Chapter 61
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 61
Chapter Title: See? (5)
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Thwack!
However, expectations always breed disappointment.
The Sword Emperor's face snapped to the side with a smack!
Mujin didn't give the Sword Emperor any chance to reveal his true power. From the moment he'd deliberately unleashed his fist wind targeting Nangong Je, he'd drawn out exactly the reaction he'd intended.
The Sword Emperor had instinctively moved to shield his son. That meant he'd be the first to sense any threat to Nangong Je.
-What if not?
'I didn't think that far.'
-You have to follow through! Do you even have a brain or not?
'It worked out just fine.'
Mujin's combat instincts and senses had reached a transcendent level. He might seem to be winging it, but in battle, he was always spot-on. They said he had a knack for it, and in a way, that was true.
"Face, side, balls."
Mujin unleashed brutally efficient strikes tailored for a Sword Emperor who had no worries about carrying on his line. The Nangong family already had heirs aplenty—enough that dying alone wouldn't be an issue, but it created plenty of other problems. To cut off the root of all that trouble, castration was practically essential.
Thud, thud, thud!
It was a one-sided beatdown from Mujin.
The Sword Emperor couldn't react at all, as if Mujin were pressing the blows right up against his face, side, and groin.
Every hit landed clean.
He didn't even look like the Sword Emperor anymore—more like a wooden puppet. His sword traced arcs through the air, but they sliced nothing but empty space. The follow-up fist blasts turned his face into a bloody mess.
Drip, drip!
Blood poured from the gashes, his disheveled hair whipping around messily. His knee buckled under a stomp, his back arched, and an elbow strike delivered a mortal blow.
Thwack!
Crash!
The Sword Emperor tumbled across the ground in an undignified roll, a sight so alien it was hard to reconcile with the man who'd always stood unyielding no matter the crisis.
Thud, guk!
Mujin didn't let the Sword Emperor get back up. He pressed his advantage relentlessly, shattering the man's dignity. The more he struggled to rise, the more pathetic it looked.
Thud, thud, thud!
Now it was pure, unadulterated pummeling. No need to dodge anymore. Without his sword, the Sword Emperor was no match for Mujin. He instinctively guarded his body, but couldn't fully evade.
Grip!
Grabbing a fistful of hair, Mujin hoisted the Sword Emperor up and smashed a fist into his face.
Boom!
Crash!
The impact to his temple overwhelmed him, and he blacked out. He went limp like a squid splayed out flat, all vitality drained.
Whoosh!
With the Sword Emperor finished, Mujin turned away.
Stunned silence.
The faces of those facing him were etched with shock—like they wondered if they were dreaming. They were supposed to be locked in a deadly swordfight, yet here they were, distracted.
Whatever.
Swoosh!
Mujin charged straight in.
They could afford to look away if they wanted, but Mujin wasn't about to let the opportunity slip. He wove through their formation with footwork that pierced space itself, smashing his fist into the unguarded face of the nearest fool.
Crack!
Clang!
Father and son both—maybe that was why it felt so satisfying to hit. Either way, once you seized the initiative, you never let up. You hammered away without mercy. If they died midway, that was fate. But giving them time to flee? No thanks.
Gurk!
Nangong Je's face suddenly flushed crimson from the unexpected blows. His nose shattered, choking his breath. Before he could recover, fists slammed into his chest, side, and groin again.
Thwack!
Hweee!
Sorry you couldn't share the pain, but what could be done? It was just too easy a target, completely undefended. Naïve assumptions like "he won't hit there" only got corrected through bitter experience. Whether there'd be a next time? Mujin wouldn't worry about it.
Thud!
Drained of strength, Nangong Je face-planted like a felled tree. He clutched pathetically at his crotch, but it was pointless.
Gasp!
To the dazed survivors, Mujin gifted invisible fists. To him, they were casual strikes, but to the recipients, they were half-death sentences. Four out of seven exploded into mist.
Swish!
Mujin turned to Nangong Yeonhwa.
"Keep your promise."
Nod!
Nangong Yeonhwa nodded frantically on instinct. And she thought to herself: surviving after mouthing off to that guy proved she had some skill.
Who'd believe this if she told them? She'd be branded the world's biggest liar. He'd unilaterally thrashed the Sword Emperor into the dirt. She doubted anyone on the continent could pull that off.
'Even so...'
This was too much, humanly speaking.
He could've ended it this easily all along—why wait? The ease left her hollow. What was the point of fierce battles, injuries, and deaths?
"What are you standing around for? Time to expose the mastermind."
Mujin snapped the helpless, minds-wandering fools back to reality. How did idiots like these survive the brutal jianghu? Geez, tsk tsk.
Finally grounded, the Sword Tyrant and Ascension Squad moved to subdue the unconscious Nangong Je.
"Raising kids like that is pointless anyway."
"...Ah!"
Their eyes fell on the crumpled old man—no, the Sword Emperor. The absurdity had left everyone reeling. Even the unflappable Sword Tyrant couldn't think straight. It was an unprecedented shock in his life.
Shudder!
Black energy erupted explosively from Nangong Je's body as he clutched his groin in a daze. His flesh began to swell in response.
-Black Ghost.
'I know.'
Mixing dark qi with the poison type called Black Bone turned the user into a Black Ghost via reaction with demonic energy. When facing the Demonic Cult of the Demon God early on, the Black Ghosts had inflicted heavy casualties. Allies turned foes, tearing into comrades—it was chaos.
"First things first."
Mujin swiftly unleashed fist winds, shattering the three mutating figures. They were weakest right before full transformation. Once complete, their bodies hardened tougher than steel. Neutralize them early, and it was easy.
Boom, boom!
A mercy for the Nangong family, who struggled even against one.
They flinched at Mujin's sudden invisible fists, but Nangong Je's changing form demanded their full attention.
Black Ghosts grew half again their size, skin turning pitch-black like demons. And it wasn't just physical—their power at least doubled.
'Should buy some time before they fully suppress him.'
"The Black Bone reacted?"
There should have been chaos by now, like poking a hornet's nest. Yet the Nangong estate remained eerily quiet. No signs of disturbance.
And the Black Bone had reacted.
The poison variant known as Black Bone sent a signal when its host faced mortal danger. When its yang and yin components synchronized, it forced transformation into a Black Ghost for survival.
He'd known something was wrong because his own yin component had reacted violently.
"Did it fail?"
With the Sword Emperor under his control, failure hadn't crossed his mind. He'd brought backup just in case, but never dreamed he'd enter the fray himself.
"Useless fool."
After losing an arm and wandering aimlessly, he'd passed on his supreme left-hand sword style and boosted the fool's qi. Yet he couldn't handle even this simple task. Defective goods weren't worth salvaging.
"No choice. Change of plans."
The warriors of the Five Great Families had to die tonight. Only then would the families fracture, losing any chance to unite.
The Nangong family was the linchpin of the Five Great Families. The other houses wouldn't welcome upsetting the long-established balance.
As a precaution, he'd told Nangong Je to set up a secret passage.
Now it was a race against time.
Even if Nangong Je had failed, the reacting yin meant he'd become a Black Ghost. Even the Nangong family wouldn't subdue him in one go.
Chill!
A sudden shiver ran through him like ice water. Instinct screamed a dire warning.
"Everyone, fall b...!"
The words barely left his mouth.
Shuuu, kwaaaaang!
A terrifying blast of qi shot out, shaking the earth and forming a mushroom cloud in the sky. Ripples of energy tore space apart in all directions.
Whoosh!
Amid the thickening dust of darkness, red blood sizzled in the heat, spreading a foul stench.
A ten-zhang radius lay in ruins.
"...What in the world?"
He too had been hurled back by the shock, barely rising by propping himself on the ground.
His injuries were severe.
'...An expert.'
Beyond imagination.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have been brushed aside so effortlessly. He'd never dreamed a top-tier master would ambush under cover of night. The higher the realm, the more they disdained sneak attacks.
He had to identify the foe. A powerhouse like this wouldn't be unknown.
Thud, spurt!
Screams erupted from the dust-shrouded darkness. The boundary between life and death vanished, the area turning into a killing field. Soon the dust settled, leaving only pure night.
Silence fell.
Gasp!
Too stunned to speak.
A lone figure stood in the shadows. He looked serene, like he'd just returned from a leisurely afternoon stroll—untouched by the recent slaughter.
Step, step!
He approached slowly.
Swish!
He tried to act swiftly, but the foe smirked as if he'd anticipated it. Proof: the intruding qi disrupted his meridians. That explained the leisurely pace—he'd been neutralized from the start.
"We're both in the know, so no sloppy moves."
Mujin, who'd faced demonic cults countless times, left no openings. Whether it was perfect? That was another matter.
"...Who the hell are you?"
"Let's see how much you know."
Mujin had slightly altered his face. These guys excelled at weird sorcery—better not let them see it. He warped space with darkness and qi.
"...I know nothing!"
"I know. A small fry like you wouldn't have key intel."
"No torture will make me talk... guk!"
"Black Death Squad, huh."
He activated the Demon King's Soul-Piercing Demonic Eye. Through the man's eyes, he seized his soul. He hadn't expected it to fully work, but it yielded basic info. As before, they had seals—cross a line, and they auto-triggered collapse.
Graaaah!
Go ahead, scream.
It was a stroke of luck.
People had a right to quiet nights. The Black Death Ten's agonized wails from the soul invasion echoed in the dark but didn't carry far. Soul pain transcended human limits, dwarfing bodily torment.
The backlash shriveled the Black Ghost like a century-old prune. Grotesque, but Mujin paid it no mind.
'Man, this organization's loyalty is a pain. Why's the intel always so fragmented?'
-Easy living bites you in the ass eventually.
'Where's the harm in taking the easy road?'
-If the world were that simple, you and I never would've come back.
Still, it wasn't a total loss. Knowing their patterns meant minimizing damage with countermeasures.
Assuming they listened, of course. If they went rogue? Their funeral. No need to babysit. Life was subjective, after all.
'Now, shall we settle the accounts?'