Chapter 246
Chapter 246
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter Title: Breaking the White Sword (2)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Yagul Cheok was the man straight out of his memories.
His exceptional ferocity remained unchanged, and once he made a decision, he plunged into action with bold courage—just as remembered.
"Brings back old memories."
Memories from even longer ago than his current age.
Yagul Cheok had been the assault captain of the Shadow Black Wind Squad.
Though greater martial artists existed in terms of skill, he was always the one at the forefront.
The moment he spotted enemies, he charged without a second thought, rampaging like a madman.
"Once his eyes rolled back, he was like a berserker who wouldn't stop."
Whether it was one foe, ten, a hundred...
Even against ten thousand enemies, he would hurl himself in without hesitation.
The final day had been no different.
- Captain, you have to survive.
On the day they barely escaped the burning Blood Sect, he had charged alone toward the Mangcheon Society's pursuit squad trailing behind.
- I owe you a great debt.
Even as dozens of swords pierced his body, he spoke in a calm tone.
In truth, their bond in his previous life had formed by pure chance.
He had simply given a few silver coins and a meal to the man starving on the brink of death.
He had forgotten about it afterward, yet Yagul Cheok had tracked him all the way to the Blood Sect, vowing to repay the favor.
- I intend to repay that life-saving grace.
And so he had guarded his back until the very end.
"Perhaps I'm the one indebted."
His death had allowed survival, extending that life until he reached this place once more.
"Heaven doesn't always sit right with me, but sometimes it pulls off something pretty."
Anyway, watching him solidified his conviction into something like an inescapable fate.
Founding a sect.
Opening a gate.
'The only one who can found it here and defend it is that guy.'
A sect of just the two of them.
Many would scorn it, and many would attack.
'Only Yagul Cheok can hold and protect it without fear.'
Not someone who weighs the situation or tallies gains and losses.
Only those who stake their lives on a personal favor—never forgetting, throwing everything into upholding a heartfelt promise—could do it.
"Of course. The road ahead is still long."
Ching ching!
At the sixth sect he visited, Yagul Cheok was being effortlessly pushed back by a single swordsman.
"Uwaaaaaah!"
"Th-this mad bastard!"
Ignoring the blade piercing his belly, he instead embraced the man who had stabbed him and tore into his throat with his teeth.
"Kuhuk!"
"Crunch."
With teeth sunk into the artery, Yagul Cheok jammed a needle into the enemy's panicked eyes before collapsing together.
'Looks like his vengeance is finally complete.'
Suddenly, words from the past surfaced.
- Living like a hunting dog isn't so bad, but sometimes I wonder what it'd be like to stand above someone, roaming the battlefield freely.
"I'll make that wish come true."
At last, Chu Un-hwi moved.
***
"Seems this is the end for me."
After lying on the ground heaving ragged breaths for a while, Yagul Cheok staggered back.
He wasn't in any state to even joke that he was fine.
His arm hung limply from a deep gash, and a gaping hole in his side relentlessly vomited blood.
He looked like he could drop dead any second, yet he maintained that stoic expression—was that the Yagul Cheok way?
"I wanted to offer this to you."
Clang.
What he extended was the sword the final man had wielded.
"Draw it."
Shing.
The moment he nudged the hilt with his finger, a chilling sword gleam danced before his eyes.
"This is..."
The blade gleamed milky white, inscribed near the base with characters resembling coiled dragon scales.
Seventy-Two Swords.
"A White Sword. The seventy-second blade."
"The last one you took down must've been a White Sword Lord. You sure struggled."
"The owner of White Gold Manor here, Jang Deok. The bastard who cruelly murdered my benefactor's wife."
Yagul Cheok's face remained serene as he spoke, as if recounting someone else's tale, but blackish blood bubbled from his side.
"The revenge I could take with my own hands ends here. I can't continue it myself, but I wanted to join in by passing on the tool of vengeance."
From his glance at the oozing wound, it seemed he grasped that his own sword was worthless for the task.
"Sharp eyes. I like that."
"Now that the White Sword's lord is dead, those snake bastards will swarm. You confident?"
His fading gaze demanded an answer.
Chu Un-hwi responded immediately.
"Of course."
"I'll trust you."
With those words, Yagul Cheok toppled backward.
Papat.
Bandages erupted from the shadows to catch his body, but the limp Yagul Cheok had already lost consciousness.
"Waaang. Little bro's wrecked."
At Dan-ya's wail-tinged whine, Chu Un-hwi pulled a small pill from his bosom and tossed it over.
"Feed him the Great Reversion Pill."
"The Great Reversion Pill? Ain't that super rare?"
"Our fragile little bro needs some tonics."
"Kikikik. Fair point."
As she shoved the pill into his mouth and wrapped him mummy-like in bandages before floating him midair, Chu Un-hwi rose to his feet.
"The sword our little bro nabbed with such hardship. Time to carry on the revenge, yeah?"
Shing.
Drawing the White Sword, Chu Un-hwi adjusted his black bamboo hat and grinned.
"Next up are the ones who trashed the herb field, right?"
It might be a petty grudge.
"Die for petty reasons, you idiots."
Having witnessed the brutal revenge, Chu Un-hwi felt zero mercy.
***
Rumors spread.
- Wiped out over a dozen organizations in a single night.
It concerned the incident brazenly challenging Fujian Province's entrenched order.
- A White Sword Lord is dead.
The first to react was the Net Sect.
"What mad dog is rampaging without distinguishing heaven from earth."
"Some punk who doesn't know the local code. Where's he from?"
"Beats me. Gotta investigate. If he lasts that long. Heh heh."
A catastrophe overnight, sure—but just middling third- and second-rate sects.
The Net Sect, self-proclaimed one of Fujian’s four pillars, had no doubt they could squash these slippery loaches with ease.
"Not a Heavenly Sword, but it's been ages since someone offed a White Sword Lord..."
"The slayer of a White Sword Lord. Take him down, and we catch the Twin Dragons' eye."
"Might even rack up merits and claim a new White Sword for ourselves."
White Sword Lords were akin to petty kings in Fujian.
Greed-blinded Net Sect warriors mobilized to hunt the culprit.
And they found the massacre's ringleader without much trouble.
Not difficult at all.
The guy who'd vanished into the earth or soared to the skies suddenly popped up in the busy streets.
No attempt to hide, either—he wore the exact blood-drenched black robe and black bamboo hat as described.
"It's him. Move!"
Thud thud thud thud.
The Net Sect, with eyes and ears all over Fujian, rushed to the reported tavern the instant the tip came in.
And there, they spotted the monster calmly drinking.
"Quite the turnout."
Even encircled by fifty-odd warriors, the culprit lost none of his leisure.
'This one's got backing.'
The leader leading the Net Sect warriors felt a chill but stepped forward, backed by his solid crew.
"You the one who scrapped with our boys yesterday?"
"Yeah."
Thud. Net Sect swordsmen's eyes twitched at the sword propped against the table.
'White Sword.'
Milky blade etched with twining dragons—the very White Sword they'd sought.
"Killed the White Sword Lord and now some nobody parades around with it openly?"
"Damn fine sword."
"The gall."
The man glanced around before asking.
"You alone? Word is there's another."
"Resting for now. You'll meet him soon."
"Solo, then."
Pity it wasn't two, but a prime chance to end him quick.
Chaeng!
At the signal, Net Sect warriors drew in unison—then the culprit spoke.
"No pride among Fujian warriors? Not ashamed to swarm like packs?"
"Nothing shameful about it. Slaying a White Sword killer is grand honor."
"It is a fine sword."
The propped White Sword let out a resonant zing.
The watching Net Sect warriors' eyes bulged.
'Sword humming on its own?'
A rare blade, sure—but famed sword tier at best.
Not some peerless treasure ringing to its master's mood.
Especially not jubilant at praise. Unheard of.
'A true master.'
They gulped, tensing—then the voice rang again.
"But no matter how precious, I wouldn't deem it worth your lives."
Clack.
Hand snatching the sheath, immense energy surged—the Net Sect faces blanched.
"Wh-who the hell are you?"
"Dark Venerable."
"...Dark Venerable?"
"A lurker in the shadows."
Srrrrung.
The milky blade erupted in blinding gleam as killing intent whipped into a frenzy.
"And the one to fell the Twin Dragons—to become Fujian's new heaven."
Kwajajak!
The eye-searing sword light flashed.
"Wha—withdraw!"
Kwang!
Tavern furnishings shattered in the energy blast, sweeping the Net Sect warriors.
***
Kuuung!
One sword flash, and over a dozen smashed through the wall.
"Wh-what in the world?"
The encirclement outside couldn't hide their shock at the sudden chaos.
Kuung. Kkung!
Two more thunderous booms confirmed it.
"Cough."
"Kuhuk!"
Figures tumbled from the wreckage, spewing blood and going still.
Gugugugu. Kkung.
Astonishingly, massive pillars sliced clean like bamboo stalks collapsed amid flying roof tiles.
Kukwang. Kkang!
"......"
"...Something a human could do?"
A few swings leveling half a tavern built for hundreds.
In the face of such awe, one thought gripped them all.
"...Peerless... expert?"
"How profound his skill..."
They'd come expecting a small-fry faction buster—now confronted by horrifying divine prowess, they reeled in chaos.
Warururuk. Kkung!
The tavern's roof caved fully, unleashing a towering dust plume.
"Kuhuk."
"Sa-save..."
Agonized cries pierced the dust-choked haze.
Jeobuk. Jeobuk.
Yet all heard crisp footsteps clearly.
Fuuuuung.
A small vortex parted the debris as a pristine figure emerged.
Their quarry smirked beneath the bamboo hat.
"Quite the lavish welcome."
"......"
Gulp.
Under their stares, the culprit stood tall and spoke.
"Can't just take the hospitality and run."
---?
"Tell your Net Sect Lord the Dark Venerable accepts his invitation."
------!
Words tantamount to a war declaration unleashed silent screams.