Chapter 126
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 126
Chapter Title: Mythic Demon Spirit Armor (4)
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-Heavenly Martial True Scripture.
-Heavenly Martial Fist.
-Compendium of Central Plains Martial Arts.
-Eighteen Military Weapons Techniques.
-Heavenly Martial Alchemy.
These treasures were meticulously preserved, which only irritated Mujin's mood. They were manuals and pill-refining techniques that would make any martial artist light up with greed and charge in, yet Mujin remained unmoved.
He pushed aside his interest and opened another box.
Inside were gold bars tinged with a yellowish hue.
Aah~~~!
The amount was far from filling the chest—barely half. Of course, it was still enough to live comfortably without worries, but how could a person survive on food alone? He needed to buy a house, land, jewelry, and go on trips too. And on top of that, he had mountains of missions ahead.
Even a fortune felt insufficient.
Mujin grimaced at the thought of coming all the way here for such a paltry amount of gold. At least the ten Night-Luminescent Pearls illuminating the room offered some small consolation.
"Hey."
"What?"
Narung's voice shrank under Mujin's irritated tone. The gold would last an ordinary person a lifetime, and the priceless treasures would drive any martial artist mad with desire, yet Mujin was indifferent. Unable to bear her master's discomfort, she fidgeted anxiously.
"If I call you, speak up! Who told you to hold your tongue!"
"...No, sir! What about the Mythic Demon Spirit Armor?"
"Do whatever you want with it."
"...Thank you!"
Far from lingering attachment, Mujin handed over the Mythic Demon Spirit Armor as if it were a nuisance. Narung stared in bewilderment. She had worried he might regret it despite his words, but her lord was as consistent as a reed in the wind.
On the other hand, it made his earlier statements feel all too real, leaving her oddly resentful.
Tsk!
Cheol-ho and Yuk-chil smacked their lips in regret. They wouldn't have minded if Mujin had claimed it, but denying any disappointment would be a lie. Still, they had no right to the Mythic Demon Spirit Armor. They had been utterly crushed by the Blood River Corpse Puppet, saved only by Mujin's intervention.
Aah!
Narung gazed at the treasure-like Mythic Demon Spirit Armor with deep emotion.
She had hardly dared to hope, yet it was now in her hands. Her lord's boundless grace reached the heavens. There had been complications along the way, but a good outcome made everything worthwhile.
She shed her outer garments and donned the Mythic Demon Spirit Armor. It looked small, but its elasticity fit her body perfectly. As inscribed on the tablet, she circulated her internal energy. It was the essential recognition process for claiming ownership.
Zing!
A brief ripple spread, and the Mythic Demon Spirit Armor enveloped Narung's body like a living creature. In its translucent form, the knots vanished, forming a flawless whole.
Brr!
Narung's body trembled as it merged with the armor. It was likely the synchronization process, transmitting the armor's functions to her.
Ooh!
Cheol-ho and Yuk-chil watched in awe as the Mythic Demon Spirit Armor wrapped around her like a snake's shed skin. It appeared unremarkable, like undergarments, yet it transformed seamlessly. This was why it was hailed as the Heavenly Martial Master's lifelong masterpiece.
Shwick, shwick!
It was a mystical sight showcasing the armor's prowess.
Whatever.
Mujin was harvesting the Night-Luminescent Pearls. He carefully cut around each one squarely, wary of any scratches. Delicately adjusting his internal energy, he brushed off clinging debris and polished them clean with a cloth.
Crunch, crunch!
They emitted a bright glow while radiating a crystalline aura. A faint smile finally appeared on Mujin's face, reflected in the pearls. For good measure, he nipped one lightly with his teeth to check its integrity.
The real deal.
Woooom!
A small joy in the midst of tedium.
As he reached for the next pearl at this crucial moment, a ripple of energy drew his attention.
"What's that now?"
Narung, now wearing the Mythic Demon Spirit Armor, faced off against Cheol-ho and Yuk-chil. She exuded a murderous aura in her rage.
The Heavenly Martial Master.
A freak known to have mastered heaven through martial arts. The supreme expert of the ages, undefeated in a single bout.
But there was a truth unknown to the world.
He had lost exactly once.
And disastrously so.
His Heavenly Martial Fist, perfected from the Eighteen Military Weapons Techniques and the continent's martial arts, failed to reach him. It was proclaimed the world's finest, yet it was shattered by his foe's fist art.
If it had been against another supreme expert of the ages, he might have accepted it. But his opponent was merely one of the Thirty-Six Strongest Under Heaven—lacking compared to the eternal greats.
His pride wounded, the injuries from defeat halted any further progress. He could only settle for maintaining his current state.
Thus, he turned to forbidden arts, transforming his body into a Blood River Corpse Puppet. To avoid further decline and acquire a new vessel.
But not just any body would do. It had to match his own capabilities. To surpass that foe, it required unparalleled talent and martial arts as a baseline.
He crafted the stele to seek the Mythic Demon Spirit Armor and set traps and mechanisms. Whoever came must possess abilities rivaling his own. Otherwise, the Blood River Corpse Puppets would leave no intact corpse.
To open the iron door, one had to defeat the Blood River Corpse Puppet—and thus possess the prowess to wear the Mythic Demon Spirit Armor.
Blood Heaven Soul Shifting Great Method.
The Heavenly Martial Master had sealed his soul within the Mythic Demon Spirit Armor, awaiting the body that would fulfill his lifelong wish.
And today.
He finally reclaimed a body.
"Kuhahaha! Now for the world... Hm?"
The intruder should have been the pinnacle of power, yielding the body willingly. Instead, Narung's memories flooded in.
Far from supreme.
"...Thief!"
Why?
Though Narung ranked among the Five Great Wanderers, she was still a thief at heart. Yet a mere thief could never defeat him, even as a Blood River Corpse Puppet. It was an eternal truth, unchanged after centuries.
He had defied the jianghu's taboos to create the Blood River Corpse Puppet. Time wouldn't have rusted it.
Why this wretched body?
The Heavenly Martial Master, eternal supreme expert, confronted the indignity of inhabiting a wanderer's form. Centuries of preparation crumbled in an instant.
Brr!
He couldn't endure it. He needed to kill this body's soul—or anyone nearby—and bathe in blood to quell his fury.
"Narung, snap out of it!"
"What's wrong with her?"
Cheol-ho and Yuk-chil worried over Narung, who had lost her mind upon donning the armor. But her soul was suppressed by the Heavenly Martial Master's dominance.
Kaboom!
An abrupt assault.
Cheol-ho and Yuk-chil tried to react, but in a flash, their guards were breached, and they took the full brunt of the fist strike.
Ugh!
They barely avoided fatal blows but couldn't block the transformed Narung's attacks.
It made no sense.
Even at full throttle, Narung's lethality paled against theirs. Yet she toyed with them like children.
'Is this the Mythic Demon Spirit Armor?'
'That's why they call it treasure armor!'
No time for awe. A thick killing intent pulsed from her fist art. Sensing the danger, they unleashed their full power in tandem.
"You vermin, die!"
Flash of Heaven's Killing Strike.
The fist transcended speed, targeting Cheol-ho and Yuk-chil. It dwarfed her previous velocity.
Kaboom, whoosh!
A earth-shaking roar erupted as energy blasted through the air! The floor cratered. Stone shards flew like shrapnel weapons.
"We meet again."
Mujin stared not at Narung, but the Heavenly Martial Master who had seized her body. The aura was utterly unlike hers. Bearing the exact energy he felt from the Blood River Corpse Puppet, the intruder was undoubtedly the Heavenly Martial Master.
"It was you!"
"Too bad."
"Why didn't you don the Mythic Demon Spirit Armor?"
"It wasn't a big deal."
Mujin's dismissive expression, tongue pressed against his cheek, was priceless.
Arrogance ruling the world alone.
The tyrant's that deemed all else trash.
Fwoosh!
Demonic flames flickered in the Heavenly Martial Master's eyes. His meticulous plans had collapsed absurdly, and now mockery. Surging rage was unbearable.
"I'll bathe in your blood."
"What now? Your real opponent's elsewhere."
"This body may be wretched, but I am the Heavenly Martial Master of the ages!"
"Sure."
Mujin's smirk was blatant scorn. Even as a legendary treasure, the Mythic Demon Spirit Armor couldn't elevate Narung to supreme expert overnight. Only with time to convert her energy via the Heavenly Martial True Scripture might it be possible.
Unfortunately, Mujin had no reason to grant that time. In battle, one didn't always need to be the strongest. Weakening the foe was a one-shot win.
"Die."
The Heavenly Martial Master surged with internal energy. Astonishingly, it far exceeded Narung's reserves. Short as the possession was, it demanded respect.
He lunged, unleashing a fist art.
Kabooooom!
The Heavenly Martial Master's face twisted savagely as he unleashed fist wind. Separate from the recoil shock—it was because his own path was blocked.
"What is this?"
"Subdue him."
Mujin issued the command regardless. Without hesitation, the Blood River Corpse Puppet unleashed Heavenly Martial Fist against him.
Suppress evil with evil.
The essence of fighting fire with fire.
Mujin never held back his full strength. Unused tools were a master's negligence.
"Cheol-ho, Yuk-chil, assist."
"Yes, sir!"
Watching pretenders face a true powerhouse idly would be wasteful. For their future, they needed this clash.
Mujin finished his task.
Shwick, shwick!
He extracted every embedded Night-Luminescent Pearl without leaving one. The room darkened gradually. He polished them thoroughly for inspection, stacked them neatly in the box, sat down, and observed the fight.
By raw stats, the Heavenly Martial Master couldn't overcome that combo. The Blood River Corpse Puppet was reinforced beyond its original body, making one-on-one defeat inevitable.
'Not bad.'
-As expected from his own creation; he wields its traits masterfully.
'His energy grew in that short time.'
-Absorbing impacts and converting to internal energy.
Upon contact, the Mythic Demon Spirit Armor siphoned the opponent's energy. Akin to the Absorption Great Law dubbed demonic arts. Legends claimed its wearer never depleted stamina or energy. Now he understood why. In prolonged full-power clashes, energy would unwittingly drain—yet the armored foe's would increase.
Above all, the armor's form wasn't fixed. It became third hands and feet or weapons for fluid offense and defense. Weapon mastery implied versatility, but wielding it so wasn't simple. Unless the armor served as the Heavenly Martial Master's eyes.
'No fake, then?'
-Not your level, but wearable by super-elites or above, it'd be useful.
Yet the armor's energy absorption posed risks. That explained its disappearance after a taste. Energies varied by person and art. Blind amplification wasn't omnipotent, or Absorption Great Law would rule.
There were limits, and backlash from absorption inevitable. Perhaps why the Heavenly Martial Master's nature shifted.
'Seen enough; it'll do for her.'
-Clever one, aren't you?
'The fool's the one outsmarted.'
-Shut it!
'I'm whispering.'
-Sneaky bastard. Can't admit it!
The Demonic Cult had suffered Mujin's brainless ploys before. Overcomplicating bred simplicity's counter. The Demon King refused to concede.
How frustrating to be crushed by brute force after scheming.
'Who told you to roll boulders?'
-It's a frontal clash.