Heaven-Defying Hero - Chapter 59
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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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#059
Jinan, Shandong Province.
“Wow.”
Ja-gang-cheon, who had entered the greatest city in Shandong Province, exclaimed in admiration repeatedly. It was the largest and most complex place among all the villages he had visited so far. Not only that, but the market was so crowded with people that it was difficult to even pass through.
As it was a large inland market, there were many goods that couldn’t be seen in Jiao-nan’s market.
He secretly wanted to look around, but unfortunately, he didn’t have the leisure to do so.
“I’ll have to come back next time.”
He avoided the crowded market and followed the main road where carriages and carts passed.
“That’s the Hanmyeong Inn over there, so we’re almost there.”
As the clothing of the carriages and people passing on the main road became more luxurious, large guest quarters began to appear, unlike the bustling market.
Among them were government office buildings, and unlike in Jiao-nan, the gates were wide open with two armed gatekeepers guarding the front.
That sight was quite impressive, so he was gazing at it for a moment when someone’s voice was heard.
“Non-interference between government and martial arts. The government and the Martial Arts World don’t interfere with each other. It means Lord won’t have any business getting involved with them.”
“Aunt!”
The person who approached Ja-gang-cheon was the Poison Widow Song Ja-in.
“You found your way well.”
“Don’t tell me you were worried about me?”
“Not worried, but I was waiting. I missed you.”
“How can you be so affectionate?”
“Traveling alone is too hard and lonely.”
Ja-gang-cheon’s complaint was sincere.
Especially since he had traveled through many new regions, there were many things to be mindful of.
“Now that I’m here, you can rest assured.”
They walked along, chatting intimately.
To anyone watching, it looked like an aunt and nephew who got along well taking a stroll.
If they hadn’t stopped at the most dangerous place in Jinan, no one would have been on guard.
“Is this the Hwangbo Clan?”
“Yes. They’re called the Gwon-wang-se-ga and the greatest family in Shandong.”
“That evaluation ends today.”
Ja-gang-cheon looked at the massive guest quarters that far exceeded the scale of the government office building.
“Aunt. Don’t get hurt.”
“You too, Lord.”
Ja-gang-cheon walked boldly toward the Hwangbo Clan.
The two gatekeepers guarding the door blocked Ja-gang-cheon’s path with menacing momentum.
“State your identity.”
“We’re not close enough for that.”
“Do you know me?”
Bang!
Instead of answering, Ja-gang-cheon struck the gatekeeper’s solar plexus. The shocked gatekeeper was sent flying and rolled on the ground along with the torn gate.
“You bastard!”
Bang!
Before the other gatekeeper’s shout could finish, another striking sound was heard.
He too rolled beside his fallen comrade and could no longer move.
“Who goes there!”
“It’s an attack!”
The moment the two gatekeepers breathed their last, those who heard the explosion rushed out to the courtyard.
“Are you really attacking the Hwangbo Clan with just two people?”
An aged warrior of the Hwangbo Clan looked at Ja-gang-cheon with an expression of disbelief.
Song Ja-in answered for him instead.
Swoosh swoosh swoosh.
Song Ja-in, who had rushed forward kicking off the ground, extended her hand toward the aged warrior.
The experienced veteran faced the palm technique directed at him with all his internal energy, countering with fist techniques.
Bang!
A powerful explosion erupted from the collision of internal energies. But immediately after, a thick poisonous scent spread around.
It was a fishy and putrid smell that would only come from smoke burning corpses.
“Cough!”
By the time he recognized that smell, the veteran who had clashed fists with Song Ja-in coughed up blood and fell backward.
“Po, poison technique!”
At the same time, they recognized who the attacker was.
“Poison Widow!”
Song Ja-in spoke to the Hwangbo Clan warriors who had finally recognized her.
“Everything is a fight that you all started. You’re paying the price for it, so don’t feel wronged.”
Song Ja-in’s expression and tone while saying this were intimidating and cruel. She was like a judge pronouncing a death sentence.
But this was the Hwangbo Clan, and there was no one who would just accept that judgment.
“You’ve come looking for your own grave!”
“I need to see for myself just how good the Poison Widow’s martial arts are!”
Even if they couldn’t belong to the Hundred Heroes, the clan was full of masters.
It looked reckless to anyone, but rather the attackers were overflowing with composure.
“Those who haven’t learned martial arts should leave. If they die unjustly, it won’t be my fault but yours for taking the current situation lightly.”
Song Ja-in left a clear warning and surveyed the surroundings.
About fifty warriors had gathered in the courtyard in an instant.
That number was rapidly increasing.
‘At least two hundred.’
Even while gauging the enemy’s numbers, the clan warriors were stealthily surrounding her.
However, there was one fact they overlooked.
Distracted by the Poison Widow, they neglected Ja-gang-cheon standing a few steps behind.
Then, the only remaining elder in the clan crossed over a guest quarters and descended to the courtyard.
“What reckless uninvited guests.”
“Sitting in the back room holding go stones, you don’t know how the world works.”
“What did you say?”
“Generally, if you’re an adult, you should correct and educate your descendants’ mistakes. Yet you just stand by and watch as they commit acts like back-alley thugs under the clan’s name. You’re just showing off your old age.”
“You wench! Just because you have a mouth doesn’t mean you can run it carelessly!”
“Everyone who called me that has gone to meet the King of Hell, and today one more will be added.”
It was when the elder couldn’t hold back and was about to step forward.
Swish swish swish.
At the eerie sound approaching from somewhere, the elder quickly turned his gaze.
There was Ja-gang-cheon approaching at an unbelievable speed.
Shing!
Seeing the ink-colored blade in his hand, the elder felt a chilling sense of crisis in his chest.
It was Mukryeomdo that Ja-gang-cheon had drawn.
Could there be such a deep shadow under the bright midday sunlight?
The path of the blade being drawn sideways was like drawing a line in the air with an ink-soaked brush.
“Ugh!”
When he retreated, unable to dare face that ominous feeling.
Swoosh swoosh swoosh!
Internal energy maintaining the exact shape of the swung blade followed the elder.
Condensed energy commonly called sword qi.
The blade qi unleashed with the blade struck the elder’s chest.
“Cough!”
The energy of Mukryeomdo exploded from his body as he crossed both arms and drew up his protective inner energy.
“Kraak!”
Mukryeomdo’s inner energy shattered into hundreds of blade-like fragments at the moment of collision, slashing everything in the area.
Dozens of red lines were drawn across the Elder’s body, trapped in that space.
Then time seemed to stop for a moment before he screamed and charged at Ja-gang-cheon.
Facing the Elder who rushed at him like a demon covered in blood, Ja-gang-cheon calmly stepped back with a composed expression.
Whoosh!
It was when the Elder’s fist failed to reach Ja-gang-cheon’s jaw and was returning.
Thud.
Ja-gang-cheon approached the Elder at the same speed, as if a string was attached to the retreating fist.
The most dangerous moment when retrieving a thrust weapon.
Seeing Ja-gang-cheon capture that exact instant, the Elder hastily extended his other hand.
It was a strike aimed at Ja-gang-cheon’s side.
But Ja-gang-cheon slipped to the side and slashed Mukryeomdo diagonally.
In an instant, blood spurted from the Elder’s thigh, who had concentrated on his upper body.
Where Mukryeomdo had passed, the skin was torn as if a beast’s claws had raked across it.
The moment his strength drained and balance collapsed,
Ja-gang-cheon didn’t miss the opening and slashed the Elder’s neck.
Thud.
The Elder’s head rolling on the ground foretold what would happen at the Hwangbo Clan today.
“Today I can rampage to my heart’s content.”
Ja-gang-cheon decided to unleash the power of Mukryeomdo that he had been suppressing.
***
Ja-gang-cheon chose Mukryeomdo instead of the Bihuang Fist Technique.
Because there were many weapon users in the clan?
Because he didn’t want to reveal his possession of the Bihuang Fist Technique to outsiders?
The reason Ja-gang-cheon drew Mukryeomdo instead of the Bihuang Fist Technique was simple.
‘The time has come.’
He had trained sufficiently.
His inner energy had matured and he was confident he wouldn’t lose his mind to Mukryeomdo.
‘I want to see.’
More than anything, this feeling was strong.
‘How much can you show me?’
The Hwangbo Clan was an excellent opponent to find that answer.
Swooosh!
A saw-like energy wave flew from Mukryeomdo as he slashed vertically, splitting both people and ground simultaneously.
“Urgh…”
“Kek!”
Even after tearing through two bodies, Mukryeomdo vibrated slightly as if unsatisfied.
At the same time, it rapidly absorbed Ja-gang-cheon’s inner energy.
‘If you don’t obey me, you’ll never see the light again.’
Ja-gang-cheon, who had moderately channeled his inner energy, tightened his grip on Mukryeomdo.
Bang!
For the first time, Ja-gang-cheon operated his inner energy while recalling the incantation in his mind.
North Cheon Blade Technique 1st Form: Heaven’s Will Cleaves the Sea.
The North Cheon Blade Technique, passed down only to the direct lineage of North Cheon City, the hegemon of the North, unfolded in Ja-gang-cheon’s hands.
It began with the unity of mind and body. Then Ja-gang-cheon and Mukryeomdo’s energies achieved balance.
Wooong.
With strong vibrations, condensed energy formed at Mukryeomdo’s center.
‘Now.’
When the surrounding air began to distort from the extending energy waves, Ja-gang-cheon’s Mukryeomdo drew a large horizontal circle, grazing the ground.
Swaaash!
An ominousness never seen in the original North Cheon Blade Technique engulfed the clan warriors.
“Block it!”
The martial artists didn’t dare face it, and those with weapons stepped forward.
And they met that ominous wave.
“Kraaak!”
“Kek!”
Those who had surrounded Ja-gang-cheon screamed.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Where the wave had passed, dull sounds echoed as warriors began to collapse.
A full twenty men.
From those whose waists were completely severed, with upper and lower bodies falling in opposite directions, to those whose chest bones were cut away, exposing their hearts.
The one who had raised a spear had his shaft and hands cut together, and even that wasn’t enough as a red line was drawn across his solar plexus.
It was truly a disaster.
“How could…”
The warriors looked at Ja-gang-cheon with horrified expressions.
Seeing Ja-gang-cheon remain expressionless despite displaying such unbelievable might, the warriors finally began to feel terror.
Who could have predicted such events would occur in the inner chambers of the Hwangbo Clan?
But their despair didn’t end there.
“Block it!”
It was the training hall, a short distance from the front courtyard.
A nightmare was unfolding in the place where Hwangbo Clan warriors spent most of their time.
The poison scent carried by the wind grew thicker with time, and now the smell of blood began to mix with the poison.
Song Ja-in proved with her skills why Dogok was synonymous with terror.
Her poison palm, dyed purple, was no different from the Bihuang Fist Technique that Ja-gang-cheon had used.
Her surroundings were filled with death and screams, and at some point, everyone began backing away.
The Tiger of Shandong Province.
The main house of the Hwangbo Clan was crumbling due to just two people.
Screech!
The harsh scraping sound of metal tried to mark the finale.
When Ja-gang-cheon poured out his inner energy as if testing, Mukryeomdo made an unpleasant sound.
“This fight started with the intention of killing each other. Then you shouldn’t back down.”
Ja-gang-cheon looked at the twenty warriors who couldn’t approach and were retreating.
Already, over a hundred of their comrades lay dead around them.
They had survived because they were positioned further back and attacked passively.
The courageous ones were already dead, and those who had stood at the front for their comrades hadn’t survived either.
He would understand if they ran away, but despite being paralyzed with fear, they still held their ground.
Thud.
Every step Ja-gang-cheon took, corpses that had lost their lives caught on his feet.
Seeing their comrades’ bodies pushed aside like baggage by his steps, the warriors couldn’t bring themselves to charge.
“Let’s finish this quickly.”
Ja-gang-cheon didn’t drag out the time.
Tap!
Ja-gang-cheon, who began running while stepping on corpses, started slaughtering the flinching warriors.
No particularly strong techniques or fighting spirit were needed.
It was much easier than at first, and he didn’t feel any great sense of crisis.
“Pl-please…”
He beheaded those who begged for their lives, and slashed the backs of those who turned away.
After cutting down the waist of one who had frozen in place, trembling in terror, Ja-gang-cheon looked around with indifferent eyes.
Mutilated corpses were scattered haphazardly, and bloodstains clearly visible in the sunlight had soaked the entire courtyard.
It was truly a scene from hell.
Could there be a more cruel scene than what humans could imagine here?
Even Ja-gang-cheon’s hardened heart felt a strange emotion rising.
“It’s still not enjoyable.”
His stomach felt nauseous and disgusted.
His heart grew heavy as if burdened with karma and guilt. But there was too much at stake to be consumed by such emotions.
-If you don’t kill, you die in this place.
Even Father had said so.
-The worst person in Gangho is the one who dies. The survivor will make it so.
Ja-gang-cheon was desperately feeling the truth of his mother’s words.
If he had met death at Deungmyeong Manor, the Hwangbo Clan would have changed all records in their favor.
‘This is a fight for survival. I can’t hesitate.’
Steeling his resolve once more, Ja-gang-cheon pulled out his fire arrows from his chest.
At the same time.
“Grr…”
The warrior who resisted until the end was from the Bangho Unit, called the Hwangbo Clan’s last line of defense.
The ten warriors belonging to the Bangho Unit resisted to the very end.
‘Was the Poison Hand this strong?’
He had thought the Ten Great Masters evaluated by the world were just empty rumors.
‘This is power beyond our ability to handle. There’s no one in our clan now who can face the Poison Hand.’
Finally, Bangho Daejoo made his last choice.
‘Even if I go to the afterlife, I must take at least an arm with me.’
Bangho Daejoo, resolved to mutual destruction, didn’t block the blade aimed at his chest but instead threw his body forward.
He concentrated all his internal energy into his right hand and aimed for Song Ja-in’s left shoulder.
But Song Ja-in had no intention of giving up anything.
Whoosh!
She stopped her attack and twisted her body.
The moment Bangho Daejoo’s fist cut through the air, Song Ja-in’s poison palm grabbed his neck.
Bangho Daejoo, who had put all his strength into his final strike, couldn’t regain his collapsing balance.
“Grr…”
The poison that seeped through his skin via her hand turned Bangho Daejoo’s face purple.
And he died with his tongue hanging out long.
Thud.
When Song Ja-in finished off the last one.
Whoooosh!
Flames shot up from the guest quarters not far away.
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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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