Chapter 124: War of Extermination (5)
Chapter 124: War of Extermination (5)
From Cheongju, where the Shandong Yue family was located, to Jinan, the seat of the Huangfu family, and even the Mount Tai Sect, a branch of the Five Sacred Mountain Sword Sects—the great martial clans of Shandong were situated not far from Jinju.
Since the end of the Righteous-Demonic War, they had maintained a communication network to support the Jinju Eon family, who remained as a vanguard in Northern Zhili. Consequently, they were inevitably sensitive to the movements of the Hebei Dragon Slaying Alliance.
"The Peng Family Twin Devils..."
"Are they warriors you recognize as well, Elder Dan?"
"In our generation, there wasn't a soul in Northern Zhili who didn't know of the Six-Armed Rakshasa, Peng Ik-cheon. I heard he had passed, but it seems he is still going strong."
The warriors dispatched from the great clans of the Shandong martial world arrived in Jinju without delay.
They were duty-bound to witness the fall of the Jinju Eon family firsthand, grasp the subsequent actions of the Hebei Dragon Slaying Alliance, and report back to their respective sects.
Supporting the Jinju Eon family was out of the question. Not only was it impossible with the martial force currently present, but the Eon family had long since been designated as Public Enemies of the Martial World, and all support from Orthodox martial sects had been forbidden.
Thus, those who had interacted with the Eon family for years could only look down with heavy hearts as the family’s pavilions went up in flames and their nameplate was smashed to pieces.
"Soul-Chasing Flying Dagger Seong Ryang-ha has participated personally. Do you see him?"
"Ah, yes. So that man is the Master of the Assassination Pavilion."
"And that man, the one with the most imposing frame among those watching from horseback, is Danseongbu Hwang Jung-man. He is the younger brother of the Heavenly Thunder Alliance Leader, Hwang Jung-un. It seems the Alliance Leader did not come himself."
Like the two warriors from the Mount Tai Sect, all the Orthodox warriors watching the extermination of the Eon family were busy identifying the members of the Dragon Slaying Alliance.
It was rare for so many masters of the Black Path to gather in one place, and there was no better opportunity to teach the rising stars of their sects which names they must be wary of in Northern Zhili.
But at a certain point, even they fell silent. Only a few among them could barely part their lips to speak.
"...That is."
The heavens open.
Stars fall in the bright of day.
"He was the peak of our generation."
A tiger leaps from the earth.
Tearing through the clouds, treading upon the sky as he ascends.
"And he is the summit you all must overcome in the future."
How many warriors in this vast Northern Zhili could compare to them?
Northern Zhili and Southern Zhili—the core regions of the Central Plains, often referred to by their capitals, Shuntian and Yingtian.
In this massive expanse of land, where the largest populations resided and the greatest cities of the Central Plains lined the coast.
Countless great sects built up their martial arts, each aiming for the pinnacle.
They pursued the essence of martial arts that could be performed with human arms, legs, and bodies.
Only a tiny fraction of them could enjoy that realm.
They were those said to be hard to find more than once in a single region.
Though it was said that in this turbulent era, more peerless masters commanded the world than at any other moment in history.
Even so.
In Northern Zhili's Shuntian Prefecture—in all of Northern Zhili—it was believed there were only three peerless masters until now.
Only three out of millions. And yet, those three alone made the land feel crowded.
The Head of the Hebei Peng Family and the Heavenly Thunder Alliance Leader. If the Fist King, who had been holding back these two villains of the Fifteen Lords, were to die, how could the Shandong martial world, where peerless masters were scarce, possibly stop them?
Furthermore, what if the Six-Armed Rakshasa of the Peng Family Twin Devils, Peng Ik-cheon, was still this formidable?
"I must convene the Shandong martial sects as soon as I return. I see no way to check the power of the Dragon Slaying Alliance for at least the next thirty years."
The elder of the Mount Tai Sect let out a long sigh.
However, in this place where the Shandong Orthodox martial world had gathered, at least two people were harboring different thoughts while looking at someone else.
"Is that guy right now...?"
"Great Enlightenment... and Selflessness."
"Tsk. What is he doing in the middle of enemy territory?"
They saw a young man, three or four years their junior, standing dazed with his blade drawn, arms hanging loosely as he stared at the sky. It was an incredibly dangerous sight.
Loud thunders continuously echoed from the sky, and the masters on the ground were all preoccupied with observing that spectacle.
The warriors of the Dragon Slaying Alliance were also relaxing, as the war of extermination was practically over. The only variable left was if the life-and-death duel between the peerless masters in the sky ended in defeat.
If Eon Do-cheon won, they would have to retreat. Conversely, if Peng Ik-cheon won, the Eon family's destruction was guaranteed, regardless of their own struggles.
In truth, all they had to do was flaunt the might of the Dragon Slaying Alliance and surround the Eon family's walls to ensure no one escaped.
Such was the nature of a war of extermination involving peerless masters.
Before they clashed, it might be different, but once a life-and-death duel began, all warriors below them could only wait for a winner.
That was an unwritten law of the Jianghu.
Since one could witness the ultimate techniques of peerless masters at such close range, it carried the unspoken agreement not to swing weapons at each other during that time, even if they were enemies who needed to be killed.
Sring.
However, that law did not apply to the warriors of a family whose destruction was certain and whose kin had already fallen dead.
"Only you... I'll take at least you with me!!"
In the temporarily stalled battlefield, three Eon family warriors drew their short swords and charged.
Their target was the direct descendant of the Peng family, standing alone and defenseless.
Just as the short swords, already stained dark red with someone's blood, flashed ominously under the clear sunlight—
"Protect the Blade Earl!"
"You were once part of the Orthodox faction. Have you no shame?"
Clang!!
Two rising stars who had been guarding Peng Hyeon-hwi intervened, blowing away their weapons.
"Ak Seo-jin? Jeong Wol-seon?! Why are you protecting a direct descendant of the Hebei Peng family!"
"We aren't protecting the bloodline of the Hebei Peng family, you idiot."
Jeong Wol-seon grumbled, his face contorted in a scowl. Standing beside him with a spear, Ak Seo-jin replied with a short laugh.
"We're just trying to clear a debt with a creditor we owe our lives to."
Ak Seo-jin swung his spear shaft wide. He had no intention of killing the Eon family warriors who had approached, but—
Skreeeeek!
Around Peng Hyeon-hwi's body, a circle formed on the ground.
"I will not warn anyone who steps inside this circle. Leave."
In a war of extermination, if the leaders of each sect have reached the Peerless Realm, the warriors of each side do not attack one another while their life-and-death duel takes place.
This is partly because the victory or defeat of the peerless master signifies the end of the war, and partly out of a desire to observe and learn the ultimate techniques of the peerless masters as closely as possible.
Thus, it is an unwritten law. If the master of one's own side loses, there is no need to invite a more cruel aftermath by unnecessarily inciting the enemies' grudge; and if their master wins, the outcome was never in their hands anyway.
I followed the faintly flickering trajectories of the weapons with my eyes. I still couldn't see even half of it.
And yet, the afterimages were starting to enter my sight. To be precise, I could see the hazes of internal energy shattering and scattering in the air after a strike laden with powerful force was unleashed.
Those things were swirling like a storm. My eyes grew dry and stung as if blades were being driven into them.
"The Chain Blade...?"
It was impossible for me to grasp an offensive of that level at my current stage. However, if it was the martial arts of the same sect, no matter how much it had evolved or transformed, it was somehow possible to deduce it.
As Peng Ik-cheon's blade flashed and his gauntlets tore through the atmosphere, the traces became slightly, ever so slightly, familiar.
Boom!!
A blade move to block a fist, the posture of the body that shed the force without losing balance. The direction the power was transmitted and the weight of the strike. All of it—
Even if it was so refined and so profound, if one traced the origin of those marks, the Chain Blade was surely at the end of it.
"No, that's not it."
It wasn't that the Chain Blade was at the end. It would be more accurate to say it was based on the Chain Blade.
Glimpses of the Iron Shirt Art could be seen in the posture maintaining the body, and glimpses of the Chain Blade were visible in the way the blade was held to protect the body.
Then what was that?
Crrack!!
The blade strike currently slicing into Eon Do-cheon's neck and forearm. What should I call that fist strike currently slamming into Eon Do-cheon's abdomen?
My instincts were screaming. A sensation as if something nestled in the back of my head was tickling my brain.
—You already know this.
It felt as if it were shouting that.
I know it? It's a martial art I already know? That can't be. I've seen and learned all the martial arts passed down to the direct line of the Hebei Peng family. To begin with, the Peng family's martial arts aren't that broad or diverse.
But even so.
'The original version of the Chain Blade, first created by the founder Peng Dan-san, was the Heaven and Earth Chain Blade...!'
Is that name correct? No, it's not. If it's just the name of the martial system, I already know it.
'Heaven and Earth Chain Soul-Stealing Blade.'
Yes, that was it. That must be the name of the martial art Peng Ik-cheon was currently unleashing.
It was so profound and transformed to an incomprehensible degree, but its original source deserved to be called the Heaven and Earth Chain Soul-Stealing Blade.
It felt as if fragments were scattered inside my head.
Because Peng Hyeon-hwi's mind had a tendency to obsess over useless details, the moment I saw those broken pieces, I began fitting them together in an instant.
The scattered pieces formed a shape.
If I were to name one set, it would be the Hunyuan Thunderbolt Art.
The other set would be the Heaven and Earth Chain Soul-Stealing Blade.
If I hadn't known from the start, it would be one thing, but if I could just lay eyes on the completed form of the ultimate technique while already knowing the Chain Blade—
Click.
The empty spaces in the puzzle, the spots I hadn't mastered and couldn't even begin to guess the shape of.
The fragments were still insufficient to fit them perfectly, but it was possible to intuit the overall form.
"So this is how they unite."
The puzzles I thought were two separate sets merged into one large set, taking on a completely different, new form. My mind went beyond learning and knowing to infer the future.
No, it wasn't the future. I was inferring the intent of the one who first created this puzzle, this martial system. I was 'inferring' the traces of the world's greatest man scattered in the distant past.
This was like reverse engineering. The act of tracing the origin of a split martial system backward to guess the original text was more like paleography.
And so, as paleographers often do, I traced the origin across the years to look upon the ancient sage.
"Guh...!!"
A handful of blood burst from my nose. My head grew as hot as if it were on fire.
It was the sight of a moth to a flame, rushing to understand a realm not yet permitted, rather than merely observing it.
Martial arts are truly arrogant; they do not permit the entry of those without qualification.
The fitted pieces scattered. The tower I had built collapsed. The hand reaching toward the distant sky fell.
In exchange, a pain like a brand being seared into my brain surged.
—You do not yet possess the qualification to even look upon this place.
It felt as if an old man, the one who had created the ultimate techniques of the Hebei Peng family, was saying those words.
Looking exactly like our bloodline, his tiger-like eyes glowing fiercely.
"Not yet."
I spoke those words. I pulled back my reaching hand. I trampled the scattered tower.
"Just wait a little longer."
I said, raising my index finger to point at the space between the old man's brows.
Yes, not yet. It couldn't be.
The process of martial arts is the accumulation of merit. It is the act of learning and building up the moves, forms, patterns, intent, and secrets of the martial lineage one by one.
Even so, I still drew the complete form of the Heaven and Earth Chain Soul-Stealing Blade in my mind. With my finger still raised toward the founder.
"Because it won't take long."
Deep wrinkles etched themselves beneath the founder's shadowed face.
With that image as the last.
"You sure have a terrifying smile."
I suppose he is the man who burned down Mount Song, after all.
Still. I've taken at least one step toward the true intent of the Soul-Stealing Blade, which I hadn't even been able to grasp before.
With that thought, I drifted back.
"Ow, damn."
"Are you okay? Are you coming to your senses?"
Blood was streaming from my nose as if I'd been punched.
As I wiped under my nose, I saw Ak Seo-jin and Jeong Wol-seon beside me.
Wait, why are these guys here?
"Why are you guys here? Do you know where this is?"
"Is this somewhere we aren't allowed to be?"
"Of course. Why are members of the Jiangnan White Forest Association popping up in the middle of a Sima Alliance gathering?"
"We didn't come to fight you today."
Jeong Wol-seon grumbled and stepped back.
"And nagging even after we protected you. I wasted my internal energy for nothing."
"Ah, you protected me?"
I turned my gaze and indeed saw three Eon family warriors nearby, holding short blades.
They were glaring this way, consumed by shame and rage.
"Look, I know you're upset, but could you look a bit nicer? I'm probably the only person here thinking about letting at least some of your family live."
A war of extermination by the Black Path Sima Alliance usually involves the execution of ten generations.
If you resist, you die; if you don't resist, you die; if you're related, you die; and even if you aren't related, if you're nearby, you die.
Think of it as a mad weeding process on illegal steroids.
So, I meant that I was the only one here thinking we should at least not kill the women who don't know martial arts and the preschool-aged children.
Should I call it the developed moral consciousness of a modern person and the mindset of a scholar well-versed in bright ethics?
I chuckled and looked back at the sky. I wasn't trying to pick up fragments of martial arts anymore; I just wanted to comfortably watch the life-and-death duel of peerless masters—
"......Uh..."
But the situation unfolding in the sky was a bit strange.
Eon Do-cheon's body had somehow moved past the Eon family's walls and was now beyond them.
"Was Do-cheon always over there?"
"Your way of speaking is... no, never mind."
"Isn't it normal to move around a bit while using footwork and performing intense martial arts?"
I ignored what the two first-rate warriors said.
They wouldn't be able to sense anything strange at their level anyway.
Eon Do-cheon's current movements were very strange.
He was moving toward a location completely unrelated to the flow of the battle, even at the cost of putting himself at a disadvantage.
I could see that his Protection Aura was significantly damaged compared to the start.
There were still no wounds on his body, but the sleeves of his clothes were completely shredded.
It meant his Protection Aura was so scattered that it couldn't even protect his clothes from the movements of his own martial arts. He was barely protecting his body.
'My grandfather might be quite strong, but...'
No matter how low his rank, he was a master belonging to the Fifteen Lords of the Central Plains. That meant he was ranked 15th in the world.
I didn't know how many Harmony Realm masters there were in the entire Central Plains, but it meant he was counted among the top 15 even among those great masters.
It was clearly suspicious that the life-and-death duel between the two was flowing in such a one-sided manner.
"Eon Do-cheon! Your skills do not live up to your reputation!"
It seemed I wasn't the only one thinking this, as Grandpa Peng Ik-cheon, looking very relaxed, shouted without any dignity.
A master of that level should have more solemn speech, but I suppose I shouldn't expect too much from a martial artist who never studied.
Hearing that, Eon Do-cheon leaped far back.
Thinking this was a sign of defeat, Grandpa quickly gave chase. He swung his blade wide as if to kill him in one blow.
Eon Do-cheon raised his fist to block it, then suddenly turned his head to scan the surroundings.
'He turned his gaze...?'
Turning his gaze while facing martial arts of that level? Even if it was for a split second, in a situation where life and death were on the line?
His gaze swept over the crowd and then moved further toward somewhere in the city of Jinju.
I unconsciously followed Eon Do-cheon's gaze.
There, I saw the massive crowd that had come out to watch the Eon family's destruction, and the government troops standing guard to manage them and prepare for any potential incidents.
Among those troops was the Prefectural Governor, with whom I had been cordially exchanging bribes and pleasantries earlier. And beside him were the officials of the Jinju government office—
'Eon Do-cheon held a grudge against the Zhuge family.'
In that moment, my thoughts accelerated as if time had stopped.
'A grudge deep enough to send his son to try and kill Zhuge Jeong-yeong... If so, now that his family's destruction is at hand, what's the best way to screw over the Zhuge family?'
Eon Do-cheon's fist rises.
'Unlike the Black Path Sima Alliance, the Orthodox Martial Alliance does not try to collude separately with the government. They maintain an attitude of needing each other but not encroaching on each other's territory. This is called "Well water does not invade river water"...!'
Eon Do-cheon's body turns. While everyone is shocked, Peng Ik-cheon's blade pierces Eon Do-cheon's chest—
'If he inflicts damage on the government office that the Zhuge family—no, the martial world—cannot handle, the Imperial Court will no longer be able to sit idly by regarding the martial world.'
Eon Do-cheon's fist gripped the air. Even with his chest pierced, he wore a bone-chilling smile.
The heavens open.
Above the densely packed crowd.
"Th-That right now—?!"
"Eon Do-cheon, you madman!!"
The warriors of the Sima Alliance didn't seem to care much.
To be precise, they hadn't grasped what was about to happen.
But the Orthodox warriors were different.
They also didn't seem to know exactly what Eon Do-cheon's actions meant, but they at least possessed enough righteous indignation to be outraged that a senseless massacre of civilians was imminent.
And yet, they lacked the ability to stop the ultimate technique of a peerless master who had discarded his own life.
Dammit.
Fine, I can do it. If it's me!
"Do-cheoooon!!"
I shouted, exploding all my internal energy. With his fist still raised toward the sky, only Eon Do-cheon's gaze spun around to land on me.
Yes, look.
Look at me!
"Your son's head is right here! Ah, sorry. This was your grandson's head. It's so rotten I'm getting confused! This one must be your son's head!"
"A-Are you crazy?"
"What are you doing—"
I ignored all the weak voices of my shocked Orthodox rising star friends.
I shouted while wildly shaking the heads of the Eon duo hanging from the Peng family banner.
"If I just get your head, I'll have collected all three generations of the Eon family! Give me your head!!"
From somewhere far away, I heard someone exclaim in awe, "The Beheading Blood Wolf...!"
No, I'm not. Can't you read?
I wrote "Blade Earl" right behind the Peng family banner. Look at that.
As I was thinking that, Eon Do-cheon had already fully turned his body toward me.
While streaming tears of blood from both eyes—
"You bastarrrrrd—!!"
the peerless master's fist strike turned toward me.