Chapter 29: Sword Emperor Yang Tae-san - 1
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 29: Sword Emperor Yang Tae-san - 1
Thud!
"You son of a bitch!"
Thud!
"You son of a cow!"
Thud!
"You son of a horse!"
Thud!
Sun-woo slammed the masked man into the ground. Apparently, once wasn't enough, as he continued to lift and smash the man repeatedly, venting his fury.
"I almost fucking died because of you!"
Sun-woo had paid a significant price to catch this assailant. His left shoulder had been pierced by an arrow, causing heavy bleeding, and he had exhausted his internal energy maintaining his Protective Qi.
The power of the arrows the masked man had fired was staggering. If his Protective Qi hadn't manifested properly at the last second, he would have been a dead man.
Even though he lacked a proper weapon and wasn't wearing the Overlord Ghost-Face Armor, he was still a master at the Middle Stage of the Super-Peak Realm. The realization that he had come so close to death sent a chill down his spine.
It was true that a Super-Peak master was considered a core power within a great sect or influential clan, but they weren't so overwhelmingly powerful that they were invincible.
Sun-woo had forgotten that fact.
'Get it together, please!'
Slap! Slap!
Sun-woo lightly slapped his own cheeks, reflecting on his negligence.
Come to think of it, he had come to White Flower Peak to escape Lee Jae-won, not to play house and enjoy a honeymoon. He should have been training his martial arts to the point of death, yet he had lost his sense of crisis, soaked in the sweet daily life with Ok-ryeong.
This couldn't continue. With such a lax mindset, he would never survive Lee Jae-won.
To put it bluntly, if a master of the Transcendent Realm came at him with the intent to kill, Sun-woo had no way to survive. Of course, Ok-ryeong would surely protect him, but even the powerful Ok-ryeong would be helpless if Lee Jae-won himself showed up.
Sun-woo was still weak. He had to keep that fact in mind at all times.
"Whew..."
Sun-woo let out a long sigh and looked down at the masked man he held by the collar.
Martial artists who used bows were rare. Their movements were often simple, making their paths easy to predict, and carrying a bow and quiver was cumbersome. Furthermore, martial artists tended to look down on the act of firing arrows from a distance, so the vast majority chose weapons like swords, sabers, or spears.
A master of the bow who had reached this level of skill was truly a rarity.
Sun-woo stripped off the mask without hesitation.
The face revealed was that of a middle-aged man. He was completely bald, and his face was covered in scars. Upon seeing the man's face, Sun-woo quickly found him in Jang Sam's memories.
The masked man was the Hall Master of the Black Dog Hall, a group within the Cheonmu Alliance specializing in assassinations and sniping.
The Bow Ghost, Jo Han-won.
Jo Han-won was originally an archer who had gained fame across numerous battlefields for his ghost-like marksmanship. Maximizing the advantages of the bow, he specialized in assassination and sniping. Cheonmu Alliance Leader Lee Jae-won had recognized his talent and appointed him as the Hall Master of the Black Dog Hall.
Since taking that position, Jo Han-won had spread his notoriety by assassinating and sniping countless targets. His victims included famous merchants, high-ranking officials, and even elders of great sects at the Super-Peak Realm who had been left helpless against his incredible skill.
And now, such a dangerous man had appeared alone on White Flower Peak.
Urgency gripped Sun-woo at the revelation of the man's identity. He began slapping Jo Han-won's cheeks with all his might to wake him up.
"Wake up, you bastard."
Slap! Slap! Slap!
However, whether he was unaware of Sun-woo's urgency or not, Jo Han-won remained unconscious. Seeing this, Sun-woo infused his palms with internal energy and began to strike him.
Smack! Smack! Smack!
"I said wake up, you son of a bitch!"
The sound of flesh tearing echoed, and blood began to spray from Jo Han-won's face.
"Aaargh...! Okay... I'm awake! Stop hitting me!"
Whether Sun-woo's efforts paid off or not, Jo Han-won finally opened his eyes with a scream.
"How did you find White Flower Peak?"
Sun-woo cut straight to the point. If the man had found him on his own, it was a relief, but if he was acting on orders from above, things were going to get complicated.
If Jo Han-won had found him alone, killing him would mean he hadn't been officially discovered yet, giving him enough time to escape. But if he was acting on orders, it meant the Cheonmu Alliance knew Sun-woo's location, and a Heavenly Net might already be closing in around White Flower Peak.
In the worst-case scenario, Lee Jae-won himself might be on his way. Sun-woo's heart raced with anxiety.
"......"
Jo Han-won didn't answer.
There was no time to waste. Sun-woo grabbed one of Jo Han-won's left fingers and snapped it backward.
Crack!
"AAAAAAARGH!"
His scream echoed through White Flower Peak.
"You'd better start talking, Jo Han-won."
"......"
To open the mouth that remained stubbornly shut, Sun-woo began breaking the rest of his fingers.
Crack!
"AAAAARGH!"
Crack!
"AAAAAAAH!"
Snap!
"UAAARGH!"
Only after Sun-woo had broken seven fingers did Jo Han-won finally speak.
"Heh... orders came from above. Since I was nearby, I was told to search this place thoroughly, confirm your existence, and report your location in real-time."
The situation was more serious than he thought. They had already pinpointed his location.
"Has the report already been sent?"
"Hehehe, the report regarding you was finished a long time ago."
Jo Han-won let out a bloody smirk as he watched Sun-woo's panicked expression.
"Who told you to laugh?"
Crack!
"AAAAAAARGH!"
Sun-woo, find the man's attitude loathsome, snapped the eighth finger.
"Wait, then why did you attack me? Wasn't your role just to confirm my presence until the Heavenly Net was deployed?"
Thinking back, the orders given to Jo Han-won were likely just to confirm and monitor him. There was no need for him to try and assassinate Sun-woo with arrows.
"I thought I could kill someone like you easily with my bow without reinforcements. I didn't expect you to be able to manifest Protective Qi."
It seemed Jo Han-won had ruined everything out of a greedy desire to claim the credit for capturing Sun-woo himself.
"You crazy bastard. But thanks anyway. For being a greedy prick."
Thump!
Sun-woo, grateful for the man's foolish greed, struck the crown of his head, crushing it. Grayish-white brain matter oozed from the back of his shattered skull. He died instantly.
Sun-woo wiped his hands and immediately activated his Wind-Dust Step to move. He had no time for leisure.
*
Meanwhile, Ok-ryeong was tasting a ladle of meat soup.
"Is it too salty?"
After adding a bit of water and letting it boil, she nodded in satisfaction. It was almost time for Sun-woo to return, so she planned to set the table.
"Hmm~ hmm~"
She found herself humming just at the thought of him.
It was then.
Step. Step.
The sound of footsteps came from outside the house. At first, she thought it was Sun-woo and started to run toward the door, but she quickly sensed something was wrong.
The sound was different.
Just as every person has a different appearance and personality, their footsteps are also unique. Everyone has their own rhythm, and Sun-woo was no exception. But the footsteps she heard now were distinctly different from his.
Sensing something amiss, she slowly walked outside. There, she saw a middle-aged man she had never seen before.
"Who are you?"
"Greetings, young lady."
"I don't recall allowing any guests."
Ok-ryeong responded coldly to the rude intruder.
"The situation is urgent, so I have committed a discourtesy. Please forgive me."
The middle-aged man bowed politely and apologized. Despite his respectful demeanor, her icy attitude did not waver.
"If you know it's a discourtesy, why don't you leave the way you came?"
"I'm afraid I cannot do that. As I said, the situation is quite urgent."
Having said that, the man pulled a portrait from his robes.
"Do you happen to know this man?"
The portrait depicted a man who looked exactly like Sun-woo, though he appeared older.
"Why are you looking for him?"
"His name is Jang Sam, a heinous criminal who raped and murdered numerous female martial artists of the Cheonmu Alliance. Furthermore, he killed the Vice Hall Master of the Law Enforcement Hall, Ju Gwang of the Great Tyrant Blade, along with four squad leaders including the Giant Dragon Spear, before fleeing."
Ok-ryeong remained silent at the man's words.
"I will ask again. Do you know this man?"
Without answering, Ok-ryeong opened her right hand.
Whoosh!
Thud.
A sword flew into her right hand, and she snatched it by the hilt. The sword in her grasp radiated a brilliant light and a sharp, lethal aura. Its sharpness was such that it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it a masterpiece.
She raised the sword and pointed it at Yang Tae-san.
"What is the meaning of this?"
The man asked calmly, despite her murderous momentum.
"It's exactly what it looks like."
"Young lady, I believe you are mistaken. That man is not a good person worthy of your protection. He is a vicious criminal."
"I have no desire to listen to your words. I intend to be faithful to the emotions I have seen and felt myself, rather than the shallow words of strangers."
"How foolish. You have been used by him."
"I don't care. Even if I am being used, I would rather die than see that child get hurt."
Ok-ryeong continued with a sad smile.
"If you are his enemy, you are my enemy as well. Draw your sword."
As she finished speaking, Ok-ryeong began to radiate an immense pressure. It was the staggering aura of a master of the Transcendent Realm, one who had reached the Absolute Stage.
"I suppose it can't be helped."
The man also began to release a massive aura. The pressure he emitted was truly terrifying. An explosive yet dense wave of Qi enveloped his entire body.
"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Yang Tae-san, the Hall Master of the Blue Dragon Hall of the Cheonmu Alliance."
If someone were to ask who the strongest person in the world was, people would unhesitatingly name the Absolute Martial God, Lee Jae-won. It was a testament to how absolute and beyond standard his achievements and martial arts were.
However, if asked who the second strongest was, many would tilt their heads in confusion. They would fall into deep thought, and eventually, heated debates would break out. This was proof that there were many peaks hidden behind the massive mountain that was Lee Jae-won.
Some would point to the Heavenly Sword Empress, known as the best among women. Others would name the Golden Heaven Sword, the First Sword of the Imperial Palace. Some might even mention Blood Sword Fragrance, who disappeared twenty years ago.
But there was one name that would never fail to appear in such discussions.
That man was the Sword Emperor, Yang Tae-san.
Twenty years ago, there were absolute masters who crushed the ambitions of the Heavenly Demon Emperor alongside the Absolute Martial God, and Yang Tae-san was counted as one of the strongest among them.
Originally, he was a man raised as the ultimate weapon of the Nine Sects and One Gang to prepare for the invasion of the Demonic Cult. Having become a joint disciple of the Nine Sects due to his extraordinary comprehension and natural physique, he mastered all the martial arts of the Nine Sects by the young age of twenty. By the age of twenty-eight, he reached the supreme height of the Transcendent Realm.
Furthermore, having consumed all the elixirs of the Nine Sects and One Gang, he possessed a staggering amount of internal energy. It was said that when he first dueled the Absolute Martial God, the battle lasted for three days and nights without rest.
During the final battle, every time he swung his sword, the earth and sea split, and countless demons became guests of the afterlife by his blade.
The man who was the culmination of the research of great sects with long histories—the masterpiece and the perfected martial artist himself—was the Sword Emperor, Yang Tae-san.
Now, such a man had drawn his sword against Ok-ryeong.
Feeling Yang Tae-san's aura, Ok-ryeong began to break into a cold sweat. She had vaguely sensed he was no ordinary man, but the aura he released was beyond her imagination.
'This man... is not below me.'
Yang Tae-san boasted an aura so immense that one could instinctively tell he was at least on the same level.
Ok-ryeong adjusted her grip and lunged at Yang Tae-san, who also raised his sword to meet hers.
BOOOOOOM!!!
A massive explosion echoed from the peak of White Flower Peak, signaling the start of a battle between masters who had reached the Absolute Stage.
*
At the entrance of White Flower Peak.
Step. Step. Step.
A man was walking toward the entrance.
BOOM!
Just then, a massive roar erupted from the top of the mountain.
"Oops, looks like they've already started."
The man smirked and continued. He had told him to just do a quick patrol, but it seemed his competitive spirit had been ignited upon seeing her.
"This is why primitive martial artists are so hopeless. Tsk, tsk."
The man's identity was Lee Jae-won, the world's greatest martial artist and the Leader of the Cheonmu Alliance.
Before coming to White Flower Peak, he had ordered the nearby Black Dog Hall Master and Blue Dragon Hall Master to monitor the area, but it seemed both had lost their patience and acted on their own.
Lee Jae-won felt at ease. He didn't know about the Black Dog Hall Master, but since the Blue Dragon Hall Master, Yang Tae-san, had stepped in, he believed everything would be resolved smoothly.
Yang Tae-san was the only subordinate Lee Jae-won considered useful. He couldn't even imagine him losing to anyone other than himself.
"Anyway, I hope that bastard doesn't get too excited and kill Ok-ryeong right away. I need to fuck her once before she dies..."
Lee Jae-won was slightly worried. Even if she was to be killed, he intended to taste her first. He wasn't particularly fond of large breasts and massive hips, but everyone craves a special treat once in a while, don't they?
Thinking of her pussy, which had likely been tightly shut for twenty years, he felt his cock begin to swell.
With a light step, Lee Jae-won began to ascend White Flower Peak.