Martial God of the Sun and Moon - Chapter 127

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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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Chapter 127
“Wow, how crude….”
“Insane….”
“Now this is….”
Geum Seok-du, who had just joined Namgung Sohwa and Dokgo Ak, stared at Dokgo Myeong with vacant eyes.
This couldn’t be called a martial contest. A true martial contest—a bimu—was when both fighters fully displayed the techniques they’d cultivated through their sect’s teachings and real combat, overwhelming their opponent with perfect form.
But this?
Body against body, strength against strength. There was no form, no method, no technique, no way—nothing at all in that exchange.
If one had to describe this primal, barbaric clash….
“They’re literally just fighting.”
“That madman. He could trigger a qi explosion without even realizing it, yet he’s just throwing raw power around….”
Namgung Sohwa and Dokgo Ak clicked their tongues. Neither had ever imagined they’d witness a master of that caliber fighting so crudely.
At that moment, Geum Seok-du adjusted his disguise clothes and spoke.
“We shouldn’t linger here. We need to move soon.”
“Ah, right.”
“Yes, understood.”
Namgung Sohwa and Dokgo Ak turned away.
And almost simultaneously, they both exhaled deeply.
“I’m still a descendant of a Noble Family, yet I wonder if this is really appropriate….”
“I share that sentiment, but I’m also worried something might go wrong with our plan….”
Geum Seok-du chuckled softly as he watched the two of them.
“Just accept it. The milk’s already spilled.”
At Geum Seok-du’s words, Dokgo Ak and Namgung Sohwa smiled wryly and followed along.
* * *
“Haaaagh!”
“Krrrgh!”
Dokgo Myeong and Cheolmu-baek clashed with their arms fully extended.
The trembling muscles of both their forearms swelled enormously.
And in that instant.
Crunch! Crunch!
Dokgo Myeong’s feet began to slide backward, ever so slightly.
‘Grrgh! This crude bastard…!’
My refined internal energy had overcome the difference in strength, but Cheolmu-baek’s heavenly bone structure gave him the raw power to bridge that gap.
Then, I saw it.
The corners of Cheolmu-baek’s mouth slowly rising.
“…Is this bastard smiling?”
My face twisted.
I couldn’t lose.
For the sake of my pride, I absolutely could not lose!
In that moment, I drew forth every ounce of strength and internal energy I possessed.
“Graaaaahhh!”
“…!”
Cheolmu-baek began sliding backward, his feet scraping against the ground.
Startled, he poured more force into his arms, but it was useless.
‘How is this possible?’
The muscles in Cheolmu-baek’s clenched jaw trembled violently.
“Kugh!”
Crack! Crackcrack!
Once his balance shattered, there was no recovering it. Cheolmu-baek was driven backward relentlessly.
And in that instant, Dokgo Myeong’s mouth opened.
“Did you think having a naturally gifted body was everything?”
“…What?”
“It’s technique, you bastard!”
In that fleeting moment when Cheolmu-baek’s stamina and inner force flow wavered ever so slightly.
Dokgo Myeong expelled him with a single breath.
“…!”
His body’s balance collapsed completely.
Cheolmu-baek’s massive frame tottered.
Whoosh!
Suddenly, Dokgo Myeong reversed his force and yanked Cheolmu-baek toward him.
Cheolmu-baek was dragged forward helplessly.
In that moment, Cheolmu-baek’s eyes caught sight of Dokgo Myeong throwing his head back sharply.
“…?!”
That move was… surely not?
Cheolmu-baek’s mouth fell open, and Dokgo Myeong’s head whipped around.
Crack!
The sound of impact swallowed every noise above the arena.
“Ughhhh….”
Thud!
Cheolmu-baek collapsed, his breath escaping in a wheeze.
Silence fell over the arena.
Dokgo Myeong, breathing heavily through his nose, looked down at Cheolmu-baek and spoke.
“Lost to someone smaller and weaker than you? What are we going to do about this?”
Dokgo Myeong dusted off his palms and exhaled sharply through his nose.
Cheolmu-baek felt his vision spinning as he thought.
‘This bastard… why does he have to rub it in so much….’
Either way, it was decided.
Dokgo Myeong had defeated Cheolmu-baek through sheer strength.
“Man, recruiting someone is really a pain.”
Dokgo Myeong spoke toward the back of Cheolmu-baek’s head as he lay face-down.
“Mu-baek. Are you satisfied?”
At those words, Cheolmu-baek flinched, then staggered to his feet.
A large lump had risen on his forehead and his eyes were wavering, yet that fierce blue light remained unchanged.
“I am… satisfied.”
Cheolmu-baek, still unsteady, met his gaze directly and spoke.
Truly, his durability was insane.
Any other person would have had their skull shaken and been unable to stand for a while, but he merely swayed slightly.
Dokgo Myeong chuckled and spoke.
“Then follow me. I cannot speak for others, but I promise you—my fights will never be sordid or tedious.”
“I am an outsider and a Saegokin that you Gangho people despise.”
“That’s not something you chose for yourself, so what does it matter?”
“…The people of Zhongyuan are skilled in deception. Can I trust you?”
“You don’t need to trust me.”
“Then?”
“Trust your own eyes and spirit. I will become your endless grasslands, your snowy plains, and your rocky mountains so that you never leave.”
Cheolmu-baek’s eyes gleamed.
Some would have seen those blue eyes as the gaze of a ghost, while others would have seen the color of the heavens.
The color mattered little. What one saw depended on the heart of the beholder.
And Dokgo Myeong saw nothing else—only one man named Cheolmu-baek.
Cheolmu-baek felt it too.
A gentle smile played at Cheolmu-baek’s lips.
“So you were the wolf.”
“What?”
“I will follow you.”
An answer as plain as it was resolute.
Dokgo Myeong laughed brightly.
“Then let’s go, Cheolmu-baek.”
* * *
The furious Blood Sect Leader rushed into the waiting room of the arena.
“You! You! This damned Saegokin bastard! Where are you! Where the hell is this cursed wretch!”
His rage was so intense that he was using lightness technique to run.
Crash!
The Blood Sect Leader burst through the waiting room door and shouted inside.
“You fool! What in blazes were you doing! How much money did you take from that filthy old hag, the Bloodsword Sect Leader, to fight like that!”
The Blood Sect Leader, unable to contain his fury, suddenly widened his eyes.
“What! Where did this bastard go!”
The Blood Sect disciples who arrived late spoke with bewildered faces.
“That is… he disappeared somewhere with the warrior who supported the Undefeated One.”
“Who? Who did you just say?”
“It was Yeom Jeok, the dual-blade wielder who fought the Undefeated One. He left with him somewhere…”
Crack!
In an instant, the Blood Sect Leader, unable to contain his rage, burst the head of the man who had been reporting to him.
“So it was true! You worthless bastard, worse than a beast! I fed and sheltered you, and this is how you repay me—stabbing me in the back?”
The Blood Sect Leader roared as if spewing fire from his mouth, then spun around sharply.
That was when it happened.
“S-Sect Leader! A grave matter!”
“What is it!”
“The B-Bloodsword Sect Leader has been found dead in the guest chamber!”
“What? Who died?”
“The Bloodsword Sect Leader, sir!”
What was this nonsense?
The Bloodsword Sect Leader suddenly dead?
“That’s not all. Two guides were found unconscious in that room.”
“These damned wretches!”
A Blood Sect disciple dragged two men without coats by their hair and threw them at the Blood Sect Leader’s feet.
“P-Please spare us! We truly know nothing! We only came to our senses and found ourselves there…!”
“What in the hell is happening here!”
The Blood Sect Leader, who had been roaring, suddenly came to his senses.
‘Could it be…?’
He urgently shouted at a subordinate nearby.
“Find the Bloodsword Sect Leader’s martial master immediately!”
“Sir?”
“What are you doing! Run, now!”
The search did not take long.
A disciple came running and shouted.
“S-Sect Leader! Yeom Jeok, the dual-blade master, has been found unconscious in the waiting room! He was attacked by an unknown assailant just before losing consciousness…!”
“W-What, what did you say?”
The Blood Sect Leader blinked rapidly.
‘What in the world is happening here?’
His own martial master had vanished, the one he had faced was someone else, and the Bloodsword Sect Leader who had brought that master was dead?
‘Then does this mean the match in the arena never happened?’
For a moment, he thought there might be no losses from the defeat, but then he realized that wasn’t the problem.
‘No, this won’t do! The Sect Leader is here!’
Wi Mu-jin, the Paedo Sect Leader.
The supreme master of the Paedo Sect and ruler of the Central Plains was present here. Under no circumstances could such a disgrace occur in his presence.
“P-Prepare for pursuit at once! Mobilize all our disciples, soldiers, and every available person to capture those dog-like bastards! Quietly and swiftly!”
“Yes, sir!”
The heat rising in his head made his neck tense painfully.
‘Whoever these bastards are, when I catch them, I’ll tear them limb from limb!’
The Blood Sect Leader strode out of the arena with furious steps.
Flash!
The Blood Sect Leader’s eyes snapped open.
The surroundings blazed with light.
Blindingly, impossibly bright.
Mandeng Street grew brighter as night deepened, but this exceeded even that—it was far too luminous.
And for good reason….
“F-Fire! Fire!”
“Water! Bring water! Hurry!”
The heart of Mandeng Street, its most vital district.
Flames consumed the black market, spreading voraciously.
“No, no, this, what in the world….”
The Blood Sect Leader’s jaw trembled violently.
The world spun before my eyes. My ragged breathing stilled, and the scorching heat that rolled across the air seemed to drain the blood from my entire body.
“Sect Leader!”
“This is catastrophic! Sect Leader! A fire, it’s a fire!”
“How, how could this….”
What in the heavens was happening?
* * *
It was during the planning stage.
Dokgo Myeong asked Geum Seok-du.
“Could you cause some chaos in the city for a moment?”
“Pardon?”
“I’d like it to become spectacularly chaotic—the kind that draws every eye.”
Now he was trying to cause mayhem on a city-wide scale.
Geum Seok-du was no longer surprised.
“Why are you even asking me that?”
“Right. Even if you’re skilled, how would you manage such a thing?”
In truth, Geum Seok-du hadn’t intended to devise anything until he heard this from Namgung Sohwa and Dokgo Ak. But hearing those words, he bristled and his mouth opened.
“There is a method.”
“Exactly! I knew you would! So what is it?”
“However, if we’re not careful, it could cause excessive destruction. Would that be acceptable?”
“What method?”
“Fire.”
“What? You’re saying you’ll set a fire?”
“Most of Wonyang County is farmland. The entire mountain is covered with terraced fields. They cleared all of that and forcibly built this place—Mandeng Street—on top of it.”
“And?”
“When constructing a proper city, there are considerations—disaster prevention and building spacing….”
“Just get to the point, Seok-du. This place only has people who know how to beat and destroy things.”
….
….
Namgung Sohwa and Dokgo Ak stared at Dokgo Myeong as if they found it absurd, but they had nothing particularly to refute.
Geum Seok-du nodded and spoke.
“In essence, a proper city would have the authorities step in to divide districts to prevent fires from spreading, limit the materials used in construction, or stockpile water to extinguish flames at strategic points.”
“And?”
“Do you think such measures exist in this place?”
Geum Seok-du continued his explanation in a flat tone.
“Since Junggyeong stays warm year-round, most buildings are wooden. The black market especially has plenty of flammable materials….”
“Still, how would you even start a fire large enough to cause such chaos?”
“Don’t you remember what this place is called?”
“What?”
The Street of Ten Thousand Lanterns, where ten thousand lights shone brilliantly.
What do lanterns burn to produce light?
Oil, of course.
“There must be a place where oil is stored. After that, well….”
And back to the present.
The black market of the Street of Ten Thousand Lanterns was engulfed in flames.
Dokgo Myeong gazed at the undulating waves of fire with distant eyes.
“They say fire possesses a magic that enchants those who watch it long enough, and it seems to be true. Indeed, of all sights to behold, watching fire is the finest.”
“How can you speak so peacefully after causing such a massive disaster!”
“I can. Very easily, in fact.”
Dokgo Myeong smiled broadly, his mind settling into tranquility.
How could he not be delighted?
How could he possibly not be?
The tears shed by someone who had lived as a slave after being separated from family.
The precious possessions of someone who had climbed mountains with dreams in their heart.
Counterfeit salt and fake silver coins that had once disturbed the lives of the common people.
Poisons that had taken lives or placed nooses around necks.
And countless other things—suffocating, endlessly suffocating matters that he could only turn away from—were now being consumed by the flames, burning brilliantly.
“Burn brighter. Burn larger. Just consume it all.”
Laughter escaped him naturally.
Namgung Sohwa, Dokgo Ak, and Geum Seok-du said nothing as they watched Dokgo Myeong.
Only the man who had newly joined them, Cheolmu-baek, asked a question.
“Why are you laughing?”
“My heart feels completely refreshed.”
“I see.”
Dokgo Myeong’s eyes gleamed as he grinned.
“Well then, we’ve made a proper mess of things. Let’s grab what we can and get out of here!”
His voice had returned to its usual carefree tone.
At the end of their gaze as they kicked off the ground following Dokgo Myeong was the auction house of the Street of Ten Thousand Lanterns.

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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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