Chapter 131
Chapter 131
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 131
Chapter Title: The Secret Chamber's Master
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Blood Shadow's eyes bulged wide as he stumbled back.
In that instant, a thunderous roar shook the ceiling, and the wall beside them exploded outward.
The subordinates who had been standing guard at the entrance with swords at the ready were swept away by the sudden blast and sent sprawling.
"Arrrgh!"
"Gahk!"
A black silhouette burst through the wall amid the swirling clouds of dust.
"You thieving bastards!"
Blood Shadow furrowed his brow, glaring at the shadowy figure visible through the hazy dust.
'...What the hell is that guy?'
Even he, who rarely flinched at anything, couldn't help but grimace the moment he laid eyes on the newcomer shouting his lungs out.
The sheer absurdity of the man staggering out from the crumbled wall to block the secret chamber's entrance left him dumbfounded.
Layers upon layers of woolen clothes draped so thickly over his limbs that they flopped awkwardly with every step—it was enough to draw a involuntary chuckle.
Each wobbly movement made the pickaxe slung across his back sway, drawing the eye.
Nangong Hyeok, who had been blocking the entrance to the secret chamber, widened his eyes.
His gaze, scanning the interior, shook as if caught in a storm.
"...Holy shit, what is this?"
Was he planning to bury the entire Shaolin Temple?
What the hell is that big?
What did he do to the tunnel?
'You mad bastard Gungmok. How much dirt did you dig up during the war?'
There was crazy, and then there was this.
That meditating monk must've hammered every last shred of hesitation right out of him.
Nangong Hyeok scanned the secret chamber in bewildered amusement, only for his eyes to meet Blood Shadow's right in front of him.
Roughly thirty of those thugs lined the area.
How much manpower did these assholes throw at this?
As Nangong Hyeok stared them down blankly.
"......"
Blood Shadow kept staring at him with a dazed look.
That bizarre outfit—he'd never seen anything like it.
Did he really take out all the conference warriors in that getup and make it all the way here?
The aura he'd sensed from outside definitely belonged to this guy, but the incongruous appearance threw him into momentary confusion.
'Which sect does this freak come from?'
A snicker escaped him at the sight of the man leisurely surveying the secret chamber with them all arrayed before him.
"...Who the hell are you?"
Nangong Hyeok's eyes swept over the black-clad warriors without hesitation.
"The owner here."
"What?"
What kind of nonsense was that?
The owner of this place?
He himself had only confirmed the secret chamber's existence a short while ago—there was no way!
"You're insane. Kill h—"
Blood Shadow bared his killing intent but suddenly sensed something off.
Nangong Hyeok's gaze wasn't fixed on him—it was looking elsewhere.
A flash gleamed in Nangong Hyeok's eyes.
"I said it's mine!"
With a booming roar, Nangong Hyeok seized the pickaxe slung across his back without a second's pause and hurled it forth.
Blood Shadow's eyes bulged.
Screeeeeam!
Crackle-crackle-crack!
In an instant, it unleashed lightning so intense it banished the shadows, hurtling straight at him.
The massive pickaxe traced a bizarre arc through the air!
The ferocious momentum made the conference warriors ahead of it panic.
"What the—?!"
"Hup!"
The overwhelming power carried on the pickaxe sent the thugs leaping away like grasshoppers from a hot griddle.
The moment Blood Shadow gathered his energy and drew his blade to meet the incoming pickaxe.
It curved oddly, sailing over his head to the rear.
"Hm?!"
"Huh?"
"Crazy?!"
"N-No way?!"
As the conference warriors cried out in shock, the pickaxe that had cleared Blood Shadow's head smashed into the secret chamber's ceiling.
KABOOM!
A deafening explosion ruptured eardrums as the ceiling caved in.
Rumble-rumble-roar!
BOOM!
The collapsing ceiling crashed down onto the heads of the subordinates guarding the treasure.
"Heeek!"
"Grk!"
The subordinates panicked and rushed forward in a frenzy.
The conference warriors gaped at Nangong Hyeok in horror.
Not only had a plain old pickaxe demolished the ceiling in one go, but it had buried the treasure chamber in rubble.
Sizzle!
Nangong Hyeok's eyes glittered with madness.
"If I can't have it, no one can, you bastards!"
Blood Shadow's mind reeled at Nangong Hyeok's voice echoing through the secret chamber.
Clatter-clatter!
Chunks of stone tumbled from the freshly formed rock pile.
Along with it, Blood Shadow's dilated pupils shook violently.
"Uh......"
A choked groan escaped his throat.
For the past three years, he'd hunted for this secret chamber, then spent three months excavating in utter silence, ever wary of the Hebei Peng Clan's eyes.
Three years of toil and patience.
And three months of labor......
All of it buried in an instant as the ceiling crumbled.
A torrent of emptiness, rage, and disbelief crashed over him.
"...That lunatic just collapsed the secret chamber?"
Staring at the rock pile precisely over the treasure's location, Blood Shadow felt bile rise in fury.
It was enough to drive him mad, hopping in outrage.
Judging by the position and size, he could dig it out again in a few days—but the thought of his near-victory being forcibly delayed ignited his wrath.
Blood veins popped in Blood Shadow's eyes.
Before re-excavating the pile, he'd kill that madman first and then get to work.
Blood Shadow's gaze slowly turned to Nangong Hyeok.
He ground his teeth, glaring daggers.
"Do you even know what you've done?"
Nangong Hyeok poked at the entrance wall with his sword, then smirked at Blood Shadow.
"Locking the door. Why?"
Locking the door?
Blood Shadow's bewildered eyes darkened completely.
"You arrogant whelp, so far gone you can't tell earth from heaven. You won't die easy."
As Blood Shadow stepped forward, the conference warriors advancing with killing intent on Nangong Hyeok backpedaled to give space.
Nangong Hyeok let out a hollow laugh.
Do these clowns think I'm easy pickings? Everyone I meet threatens to kill me.
"What am I to you?"
"I'll rip your limbs off and hang you from the ceiling."
"Khuh! Scared your legs'll give out? Even flies wouldn't flinch."
Nangong Hyeok grinned at Blood Shadow.
Killing intent poured from Blood Shadow's shoulders, filling the secret chamber.
As the intent sharpened toward Nangong Hyeok's heart.
Blood Shadow moved first.
Shing!
His blade whipped from its sheath in a flash, scraping the ground as it rocketed toward Nangong Hyeok.
"Die!"
Ten crimson saber energies unfurled in midair, poised to shred him.
Nangong Hyeok scowled, spitting out an irritated grunt.
"Die my ass, punk!"
Nangong Hyeok executed the Infinite Step, instantly widening the gap before charging back at Blood Shadow.
The Three Thunder Swordsmanship smashed into Blood Shadow's now-targetless blade.
BOOM! Crackle-crackle-crack!
The crimson saber energies incinerated in an instant.
"Grumph!"
Blood Shadow groaned as he blocked Nangong Hyeok's strike.
Immense pressure surged through his grip.
'What the—?'
It felt like his wrist had been smashed with an iron club.
Worse, his saber energies had crumbled into flames the instant they touched Nangong Hyeok's sword qi, etching shock onto his face.
Before he could recover, Nangong Hyeok's sword shot forth like a comet.
BOOM! Rumble-roar!
The clash of sword qi and saber energy shook the secret chamber with shockwaves.
Nangong Hyeok and Blood Shadow collided and parted repeatedly, rampaging through the space.
Lightning pouring from Nangong Hyeok's sword coiled around Blood Shadow's arms.
"Grk!"
Blood Shadow pushed his Blood Flame Blade Art to the limit, bloody saber qi erupting along his blade like flames.
"Hraaah!"
WHOOSH!
Screeeee!
Nangong Hyeok's sword qi, infused with the Soaring Heavens Bright King Art, cleaved the saber qi—enough to scorch the air—in half.
"Urk!"
Blood Shadow's face twisted in panic.
Could the Blood Flame Blade Art's energies vanish so easily?
He couldn't believe the qi that burrowed into foes' meridians to burn them alive had dissipated like that.
Blood Shadow roared, unleashing the Blood Flame Blade Art even more fiercely.
"You bastard! What the hell did you do?!"
Nangong Hyeok dodged with Infinite Step, sneering.
"Weaker than I thought."
"What?!"
"Weaker than that guy? Different league?"
"That guy?"
Blood Shadow's eyes wavered. The "other guy" Nangong Hyeok mentioned might be another shadow like him.
'No way this is him?'
"You! Namgung Cheok?!"
Nangong Hyeok yanked Blood Shadow's blade closer, grinning.
"Don't I look the part?"
"Th-then you're!"
The one who'd crushed the Nangong Clan's rebels, including Ghost Shadow?
"You have to die!"
"You've been yapping about killing me since earlier."
"You think this pittance can beat me......"
"Fuck, you hiding three-tenths or three-parts of your power too?"
These types always blabbered about hidden strength even on their deathbed.
If we're talking hidden, I've got nine-tenths tucked away, punk!
"I'm busy. Just die nice and easy, please."
Blood Shadow gnashed his teeth at Nangong Hyeok's mockery.
"Never thought I'd waste this on the likes of you."
"Oh yeah?"
"Die!"
A crimson mass bubbled up along Blood Shadow's blade.
Viscous and foul, like congealed blood qi.
Nangong Hyeok saw it and barked a hollow laugh.
Won't go down easy, huh?
His face twisted ferociously.
"Wanna see real hidden power?"
Nangong Hyeok clenched his fist in fury.
The instant his aura shifted, Blood Shadow's eyes widened.
Nangong Hyeok thrust out his left fist.
A vortex formed around his straight punch, pulverizing space.
Swoooooosh!
The skin-tearing pressure made Blood Shadow flinch and retreat.
BAM!
The spot he'd just vacated exploded, air rippling in waves.
"Wh-what?!"
A fist art this domineering existed in the world?!
Staring at the spiral pattern cratered into the floor, Blood Shadow's eyes bulged.
Nangong Hyeok furrowed his brow slightly.
Whoops, went with the Soul-Shattering Fist without thinking?
"Ah, whatever. Figure it out if you can."
"What?"
"Just take the beating till you drop."
Nangong Hyeok gripped his fist.
His body erupted with an eerie aura, seventy-two hand shadows manifesting in midair.
Tyrant King Soul: Thousand Hands!
Tyrant King Soul was the pinnacle of his lifelong unique martial art.
Before discarding forms, he'd acquired, studied, created, and mastered countless arts of the world into this singular style.
Among its hand techniques, Thousand Hands mimicked Shaolin's Thousand-Hand Buddha Palm.
The protean, domineering hands began pummeling Blood Shadow's body.
Bam-bam-bam-bam-bam-bam-bam!
"Guh-guh-guh-guh-guhk!"
Painful groans escaped as Blood Shadow's eyes bulged red.
Knife-hands, palms, fists, index fingers, thumbs, hammer-fists, backhands—dozens of variations battered him.
Muscles crushed, bones ground to powder—the agony was indescribable.
Pain he'd never felt in his life.
His body slipped from control, the torment peaking.
Yet far from passing out, his mind sharpened.
"Cough! Cough!"
Blood Shadow spat blood, resisting futilely against Nangong Hyeok's palms.
"Urk!"
Even as he vomited blood nonstop, he couldn't hide his shock.
The more he clashed with Nangong Hyeok, the more his inner energy faltered unnaturally.
Like poison sapping his strength.
He'd never dreamed he'd be toyed with and broken so pathetically by some kid not even thirty.
'This can't be Namgung Clan martial arts. No way!'
He'd never heard of the Nangong Clan possessing anything so domineering and bizarre.
Blood Shadow glared at Nangong Hyeok with bloodshot eyes, bellowing.
"Y-you! What the hell are you?!"
As Nangong Hyeok shattered Blood Shadow's shoulder, he shouted back.
"The owner here, punk!"
BOOM!
With the explosion, Blood Shadow spewed blood-lances and flew backward.