Chapter 410
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 410
Chapter Title: I Clearly Said It
Yeon Ja-kyeong sat lost in thought in his office.
He had urgently summoned Cheon Gi-buk and ordered him to head to the Heavenly Eye Pavilion.
But how would they react?
So Hwi-woong was there, too.
"Still, Strategist Gong Son should know how to handle it appropriately."
He knew there was no choice but to let it slide.
That was politics, after all.
But there was one thing that worried him.
Ha Mu-baek.
That man didn't play politics.
He was the one who had personally gone into the Mountain-Crossing Demonic Forest and captured jiangshi.
If he took a dislike to something, he might just beat Cheon Gi-buk black and blue.
Yeon Ja-kyeong hadn't forgotten the outrage Ha Mu-baek had committed when he left the Righteous Heaven Alliance.
As he sat there deep in thought...
"Wh-what is that?"
A massive presence registered in his senses.
It was from a distance he normally wouldn't detect.
But the sheer magnitude of it was being openly broadcast, so even Yeon Ja-kyeong could sense it.
"N-no way..."
At this moment,
there was only one person in the Righteous Heaven Alliance who could emit such an overwhelming presence.
Alliance Leader So Hwi-woong.
Yet there had been no report of him moving.
At that moment,
a transmission reached Yeon Ja-kyeong's ears.
[It seems Ha Mu-baek is heading this way.]
'I-is it really this strong?'
In Yeon Ja-kyeong's estimation, it surpassed even So Hwi-woong.
'As expected...'.
Yeon Ja-kyeong nodded with a slightly paling face.
That was why he had been so wary of Ha Mu-baek and demoted him outside the alliance.
The true number one from the last Martial World Tournament hadn't been So Hwi-woong—it had been Ha Mu-baek.
It wasn't for nothing that he had gathered White Flower Self-Light Grass and had Yeo Hong-gi brew the Scattering Energy Poison.
So Hwi-woong's greatest strength wasn't his own martial prowess, but his Hocheon Corps Leader, Ha Mu-baek.
To seize control of the Righteous Heaven Alliance, Ha Mu-baek had to be sidelined.
And even after he left headquarters, a means to suppress him in case of emergency was necessary.
Yeon Ja-kyeong hurriedly opened a drawer in his desk.
What he pulled out was the antidote.
The antidote for Self-Light Scattering Energy Poison.
In case he ever needed to use it on Ha Mu-baek.
He swallowed it quickly. It would still work even if taken in advance.
"Th-the Hocheon Corps Leader Ha Mu-baek requests an audience with Grand Elder."
A shout came from outside the office.
"Let him in."
Yeon Ja-kyeong replied in a heavy voice.
The door opened, and Ha Mu-baek entered.
His eyes gleamed fiercely.
Yeon Ja-kyeong remained seated at his desk,
gazing steadily at Ha Mu-baek.
"It's been a while, Grand Elder."
"Indeed. Instructor Ha."
Ha Mu-baek smiled thinly.
"You intend to keep a guest standing like this?"
Yeon Ja-kyeong smiled back at Ha Mu-baek's words.
"I never invited you."
Ha Mu-baek shrugged at the response and lightly crooked a finger.
Then,
a large chair from the conference table on one side flew over to his side.
Ha Mu-baek sat down casually.
"Not everyone waits for an invitation."
Sparks flew from the eyes of the two men facing each other.
Yeon Ja-kyeong clenched his left hand, lowered beneath the desk.
Ha Mu-baek.
This man had no intention of concealing his presence.
Only because Yeon Ja-kyeong had recently made remarkable progress could he stand up to it.
Otherwise,
he would surely have been overwhelmed by that aura.
Yeon Ja-kyeong began to raise his own aura.
'Unexpected.'
A year ago, Yeon Ja-kyeong's level hadn't been anywhere near this.
He might have hidden his true strength back then,
but Ha Mu-baek's Infinite Bright Wheel Eye couldn't be fooled.
He had made genuine progress in the interim.
'So he's not just a power-hungry old snake after all?'
Ha Mu-baek hadn't considered Yeon Ja-kyeong a true warrior.
He had seen him as an old monster obsessed with power.
Yet he had set foot in the initial stage of the realm beyond transcendent.
'At this level... he could take on two of the Blood Cult's Ten Elders at once.'
He still fell short of former Blood Cult Leader Gae Hong-cheon's realm.
Thus,
Ha Mu-baek raised his aura to just half a step above a Blood Cult Leader's.
Even that presence was tremendous.
"So, what brings an uninvited guest to me?"
Ha Mu-baek stared silently at Yeon Ja-kyeong's question.
"You're a scarier man than I thought."
Yeon Ja-kyeong tilted his head in genuine confusion at Ha Mu-baek's words.
The young master of the Hubei Yeon Clan—Yeon Ja-kyeong's own eldest son—had lost his life because of Ha Mu-baek.
Ha Mu-baek hadn't killed him directly, but he had maneuvered things that way.
Yet there wasn't a trace of resentment for his son's death in Yeon Ja-kyeong's eyes as he looked at Ha Mu-baek.
That was why he called him scary.
Facing someone no different from the murderer of his own flesh and blood,
with such composure.
Ha Mu-baek doubted he could stay so calm in the same position.
Hadn't he turned Pavilion Lord Pang's grandson into pulp just for toying with Ha Seol-ran?
Yeon Ja-kyeong was doing effortlessly what Ha Mu-baek himself couldn't,
which was why he called him a scary man.
Not frightening, but scary.
Tilting his head, Yeon Ja-kyeong met Ha Mu-baek's gaze and seemed to realize something.
"You mean Baek Ryang? That was his fault for not controlling his lust. Foolish boy."
Yeon Ja-kyeong's voice held not even a shred of resentment.
If that was genuine, it was terrifying.
If he was hiding it, even more so.
He had concealed it so perfectly that even Ha Mu-baek hadn't noticed.
The moment that realization hit,
killing intent began to rise slowly from Ha Mu-baek's body.
It would be cleaner to just kill a man like that here.
Killing intent rose from Yeon Ja-kyeong's body as well.
Staying passive against someone directing killing intent at you was for fools.
At the same moment,
Ching! Ching! Ching! Ching!
Four people burst from seemingly empty air, swords aimed at Ha Mu-baek.
Azure Silk Phantom Void Concealment Art.
The Hubei Yeon Clan's supreme concealment technique.
Naturally, they were the clan's strongest warriors.
Four of the Yeon Clan's Six Tiger Guardians were hidden here, protecting him.
Ha Mu-baek glanced indifferently at them.
All in the mid-transcendent realm or higher.
The Hubei Yeon Clan lived up to its name as the foremost orthodox clan.
Even against the heads of the Nine Great Sects and Five Great Clans, these four wouldn't be outmatched.
They had been concealed around Yeon Ja-kyeong, guarding him.
Of course, Ha Mu-baek had sensed their presence upon entering.
That was why he remained unfazed even as they appeared suddenly.
"For the foremost orthodox clan, the Hubei Yeon Clan has far too much concealment in its martial arts."
A murmur.
But loud enough for everyone present to hear clearly.
The Yeon Clan's guardians took it as blatant provocation,
and their sword tips advanced another inch.
Ha Mu-baek smirked at the sight.
"Careful, or you might die."
A calm warning delivered with utter serenity.
The moment the words ended,
"Insolent bastard!"
With that furious shout, four sword tips flew toward Ha Mu-baek.
A perfect combined assault targeting front, rear, left, right.
Sky-blue sword auras gathered on the four blades.
Azure Silk.
The term symbolizing the Yeon Clan's martial arts.
Sky-blue silk like the heavens.
That was the Yeon Clan's art, manifested as sword aura.
The swords hurtled forward with terrifying speed and momentum, as if to cleave Ha Mu-baek into four pieces.
Ku-ang!
A single massive clash echoed.
"Kuhk."
"Urk."
"Eugh."
"Hngh."
Four cries of pain erupted as four figures were hurled violently in the opposite direction.
Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!
The four guardians slammed into the walls.
A translucent white qi barrier enveloped Ha Mu-baek.
His protective qi materialized into a spherical shield.
The guardians' swords had been blocked by it, and the rebound force sent them flying.
As they staggered to their feet, their faces were deathly pale.
Fresh blood trickled from their mouths.
The moment the white protective qi barrier around Ha Mu-baek vanished,
a blade of pure white frost qi formed in his hand.
Ha Mu-baek slowly raised his arm.
With just two casual swings,
the four guardians reacted in alarm, swinging their swords with full power.
Blades brimming with azure silk sword auras.
Despite their internal injuries, they squeezed out every last drop of inner energy.
Kwakwakwang!
Another massive explosion rang out.
The four guardians simultaneously
"Urk."
vomited black blood clots.
Ha Mu-baek gazed at them indifferently and raised his hand once more.
At that instant,
"Enough. I apologize for their rashness."
Yeon Ja-kyeong spoke.
He even rose from his seat and bowed his head slightly.
Ha Mu-baek looked at him and said,
"You after those fools. Haven't decided yet."
His voice dripped with killing intent.
Yet contrary to his words, Ha Mu-baek lowered his hand.
"Next time, you die."
A curt warning to the four guardians.
Yeon Ja-kyeong turned to them and said,
"Withdraw and tend to your wounds. Don't come unless I call, no matter what."
At their clan head's stern command,
the four guardians bowed their heads and vanished from the spot.
Despite their severe internal injuries, they disappeared without a trace.
A movement worthy of supreme concealment arts.
Yeon Ja-kyeong stared piercingly at Ha Mu-baek.
'At the very least, the brink of the Transformation Realm.'
Transformation Realm.
More precisely, the Realm of Creation.
True to its name.
The supreme realm where one commands harmony in martial arts.
As far as was known, the only one in the Righteous Heaven Alliance who had entered the Transformation Realm was Alliance Leader So Hwi-woong.
Unofficially, those who knew Ha Mu-baek's true nature were convinced he had as well.
Yeon Ja-kyeong was among them.
Yet even though he himself had recently broken through that wall into the early Transformation Realm,
he couldn't gauge the level of the Ha Mu-baek before him.
The unrelenting killing intent surging toward him was simply terrifying.
Someone in the Transformation Realm whose level couldn't be read was at least at its peak.
Yeon Ja-kyeong cautiously toyed with the Self-Light Scattering Energy Poison hidden in the paper clutched in his left hand.
Should he administer it now?
To poison that monster, he'd need to distract him even for an instant.
With all the guardians down, he wasn't sure he could buy even that much time.
"Still hesitating?"
Ha Mu-baek said.
"Whether to kill you now or not."
Ha Mu-baek's killing intent thickened further, completely engulfing the Grand Elder's office.
"They say it's better to act first and regret later than to hesitate and regret never acting."
Yeon Ja-kyeong spoke with a composed expression.
His very life hung on Ha Mu-baek's indecision,
yet he spoke as if urging him to kill.
"You're a scary one indeed. Not frightening, but scary."
Ha Mu-baek chuckled.
Yeon Ja-kyeong absolutely didn't want to die.
His ambitions were far too grand for that.
Yet that attitude, as if it would be good for Ha Mu-baek to kill him.
It was possible only because he knew Ha Mu-baek couldn't kill him.
The reason was simple.
No justification.
This man was an orthodox warrior.
Acting on whims made him seem like a street thug,
and nothing like an orthodox warrior.
Yet Ha Mu-baek was undeniably one.
Everything he did had justification.
He never moved without it.
Even when he was demoted.
Even smashing the Discipline Hall Lord.
They had pinned the crime of assaulting a superior on him, so he acted accordingly.
It had been a false accusation from the start—he'd never assaulted anyone.
He merely turned the false charge into a real one.
If the Discipline Hall Lord had used any other justification than assaulting a superior,
he wouldn't have been smashed like that.
'He has no justification to kill me now.'
That was what Yeon Ja-kyeong trusted.
He trusted Ha Mu-baek as an orthodox warrior, and the justification he himself held.
"Hoo."
Ha Mu-baek let out a deep sigh.
"An old snake that doesn't even flinch when you poke the grass."
He had entered the snake den,
but it still wouldn't budge.
"I don't know what you're plotting. But know your limits."
A sticky warning flowed from Ha Mu-baek's lips.
His killing intent reached its peak.
As if everything before had been mere play.
Demonic Cult Leader Seok Won-cho.
A killing intent immense enough to crush him utterly.
He judged this level necessary for a proper warning.
That terrifying pressure focused entirely on Yeon Ja-kyeong.
"Ugh."
Yeon Ja-kyeong gritted his teeth, his body trembling uncontrollably.
Terror seeped into his eyes.
In this situation,
it was crystal clear that one gesture from Ha Mu-baek would end him.
With death staring him in the face,
even the great Yeon Ja-kyeong felt fear.
At that moment.
[To feel fear from mere killing intent like this? Pathetic. Accept my power. The power of heaven embraces all.]
A voice echoed in Yeon Ja-kyeong's mindscape.
[No. Accept my power. The power of light illuminates all.]
Another voice rang out.
Previously, they had overlapped into a bizarre, eerie tone.
Now they sounded separately.
Reacting to Ha Mu-baek's power, they had begun to assert themselves.
Yeon Ja-kyeong's face twisted grotesquely.
At that instant,
Ha Mu-baek's killing intent vanished as if washed away.
Even Ha Mu-baek hadn't noticed what was happening in Yeon Ja-kyeong's mindscape.
"If you give me even one good reason, I'll kill you then."
Ha Mu-baek's voice echoed from behind Yeon Ja-kyeong.
Phantom Illusion Steps.
The supreme concealment movement art Ha Mu-baek had chanced upon during the Martial World Tournament.
Even Yeon Ja-kyeong, in the early Transformation Realm, completely lost track of him.
Yeon Ja-kyeong whipped around in shock.
At that moment,
Puk!
Ha Mu-baek's fist plunged straight into Yeon Ja-kyeong's solar plexus.
"Guhk!"
It was a pure muscular strike without inner energy,
but the pain was excruciating.
'D-damn it...'.
"I clearly said it."
With those final words, Ha Mu-baek vanished.
Yeon Ja-kyeong gnashed his teeth in humiliation.
'Self-Light Scattering Energy Poison won't work.'
It was instinct, pure gut feeling.
'I need to get stronger.'
Ha Mu-baek had poked the snake again.
And the snake coiled even tighter.
But its eyes blazed with fury.
[Accept my power. Heaven overwhelms all.]
[Accept my power. Light illuminates all.]
The two voices still echoed in his mindscape.
Yeon Ja-kyeong no longer dismissed them merely as heart demons.
"I'll repay this humiliation. Ha Mu-baek..."
Yeon Ja-kyeong muttered in a voice thick with killing intent.