Chapter 42
Chapter 42
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 42
Chapter Title: The Tide Turns
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"Finally, the tide of battle has turned."
The Little White Ghost's expression hardened slightly as he watched the tangled melee between the White Ghost Corps and the Plum Blossom Sword Guards that had unfolded just moments ago.
The Plum Blossom Sword Guards were, after all, just young kids, and there were only five of them.
Compared to the fifty-plus White Ghost Corps members he had brought, they were outnumbered ten to one.
Yet, surprisingly, they had held their own evenly.
"Were the Plum Blossom Sword Guards always this strong?"
The Little White Ghost furrowed his brow.
'These must be the new ones who just became Plum Blossom Sword Guards, but to hold their own like this against the White Ghost Corps.'
White Ghost Castle collected and updated information on Mount Hua Sect daily.
Yet the level of the Plum Blossom Sword Guards exceeded his expectations.
Of course, if he stepped in himself, he could clean things up quickly regardless...
"Your opponent is me."
Ha Woojin, frowning right in front of him, was on high alert.
"The Flying Swallow Sword Lord, was it?"
The Little White Ghost twisted one corner of his mouth.
"Someone I've wanted to meet someday."
Ha Woojin's eyes narrowed sharply.
Right now, he was desperately suppressing the rage boiling up to his throat.
What these bastards had done was horrific.
Not just the sudden ambush, but setting fire to the Breeze Wind Merchant Group without warning.
He couldn't even guess how many lives had been lost because of it.
"...You'll pay for your crimes."
"Puhahaha!"
At Ha Woojin's shout, the Little White Ghost's eyes widened for a moment before he burst into laughter.
But unlike the laughter spilling from his mouth, his eyes weren't smiling.
The laughter cut off abruptly after a moment.
"Pay for crimes? That's something you lot should be doing, not me."
The Little White Ghost shot back.
From his perspective, the ones who needed to pay were those who had killed the Blood Soul Corps.
Pababat!
Suddenly, ten White Ghost Corps members surrounded Ha Woojin and unleashed hidden weapons.
Ha Woojin, as if anticipating the ambush, raised the sword in his hand and drew a circle.
Chaechaechang!
A sharp sound rang out, and the incoming hidden weapons scattered in all directions.
That was when it happened.
Shuuuuk—
A sharper hidden weapon, different from the previous ones even in sound, targeted his left shoulder.
Paat!
He hastily stepped forward largely and twisted his head to the side, but he couldn't fully evade the surprise attack.
"Kuk!"
His left shoulder's robe tore, leaving a long bloody gash. Beads of blood welled up and trickled down his wrist.
Biting his lip, he raised his head.
The Little White Ghost was glaring at him, a dagger and iron piece pinched between his fingers.
"But this is unexpected. I heard Mount Zhongnan Sect and Mount Hua Sect have been hostile lately, yet here you are moving together."
"...No matter how strained things are between our sect and Mount Hua Sect, if White Ghost Castle is the enemy, isn't it only natural?"
"Hoo. Is that so."
The Little White Ghost chuckled chillingly and flicked his hand, throwing the remaining daggers and iron pieces.
Hwiing—
As Ha Woojin deflected the wind-cutting daggers and iron pieces with his sword,
Seuueu—
The Little White Ghost's pitch-black pupils began to turn pure white, as if snow had fallen over them.
It was a phenomenon that occurred when channeling internal energy into the Four Yin Ghost Phantom Divine Art.
Then, he stomped down heavily with his leading foot.
Flik!
Infusing his internal energy into the Hundred Ghosts Night Parade made his movements even more eerie.
His form stretched out long, connecting from his spot directly to Ha Woojin in an instant.
Startled by the grotesquely bizarre sight, Ha Woojin swung his sword as if chasing it.
Flik— Flik—
The Little White Ghost dodged all the swings with mere tilts of his head.
His body movements were incredibly agile.
But that wasn't all.
Hwiik!
A gust of wind arose. In an instant, he pivoted on his left foot and unleashed a kick.
Ha Woojin blocked the fierce kick aimed at his side with his forearm.
"Kuk!"
A dull pain shook his entire body.
Had he not blocked it, it would have been a powerful strike enough to make him spit up a bowl's worth of blood.
Staggering back a step from the impact, Ha Woojin regripped his sword and thrust forward.
It was the Mount Zhongnan Sect's proud sword art, the World's Thirty-Six Swords.
"Heup!"
Facing the sharp sword stance, the Little White Ghost swallowed a gasp and leaped backward.
Peureulak—
His robes, torn by the World's Thirty-Six Swords, fluttered in the wind and flew off, soon catching fire and turning to ash.
A probing exchange in just one breath.
That alone let them know the other was no inferior opponent.
"The World's Thirty-Six Swords, eh."
Having grasped Ha Woojin's sword art in that instant, the Little White Ghost vanished.
"Where!"
Ha Woojin swung his sword horizontally at the Little White Ghost who appeared right before him.
Hwiik!
In that moment, the Little White Ghost ducked his head.
His jet-black hair rippled in the air as if frozen mid-motion.
At that very moment.
Hoowung!
A crushing wind sound grew closer from below Ha Woojin's chin.
He urgently ducked his head, and a palm strike carrying a numbing yin energy rose from below.
"Heup!"
Ha Woojin arched his back dramatically to narrowly evade the palm, but the shock still transmitted through.
Kuk—
A groan escaped involuntarily.
Ha Woojin shook his head urgently and forcibly straightened his staggering body.
"You dodged that?"
The Little White Ghost's eyes widened in surprise.
It was a surprise Ghost Yin Palm aimed at the chin, infused with Four Yin Ghost Phantom Divine Art internal energy.
It had reached right up to his nose; he was certain it would hit.
Yet he had dodged it by a hair's breadth.
Flik— Flik—
Ha Woojin shook his head roughly.
Though only grazed, his chin throbbed, blurring his vision completely.
The Little White Ghost and the surroundings melted like rippling waves.
"Dodged it and only this much damage. If he hadn't..."
Jeureuk—
Cold sweat beaded on Ha Woojin's forehead.
This was no easy opponent.
Hoo—
He exhaled a deep, cold breath from deep within his lungs.
The Little White Ghost was no one to face while tense.
Soon, a soft, pure energy emanated from his entire body.
It was the Mysterious Clear Firm Rigid Qi, one of Mount Zhongnan Sect's proud divine arts that earned him the title Flying Swallow Sword Lord.
* * *
"Entrance to the Ultimate Realm, huh."
Cheonhwi stroked his chin as he spectated the battles unfolding before him.
He looked like a loafer, but anyone who learned what he was sitting on would shut their mouth in silence.
A mountain of brutally crushed corpses.
Cheonhwi was lounging atop it.
"About the same."
His eyes, watching the fierce duel between the Flying Swallow Sword Lord and the Little White Ghost, showed no tremor.
A deadlock, a fight where both tigers were wounded.
But he soon turned his head.
He didn't care who won between them.
So what if he was once his master's old friend? He didn't even know who his master was.
Flik—
Cheonhwi's gaze turned to the distant blaze burning brightly.
The flames, raging like a storm, shot up like a dragon ascending, illuminating the dark night sky.
Even those fetching water to extinguish the fire around it couldn't approach easily amid the billowing fiery winds and could only stare dumbfounded.
'Taking longer than expected?'
Cheonhwi's eyes pierced into the flames.
Within the scorching inferno, Hyeondo and the One-Armed Poison Sword clashed swords.
"His skill has definitely improved."
Cheonhwi's gaze captured Hyeondo deflecting the One-Armed Poison Sword's blade and counterattacking.
Was it because his opponent was from White Ghost Castle?
Or to show off his prowess in the martial world after reaching the Heavenly Martial Realm? Hyeondo was freely displaying his cultivation.
A relentless feast of Plum Blossom Sword Art.
However, the One-Armed Poison Sword was no pushover.
Despite the disadvantage of having only one arm, he blocked Hyeondo's sword forms, parried them, and counterattacked.
And not just that.
As time passed, he unleashed fiercer internal energy, his sword forms pouring out sharply like winds in a desert.
The two paused after a brief exchange.
They glared at each other, emanating a prickling aura as if the true life-or-death battle was about to begin, swallowing even the roaring flames in an instant.
Darkness bloomed amid the settled flames.
They stared at each other through it.
But only for a moment.
Kwang!
An explosion erupted between them.
"Why so scared?"
Cheonhwi said with a dissatisfied expression.
Hyeondo was more cautious than expected.
As if unaware of his own realm's level.
'If he realizes his current realm is above his opponent's, it'll be over.'
'Tsk.' He clicked his tongue and turned away.
The difference between them was clear enough that he didn't need to watch anymore.
"Are these guys doing well?"
He whipped his head around.
Cheonhwi's gaze turned to the Plum Blossom Sword Guards and White Ghost Corps locked in melee.
"Still too much for them, huh."
They had put up a better fight than expected at first, but numerical inferiority grew in meaning over time.
The current situation proved it.
The five who had been facing the White Ghost Corps head-on were now growing heavy.
They might not feel it amid the ongoing chaos, but the backlash would be severe.
"Still, they've held out long enough."
Muttering to himself, Cheonhwi raised his index finger.
Ping—
A light finger wind flicked out, striking the sword of a White Ghost Corps member aiming for Cheokbi's nape.
The shocked sword veered past Cheokbi, slicing empty air, and Cheokbi belatedly pivoted on his left foot, slashing open the White Ghost Corps member's waist.
"We've gotten what we came for."
Cheonhwi slowly rose to his feet.
Stepping on the mangled corpses as he stood, he took in the battlefield at a glance and said,
"Time to end this."