Chapter 56
Chapter 56
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 56
Chapter Title: Seo Moon Family Young Patriarch 1
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The Leaders of the Heavenly Dragon Society and Heavenly Peak Society were running for their lives, squeezing out every last drop of their inner energy with the sheer will to escape. Trailing behind them, Baek Moo-jin and Goo Yang-hoo were steadily closing the gap.
The leaders could somewhat understand why Goo Yang-hoo was pursuing them. But they were shocked that this man called Baek Gwi was keeping pace with them without falling behind at all in lightness skill.
What in the world is this guy's identity? He's actually chasing after the Heavenly Dragon Society Leader and Heavenly Peak Society Leader, who rank within the top ten of the Nine Heavens Alliance.
By now, the subordinates from both the North Heaven Alliance and Nine Heavens Alliance had fallen far behind in their own pursuits, leaving quite a distance between them and the four at the forefront.
At some point, Baek Moo-jin overtook Goo Yang-hoo and began catching up to the two leaders even faster. It was clear now that among the four, Goo Yang-hoo was the one expending the most stamina. And that made sense—he had fought a fierce battle against both leaders single-handedly.
Goo Yang-hoo, sensing that Baek Moo-jin might be capable of even greater speed, called out to him from behind in a casual tone.
"Moo-jin, what are you thinking? Catch them."
At those words, Baek Moo-jin made a wry face. He leaped straight up from his spot, kicked off the wall of a nearby shop to the side, and vaulted onto the rooftops, accelerating as he bounded across them. Before long, Baek Moo-jin vanished from Goo Yang-hoo's sight.
Goo Yang-hoo's expression, who had urged him to go ahead, turned somewhat sullen.
He's definitely faster than me.
Even as they fled, the two leaders' minds were dominated by thoughts of Baek Moo-jin.
Baek Gwi.
It felt like they were being haunted by a ghost in broad daylight. Moreover, Baek Moo-jin's clothes were now splattered with blood, making his already expressionless demeanor even more menacing.
The Heavenly Dragon Society Leader, employing his lightness skill at the fastest speed he'd ever mustered since learning martial arts, called out to the Heavenly Peak Society Leader.
"Heavenly Peak, we should split up."
The Heavenly Peak Society Leader, who was slightly lagging behind and breathing heavily, rasped out in a hoarse voice.
"Agreed... But..."
The moment the Heavenly Peak Society Leader was about to ask which direction to flee in, Baek Moo-jin—covered head to toe in blood—descended lightly from the sky above.
The leaders flinched in surprise and stared at Baek Moo-jin.
How did he come down from above?
The Heavenly Dragon Society Leader gripped his curved sword and scanned the surroundings, only then realizing that Baek Moo-jin had run across the rooftops and overtaken them.
Baek Moo-jin said impassively,
"Are you in such a hurry?"
Since Baek Moo-jin wasn't attacking immediately, the Heavenly Dragon Society Leader eyed him carefully and replied,
"I didn't know the North Heaven Alliance had two tigers. You seem wasted serving under the North Heaven Alliance Leader, don't you think?"
Baek Moo-jin responded flatly,
"Seems like you leaders have more pressing concerns than worrying about me."
Baek Moo-jin had felt a bit off running alongside the Alliance Leader, so he paused briefly to wait for Goo Yang-hoo.
Goo Yang-hoo hadn't been able to take down these two alone.
Thus, he felt uneasy about subduing them by himself and waited for Goo Yang-hoo. They weren't going anywhere anyway.
The Heavenly Peak Society Leader, already exhausted, said nothing and simply caught his breath. He was even grateful that Baek Moo-jin had given them a moment to rest.
The Heavenly Dragon Society Leader, trying to buy more time for the Heavenly Peak Society Leader to recover, began spouting useless words at Baek Moo-jin.
"Your martial arts are quite unique. Even if the North Martial Forest accepts it, heading south to the South Martial Forest would get you the same treatment as us—they'd say an ice technique has appeared in the world. You're wearing clothes that don't suit you. Don't you think?"
The Heavenly Dragon Society Leader's words carried a sly, serpentine cunning.
But Baek Moo-jin made no retort. Instead, he gave a slight nod to Goo Yang-hoo, who had just arrived.
The Heavenly Dragon Society Leader glanced at Goo Yang-hoo, who had appeared behind him unnoticed, and said,
"Goo Yang Alliance Leader, if all seven society leaders come at you together, the North Heaven Alliance will vanish soon enough."
Even Goo Yang-hoo paused to steady his breath before responding.
"......Why didn't you come together from the start? How much do you underestimate me?"
As they spoke, Goo Yang-hoo and Baek Moo-jin exchanged a brief glance while encircling the leaders like herders.
The Heavenly Dragon Society Leader listened to the Heavenly Peak Society Leader's ragged breathing, then turned to Goo Yang-hoo and brought up the ice technique again.
"Goo Yang Alliance Leader, you're with quite the suspicious fellow. Ice techniques were used by the high priests of the Demonic Soul Sect. You know that, right?"
Goo Yang-hoo shook his head and shot back,
"Don't talk nonsense."
But contrary to his firm words, Goo Yang-hoo subtly checked Baek Moo-jin's expression.
Baek Moo-jin let out a low hum.
"Hm......"
Baek Moo-jin swallowed whatever he was about to say.
Anything he said now would sound like an excuse, so he figured it was better to stay silent.
Baek Moo-jin stared coldly at the leaders and thought,
Keep talking. I'm curious too.
The Heavenly Dragon Society Leader smirked and continued,
"Hah, you think I'd spout nonsense in this situation? I heard rumors just recently that the Demonic Soul Sect Lord has appeared. You've heard that too, right, Heavenly Peak?"
The Heavenly Peak Society Leader replied curtly,
"I have."
The Heavenly Dragon Society Leader nodded and went on,
"Once the Demonic Soul Sect Lord emerges, the sect's followers—who've been lying low—will start moving. Or maybe they've already begun."
Finishing his words, the Heavenly Dragon Society Leader deliberately looked at Baek Moo-jin and grinned. The Heavenly Peak Society Leader, who had mostly just nodded along due to his lack of eloquence, finally spoke up.
"Goo Yang Alliance Leader, if you'd joined the Demonic Path, you could've said so earlier. You could've been friends with the Nine Heavens Alliance too. We wouldn't have had to fight so desperately. Black Path or Demonic Path, it's all the same, isn't it?"
Goo Yang-hoo frowned at that.
"Have you lot joined hands with the Demonic Path?"
The Heavenly Dragon Society Leader curled his lip and replied,
"Heh heh heh. None of your business."
Goo Yang-hoo said with a look of pity,
"Whether Black Path or Demonic Path, I'll just kill whatever crawls out. Moo-jin, let's go."
As Goo Yang-hoo launched his attack, Baek Moo-jin drew his sword and simultaneously targeted the Heavenly Peak Society Leader's lower body.
The four tangled in combat once more.
But the fight didn't last long. Baek Moo-jin's internal energy surpassed that of the two leaders. Using the profound arts of the Snow Sword Sword Palace, Baek Moo-jin deliberately struck their weapons with heavy force, sending Goo Yang-hoo's blade energy flying wildly, drenching the leaders' bodies in blood.
Baek Moo-jin maintained an astonishingly cold composure right up until the moment they died. He left the killing blows to the Alliance Leader, focusing solely on setting up the situation.
2.
The chill rising from Baek Moo-jin's sword gradually faded, while drops of blood dripped steadily from Goo Yang-hoo's blade.
The Heavenly Dragon Society Leader and Heavenly Peak Society Leader lay in gruesome states on the ground, felled by Goo Yang-hoo's blade energy.
However, Goo Yang-hoo was breathing roughly himself, his sword planted in the earth as he knelt on one knee. When the Heavenly Dragon Society Leader fell first to a sword strike, the Heavenly Peak Society Leader had suddenly lunged in what seemed like a mutual destruction attack. Had Baek Moo-jin not created the Ice Wheel Sword Membrane in the midst, Goo Yang-hoo might have suffered serious injury.
It had been a close call.
Only then did Goo Yang-hoo stand and say to Baek Moo-jin,
"Good work."
There was strangely no joy in his tone. Baek Moo-jin tilted his head slightly. He wondered if "thank you" would have fit the situation better than "good work."
Baek Moo-jin asked quietly,
"Are you alright?"
Goo Yang-hoo glanced at the leaders' corpses and replied,
"I'm fine. Let's head back, wrap things up, and have a drink."
"Yes."
As Baek Moo-jin nodded with his usual blank expression, Goo Yang-hoo finally looked at him and chuckled softly.
"Lighten up that face. It's a great victory."
Baek Moo-jin gave a faint smile and nodded.
"It is."
Goo Yang-hoo began walking and said,
"For the time being, I need to focus on internal affairs and meet with the leaders of nearby factions. We've taken some losses too. By the way, I thought the Cloud Mountain Sect would come to our aid before the fighting started, but not even a shadow of them showed."
"Cloud Mountain Sect?"
Baek Moo-jin tilted his head and asked. He recalled that Ban Go-yeong of the Iron Blood Gang had once impersonated a Cloud Mountain Sect warrior.
"You know of the Cloud Mountain Sect?"
"One of the Iron Blood Gang members I killed before had impersonated one."
"Ah, right......"
Goo Yang-hoo was about to say something when a deep voice called from behind.
"Looks like we're too late."
Baek Moo-jin turned to see a group of men approaching at high speed. Goo Yang-hoo eyed them intently and narrowed his brow. He wondered who had summoned them.
"Hm......"
Baek Moo-jin asked,
"Do you know them?"
There was no need to ask who they were. Among the approaching group was a man familiar to Baek Moo-jin's eyes.
None other than Seo Moon-geuk.
But Seo Moon-geuk's face, usually quick to smile, was unusually stern.
Goo Yang-hoo was the first to clasp his hands in salute toward the arrivals.
"Goo Yang-hoo of the North Heaven Alliance greets the gentlemen of the Seo Moon Family."
A man in his early thirties, with a massive frame and stature, smiled graciously and replied,
"Alliance Leader, you're too formal. No need for that. I am Seo Moon Dan-cheon."
Goo Yang-hoo responded with continued courtesy,
"The Young Patriarch himself has come all this way."
At those words, Baek Moo-jin glanced back and forth between Seo Moon-geuk and Seo Moon Dan-cheon. They didn't resemble each other in the slightest.