Chapter 207
Chapter 207
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Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 207
Chapter Title: In a World Without Unorthodox Sects
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“…to save Ko the Stonemason? What are you talking about? He’s not here right now?”
I had assumed the kid’s father was being worked to death at the construction site like everyone else, so the stonemason’s words left me flustered.
The stonemason explained the whole situation to me.
After directly reporting the Righteous Martial Sect to the authorities in Hyuncheong, Ko the Stonemason had been brutally beaten in front of his wife and son.
But he was known for his upright personality even on normal days, and once dragged back to the site, he didn’t stop resisting the Righteous Martial Sect.
“In the end, that bastard Jeok Elder couldn’t take it anymore and hauled Ko off to the Righteous Martial Sect around the Hour of the Snake. Please, I beg you—save Ko…!”
I looked up at the sky.
The sun had already passed its zenith and was sinking toward the west.
It had been over two hours, by my estimate, since the kid’s father was taken.
More than enough time to kill a man—hell, way more.
“…Got it. Leave him to me.”
“Thank you, thank you so much!”
After receiving the stonemason’s grateful thanks, I turned my head for a quick glance behind me.
-Kill him! Kill the bastard!
-Uwaaaah-!
I could see the laborers unleashing all their pent-up rage from being tormented by the Righteous Martial Sect disciples and that Jeok Elder, swinging hammers and shovels wildly.
They were so battered they couldn’t even scream anymore—just twitching.
I asked the stonemason to step in.
“Could you rein in those workers? Venting’s fine, but they’re gonna kill him for real at this rate.”
“Oh, right! Hey, ease up! You wanna end up in jail!?”
Watching the stonemason rush over to the laborers, I turned and bolted out of the construction site.
I’d come here first to save the kid’s father, but who knew he’d been taken to Righteous Martial Sect.
I had to hurry.
Once outside, I released the pressure point on the sect leader’s disciple—who was still stiff as a board—and immediately ordered him.
“Take me to the Righteous Martial Sect. Now.”
“Y-Yes? Wait, what are you—?”
-Shing
I drew my sword and pressed it to his throat.
“H-Hiiik…!?”
“Hurry.”
At my icy command, the disciple nodded frantically and bolted off somewhere. I followed right behind.
*
“Pant…! Pant…!”
Having raced back from the outskirts to the center as fast as possible, I panted along with the sect leader’s disciple and looked up at the massive plaque over the manor gates.
[Righteous Martial Sect]
“Righteous” and “martial.”
I clicked my tongue at the name that sounded so full of justice, then kicked the front gate open without hesitation.
-Boom!
“Gasp…!”
Dragging the sect leader’s disciple by the scruff—who was gaping at the shattered gate from my single kick—I strode inside.
What met me was an empty outer courtyard.
“What…?”
Had they all known and fled in advance?
-You bastards…!
-No more…!
Luckily, my suspicions were unfounded.
Extending my senses, I could hear quite a commotion coming from deeper inside.
They were all gathered in the inner courtyard?
Perfect. I could sweep them all out at once.
“W-Wait. Let go of m—!”
Ignoring the sect leader’s disciple flailing in my grip, I marched steadily toward the inner courtyard.
-You ungrateful wretches!
-The sect leader has no right to say that to us! You’ve sullied the Righteous Martial Sect’s honor—how can you be so shameless!?
The shouts from inside grew louder and clearer with every step.
Sensing something off, I quickened my pace and entered the inner courtyard.
What I saw were Righteous Martial Sect warriors divided into two factions, facing off against each other.
And at the center, bound and sturdy-built man.
Spotting traces of the kid in the man’s eyebrows and mouth, I realized he was the kid’s father, Ko San.
It looked like they were confronting each other with Ko the Stonemason in the middle… Could it be?
“Who are you!”
As I narrowed my eyes to gauge the situation, someone shouted at me—the intruder amid their standoff.
All eyes naturally turned my way.
And as if he’d been waiting for this moment, the sect leader’s disciple lifted his head, veins bulging in his neck as he yelled.
“S-Sect Leader! This guy killed all the disciples at the construction site and Elder Jeok!”
Well, well—even with his pressure points sealed, he’d seen that?
But he’d better get his words right. I didn’t kill them—I just shattered their dantians.
…Though they probably weren’t in great shape by now.
I recalled the middle-aged warrior I’d glimpsed before leaving the site—Elder Jeok or whatever.
With his dantian already shattered, getting beaten like that, he was likely crippled for life.
The others probably ended up the same.
Eh, self-inflicted. Not much pity there.
But this sect leader’s disciple? Kinda pitiful in the head.
“Shouldn’t you have waited until I let you go before making a fuss like that?”
Not that I ever planned to release him.
“Wh-What… Gahk!?”
“Han-su!”
I yanked the sect leader’s disciple to his feet and drove a full-force kick into his lower abdomen, right at the Qihai point.
With a short scream, he flew into the center of the inner courtyard, rolled across the stone floor, and passed out from the shock of his dantian’s destruction.
A man in ornate robes at the back of one faction saw it and urgently pushed through the crowd toward him.
Clearly the scumbag sect leader himself.
“Han-su, Han-su!”
The Righteous Martial Sect Leader cradled his unconscious disciple, calling his name over and over.
Tch, for a guy who did all that crap, he sure doted on his disciples.
With a snort, I walked toward the center of the inner courtyard—to the kid’s father, Ko the Stonemason.
“Hold it!”
The sect leader’s faction moved to block me.
They even drew swords to stop me, but when I didn’t halt, they swung.
“Haap!”
A sword strike falling toward my left shoulder.
I twisted my upper body to dodge and smashed the sheath into his temple.
“Urk…!”
As that figure crumpled sideways, two more lunged at me.
Swords targeting my head and lower body came at once.
-Shing
I smirked faintly at their exquisite coordination and drew my blade.
Then, stomping my left foot wide to crush the low strike, I simultaneously unleashed Reverse Heavenly Aura—a variant of Heavenly Supremacy Heavy Pressure—to deflect the head strike upward.
-Bang!
-Clang!
The blade under my foot snapped, and the sword parrying Reverse Heavenly Aura couldn’t hold, flying from its owner’s hand.
In an instant, the two warriors were unarmed.
I charged them, stabbing one’s solar plexus with my sheath in my left hand and uppercutting the other’s jaw with my fist.
“Kehek!”
“Kragh!?”
Seeing three warriors neutralized in seconds, the others hesitated, exchanging glances.
Soon, seven more rushed in, surrounding me from all sides—seven swords aimed my way.
Then, a whoosh came from behind.
-Swoosh!
A stab without even a kiai—probably a sneak attack.
But with my threat detection field up, my back was as good as my eyes. The ambush meant nothing.
It just made them prey for my counter.
I sidestepped right to evade the sword.
At the same time, I raised my blade to gently nudge the one grazing my left shoulder.
That slight force twisted it wildly, redirecting it toward his own ally.
“Eek!?”
The two warriors, suddenly stabbing at each other, panicked and tried to pull back—but too late.
Their blades slashed long gashes across each other’s throat and side, spraying blood.
“Kaaagh!”
Screams overlapping.
The other warriors stared at the pair collapsing in a pool of blood, faces like they’d seen ghosts.
They couldn’t comprehend what just happened right in front of them.
No surprise—subtleties of the Flowing Sword were beyond them. They’d never get it.
I didn’t miss their stunned moment and stomped forward.
-Thud!
“What!?”
The energy wave from my advance bound the remaining five. Panicking, they came at me one by one, and I swiftly cut them down.
Five more screams in succession, five more warriors collapsing in blood.
They wouldn’t die, but without treatment, they were out of the fight.
Only after I’d disabled ten warriors did the sect leader’s faction shrink back with fearful eyes.
The opposing faction across the way watched in stunned confusion, so no one else blocked my path.
The way to Ko the Stonemason was clear, and I advanced without pause.
But it was short-lived.
A new obstacle halted me soon enough.
“Hold it!”
The Righteous Martial Sect Leader himself.
Leaving his still-unconscious lead disciple behind, he’d drawn his sword and pressed it to Ko the Stonemason’s throat.
Yet Ko showed no fear, even with the sharp blade at his neck.
As expected, the guy had guts. I turned my gaze to the sect leader.
“Who the hell are you? Who are you to harm my disciple and disrupt the Righteous Martial Sect’s affairs?”
“Don’t need to know. Put the sword away. I’m here for him.”
At my words, the sect leader pressed his blade even closer to Ko’s throat.
Like he’d sever it any second.
“Stop. I’m faster than you.”
It was sincere advice, but the sect leader sneered, curling one lip.
“Hah. Drop your sword. Or this one dies.”
The keen edge touched Ko’s throat, a trickle of blood running down beneath it.
My face hardened at the sight.
“Put it away now. This is for your sake.”
“Don’t make me laugh! You maim my disciple like that and spew whatever from your loose lips!”
“I’m serious.”
I glared coldly at the sect leader and continued.
“I haven’t killed a single Righteous Martial Sect member so far. Even trash like them didn’t deserve death for harming innocents, so I showed mercy in my own way.”
“What…?”
The sect leader gaped in disbelief.
Ignoring his reaction, I pressed on.
“But if you kill Ko the Stonemason—an innocent—then I’ve got no reason to hold back anymore. Wonder what happens then?”
Kill him, and you die.
But my warning backfired, against my intent.
The sect leader’s face flushed red as he gripped his hilt tighter and bellowed.
“Fine! Try it—kill me!”
His blade moved to slash Ko’s throat.
Seeing it, I immediately stomped forward and unleashed Soaring Bow Flash Step.
The first form of the Boundless Sky Palace Sword—and its fastest lunge—closed the distance in a blink. I severed his sword arm.
-Slice
The blade that would’ve beheaded Ko merely left another small cut on his neck before falling with the hilt in its owner’s grasp.
“…Huh?”
The sect leader belatedly realized his arm was gone, letting out a dazed sound.
I spun, raising my sword, and muttered.
“Told you. No reason to hold back.”
As my words ended, I swung at the sect leader’s neck.
-Slash
With a clear sound, his head flew through the air.