Chapter 158
Chapter 158
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 158
Chapter Title: Casting the Bait
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Paehyeolgok, watching this unfold, burst into a wide, mouth-splitting laugh.
“Khahahahahaha! What a sight! What a magnificent sight! Khuhuhu.”
His hearty laughter abruptly ceased, his expression turning grim.
“Shut your mouths, you foolish imbeciles.”
He then unleashed the energy he had been holding back.
*Kwoong!*
A crushing pressure, as if the very sky had grown heavy. The aura of a Transcendent Realm master descended upon the entire Fierce Sword Sect, and the disciples who had been shouting fiercely fell silent.
The fear of death consumed them in an instant.
In a world where the strong prey on the weak, those raised by the law of the fist could instinctively feel it when they met someone stronger. The weak had no choice but to surrender all their rights to the strong.
Even if that right was over life and death itself.
In that moment, the disciples' faces turned as pale as their Sect Leader's had been just moments before.
But the Sect Leader steeled his resolve.
A desperate situation. Since it had come to this, the single-minded determination to save at least one of his own reignited the fighting spirit in his eyes.
“Fierce Sword Sect! Do not panic! This is Paehyeolgok of the Seven Valleys of Slaughter! Elders, join me in a coordinated attack! The rest of you, escape this place at once!”
The Sect Leader's shout, already accepting death, drove the fear from the disciples' hearts.
“B-but…!”
The elders assessed the situation quickly, but the less experienced disciples began to hesitate. The elders then shouted at them sternly.
“Don't just stand there like idiots, go! You'll only get in the way! Go!”
“Y-yes!”
The disciples understood. Their Sect Leader and elders intended to die to save them. But they couldn't stop them. Because they wanted to live…
As the disciples of the Fierce Sword Sect fled, they thought.
It wasn't that they were ungrateful for being taken in from rock bottom, fed, and sheltered. But there was nothing they could do by staying.
Their only hope was the Martial Alliance headquarters nearby. The disciples sprinted with all their might, aiming to escape and seek help from the Alliance.
The Martial Alliance, or even just Heavenly Dragon Fortress!
Seeing the disciples' decision, the Sect Leader let out a sigh of relief.
“Hoo….”
Then, he looked at Paehyeolgok.
His eyes wide, he shouted.
“Elders, follow me and strike this bastard! We'll use the Nine Formations of the Fierce Sword!”
“Yes!”
The Sect Leader and the elders instantly surrounded Paehyeolgok, forming a sword formation. Yet, Paehyeolgok merely curled his lip into a sneer, making no move to counter.
“Why don't you attack? If you had struck first, the children might not have been able to escape.”
“Escape? Who said anyone escaped? Not a single one of them will leave this place alive.”
“…”
“Consider it an honor that I, Paehyeolgok, will kill you and your elders myself. As for the rest of your disciples, they have likely already been killed by my brothers.”
“Wh-what!?”
“Didn't you hear me? Or has fear driven you mad? Ah, don't tell me you thought I came here alone? Keukekeuk.”
“D-don't tell me…”
“I heard you were ruthless for an Orthodox Sect, willing to do whatever it takes… But now I see you're quite soft. This is why you people can never defeat us.”
“Y-you bastard…!”
*Swish!*
Just then, Paehyeolgok instantly swung the Heavenly Eagle Demon Scythe from his back, and the heads of the four elders surrounding him went flying.
“That's enough flapping your gums.”
“A-attack!”
From that moment on, it was Paehyeolgok's cruel one-man show. The elders of the Fierce Sword Sect were dismembered, their hearts pierced, their bodies split in two as they died.
The time it took for one man, Paehyeolgok, to kill all the elders was about a quarter of an hour.
The only survivor was the Sect Leader, but his limbs had been severed, and he was in no condition to live.
Paehyeolgok picked up the head of one of the elders, trudged over to the fallen Sect Leader, and crouched down.
“Sect Leader, you were rather impressive. Knowing you were going to die, yet trying to save your disciples… it's different from the reputation I'd heard of the Fierce Sword Sect.”
“P-please… Please.”
“Hm? Ha, begging for your life now… How disappointing. Do you really think you can survive at this point?”
“P-please. My disciples. Spare them.”
“Ah… See? Still impressive. In that case, I'll show you something nice as I send you on your way.”
Paehyeolgok shouted over the walls of the Fierce Sword Sect.
“Are you done yet?! Bring them here!”
Instantly, over a hundred figures leaped over the wall and formed ranks behind Paehyeolgok. A foul stench of blood rose from all around.
Each of them held several heads in their hands. The Sect Leader of the Fierce Sword Sect recognized every single one, and he shed tears of blood, coughing up the thick fluid rising in his throat.
“Y-y-you…! You bastards, I'll tear you to pieces!!”
Watching the Sect Leader, Paehyeolgok maintained his sneer.
“You heard what those brats said to me earlier. How could I possibly let them live? Keulkeul. Sect Leader.”
“You bastard! That's because you…!”
Paehyeolgok grabbed the Sect Leader's head with one hand.
“Farewell.”
*Splat!*
The head in his hand exploded, leaving no trace behind.
*Swish!*
Paehyeolgok shook the blood from his hand and the Heavenly Eagle Demon Scythe.
“Bury all the bodies. Wash their martial arts uniforms and change into them. And use all their assets to donate to the Martial Alliance, whatever it takes to ensure we can participate in the upcoming Dragon and Phoenix Assembly.”
“Yes, sir!”
Just then, the Second Valley of the Seven Valleys of Slaughter, Neunggwangok, approached him.
“Brother, who should we choose as the young warrior to participate in the Dragon and Phoenix Assembly?”
“It doesn't matter who. Pick some of the moderately skilled ones who haven't yet reached their thirtieth year and teach them Orthodox Sect martial arts.”
“Do you think they can learn them?”
“Even if they can't learn them, make sure they can at least mimic them. That's why I chose the Fierce Sword Sect, the one with the worst reputation among the Orthodox Sects.”
“Understood.”
“Ah! There is one, isn't there? A strong one under thirty. The strongest among all our subordinates in the Seven Valleys of Slaughter.”
“…You mean Jogok.”
“Yes. If he keeps growing like this, the Seven Valleys of Slaughter might become the Eight Valleys. Let's use this opportunity to gauge the strength of those Orthodox bastards through him.”
“An excellent idea.”
Paehyeolgok and Neunggwangok smirked, awaiting the arrival of the Dragon and Phoenix Assembly.
***
Two days had already passed since the start of the Dragon and Phoenix Assembly.
The young warriors showcased their skills, competing to determine who was superior. They exchanged fierce blows, unconcerned about injuring themselves.
Every one of the young warriors looked joyful. It seemed like a festival for the people of the martial world.
After all, what was the point of honing one's martial arts? Without a place to use them, one would simply grow old and wither away.
Mu-heun was beginning to understand the mindset of martial artists, and he found it rather interesting.
Just then, he noticed some martial artists scanning the audience.
They seemed to be looking for someone, showing no interest in the tournament itself.
*‘So it's them.’*
An hour ago, Mu-heun, following the Soul-Stealing Immortal's introduction, had a long conversation with the Beggars' Sect Leader and the Underworld Sect Leader. Afterward, he returned to his room alone and took out the Ghost Spirit Talisman.
He had then chanted the incantation to summon Hyeok.
“When Yang reaches its peak, Yin is born. When Yin reaches its peak, Yang is born. Heaven does not have a principle of endless killing.”
At that, Hyeok, the Heavenly Demonic Corpse, emerged from the Ghost Spirit Talisman, and Mu-heun gave him a mission.
“Now, you will become the bait that lures the bait.”
The Heavenly Demonic Corpse, Hyeok, repeatedly flared his ominous demonic energy before suppressing it. Then, he walked toward the audience seats to watch the Dragon and Phoenix Assembly.
Mu-heun also headed for the seats, keeping a close watch on Hyeok. The entire plan had been relayed through the Beggars' Sect and the Underworld Sect.
*‘Let's see what you've got.’*
Since all he had to do now was watch from a distance, he planned to carefully observe the four individuals he might end up fighting.
***
The Dragon and Phoenix Assembly proceeded smoothly.
The sword of a man named Baek-ryeon from the Mount Hua Sect was unpredictable and sharp. He would dazzle his opponent with flashy swordsmanship, then cunningly mix feints with true strikes to exploit their openings.
*‘Impressive.’*
Dang So-so of the Sichuan Tang Clan also displayed skills that were no less impressive. No, not just impressive. They seemed far superior.
How many young warriors could possibly withstand her hidden weapon techniques and poison arts?
All who had faced her so far had been eliminated helplessly.
The saber arts of Paeng Gang-hyeok from the Hebei Paeng Clan were also befitting of the term 'hegemonic'. When he brought his saber down, it felt as if a great tiger's roar was shaking the mountains.
Seeing his opponent, a young warrior from the Diancang Sect, knocked out without even attempting a single counterattack, one could feel just how overwhelmingly powerful the Paeng Clan's saber arts were.
And what of the Namgung Clan, said to be the greatest of the so-called Five Great Families? They certainly proved their reputation was no empty boast.
Namgung Yeon of the Namgung Clan seemed more than worthy of succeeding the current family head, the Imperial Sword, Namgung Jin.
Befitting the name of his sword style, the Imperial Sword Form, his every stance and movement carried a tremendous aura.
As he overwhelmed his opponents, he maintained a flawless sword form, showing not a single opening, as if he would not permit even the slightest counterattack.
Man-jeok of the Wudang Sect was also a fighter who controlled the flow of battle with his fluid swordplay.
Because Wudang's swordsmanship was based on countering after the opponent's move, the fights didn't end quickly, but he achieved complete victory after weathering all of his opponent's attacks.
Jegal Hyeok of the Jegal Clan, Murong Hwi of the Murong Clan, O Gyeol of the Beggars' Sect, and Geum Pyeong of the Zhongnan Sect also showed outstanding talent.
Of course, in Mu-heun's eyes, they didn't even come close to his level.
But it was true that they were exceptional for young warriors, so Mu-heun applauded the effort they had put into honing their martial arts.
Just then, Eon Hwa-taek of the Jinju Eon Clan stepped onto the stage.
“…Hmm?”
There was something strange about Eon Hwa-taek's eyes. Mu-heun observed him closely but found nothing unusual about his martial arts, his manner of speaking, or his scent. However…
Something felt inexplicably unsettling.
When he focused his inner sight, the man's eyes looked as if he were possessed. Yet his actions were those of a proper martial artist, which created a strange sense of dissonance.
His opponent was Jogok of the Fierce Sword Sect.
A fight between the Fierce Sword Sect and the Jinju Eon Clan.
In truth, under normal circumstances, there was no way a young warrior from a small sect like Fierce Sword could defeat one from the Jinju Eon Clan, who were nearly on par with the Five Great Families.
*‘However, if my suspicions are correct… that Fierce Sword Sect is likely not the Fierce Sword Sect at all, but the Unorthodox Sects in disguise.’*
The other young warriors from the Fierce Sword Sect who had competed before had all been eliminated. The one remaining now was exceptionally strong among their ranks.
*‘I have a bad feeling about this.’*
Regardless.
“Let the match begin!”
With the announcer's declaration, the match between Eon Hwa-taek and Jogok began.