Chapter 198
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 198
Chapter Title: Manchu Slum's Father-in-Law and Son-in-Law (3)
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It was a terribly regrettable affair for the Gale Wind Riders.
By the time Geum Sihyeon crossed the Gobi Desert and reached the Manchurian plains, he had completely mastered the art of screwing over mounted foes.
Of course, it wasn't some trick just anyone could pull off.
Only.
The master of the golden steed—or sometimes the steed itself—Geum Sihyeon alone could manage such a feat.
"Hiiing, hihihiiing—!"
Moyong Danha, charging ahead at the front, merely thought to herself upon hearing the sound: That bastard's finally lost it, mimicking a horse's neigh now.
Even if the fodder laced with narcotics had blinded them to battle.
- Hey! What fight is this? Turn around and go mate right now!
The moment the shout infused with the Heavenly Beast Heart-Returning Art slammed directly into the eardrums of horses with IQs hovering between 70 and 80—barely childlike intelligence.
"Hiiing!"
"Hihihiiing!"
"Hiuu!"
"Wha-what? The horses suddenly—"
The scene from the desert canyon played out once more.
From the Gale Wind Riders' perspective, it felt like a bolt from a clear sky.
After all.
They had spent their lives as companions to these horses, cherishing them, brushing them, feeding them, shoeing them—only to get kicked by their hind legs.
Those who had endured every hardship to reach unity of horse and rider were none other than the Mongolian cavalry.
And even after dosing them with drugs to prevent panic in most situations, the horses bucked like rodeo beasts, hell-bent on throwing off their riders.
"He's falling! Hold on tight!"
"Calm them down!"
"Enemy ahead! Just one man—ack—"
And amid the chaos.
"Consider it an honor."
The twin swords began to dance.
If a rampaging horse blocked the way, the horse.
If a dismounted rider gripped his spear, the spear along with his torso.
A slaughter as acrobatic as Moyong Danha's—once called the "Black Reaper" by the northern barbarians—unfolded.
And on top of that.
"Azazajjaat!"
Geum Sihyeon, who had teased Moyong Danha earlier with "Didn't buy a shield?" only to get a knuckle rap on the head.
Launched the Invincible Meteor Shot into the sky like a hand grenade.
Not an ordinary Invincible Meteor Shot, but one refined with the subtleties of the Six Meridians Divine Sword to precisely gauge its trajectory.
As Geum Sihyeon intended, it didn't drop on Moyong Danha's frontal clash.
Instead, it plummeted exactly where it could sever the waist of the advancing cavalry, farther back.
Kuguung—!
Not comparable to a full-charge ultimate, but right after a splendid display of artistry by Geum Sihyeon's standards.
"Here I go too!"
Conserving strength meant preserving power; channeling the Northern Bright Divine Art to the max and sucking in ambient natural energy freely, Geum Sihyeon rocketed forward.
He hadn't brought bow or sword, so bare-handed pugilism.
However.
Geum Sihyeon's fingers were already swords in their own right.
Tap, tap.
Click, click.
Invisible blades blooming along the meridians engulfed the Gale Wind Riders.
Of course, the Six Meridians Divine Sword's range was limited, but Geum Sihyeon had already mastered a martial art adaptable to long-range sniping.
"Luri Death Beam."
With all fingers curled save the index extended, uttering an unneeded technique name—a single thread of death extended from his fingertip.
Truly, the marine Geum Sihyeon who excelled at anything done by hand.
That wasn't all.
Palm open unleashed thrusting force.
"Fire Fist!"
He hadn't trained separate fist or leg arts, but the blazing fist via Blazing Shadow Heart Formula punched a hole through the solar plexus of the warrior blocking his path.
Moreover.
Wise warriors had already possessed the spirit of Kim Yu-sin who slew the horse-necked foes, reorganizing their lines.
But Geum Sihyeon wouldn't just watch.
His front foot slammed the earth fiercely.
Kuwoong—!
No longer hiding it, thick demonic energy rippled outward in concentric circles from where his foot landed.
The opposite end from Heavenly Mountain.
In the distant Liaodong lands, the Heavenly Demon deigned to plant his foot.
"Kuh...!"
"Kaaak!"
Warriors familiar with sandstorms but not demonic energy saw their minds shaken in an instant.
Among the weaker ones not even at Peak realm, some had already fainted.
"Hahaha! I am the Heavenly Pedro!"
Into the gap plunged Geum Sihyeon, his jaw subtly sharpening.
Watching the spectacle.
"What a mad bastard."
Moyong Danha could only voice the utmost praise boiling in her chest.
Just twenty-one years old.
Background checks revealed he'd risen from his sickbed not long ago, reaching Peak expert in three years of proper martial training.
Peak expert?
Could Peak experts these days manifest qi auras?
Handling multiple types of true qi simultaneously—if easy—wouldn't make Threefold Flame Enlightenment a supreme art.
Yang-rigid qi resembling Blazing Shadow Heart Formula.
And yin-harmonious qi that felt oddly familiar.
Sword qi, demonic qi too.
And not ordinary demonic qi.
The sticky heaviness felt when clashing with the previous Demonic Cult leader long ago, that vicious sensation promising utter ruin.
Exactly like then.
Heavenly Demon qi.
In the old days, she'd have interrogated his origins immediately.
But Moyong Danha's mind was flexible.
Demonic arts well-used are divine; divine arts misused are demonic.
Hell, he might've learned Heavenly Demon Divine Art.
With Demonic Cult kids holding back northern and western barbarians, weren't they kindred in a way?
Thus.
No such man existed under heaven.
Nor would in the future.
Given time, he'd surely reach Supreme Under Heaven.
"Traitor of the North—!"
A massive roar from afar snapped Moyong Danha from her reverie.
And.
She sensed a massive spear stained with horrific blood qi hurtling straight at her, piercing all in its path.
"Time to pull back."
That power rivaled her own realm at least.
Not just one expert charging alone.
They'd come to loosen stiff bodies, not to annihilate foes as a duo.
"Huu."
She crossed her twin swords, channeling inner power.
Capturing the incoming spear strike fully in her eyes, expanding her mind to gauge force distribution, qi concentration points, throwing posture, trajectory in 1, 2, 3 seconds—
Awakening her upper dantian to the limit, calculating every possibility in an instant.
And.
Like the Big Dipper circling the North Star with seasonal shifts.
Fully comprehending the principles of all creation, restoring it to its origin.
Just before the thrown spear reached her, the twin swords softly embroidered the air with rotations.
Moyong Family's unique art.
Star Shift of the Fighting Dippers.
The twin swords coiled around the spear like serpents, slowly—oh so slowly—but in a mortal's sight, an instant.
The thrown spear returned whence it came, with equal force.
Immediately after.
"Let's go."
"Yep."
Moyong Danha grabbed the nape of Geum Sihyeon—the yang-lover—and unhesitatingly fled the battlefield.
"It'll get tough soon."
"Our tail's on us. Shame."
"Ease up on those kicks. You'll hit allies."
"Mm... Better test it smack in the enemy center. The Moyong Family might have biases against demonic arts anyway."
"Demonic art?"
"Divine art."
"Good enough."
"As wise as ever."
Back at the Moyong Family.
Geum Sihyeon, lively without being carried for once, walked and chatted briefly with Moyong Danha.
Normally, Moyong Danha would've hurled him into his quarters like trash, but today she felt like talking more.
Breaking the flow.
"Father...? Sihyeon...?"
It was Moyong Seol.
"Why loiter about."
"Couldn't sleep, so I was taking a stroll... Why are you two...?"
"Strolling."
"Aha..."
In the brief father-daughter exchange.
"I'll head in then, Family Head."
Geum Sihyeon chose retreat.
But the next instant.
"Hm."
Moyong Danha drew and swung her sword without hesitation.
Countless qi strands erupted, shredding the guest quarters Geum Sihyeon was entering into oblivion.
"...?"
Startled, Geum Sihyeon stepped back.
"Freak accident collapsed the guest hall."
Moyong Danha sheathed her sword impassively.
Her gaze flicked to Moyong Seol.
Her heart felt torn, limbs trembling, tears welling—a gut-wrenching anguish.
But the Family Head must prioritize clan over self.
"No choice. Spend the night there."
Moyong Danha nodded toward a nearby building.
Geum Sihyeon and Moyong Seol's gazes followed with a creak.
That place.
Was where Moyong Seol resided.
"Hm?"
"...Eh?"
Looking at Geum Sihyeon's baffled expression and Moyong Seol's dazed one from the sudden turn.
"Family Head's order. Then."
Moyong Danha turned away, clutching chest bruises.
Yes.
All for the clan.
The daughter was thrilled anyway.
For her daughter...
Though impulses surged to whirl back and shred that vile Heavenly Demon's lower half.
Moyong Danha endured.
The father-in-law's tender thoughts for his son-in-law.