Chapter 251: Do What Your Power Allows
It was a one-sided massacre. The warriors of Qingzhou could never match those from Jungto Sinju. Before the blades of the Jungto Sinju warriors, the Qingzhou fighters fell like scattered leaves.
In response, the Qingzhou warriors fled madly into the city.
The Jungto Sinju warriors, who had once been mere prey for Yeop Hyeon and Canglan Academy, now reversed roles and began hunting the people of Qingzhou.
The area before the city gates quickly turned into a hellscape of screams.
Seized by despair, the Qingzhou warriors realized one bitter truth.
The Jungto Sinju warriors had targeted them from the start—not Yeop Hyeon. And in their ignorance, they had naively believed that Qingzhou would regain peace once Yeop Hyeon left!
The moment Yeop Hyeon vanished, the Jungto Sinju warriors revealed their beastly nature.
Not long after they breached the city walls, the Imperial City fell completely to them.
A group of Jungto Sinju warriors gathered at the base of Giun Mountain. They gazed up at Canglan Academy, holding a meeting.
“Should we destroy it?”
Someone asked, and the middle-aged man who seemed to be their leader pondered briefly before shaking his head.
“The strong must always be respected. Let’s go.”
With that, he led the group away from the mountain.
With Canglan Academy disbanded, Yeop Hyeon missing, and the forces of Ma Jong and Gwi Jong reinvading, Qingzhou plunged once more into chaos.
There was no leader to restore order. Public sentiment was in turmoil, and with foreign invaders piling on, Qingzhou had become a living hell.
The only relatively stable places were Jeoguk and the Daeun Empire.
But both nations limited their defenses strictly to their own territories. Jeoguk, in particular, concentrated its entire army on protecting the Imperial City. Cheok Bal-eon possessed the twelve golden seals Yeop Hyeon had given her, which could sufficiently block any warriors below the True Law Realm.
Moreover, the Jungto Sinju warriors knew Yeop Hyeon backed Jeoguk, so they avoided risking an assault. Though he had vanished, Yeop Hyeon was still alive, and they feared his retaliation.
Similarly, Yeon Man Ri had narrowed her defensive lines as much as possible. Guarding the vast territory of the Daeun Empire in full was impossible.
Given Yeon Man Ri’s prowess and her widely known ties to Yeop Hyeon, few warriors dared invade inside her lines.
Qingzhou was enormous, after all—there was no need to take treacherous paths.
Other places connected to Yeop Hyeon were comparatively safe as well. For instance, no Jungto Sinju warrior set foot in Qingcheng of Gangguk, known as Yeop Hyeon’s birthplace.
Meanwhile, the people of Qingzhou, who had cheered Canglan Academy’s disbandment, were now somewhat flustered as the Jungto Sinju warriors broke their promise and refused to leave.
But their ire turned misguidedly toward Yeop Hyeon. In their eyes, his desperate resistance had only made the invaders more ferocious.
Though Yeop Hyeon had already disbanded Canglan Academy and vanished, countless Qingzhou folk still branded him a traitor.
At that moment, Yeop Hyeon, having left Gangguk, headed south through Qingzhou.
He swept away every Jungto Sinju warrior he encountered on the road.
But he harbored no foolish notions of defending Qingzhou again.
Suddenly, he recalled a single phrase the Heavenly Maiden had once uttered.
‘Do what your abilities allow.’
She was right. Yeop Hyeon lacked the power to save the world.
Besides, some people weren’t worth staking his life to protect.
Yeop Hyeon was no saintly paragon from the scriptures.
Why should he cherish those who cursed him and wished him dead?
Perhaps a true sage could manage it, but Yeop Hyeon never could.
He had already done all he could for Qingzhou. He had fought with his life on the line to hold back the Jungto Sinju warriors, only to be chased out by the selfishness and greed of its people. It was a bitterly ironic exit.
Yeop Hyeon’s destination was the Namryeon Mountain Range in southern Qingzhou. He headed there because the entity on the second floor of Gyeok Ok Tower had revealed it held a Dochik.
Dochik!
Beyond upending Hogye Meng, the second-floor entity had wandered in search of these tokens.
He needed a second Dochik to escape Gyeok Ok Tower, and Yeop Hyeon likewise required one to more stably control it.
Moreover, finding it might allow contact with the third-floor entity.
Though the tower’s prisoners were all dangerous, securing their aid would be invaluable.
The second-floor entity was usually savage but occasionally helped him!
Urgency quickened Yeop Hyeon’s steps. His top priority was raising his strength as swiftly as possible—at least to the point where he could slay a True Law Realm expert without relying on the tower’s power.
The Black Flame Horse carrying Yeop Hyeon tore through the rugged mountains like a gale.
Inside Gyeok Ok Tower, the second-floor entity occasionally thrashed about noisily, but Yeop Hyeon couldn’t fathom what it was doing.
In any case, he took pains not to provoke it. Since being resealed, it had grown even more ferocious than before.
Especially without the Heavenly Maiden, he couldn’t risk irking it.
‘Irritating as it is, I’ll just endure!’
As Yeop Hyeon sped through a dense forest, a tremendous force suddenly crashed down from above like lightning.
Bam!
The Black Flame Horse exploded on the spot. Yeop Hyeon leaped off and rolled several times across the ground before staggering to his feet.
Lifting his head, he saw a black-clad figure standing before him. Wrapped head to toe in dark robes, the man’s face was hidden.
A True Law Realm expert.
In an instant, the black-clad man clenched his fist, and the space around Yeop Hyeon twisted like a corkscrew.
Yeop Hyeon gripped his sword and slashed fiercely at the void ahead.
Boom!
With an explosive burst, Yeop Hyeon’s form was hurled back over thirty zhang, slamming into a massive tree that shattered from the impact.
As Yeop Hyeon looked up at his foe, the man’s silhouette blurred. Gritting his teeth, Yeop Hyeon enveloped himself in sword intent.
Pure Intent Sword Intent!
At that moment, the enemy’s palm struck down from above. It halted briefly against the Pure Intent Sword Intent before shattering it and sending Yeop Hyeon flying another forty or fifty zhang.
Coming to a stop, Yeop Hyeon spat a mouthful of blood and glared at his opponent.
‘A True Law Realm expert...’
His expression grew grave as he wiped the crimson from his lips.
Having clashed once, Yeop Hyeon sensed the vast gap in skill—one no mere equipment could bridge.
In the tense standoff, Yeop Hyeon suddenly leaped skyward. In midair, his sword trembled violently, unleashing a mighty sword momentum toward the foe.
Sword momentum always outpaced the sword itself.
The ground where the black-clad man stood quaked violently, yet his gaze remained serene.
As Yeop Hyeon’s sword momentum neared his head, the man raised his right hand to the heavens.
Boom!
Space rippled, and the sword momentum vanished without a trace. Right then, Yeop Hyeon’s sword arrived.
Its blade was cloaked in pitch-black sword intent.
Evil Intent Sword Intent!
The black-clad man spread his right hand, then clenched it as if grasping something. In that instant, Yeop Hyeon’s sword halted midair, snagged as if by an invisible force.
Roaring, Yeop Hyeon seized the hilt with both hands and pressed down fiercely.
The Evil Intent Sword Intent detonated.
Boom!
Space between them shuddered wildly, shoving the black-clad man back ten paces.
By then, Yeop Hyeon had returned to his original spot.
Glancing at his palm, the man noted a thin line of blood.
Yeop Hyeon’s sword had torn his skin.
After a silent moment staring at his hand, the black-clad man looked up at Yeop Hyeon.
“Young as you are, your swordsmanship runs deep. But making an enemy of Hogye Meng without knowing your place is folly...”
His voice was eerie, distorted as if altered—likely to conceal his identity.
As he moved to strike again, laughter echoed from afar—Yeop Hyeon’s.
“Hahaha! If you’re going to disguise yourself, do it properly. Isn’t this disguise a bit too sloppy, Sa Do-myeong?”
The black-clad man froze. After a pause, he shed his robe. As Yeop Hyeon had said, it was Sa Do-myeong.
“How did you know it was me?”
“Hahaha! Hogye Meng has declared me an enemy across the entire Qingcang Realm—why bother hiding your face for a sneak attack? And aside from Hogye Meng, the only faction gunning to eliminate me is your Sado Ga. If I tell Hogye Meng you’re plotting rebellion, you’ll be in quite the bind. Isn’t that right?”
Sa Do-myeong’s face darkened further.
“You’re sharper than I thought!”
“Hahaha! Sa Do-myeong, do you know why Hogye Meng can’t kill me? It’s because...”
Sa Do-myeong shook his head, cutting him off.
“I don’t care to know. All this old man knows is that if I get caught in your words, I won’t be able to kill you.”
With that, Sa Do-myeong lunged at Yeop Hyeon.
He knew nothing of why Ma Jong and Gwi Jong had retreated back then. But he could easily guess it all stemmed from Yeop Hyeon’s silver tongue.
If even the mightier Ma Jong and Gwi Jong had fallen for him, what chance did Sado Ga have?
Kill him before he could speak—that was the answer.
From Sado Ga’s perspective, it didn’t matter what cards Yeop Hyeon held or who backed him. He had to die.
To Sado Ga, seeking to solidify ties with An Ga through An Ranxiu, Yeop Hyeon—with his delicate connection to her—was a thorn in their side. And if, by some slim chance, he sided with Hogye Meng, Sado Ga would be the ones in peril.
For these reasons, Sa Do-myeong had resolved to handle Yeop Hyeon personally.