Chapter 22
Chapter 22
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 22
Chapter Title: A Brief Partnership (4)
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It was Tu Guang's mistake to even think he would be let go.
Ouyang Jue never thought of himself as a man of justice.
If anything, he was the type to view such people with contempt or suspicion.
And yet, this man had the audacity to perform a farewell salute right in front of him.
An utterly foolish act.
To Ouyang Jue, Tu Guang's foolish gesture was an opportunity.
An opportunity to turn the tables on his overwhelming disadvantage!
'What a fool.'
Ouyang Jue unleashed the sharp aura of Severing Manifestation at Tu Guang.
*CRASH, SLICE!*
The cry of the sword, fully tempered by the Taotie, tore through the air with a forceful roar.
The sharp aura that followed was more than enough to slice through the displaced air.
Seeing this, Tu Guang took a sharp breath and forgot his pain. He even forgot that he was bleeding.
*GRIND!*
Instead, he fueled his heart with rage.
Considering he had lost both arms in a single exchange, Tu Guang's decision was nothing short of superhuman.
But if he didn't, he would die.
With a great leap, Tu Guang dodged the attack.
*SPLATTER.* Blood sprayed from the stumps of his severed arms.
-Ak-gun.
-Yes, brother.
His younger brother Ak-gun's voice was filled with grim determination.
Tu Guang gave a bitter smile as he assessed his remaining strength.
Another fifteen minutes? No, less than that.
It didn't matter.
Tu Guang smiled brightly at the sight of Ouyang Jue rushing toward him, silhouetted against the moonlight.
-This man is a dragon.
-...What?
-How can one hope to slay a dragon with human hands?
Ak-gun understood the meaning behind those words.
But it was too dangerous.
Ak-gun clenched his jaw. His face contorted with rage, creasing his skin.
-Brother, it's too dangerous.
-If we don't finish him here, he'll become an even greater menace. Avenge our brother? There will be no chance. We have to kill him now.
-Brother!
-I won't hear your answer.
With that, Tu Guang recoiled and kicked the flat of Severing Manifestation's blade.
*CLANG!*
Tu Guang's brow furrowed.
The last exchange had sliced away a chunk of his thigh. The muscle quivered.
'I've lost too much blood.'
Tu Guang shrugged.
It had been a miscalculation from the start.
Ouyang Jue was not a man to be judged by the standards of the Orthodox Sects or their rising stars.
He was of the Unorthodox Faction, or perhaps a rogue.
Ouyang Jue's methods were, in fact, more akin to theirs.
His swordsmanship had carried the scent of plum blossoms, yet its form was unrestrained.
At times, its edges were blurred, like a wildflower.
Yes, just like now.
*WHOOSH!*
Devoid of any set form or the repetitive sequences typical of the Orthodox Sects, Ouyang Jue's sword flew.
The tip of the blade aimed straight for the center of Tu Guang's neck.
"...Hrk!"
Tu Guang let out a pained groan, but his footwork never faltered.
With no arms, he had to move twice as much as Ouyang Jue.
Just then, Ouyang Jue's lips moved.
"Feeling proud of yourself?"
The question caught Tu Guang off guard, and for a moment, he lost focus.
*SCRAPE.* Severing Manifestation exploited the opening.
First, a breath. Second, a Sky-Turning Kick.
This was the sequence of attack Tu Guang had intended to use against Ouyang Jue just moments before.
But somehow, Severing Manifestation was now between them. Its sudden intrusion split the sequence in two.
"Good heavens."
Tu Guang gasped in shock as he executed the Frenzied Chaos Steps.
*WHOOSH, TAP.*
The powerful steps, infused with immense internal energy, struck the air and ground, blunting the edge of Severing Manifestation's aura.
Tu Guang's form seemed to dissolve. No, to be precise, he blurred into the surroundings, becoming nearly impossible to see.
His speed and illusions had reached the pinnacle.
At this, Ouyang Jue's eyes narrowed.
If Dujue-gwang destroyed people with poison and Ak-gun toyed with them through schemes, then Tu Guang was the one who broke them with his martial arts.
Individually, the Three Evils of Shaanxi were but minor villains. But once they became sworn brothers, they were known as a great evil.
When Ouyang Jue had realized the Three Evils of Shaanxi were pursuing him during the Nine Dragons War, he had thought to himself.
'If three together form a great evil, then won't killing one of them solve the problem?'
'And it was a success.'
Ouyang Jue smirked, thinking of the dead Dujue-gwang.
If he had been here as well, the situation would have been quite different.
Therefore.
Kill Tu Guang here, and all that's left is a scheming scholar.
"...Hooo."
Ouyang Jue's breath escaped in a thin, long sigh.
The air flowing through his lungs invigorated the Purple Mist Divine Energy spread evenly throughout his body.
Then, he turned his back to the moonlight.
Just as Severing Manifestation shot forward like an arrow, stopping an inch from Tu Guang's chest, Tu Guang let out a faint groan.
*Ptui.*
From the sudden exertion of internal energy, blood gushed from Tu Guang's stumps.
But there was no time for weakness.
"Hmph, kgh!"
*CLANG!*
Each time sword and energy clashed, blue sparks flew.
In those brief flashes, they could make out each other's conditions.
Tu Guang, bleeding as he forced his internal energy; Ouyang Jue, appearing relaxed yet relentlessly pressing his advantage.
The original disparity in their power had long been overturned.
'Even with twice his internal energy, even after poisoning him!'
*Grind.*
Tu Guang ground his teeth.
Regret and resentment clouded his mind.
'If only I hadn't let my guard down.'
But Tu Guang's arms were long gone, and he had lost a nearly fatal amount of blood, his consciousness fading.
Soon, Tu Guang would fall.
And the consequences would fall upon Ak-gun behind him.
Ak-gun glanced anxiously at the object behind him.
'To think I'd have to use what I brought, just in case.'
Should he use it?
Or let his brother's life be thrown away in vain?
The hesitation was long, but the decision was swift.
He had already received his answer from their earlier exchange.
It didn't matter.
That was the last word Tu Guang had left for Ak-gun.
"Damn it! I won't forget this, brother."
Ak-gun carefully lifted the straw mat covering the object.
An unpleasant, acrid smell stung his nostrils.
***
Moonlight.
It didn't shine on Ouyang Jue alone.
Ha Jin-ak, too, faced the five swordsmen with his back to the moon.
In fact, he was handling five opponents with more stability than Ouyang Jue was handling one.
*WHOOSH!*
A heat intense enough to singe the peach fuzz from their cheeks relentlessly tormented the swordsmen.
Finally, one of the swordsmen, unable to contain his frustration, cried out.
"So the reputation of the Fire Cloud Red Mist Sword was no lie!"
But he should have chosen his words differently.
He was more than his reputation suggested.
Against five swordsmen of equal caliber, Ha Jin-ak held his ground, not yielding an inch.
This meant that even among peak masters, he was at the upper echelon, qualified to aim for the transcendent realm.
However, maintaining this stalemate was his limit.
'Any moment now.'
If he could just hold on a little longer, reinforcements from the Mount Hua Sect would arrive.
Ha Jin-ak taunted the swordsmen with a faint, mocking smile.
"I expected more from the so-called representative swordsmen of the Black Dragon Gang. Is this all you've got?"
"You bastard!"
Their furious reaction made Ha Jin-ak reflect inwardly.
'Spending time with Junior Brother Ouyang... have I changed a bit?'
The righteousness and duty a disciple of Mount Hua should uphold.
He had constantly nagged Ouyang Jue to teach him just that, yet here he was, the Senior-most Brother, acting like a ruffian.
Ha Jin-ak smirked.
Seeing those Black Dragon Gang scoundrels get so riled up, it didn't seem like such a bad change after all.
In fact, it was rather amusing.
"Come."
"Today, the Mount Hua Sect will burn to the ground!"
Toward Ha Jin-ak, cloaked in the moonlit darkness, the five swordsmen unleashed their most polished ultimate techniques without restraint.
Black Auspicious Sword.
Demon-Filling Single-Link Sword.
Hundred Roots Sword.
New Moon Ten Thousand Swords.
One Step Ten Swords.
Five straight lines, from which scattered dozens of streaks, embroidered the moonlit night.
"...Hah."
Beautiful.
For a moment, Ha Jin-ak was truly impressed.
Though their characters and aims were garbage, the martial arts they had mastered were not without merit.
The sword arts of the Black Dragon Gang flew in perfect concert, never colliding, aimed solely at Ha Jin-ak.
However.
'Had they maintained their coordination, they might have won. They grew too excited.'
There was but a single strike that pierced and tore through those five lines and dozens of streaks.
"Fire Wheel Red Mist Blade."
With a pleasant laugh, Ha Jin-ak lightly swung the sword in his right hand.
But the power it contained was anything but light.
"Kuaargh!"
The swordsman at the forefront, Black Auspicious Sword, doubled over like a pill bug.
Next, Demon-Filling Single-Link Sword, blasted by the intense heat, clutched at his eyes as sticky fluid oozed between his fingers.
Seeing this, Hundred Roots Sword hastily stumbled backward.
*Thwump.*
His sudden retreat sent him straight onto the blade of New Moon Ten Thousand Swords. His body offered no resistance.
Only the look of shock on the face of New Moon Ten Thousand Swords... was consumed by the fiery energy of the Fire Wheel Red Mist Blade.
"Graaaaaaah!"
Convulsing in agony, New Moon Ten Thousand Swords stumbled and tripped the approaching One Step Ten Swords.
For a moment, One Step Ten Swords lost his balance.
"...Hrk, you pathetic fools."
But he did not fall easily.
He simply bent his knees, planted his feet firmly, and lunged forward.
*BOOOOM!*
Ha Jin-ak cried out in surprise as he saw the ground erupt.
'Power-Fighting Steps?'
A footwork technique that harnesses opposing forces in a single moment to create explosive power. He'd heard it was exceedingly difficult to master.
Ha Jin-ak watched One Step Ten Swords with great interest.
One Step Ten Swords felt profoundly humiliated by his gaze.
"Don't look at me... with those eyes!"
"Is that so? My apologies."
Then I have no choice but to end this.
Ha Jin-ak raised his sword high.
In that instant.
*BOOOOOOOM—!*
A catastrophe struck.
***
'...What was that?'
Ouyang Jue slapped his own muddled head.
With a *thwack*, his vision spun.
He had been about to take Tu Guang's life and rejoin Ha Jin-ak.
When he was hit by a massive shockwave.
But he couldn't tell where it had come from.
It hadn't registered on his senses, so it couldn't have been another martial artist's intervention.
Then what was it?
Ouyang Jue tilted his head.
Only after replaying the last few moments in his mind did he remember the source of the catastrophe.
'Right, the explosion. After the blast, the ground seemed to shake...'
Ouyang Jue suddenly felt a weight pressing down on him.
Annoyance flared.
"Ugh, damn it. What is this?"
He shoved the body off with an irritated hand and saw it was Tu Guang.
His back felt unusually warm and slippery, but he thought nothing of it.
That is, until someone spoke.
"Such language is unbecoming of a Taoist, *cough!* ...Didn't I tell you not to speak like that?"
Ouyang Jue's face went pale.
His voice trembled uncontrollably.
Unable to look at him directly, he clenched his fists.
"Ah..."
Ouyang Jue couldn't say another word. He was speechless.
He simply froze after uttering that single sound.
In contrast, his thoughts were racing.
'This can't be happening. Why is he... I can't leave him like this. I have to move him somewhere, apply burn ointment, no. First...'
Then, the man kneeling on the ground spoke.
His voice was calm.
"Junior Brother Ouyang."
Ouyang Jue answered as if nothing was wrong.
No, he tried to sound as if nothing was wrong.
But his voice lacked its usual playfulness, leaving his words hollow.
"Senior-most Brother, why do you look like a poorly grilled fish?"
"...Hrk."
'You could say that,' Ha Jin-ak murmured, letting out a charred sigh.
"This Senior Brother... is too exhausted to move."
He then said, his eyes filled with sorrow.
"But you can still go, can't you, Junior Brother?"
At those words, Ouyang Jue fell silent, a sense of emptiness washing over him.
'I knew.'
He knew the Two Evils of Shaanxi were willing to go to any lengths to capture him, which was why the entire Geonhyeonmun faction had been annihilated.
If he had told Ha Jin-ak about the secret message Bai Chuan sent, this crisis might have been averted.
But what was done, was done.
And so, grief, sorrow, and a burning anger at himself surged within him.
Another layer of regret piled on.
Looking at Ha Jin-ak, who had shielded him from the gunpowder explosion with his own body, a torrent of thoughts flooded Ouyang Jue's mind.
'Why did I...'
Hide things and act so arrogantly, just because I thought the future was set in stone?
Amidst the grief, sorrow, and rage, Ouyang Jue checked his own body and found it unharmed.
Then, he raised his head and saw his staggering enemies.
"You bastards."
Ouyang Jue's gaze held enough killing intent to blot out the sky.
"Abandon all hope of leaving here alive."