Chapter 236
Chapter 236
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter Title: Brutal Death General (4)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Tak.
Once everyone had left and only the two of them remained, the Silent Heaven Sword cautiously spoke up.
"Are you really planning to take Cross Freak Sword as your disciple?"
"Of course. He's got good instincts and talent. Plenty of potential to mold and use."
"I saw his astonishing talent too."
At the Silent Heaven Sword's level, he could vividly imagine what had happened outside the bamboo grove just from reading the flow of qi.
"That beastly aura even fiercer than the Iron Blood Beast Corps, and those instinctive movements—truly impressive."
"Then what's the problem?"
"His unclear background bothers me. The Murim Alliance has been stirring lately, hasn't it?"
The cool-headed Silent Heaven Sword suspected he might be a Murim Alliance spy.
"What of it."
But the Brutal Death General remained unperturbed.
"Disciples are expendable anyway. Best not to read too much into it."
"...However. Just in case."
"Besides, what I'll teach him is the Heaven and Earth Yin Absorption Art."
"Heaven and Earth Yin Absorption Art?"
"Wouldn't it be entertaining to see a hot-tempered guy like him cultivate it?"
"Your mischievous side is acting up again."
"Kekeke. I don't care where the brat rolled in from. Once he cultivates the Heaven and Earth Yin Absorption Art, he won't escape my grasp."
"Fair enough."
Having caught on to the scheme, the Silent Heaven Sword backed off, and the Brutal Death General added,
"You just watch how he moves. Do you think a greenhorn like him can withstand this old man's machinations?"
The Brutal Death General was utterly confident.
***
The next day.
After yesterday's events, he was invited to a gathering of the unorthodox sects' younger generation around Lake Dongting.
More precisely, it was a meetup of the junior disciples from the powerful unorthodox sects near Lake Dongting.
'Hanging out with kids after all this time. Been a while since I left the academy.'
The amusing part was that the unorthodox juniors' topics weren't much different from the Divine Martial Academy kids.
"The subjugation of the Yangtze Waterway Stronghold isn't far off."
"We might even see the Death General fight in person soon."
"Iron Blood Beast Corps. Are they really as fearsome as the rumors say?"
They shared tales of the jianghu, occasionally diving into heated debates on martial arts.
'Righteous or unorthodox, kids' interests are all the same.'
As he occupied a corner, picking at his food, a lively voice called out.
"Ah Jang. Don't sit alone—join the chat."
"Oh, little missy."
"Not little! Geez."
Jin Jin pointed to Jin Yang beside her.
"Sis has something to say to you."
"To me?"
He turned, and Jin Yang gave a quick bow with her eyes.
"Is Junior Jin Yang acquainted with Cross Freak Sword?"
Amid envious stares, Jin Yang's voice followed.
"Thank you for yesterday."
"No idea what you're thanking me for, but I'll accept it."
He nodded curtly and glanced at Jin Jin, who sparkled with eager eyes.
'A baby rate limiter from the unorthodox sects?'
Her fists hadn't yet been stained with blood.
"Ah Jang. What did you talk about with the Death General yesterday?"
"Nothing much? Said he'd take me as disciple if I do a good job."
"As his disciple?"
As her face fell, he tilted his head.
"No big deal. The Death General must have his reasons."
A dubious murmur reached his ears.
Meanwhile, the other young juniors seemed quite tempted by the word "disciple."
"The Death General himself wants to take him in?"
"Shocking. He's famous for only taking daughters of renowned families."
"That means..."
Amazement lit the young men's eyes, while curiosity gleamed in the women's.
"I heard you had an impressive bout with the Iron Blood Beast Corps' White Commander yesterday."
"Could you tell us about it?"
"Uh, well."
Sudden attention wasn't always good.
It came with jealous glares.
Surprisingly, it was Nak Jeong-dae who mediated.
"Congratulations."
As the young master of Lake Dongting's largest sect stepped in, everyone fell silent.
"A new star has risen in the jianghu. The future looks bright."
"Nak bro's right."
"With a master joining before the fight, it's worth celebrating, no?"
A few echoed him, but the jealous looks lingered.
And for good reason—receiving guidance from a peerless expert was every warrior's dream.
'This vibe's no good. Time to shift it?'
A perfect opportunity presented itself.
Chu Un-hwi glanced to one side.
There sat an old man in ragged clothes and a young man quietly eating.
'Perfect timing.'
Kung.
Slamming the table, Chu Un-hwi shot up.
"Damn, ruining the booze."
He stomped over, and the youth, who had been averting his gaze, reacted.
"What's the matter?"
"Thought I smelled something rotten—turns out stinking rats were hiding."
"...How rude."
As the youth slyly moved his sheathed sword from the table to his lap, the old man blocked him with a hand.
"Don't be reckless."
He pushed up his bamboo hat with a finger and addressed them.
"Young friend, your words are too harsh."
"Yeah, I get like that."
"This old man is Mok Jin-ja. The jianghu calls me the Starlight Swordsman."
Upon revealing his identity, those who had been watching gasped in unison.
"Starlight Swordsman Mok Jin-ja?"
"Isn't he a Mount Zhongnan Sect expert?"
"What brings a Mount Zhongnan sword here?"
Amid the murmurs, Mok Jin-ja spoke.
"Just a passing traveler. Will you let us be?"
"Why should I?"
"The east side of Lake Dongting is Iron Chain Alliance territory, but the west is righteous faction ground. It's a shared coexistence space."
"So?"
"Just filling our bellies now and then in this shared space. Even jianghu hospitality wouldn't begrudge that, would it?"
It was a low but stern rebuke.
An underlying pressure emanated too.
"We'll leave quietly. No intention of refusing if you insist on a personal fight."
Chu Un-hwi smirked at the line drawn.
"Fuck off."
Crash!
Chu Un-hwi flipped the table.
***
The Brutal Death General, delighted at obtaining the complete Dragon Subduing Young Dragon Technique, could hardly believe the report.
"What did you say? The Starlight Swordsman appeared?"
Among Mount Zhongnan Sect's top ten swordsmen, the Starlight Swordsman was always mentioned.
Even more shocking was what followed.
"The Starlight Swordsman fled? What happened?"
"It started when Ah-seong picked a fight."
"Hah... And then?"
"It escalated, dragging in the young master and other juniors into a big brawl."
"...Urgh."
"Seems the Starlight Swordsman bailed first when it got too heated."
It was utterly absurd.
"I knew he charged without regard for rank, but picking a fight with a tiger like a puppy? Unbelievable."
The listening Silent Heaven Sword interjected.
"A big fight means heavy casualties. How bad?"
"That's... surprisingly few serious injuries."
"A blessing."
"The problem's next. Emboldened by chasing off the Starlight Swordsman, the young juniors..."
"The juniors?"
"They're rampaging through nearby villages, picking fights with Murim Alliance experts. Massive damage."
The rest was pure chaos.
This madman wasn't just lighting a fire under the hot-blooded kids—he was pouring oil.
The Silent Heaven Sword bellowed.
"Where's that Ah Jang who started this mess?!"
"That's... he's leading the charge in every fight."
"My god."
"Wherever he goes, his frenzied rampage inspires more juniors to join. What should we do?"
"Kekekeke."
The Brutal Death General shook with laughter.
"You're laughing now?"
"A perfect scoundrel without a doubt. More than qualified as my disciple, no?"
"If we leave him be, who knows how far he'll go."
"A wild colt that bucks too hard? Just bridle and tie it up."
Tak.
Slamming the table, the Brutal Death General issued the order.
"Bring Ah Jang to me! I'll personally impart my martial arts!"
***
"Keke. Flying high without knowing the sky's limits, and look at you now."
Back in the annex, the Brutal Death General clucked his tongue and laughed at the battered face.
"If I leave you alone, you'll die screaming. Before that, I'll teach you a proper art."
Speaking in a sly tone, the Brutal Death General sat cross-legged himself and even guided him through the energy circulation.
Going beyond mere verbal instructions to infuse inner power and aid the full-body circuit was exceedingly rare even among unorthodox practitioners.
"It's called the Heaven and Earth Origin Absorption Art."
"Heaven and Earth Origin Absorption Art..."
"Master it, and few in the world can rival you. Cultivate diligently."
Evidently pleased with his exploits so far, the Brutal Death General even offered well-wishes.
***
On the way out of the annex.
"Heaven and Earth Origin Absorption Art, my ass."
The moment the power infiltrated, Chu Un-hwi analyzed and dismantled the art, instantly grasping its true nature.
"The old man's pulling a trick."
He'd hyped it as a supreme secret art, but Chu Un-hwi already knew similar techniques.
"All pompous talk—it's straight-up Yin-Yang Harmony Art, isn't it?"
Yin-Yang Harmony. In other words, a dual cultivation art building power through intercourse between man and woman.
Typically, it used aphrodisiacs to shatter a woman's mind, then siphoned her life force and inner power via sex—a filthy method dismissed even in unorthodox circles as something only lust demons practiced.
Seo Ok-rang had nearly fallen to one in the past for that very reason.
"Half demonic, half evil lust art. The more you cultivate, the more it corrupts your mind."
How could he not see the ploy to gradually corrupt him into a loyal limb?
Fwooooosh.
He easily dispersed the Brutal Death General's qi inside him.
No matter how peerless an Iron Chain Alliance expert, it was simpler than flipping his palm for Chu Un-hwi, who had mastered countless Blood Cult secrets.
"Good. The old lecher seems to have dropped his suspicions. Time to really cut loose?"
Now the Brutal Death General's disciple, he had no more reservations.
***
"Old Jang! What are you doing? Hurry and load the cargo!"
"Yes, sir."
The hunched old man grunted as he hoisted a heavy crate and shuffled toward the large ship.
"Move it!"
"Not time for breaks! Want to rest forever?"
"Get the whip! Useless trash!"
Dodging the raging unorthodox warriors here and there, the old man staggered down to the dock.
Kung.
Having unloaded in the deepest hold, the old man rubbed his shoulders when someone approached.
It was a youth sorting the messy cargo in the hold.
It was Nong Pung-un. The old man's true identity: Beggar Elder.
They had successfully infiltrated via the Jegal family's arrangements, but the situation wasn't comfortable.
They had tried, but infiltrating the leadership wasn't easy.
As they grumbled, the Beggar Elder's eyes sharpened suddenly.
Despite the ragged disguise, her refined features had caught the eye of the captain with peculiar tastes.
As he pondered rushing to rescue Geum Jeong if needed,
Kung kung.
The hold door opened with heavy footsteps.
As they quickly exchanged sound transmissions and moved to scatter,
"What? You were hiding in a dump like this?"
A familiar voice rang out.
Startled, they looked up to see a flustered Geum Jeong and...
"Heh heh heh."
...Chu Un-hwi grinning brightly.