Chapter 81
Chapter 81
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 81
Chapter Title: Joining Forces with Hyukryeon Byeok-gyo!
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Sang Gang-jo's gaze held a wealth of meaning. I gave a nod and let out a long whistle.
*Wheeeeee!*
Confirming that Baek-un had reappeared about fifty *jang* above my head, I kicked off the deck with all my might, executing the Heaven-Soaring Ladder to shoot straight up.
*Swoosh!*
In my current tense state, I could execute my martial arts without needing to create a dangerous situation.
*Swoooosh!*
As I ascended, I realized something. The energy I had just poured into the Heaven-Soaring Ladder was equivalent to ninety years of cultivation.
The last time I measured it on the full moon, it was eighty years. It had increased by ten years since then.
No, perhaps it was already close to ninety years back then, and the measurement only showed eighty.
The people of the Martial Alliance were quite surprised to see me soaring into the sky, a woman tucked under each arm.
Among them, the Spiritual Enlightenment Chan Master's astonishment was a little different.
‘The Heaven-Soaring Ladder!’
The Heaven-Soaring Ladder was an ultimate art of the Shaolin Temple, one that only elders and above could learn.
The Spiritual Enlightenment Chan Master began to wonder if I had some connection to Shaolin.
After rising about ten *jang*, before my speed could decrease, I drew out my Yin Essence and converted it into internal energy.
With that, another twenty years of energy were added, bringing me to a hundred and ten years. In that instant, I deployed the Divine God's Flight from the Celestial Pearl Art.
The wind was much stronger and more prevalent here at sea than on land. Thanks to that, after rising about fifteen *jang* vertically, I was able to deploy the Divine God's Flight and ride the wind even higher.
From this point on, it was Wind-Riding Flight, which made further ascent possible.
*Whoooosh!*
Even for a supreme master, the limit of a vertical leap from the ground was about ten *jang*.
The members of the Martial Alliance watched in awe as I soared past twenty *jang*.
“That young man, the Fire Dragon Sword, is incredible!”
The Drunken Immortal Chanter exclaimed, his head tilted all the way back to watch me.
“Among us, only the Grand Elder and the Alliance Lord would be capable of that!”
Hyukryeon Byeok-gyo, looking at me, gently wrapped her arms around my neck.
Long ago, in the deep well of the grass-thatched pavilion, and on the long two-thousand-*li* journey from Mount Heng to Luoyang, a ten-year-old Hyukryeon Byeok-gyo had spent nearly every moment being carried on my back or in my arms.
I felt her gaze upon me but deliberately kept my eyes fixed upward.
*Swish!*
Just then, Baek-un appeared beneath our feet, and Mi-hyang called out.
“Master Ak! Get on!”
I landed inside the palanquin, seating Hyukryeon Byeok-gyo and Manbulseon on either side of the table before taking a seat myself.
Manbulseon couldn't close his mouth, marveling at Baek-un.
“Amitabha! So this is the legendary divine bird, the Roc!”
Hyukryeon Byeok-gyo, however, only had eyes for me.
Mi-hyang smiled brightly and said.
“Shall we depart?”
“Let’s go fifty *jang* above the Demonic Emperor's Grand Union ship.”
“Understood.”
Mi-hyang immediately steered Baek-un above the ship of the Demonic Emperor's Grand Union.
Hyukryeon Byeok-gyo looked at me with a puzzled expression.
“What are you planning to do?”
As soon as Baek-un was over the Demonic Emperor's ship, I leaped over the railing.
“Mi-hyang, ascend higher and stand by!”
“Yes!”
“Brother Yong!”
Hyukryeon Byeok-gyo cried out in surprise.
I didn't want to miss this golden opportunity for a thrilling brawl with some of the strongest masters around.
Four of the Nine Demonic Union Lords, thirty Life-Reaping Masters, and a hundred Soul-Suppressing Masters—wasn't it magnificent!
Opportunities to face such a formidable force would be rare in my life ahead.
I didn't think I could kill them all. If I found myself in a perilous situation, I would call Baek-un and escape. Until then, I intended to fight with all my might, to my heart's content.
I had recently fought ten Life-Reaping Masters and had estimated at the time that I could fight on even terms with twenty of them.
My estimation might be off, but thirty Life-Reaping Masters—the very thought ignited my fighting spirit.
And on top of that, there were four of the Nine Demonic Union Lords and a hundred Soul-Suppressing Masters. If they were to attack me in concert with their various advanced martial arts, the sense of crisis and pressure would be something I had never experienced before.
The Demonic Emperor's ship was visible about twenty *jang* below. I thought I should create a barrier of ice with my Yin Essence to slow my descent.
“Brother Yong!”
“!”
At that moment, I heard Hyukryeon Byeok-gyo's cry from above.
Looking up, I saw her descending rapidly from about five *jang* above me.
“Byeok-gyo!”
A pang of self-reproach hit me. *Damn it!*
It was my mistake not to consider that if I jumped from Baek-un, Hyukryeon Byeok-gyo would follow. It was exactly what she would do.
Over a decade ago, one day as I was traveling to Luoyang, disguised as a beggar and going door-to-door, a young Hyukryeon Byeok-gyo, who was seeking sleep in my arms in a small earth god shrine in the forest, had said this.
“My parents may have given birth to me, but you, Brother Yong, are the one who gave my existence meaning.”
Hyukryeon Byeok-gyo descended even faster, then grabbed my arm with both hands.
“Let's go together!”
“Alliance Lord!”
Hyukryeon Byeok-gyo gazed at me.
“Brother Yong, call me by my name, like you used to.”
She smiled faintly.
“It's alright when it's just the two of us, isn't it?”
I put on a stern expression.
“Byeok-gyo! Are you a fool? Why did you follow me?”
Despite the urgent situation, Hyukryeon Byeok-gyo smiled calmly when I said her name.
“Are you going to make an ice barrier like before?”
Hyukryeon Byeok-gyo knew that I had used an ice barrier to slow down earlier.
“Let me try.”
I felt her tighten her grip on my arm and sensed she was about to do something.
When the distance to the Demonic Emperor's ship closed to about ten *jang*, I suddenly felt as if the two of us had become as light as feathers.
As a result, our rapid descent slowed to less than half its speed.
Looking down, I saw the masters of the Demonic Emperor's Grand Union gathered on the deck, watching us sharply.
They had looked up upon hearing voices from the sky and saw us descending.
The masters of the Demonic Emperor's Grand Union stepped back, creating a space for us to land.
*Thud!*
Hyukryeon Byeok-gyo and I landed on the deck with a slight heaviness.
The masters of the Demonic Emperor's Grand Union looked back and forth between us and the sky.
But in the sky, there was only a clear, blue expanse.
These men had been making full preparations to attack the Alliance Lord's ship, which they were about to overtake.
However, they couldn't have imagined that the woman who had just descended from the sky was the Alliance Lord herself.
It seemed they hadn't seen me soar into the sky with the Alliance Lord and Manbulseon.
“Who are you?”
Among the masters of the Demonic Emperor's Grand Union surrounding us, four stood to one side. One of them asked coldly.
I guessed from their luxurious attire that they were four of the Nine Demonic Union Lords.
Furthermore, the fact that they didn't recognize Hyukryeon Byeok-gyo, even seeing her up close, made it clear they had never seen the Martial Alliance Lord in person.
I didn't even glance at the man who had just spoken.
“You don't need to know.”
Hyukryeon Byeok-gyo gently released my arm and sent a telepathic message.
[Brother Yong, what's your plan?]
[I'm going to fight.]
I said, neither affectionately nor coldly. I was very glad to see Hyukryeon Byeok-gyo after more than ten years, but with the issue of marriage between us, I couldn't treat her according to my feelings.
[I know. How are we going to fight?]
Hyukryeon Byeok-gyo didn't ask why I wanted to fight them.
[Do you have a good method?]
[Let's attack together.]
The Demonic Union Lords were saying something, but I ignored them.
[Tell me your method.]
[If you tell me beforehand what martial art you're going to use, I'll use the same one. We'll stay close and attack left and right respectively.]
What she meant was that no matter what martial art I used, she could use the same one.
That meant she knew a great many martial arts.
At that moment, something flashed through my mind.
‘As I thought, it's highly likely Byeok-gyo has mastered the manuals from the Martial Archives!’
When I didn't answer, Hyukryeon Byeok-gyo looked at me. She seemed completely unconcerned by the enemies swarming around us.
I could feel that being with me made her completely unafraid of our foes.
It wasn't because I was powerful, but because I provided her with great mental comfort, making her feel secure.
She didn't say such things, but I could feel that sentiment from her.
Just then, two masters slowly walked toward us from our right.
I had been lost in thought and hadn't heard clearly, but I think the order was something like 'Subdue them!'
The two men had the characters ‘鎭魂’ (Soul Suppression) embroidered in black on their chests, so they seemed to be Soul-Suppressing Masters.
Since they didn't know who we were, they were sending out two Soul-Suppressing Masters to subdue us first.
I paid no mind to the two approaching men and sent a telepathic message to Hyukryeon Byeok-gyo.
[First, let's break the two masts.]
[Alright. Which one should we break first?]
There were three masts in total, with the central one being the thickest, about a fathom and a half in circumference.
With three large sails, their ship had been able to pursue the one Hyukryeon Byeok-gyo was on at high speed.
[I'll take the central mast.]
The central mast was the largest and thickest. It was seven *jang* high and a fathom and a half thick.
[Got it. Do we meet back here after breaking the masts?]
[Aye.]
Hyukryeon Byeok-gyo's eyes widened as she looked at me.
[What is it?]
[It's nothing.]
She was a little surprised that I'd said 'Aye' like an old man, but I didn't realize it. I never used to speak like that when I was with her.
During my time living as a reclusive master in Dong-ro Prefecture, my speech and behavior had unknowingly stiffened into that of an old man, but I myself was not aware of it.
*Swish!*
We floated up a *jang* from the deck, then shot off to either side, thrusting our fists fiercely toward the central and forward masts.
*Whoooom!*
An formless, powerful energy erupted from my and Hyukryeon Byeok-gyo's fists.
I used seventy years of energy to unleash the Shaolin Hundred-Pace Divine Fist as a Fist Aura.
From the sound of it, Hyukryeon Byeok-gyo was also unleashing the Hundred-Pace Divine Fist's Fist Aura. It seemed to be a coincidence.
To break the masts, the most suitable technique was to unleash Fist Aura with the Hundred-Pace Divine Fist.
The masters of the Demonic Emperor's Grand Union were completely taken by surprise.
“What are you doing?”
“Stop!”
*Crack!*
Simultaneously with the dull thud, the bases of the two masts broke clean through and began to slowly tilt to one side.
*Craaack! Screeech!*
The two massive, broken masts tilted in the same direction to the right side of the ship, crushing the cabins and railings.
*CRUUUUNCH!*
“Waaah!”
“Aargh! The ship is tilting!”
The masters of the Demonic Emperor's Grand Union staggered to keep their balance, while the sailors screamed in chaos.
In the process, the ship rocked violently and listed heavily to one side.
As the masters tried to regain their balance, I shot back to my original spot and sent Hyukryeon Byeok-gyo a telepathic message.
[Now! Let's attack!]
[What technique?]
[Taiji Wisdom Sword!]
[Got it! Brother Yong, you take the right!]
[Aye!]
When I said 'Aye', we had returned to our original positions. Hyukryeon Byeok-gyo looked at me, her face full of laughter.
Since Hyukryeon Byeok-gyo had learned martial arts from the Ten Great Elders, she would naturally have mastered Shaolin's Hundred-Pace Divine Fist and Wudang's Taiji Wisdom Sword.
I shot to the right and drew the Fire Dragon Sword.
[Attack only one or a few at a time! Sword Shatters Yin and Yang!]
[Yes!]
Our opponents were four Demonic Union Lords, Life-Reaping Masters, and Soul-Suppressing Masters. They were not a disorderly mob, so we had to abandon any greed to fell many with a single strike.