Chapter 130
Chapter 130
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 130
Chapter Title: The Enigmatic Youth
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Half a day had passed since the later-generation disciples began following Cheonhwi, who walked ahead of them.
Silently chasing after him for a while.
"But......"
Huangbo Sohyun glanced at Cheonhwi's back as he walked ahead and whispered quietly.
"Who is that guy?"
She was incredibly curious about his identity.
A overwhelming level of martial prowess in the appearance of someone in his early twenties.
Such a person wasn't common in the martial world.
If she had to name some, there were about three who had recently risen to fame in the current jianghu.
Wudang Sect's senior disciple, Jade Kirin.
The youngest disciple of the Evil-Black Alliance Leader, Black Night Asura.
The Jegal family's eldest son, Heavenly Dragon.
Huangbo Sohyun stared at Jegal Seung-ho.
"It can't be Heavenly Dragon......"
That left Jade Kirin and Black Night Asura.
However, judging from the brutal handiwork he'd shown just moments ago, it absolutely couldn't be Jade Kirin, and while Black Night Asura was somewhat suspicious, that didn't quite fit either.
"He clashed with the Sun-Moon Sect, so probably not Black Night Asura either......"
As Huangbo Sohyun fell deep into thought.
"Or maybe he's a hidden expert in seclusion, or someone who hasn't been active in the jianghu until now."
Jegal Seung-ho, who had been quietly listening to her whispers, spoke in a calm voice.
It was the most plausible answer.
How could they possibly know who he was?
No, before that, which faction did he belong to?
They didn't even know if he was from the Central Plains or from beyond the borders.
'Still, there's one thing I do know.'
Everything was shrouded in mystery, but Jegal Seung-ho was certain of one thing.
He wasn't one of those three.
"So he's someone we don't know."
Huangbo Sohyun pouted her lips a few times.
'I wanted to find out who he is......'
He was someone who piqued her interest a little.
The skill to wipe out the entire Half-Moon Hall.
On top of that, his indifferent and cold demeanor blended with his striking appearance, exuding a unique charm.
Of course, she had been terrified by his brutal torture, but it was hard for the still-young girl to completely shake off the budding fascination.
At that moment, Yang Se-ryeong, who had been walking silently, frowned and spoke.
"He's walking awfully slowly."
Her expression looked displeased.
It was a bit strange.
After an attack, they should be hurrying to put as much distance as possible, yet the young man ahead was strolling leisurely.
As if on a casual excursion.
At her words, Paeng Cheol-wi and Jegal Seung-ho's expressions also furrowed in seriousness.
"We should be rushing, but he's going this slow. Is there something happening nearby?"
"Or maybe he has some other purpose."
Even though Jegal Seung-ho spoke unconsciously, he couldn't quite understand it himself.
It was definitely odd behavior.
An attack had just happened, yet he was this relaxed.
Normally, they should have crossed the ridgeline by now, but they hadn't even left the mountain yet.
'He's not deliberately going slow either......!'
Suddenly, a bolt of realization struck his mind.
Thinking an absurd thought, Jegal Seung-ho stared wide-eyed at Cheonhwi's back, his trembling lips parting with effort.
"N-No way, is he targeting......"
The later-generation disciples reacted to his appearance, as if he had realized something.
"Do you know something?"
"Got any guesses?"
"Do you know?"
"Not for sure, but......"
As Jegal Seung-ho, with a tense expression, was about to say something.
"......!"
He shut his mouth at the sudden gaze.
Because the young man ahead was looking back at them.
"You're still following."
As they recoiled in shock, Cheonhwi turned his head forward again.
'Whatever.'
He cut off his interest at the same time.
It didn't matter if they followed or not.
Right now, something else was more important to him.
At that moment, Cheonhwi's footsteps stopped.
"It's getting dark already."
The sun had already set, and the moon was half-emerging from the clouds in its place.
Under the faintly shining moonlight.
"They were probably waiting for this moment?"
Cheonhwi's eyes gleamed fiercely as they slowly descended from the sky.
Dozens of presences felt from afar.
They were closing in slowly, like beasts that had spotted prey.
As they came within close range.
Pababat!
Hidden weapons poured in from all directions.
"Hidden weapons again? Isn't this getting stale?"
Cheonhwi deflected the hidden weapons flying shrouded in darkness and unleashed Lightning Shadow Step.
"......!"
Those who had been hiding in the darkness throwing the weapons frantically looked around for the suddenly vanished Cheonhwi.
"......?!"
"Where'd he go?"
"Here."
At the sudden voice from the side, the ambushers quickly hurled the hidden weapons concealed in their sleeves toward it.
Swaeak!
The hidden weapons flew buried in the darkness.
A stealthy and cunning hidden weapon technique.
But.
Deopchok.
The hidden weapons they threw were caught between the fingers of Cheonhwi, who had appeared beside them.
Cheonhwi lightly tossed the hidden weapons upward, then gripped them in his palm.
And infused them with internal energy.
Wuuuung!
The darts hummed, sparks of lightning flickering.
The ambushers, alarmed by the ominous change in the darts, tried to widen the distance with their movement techniques.
"Here, catch."
With those words, Cheonhwi threw the darts.
Kururung!
A faint thunderclap rang out, and five bolts of lightning flashed in the darkness.
The lightning exploding in the darkness shot toward them at astonishing speed, engulfing them.
Kwajik! Kwajik!
Five crisp sounds burst forth.
Large holes pierced the ambushers' foreheads, the smell of burning flesh filling the air.
"Not bad among dart techniques."
Cheonhwi flicked his fingers and turned his gaze toward the direction he had thrown the darts.
The dart technique he had just used.
Flying Thunder Daggers had not only pierced the five who threw them through the forehead but even gone through trees before slowly losing power and falling.
"Let's see. The rest are......"
He rapidly extended his senses.
His senses instantly dominated fifteen zhang, capturing the presences of those lying in wait, holding their breath.
"Over there."
Cheonhwi's figure vanished.
Heavenly Flight Steps made his body lighter than air, closing distant gaps in an instant.
"Kuaaak!"
"Keuk!"
Screams echoed loudly.
Cheonhwi's hands and feet danced wildly upon finding the ambushers, overwhelming them.
Palm strikes, kicks, staff techniques, etc......
Countless martial arts unfolded, claiming their lives one by one.
"......!"
"Such martial arts......"
The later-generation disciples, who had formed a defensive formation against the sudden ambush, gaped in astonishment.
In the blink of an eye.
In that short time, Cheonhwi was displaying astonishing prowess.
And not just that.
He toyed with them overwhelmingly.
The meaning was clear: the difference in skill between him and the current ambushers was immeasurable.
"How does he take out three with one sword strike......"
"Is that even possible?!"
"At least Peak realm......"
The later-generation disciples couldn't hide their shock.
They knew he was strong, but witnessing it firsthand was on another level.
"......"
Especially Paeng Cheol-wi, the only one who could properly observe Cheonhwi rampaging, clenched his lips in frustration.
'Heaven Beyond Heaven...... is that it?'
An inexplicable emotion boiled within him.
A stifling chest, a sense of defeat and despair.
Defeat.
'Cheol-wi, the world is vast. How could you be content with the fame of Earth Dragon!'
He squeezed his eyes shut, gripping his massive sword tightly. Moments later, he snapped his eyes open and let out a shout.
"Uwaaa! Come at me, all of you!"
Like venting his rage, he charged at the rushing ambushers, igniting his internal energy.
"Paeng Gongzi?"
Moyong Sang was startled by Paeng Cheol-wi suddenly roaring like a beast.
'He can't endure without letting it out.'
Jegal Seung-ho understood his feelings.
Inferiority and defeat.
Emotions he himself had felt every time looking at his brothers in the past.
'It'll be tough to shake it off.'
He felt pity.
A major upheaval must have struck his life, which had been smooth until gaining the Earth Dragon fame—probably even more so than his own.
"Watch for ambushes and hidden weapons."
Jegal Seung-ho called out, unsure if Paeng Cheol-wi heard, and caught his breath.
'Paeng Cheol-wi is Paeng Cheol-wi.'
He wasn't in a position to worry about others.
Right now, his own life was priority.
'I have to protect my own life. He's handling the ambushers, but he won't help us.'
Though only a day together, he had gauged the young man's temperament.
Sole supremacy.
The term fit him perfectly.
'Just endure the ambushes.'
Standing on the brink of life and death, his mind was colder than ever.
Soon, as he pulled a silk whip from his sleeve and slowly gathered internal energy.
"Kuk!"
Paeng Cheol-wi clutched his side.
"......Vicious!"
He ground his teeth and said.
They were tenacious foes.
Not only blocking paths with hidden weapons and darts, but their occasional ambushes exploiting gaps were too cunning to block.
Then.
"Kuluk!"
Paeng Cheol-wi hurriedly turned to see Moyong Sang vomiting blood.
He looked to have sustained internal injuries from enduring the continuous attacks.
"Moyong Gongzi?!"
"......!"
Huangbo Sohyun and Yang Se-ryeong, building the defensive formation beside him, flinched.
"I'll block the attacks. You two treat him."
Paeng Cheol-wi bit his lip.
"Paeng Sohyeop! Can you handle it alone?"
Huangbo Sohyun stuck close to him.
The one who had protected her during the ambushes was none other than Paeng Cheol-wi.
She asked with worried eyes.
He was in bad shape now.
Unable to block all hidden weapons, several were lodged in his forearm, and his neat uniform was soaked in blood.
"This much is nothing."
"But your wounds are already......"
"I'm fine. Kuk!"
Paeng Cheol-wi gritted his teeth.
It was his own mistake.
He could have dodged the hidden weapons, but shocked by Cheonhwi's martial arts, he faced them head-on and exposed a gap.
That led to these wounds.
"This is my mistake."
Paeng Cheol-wi met Huangbo Sohyun's eyes and spoke softly.
"Huangbo Sojeo. If I fall here, go straight to him."
"Then what about you, Paeng Sohyeop......"
"Leave me."
"But how can we abandon you."
"I don't want to hold you back."
With resolve in his words, Huangbo Sohyun had no choice but to nod.
"Got it! In return, if you survive, I'll avenge you."
"That's enough."
Paeng Cheol-wi smiled satisfiedly and slowly exhaled his ragged breath.
Then, his eyes flashed open.
"Now fall back."
"......Got it."
At Paeng Cheol-wi's request, Huangbo Sohyun bit her lip and created distance.
She then moved to Yang Se-ryeong's side.
"Heup!"
Paeng Cheol-wi gathered his internal energy.
The energy flowing majestically from his body slowly enveloped his entire form.
The North Hebei Paeng Clan's hereditary martial art.
The profound energy of the Heaven-Earth Void Infinite Divine Art wrapped around him calmly rather than fiercely, as if sensing his will, and began permeating his body.
However, focusing on gathering energy exposed a gap.
Tat!
Not missing it, five Sun-Moon Sect disciples appeared silently and thrust their swords at Paeng Cheol-wi's back.
"Where!"
At that moment, Paeng Cheol-wi snapped his eyes open.
And twisted his waist, using his left foot as pivot.
The ambushers' eyes widened at the incredible speed unfit for his massive build.
Then Paeng Cheol-wi's sword gleamed.
"Heup!"
The startled Sun-Moon Sect disciples hastily withdrew their swung swords and dodged frantically.
Because they sensed an ominous energy from his sword.
But the sword swung faster than they thought, cleaving through them.
A gruesome sound of flesh tearing and short screams erupted.
Paeng Cheol-wi twitched his brow at the fallen foes.
Jureureuk—
At that instant, blackish blood trickled from his mouth.
The same dark blood Moyong Sang had spat earlier.
Paeng Cheol-wi wiped it with his sleeve.
Then shouted vigorously.
"Come! I am Paeng Cheol-wi of the Paeng Clan!"
His resounding cry reached Cheonhwi's ears.
'Interesting guy.'
Calling enemies despite his battered state.
No different from suicide, yet he stood unshakeable like Mount Tai.
On the contrary, he displayed remarkable skill.
'He'd be quite a match against Jeokgeom.'
Watching his swordplay against dozens of Sun-Moon Sect disciples sparked that thought.
As Cheonhwi watched Paeng Cheol-wi, the opposing Sun-Moon Sect disciples saw an opening and kicked off the ground simultaneously.
Unleashing Moon Form Divine Steps, the Sun-Moon Sect disciples closed in on Cheonhwi instantly.
Ssuuk!
Seven blades thrust out suddenly.
Cheonhwi dodged six protruding blades merely by shifting his stance, then caught the remaining one barehanded.
And yanked it.
"Heok!"
With a startled cry, a pale-faced man was dragged forward.
In that moment, Cheonhwi's hand moved.
Ttudok, the man's head twisted in an impossible direction.
"Curious who the Sun-Moon Sect Leader is."
Truly an amusing bunch.
He didn't know what kind of person the Sun-Moon Sect Leader was, but his subordinates kept charging solely to kill him, regardless of their comrades dying.
Just like now.
"Not loyalty."
Cheonhwi smirked.
He had one guess.
"Must be because of that internal art."
He looked closely at their eyes.
Their pupils were slightly dilated.
Like opium addicts, or those berserk from bloodlust.
'Made an interesting heart method.'
Cheonhwi tossed the corpse aside.
Puk, it impaled on a rushing blade from the side.
"You bastard!"
"Using a corpse as a shield?!"
Glaremaring fiercely at Cheonhwi throwing their comrade's body, they charged.
Cheonhwi chuckled at them.
"Expecting mercy from enemies?"
"Y-You! Vicious bastard!"
"We'll tear your limbs to shreds!"
Cheonhwi smirked at their words.
"What? You're no different."