Chronicles of the Martial God’s Return - Chapter 145

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

“A witless fool, not recognizing what stands right before him.”
Dan Woo-hyun sighed as he watched Yuk Gyeom-sa sprawl on the ground, clutching his face. The man had seemed confident enough, but this was all he amounted to.
He was beginning to understand why Sa Do-hak and Namgung Cheon wouldn’t even acknowledge the Heterodox Sect.
Their Martial Arts were undoubtedly Ascending Martial Arts, yet the foundation was so weak that they could hardly be called true Martial Arts at all. How was it possible for someone to approach with such a clear presence and still end up like this?
“You… you bastard…!”
Ma Dok-jin stared at Dan Woo-hyun with a sickly pale face. The Yuk Gyeom-sa he had trusted so completely lay sprawled without even managing to raise his hands in defense.
That shock was written plainly across Ma Dok-jin’s features.
Yet Dan Woo-hyun did not even glance at him, muttering instead.
“I told you, didn’t I? The next time you see my face would be your last.”
“H-haha… does it matter what happens to my daughter?”
Ma Dok-jin spoke through trembling limbs, his words defiant.
His subordinates were slaughtering people from all sides. The bulk of them had headed toward the Government Office, which by now would be a scene of carnage.
Hyun-ryung, the Constables, and Dan Woo-hyun’s own daughter who was staying there—all were in danger. Thinking this, he tried to goad his opponent, but Dan Woo-hyun didn’t so much as flinch.
Instead, he let out a scoff.
“Do you really think you’re capable of that?”
“What…?”
“I asked if you think someone like you could possibly do anything to that girl.”
“You insane bastard! My men are right now—”
Swish, swish.
A sound reached them.
Ma Dok-jin stiffened mid-speech, his head turning sharply toward that growing sound drawing steadily closer from a distance away.
With a sharp rustle, the undergrowth parted and two elderly figures emerged. Masks obscured their faces completely, but their clothes were drenched with blood—caked on from multiple places.
“Well, well, there you are. Is the hiding and seeking game finished?”
Sa Do-hak spotted Ma Dok-jin and let out a loud, booming laugh.
Then his gaze shifted, and he noticed Yuk Gyeom-sa struggling to push himself upright, but Dan Woo-hyun’s foot pressed down hard on the man’s face, utterly unmoved.
It was like watching an earthworm writhe beneath a heel.
“The one you trusted is now like that… and all your men in Ak-yang are dead.”
“W-what are you talking about…”
“The ones you stationed in Ak-yang. All of them. Dead.”
What was this old man saying?
He had over fifty men stationed in Ak-yang alone. To claim they were all slain in less than half a Double Hour, scattered as they were? Impossible.
Was this a joke?
Yet it was said with such certainty that it couldn’t be dismissed as mere mockery.
The fact that they knew his daughter was at the Government Office, and the fact that they stood here now, proved every word to be true.
It couldn’t be.
It couldn’t be.
Ma Dok-jin wanted to deny everything unfolding before him.
His subordinates were stronger than those he had brought before.
He even had Yuk Gyeom-sa among them!
Ma Dok-jin turned to look at Yuk Gyeom-sa.
“Ugh…”
The man could only groan, unable even to stand properly.
What was this?
What kind of men were these?
If he measured the abilities of those he had brought to this place, they could wage war against one of the Eight Great Families without losing ground.
Yet there were only four or five of them.
Did they truly possess the military might to match an entire Family?
No—they seemed to surpass even that.
“What are you doing? I ordered you to bring me Ma Dok-jin’s head.”
At the sudden voice, Kwon Mu-jin slowly rose to his feet. He wiped away the blood streaming from his left eye and, though unsteady, took his Dual Swords firmly in hand.
Dan Woo-hyun’s command was absolute.
This was his trial for climbing higher—his ascension. Though he bore a Severe Injury from Yuk Gyeom-sa and exhaustion weighed heavily on him, strength still remained in his grip, and he had the confidence to take a life.
“I will kill him.”
“You mad bastard!”
Kwon Mu-jin charged forward, swords drawn.
Neither swift nor sluggish—his pace was steady. Yet the Dual Swords in his hands moved with unprecedented brilliance, a cascade of cuts pouring toward Ma Dok-jin.
Clang, clang, clang, clang, clang!
Ma Dok-jin deflected it as well.
The clash of their blades rang out violently, a resonant crash that hung in the air. Though Kwon Mu-jin was clearly exhausted, to look at the two fighters now, there wasn’t a hairline of advantage between them.
How could this be?
It was Ma Dok-jin who found himself in an awkward position.
‘This… this bastard!’
When had this wretch grown so strong?
He’d dismissed him as someone who couldn’t keep pace with his own footwork, yet now that their blades met, the weight behind those strikes was far heavier than he’d imagined.
His signature Swift Blade wasn’t getting through.
Having watched Kwon Mu-jin’s sword technique up close for so long, the man seemed to anticipate every move, pressing forward relentlessly against Ma Dok-jin’s assault.
“Damn you!”
Whoosh!
He swung the blade in a wide arc.
With his faster movements now constrained, the power he channeled through both hands as he wielded the sword was far greater than anticipated. Kwon Mu-jin raised his Dual Swords to meet the attack.
Clang!
The sound of steel rang deafeningly as Kwon Mu-jin slid backward. The full force of the blow struck him, and his complexion darkened noticeably.
He dropped to one knee, gasping for breath several times.
Watching this, Ma Dok-jin cried out triumphantly.
“Yes, that’s it! You should always look up to me. Don’t you understand—that is the difference between us!”
“Bullshit… Hah. Hah.”
Kwon Mu-jin steadied his breathing and thought carefully.
His vision was blurred.
Having to track his opponent with only one eye, which was far from his strong suit, made it difficult to execute the attacks he wanted. On top of that, the severe injury had brought fever, and with it came a dullness to his body’s senses that he couldn’t shake.
The world before him was hazy, and he could barely make out his opponent clearly.
And yet his spirit was rising.
To have clashed blades with Ma Dok-jin multiple times even in this state.
Such a thing fed his pride, and his momentum surged upward with gathering heat.
‘I will surpass this.’
Kwon Mu-jin ground his teeth and forced himself to his feet.
He would cut this bastard down.
He had to.
Wasn’t that why he was here?
After all manner of masters had flooded into the Manor, Kwon Mu-jin had felt as though his place had been stolen from him. And so he ground his teeth harder, rose up, and had to prove his worth.
“Huh?”
“Ughhhh!”
While Dan Woo-hyun had been absorbed in the fierce battle, he felt a hand gripping from below and glanced down. Yuk Gyeom-sa, who had been barely able to move from the pain, had regained awareness and reached up to grab at Dan Woo-hyun’s leg.
Smack!
“Gack!”
He struck the man’s face again, lightly this time.
Yuk Gyeom-sa cried out and rolled across the ground. Though the blow was weaker than before, he gritted his teeth against the pain and slowly, agonizingly, pushed himself back up.
“You… you bastard…!”
“Hm?”
“Well now….”
He ground his teeth as he glared at Dan Woo-hyun, his eyes brimming with killing intent so profound that an ordinary man might have trembled just meeting his gaze.
Yet the three before him only smiled with contempt.
It made no difference.
No matter how much killing intent he unleashed, no matter how fiercely he thrust out his momentum—these three men before him stared back unmoved, their eyes unblinking as they smiled.
“I was bored. Come on then.”
“You madman! Atone with your death!”
Yuk Gyeom-sa charged forward.
The fool feared nothing. That thought consumed his mind. Who was he? One of the strongest warriors within Demonic Emperor Castle, one of those who looked down upon all others.
And yet he’d been defeated by some young upstart?
A mere moment of carelessness!
Crack!
“Urk!”
But he failed to see what had come at him. His face absorbed a tremendous impact, and Yuk Gyeom-sa collapsed where he stood. His reeling mind couldn’t catch up, and he knelt there, eyes fixed blankly ahead, seeing nothing.
He didn’t even register that his enemy was still before him.
“Pathetic.”
Dan Woo-hyun let out a quiet laugh.
To fail to gauge one’s opponent’s strength was the worst failing a martial artist could have. It was no different from fighting with death already at one’s throat.
He kicked out again.
Thud!
“Gahhhhk!”
The foot drove deep into his abdomen.
“Ack!”
Yuk Gyeom-sa, having expelled everything inside him, finally came to his senses after several rounds of retching, gasping for breath. His expression was dazed, unable even to comprehend what had just happened to him.
“I’ll kill you!”
“Oh dear.”
At last he came charging forward as if mad. Dan Woo-hyun sidestepped the blade effortlessly, then smoothly redirected Yuk Gyeom-sa’s body past him.
The moment Yuk Gyeom-sa, having lost his balance, lurched toward Sa Do-hak—
Crack!
“Krragh!”
Sa Do-hak’s fist hammered into Yuk Gyeom-sa’s face. Staggering without time to endure the pain, he stumbled toward Namgung Cheon’s side.
In that instant.
A Sword Guard flew at him with indescribable speed, striking the back of his skull.
Smack!
“Urrgh!”
He collapsed, his head ringing from the blow.
But it was far from over—Namgung Cheon’s foot extended once more, whipping across his abdomen. Yuk Gyeom-sa soared through the air and was sent sprawling toward Dan Woo-hyun.
Whack!
It was as if they were playing ball.
When Dan Woo-hyun kicked him, he went flying toward where Sa Do-hak stood. Struck again, he sailed toward Namgung Cheon. The three of them had begun to strike in measured rhythm, careful not to knock him unconscious. Spinning and reeling under their coordinated assault, Yuk Gyeom-sa was nearly dead on his feet.
‘Please… kill me…’
He wanted to scream the words, but there was no breath left.
Fists and kicks came from every direction, making him forget even how to breathe.
“Haha! We’re rather well-matched, aren’t we?”
“Surprisingly entertaining.”
As Yuk Gyeom-sa was shuttled between the three men, receiving blow after blow, his mind began to slip away. It was not merely fainting—strength was draining from his entire body, leaving him unable to think at all.
The life he had lived from childhood until now flickered before him.
This was unmistakably the Lantern of Life!
The moment he sensed the danger and tried to rally his internal energy to regain his senses—
Thud!
Dan Woo-hyun’s foot shattered his Dantian.
“Krraaaaaaghhhh!”
A scream that sounded as if his body were being torn apart echoed through the air.

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