I Obtained Guan Yu's Martial Arts - Chapter 26

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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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Obtaining Guan Yu’s martial art 026
Guan Household Manor
“An enemy has come?”
The words hit Guan Hui like a bucket of ice water to the face, and he jolted upright in bed.
‘Who?’
Guan Hui gripped the Crescent Moon Blade that the servants had left in his room, his mind racing.
‘The rabble from the Hun Yue Bang?’
That made no sense.
He’d already confirmed that the remnants had fled Yunxing City.
Besides, men who’d heard of Fang Dao’s death wouldn’t be foolish enough to speak of revenge.
Then that meant……
‘The Heiyan Bang.’
The Heiyan Bang—a Black Path organization even more notorious in Yunxing City than the Hun Yue Bang.
Those bastards were easily capable of such a thing.
And they had every reason to move.
‘I’ve become an irritant to them.’
His unexpected arrival had cut into their profits considerably and shaken the foundations of their operations.
Besides, Zhu Hu had mentioned that the Heiyan Bang were likely plotting ways to neutralize him.
‘I need to move fast.’
Guan Hui’s expression hardened like stone.
He wasn’t afraid of facing the Heiyan Bang.
What terrified him was the thought of his retainers being killed or gravely wounded.
‘They still aren’t ready.’
His retainers weren’t like Guan Hui, born with the Heavenly Martial Physique.
These men, still in the earliest stages of learning Blade Technique, stood no chance against the cunning fighters of the Heiyan Bang.
Bang!—
Guan Hui burst through the door and rushed outside.
With only black trousers and a robe thrown over his shoulders, his long hair unbound and the Crescent Moon Blade in hand, Guan Hui cut the figure of a great commander.
“Aaaaah!”
“Kyaaaah!”
Screams echoed from beyond the Training Ground, toward the manor grounds.
At the familiar sound of distress, Guan Hui’s expression twisted.
‘Damn it. My retainers are in danger.’
—Stay calm. Their numbers aren’t large.
‘There’s no time for calm.’
Whoosh!—
Guan Hui unfolded his Light Footwork and crossed the Training Ground in a blur.
“Kgh. So you’re Guan Hui.”
A Heiyan Bang fighter blocked his path, but—
Slice!—
Guan Hui swung the Crescent Moon Blade in a wide arc, bisecting the man cleanly in two.
The fighter didn’t even have time to scream before his body fell to the ground in halves.
“Breathe……”
Face now glistening with blood, Guan Hui drew in a deep breath and accelerated.
Or rather, he tried to.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
“Running away, perhaps?”
“Finally found you, you wretched bastard.”
Because elite Heiyan Bang martial artists had appeared to block his path.
‘Damn.’
The urgency that had blazed in Guan Hui’s eyes cooled instantly.
These four who now stood before him were on an entirely different level from the one he’d just cut down.
Remarkably, all of them had reached the early stages of the First Realm.
Even Guan Hui couldn’t afford to rush in recklessly—not against fighters of this caliber; one mistake could cost him his life.
—Stay composed. You must face them methodically.
‘Understood.’
Guan Hui was far too sharp to make careless blunders born of impatience.
Indeed, a lord of the household could never harbor such haste and dullness in the first place.
‘One at a time.’
Guan Hui drove the Crescent Moon Blade straight into the throat of the nearest Heiyan Bang fighter.
Thump!—
The man who’d let his guard down, forgetting the Crescent Moon Blade’s reach, erupted in a fountain of crimson from his throat.
“Ugh…….”
Guan Hui tightened his grip on the blade and drew it upward in one clean vertical line.
Crack!—
The neck tore halfway through at the vocal cords, exposing ribs cleaved neatly in two, and the Heiyan Bang member fell dead where he stood.
“……! Chi San!”
“This bastard!”
The Black Path warriors erupted in fury at their fallen comrade.
Guan Hui didn’t wait for them to charge.
Time was his enemy, so he threw himself forward at full speed.
Thud!—
Drenched in blood from head to foot like a crimson warhorse, Guan Hui’s eyes locked onto three Heiyan Bang members ahead.
They stood frozen, unprepared for such a sudden approach.
—Fell them with a single move of the second form.
Guan Yu issued the most efficient technique to bring down the enemies.
“Understood!”
Guan Hui leapt skyward like a bird taking flight.
The full moon glowed silver overhead, and a vast shadow fell across the Training Ground.
“……!?”
“……!!”
The Heiyan Bang members frantically raised their blades.
But.
Tap!—
Guan Hui pierced through their formation and landed among them first.
“Huu!”
Drawing in a deep breath, Guan Hui gripped the end of the Crescent Moon Blade and swept it in a broad arc.
Heavenly Extreme Cloud Annihilation Blade
Second form. Heaven-Returning Moon Slash.
Whoosh!—
The blade carved deep through the flanks of all three Heiyan Bang members, scattering blood in every direction.
A flawless technique executed with full power, not wasting a single breath.
From above, the sight resembled a silver brush drawing a perfect circle beneath the moonlight.
—……Magnificent.
Even Guan Yu, who rarely offered praise, could not help but acknowledge the technique Guan Hui had just displayed.
The fierce resolve to end this before any of the household suffered injury.
Fused with martial discipline honed through relentless practice, the technique was nothing short of perfect.
Considering the difficulty of the Heavenly Extreme Cloud Annihilation Blade—so demanding that even Yun Zhang’s own children could barely master it—it was truly a marvel.
—The Heavenly Martial Physique is indeed different.
Had those people of an earlier time witnessed this technique from Guan Hui, they would have hailed him as the second coming of Guan Yu.
“I appreciate the praise, but I’ll hear it another time. There’s no time now.”
Guan Hui let the words pass over him and bounded onto the rooftop.
—Don’t worry. The situation you feared will not come to pass.
“What? What do you mean……?”
Guan Hui’s eyes widened as he reached the roof.
Dozens of Heiyan Bang members had breached the Guan Household Manor.
They all lay sprawled on the ground, cold and lifeless.
The household staff bore not a single wound, and every dead Heiyan Bang member had one arrow lodged in their body.
Arrows shot with perfect precision, aimed only at the space between the brows and the heart.
Huang Xiaoxiao, the Bow Specter, had entered the field.
“You’re late, household head.”
She who had sent so many notorious Black Path masters to the underworld with a single arrow smiled brightly.
For a reaper who had slaughtered dozens, her smile was surprisingly fresh.
“……I owe you my thanks, miss.”
“What would you do without me, then?”
Huang Xiaoxiao puffed up at the compliment, her lips curving with satisfaction.
For one usually so unmoved by others’ praise, it was a remarkably new reaction.
Her affection for Guan Hui made even the praise she’d always found tiresome sound sweet to her ears.
“Indeed. You are indispensable to our Guan Household Manor.”
Guan Hui nodded solemnly, his expression grave and considered.
“…….”
Her ears flushed crimson as she confessed her feelings so boldly.
“Well, then at least buy me dinner.”
“Of course. I’ll ask the steward to arrange it once we’ve disposed of the bodies.”
“I mean the two of us eating outside together!”
Huang Xiaoxiao huffed in a sulk and retreated to her room.
“……?”
Guan Hui stood bewildered, unable to comprehend what had just happened.
‘Was the fighting that exhausting for her?’
* * *
Once Guan Hui had handed over the intruders’ corpses to the Guan Family, he returned home with a heavy purse at his side.
Most of the Black Path assassins had bounties on their heads—some substantial, some modest—which netted him a considerable sum.
‘Not a bad haul.’
Pleased by the unexpected windfall, Guan Hui turned his attention to surveying the household retainers.
Now that the situation had settled, he needed to properly assess their condition.
‘Fortunate.’
Mercifully, not a soul among them bore any injury—merely shaken by the midnight disturbance.
‘If not for Huang Xiaoxiao, this could have been catastrophic.’
That none of the retainers had been harmed was entirely her doing.
Without her, the Guan Household Manor would have suffered grave damage, and someone would surely have fallen.
‘We need to strengthen our defenses going forward.’
Guan Hui realized the family’s martial power required bolstering.
There were two paths to increasing the family’s strength.
One lay in elevating the retainers’ martial achievement through cultivation; the other in recruiting exceptional guest retainers.
‘Training has already reached its limits.’
The retainers were already engaged in rigorous cultivation according to their methods.
To intensify their regimen further risked serious injury.
‘Then we must recruit more guest retainers.’
As Guan Hui resolved his plan, Zhu Hu appeared before him.
The fellow’s hair was caked with dirt from his exertions.
“Brother. The Heiyan Bang was behind it.”
“Did you learn their motive as well?”
“Their motive? To kill you, of course. Because you’re a thorn in their side.”
“Hmm.”
“Didn’t I tell you? Those madmen would eventually resort to something reckless.”
“We cannot leave them unchecked.”
It was an obvious conclusion, but Guan Hui had no intention of merely tolerating the Heiyan Bang.
An attack on himself could be answered by slaying the intruders and calling it even.
But touching his retainers crossed a different line entirely.
A line that, once crossed, must be crossed completely.
The price for such transgression was the extermination of their clan.
They had violated the Guan Household Manor—they must be erased without trace.
“Ah, but there’s something strange. Some odd fellows were mixed among them.”
“Odd fellows?”
“Yes. Look here.”
Zhu Hu gestured toward several of the corpses.
Unlike the slovenly Black Path thugs with their crude weapons, these men carried clean blades.
“By my judgment, these aren’t Black Path at all.”
“Hmm. They do carry themselves differently from ordinary Black Path scum.”
When a martial master dies, the internal energy accumulated in their dantian dissipates, leaving a distinctive scent.
A White Path martial artist trained in orthodox technique carries a pure, clean fragrance; a Black Path cultivator steeped in turbid qi exhales something acrid, almost burnt.
Yet strangely, these two corpses emanated that clear, pure scent.
“What manner of men were these?”
“From what I gather—the fact that they wielded blades, and that they conspired with the Black Path—they might be from the An Wenzhang Family.”
“Hmm.”
Guan Hui stroked his beard thoughtfully, his expression grave.
Now that he thought of it, he had indeed had a minor clash with Zhang Liu of the An Wenzhang Family some time ago.
Could they somehow be entangled in this affair?
“For now, we observe until certainty emerges.”
“Understood. Ah, what shall I do with the heads of the remaining men—should I display them somewhere?”
“…….”
Guan Hui’s brow furrowed at Zhu Hu’s blunt words.
What was the point of beheading men already dead?
It would only tarnish the reputation of the White Path family.
“You speak sense. Collect their heads and send them to the enemy commander.”
“……What?”
Guan Yu’s suggestion was even more extreme than before, and Guan Hui found himself taken aback.
‘General, the times have changed.’
“Changed how?”
‘These days, if you behead someone, stuff the head with salt, and send it to an enemy commander, they’ll call you a member of the Demonic Sect and execute you for it.’
In this modern age, such brutality would surely earn one the label of the Demonic Sect.
Killing them all was one thing. There was no need to desecrate the corpses.
“I’ll just go finish them all off right now. What of it?”
Zhu Hu hadn’t used the Underground Fighting Arena out of fear of the Heiyan Bang.
He’d held back because it felt wrong to massacre the Black Path men simply to obtain the Azure Dragon Seal.
But if they gave him cause, he saw no reason to hesitate.
“Older brother, older brother—what if I had a better idea? Would you be willing to hear me out?”
“A better idea?”
“Yes! Of course you could crush the Heiyan Bang in no time, but if there’s an easier path, wouldn’t that be more convenient for you?”
“Hmm.”
A flicker of interest crossed Guan Hui’s eyes as he regarded Zhu Hu.
‘So he does have a sharp mind after all.’
Even if he seemed foolish, he was born into the esteemed Bai family line.
He could sweep them away right now if he wished, but hearing the man’s plan wouldn’t be unwelcome.
Making use of his retainers’ talents where they were most needed was itself a virtue of a household lord.
“Speak.”
“I believe it would be better to use them instead.”
Zhu Hu’s eyes gleamed as he laid out his plan to Guan Hui.
A scheme to play along with their moves and feed them false information.
As he explained this simple yet satisfying plan, Zhu Hu’s expression came alive in a way it never had before.
The man who had worn a dead, lifeless gaze now appeared genuinely animated.
‘A pleasing sight.’
Guan Hui listened intently to Zhu Hu’s explanation, observing his expression, and smiled faintly.
It seemed the Guan Household Manor had indeed become a place of refuge for him.
“……That concludes my proposal. What do you think, older brother?”
“Hmm.”
Having heard Zhu Hu’s complete plan, Guan Hui folded his arms and looked down at him.
Gulp.
The man swallowed dryly, his fingers trembling with nervous tension.
It was his first time proposing a strategy as a strategist, and the nervousness was evident.
“Good. It’s a sound plan.”
Guan Hui smiled faintly and gave Zhu Hu’s shoulder a light pat.
“Let’s cast the line and see what great fish we can catch.”

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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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