Chapter 117
Translator: penny
Chapter: 117
Chapter Title: Part 2 Begins
Recently, the weather had turned chilly, and now white flakes were drifting down from the sky.
It was the first snow of the year.
It wasn't enough to accumulate on the ground, but it was plenty to herald the start of winter.
Moyong Hui raised her voice in delight at the sight of the first snow.
"Hubby! It's the first snow!"
She flailed her arms, trying to catch the snowflakes, but there were so few that they melted into water the moment they touched her hands.
Baek Rihyeon was doing the same beside her, sneakily cupping his hands to catch them while glancing around.
But watching them, I could only give a wry smile.
'What's so great about that white trash?'
It had a certain poetic charm, sure, but that was it.
In contrast, the inconveniences were endless.
Suddenly, memories of my days as a lowly warrior in the Red Serpent Sect came flooding back.
'Back then, we shoveled like maniacs.'
The moment even a little snow piled up, it was like the end of the world. The higher-ups would hound us relentlessly whenever it snowed.
Thanks to that, we'd wake up at dawn, swapping our swords for brooms and shovels to clear the snow.
And it wasn't like we could just clear the snow and call it a day.
No, far from it.
'We still had to do all our regular duties.'
Clearing snow was just the baseline.
Our actual work still had to get done.
If you slacked on your duties because of snow shoveling, you'd get a beating.
That's unorthodox factions for you.
In the end, we sacrificed sleep to get it all done—and that went on for over ten years.
'And even during my Lecherous Demon days, there were no fond memories.'
Snow left footprints.
After reaching the Snowy Path Without Traces realm, it wasn't so bad, but right after grasping the true essence of the Blissful Creation Art and leaving the Red Serpent Sect, hiding those tracks had been a nightmare... I'd even been in danger because of footprints I couldn't fully erase.
On top of that, there were memories of slipping on icy ground or getting lost in blizzards. So snow triggered an instinctive aversion in me.
'On days like this, I should be drinking in a brothel.'
What kind of lavish life was this, trudging through the snow on foot?
Still, watching Moyong Hui enjoy it eased my negative feelings about the snow just a bit.
As we walked, I began sensing dozens of presences in the distance.
Along with faint ripples of energy.
'...What is it? Some kind of fight?'
Somwol's words from Beijing came back to me belatedly.
—The righteous-demonic war you mentioned before... it might actually happen. The Murim Alliance and Four Black Alliance haven't fully mobilized yet, but skirmishes keep breaking out in Shandong and Jiangsu.
We were right between Shandong and Henan.
Jiangsu was right next door.
'Hmm, what a pain.'
If I were alone, I'd go watch, but I had companions now.
Not that I was worried about danger.
'The problem is, if we go, we'll definitely get dragged in.'
It was probably righteous and unorthodox factions clashing—who could just spectate?
Moyong Hui would jump in even if I told her not to.
'Hui would side with the righteous faction, no question.'
That wasn't a bad thing.
It was just... a hassle.
Getting involved in sect fights meant endless entanglements.
Exchanging names, helping clean up, listening to their stories... it'd eat up tons of time.
'Worst case, we get stuck there for days.'
If it were just me, I'd ignore them all and do as I pleased, but with Moyong Hui here, that wasn't easy.
Her sense of justice overflowed like that.
'Of course, that's part of her charm...'
Anyway, fights were fun to watch, but I didn't want to waste time like that.
Soon the righteous-demonic war would kick off, and I'd see plenty then.
'Better to pretend we didn't notice and keep going.'
I called out to Moyong Hui, who was ahead, to change our path.
Or tried to.
"Hui..."
"Hubby!"
Moyong Hui spun around and rushed back.
Then she continued urgently.
"You felt it too, right?"
'Damn...'
I'd forgotten she was at the Fire Realm.
Meanwhile, Cheon Woojin, still at the tail end of Pinnacle Realm, blinked in confusion.
"What's going on?"
"Sounds like a fight up ahead."
"A fight?"
Cheon Woojin and Moyong Hui turned to me.
Baek Rihyeon watched with eager eyes too.
In this situation, I couldn't exactly say to ignore it and pass by.
In the end, I nodded reluctantly.
"...Tch, let's check it out."
No choice but to hope it wrapped up neatly.
'Best if it's over by the time we get there.'
I pretended to be cautious, lowering my stance and advancing slowly.
The others had no choice but to match my pace.
Chaeng—chaeng—
As we closed in, the clash of blades rang out.
Infusing my eyes with internal energy, I saw dozens of warriors colliding.
About twenty in black uniforms wielding spears.
Roughly ten in gray robes with swords.
Most of the fallen on the ground wore gray robes.
'It's basically over.'
Another gray-robed figure crumpled in that moment.
The power gap between the groups was huge from the start.
'Blacks have one Pinnacle expert and the rest First-rate. Grays have one Pinnacle and only two First-rates.'
The grays had held out this long thanks to that one Pinnacle master.
She faced five spears with a single sword.
But as the other Pinnacle joined in, she was quickly pushed back.
'Impressive joint attack techniques. It's done... Huh?'
The gray robe barely blocked a spear thrust from behind.
And at that instant,
"Hold it right there!!"
I unleashed my lightness skill at full speed.
'A beauty!'
Her back view had been obscured by the others—I'd noticed too late.
The gray-robed Pinnacle expert was stunning. No, breathtaking.
I bellowed to save her, but the spear tips were already at her throat.
Deadly trajectories no victim could survive.
Not even time for formless energy.
'Damn, how did I miss her so late?'
If a beauty like this died so pointlessly, it'd haunt me forever.
I'd regret not acting sooner for life.
To avert that future, I pushed my lightness skill desperately.
Did my sincerity reach the heavens?
Just before the spears touched her, I barely arrived.
And simultaneously,
Celestial Apex Sword Technique.
One Flash.
I deflected four spears with my fastest sword strike.
Southern Barbarian Beast Fist.
Fierce Tiger Kick.
I even used my legs—rare for me—to block two more spears.
It was a close call.
I broke a sweat for the first time in ages.
But I'd blocked them all.
The woman behind me was unscathed, and the black-uniformed spear wielders staggered back several steps.
"Kugh, what the...!"
They looked utterly baffled by the sudden turn.
From their perspective, I'd appeared out of nowhere.
'Whew, that was really dangerous.'
The most perilous moment since my regression.
The woman behind me sighed in relief, realizing she'd brushed death.
"Whoever you are, thank y—"
Her beautiful voice rang out from behind as I turned to respond.
Swaeek—
The black-uniformed men attacked again without a word, as if waiting.
Their target: the beauty behind me.
Normally, you'd talk first, but they showed no hesitation.
They were dead set on killing her.
'What, blood feud or something?'
But it was pointless now.
Earlier, the distance made it risky; these attacks? I could stop them with a finger.
I used my sword for style, of course.
Chaeng—chaejaejaeng—
The spears flew back again.
Yet they charged relentlessly.
Others joined in, thrusting spears.
Now I was curious.
'Who the hell are these guys?'
I'd never seen this spear style before, but it was top-notch.
Every move was a killing blow.
'Joint techniques are solid too.'
At first, I thought soldiers, but it didn't match any army drill spear forms I knew.
More like assassins.
As I blocked spears for her, something I'd forgotten hit me.
'...Where's Hui?'
Looking back the way I'd come, Moyong Hui stood motionless about twenty away.
Her brow furrowed, eyes closed in distress. Not a good sign.
'No way...?'
Why else would she react like that?
A bad feeling crept up.
"Stop!"
The black-uniformed leader finally realized it was futile and halted his spear.
He snarled viciously through gritted teeth.
"Who the hell are you to interfere with the Shandong Evil Clan's business?"
Looks like I'd picked the wrong spot to show up.