The Battle for the Heavenly Sword - Chapter 109

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

109
The Struggle for the Woo Family Manor
The moment the words “Woo Family Manor” left Yun Jin-myeong’s mouth, Woo Geom-san felt as if time had ground to a halt.
‘So the reason they held a meeting, going so far as to block the ships passing near Cheongmul Island, was because of the Woo Family Manor?’
It was somewhat understandable for the Yunyo Bang, as they had coveted the Woo Family Manor’s shipping rights for a long time. However, there was no reason for the Tianjin Escort Agency to be involved.
Minor clashes did occur where the territories of the two sides met, but there had never been an issue serious enough to warrant a fight to the death.
‘Did the Yunyo Bang drag the Tianjin Escort Agency into this?’
The best way to confirm his suspicion was to ask directly.
Conveniently, the eldest son of the chief of the Tianjin Escort Agency and the second young master of the Yunyo Bang were right here together.
There was no need to go a long way around and struggle to find out.
Asking the parties involved in the matter directly would be the fastest way.
Tap!
Woo Geom-san kicked off the deck and leaped into the air.
Like a soaring bird, his body floated lightly through the void.
His movements were so light that it looked like a kite laden with wind taking flight.
Mok Gyeong-han, the deputy squad leader of the Jacheongi, witnessed that sight.
The moment he saw Woo Geom-san lightly soaring through the empty air, Mok Gyeong-han felt a chilling sensation.
“Young Master Jin-myeong! It’s an expert.”
Clang!
Mok Gyeong-han warned Yun Jin-myeong and drew his sword.
Following him, the martial artists of the Jacheongi drew their swords all at once and went on high alert.
“An expert?”
Yun Jin-myeong frowned and looked up into the air. Then, he saw the figure of Woo Geom-san slowly descending.
In an instant, Yun Jin-myeong’s expression hardened stiffly.
Like Mok Gyeong-han, he too had realized that Woo Geom-san was a tremendous expert.
He knew that one had to reach at least the Peak Realm to control their speed and descend in that manner.
“So a master other than Ha Baek-jin was riding on that ship.”
At Yun Jin-myeong’s words, Nam Seung-pyo’s face also hardened in tandem.
The age of the man who flew through the air and landed lightly in front of them did not look very old.
At most, he looked to be around his own age. Yet, the wuwei he had displayed far surpassed his own.
He also prided himself on being an expert, but he lacked the confidence to move as swiftly and elusively as Woo Geom-san.
Nam Seung-pyo gripped the hilt of his sword and shouted.
“Who are you to trespass on Cheongmul Island so recklessly? This is the territory of the Tianjin Escort Agency.”
“This is the first time I’ve heard that Cheongmul Island belongs to the Tianjin Escort Agency.”
“Shut up and reveal your identity.”
Woo Geom-san did not answer Nam Seung-pyo’s question but asked instead.
“Are you the eldest son of the chief of the Tianjin Escort Agency? And the gentleman next to you is the second young master of the Yunyo Bang.”
“You know that and still set foot on Cheongmul Island? You must be dying for a taste of death.”
Nam Seung-pyo’s voice rose without him realizing it.
At that moment, Yun Jin-myeong stepped in front of Nam Seung-pyo and spoke.
“Which sect’s disciple are you? You seem to know us, but we don’t know you, so this is rather unfair.”
Yun Jin-myeong’s eyes gleamed as sharply as a snake’s.
He scanned Woo Geom-san’s entire body, looking for any tokens that might prove his identity.
However, Woo Geom-san’s attire was extremely ordinary, so no special features could be found. Even the sword strapped to his waist was a Refined Steel Sword commonly available in the market.
Usually, disciples of reputable, prestigious sects would engrave their sect’s crest on the scabbard or use a distinctively colored tassel to display their identity. But no such characteristics could be found on Woo Geom-san.
Nevertheless, his appearance alone was certainly striking.
His tall stature, handsome face, and above all, a mysterious aura that seemed completely detached from the mortal world were truly overwhelming.
Yun Jin-myeong had met many people, but this was his first time encountering a young martial artist with such a handsome and mysterious air.
A man with this kind of demeanor could not possibly be ordinary.
When Woo Geom-san did not reply, Yun Jin-myeong questioned him once more.
“Why won’t you say your name? Is it perhaps because your conscience isn’t clear that you cannot reveal it?”
“You are quite similar to your younger brother.”
“What?”
At Woo Geom-san’s unexpected words, the corners of Yun Jin-myeong’s eyes twitched sharply upward.
“Is your brother doing well?”
“What nonsense are you spouting? Why are you looking for my younger brother here?”
“I’m just curious if he’s eating well. I am certain his jaw was smashed to pieces back then.”
“How do you know that my brother’s jaw was broken?”
The gaze Yun Jin-myeong directed at Woo Geom-san was as bleak as a piercing midwinter wind.
Woo Geom-san thought that even that gaze was similar to his younger brother, Yun Tae-ho.
Looking at him brought back memories from fifteen years ago.
The face of Yun Tae-ho, who used to look at his younger sister So-ha with greedy eyes, was projected onto Yun Jin-myeong’s face.
The chief of Yunyo Bang, Yun Mu-gyeong, had pushed for a marriage between his youngest son Yun Tae-ho and Woo Geom-san’s younger sister So-ha in order to get his hands on the shipping rights of the Woo Family Manor.
At that time, So-ha was barely thirteen years old, and Yun Tae-ho was twenty-six, twice her age.
Indulged in wine and women since youth, Yun Tae-ho was a libertine who had not even trained properly in martial arts.
Yun Tae-ho had constantly loitered directly in front of So-ha, trying to coax her with sweet talk and flattery.
Seeing that sight, Woo Geom-san’s eyes turned upside down with rage, and he flew at Yun Tae-ho.
At that time, Woo Geom-san was barely fifteen years old.
Yun Tae-ho’s martial arts were so pathetic that he was beaten one-sidedly by a fifteen-year-old boy.
Woo Geom-san completely shattered Yun Tae-ho.
In particular, he turned his jaw into powder, making it impossible for him to chew food properly ever again.
Because of that, he had to leave the Woo Family Manor and crossed the threshold of death upon encountering bandits, but even now, he did not regret his decision back then.
Woo Geom-san looked straight into Yun Jin-myeong’s snake-like eyes and spoke.
“Because I am the party responsible for smashing his jaw.”
“The responsible party?”
Yun Jin-myeong’s eyes flashed sharply.
From what he knew, Yun Tae-ho had returned home after being one-sidedly beaten to a pulp by the third son of the Woo Family Manor.
Because of that, an emergency was declared in the clan, and the Amgeom-dae, which handled the dirty work in the shadows, was mobilized.
This was the extent of the facts known to Yun Jin-myeong.
The Amgeom-dae had definitely reported that they had thoroughly taken care of the third young master of the Woo Family Manor, who had ruined Yun Tae-ho like that.
Yun Jin-myeong glared at Woo Geom-san with terrifying eyes.
“You can’t possibly mean that you are the third… young master of the Woo Family Manor?”
Woo Geom-san stared silently into his bloodshot eyes.
Originally, Woo Geom-san had intended to return to the Woo Family Manor quietly.
This was because if the Yunyo Bang found out he had returned, there was no telling what kind of conspiracy they would plot. However, since the situation had turned out like this, he did not want to hide his identity any longer.
“My name is Woo Geom-san. I am the third son of the Lord of the Woo Family Manor, who had to leave because of you people.”
“Are you truly the third young master of the Woo Family Manor?”
“I am.”
“That makes no sense! I distinctly heard that you were dead…”
“As I thought, the Yunyo Bang was indeed the mastermind behind the ambush on the ship I was aboard.”
It was the moment Woo Geom-san’s suspicion was proven to be a fact.
Realizing his blunder, Yun Jin-myeong bit his lip hard.
This was because it was top secret that the Amgeom-dae had carried out an operation to ambush the ship Woo Geom-san was riding.
Not only Woo Geom-san but also countless other people were on that ship.
To destroy the evidence, the perpetrators instigated by the Amgeom-dae had killed everyone, even the innocent.
If this fact became known to the Jianghu, the reputation of the Yunyo Bang would plunge into the gutter.
Woo Geom-san asked.
“Now it’s your turn to answer. What kind of conspiracy are you plotting here?”
“What nonsense! A conspiracy?”
“Did you not distinctly say that you would isolate the Woo Family Manor?”
In an instant, Yun Jin-myeong’s pupils trembled.
This was because he had never anticipated that the words he had quietly whispered at such a great distance could be heard.
Yun Jin-myeong realized that Woo Geom-san was an even more outstanding expert than he had initially thought.
At that moment, Nam Seung-pyo stepped forward.
“Brother, there’s no need to listen closely to that fellow’s words. The Jianghu is teeming with people who impersonate the dead, so he must surely be one of them.”
“Right! That could well be the case. It makes no sense for a dead man to suddenly come back to life. That fellow is definitely an imposter.”
“We must make an example out of such an imposter to strictly warn others so they won’t dare mimic this kind of act.”
“My brother’s words are completely correct.”
Yun Jin-myeong nodded his head.
Whether Woo Geom-san was truly the third young master of the Woo Family Manor did not matter.
The important thing was to make other people believe that Woo Geom-san was an imposter. That way, all the words he spoke would become lies.
Yun Jin-myeong issued an order to Mok Gyeong-han, the deputy squad leader of the Jacheongi.
“Deputy Squad Leader Mok.”
“Give your command, Young Master Jin-myeong!”
“Kill that fellow immediately so that imposters can never set foot in the Jianghu again.”
“I receive your command.”
Mok Gyeong-han replied as if he had been waiting for it.
He had been preparing to attack from the very moment Woo Geom-san came up onto Cheongmul Island.
The Jacheongi members he had brought along today numbered thirty in total.
It was merely one-tenth of their original strength.
Even so, Mok Gyeong-han did not worry.
This was because the men he had brought were all elite warriors, each worth a hundred ordinary men.
They had already moved secretly to surround Woo Geom-san.
“Kill that imposter.”
“Yes!”
No sooner had Mok Gyeong-han’s command fallen than the Jacheongi martial artists whirled around Woo Geom-san.
Swish!
Without a shred of hesitation or mercy, they swung their swords.
Thirty swords slashed vertically and horizontally, aiming for Woo Geom-san’s life.
A barrage of sword strikes followed one after another without the slightest gap.
Even though as many as thirty martial artists were attacking, they did not hinder each other’s movements; rather, they complemented one another and pressured Woo Geom-san.
“It’s a sword formation.”
A formation created for a majority utilizing swords to pressure a minority was precisely a sword formation.
The sword formation used by the Jacheongi martial artists was called the Jacheon Storm Sword Formation.
It was a terrifying sword formation where three hundred experts rotated like a tempest to tear the opponent to shreds.
It would only become perfect when executed by the entire Jacheongi strength of three hundred people, but it still exerted a fearsome power even when unleashed by thirty men, which was just one-tenth of the size.
Rumble!
A tempest-like air current raged violently around Woo Geom-san.
The energy emanated by as many as thirty martial artists overlapped and amplified, turning into a storm.
A storm of swords raging destructively.
Right in the middle of it, Woo Geom-san was isolated.
Mok Gyeong-han was certain of Woo Geom-san’s death.
No matter what kind of expert one was, they could not escape the Jacheon Storm Sword Formation unleashed by the elites of the Jacheongi.
Clang, clang, clang!
Accompanied by the screech of metal, Woo Geom-san’s scabbard and the swords of the Jacheongi martial artists clashed countless times.
Astonishingly, Woo Geom-san did not move even a single step and was deflecting all the sword strikes of the Jacheongi martial artists.
Even at the center of the raging storm, his complexion remained perfectly serene.
Not a single trace of crisis could be found in his expression.
No matter how much the storm shook heaven and earth, it could not break his peace of mind, which had been tempered by the Choyeon Simgyeol.
Furthermore, the wild wind pressuring him right now was not a real storm.
It was merely a false phenomenon created by the sword formation.
Shring!
Woo Geom-san finally drew his sword.
In an instant, the Jacheongi martial artists, who had been excitedly driving Woo Geom-san into a corner, felt a certain chilling sensation.
Even before Woo Geom-san could swing his sword, they felt as if they had already been cut.
Having drawn his sword, Woo Geom-san quietly looked at the Jacheon Storm Sword Formation.
Toward the mercilessly raging gale of blades, he swung his sword.
Shoosh!
In an instant, sword Qi arose and rode upon the storm-like wind.
It was the fifth form of the Choyen Sword Technique, the Huifengjue.
Woo Geom-san’s sword Qi piggybacked on the tempestuous air current and whirled back toward the Jacheongi martial artists.
Rumble!
The Jacheon Storm Sword Formation shook violently as if an earthquake had occurred.
“What?”
Deputy Squad Leader Mok Gyeong-han wore an unbelievable expression.
This was because it was hard to believe that the Jacheon Storm Sword Formation could be shaken so mercilessly by a single sword strike.
However, to Woo Geom-san, it was not that grand of a feat.
In his eyes, the Jacheon Storm Sword Formation looked just like a porcelain jar filled to the brim with water.
A porcelain jar packed so tightly that it was right on the verge of bursting.
To break such a porcelain jar, a single drop of water was enough.
The single strike swung by Woo Geom-san was precisely that drop of water.
A single drop of water, the Huifengjue, broke the balance of the Jacheon Storm Sword Formation and triggered a micro-resonance.
The Jacheon Storm Sword Formation, cracked by the micro-resonance, could not withstand its own power and went wild.
“What is this? Argh!”
“It’s out of control!”
The faces of the Jacheongi martial artists distorted mercilessly.
They tried to control it somehow, but the more they did, the more terribly the Jacheon Storm Sword Formation ran amok.
The very moment the faces of the Jacheongi martial artists were stained with despair, a massive explosion occurred.
Boom!

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