Yeop Gangdo, Your Brother Has Come!
“Y-Yeop-hyung……”
A voice as thin as a silken thread struck Yeop Hyeon’s ear at that moment.
“I-I’m not dead yet……”
Yeop Hyeon whipped his head up like a bolt of lightning upon hearing it.
There, he spotted Neung Han gazing down at him. Blood streamed endlessly from the man’s mouth, yet he hadn’t died—and he even managed a smile.
Yeop Hyeon stared blankly at Neung Han’s face for a moment before pulling him into a fierce embrace. Ya Ri and the others, those few still clinging to life, crawled over and hugged them from behind.
Watching this, Luk Ban-jang collapsed to the ground with a thud and popped a pancake into her mouth, chewing it slowly.
The pancake touching her lips was soon stained red.
It stung.
Just like this wretched battle, where there were no true victors or vanquished.
Only about a hundred of the enemy’s elite cavalry remained in the field. Dozens of the warriors who had swarmed in from across Qingzhou lay dead as well. The worst off were the Changmok Academy Dao soldiers, who had been utterly annihilated.
Yeop Hyeon’s side was no less devastated.
Yi Bong and Wang Myeong were dead. Gam Mu-wi and many others bore grievous wounds. Neung Han and Ya Ri in particular teetered on the brink, their injuries severe enough that death could claim them at any moment.
Fewer than half could still fight.
Yet the enemy soldiers continued to encircle Yeop Hyeon and his comrades.
A moment later, Yeop Hyeon approached the bodies of Yi Bong and Wang Myeong. He stared down at them in silence for a long while before lightly patting Yi Bong’s shoulder and murmuring,
“If there’s a next life, I hope we meet as brothers again.”
He straightened their corpses, then turned to Neung Han and the others.
“Treat your wounds. Everyone.”
Neung Han and the rest sat cross-legged and popped Golden Injury Pills into their mouths.
Yeop Hyeon walked over to Luk Ban-jang, who was eating a pancake off to one side. Her hands were already drenched in blood.
He crouched down in front of her.
“I’m sorry. I couldn’t protect our brothers in the end.”
Luk Ban-jang turned her gaze to him and shook her head.
“Once you step out the door, you’ve gotta be ready to die.”
At that, her eyes sharpened.
“But make damn sure you protect the ones who survived. They all see you as their big brother.”
Big brother!
Something hot welled up unbidden in Yeop Hyeon’s eyes.
Luk Ban-jang patted his shoulder lightly.
“They gave their lives for you willingly. No regrets, even in death. What they want isn’t for you to drown in guilt—it’s for you to survive, thrive, and avenge them.”
Yeop Hyeon shot to his feet and glared at Mok Hyeon-cheong. The man’s complexion looked utterly serene.
A grin tugged at Yeop Hyeon’s lips as he bellowed,
“Since your Changmok Academy wants it so badly, I’ll play with you all until one of us drops dead. Either I die, or your academy crumbles first!”
Mok Hyeon-cheong replied flatly,
“We’ve thought that from the start.”
With that, he raised his hand.
Rumble rumble rumble!
A sound like mountains collapsing echoed from afar as a horde of cavalry charged in, kicking up clouds of dust.
Three thousand elite Tang Kingdom cavalry.
Thousands more Tang infantry poured in from all sides as well.
The Imperial Guard.
The Tang royal family had deployed their entire elite force to capture Yeop Hyeon.
Forty more warriors appeared beside Mok Hyeon-cheong—every one a Divine Fusion Realm powerhouse.
And lurking in the shadows were still more assassins.
Those unseen killers, striking from who-knows-where, were the trickiest foes of all.
At that moment, Luk Ban-jang pointed at O Yeop, standing nearby.
“That bastard just killed Wang Myeong.”
O Yeop, one of Mubang’s Three Powers.
Feeling Yeop Hyeon’s gaze, O Yeop narrowed his eyes and slowly clenched his fist.
Yeop Hyeon’s figure vanished, leaving an afterimage.
O Yeop dropped into a mounted stance, right hand hovering near his waist.
Then he thrust out with a single punch!
“Origin Qi Collapse!”
The punch shot forward, followed by a fist imprint brimming with explosive power that shattered the air. The space between them turned into a vacuum.
And countering it—a streak of sword light.
One Sword Determines Life and Death!
In an instant, the fist imprint shattered. A shadow appeared behind O Yeop.
Yeop Hyeon.
O Yeop froze mid-motion, and blood gushed from a line across his forehead.
Instant kill!
Having broken through realms, Yeop Hyeon’s One Sword Determines Life and Death was twice as potent as before.
No—comparing it was futile.
Having felled O Yeop with one stroke, Yeop Hyeon lifted his head toward Mok Hyeon-cheong. Someone appeared at the man’s side.
Qingzhou’s underworld Dark Lord.
One of the continent’s strongest.
The Dark Lord spoke to Mok Hyeon-cheong.
“Why are we still waiting? For them to recover?”
“All our Changmok Academy Dao soldiers are dead. Isn’t that enough?”
Mok Hyeon-cheong’s voice was calm, but venom seethed beneath.
They had agreed beforehand: when Changmok’s Dao soldiers moved, the underworld would send theirs too. Yet the underworld had only committed a few assassins so far—their Jungto Sinju Dao soldiers hadn’t appeared.
A clear breach of promise.
The Dark Lord hesitated before replying,
“Hm… They’re running a bit late, it seems.”
“Hahaha! A bit late? You senile old fool—is dementia finally setting in?!”
The air in the field chilled instantly.
Mok Hyeon-cheong jabbed a finger at Yeop Hyeon, eyes locked on the Dark Lord.
“Look! That kid’s already in Penetrating Mystery Realm. No ordinary Penetrating Mystery expert can stop him now. This is the mess your petty schemes created! While our academy bled and fought, you pigs sat back tallying your gains!”
Mok Hyeon-cheong could barely contain his rage.
Had Changmok and the underworld’s Dao soldiers attacked together from the start as planned, Yeop Hyeon would be a corpse by now.
But the underworld had stayed silent until Changmok’s forces were wiped out.
With no retort from the Dark Lord, Mok Hyeon-cheong sneered,
“Fine, fine! You underworld scum were just waiting to swoop in after we wore him down and claim the kill. Enjoy fulfilling that dream! But Changmok Academy won’t play your games anymore. I hope Yeop Hyeon survives to wipe you out someday!”
He turned on his heel.
“Brother Mok, such impulsiveness. Your words twist the truth—think of the bigger picture!”
“Ha! The bigger picture!? You lot who prattle about it are the ones giving Yeop Hyeon openings to survive? If we don’t kill him today, who knows what monster he’ll become?”
The Dark Lord nodded slightly.
“Very well. Let’s commit our full forces from now on. After we eliminate them, Changmok gets seventy percent of the spoils. Deal?”
Mok Hyeon-cheong eyed him coldly but didn’t refuse—acceptance.
“Brother Mok, let’s begin.”
The underworld’s Dao soldiers were assassins through and through. Optimized for ambushes, they shunned direct clashes, where their prowess would falter.
Mok Hyeon-cheong looked up at Yeop Hyeon, who stood gripping his Spirit Water Sword beside Neung Han and the others. Sharper than any blade.
A ferocious scowl twisted his face as he roared,
“Kill them!”
Thousands of Tang elite cavalry charged at once.
The thundering horde shaking the mountains was terror incarnate.
Three thousand Imperial Guards flanked them, weapons raised.
The forty Divine Fusion experts beside Mok Hyeon-cheong streaked toward Yeop Hyeon in afterimages.
And the underworld assassins lurked in the dark, biding their moment.
Despair in a word.
Changmok Academy and the underworld had played their strongest cards today.
On paper, victory was theirs.
Yet deep in Mok Hyeon-cheong’s chest lingered an inexplicable unease.
Yeop Hyeon always defied expectations.
He gazed indifferently at the approaching foes from before Neung Han and the rest. His Spirit Water Sword trembled wildly in his grip.
In that instant, a thick wave of battle intent surged from his entire body.
Battle intent!
One thought filled his mind.
Fight! Until death!
With his strength, he could have broken the encirclement and fled long ago. But escape wasn’t on his mind—not even a speck.
Those he had to protect stood behind him.
Yeop Hyeon had resolved to stake his life.
If they won, perfect. If not, he was ready to die here with them.
Luk Ban-jang sidled up beside him then. She stared at the dust-churning enemies without a flicker of expression—chewing her pancake as casually as ever.
Yeop Hyeon grinned at her.
“Among the people I know, there’s one just like you. Loves eating so much, always got food in her mouth.”
Luk Ban-jang regarded him silently.
“If I ever saw you two together… it’d be hilarious.”
Ji An Zhi and Luk Ban-jang side by side……
Yeop Hyeon couldn’t hold back a chuckle at the thought. One stuffing in steamed buns, the other gnawing pancakes—it’d be a riot.
Luk Ban-jang tucked her pancake carefully into her bosom and spoke evenly.
“This might be our last fight.”
Yeop Hyeon nodded.
“I’m glad I met you all.”
“Let’s meet as brothers in the next life.”
“Hahaha, yeah! Brothers in the next life too!”
With that, Yeop Hyeon charged straight ahead.
Just then, the entire field quaked violently.
Every warrior halted, eyes turning to the source. At the end of their gazes, tiny specks appeared—growing larger moments later.
Demon beasts!
Charging toward them: not one or two, but tens of thousands.
And atop the lead massive tiger rode a human figure.
None other than!
Bai Ze.
Locking eyes with Yeop Hyeon, Bai Ze exhaled a hot snort and unleashed a lion’s roar.
“Yeop Gangdo—! Your brother’s here—!”
“I’m here too—!”
Mu Yun Qi appeared atop another great tiger near Bai Ze.
How the hell did these guys get here!
Yeop Hyeon blinked in shock. It was unbelievable.
Gazing skyward, Luk Ban-jang murmured softly,
“They’ve come.”