Chapter 50
Chapter 50
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 50
Chapter Title: Clash with the Huangbo Clan
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A thick killing intent sent goosebumps rising from the nape of his neck. It was humid and sticky, like rising dampness.
The sound of footsteps crushing fallen leaves approached as loudly as a heartbeat.
"Those calling themselves the Ancient Clan have finally come, have they? Truly a bunch that knows no giving up. Shandong has been our territory for nearly a hundred years now."
"They're trapped in their long history, unable to face reality. They still delusionally think the world belongs to them."
A young man and woman emerged from beyond the muttering.
They were clad in silk martial robes, with gauntlets on both hands—fully geared. Their attire was already different from the previous foes. Clearly, they were of the Huangbo Clan.
Both sides faced off against each other. The man opposite opened his mouth in a cocky stance.
"Don't be too harsh. Aren't they truly pitiful? They call themselves warriors, yet they're obsessed with playing at genealogy."
"Ghosts bound to the past. Don't they need a proper exorcism? In a very harsh way."
A faint sense of inferiority complex lingered in their exchange of words. Yuk Jin-yang, who had been staring at them silently, slowly opened his mouth.
"Are you from the Huangbo Clan?"
"Your hearing must be poor. If you heard our conversation, you should've understood on your own."
The woman spat venomous words from her pretty lips. Ignoring it, he continued his questions.
"But those corpses are White Lotus Cultists. You dare collude with heretics who disturb the common folk?"
The woman and man snickered in mockery. The woman answered.
"Collude? What nonsense. We command them. They're dim-witted and worthless idiots, but not entirely useless."
"Admitting it openly, are you? Have you no fear, having committed a crime worthy of extermination of your three clans?"
"Hmm, so you're here to punish us on behalf of the court?"
The woman strode forward boldly, closing the distance into Yuk Jin-yang's range. Without a shred of fear.
Ignoring distance in a standoff between warriors was blatant disdain for the opponent. Yet the woman before him seemed utterly lacking even in the insight to gauge his level.
Unaware that Yuk Jin-yang was inwardly mocking her, she kept prattling on.
"Don't make me laugh. You, who defy the court and show suspicious movements, dare punish us? I'm truly curious whose side the court is on."
"Is it because you have no roots?"
"What?"
"Colluding with a cult, do you not know what harm their false and empty teachings bring upon the world?"
The thick brows of the man and woman twitched. They seemed to be siblings. Their features and mannerisms were strikingly similar.
"A rootless family's birth doesn't go anywhere."
Yuk Jin-yang continued without a care. When it came to verbal provocations, he was confident. It was what was called the strategy of enraging the enemy—a trick he'd picked up while living as an assassin.
He already knew the sore spot of these upstart clans. The root of their inferiority complex stemmed from their petty origins.
"Well, I suppose it's understandable. A family that forged its genealogy must feel ashamed in many ways. Your founder impersonated the Huangbo nobles from the states of Zheng and Han, but in truth, he was of the Huang clan, wasn't he?"
"What nonsense are you spouting?"
"A lowly carriage driver, so his upper body was well-developed, and by chance, he obtained a fist art that synergized well with it."
"You bastard."
"In that light, you're truly an ungrateful lot. Unable to revere your own ancestor and instead coveting another's family."
His words suddenly painted the opponents as unfilial traitors to their forebears. Laced with mockery of their ancestors to boot.
"...Hah."
A stunned laugh escaped her. It was then, as the woman seemed ready to strike at any moment.
"Step back three paces. That's the opponent's range."
The Huangbo Clan man restrained the woman and stepped forward himself. His expression had sunk into calm. His aura was like ice.
Fueling his anger into killing intent like kindling wood. The bearing of a seasoned master.
Yuk Jin-yang circulated the energy of the Moon Maiden Divine Art. The inner power bolstered from his dantian swirled like raging rapids. He assumed a perfect stance.
The Huangbo Clan. Though their founder had forged a genealogy, the merits they had accumulated could not be dismissed lightly. The provocations were just that—provocations.
Their history might be short, but they were descendants of heroes who had navigated chaotic times. There was good reason they had survived the turmoil at the end of the Yuan dynasty.
When it came down to it, the Ancient Clan's origins weren't much different. Founders born as nobles were rare even in the Ancient Clan. Most had risen to prominence amid chaos, founding their houses and establishing merits.
-I'll take the man.
It was Yuk Ryul's sound transmission. Yuk Jin-yang gave a short nod. His gaze remained fixed ahead.
It was a chance to gauge his achievements thus far. Nothing more. He wasn't particularly wary of the opponent either.
Yuk Jin-yang already had experience clashing with a member of the Huangbo Clan. It had been in his previous life. Thus, this fight was closer to a touchstone than mere nourishment.
The Huangbo Clan specialized in close-range chain assaults. They were a breed that never hesitated or feared diving into the opponent's range. He couldn't afford to let his guard down for even an instant.
"Wouldn't it be better to draw your sword? If it's not just for show, that is."
The Huangbo woman's cherry-red lips twitched. She grimaced even as interest flickered in her eyes.
"You're not thinking of facing us with bare-hand fighting, are you?"
In lieu of an answer, Yuk Jin-yang stepped forward. It was markedly different from the so-called advance step.
With a light tread that skimmed the ground, he pushed off. Qi erupted from the Yongquan acupoint on his sole, whipping up the wind and seizing it. He took a large stride forward.
Moon Stream Subtle Steps. He drew out the full utility of the Yuk Clan's supreme evasion art.
Yuk Jin-yang felt the soft, supporting breeze cradling his body. Amid the fluttering sound of the wind, he folded space and dashed forward.
The woman's face, now right before him, was dyed in shock. Yuk Jin-yang thrust his arm toward her dantian. The majestic force of the Ten Thousand Rivers Single Source Art exploded outward.
Craaang!
The opponent was pushed back several steps. The strike hadn't landed cleanly. She had barely deflected it with her arm. It seemed she had circulated protective qi to even block the aftershocks of the force.
Through the scattering dust, the woman's face came into sharp focus. It was twisted fiercely, her pride wounded.
"Insolent... fearless wretch."
With those spat words, the woman crouched low. From her extremely tilted posture, she stomped an advance step and charged straight in. Amid the wind's howl, words grazed past his ear.
"Daring to enter the Huangbo Clan's range?"
A fist flew at him. Straight and nimble. A killing strike that could inflict fatal injury without much power. The condensed qi barely skimmed past Yuk Jin-yang's side.
The woman's assault didn't end there. Yuk Jin-yang parried moderately while observing her movements.
Each was a severing short strike. The forms were simple, yet flashy upper-body motions naturally linked into combos.
The core was movements like a venomous snake stalking prey. Built on left-right shifts, with up-down variations.
It was an application of centrifugal and centripetal force. A feat made possible by waist flexibility and profound footwork training.
Such techniques invariably prioritized balance. Thus, the key to breaking them was the central axis.
Yuk Jin-yang employed the Moon Stream Subtle Steps. He boldly extended his leg on purpose. To entangle with the opponent.
Their knees and shins collided. Yuk Jin-yang had blocked her path. The Huangbo Clan's linear footwork was thrown into disarray. Her exposed instep was laid bare defenselessly. Without hesitation, he stomped down.
"Aaaak!"
The woman's scream soared high.
Yuk Jin-yang twisted his waist. The preparatory posture for unleashing the Ten Thousand Rivers Single Source Art. Force converged to a single point surged forth like a torrent.
Craaaang!
The whirling qi wave struck her lower dantian directly. It pierced even her protective qi. The woman's body, flung far away, rolled several times before barely coming to a stop. Her eyes were unfocused.
She looked on the verge of death at any moment. A natural conclusion after sustaining a fatal wound.
Yuk Jin-yang regulated his breathing. Sensing a gaze, he turned to see Yuk Ryul staring with eyes wide round, standing before the corpse of the man whose head had been severed.
"What on earth was that martial art just now? It wasn't Swirling Stream Chaotic Flowers Art."
"Ten Thousand Rivers Single Source Art."
"Hah, so you took that manual from the Martial Valor Hall. It had been discarded, unrestored by anyone."
Leaving his uncle's admiration behind, Yuk Jin-yang approached the woman. She was still clinging to life. Just as he moved to ease her pain.
She vomited dark red blood and barely moved her lips.
"Consider yourself fortunate. That you didn't encounter a direct descendant of our clan. Had it not been a side branch like me, you wouldn't have taken me down so easily with your tricks."
Even now, trying to sow delusion and complacency. Even downplaying herself to do it. At that viciousness, a hollow laugh escaped him. Even the last shred of mercy vanished.
"You asked why I didn't draw my sword. Because you weren't worth it."
"Ha...! Arrogant fool."
"It wasn't a flaw in your clan's hereditary arts. It was your own lack of cultivation."
Without waiting for a reply, he snapped her neck. The lifeless corpse no longer even twitched.
Yuk Ryul approached and placed a hand on his nephew's shoulder. Kneading the muscles in commendation of his efforts, he added praise.
"Well done. You've earned merit on your first mission. It wasn't an easy opponent, yet you ended it in ten exchanges. I thought you'd hold your own based on what you showed at the entrance spar, but this exceeds expectations."
Yuk Ryul held a letter in his hand. Yuk Jin-yang asked.
"Looks like you found something."
"I found proof in the pocket of the one I beheaded. A letter detailing the exact quantities of materials to requisition across Shandong."
"Their guts must be spilling out. Or perhaps even that was an order from above."
The authority to dispose of or manage materials in each province lay with the court. The entities carrying out the orders were supposed to be the local officials. It wasn't something a mere martial clan could usurp.
Moreover, those aiding that scheme were White Lotus Cultists. All the more suspicious.
"That's my thinking too."
Yuk Ryul muttered, hand to his forehead.
"Why on earth bring in the White Lotus Cult? And why haven't any reports come in?"
"Let's go find Ji-hyeon first. We might be able to wring some information out of him."
"You good?"
He meant, could he handle back-to-back fights? Yuk Jin-yang nodded.
"Perfectly fine."
He answered confidently.
The utility of the Moon Maiden Divine Art was rising day by day. His body's endurance was on another level compared to before. Even after fighting without shaking off the fatigue, he had preserved his energy fully.
The two men composed themselves and headed toward the government office.