Chapter 155
Translator: uly
Chapter: 155
Chapter Title: Finally Becoming a Martial Artist
‘Huh?’
Yo Pung, who had been dozing off on the side, suddenly widened her eyes. A powerful energy had snagged on her senses. Her gaze turned toward Ak Muyoo.
‘What’s that?’
Her eyes grew even wider.
Incredibly, a force field had formed around Ak Muyoo’s body. That force field only manifested when a peak-level martial artist drew up their internal energy. Yet Ak Muyoo, who had no dantian, had produced one.
And that wasn’t all.
Her gaze shifted to Ak Muyoo’s right arm. The Geopma he always wielded had thrust out. But it wasn’t limp like usual. Ak Muyoo lacked internal energy, so whenever he drew the Geopma, it always hung slack. But now it stood rigid. Moreover, the Geopma brimmed with something. Like a venomous snake eyeing its prey, the Geopma slowly undulated up and down.
Ak Muyoo’s right arm pulled back.
Whoosh!
His right arm soon arced forward, the Geopma following in its wake.
Slash!
The sound of something being severed rang out.
Yo Pung shot to her feet.
Thud!
The head of one of the Twelve Branch Statues dropped cleanly off.
Yo Pung’s eyes widened. The distance between Ak Muyoo and the statue was a zhang. Even fully extending his arm, the Geopma, and its connecting chain wouldn’t reach.
Yet the statue’s head had been sliced off.
Boom!
Ak Muyoo dropped to one knee as well.
Yo Pung rushed to his side.
Ak Muyoo kept his head bowed.
Yo Pung watched him quietly. His shoulders trembled slightly.
‘Understand. It’s the result of waiting thirty years without any promise.’
Yo Pung nodded.
How hard had she worked to gain her own powerful martial arts? Ak Muyoo’s desire must have been hundreds of times greater than hers. If he couldn’t master martial arts, he could never eliminate his mother’s killer.
And now, he had finally unleashed not just martial skill, but true martial arts. She couldn’t tell if what he’d just released was sword aura or sword bullet aura, but he’d severed the neck of a statue a zhang away.
He’d achieved what he’d never even dared dream of, so of course he was overcome.
“Waaah!”
A wail burst from Ak Muyoo’s mouth.
Soon his sobs turned to heaving cries. Kneeling, he wept uncontrollably.
She left him be and stepped out of the tomb. It seemed best to let him be alone right now.
Gazing at the sky, she pressed her palms together.
“Thank you, ancestor.”
‘Everyone deserves at least one stroke of good fortune in life.’
From the far end of the heavens, it felt like Yao Hwan was grinning broadly.
Ak Muyoo emerged after about the time it takes to eat a meal.
He sat silently beside Yo Pung.
“Feel refreshed?”
Yo Pung asked.
“Yeah.”
Ak Muyoo nodded.
“You can memorize what’s inside, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Memorize it.”
“Take the parchment manual yourself.”
“What for?”
“Do like me.”
“Like you?”
“Use the manual to make a subordinate.”
“You think it’ll work?”
“No loss if it doesn’t.”
“Pfft! Fair enough.”
Yo Pung grinned.
“Let’s pack up.”
The two reentered.
They took the parchment manual and memorized the contents carved on the stone slabs before erasing them.
“Got this too.”
Yo Pung held up a thin garment.
“What’s that?”
“Yao Hwan’s assassin’s protective robe.”
“Over two hundred years old and still intact—must be a treasure.”
“Yeah.”
“But isn’t it too thin?”
“Thin, but impervious to water and fire.”
“Definitely a treasure.”
“For an assassin, yeah.”
“Could wear it as underclothes in winter, at least.”
“True.”
After packing, they mounted camels and headed near the Yellow River. Their yurt still stood there by the river—the one they’d deliberately left behind.
They unpacked inside the yurt, cooked and ate a meal first.
Then they washed in the Yellow River and, just like the night before, hung their clothes to dry inside the yurt before bedding down.
Ak Muyoo couldn’t sleep for a long while.
Gaining the Chaos Force felt like a dream. He feared waking up and returning to square one.
“Feels like a dream?”
Yo Pung asked.
“Yeah.”
“Me too.”
“When?”
“When I drank the Clear Blue Stone Oil you gave me and shed my mortal body, and when I gained the White Wolf Heaven-Shattering World Transformation.”
“Not just me, then.”
“You’ll adjust in a few days.”
“Right.”
Ak Muyoo nodded.
The next day, they ate breakfast and set off. The weather was clear and fine. After crossing the river, Ak Muyoo ran instead of riding the camel.
To familiarize himself with the Chaos Force he’d learned the day before. He didn’t know when it would end, but he’d have to relentlessly move his arms and legs until it felt perfect. Unlike stationary practice, moving while doing it had subtle differences, but Ak Muyoo kept his limbs in motion without rest. A distance that should take one shichen took two.
“…….”
After running for a long stretch, Ak Muyoo halted. It was the spot where he’d told Hwe Ong to wait.
Hwe Ong was gone.
“Guess he left.”
He shrugged and resumed walking.
“I told you not to trust people lightly.”
Yo Pung said.
“Doesn’t matter if he becomes a subordinate or not.”
Ak Muyoo’s arms and legs moved rapidly. Chaos Force generated. He kept moving them in that state. Before long, his movements shifted to Mad Thousand Blood Steps.
Even after shifting to Mad Thousand Blood Steps, the generated Chaos Force didn’t dissipate. Black radiance began pouring from the Geopma he swung.
At first, the radiance was faint.
But as time passed, it grew stronger until it turned inky black. The black radiance was eerie and chilling. The Geopma’s speed increased until it became invisible.
“Nice.”
Yo Pung beamed.
Halt!
Ak Muyoo, swinging the Geopma, stopped in place.
“He didn’t leave?”
He said to the empty air.
“Can you sense my presence?”
Hwe Ong revealed himself and asked.
“Yeah.”
“I trained hard to recover my body, but I still have a ways to go.”
“I’ve mastered the Beast Blood Demon Art perfectly, so I sense it instinctively.”
“I see.”
“Why didn’t you go?”
He asked again.
“Nowhere to go. Nothing to do.”
“Stay by my side, and you might not live out your natural lifespan.”
“Truth be told, I thought it over a lot. I concluded that dying while doing something is better than wasting time pointlessly.”
“……Anyway, let’s make it work.”
“Yes.”
“Ride that camel.”
Ak Muyoo pointed to the empty one.
“Master…….”
“I need to train my martial arts.”
Ak Muyoo dashed off again in Mad Thousand Blood Steps. His speed was terrifying—like a martial artist unleashing a movement technique.
“I’m Hwe Ong.”
Hwe Ong introduced himself to Yo Pung.
“I’m Yo Pung.”
“You don’t seem from the Central Plains…….”
“Born here.”
“I see. By chance, is your surname Yao?”
“Yes.”
“There was once a legendary assassin here with the Yao surname. Do you know of him?”
“You mean the Faceless Demon Cat?”
“You know him?”
Hwe Ong asked, astonished.
“I’m more surprised Old Man Hwe knows the Faceless Demon Cat.”
“My ancestor was his disciple. Thanks to that, my sibling and I took the path of assassins.”
“If a disciple, then your ancestor must be from the White Wolf Heavenline Yao Clan?”
“You even know the White Wolf Heavenline Yao Clan.”
“It’s my family.”
“No way…….”
“But it’s gone from the world now.”
“How did it fall?”
“The Faceless Demon Cat assassinating Seong Gil Sahan became the root of disaster.”
“He assassinated Seong Gil Sahan?”
“At the order of I Hyeon, king of the Western Xia Kingdom at the time. But I Hyeon betrayed him…… no, betrayed the White Wolf Heavenline Yao Clan. He handed the clan over to the Mongol army on grounds of independent action. All ten thousand of them. They were boiled alive in a massive cauldron.”
“No way…….”
“Enraged, he killed I Hyeon, and the Western Xia Kingdom fell.”
“……So that’s the hidden history.”
“I only learned after entering his tomb.”
“I see.”
Hwe Ong turned his head.
Ak Muyoo was still racing ahead at frightening speed, now barely visible.
“Shouldn’t we hurry?”
“He’ll come back.”
“…….”
“That’s how he trains. Practices to the point of death, then practices more. Until calluses form not just on his body, but in his heart.”
“You said before he hadn’t learned martial arts…….”
“Not that he hadn’t—it’s that he couldn’t.”
“What do you mean……?”
“He has no dantian.”
“…….”
Hwe Ong stared blankly at the now-fading figure of Ak Muyoo. Just moments ago, Ak Muyoo had definitely unleashed aura. Or at least, something like it. But it was no weaker than aura—stronger, even. Yet no dantian?
“He still has no dantian now. But it seems he found something to replace it.”
“Is that possible?”
“I don’t know the details. But one thing’s clear: he’s finally become a true martial artist.”
Roooaaar!
A beastly roar echoed from afar. Yo Pung smiled faintly. Ak Muyoo’s roar no longer sounded lonely or desolate.
Ak Muyoo, who had sped far ahead, was visible racing back.
Whoosh!
Yo Pung kicked off the camel and launched herself.
Sching!
A blade emerged from her waist as she flew.
“Cha-ha!”
Yo Pung swung her blade with a shout.
“Urk!”
Hwe Ong paled in terror. Hundreds of white wolves charged toward Ak Muyoo. The distance between Yo Pung and Ak Muyoo was a full fifty zhang. Yet the wolves’ momentum didn’t slacken at all.
“Ta-ha!”
A shout burst from Ak Muyoo’s mouth too, as his Geopmas slashed fiercely through the air.
The blade momentum he unleashed didn’t extend far like Yo Pung’s. But it wrapped around him like an iron fortress, shooting forward with him.
Soon, Ak Muyoo clashed with the wolf pack.
Clang! Clang-clang! Clang-clang-clang! Cha-cha-cha-chang!
Blue sparks flew everywhere as the wolf pack shattered into pieces.
“Yi-ahap!”
A second cry erupted from Yo Pung. Her form soared ten zhang into the air, and hundreds of white wolves rained down like a storm.
The white wolves plummeted claws and fangs bared. It was the second stance of White Wolf Heaven-Shattering World Transformation: White Wolf Aura Rain Assault. The wolves falling from the sky like plunging spears were all aura. The sight of aura raining down was overwhelming. There was no dodging it—only meeting it head-on.
“Kraaaah!”
A monstrous roar exploded from Ak Muyoo.
His Geopmas became engulfed in pitch-black energy. The energy layered around them, forming a massive lump.
It was a gigantic meteor hammer wrapped in aura.