Chapter 75
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 75
Chapter Title: Triumphant Return (5)
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Hyeok Musang looked around his surroundings.
"If it really doesn't work out."
There were hardly any people nearby.
A red glint flickered momentarily in Hyeok Musang's eyes. And it would be a lie to say the gold didn't tempt him. With that much silver, he could live leisurely for the rest of his life.
They formed hand seals with each other and divided it up.
Mujin stood facing Yi Gi-ho at an appropriate distance. Yi Gi-ho glared at him with eyes blazing in fury. The killing intent to cut him down on the spot was palpable.
"It's bare-handed, so don't tell me to draw my weapon."
"Your pretentious act ends here."
"I'm not underestimating you, so no need to worry."
"I'll slice off that mouth of yours first!"
Yi Gi-ho unleashed the Storm Force of the Storm Blade Technique, the signature ultimate technique of the Five Saints Sect.
Yi Gi-ho's swordsmanship, which spewed forth sword energy, was quite solid. He had patched up many immature aspects through his warrior training. It was a respectable level even in actual combat.
Swaaaa!
Fierce sword energy whipped up savage winds that bore down on Mujin. From the outset, it was an all-out assault meant to leave no openings.
Swish!
Normally, one would fall back and prepare a defense.
Yi Gi-ho had always charged in like a storm god against retreating foes to seize the momentum.
But this time, his opponent plunged right in.
"Foolish."
The center of the sword energy was no weak eye of a typhoon. Yi Gi-ho adjusted the blade's power to track Mujin's path.
Boom boom boom!
The thrust fist collided fiercely with the sword energy. As shockwaves rippled out from the violent explosions, Yi Gi-ho's face drained of color.
"...How?"
"No big deal."
It looked like the same attack, but in truth, they were worlds apart.
Mujin hadn't blocked Yi Gi-ho's sword energy head-on. Instead, he'd angled in from a blind spot to counter it. Even with equal power, the difference in superiority was stark.
Crack!
To Yi Gi-ho, it must have seemed like a whole new world had opened up. The Storm Force was merely the introductory form of the Storm Blade Technique, yet it was the fastest. He knew full well how insanely difficult it was to precisely parry sword energy-laden strikes at exact points.
The full counterforce rebounded straight back, slamming into his body.
Urk!
Move!
His body locked up for an instant. Yi Gi-ho poured everything into circulating the Storm Chaos World Art at full power, desperately trying to loosen his seized muscles.
"Gotta make it feel like real combat."
Mujin gave him no time to recover.
Quick and decisive.
He drove his fist forward.
Thud!
Yi Gi-ho, struck in the Dangmun acupoint, nearly had his breath cut off! It was a fatal point where instant death wouldn't have been surprising. He managed to catch his breath, but the qi reversal threw his heart method into chaos.
Thud!
With his qi circulation disrupted and flowing backward, Yi Gi-ho's legs buckled, and he crumpled to the ground. He barely avoided passing out but lost his wits entirely. This was the most pathetic defeat of his entire warrior training. His pride refused to accept it.
"It's not over like... guk!"
After chopping the back of Yi Gi-ho's neck to knock him out cold, Mujin turned around.
Clang clang clang!
Hyeok Musang went after Cheol-ho and Taejin.
"These damn brats!"
They might have won the Little Dragon Tournament, but he'd never dreamed they could fend off the Flash Invincible Sword Technique. He'd moved to prepare for the worst-case scenario, yet instead of overpowering them, it had turned into a stalemate.
"Insolent whelps!"
As Taejin and Cheol-ho blocked his strikes with spirited vigor, Hyeok Musang's pride stung. He prepared to unleash his ultimate technique, Blood Light Scatter Kill.
"You bastard, you don't even value your own life, do you?"
He froze.
Hyeok Musang's sword halted mid-advance and snapped back to its sheath. Mujin was grinding his foot down on Yi Gi-ho's neck. Anyone could see that any nonsense would snap the vice sect leader's neck like a twig.
Damn it!
The timing had gone all wrong. If he'd just held out until Yi Gi-ho subdued the kids...
"Shit."
To be taken down so easily—Hyeok Musang shook with rage. From the start, Yi Gi-ho had never been a match for the guy. In the end, he'd walked right into the trap on his own two feet.
"Do you want to become blood enemies with our main sect?!"
"Then make the smart choice."
A guy who'd tried to grab hostages mid-duel sure had a mouth on him. And scum like this specialized in shamelessly flipping the blame. No guilt whatsoever for their own deeds.
"You think the Pine Tiger Sect will survive pulling this stunt?!"
"It will. The Five Saints Sect isn't stronger than the Hwangbo Clan. And there's the Nangong Clan too."
He pulled out the Soaring Heaven Token the Nangong Clan had given him. The token symbolized deep ties to the Nangong Clan.
Hyeok Musang's face turned ashen black at the sight of the splendid winged emblem representing the Nangong Clan. It radiated an extraordinary presence at a glance.
"You were targeting us from the beginning!"
"Targeting the Five Saints Sect? You pulled tricks on the road, so I humored you."
As if the Five Saints Sect was anything special.
Pride in one's own sect was fine and all, but he wasn't buying the hype.
Hyeok Musang couldn't just swallow this. The sect leader's reaction upon learning the truth was all too predictable.
"Even so, this is going too far!"
"If you don't deliver by the deadline, the letter goes straight to the Hwangbo and Nangong Clans."
Hyeok Musang trembled, grinding his teeth.
It was obviously that bastard's scheme, but there was no way to prove it. Even if he tried, the process coming to light would bring nothing but shame. With hand seals already exchanged, voiding the bet wouldn't be easy either.
"Your choice."
"You'll regret this day for sure!"
"Oh, and you know you have to deliver it safely to the main sect, right? Plenty of folks cut corners along the way."
"I'll deliver it personally."
Hyeok Musang spat venomous intent, grinding his teeth to dust, but it bounced right off Mujin.
"Better to cut out the trash early."
It was a rock-solid investment—too juicy to keep all to himself. Plus, something smelled off. It seemed like they had connections on one side or the other, peddling meds from the middle. The Jeongun Merchant Group must have sniffed it out and drawn a line.
"Wanna give it a shot?"
Hyeok Musang hesitated, then sheathed his sword after scooping up the unconscious Yi Gi-ho. For a brief moment, his spirit had faltered. It wasn't carelessness—he'd read their intentions clean. No one could stay that composed otherwise.
"Today's debt will be repaid double someday."
Hyeok Musang slung Yi Gi-ho over his shoulder and withdrew from the scene.
It came as a surprise to Taejin and Cheol-ho. Normally, pests like that would get a one-way ticket to the afterlife. Letting them live and leave was mercy from another realm.
"He didn't kill them?"
"Looked like a total massacre incoming."
After finishing his grueling morning training, he washed away the sweat soaked into his clothes with water.
The sun had climbed to midheaven, bathing the sect in light. It was a brilliantly clear day, rare as of late.
"Today's so clear and... Huh?"
No sooner had he called it clear and sunny than thick, gloom-laden clouds came rolling in.
The heavy clouds brimmed with thunder and lightning.
More unease than refreshment washed over him. It felt like his peaceful routine was about to go up in flames.
"No way?"
He hastily straightened his robes and hurried to the main gate. A sharp warning rang in his mind: late means danger. He'd felt off since morning, like a heart demon had crept in. He'd tried shaking it with training, but the discomfort lingered.
Stepping out the gate made it certain.
The thick dark clouds were bearing down on the sect.
I have arrived.
Boom!
Kang Muho's heart thumped hard. The familiar reaction told him: it's here—brace yourself. Life had been enjoyable with the delay longer than expected.
Now the good times were over.
He wasn't worried.
Blood brother or not, that man's strength far transcended mortal limits, ascending to the Super Transcendent Infinite Extreme Realm that drove everyone around him insane.
What was the Super Transcendent Infinite Extreme Realm?
What else? Not human!
How strong did someone have to be before you stopped calling them human? You couldn't toy with peak experts like that. Getting treated worse than the grime under his toenails—how humiliating was that!
Poor, pitiful life.
But he couldn't let it show. It was a secret between brothers. The guy never upheld it himself but had no qualms threatening merciless reprisal if it leaked.
What's the point of getting strong!
Not even worth a single punch.
The Pine Tiger Sect's history boasted no peak experts. His brother wasn't human, so he didn't count as a warrior. Still, Muho took pride in being the strongest human warrior in the sect.
The problem was his monster of a brother treating peak realm like dog chow acorns. The constant disrespect made peak realm feel like no big deal.
"He's here."
He wished he wouldn't come.
Mind at ease, maybe. But he had to. For his sister-in-law and Mijoo at least.
Far off, a carriage approached the sect leisurely, dark clouds at its back.
A storm was inbound.
Natural disaster.
Rumble, craaaash!
Dry lightning crashed down in a dazzling display. It struck like that yet somehow always missed.
Even if it hit, the guy inside wouldn't die.
"Where'd he snag that carriage from?"
The brother who'd ridden off on horseback was returning in a luxury carriage. Come to think of it, the guy was loaded. He whipped up sums from lumber that no honest trade could match.
Mujin was driving the carriage himself.
Clip-clop, clip-clop!
High chance he'd swapped right before arrival. Taejin must have slaved away amid tournament prep.
"Good times are gone."
He told gate guard Ki-cheol to spread the word inside. The tournament results had arrived days ago. The sect was prepping a grand welcome.
"Winning was a given."
The nephew had to win. Fail, and life under his brother's palm would be hell.
Sounded boastful, but pitting the kid's power against peers was absurd to begin with.
Kang Muho waved at his brother.
With a bright, heartfelt smile.
He knew his brother's stingy mercy all too well. Botch the expression control, and it'd haunt him forever. He poured his final words into his voice.
"Why'd you take so damn long? You know how long I waited?!"
A desperate struggle for survival that could tug heartstrings, yet Mujin was utterly unimpressed. He scanned Muho from head to toe with a sour look.
"Couldn't break through, huh."
"Walls don't crumble overnight!"
"And?"
"I gave it my all!"
"Ah~! You gave it your all, did you."
Not reaching the Flower Realm at his age wasn't a crime.
Rage boiled up to his throat, but Muho endured with deep patience. A beating was coming regardless. Docility meant less emotion behind the blows. Get emotional, and his limbs would ache every rainy day.
How the hell did he hit that nothing recovered from!
Rumble!
Commotion erupted from inside.
His father led the clan's elders and warriors in a rush outward.
Mujin raised a hand in welcome.
As if he'd done something world-shaking.
Sheesh.
Swaaang!
No tearful reunion with Father. In that instant, he felt his body projecting outward from the Formless Demon Art at its peak.
"Well done! My grandson!"
"Just what I had to do, and I'm still far from ready, Grandpa!"
"Our eldest grandson is humble too."
"You've worked hard too, Father."
Omitting Father was risky. For a peaceful life, Taejin stayed vigilant.
"Sulky fits are the worst."
All marveled at Taejin's calm demeanor. It came off like supreme confidence that this was only natural. And he'd backed it up—not with words, but by winning the Little Dragon Tournament.
A bit miffed, sure. But to Mujin, it was the perfect triumphant return. With his wife and Mijoo holding his hands on either side.
"Darling."
"Daddy."
Life's worth living today.
Mijoo's a good kid—gotta sleep early, wake late.
Darling, I'm a goner today!