Chapter 30
Chapter 30
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 30
Chapter Title: Ledger of Life and Death
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Pan Ha-rin’s face went deathly pale as she watched the man who had been standing before her, Nujin-sang, shatter into pieces, leaving a mound of ice shards on the floor.
“Ah…”
Her eyes widened in horror, her body trembling uncontrollably. She couldn't believe, couldn't accept, the reality unfolding before her.
On a small boat a short distance away, Dam Geum-hu and the courtesans were also shaking, their faces drained of all color.
They would never witness such a sight again, not in this lifetime or the next three combined—a man instantly turned to a block of ice, then shattered into hundreds of pieces.
I had no mercy to spare waiting for Pan Ha-rin to come to her senses.
“Listen to me, girl.”
Pan Ha-rin seemed not to hear me, her expression vacant as she stared at the ice shards on the floor.
Thick tears streamed endlessly from her eyes. It was likely not out of sorrow for Nujin-sang’s death, but from the sudden, overwhelming terror that had gripped her.
*Tap!*
“Girl!”
“Ah…”
When I touched her shoulder, Pan Ha-rin looked up at me with a dazed expression.
“Aah!”
Then, startled, she suddenly thrust a palm strike at me.
But I was faster, grabbing both of her arms.
*Grip!*
“Do you want to die?”
“Ah, ah…”
Pan Ha-rin stared at me, tears streaming down her face.
She was a wretched sight, her hair hacked off, her clothes in tatters, and blood dripping from the cuts on her skin.
I had no desire to fathom what Pan Ha-rin was feeling right now. There’s nothing more bothersome than trying to understand someone else's feelings.
I just need to act as I please. Why should I have to consider the other person’s inner thoughts?
“Listen to me! The Demonic Emperor's Grand Union is to leave Dong-ro Hyeon by tomorrow.”
“…”
I was reinstating my order to close the Dong-ro branch of the Demonic Emperor's Grand Union. This was the punishment for the Demon Sword Union Lord’s provocation.
“Starting the day after tomorrow, if I see any of you, you’re dead.”
“…”
“Understand?”
“…”
Seeing her eyes darting about without focus, I slapped her lightly across the cheek.
“Ah!”
Pan Ha-rin touched her cheek and blinked at me. It seemed she had finally come to her senses.
I repeated what I had just said and then let go of her arms.
I hadn't forgotten that Pan Ha-rin genuinely held killing intent for me and had acted maliciously several times.
Yet, I felt no desire to kill her. It wasn't just because she was a woman; I simply didn't feel the urge to kill her.
In any case, I act as my heart dictates. If I don't feel like killing someone, I don't. That's my way.
I leaped toward the small boat.
*Swoosh!*
The boat didn't rock in the slightest when I landed. My martial arts were still active.
“Oh… Great Leader!”
Overcome with shock and emotion, Dam Geum-hu added a respectful suffix to his usual title for me.
On the pleasure boat, Pan Ha-rin stood alone, dazedly looking down at the floor.
There lay the remains of the man who, until moments ago, had been her master, now just a heap of ice shards.
I looked at Pan Ha-rin and shook my head.
‘I didn't expect to reduce Nujin-sang to that state in a single move! I’m more surprised than anyone!’
*Thud!*
Just as the small boat reached the dock behind Ziyun Hall and I stepped onto the ground, a pigeon flew out from a window of the three-story building in front of me.
*Flutter!*
I glanced at the window and saw the person who had just released the pigeon quickly duck back inside.
They had sent a carrier pigeon.
*Shwooo!*
On reflex, I immediately unleashed the Soaring Celestial Steps and shot toward the third-floor window.
The fact that my movement technique worked meant the fight wasn't over yet.
Around this time, I realized something new. I could use my martial arts as long as my mind and body were tense.
And right now, my mind and body were still tense.
*Crash!*
I burst through the window. A man who had been walking toward the door turned around, startled.
“Heok!”
The man was dressed in brown, with a sash over his left shoulder that read, ‘Ten Heavens, Dong-ro.’ He was a warrior from the Dong-ro branch of the Ten Heavens of the Unorthodox Path.
Sang Gang-jo had predicted that the Dong-ro branch of the Ten Heavens would know about the Demon Sword Union Lord and his masters’ arrival, and that they would be monitoring the events at Ziyun Hall tonight. He had been right.
“Ugh!”
As I landed in the room, the Unorthodox warrior gripped the sword at his shoulder but couldn't draw it, his body trembling.
This meant he had witnessed me kill Nujin-sang and was terrified.
The pleasure boat was brightly lit, illuminating the surroundings. He must have seen me kill Nujin-sang from this window, even if not in perfect detail.
Having seen me kill the Demon Sword King, leader of the Demon Sword Union, in a single blow, the warrior was trembling as if he had seen the grim reaper himself.
“You, deliver my words to the Master of the Ten Heavens’ Dong-ro branch.”
“Ugh…”
*Thump!*
The warrior collapsed to his knees, snot and tears streaming down his face.
“I-I’ll deliver it… Please, speak…!”
Sheer terror can be more chilling than death itself.
“The Ten Heavens of the Unorthodox Path’s Dong-ro branch is to withdraw completely from Dong-ro Hyeon by tomorrow. Starting the day after tomorrow, if I see any of them, they will all die. Got it?”
“What? Y-Yes… yes.”
“Go.”
The warrior crawled out of the room, trembling.
I smiled to myself, pleased with my decision.
Sang Gang-jo had explained how to overcome the current crisis—Nujin-sang’s arrival with a hundred demon sword masters—but his words hadn't registered with me.
After hearing Sang Gang-jo’s explanation, I had made a decision.
From now on, I would lure the masters of the Demonic Emperor's Grand Union and the Ten Heavens of the Unorthodox Path to Dong-ro Hyeon.
Instead of tirelessly seeking out martial arts masters to fight, I could simply bring them to Dong-ro Hyeon. Then I could sit back and fight to my heart’s content with any expert who showed up.
The first step was to drive the Dong-ro branches of the Demonic Emperor's Grand Union and the Ten Heavens out of Dong-ro Hyeon.
If I did that, they would never simply back down and say, ‘Alright, we understand. We’ll give up Dong-ro Hyeon.’
However, with the Martial Alliance, the Demonic Emperor's Grand Union, the Ten Heavens of the Unorthodox Path, not to mention the Four Seas Way of the underworld and the Mysterious Jade Palace of the Yokai realm, all fiercely competing for control of the martial world, neither the Grand Union nor the Ten Heavens could afford to send a large-scale force to Dong-ro Hyeon.
Doing so would tip the balance of power, putting them at a disadvantage in the grand scheme of the martial world.
So, the Demonic Emperor's Grand Union and the Ten Heavens would dispatch just enough skilled masters to defeat me.
That was my plan. Coming up with a plan like this proves I'm ridiculously smart.
Yang Rim had asked me to work for the peace of Dong-ro Hyeon.
But I'm not that good of a person to grant such a request. What I want isn't peace, but endless battle.
Only then can I become the strongest in actual combat.
Before leaving Ziyun Hall, I sent a mental message to Dam Geum-hu.
[Geum-hu, don't come outside.]
Dam Geum-hu bowed his head respectfully.
I had sensed the presence of many masters hiding outside Ziyun Hall. That's why my martial arts hadn't faded yet.
Before leaving, I sent another mental message to Pan Ha-rin, who was still on the pleasure boat.
[Pan Ha-rin! If you don't withdraw your subordinates hiding outside the hall, I'll kill them all!]
Frankly, I didn't want the hassle of fighting small fry. After killing the Demon Sword Union Lord, Nujin-sang, engaging in a brawl with underlings would be a waste of time and energy.
I left Ziyun Hall without waiting for Pan Ha-rin's response.
Perhaps she hadn't collected herself yet, or maybe she thought her hundred demon sword masters could kill me.
‘Killing them would be labor, a massacre. Tsk! That kind of work doesn't suit me.’
*Step.*
Focusing my hearing, I could sense the presence of masters hidden throughout the street.
There were at least a hundred of them. They must be the hundred demon sword masters Nujin-sang had brought.
If I stepped out into the street, they would undoubtedly unleash a storm of attacks from all sides.
But I wasn't afraid at all. In fact, the prospect of a fight, which would allow me to use my martial arts, was rather exciting. I was having a little trouble calming my excitement.
Fighting small fry was a hassle, but the fight itself was enjoyable and exhilarating. It was an opportunity for martial arts I didn't even know I possessed to burst forth.
The street in front of Ziyun Hall was part of the entertainment district, so it was even more crowded with pedestrians at night.
*Shing!*
I drew the Fire Dragon Sword, held it in my right hand, and raised my internal energy to about forty percent as I slowly began to walk.
‘Forty percent should be enough.’
*Sssst! Shhhhk!*
They began to move swiftly.
*Peeeeee~! Peep! Peep!*
Just then, the sharp sound of a whistle—one long blast followed by several short ones—cut through the night air.
The sound came from where Pan Ha-rin was.
At that, the movements in the darkness abruptly ceased. Then, in an instant, they receded like an ebbing tide.
When I focused my hearing, their presences grew fainter and fainter until, at a certain point, they vanished completely.
The whistle had clearly been Pan Ha-rin's. She had ordered the demon sword masters to withdraw.
Dam Geum-hu was standing blankly in the backyard of Ziyun Hall when he flinched, spotting Pan Ha-rin striding toward him from the dock.
Her hair was a disheveled mess, chopped and uneven. Her clothes were torn to shreds. Bleeding from all over her body, she approached like a demon and spat out coldly.
“Where is that bastard?”
Although Pan Ha-rin had just referred to the Grand Branch Master—a man Dam Geum-hu revered more than the Jade Emperor—as ‘that bastard,’ he was too terrified to dare talk back.
“H-He went outside…”
Pan Ha-rin rushed toward the main entrance.
Standing on the street, I sent a mental message to Dam Geum-hu.
[Geum-hu, let's go.]
As I waited for him, Pan Ha-rin emerged, her face flushed with anger, and stomped toward me.
“Wait! I have something to say!”
“What is it?”
Pan Ha-rin spoke with a complicated expression.
“Why do you keep letting me live?”
The nerve of her. The girl was complaining that I’d saved her life.
“Do you want to die?”
“I want to know the reason.”
“If you ask me to kill you, I will.”
How could I tell her a reason I didn't even know myself? The thoughtless words just slipped out.
But I had a feeling that if Pan Ha-rin asked me to kill her, I would do it without a moment's hesitation.
Pan Ha-rin glared at me with all her might.
Unlike my usual self, my expression was firm. It was a look that said I would kill her instantly if the words left her lips.
Pan Ha-rin scrunched her nose and pouted, shooting daggers at me with her eyes, but in the end, she didn't ask me to kill her.
No matter how upset and furious she was, Pan Ha-rin wasn't foolish enough to ask for death in a situation like this.
Instead, Pan Ha-rin said icily.
“As of this moment, your name has been added to the Demonic Emperor's Grand Union's Ledger of Life and Death.”
“Ledger of Life and Death?”
I had never heard of such a thing.
“That's right! From now on, you'll be a target not just for the Demonic Emperor's Grand Union, but for the entire world of demonic martial arts! The most skilled demonic masters will flock here endlessly until they kill you!”
The Ledger of Life and Death sounded like it meant exciting things were about to happen.