Chapter 143
Chapter 143
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 143
Chapter Title: Aura Clash
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The Sword King glanced around casually, but no powerful experts caught his eye. He sensed no formidable auras either. That meant they were either nowhere nearby or hidden somewhere.
"In that case, I suppose there's no need to hold back. Let's test your skills."
The Sword King took a single step forward. With that one stride, an overwhelming pressure crashed down on Iron Blood Fist like a tidal wave.
"Gasp."
Iron Blood Fist sucked in a sharp breath and instinctively staggered back a step without realizing it. Cold sweat trickled down his spine. He'd thought he couldn't beat the Sword King, but he could at least put up a decent fight. But facing this aura now, he realized just how mistaken he'd been.
'We're both among the Ten Great Experts, yet the gap is this wide.'
A difference made sense, sure, but this was excessive. Iron Blood Fist began to regret stepping forward so boldly. And he seethed with frustration that those who'd promised to help still hadn't shown themselves.
Iron Blood Fist took another step back, subtly scanning his surroundings. He was searching for Ha Byeok and Blood Shadow, who had to be somewhere nearby. But he couldn't spot them easily.
"You think you can fight me by just backing away? Surely you're not planning to run?"
The Sword King advanced another step, his words accompanied by an even vaster aura surging forth like a tsunami.
Iron Blood Fist had no choice but to muster his full inner energy to dispel it. Dodging with a leap would be simple, but too many eyes were watching. He couldn't afford to show himself fleeing again. After all, he was one of the Ten Great Experts.
"Haaah!"
Boom!
A deafening explosion erupted as their energies clashed, spiraling outward in a vortex. Those caught in the whirlwind stumbled back in chaos, tangling with one another.
"Urgh!"
Crash!
Unable to withstand the shockwave from the Sword King and Iron Blood Fist's clash, people tumbled across the ground. In an instant, a radius of over ten zhang around the two emptied out.
The Sword King nodded approvingly.
"As expected of one of the Ten Great Experts. So, how about it? Still got the will to fight me?"
The Sword King recalled Escort Leader Hyeong Pyo's request from before they arrived here. Hyeong Pyo had said he didn't want any bloodshed if possible. He hoped to persuade them and send them away peacefully. The Sword King had promised to honor that wish as much as he could.
"Our Chief doesn't have a heart of stone. He said he'd prefer to avoid spilling blood if at all possible. How about calling it quits here?"
The Sword King's voice rang out at equal volume to the ears of the hundreds of martial artists gathered before the Escort Bureau. It was astonishing inner power. Facing off against a place with two such powerhouses felt utterly reckless.
The Sword King scanned Iron Blood Fist and the martial artists with a dignified expression. An atmosphere of retreat was forming.
The people of the Henan Escort Bureau watched this unfold with relief. But not everyone felt the same.
Blood Shadow watched the scene from afar, furrowing his brow.
"The Sword King's martial arts are more impressive than I thought. He's completely upended my expectations."
Blood Shadow muttered to himself, then glanced back at the men standing behind him.
Three men stood behind Blood Shadow, all clad in dark crimson robes that looked as if they'd been drenched in blood. Even their eyes flickered with a red gleam—they were the epitome of blood-soaked warriors.
"I might have to sacrifice you after all. But do try to come back alive if you can."
The three men bowed silently at Blood Shadow's words and leaped into motion.
Though they were a considerable distance from the Henan Escort Bureau, they arrived at its gates in the blink of an eye. Astonishing lightness skill.
They lined up behind Iron Blood Fist.
Iron Blood Fist whipped around in shock at the sudden surge of intense presences. Three absolute experts had appeared out of nowhere. His eyes lit up as he took in their attire—it was nearly identical to Blood Shadow's, whom he'd seen recently.
'They kept their promise after all. And not just one, but three!'
To Iron Blood Fist's eyes, these three seemed no weaker than the Blood Shadow he'd encountered before. That might be his own limitation, but it was still astonishing. It meant their martial prowess surpassed his own.
Iron Blood Fist shot the Sword King a triumphant look.
"Well now, doesn't it feel like the tide has turned?"
The Sword King's expression hardened. There was no avoiding a fight now. These newcomers were no pushovers.
"Your auras mark you as Ten Great Expert level, yet I can't place you at all. Who exactly are you?"
They looked about fifty at first glance. But appearances could be deceiving at their level. The Sword King himself was well over eighty but appeared barely in his forties.
The three men remained silent to the Sword King's question, standing motionless as they radiated pressure in all directions. Their presence was truly overwhelming.
"I get that you're strong, but it still seems like you'll fall short. Don't you agree?"
The Sword King unleashed his full aura. In response, the Sword Demon stepped forward and did the same. Together, their presences dominated the area in an instant.
Iron Blood Fist was stunned, on the verge of fainting. He'd never imagined such colossal power.
The atmosphere froze solid. Iron Blood Fist decided retreat was the wisest move for today. The losses would be too great otherwise. Better to bolster his forces, regroup, or just give up altogether.
Not just Iron Blood Fist—most of the gathered martial artists thought the same. But one man couldn't allow that.
Ha Byeok, hidden among the martial artists, gauged the mood. Things were fizzling out. His mission was to reignite the tension. But as it stood, that was impossible.
Ha Byeok's hand twitched slightly. At that signal, the three behind Iron Blood Fist surged with aura. Individually weaker than the Sword King or Sword Demon, but there were three of them.
Roooar!
A massive aura erupted, briefly pushing back the Sword King and Sword Demon's presences. Iron Blood Fist joined in, compelled by a sudden voice transmission.
Now the two sides were evenly matched. The martial artists felt the oppressive pressure lift and their courage stir. Still, most hoped it would end here.
Then, a loud shout erupted from the back of the crowd.
"This is going too far!"
The cry strangely stirred people's hearts. It continued,
"We came here for the peace of the martial world, and this is how you oppress us?"
The shout shook hearts bit by bit.
Escort Leader Hyeong Pyo shouted back urgently.
"You're the ones who started the oppression! We're just defending ourselves minimally!"
"Don't make me laugh! We only want to see the Blood Shadow Sword!"
It was absurd logic, a complete shift from their original claims. But to the crowd, it hardly mattered—they wanted to see the Blood Shadow Sword too.
"Show us the Blood Shadow Sword!"
"Yeah!"
The murmurs grew into a clamor.
"Why are you oppressing us?"
As the voices rose, the shout rang out again.
"Everyone, charge!"
The cry swept forward like a wave from the rear. Shadowless Unit members mixed in the crowd drew their swords and leaped forth.
"Haaah! Let's go!"
That was the spark. Fueled by the Shadowless Unit, the hundreds surged toward the Henan Escort Bureau like an angry tide.
Even the Sword King and Sword Demon were caught off guard. Escort Leader Hyeong Pyo and the bureau's people paled. Bloodshed was inevitable now.
"Brother!"
Jo Seol-yeon's urgent cry rang out. Dan Hyeong-u, who had been watching, stepped forward.
Kwaaaa!
An immense energy poured from Dan Hyeong-u's body. It was fundamentally different from the aura contest between the Sword King, Sword Demon, and Iron Blood Fist.
The colossal force raged like a storm.
"Hieeeek!"
Screams escaped people's lips involuntarily. They tumbled every which way in the qi gale. Those airborne were hurled back; those charging on foot rolled across the ground.
Only Iron Blood Fist and the three Blood Fiends stood their ground—barely, suffering internal injuries to do so. Thin trickles of blood leaked from their mouths.
"W-what insane..."
Iron Blood Fist muttered in a daze. No one had died. Few were even hurt. It was merely a qi storm pushing everyone back—a bit roughly, perhaps.
How could human power achieve this? It wasn't mere wind. Strong ordinary gusts, and the martial artists here could have powered through. But this was qi wind.
To resist qi wind required channeling inner energy like in a direct contest. Few could react that fast. Even those who could lacked the power and ended up injured anyway.
Thud.
Iron Blood Fist collapsed to his knees. He felt powerless before such vast might, his energy utterly drained.
The Sword King and Sword Demon gave him wry smiles, knowing exactly how he felt. They'd endured that despair almost daily.
"Now that you've realized it's hopeless, why not withdraw?"
The Sword King said quietly. Iron Blood Fist stared blankly before nodding weakly.
He rose silently, head bowed, and retreated. This crushing despair felt eternal.
The greater one's talent, the deeper the despair. Ten Great Experts rarely escaped it. In that sense, the Sword King and Sword Demon were fortunate—training with Dan Hyeong-u had forged their minds and brought new insights. That was cultivation too.
The incident resolved peacefully. No deaths, and after witnessing the Escort Bureau's might, the martial artists dispersed quietly. They'd tasted despair, but it would fade.
"It ended more easily than expected."
Everyone whipped their heads toward Jo Seol-yeon at her words, wind whistling. She smiled at each of them in turn—a breathtakingly beautiful smile.
"Well, let's head inside."
They shook their heads at her nonchalant back as she turned and entered the bureau. Was she bold or just oblivious?
The bureau's gates stayed open. Operations, paused briefly, resumed immediately. The Henan Escort Bureau would prosper even more now, with hundreds having witnessed its power firsthand.
Blood Shadow stared blankly at the Henan Escort Bureau's main gate, his face rigid. His body was frozen stiff. The shock was too great. He'd never dreamed of such power. Dan Hyeong-u's qi storm had reached even here. Residual qi still swirled in the air.
"Even three hundred zhang away, it's this intense..."
He was atop a distant pavilion's roof. For the qi storm to make his body tingle there meant unfathomable inner energy.
He'd believed he could handle it somehow. With ten Blood Shadow Unit members striking together, victory was certain.
But doubt crept in. No one could face that inner energy alone. Even with the full ten in a joint assault, success wasn't guaranteed.
The three Blood Shadow Unit members who'd stepped up were now treating their internal injuries before him. Holding their ground had worsened the damage.
Blood Shadow shook his head, loosening his stiff body.
"Unbelievable."
The Blood Shadow Unit was second only to the Blood Demon Unit in strength. The Blood Demon Unit trained directly under the Blood Demon himself, while Blood Shadow merely managed it—so he couldn't gauge their exact power, but they were formidable.
Barring them, the Blood Shadow Unit was the strongest. Just ten members, each rivaling the Ten Great Experts. Blood Shadow had recruited seasoned veterans and transformed them into even greater forces.
He was confident their trio could fell even the Heavenly Demon. Yet Dan Hyeong-u had blown them away with a mere shout. Yes—a shout. The qi storm was just that: a ki-hap.
Blood Shadow shuddered.
"Impossible. Calling that a mere shout... I must be too shaken."
It was shocking, but victory still lay with them. The Blood Shadow Sword had awakened. Once obtained, the Escort Bureau would be irrelevant. Next came conflict with the entire martial world.