Chapter 101
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 101
Chapter Title: Those Who Must Go
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Cheon Taesan had no intention of tussling with O Juhyang.
Martial artists often did things that seemed utterly ridiculous by his standards.
They called it the flair unique to warriors, but to him, it was nothing more than posturing.
Why bother exchanging dozens or hundreds of blows just to gauge an opponent's strength?
This held true regardless of whether they were from the righteous, demonic, or evil paths.
They belittled it as something only assassins would do, scorning any lack of such "respect."
Cheon Taesan was willing to show that much courtesy if his opponent was a martial artist from the orthodox Murim world.
But to a Demonic Cult warrior?
Especially one who led a branch of the Demonic Cult? He didn't have even a speck of respect for her.
Cheon Taesan focused all twenty of his inner pellets on O Juhyang alone.
Papapapuffpuffbang!
O Juhyang's body swayed like a leaf caught in the wind.
But the protective aura of a peak transcendent expert wasn't easily breached.
O Juhyang had her sights set on Cheon Taesan.
She slashed through the obstructing Blue Dragon Squad warriors and Tang Clan fighters, closing in on him.
Finally, she came to a halt just three zhang away from him.
"From the moment I saw you in Hefei, I knew we'd end up like this. Even enemies need a bastard like you—a leech stuck tight to my fate."
O Juhyang opened her mouth again when Cheon Taesan simply stared at her in silence.
"Today, here and now, either I die or you do. One of us has to go."
"Do what you must."
O Juhyang's cheeks puffed out in irritation at Cheon Taesan's indifferent reply.
"Even if next year today marks my death anniversary, I'll kill you here regardless."
Cheon Taesan looked at O Juhyang, who was steeling her resolve, and spoke.
"Have you said your last words? I've only one thing to say: Tigers don't bark like dogs. They simply bite."
Suddenly finding herself cast as the dog and him the tiger, O Juhyang's eyes filled with murderous intent.
That was when it happened.
"The Beggars' Sect experts have arrived!"
Over a hundred ragged Beggars' Sect disciples charged in.
They attacked to disrupt the Demonic Cult's rear, but they didn't achieve much.
If anything, the beggars were dropping like flies, their morale plummeting.
Still, it was better than nothing. The Blue Dragon Squad and Tang Clan warriors pressed forward in a joint assault.
Seizing the moment as the Beggars' Sect fighters surged, Cheon Taesan summoned his Heavenly Dragon and unleashed it straight at O Juhyang.
The Heavenly Dragon, twice the girth of Cheon Taesan's torso, hurtled toward her as if to devour her whole. O Juhyang countered in kind.
She poured every ounce of her inner energy into a single strike.
That was when it happened.
O Juhyang suddenly felt an unbearable agony in her lower abdomen.
"What is this? Poison?"
She instantly suspected the Tang Clan's Formless Poison.
Pushing through the excruciating pain, O Juhyang drew forth her ultimate technique.
"Uwaaaak!"
Before she could unleash her ultimate move—capable of pulverizing even boulders—the pain yanked the breath from her throat, forcing her mouth wide open.
It felt like a red-hot iron bar was clogging her windpipe.
"Gack, gack, gack!"
In that instant, O Juhyang heard it.
"Now, those who must go... must go."
And with that, as the Heavenly Dragon swallowed her, O Juhyang lost consciousness.
"Kraaaack!"
Her scream, like a lion's roar, blanketed the battlefield in momentary silence.
The Heavenly Dragon tore O Juhyang apart, and the two sides instantly split.
The Demonic Cult forces, bereft of their commanding officer, fled the field without needing any retreat order.
The Blue Dragon Squad warriors started to pursue the fleeing Demonic Cult fighters, but their squad leader blocked them.
"Don't chase them!"
The Tang Clan warriors did the same.
They lacked the manpower to pursue the escaping Demonic Cultists.
"Clean up the battlefield."
The Blue Dragon Squad were elites through and through.
Even after the fierce battle, they provided emergency treatment to the wounded and recovered the dead.
The Beggars' Sect disciples grimly gathered their fallen comrades.
Over a hundred had come, but fewer than fifty seemed to have survived.
More than half had perished in that brief clash.
Even for the Beggars' Sect, who relied on numbers, no one had expected such heavy losses.
Fortunately, reinforcements from the surrounding Beggars' Sect members made the cleanup easier.
The Blue Dragon Squad leader, commanding over fifty men, approached Cheon Taesan with words of gratitude.
"Without Scholar Sword, we would've perished alongside those Demonic Cult bastards."
He knew that while the Tang Clan's Formless Poison had briefly turned the tide, they would have been annihilated once it ran out.
"Where is the Blue Dragon Squad leader?"
In response to Cheon Taesan's question, the squad leader replied.
"He took another squad to aid the Kunlun Sect."
Cheon Taesan followed up with another question.
"And where is Squad Leader Nangong Seongjin?"
"Ah, Squad Leader Nangong is moving with the leader as well."
Cheon Taesan nodded.
With Nangong Seongjin accompanying Blue Dragon Squad Leader Jang Hojin, he felt at ease.
Jang Hojin might not seem like a powerhouse due to his gentle, non-aggressive nature, but he was the strongest leader among the Murim Alliance's Six Combat Squads.
Cheon Taesan knew the Murim Alliance had dispatched the Blue Dragon and White Tiger Squads to Sichuan, but he was curious about the White Tiger Squad since he hadn't heard from them.
"Do you know what the White Tiger Squad is up to?"
The Blue Dragon squad leader shook his head.
"We entered Sichuan together, but the White Tiger Squad seems to be on a separate mission."
In other words, he didn't know their mission or movements.
That meant it was some covert operation, so Cheon Taesan didn't pry further.
"Understood."
The squad leader said,
"Once we finish here, I must rejoin the main force. Will Scholar Sword be joining us?"
"No. I'm heading to the Tang Clan."
The squad leader looked a bit disappointed.
"Any message for the leader or Squad Leader Nangong?"
"Nothing specific. Does Leader Jang know the Demonic Cultists amplified their innate true qi to grow stronger?"
"Of course. We clashed with them right away, so he knows."
"Then I have nothing to add. I'll be staying at the Tang Clan for a while, so if there's anything to relay, send word there."
Cheon Taesan turned to Pang Soun.
Pang Soun had a look of resolve in his eyes.
"Brother, I'm joining the Blue Dragon Squad to aid the Kunlun Sect and fight the Demonic Cult."
"Is that necessary? Why not head to the Tang Clan?"
Cheon Taesan said, concerned for him.
"No. I came to Sichuan to fight in the first place. I'll take Taoist Unsang and Zhuge Dowon with me."
It made sense for Pang Soun and Unsang, but he hadn't expected the one-armed Zhuge Dowon to join the fray.
"Young Master Zhuge as well?"
"The Blue Dragon Squad lacks a strategist, so he says he'll serve as one."
Even a wastrel like him had benefited from his prestigious family's upbringing.
"Brother, parting like this... we might never meet again. So from now on, treat me as your little brother."
Pang Soun was right.
The Demonic Cult was so formidable that he could perish in battle.
There was no need to treat him harshly.
"Very well. From now on, I'll call you brother."
Pang Soun broke into a wide grin at those words.
"Then, may I boast to everyone that I'm the little brother of Scholar Sword Cheon?"
Cheon Taesan chuckled at Pang Soun's childishness.
"Take care of yourself. You know how strong they are, so form proper formations when you fight."
"Yes. I have something in mind already."
Only then did Cheon Taesan truly accept Pang Soun as a brother.
"Oh, Brother. Tell Yeoseol I'm sorry for leaving without saying goodbye. And that I lied—she's the prettiest girl I've ever seen."
"Got it."
Cheon Taesan chuckled again.
Taoist Unsang approached to bid farewell.
"Until we meet again. I pray for Scholar Cheon's continued fortune."
Unsang gave Cheon Taesan a courteous fist salute.
In moments like these, the Wudang Sect's straightforward, transcendent air shone through, making their Taoists seem remarkable to Cheon Taesan.
Zhuge Dowon hesitated.
He seemed torn about whether to greet Cheon Taesan.
So Cheon Taesan approached first.
"Young Master Zhuge, the Demonic Cult's treachery is known to all. Please advise those around you so they don't fall into their schemes."
Straightening at Cheon Taesan's polite words, Zhuge Dowon replied.
"I will keep that in mind."
As if making a grave vow, Zhuge Dowon spoke up.
To him, Nangong Mubaek was the epitome of a hopeless wastrel.
If Cheon Taesan had turned such a man into a proper hero, he wanted his advice.
"I'll serve as strategist for the Blue Dragon Squad. With my arm gone, I'll contribute with my mind instead. But my reputation is low, so I need to build it. How should I go about it?"
Pang Soun, listening nearby, shot him a look as if wondering why ask our brother that.
Unsang felt the same.
Tang Jinok and Tang Garyeong inwardly snickered.
Yet Cheon Taesan read the sincerity in Zhuge Dowon's question.
"Greater renown comes not from trying to change the world or others, but from changing yourself."
Cheon Taesan told him.
"To be more precise: Respect people when they're present, praise them when absent, help them in need, never forget favors, and forget grievances. Adhere to at least three of these, and good people will flock around you, Young Master Zhuge."
Zhuge Dowon bowed deeply.
It was awkward, as if he'd never bowed properly before.
As Cheon Taesan turned away after receiving the bow, Zhuge Dowon spoke.
"Thank you. And I'm sorry."
Cheon Taesan didn't turn back.
He knew how hard those words were to say.
Knowing what the thanks and apology were for, he simply raised his hand in response.
Once they departed with the Blue Dragon Squad, Cheon Taesan approached O Juhyang's corpse.
Her body was a mangled ruin.
Pretending to inspect it, he retrieved her dantian core.
Pocketing the core and standing, Tang Jinok and Tang Garyeong approached him.
"Shall we head to the main house now?"
The Tang Clan warriors had finished cleanup, so they set off for the inn where Yeoseol waited.
They had to pass the inn anyway en route to the Tang Clan.
Yeoseol had a faintly disappointed look upon hearing that Pang Soun—the one she'd bickered with on the way here—had gone off to fight.
Regardless of age or gender, losing a conversation partner was regrettable.
"Pang brother said you're the prettiest little girl he's ever seen. He asked me to tell you he's sorry for lying."
Yeoseol let out a knowing smile, like a woman wise in the ways of the world.
"Brother, did you think I'd take that seriously? The way people look at me is like gazing at a goddess. Only a fool wouldn't notice."
"Hahaha!"
Cheon Taesan laughed heartily for the first time in a while.
Until now, the carriage had carried the one-armed Zhuge Dowon and Tang Jinok, but on the way to the Tang Clan, Cheon Taesan and Yeoseol rode together.
Then, during a brief stop, the brazen Tang Jiin squeezed into the carriage.
Even as Yeoseol shot him pointed glances to leave, he pretended not to notice.
"Scholar Sword!"
Tang Jiin flustered Cheon Taesan with his overly intense gaze and words.
"Young Master Tang Jiin, when addressing me, don't call me Scholar Sword. Just Scholar Cheon."
"Ah, I'd urge everyone around me to use that grand title. As expected of Scholar Cheon—your character is so noble, it breeds humility."
Cheon Taesan eyed Tang Jiin closely.
'Is this a new breed of wastrel?'
He seemed like a wastrel who wasn't quite acting the part.