Chapter 420
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 420
Chapter Title: Shit. Same Damn Place.
Chang'an.
Once the capital of the empire, it was a city so vast it transcended mere grandeur.
Won Pyeong-sam was awestruck once again as he passed through the city gates.
He'd thought nothing could surprise him after Lanzhou.
He'd been wrong.
The land of the Central Plains kept shattering the limits of his imagination.
It had been about ten days since his arrival, so the initial shock had faded somewhat.
But his movements showed no signs of trouble.
The bumpkin act from his first entry into Lanzhou was long gone.
Credit to Kang Hyo-wol.
Won Pyeong-sam had been sightseeing: one spot yesterday, another today.
His gaze stopped at a pleasure house.
Ye Ga Ru.
The large signboard caught his eye.
As he stared at it, Won Pyeong-sam thought of something else.
'The Hao Clan, huh...'
An intriguing sect.
The largest information network in the evil faction.
Yet their martial arts were weak, so they didn't get the respect they deserved.
That was the extent of Won Pyeong-sam's knowledge.
He hadn't dug around like some sleuth.
He'd simply entered this pleasure house, frolicked with the courtesans, and kept Heavenly Ear Technique active to eavesdrop.
It started as a coincidence.
Hearing it in Chang'an—once the empire's capital and now the capital of Shaanxi Province.
He'd just wanted to sample the Central Plains' pleasures, so he'd picked one of the city's top five houses on a whim.
But the courtesans coming and going had an unusual air about them.
He focused his internal energy on his ears with Heavenly Ear Technique and overheard something unexpected.
This was the Hao Clan's headquarters.
They harbored resentment and grudges.
He didn't know why.
But they craved power.
'If I gave them that power, could I use them?'
This was what Won Pyeong-sam had been pondering deeply lately.
His time in the Central Plains had shown him it was a prosperous yet vast land.
Carrying out the Demon Lord's noble command alone felt insufficient.
He needed hands and feet to serve him.
These people could be more—eyes and ears too.
Won Pyeong-sam stared intently at the signboard before stepping into Ye Ga Ru again today.
His senses still heightened to the max.
Even as he played with the courtesan, he scanned every corner of the place.
There was an intriguing presence.
'Who could it be?'
Won Pyeong-sam's attention was fixed underground.
The beautiful courtesan laughed beside him, offering drinks, but he merely held out his cup formally.
She'd seen every type of patron.
She couldn't miss his demeanor.
Still, she smiled brightly and gave her all.
It stung her pride, but she was a courtesan selling smiles—she focused on her job.
What good would storming out do? What humiliation might follow?
Better this than the endless perverts and scum.
A man with no interest in her, yet here in a brothel—who knew why.
"You're too quiet. Play the qin for me."
At Won Pyeong-sam's words, the courtesan thought it a relief and fetched her qin, fingers dancing over the strings.
Beautiful notes filled the room.
Won Pyeong-sam closed his eyes gently.
He seemed immersed in the music, but in truth, he focused even more on his senses.
This beat taking drinks half-heartedly.
His senses probed the presence underground relentlessly.
For one reason.
The energy from below was the strongest in this Hao Clan headquarters.
'Training in martial arts... impressive talent.'
But to Won Pyeong-sam, it wasn't without flaws.
'Who is it?'
Curiosity stirred.
Mingled with impure motives about what to do with the Hao Clan.
Yeong So-hyang.
Eldest daughter of the previous Hao Clan Lord, Ye Cho-a.
She was obsessed with martial arts.
By the grace of the new Hao Clan Lord, Bae Un-san, she secluded herself solely in training at the headquarters' closed-door chamber.
She'd entered the day before the full moon festival and devoted over ten months purely to cultivation.
Blood Sea Ghost Thread Formation.
A martial art tossed her way like scraps from the Blood Cult.
Yet as one of the Evil Faction's Five Great Formations, its power was tremendous.
The ultimate technique among ultimates—she thought it'd be hard to master, but her progress was swift.
As if it were made for her.
She reached the Ninth Realm as easily as donning old clothes.
Mastering Blood Sea Ghost Thread Formation to the Ninth Realm elevated Yeong So-hyang to the early Pinnacle Realm.
It took eight months.
Faster than one realm per month.
But then.
She hit a wall.
No progress from the Ninth Realm.
Stuck at early Pinnacle, no further advancement.
Frustrating beyond words.
Stalled at early Pinnacle—when would she grow strong enough to avenge her mother and sister?
The Blood Cult remnants still wielded fearsome power.
"How do I break this wall?"
She realized solo training had limits.
She desperately needed a master to guide her.
This cadet was quick.
Using standard sword forms, yet it felt entirely different.
Maximizing his swift movements.
Quite flexible and talented.
Ha Mu-baek pursued indifferently, swinging his sword.
Each time, the cadet's face paled.
He knew his tricks wouldn't work on this monster of an instructor.
But the sword thrust as if reading his next move.
No matter how he sped up, it was futile.
"Tch. Just running away like that wastes your speed."
Ha Mu-baek's critique.
Yet second-year Fierce Dragon Corps cadet Bi Jin-hyeop couldn't attack.
Dodging was hard enough—how could he strike?
What if he got countered?
No, he'd definitely get hit.
A hundred percent.
Every time.
His instincts screamed it.
Bi Jin-hyeop.
Born scrawny and weak.
Weak in a word.
So he'd learned to read the strong, honing sharp instincts.
Constant flight made his body nimble.
This spar showcased it perfectly.
Ha Mu-baek frowned.
Talent squandered by excessive caution.
He didn't know the guy's backstory, but his actions gave clues.
For types like this.
There was a way.
"Keep running, and you'll regret it—painfully."
Ha Mu-baek's warning.
Bi Jin-hyeop hesitated.
If this instructor called it "pretty painful," it was agony.
Excruciating.
Fear clashed with fear.
Attack and get hit, or run and suffer worse.
'What to do? Dodging might mean one hit, attacking two?'
That thought won; he dodged again.
That instant, internal energy stirred in his dantian—not to his sword, but his legs.
Ha Mu-baek confirmed it with Infinite Bright Wheel Eye.
He frowned.
Among Fierce Dragon Corps cadets, barring Squad Seven, this guy had the best energy control.
Better than Ge Ga-ye, who'd manifested sword energy on day one against him.
The difference? He funneled it to lightness skill, not swordsmanship.
If he'd sent that leg energy to his sword instead, he'd have reached sword energy long ago.
His issue was insufficient energy quantity—now resolved.
'This punk's problem is mental, not energy.'
Ha Mu-baek's sword flashed, tapping Bi Jin-hyeop's back.
Wrapped in energy like a club, it struck hard.
"Gahk!"
Bi Jin-hyeop's scream erupted.
'C-crazy...'
Pain like his spine snapping.
Undoubtedly the worst he'd ever felt.
Attack such a foe?
Impossible.
Bi Jin-hyeop gritted his teeth and kicked off again.
Away from Ha Mu-baek.
Thwack!
Futile.
Another back-searing agony.
'Shit. Same damn place.'
Ha Mu-baek struck the exact spot.
Even harder!
He dodged again, but Ha Mu-baek was already ahead, blocking his path.
As if charging into his embrace to attack.
Too late to change course.
He squeezed his eyes shut and flailed wildly.
Instinct against pain.
Thud!
Sword slamming into his gut.
'Huh?'
Odd.
He'd braced for piercing agony.
It hurt, but not that bad.
Nothing compared to his back.
"Who closes their eyes mid-spar?"
Ha Mu-baek's growl pierced his ears.
But Bi Jin-hyeop didn't hear.
He didn't know how much time left, but he'd found a way to dodge pain.
Bi Jin-hyeop charged Ha Mu-baek, swinging.
Eyes open this time.
'This is how you handle his type.'
Maneuvering him to attack "voluntarily" was Ha Mu-baek's intent.
To etch that attacking hurt less than dodging.
Realizing it, Bi Jin-hyeop attacked ferociously, as if he'd never dodged.
Not to outmaneuver or grow stronger.
Just to hurt less.
Ridiculous, really.
He accepted getting hit as inevitable.
Il No scowled fiercely at the fresh report.
"Protector God Chu Geum-reung attacked the Great Wall?"
The subordinate flattened himself at Il No's icy tone.
"Y-yes, sir."
"Where were the Demon-Sealing Corps bastards then?"
"Right beyond the wall."
Il No's face darkened further.
"So they knew Protector God attacked the wall."
"Likely, sir."
The subordinate trembled in reply.
Il No's aura was that terrifying.
"Understood. Dismissed."
"Yes, sir."
The subordinate retreated carefully.
Alone, Il No's scowl lingered.
'I explicitly said don't touch or cross the wall...'
Mountain-Crossing Great Wall.
A laughable barrier.
Sealed by Senyu Valley's spells against zombies, supposedly.
But no reason they couldn't break it.
Blood River Corpses aside, Dark Iron or Dark Blood River Corpses could ignore spells with tweaks.
Yet they hadn't—for a reason.
If word spread that zombies crossed into Mountain-Crossing Demonic Forest outskirts.
The Righteous Heaven Alliance would truly move to exterminate the Blood Cult.
The cult lacked that power yet.
Thus, Blood Cult zombies must never cross.
That's why he'd ordered Chu Geum-reung as such.
Yet she'd disobeyed—once, but still.
The fallout.
'First incident at Mountain-Crossing; it'll reach the Alliance. Demon-Sealing Corps will report it as an emergency. And that old fox Gong Son Dan-gyeong will act.'
The issue was what action.
The Alliance didn't know about Protectors—Dark Heaven Corpses properly.
He hadn't even told Yeon Ja-gyeong.
Only Ha Mu-baek had faced one.
'That monster would've reported to Gong Son Dan-gyeong, obviously...'
No matter how he thought.
Gong Son Dan-gyeong's move was clear.
Send Ha Mu-baek here.
Chu Geum-reung couldn't handle that.
Years ago.
After the final battle, when that monster rampaged.
They'd lost one Protector to him.
"Whew. Recall the Protector God first, assess the situation accurately, and prepare countermeasures."
Il No sighed, rising from his desk.