Chronicles of the Martial God’s Return - Chapter 33

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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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Ma Dok-jin was a name known throughout the Gangho—barely ranked fiftieth within Muwhangseong’s inner hierarchy, though in truth such rankings meant little, having been assigned by those fond of such distinctions.
In a word: Ma Dok-jin was formidable.
His martial skill had reached its zenith, his experience surviving decades in the Gangho was vast, and considering the very reason he had earned renown among the Evil Sects, Namgung So-hye was decidedly not his match.
‘And worse still…….’
Namgung So-hye swallowed hard and turned her gaze.
Standing beside Ma Dok-jin was Kwon Mu-jin, a master of the Qwae-do.
Of late he had taken on most of the duties Ma Dok-jin once handled, earning him a reputation that had begun to eclipse his commander’s own.
‘Kwon Mu-jin too…….’
That such formidable names should block her path—she had not anticipated this.
“It is my honor to meet the renowned Ma Dok-jin.”
Namgung So-hye tightened her grip on the Geompa and swept her surroundings with her eyes before speaking, her tone edged with mockery.
“Kharaha! So even the green saplings of the Latter-Period rank have heard my name, have they?”
As his booming laughter filled the space, Namgung So-hye understood something.
This was no dream, and survival might prove far more difficult than she had dared imagine.
A bitter smile crossed her lips as she gripped the Geompa tighter.
Then Ma Dok-jin turned his gaze downward toward Honam O-geom.
“Is this Honam O-geom I’ve heard of—the one whose companions supposedly swept the Heukdo Society clean?”
Rather than answer, Namgung So-hye glanced back over her shoulder.
But Honam O-geom’s face had gone ashen.
Fear? Of the masters who had stormed the Heukdo Society’s stronghold and subdued its leader?
‘Something is wrong.’
Seeing the terror glinting in their eyes, she felt a chill of foreboding.
If that earlier glimpse of their prowess had been genuine, they should possess strength rivaling Ma Dok-jin himself—yet now they trembled with fear?
“Th…… that’s right! We are Honam O-geom!”
“Hmm—no matter how I look at you, I don’t see how rabble like you could have managed the Heukdo Society at all…….”
Ma Dok-jin studied them, tilting his head slightly.
Were they masters capable of concealing their aura within? At that level, it would have been possible. But Ma Dok-jin did not miss the fear flooding their eyes.
He fixed a peculiar expression on Ma Il-ung.
‘D…… damn! I can’t afford to fail here!’
Meanwhile, Ma Il-ung swallowed his saliva.
Who was he?
A con man who cheated people of their coin. He had even managed to deceive Namgung So-hye herself, so there was no reason he couldn’t deceive Ma Dok-jin.
“You…… you worm! Some paltry nobody from the Evil Sects dares block our path?”
He bellowed the words with bold flourish and stepped forward.
In moments like this, brazening through was the only play.
Let the opponent sense your fear, and no deception would work.

Then.
“Kharaha! This is delightful! I rode all the way from Seongseo just to see you lot. Come now—show me this strength of yours. The power that subdued the Heukdo Society’s master!”
Ma Dok-jin exhaled a tremendous aura as he roared, his killing intent made manifest.
Namgung So-hye shuddered, and even Honam O-geom, despite his bold shouting moments before, felt his body quake anew.
“D…… don’t worry. I, your senior, shall handle this.”
“Sh…… shouldn’t we flee?”
Honam O-geom whispered among themselves. They knew Ma Dok-jin’s name well enough, knew too how ruthless and terrifying a figure he was.
Yet Ma Il-ung stepped before Namgung So-hye without a care, his expression one of utter indifference.
“Oho?”
The moment Ma Dok-jin’s expression shifted to curiosity, Ma Il-ung assumed his stance.
“My blade has no eyes. The moment it draws, death comes—does that suit you?”
Snap!
There was such killing intent in those words that even Ma Dok-jin, for just an instant, flinched.
But he quickly regained his composure, smiling wickedly as he glanced sideways at Kwon Mu-jin.
Cling-clang!
Kwon Mu-jin drew two Small Blades from his sheaths.
This was precisely why Kwon Mu-jin had become famous.
He wielded both blades with perfect freedom, his brilliant technique overwhelming his opponents.
“Ar…… are you certain you’ll be all right?”
“Hmph! Have no fear, I! I am hardly the sort to fall to such a fool!”
Ma Il-ung made a grand declaration.
Yet wasn’t his voice trembling slightly? Even the hand resting on the Geompa seemed to quiver. Like a man truly seized by fear.
“I have spoken plainly. My single strike will cleave heaven and earth in two—none can evade it, none can block it. If you wish to live, step back now!”
“A formidable spirit indeed. But having received my lord’s command, I cannot retreat.”
Kwon Mu-jin gripped two blades in tense hands.
Kwon Mu-jin advanced slowly, one careful step forward, offering no opening.
“Fall back! Do you truly wish to die!”
…….
Cold sweat beaded Kwon Mu-jin’s brow. The blade in his grip felt as though it might slip away. He hadn’t felt tension like this in years.
Then, the moment Kwon Mu-jin took another step forward—
“The…the Cheonji Gaebyek Sword!”
With a thunderous cry, the opponent’s blade was drawn.
Yet it moved with terrible slowness.
So slow that one could dodge it without effort, if one chose to.
Just as the blade reached its apex, a bamboo tube suddenly streaked through the air from behind.
Boom—boom!
Smoke bombs.
Smoke billowed from all directions, swiftly engulfing the entire space and cutting off vision completely.
Even Namgung So-hye stood bewildered, unsure what was happening.
“Flee…flee!”
At the sound from behind, Namgung So-hye’s eyes widened. She could hear Honam O-geom and his men bolting in panicked flight.
She reached out and caught someone’s sleeve, but they wrenched free and ran without hesitation.
…….
As the smoke slowly cleared, three figures stood motionless. Kwon Mu-jin, who had braced himself for a counterattack, wore an awkward expression, while Namgung So-hye’s face flushed crimson as she turned away.
“Pfft…pffahahaha!”
It was Ma Dok-jin who broke the silence with laughter.
Watching him laugh like a madman, Namgung So-hye felt as though she might sink into the earth itself from shame.
“Pffahahaha! The Murim Alliance has truly fallen into decline! The great Phoenix Pavilion Lord himself seeks to recruit such fools! The Cheonji Gaebyek Sword? The Cheonji Gaebyek Sword, you say! Pffahahaha! What a supreme martial art indeed!”
“This…this…this…!”
Namgung So-hye spun around, her eyes blazing with mingled fury and shame, but he had already vanished from sight.
“It can’t be…I was deceived!”
“Hahaha! Pffahahaha!”
Ma Dok-jin laughed uncontrollably.
As the Evil Sects’ maxim went—the deceiver is wicked, but the deceived is a fool—and now Ma Dok-jin felt like a fool.
After laughing for a long while, he abruptly fell silent, his gaze turning cold as he fixed it on Namgung So-hye.
“You made me come all this way for nothing?”
Whoosh—
The killing intent that pierced from Ma Dok-jin was sharp as an awl, almost unbearable. Namgung So-hye’s crimson flush drained away in an instant, leaving her deathly pale.
Ma Dok-jin tilted his head slightly, regarding Kwon Mu-jin.
“Kill them. Leave none alive.”
“As you command!”
Whoosh—
Kwon Mu-jin moved with sudden speed, his subordinates surging forward in his wake.
“It was rather entertaining. But to come all this way from Seongseo with such anticipation of meeting true masters…”
Ahhhhhhh—!
A scream echoed from not far away. Hearing it, Namgung So-hye’s body went rigid.
No matter how swiftly Honam O-geom fled, he and his men could not outpace trained martial artists.
In the end, they would all perish.
But now was not the time to concern herself with them.
‘Focus on what’s before you, Namgung So-hye!’
Kwon Mu-jin and his men had vanished, but Ma Dok-jin remained.
And he had not abandoned his murderous intent.
It meant Namgung So-hye would have to fight for her life.
She swallowed hard and slowly drew up her Internal Energy, steadying her Momentum.
“At the very least, you shall provide me with some amusement. Unless you wish to be torn limb from limb.”

***

‘Damn it all!’
As Kwon Mu-jin charged forward, he seized one of Honam O-geom’s men by the hair, drove his blade through the man’s throat in a single motion, and cast the wretching body aside before surging onward again.
‘That damnable bastard—I thought he was a master capable of crushing that arrogant pride of his!’
But they turned out to be nothing but weaklings?
“P-please… spare me…”
He stared down coldly at the man begging for his life, his brow furrowed deep.
To think he’d felt tension against such a wretch.
The more he dwelled on it, the more rage consumed him—rage that threatened to boil over into madness.
Born into a lowborn house, he had clawed at every opportunity to rise higher, only to find the climb endless. That’s why he’d trained harder than anyone, polishing his martial skill day after day, always believing someone would eventually recognize his true worth.
And yet—to have been toyed with by such vermin, of all people. The thought ignited an inferno within him, white-hot and unbearable.
Thrust—!
“Gaaahhk!”
His blade sang through the air and pierced Ma Il-ung’s heart. The man’s desperate pleas for mercy never even reached his ears.
“Damn it. Damn it. Damn it.”
The reason Kwon Mu-jin burned with such fury was this: he had faltered in momentum against such a creature, had felt fear—if only for a heartbeat. And that single moment felt like a repudiation of his entire life as a martial artist, a negation of everything he had striven to become.
“We’ve finished the cleanup.”
His subordinates emerged from the shadows and bowed their heads.
‘Cursed whelp—where is this master? Why hasn’t he shown himself?’
He nodded, his expression darkening. By now, surely the leader of the Phoenix Pavilion was being crushed like a toy in Ma Dok-jin’s grasp.
If he didn’t rush there and intervene soon, an all-out war with the Murim Alliance was inevitable—as certain as fire burning.
With that thought, he turned to leave.
“Well, so he’s finally dead?”
A voice cut through the air.
No one had sensed the approach, no aura announcing the newcomer’s presence. Everyone started in shock.
They turned toward the voice and saw a man emerging from the darkness, examining the corpse of Honam O-geom piece by piece.
After studying the wounds left on the body, the stranger turned his head.
“Impressive. Such clean, precise work… I haven’t seen technique like this in ages.”
The man smiled, his gaze settling on Kwon Mu-jin. His eyes burned with interest.
The moment their eyes met, Kwon Mu-jin found himself stepping backward—an instinctive retreat.
His body moved of its own accord, drawing away from that gaze.
Cold sweat beaded across his brow.
“Who… who are you?”

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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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