Heaven-Defying Hero - Chapter 13

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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#013

“Huff. Huff.”

“Hyung. Rest a bit now.”

Pansuk put down his club and picked up a water bucket from the corner, pouring it over his body.

Splash!

As his sweat-soaked clothes clung to his body, his natural muscles were fully revealed.

Seeing this, Ja-gang-cheon let out pure admiration.

“He beat people for half a shichen without any internal energy.”

Cheon-gu was equally amazed.

“At that level, he might be a bear. What would have happened if he’d learned martial arts from childhood?”

“He would have become an incredible master.”

His natural talent was almost regrettable to waste.

“But what are we going to do with all these people?”

There were as many as eighty-three people collapsed and groaning in the courtyard.

“We’ll have to keep them locked up until Gwimyeon Ssangssal comes.”

Ja-gang-cheon called to Pansuk, who had just cooled his body with cold water.

“Pansuk hyung. Now call the Haeryongbang people.”

“Um, hyung-nim…”

Unlike before, Pansuk approached hesitantly and asked.

“What are you planning to do with our brothers?”

Pansuk glanced at the people collapsed and groaning, trailing off his words.

“Haeryongbang is different from those bastards. They even took me in when I had nowhere to go…”

“Don’t tell me you’re saying it’s a virtuous Black Society?”

“Virtuous… no, it’s not.”

“Go quickly and call them. I know what I’m going to do.”

“Really? I’ll be right back!”

Having heard the answer, Pansuk ran out with a bright expression.

After some time had passed.

Haeryong faction leader So Yeon-dok stood alone before Ja-gang-cheon.

“Why did you come alone?”

“Whatever it is, I’ll take responsibility for it.”

“What responsibility?”

“Don’t touch my younger brothers. Whatever you order, I’ll do it alone.”

“Mister. Have you been drinking?”

“Yes. I drank all night. I had no face to show my younger brothers anyway, and my pride was hurt, so I had a drink. I’ll bark if you tell me to bark, and crawl between your legs if you tell me to crawl. So please leave our younger brothers alone!”

So Yeon-dok suddenly bowed.

“I really can’t understand the Black Society. I have no idea why you’re acting like this, mister.”

This was a situation not covered in his father’s stories. In the end, Ja-gang-cheon just gave his orders.

“Tie up all the people here and lock them in a warehouse near the port. Not a single person can escape.”

So Yeon-dok was quick-witted. Though he wanted to ask more, he closed his eyes tightly and followed the order.

Soon the Haeryongbang members who had been hiding nearby appeared, and within one shichen the building became quiet.

Half a shichen later, at a seafood warehouse near Jinhae Port.

A group came to this place filled with fishy smells.

“You’re just arriving now?”

They were the remnants of Uirimdan. Most were bastards who had been at the black market, and hearing news that their leader had been captured, they attacked the warehouse.

But it wasn’t just their leader waiting there.

Crack!

They too met the same fate, and as Haeryongbang tied them up one by one with care, all of Uirimdan was captured.

“So you’re saying the tribute is due in three days?”

“Those people really hate it when tribute is late. They’ll definitely find you!”

The leader still harbored venom.

“I don’t understand.”

Ja-gang-cheon was genuinely curious.

“What are you so wronged about?”

No matter how he thought about it, there was no reason for Uirimdan to feel wronged.

“Just wait a little! I’ll definitely tear that mouth of yours first!”

“You’re just evil-hearted.”

Another question arose in Ja-gang-cheon’s expression.

“Why should you be allowed to live?”

He truly couldn’t understand.

This was someone who would torment others for his entire life. The more power he gained, the more people would suffer.

“This is true evil.”

Ja-gang-cheon realized this fact.

***

As Ja-gang-cheon left the warehouse, the Haeryong faction leader immediately followed.

“Great Hero.”

“Great Hero?”

“Hy, hyung-nim?”

“Mister. I’m fifteen years old.”

So Yeon-dok decided to skip honorifics.

“What are you planning to do from now on? It’s not bragging, but if there’s a problem with the tribute money, Gwimyeon Ssangssal will definitely appear.”

“That’s the goal.”

“What? Then you’re planning to fight against them?”

“I’ll handle that myself. Mister, please prepare a fishing rod and that small boat you see over there.”

Ja-gang-cheon left after saying this, but the Haeryong faction leader was still confused.

‘Should I back out at this point?’

Honestly, even coming this far hadn’t been his own choice. But to retreat now, he had come too far.

They had already imprisoned Uirimdan and even committed assault.

‘Now I have no choice but to trust and follow.’

There was no other option.

The next morning.

Everyone who knew Ja-gang-cheon was burning with anxiety.

“Cheon-gu hyung-nim. Is it okay for him to do that?”

“Just trust him.”

Even Cheon-gu, who was telling them to trust, was equally anxious.

The place they were watching was above the sea at Jinhae Port.

It was the outskirts not used by trading ships, where a small boat was floating leisurely.

It was a boat made for pleasure trips from the giru, so it had many fancy decorations, but now Ja-gang-cheon alone was leisurely casting his fishing line.

“Wow! I caught one!”

His voice was so loud that it reached Cheon-gu’s ears clearly at the port.

“Hyung. He’s waving his hand.”

“Ah! Yes!”

Cheon-gu and Pansuk smiled with effort and responded to Ja-gang-cheon’s gaze.

One day. Two days.

Ja-gang-cheon was still absorbed in his boat trip.

Then, on the evening of the third day.

Two people who looked exactly the same, as if unfolded from overlapping pictures, appeared at the port.

‘Gwimyeon Ssangssal!’

The first to recognize them was So Yeon-dok, the leader of Haeryongbang.

This was inevitable since he had been keeping watch at the port.

‘They really came!’

Gwimyeon Ssangssal, with corpse-like gray skin and blood-red lips, stared intently at one place with their deeply sunken, shadowed eyes.

It was the boat where Ja-gang-cheon was.

‘They came knowing everything.’

Since they hadn’t hidden much to begin with, it was natural they’d be spotted. However, it was unclear whether they would rescue their subordinates in the warehouse first or attack Ja-gang-cheon first.

But Gwimyeon Ssangssal didn’t even glance at the warehouse where their subordinates were imprisoned.

After coldly looking at the sea, they jumped into the water as if by prior agreement.

It was a distance that even decent martial artists would struggle to cross with lightness skills.

But Gwimyeon Ssangssal were far beyond ordinary levels.

Stepping on the gentle waves, they quickly ran across the water, then suddenly leaped high toward the boat.

“You came?”

Ja-gang-cheon, who had been holding a fishing rod, stood up the moment Gwimyeon Ssangssal jumped up.

As Ja-gang-cheon’s face was finally revealed, intense killing intent burst from Gwimyeon Ssangssal’s eyes.

“Nice to see you.”

They couldn’t forget the boy who greeted them so innocently. They had gained nothing they wanted and became enemies with the Wudang Sect.

Originally, they should have received the aphrodisiac formula from the Black-Handed Villain and been testing it at the giru by now. They planned not only to enjoy themselves but also to seduce influential people to use as pawns.

“You bastard!”

“We’ll kill you!”

Just as they were about to land on the boat in their fury.

Crash!

Ja-gang-cheon did something unexpected.

They had anticipated some traps since they had jumped onto the boat.

Poison? Or perhaps hidden weapons?

Whatever it was, they were confident they could block it if they were prepared. But they hadn’t expected the boat to be destroyed.

Crack!

The boat shattered into pieces upon impact, leaving no place for Gwimyeon Ssangssal to land.

Just as they felt an ominous premonition and tried to step back on the debris.

Splash!

Ja-gang-cheon jumped into the sea. Then, after a moment, the first of Gwimyeon Ssangssal hesitated before being pulled underwater.

‘Thread?’

The first grabbed the thread that was dragging his ankle. But the texture felt strange.

‘Could it be a chain?’

It was too thin to be a chain.

But that wasn’t the only problem. As time passed, he began to feel increasingly powerless.

Then one name came to mind.

‘Gwiyeonswae (Ghost Bond Chain).’

A very thin chain meaning “bound to ghosts.”

It was a hidden weapon used by Byeokcheonpung, who was called one of the Five Great Masters of the Demonic Sect.

What made Gwiyeonswae vicious was that when it touched flesh, it disrupted the flow of qi.

That’s why there were rumors it was created by the imperial palace to restrain martial arts masters.

Though Byeokcheonpung’s hidden weapon had suddenly appeared, the first of Gwimyeon Ssangssal had no chance to question it.

He was being pulled deeper underwater. Quickly turning his head and focusing his inner sight, he saw Ja-gang-cheon holding the other end of the chain with black gloves.

Unlike the relaxed Ja-gang-cheon, the first struggled desperately to get above water.

He believed he could overcome the qi disruption with his overwhelmingly superior internal energy.

‘I’ll have to prepare for internal injuries.’

Forcing the qi flow could lead to qi deviation in severe cases. That’s what made Gwiyeonswae terrifying.

But when he prepared for the worst and unleashed his qi, he realized something was wrong.

Matching his qigong, Ja-gang-cheon thrust a palm strike, and the impact was unbelievably evenly matched.

Moreover, an even more shocking scene unfolded.

‘Water techniques!’

Ja-gang-cheon’s movements were unnaturally fast. Only then did the first realize his opponent was accustomed to fighting underwater.

‘This is a disaster!’

The first thought this, while

‘Got you.’

Ja-gang-cheon was confident of victory.

If he had prepared beforehand, he might have lasted quite a while, but the panicked first’s breathing began to quicken.

The recent qigong made this phenomenon even worse.

However, the other brother who noticed his sibling’s crisis was the problem.

The second, who had been searching nearby, finally found his brother’s location.

‘Deeper.’

Ja-gang-cheon responded immediately. He dragged the first even deeper.

The second who pursued them wasn’t skilled at underwater movement. Nevertheless, as the first struggled and bought time, and the second approached while sending qi blasts, he finally came within reach.

Hiss.

Ja-gang-cheon smiled.

‘What are you going to do now that you’ve come this far in that state?’

He was focused on chasing for now, but what would he do after?

Gwimyeon Ssangssal soon realized they had fallen into an even deeper trap.

Bang!

Qigong unleashed underwater struck the second’s thigh.

The second, who hastily blocked it, lost his balance and his body flipped over.

Ja-gang-cheon rose quickly like a fish, then passed by the second who was regaining his balance.

Ja-gang-cheon leisurely deflected the second’s counterattack and smiled as he pulled the black glove.

‘Gack!’

The second clutched his throat and struggled.

When passing by his side earlier, he had wrapped Gwiyeonswae around his neck.

Eventually, the chain that started at the first’s ankle wrapped around the second’s neck and finally ended up in Ja-gang-cheon’s hand.

It was the power of life and death over both of them.

Ja-gang-cheon, who held this power, had no intention of forgiving them. And he gave them not even a sliver of chance.

He simply gripped the chain and went deeper into the sea.

He was a very cold and vicious reaper.

***

Zhen-hai Port was quiet.

Occasionally, shock waves from underwater created water sprays, but even that had been calm for a long time.

After two full hours had passed.

“Gangcheon!”

Ja-gang-cheon arrived at the shore completely soaked and climbed onto land.

But something was connected to his hand.

“I caught a big fish.”

Surprisingly, what was dragged by the thin chain like a fishing line was a person.

Gwimyeon Ssangssal.

The people who had come to the port after hearing the news couldn’t help but be shocked.

He had expected a bloody storm to sweep through, but Gwimyeon Ssangssal had returned as a corpse.

“H-hyung-nim!”

“G-great hero!”

Pansuk and So Yeon-dok cried out in shock.

“It’s not over yet.”

Ja-gang-cheon untied the chains bound to Gwimyeon Ssangssal’s body and wrapped them around his black gloves. Then he headed toward the cargo hold where the Uirimdan members were imprisoned.

“We’ll handle those bastards.”

It was So Yeon-dok who stepped forward instead of Ja-gang-cheon.

“We’ll handle it cleanly. There won’t be any future troubles.”

“Why do you want to do it yourself?”

“I’m asking you to let us. This is also my business.”

Ja-gang-cheon saw killing intent in his eyes. Since it wasn’t directed at him, he didn’t bother to point it out.

“Alright.”

Thanks to this, Ja-gang-cheon didn’t have to worry about the messy aftermath.

“Gangcheon. It’s all over now, right?”

“Yeah. I should sleep in a proper bed tonight.”

“I’ve laid out fluffy new blankets.”

“You’re the only one for me.”

As if what had just happened was a lie, they returned to the Donghai Merchant Guild while having an ordinary conversation.

The people who remained there could only watch Gwimyeon Ssangssal’s corpse that had been carelessly abandoned at the port, unable to bring themselves to touch it.

-A young master who appeared in Jiao-nan killed Gwimyeon Ssangssal and left him on the ground as if showing off.

Rumors were being created along the Shandong Coast.

And that night.

Over two hundred corpses were scattered as fish food in the open sea.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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