Chronicles of the Martial God’s Return - Chapter 95

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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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Sa Do-hak withdrew his blade in a single instant.
An indescribable presence pressed against him. In all his encounters with martial artists, he had never faced anyone whose entire body sent such a piercing warning—a tingling that screamed danger from every nerve.
Come to think of it, he owed this man a debt.
He had been careless, yes, but to fall in the opening strike—that was unprecedented.
And the second time.
Again, carelessness was to blame, but regardless, there were accounts to settle with this man. This was no time to worry about a severed beard.
The summit of the Demonic Cult.
One who was called the Demon Sovereign.
He had to reclaim his pride.
“Quite an impressive presence. Though I was careless, there’s clearly reason you toppled me.”
From Sa Do-hak’s body, as he stared at Dan Woo-hyun, billowed a writhing black aura.
Unmistakably Demonic Qi—utterly different from the presence he had shown against Namgung Cheon moments before.
“Careless?”
Yet Dan Woo-hyun laughed softly. There was something hauntingly familiar about that aura. And his tone carried unmistakable mockery of his opponent’s words.
A martial artist has always held that reading an enemy’s strength is itself a measure of skill.
By that standard, Sa Do-hak seemed to share the thinking of a novice venturing into the jianghu for the first time. Though it made sense—he had stood at the apex for so long that such blindness was understandable.
Dan Woo-hyun nodded slowly.
“You’ll have to answer for destroying the Estate.”
“Answer? You dare speak such words without knowing who I am!”
“I neither know nor care.”
Sa Do-hak’s eyes narrowed to slits. He regarded Dan Woo-hyun quietly for a moment, then exhaled a small, mirthless breath.
Of course—this was why those ignorant of the jianghu knew no fear. They possessed a sliver of power and failed to recognize the very person standing before them.
The absurdity was almost funny.
In truth, both men were thinking the same thing.
“Listen here. Wouldn’t it be better to step back? There’s no need for this pointless commotion……”
“Step back? I’ve traveled far to test myself against this man! And what happens? I’m ambushed—twice—and lose consciousness both times! And you tell me to stand idle!”
“Ugh—”
Namgung Cheon sighed.
Sa Do-hak carried the epithet of the Mad Hound. His hunger for martial arts was so consuming it could fairly be called the greatest among the Five Emperors, and his hobby was to seek out reclusive masters and test himself against them.
In the end, all of this was inevitable.
There was no stopping it.
‘And it seems the Estate Master himself has no intention of backing down…… Though considering what’s happened to the Estate, can you blame him?’
Namgung Cheon glanced around.
They’d barely fled for half a quarter of an hour, yet most of the buildings lay in ruins. To any observer, it would seem a fierce battle had erupted.
In such circumstances, Dan Woo-hyun would never stand aside.
Look at him—see that gaze.
There was no mercy in it.
And his smile held something subtle.
Whether mockery or mere scorn, it was unclear.
After a brief laugh at Sa Do-hak’s words, Dan Woo-hyun stepped forward.
“Jang Sam-tae, keep your eyes on So-mi. Kwon Mu-jin, fall back.”
“Yes!”
Kwon Mu-jin nodded sharply, answering with energy. He didn’t know who this man confronting Dan Woo-hyun was, but judging by Namgung Cheon’s manner, this was no ordinary figure.
To witness a clash between such masters—no better opportunity could present itself.
But Jang Sam-tae was different.
Standing beside Dan Woo-hyun, he spat sharply onto the ground, then——
“Damn! I thought I was finished! Hell! You crazy old bastard! If you’re going to lose your mind, at least do it with some dignity!”
At those words, Sa Do-hak’s eyebrows twitched.
Not a soul in all the Central Plains dared speak to him in such a manner. He stood at too high a station, wielded too much power that no one could challenge.
Sa Do-hak smiled coldly and flicked his fingers. In that instant, a streak of black light shot forward with blinding speed.
From the perspective of Jang Sam-tae and Kwon Mu-jin, it was barely more than a blur.
Yet a sound split the air.
As Dan Woo-hyun, standing beside Jang Sam-tae, moved his hand, something exploded in the void.
Jang Sam-tae stumbled backward in shock.
“What…… what was that……”
It had undoubtedly been a killing strike.
Realizing as much, Jang Sam-tae swallowed hard and scrambled backward toward where Dan So-mi stood. Remaining here meant certain death.
“Quite the fiery temperament, I see. Drawing a blade over a single word.”
“Hmph! There’s no martial artist alive who would stand idle after being insulted.”
Dan Woo-hyun nodded at that remark.
Fair enough—it was true.
Yet if the opponent were weaker, the matter stood differently. To kill over what amounted to a mere reprimand was the act of a demon, not a martial artist.
Dan Woo-hyun exhaled softly and gestured with a subtle wave of his hand.
“Then come. I’ll show you where you truly stand.”
Sa Do-hak’s face flushed crimson.
That gaze—contemptuous, looking down from on high.
It was the very same look Sa Do-hak himself had worn countless times.
The eyes of an absolute master, certain that none existed above him, only below.
Turned upon himself, that stare ignited a fury he could not contain.
From Sa Do-hak’s frame, clutching his blade, poured forth a dense Demonic Qi—the aura of an invincible power no one dared challenge.
For but a moment, Kwon Mu-jin felt his breath catch. Where he stood, his body went rigid, unable to move.
‘This aura—could it be—?!’
Why had he not recognized it until now?
One acquainted with Namgung Cheon, wielding Demonic Technique.
If his power truly rivaled that of the Sword Emperor, only one person in all the Central Plains could it be.
The Demon Emperor, Sa Do-hak.
The instant that name crystallized in his mind, Kwon Mu-jin found himself paralyzed. A sick dread seized him—what if Dan Woo-hyun fell here before his eyes?
Common wisdom held that the Five Emperors were evenly matched, yet by virtue of Demonic Technique’s nature, its destructive power reigned supreme.
Yet Dan Woo-hyun didn’t so much as blink.
Instead, he smiled softly.
“Come then.”
And extended his hand in an easy gesture.
He didn’t even reach for his blade.
To Kwon Mu-jin’s eyes, Dan Woo-hyun facing Sa Do-hak unarmed looked no different from suicide.
“You wretch!”
Sa Do-hak charged, fury blazing.
Bang!
A violent crack erupted; countless shards scattered through the air. Though he had merely shifted his stance, the shockwave that rippled forth exceeded all imagination.
Sa Do-hak’s form vanished, materializing in the next instant before Dan Woo-hyun.
Fast—so fast that even with eyes wide open, Kwon Mu-jin saw nothing but a blur. It bore no comparison to how Sa Do-hak had pursued Namgung Cheon moments before.
“Tsk.”
Yet Namgung Cheon clicked his tongue.
With the slightest twist of his body, Dan Woo-hyun’s blade whistled past his throat, and his extended fingers were already pressing against Sa Do-hak’s brow.
“Ugh—?!”
“The same move won’t land twice on me.”
He had sidestepped Sa Do-hak’s lightning-fast ambush without even shifting his feet, and immediately counterattacked.
Were Dan Woo-hyun to unleash his Finger Technique now, Sa Do-hak would have no escape.
Yet Sa Do-hak’s blade still pressed against Dan Woo-hyun’s throat.
Death would come in a heartbeat.
Sa Do-hak faced an impossible choice: retreat or advance.
Sa Do-hak’s brow furrowed.
But retreat was not in his vocabulary. He slashed sideways, driving his blade forward.
Shwing!
The sound of the blade cutting air screamed viciously through the night.
Kwon Mu-jin had squeezed his eyes shut, bracing for Dan Woo-hyun’s head to roll—but when no such sound came, he slowly cracked them open.
“What in—?!”
“When two lock blades at close range, the one whose spirit falters first will fall. Sa Do-hak has already been overwhelmed by Dan’s aura.”
“Pardon?”
“If you don’t understand, just watch.”
Sa Do-hak’s sideways slash cleaved only empty air.
By all rights, Dan Woo-hyun’s throat should have been severed. Yet he stood unblemished where he had been, while Sa Do-hak staggered backward four paces, clutching his chest.
“Kugh—!”
A Palm Force strike had caught him.
He had been consumed with the fingers pressing his brow, convinced that if he simply severed Dan Woo-hyun’s neck before the Finger Technique unfolded, all would be well.
But a man possessed two hands.
Dan Woo-hyun had extended his left hand and struck Sa Do-hak’s chest with a palm strike while simultaneously evading the descending blade through nothing but a twist of his frame—a technique that bordered on the miraculous.
What infuriated Sa Do-hak even more was…….
‘That bastard! He didn’t move an inch!’
No one in all the Central Plains could stand their ground against him unscathed.
But what was this man doing? His expressionless face only stoked the irritation burning inside.
“What’s wrong? Did the unexpected come as a shock, since you wandered here without thinking?”
“Stop wasting breath on nonsense.”
“I see I’ve struck a nerve.”
Dan Woo-hyun laughed softly.
He looked around. Most of the Estate he’d called home for nearly a year lay in ruins. He made a silent vow to collect payment for every stone.
“I thought about taking a limb or two, but since the Estate needs repair, it’s better he stays whole. So maybe his mind instead?”
“What are you babbling about!”
Sa Do-hak’s voice rose, teeth grinding audibly.
Dan Woo-hyun muttered half to himself.
The words were soft, yet inaudible to him? Impossible. Sa Do-hak’s hearing, now that he’d reached the Transcendent State, exceeded any beast’s by orders of magnitude.
Still, Dan Woo-hyun paid it no mind and waved his hand.
“What are you waiting for? Come again.”
That single, confident remark reignited the fire in Sa Do-hak’s chest. With renewed resolve to shatter that cursed face beyond recognition, he moved.
Demonic Qi flowed through his body, leaving faint afterimages in its wake. With each step forward, the atmosphere itself darkened—as though an evil spirit were walking toward them.
“The…… Heavenly Demon’s Tyrannical Step……!”
Kwon Mu-jin recognized what it was.
The absolute stepping technique available only to the apex of the Demonic Cult.
A martial art that had brought countless heterodox masters to their knees.
It was more than mere footwork—they said this demon could suppress the very soul of whoever faced it.
Even Sa Do-hak himself had become invisible.
Murky black Demonic Qi surged forward in afterimages, each one radiating such overwhelming pressure that even Namgung Cheon could no longer tell which shadow was Sa Do-hak.
“Interesting.”
Dan Woo-hyun simply watched the scene unfold.
The entire surroundings had turned pitch black. The space around him was saturated with the Demonic Qi flowing from Sa Do-hak’s body, and it seemed as though even the sky itself would soon be devoured.
That terrifying Demonic Qi looked as if it could swallow Dan Woo-hyun whole.
“So this is what they call Demonic Qi?”
Dan Woo-hyun smirked.
Despite the gravity of the situation, no trace of urgency left his expression. He extended his hand slowly, and wind began to gather around him.
As if mirroring Dan Woo-hyun’s unshaken composure while watching the approaching darkness, the wind arrived gently, accumulating in his palm.
The wind gathered in his hand formed a small sphere that soon spun at tremendous speed, churning up fierce gusts around him.
As though it would devour even the black energy itself.
Then, the wind in his grip burst forth—
Screeeech—!
The darkness all around was torn asunder.
Ripped to shreds and scattered.
Whether Demonic Qi or Demonic Technique, neither could withstand the Wind Blade. The darkness vanished, and Sa Do-hak rose into the air, blood spraying from his entire body.
“Gaaaahhh!”
His anguished cry echoed everywhere.

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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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