Chapter 98
Chapter 98
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 98
Chapter Title: That's How We Live
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Their leader was A Seokbu, the one who had carried Ak Muyoo to his room.
"Let him go."
A Seokbu said.
"Ara."
"Yeah."
"Get a read on those guys' skills."
"They're strong."
Mok Woo answered immediately, as if he had already assessed them.
"That level of energy means their internal energy is at least at the Twofold Realm at minimum."
"Each and every one of them is at that level?"
"Yes."
"Is there an organization in the Central Plains where the minimum internal energy is at the Twofold Realm?"
"Not that I know of. The closest would be Jam Ma Cheon's One Hundred Radiant Demons."
"Then it'd be wise to let me go."
Ma Dun Ji Rang said.
"But..."
Ak Muyoo tilted his head.
"What's wrong?"
"No hostility. Their killing intent is weak too."
That was what puzzled Ak Muyoo. Having been through countless battles, he might not be great at gauging exact skill levels, but he could instantly tell if enemies were ready to fight. Yet these people had weapons drawn but looked unprepared for battle. Even if they lacked real combat experience, this was excessive.
"Anyway..."
Getting out of here came first.
"Drop your weapons and make way. Or this guy dies."
"Kill him, and you die too."
A Seokbu shouted.
"But he'll die first."
Ak Muyoo lifted Geopma.
"Stop!"
A booming voice rang out as Byuk Noe and his group rushed in. The crowd parted left and right, clearing a path.
Soon Byuk Noe and his group took the lead. Ak Muyoo set Ma Dun Ji Rang down and pressed Geopma to his throat.
"Let him go."
Byuk Noe shouted.
"First, you'll have to seal your acupoints, right?"
"We'll..."
"No seal, and this old man dies."
"Then you die too."
Byuk Noe said the same thing as A Seokbu.
"Is the old man right-handed or left-handed?"
Ak Muyoo looked at Ma Dun Ji Rang and asked.
"Right-handed."
"Then he doesn't need his left arm."
Ak Muyoo extended Ma Dun Ji Rang's left arm to the side.
"Wh-what are you doing?"
Ma Dun Ji Rang cried out with a frightened face.
"This old man's arm getting cut off is all because of them."
Ak Muyoo raised Geopma high.
"A-alright. We'll seal ourselves."
Byuk Noe shouted.
"Mok Woo, old man."
"Yes."
"Go seal them."
"Got it."
Mok Woo's group headed toward Byuk Noe's group. They first sealed Byuk Noe and the other five, then the rest. With so many, it took time.
"You think you can escape from here?"
Byuk Noe said coldly.
"The old man doesn't need to worry about that. Mok Woo, old man."
Ak Muyoo called to Mok Woo, who stood beside Byuk Noe's group.
"Yes."
"Bring those old men over."
Ak Muyoo pointed at Byuk Noe's group.
"Got it."
Mok Woo's group obeyed.
"Guide us out."
Ak Muyoo said to Byuk Noe.
"..."
Byuk Noe's group didn't budge. Though sealed, they had no intention of leading Ak Muyoo's group out.
"You lot only cry at funerals."
Ak Muyoo fully extended Ma Dun Ji Rang's left arm.
"St-stop!"
"Stop!"
Byuk Noe and Ma Dun Ji Rang shouted at once.
"Too late."
Ak Muyoo swung Geopma down mercilessly.
Slash!
"Arghhh!"
A agonized scream burst from Ma Dun Ji Rang's mouth. Ak Muyoo held up the severed arm and stared at Byuk Noe.
"I'll kill you..."
Killing intent poured from Byuk Noe's body.
"You killing me is natural, but me cutting off this guy's arm is a death sentence? That it?"
Ak Muyoo tossed the arm aside as he spoke.
"..."
Byuk Noe had no retort.
Ak Muyoo was right. After absorbing the Heavenly God Five Ki, Ak Muyoo would become crippled or die. Everyone knew that. Yet no one cared about his well-being.
They took it for granted.
"Guide us."
Ak Muyoo said, unfolding Ma Dun Ji Rang's right hand.
"Why not just cut off my head?"
Ma Dun Ji Rang said.
Ak Muyoo looked at Ma Dun Ji Rang.
He had thought Ma Dun Ji Rang incompetent until now. Position makes the man, but Ma Dun Ji Rang had been utterly frivolous. Now he was completely different.
"Come to your senses?"
"Seems so."
"Anyone facing death reviews their life. Realizes what they've overlooked. Late, but good sign. But I won't cut the old man's head off. No point in a headless hostage. I'll cut him piece by piece to threaten them until he dies. After the right arm, if they don't listen, the left leg. Then the right leg."
"Cruel."
"Ten years on the battlefield turns you cruel."
"You were on a battlefield?"
"Ever held the hottest seat in hell? Understand then?"
"Even so, they won't yield."
"No, they'll have to. You've got too much to lose."
"We who can't even leave the underground have much?"
"You've got martial arts and internal energy."
"You haven't lived enough to know martial arts and internal energy aren't vital for living."
"Rich folks say the same. Life isn't just about money. That's easy for the filthy rich. For those who never had it, have none now, and won't—money's king. Even buried in it at death, they'd kill to be rich once."
"That's how internal energy is for you?"
"Could the old man absorb all the Heavenly God Five Ki, then accept an empty belly with 'Oh well, bad luck'?"
"Even funnier? My head's stuffed with Mad Blood Calamity Demon Flow, Illusion Demon Twelve Forms, Solar Heaven Sword, and Divine Demon Solar Ring techniques."
"You truly inherited their legacy."
"This Geopma you said wasn't? It is. Transformed this pufferfish-lookin' thing. Know why?"
"How should I?"
"Changed it so experts like you wouldn't recognize. Trained Mad Thousand Blood Steps and Mad Blood Calamity Demon Flow, yet turned it like this. Still, I'm alive. Not just surviving death. Clinging desperately every moment. Hoping, disappointed, hoping again..."
"..."
"Let's go."
"Guide us."
Ma Dun Ji Rang calmly said to Byuk Noe's group.
"Yes."
Byuk Noe bowed his head. The group moved. Ak Muyoo's group led, Nuran Kingdom folk followed with weapons drawn.
After half a shichen, they reached upward stairs.
Woof!
Then a Jabjong's bark echoed from somewhere.
"I'm here."
Ak Muyoo shouted.
Woof!
Soon the Jabjong bounded out.
Woof woof woof!
It wagged its tail joyfully, circling Ak Muyoo.
"Your life's as tough as mine. Yeah, live like that. As long as you don't die, you're living, mutt."
Ak Muyoo grinned and looked at Byuk Noe.
"Up there is outside."
Byuk Noe pointed up the stairs.
"Go."
Ak Muyoo jutted his chin. Byuk Noe led.
Moments later, they emerged outside.
"Oh! Shadowless Lake..."
Forgetting he was a hostage, Ma Dun Ji Rang knelt, hot tears streaming as he gazed below.
"Let's go."
The group descended to the city.
"Dead city."
Ak Muyoo murmured, looking around. Buildings lined left and right or radially, a massive lake too, but no life stirred.
Over a millennium abandoned should mean weeds everywhere, yet not a blade of grass. A perfectly stagnant city devoid of vitality.
"The city was hidden inside the formation?"
Ak Muyoo asked.
"Yes. This is Muyoung Kingdom, also Nuran Kingdom."
Ma Dun Ji Rang said.
Ak Muyoo looked skyward. No idea what it was like before, but now it seemed normal.
"But you didn't stay fully underground all these years. Why not leave?"
"Not wouldn't—couldn't."
"Reason?"
"Tied to our survival."
"...So we can't go out, right?"
Curious what tied to survival, but couldn't ask.
"Right."
"Old man's first time here too?"
"Yes."
"Let's sightsee first."
The group walked. Long uninhabited, but rats lived. A few darted between buildings.
Following the road led to a plaza, right by Shadowless Lake.
The plaza was over a hundred zhang wide. Towers dotted center and edges, eroded beyond original shape. Dozens of stone platforms lined the edges, likely market stalls.
"Market, huh?"
"Called West Plaza."
Ma Dun Ji Rang said.
"West Plaza—like Western Pure Land Plain of Tianshan?"
"Name from Muyoung Kingdom days, used in Extreme Bliss Kingdom too."
"I see. Why Extreme Bliss Kingdom there?"
Ak Muyoo nodded and asked.
"Shadowless Lake's other name is Extreme Bliss Lake. They say it was once full of Extreme Bliss Birds' paradise."
"What's an Extreme Bliss Bird look like?"
"Phoenix-like, but smaller. Red petal-like crest, long orange tail, deep yellow wings."
"Flashy."
"World's flashiest bird, they say. Lake filled with them."
"Teeming with people too?"
"Probably."
"But today, it'll be corpses."
"You really mean to kill us all?"
"Not you—those..."
Ak Muyoo pointed rightward across the plaza.
"Those..."
Ma Dun Ji Rang trailed off.
Hundreds of armed martial artists on camels entered the plaza.
They were the Black Sand Black Dragon Heaven warriors who had chased Ak Muyoo's group.