Chapter 216: Not in the Mood for a Fight Today
“Do I look like such trash to you?”
“You do.”
Yeon Man Ri replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, and Yeop Hyeon’s expression darkened.
“Lady Yeon, it seems you still don’t know me well… Well, it doesn’t matter. I’m not particularly interested in you either…”
At that moment, Yeon Man Ri suddenly leaned forward and thrust a palm strike toward Yeop Hyeon. Her speed was like a bolt of lightning.
Caught off guard, Yeop Hyeon countered with his fist. The instant his knuckles met her palm, a jolt of shock ran through him.
It felt like punching a bundle of cotton.
As Yeop Hyeon hurriedly tried to pull his hand back, Yeon Man Ri seized his wrist and yanked him toward her. In the next instant, her knee rocketed toward his abdomen!
Thud!
Yeop Hyeon flew back more than thirty zhang.
“Have you lost your mind!?”
Yeon Man Ri answered with a perfectly calm expression.
“My hand was just itching.”
Hearing that, Yeop Hyeon’s temper flared, and he charged at her in a rage.
Yeon Man Ri stepped forward with her movement technique to meet him. Then, something bizarre happened to her silhouette—it warped unnaturally. Even the space around her twisted violently.
At that moment, Yeop Hyeon unleashed a full-force punch.
Boom!
But it was Yeop Hyeon who was repelled instead.
He skidded back more than thirty zhang from where he’d stood.
His gaze toward Yeon Man Ri darkened.
“You’d better draw your sword.”
Almost simultaneously with her words, a streak of sword light shot toward her.
Yeon Man Ri stood motionless, simply watching the sword light approach. When it was just half a zhang away, the sword light suddenly halted mid-flight and began to distort. It wasn’t the sword light itself warping—it was the space around it. Finally, trapped entirely within the space, the sword light vanished completely.
Yeop Hyeon was left speechless.
Yeon Man Ri slowly approached him as she spoke.
“Even in the Myriad Laws Realm, there are false and true masters. The false ones have merely reached the realm of myriad laws but haven’t grasped their secrets. The secret of the Myriad Laws Realm lies in space. Only those who have truly comprehended its mysteries can command space itself.”
She gazed steadily into Yeop Hyeon’s eyes and continued.
“Most Myriad Laws Realm experts in Qingzhou are unaware of this, but Jungto Sinju has no shortage of true masters. You might even encounter some at Manggu Mountain. If you underestimate them then, you’ll end up in the same sorry state as now.”
Yeop Hyeon mulled over her words before nodding.
“My thanks for the lesson.”
The woman before him was undoubtedly a true Myriad Laws Realm expert.
Though their brief exchange hadn’t been a fight to the death, just two clashes had let him feel the full might of such a powerhouse.
The martial world allowed no room for carelessness, not even for a moment.
“It’s a day and a half’s journey to Manggu Mountain. Best we hurry!”
With that, Yeon Man Ri and the armored woman departed.
Upon arriving at the Canglan Hall, Yeop Hyeon summoned Ji An Zhi, Mu Yun Qi, and the others.
Soon, the core members of Canglan Academy had gathered in the hall.
An hour later, Yeop Hyeon left the hall. Accompanying him were Ji An Zhi, Mu Yun Qi, and Bai Ze.
The Canglan Dao Soldiers couldn’t join this time. Jungto Sinju mercenaries and factions still swarmed Qingzhou, and they had to remain to keep them in check.
Boarding the cloud ship, Yeop Hyeon headed straight to the bow and stared ahead, lost in thought.
I have to save Qingzhou.
Yeop Hyeon had never imagined himself doing something like this. He’d never once thought of himself as a hero—or even a good person.
Yet here he was, boarding a cloud ship to save Qingzhou!
It was hard for him to believe.
But Yeop Hyeon had no choice.
Ganguk was his homeland, his home. His friends, his brothers, and Canglan Academy were all here.
What had happened at Yangjie City made him ponder just how evil humans could become. His conclusion? There was no limit to evil.
And the Canglan Continent warriors he would soon face were like packs of blood-starved jackals. They’d long since abandoned their humanity. If such monsters invaded Qingzhou, how much blood would be spilled?
In the world of martial artists, the weak were criminals—mere sheep waiting to be devoured someday.
Yeop Hyeon had no desire to save the world or become its savior. He only wanted to protect his own people.
No one touches my people. That was his unshakeable conviction.
Just then, a sweet fragrance wafted over as a woman approached his side.
It was Yeon Man Ri.
Gazing down from the cloud ship, she spoke lightly.
“What a beautiful landscape. But who knows how many corpses and rivers of blood stain these lovely mountains and rivers…”
She turned to Yeop Hyeon.
“There was a time I thought the world had come to this because of your master. But looking back, I was wrong. Qingzhou didn’t turn into a land of death just because the spirit energy faded—it’s because human nature was always evil. Now, even the good turn wicked, and the wicked grow wickeder still!”
Good and evil!
Every time he dwelled on it, Yeop Hyeon’s head throbbed.
His sword path was the Good and Evil Sword Intent.
But what truly was good, and what was evil?
Yeop Hyeon stood silently, immersed in thought like a Daoist sage meditating.
Yeon Man Ri glanced at him once, then turned and walked away.
She knew he was on the verge of enlightenment.
And so, the cloud ship sailed onward through the clouds toward Manggu Mountain.
Jungto Sinju, Blood Sect.
In a grand hall thick with the stench of blood, more than thirty figures sat assembled.
At the head seat sat a black-robed middle-aged man.
Hyeol Wol, lord of the Blood Sect.
An elder knelt at his feet, reporting grimly on events in Qingzhou.
“The Great Elder and over thirty elite disciples were all slain. Their heads now hang atop Yangjie City, food for the eagles. And…”
The elder looked up at Hyeol Wol.
“The young sect lord… his head was taken by Yeop Hyeon as well.”
Silence fell over the hall.
Hyeol Wol’s face remained impassive, his thoughts unreadable.
Then another elder bellowed in fury.
“That brat Yeop Hyeon doesn’t even put our Blood Sect in his eyes! Sect Lord, you must act decisively!”
Many nodded in agreement.
Hyeol Wol turned to the shouting elder.
“How much do you know about this Yeop Hyeon?”
“Qingzhou’s just a barbarian den. No need to know the details…”
“Barbarian? A man who slays Myriad Laws Realm experts with a Divine Fusion Realm body—a sword lord before thirty—is just some barbarian!?”
“That’s… well…”
Hyeol Wol closed his eyes slowly, as if exasperated.
“We can’t let this slide, of course. But we can’t charge in blindly either… I’ll visit the Demon Sect. No one approaches Yeop Hyeon until I return!”
Inside the Harmonization Hall of the Harmonization Sect, Jungto Sinju.
A heavy mood hung over the Harmonization Sect, just like the Blood Sect. Learning their Myriad Laws Realm experts had been killed, they could barely contain their rage.
Debate raged in the hall over how to deal with Yeop Hyeon.
The middle-aged sect lord Yi Yeon, seated at the head, had said nothing from the start, merely listening to his subordinates.
Gradually, the rowdy hall fell silent, all eyes turning to him.
No matter what plans they devised, his approval was final.
The hall regained its composure. Yi Yeon opened his eyes and spoke calmly.
“Two things give me pause. First, Cangmu Academy in Qingzhou was destroyed by his hand, and the Shadow Realm has fully withdrawn from there. Second, his head still sits on his shoulders, and Bukhanjong remains silent about him.”
The warriors exchanged glances. Their foe was no pushover.
Yi Yeon’s gaze swept the hall.
“Cangmu Academy was far stronger than our Harmonization Sect. If even they couldn’t handle him, do you think we can take him lightly?”
“Then you’re saying we back down here?”
An elder asked, and Yi Yeon met his eyes.
“If things continue like this, our sect might face annihilation.”
The elder’s face grew solemn.
Yi Yeon closed his eyes slowly.
“From now on, the Harmonization Sect sets no foot in Qingzhou. As for revenge, I’ll decide after meeting Yeop Hyeon myself.”
With that, Yi Yeon vanished from the hall in an instant.
Aboard the cloud ship.
Yeop Hyeon still stood at the bow, seeking answers to one question.
What are good and evil?
His sword intent was the Good and Evil Sword Intent. Yet his understanding of it remained at the beginner’s stage.
His sword path and intent had a long journey ahead.
What was good, and what was evil? Yeop Hyeon still lacked a clear standard. People he’d thought good had stabbed him in the back, while those who seemed evil weren’t always so bad!
A full day had passed in contemplation. By now, the cloud ship was crossing a deep mountain range under the morning sun.
For that time, Yeon Man Ri and the others had kept their distance.
Another hour passed, and the ship came to a halt.
Yeon Man Ri appeared at the bow, followed by Mu Yun Qi and the trio, with Cheok Bal-eon trailing behind.
Despite her whining, Cheok Bal-eon had come along anyway.
Before them loomed two massive peaks facing each other, about a hundred zhang apart, connected by a narrow mountain path. Endless seas stretched on either side.
This was the sole path from Jungto Sinju and Canglan Continent to Qingzhou, known as the Qingzhou Path.
One had to pass here to enter Qingzhou.
Yeon Man Ri, at the forefront, wore a black phoenix robe and coronet today, her aura icy and solemn.
Just then, a black-clad warrior swiftly approached the deck and knelt on one knee before her.
“My liege! They’re about to enter Qingzhou!”
“How many?”
“Sixteen Myriad Laws Realm experts, three hundred fifty-one at the peak of Divine Fusion Realm, and six elite mercenary bands deployed. Countless minor clans and rogue warriors besides. Oh, and seven Yo Yeolbang members were spotted: ranks twenty-six, seventeen, fifteen, thirteen, ten, four, and…”
“Yo Yeolbang rank four?”
Cheok Bal-eon exclaimed in exaggerated surprise.
“Certain, my liege!”
Hearing this, Cheok Bal-eon blinked dumbly, then stared at the sky.
“The weather’s so gloomy today. I’m really not in the mood for a fight!”
Yeon Man Ri nodded.
“I agree… So… let’s call it a day!”
With that, she departed somewhere.
“……”