Chronicles of the Martial God’s Return - Chapter 107

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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“The men guarding the Namgung Clan Residence have gone silent.”
The words fell heavy from Kang Do-hyul’s lips, spreading through the air like lead.
He’d lost subordinates—and not ordinary ones, but those blessed with the Spirit Possession Technique. For several hours to pass with no contact meant one thing: they were dead.
‘They won’t speak carelessly, at least.’
Everyone in this place had undergone torture training. Even under the cruelest interrogation, such men rarely broke.
On that front, he could rest easy.
‘So why this unease?’
Kang Do-hyul’s eyes opened narrowly as he surveyed his surroundings.
Behind him stood a cave where members of the Namgung Clan were imprisoned. Formation Techniques spread across the cave entrance, and nearby lay prepared spaces for his men to rest.
Once the Murim Alliance matter was resolved, he would march into Anhui and lead his new force to glory.
Everything he had longed for.
Yet tonight the wind was unusually cold and heavy.
Even the moonlight felt desolate.
What could that crimson moon possibly mean?
Since entering his service, he had never spent a night with his heart trembling like this.
“Don’t let your guard slip. Something feels wrong tonight.”
“Understood.”
His subordinates bowed deeply.
Watching them, Kang Do-hyul smiled with satisfaction.
Soon now.
The name Saryeol-dan would be known throughout the Central Plains, and they would reign as a force rivaling the Nine Schools and One House, or even the Eight Great Families.
And at the apex of that power…
‘I stand.’
The very thought made his heart race.
He had sold his very soul for this, and he meant it. Therefore, should anyone dare obstruct it, none would be spared—he would cut them all down without exception.
That resolve would not waver.
Boom!
Then it happened.
Something impossible unfolded.
A short, strange resonance from somewhere.
The surroundings lurched violently. The Formation Technique that had been laid across the space seemed to shudder, and in an instant the entire landscape shifted.
Yes—not the scene they had been seeing.
This was…
“The formation has been broken.”
Kang Do-hyul’s lips trembled.
The Formation Technique was shattered.
This was no ordinary matter.
What lay around them was no simple formation. It was a kind of Illusion Art—something from which an ordinary person could not escape, and which even the mightiest could never break through by force alone.
“…Gather the men.”
Kang Do-hyul ground his teeth as he spoke.

“Is this the place?”
Dan Woo-hyun entered the forest and gazed around, unable to hide his surprise.
It was quite far from the Namgung Clan Residence.
Though a modest hill, it was a path people commonly traveled. Even at this late hour, the traces carved into the ground spoke clearly—many had passed through here.
They built their headquarters in such a place?
Only audacity beyond measure could justify such a choice.
“Did they lay Formation Techniques inside? Doesn’t appear so…”
“It’s an Illusion Art.”
“Ill… Illusion Art? First the Spirit Possession Technique, now this—what exactly is an Illusion Art?”
Dan Woo-hyun looked between the two men, suppressing a groan.
Was he truly asking out of complete ignorance?
One of them furrowed his brow and posed a question in return.
“Before that, let me ask you instead. You seem to know what Martial Arts are, naturally enough—but have you ever encountered Illusion Art or Sorcery before?”
“I’ve never even heard such things existed.”
“Same here. Sorcery… isn’t that something used to exorcise ghosts or the like?”
“Hmm…”
A thousand years ago, such things were simply commonplace in the Martial World. Illusion Art was a discipline that not only bewitched the human mind but also blinded the eyes and deafened the ears. There were other effects as well, but these were the fundamentals.
Sorcery, by contrast, employed Spirit Possession Technique and could animate corpses and command spirits.
The Sorcery Clan, as they were called, had been exterminated precisely because of such practices.
When he explained this to them, the two men seemed to grasp it, yet their eyes betrayed disbelief. It differed so starkly from the martial arts they knew.
“Are there… other things besides these?”
“There are those who practice Energy Projection.”
“Energy… Projection?”
The two men were already familiar with the art of Energy Projection.
It required one to project the Internal Energy stored in the Dantian without the aid of a blade or weapon—a feat that demanded both a profound understanding of force and the ability to regulate and elevate it into martial technique. Without such mastery, it could never be learned.
Many had attempted it, yet to this day no one had ever succeeded, so it remained merely a legend among martial arts.
“You certainly know a great deal about it.”
“It’s common knowledge.”
This is so far removed from the current Martial World that it’s hard to believe. Heheheh.”
Namgung Cheon and Sa Do-hak regarded Dan Woo-hyun with peculiar eyes.
The more they listened, the more they wondered if this man truly belonged to their own generation. Everything that spilled from Dan Woo-hyun’s mouth struck them with undeniable impact.
“But seeing how things are now, I wonder if such things even truly exist.”
Dan Woo-hyun moved forward slowly.
He left the path, venturing into a quieter stretch, and came to an abrupt halt at one spot. There was nothing particularly notable about it—merely a scene of ordinary mountain landscape.
Neither Namgung Cheon nor even Sa Do-hak detected any sense of incongruity.
And yet.
Dan Woo-hyun drew his sword.
In an instant, wind coalesced at the blade’s tip, and as he swung it down, a violent resonance erupted—a tremendous wave of force spreading outward in all directions.
“Kugh—!”
“Oof!”
Even Sa Do-hak, let alone Namgung Cheon, had to brace their legs to withstand the shockwave. The force Dan Woo-hyun unleashed was so formidable that the entire surroundings trembled.
“The Illusion Art shattered. There are quite a few of them gathered not far from here.”
“Are you some sort of monster…?”
Dan Woo-hyun smacked his lips and pressed forward.
Namgung Cheon and Sa Do-hak, following at his side, now regarded him with entirely different eyes. This was no mere matter of strength—this was something in a wholly different category.
To pierce through an Illusion Art that even they hadn’t detected?
Could this truly be within the realm of human capability?
‘I’d believe it if you told me he was a Martial God himself.’
Sa Do-hak’s eyes narrowed slightly as the thought crossed his mind.
The descendants of those who had achieved great enlightenment were numerous, certainly. But descendants remained descendants—they could never quite match the power of the ancestor.
Yet Dan Woo-hyun’s strength was beyond any standard measure.
A power that far surpassed even those called the Five Sovereigns.
He had no way of knowing just how capable Samshin truly was, but he suspected the level Dan Woo-hyun displayed might well be comparable.
Rustle, rustle, rustle.
Soon they came to another halt.
“There are quite a lot of them.”
Dan Woo-hyun gazed at the scene before him and let out a faint chuckle.
Counting slowly—one, two, three—it seemed to exceed fifty but fall short of a hundred. But if one included those guarding the interior of the cave, the number might well exceed a hundred.
“The people of Namgung Clan must be inside.”
“…”
No one answered Dan Woo-hyun. All of them were too busy maintaining vigilance; speaking was scarcely an option. They showed not a trace of composure.
Merely three people.
Yet the moment they faced them, something was felt.
These were no ordinary foes.
Perhaps they should prepare themselves.
“What shall we do?”
Sa Do-hak swept his gaze around once and posed the question to Namgung Cheon. His eyes posed a silent inquiry: Should one of them handle all of this, or should they split the task?
Namgung Cheon smiled.
“I’ll go into the cave. Their lives are the priority.”
“Understood. Then I’ll clean up here.”
Sa Do-hak stepped forward.
Simultaneously, Namgung Cheon moved ahead as well. Those standing guard attempted to block their path with alarm, but an abrupt surge of Killing Intent froze every last one of them in place.
Tremor, tremor, tremor.
“This… what is this…?”
Someone murmured.
The radiating Killing Intent left them immobilized. The moment their eyes met his, their very consciousness seemed to blur. Could such an Aura truly be emitted by human hands?
Even Kang Do-hyul found himself unable to speak.
Thud-thud.
Namgung Cheon, whose gaze was as merciless as they came, strolled leisurely through the ranks of Saryeol-dan toward the cave entrance. Not a soul moved to stop him.
They stood frozen like statues, incapable of motion.
“Im… impossible……!”
Kang Do-hyul ground his teeth.
This presence.
They had been empowered by them, and yet they couldn’t move—couldn’t even resist as he walked past? And beyond the one who’d entered the cave, there stood another figure before them now, holding them all utterly immobilized.
What in heaven’s name were they?
These people!
They didn’t look like subordinates at all—more like servants of that person.
Then.
A man leaned against a tree with his arms crossed.
He hadn’t so much as blinked at the sight of so many gathered here.
“Aren’t you going to step forward?”
“If I do, there’d be nothing left for you.”
“Hmm… I’d like to see your martial arts as well… but I’m not in the mood to yield.”
“Then you do it. I’d rather not stain my hands with needless blood.”
What?
What is this composure?
Can’t they see how many are arrayed before them? No matter how confident in one’s skill, how can they stand before such numbers without so much as a flicker of concern?
They possessed Spirit Possession Technique.
If they’d killed subordinates, they surely knew the power it granted.
Yet still they remained so at ease?
And what of that man?
The one who entered the cave, and the one standing before them now.
The very aura radiating from these two was enough to oppress them thoroughly—and yet, strangely, it was that man who stirred the deepest sense of dread.
Unlike the other two, he wore no mask.
His expression was blank, and there was no killing intent in his voice.
Appearing no older than thirty at most, yet why did this youth inspire far greater foreboding than either of the other two?
Kang Do-hyul refused to acknowledge it.
He pushed down the unease gnawing at his heart and gripped his sword.
“Did you know what place this was before you sought it out?”
“Saryeol-dan. That’s right, isn’t it? We’re in the right place. Your rabble looks exactly like those we dealt with before.”
“…… A fool who doesn’t know the value of his own life.”
“Pfahahaha!”
Sa Do-hak suddenly burst into hearty laughter.
When had he heard such words before?
In his early years, when he first ventured into the Martial World and drew his blade—those were the words spoken by fools who’d blocked his path without understanding their own standing.
After laughing for some time, Sa Do-hak fell silent and turned his gaze upon them.
“Cretins who lack all sense of measure…….”
His power erupted outward in a violent wave.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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