Chapter 397
Chapter 397
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 105
>Chapter Title: Grand Sorcerer Myeong-ryul (1)
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“Cough... cough... Damn it...”
Mok Yu-cheon, his five viscera and six bowels shaken by a single blow, staggered to his feet.
He wanted nothing more than to sit right there and circulate his qi, but the surging crowd made that impossible.
From what he could sense, there were nearly a hundred of them—mobilizing this many people just to capture that bastard Mok Kyung-un?
Mok Yu-cheon clicked his tongue.
Just how strong had he become to warrant deploying so many?
“Ha...”
It was absurd.
He and that guy had been captured and brought here only about half a year ago.
Yet Mok Kyung-un was apparently stirring up a storm in the Heaven-Earth Society, one of the three great factions dividing the central plains.
Even the elders, known as the society's hidden forces, were stepping out—what the hell had he done?
‘...Is that guy really him?’
He seemed like a completely different person now.
“Cough, cough.”
Whatever mess Mok Kyung-un had caused, he could think about it later.
-Rumble!
The crowd was drawing closer.
If he didn’t hurry and slip away, even he might get caught up in it.
-Shwip!
Mok Yu-cheon shot forward.
His internal injuries made it hard to sense qi properly, but he had to avoid the crowd as much as possible and escape this manor.
But he hadn’t gone far when someone blocked his path.
It was a middle-aged man wielding bizarre hook-shaped weapons in both hands.
-Papapapak!
Mok Yu-cheon and the middle-aged man exchanged about four blows in an instant before pulling back apart.
Having clashed hands with him, Mok Yu-cheon’s expression darkened.
He didn’t know who the man was, but with that level of martial prowess, he was at least a division leader in the Heaven-Earth Society.
No, perhaps a grand division leader?
‘...Peak supreme master, entry level.’
Word was that Eldest Young Master Na Yul-ryang had recruited many neutral experts under his wing, and it seemed the rumors weren’t empty talk.
“This way!”
As the middle-aged man shouted, Mok Yu-cheon felt part of the crowd heading toward the rear garden veer in their direction.
Mok Yu-cheon bit his lip hard.
‘Damn it.’
In his current injured state, it would be quite a challenge.
If he unleashed the Reverse Blood Circulation Technique to explosively boost his internal energy, he might subdue the man in ten exchanges or fewer—but with his injuries, he couldn’t gauge how long he could maintain it.
But right now, he had no choice.
It was just as Mok Yu-cheon was about to activate the Reverse Blood Circulation Technique.
“Hold it!”
At someone’s shout, both the middle-aged man, who seemed to be a grand division leader, and Mok Yu-cheon turned their gazes.
Standing arrogantly atop the wall there was a man with curly hair and a flashy appearance, fanning himself with a folding fan.
The middle-aged man frowned and muttered at the sight.
“Second Young Master?”
The one who had appeared on the wall was none other than Jang Neung-ak, the second disciple of the Heaven-Earth Society Leader.
More precisely, Go Chan, who had possessed him.
In any case, the sudden appearance of the society leader’s second disciple, Jang Neung-ak, brought a look of embarrassment to the eyes of the grand division leader.
‘Why the hell is that bastard Jang Neung-ak here?’
As a rival in the succession struggle, he wasn’t the type to recklessly show up at Eldest Young Master Na Yul-ryang’s manor.
His sudden appearance left them unsure how to respond.
‘Second Young Master?’
Thanks to becoming the disciple of Namdo King Son Yun, Mok Yu-cheon had learned some internal affairs of the Heaven-Earth Society.
That made the situation all the more baffling.
Then Jang Neung-ak pointed his fan at Mok Yu-cheon and said,
“I’m taking this one.”
‘What?’
Why was Second Young Master Jang Neung-ak trying to help him?
It made no sense to Mok Yu-cheon.
Of course, from his perspective it didn’t, but Go Chan, possessing Jang Neung-ak, was helping Mok Yu-cheon purely for the sake of his master, Mok Kyung-un.
‘There must be a reason Master wants to keep Mok Yu-cheon alive.’
And though everything had flipped upside down, there was once a bond when he had retired from assassinations and tried to settle in Timber Sword Manor, so he wanted to help.
It might seem out of nowhere to outsiders, but Go Chan’s intentions were pure.
However,
“I’m sorry, Young Master... Please leave him behind. This is Eldest Young Master’s domain. I don’t know how you entered, but this is overstepping your bounds.”
“Overstepping? Did you just say I’m overstepping?”
-Goooooo!
Go Chan, possessing Jang Neung-ak, deliberately released his aura.
-Flinch!
The grand division leader’s eyes filled with wariness.
Jang Neung-ak’s body had reached the peak of supreme mastery, so he had few equals in the Heaven-Earth Society.
But then,
-Rumble!
-Clang! Clang! Clang!
Just in time, the warrior reinforcements arrived, rushing in.
They were clad in thick iron armor, almost fully armored as they swarmed.
The grand division leader’s face lit up at the sight of their leader.
It was none other than Gong Sect Leader Jong-gak, commander of the Heaven-Earth Society’s Mobile Armored Unit and one of the upper echelons, the Three Sect Leaders.
“Gong Sect Leader!”
With the arrival of this skilled expert, the grand division leader, whose momentum had faltered, shouted at Go Chan possessing Jang Neung-ak.
“If you don’t withdraw right now, you’ll be the one regretting it, Young Master!”
“Regretting?”
“No matter who you are, you can’t take us on alone.”
“Gained some confidence now that your numbers have grown? Heh heh. But who said I came alone?”
No sooner had the words left his mouth.
-Papapapak!
Black-clad warriors appeared along the wall where Go Chan stood.
With “Dark” emblazoned on their chests, they were warriors of the Dark Division.
And someone leaped lightly onto the wall beside Go Chan.
It was,
“Dark Sect Leader?”
Dark Sect Leader Hwan Ya-seon.
“Oh ho ho. Long time no see, Gong Sect Leader.”
Gong Sect Leader Jong-gak, who had led the Mobile Armored Unit, clicked his tongue at her appearance.
“Came to help your disciple?”
“You’re stating the obvious. Would any master send their disciple into danger alone?”
Even as she spoke, Hwan Ya-seon sneered inwardly.
Truth be told, it wasn’t anxiety that brought her here.
Monster-like Mok Kyung-un didn’t seem in any real peril, but this was a chance to thoroughly crush Eldest Young Master Na Yul-ryang’s momentum.
Gong Sect Leader Jong-gak drew his thick heavy sword and said.
-Shing!
“Then today, you’ll head to the afterlife with your disciple.”
“We’ll have to see about that, won’t we? Oh ho ho.”
-Shing!
Likewise, Dark Sect Leader Hwan Ya-seon drew her own sword.
Jong-gak sneered at her.
“If you’re banking on Second Young Master’s authority, that’s a foolish miscalculation. He was destined for the kill list before Eldest Young Master even ascends anyway. And thinking you can turn the tide with just your Dark Division intel handlers...”
-Boom!
Before he could finish.
Someone charged into the midst of the Mobile Armored Unit, sending about five men flying.
-Popopopopung!
“Urk!”
“W-what?”
Jong-gak hurriedly raised his heavy sword to block the force of the fist strike that had sent even the heavily armored men tumbling.
“Who dares!”
-Chaaang!
“Urgh!”
The attacker barreled in like a rampaging wild boar, forcing Gong Sect Leader’s form back nearly five paces.
-Scraaaape!
Pushed back, Gong Sect Leader Jong-gak furrowed his brow.
Standing before him was none other than the Rule-Breaking Monk and Demon Subduing Fist Master, Ja Geum-jeong.
The broken prayer beads and tattered robes made him unmistakable.
“Mad Monk?”
No, wasn’t this one of the Three Madmen?
Why had this wandering lunatic monk, not even affiliated with the Heaven-Earth Society, suddenly appeared here?
As he reeled in shock, Ja Geum-jeong clapped his fists together excitedly and said.
-Thud thud!
“Kekeke. Perfect. You seem decent enough—let’s have a go, you bald bastard.”
“Hah? So this is your ace up the sleeve?”
Jong-gak stuck out his tongue and assumed a heavy sword stance.
It was an unexpected arrival, but one man wasn’t enough to turn the tide.
Dark Sect Leader Hwan Ya-seon curled her lips slyly at him.
“As if. You think this is all we’ve got?”
“All you’ve got?”
What did that mean?
-Waaaaah!
-Clang clang!
As he puzzled over it, from the opposite side of the manor—the west—came shouts like a battlefield erupting, accompanied by the clash of weapons.
‘What the hell? What’s going on?’
Did they have reinforcements beyond the Dark Division?
His ominous hunch proved spot on.
The experts from the Elder Hall side, along with grand division leaders and division leaders trying to enter from the west of Eldest Young Master Na Yul-ryang’s manor, found their path to the rear garden blocked by the sudden appearance of Destruction King Ho Tae-gang and Destruction Division warriors.
-Boom! Boom! Boom!
“Argh!”
“Gah!”
Despite an injured arm, he wielded a massive axe with his other hand, butchering all who approached—no one could pass.
“T-this monster...”
He wasn’t just any officer; he bore the title of one of the Eight Stars, among the martial world’s supreme masters.
How were they supposed to handle a monster like him?
And moreover,
-Papapapapak!
‘No way? What the hell is that guy?’
‘What kind of lightness skill is that fast?’
Like a storm, the masked Mara Hyeon weaved through enemies with phenomenal lightness skill and kicking techniques, blocking the Elder Hall experts who were trying to scale the walls while avoiding the beast-like Ho Tae-gang—they couldn’t break through.
For those desperate to rush inside, impatience grew.
It was then.
-Boom! Boom! Boom!
Everyone’s eyes turned toward the sky over the rear garden.
Countless clumps of flames rained down like hail.
Even the Elder Hall experts couldn’t help but stare at the bizarre, unforeseen phenomenon.
* * *
-Boom! Boom! Boom!
The hail of flame clumps began setting the rear garden ablaze.
-Roar!
Flames erupted everywhere in the garden, heating the air with intense fervor.
It was as if the surroundings had become a hellscape.
-Rooooar!
And in the center roared a massive white beast.
It had a single horn on its head, a body like a cross between dog and horse reminiscent of a pure white tiger without stripes, and a long tail bizarrely wreathed in white flames.
Cheong-ryeong clicked her tongue at the sight and said,
-Mortals... It’s the spirit beast Whitefire Solitary Blaze.
“A spirit beast?”
-Deep in the Northern Mountains lies a cavern of jade and seething flames—they say it dwells there.
Mok Kyung-un’s eyes narrowed at her words.
Spirit beast.
Even demonic entities had names based on their class.
The lowest, with the least demonic power, were called vicious beasts; above them were monstrous beasts, yao beasts, demonic beasts.
Anything above yao beast was beyond most sorcerers—even seasoned martial artists struggled against them. Spirit beasts were the absolute pinnacle among existing demonic entities.
-To make a spirit beast its familiar. That sorcerer really is a monster.
“Seems that way.”
The surging curse power was on another level from any sorcerer he’d seen.
It wasn’t called a Directional God for nothing.
‘Six Directional Gods... Is that legendary sorcerer who tamed even a spirit beast?’
He had reason to boast.
Then a memory flashed in Mok Kyung-un’s mind of what Sorcerer Jo Eui-gong had said.
[The Chains of Curse Words were crafted by Grand Sorcerer Myeong-ryul of the Six Directional Gods’ Kim Won, one of the four gifts presented to my master who attended the Council of Sixty-Four Directions.]
‘Ah.’
He remembered.
Grand Sorcerer Myeong-ryul of the Golden Origin.
So that was the one who made the Chains of Curse Words.
A master capable of creating an artifact with such immense control power might well have subdued even a spirit beast.
-Shing!
Mok Kyung-un fully drew his demon sword Akjeuk, which he had half-unsheathed.
His opponent was one of the Six Directional Gods, with a spirit beast familiar—equivalent to one of the Six Heavens in the martial world.
Not something to take lightly.
He was about to step forward one pace to fight properly.
-Sniff? Sniff?
Then the spirit beast Whitefire Solitary Blaze, which had been roaring with immense demonic power, sniffed the air, wrinkled its face, and showed a puzzled expression.
Unaware of this, Grand Sorcerer Myeong-ryul—who had created a space brimming with the hot energy that allowed the spirit beast to unleash its full power via sorcery—opened his mouth.
“Whitefire Solitary Blaze. I permit you to feast after so long.”
-Grrrrrr.
But something was off.
The spirit beast Whitefire Solitary Blaze showed no sign of moving at his command.
Grand Sorcerer Myeong-ryul issued the order again.
“...What are you doing? Kill him already.”
The spirit beast Whitefire Solitary Blaze then spoke.
-Master. Must we kill this one?
“What?”
Even a spirit beast—a mere familiar—daring to question his command?
Absurd.
As he stood dumbfounded, Whitefire Solitary Blaze spoke awkwardly.
-Master. I sense the qi of the Hundred-Faced King, the worst of the Six Demons, on that human.
‘!?’