Chronicles of the Martial God’s Return - Chapter 18

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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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He possessed an exceptional talent for sensing the subtle currents of atmosphere. His Lightness Kung Fu was counted among the swiftest in Jung-won, and his sharp instincts combined with nimble hands meant he rarely came out on the losing end.
That man was Jang Sam-tae.
‘Damn it……’
Hidden near the Government Office on Dan Woo-hyeon’s orders, Jang Sam-tae swallowed hard as he watched a group of men emerge, carrying something substantial across their shoulders.
Then he began to follow, carefully and at a distance.
He kept back as far as possible, leaving no trace of his presence.
‘Why in the hell am I doing this?’
Jang Sam-tae cried out silently to himself.
These were masters—men several times over his superior in skill.
If they discovered him now, he’d be fortunate to die with enough body left to bury. And what they were after wasn’t just Hong Won-chang.
If not for Dan Woo-hyeon’s command, he might have fled this place long ago.

-The Magistrate is someone we need.
-Sir?
-Someone we need.
-But how does that—

Jang Sam-tae rubbed his head and grimaced. The spot where he’d been hit still throbbed dully.
Getting cuffed just for asking a single question. As if his head wasn’t already in poor condition. It felt worse now.
‘But are those really the Pyo Poong-dae I’ve only heard rumors about?’
The distance was too great to confirm with certainty. Yet the way they’d infiltrated the Government Office and emerged unscathed, the precision of their movements—it seemed likely they were the Pyo Poong-dae, renowned even within the Huk-do Society.
The thought that he was shadowing such men sent chills racing down his spine.
But there was no question of disobeying Dan Woo-hyeon’s order and turning back.
‘Where are they headed?’
Jang Sam-tae followed them with extreme care.
Never hurrying, moving as silently as possible. His old skills from his thieving days served him well here—he was confident in this much, at least.
But what was that thing they were carrying on their shoulders? It looked like a person, yet it didn’t move at all.
‘Have they struck a pressure point?’
Even as he pondered this, the group came to a halt on a desolate hill in the nearby wilderness.
Jang Sam-tae quickly scanned his surroundings and positioned himself where he could observe them clearly.
‘Wait… the Magistrate?’
The scene that finally came into view made Jang Sam-tae doubt his own eyes. So they’d actually taken the Magistrate prisoner. He could see Hong Won-chang struggling in resistance and a man beside him laughing cruelly.
‘This is a nightmare……’
They were using some strange substance.
At a glance, it was clear the stuff was poisonous—dangerous.
Jang Sam-tae swallowed hard and steadied his breathing. As he watched Hong Won-chang’s condition deteriorate before his eyes, he realized the moment for a critical decision had arrived.
‘Damn it! If that bastard dies here, this whole situation gets messier.’
Hong Won-chang is the Magistrate.
Ordinarily, a magistrate could die or live—it would matter little. There would be no reason to risk one’s life saving him. But a magistrate of Ho-nam’s Ak-yang? That was a different matter entirely.
He was someone who could be of considerable use to Dan Woo-hyeon. There was the matter of Jang Estate, but more than that—if disputes arose between Dan Woo-hyeon and the warriors of the Martial World, the Magistrate could help resolve them.
Beyond all that, in any arrangement whatsoever, he would be of benefit to Hwa So-mi as well. He was certainly no hindrance. In that sense, rescuing him now was not a mistaken choice.
‘Besides, if he dies and I’m the only one who escapes…… they’ll probably beat me to death. Damn it……’
Jang Sam-tae ran forward, eyes glistening.
He had to save him first. Rescuing Hong Won-chang was a hundred times better than getting his head smashed in.
He suspected Dan Woo-hyeon had anticipated this very situation when he sent him.
‘Right then, damn it! Why not get beaten twice while you’re at it?!’
Whoosh—!
Jang Sam-tae closed the distance in an instant, propelled by Lightness Kung Fu. Bang Chu-gok suddenly cried out in alarm.
“What?!”
Impossibly fast.
The speed was almost beyond the eye to follow. His hands couldn’t react in time; only the sound of wind cutting through the air announced that someone was approaching.
The moment Bang Chu-gok turned his head urgently.
Crack—!
“Ugh!”
A grunt of pain escaped from one of the subordinates holding Hong Won-chang. Unable to defend against the sudden strike delivered by lightning-fast Lightness Kung Fu, he crumpled.
This sudden ambush was the only attack Jang Sam-tae could muster.
“You bastard!”
Bang Chu-gok cried out in alarm and thrust his blade forward.
The steel edge, honed to a pale gleam, grazed Jang Sam-tae’s shoulder. It should have drawn blood, yet he’d moved faster still—quick enough that it was merely a near miss.
In the next instant, Jang Sam-tae hoisted Hong Won-chang onto his back and bolted forward at a sprint.
“After him!”
At that cry, Jang Sam-tae’s body reacted without thought—his head dropped. A sharp whistle split the air as something flashed past where his skull had been. A blade from one of the black-clad figures, appearing as if from nowhere.
Jang Sam-tae threw himself forward, plunging between the trees.
This was precisely when his confidence in Lightness Kung Fu proved invaluable. No matter how formidable a master might be, they couldn’t slip through such densely packed woods in a single burst.
Or so he thought.
Whisk-whisk-whisk-whisk-crack!
“Hngh?!”
Hidden projectiles hammered into the wood with violent force.
Had he ducked even a heartbeat later, he would not have walked away unscathed.
But relief was premature. A glance over his shoulder revealed a tremendous force pursuing him at devastating speed.
‘Damn it—what do I do?’
Only one person could turn the tide now.
The moment his face flashed across Jang Sam-tae’s mind, a string of curses threatened to spill out—but he bit them back. Instead, he gathered what remained of his wits and hurled himself forward.
Then it happened.
Swoosh!
A black-clad figure materialized directly before him. The instant he appeared, his hand darted out and whipped a short sword in a vicious arc.
Blindingly fast.
Dodging was already impossible.
Yet his body moved of its own accord. The Tai Chi Fist he had drilled into himself unfolded instinctively, and his right hand swept through the air with uncanny grace.
One should never underestimate a single hand. The strange force coiled within that grip carried an inner power fundamentally opposed to the attacker’s own—a force completely at odds with it.
Thud!
“Kgh!”
A groan tore from the black-clad man’s throat as his chest absorbed the shock. He had not anticipated such force, and his body went slack with the impact—which only made the blow cut deeper, more devastating than before.
“Hah, hah……!”
Jang Sam-tae swept past the fallen figure without stopping.
Yet his eyes, wide and blazing, remained fixed upon the man as he receded behind him. Jang Sam-tae watched the fading sight, committing it to memory, and swallowed hard.
‘Did I… did I really just do that?’
It was a sensation he had never known. His opponent, felled in a single strike?
This was entirely different from the ambush he’d launched with Lightness Kung Fu moments before. This time, they had met head-on.
‘What in heaven’s name just happened?’
Jang Sam-tae ran on, shaking his head in bewilderment.
There was no time to wonder. The pursuit continued unabated—and Bang Chu-gok in particular was closing in with terrifying speed, his form now unmistakably visible.
At this rate, he would be caught within moments.
‘Just hold on a little longer. That one man—that inhuman monster. This commotion is great enough; he’ll notice soon enough!’
Swallowing that hope, he pressed on.
Dan Woo-hyeon would come. He had to.
As he had before.
The man loved money, cut corners without shame, and his manners left much to be desired—yet he was no rotted soul who would abandon someone in need.
He would never betray this faith.
‘Damn it all! Here I am, of all people, putting my trust in that bastard……!’
Life was a cruel joke.

***

At that very moment.
Dan Woo-hyeon stood quietly beyond the Jang Estate’s walls.
With a blade held loosely in one hand, he gazed up at the moonlight and slowly closed his eyes. Something in his bearing suggested he was sensing something—or perhaps savoring this very moment—and there was something almost joyful in the way he stood there.
The feel of the sword in his grip was exquisite.
A companion across countless centuries. And because of that, whenever Dan Woo-hyeon held this blade, his heart found peace and stillness, whatever the circumstance.
Shring!
Dan Woo-hyeon drew the sword.
A blade so sharp it seemed to mock a thousand years of time. From the moment he had begun to live as a warrior until now, this weapon—unmarred, unwavering—was itself a divine sword, legendary beyond measure.
“You have drunk much blood, and yet we are not the same.”
Dan Woo-hyeon had shed as much blood as this blade had tasted. Yet they were both alike and profoundly different.
Unlike Dan Woo-hyeon, who still harbored some hunger for blood, this sword seemed content to entrust all things quietly to his hands.
Perhaps it was only possible because this was the Cheonpa-geom, known as the finest legendary sword under heaven.
Dan Woo-hyeon smiled faintly and began to move his hand with deliberate slowness.
His motions were elegant, as if he were dancing—the moonlight pouring down made the blade shine all the brighter, and his form was so perfect that once your eyes found him, they could not look away.
And then, in a single moment.
Whoooosh—!
Dan Woo-hyeon swept the sword across in a great horizontal arc.
A violent wind rushed around him, and for an instant the surroundings trembled strangely, as if reality itself were shaking.
Yet nothing had changed.
Only Dan Woo-hyeon stood walking forward, one heavy footfall after another.

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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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