Chapter 160
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 160
Chapter Title: Take a Break? (2)
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"Why aren't you saying anything?"
"You're asking quick. Should I tell you to go back now?"
"I figured you'd tell me not to follow."
"The choice is yours."
Namgung Yeonhwa had followed Mujin without any prior discussion. She naturally assumed he'd tell her to turn back, but Mujin said nothing.
That's why it felt so strange that she had to ask.
"I won't hold you back."
"Anyone would think we're heading into a fight. Didn't I tell you? I'm a pacifist."
"Bullshit."
"Hey, you wanna get hit?"
A guy who throws punches first whenever things don't go his way calling himself a pacifist? Not even a stray dog would buy that.
—As expected, sharp instincts.
'Shut up.'
—I've told you countless times, you're a walking disaster.
'I said shut it.'
They were on their way to formally discuss his son's marriage prospects. His father's decision to send a matchmaker en route was suspicious, but Mujin leaned toward the possibility that his younger brother had pulled some strings.
Still, it was a scheduled matter.
The plan was to head to the Huangbo family after finishing business in Anhui Province. Otherwise, he wouldn't have brought Taejin along.
"If you're going to disguise yourself as a man, why not cut your hair too?"
"Are you insane?!"
Even in male disguise, Namgung Yeonhwa's beauty wasn't fully concealed. If anything, it highlighted an androgynous charm. Women with keen eyes might swarm her.
In any case, it was Mujin's consideration to spare her the hassle. Sure, "body, hair, skin—all gifts from one's parents," but avoiding trouble was better.
"I'll refine your weaknesses on the way. Be grateful."
"...No thanks!"
"Want a light beating or a heavy one before we go? Choose."
"That's not a choice!"
Mujin smirked.
Namgung Yeonhwa's reactions were far more entertaining than the others'. Every time she snapped, it sparked a noble urge to polish her martial arts. Normally, he'd ignore it as a hassle, but she had a knack for making him want to interfere.
In short, she had the face of someone who invited the rod.
"Time to pick up the pace for real."
Namgung Yeonhwa tilted her head.
They'd already moved at a brisk speed. What would take an ordinary person five days, they'd covered in three.
'I thought we were taking it easy.'
'Never let your guard down.'
Unlike the puzzled Namgung Yeonhwa, Taejin and Yukchil steeled themselves. They'd come remarkably comfortably so far. But now, things would change. Without resolve, it could turn dangerous.
"Let's go."
While Namgung Yeonhwa remained confused, Taejin and Yukchil shot forward at the signal.
She couldn't just stand there like an idiot either.
"What the... Kyaaak!"
Wondering why they suddenly bolted, Namgung Yeonhwa gasped at the overwhelming aura crashing from behind. In that instant, her body sensed the danger and surged ahead.
Boom boom boom boom!
Deploying her family's lightness skill, Heavenly Wind Divine Method, she propelled herself forward.
Namgung Yeonhwa glanced back and swallowed dryly. Where she'd stood was gone, replaced by a deep crater impossible to gauge.
"...Formless Dark Wave Fist!"
Whoosh whoosh!
She had no time to speak—every second counted to push further ahead. The desperation etched on Yukchil and Taejin's backs as they raced ahead, lives on the line, said it all.
Only then did Namgung Yeonhwa grasp the gravity. Dismissing it as a joke would leave her in pieces.
'Still, this sudden?'
It felt out of nowhere. Mujin had been so docile until now, then suddenly unleashed madness. Hard to comprehend.
"You've come easy so far. Middling, though."
Mujin's mutter.
That's when Namgung Yeonhwa realized why he'd stayed silent. Huaxian was on the Anhui-Jiangsu border. Too far to turn back casually. If they were retreating now, they shouldn't have come at all.
'Damn it, you bastard!'
She'd fallen completely for Mujin's scheme. Rage boiled, but no time to look back. Formless fists packed with dark energy pursued her by a hair's breadth. No room for even slight lapse—this was merciless pounding.
"...A mountain?!"
And not just any path, but a steep, untraveled route. Why there, of all places?
Taejin and Yukchil climbed, and climbed again.
Screeech!
As if they'd reach the summit by sheer ascent, Taejin and Yukchil kept their speed unrelenting.
Boom boom boom boom!
And for good reason—not just formless fists flew. Sharp crescent formless ki blades dictated the path. Deviate from Mujin's route, and they'd be bisected.
Thud, thud!
No room for complacency like "He wouldn't kill us, right?" A grazing crescent ki sliced a thirty-zhang dark rock clean in half with a schling! Vertically sheared, smooth as a bronze mirror.
'...This psycho!'
Ki fragments grazed her skin. A direct hit, and Namgung Yeonhwa wouldn't survive.
She was piecing it together.
Why Taejin from the Little Dragon Tournament differed now. He'd undergone this insane training as routine.
A hellish sprint flashing life's lantern between birth and death.
Dada dada da!
As Taejin and Yukchil ran for their lives, Namgung Yeonhwa chased behind.
The unexpected formation irked Mujin.
Namgung Yeonhwa should have overtaken them by now. For one later called the region's hegemon, it was expected. Wasting her talent was unacceptable.
"Slow."
"What are you... Hngh!"
Don't!
Sudden immense pressure nearly sucked her in and crushed her. Had she not squeezed every ounce of qi to surpass her limits, disaster.
Proving it:
Kwaaaang!
A massive footprint dug three zhang into the ground, barely missing. A split-second slower, and she'd be a stomped, guts-exploded frog.
"...Heavenly Demon Supremacy?"
"Nothing that fancy. Just walking."
He was strolling casually. Yet its power rivaled Heavenly Demon Supremacy. Like a typhoon through a pinhole, sucking in surroundings before unleashing—the founding Heavenly Demon's ultimate technique, reached by him alone, they said.
Mujin executed it nonchalantly. To live, squeeze speed to the limit.
Eh?
Summit reached.
But no path ahead.
"Wait, that's a cliff... Heuk!"
Yukchil and Taejin charged straight for it. Thinking them suicidal mid-sprint, Namgung Yeonhwa moved to stop them—then gasped. They leaped without hesitation.
"What're you waiting for? Go."
"Go where?"
"You know."
"You mad... Kyaaak!"
Shoved by terrifying pressure, Namgung Yeonhwa tumbled off the cliff. To survive, cling and deploy wall-climbing skill. Dragon-scroll winds whipped from below. Without ape-like reflexes, peril.
'...How are they so fast?!'
Descending the cliff like flat ground, she inwardly marveled at Yukchil and Taejin's speed. Pure skill-wise, she thought herself superior—yet here they were.
"Not the time to space out."
Mujin's voice rang like a low monk's chant in her ear. Right beside her.
Sure enough, flawlessly as predicted, Mujin descended with Heavenly Soaring Step.
"This should speed things up."
"...No way?"
"It's fine. They've all been through it."
"You bastard, you planned this!"
"You were bored at the clan, right? Better than being bored."
Mujin injected vitality into their dull cliff descent by shattering a section, triggering a landslide.
Rain or wind would cause it anyway—treat as natural disaster, descend carefree.
Kyaaa!
Kyaaaaa~!
Kyaaaaaa~!
Namgung Yeonhwa unleashed unhitherto high notes in triple octave. Singing like this, none could match.
Rumble, kwaaaang!
This isn't training!
Desperate thrashing for survival.
Facing a lifetime-first calamity, Namgung Yeonhwa unleashed fearsome survival instincts. Fleeting fear of being buried alive, but she endured.
Feet on ground, relief flooded.
"Take a break?"
Training wasn't over.
Only Mujin's word ended it. Until then, no. Taejin and Yukchil knew this well—they were already advancing.
"Damn it!"
Kwaaaang!
Mujin's stomping true step made mountains wail. Fissures chased Namgung Yeonhwa, warning capture meant death—fuel for growth.
Sweeee!
Why is this happening!
Unbelievable speed for Namgung Yeonhwa. Qi drained, stamina low, yet survival flailing wrought miracles. Finally, she overtook Taejin and Yukchil.
Zing!
Sudden crescent ki blocked the overtaking Namgung Yeonhwa.
"Why?"
"Wrong way. You directionally challenged too?"
Yukchil and Taejin veered right.
Drunk on victory, Namgung Yeonhwa went straight. Mujin corrected her promptly.
"Damn it!"
Namgung Yeonhwa turned, chasing Yukchil and Taejin. Burning will to catch them this time.
'Wait, you too?'
What now?
Feels like blindly charging without direction? Doubts piled, but Namgung Yeonhwa knew better than to quibble. Lag even slightly, Mujin wouldn't spare her.
—Direction-blindness is incurable or contagious.
'Getting familiar now.'
—Left.
'Got it.'
—Straight.
'You bastard!'
—Not telling.
'Why pull this now? We've been good.'
Directions were tricky, ever elusive. Paths blurred into sameness—bewildering east, west, south, north.
If even the Demon King were direction-blind, it'd be comical. But Mujin had reasons. Who knows every inch of this vast continent? Weirder if someone did.
No signs either.
Snikt!
The more venom filled Namgung Yeonhwa's eyes, the more satisfied Mujin's smile. Gradually, the hegemon of old emerged. The ruthless glare that could slay men.
Back then, she was a spinster.
Touch her wrong, and fireworks. Maybe celibacy forged strength.
Sweeee!
Namgung Yeonhwa gritted teeth and shot forward.
Chill!
Yukchil and Taejin shuddered at the hair-raising vibe from behind. Too scared to look. A peek showed some madwoman hot on their tails.
Far from the Namgung Yeonhwa they knew.
'No!'
Here, Yukchil was in most danger—not Taejin. Last place had its price. No desire for post-training torture.
'Sorry.'
Think of it as early exposure to harsh jianghu.
Yukchil justified it for Taejin's sake and subtly extended a leg.
Swish!
Natural, exquisite.
Whoosh!
Nothing caught on Yukchil's leg. Unbelievably, in that desperate moment, Taejin dodged.
Yukchil's missed trip tangled his own legs.
Damn!
Thud thud thud tumble!
Dust in eyes that instant, tangled-legged Yukchil tumbled. Rolled hard, ended staring skyward.
Gwek!
Full-speed Namgung Yeonhwa trampled prone Yukchil for bounce.
Gasp!
Yukchil lacked strength to rise. Mere survival instinct kicked in.
Kwaang!
Mujin ignored petty squabbles. Running wasn't purely frontal assault. But he wouldn't tolerate self-sabotage like falling for one's own trick.
"...Mercy!"
"If you're gonna cheat, do it right."
Lessons varied sharply. Tricks or deceptions, Mujin didn't discriminate. Victory's world was ruthless. Fight only by rules? Stay out of the world.
'Grown a lot.'
Mujin smiled satisfied at Taejin's growth.
Son waited for Yukchil's ploy, then scattered hidden salt into the wind. Salt in eyes unbalanced Yukchil, sending him crashing.
—Not bad, flexible now. Won't fall to blind blades.
'Grown well, my boy.'
—My disciple.
'Fine, our son. Happy?'
—Hmph.
If life hung in balance, even more so.
Knights stake lives for honor, but if his son did, Mujin wouldn't stand for it. Better roll in shit than die. Survive to the end.
That's filial piety.
Die first, and he'd chase to hell's end to drag back.
That's parental love.