Chapter 85
Chapter 85
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 85
Chapter Title: Ancient Clan's Martial Genius
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Clang—!
Yuk Jin-yang deflected the staff thrust straight at him and pressed forward with a seamless flow.
The nun countered without hesitation, refusing to yield even an inch. Amid flashes scattering like foam, the resonant clash of metal devoured the silence. It was akin to the first arrow signaling the battle's start.
"Little one, you should announce yourself before barging in!"
"Kill all the heretics!"
The others joined the fray as well. Weapons danced brilliantly in the darkness. Lightning flashes erupted from every direction, and blood sprayed upward.
In the brief span it took to savor a single sip of tea, numerous exchanges flew back and forth.
Even amid the flying sparks, Yuk Jin-yang coolly gauged his opponent with clear eyes.
'As expected, their martial arts foundation is shallow.'
At best, it was mere mimicry of Buddhist martial forms.
The cult's foul heresy clashed head-on with Buddhism's teachings to pursue a righteous heart. Even perfectly replicating the forms, without grasping the underlying principles, true efficacy was impossible.
The nun was sizing him up in turn. She swung her staff wildly to secure some distance, then hesitated as she shifted her stance.
"You're no ordinary warrior."
The nun spat the words, her eyes bulging wide.
Yuk Jin-yang maintained his composure despite her repulsive gaze raking over him. His mind was filled solely with thoughts of how to cut down the enemy.
"Ah!"
An exclamation burst suddenly from the nun.
"I've heard the tales. A young warrior who recently rampaged through Shandong."
"……."
"Decapitated the Jeonam Branch's Flame Rain Nun. That has to be you. Now that I look, you match the sketch on the wanted poster exactly."
Yuk Jin-yang frowned and shot back.
"Wanted poster?"
"The desperate traces left behind by Shandong's sole survivor."
The nun grinned ear to ear, her face alight with ecstasy.
"And kindly, it came with a postscript. Kill you on sight, anytime, anywhere. Avenge our blood, it said."
"Pretty words."
Yuk Jin-yang replied indifferently, then added,
"But do you have the skill for it?"
His judgment was already set. His prowess clearly held the edge. Her brazen confidence was almost laughable. To not even gauge the vast gap in power...
The nun snorted in response.
"Cocky after taking down Jeonam's Flame Rain Nun. But she specialized in sonic arts. What a massive delusion!"
No further words were worth exchanging.
Yuk Jin-yang charged without hesitation. With a bold step that crushed the distance in an instant, he thrust his sword forward. A natural sequence of slashing strikes crashed down like a tidal wave.
She barely blocked the sword barrage, a flicker of panic crossing her face. Her staff trembled like an aspen leaf in her grip. She couldn't suppress the shock. Outmatched in the clash of qi.
Only now realizing the disparity in skill? She showed signs of slyly retreating.
'Won't let you escape.'
Yuk Jin-yang unfurled the Moon Stream Subtle Steps, effortlessly invading her guard. A fatal range for any staff wielder. Sure enough, desperation flooded the nun's face.
The languid flow of the Silver Dew Sword ensnared her forms.
In the instant their weapons tangled, he boldly slipped into her embrace with agile footwork, his left hand shooting forward. It was a linkage that had overwhelmed even the many masters he'd faced before.
Whoosh!
A shockwave from the Ten Thousand Rivers Single Source Art erupted from his palm, tracing concentric circles.
The ferocious blow lodged in her chin wrought a gruesome ruin. Her head, crushed like mud from below, twisted at a grotesque angle. A death without even a scream.
The Silver Dew Sword followed, slicing through the nun's neck. Her head rolled across the muddy ground.
The surrounding White Lotus cultists froze at the horrific demise. The fallen nun held a high position in this branch, it seemed. Otherwise, such a reaction of shattered faith wouldn't have surfaced.
"That one dared speak of heavenly punishment."
Yuk Jin-yang murmured as he steadied his breath. His gaze flicked sidelong to the headless corpse. His sword hung lowered at his side, yet not a soul dared charge him.
"Come, prove it. See if your heaven truly rages and brings punishment upon me."
Prove the heavenly punishment. His low voice reverberated like an echoing declaration of war to the White Lotus cultists around him.
It was blatant provocation from the start. A heretic demanding proof of their doctrine. A roundabout way of saying their teachings were false delusions. They had no choice but to take it personally.
Even a formally recognized orthodox sect would have been unable to contain their fury at such words. For the White Lotus cultists, seething with resentment from endless persecution, endurance was impossible.
"Insolent wretch!"
One couldn't contain his rage and lunged. Yuk Jin-yang tilted his body low and unleashed a counter.
Their strikes crossed. The foe's fist grazed past Yuk Jin-yang's shoulder blade. In contrast, the Silver Dew Sword precisely pierced the man's throat.
Having dispatched the enemy in an instant, Yuk Jin-yang leisurely scanned his surroundings.
'Ten left, then.'
When he'd first encountered them, there had seemed to be at least twenty. Won-yeong and Yu-baek must have thinned their numbers considerably.
"The brat's full of himself. Where's your focus in the middle of a fight?"
A White Lotus cultist spat the words and menacingly swung his staff through the air. Two more clung tightly to his flanks. They intended to face him with a joint assault from the outset.
The others chimed in as well.
"He doesn't know the world yet."
"Your naivety will cost you your life."
They formed a triangular formation.
A setup reminiscent of a herding hunt. Yuk Jin-yang lightly shifted his stance and probed with his sword. The foes countered immediately.
Clang! Chaeng!
In that brief moment, a fierce exchange unfolded. The staff techniques assaulting from left, right, and front wove together in exquisite harmony.
'Not bad.'
Yuk Jin-yang frowned. The White Lotus cultists' coordination was trickier than expected.
Target one, and the other two struck as if lying in wait. Entirely different from facing them individually. They alternated joint assaults and wheel tactics, forcing one-sided attrition.
It felt like battling a monster with multiple arms. A crude imitation of Shaolin's Arhat Formation, yet threatening enough.
Yuk Jin-yang heightened his senses to the utmost and attempted once more to break the encirclement. But as before, he was effortlessly blocked.
The White Lotus cultists burst into laughter.
"Persistent fool!"
"No matter how you thrash, you won't escape this place."
But contrary to their thoughts, Yuk Jin-yang found the outcome of that clash quite satisfactory. He had grasped the structure of their meticulously crafted joint formation.
Their tactics followed the principle of the later striking first. Numerical superiority and perfectly meshed coordination like clockwork gears allowed them to overwhelm even delayed responses through profound principles.
Yet delicate mechanisms were prone to breaking.
Yuk Jin-yang abruptly deployed the Moon Stream Subtle Steps.
His light forward steps toyed with space itself. The White Lotus cultists' eyes and senses registered his presence as blurred mist.
One panicked and erred. He rashly lunged from behind, targeting Yuk Jin-yang. The formation crumbled in that instant.
Yuk Jin-yang leaped into the air and flipped his body. A single move that swapped their positions in a flash.
The White Lotus cultist's face went slack as he missed his target right before his eyes. He remained oblivious to death closing in from behind.
A slashing strike whipped through like a cutting gale, grazing the nape of his neck.
Crack! Blood erupted from the split flesh. Yuk Jin-yang's face and robes were dyed red.
"Such a fool...!"
"Cunning bastard."
The remaining two exchanged tense glances.
A standoff formed where neither dared move rashly. A moment where every nerve focused solely on the opponent. Even the surrounding battles faded from awareness.
In utmost concentration.
One of the White Lotus cultists widened his stance, twisting his front foot diagonally. A posture for surging forward in one go.
"Haaap!"
Sure enough, with a shout, he thrust his staff without restraint. A brutish charge like a rampaging bull. Yuk Jin-yang slipped his body sideways while erecting his sword flat to deftly deflect the linear strike.
With elusive movements like the wind, he seized the flank.
From there, Yuk Jin-yang pivoted on his left foot and spun his body full circle. The Silver Dew Sword, freed from the weapon bind, gained rotational force as its blade unleashed a horizontal streak of cold light.
Slice!
A single cut rent his side. Yuk Jin-yang didn't stop there.
The pristine white blade wove unimpeded through droplets of blood scattering like petals. It resembled the delicate, flowing stroke of a brush. In the span of a single exhalation, the White Lotus cultist was riddled across his body and collapsed limply.
Uttering his final words at last.
"Don't... let my sacrifice be in vain...!"
Yuk Jin-yang frowned. One remained. He had retreated a few steps, clutching his staff in a stance as he gathered his qi.
The swirling aura made his skin prickle. The emanating energy was intense enough to seize the wind itself. Clear intent for an all-out assault.
"Pointless thrashing."
Yuk Jin-yang swept the air with his left hand, the one not gripping his sword. With a smooth circular arm motion, he gathered inner power from his dantian. It was the preparatory stance of the Ten Thousand Rivers Single Source Art's first form, Dragon Ascends to the Clouds.
The foe sought a contest of raw power, so he had no choice but to respond with a one-strike-kill absolute technique.
He summoned qi without reservation. A vortex swirled atop his palm. The pulsing flow of qi made the air hum.
Thud!
Both stomped forward and struck simultaneously. The released energies tangled violently.
Boom—!
The clash's aftermath brought a roar like bursting air. Turbulent currents clawed the ground, sending dust swirling chaotically.
The standoff was fleeting.
The shockwave of the Ten Thousand Rivers Single Source Art writhed like an ascending dragon. It pierced and shredded the frigid energy before scattering in all directions.
Not a cancellation. The residual force surged through the air like a flood breaching a dam. The White Lotus cultist was afforded no time to respond.
His body buckled sharply from the direct qi impact.
"Wha... what are... you, a monster...?"
His unfinished words became his epitaph. His body, swaying feebly like a blade of grass, thudded to the ground. A massive hole gaped in his solar plexus where the palm technique had struck.