Chapter 151
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 151
Chapter Title: Carelessness (1)
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Righteous, Evil, Demonic.
The Righteous sought the proper path rather than a specific goal, the Evil pursued their aims without regard for means, and the Demonic discarded humanity in pursuit of power.
A sect that had made enemies of the Righteous had to prioritize grand justice and could not ignore the eyes of the world.
But what was reality like?
The Righteous weren't always purely good, nor were the Evil and Demonic always purely evil. Humans possessed duality, capable of choosing either virtue or vice.
The Five Saints Sect had set itself against the Righteous factions.
Naturally, they couldn't openly commit acts that defied human decency. They couldn't completely escape the public's scrutiny. Thus, for the Five Saints Sect, today's task absolutely could not be exposed to the outside world.
"Not a single one of them can escape. Keep that in mind."
"Understood."
If the truth came out, all the achievements the Five Saints Sect had built could crumble in an instant, turning into merits for the Righteous factions. For them, this had become a matter of life and death.
'If it weren't for that damned bastard.'
Two hundred thousand nyang had vanished in a flash. It was due to his son's foolish actions, forcing him, as a major landowner, to sell off half his estates. Just as he needed to resolve the resulting cash shortage, word came from the Qingfeng Merchant Group and the Baekje Merchant Group.
They offered to recover the missing funds in one go and promised ongoing trade. It was an offer too lucrative to refuse, and they even had an ally to assist with the job. Still, he wasn't thrilled. This commission was on another level compared to before. One misstep, and the sect's very survival would be at risk.
Storm Blade Yi Taek-sang mobilized not only the sect's main forces but also the spirit elixirs and warriors obtained from their ally, leaving nothing to chance.
"Charge!"
Yi Taek-sang slipped toward the merchant caravan under cover of darkness without looking back. Masked and armored in killing intent, they formed a perfect encirclement to ensure not even one escaped.
"We're under attack!"
Huh?
A shout pierced the night. The silence shattered, and hidden venomous fangs bared themselves.
Yi Taek-sang's sword hilt tightened in his grip.
'Sharp instincts.'
They had approached with utmost stealth, yet the caravan responded swiftly, immediately forming defensive lines as if anticipating the raid.
'Doesn't matter.'
He had the full roster of the caravan's personnel. Half of the fifty guards were ronin. They couldn't match in numbers or strength. The quicker response just made things a bit more annoying.
"Kill them all."
At Yi Taek-sang's command, the Three Great Guests took the lead.
Especially Flash Demon Blade Hyeok Mu-sang, who had caused massive damage to the sect in his previous failure, exuded venomous rage.
'I'll kill you first!'
The Heavenly Fortune Fist wielder who had defeated Yi Gi-ho was here. Hyeok Mu-sang had lost much because of that fist.
After absorbing the spirit elixir, his temperament had changed. A sinister aura blazed like wildfire through his body.
Whoosh!
He charged like an arrow loosed from a taut bowstring.
To Hyeok Mu-sang's flanks followed Flying Dragon Sword Haesa-seong and Night Blade Nam Cheon-jin. They needed to rack up solid merits this time to solidify their standing. Only then would the sect treat them properly.
Clang-clang-clang-clang!
Weapons clashed noisily, tormenting the night. Sparks flew amid the desperate struggle of attackers and defenders.
The assailants were no pushovers.
Even with preparations, their ferocious onslaught was overwhelming. Casualties mounted from the very first clash. If not for the timely shout, the outcome would have been a horrific slaughter beyond imagination.
As the bloody battle raged between guards and attackers, Taejin's exploits shone brightly.
No one underestimated the young guards and ronin. Thanks to Taejin's warning shout, they could even fight back.
Swish!
Taejin's sword, based on the Pine Tiger Five Swords, unflinchingly blocked and slashed the assailants. His offensive and defensive arcs were astonishingly stable.
Slash!
The assailant's throat was severed. Shock filled the warrior's eyes. He never dreamed he'd fall to some milk-scented kid's blade.
The attackers burned with killing intent at their comrade's death and rushed forward.
"Die!"
Even against foes charging in rage-blinded fury, Taejin remained unshaken. Compared to his father's training, this melee was paradise.
Hummm, boom!
His sword tip hummed with terrifying force. Three warriors who charged without looking back were swept away like falling leaves in the sword blast and flung aside.
Thud-thud-thud!
The tumbling bodies bore countless sword marks, dying the instant the blade touched them.
Despite sending three to the afterlife in one exchange, Taejin didn't grow arrogant. He calmly fulfilled his assigned role. He neither flaunted his power, boasted, nor cowered. He shone brighter in real combat than in training.
Whew!
Yukchil, who had sent two to the Yellow Springs with the Beggar Clan's ultimate technique Explosive Fist, stuck out his tongue at Taejin's emotionless precision in cutting down attackers.
'Like father, like son, but damn.'
The sight of severing life without a flicker of emotion felt utterly alien. Even enemies were human. Yet his sword path never wavered.
'Who could match him at that age?'
Only Cheol-ho came to mind. The later-generation disciples forced to compete with such monsters were pitiable.
'Damn, I've become a backroom old-timer.'
He was impressive now, but improving daily. Armed with venomous determination. And why not? Taejin and Cheol-ho's master was Mujin. How could they not grow under him?
Yikes!
This wasn't the time to daydream.
Assailants swarmed toward Yukchil. An oddity rippled through the onrushing crowd. Someone dangerous lurked, waiting for an opening.
'He's strong.'
Low sword enlightenment, but immense internal energy and fighting spirit. Especially the killing intent piercing his vitals was threatening. The disparity felt even greater. His enlightenment couldn't keep pace with his energy. Like a low-tier warrior who had gulped down massive spirit elixirs.
Zing!
He targeted the moment after Yukchil felled two. Darkness and torchlight flickered, blurring light and shadow.
Boom!
Barely blocking, Yukchil ignored the numbing jolt up his arm and eyed the foe.
"Flying Dragon Sword? Then you must be from the Five Saints Sect."
"You shouldn't have said that."
Haesa-seong, who had unleashed Flying Dragon Falling from the Flying Dragon Twelve Swords, bared his thick killing intent without hiding it. Now that his identity was exposed, he had to kill the man.
"Too bad, you've alerted the main house."
"Nonsense!"
"How else would they be so prepared?"
"I won't listen. Die!"
Yukchil smirked.
A side effect of that man's influence. He wasn't treating the opponent at full strength. Despite martial superiority, he even threw in psychological warfare.
The Flying Dragon Sword's tip dulled.
Yukchil's fist slipped through the gap, palm flaring open into dragon claws. A dragon circled the blade and soared, aiming for Haesa-seong's throat.
The Beggar Clan's ultimate technique: Dragon Shape Claw.
Whoosh!
Haesa-seong blocked with his left hand forming a sword seal, but Yukchil twisted, seizing the right elbow gripping the sword.
Crunch!
Grk!
Haesa-seong recoiled, groaning in pain.
He glared murderously at Yukchil. He never imagined he'd suffer like this. Even if a Beggar Clan disciple, only third-class at best—not even clan leader level. To so easily dismantle his swordplay and counterattack infuriated him.
Yukchil, having landed the strike, felt equally uneasy.
'Why the hell did it work!'
The fact that he owed gratitude to that man grated on him.
On the opposite side, Taejin faced a dire confrontation.
As he dispatched assailants with ease, a beam of eerie energy blade assaulted him. Even after blocking it, no respite came. Another blade pierced his senses.
Bang!
A metallic ring battered his eardrums, followed by thirty exchanges flashing like lightning.
Tsk.
Taejin took a short breath, regripped his sword, and ignited his battle spirit. He recognized the foe from before. Even masked, that temperament was unforgettable.
"The Five Saints Sect must be struggling these days, resorting to banditry."
"Where's your father, you brat! Stop hiding and come out!"
"You have no right to speak of my father."
"I'll kill you and make that bastard weep blood!"
"If you can, then do it. But if you can't, you can't."
At Taejin's poise, Hyeok Mu-sang's pupils turned crimson. The effect of maxing out Blood Chaos Art. The killing intent blazing from his body like flames constricted the soul.
Clang-clang-clang!
Hyeok Mu-sang unleashed his full power, pouring out the ultimate techniques of Flash Invincible Blade. Taejin met him head-on, seeking openings.
Countering was no easy feat.
Nam Cheon-jin sealed Hyeok Mu-sang's blind spot, deploying Dark Chaos Demon Blade.
Slash, pop!
Several dozen passes flew by in an instant. It seemed they'd overwhelm him any moment, but the impatient ones were Hyeok Mu-sang and Nam Cheon-jin.
'This damned whelp!'
'He's no ordinary brat!'
To reach peak realm at such a young age. Impressive now, but in the future, he might challenge for the world's best. Jealousy and envy surged like waves at Taejin's genius.
That was the moment.
Swish, whoosh!
Flesh parted, blood spraying. If Hyeok Mu-sang hadn't instinctively recoiled in that instant, his chest would have split open in a fatal wound. Nam Cheon-jin's follow-up attack had saved him—just barely.
"You dare... damn it!"
Taejin wielded swordsmanship, but his martial foundation came from his father. After learning sword arts from him, his acquisition of techniques accelerated.
Honestly, it was astonishing.
'Familiar. And visible.'
As exchanges repeated, Hyeok Mu-sang and Nam Cheon-jin's blade paths became clear. Gaps widened over time.
Slash!
Grk!
Hyeok Mu-sang and Nam Cheon-jin paled in shock.
After the wound, they poured out all their power to kill, yet he blocked as if waiting and counterattacked. Deeper than before. A bit more, and wrists would have flown.
"I'll kill you!"
"No mercy!"
Like wounded beasts, Hyeok Mu-sang and Nam Cheon-jin charged. Their relentless assaults never reached Taejin. Once the counter succeeded, he severed their momentum with even sharper precision.
Chill!
Rage cooled to ice, goosebumps rising across their bodies. Signature techniques blocked one after another, counters easily permitted. Their robes soaked in blood over time.
We're going to die.
Unthinkable terror rooted in Hyeok Mu-sang and Nam Cheon-jin's minds. Rage and jealousy subsided, fear taking hold.
'This can't happen!'
'Impossible!'
A name-brand master, maybe—but a kid not even thirty? Not just blocking their pincer, but dominating.
'Visible.'
Far from full mind's eye state. Senses reacting simultaneously, paths growing familiar. Following the Armed Combat derived from War King Battle Method.
Seizing the sense, Taejin pressed aggressively. The situation wasn't simple. Casualties mounted. To save even one more life, he needed to end the attackers quickly.
And the opening came.
Taejin aimed to finish with this attack.
Zing!
A storm-like savage aura pierced his senses. Taejin instantly altered his sword path.
Claaaaang!
Blocked.
But the impact was massive.
Taejin stepped back, calming his surging internal energy. Pure reflex had parried the ambush. He hadn't fully deflected the storm-piercing dark energy.
Grind!
Yi Taek-sang's face twisted savagely. His full power strike, yet the brat lived, battle spirit blazing.
"I'll kill you."
Even the Heavenly Fortune Fist's son irked him. Reluctant to admit, but a genius. Peerless talent and cold composure beyond his son's emotional control, stirring inferiority.
Yi Taek-sang, internal energy boosted by elixirs, maxed Storm World Chaos Art, cladding his blade in qi. Not perfect, but reaching super-peak.
And just as he moved to strike.
"Halt!"
Was this the roar of an absolute being overwhelming the field? It froze the battlefield into a lull.
"...Who are you?!"
Yi Taek-sang's eyes trembled, soul struck. He didn't know who, but the depth of power was otherworldly. Never dreamed a hidden master lurked in this backwater.
Step.
After the roar dominating the area came a mountain-like vast aura, stifling breath. Then appeared an elderly man with a heroic bearing, aura of prime suggesting middle age at a glance.
"...Sword Emperor!"
Oh no, slip-up!
Yi Taek-sang's quavering voice pierced all ears. He'd seen the Sword Emperor long ago. That mountain-like aura and presence etched deep in his soul.
Thud-thud-thud-thud!
With the Sword Emperor's arrival, Nangong Clan forces encircled the area. The sharply honed warriors' auras more than filled the field.
"...How is the Nangong Clan here?"
"It's a trap! This can't be!"
The Five Saints Sect warriors floundered in fear within the encirclement. Stronger than usual, but facing Nangong Clan was impossible—let alone with their giant, the Sword Emperor.
"Surrender if you want to live."
The sect warriors dared not defy the Sword Emperor's words. Refusal meant death.
"Grip your weapons! Think you'll survive by surrendering?!"
Yi Taek-sang rallied with killing intent, but it was futile. His command couldn't override the Sword Emperor.
Nangong Yeon-hwa approached Taejin and Yukchil.
"What about that guy?"
Taejin and Yukchil's eyes simultaneously lost focus. Seeing it, Nangong Yeon-hwa barely suppressed a torrent of curses.
'This damn guy, again!'