Chapter 28
Chapter 28
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 28
Chapter Title: Hook Soul and Seize Spirit
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“You bastards dare! Do you even know where this is?!”
With someone's shout, the nearest thug swung a fist at Jinmu.
“Cheongu!”
Puk!
At the command, Cheongu's short, concise movement sent the opponent flying back with blood gushing from his nose.
“Waaah!”
Did they not see it properly?
Five of them attacked Jinmu all at once.
Mixing fists and feet.
But,
Cheongsang and Cheongu blocked their path like twins.
Crack, thwack! Slap! Pow pow!
While Cheongsang and Cheongu handled the rest, Jinmu headed straight for one man.
Nothing else was visible.
In Jinmu's eyes, there was only Gong Sacheok.
As Jinmu slowly advanced step by step, the Sacheok Faction members drew their weapons.
But having witnessed Cheongsang and Cheongu's prowess, they didn't dare attack, merely retreating while maintaining their encirclement to open a path.
“You bastard!”
One particularly bold one thrust his blade at Jinmu.
How dare such trash.
Dodging the horizontally swung dagger by leaning his waist back slightly, Jinmu's hand shot out.
“Gurk!”
The thug seized by the throat writhed, gasping for air.
“What? These guys?”
Gong Sacheok, lost in other thoughts amid the sudden commotion, furrowed his brows in an inverted V.
“What?”
Jinmu's eyes gleamed with murderous intent as he tightened his grip.
Crack! Snap!
With a chilling sound, the struggling man's neck lolled limply to the side.
Thud.
Throwing aside the man who hadn't even managed a proper scream before dying, Jinmu let his sword hang low as he glared fiercely at Gong Sacheok.
“You?”
He must be flustered.
Couldn't comprehend it.
The guy who should have fled and snitched to Wudang had barged right in, after all.
Gong Sacheok wiped the bewildered look from his face and sneered coldly at Jinmu.
“Kekeke. How grateful. The runaway comes crawling back on his own two feet.”
“Fucking moron. Whether you're grateful or not, you'll find out soon enough.”
Gong Sacheok shrieked madly at the sight of Jinmu grinding his teeth and spitting curses.
“Kill him!”
At Gong Sacheok's shout, dozens of surrounding thugs swung their weapons all at once.
Kill?
Yes. I'll kill you all!
Amid the sharp auras of incoming weapons,
Wudang Sword ArtHook Soul and Seize Spirit
Blood qi surge: 1 jang+ | Single rotation cleave | Range annihilation
Jinmu gripped the sword's hilt with both hands and fully opened his danjeon.
Internal injuries?
Not completely healed.
The power recovered via the elixir was only about fifty percent.
But after using the Mad Blood Carnage Chaos Energy Art, that power had more than doubled.
The amplified Six Yang Divine Art inner energy spread through his limbs and poured into the sword via his arms.
Wooong!
The sword began to vibrate wildly from the temporarily infused massive energy.
The effect of the Mad Blood Carnage Chaos Energy Art lasted one sichen.
And the time it had taken to get here was half a sichen.
Plenty of time.
“Cheongsang, Cheongu! Fall back!”
As Jinmu twisted his grip and poured in power, the sword qi dwelling within dyed blood-red and extended outward.
“A perfect sword art for a moment like this.”
I'll reap your souls clean!
Shuuuung! Slash slash!
Blood-red sword qi surged over a full jang from the sword in Jinmu's hand.
And then,
Lowering his stance, Jinmu spun his body in a whirlwind motion and yanked the sword with all his might.
Whoooosh!
Along with clumps of flying dirt, the extended qi traced a massive circle.
Sgkkrrk!
The concentric circle created by the sword qi spread outward in all directions.
Technique?
No such thing was needed from the start. A single sword strike that fully unleashed the power of the qi and the advantage of distance.
Twirl! Clack!
After two rotations and coming to a halt, the sword returned to its position,
and the qi faded, leaving only a bluish energy behind.
Shake!
As Jinmu shook off his sword, the blood clotted in the blood trough splattered grotesquely onto the floor.
A single thin line was etched across the bodies of those who had frozen as the sword qi passed by.
Plop, plop.
Those who had attacked Jinmu collapsed, cleanly bisected without even a scream.
Blood sprayed everywhere, soaking the ground, while severed arms and legs, along with separated upper and lower bodies, decorated the courtyard.
“Kyaak!”
“Urgh!”
Screams from the wounded.
And at the center stood Jinmu, aloof, emanating blood-red qi that matched his surging killing intent.
Gazing at Gong Sacheok with a cruel smile, like an immortal who had slaughtered demons in the heart of hell.
“......!”
Gong Sacheok couldn't utter a single word at the scene unfolding before him.
The underlings who had attacked Jinmu weren't particularly strong.
The skilled fighters of the Sacheok Faction had already left to capture Jinmu's group.
Even so, dozens had lost their lives in a single strike.
‘Th-this guy......’
It was unthinkable.
He had figured Jinmu was merely a bit superior in technique handling.
But what was that sword qi extending from his blade?
Moreover, it had stretched a full jang.
He was no inferior.
No, he was a far superior expert. Come to think of it, he had definitely mentioned suffering internal injuries back then.
He had heard it clearly when Jinmu told the Zhuge family members.
Seeing that surging sword qi,
he had already recovered most of his power. The conclusion was obvious.
Whether shit or bean paste, one sniff tells.
Gong Sacheok was an unorthodox thug, hardened in back alleys among rogues.
The typical sort: weak against the strong, strong against the weak.
He had never once staked his life on an impossible fight.
Flee first.
Underlings could go to hell.
He needed to retreat and join forces with Wu Manor.
Gong Sacheok immediately bolted.
But the moment his foot touched the ground, an immense energy carrying a whistling sound flew toward him.
Shiiiing!
“Eek!”
Aimed at Gong Sacheok's solar plexus—Danjung acupoint.
Gong Sacheok frantically swung his saber to deflect it.
Claaang!
Unable to withstand the impact from the harsh metallic clash, Gong Sacheok crashed into the wall at the end of the floor.
“Kuuk!”
Immense power.
Even in his hasty block, a coin-sized hole had been punched through the qi-infused saber.
“Hey, who left the rabbit here?”
Jinmu approached with his sword slung over his shoulder.
A chillingly cruel smile.
Gong Sacheok felt cold sweat gushing down his back like groundwater, his entire body hair standing on end.
‘S-sword qi?’
The distance to Jinmu was over five jang.
No way his qi could extend that far.
That meant he had projected the sword qi.
‘That Wu bastard. He hired me to kill a sword qi expert?’
He wanted to smash that guy's head, but escaping the immediate threat was priority.
What to do?
No chance head-on.
How could he beat a sword qi master?
Without flight skills, escape impossible.
‘But if I get close......’
Gong Sacheok furtively touched the hidden weapon in his bosom: the Heavenly King Needle.
At close range? Plenty of chance.
Distract him, lower his guard, fire the needle, then flee without looking back.
A brilliant plan.
Amazed at his own mind racing under pressure.
Decision made, Gong Sacheok tossed his saber and prostrated himself on the floor like bowing deeply.
“Aigoo, great hero!”
“......”
“I committed a deathly sin! This lowly wretch was blinded by money and...... Please spare me!”
Taoists, Wudang priests.
They were generally merciful, those who cultivated pure qi.
Madmen who believed evil could be reformed through virtue and persuasion.
He was concerned about the move where Jinmu had killed his underlings moments ago, but they hadn't shown any remorse for their sins.
But if he apologized with all his might?
Gong Sacheok smashed his head to the floor and begged relentlessly, until the skin of his palms peeled away.
Pride? Long since fed to the dogs.
Vileness? What of it.
Nothing mattered more than survival.
Step, step.
Jinmu's footsteps grew ever closer.
Almost there.
Just a bit more!
And then, in his prostrated view, Jinmu's toes appeared on the floorboards.
Now!
Gong Sacheok instantly drew the Heavenly King Needle from his bosom and pulled the fuse.
“Kekeke! Die!”
Pewww!
Gunpowder packed into a cylinder, topped with countless mini-needles. Pull the fuse, and hundreds shoot out at once.
No one could block such power at short range.
But,
Nothing.
No Jinmu collapsing, turned into a porcupine before his eyes.
Just the Heavenly King Needle flying out and falling powerless in clumps.
“Figures you'd try that.”
A chilling voice from behind.
“......”
Gong Sacheok froze with a blank expression.
‘Fucked.’
It was none other than Jinmu.
The man who had made a nationwide infamy as the Lord of Evil Hegemony Heaven in his previous life wouldn't fall for such a petty trick.
People don't change easily.
The good forgive even a close friend's scam if they seem pitiful,
and the vile remain vile even as their life hangs by a thread.
Jinmu seized Gong Sacheok by the hair.
“Gr-great hero! Th-this is entirely......”
Jinmu beamed brightly at the pale, desperately pleading Gong Sacheok clinging to his last hope.
“Bite down tight.”
“......”
Paak!
With Gong Sacheok's hair gripped and lifted, Jinmu's fists rained down without respite.
Pwoock! Puk! Puk-puk-puk-puk!
“S-spare...... me.”
In the brief pause, with all his teeth gone and face a bloody mess, Gong Sacheok lisped his plea.
“Spare you? Still a long way to go, you pine nut bastard.”
Crack, puk, pababak!
The lively rhythm of the beating continued until Jinmu's breathing grew ragged.
Naturally, Gong Sacheok passed out soon after, but even then, Jinmu kept pounding the limp body for a while longer.
Until the floorboards were drenched in his blood.
“Cheongu.”
“Yes, sasuk!”
“Splash him with water.”
“Yes, sasuk.”
Splash!
“Not waking up.”
“Yeah? Then press his acupoints.”
“Yes, sasuk.”
The devastation inside the manor was all Jinmu's handiwork.
A living hellscape, and Gong Sacheok's face smashed beyond recognition of its original features.
Cheongsang and Cheongu vowed never to defy their sasuk, talk back, or irritate him.
As Jinmu instructed, Cheongu pressed a few of Gong Sacheok's acupoints, and there was a reaction.
“Ung, uung.”
The awakened Gong Sacheok, eyes swollen shut, barely able to open, scanned his surroundings before spotting Jinmu.
“Hiee!”
“Noisy.”
“......”
“A few questions now.”
“Ue (Yes).”
“Just nod. Hard to make out what you're saying.”
Nod, nod.
No damage beyond his face, but utterly terrified by the otherworldly superior Jinmu, Gong Sacheok harbored no thoughts of escape.
“The client is Geumjeoksan?”
Shake, shake.
“Then Wu Manor?”
Nod, nod.
Gong Sacheok was a utterly spineless cur with no loyalty whatsoever.
The type to fabricate crimes on the innocent to save his own skin, not one to shelter the guilty.
“Wu Manor, huh. Good.”
Jinmu's eyes narrowed.
Wu Manor.
A proper martial arts hall firmly established in Dangang District.
The warriors there were surely no back-alley thugs.
No matter how much of a sword qi expert Jinmu was, taking it with just the three of them might be tough,
and this was only temporary amplified inner power—his body wasn't fully recovered.
Facing Wu Manor with just them was impossible.
Hit the relatively weaker Qingyang Merchant Group first.
But the Mad Blood Carnage Chaos Energy Art's effect wouldn't last that long.
Even with Cheongsang and Cheongu, the merchant group's escorts would number plenty.
Then?
Jinmu gazed at Gong Sacheok with a sly, wicked smile.