Chapter 625
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 625
Chapter Title: Can't Just Back Off
Having heard her voice, Ha Mu-baek had used his Infinite Bright Wheel Eye to scrutinize every last bit of Gongya Harang's internal energy flows, from start to finish.
Right now, there was no trace of the Myeongong energy in her upper dantian.
None inside her body, either.
What had been in her lower dantian had returned there.
What had permeated her meridians had returned to the meridians.
The internal energy of the Dark Asura Hell Art coursed through her meridians, gathering back into her dantian.
The upper dantian was the same.
Only the pure Dark Asura Hell Art remained in place.
Just in case it was the opposite—that the Myeongong curse had shrunk to the size of a grain of rice and hidden somewhere in her upper dantian—he had searched every nook and cranny with utmost care.
It was nowhere to be found.
"Um..."
Gongya Harang was flustered.
A fair amount of time had passed since she had expressed her gratitude.
Yet there was no change from Ha Mu-baek.
She still stood there, head held firmly, hand pressed to her Mingmen point.
In the distance, she caught sight of her brother gazing at her with hazy eyes.
At that moment, Gongya Harang's face flushed red.
The thought of her brother—who was like a father to her—seeing her in such a position, with an outsider man gripping her head and back, made her cheeks burn without realizing it.
"Huh?"
Gongya Jangcheon widened his eyes.
The space of light.
He wasn't sure if it was because of that place, but it seemed like a blush was spreading across Gongya Harang's face.
It couldn't be.
A Dark Blood Jiangshi's skin couldn't change color.
Dark, dull red or blackish tones.
That was the hue of a Dark Blood Jiangshi's skin.
The color infused with the Myeongong curse.
Come to think of it, Gongya Harang's skin tone had changed.
It now had the healthy flush of a normal person.
And amid that, the blush on her cheeks.
"H-how...?"
Gongya Jangcheon muttered in disbelief.
Something utterly impossible had happened.
A tiny sprout of hope, the faintest "what if," took root in his chest.
If it were crushed, he'd plummet into even deeper despair.
Even so, he wanted to cling to that hope.
All because of the changes happening in Gongya Harang's body right now.
At the very least, since the Dark Blood Jiangshi had appeared during the last Martial World Conference, no records existed of one undergoing such a transformation.
This was the first time.
'None.'
He had truly searched every inch.
Especially the upper dantian.
That vast realm of soul and essence—he had dissected it down to the size of a single grain of rice and examined it all.
There was no trace of the Myeongong anywhere.
He had perfectly driven the Myeongong out of Gongya Harang.
'Success.'
It was the first time.
The Chaos Blood Infernal Annihilation Art.
The Dark Blood Jiangshi, its curse's result.
Since these horrors had appeared in the jianghu, no one had ever broken the Myeongong or restored a Dark Blood Jiangshi to their original state.
Even if only Ha Mu-baek could do it.
The implications were enormous.
The Myeongong still lingered in the jianghu.
Just look at what had happened with the Pang Clan and the Hao Sect.
Whether someone had deliberately hidden it or was unaware they carried it.
The Blood Cult was gone, but the poison they had spread throughout the jianghu—the Myeongong—remained.
Now, there was a way to neutralize that poison.
Even if only Ha Mu-baek could do it, having that option was worlds apart from having none.
Ha Mu-baek finished his final check.
"Um, how long do we have to stay like this?"
A timid voice from Gongya Harang reached his ears.
Her tone carried a hint of embarrassment.
"Ah."
Only then did Ha Mu-baek release his hands.
Confirming the grip on her head and the hand on her back were gone, Gongya Harang took a step forward and turned around.
She stood a single step away, looking at Ha Mu-baek.
Though the Myeongong curse had consumed her, she retained all the memories of what she had done under its influence.
Just like Bang Sa-uk had.
It had hidden deep in a corner of her upper dantian, sharing all the senses, thoughts, and memories of the Myeongong.
That's why she knew exactly who this man before her was.
Ha Mu-baek.
The world's greatest, as her brother had described.
And the one who had saved her when she had resigned herself to death alongside the demon beast's demise.
Gongya Harang's crystal-clear eyes met Ha Mu-baek's.
There wasn't a speck of murkiness in that gaze.
Ha Mu-baek nodded faintly.
He had confirmed it several times already, but seeing her clear eyes once more solidified his certainty.
She had returned to her true self.
"Thank you again."
Gongya Harang clasped her hands in a formal salute and bowed deeply.
Straightening up, her eyes finally took in Ha Mu-baek's full appearance properly.
Until moments ago, she had only looked into his eyes.
She had thought she knew what kind of person he was from the fierce battle, but the moment their eyes met, she wondered if her judgment had been off—so she had focused solely on his gaze.
Clear and profound eyes.
Not a single mote of dust in them.
Perhaps that's why he had thought to save her.
Now, seeing him fully, he seemed extraordinary.
Far more battered than during that intense fight.
His entire body was drenched in sweat.
The barrier's domain still emanated light.
From his appearance alone, she could tell just how tremendous an effort Ha Mu-baek had made to save her.
"Wha—what? Wh-what?!"
The moment Ha Mu-baek released Gongya Harang.
And she stepped forward and turned.
Gongya Jangcheon could scarcely believe it.
Yet.
Gongya Harang, who had confronted Ha Mu-baek moments before, now clasped her hands toward him in salute.
Something a Dark Blood Jiangshi—a Blood Cult demon—could never do.
The tiny sprout of hope blooming in Gongya Jangcheon's chest felt like it was unfurling into a flower.
There was only one meaning behind that action.
It meant the impossible had occurred.
"Ha—Harang!!!"
The instant he confirmed it, Gongya Jangcheon kicked off the ground and shot forward.
His form launched like an arrow.
However.
He had no choice but to halt before the barrier's domain.
Ha Mu-baek's sword still moved in the Autonomous Sword style, radiating a ferocious aura that perfectly dominated the surroundings.
Not even Gongya Jangcheon could enter.
Gongya Jangcheon's burning gaze met Ha Mu-baek's, his body aching to move.
Ha Mu-baek chuckled softly.
He understood Gongya Jangcheon's feelings all too well.
At Ha Mu-baek's sudden smile, Gongya Harang glanced back and spotted her brother.
Gongya Harang and Gongya Jangcheon.
Gongya Jangcheon and Gongya Harang.
The siblings' eyes locked across the void.
"Ha—Harang..."
"B—Brother..."
Tender voices called out to each other.
And their eyes reddened.
Thick tears soon streamed down.
Ha Mu-baek watched the scene calmly.
His energy sense extended beyond the domain.
It was linked through the sword that formed the domain.
To others, it was a perfectly sealed, isolated space.
But not to Ha Mu-baek.
Through his energy sense, the outside situation was crystal clear.
The aftermath still raged.
The energies of Mount Hyeong and the darkness still swirled violently.
If it had been a raging typhoon before, it was now a stiff breeze.
But the energy still blew rough.
Ha Mu-baek looked at Gongya Harang, tears streaming down her face.
The energy now residing in her was the Dark Asura Hell Art.
However, having been consumed by the Myeongong curse, she had also been exposed to the energies of the Ten Thousand Fragrances.
If he dispelled the Radiant Barrier domain now...
He could picture exactly what would happen to her.
"Think of it as compensation for the hellish ordeal you just went through. It might be a bit tough at first, of course."
Gongya Harang glanced back at Ha Mu-baek's sudden words.
He was still smiling.
"Time to wrap this up."
With those words.
The sword halted abruptly.
The brilliant sword aura enveloping it vanished.
The sword slid smoothly back into Ha Mu-baek's hand.
And then.
As the autonomous sword motion ceased and the barrier's radiance gradually faded...
The domain vanished.
And into that spot.
The raging energies from the surroundings surged in.
It was only natural.
The energies of Mount Hyeong and the darkness blanketed the area, but that had been the only empty space untouched by them.
Now that the void was open, they naturally rushed in.
The subsiding aftermath suddenly converged on one point, unleashing fresh turbulence.
The moment the barrier vanished, Gongya Jangcheon tried to rush to Gongya Harang amid the energy storm, to protect her.
But Ha Mu-baek shook his head, stopping him.
'Why?'
As that question arose.
[Since the old man encountered this serendipity, his little sister can too.]
Ha Mu-baek's transmission arrived, as if reading his mind.
Gongya Jangcheon halted in his tracks.
In that interval.
The swirling energies flowed into Gongya Harang.
Her body had many empty spaces.
And energies akin to them had already taken root.
They flowed in naturally.
Like water running from high to low.
"Gasp."
Gongya Harang sharply inhaled at the sudden influx of tremendous energy.
"Now go help your sister."
Ha Mu-baek had stopped him from interfering with the initial contact.
But now that she was absorbing it, Gongya Jangcheon was needed.
If he weren't there, Ha Mu-baek might have stepped in.
But with him present, he was the perfect fit.
He practiced the same internal art, carried the same energy, and had just recently gone through absorbing these very energies himself.
With that, Ha Mu-baek stepped back to a distance.
The spot where Gongya Jangcheon had stood watching the battle between Ha Mu-baek and Gongya Harang.
Where the five Blood Thunder Corps members still stood dazed.
They could hardly believe it.
The Dark Blood Jiangshi had returned to normal.
Lady Gongya Harang had regained her true self.
The sight they hadn't beheld since that day years ago, when they tried to break the Myeongong curse after first learning of it.
It was right before their eyes now.
"It's been a while."
Ha Mu-baek knew them as well.
Gongya Jangcheon had brought his most trusted subordinates from the Blood Thunder Corps on this journey.
They had fought alongside him in the previous war.
Naturally, Ha Mu-baek was familiar with them.
Besides, the Blood Thunder Corps were the personal guards of the Sa Sword Alliance Leader, while the Hocheon Corps—and Ha Mu-baek himself as their leader—served the Righteous Heaven Alliance Leader.
They had crossed paths often.
The five flinched at Ha Mu-baek's greeting.
They had witnessed everything he had done.
He didn't seem human.
They had already thought him a monster during the last war, but what they had just seen...
They wondered if he truly belonged to the same category as them.
Now they fully understood—and accepted—why their lord Gongya Jangcheon named him the world's greatest.
Before, they hadn't fully agreed, despite their lord's words.
To them, the world's greatest was their lord, Gongya Jangcheon.
"But shouldn't you go protect the lord in that situation?"
Ha Mu-baek nodded toward Gongya Jangcheon.
Gongya Harang stood with eyes closed, still as a statue, while Gongya Jangcheon positioned himself behind her, palm pressed to her Mingmen point.
He too had his eyes shut, lips moving ceaselessly.
He was surely instructing her on how to control the energy.
In other words, both were in a meditative state.
Exposed and defenseless, in need of guardians.
Realizing this, the five Blood Thunder Corps members leaped into action, surrounding Gongya Jangcheon and Gongya Harang.
The southern edge of Mount Hyeong, shrouded in darkness.
No one would ambush Gongya Jangcheon here.
Even so, they protected their lord with utmost diligence.
That was the duty and reason for being of Gongya Jangcheon's personal guard, the Blood Thunder Corps.
Watching them, Ha Mu-baek muttered to himself.
"Can't just back off, tsk."