Chapter 66
Chapter 66
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 66
Chapter Title: Do You Know Who I Am
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Yeon Harin fought like a woman possessed.
It was enough to unnerve the remaining Hubei Martial Alliance warriors.
So one could only imagine what the giant of a man facing her was feeling.
"I underestimated you."
He had no choice but to admit it. He had taken Yeon Harin too lightly.
Her martial arts were strong, but her adaptability and combat sense were even better.
She had already overcome several crises that way.
But the giant didn't doubt his own victory. The outcome was set. The only question was how long it would take to get there.
The giant glanced around.
It was a luxury afforded to him by his superior position.
It was also one of the two reasons he hadn't finished her off yet.
The Hubei Martial Alliance warriors were fighting the Half-Jiangshi, and for now, the battle was evenly matched.
But that wouldn't last long.
The other boats were still filled with Half-Jiangshi.
When a Half-Jiangshi on this boat fell, another from a different boat would cross over.
So while the number of Half-Jiangshi remained constant, the Hubei Martial Alliance warriors were growing increasingly exhausted.
This time, he checked a more distant spot.
The boat carrying the rising stars had safely reached the shore.
But that didn't mean they had escaped the danger.
The shore was crawling with Half-Jiangshi. They would never make it out of there.
Important figures would be captured, and the rest would either be killed or reborn as Half-Jiangshi.
The giant had every reason to be optimistic about the situation over there.
There was a true master on the shore.
Furthermore, there were Half-Jiangshi there who were far more powerful than the ones here.
"It'll be trouble if I don't wrap this up soon."
This side needed to finish before that side did. Otherwise, my competence will be questioned.
"I wanted to claim my prize unscathed, but it seems that won't be possible. Just try to bear the pain."
With that, the giant swung his saber fiercely.
*Shwaaak!*
A massive wave of blade energy shot out and slammed into Yeon Harin's sword.
*Kwwaaang!*
An explosion powerful enough to shake the boat erupted.
Yeon Harin slid backward, a trickle of blood running from the corner of her mouth.
Despite this, her fighting spirit remained unbroken.
She charged forward with even more ferocity.
*Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!*
Even though she couldn't properly block the giant's massive blade energy, she refused to retreat.
She instinctively knew that retreating now was not an option.
Yeon Harin precariously deflected the blade energy.
In the process, her stamina and internal energy were rapidly depleted.
Yeon Harin's movements grew sluggish.
Just then, she heard someone call out.
"Hey! You there!"
The giant was startled by the voice, which sounded as if it were spoken right into his ear.
No, it was more than that. It felt as if someone had hammered the words directly into his mind.
This wasn't some simple technique of using internal energy to project one's voice over a distance.
It was a far more advanced art.
The giant hastily retreated. He saw Yeon Harin's startled expression.
She had clearly heard the voice as well.
The giant looked around, searching for the source of the voice.
Someone was standing on the riverbank, looking this way.
It was Byeok Taesan.
Yeon Harin's eyes widened when she saw him. She almost burst into tears.
But now was not the time for that. Tears were a hindrance in battle.
"Yes. You, the pig."
The giant's eyes widened in disbelief as he pointed a finger at himself.
"Is there another pig here? Why do you keep asking? It's annoying."
The giant scoffed.
"Ha! Do you have any idea who I am, you bastard, to talk to me like that?"
"Do I need to know? And you, do you know who I am?"
"I don't, you bastard."
Byeok Taesan smiled coldly.
"Then you must die. For the crime of not knowing me, that seems like a fair trade, wouldn't you say?"
The giant stood tall, glaring at Byeok Taesan.
"Oh yeah? You're going to kill me? Then come and try."
The giant's gaze then turned to Yeon Harin.
"Before you get here, I'll show you exactly how I handle this one."
The giant aimed his saber at Yeon Harin. An extraordinary energy began to shimmer on the blade.
"You'll want to die after what I do to you, so just die now."
The giant's saber, imbued with immense energy, fell toward Yeon Harin.
Yeon Harin desperately tried to block it. But no matter how she calculated the angle, it seemed impossible to block or evade.
Still, she had to do what she could. Especially since Byeok Taesan was here.
Yeon Harin gritted her teeth and swung her sword.
Just as the sword and saber were about to collide, something shot between them.
*Ting!*
A clear sound rang out, and the giant staggered back. The skin of his palm was torn and bleeding.
The massive saber wavered in his hand. The impact had been so great that he couldn't hold it steady.
The giant frantically looked for what had done this to him.
"A pebble?"
A single pebble lay nearby.
"Don't use your latent power so recklessly. I didn't bring any physicians, so I can't save you. You can't die too easily, can you?"
The giant stared at Byeok Taesan, who spoke leisurely from the riverbank, with a look of utter disbelief.
Could he really have thrown a pebble from that distance with enough force to cause such an impact?
"How is that possible?"
The giant muttered to himself, staggered, and collapsed.
He had just unleashed his latent power explosively, but the pebble's interference caused the energy to flow backward.
Paradoxically, his body was saved because of it.
His energy channels had become tangled, trapping the latent power inside instead of letting it disperse outward.
Of course, he was now in no condition to fight.
With the giant down, Yeon Harin went to help the remaining Hubei Martial Alliance warriors fight the Half-Jiangshi.
All the while, she kept checking on Byeok Taesan.
Before she knew it, she saw Cheon Gyeongwan and Yu Seoyeon arrive behind Byeok Taesan.
Yeon Harin felt a sense of relief, even though the situation was far from safe.
***
Byeok Taesan stood on the riverbank, gauging the distance.
He was checking if he could leap onto the boat in a single bound, but the distance was a bit awkward.
The river bandits had deliberately chosen a spot far from the shore, in case anyone tried to escape by jumping.
"Hah, in the old days, this would've been less than half a step. How did I end up like this?"
Byeok Taesan muttered to himself, looking for something to use as a stepping stone.
A few wooden planks in between would be enough to get to the boat.
Just then, the Master of the Golden Jade Pavilion arrived.
She was carrying an armful of wooden planks.
"Commendable."
Byeok Taesan said, taking the planks from her and flinging them onto the river.
He seemed to be tossing them carelessly, but they formed a perfectly spaced stepping-stone bridge of planks all the way to the boat.
But since the water was flowing, the planks were also drifting away.
"Follow me if you can."
With those words, Byeok Taesan leaped.
He landed precisely on the first plank and launched himself into the air again.
Amazingly, the plank only wobbled slightly on the water's surface, barely moving.
It simply drifted along with the river's current.
After stepping on a few more planks, he moved swiftly forward and leaped onto the nearest boat.
The moment he landed, every Half-Jiangshi on the boat collapsed.
"Hmm. This, too, is mine."
The boat filled with high-purity spiritual energy. The portion of it that suited Byeok Taesan seeped into his body.
Having done this once before, the speed at which he absorbed the spiritual energy was even faster than last time.
With all the Half-Jiangshi down, only the normal people—the river bandits—remained on the boat.
Byeok Taesan beckoned with a finger, and the river bandits rushed forward and knelt before him.
Byeok Taesan raised a finger and pointed to Cheon Gyeongwan and Yu Seoyeon on the riverbank.
He didn't say a word, but the bandits understood his meaning instantly.
Byeok Taesan waved his hand dismissively, as if annoyed.
But at that moment, several of the bandits' acupoints were surprisingly sealed shut.
"It's a restriction. Try to run, and... *pop*. Got it?"
The bandits' faces turned pale.
Byeok Taesan leaped over to a nearby boat.
Afterward, the boats piloted by the bandits moved in a line toward the riverbank.
And the bandits obediently knelt before Cheon Gyeongwan and Yu Seoyeon.
They also didn't forget to answer the Master of the Golden Jade Pavilion's questions with utmost sincerity.
It was their own desperate struggle for survival.
***
The last boat Byeok Taesan boarded was the one carrying Yeon Harin.
It was on the complete opposite side, so it was only natural.
By the time Byeok Taesan got on the boat, Yeon Harin and the Hubei Martial Alliance warriors had already finished off the Half-Jiangshi.
Since Byeok Taesan had wiped out all the Half-Jiangshi on the other boats, no reinforcements could come over, making it an inevitable outcome.
Byeok Taesan looked around the boat with a slightly regretful expression.
He had consumed far more spiritual medicine so far, but the more, the merrier. A waste was a waste.
"Young Master..."
Yeon Harin approached slowly, her eyes welling up with tears as she looked at Byeok Taesan.
Byeok Taesan held out a hand and said firmly.
"If you're going to cry, go cry somewhere else. I can't stand it."
Her tears instantly vanished.
Yeon Harin stared blankly at Byeok Taesan. He didn't seem to be like this before, yet his recent actions and words suited him perfectly.
"I wasn't crying, you know."
Meanwhile, Byeok Taesan approached the giant who was collapsed on the floor.
Yeon Harin said, pouting her lips.
"Tsk, you're on the verge of death. Looks like I won't even need to kill you."
"If you're going to mock me, just kill me."
Byeok Taesan didn't bother to reply.
He looked toward the opposite riverbank.
A fierce battle was still underway. This meant there were still many Half-Jiangshi over there.
"There's spiritual medicine left."
Byeok Taesan muttered to himself and looked for any remaining river bandits on the boat. But of course, there were none.
Yeon Harin had already taken care of them early on.
Byeok Taesan naturally gave an order to the remaining people, the Hubei Martial Alliance warriors.
"We're moving to the riverbank now. Steer the boat to the shore."
At Byeok Taesan's words, the Hubei Martial Alliance warriors moved as one.
A few of them had experience steering boats, so they were able to move it more easily than expected.
The boat carrying them moved swiftly toward the bank.
Once the distance had closed somewhat, Byeok Taesan leaped off.
The distance was still a bit far, so Yeon Harin and the Hubei Martial Alliance warriors remained on the boat.
But there was no need for them to jump.
They witnessed a marvelous sight.
The sight of the Half-Jiangshi, who had been swinging their swords frantically, collapsing helplessly wherever Byeok Taesan passed.
Even as they fell, the Half-Jiangshi continued to charge relentlessly, only to collapse to the ground one after another.
Byeok Taesan stood in the midst of the fallen Half-Jiangshi, his eyes closed.
Everyone gathered there could only stare blankly at him.
And so, the river bandits' attack on the rising stars, aided by the Half-Jiangshi, came to an end.
***
While Byeok Taesan absorbed the spiritual energy released by the Half-Jiangshi, the Hubei Martial Alliance warriors, the rising stars, and the members of their families cleaned up the area.
They dug a large pit, threw the corpses in, and burned them. The captured individuals were gathered in one place.
Most of the boats were intact, so they were used to transport all the river bandits from the opposite bank to this side.
After an initial cleanup, it was decided that everyone would be put on the boats and transported to the Hubei Martial Alliance.
While they were in the middle of this cleanup, the Divine Doctor of the Ages and the One-Needle Eccentric appeared, leading a large group of Hubei Martial Alliance warriors.
The Master of the Hundred Flowers Pavilion had sent word to the Hubei Martial Alliance, who had hastily gathered warriors and dispatched them.
The Divine Doctor and the One-Needle Eccentric had rushed over in surprise after hearing that Byeok Taesan had gone this way.
The two were relieved to see the situation was already over. They looked at Byeok Taesan with expressions that said, 'Of course he did.'
And right on cue, Byeok Taesan opened his eyes.
"Young Master, are you all right?"
The Divine Doctor of the Ages asked cautiously.
In response, Byeok Taesan gestured with his chin toward the giant who had led the bandits.
"Go save that one."
The Divine Doctor immediately replied.
"That one is as good as saved already."
With those words, the Divine Doctor and the One-Needle Eccentric rushed toward the giant.
It was a complex situation where his energy channels had become tangled from the backlash of his latent power exploding, but a single needle from the One-Needle Eccentric untangled them.
Then, the Divine Doctor of the Ages used his needles to resolve the surging latent power.
The Divine Doctor looked back and forth between the One-Needle Eccentric and Byeok Taesan with triumphant eyes.
"What do you think? At this rate, aren't my acupuncture skills even better than yours, my friend?"
"Cut the bullshit."
"There you go with that cheap talk again. How many times have I told you not to speak like that? Words shape one's character, you know. What will you do if you end up dying in your old age with everyone pointing fingers at you?"
Instead of replying, the One-Needle Eccentric simply shook his head and approached Byeok Taesan.
"He's saved."
"Well done."
At Byeok Taesan's praise, the One-Needle Eccentric looked bewildered. He stared blankly at Byeok Taesan for a moment before quickly bowing his head.
A faint smile crept onto the One-Needle Eccentric's lips.
Seeing this, the Divine Doctor of the Ages quickly ran over and looked at Byeok Taesan with the eyes of a puppy begging for a treat.
Byeok Taesan frowned at the sight but eventually threw him a bone.
"You did well, too."
"Uhehehehehe."
Byeok Taesan backed away from the Divine Doctor's strange laughter.
Byeok Taesan looked around, searching for Yeon Harin first.
After all, while his primary reason for coming here was the spiritual medicine, Yeon Harin also accounted for a considerable portion of it.
And he also needed to investigate that strange sense of familiarity he had felt earlier.
Yeon Harin was some distance away, talking with the old man she had planned with earlier.
Byeok Taesan slowly walked toward them.