Chapter 131: Addicted to Plunder
‘Why doesn't it work on me?’
Yeop Hyeon was at a loss for words at Ya Ri's attitude.
The black-robed elder glared fiercely at Ya Ri and demanded,
“Do you have a Sword Immortal behind you too?”
The reason he couldn't lay a hand on Yeop Hyeon was precisely because of the Sword Immortal backing him.
But that didn't mean just anyone could treat him like a punching bag.
The existence of a Sword Immortal.
No matter how much of a Myriad Laws Realm powerhouse he was, he couldn't help but fear it.
And so, Yeop Hyeon and his group slipped out of the arena under the furious glares of the Changmok Academy students.
They were martial artists who had crushed a Divine Fusion Realm vice dean in an instant. Taking them on with just students, without the dean's help, would be nothing short of suicide.
The black-robed elder, looking down at the foot of the mountain, shook his head slowly.
“I Hyeon-chang… You've doomed Changmok Academy to ruin all by yourself……”
By now, Changmok Academy and Yeop Hyeon had become mortal enemies, beyond reconciliation.
This war wouldn't end until one side fell.
And the root of it all was I Hyeon-chang and the Jiang Kingdom's Changmok Academy.
Back then, Yeop Hyeon had desperately wanted to join Changmok Academy.
The entire academy had regretted missing out on him. But regrets now were useless. Yeop Hyeon was their enemy.
He was someone Changmok Academy absolutely had to eliminate.
They couldn't just let him keep growing.
Moments later, the black-robed elder's figure vanished somewhere.
And Changmok Academy, stripped bare by Luk Ban-jang's group, was left in utter ruins.
They had handed over treasures accumulated over countless years for free to Yeop Hyeon's crew.
* * *
After leaving Changmok Academy, Yeop Hyeon and his group ventured deep into a dense forest within the mountain range.
Settling in a clearing, the most crucial moment arrived for them.
It was time for the loot distribution!
As everyone laid out the items they'd taken from Changmok Academy, Luk Ban-jang began counting them.
“Gold: 270 million nyang. Top-grade spirit stones: eight million. Earth-grade low-tier weapons: three manuals. Earth-grade mid-tier: one. Earth-grade high-tier: one…… Regular spirit tools: 36 pieces. Top-grade spirit tools: 50 pieces. Fame-grade low-tier: one piece……”
“Techniques: only three manuals, all Earth-grade low-tier. Add in the miscellaneous junk, and that's another 20 million nyang in gold. And let's see……”
Luk Ban-jang flicked her hand, and eight spirit stones dropped before Yeop Hyeon and the group.
They were jade-grade spirit stones.
Everyone's eyes sparkled.
To a martial artist, the value of jade-grade spirit stones was beyond measure.
“Only eight, so can't split evenly. Whoever needs one, take it. I'll take gold instead.”
At Luk Ban-jang's words, Ya Ri and the others exchanged glances before swiftly grabbing the jade-grade spirit stones.
They were like brothers, so no need to eye each other over loot.
Then Luk Ban-jang looked at Neung Han and tossed him a Fame-grade low-tier spear.
He was a spear user, so it suited him perfectly.
Neung Han accepted it without refusal. This spear would boost his combat power by at least 20 percent.
Soon after, Yeop Hyeon and Luk Ban-jang divided the spoils fairly.
Yeop Hyeon secured 320 million nyang in gold, one million top-grade spirit stones, three Earth-grade low-tier weapon manuals, one mid-tier, and two Earth-grade low-tier technique manuals. Plus, on top of the Qiang Nuo he'd already acquired, 13 top-grade spirit tools. The miscellaneous items weren't much use to him personally, but they'd be invaluable back at Canglan Academy.
It was a massive haul.
This raid on Changmok Academy had amassed a fortune for them all.
Of course, with realms still ahead to climb, it wasn't that much treasure. They still needed far more resources for cultivation.
No money, no training. Cultivation was mentally and physically grueling, but materially burdensome too for martial artists.
Especially Fame-grade items, which were near impossible to buy even for billions. Envious eyes thus turned to Neung Han for his new Fame-grade spear.
With distribution done, all eyes turned to Yeop Hyeon.
He spoke up.
“Now that we've shown ourselves here, security across the entire Imperial City will tighten even more. Especially since most troops will gather at the imperial palace, we'll skip that.”
Yeop Hyeon looked at Luk Ban-jang's group and continued.
“But the Imperial City still holds plenty of wealthy nobles and imperial clansmen. Let's pay them a visit and borrow some money.”
Luk Ban-jang bit into a biscuit and asked,
“You plannin' to pay it back later?”
“Hahaha, do I look like the honest type who borrows and repays?”
Luk Ban-jang replied seriously.
“Not one bit!”
“……”
“Hahaha!”
“Ehehe!”
Soon, the entire Imperial City was in uproar.
A band of bandits was raiding nobles' and imperial clansmen's mansions, stripping their vaults bare.
Within official circles, Yeop Hyeon gained infamy as a plundering “bandit thief.”
Everyone in the authorities pointed fingers at Yeop Hyeon in rage.
For the Jiang Kingdom's Yeop Hyeon to invade the Dang Kingdom's Imperial City and loot was a massive humiliation. Yet no one stepped up to stop him. Even the Dang Kingdom's imperial family focused solely on palace defense, showing no movement.
Without a Myriad Laws Realm expert, Yeop Hyeon was invincible against anyone.
Capturing him required mobilizing tens of thousands of troops.
But deploying a huge army was tricky. As seen in the recent battle, it would cause devastating losses to the Dang Kingdom.
Currently, tens of thousands of soldiers blanketed the imperial palace grounds, including three thousand elite Imperial Guards.
Security was ironclad.
In one grand hall of the palace, a middle-aged man sat on a dragon throne, hand to his forehead amid a mountain of petitions on his desk.
This was the Dang Kingdom's ruler, Dang Nam-sa.
Nearby stood an elder in wide-sleeved black robes, with two curved sabers strapped to his back.
Before him sat a white-haired elder.
Moments later, Dang Nam-sa folded the petition with a snap and looked at the white-haired elder.
“State Preceptor, what do you think?”
The elder wet his lips slightly before replying.
“Those twelve are invincible unless a Myriad Laws Realm expert steps in. Your Majesty must endure until reinforcements arrive from Jungto Sinju.”
‘Endure?’
“This is the Dang Kingdom's disgrace!”
The white-haired elder shook his head at Dang Nam-sa's words.
“Your Majesty, while it's true Changmok Academy and the Dark Realm's aid gave us the edge against Jiang Kingdom, they're clearly using us. Their target is Yeop Hyeon. With a Sword Immortal behind him, getting dragged into their feud is exceedingly dangerous for our Dang Kingdom!”
Dang Nam-sa chuckled lightly.
“State Preceptor, can our Dang Kingdom refuse Changmok Academy and the Dark Realm's request?”
The white-haired elder's face darkened sharply.
Refuse Changmok Academy's request?
It was impossible.
Changmok Academy's influence over all of Qingzhou was immense.
Non-cooperation would demand a steep price.
Dang Nam-sa spoke again.
“In truth, this is a golden opportunity for our Dang Kingdom. If we eradicate Jiang Kingdom with their help, our momentum will double. We could even rise to parity with Jeoguk, backed by those two powers.”
He slowly closed his eyes.
“I know the risks, of course. But we can't miss this chance.”
After a long silence, the white-haired elder spoke.
“Then watch if Changmok Academy and the Dark Realm can deal with Yeop Hyeon.”
‘That bastard Yeop Hyeon!’
Dang Nam-sa clenched his right fist slowly.
“Does our Dang Kingdom have no one who can stop him……?”
Dang Nam-sa turned to the white-haired elder.
“I issue this command. Seal the city gates immediately and have the Feather Arrow Guard and Imperial Guards on standby for deployment. The moment reinforcements from Changmok Academy and Jungto Sinju arrive, we kill Yeop Hyeon!”
“I pray they're strong enough to crush that bandit horde……”
Meanwhile, on a street in the Imperial City, Yeop Hyeon and his group sat resting.
“You really ain't raidin' the palace?”
Neung Han asked, face flushed with excitement.
“Bet there's a ton of treasure in there!”
‘Raid the palace?’
Yeop Hyeon's lips curled slightly. They seemed hooked on the bandit life already.
Luk Ban-jang eyed Neung Han.
“Palace has over 20,000 archers and tens of thousands of elite guards. If you can handle 'em, we'll do it your way.”
“……”
Yeop Hyeon nodded in agreement.
“I'd love to hit the palace too, but breaking through tens of thousands with just us is impossible.”
As he said, while Yeop Hyeon yearned to slaughter the Dang Kingdom army and loot the palace treasury, facing the whole palace with their strength was a pipe dream.
Just then, Yeop Hyeon pulled a sound transmission stone from his bosom. It vibrated lightly, and a voice echoed in his mind.
Luk Ban-jang's group watched Yeop Hyeon silently.
Putting down the stone, Yeop Hyeon spoke with a meaningful smile.
“Intel from Chwiseonru. There's a Dang Kingdom gold mine 200 li from here, guarded by just 2,000 troops…… Anyone tempted?”
Ya Ri and the others nodded eagerly.
“Tempted? Hell yeah!”
Yeop Hyeon nodded.
“Alright, same as before—swift and decisive. Let's go!”
Riding their black wolves, they soon reached the Dang Kingdom's gold mine. The guarding soldiers paled at the sight but held firm, no one retreating.
The 2,000 troops maintained formation like they feared not even death.
Yeop Hyeon dismounted, foot hitting the ground. Earth power surged through his body as the Great Black Sword materialized.
He wrapped the chain at its tip tightly around his forearm, then charged straight at the 2,000 soldiers. Battle intent and sword intent boiled within him.
Where the Great Black Sword dragged along the ground, the earth cracked open.
A middle-aged general watching his charge slammed his spear into the dirt and bellowed,
“Fight to the death!”
The 2,000 soldiers slammed their weapons into the ground, their roar piercing the heavens.