Ten Paths of the Master - 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. It’s Not That Woman — It’s Baek Yuhwa
Gil Tae, a gaunt man in his thirties, dismounted at every fork in the path and sniffed the air like a hound.
“Sniff, sniff, sniff……, this way.”
Soon enough, Dan Yeop and his party rode in the direction Gil Tae indicated.
As dusk fell, they arrived at the foot of Mong Mountain.
Gil Tae, who had dismounted and was sniffing the air, opened his mouth.
“Gyotdu, the scent is strong—looks like they’re nearby. Seems they mean to spend the night and cross the mountain tomorrow.”
Dan Yeop then spoke to Im Song, the Sect Soldier, and Gil Tae.
“You two wait here. I’ll go up the mountain alone.”
“Yes.”
Im Song and Gil Tae, frightened of Hyeol Je, nodded vigorously.
Dan Yeop climbed the mountain alone.
After walking the mountain path for about an hour, he stopped briefly.
‘Wait—I should probably use the Jeonjsin Talisman…….’
If he didn’t use the talisman, he might face criticism from Yi Yeon.
If Yi Yeon was after something significant, the severity of that criticism would only increase.
‘If even Cheonryeon herself has come, it won’t be dismissed lightly, will it?’
Having thought that far, Dan Yeop drew the Jeonjsin Talisman from his robe.
It glowed faintly in the darkness—clearly no ordinary object.
“Who on earth makes these things?”
Shaking his head, he retrieved a brush and ink stick from his knapsack and wrote seven characters on the talisman: “Yaozhou Hwangryong County Mong Mountain.”
The moment he finished, the seven characters burned pitch-black and vanished without a trace.
“Wow!”
He examined the talisman once more, then tucked it back into his robe.
Having notified Yi Yeon, only the confrontation with Hyeol Je remained.
Dan Yeop spread his Ki Perception wide.
Unexpectedly, he sensed several people at the mountain’s peak.
“Cheonryeon’s already here?”
Startled, Dan Yeop rushed toward the summit with blazing speed.
***
Hwangryong Hermitage.
Upon catching sight of the hermitage just below the peak, Dan Yeop exhaled with relief.
“Phew! That gave me a scare.”
If Cheonryeon had arrived before him, it would have been truly dispiriting.
He walked slowly toward the hermitage.
Just as Dan Yeop reached the hermitage courtyard, an old man materialized in a flash of violent wind.
It was Hyeol Je.
“Dan Yeop! You loathsome worm! How dare you show your face before me! Are you so eager for death?”
Hyeol Je, with his fierce, slashing eyes, showed no sign of being gravely wounded.
Had Dan Yeop not encountered Son Gyeongnak, his heart would have dropped at this sight.
But Dan Yeop sensed the subtle changes that had come over Hyeol Je.
‘I thought he’d unleash that grotesque sword technique right away…….’
His fury blazed, yet no action followed.
His body had developed a problem.
Dan Yeop calmly drew the Hoengdo and spoke.
“We have no need for conversation between us, do we?”
“You madman…….”
Hyeol Je stared at Dan Yeop in bewilderment.
He had never sworn to meet anyone who would face him in such a manner.
“You’re the madman. Killing people for no reason at all—that’s what madness is.”
“Is it really because of that woman who died at Hwacheong Palace?”
“It’s not that woman—it’s Baek Yuhwa. Today, you’ll pay the price for killing Baek Yuhwa.”
“Damn it all…….”
For the first time, Hyeol Je regretted what he had done.
In truth, there had been no need to kill Baek Yuhwa at all.
The Five Evil Sword Sect would have come to Munsan merely by his keeping her with him.
Yet he had killed her out of habit—the lethal instinct bred into his very flesh.
For years, whenever someone displeased him, he had ended them.
Surely, since they had stalked him, death was their due.
But the consequences of that habitual act had grown too great.
Meanwhile, Dan Yeop cut an extraordinary figure.
How many men in the world could actually stand against Hyeol Je?
Hyeol Je, his face darkening with displeasure, slowly drew his blade.
He poured his inner power into the sword.
Hummmm—
A weighty resonance sang out from the steel.
Letting the tip hang toward the earth, Hyeol Je considered the moment.
It had been a long time since he’d felt this kind of tension before a fight even began.
The two men rushed forward, separated by about thirty feet.
Their blades moved with the speed of lightning.
Clang-clang-clang-clang-clang-clang!
Sparks erupted ceaselessly in the darkness.
They flickered through nearly every space between the two warriors.
After ten exchanges, both men retreated in unison.
The distance between them stretched to thirty feet once more.
Yet the tension that hung between them was sharper than when their blades had clashed.
Hyeol Je took the opening stance of Tan Geom Chim Myeong.
Normally he wielded this technique without thought, but not now—not here.
As his inner power gathered, Hyeol Je swung his sword like a thunderbolt.
Screeee—!
Dozens of phantom sword images screamed toward Dan Yeop.
Dan Yeop did not dodge. He met them head-on with the Taeheo Muuyeong Sword.
The third form of the Taeheo Banjjo blazed forth, drowning out the images in its light.
Light and shadow collided in between.
Boom-boom-boom-bang—!
With an explosion that shook the earth itself, the sword images vanished like smoke.
Hyeol Je staggered back a step from the concussive force.
‘Impossible……’
Disbelief flooded Hyeol Je’s eyes.
This mere slip of a boy—barely dry behind the ears—stood immobile as an iron pillar, while he himself had given ground?
Considering their ages, such a thing should not exist.
Even if Dan Yeop had cultivated inner power from within the womb, this should not be possible.
To be bested in sheer power by a child cut Hyeol Je’s pride to the core.
His qi and blood reversed course, a warning cry from his body, but he would not stop.
Disregarding his own state, he unleashed the Heogong Cham.
Better to risk mutual destruction than endure such shame.
He deployed it twice in succession, leaving the opponent no room to flee.
Whoosh—! Whoosh—!
Dan Yeop’s form shifted twice more, using the Suwol Sinhang.
His second movement carried him into empty air.
From fifty feet high, Dan Yeop descended slowly, treading upon sword images as though climbing down invisible stairs.
This was the second form of the Taeheo Muuyeong Sword—the Gongdap Yuyeong.
The sword images beneath Dan Yeop’s feet held him firm, and with each step he took, they flew toward Hyeol Je like ankle shackles breaking free.
Shriek-shriek-shriek— shriek—!
Remarkably, Dan Yeop’s sword energy bore the signature of Tan Geom Chim Myeong.
Hyeol Je shifted and wheeled, swatting the images away.
Crash! Crash! Crash—!
Each impact felt like a sledgehammer blow across his chest.
After blocking the final image, Hyeol Je convulsed—and vomited blood.
Just as when he’d faced the madman of Taegeuk Palace, a foreign force invaded his Eight Extraordinary Meridians.
‘What… what is this?’
Hyeol Je reeled with shock.
When the madman of Taegeuk Palace had struck him, Heat Evil had invaded his channels; now, facing Dan Yeop’s images, he felt Cold Evil spreading through his Eight Extraordinary Meridians.
His hands and legs had begun to tremble uncontrollably.
His breath came short and desperate, his legs buckled beneath him, and he could barely stand.
Hyeol Je sensed his own end.
The Heat Evil alone had nearly killed him; with Cold Evil layered atop it, hope had evaporated.
“Haa! Haa! Who… who are you?”
“I am Dan Yeop, the elder brother of Baek Yuhwa, whom you murdered.”
“You are Haowen? No… that cannot be.”
“Even if I’d mastered other martial arts, I’d have no obligation to teach them to you. You obtained the Heonyuan Sect’s secrets, didn’t you? I’m not a drifter like you.”
In truth, he feared the descendants of Poongbaek and Yunsa, but regardless, that’s what he said.
Hyeol Je’s emotions spiraled out of control—shame and contempt overwhelming him—and he coughed blood once more.
“Retch!”
Hyeol Je’s complexion drained to a deathly white.
In fact, he was crumbling in real time.
Indifferent to his state, Dan Yeop approached like the wind and swung the Hoengdo.
The blade hissed through the air.
But when the steel touched Hyeol Je’s throat, Dan Yeop stopped.
Hyeol Je spoke in a hoarse, rasping voice.
“Kill me.”
“I will. But first, I’m curious about something.”
“…….”
Hyeol Je fixed him with a desolate stare.
To think such a pathetic moment had come for the legendary Hyeol Je.
After a silence, Hyeol Je’s mouth opened.
“What is it?”
“The Patriarch of Cheonryeon and Yi Yeon, the Chief Advisor of Taegeuk Palace—they both want to face you personally. Is there a reason they must?”
Hyeol Je considered for a moment, then answered.
“To seize the Heonyuan Sect’s martial methods, I’d wager.”
“…….”
Dan Yeop stared at him in shock.
He’d suspected it, but hearing it directly left him speechless.
“Why that look? You must have guessed as much yourself. With the chance to obtain the secrets of the Shinbi Jismun’s refinements, would you really throw it away?”
“Surely you wouldn’t hand it over willingly.”
“I don’t know. If they promised to heal me, I might. It was never truly mine—no reason to cling to it.”
“Even though the Patriarch of Cheonryeon betrayed you?”
“I thought him a worn-out schemer, forever slinking about like a loach. You’re naive if you think the Patriarch of Cheonryeon and I are men of virtue and honor.”
“I see. Thank you for answering so honestly. Then now…….”
Suddenly Hyeol Je cut him off.
“What of you?”
“What do you mean?”
“If I surrender the Heonyuan Sect’s martial methods, would you spare my life?”
“I’m sorry, but I have no interest in the Heonyuan Sect’s methods.”
“Hehehehe! Ha-haha-ha!”
Suddenly Hyeol Je burst into laughter as if possessed by madness.
Dan Yeop waited without moving, letting the laughter run its course.
When Hyeol Je’s laughter finally ceased, Dan Yeop spoke coldly.
“When you meet Baek Yuhwa in the afterlife, apologize properly to her.”
“Only if you promise to grant my final wish.”
“What is it?”
“It’s simple. When I die, go to Hyeoncheon Cave on Hwangsan Yeonhwa Peak and burn incense in my memory.”
“What an odd request…….”
As Dan Yeop moved to protest, Hyeol Je suddenly severed his own meridians.
His head, which had been held high, dropped limply.
“Ah…….”
Dan Yeop looked down at him with a stunned expression.
The final end of the great demon lord who had terrorized the world was far too hollow.
Before leaving the place, Dan Yeop surveyed the surroundings.
The monks were nowhere to be seen, evidently hiding deep within the hermitage.
Dan Yeop left Hyeol Je’s corpse as it was and descended Mong Mountain.

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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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