Chapter 108
Chapter 108
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 108
Chapter Title: Dark Soul Annihilation Strike
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“Was there a place like this within the capital of Sichuan...?”
Gam Pa-pa asked the Tang Clan warrior guiding her, expressing her suspicion.
Gam Pa-pa's question was a test, to see if the guide intended to harm her, or if he was the type to turn a blind eye while knowing what the Tang Clan was researching.
“Haha, our Family Head considered the security of the research to be of utmost importance. I, too, do not know everything about it.”
“Is that so...”
To Gam Pa-pa, it seemed this warrior didn't know much about the secret experiments and research the Tang Clan was conducting.
“This place is merely where the disciples of the former Three Great Divine Doctors of the Central Plains, Master Baek Jung-hyeok, are staying. I heard that it doesn't contain all the real research. From what I've been told, only the main executives of the family know about it.”
“I see... Then, are the Divine Doctor's disciples, Baek Ji-pyeong, Baek Yeon-ho, and Baek So-so, all doing well?”
“Of course. The disciples of the former Divine Doctor of Sichuan are all doing well. I don't see them often, but since I'm the one who brings them necessary materials or guides their acquaintances like you, I have a general idea of how they are.”
“Hehehe, I see. You don't have the surname Tang, but Cheon. How did a warrior like you end up as a man of the Tang Clan?”
“Haha, is it that obvious? You're right. By any chance, do you know of the Cheonbu Merchant Guild in the capital of Sichuan Province?”
“Of course, I do. Isn't it the fourth-largest merchant guild in Sichuan? When I was with the Emei Sect, I even helped escort the Cheonbu Merchant Guild's shipments.”
“Haha, thank you. I am the son of the Cheonbu Merchant Guild's leader.”
“What?!”
Gam Pa-pa was astonished. The Cheonbu Merchant Guild was incredibly wealthy, wasn't it? Moreover, as the son of the guild leader, he should have wanted for nothing, from food and drink to clothing. Why on earth was he serving as a low-ranking soldier here?
“Are you perplexed?”
“Ahem... yes. I suppose everyone has their own story, but I am curious. Why is a scion of the Cheonbu Merchant Guild serving as a rank-and-file soldier here?”
“Because this is Sichuan.”
“...”
The guiding warrior's reply was concise, but Gam Pa-pa understood it instantly.
“Yes, because this is Sichuan. But what have you done to change such a Sichuan?”
“What have I done...? I have not tried to change Sichuan. It's just that from the moment I was born, the leader of the Cheonbu Merchant Guild, based in the capital of Sichuan, was my father, and all the merchant guilds in Sichuan, including the Cheonbu Merchant Guild, were kneeling before the name of the Tang Clan. That was the reality.”
“However, didn't you say it yourself? Your answer to why the son of a wealthy guild leader, who wants for nothing, is here as a low-ranking soldier. Doesn't that mean you've reluctantly accepted it because that's the reality of Sichuan? Judging by your answer, it seems you're not pleased with this reality.”
“Haha, that's right. It certainly wasn't my choice out of pleasure. However, I believe this was the best option given my circumstances.”
“The best option... You're not wrong.”
“Yes. The Tang Clan's influence in Sichuan was absolute. Even if we were the number one merchant guild in Sichuan, the fact that we had to send a son to the Tang Clan as a hostage wouldn't change. And that remained true even with the presence of the Emei and Qingcheng Sects.”
“...Yes, I won't deny that.”
“Here, the word of the Sichuan Tang Clan's Head is absolute. Even within the Tang Clan, those who dared to oppose him were all forced to live as outcasts by the clan's power.”
“Have you never thought of running away?”
“I have. But if I resisted the Tang Clan in the current situation, the Cheonbu Merchant Guild would have been annihilated without a trace. The price for my freedom would be far too great. Ultimately, I am destined to live the same life as my father here.”
The guiding warrior wore a bitter expression, though he tried his best to smile on the outside. Gam Pa-pa felt sorry for the young man.
“Don't you worry. Don't lose hope.”
“Haha, your words alone are more than enough. Thank you.”
“No, it's not just words. Who knows? Perhaps one day, a good person will become the head of the Tang Clan, not a scoundrel like Dang Baek-ho.”
“Haha, that's Gam Pa-pa for you. In all of Sichuan right now, you're probably the only one who can say such things.”
“When that day comes, I will ask the new head of the Tang Clan to send you back to your guild.”
The Tang Clan warrior was bewildered. He couldn't understand what the head of the Martial Alliance's Sichuan branch was saying. Her opponent was the Poison King, Dang Baek-ho, who had solidly maintained his position at the apex of the Tang Clan until now.
No matter that she was once an elder of the Emei Sect and was now an executive of the Martial Alliance, there was nothing she could do about the head of the Tang Clan.
However...
If such a day were to come, couldn't she at least ask?
“...Thank you.”
They pushed through the forest path and arrived at a pavilion. Indeed, being this far from the city, the Divine Doctor's disciples, who hadn't learned martial arts, wouldn't be able to escape easily.
‘How vicious, Dang Baek-ho.’
“If you'll wait in the reception room, I will call for the Divine Doctor's disciples.”
“Please do.”
“Yes. Please make yourself comfortable.”
*Nod.*
Gam Pa-pa waited in the reception room for about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea. Then, the Divine Doctor's disciples entered.
Baek Ji-pyeong, Baek Yeon-ho, and Baek So-so. They were all outstanding physicians and sages who had mastered their respective fields of study.
Baek Ji-pyeong was the foremost sage in soul-stealing and spiritual arts. Baek Yeon-ho was the most skilled in creating and handling artifacts and mechanisms. Baek So-so showed a talent for formation research as brilliant as her master, Baek Jung-hyeok.
“Gam Pa-pa!”
Baek So-so ran and hugged Gam Pa-pa.
“Hehehe.”
“Gam Pa-pa!”
“Gam Pa-pa! How long has it been?”
Baek Ji-pyeong and Baek Yeon-ho, who followed behind, also greeted Gam Pa-pa warmly.
They were all connected through Baek Jung-hyeok, and had known each other for over thirty years.
After Gam Pa-pa received a great favor from Baek Jung-hyeok thirty years ago, they had visited each other regularly. However, their contact ceased after Jung-hyeok's death.
“Hehehe, have you all been well?”
Hearing Gam Pa-pa's greeting, Baek So-so said awkwardly,
“Um... well, since Master passed away, we've just been here, doing research.”
Baek Yeon-ho and Baek Ji-pyeong also scratched their heads and said,
“Actually, Master's last wish was for us to complete the grand technique he was researching. That's why we came here to continue his work, but... we don't know if this is the right path.”
“That's right. We've been working day and night to repay the grace we received from our master, but we've begun to question if this is truly what he wanted. Gam Pa-pa, do you happen to know anything?”
Gam Pa-pa couldn't easily answer their questions. She hated herself for being so indifferent all this time and felt sorry for them.
* * *
Dang Baek-ho suppressed his boiling rage at Mu-heun's words and spoke.
“You...! It's not over yet!”
“Not over? I'll end it right now.”
“Shut up! Iron Blood Poison Annihilation Sphere!”
The Iron Blood Poison Man raised its arm and unleashed a massive sphere of poison ki. The enormous form was like a house-sized boulder, but the poison energy soon condensed to the size of a fist.
Then, with a monstrous shriek, it shot toward Mu-heun.
“Kiiiaaaak!”
Mu-heun did not dodge. He had resolved to shatter Dang Baek-ho's ultimate technique head-on.
To grant him death without leaving even a shred of hope. That was the prescription Mu-heun, as the Divine Doctor, was giving to Dang Baek-ho...
“Heavenly Demon Divine Sword. Third Form. Asura's Heaven-Annihilating Art: Heaven Severance.”
The energy of Demonic Transcendence exploded from the tip of the Sun and Moon Sword in Mu-heun's grasp. The sound of space tearing apart echoed as the underground cavern split.
*CRACK!*
Dang Baek-ho's final secret technique, the Iron Blood Poison Annihilation Sphere, cracked and exploded against Mu-heun's Asura's Heaven-Annihilating Art: Heaven Severance. The severing strike, along with the explosion, split everything apart, starting from the underground cavern all the way up to Dang Baek-ho's office.
The sight was truly as if the heavens themselves were being torn asunder.
* * *
While Pa-sun and his group were talking, they suddenly felt a tremor from underground that shook the very earth.
*RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE!*
“Elder Pa-sun... Wh-what is this...?”
“...I don't know either.”
Just then, another tremendous roar echoed, and this time, they could identify its source.
Dang Baek-ho's office was swelling as if it were about to explode. From within, a chillingly potent aura of deadly poison billowed out in black clouds.
Pa-sun's lips trembled as he watched the poisonous aura.
“N-no way...”
At that moment, the poisonous aura leaking from the office split along with the building itself. The entire area, including the office, began to cleave in two, emitting a violet light.
*CRRAAACK!*
A sky-shattering boom filled the entire Tang Clan's territory. Black poison energy shot up like ash from an erupting volcano. However, the poison was instantly incinerated by the violet flames that followed.
*FWOOOOSH!*
Pa-sun saw it.
The black poison man forcing its way out of the fissure.
‘So, it's finally entered the final phase.’
Dang Baek-ho dodged Mu-heun's attack and rose into the air, where the already devastated territory of the Tang Clan came into full view. He could also see Gu Pae-seon, the Cloud Dragon of Kunlun, and other masters approaching the Transcendent Demon level.
Dang Baek-ho realized he had no way out.
“So it has come to this...”
Mu-heun also leaped up from the ground and said to Dang Baek-ho,
“You just don't know when to give up.”
“What? Give up? Kuhahahahaha! You want me to beg for my life from the likes of you? I'd rather die!”
Dang Baek-ho had to make a decision. Even if he managed to defeat that demon, he would be so exhausted that Pa-sun would kill him. He had to end it all at once with every last bit of his strength.
“Myriad Arts Return to One.”
The Poison King leaped into the air and, with Myriad Arts Return to One, pulled up all the hidden weapons.
The weapons of the Assassination Demons, the Extreme Poison Dancers, the Dark Demons, and the Poisonous Blade Demons, along with the hidden weapons of all his subordinates, rose into the sky. The sheer number of weapons filling the air blotted out the moonlight over the Tang Clan, casting a gloomy darkness.
“Heavenly Extreme Iron Blood Poison! Myriad Blossoming Rain!”
The Tang Clan's ultimate technique, the Heavenly Extreme Iron Blood Poison: Myriad Blossoming Rain, unleashed by the Poison King with all his remaining power, was on a completely different level from the standard version.
Poisonous tigers flowing with venom clung to every hidden weapon as they began to descend from the sky.
Mu-heun and the other warriors knew.
If they were hit by even a single one of those weapons, even a master with considerable resistance to poison would die instantly!
Moreover, the range was so vast that there was nowhere for Pa-sun, Mu-heun, and their group to escape.
Once again, they faced a desperate, life-or-death situation.
Mu-heun showed a smile.
“I'll show you exactly what the Divine Arts of the Heavenly Demon are.”
Mu-heun aimed his Sun and Moon Sword at the hidden weapons raining down like divine punishment from the heavens.
“I will pierce the heavens.”
A violet demonic flame rose from the tip of Mu-heun's sword.
“Heavenly Demon Divine Sword. Fourth Form. Five Elements Demonic Sword: Dark Soul Annihilation Strike.”
The sky, dyed a verdant green.
The moment the countless hidden weapons were about to fall to the ground.
A colossal violet flame shot from Mu-heun's sword and began to fill the skies of the Tang Clan.
As if declaring that the darkness of the world was not true darkness, it rose, embracing all shadows.
Every hidden weapon that touched the violet demonic flame,
could not make a single sound.
They were simply engulfed in the black and ominous flames and turned to dust...
*FWOOOOSH*
blazed up,
and then vanished.
And so, Mu-heun's Annihilation Strike, seemed less like an attack and more like an intent to erase everything that existed in that place...
It created a giant hole in the sky.
The Poison King, Dang Baek-ho, the apex and head of the Sichuan Tang Clan, was completely erased from this world, leaving not a single trace behind.