Chronicles of the Martial God’s Return - Chapter 149

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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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“Sit down.”
At Dan Woo-hyun’s murmured command, Jeok Mu-seong’s brow furrowed. Yet his body moved of its own accord, drifting forward to where Dan Woo-hyun sat playing Go.
“Are you the one who killed Ma Dok-jin?”
Dan Woo-hyun offered no answer to the question.
He simply stared at the Go stone before him. To Jeok Mu-seong, who understood nothing of the game—whether he was winning or losing—there was only the observation that white stones seemed more numerous than black.
What could possibly be entertaining about such a thing?
It was utterly pathetic.
“Stop fidgeting. I said sit.”
Dan Woo-hyun’s words grated against his ears.
Just as Jeok Mu-seong was about to sneer, the masked figure beside him touched his shoulder. In an instant, his mind reeled as though struck by a boulder. His body buckled under what felt like crushing weight, and his face slammed into the floor, his pride shattered along with it.
Bang!
“Better now.”
‘What—what is this?’
Jeok Mu-seong could not hide his shock.
Who in all the world could do this to him? Moreover, the power he felt was unmistakably Demonic Energy—a sensation he had experienced countless times before and which still lingered as terror. It resembled the rough force of Sa Do-hak.
That crude strength seemed to ravage through his entire being.
Jeok Mu-seong looked up at the masked man with widened eyes.
The moment he saw that gaze, he could not help but frown.
“You…!”
He knew that eye.
They had clashed together with Namgung Cheon since his later years.
Therefore, he could recognize the opponent by sight alone.
Unmistakably Sa Do-hak.
The old man who had ascended to the peak of the Demonic Cult and lived in seclusion—what was he doing here?
“It has been a long time. Ten years, perhaps?”
Sa Do-hak smiled faintly and removed his mask. Since his opponent had already seen through him, there was no further need to conceal his face.
As his true visage was revealed, Jeok Mu-seong’s expression darkened.
‘The gap between us is that vast.’
Five names stood at the pinnacle of all martial artists.
People called them the Five Supremes.
Though it was scarcely an exaggeration to say they had reached the Realm of Ascension, a clear hierarchy existed even among them.
Jeok Mu-seong.
He was assuredly the foremost master under the Demonic Cult, skilled in governing Muwhang Castle as well, yet he had never once defeated Sa Do-hak, the one said to contend for the highest rank among the Five Supremes.
“Damn it… was this your doing?”
Jeok Mu-seong realized his thinking had been mistaken.
He should have known this was no mere rising clan, but something created by an organization. And now he felt acutely which organization it was.
The Demonic Cult.
A great battle could erupt here at any moment.
Jeok Mu-seong channeled his strength and rose from the ground. In one motion, his surging Internal Energy drove back the oppressive force that had pinned him. Simultaneously, his prone body rose in an eerie, weightless arc.
“Do you wish to die?”
He glared at Sa Do-hak, teeth clenched.
There was a gap in their strength, but not one so vast that he could not wield a blade. A fierce Killing Intent flowed from Jeok Mu-seong’s eyes as he fixed his gaze upon Sa Do-hak.
The two faced each other.
With no ground yielded on either side, sparks flew. The very wind stilled, and the collision of their auras produced the crackling sound of stones shattering.
Then, a soft force slipped between them.
It wove through the blade-sharp auras of the two with such naturalness that the fallen atmosphere seemed to rise again, and the forceful collisions melded together in harmony.
Jeok Mu-seong’s frown deepened.
This aura—had he not felt it somewhere before?
The one he had thought dead.
He turned his head sharply, fixing his gaze on Namgung Cheon.
“You… did you not die?”
“Hehehehe.”
Namgung Cheon likewise removed his mask lightly and set it aside. Still wearing that gentle expression, he carried an aura entirely different from those of Sa Do-hak and Jeok Mu-seong.
It was as though he sought to harmonize with his surroundings.
“It has been long, has it not?”
“Madness…”
Jeok Mu-seong exhaled a heavy sigh and sat down.
What in the world is this Estate?
It’s large, certainly, but there are two people among the Five Supremes who vie for the top rank. And who is this man to be standing alongside them?
“What is this all about? Did you deliberately kill Ma Dok-jin?”
“Well… I’m not entirely sure about that either.”
“The body?”
If these two are involved, it’s best not to harbor thoughts of revenge. One man—perhaps he could be manipulated somehow. But to face two simultaneously was tantamount to opening the gates of the underworld itself.
“Sent him.”
Jeok Mu-seong’s brow furrowed as he glanced to the side.
He saw Dan Woo-hyun, who had been playing Go, sweep the stones aside with a brushing gesture. The voice had certainly come from that mouth.
“Sent him? Where?”
“Muwhang Castle.”
“Madmen! What are you thinking? Do you truly intend to provoke the Heterodox Sect?”
Jeok Mu-seong surged to his feet, fixing a sharp stare on Sa Do-hak and Namgung Cheon. Behind all of this surely lay the hands of these two. They were not the sort to be manipulated by anyone else—every thread of this, from beginning to end, was their design.
For what purpose?
Did they truly intend to wage war against the Heterodox Sect?
The Demonic Cult? The Orthodox Faction?
In the moment Jeok Mu-seong gathered his killing intent—
Namgung Cheon murmured.
“Is the Orthodox Faction not already at war?”
“…”
“And all of this was done according to the Estate Master’s will.”
“The… Estate… Master?”
Who did he mean by the Estate Master?
At Namgung Cheon’s words, Jeok Mu-seong turned to look at Sa Do-hak. But Sa Do-hak merely shrugged and shook his head, leaving only one man in the room for all eyes to turn toward.
“This man is the Estate Master?”
“That’s right.”
Dan Woo-hyun smiled and nodded.
At that gesture, Jeok Mu-seong’s expression twisted in disgust. If one knew of Sa Do-hak and Namgung Cheon, one ought surely to know who Jeok Mu-seong was as well—yet this man seemed not to care for such things in the slightest.
“Insane. You fool—do you truly believe you’ll walk free after touching Muwhang Castle?”
“Hmm.”
Dan Woo-hyun stroked his chin.
Even as he bore the killing intent that pierced the flesh, he pondered something for a long moment before giving a small nod.
“Or did you imagine, on your way into this Estate, that you’d leave unscathed?”
“What?”
“You thought you’d smash everything to pieces and stroll out alone. Ha ha ha!”
Sa Do-hak spoke as though he had opened Jeok Mu-seong’s mind itself, laughing. Well, anyone who had risen to this level would share the same thought.
They believed nothing could befall them.
And that conviction was boundless.
“You absolute madmen!”
Jeok Mu-seong burned with rage and grasped his blade. There was every intention of drawing it on the instant and severing Dan Woo-hyun’s neck first. Both the killing intent he exuded and his resolve were unmistakably bent on death.
At the very moment he began to draw—
Thud-thud!
A strange sound rang out.
Jeok Mu-seong, frozen in that posture, merely shifted his eyes to look to the side.
Five shadows that followed him now lay on the ground.
Had they been struck by someone?
Sa Do-hak, Namgung Cheon, and Dan Woo-hyun all maintained their vigilance without pause. When an expert of Jeok Mu-seong’s caliber kept watch, it meant missing nothing, not even the slightest movement.
Yet—
They saw nothing.
Were others hidden away?
No.
The presences felt around them were only those of a child within that great building and one other person. Unmistakably the aura one would associate with Kwon Mu-jin.
Save for these two, there was no one else.
Of that there was certainty.
No shadow, however skilled, could deceive the eyes of the Five Supremes.
And yet—?
“Go ahead. Draw it.”
Those few words bore down on his shoulders like an immense weight.
Jeok Mu-seong, who had been about to unsheathe his blade, stood frozen like stone, unable to move. As though Dan Woo-hyun’s single utterance had seized dominion over his very mind.
A chill ran down his spine.
Cold sweat trickled down from between his brows.
“Ma Dok-jin’s fate is regrettable, certainly. But thanks to him, our boy has been given the chance to take another step forward. For that, I’m grateful.”
Dan Woo-hyun didn’t even glance at Jeok Mu-seong, his eyes drifting instead to the Go Stones he’d brushed aside. The dismissal was unmistakable, palpable in every line of his posture.
Jeok Mu-seong felt it too.
Yet there was nothing he could do about it.
His body wouldn’t obey him, as though bound by invisible chains.
‘Who in heaven’s name is he? To treat Jeok Mu-seong like this!’
It was impossible.
Jeok Mu-seong, counted among the Five Supremes. In all the Central Plains, no master had emerged to surpass them—and so they had always held the highest seat.
And yet now.
What mockery was this?
‘Has he reached the Realm of Three Thousand?’
Shudder—shudder.
The hand gripping his blade trembled violently.
He tried to deny it, told himself it couldn’t be so, but every scene before his eyes screamed affirmation instead. Sa Do-hak and Namgung Cheon both gazed upon Dan Woo-hyun with the eyes of those looking up at something greater.
“You bastard! What are you doing?”
“I’m the master of this Estate… and a father to a child.”
“Have you lost your mind entirely? Must I spill blood to bring you to your senses?”
Jeok Mu-seong could not accept this—any of it.
No one could have. Especially not when one could not clearly sense the opponent’s true capability. So with all the force of will he could muster, he broke through Dan Woo-hyun’s aura and slowly drew his blade.
Sliiide.
The drawn sword arced toward Dan Woo-hyun’s throat.
“I told you not to draw it… but here we are.”
Sa Do-hak regarded Jeok Mu-seong with an expression of profound mockery. That gaze held something unmistakable—scorn, contempt, dismissal.
And more than that.
‘How could this wretch possibly win?’
That was what his eyes seemed to say.
Namgung Cheon’s expression was no different.
Though he strove to show nothing, his eyes betrayed complete certainty of the fight’s outcome.
That certainty pricked at Jeok Mu-seong’s pride all the more.
Then Dan Woo-hyun rose from his seat.
Without a word, without even an aura of killing intent, he simply rose and extended his hand toward Jeok Mu-seong’s face, palm open.
What was this?
Jeok Mu-seong stared at it cautiously, his mind racing.
The world lurched suddenly into a blur, and his body was seized by a terrible sense of velocity. His eyes flew wide in shock at the incomprehensible motion—and in that instant, before his mind could catch up, Dan Woo-hyun’s hand had seized his head, and he was driven hard against an enormous boulder.
Crack!
“Gahhh!”
Jeok Mu-seong could not comprehend what had happened.
The pain was one thing, but through his swimming vision he saw the landscape had changed. Just moments ago they had been within the Estate—now the world was thick with forest.
Somehow, he had been dragged far from the Estate into a place utterly foreign to it.

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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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