Moorim Pochang - Chapter 88

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

Chapter 88. Clash.

It felt as though youth had returned to him.
His Internal Force flowed without obstruction, and above all, his limbs brimmed with strength.
In this state, he could hardly resist the urge to rush into the Gangho Martial World at once and test his mettle against Baek Moon-do.
“How do you feel, Father?”
Moyong Se approached and asked.
“Excellent. Very excellent indeed.”
The pleasure in his father’s voice kindled a warmth in his own chest.
Yet none rejoiced more than Hyeol-je.
Moyong Jak was already a perfected martial artist; there was no need to impart new techniques to him.
The same held true for the clan’s elder masters.
What they had needed was not martial instruction, but the vital force of living flesh.
Kee kee kee…
Hyeol-je’s laughter rippled through the air as he revealed himself.
The moment he appeared, Moyong Jak and the elders prostrated themselves in unison upon the ground.
It was the moment a house of heroes bent the knee to a demon.
“What is it you wish to achieve?”
Moyong Jak answered without hesitation.
“An eternal dynasty, my lord.”
“What is it you wish to become?”
His answer this time too came swift and unfaltering.
“Master of the Gangho Martial World, my lord.”
Kee kee kee…
Hyeol-je laughed.
This was ambition worthy of the name.
“It shall be done. First, we must clear away what stands in our path.”
“Command us, and we shall sweep aside all obstacles.”
Hyeol-je gazed down at Moyong Jak and the elders with arrogant eyes.
‘Can these ones truly manage it?’
For all the power they had gained, success seemed impossible.
‘A little more preparation will be necessary.’

*

Whoosh…
Baek Won-yeong, Yeon Ja-seol, and Dok-go Il and Dok-go Eun leaped over the wall in perfect synchrony.
This place had once served as a Daoism Temple for the Mudang Faction.
Even before the Hyeol-gyo siege, the Mudang Faction had stood in great prominence throughout the Gangho.
Temples dotted the realm and priests were plentiful.
But when Hyeol-gyo swept through them, most of the renowned priests fell to the blade.
Now, barely maintaining a thread of existence on Mudang Mountain, their ancestral seat, they endured.
The courtyard within the wall was empty.
The skilled personnel passed through a small hall and ventured deeper inside.
In the depths lay the Martial Training Grounds, where martial artists refined their craft.
One of the martial artists spotted the intruders and moved to block their path.
“This place is forbidden to outsiders.”
Baek Won-yeong spoke with measured calm.
“We’ve come seeking the masters of Hyeol-gyo, whom we heard were gathered here.”
At those words, all the martial artists in the training grounds froze.
“Masters of Hyeol-gyo? What do you mean?”
Dok-go Il cut back sharply at the question.
“There’s no one marked with the demon’s seal here? Shall I search for them myself?”
The moment his words fell, Cho-yak’s voice rang out from the roof of the hall.
“Strike!”
She was already commanding a view of the larger Martial Training Grounds below.
As the martial artists’ faces twisted, the four skilled personnel unleashed their Body Techniques into their midst.
Slice… scrape…
In an instant, the martial artists’ necks and chests were laid open.
At the same moment, the skilled personnel from Jamryong-hoe and Seongma-dan vaulted over the walls.
“Kill them…!”
The martial artists raised their voices and began to rush forward.
Cho-yak was already launching her Body Technique toward the Martial Training Grounds within.
Crash……………!
Her Needle-Tip Sword tore through the ground of the training yard.
Four of the skilled personnel cut down martial artists as they advanced deeper inside.
The moment they crossed the threshold, a man with a tattooed face unleashed his blade.
Clang….!
Dok-go Il swung his sword, deflecting the strike.
Slice…
At the same instant, Baek Won-yeong’s blade tore across the man’s abdomen.
A strangled gasp…
Scrape..
The moment the enemy let out a cry of agony, Dok-go Il’s sword severed his neck.
His head flew into the air, and enemies charged from all directions.
“Slaughter them all……..!”
Wherever Cho-yak’s Needle-Tip Sword passed, flesh split open and blood sprayed.
A terrible roar…………
Those who had been sitting quietly in the shadows also screamed and rose to their feet.
Their eyes were clouded with a dull haze.
Cho-yak swept through the training grounds as though walking through a realm without enemies.

*

If the Murim Alliance discovered that the Cheon Sa-gyo was the Hyeol-gyo, this temple would likely be the first to come under attack.
It was because this temple was closest to the Murim Alliance.
That was why the number of martial artists stationed here was not large.
Whistle……..
Cheol-goe’s complexion shifted slightly as he moved his Body Technique.
“We’ve been discovered.”
It was something he had already anticipated, so it came as no surprise.
Yet he had not expected an attack to come so swiftly.
Whistle..
As he crossed the walls and circled toward the inner pavilions, the corpses of martial artists came into view.
Not a single one had survived.
It was only to be expected.
They would sooner surrender their lives than ever yield.
As he stepped inside, a skilled master from Jamryong-hoe blocked his path.
“Enemy……………!”
The man raised his voice and immediately deployed his Body Technique, unleashing his blade.
The master did not recognize Cheol-goe’s face.
Before the sword could touch Cheol-goe’s body, the spear point had already pierced through his neck.
Thud….!
A guttural rattle…
The spear point withdrew from the master’s throat with a strange resonance, blood erupting outward.
The moment the master collapsed to the ground, Baek Won-yeong rushed forward with a shout.
“Jang Ha-suk….!”
The name of the master who had fallen to Cheol-goe’s spear was Jang Ha-suk.
Bang……..!
Cheol-goe swung his spear, deflecting Baek Won-yeong’s blade.
But the swords of Dok-go Il and Dok-go Eun came in succession, each targeting his neck.
Crash-crash-bang…………..!
Cheol-goe’s spear spun, parrying both blades in turn.
At the same moment, Cho-yak’s Needle-Tip Sword descended from above.
Boom…………….!
After deflecting the Needle-Tip Sword, Cheol-goe retreated slightly.
“Cho-yak.”
He recognized her face.
“Jo Bi-ja…!”
As Cho-yak called out the name in a raised voice, Cheol-goe shook his head.
“The man called Jo Bi-ja died long ago.”
The skilled personnel from Jamryong-hoe and Seongma-dan encircled Cheol-goe in a tight ring.
But he showed no sign of fear.
“It seems this place is already finished.”
Cho-yak raised her Needle-Tip Sword toward him.
“Not yet. You’re still here.”
Cheol-goe had no desire to fight her.
If the martial artists in this place had already been wiped out, he wanted to leave no further regrets behind.
“Until next time.”
“What a ridiculous thing to say!”
Cho-yak swung her Needle-Tip Sword and rushed forward.
Crash!
The Needle-Tip Sword and spear collided, and Cheol-goe’s Body Technique sent him flying backward.
Dok-go Il, who had been blocking the retreat, swung his blade.
Crash!
But Cheol-goe parried his sword with a sweeping strike and lifted himself upward with his Body Technique.
The moment his Body Technique lifted him into the air, Cho-yak too launched herself upward, her blade cutting at his waist.
Crash!
Cheol-goe batted away the Needle-Tip Sword and vaulted over the wall.
“Pursue him!”
The skilled personnel moved to give chase.
But Cho-yak’s voice stopped them cold.
“Stop!”
One of Jamryong-hoe’s skilled personnel raised his voice in question.
“Why do you command us to cease pursuit?”
He had been close with the dead Jang Ha-suk.
Cho-yak answered with a cold face.
“If you want to die, die alone.”
Only then did the skilled personnel stop their restless movements.
She gazed down at the body of Jamryong-hoe’s personnel, now a corpse.
He had been one of the three weakest in martial ability.
‘Should I be grateful he died alone?’
For a first deployment, the results were quite good.
The wounded numbered fewer than ten, and the injuries were not severe.
But in the end, one of Jamryong-hoe’s skilled personnel had lost his life.

*

Yang Jung, who had been sleeping on the beam, now dozed in the trees.
Kang Jo looked up at the tree and shouted.
“Won’t you come down?”
Yang Jung, roused from sleep, turned his head downward.
“I’m in the middle of refining my Concealment Technique, brother.”
“Stop spouting nonsense and get down here at once. Do you think I don’t know you’re using the Concealment Technique as an excuse to take a nap?”
Since they’d let the horse loose to graze, even the task of preparing feed had been cut down.
In the remaining time, it would be nice to build a pavilion, but from morning till night he was practically living in the trees.
Whoosh!
Yang Jung dropped down from the tree.
“Brother, how do you always manage to find me? Please, just tell me how.”
“It’s still too soon. Stop thinking of only taking naps and build the pavilion.”
Kang Jo rummaged through an empty sack and replied.
It seemed unlikely they’d be able to gather mountain vegetables before next spring.
Through the winter, they would have to use the vegetables they’d harvested and dried during spring and summer.
As Kang Jo headed toward the Guest Inn, Yang Jung followed alongside him.
“Brother, what level do you think my Concealment Technique has reached?”
“How would I know? I’m no assassin.”
“Even so, couldn’t you at least venture a guess?”
“You say you don’t know? If you’re so curious about your own skill, sneak into the Murim Alliance and steal a treasure for me.”
Yang Jung cried out in alarm.
“You’re telling me to commit theft? Elder brother, if I’m caught, I’ll have to spend the rest of my life running.”
“You’re always so fearful.”
“It’s not fear—it’s just reality, isn’t it?”
Kang Jo entered the kitchen, set down his carrying basket, and headed toward the stream.
As he sat by the water’s edge about to wash his hands, he spotted a procession of skilled personnel approaching from the direction of the village.
“They went out a few nights ago and now they’re returning, it seems, elder brother.”
“One fewer. Sixty-four of them.”
At Kang Jo’s words, Yang Jung began counting the skilled personnel one by one.
“I counted sixty-five, elder brother.”
Good grief.
“You have to exclude Cho-yak, you fool.”

*

As she walked, Cho-yak glanced back at Kang Jo and Yang Jung by the water’s edge.
“They’ll all be here by evening, so get some preparations ready for us.”
“Understood.”
The skilled personnel passed silently in front of the forest.
‘So someone did die after all.’
Behind the procession of personnel, a horse-drawn cart came into view, carrying a single coffin in its bed.
Kang Jo rose to his feet and entered the Guest Inn.
The skilled personnel who had passed the forest looked around the grassland as they walked.
One horse sat sunken into the meadow while two others ran wildly through the dried grass.
“Lucky things, those.”
Someone muttered.
The skilled personnel seemed to share the thought, and faint smiles crossed their faces.
Cho-yak turned to look back at them and spoke.
“We mourn our fallen comrade only until today. We must, if we’re to endure.”
The skilled personnel nodded in unison.
“Understood, Cho-yak.”

*

Yang Jung sat at the table and began to air his worries.
“Shouldn’t we return the one million silver coins to Dok-go Eun? I’m so uneasy I can barely sleep.”
“Uneasy about what? We just deduct it from the food and drink expenses for the skilled personnel.”
“The Sect Master is not such an easy opponent, elder brother. He’ll certainly try to take the alcohol.”
Kang Jo shook his head.
He hadn’t offered a million silver coins just so Dok-go Yeop could take the alcohol.
Dok-go Yeop was not the petty type.
Rather, he was a man of such remarkable generosity that you’d struggle to find his equal throughout the entire Martial World.
“He’s not doing it for himself to drink.”
“Then who is he doing it for, elder brother?”
“The Jamryong-hoe and the Seongma-dan.”
Ah.
Only then did Yang Jung nod his head vigorously.
“He seems like… quite a respectable person after all.”
He had disliked Dok-go Yeop most among all the guests at the inn, since whenever he came by, he’d send him on errands.
Moreover, his gaze was so fierce and piercing that it was difficult even to meet his eyes.
Yet such a man had willingly offered a million silver coins?
He felt a touch of admiration.
“That’s why I was troubled.”
“What is there to be troubled about, elder brother? Just repay the million silver coins at once.”
Kang Jo doubted his own ears.
A man who cherished alcohol so dearly—was he really saying such things?
“So you’re saying I can hand over the alcohol?”
“It pains me to see young men like me die. If I hadn’t met you, elder brother, I’d have perished on some roadside myself.”
Ha, ha, ha…
At Yang Jung’s words, Kang Jo broke into a smile.
Had he not found his master, he would have been dead long ago.
And saving Yang Jung—even now, he couldn’t count how many times over it had been the right choice.
With him at his side, at least the loneliness had been bearable.
“Bringing out wine would be trouble too. Word would spread for certain, and if every master in the Gangho came rushing in, even I couldn’t handle it.”

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