Chapter 30
Chapter 30
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 30
Chapter Title: Overlord Sect Leader
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The man who exited the main gate glared at the young Taoist who had disrespected him, but he flinched at the surrounding scene.
'What is this?'
Around the young Taoist, men clad in the Overlord Sect's uniforms were groaning or collapsed in pitiful states.
As he hurriedly checked on them...
"...!"
The Overlord Sect Leader's expression changed drastically.
The men collapsed around the young bastard were his Overlord Elite Members and the Blood Slaughter Blade Wanderer.
'The Blood Slaughter Blade Wanderer...'
His mind raced.
The Blood Slaughter Blade Wanderer was one of the top five experts in the Overlord Sect.
Yet he had been taken down in less than a quarter of an hour.
And alongside the Overlord Elite Members, no less.
'That means this kid is at least a peak expert!'
As the Overlord Sect Leader was racking his brain...
Creak―
Cheonhwi's lips, whom he had been staring at, curled into a grin.
Revealing his pearly white teeth in the darkness, he looked at the Overlord Sect Leader and spoke.
"Are you the sect leader?"
The Overlord Sect Leader's eyebrows shot up.
Killing intent rose from his body at the insolence from someone who looked far younger than him, causing his uniform to billow dramatically.
"You little brat!"
Who was he?
He was one of the top experts in Shaanxi Province and a renowned figure across the land, the Revolving Blade.
And the leader of the rapidly expanding Overlord Sect, no less.
"Was it you who did this?"
"Who else do you think it could be? Unless your eyes are pea-sized, you should know."
The Overlord Sect Leader's forehead wrinkled and veins bulged as Cheonhwi looked at him with pity.
"Do you even know where this...!"
He stopped mid-shout as he glared.
Only then did the young Taoist's attire come into view.
Ink-black Taoist robes like the night, with sporadically visible blood-red patterns.
Especially the chaotic plum blossom embroidery on the sleeves made his eyes widen.
'Plum... blossoms?'
The Overlord Sect Leader blurted out in shock.
Taoist robes with plum blossoms on the sleeves existed in only one place in the world.
'No way... did the Cold-Faced Blade Ghost and the Overlord Elite Squad fail their mission?!'
As he thought that and bit his lip...
"Master!"
"Sect Leader!"
Nearly a hundred warriors appeared by his side and knelt simultaneously.
They were the Heaven Overlord Squad, the final of the Overlord Sect's three elite units.
The Overlord Sect Leader glared down at the young man at the forefront and bellowed.
"What have you been doing until this mess unfolded?!"
"I-I'm sorry."
So Jeongmyeong, the Overlord Sect Leader's chief disciple and leader of the Heaven Overlord Squad, trembled violently under the furious tirade.
He then bowed his head desperately.
"I'll clean this up right away."
The Overlord Sect Leader eyed the back of So Jeongmyeong's head as he bowed and thought.
'He's much weaker than the Blood Slaughter Blade Wanderer, but with the Heaven Overlord Squad's combined assault, it's the sect's finest technique.'
The Overlord Sect Leader smirked inwardly.
So Jeongmyeong was his disciple, but there was not a shred of paternal affection.
To him, So Jeongmyeong was just a tool.
Nothing more, nothing less.
'No chance of victory, but it should gauge the opponent's strength.'
Having finished his calculations, he said.
"Then what are you waiting for? Deal with it."
"Yes, sir!"
At the Overlord Sect Leader's cold command, So Jeongmyeong and the Heaven Overlord Squad shouted in unison as they straightened from their knees.
So Jeongmyeong then glared at Cheonhwi.
"And who the hell are you?"
"You insolent cur! Not only do you cause havoc in our sect, but you speak to our master like that? I'll straighten out that attitude of yours!"
The Overlord Sect disciples' faces brightened at So Jeongmyeong's booming shout full of vigor.
"The Heaven Overlord Squad Leader has stepped up!"
"Even that guy can't handle the Heaven Overlord Squad...!"
Basking in the cheers and trusting gazes of the Overlord Sect disciples, So Jeongmyeong puffed out his chest proudly.
'Heh heh heh, if I shine here, the next sect leader position is mine.'
As he chuckled inwardly and drew his sword...
'Wonder if this counts as post-meal exercise.'
Cheonhwi, who had been watching him, scanned the faces of those surrounding him.
Two hundred terrified Overlord Sect disciples and a hundred warriors ready to attack.
That was every presence he had sensed.
"A quarter hour should be enough."
With a nonchalant expression contrasting his chilling words, Cheonhwi cracked his neck.
Whoosh!
The Heaven Overlord Squad charged like a swarm of ants, swinging their blades at Cheonhwi.
"No matter how strong you are, you can't escape this formation!"
The moment they moved to launch their combined assault...
Step―
Cheonhwi took one step forward, and the charging men felt a shock to their chests.
"Gah!"
Dozens flew backward.
"Wh-what...?"
As So Jeongmyeong recoiled in shock at the Heaven Overlord Squad scattering like fallen leaves before they could even attack...
Thud!
Pain exploded in his chest.
And that was his end.
"...!"
The Overlord Sect Leader's eyes shook as he saw So Jeongmyeong collapse with his chest caved in.
'In one strike?'
Cold sweat beaded on his forehead.
No one else but him had seen what just happened, as everyone else looked puzzled, but he had witnessed it clearly.
The dozens of afterimages that appeared and vanished.
'Since when did Mount Hua Sect have a monster like this...'
The Overlord Sect Leader's mouth went dry.
"Pl-please... spare... kgh."
Meanwhile, Cheonhwi was methodically taking them down one by one.
The once-fierce Heaven Overlord Squad lay as cold corpses, and the survivors stood frozen, unable to even think of fleeing.
It was all because of Cheonhwi's overwhelming presence.
"Now then..."
Cheonhwi turned his head side to side.
Flinch!
For a moment, the Overlord Sect disciples averted their gazes to avoid his eyes.
"About a hundred left?"
Cheonhwi took them all in.
Thud.
He lightly stomped, and a one-sided massacre ensued.
"S-sect Leader!"
"Help us!"
The Overlord Sect disciples fled toward the Overlord Sect Leader, begging for aid.
"...Stop."
Only then did the Overlord Sect Leader step forward.
He drew the blade from his waist and glared at the approaching Cheonhwi.
Shing―
The blade had a unique shape.
Its width was far greater than a typical blade, but its length was about six inches shorter.
Slung over his shoulder, the Overlord Sect Leader muttered lowly.
"You're no ordinary foe."
Cheonhwi, who had been looking at him like an insect, now smirked as if he'd finally met someone halfway decent.
"At least as sect leader, you've got better eyes than your underlings."
"Why is a Mount Hua Sect Taoist attacking my sect?"
Cheonhwi let out a scoff.
The intent was obvious.
"Why? Playing dumb?"
"..."
The Overlord Sect Leader's eyes darkened.
As expected, he knew everything and had come to the Overlord Sect.
"What do you want?"
"What? Want? Nothing really... Ah! One thing."
Cheonhwi, who had dismissed it as unworthy of thought, suddenly recalled something and curled his lips.
"What is it? I'll grant it if I can, so let this slide..."
The Overlord Sect Leader tried to placate him, but he soon realized it was a mistake.
Cheonhwi's eyes turned icy in an instant.
"Your head."
"...No compromise then."
Sensing negotiation was impossible, the Overlord Sect Leader unleashed his internal energy explosively.
"Obviously."
Cheonhwi's sneer deepened.
The Overlord Sect Leader's eyebrows twitched.
Though anger flared briefly, he suppressed it and scanned Cheonhwi and his surroundings with cold eyes before asking.
"You came alone, I take it."
"Gotta take that back. Your eyes must be decorative too."
Cheonhwi looked at him pitifully and added.
"Of course alone. Who else would be here?"
A smile crept onto the Overlord Sect Leader's lips at his response.
"Good. Alone, then."
Cheonhwi smiled back at his grin.
"What? Think you can kill me solo?"
"Easily."
The Overlord Sect Leader's smile vanished.
Whoosh!
Dense energy spread in all directions.
His eyes flashed as he channeled the Revolving Heart Art, passed down to him in his youth by an unnamed rogue monk.
'Odds are over seventy percent.'
He coldly calculated his chances.
The opponent was undoubtedly a freakish expert, but he had confidence in victory.
Because he trusted the Revolving Heart Art's profound energy and Revolving Blade Art, which had earned him his renowned title as one of Shaanxi's top experts.
Gripping his blade, he smirked at Cheonhwi frozen before him.
'Overwhelmed by the Revolving Heart Art's pressure.'
But did he know?
That Cheonhwi wasn't frozen.
That he simply didn't deem it worth using his full arts and was just standing there.
'Still, as sect leader, he's a cut above the rest.'
Cheonhwi assessed his aura.
His internal energy quantity and quality were leagues above his subordinates.
'Compared to that guy from the Windstorm Merchant Group, his energy is definitely superior.'
The energy slightly surpassing the Cold-Faced Blade Ghost—the strongest he'd encountered since venturing into the world—billowed his uniform.
And as energy infused his blade, its color shifted.
Blade aura.
"I'll kill you."
The Overlord Sect Leader kicked off the ground.
Closing the distance in an instant, he raised his blade diagonally and slashed.
The blade aura turned into a blade gale.
Screeech!
It generated a massive vortex.
The Revolving Flash, the swiftest and nimblest technique of the Revolving Blade Art.
Seeing the blade gale swallow the air as it approached, Cheonhwi raised his palm.
In that split second, as the Overlord Sect Leader smirked victoriously at the pale palm...
Clang!
Sparks flew.
"...!"
The Overlord Sect Leader's eyes bulged.
The pale palm casually gripped the blade coated in aura.
"The... Revolving Flash..."
"Revolving Flash?"
Cheonhwi's eyes curved.
"Too flashy for its power."
"You bastard!"
The Overlord Sect Leader ground his teeth.
He poured out all his energy once more, advancing while swinging his blade.
Whoosh―
Cheonhwi twisted his waist to dodge.
But the Overlord Sect Leader, who had anticipated the evasion, bent his blade to unleash the Revolving Empty Slash when...
Clang!
Cheonhwi's palm struck the blade.
"Urk!"
The Overlord Sect Leader's face twisted from the rebound in his gripping hand.
But it wasn't over.
Cheonhwi seized his hand holding the blade and snapped the wrist in one motion.
Crack!
The hand twisted unnaturally.
"Gaaah!"
Writhing in agony, the Overlord Sect Leader finally dropped his blade.
Thud―
In the blink of an eye, the chain of attacks left him clutching his twisted wrist, groaning.
"How did you counter the Revolving Empty Slash with mere technique..."
"Technique? Just a hand motion."
Cheonhwi said dismissively.
But to the recipient, the Overlord Sect Leader, it was shocking.
"J-just a hand motion?"
"Why use an ox cleaver to kill a chicken... Oh. You're not even a chicken."
His condescending tone crushed the Overlord Sect Leader's pride, crumpling his face like paper.
But he couldn't retort.
The exchange had made the skill gap painfully clear.
'No way I can win.'
His pre-fight seventy percent confidence washed away.
Looking at Cheonhwi with a pallid face, he sought a way out by mentioning his backer.
"B-behind me stands White Ghost Castle."
"I already know that."
"You know?!"
He gasped at the curt reply.
"Th-then why do this?"
"Watch your words. You started this mess by messing with us first."
"If you kill me, White Ghost Castle won't let you go."
"How?"
"No matter how strong Mount Hua Sect is, White Ghost Castle will use all its power to kill you..."
"Oh? That sounds fun."
His welcoming chuckle flustered the Overlord Sect Leader, who shouted.
"Y-you madman!"
"Madman, huh. That's endearing. But you know what?"
Cheonhwi infused energy into his palm.
"Everyone who's said that to my face is dead."
His uniform billowed massively.
Boom!
An explosion rang out.
He spewed organs and blood from his mouth, his eyes losing light.
"Wait just a bit there."
Cheonhwi stared at the dying man and added words to aid his rest.
"I'll send them to join you soon."