Chapter 332
Chapter 332
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 332
Chapter Title: Heavenly Realm
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"What did you say?"
Mang Ryang aimed the Five Fires and Seven Birds Gold Thread at them and bellowed.
"Jin So-cheong showed great mercy that day! He could have taken all your lives and wiped out your entire clan, but he only punished those who committed the evils. In that case, you could have simply elected a new family head and changed your surname. You would have inevitably lost the status of one of the Five Great Families, but you could have avoided being despised throughout the martial world of Anhui Province."
"......"
"Even after such a stern warning, you merely moved your base and brazenly clung to the Nangong name... Either you're all idiots incapable of grasping reality, or you looked down on Jin So-cheong. Inheriting the Nangong Family's infamy was your choice."
"Th-that's..."
"If you wish, I can wipe out your entire clan right here today."
At his cold, piercing words, the Nangong Family experts fell silent as if their mouths were glued shut. They realized Mang Ryang's words were no mere threat but pure intent. As Mang Ryang opened his mouth to press further, Jin So-cheong waved him off.
"Mang Ryang, that's enough. They've gotten the message."
"Hmm..."
"Though things have come to this, they understand now. All paths to external aid for you are sealed. Yong Jung-il will seek to utterly annihilate you now that he's involved."
"......"
"If the Wind God Style comes at you in earnest, even the Nangong Family at its peak would struggle—your situation now is hopeless."
One Nangong Family expert spoke in resignation.
"What do you want from us?"
"Tell us about the deal you were trying to make just now, and who the Nangong Family was connecting with. If you do, I'll help your family make a fresh start."
"A fresh start...?"
"As Mang Ryang said, change your surname and begin anew."
Two Nangong Family experts exchanged glances. After agonizing intensely, they spoke.
"If we tell you, will you protect our clan from death?"
Jin So-cheong replied firmly.
"Of course. I'll ensure neither the Wind God Style nor any other Jianghu force touches you."
"Understood..."
They then spilled everything they knew about the deal.
The deal was this: As their final bastion, the Nangong Family had brought out a clan treasure to trade with the Wind God Style. They believed acquiring the Wind God Style's peerless martial arts would allow them to shake off external interference and rise again. That's why they contacted the Wind God Style and arranged to meet Yong Jung-il, its representative, near the Yangtze River.
Mang Ryang, listening from the side, asked.
"Where is that treasure?"
"In the Heavenly Vault Division Leader's possession."
"Heavenly Vault Division Leader?"
At Mang Ryang's question, he silently pointed to the corpse. It was the one killed first by Yong Jung-il's dark surprise attack, standing dead in place. He must have been the leader of the Nangong Family's top fighting force, the Heavenly Vault Division.
'No wonder they all seemed highly skilled.'
The five Nangong Family experts here were all just below the elders in prowess. That explained their high average skill. But with three dead here, their future looked even bleaker.
At Mang Ryang's glance, I searched the Heavenly Vault Division Leader's robes. Since I needed to claim the treasure anyway, better to do it myself. Deep in his robes, I found a large fishing hook wrapped in silver silk.
"A fishing hook?"
It was pure white.
I tilted my head and fiddled with the white hook. It wasn't made of any special material—just carved wood—but the oddity was the cluster of pure white gems embedded in its upper part.
"What kind of treasure is this?"
"...We don't know much either."
"Hmm. Did Yong Jung-il not know you were bringing a treasure?"
If he had, he surely would have asked about its purpose before killing you. The Nangong expert replied with a grim expression.
"Probably. The leader planned to gauge his intentions first, then discuss the manual's trade terms..."
I looked at Jin So-cheong, who nodded in confirmation. It matched what he'd lip-read. Mang Ryang gave a wry smile.
"You tried some half-baked scheming and paid dearly. Since you didn't mention it, Yong Jung-il just killed first and asked questions later."
Muttering that, Mang Ryang looked at Jin So-cheong and me.
"Plans have changed. While we're at it, let's settle things with the Nangong Family."
We immediately used the Shadowless Gate technique to head to the Nangong Family. We returned the two captives, urging them to change their surname and start over, threatening instant death if they refused. The remaining Nangong people seemed ready to comply out of necessity. Survival came first.
Nangong Min spoke in resignation.
"Has the family head and young house lord been killed?"
"Not yet. But you'll never see them again."
"......"
She sobbed.
"At least return their bodies. They may have been beasts unworthy of humanity, but must you insult them even in death...?"
Jin So-cheong and I felt our resolve waver slightly. Sword King Nangong Myeong and Nangong Hwan lay half-dead in my neck pouch, ready to kill at any moment. But hearing this face-to-face shook us.
Mang Ryang then unleashed a thunderous aura.
"Sorry, but no. They must pay for their crimes."
"What punishment do you intend?"
"We'll cripple their martial arts and throw them to the victims and bereaved families to be torn apart and made into stew. The victims will gnaw their flesh chunks and burn the rest."
"Gasp!"
Nangong Min's eyes widened in horror, but Mang Ryang continued calmly.
"Only dismembering them a thousand times and cutting them ten thousand ways will offer the barest consolation to those abused as sex slaves."
"Ugh... Hic... Sob..."
Nangong Min, and all who heard, collapsed in despair, weeping. Many sobbed uncontrollably. Overnight, their revered family head and young house lord faced such a fate. To the oblivious, it was unbelievable. But Mang Ryang remained unmoved.
"You may feel wronged. But failing to notice or stop their subhuman beastly acts for years is your fault. How could no one know the family head, young house lord, and Nangong Eight Swords kidnapped and imprisoned dozens of women? Some knew but turned a blind eye since it wasn't their problem."
"......"
I sensed a few in the crowd flinch. Mang Ryang said coldly.
"Baek Woong, let's go."
We returned to the Shadowless Gate via Mu-yeong Gate and informed the Sword Demon of the change. He readily agreed, saying the Nangong Family was as good as destroyed anyway. With that settled, I pulled Nangong Myeong and Nangong Hwan from the neck pouch in Jin Rang Valley. I personally stomped their dantians, crippling their martial arts.
Thud! Thud!
"Ugh..."
"Kraaagh..."
Father and son writhed on the ground in abdominal agony, but no one looked on with pity. Not I, nor Mang Ryang or Jin So-cheong—we all gazed coldly. I took a deep breath, then infused qi to clear Sword King Nangong Myeong's mind.
As clarity returned to his eyes, I asked.
"Nangong Myeong. What is this fishing hook?"
"Wha... Who are you..."
He seemed disoriented. Understandably—time barely passes in the neck pouch, so his last memory was being beaten unconscious by Jin So-cheong at the Nangong Family. I told him.
"The Nangong Family has been exterminated."
"......!!"
As he recoiled in shock, I calmly recounted events. Prostrated and trembling, he roared.
"You scum!! I won't forgive you!!"
"Won't forgive us?"
"Raaagh!!"
He tried to lunge, but staggered, sensing his body's wrongness. Realizing his dantian shattered and inner power gone, despair twisted his face. I stared at his ashen visage.
"Not the time for that. If you want an easy death, answer honestly."
"Eek... What grudge do you have to do this atrocity!"
"Atrocity? Just the kidnappings and rapes by you and your spawn?"
"Urk..."
"Last warning. Lie, and you and your son die in the world's most agonizing way."
Reading my sincerity, he faltered. Stammering,
"Will you spare me if I talk?"
"Maybe. Your son's life depends on you."
"......"
Teeth gritted, he had no choice. Head bowed.
"I'll tell all. Kill me, just spare my son."
"Heh."
I chuckled dryly.
'Even such vile scum cares for his offspring.'
Not incomprehensible. I'd seen the village chief dote on Geum Manjae. They treated victims as less than human but protected their bloodline. Revulsion surged over admiration.
"Fine, then."
I picked up the white hook with my fingers and asked.
"What is this hook? The Heavenly Vault Division Leader brought it as your clan treasure."
"Th-that's..."
"Speak quickly."
He hesitated, then said.
"A relic left by our founding family head."
"Relic? What kind?"
"A relic said to predate the Xia Dynasty, but details are unknown."
"You treasured it for some special power or function."
"......"
"Tell me this hook's ability."
He hemmed and hawed. Clearly, it held greater value than thought. Without pause, I drew my sword and pressed it to Nangong Hwan's neck, bleeding on the ground.
"Speak by the count of three. Three, two..."
"It's called Shun's Angling Hook!!"
He yelled to save his son. Face drained white, he explained.
"Shun's Angling Hook purifies and enables thousand-mile communication."
"Thousand-mile communication?"
We stared at Nangong Myeong in shock. Mang Ryang especially looked stunned.
"No way this is..."
With my blade still at Nangong Hwan's neck, he bellowed.
"Take the sword from my son's neck! Please!"
"Fine. Explain purification and thousand-mile communication."
Veins bulged on his neck.
"Anything touching Shun's Angling Hook is purified. Myriad poisons, parasites, contaminants—all gone in an instant."
"Any poison?"
"Yes."
"Even Sichuan Tang Clan poisons?"
He nodded.
"Clan records say it neutralized a millennium-old great yokai's poison pill. Never tried on Tang poisons, but it should work."
"Hoo..."
I feigned withdrawing the blade, then pressed it back—silent pressure for more. Teeth grinding, he continued reluctantly.
"And with Shun's Angling Hook, you can convey your will to anyone."
"Just send?"
"No. You hear their reply too."
"......!!"
I grasped why Mang Ryang was shocked.
Freely exchange thoughts over vast distances! No supreme expert could match that. It explained the Nangong Family's sustained wealth and fame—not mere luck.
"How to use it..."
For about half an incense stick's time, he detailed its use meticulously. Only then did I remove the blade from Nangong Hwan's neck.
Mang Ryang, listening, said.
"Let's test it."
"How?"
"Take me to the Southern Continent."
"Got it."
Flash.
I used the neck pouch to drop Mang Ryang on the Southern Continent's coast. Returning via neck pouch to Jin Rang Valley, I projected my will into Shun's Angling Hook.
[Mang Ryang, can you hear me?]
Visualize the recipient and send— that's how it worked. Moments later, his reply came.
[I hear you.]
[Incredible.]
I fetched Mang Ryang back to Central Plains Jin Rang Valley. I eyed Shun's Angling Hook anew.
The distance to the Southern Continent was thousands of li at least—tens of thousands not unlikely. Yet we conversed as if side-by-side. Despite my adventures, few artifacts rivaled this.
Mang Ryang said.
"Baek Woong. This isn't a demonic tool."
"Huh? Not demonic..."
I'd assumed it was, like the magic-made neck pouch or Shadowless Gate—immense power from sorcery. But Mang Ryang shook his head.
"Ancient records tell: Emperor Shun visited feuding farmers at Mount Li. He farmed, and in a year, furrows straightened. Fishermen fought over Yellow River spots; Shun fished, and in a year, they yielded to elders. Dongyi potters made poor ware; Shun crafted, and in a year, it excelled."
"......?"
Bewildered by the tangent, I tilted my head. Then it clicked—I exclaimed.
"N-no way, this is..."
"Yes."
Mang Ryang held Shun's Angling Hook reverently.
"Emperor Shun's personal fishing hook. Like the imperial seal in the Yellow Palace vaults, it's an unparalleled treasure crafted and used by one of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors—Shun himself!"