Chronicles of the Martial God’s Return - Chapter 166

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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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Dan Woo-hyun pushed through the undergrowth and moved forward.
He had traveled for days southwest of Jangsa to reach Hyungsan, the place where the Hyungsan Sect once stood as one pillar of the Nine Schools and One House.
Though the sect’s glory had faded and it no longer existed, the memory of it lingered in many minds.
The Hyungsan Sect had once claimed supremacy over Honam; even in its ruin, it was no exaggeration to call it the pride of the region.
After its collapse at the hands of the Demonic Cult, the sect could never restore its former strength, and another faction had taken the seat in the Nine Schools and One House.
Dan Woo-hyun stood motionless before what remained.
He glanced at the half-tilted wooden sign, then turned his gaze toward the gate—which seemed equally unwelcoming to visitors.
After staring for a long moment at this place where no trace of Hyungsan’s ancient glory lingered, he carefully pushed open the door and stepped inside.
Creak—
The sound alone told him the state of things.
He had doubted anyone would be here, yet he distinctly sensed a human presence within.
Step by step, he ventured deeper. Debris from broken and crumbling structures lay scattered about.
Here and there, darkened bloodstains marked the ground.
Among these ruins, Dan Woo-hyun fixed his attention on one building.
It appeared to be the main hall—the largest structure present.
While most other buildings lay collapsed, this one remained remarkably intact, as though someone had been maintaining it. It still held a faint echo of the dignity that Hyungsan once possessed.
Dan Woo-hyun walked toward it slowly.
Passing through two sets of doors to reach the main hall, he saw a dim silhouette inside the moment he stood at the threshold.
A figure knelt before a burning stick of incense.
In front of it stood countless memorial tablets.
The dense smell of incense and the tablets—
They almost certainly belonged to fallen disciples of Hyungsan.
Then was this figure also one of theirs?
Dan Woo-hyun announced his presence and stepped inside.
“Who are you?” the kneeling man’s voice rang out with grave weight. Though his face remained hidden—he still faced the tablets—his voice sounded remarkably young.
A man who appeared barely past twenty grasped the sword he had laid carefully beside him with one hand, firmly.
If this were an enemy, he was poised to cut without mercy.
Dan Woo-hyun observed this and opened his mouth.
“I’m looking for Gu Mu-ak.”
“…… What business do you have?”
“You’re the master of Hao Mun, aren’t you?”
Clang—!
The sword came free from its scabbard.
In an instant, the blade shot toward Dan Woo-hyun’s face—swift as lightning, leaving no time to evade.
Yet the sword froze before him, unable to advance further.
Dan Woo-hyun’s own blade had extended and gently blocked the sword guard, halting the attack.
The man’s eyes went wide.
‘He blocked my draw in that split second?’
More than that—by merely pressing the sword guard with the tip of his blade, he had dismantled the entire technique. The shock was beyond words.
“You carry the Internal Energy of an Orthodox Major Sect. I’ve heard there was once a faction in Hyungsan…… Are you the last heir of that school?”
“…”
Tensed, the man offered no response.
But that was answer enough for Dan Woo-hyun.
He could read the truth in the slight tremor of his opponent’s eyes.
“You’re Gu Mu-ak, the master of Hao Mun, aren’t you?”
“…… What do you want from me?”
Gu Mu-ak exhaled slowly and lowered his sword.
The man before him was a master—and one whose skill far exceeded his own. It had taken only a single clash to feel the chasm between them.
Had the stranger chosen to fight in earnest, Gu Mu-ak would have fallen without landing a single proper blow.
To brandish a blade in such circumstances would have been nothing but the thrashing of a cornered beast.
The moment this truth settled upon him, Gu Mu-ak let out a hollow laugh, all resistance abandoned.
“You buy and sell information?”
“That’s what Hao Mun does. It’s how we survive.”
“But it seems you didn’t know that some information comes with a price too high to pay.”

Thwack!
In a single fluid motion, Dan Woo-hyun’s blade swept across, striking Gu Mu-ak’s abdomen. To the eye it appeared as nothing more than a gentle tap with the scabbard, yet Gu Mu-ak’s body flew backward with shocking ease, crashing into the corner of the room.
Crash-bang-bang!
Furniture that moments before had been intact shattered and scattered across the floor.
Gu Mu-ak collapsed, groaning, his face turning ashen.
“Cough!”
Blood poured from his lips, betraying internal injuries.
“You’ve worked hard keeping those vultures in line. Now I’ll grant you some rest.”
Step, step.
Dan Woo-hyun’s voice carried an iron weight.
The intent to kill was unmistakable.
Gu Mu-ak, still sprawled on the ground and trembling, worked his lips silently.
He hadn’t clawed his way to survival through such desperation just to die in a place like this. He forced his wavering body to respond, pushing himself unsteadily to his feet.
He raised his sword, pointing it toward Dan Woo-hyun.
Though he knew he was no match, a cornered rat still bites the cat.
He knew a bite was beyond him, yet he wanted nothing more than to swing his blade once through empty air.
“I ask… who are you?”
“Honam Danga.”
……
Gu Mu-ak’s brow furrowed.
He’d heard the name before.
Having dwelt in Honam himself, he couldn’t have failed to hear of the Honam Danga.
He’d had Hao Mun investigate their identity multiple times, but they were so thoroughly concealed that nothing came to light.
Without meaningful intelligence, those who trafficked in information treated the Honam Danga as a minor concern.
A place worth nothing more than loose change, in other words.
Yet a master of this caliber had been hiding there?
Though he couldn’t fully gauge the stranger’s power, the ease with which he was being handled like a child suggested the man had already transcended the Ten Excellences Realm and ascended to the Seven Stars Realm.
“You’re being harsh over mere information—unremarkable scraps that scarcely pay—aren’t you?”
“Didn’t I tell you? There are places that should never be touched.”
“I didn’t fail to understand that!”
“Now that you know, that’s enough.”
Gu Mu-ak’s hollow laughter died on his lips.
No words would get through.
The man had come to kill the master of Hao Mun.
Certain of this, his only concern now was how to escape this predicament.
But could he?
Words wouldn’t work.
Neither would strength.
Then should he unleash the poison he still carried?
No—the instant his hand reached into his sleeve, his entire body would be pulped into meat scraps.
With each passing second of this dread, his mind grew colder still.
The man’s eyes looked upon him as one gazes at a corpse—a thing already dead.
Then Gu Mu-ak had only one move left.
He steadied his grip on the sword and steadied his breathing.
A technique he’d sworn never to use from the moment he first learned Martial Arts—a last resort.
If this failed, nothing remained.
Teeth clenched, Gu Mu-ak drove his blade hard into the ground.
For an instant, a solemn force rippled outward with the wind.
Then Gu Mu-ak—
“Spare me, I beg you!”
……
He begged for his life.
Dan Woo-hyun stared at Gu Mu-ak with sudden bewilderment.
In all his years, he’d never encountered someone pleading for their life with such gravity. Even Jang Sam-tae, who scarcely knew how to fight, hadn’t done this—the shock was considerable.
“A Martial Artist begs for his life?”
“A Martial Artist, sir? I am the master of Hao Mun. Though I may be a merchant dealing in information, calling me a Martial Artist is hardly fitting.”
……
“It’s true! Ask any hundred Martial Artists from the Central Plains whether Hao Mun is a Murim sect, and they’d all shake their heads. The master of such a place can hardly be called a Martial Artist!”
He offered these excuses with servile laughter.
He resembled Jang Sam-tae in some way, yet somehow it was different.
“I’ve heard that Hyungsan Sect is an Orthodox Major Sect…….”
“Hyungsan Sect? I happened to pick up their martial arts by chance and came here because of that connection. If I’d been a disciple of Hyungsan Sect, I never would’ve set foot in Hao Mun.”
Logic dictated he was right.
Despite its collapse, Hyungsan Sect had once been an Orthodox Major Sect.
And now its final heir was the leader of a band of street ruffians?
Had he trained properly and gone to the Murim Alliance, he’d have received far greater treatment, had chances to make a name for himself, or even establish a new sect altogether.
A sigh escaped Dan Woo-hyun’s lips.
“I’ve never met anyone quite like you.”
“Nor have I met anyone quite like you, sir.”
After all, through Hao Mun’s intelligence network, Gu Mu-ak had made a point of avoiding anyone who appeared to be a master.
There was little chance such a master would suddenly appear before him one day, and given the disposition of martial artists, they naturally kept their distance from Hao Mun, making encounters rare.
Watching Dan Woo-hyun hesitate slightly, Gu Mu-ak’s eyes brightened.
“Please, sit here, sir! Let me bring you some tea.”
He righted the overturned table and wiped the dust away with his sleeve. He fetched what looked to be the least damaged chair and gave it several firm pats—it reminded one of Jeom So-i.
“When I was young, I was the finest pickpocket on Market Street.”
“…….”
Dan Woo-hyun found himself even more at a loss for words before Gu Mu-ak’s shamelessness.
He found himself thinking that if Jang Sam-tae were here, they’d make quite the pair.
He’d claimed with his own mouth that he wasn’t a martial artist, yet the leader of an organization was showing his true colors like this?
He almost wanted to show Hao Mun’s disciples what their leader was really like.
But then the killing intent faded.
Dan Woo-hyun sat in the chair without ceremony.
“Hehe, just wait a moment and I’ll bring you some fine tea.”
“Tea in a place like this?”
“And who am I, pray tell? The leader of Hao Mun! Even in a remote backwater like this, I can procure food, clothing, whatever’s needed. That’s precisely why I became the leader!”
“……I see.”
As Dan Woo-hyun nodded in understanding, Gu Mu-ak’s face broke into a broad smile, and he scurried off, saying he’d fetch the tea.
His steps led toward the kitchen.
Though there was considerable distance between it and the main hall where Dan Woo-hyun waited, his pace quickened—eager to fetch the tea as quickly as possible.
The moment he reached the kitchen.
Gu Mu-ak turned his back.
A distance of dozens of zhang separated him from the main hall.
‘Run!’
Gu Mu-ak bolted.
There was no way tea existed in a place like this.
‘Thank goodness he’s so stupid.’
The smile never left Gu Mu-ak’s face, savoring the joy of having duped his opponent.
Now he just needed to escape this place as quickly as possible and hide where no one could find him.
And he’d hunt down whoever had revealed his location to that man and separate bone from flesh.
In the midst of burning with that vengeful fury.
Crack!
“Guh!”
The sudden impact made everything go black before his eyes.
Gu Mu-ak collapsed to the ground without even a proper scream.
His consciousness spiraled deeper into darkness. Just before losing it entirely, he heard Dan Woo-hyun’s voice, dripping with contempt.
“I once knew someone exactly like you. Next time, think before you run.”
‘Damn 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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