Chapter 150
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 150
Chapter Title: Hearts in Sync (3)
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I will not tolerate failure.
In a life that had been charging full speed down the road to success, dark clouds had gathered one after another lately. A string of utterly unforeseen failures.
Why had this happened?
He had meticulously reviewed the plan from the very beginning, yet it was hard to spot any flaws. The preparations for the grand scheme had proceeded smoothly, and the continent lay defenseless. He had even planted poisonous mushrooms within to ensure it crumbled from the inside.
If everything had gone according to plan, he could have devoured not only the martial world but half of the merchant world as well. Yet once the plan began to veer off course, it snowballed into an uncontrollable disaster.
Up to this point, he could have endured with patience. But the more he uncovered the cause, the more his patience wore thin. If someone had caught wind of the plan in advance and interfered, he could simply respond in kind.
After all, he had more than enough leeway and forces at his disposal.
But every failure had been chalked up to sheer bad luck. If it had been deliberate sabotage, at least that would make sense. Instead, pure misfortune had derailed the entire operation.
And the root of all those misfortunes was meddling again this time.
"You think I'd just sit back and watch you thrive?!"
Heavenly Fortune Fist!
This bastard was so loathsome he could chew him up and spit him out a thousand times and still not feel satisfied. Drown him in filth and fry him crisp, and it still wouldn't sate the rage. Even the heavens turned a blind eye as that wretched fool seized a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity—while shattering his own plans in the process.
Mukam's patience had reached its breaking point.
They said no one in the cult could match his scholarly forbearance and restraint, yet decades of cultivation evaporated in an instant.
'Damn it all.'
Never had he imagined he'd have to step onto the front lines and take command himself. The situation was that dire, his fury that extreme. The deeper his hatred for Heavenly Fortune Fist burned, the more he craved the satisfaction of crushing him personally.
'Feel it for yourself, you scum!'
The pathetic helplessness of having something snatched from your grasp right at the moment of triumph. He might have reveled in drink back then, but now it was nothing more than a fleeting dream.
Sssrrk!
Mukam mobilized the entire Black Killer Corps.
The squad dispatched to the Nangong family earlier had been mere rabble, excluding the Ten Commanders. In particular, Black Killer Corps Commanders One through Five possessed martial prowess rivaling the elders of great sects. And they could transform into Great Black Ghosts at any moment.
The guards and soldiers protecting the mine were no issue at all. To capture them, he deployed not only the Black Killer Corps but also his direct subordinates, the Black Water and Blood Water elites. It was like using an ox-cleaver to slaughter a chicken.
"Leave no traces. Kill them all."
"Understood."
This reality only fueled Mukam's anger. The string of failures had instilled a profound fear of reprimand.
'I'll make sure you can never use it again.'
Mukam advanced toward the mine, striking when they felt secure under the pact of non-aggression. Government protection would be crucial if he intended to seize it outright.
But Mukam had no such intentions from the start. Taking a fully operational gold mine was impossible anyway.
If he couldn't have it, better to destroy it outright. They might think they could redevelop it later, but once he scattered the poison, extraction would be impossible for years.
Shuuush!
He accelerated.
In an instant.
Zzzt!
A jolt pierced his mind. Mukam, charging ahead without hesitation, immediately tried to pull back the Black Killer Corps.
Kwaaaang! Rumble rumble rumble!
The earth quaked violently, the mountains roaring in fury. A deafening blast rocked the entire ridge. The dead silence of the night shattered in an instant, unleashing a suffocating aura.
Shwaaa!
The savage energy that swept through, stirring the night itself, left devastation in its wake. The mountainside collapsed into an unfathomable crater, torn apart by the ferocious shockwaves radiating outward.
"Who goes there?!"
Mukam's roar, infused with inner energy, pierced the darkness as he searched for the foe. But the assailant, shrouded in pitch-black shadows, offered no reply and pressed the ambush relentlessly.
You bark. I'll rip.
The attacker's goal was clear.
Kwaaaang!
Another ferocious blast of air.
The energy that had compressed the heavens and earth converged on a single point before exploding outward in the ultimate formless fist strike.
The shadow in the darkness was, at minimum, a pinnacle expert at the Flower Realm.
Crrunch!
A third of the main Black Killer Corps force, gathered at the forefront, was shredded without a trace.
It was overwhelming.
A sheer disparity in realms.
Shuuush!
Though the savage assault might rattle anyone, the Black Killer Corps responded like emotionless puppets. They didn't even blink at their comrades' deaths, pouring sword energy toward the attack points.
Papapap!
The assassin in the shadows mocked the barrage of sword qi, emerging from the opposite direction to sever ten Black Killer heads in one stroke.
Slash! Roll roll roll!
Sharp steel wires, painted black and invisible in the dark, whirled through the air in all directions. A vortex of razor winds formed, slicing space with bulging cuts.
The lines of steel qi flashed with eerie glints.
Whirrr crunch!
The Black Killer Corps charged into the dense iron net without realizing death, meeting a futile end.
"Over there!"
At Mukam's shout, the Black Killer Corps shifted direction. He still couldn't shake his habit of issuing commands.
In that moment.
Kwaaaang!
A monstrous formless fist from the opposite side pulverized the darkness. Ten Black Killer Corps members under its shockwave exploded without even a scream. Blood-soaked chunks of flesh sprayed everywhere, carpeting the ground in gore.
'Who the hell is this?'
This was a reality Mukam could scarcely accept. Already, half the Black Killer Corps had vanished without a trace.
Even against a sneak attack, the Black Killer Corps should have handled it. Yet instead of countering, casualties only mounted.
'Fist King?'
Few could annihilate the Black Killer Corps in one blow. The first name that came to mind was the Huangbo family's Fist King. But the quality of this fist art was different.
A sudden doubt arose.
Could the Jeongun Merchant Group hire a Flower Realm master? It made no sense for an expert on par with the Shinju Twenty-One Strong, the current pillars of the martial world, to serve a mere merchant guild. The Jeongun lacked both the funds and connections for that—and if they had them, they wouldn't have stayed quiet this long.
More importantly.
'How did they know?'
Unless the Jeongun had prior intel on the raid, they never could have hidden such a powerhouse in the mine. The prouder the expert, the less they'd budge for mere coin.
"Activate Black Water and Black Bone."
"Yes, Shadow Lord!"
The assailant's identity was irrelevant. At this rate, the Black Killer Corps would be wiped out. He needed to transform them into Great Black Ghosts first.
'I'll kill you for sure.'
Transformation skyrocketed combat power, but the backlash afterward was severe. They'd be unusable for at least a month.
For Mukam, who had grand plans even after demolishing the mine, it was like losing a vital limb.
Kwaaaang!
Even amid the chaos, the fist winds raged on. Deadly strikes aimed to sever the Black Killer Corps' lifelines.
Whiiiing!
Sharp steel wires unleashed in tandem with the fist winds turned the mountains into a sea of blood. Black Killer Corps caught before transforming were sliced clean, flopping in death throes.
Grrrrowl!
Howling like beasts, the transformed Great Black Ghosts swelled half again their size, their bodies dyed pitch black. Like untamed wild predators, razor claws sprouted from hands and feet.
Kraaaang!
They leaped into the darkness with wounded-beast roars. Their speed was incomparable—three times faster in an instant. Not only that; the black murderous energy erupting on charge tore the shadows asunder.
Kraaang!
The malice in that black energy was unnatural, amplified by sorcery into something far stickier than mere formless killing intent. Even masters would freeze solid upon exposure.
"No matter how strong you are, you can't drop a Great Black Ghost in one hit!"
A Great Black Ghost's body rivaled diamond indestructibility. Unless its head was crushed, it regenerated—and it endured even sword qi.
"I don't care who you are. You won't survive this!"
Just kill this one. The mine's rabble could be handled by a single Black Killer.
Puuung!
The thrust fist wind slammed into the Great Black Ghost's body. A pain-immune beast should rise and charge again, but with its upper body blasted away, the story changed.
Splat!
The lone lower half staggered a step or two before collapsing limply. A gruesome corpse.
"What?!"
Mukam's eyes widened more than ever. He knew their strength better than anyone. These weren't ordinary Black Ghosts; they couldn't fall so easily.
Plip plip!
A shadow burst from the dark, punching out. The Great Black Ghost crumpled without resistance. As if it knew the Fist Spirit Realm's vital points exactly, each fist strike drained its soul, sending it tumbling.
Shuuung! Puk!
Dark projectiles extended from black robes pierced the Great Black Ghost's flesh all too easily. More shocking: no regeneration occurred.
"...No way?"
The Great Black Ghost's sole weakness lay in destroying the Black Bone that powered the curse—like a warrior's dantian, but mobile and relocatable. It was merely a trigger device, hard to pinpoint.
Plip plip!
Even in that split second, Black Killer Corps fell. The assailant slaughtered them without showing his face, intent on leaving none alive.
"Will you not stop?!"
If that would stop him, he wouldn't have ambushed in the first place.
The attacker ignored him, hunting down the remaining Black Killer Corps.
Slash!
A severed head flew through the air, tumbling down the ridge. Without pause, he massacred the main force in seconds. An unbelievable feat.
Tremble tremble!
Mukam could no longer contain his rage.
A squad of Great Black Ghosts could hold off a great sect for half a shichen. Yet they'd become useless without a proper fight. If he'd known, he should have opened with the Great Black Ghost Demon Slaughter Array from the start.
Srrek!
Figures surged from both flanks toward the assailant. Not Black Killer Corps—these were swifter, keener. They'd lain in wait for this exact moment, unleashing full power.
Shuuung!
Fearsomely fast sword and blade strikes. A exquisite ambush targeting the overconfident foe.
"Missed?"
The Black Water and Blood Water had banked on this fatal blow. Yet sword and blade pierced empty air. Worse, they'd lost the assailant's presence entirely.
Gasp!
Black Water and Blood Water swallowed dryly.
Sensing peril, they reflexively retreated—but the assailant permitted no such thing. Terrifying suction palms activated, dragging them in.
Kwak!
The assailant's hands seized Blood Water and Black Water's heads.
He didn't hesitate.
"...Spare—!"
Those were Blood Water and Black Water's final words.
Crunch crunch!
Their skulls crumpled like tofu. Headless, Blood Water and Black Water slumped away.
Tok tok!
He shook off the blood and turned to Mukam.
Crrunch!
Mukam, convinced he'd prepared for everything, faced an unimaginable sight. Losing all his men without lifting a finger only stoked his fury further.
"Scheming from your desk has dulled your battlefield reflexes."
"Who the hell are you?!"
"The one person you hate most."
"...No way?"
Mujin, clad in the Mythic Demon Spirit Armor, removed his mask.
His bare face emerged. Disbelief filled Mukam's eyes.
Kaa.
Intoxicating.
Mujin savored the sight of his panic.
-Perverted bastard!
I crave a shot of that sharp tang sake.