Chapter 800. If He’s Handsome and a Pain in the Ass, He Must Be a Jin Guy (5)
Even in Hyun Jong’s eyes, shock flickered.
Namgung Hwang.
To be honest, the sight he had shown just a little while ago, when the heads of the various sects gathered together, had been enough to make anyone frown.
Of course, he wasn’t so insensitive that he couldn’t understand the hostility Namgung Hwang held toward Mount Hua. But even so, it was still a far cry from the bearing expected of the head of the Namgung Family, one of the five great clans and a family hailed as the greatest under heaven.
And yet the Namgung Hwang standing before them now was enough to sweep all of Hyun Jong’s thoughts away in one stroke.
Composure?
Namgung Hwang seemed to be telling him that things like tolerance and social grace were worthless in the martial world. What the head of the Namgung Family needed was only strength—the strength to shoulder the name on his back and march forward. That alone was enough.
“……So that’s an absolute master.”
Baek Cheon’s palm was slick with cold sweat.
How does he compare to the Bishop?
It was impossible to compare.
The Bishop had truly been terrifyingly strong. But back then, Baek Cheon had not even possessed the ability to measure that strength. All he had been able to do was charge in with everything he had, fully prepared to die, and leave the rest to that bastard Chung Myung.
But this was different.
Standing here at a cool distance and watching with his own eyes the majesty an absolute master exuded, his spine went numb and his hands trembled.
The Nine Great Sects. And the Five Great Families.
In that moment, Baek Cheon realized something.
Just how lightly he had treated those names until now.
“Rumble, rumble, rumble!”
The blue waters of the Yangtze turned red in an instant.
The Blue Sky Sword Squad, who had leaped into the water, were slaughtering the bandits one-sidedly.
The swordsmanship born of dominance couldn’t split the river itself the way Namgung Hwang had, but it was more than enough to cleave through the current. On top of that, the internal energy they had built up so sturdily since childhood allowed them to move underwater almost exactly as they did on land.
What remained, then, was simply the immense difference in skill.
Slash!
A sword that had split the water drove straight into a bandit’s heart. Those who had rushed in quickly were flung back even faster, sinking beneath the surface.
“Hmph!”
Watching that scene, Namgung Hwang gave a great sweep of his sword.
“With peace lasting too long, even these worthless bandits have grown bold enough to charge at the sight of the Namgung banner!”
Then they would be taught.
They would be shown that the reason they had only been watching the demonic sects all this time was not because they lacked strength.
Whooooosh!
Once more, a fearsome sword aura gathered along Namgung Hwang’s blade. It was an awe-inspiring momentum, so vast that no one could even begin to guess how much power was packed into that dantian.
“Tha…… that…….”
As Baek Cheon, who had been watching, spoke in astonishment, Chung Myung said coldly,
“Sasuk.”
“Hm?”
“Keep your eyes open and watch carefully.”
Chung Myung nodded toward the boat Namgung Hwang stood on.
“You know why the Namgung Family is called the greatest family under heaven?”
“……Why?”
At once, all sorts of thoughts flashed through Baek Cheon’s mind. Because their power was strong, because the quality of their descendants was excellent, because they could pour countless elixirs into them with their vast wealth, because they could train in stable conditions without worrying about anything else…….
But he knew none of those were the answer Chung Myung wanted.
Chung Myung said in a low voice,
“The Namgung Family is a bunch of idiots. Honestly, if you want to pursue dominance, it’d be better not to pick up a sword at all but a dao instead. Yeah. Just like the Haenam Peng Family.”
Baek Cheon nodded in agreement before he could stop himself.
If you wanted to wield overwhelming force, a thick, heavy dao was far easier to handle than a thin, flexible sword.
“But those guys are the ones who pursued dominance while refusing to let go of the sword. They’re greedy bastards who grabbed onto two things that are almost impossible to reconcile—power and precision—and in the end, managed to make them coexist.”
“…….”
“If you’re a swordsman too, Sasuk, watch that man’s sword closely. You’ll see a sword different from Mount Hua’s.”
“Understood.”
A far more solemn look settled over Baek Cheon’s face. With a nod, he fixed his gaze on Namgung Hwang. As if they had all overheard the exchange, the other disciples also turned serious and watched him intently.
Chung Myung looked satisfied and nodded.
Good.
In truth, the reason he had planned to hang back was not simply because he didn’t want to fight alongside them.
What Mount Hua’s disciples lacked was experience.
But experience didn’t only mean fighting with your own hands and enduring things with your own body. Watching how others fought and what sort of martial arts they used, then thinking about it, was also excellent experience.
Mount Hua. Wudang. The Namgung Family.
Back when Chung Myung had still been the Plum Blossom Sword Saint, those three sects had stood side by side as the three great sword sects of the world. And hadn’t the top masters of each sect been known collectively as the Three Great Swordsmen Under Heaven?
Mount Hua’s sword was splendid and brilliant. Wudang’s was soft and flowing. And the Namgung Family pursued the kind of powerful, domineering sword and saber techniques that were rare in a weapon as refined as the sword.
Mount Hua’s sword is the best.
But best did not mean perfect.
If they could gain something more from Namgung Hwang’s sword, then the swords of Mount Hua’s disciples would become even more complete.
“Taaaat!”
Namgung Hwang’s sword swept once more with great force.
The river surged up left and right. It looked exactly like the legendary river dragon said to dwell in the Yangtze, twisting its body in agitation.
The sword force that flew while cleaving the water swallowed the enormous ship in an instant.
BOOOOOOOM!
The destructive power was not even comparable to a cannon.
The ship exploded completely apart, and the blast continued on to smash several more vessels behind it.
Among the tightly packed bandit ships, a straight path began to appear.
In the truest sense of the word, it was the Dao of an Emperor.
An emperor only ever moves forward. He knows how to advance, but not how to retreat, and not how to go around.
And the sword of Namgung is the sword of an emperor. The emperor’s sword crushes everything that dares stand in its way.
“Kill them all! Make them pay for having the audacity to block the path of Namgung!”
“Yes, sir!”
The boats that had been following on the left and right to support Namgung Hwang’s vessel picked up speed and surged ahead.
Swish.
Namgung Hwang slowly sheathed his blade and turned his head slightly.
“Hmph.”
Bandits who blocked his path were never in his eyes to begin with. What he was watching closely were the Wudang, Qingcheng, and Shaolin boats that had already climbed aboard and were following behind him.
Fixing them with a cold stare, Namgung Hwang suddenly shifted his gaze toward the riverbank.
He saw the Mount Hua Sect staring this way with their eyes wide open.
Hmph.
The shock on their faces was plain to see.
Foolish bastards.
They’d gained a little fame and now thought they were something special. Namgung Hwang disliked Mount Hua for that reason. A true expert did not make reckless moves; he quietly and steadily built strength.
“Watch carefully. The strength of Namgung Family.”
“Hmm.”
Heo Do-jin-in let out a low laugh, the corners of his mouth curling slightly.
“The Namgung Family Head seems to be in high spirits.”
“Wouldn’t you be, too? A martial artist with no need to draw his sword is a miserable thing.”
“That is true.”
The peace had gone on too long.
Long enough to replenish the strength consumed in the war against the Demonic Sect in the past…… no, long enough to accumulate even more than that.
Those who gathered strength inevitably wanted to prove it. But in the Jianghu up until now, there had been no way or opportunity to do so. Strength could only be proven if there were an enemy. One could not run out into the middle of the street and dance with a sword just to prove the level of one’s martial arts.
“Still, the Namgung Family Head’s martial prowess is beyond what I expected.”
“Indeed. It seems the Namgung Family, too, has been sharpening its teeth all this time. Just like us.”
Heo Do-jin-in’s eyes gleamed coldly. He felt a faint boil rising in his chest. Setting aside the perfection of the sword itself, the sheer boldness of that sword aura had a way of provoking a man.
And sure enough—
“A—mi—ta—bul!”
From the boat on the right, a deep Buddhist chant thundered out, followed by a burst of golden fist force.
It was an immense display of power, like a waterfall of gold pouring down onto the riverbank! The bandit boats swept up in it were crushed in an instant and lost their shape.
It wasn’t an attack that smashed things open as boldly as Namgung Hwang’s sword strike. Rather, it was a blow that simply crushed the entire boat under its overwhelming weight.
The style might have been different, but the power behind it was in no way inferior to Namgung Hwang’s sword.
“It seems Elder Beop Gye doesn’t have the same depth of cultivation as Elder Beop Jeong.”
“Even monks are still martial artists. Of course they’d have a competitive streak.”
Heo Do-jin-in chuckled softly.
If Beop Jeong had been here, he would have worn a kindly smile and watched Namgung Hwang’s rampage with calm amusement. But Beop Gye was, however accomplished he might be, still only an elder. He couldn’t help but feel anxious that Shaolin, whom he had led into battle, must not be left behind by Namgung.
“What do you think?”
“The stage isn’t right.”
Heo Do-jin-in clicked his tongue, just a little bitterly.
It wasn’t that their skill was lacking; the nature of their martial arts was simply different. No matter how much power they exerted, it would be hard to match the sweeping impact of that bold sword force and fist power.
If we pushed, it wouldn’t be impossible. But there’s no need to do that right now.
This wasn’t a stage prepared for them. The real stage was deeper inside that valley.
“Namgung and Shaolin will open the path. Once we enter, disembark immediately and drive the bandits back.”
“Yes, Sect Leader!”
Just then, Namgung Hwang’s boat, which had charged to the front, finally carved out a straight path.
The bandit ships, which had held formation by relying on their numbers, began turning their prows left and right in panic. Of course they knew that if they lost the Black Dragon Clan, they’d have no future, but the majesty of Namgung Hwang as he hurled sword strikes right before their eyes was enough to strip away their reason and plant fear in its place.
Just two sword strikes.
With only those two strikes, Namgung Hwang had managed to create a vast passage between the ships so densely packed that not even the water could be seen.
“Ignore the small fry! The sects following behind will handle them. We cut through and drive into the Black Dragon Clan!”
“Yes, sir!”
Namgung Hwang smiled.
He handed over the lead?
They likely had their own calculations, which was why they had so readily placed Namgung Family at the vanguard…….
Your mistake was underestimating the strength of Namgung.
He had no intention of letting anyone behind him reap the glory. So long as they were there, no retreat would be cut off. They would surge straight in and smash everything to pieces at once.
Let only Namgung’s name ring out across this Yangtze.
“Do-wi!”
“Yes, Family Head!”
Namgung Hwang glanced sideways at Namgung Do-wi. His face was flushed with excitement, already fully prepared for battle.
“When you disembark, take the lead. Reclaim the honor you lost with your own hands!”
“I will, no matter what!”
“Good!”
Now, a path toward the valley spread out before Namgung Hwang’s eyes.
“Increase speed! We enter all at once! Ignore any traps! I’ll smash them with my own hands!”
“Yes, sir!”
The warriors of the Namgung Family, their spirits surging to the very top of their heads, roared in unison, and the entrance to the valley echoed with the thunder of their cries.
Countless boats cut through the current of the Yangtze and surged directly into the deep, dark valley.