Chapter 53
Chapter 53
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 53
Chapter Title: Embroidered Uniform Guard
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“What!”
Yuk Ryul’s expression changed. He swiftly drew his sword and swung it at Ji-hyeon. The fierce strike narrowly grazed past, slicing through the empty air.
The impostor unleashed his lightness skill, effortlessly slipping out of the sword’s reach with graceful ease. It was hard to believe such nimble movements came from a body that looked barely able to walk.
No sooner had Uncle Dang’s sword missed than Yuk Jin-yang stamped forward. He thrust his fist like lightning, but Ji-hyeon’s hand twisted in an uncanny motion, trying to seize his wrist. It was an unbelievably swift Golden Claw Hand.
He hurriedly swung his arm to knock away the man’s hand. He had nearly surrendered his wrist without a fight.
It wasn’t due to carelessness. The opponent’s Golden Claw Hand had simply been far more refined than anticipated. This was no technique Ji-hyeon should possess.
Yuk Jin-yang steadied his stance and asked,
“Where is Ji-hyeon?”
“You’re not asking because you expect an answer, are you?”
His voice had changed. It carried a neutral tone laced with the soft accent typical of southerners.
One could alter face and build with Disguise Art and Bone Shrinking Technique, but changing accent and voice was rare. It required long years of training as a spy, or the aid of sorcery. One or the other.
A certain group came to mind first.
“...A White Lotus Cultist?”
“Who knows?”
He retorted mockingly. It was clear he had no intention of answering easily, no matter the question.
“If you want to know Ji-hyeon’s whereabouts, scour the area thoroughly. That is, if you manage to escape here alive.”
The man snapped his fingers. The eyes of the nearby officials shifted. They shed their sloppy, lax demeanor and revealed a fierce resolve.
A murderous aura radiated in all directions. These were no ordinary rural officials—they were seasoned assassins.
Instead of picking up the weapons they had dropped on the ground, they drew short narrow swords from their sleeves. Weapons favored by martial artists of the rivers and lakes.
Yuk Jin-yang quickly exchanged glances with his uncle.
—You take that woman.
—Do we really need to divide like that?
—When the tide turns, the leader will try to flee first. She’s clearly skilled in martial arts. Take your eyes off her, and she might slip away.
—Understood.
—Be careful.
Right after their silent exchange, the impostor posing as Ji-hyeon spoke.
“Attack.”
The assassins leaped up simultaneously, employing lightness skills. They rained down like arrows.
Yuk Ryul responded without hesitation. He leaped high into the air and unleashed a palm strike mid-flight.
Paaah!
The surrounding air warped. The burst of energy surged upward like cresting waves, dense and substantial—not mere venting of qi.
It was a Qi Veil. A technique weaving tangible true qi into a tight barrier. But Yuk Ryul’s Qi Veil didn’t just envelop—it advanced like a raging gale.
The assassins caught in the supreme lightness art lost momentum and were pushed back. Instead, Yuk Ryul charged at them first. Blades soon clashed.
The Ji-hyeon impostor glanced at the unfolding battle and sneered.
“This is why the Ancient Clan fools are so predictable. All high-and-mighty, but utterly lacking in situational awareness.”
“What nonsense is this?”
“You really think you have a chance? Even as the Bansan County Escort, dragging around dead weight like you leaves no room for hope.”
“...”
“Pride won’t save your life, you know.”
Yuk Jin-yang extended his arm toward the nonchalant foe. The man countered once more with Golden Claw Hand. His fluid hand movements danced through the air, elegantly deflecting Yuk Jin-yang’s flow in a seamless sequence.
Yuk Jin-yang twisted his body swiftly. The opponent’s aimless hand didn’t wander the air but targeted his collar directly. He blocked with his elbow while counterattacking the man’s face with his other arm.
Shhkk!
It grazed by a hair’s breadth. No direct hit, but it tore off the human skin mask.
Yuk Jin-yang’s eyes widened involuntarily.
Incredibly, the face beneath the mask belonged to a woman. The transformation was astonishing.
No trace remained of the pudgy, ugly features of the corrupt official. Only the refined beauty of a woman in her mid-twenties lingered. Her haughty eyes and striking features left a strong impression.
The woman’s expression darkened coldly. Her appearance beyond the face began shifting moment by moment.
Her build shrank to a slender frame, her height increased. The profound Bone Shrinking Technique was nothing short of mystical.
One might suspect even this was deception, but no signs of Disguise Art appeared. This was her true form.
“This is just like men. Distracted the moment they see a face.”
A sharp tsk of the tongue accompanied a supreme palm strike. It came with bold advancing steps, heedless of retreat.
No sooner had he blocked than a barrage followed. The strikes came at an absurd speed.
No grand eruptions of power typical of palm arts, but speed and variation shone. The onslaught of feints and true strikes was intricately precise.
‘No ordinary master.’
The techniques poured like a downpour. Coming from point-blank range, the fist and palm barrage was all the trickier. There was no opening to draw his sword.
‘But if it’s close-quarters brawling, I welcome it.’
Yuk Jin-yang prepared to counter with the second form of Ten Thousand Rivers Single Source Art: Chaotic Waters Separation Strike. Against Golden Claw Hand mixed with flurries, it would maximize effect at this range.
But as he gathered qi for the counter, the woman leaped back with lightness skill. A retreat without the slightest hesitation—proof she viewed the fight from a broader strategic perspective.
Yuk Jin-yang exhaled in vain. The woman smirked and shrugged.
“Did you think I’d just stand there and take it? How naive.”
Even her speech had lightened. Was this her natural tone? Or another act?
Feeling a sense of dissonance, Yuk Jin-yang inwardly experienced a fresh thrill. Among his peers, this was the first opponent to match him in combat.
The woman murmured softly.
“But you finally got the mask off. Now I can’t hold back anymore.”
“Shouldn’t you be the one surrendering after showing your true face?”
“No, there’s always the option of killing everyone.”
The aura emanating from her entire body had shifted dramatically. A cold, sharp edge like a honed blade radiated outward. Yet it lacked any demonic taint.
Those adept at transformation yet wielding pure qi were rare in the world. The Beggars’ Sect would lack depth; cults would carry their signature malice.
Not the Tang Clan either—they would employ far subtler methods.
“Not beggars, so not the Beggars’ Sect.”
The woman’s face went blank, as if struck at a vital point.
Daring to strut in Huangbo Clan territory while impersonating officials narrowed the possibilities sharply. Even audacious unorthodox sects wouldn’t lightly challenge this.
In other words, an origin even the Huangbo Clan couldn’t ignore.
It had to be the Embroidered Uniform Guard. The Emperor’s piercing gaze over the realm. Yuk Jin-yang frowned and probed indirectly.
“Is aiding the cults the Emperor’s true intent?”
“Watch your tongue. He’s no one for the likes of you to name lightly.”
No sooner had the words left his mouth than the woman closed the distance with light, unhurried steps. Even compact footwork unleashed tremendous speed.
He deflected the sudden fist with his forearm, but the clashing qi’s sharpness stung his skin.
Though the strike was parried, she pressed forward with advancing steps, unleashing a flurry. Her feet moved in straight lines, but her arms traced unpredictable paths.
She wielded feints and variations freely. Not mere bluffs—these were setups to gather and explode power.
Her hand, seeming to execute Golden Claw Hand, hooked like a tiger’s claw in an instant. The supreme claw technique split the air, slicing wind. His sleeve tore where qi grazed it.
Combined with the earlier fist and palm arts, the profound, flashy movements were highly distinctive. A name naturally surfaced in his mind.
Tiger Luxuriant Guard Art. The Embroidered Uniform Guard’s standard martial art, known only by rumor.
A time-honored supreme art dating back to the Han Dynasty, said to be the original of Dragon Claw Hand, one of Shaolin’s Seventy-Two Supreme Arts.
The woman stamped forward again.
Thud!
Yuk Jin-yang swung his arm wide to knock away her fist. Despite the heavy impact, she didn’t retreat. Ducking low, she burrowed into his guard.
Her arm shot out with an afterimage, coiling like a serpent.
But he had counters for close combat.
Yuk Jin-yang read her flow and disrupted her trajectory. Crossing his arms to block, he released the pressure instead, closing in tight. A seamless chain of instant actions.
Close enough to feel each other’s breath. Realizing she was caught, the woman’s pupils dilated. Too late.
Yuk Jin-yang’s fist flashed like lightning. Not a single blow but a storm of thunderbolts in succession.
The combo of Ten Thousand Rivers Single Source Art’s Chaotic Waters Separation Strike slammed into her torso. He clearly felt her protective qi barrier shatter and scatter.
“Guhk, kuhuk!”
The final close-range strike sent her tumbling far away helplessly. Even laced with Internal Weighty Hand, she hadn’t lost consciousness.
“Huu...”
A groan escaped the woman as she barely steadied herself. Blood trickled between her clenched teeth. She had taken severe internal injuries.
It astonished Yuk Jin-yang too. He had been certain of her death when unleashing his ultimate technique. He worried he’d killed her before extracting information.
He hadn’t expected her to cling to life. Even after piercing her protective qi and applying Internal Weighty Hand.
The mystery resolved quickly.
Beneath her torn robes gleamed armor. It showed no dents despite the massive blow.
‘No odd sensation even when striking with my fist. A rare treasure?’
Most rivers-and-lakes masters wore protective qi. No one would bother with cumbersome gear unless it surpassed qi barriers.
The woman abruptly raised her arm. Anticipating it, Yuk Jin-yang seized her wrist. He sealed her movements with pressure points. A long needle dropped from her grasp, clattering to the ground.
“Kuk!”
“Did you think you’d get a chance to end it yourself?”
“You’d be better off killing me now. No torture will make me talk.”
Yuk Jin-yang glanced back. Yuk Ryul, having dispatched the assassins, approached shaking his head.
—If she’s truly Embroidered Uniform Guard, better to use her as a bargaining chip than kill her outright.
—True enough.
Embroidered Uniform Guard elites underwent grueling training. Skilled in martial arts and every trick of the trade. The court wouldn’t abandon her lightly.
“Of course, we’ll interrogate her first. Just in case.”
Yuk Ryul muttered coldly.