Chapter 37
Chapter 37
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 37
Chapter Title: Confrontation
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"Come here!"
At the entrance to a small mountain village that didn't even have a gate, let alone a paifang, Hwangbo Yun unleashed a roar drawn up from his dantian.
A shout bellowed without warning.
Wi Sowol smacked her forehead without thinking.
Of course, what she touched wasn't smooth skin but the hard leather of her mask.
"Haa..."
"Hm? What?"
"What are we supposed to do if you do that?"
"But aren't we going for a frontal assault?"
Hwangbo Yun's eyes sparkled with pure innocence, as if he truly had no idea what the problem was.
"Frontal assault doesn't mean like that—never mind."
Wi Sowol's slender fingers gripped the hilt of her sword.
"It won't matter if we strike first."
Wi Sowol preferred direct confrontations.
Fights where she could focus solely on the present reality, without worrying about the aftermath, suited her best.
But that didn't mean she charged in blindly without a thought.
Quite the opposite.
Creating such a head-on battle required extensive preparation.
Setting the stage, you might say.
And Wi Sowol was accustomed to arranging that stage to fight in the situation she desired.
'That's how I fought the Fighting Ghost.'
She planned to do the same this time.
The Wi Sowol of her past life could have stormed straight through the main gates even against the Rampaging Demon Heaven headquarters.
But her current level hadn't recovered to that point yet.
A one-on-one with Yeok Kyung-hyo without interference would have been ideal...
'But I can't always have easy fights.'
And her stage was already set.
By now, the Beggars' Sect disciples should have headed toward the silver mine.
Ha Maeng-hyeon was someone who listened well.
"Go on ahead. I'll give you advice via transmission now and then, so don't be startled."
"Got it!"
Hwangbo Yun clapped his clenched fists together and strode forward confidently.
Wi Sowol spread her Great White Light True Qi to sense the approaching presences.
'Five. Fewer than expected.'
It was a small village, so they probably didn't need many people, and some must have been diverted to the silver mine.
Or perhaps they'd gone out to intercept the Beggars' Sect members who moved first.
"Here I go! Haaap!"
With a spirited kiai, Hwangbo Yun's body shot forward like a cannonball.
No hesitation.
His eagerness to test the results of his training with Wi Sowol overrode any fear of real combat.
His will propelled him forward, and his qi followed suit, accelerating.
The inner energy of the Sumeru Heavenly King Divine Art raced through Hwangbo Yun's tough meridians.
Where the golden qi passed, his body grew even tougher and stronger, elevating his physique to its peak.
The ferocious advancing footwork of the Heavenly King Step stirred up the air.
It was a movement technique that sealed the opponent's actions with overwhelming pressure.
And then, with arms wrapped in crackling lightning qi, he thrust his Thunderbolt Divine Fist.
Craaack!
Without the self-introduction or fancy scolding typical of orthodox warriors, his straight punch caught the Rampaging Demon Heaven martial artist off guard, preventing any proper defense.
Crack!
The chilling sound of a breaking arm echoed.
"Kuhk!"
But the Rampaging Demon Heaven martial artist was different, as expected.
A street thug or bandit would have rolled around in agony, but he drew his sword with his remaining good arm.
True to Rampaging Demon Heaven, his demonic art excelled in explosive power for that instant, surpassing orthodox techniques.
A desperate life-saving strike, heedless of internal injuries, dove for Hwangbo Yun's nape.
Hwangbo Yun instinctively tried to step back.
The Heavenly King Step's stance, Buddha Heaven Retreat, was about to unfold.
[Forward.]
Wi Sowol's transmission struck his instincts like a bolt from Indra, the Heavenly King.
'Forward!'
In the split second his mind fragmented, Hwangbo Yun dashed forward, altering his technique.
Heavenly King Step ultimate technique: Fierce Radiance Annihilation.
Concentrating all awareness on reading the opponent's movements, predicting their life or death, and charging—a footwork that guided Hwangbo Yun into the enemy's blind spot.
Hwangbo Yun's inner energy became a pair of dragons coiling around the acupuncture points of his right leg.
The Foot Yang Brightness Stomach Meridian and Foot Taiyin Spleen Meridian filled with Sumeru Heavenly King Divine Art qi.
His thigh muscles swelled thickly, while his sleek calf adjusted the foot's angle with exquisite precision.
Splat!
The Heavenly Wind Kick, which had failed to reach Wi Sowol, finally revealed its might.
Hwangbo Yun's kick slammed precisely into the Rampaging Demon Heaven martial artist's waist, shattering ribs and pulverizing organs.
"Gah..."
Unable to even scream properly, the man toppled over.
First victory.
But Hwangbo Yun didn't get complacent.
Whirr!
Flutter!
The recoil from striking the Rampaging Demon Heaven martial artist's body.
The Heavenly King Physique absorbed even that, turning it into his own power.
Using the rebound, Hwangbo Yun spun his body swiftly, dodging a sword flying from behind while flicking his folded fingers in a palm strike to smack the sword hand upward.
Krunch!
A sturdy body backed by sturdy inner energy.
The perfect synergy of the two shattered the fingers and forced the sword to drop.
Clang!
The next breath was Hwangbo Yun's.
Papapang!
Four short, rapid punches.
The Thunderbolt Divine Fist's Four Flying Scatter Thunder struck both shoulders and elbows, dislocating every joint.
Not killing blows, but subduing strikes.
Fast and precise.
Even beautiful punches.
Born with the Heavenly King Physique constitution, Hwangbo Yun felt his art reborn with every breath in this moment.
His fists grew faster the farther they extended, his kicks more refined.
His breathing quickened, circulating more qi and blood throughout his body.
'More...!'
Hwangbo Yun's eyes swiftly sought the next target.
The eye technique of Clear Vision Insight followed by the Heavenly King Step charge.
It was see enemy, kill enemy incarnate.
Even the Rampaging Demon Heaven martial artists, who were peak or first-rate experts, couldn't stop Hwangbo Yun once he gained momentum.
Some had coordinated somewhat, but whenever Wi Sowol's transmission cut through the air, they yielded their bodies to his fists without fail and collapsed.
It took less than a quarter of an hour for all five Rampaging Demon Heaven guards to become crippled, rolling on the ground under Hwangbo Yun's fists and feet.
"Hoo, hoo..."
Hwangbo Yun wiped the flowing sweat from his brow.
He hadn't moved that much, but from the extreme focus, beads of sweat dotted his entire face.
As Hwangbo Yun regulated his breathing with the Sumeru Heavenly King Divine Art method, Wi Sowol's criticism came.
"Your breathing's messed up. Excitement from real combat. Immature."
"Heh, guilty. It's definitely different. Feeling killing intent made me tense up without realizing."
"...If you recognize your shortcomings, you'll grow that much."
Since he accepted it so straightforwardly, Wi Sowol just offered some encouragement.
'No deaths.'
Wi Sowol noted the states of the Rampaging Demon Heaven martial artists.
Clutching their wounds, or wriggling like worms, unable to control their limbs.
There were severe injuries near fatal, but none dead yet.
Not because of fist and foot arts.
Hwangbo Yun had clearly held back on lethal killing techniques.
'First real fight?'
Or was it the Buddhist precept against killing from his monk family?
"Sowol?"
"...Don't move for now."
"Yeah. But can we just leave these guys?"
"Doesn't matter. They can't threaten us even if they force themselves in that state."
"You know how it goes. They draw up innate qi or use some Reverse Blood Great Law!"
"Innate qi isn't for just anyone. And the Reverse Blood Great Law is fiction."
Blood flowing backward kills people.
It can't even flow backward to begin with.
Human blood vessels have valves preventing reverse flow.
"As if."
"Then what about Latent Power Eruption?"
"Latent Power Eruption is possible. But not in that physical state."
Huangbo Yun spoke energetically to Wi Sowol, who answered each question crisply, his voice still buzzing from battle excitement.
"Sowol's so smart!"
"Obviously..."
As she shrugged, Wi Sowol realized what she was doing and quickly corrected her posture.
I'm not a child.
So I won't feel good over something like that.
"Find the people."
"Yeah. Split up?"
"I'll take right from the central path, you left."
"Roger!"
Still buzzing from combat, Hwangbo Yun bounced off bouncily.
Wi Sowol muttered softly, 'Still a kid.' and headed toward the presence she'd already sensed.
The villager she found was a boy.
One she'd seen a few times before.
"Eek!"
But upon seeing Wi Sowol, the boy convulsed in fear.
Wi Sowol, wondering why since she hadn't fought, soon realized it was the mask and revealed her bare face.
"Gasp..."
Red flushed into the face that had been pale with terror moments ago.
Wi Sowol asked without giving her name.
"Hey. Where'd all the adults go?"
"A-adults?"
"Yeah. This village didn't have so few people."
Tears welled in the boy's eyes.
His pupils, distorted by tears, lost focus, reflecting the past.
His dry lips trembled, and fear and despair too deep for words took shape in language.
"T-they were... dragged away... Those who resisted were killed... All of them, because of us..."
'I see.'
Wi Sowol pieced together the fragmented clues.
They took the adults to the silver mine, using the children as hostages. Killed resistors as examples.
"Tch."
Wi Sowol donned her mask again and piggybacked the boy.
"W-wait! Me too..."
Ignoring his call, Wi Sowol headed to the village center, even using Star Lodge Divine Traces.
"Sowol! Come here, you need to see this!"
Under her mask, Wi Sowol's delicate brows furrowed.
How had she missed it?
The mask's fault?
Such a thick scent of blood.
"...Sowol."
Following Hwangbo Yun's voice, Wi Sowol arrived to see corpses torn apart haphazardly.
Mangled beyond recognition, even for her—they were undoubtedly villagers.
People who, despite having little themselves, had shared spoonfuls with the beggar kids.
"...All of them."
My fault?
In the past life Wi Sowol knew, there was no massacre.
At least, not from what she'd learned.
So why were these people slaughtered so brutally?
Like them. Like the beggar kids.
One variable.
Wi Sowol herself.
The rampaging Nine Yang Absolute Meridian version of her, losing self-control, must have become Rampaging Demon Heaven's target.
In contrast, Wi Sowol had controlled her Nine Yin Absolute Meridian and hidden away.
With nowhere else to go, Rampaging Demon Heaven's rage had fallen on the villagers.
Saving Bang Elder and Ban Brother, but killing the villagers.
"Sowol."
"Just a moment. Just like this."
Wi Sowol's steps were straight and unwavering as always, but to Hwangbo Yun, they seemed somehow forlorn.
She'd called it her hometown.
Then these horribly murdered people were her townsfolk.
If Clan Hwangbo were slaughtered like this, could Hwangbo Yun stay composed?
'No way.'
Just imagining it tore at his heart.
The battle excitement, victory thrill, martial insights—all faded.
As Hwangbo Yun fell solemn.
Wi Sowol placed her hand on the faces of corpses she couldn't even close her eyes to.
Then gently shut their eyes, stained only with lost light, fear, and pain.
"To the silver mine."
Only after laying them all to rest in gentle darkness did Wi Sowol rise and speak.
Hwangbo Yun tried his best to reply calmly.
"Yeah."
Their rest would have to wait a bit longer.
Their families should be the ones to see them last, not just Wi Sowol and Hwangbo Yun.
When they returned to the central village road.
Instead of survivors, they were greeted by bloodthirsty demons reeking of gore.
Hwangbo Yun immediately assumed his stance.
Lower body in Heavenly King Step, hands ready for Thunderbolt Divine Fist.
His body, invoking the Heavenly King Physique's protective qi, gleamed with golden aura.
Wi Sowol, meanwhile, remained in a natural stance, no preparation.
She stared straight at the man at the front of the demons.
Her masked reflection gleamed in his snake-like, elongated eyes.
"You?"
At Wi Sowol's question, the man—Yeok Kyung-hyo—chuckled incredulously.
"That's my line. You? Silver Sword Sect?"
Yeok Kyung-hyo's eyes curved into half-moons.
His mouth still, only his eyes smiling—an eerie expression that stirred fear.
But to Wi Sowol, it was different.
"Yes."
That wasn't affirmation of his question.
Using those bewitching eyes as a mirror, Wi Sowol finally looked at her own heart.
And understood her feelings now.
'I see.'
From some point.
Wi Sowol had grown numb to her own emotions.
She'd thought they had all burned away.
That day.
The day she first gripped a sword and avenged her family.
She'd believed her heart had turned to ash.
So she'd thought.
But no.
She just hadn't wanted to think about it anymore.
It was mere escapism, refusing to look inward.
Not this time.
For the first time in ages, Wi Sowol affirmed her own heart.
'I'm angry right now.'