steward's—or rather, the Clan Head's—intentions?"
"Yes, definitely. Why else mobilize secret agents? They're surely monitoring a person of interest."
Yuk Seo felt certain. He slapped his knee, feigning delight. A fabricated cheer.
"Our father isn't one to just stand by trusting a green boy. So, what’s the news?"
"Ruffians in Guangdong used gunpowder recklessly. They're all dead, but oddly, it wasn't the local authorities who handled it."
"Not the authorities—someone else took them out, but who they were is unknown?"
"Perhaps something the youngest young master stirred up..."
It meant deliberate intervention by someone powerful enough to make even officials hesitate.
Coincidentally, in the lands south of the Yangtze, only one family held such power besides the imperial house: the Zhejiang Yuk Clan.
The picture was crystal clear in Yuk Seo's mind. The Clan Head clearly had high expectations for his grandson's first foray into the martial world. Hence the covert protection with agents.
As his head throbbed, an irritating voice intruded.
"Wow, our cousin's making waves, huh? Blood can't lie."
"Is that the issue right now?!"
Yuk Seo bellowed, and Yuk Ju-jin, who had slyly joined the conversation, flinched. Yuk Seo rubbed his eyelids and sighed.
"He took the mission over you. You lost the competition!"
"I've done missions several times already. This is Jin-yang's first. No issue."
"Precisely three times. One you botched so bad I had to beg your uncle to cover it up. Another, I mobilized your maternal clan's power to hush it."
Yuk Seo mocked his son mercilessly. He didn't care that Yuk Ju-jin's face crumpled.
His son had a point. Just one mission hardly qualified for heir talk. Far too little experience.
But he was anxious. The Clan Head's whims terrified him.
Yuk Seo knew well how desperately his father thirsted for talented descendants. He even disdained his own children, who carried his blood thickest.
'That vicious old man.'
Yuk Seo ground his teeth inwardly. Decades striving to become heir. No thought of yielding now.
The clan must be his. Not sharing even a sliver with anyone—possessing it wholly to satisfy him.
"You."
Yuk Seo called his silently waiting subordinate.
"Yes, Hall Leader. Your orders."
"Any news on Jin-yang that reaches the Steward's office—report it to me immediately. No matter how trivial!"
"Yes, understood."
The subordinate bowed and cautiously added.
"If it concerns you that much, why not sabotage the mission directly?"
"And if caught, would you slit your throat to take responsibility?"
"S-sorry."
Yuk Seo irritably tossed a pouch from his bosom. Grace money—and a dismissal.
Finally alone, even his son chased out, Yuk Seo murmured.
"Not time to act yet. Not yet."
A whisper swallowed instantly by the wind through the paper window slits.