Chapter 76
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 76
Chapter Title: The Water Dragon King Arrives
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Kuuuung….
The air twisted.
Crack, craaaack.
With every step, the earth screamed and split, as a massive pressure surged in.
An old man approached with his hands clasped behind his back.
He looked every bit the village elder out for a stroll, yet the aura he exuded crushed down on the world like a mountain.
“W-Water Dragon King?”
The masked man, who had been brimming with confidence before Yu Hyun, spat out his shock.
“How are you….”
Gu Ja-sin’s half-open eyes glanced at the masked man, who recoiled in surprise at the unexpected arrival, then turned to Yu Hyun.
“You alright? You look pretty banged up.”
“Haa, haa… Yeah, somehow. If you’d been even a little later, I’d have been bitten to death by some mutt owned by someone else and sent packing from this world.”
“Hmm….”
Yu Hyun laughed through his complaints, and Gu Ja-sin furrowed his brow before slowly shifting his gaze to the masked man.
“Tsk tsk, at least you know enough not to shit and piss where you shouldn’t.”
“…….”
The masked man couldn’t even breathe properly under the voice thick with displeasure.
Water Dragon King Gu Ja-sin.
A freak who was said to possess the power to dominate the world alone, yet chose to hole up along the Yangtze.
From the moment he appeared, the entire clearing felt gripped in his palm.
The masked man was a peak expert himself, but the suffocating pressure pinning down his entire body left him unable even to twitch.
“Capture him for me.”
“……Why? I’ve never let anyone live in a case like this.”
“I’ve still got questions.”
Gu Ja-sin pondered Yu Hyun’s words briefly before nodding slightly.
“Hmm, alright then. I’m curious myself. Just which swarm of flies crashed in from who-knows-where to tangle with a guy even I won’t touch.”
“…….”
Damn, just hearing it made him feel insignificant. Not even calling him a dog, but a swarm of flies….
Still, what an incredible man. To dominate the entire space with sheer presence alone.
A sudden pang of regret hit him. If this old guy had been alive, maybe even the agents of chaos and all that could’ve changed the future….
“First things first, time to clean up the trash.”
Gu Ja-sin unclasped his hands behind his back and casually raised one hand. His gaze fell on the masked man’s underlings, who had merged with Gae Du-sin in battle but halted their attack upon the Water Dragon King’s arrival.
“Watch closely. Since you were interested.”
“……?”
Watch closely?
As Yu Hyun blinked in confusion, a chilling cold emanated from beneath Gu Ja-sin’s feet, swiftly blanketing the ground.
“It won’t be very effective on dry land, but this is the true form of the martial art that earned me the name Water Dragon.”
With those quiet words, Gu Ja-sin spread his raised hand wide.
At the same instant, the cold that had spread across the ground surged upward, and all the moisture in the space spanning a dozen paces around him froze solid.
Crack, craaaack!
The chunks of ice hanging in the air began to splinter sharply.
Crack!
They split and split again until they were as thin as needles, then shot out like lightning the moment he flicked his fingers.
Whiiiish!
Thud, thump thump! Thud!
“Argh!”
“Kaaaaagh!”
Screams of agony mingled with the sound of them slicing through the air.
The masked man’s underlings couldn’t block or dodge the flying ice shards; their bodies were riddled like honeycombs and collapsed to the ground.
With just a single move….
Soon, his piercing, icy gaze turned back to the masked man.
“U, uuuugh….”
Perhaps sensing fear at power that transcended humanity, the masked man’s widened eyes trembled faintly.
Water Dragon King—before such a being, what use was the lofty title of peak expert?
Charging at an opponent where defeat was obvious was the act of a fool.
Even if his underlings were expendable, getting captured himself might drag the Water Dragon King fully into this mess.
He had to escape and report it. That this brat Yu Hyun was connected to the Water Dragon King….
But how?
The masked man’s eyes darted frantically until he found his answer.
……Yu Hyun. Use him.
If the Water Dragon King cherished the boy, he wouldn’t dare touch him if he used the kid as a shield.
His thoughts reached that point, and the masked man moved to act….
“Why do you keep glancing at me?”
“…….”
Before he knew it, Yu Hyun had slipped behind the Water Dragon King and peeked out, head only.
Like a boy hiding behind his mother, begging her to scold the kid bullying him.
“No way? You’re not thinking of using me as a shield, are you? That’d be pretty pathetic for a peak expert… Tsk tsk.”
“…….”
The words struck dead center, freezing the masked man’s movement in place.
Kuuuung.
To make matters worse, the Water Dragon King’s immense presence, now even stronger than before, bore down like it would crush him flat.
“That’s how it is? I was gracious enough to call you a swarm of flies… and you’re not even ashamed? A kid not even twenty faced death without flinching.”
“…….”
Yu Hyun nodded sincerely at the Water Dragon King’s words.
That damn obnoxious brat. No choice then—time for desperate measures…!
Grit, paang!
The masked man poured all his qi into launching himself away.
“Hah! You bastard, you dare run before me?”
With a voice of utter disbelief, Gu Ja-sin took a single step.
Shuuuuaak!
In one stride.
His body, which had been in front of Yu Hyun just moments ago, appeared at the masked man’s flank as the man fled.
“Whoa!”
A pure exclamation escaped Yu Hyun’s lips.
What the hell was that? Ghostly Steps? Phantom Shift?
It felt like he’d slipped on something the moment he stepped… Damn, I’ve never seen a technique like that; I don’t even know how to describe it.
“Eeeeek!”
In that interval, the masked man—caught in a single step—swung his sword with all his might.
Whoooosh, kagak!
Fiercely gathered qi surged toward the Water Dragon King’s body.
Dooooong!
For an instant, a deafening explosion rang out, shattered qi waves whipping up a storm-like gale.
Kududuk.
The masked man’s sword was caught in the Water Dragon King’s bony grasp.
Crunch, kududuk.
Even the overlaid qi couldn’t withstand the grip of those fingers and shattered to pieces. The masked man’s eyes twisted in agony.
“You bastard! No respect for your elders….”
“…….”
Gu Ja-sin’s other hand whipped up.
Slaaap!
The moment it traced a wide arc, the masked man’s face snapped to the side violently.
“I’d love to kill you, but my disciple asked me to spare you. Still, someone’s gotta teach you manners!”
Slaaap! Slaaap!
Even pouring in full power proved meaningless before that bony palm.
The masked man couldn’t even defend himself and took the slaps squarely on the cheek.
“…….”
Yu Hyun stared blankly at the man staggering helplessly under the barrage of slaps when Gae Du-sin approached, battered and exhausted from fighting the underlings, wounds all over his body.
“Impressive.”
“…….”
You’re the impressive one for brushing that off as “impressive.”
“To think I tried to stand against a man like that without knowing better….”
Gae Du-sin shuddered anew, recalling the memory.
It was no wonder.
Hadn’t he stepped up back at the river with some Beggars’ Sect nonsense, only to get smacked senseless by a mere mid-tier expert?
Well, whatever. Just how strong was that old man, exactly?
He’d vaguely thought maybe the third wall of the river, Forming Gang Qi, but seeing a Possessing Gang Qi expert like the masked man helpless from mere slaps… Containing Gang Qi?
“Hey, you little shit.”
“Yes?”
“Be grateful to me for life.”
“Pardon?”
“Look at that—if that old man hadn’t taken a shine to me, you’d be dead back then.”
“…….”
Gae Du-sin nodded blankly, apparently buying the brag earned on someone else’s strength.
“Uh, but… Uncle?”
“Yeah?”
“Disciple…?”
“…….”
Yu Hyun jolted to his feet at the question, head cocked in disbelief.
“U-Uncle?”
“I need to stop him.”
“Huh? Who? How?”
“…….”
Hell if I know, you idiot.
“Master!”
Yu Hyun shouted loudly and dashed toward Gu Ja-sin, who was grabbing the masked man by the collar and landing solid slaps.
“His actual disciple… huh. But is that okay? Even if temporary, he’s the leader of the Young Dragon Squad?”
Gae Du-sin muttered in a daze, his face soon tinged with envy.
“Damn it, I want that too. If I had a master like him, screw the Beggars’ Sect….”
* * *
“Haa….”
Yu Hyun squatted in front of the masked man’s corpse and let out a deep sigh.
“Uh, that is….”
“…….”
Gu Ja-sin stood beside him, looking apologetic, like he’d committed some grave error.
“Haa….”
Yu Hyun sighed again, and Gu Ja-sin averted his eyes, his discomfort growing.
“Didn’t I ask you to keep him alive?”
“Ah, well, you see. I didn’t think a peak expert would drop dead from a few slaps….”
“Yeah, right. Haa….”
“…….”
“Those slaps looked like they could kill even someone who’d mastered Vajra Indestructibility… But hey, it’s not the fault of my ridiculously overpowered master.”
“…….”
So is it okay or not?
Even as Yu Hyun sighed repeatedly and spouted what might’ve been scolding or not, Gu Ja-sin just scratched the back of his head awkwardly, at a loss.
Gae Du-sin, watching the whole scene, could only feel baffled.
No way… Was this the same old man who’d made his legs shake and skin crawl moments ago?
Why was he so helpless against his uncle?
“I had so many questions… Why he did it, who sent him… I should’ve asked. Haa.”
“…….”
“Of course, without you, I wouldn’t have even learned his affiliation or name. And now the rest are dead too, no one left to ask… Haa.”
Yu Hyun alternated sighs between the masked man’s corpse and Gu Ja-sin.
At least Gu Ja-sin, who could pass for a demonic sect overlord, had recognized the man’s face the moment he saw it.
Na Ha-chu of the Iron Flag Escort Agency.
According to Gu Ja-sin, he was the head of the largest evil sect force in the southern river territories.
But dead before any real questioning. From slaps, no less.
Gu Ja-sin spoke up tentatively, sensing the regret and the subtle reproach aimed his way.
“Uh… um… Want me to look into it?”
“You’d do that?”
“Huh?”
Yu Hyun brightened as if he’d been waiting, leaving Gu Ja-sin blinking at his own words.
“You’ll look into it?”
“Ah, well….”
“Right? You must be busy… Haa.”
“…….”
Gu Ja-sin’s eye twitched as Yu Hyun waved it off like it was nothing while sighing again, and he shot to his feet.
“Damn it! Fine, I’ll look into it! I’ll find out exactly which bastard dared target my precious disciple!”
“Really? You’ll do it?”
“Of course! I’ve never gone back on my word in my life.”
“Thank you. I wanted to handle it myself, but if you’re stepping up….”
“…….”
“Thanks to you, I can head straight to Haenam Island to complete my mission.”
“Huh? Uh….”
Gu Ja-sin mumbled reluctantly, feeling somehow played.
But with the words already out, he couldn’t back down without losing face.
It was partly his responsibility too—he’d nearly killed his disciple and overdid it a bit….
“With you here, Master, I can’t tell you how relieved I am. Your disciple is overjoyed.”
“R-Really?”
“Yes! Absolutely!”
“…….”
Yu Hyun beamed at Gu Ja-sin, eyes curving into crescents.
“Alright then, time for you to head back. I’ll hurry to Haenam Island and come see you after. Until then, please find out why this Na Ha-chu targeted us and who’s above him.”
Fearing Gu Ja-sin might change his mind, Yu Hyun quickly laid out the task and stood to leave.
Behind him, Gu Ja-sin grumbled angrily.
“Damn bastard, killable bastard… Fine, just wait. I’ll find out exactly who you punks are for ruining my peaceful time with my disciple….”
Yu Hyun, dragging the wide-eyed Gae Du-sin toward the main road inn, heard it and smirked slyly.
Perfect.
Agents of chaos, you lot. Better watch where you step before messing with me—you dared go for my life?
I’d love to handle it myself, but getting the Thousand-Year Wild Card comes first.
Instead, I’ve unleashed a monster, so let’s see you squirm.