Chapter 332
Chapter 332
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 332
Chapter Title: Blood at the Clear Stream
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Cheonhwi's eyes narrowed as he checked the messenger slip. It was a message he hadn't expected at all.
'Ambush?'
A look of bewilderment settled in his eyes.
The Jade Kirin and the Heavenly Justice Corps had headed toward the Ten Thousand Hands Sect to draw the attention of Feng Li and the Black Ghost Unit, who had set up base at Muhyeol.
They had moved openly, without hiding their presence.
So they made suitable bait, but Feng Li and the Black Ghost Unit hadn't left Muhyeol.
'Troops from another Evil-Black Alliance faction?'
It was the most likely scenario.
The Ten Thousand Hands Sect had the Namgung family—rapidly advancing—right on their doorstep.
Yet in this situation, for even the Jade Kirin and the Heavenly Justice Corps to head toward the Ten Thousand Hands Sect?
Unless they were abandoning it, support from the Evil-Black Alliance was the natural course.
'To think it would turn out like this.'
Cheonhwi scratched his head.
Originally, once the Jade Kirin and Heavenly Justice Corps returned, it would have been over. But unexpectedly, they had been ambushed.
That was when it happened.
"What's wrong, Junior Brother?"
A voice came from beside him.
Cheonhyang poked her head out, puzzled by Cheonhwi who had stopped walking and was just staring at the slip.
"Did something happen?"
She asked the impassive Cheonhwi, glancing at the slip.
And the moment she saw the words written there.
"......Ambush?"
Cheonhyang's eyes widened round.
Flustered dismay filled them.
"H-how did this happen? An ambush? By who?"
She asked urgently.
It was that shocking a message. But unlike her anxious self, Cheonhwi calmly folded the slip in his hand and spoke.
"No idea."
His tone was nonchalant.
He then shook the slip as if it were nothing, wearing a perfectly relaxed expression.
"How could I know anything else just from this?"
"W-well, that's true, but......"
His leisure only made Cheonhyang's heart race even more.
"More importantly, shouldn't we hurry to help?"
Her voice rose slightly as her gaze instinctively turned east.
Toward Zhejiang Province, where the Ten Thousand Hands Sect was, the direction the Jade Kirin and Heavenly Justice Squad had gone.
"We should."
As he spoke, Cheonhwi circulated his internal energy.
His sleeve fluttered, and soon a scorching heat erupted from the hand holding the slip.
It was the Samadhi True Fire.
Roarrr!
The slip in his hand burst into flames in an instant, turning to ash and scattering.
Cheonhyang nodded immediately.
"Then I'll gather the Annihilation Squad."
She said firmly.
"Sure."
Cheonhwi nodded in agreement.
Feng Li and the Black Ghost Unit leader were already dealt with. So prioritizing rescuing the Jade Kirin and Heavenly Justice Squad over mopping up remnants made more sense.
'Catching every last remnant is nearly impossible anyway.'
Thinking that, Cheonhwi cracked his neck.
It was a light warm-up.
At the same time, he murmured softly.
"I'll go ahead. Bring the squad."
"Y-you want me to gather them?"
"It looks urgent. If we all go together, we'll be too slow."
"......You're right."
Cheonhyang nodded weakly.
Cheonhwi's martial prowess was beyond the heavens.
There was no one in the Annihilation Squad—not even herself—who could keep up with his speed.
Cheonhwi spun around.
As his body turned east, his long robe billowed dramatically.
A simple motion, yet it carried immense weight.
Simply because its owner was Cheonhwi.
Soon, he let out a low voice.
"See you later."
No sooner had the words left his mouth.
Whoooosh—
Energy gathered at Cheonhwi's feet.
It was the internal energy of the Plum Blossom Divine Art.
The aura flowing from his intent, ready for departure, scattered lightly and spread beneath his feet.
Fwaaah!
In an instant, the transparent aura exploded outward with tremendous force.
Under the deeply shrouded night sky, the scattered aura reflected the pale moonlight in all directions.
In that moment.
Cheonhwi kicked off.
The moment the toe of his bloodstained leather shoe pressed into the dirt by about an inch, his figure flickered.
"......"
Cheonhyang stared blankly at the empty space where Cheonhwi had already vanished, lost in awe.
It was a mystical, sacred sight.
Her hands clasped together on their own.
"......Junior Brother has grown even stronger."
Her dazed eyes soon blazed fiercely.
Witnessing an overwhelming prowess that would daunt others only ignited her competitive spirit further.
Such was her nature, her bloodline's destiny.
Soon, Cheonhyang stomped the ground hard.
Thud!
Dirt scattered in all directions.
She charged forward vigorously to fulfill her assigned task.
To gather the scattered Annihilation Squad as quickly as possible.
* * *
The long official road heading to Zhejiang Province.
The just-risen dawn cast its light, dyeing the long stream red.
But it wasn't reflecting the red hue of the rising sun.
It reeked of fresh, metallic blood......
It was blood.
The clear stream, worthy of its name Cheonggyesu, was littered with countless corpses, its waters turned red by the blood they shed.
And around it.
"Die!"
"You bastards!"
Fierce shouts rang out.
Dozens, hundreds of warriors.
They swung their sharp weapons wildly at each other.
Every single one harbored killing intent.
They were the ones who had turned the pristine stream into a field of death.
"How could this happen......"
A sigh-like voice spread.
The mild-featured young man in azure robes, the Jade Kirin, grimaced as he surveyed his surroundings.
Death filled every direction.
And half of them were his Heavenly Justice Corps members.
His eyes squeezed shut.
His original goal had been to pass through this road to Zhejiang and return to Muhyeol.
Yet somehow, on the way back, they had clashed with them.
The Ten Thousand Hands Sect!
The Jade Kirin held his elegantly swung sword to his opponent's throat.
"Why did you ambush us?"
"U-ugh!"
The man teared up at the cold blade against his neck, his lips trembling.
"Y-your side attacked our rear first, so we......"
"Attacked your rear? What are you......"
As the Jade Kirin furrowed his brow and muttered, it happened.
Whish!
A chilling wind blew from behind.
Startled, the Jade Kirin urgently channeled energy into his feet dipped in the stream, launching his body into the air.
Kaboom!
The bloodied stream water erupted.
The distant dawn light shattered against the surging water and scattered.
A beautiful yet gruesome scene.
And before the erupted blood-water could even fall, two swords appeared.
The two swords sliced through the surging water in one stroke, leaving long trails as they clashed.
Claaang!
Sharp sword energy shot out in all directions.
The shockwave from the clash dispersed the surging water instantly, exposing the stream bed for a moment.
It was a split-second exchange.
'Strong!'
Songmun Peerless Sword wielder Jade Kirin, swinging Azure Light, swallowed hard at the middle-aged swordsman's counterstroke.
His hand gripping the sword tingled.
He hadn't fully dissipated the energy from the middle-aged swordsman's strike.
That was when it happened.
"As expected of Wudang's prized disciple."
The middle-aged swordsman spoke, sword locked with his.
The energy waves flowing from his fluttering sleeves whipped up fierce winds.
Not only was his sword momentum intense, his internal energy was profound.
"Are you the disciple of the Taiji Sword Emperor?"
With those words, he stepped forward.
The hem of his blue robe, embroidered with golden thread, touched the exposed stream bed.
An overwhelming presence.
"You are......"
The Jade Kirin gulped.
Thick brows, prominent nose, firmly set mouth.
A man whose very appearance embodied masculinity.
Moreover, the ferocious sword waves emanating from him felt like facing a tiger.
"Who are you to wield such sword strikes......?"
At his question, the middle-aged swordsman smiled.
His previously firm lips curved slightly, like a child amused by a playful trick.
"Ask your master."
"What do you......!"
As the Jade Kirin shouted.
Fwaaah!
The middle-aged swordsman's sword shimmered first. Aura blooming like a flower caressed the blade as he unleashed his energy.
It was like fiercely crashing waves.
"......!"
In that instant, the Jade Kirin's eyes widened.
'This aura—could it be?!'
It matched the sword art aura his master had once described.
"Sun Radiance Breaking Sword?!"
The Jade Kirin hurriedly raised Azure Light.
This opponent was no ordinary master.
The previous generation's demonic martial world overlord, said to have been equals with his master, the Taiji Sword Emperor.
It was the Sword Breaker Lord!
'Why is he here......'
The Jade Kirin's throat went dry.
The Sword Breaker Lord was the master of Soul-Shattering Sword Manor and never left Zhejiang.
Yet there he stood before him.
"Hup!"
Suddenly, the Jade Kirin swallowed.
This was no time for stray thoughts.
The Sword Breaker Lord's Sun Radiance Breaking Sword energy surged over the stream, pressing down on him.
The Jade Kirin gritted his teeth.
At the same time, he drew up his energy, flowing through his meridians to his fingertips.
'Forget everything!'
With that thought, his eyes snapped wide. Recalling the recent lesson from Cheonhwi, his hand lightened in an instant.
Soon, the Jade Kirin closed his eyes.
Abandoning sight, he heightened his senses across his entire body.
Everything around him was his domain.
His qi sense grasped all within: the opponent's aura, the air currents.
And in that mental image, the Jade Kirin drew a circle with his sword.
It was the Taiji.
That intent reached his hand.
And manifested the Taiji.
"Hm?"
The Sword Breaker Lord's eyes narrowed to slits.
'Disciple of the Taiji Sword Emperor, indeed. To manifest Taiji Insight Sword at such a young age?'
He recognized it immediately.
The sword-union technique the Jade Kirin had just performed and the sword art to follow!
"But your experience is still shallow."
The Sword Breaker Lord drew up his internal energy.
Break (破).
Annihilate (滅).
The internal art born of pure intent to shatter all, the Ruin Art, surged to his hand and imbued his old companion.
Vmmm—
His companion, Empty Annihilation, resonated.
Dense sword waves extended from his hand, filling the space.
With that, he stepped forward.
Splash!
The exposed stream bed.
The moment his toe lightly touched it, his sword shot out.
The ground cracked roughly, and pale concentric auras exploded outward.
And finally, the two clashed.
Craaaang!
The stream water burst in all directions.
The deafening roar made ears ring.
And amid it.
Drip, drip.
Blood droplets welled up and fell.
"Kuh."
The groaning Jade Kirin frowned at the sword mark grazing his waist.
"You kept your life."
The Sword Breaker Lord twitched his brow, then grinned at the Jade Kirin staining the returning stream with blood.
He shook his wrist right after.
He had inflicted a mortal wound on the Jade Kirin, but he wasn't unscathed either.
"It stings."
The Sword Breaker Lord muttered, grimacing.
The sword waves from the clash had badly shaken his lower dantian.
"Sword Breaker Lord."
Suddenly, someone appeared.
A towering elder nearly seven feet tall—the Ten Thousand Hands Sect Leader, Twin Hands Heretic Su Yangak.
Noticing the Sword Breaker Lord's internal injury, he stood beside him and spoke.
"For you to take internal damage against that kid—unexpected."
"......Rumors of the martial world weren't empty. He's worthy of the title one of the Three Great Prodigies."
"That good?"
Twin Hands Heretic's eyes gleamed murderously.
At the same time, his bloodstained uniform rippled, sending out waves.
"Then we root him out completely."
Energy surged from his hands.
Sharp, intense momentum.
"......"
The Jade Kirin bit his lip.
Facing even just the Sword Breaker Lord was tough, and now the Ten Thousand Hands Sect Leader Su Yangak had joined.
'Is this the end?'
The moment he instinctively sensed defeat.
Step.
Footsteps approached.
Everyone froze at the sound.
It was bizarre.
In the midst of a brutal melee intent on slaughter, mere footsteps halted them all.
'This is......'
The Jade Kirin turned to see a young man approaching slowly.
His pupils trembled.
With each step the youth took, his long black robe billowing, he covered three zhang.
And the next moment.
Stop.
The youth halted right before them.
"What kind of demon are you!"
"What is this......!"
As the startled pair recoiled.
"You still seem okay?"
The youth ignored them completely, looking only at the Jade Kirin as he spoke.
And at that moment, the Jade Kirin called his name with the brightest expression.
"Young Hero Cheonhwi!"