Chapter 243
Chapter 243
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 243
Chapter Title: Arrogance
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"Tsk tsk, so arrogant. So very arrogant."
Giryunno extended his dry, withered fingers—like barren tree branches—and pointed at Cheonhwi.
"Are you saying you're going to take on me and this one all by yourself right now?"
Cheonhwi glanced at the finger Giryunno was jabbing toward him and twisted the corner of his mouth.
"That's right."
"Puhahaha!"
Giryunno clutched his belly and burst into roaring laughter.
As his laughter began to die down, tears streaming from his eyes, he looked at Cheonhwi and spoke.
"Heh heh heh, you're the second one to treat me like this."
"Huh? Second?"
Cheonhwi tilted his head.
"That's all? Just second?"
Giryunno's laughter cut off abruptly at Cheonhwi's mocking words.
"Being young, you don't know the fear of the world."
A chilling killing intent flickered in Giryunno's eyes as he stared at Cheonhwi, then quickly vanished.
The moment his hand began to move...
"That one's my prey."
The white-clothed Ghostface glared at Giryunno with eyes gleaming with murderous fury and spoke.
"You handle those ones."
"A shame. I wanted to tear him apart with my own hands."
Giryunno glanced at the white-clothed Ghostface, chuckled darkly, and retreated.
Whoosh!
The white-clothed Ghostface unleashed his killing intent.
Rage now dominated his mind.
'How dare he touch this podao...!'
He glared once more at the halberd that had been snapped in two, grinding his teeth as killing intent poured out.
The podao in his hand had been personally given to him by the Bandit Chief himself. It was no different from the object that had granted him a new life in the past.
But what was this mess now?
It was broken in half. And the snapped portion was in the hands of that brat whose head wound hadn't even dried yet.
"You bastard... grrr!"
His eyes, dripping with furious venom, rolled back high in unbridled rage.
"Hm?"
Cheonhwi watched Giryunno heading toward Hyeonyang and Hyeonheo, mumbling to himself.
"Not coming together?"
The white-clothed Ghostface lowered his gaze.
"I'm more than enough for you."
"Doesn't look that way at all."
Cheonhwi tilted his head, smirked, and raised his sword.
"Whatever. Doesn't matter. I'll just kill you first and then that old man after."
The white-clothed Ghostface's face hardened coldly at Cheonhwi's confident words.
"You're harboring vain hopes."
With those words, his eyes gleamed fiercely.
At the same time, his internal energy began to boil, his eyes turning red.
Whoosh!
Uncontrolled killing intent exploded outward.
His previously relaxed, indifferent expression twisted instantly into that of a ferocious demon.
Just like his moniker, 'Ghostface'.
"You're the one dying here."
With that, the white-clothed Ghostface stomped the ground powerfully.
Boom!
A shockwave erupted from the heavy footfall, propelling him forward like an arrow.
One step, two steps, three...
With each stomp, his speed increased, closing the distance in an instant.
Whirlwind Step.
A crude footwork that simply shot forward without finesse.
But it was enough.
Grrrrrind—
His shoulder twisted, wrist snapping over as he swung the broken podao from above downward.
Screeeeech!
The ferocious slash, fueled by his charging momentum, came hurtling in.
If it landed properly, even a transcendent realm master wouldn't block it easily.
But his opponent was Cheonhwi.
Clang!
With a casual flick of his sword blade, Cheonhwi deflected the slash and looked ahead.
The white-clothed Ghostface, who had closed in again with the slash, swung his podao once more.
Screeeeech!
The blade tore through the air with a deafening roar, chopping down like an axe.
Aiming to split Cheonhwi's head.
But.
Whoooosh—
The mighty swing missed Cheonhwi's clothes entirely and passed by.
The white-clothed Ghostface cried out in disbelief.
"What?!"
Unbelievable.
To dodge such a swing with just half a step.
Bodywork that was hard to believe even seeing it.
But that wasn't the end.
Using his right foot as a pivot, Cheonhwi spun once and kicked off the ground lightly.
Thud!
In an instant, he was right in front of the white-clothed Ghostface, twisting his lips.
"That's not all, is it?"
At the mocking words, the white-clothed Ghostface gripped his podao again and swung wildly.
His ultimate technique, taught directly by the Bandit Chief and used to behead countless transcendent realm masters.
Lightning Blade.
The swift, perfectly timed saber art targeted Cheonhwi's neck in one breath.
But.
Whoooosh—
The blade merely sliced empty air.
"...?!"
Shock filled the white-clothed Ghostface's eyes.
Cheonhwi, who had been right there, vanished in that instant.
As if he were an illusion.
'When did he...?!'
He hadn't even blinked, yet Cheonhwi disappeared like he'd been possessed by a ghost. The moment he turned his head to search...
"Gasp!"
He urgently jerked his head back.
A sharp sword blade was already swinging toward his head.
Slice—
Cut strands of hair scattered in the air.
Barely saving his life, as the white-clothed Ghostface desperately tried to lift his head...
Thwack!
Cheonhwi's wide-open palm slammed squarely into the unguarded chest of the white-clothed Ghostface.
Drip—
Blackish blood poured from his nose and mouth.
The white-clothed Ghostface's mind went blank in that moment.
No thoughts arose.
As if everything in his head had flown away.
Such intense agony spread from his chest throughout his body.
Step—
Then, Cheonhwi approached the white-clothed Ghostface, who was still writhing in pain.
"Tch, maybe because it's been a while. Didn't put enough power into it."
He looked down at the trembling white-clothed Ghostface.
What Cheonhwi had just used was the Plum Blossom Palm, a technique any Mount Hua Sect disciple could learn.
But the moment it unfolded from Cheonhwi's hand, that ordinary Plum Blossom Palm became an ultimate art comparable to supreme palm techniques.
Blended with exquisite penetration, it had shaken the white-clothed Ghostface's five viscera and six bowels.
"Shall we end it now?"
As Cheonhwi raised his sword...
"Grrk, y-you bastard!"
The white-clothed Ghostface came to his senses.
Not fully recovered, of course.
Black blood, saliva, and snot still dripped from his mouth and nose.
But the eyes gazing at Cheonhwi brimmed with the same sticky killing intent as before.
"Grrr!"
The white-clothed Ghostface ground his teeth fiercely.
Lightning Blade was his most confident saber art. In terms of speed alone, it could be called the best among bandits.
Yet it had futilely sliced air.
Something he'd never experienced before.
And what that meant was one thing.
'To kill that bastard, I have to pour out everything I have.'
His arm gripping the blade swelled massively, and berserk energy exploded.
Mad Extreme Heart Art!
The internal art that couldn't be mastered without going mad revealed itself to the world.
Cheonhwi watched him with interest.
"Oh? You still have more?"
Cheonhwi smirked, raised his sword, and beckoned provocatively.
"Go ahead, pour it all out."
Crack!
Unable to endure Cheonhwi's continued belittling attitude, the white-clothed Ghostface snapped.
He stomped forward.
Boom!
A heavy thud echoed.
Chilling saber strikes gleaming with radiant light scattered outward.
Truly fast and heavy.
The inherent weight and speed of Lightning Blade, fused with berserk internal energy, amplified its already intense destructive power even further.
Screeeeech—
The reinforced assault was so swift that the air-tearing sound came only after the blade passed.
Finally, Lightning Blade reached him.
But in that moment.
Claaaaang!
The full-force podao swing was blocked by the sword that had appeared.
'He blocks it this easily?'
The white-clothed Ghostface's pupils shook.
The power of Lightning Blade fused with Mad Extreme Heart Art was more than double its original.
No master, no matter how skilled, could block it easily...
'Could this brat be on the same level as the Bandit Chief...?'
He shook his head, denying the thought that naturally arose.
Absurd.
What level was the Bandit Chief's martial prowess?
Excluding the Eight Divine Arms, it was a realm without rivals in the jianghu.
How could a young punk whose head wound hadn't dried be on that level!
'No way.'
Forcing away the intrusive thought, the white-clothed Ghostface tried to pull back his blade.
But.
"...!"
The blade wouldn't budge.
Then Cheonhwi's lips parted, his pearly white teeth filling his vision.
"I was expecting more, but what a letdown."
He flinched involuntarily at the flat voice, staring at Cheonhwi.
Because in those pitch-black, indifferent eyes, he saw his own terrified reflection.
"Guess I'll just finish it."
Cheonhwi's eyes gleamed coldly.
As the white-clothed Ghostface swallowed under the oppressive pressure filling the area, facing those eyes faintly glowing red...
Flash!
A fierce crimson light shot toward him.
Severing Light Sword.
One of the palm techniques forgotten even within Mount Hua Sect for centuries was recreated in Cheonhwi's hand after ages.
Drip—
The white-clothed Ghostface slowly collapsed.
The sword blade piercing through his back dripped bright red, hot blood.
Drop.
As the white-clothed Ghostface let go of his podao...
"Kuhuk!"
Blood gushed from his mouth.
Not content with staining his robes, the blackish blood pooled on the ground.
"Well, that's one down."
Cheonhwi pulled out his sword indifferently.
Sliiiide—
The white-clothed Ghostface's body slowly crumpled, splashing into the blood puddle.
Cheonhwi glanced down at him briefly, shook the blood from his sword, and slung it over his shoulder.
Then he stared at Giryunno, who had forgotten to fight Hyeonyang and Hyeonheo and stood dazed.
"Your turn now?"
Giryunno's throat bobbed heavily.
'H-how can this be.'
He had suspected Cheonhwi was a master since he broke the white-clothed Ghostface's podao.
But this was a different league.
No matter that the white-clothed Ghostface was the weakest of the Four Bandit Kings, he was still one.
To toy with and fell him like that meant he himself was insufficient.
Sweat soaked his back.
'I have to run.'
His eyes darted around frantically, and just as he prepared to kick off the ground...
"Where do you think you're going?"
"You can't escape!"
Hyeonheo and Hyeonyang blocked his path.
"...You bastards!"
Giryunno scowled, his retreat cut off.
Then.
Kaboom!
Something flew in and crashed in front of Giryunno.
"What?!"
"What's that all of a sudden?!"
As Hyeonyang and Hyeonheo panicked at the sudden weapon...
'Willow Leaf Blade?! He's here now!'
Confirming it was a willow leaf blade fully bent and embedded in the ground, Giryunno's face lit up.
And then.
Tap.
An expressionless old man dropped lightly from above, landing gracefully in front of the willow leaf blade.
Giryunno shouted loudly upon seeing him.
"Emotionless Blade!"
The old man called Emotionless Blade glanced at Giryunno and picked up the willow leaf blade.
"What a fine mess."
Giryunno's face soured at the mocking remark.
But he soon shook his head.
He knew how great a reinforcement Emotionless Blade was in this situation.
"You alone?"
"As if."
Emotionless Blade said lowly.
"They're all here."
No sooner had the words ended...
Thud thud thud!
Dozens of bandit swordsmen appeared, lining up on either side of Giryunno and Emotionless Blade.
"...!"
"More reinforcements?!"
Hyeonyang and Hyeonheo paled.
Mount Hua Sect was already being pushed in their current state.
Reinforcements on top of that.
As their faces darkened, Giryunno grinned chillingly.
"Heh heh heh, now it's back to..."
Kaboom!
In that instant, an explosion rang out, and Giryunno vomited blood as he flew backward.
Even amid the shock, a bandit who spotted Giryunno flying toward him tried to catch him, but...
"Kek!"
Unable to handle the momentum, he too flew back over ten zhang.
"...!"
"Elder?!"
Emotionless Blade and the bandits looked in shock toward where Giryunno had been.
There stood Cheonhwi.
Cheonhwi lowered the foot he had used to kick Giryunno skyward and scanned Emotionless Blade and the bandits.
"Well now? Quite a crowd."
Muttering softly, Cheonhwi met their eyes and twisted one corner of his mouth.
"You all that eager to die by my hand?"