Chapter 175
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 175
Chapter Title: Anyone Dissatisfied? (1)
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The tournament itself lasted only a day, but the festivities stretched on for three. The Guo Family Manor opened their coffers wide, treating all the spectators who'd come to watch to meals and drinks. And they themselves reveled extravagantly too. It might seem excessive at first glance, but when you factored in the territories and businesses they'd gained from the So Family Manor, it was far from a loss.
In contrast, the So Family Manor had packed up and left right after the matches ended. They needed time to make at least minimal preparations. Facing the loss of everything they had, they'd bolted in a panic.
After all the merrymaking, it was time to get back to business. Play hard when you play, work straight when you work. That was the most basic principle of life.
"If you've got all your stuff packed, let's head out."
"Got it."
Guo Cheol-yong followed without a word. The crisis hanging over his clan had been resolved in the blink of an eye, like stir-frying beans under lightning. Kang Mujin was the one who'd orchestrated the entire process and outcome. Not just in martial prowess, but in mental acuity as well—he was extraordinary.
'Can we ever break free?'
Guo Cheol-yong shook his head. They could escape if they tried—Mujin wouldn't stand in their way, given his temperament. But coming back would be another story. He'd learned just how terrifying Mujin could be as an enemy through this tournament. He never wanted to make him one.
"Nothing beats the thrill of victory, right?"
"...Yeah."
The tournament stage, tents, and stalls had been left to the carpenters hired from the mainland battlefield. Three days of lavish spending—no expense spared, since they'd known they'd win. There was a different kind of pleasure in spending someone else's money. It was addictive; you just wanted to keep splashing it around.
"Let's go."
The road back to Guo Family Manor was mostly flat, but they had one mountain to cross before arriving. By the time they reached it, dusk was falling. This was a well-traveled path during the day, but come nightfall, it emptied out.
"I'm starving. Let's eat first."
The Guo Family Manor warriors unpacked and set up camp. They threw their prepared ingredients into a pot, boiling up soup and rice.
It was all for making a living. Unfortunately, there were no inns on the way back to Guo Family Manor—just open-road camping.
"Shall we have a drink too?"
"Sure."
They passed around bottles of liquor bought from a village on the way here—a brewery with ties to Guo Family Manor that they frequented.
After finishing their meal and drinks, they laid out bedding and drifted off to sleep.
Thrown into a position where defeat meant losing everything and suffering utter humiliation, he felt a profound sense of mortification unlike anything in his life.
"Too many stray thoughts. Focus on the objective."
"...I know."
The one who snapped So Uncheon out of his reverie hailed from the North Hebei Peng Family. Unknown to the wider world, but So Uncheon couldn't afford to underestimate him.
He possessed a strength beyond anything So Uncheon could aspire to. Cold and ruthless, he was the Peng Family's secret weapon—unscrupulous in methods when pursuing a goal.
'Damn it all!'
So Uncheon's lip was split, his cheek bruised red.
He'd lost the duel and then taken a slap to the face. In front of his son and elders, his head had snapped back, blood spraying. Yet he'd been forced to bow his head without resistance.
The shock and humiliation of that absurd defeat had kept him here. He couldn't rest in peace until he'd ended that bastard.
'Their time to laugh and chatter won't last much longer.'
Guo Family Manor was drunk on victory, their defenses lax.
They should've rushed back home, but instead threw a feast. They'd forgotten the unspoken rule of the jianghu: a match isn't over until the final punctuation.
'Dealing with these vermin is such a hassle.'
Peng Ho-san normally managed the Martial Terror Pavilion, but his true role was handling the Peng Family's dirty work. Even within the family, he was known anonymously as the Shameless One. He'd carried out every order without a single mistake.
Failure was unacceptable to him.
"Wipe out everyone except those with documents."
"Yes, sir."
What they were about to do broke a major jianghu taboo. If word got out that they'd refused to accept defeat and massacred a clan, they'd face the world's scorn.
Yet Peng Ho-san wasn't particularly worried. Suspicion might fall on North Hebei Peng Family if Guo Family Manor was wiped out so soon after their victory, but that was it.
'Suspicion is just suspicion.'
He preferred legitimate methods when possible, but he couldn't let the time and money invested in So Family Manor go to waste. Guo Family Manor should've known their place and backed off. In the jianghu, failing to know your limits shortened your lifespan.
'Blame your bad luck.'
The jianghu is merciless—lament your lack of power.
"Attack!"
At Peng Ho-san's command, thirty warriors sprang into formation, encircling flawlessly. Each moved with refined lightness skill, no excess motion.
'Heh, a prestigious clan's power knows no bounds.'
So Uncheon swallowed dryly at their movements. Not one was inferior to him—in fact, their aura and presence suggested they surpassed him.
Grinding his teeth, So Uncheon cleared his mind. He had to end the neck of the fool who'd overstepped without knowing his place. More than the duel loss, he couldn't forget the mockery from that damned bastard.
"They sleep so soundly, not even knowing death approaches!"
Before Guo Family Manor climbed the mountain, Peng Ho-san had slipped Manse Mountain—a potent sleeping drug—into the liquor vat at their last inn. One sip wouldn't show, but more plunged you into deep slumber unwittingly. At least they wouldn't feel the pain of death.
Just before butchering the encircled foes.
"Enemies! We've got enemies!"
A familiar voice boomed through the darkness, shattering the night's silence with raucous cries.
Tzazazak!
The quiet shattered. Guo Family Manor warriors shot up as if unfolding iron armor plates. Their eyes gleamed alertly—impossible for those roused from deep sleep. Moreover, their sleeping positions formed a perfect defensive formation against ambushes.
Huh!
Peng Ho-san, planning a hit-and-run ambush, grimaced at Guo Family Manor's battle formation. Unless he was an idiot, it was clear their strategy was exposed—or they'd anticipated the ambush.
'This is bad.'
Consecutive mistakes. The plan had been to end Guo Family Manor right after their victory. But they'd lost, and now the ambush was blown. Up close, the alcohol scent was faint. Manse Mountain would've thickened it. They'd only splashed it on the outside without drinking.
Sneer!
Mujin grinned at Peng Ho-san.
"Didn't expect this from North Hebei Peng Family. Refusing to accept defeat and going for clan extermination? That's straight-up unorthodox sect behavior. If the world finds out, it'll be a shitstorm, don't you think?"
"You're no ordinary fool. Sharp mind, seizing the situation. You orchestrated all this, didn't you?"
"You got it. Pretty slick, huh?"
"Impressive. Tempting enough to recruit. How about it? Care to work for the main house? I'll spare you."
At Peng Ho-san's offer, So Uncheon behind him shook his head vehemently. The whole point of being here was to end that bastard. Teaming up with scum like him? Unthinkable.
"My counteroffer: back off now. No harm done."
"I thought you had a sharp grasp, but you're just a clueless idiot who doesn't know his place."
"Keep barking that crap while changing formations, and it kills any credibility."
"You'd better hope Guo Family Manor comes out unscathed."
"...What? You sent men to Guo Family Manor?"
Mujin's panicked voice was priceless. The smug ease flipped in an instant.
His emotions swung from one extreme to the other.
Guo Family Manor was a hollow shell right now. Peng Ho-san striking here while So Family Manor hit their home—a pincer to minimize resistance.
"Hand over the contract and surrender peacefully. I'll consider sparing your lives."
"You heaven-defying scum. Don't you know jianghu etiquette?"
"Jianghu etiquette is power."
Mujin let out a deep sigh.
He pulled a document from his bosom. Peng Ho-san smirked triumphantly at the inter-clan contract. If it'd been hidden or held elsewhere, trouble. But carrying it like an idiot? All that smart talk, yet blind to the obvious.
Thud, thud!
Drained of strength, Mujin approached with head bowed. At point-blank range, he looked up.
Perfect distance.
Die.
"On second thought... Huh?"
"You're right."
Power is justice.
Chill!
Peng Ho-san sensed it. Those weren't the eyes of surrender. They were a predator's gaze, ignorant of defeat itself. Icy dread surged from his toes to his brain.
Escape!
But he couldn't move.
"Told you not to meet my eyes carelessly."
Grk!
That mere instant felt eternal to Peng Ho-san. Though Mujin approached slowly, he was frozen like a statue—no resistance. Mujin slow, but he was slower still.
'...Not like this!'
Soul-Piercing Demonic Eye
Target immobilized. Space control engaged.
Shrieeek!
Peng Ho-san's final scream.
Mujin, dominating space, gave no quarter. Combining with Soul-Piercing Demonic Eye to bind Peng Ho-san's body, he unleashed Formless Fist without hesitation.
Foosh!
The horrific fist power merged with wind pressure, unleashing unprecedented force. The sight that emerged froze everyone in place. Peng Ho-san, the Peng Family's secret weapon—his upper body vanished without trace, legs crumpling lifelessly.
Crackle!
As the storm passed and silence fell, even small sounds boomed like thunder. Shock had left them all dumbfounded.
It happened in a flash.
This rattled even Peng Ho-san's Paeryong Squad. They operated by numbers, identities concealed. To them, Peng Ho-san was special—the master of Paeryong True Illustrious Sword, said to be battle-proven. His skill rivaled the family's prized Kunlun and Hunyuan arts.
Yet taken down in one strike, even if ambushed!
Specialized in combat, they still plunged into panic. But their foe was the Demon King of battle—you couldn't space out against him.
"What a bunch of blockheads."
Mujin charged the nearest, crushing heels and uppercutting jaws of the falling.
Crack!