Chronicles of the Martial God’s Return - Chapter 117

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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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“Something feels wrong……”
Man Hu-ryang worried at his fingernails, turning the matter over in his mind.
The people he’d sent to Anhui had gone silent. Given their capabilities, there was no conceivable way they could have been killed by someone.
Even if some reclusive master had surfaced unexpectedly, with the Possession Technique and the Twenty Ghosts at their disposal—not to mention that one controlling them—they should have managed the situation without difficulty.
Yet there was no word.
Nearly a fortnight had passed now, and Man Hu-ryang’s unease only deepened.
“What could have happened……. What could have happened…….”
He turned the problem over and over in his mind, grinding through possibilities.
But no satisfactory answer emerged, and his brow furrowed. If they truly had fallen to someone, this was no mere abstract concern—it was a concrete threat to everything he’d built.
“Perhaps it’s time to slip away?”
Unforeseen complications always threw plans into disarray.
Yet his scheme to dissolve the Murim Alliance had been progressing methodically, and watching Mo-yong Hyuk-mun sit passive in his seat while the Namgung Clan crumbled, offering no meaningful resistance, had caused many to lose faith and turn their backs on the Alliance.
Already, rival factions were stirring at the lower ranks.
Minor sects and families had banded together, and splinter groups were beginning to form one after another.
While the Nine Schools and One House clung together, holding firm to their consolidated power, the remaining members of the Eight Great Families were recruiting talented individuals to prepare for what might come next.
They sensed it too, whether they admitted it or not.
That the Murim Alliance itself might be shaken to its roots.
“Hmm……”
Man Hu-ryang smiled.
This was what he had always wanted the true Martial World to look like. What amusement was there in a monolithic power consolidated under a single ruler? The Martial World, after all, had always thrived on countless factions warring in the shadows, blood spilled on a thousand unseen roads.
The Martial World was about to convulse on a grand scale.
Wasn’t that exactly what he’d been planning for?
“What news?”
Man Hu-ryang turned, gazing out the window. Though the space beyond was surely empty, he fixed his attention there as if someone stood watching.
-The Nine Schools and One House are making their move. We believe action is imminent.
“Excellent timing. I was just about to depart anyway……. Haha, I wonder what expression Mo-yong will wear when they storm his chamber?”
Man Hu-ryang laughed at the mere thought of it.
If they truly tarnished the name of the Orthodox Faction, they might well slit Mo-yong’s throat where he sat. And though the Sword Saint was now little better than a cripple, he still represented one of the great pillars of the Central Plains.
The confrontation would not end easily.
“Leave some of our people nearby. The more who die, the harder the Alliance shakes.”
-Understood.
“Mmm.”
Man Hu-ryang exhaled softly.
His departure from this place was already decided. That the Nine Schools and One House would move first—lacking hunger for power as they were—had been somewhat unexpected, but the situation possessed its own peculiar charm.
‘The Eight Great Families……. They’ll move to build their own power base.’
Man Hu-ryang rose from his seat with a faint smirk.
It was time to leave this place.
“Ah, I nearly forgot. Investigate what happened in Anhui in detail and report back.”
-I’ll send people to look into it.
“Very good.”
Man Hu-ryang nodded with satisfaction and moved briskly. As he anticipated the upheaval to come, the smile never left his lips.

***

Ma Jang-gang dripped with cold sweat.
On the road to Henan with Dan Woo-hyun—and still nursing wounds from their earlier ambush—yet Dan Woo-hyun pressed on as though such trifles were beneath his notice.
He adopted a unyielding pace, as if to say: follow or fall behind; keep up or be left behind.
And what troubled Ma Jang-gang most of all was something else entirely.
The silence.
Dan Woo-hyun simply walked, saying nothing.
He asked for directions when he didn’t know the way, but otherwise kept his mouth firmly shut, as if nothing else held his interest or curiosity.
There was so much Ma Jang-gang wanted to ask—what he had done before, how far his martial training extended, or countless things about Ma Jang-gang himself—yet Dan Woo-hyun never opened his mouth.
Ma Jang-gang understood why.
Because he simply didn’t care.
Dan Woo-hyun harbored neither curiosity nor concern for Ma Jang-gang; he never asked because he sensed clearly that this man might vanish without warning at any moment.
Ma Jang-gang’s hands clenched into fists.
Vanish? That made no sense!
The problem is that Dan Woo-hyun simply doesn’t understand the true depth of his power. Though Ma Jang-gang had been crushed before him, shattered into humiliation, his actual position in the Martial World of the Central Plains was formidable, and his influence considerable.
If only he knew that much, Ma Jang-gang thought, exhaling a long sigh.
Night was falling.
From Ma Jang-gang’s perspective—exhausted, his body dragging—he’d have welcomed even a moment’s rest. But Dan Woo-hyun pressed on for another two hours beyond that before finally locating a wide clearing suitable for sleeping under the stars.
And there he collapsed onto the ground.
Yet unlike Ma Jang-gang, who remained seated, Dan Woo-hyun wordlessly unpacked their belongings and then vanished again into the darkness without explanation.
“……Damn it.”
Hunting.
To move, one must fill one’s belly.
So either one hunted or found something edible. But in his current state—capable of nothing but movement itself—hunting was simply beyond reach.
A few days ago, when Dan Woo-hyun had mentioned going to hunt, Ma Jang-gang had vehemently insisted he could manage alone, boasting that he’d return with food.
‘And then I went hungry that evening.’
The mere thought made Ma Jang-gang’s face flush with shame.
That Ma Jang-gang—master of all under heaven—couldn’t manage a single hunt.
He could hardly show his face anywhere after this.
Just days ago he’d boasted of displaying his prowess, his usefulness. Now he felt like nothing but garbage.
Being dependent on another’s charity.
It had never happened once in Ma Jang-gang’s entire life.
As he sat in despair, sighing heavily, an odd sound came from one direction.
Rustle!
At first he wondered if it was Dan Woo-hyun returning. But this sound reaching his ears felt distinctly different from a human presence.
An animal, then?
Ma Jang-gang clenched his fists.
With his saber shattered and useless, he’d have to rely on his bare hands. His fists were formidable enough—a wolf or two posed no real threat.
Rustle!
The sound came again.
A chill ran down his spine.
Not a wolf.
Not a bear either.
Wolves hunted in packs, so there wouldn’t be just a single sound. If it were a bear stalking prey, it would charge boldly from the front rather than creeping from behind.
Bears feared nothing, not even tigers.
So there was only one conclusion.
Slash!
A chilling wind cut through the air. He turned to see an enormous tiger charging straight at him. If those massive jaws and claws connected, no amount of Internal Energy would save him.
Ma Jang-gang rolled across the ground, evading the beast’s assault.
Boom!
With a heavy impact, the Great Tiger landed and fixed him with a low, rumbling growl. Clearly enraged at having failed to kill instantly.
“Damn……it’s enormous.”
His throat went dry.
He’d seen many tigers in his life, but none this large.
This must be the Mountain Lord ruling these peaks—massive, sharp-fanged, with four legs that could crush any Martial Artist in a single swipe.
At the sight of it, Ma Jang-gang felt the grip of mortality.
To face a tiger in less than peak condition was to stand at death’s door. There was no exaggeration in that.
He forced an awkward smile and tightened his fists.
Even a mouse will writhe if you step on it, as the saying goes.
“Come on! Give me your best!”
The pride of a Martial Artist.
What shame it would be to fall to a mere tiger. His jaw clenched, his voice rose, and the Great Tiger’s eyes narrowed further.
It launched itself forward in an instant.
Its great paws clawed deep gouges into the earth as it lunged, swinging a massive foreleg with enough force to crack a skull.
Ma Jang-gang twisted back and drove forward, unleashing a barrage of punches.
Thwack!
The punch connected solidly, but the Great Tiger’s eyes remained unmoved as it raised its foreleg to strike again.
Thwack!
Searing pain erupted across his back. He felt the claws rake through flesh with vivid clarity.
It hurt.
The thought flashed through his mind in that instant.
But there was no time to cry out. Twisting to regain his balance, Ma Jang-gang drove forward again with his fists.
Thwack-thwack-thwack-thwack!
A relentless barrage.
Not a single blow, but a series of strikes that flowed without pause. Each fist he drove forward split the air itself, creating an illusion so vivid that it seemed like dozens of fists were descending at once.
Channeling every scrap of Internal Energy into his assault, Ma Jang-gang’s fists delivered an impact that even the Great Tiger could not endure. For the first time, a howl of pain tore from the beast’s throat, and it recoiled sharply, fixing Dan Woo-hyun with a wary, murderous stare.
“Damn it……! How solid is this thing?”
Ma Jang-gang clutched at the wounds splitting open across his body and cursed under his breath.
Even though he had just unleashed what amounted to his final, most desperate technique, the creature remained unscathed—worse, it radiated pure fury and killing intent with renewed savagery.
Was this how the legendary Ma Jang-gang would fall?
Every fiber of his being screamed at him to turn and flee, but he couldn’t. Running would be futile against such a thing, and if his panic somehow put Dan Woo-hyun in danger, the consequences would be beyond recovery.
Which left only one path forward.
He would stand and face the beast, whatever the cost.
He clenched his fists and drew his Internal Energy upward.
His eyes hardened with the resolve of a man gambling with his life as he took his stance. Victory or oblivion—those were his only choices. If death was coming anyway, he’d snap off at least one of the creature’s fangs on the way down.
Did the Great Tiger sense that Martial Presence?
Its killing intent flared to a fever pitch.
The beast dropped low, kicked off the earth, and launched itself through the air. Its massive jaws gaped wide, and the sheer ferocity of its charge made it seem as though it meant to tear out Ma Jang-gang’s throat in one savage bite.
Ma Jang-gang watched it come and drove his fist straight toward those bared fangs.
Crack!
The sickening crunch of shattering bone echoed across the clearing, and the Great Tiger’s form vanished from sight.
‘What?’
Before he could process what had happened, the beast tumbled through the air—hurled more than five zhang away—and crashed to the earth, rolling like a broken doll.
Its body twitched once. Then again.
And then it lay still, blood pooling beneath it in silence.
“What…… what was that?”
Ma Jang-gang stood frozen, staring at the corpse in disbelief.
“Looks like we’re having tiger meat for dinner.”
Dan Woo-hyun appeared as if from nowhere, a faint smirk crossing his face as he approached the fallen beast.
He confirmed its death with a glance, then—effortlessly—began dragging the massive creature back by one arm, its enormous bulk trailing behind him like a child’s toy.
“G-Great…… Great Master……?”
“You didn’t run. Good.”
Dan Woo-hyun’s smile widened as he nodded approvingly—the manner of someone who had been observing every moment of this ordeal from the very start.
He drew a Short Blade from his sleeve and began cleaning it with practiced efficiency.
Ma Jang-gang could only stare, his mind reeling.
“Why…… why did you spare me?”
If Dan Woo-hyun had found him troublesome, he could have simply left him to his fate. The fact that he had been watching the whole time meant one thing: he hadn’t cared whether Ma Jang-gang lived or died.
Ma Jang-gang couldn’t fathom the reason behind his rescue.
Then Dan Woo-hyun, peeling back the tiger’s hide, finally spoke.
“Your skill as a guide is useful. You should take pride in that.”
“Pride…… is that all my worth amounts to?”
Ma Jang-gang’s shoulders sagged, and he released a bitter laugh.
All his diligent service, all his faithful efforts at his master’s side—and this was the sum total of his merit. His guide’s eye. Nothing more.
Ma Jang-gang ran his hands through his hair in exasperation, as if he might tear it out.

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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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