Chapter 319
Chapter 319
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 319
Chapter Title: Wudang Sect (2)
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In the far west of Henan Province, where Shaolin Temple held sway, right at the border touching Shaanxi and Shanxi Provinces, lay the city of Sanmenxia.
A single house stood isolated in a remote mountain valley there.
It was a secluded abode in the silent depths of the mountains, untouched even by the bandits who eked out a living robbing travelers on the mountain paths or the common folk who had fled into the forests to escape the chaos.
Inside, an elderly man with the bearing of an immortal slowly stroked his long white beard and spoke.
"...Hoo, repeat that once more."
"Your command."
A man in his late thirties, kneeling on one knee before him with a ghostly, faint presence, impassively repeated his earlier words in a flat tone.
"Following Pure Sword Sect, Crimson Pavilion, Asura Gate, and Black Bull Clan in southern Henan, all have fallen. Nearby factions are starting to hold back in response to this sudden upheaval, causing the local disturbances to temporarily reach a stalemate."
The moment the man finished speaking, the elder stopped stroking his beard and closed his eyes, sinking into thought.
Henan was a region under the strong influence of Shaolin Temple, one of the top Orthodox Faction powers.
To counter them and stir up chaos, he had been carefully inciting various forces from both the Righteous and Evil Factions alike...
'For now, it's just a few sects in southern Henan. Not enough to significantly impact the plan that's just around the corner... Hmm, but something still nags at me.'
Yet in the midst of everything proceeding smoothly, this abrupt variable—
—kept irritating the elder, who always pursued perfection: the identity of that mysterious stranger.
"What of the fiend?"
"After slaughtering Asura Gate's Mad Music Troupe leader and wiping out Black Bull Clan, he vanished."
"Have you identified him?"
"His striking attire has made it difficult to gather detailed descriptions from witnesses. Based solely on his clothing, he's most likely from the Southern Frontier, but we judge it's highly probable he's deliberately over-dressed to conceal his true appearance."
"Hmm..."
Few would have the guts to stare directly at such a powerhouse's face anyway, and the impressions left in the witnesses' memories were uniformly limited to those distinctive features.
For now, there was zero information to even speculate on his identity.
'And that mysterious expert who recently swept away the Dongting Lake and Yangtze River pirates... What in the world is going on all of a sudden?'
He'd thought there were no more hidden masters left after years of prolonged chaos.
Where on earth were these powerhouses—estimated at least at the pinnacle of the Flower Realm—popping up from, and what had they been doing until now?
It was as if they'd dropped straight from another world...
'No, that can't be. More likely, he's someone who stirred from Golden Turtle Island.'
With that thought, the elder stroked his lustrous beard once more.
There were no more 'true' otherworlders left in this world.
At best, just settlers who had abandoned their special abilities to put down roots.
"However, one noteworthy detail..."
As the elder quietly pondered, the still-kneeling man continued.
"He called himself the Mad Demon."
"...Oh? The Mad Demon, is it?"
The elder responded with intrigued curiosity.
The Mad Demon was a master he already knew of.
A figure who roamed this chaotic world alone with exceptional skill, earning a moniker more fitting for a demon or madman despite being from the Evil Faction—thanks to his radical, no-looking-back words and actions.
Yet he had flatly rejected the church's recruitment overtures and even shown hostility toward them, the rogue.
For that man to claim the name himself—
"Of course, it's definitely not the real one. We've confirmed the Mad Demon was clashing with the Langya Clan in Zhuzhu, northern Hebei until recently."
An imposter, then.
Or perhaps a true lunatic who cared nothing for public opinion or even the real Mad Demon.
The elder, stroking his beard, slowly nodded and curled the corner of his mouth upward.
"Perfect timing. We can use that. Leak the information discreetly to the Mad Demon in northern Hebei. Given his personality, he won't sit idly by if someone dares impersonate him."
"It shall be done."
"No need for us to step in from the start. More information is always better, after all."
And so, through their unseen machinations, a blockbuster match between the 'self-proclaimed Mad Demon' and the 'current Mad Demon' was set.
A historic title bout to determine the true bearer of the name—one the real one had long been itching for.
"The timing aligns well with the upcoming great undertaking. Target selection is complete, yes? The sacrifice candidates..."
"Indeed. Among them, the place requiring special attention is, of course..."
The two resumed their sinister conversation in hushed tones.
From the shadows draping the Kanghwan Realm, a nefarious plot began to grow at a terrifying pace.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ After the Zhuge family and Wudang Sect joined forces,
The period they could traverse the territory without major incident was short-lived.
"Charge! This is our golden chance to crush the Orthodox bastards' morale! Kill every last one who dared enter our turf!"
"Raaah! Aaaagh!"
"You fools charging in like moths to a flame! Fine, we'll purify you all right here!"
The attacks, silent for so long you'd think they'd vanished, resumed in full force.
Having learned of the alliance, the enemy had gathered in numbers too, warriors in all manner of garb surging forward ferociously.
"Hah, even in this state, those insolent rabble haven't come to their senses. I'll personally guide them to the Mysterious Heaven Supreme Emperor."
"Deploy the Taeeul Linked Formation! Show those fools the power of the Zhuge family!"
In response, Wudang's Yunhyeon Master and Zhuge family's elder Zhuge Gi stepped forward with stern shouts.
In the renewed chaos, Hugo followed the others while his eyes gleamed with meaningful intent.
This situation was one he'd deliberately engineered, so there was no reason for surprise now.
'...Finally, I get to see Wudang Sect in real combat.'
As a martial sect and also a Daoist one, Wudang pursued softness, harmony, and balance above all.
This philosophy naturally infused their martial arts, making it inevitable that Wudang techniques embodied the principle of the soft controlling the hard.
Of course, exceptions existed everywhere.
'Not the time to dwell on that. Let's start from the basics, step by step.'
But he couldn't just stand idly watching while everyone else was busy.
To avoid any later gossip, he needed to join the fray and lend a hand.
'Multitasking like this is second nature to me anyway.'
This might even aid his training more effectively.
Saaah—
Centered on Hugo's body, bearing the Heavenly Mechanism Physique, energy derived from Qi Martial Arts raged through him fiercely. His thoughts accelerated bit by bit, and the surroundings began to slow.
Gripping his sword hilt tightly, he faced forward, lightly bending at the waist, and took a heavy step forward as if stomping into a true stance.
As if cleaving through this world that dragged at his flesh like water.
Thud—
"......!"
At that instant, an Evil Faction warrior far off suddenly loomed close.
His pupils dilated in shock at the abruptness, his mouth agape.
But before words could escape, Hugo's blade had already grazed the man's throat.
"Gurgle...!"
Leaving the foe to collapse foaming blood, his gaze swept the vast battlefield.
'This is my current best. Still not enough.'
Enemies flailing in panic against the massive barrier formation laced with Zhuge sorcery, dying one by one; Yunhyeon Master unleashing attacks too swift for Hugo to fully track, overwhelming foes; and Wudang disciples grouped in threes or more, wielding famed orthodox sword formations.
'Seven of them... Is that the legendary Seven Star Sword Formation?'
He was briefly awed by the organic might of the formation, but only for a moment.
No matter how excellent the linked formation, designed for human versus human, it wouldn't suit him perfectly.
And surely it wasn't made with winged foes in mind?
'I could reference it to create a new one, of course. But for now... building from the fundamentals is key.'
Clang—! Chaeng!
"Kuh, you brat...! What kind of strength...!"
"Huuuuh—."
Even as he analyzed his surroundings lost in thought, his body kept moving.
Repeatedly clashing swords with enemies, felling them, all while deep, steady breaths continued faintly.
Yet his observant gaze amid the battle captured an entirely different world.
'I see it.'
His senses, enhanced by the Heavenly Mechanism Physique, combined with simultaneous activation of skills like Hyper Sensitivity and Keen Insight, sucked in surrounding information in an instant.
Of course, that alone would leave the 'understanding' needed for Mimicry sorely lacking.
'But I'm not alone.'
Hans's wisdom, Heinz II's intuition, Heinrich's technique, Harley's instincts, Harris's experience...
And Hubert's Analysis, Horus's Mystic Seeker—all merging together—
'Yes, now I finally grasp the principles of how it all works.'
The martial techniques in his view disassembled and deconstructed on the spot, refined into elements he could apply to himself and transmitted directly.
Throb—
Amid it, overload built in Hugo's brain—the central hub linked to countless avatars—but such pain and heat were negligible against the durability of his body, fortified with vast karma.
'No need to copy everything perfectly.'
Not impossible if he tried, but inefficient and likely to cause headaches later.
Once stronger, maybe—but for now, leaving an escape route was wise.
'What matters is the core principles contained within. Forms can be reforged to fit this body; take only what's needed.'
In that sense, Wudang's martial arts held exactly what he lacked most.
Softness—the core of Wudang—was the utter opposite of his foundation, grown from Outerica.
'In Outerica, with thick hides and vitality making monsters shrug off blows, techniques had to prioritize destructive power.'
Perhaps divergent styles existed somewhere, but he'd never encountered them.
The warriors' 'Aura' itself was specialized for explosive energy bursts.
'But internal energy built from qi is different. Essential for ascending realms as a martial artist in this world.'
Not for nothing were Murim folk famed for interpersonal combat prowess.
Under similar conditions, the ever-changing profundities of qi techniques and killing arts optimized for murder granted overwhelming superiority.
'Though somewhat weaker against non-humans, of course.'
Like how the Thousand-Slaying Demon Lord, fresh from Kanghwan, had struggled against Hans.
As time passed, subtle changes emerged in Hugo's movements.
The heavy stomps that had pounded true stances from the start gained lightness.
His blade, emphasizing power and speed, now blended softness, curving fluidly.
'What I lack is understanding of the mysteries of martial arts and internal energy. Purely combat-wise, I don't fall short.'
However shallow his knowledge of this world's arts, he was a specialist who had nurtured multiple martial transcendents.
Hugo's once-monotonous breathing began to shift.
Superficially similar to Yunhyeon Master and the Wudang disciples, but distinctly different upon closer feel—a unique breathing method.
'Got it. This should do...'
Offering a faint smile to those whose demonstrations had enlightened him, he slowly regulated his breath.
Thus, he clearly grasped the meaning of softness and harmony in their arts, and how to integrate it into battle.
And as if in celebration—
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ The entity has met the conditions and grows. Skill 「Qi Martial Arts」 evolves into the growth-type special skill 「Nameless Art(無名功)」.