The Battle for the Heavenly Sword - Chapter 15

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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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15
The Conflict of Swords and Oaths
Even in the dark of night, the Cloud River-Crossing Vessel did not stop sailing.
The area the Cloud River-Crossing Vessel was passing through now had gentle terrain and a weak current, so there were almost no hazards.
Furthermore, the captain and the sailors operating the Cloud River-Crossing Vessel were all members of the Hongjo Bang.
The Hongjo Bang was one of the Seven Great Water Gates that held the Shipping Rights.
They might not wield much power on land, but it was a different story on the water.
They knew the upper and middle reaches of the Yangtze River, where they held the Shipping Rights, like the backs of their hands. Because of this, they could navigate the Yangtze River relying on a single lantern even on a pitch-black night without any moonlight.
The captain operating the Cloud River-Crossing Vessel was an experienced sailor who had navigated the Yangtze River for thirty years.
He could grasp the surrounding situation just by looking at the flow of the water.
He looked around and spoke.
“How fortunate! Since it hasn’t rained, the current isn’t that strong. Once we pass the Thousand Buddha Cliff just ahead, there’ll be nothing to worry about.”
The Thousand Buddha Cliff was a massive stone cliff over a hundred zhang tall and stretching for a thousand zhang.
When torches illuminated the giant stone cliff in the dark of night, countless shadows in the shape of Buddhas would appear. That was how it got the name Thousand Buddha Cliff.
Occasional rockfalls did occur, so one had to be exceptionally careful when passing the Thousand Buddha Cliff. However, once past the Thousand Buddha Cliff, there was nothing to worry about from then on.
The captain called out to a sailor in his mid-to-late forties who was nearby.
“Vice Captain!”
“Yes! Captain.”
“Once we pass the Thousand Buddha Cliff, you take over the navigation. I’m going into the cabin to catch some sleep.”
“Don’t you worry about a thing.”
The vice captain bared his yellow teeth and grinned.
Just like the captain, he had spent a long time on ships.
Naturally, he knew the nearby waterways like the back of his hand.
“The waterway is gentle and there are no water bandits, so don’t worry and get some good rest.”
“Even so, you mustn’t let your guard down. New water bandits might have settled in, after all.”
The Hongjo Bang periodically wiped out water bandits. But no matter how many they wiped out, the water bandits would always settle back in, who knows where they came from.
This was because looting just one Cloud River-Crossing Vessel laden with precious cargo could change a person’s fortune forever.
Of course, after the Hongjo Bang firmly established its place, the water bandits’ attempts at extortion had never succeeded even once.
The vice captain patted the Straight Sword at his waist and spoke.
“Hehe! You worry too much. If anyone leaps onto the ship, I just need to take their head off with this guy. Besides, aren’t there plenty of martial artists riding on our ship? Whoever dares to step onto this deck will become fish food immediately.”
“I suppose so…”
The captain nodded his head.
On the Cloud River-Crossing Vessel he commanded, dozens of martial artists from the Eunha Merchant Group and the Heongnimdae were on board.
Just from the aura felt from the Heongnimdae martial artists, one could tell how strong they were.
Carrying such martial artists was a great stroke of luck. It meant the ship had become that much safer.
There was no need to worry about water bandits; they only needed to focus on the safe navigation of the ship.
While exchanging small talk with the vice captain, the Cloud River-Crossing Vessel entered the gorge where the Thousand Buddha Cliff was located.
The Thousand Buddha Cliff, illuminated by the lantern attached to the Cloud River-Crossing Vessel, cast countless shadows. Among them were some that truly looked like Buddhas.
The passengers who were still awake and on the deck marveled at the Buddha shapes appearing on the cliff wall.
“Whoa!”
“It really is the shape of a Buddha.”
“What a grand sight!”
Among the marveling people were Baek Ho-yang and Woo Geom-san.
“It truly feels as though a thousand Buddhas are watching over us.”
“It’s beautiful. I never imagined I’d see a sight like this.”
It was worth staying awake instead of sleeping.
If they missed it now, there was no telling when they would ever see such a grand spectacle again.
The two of them gazed blankly at the shadows of the Thousand Buddha Cliff.
As the lantern-laden ship moved forward, the shadows flickered as if dancing.
“If my friend, Hui Kong, had seen this sight, he would have loved it dearly.”
Baek Ho-yang flashed a bitter smile.
The lifelong wish of his only close friend, Hui Kong, was precisely to see the Thousand Buddha Cliff.
Recalling Hui Kong, who had lost his life at the hands of his disciple at the Cheonmyeong Association Headquarters, made a corner of his heart ache.
However, his sentimentality did not last very long.
“Hmm?”
This was because he felt a foreign movement above the Thousand Buddha Cliff, which he had been admiring blankly.
Rustle!
When he sharpened his senses, the stealthy movement was captured vividly.
Numerous individuals were moving atop the Thousand Buddha Cliff, completely concealing their presence like assassins.
“Are they… bandits?”
“Pardon? Bandits?”
Woo Geom-san looked at Baek Ho-yang in surprise.
Baek Ho-yang blocked the space in front of Woo Geom-san and said,
“They’re bastards who know how to completely hide their presence. They are no ordinary elites.”
“Then we must inform them…”
Woo Geom-san looked toward where Ha Baek-jin was.
“There’s no need to worry about them. It seems they’ve noticed just now.”
Led by Gwak Pung and Ha Baek-jin, the Heongnimdae sprang up from their seats.
It was clear that they too had belatedly detected the foreign movement atop the Thousand Buddha Cliff.
It was then.
Flutter!
Flapping their sleeves, many martial artists leapt down from atop the Thousand Buddha Cliff.
They had thin ropes tied around their waists.
Even if they were relying on ropes, those who leapt down from a cliff as high as a hundred zhang without any hesitation could not possibly be ordinary.
“Dammit!”
“It’s an ambush!”
The Heongnimdae shouted as they drew their weapons.
“Aaah!”
“Hurry, get out of the way!”
The passengers on the deck shrieked in terror, and the scene fell into extreme chaos.
Ha Baek-jin muttered as he channeled his Martial Cultivation Force.
“Damn it! Were they targeting the Eunha Merchant Group?”
The attackers, who were falling at a fearsome speed, pulled on their ropes and slowed down right above the ship.
Having slowed down their speed like that, the attackers cut their ropes and landed lightly on the deck.
As if to conceal their identities, the attackers were all wearing masks.
The one who appeared to be the leader among them shouted,
“Kill everyone. Leave no witnesses behind.”
“Yes!”
“Haah!”
The attackers rushed toward the people on the deck at a terrifying speed.
“Not a chance.”
“Chaaat!”
The ones blocking them were the Heongnimdae led by Gwak Pung.
Composed entirely of secular disciples of the Nine Great Sects, the Wuwei of the Heongnimdae was immense.
Clang! Clang!
Not only did they block all the attacks aimed at the ordinary passengers, but they also left deep wounds on the attackers.
“Argh!”
“Urgh!”
Along with screams, several attackers collapsed.
However, the Wuwei of the attackers was also nothing to scoff at.
“These sons of bitches…”
“Die!”
They raised their momentum even more fiercely and attacked the Heongnimdae.
The Heongnimdae and the attackers clashed all over the deck.
The Heongnimdae Leader, Gwak Pung, drew his sword and approached the leader.
“Where did you bastards come from?”
“You don’t need to know that, you only need to hand over the Gold Ingots and weapons.”
“As expected, did you come targeting the Eunha Merchant Group?”
“Brat! It’d be best for you to surrender quietly while I’m asking nicely.”
The gaze of the leader seen through the mask was extraordinary.
The sharp, cold light in his eyes, which was chilling enough to give goosebumps, showed that his achievements were anything but ordinary.
Gwak Pung also flared up his momentum and said,
“Why is a martial artist like you doing something like this?”
“There’s no need to know the reason, brat!”
“Hmph! We’ll wait and see who the brat is.”
Gwak Pung’s eyes turned chilling.
In an instant, the leader’s pupils shook slightly.
‘What kind of gaze is… They said it was a pack of brats, but the story is different.’
He thought that the information was wrong, but it was too late to turn back.
He could not act as if nothing had happened now.
“Chaaat!”
The leader swung his sword toward Gwak Pung.
Sword Qi erupted from his sword and targeted Gwak Pung’s neck. However, Gwak Pung did not panic and unfolded the Fourteen Plum Blossom Swords, the ultimate technique of the Mount Hua Sect.
In an instant, dozens of white plum blossoms bloomed in the empty air.
Not only did the white plum blossoms shatter the leader’s Sword Qi, but they also inflicted wounds on his shoulder and arm.
“Urgh! Plum blossoms? Are you a disciple of the Mount Hua Sect?”
“That’s right.”
“Dammit! Why is a disciple of the Mount Hua Sect here?”
The leader hastily deployed a Life-Saving Ultimate Move.
Chwahahak!
The Sword Qi that had vanished for a moment burst out again like fireworks, attacking Gwak Pung.
Gwak Pung’s attack faltered for a moment against the powerful blow. However, he soon began to calmly suppress the leader martial artist.
On one side, Ha Baek-jin was also performing brilliantly.
He focused on protecting the passengers.
“Haah!”
Every time he threw a punch, an explosive sound erupted and the bodies of the attackers flew backward.
“Khuk!”
“Damn it!”
What Ha Baek-jin unfolded was the Hundred-Step Divine Fist, the ultimate technique of Shaolin.
Although Ha Baek-jin was thoroughly versed in the Fist Techniques of Shaolin, he had especially delved deep into the Hundred-Step Divine Fist and mastered it to the stage of great success.
He had not reached the legendary realm of killing an enemy from a hundred steps away, but it possessed enough power to slay an enemy within at least five to ten zhang.
He dealt with the enemies while protecting the passengers within his domain.
Meanwhile, the other Heongnimdae martial artists were steadily cutting down the attackers.
It was just when the Heongnimdae martial artists had almost seized victory.
“Argh!”
“Urgh!”
Suddenly, the Heongnimdae martial artists at the rear screamed and collapsed. Someone had ambushed them from behind.
“What is this?”
“Damn it!”
A look of bewilderment appeared on the faces of the Heongnimdae martial artists who confirmed the identities of the ambushers.
And for good reason, because the ambushers were individuals they had never expected at all.
“Why are you guys…?”
“Don’t tell me you betrayed us?”
The ones who ambushed the Heongnimdae from behind were precisely the martial artists who had been guarding the Gold Ingots.
At the center of them stood Qi Pingwei, the Vice Chief of Eunha Merchant Group.
Qi Pingwei was a short man of five chi with a potbelly.
Under the pretext of guarding the Gold Ingots, he had not stepped out of the carriage even once until now.
Not only did such a man come out with the warriors guarding the Gold Ingots, but he had also ambushed the Heongnimdae martial artists.
Qi Pingwei spoke.
“I never imagined big brother would actually place a transport request with the secular disciples of the Nine Great Sects.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“That suspicious bastard deceived me until the very end.”
A murderous aura appeared on Qi Pingwei’s face.
Although he was the Vice Chief of Eunha Merchant Group in name, he held no real power.
Because he had no real power, he could not embezzle much wealth either.
His elder brother and the Chief of Eunha Merchant Group, Qi Tianwei, was a greedy and suspicious man.
He was wary of his own biological brother, Qi Pingwei, fearing that he would covet his wealth.
Having been kept in check by his brother his entire life, Qi Pingwei’s patience had also reached its limit.
As soon as he found out that a substantial amount of Gold Ingots was being moved to a certain location, he moved secretly.
On the day the Gold Ingots were scheduled to be moved, he deliberately dispatched the elites of the Eunha Merchant Group elsewhere to create a vacuum in their fighting strength.
In the end, Qi Tianwei had no choice but to entrust the transport mission to his younger brother, Qi Pingwei.
Of course, Qi Tianwei had not completely let go of his hands either.
To keep Qi Pingwei in check, he had placed a transport request with the Heongnimdae, which was made up of secular disciples of the Nine Great Sects.
That was how the Heongnimdae came to accept this request.
Meanwhile, as soon as the Gold Ingot transport mission was confirmed, Qi Pingwei also placed a request with the Blue Wolf Dan, a group of Rogue Warriors he usually knew.
The ones who ambushed the Cloud River-Crossing Vessel were precisely the Blue Wolf Dan.
Qi Pingwei gathered Martial Cultivation Force in both hands. Then, a blue energy swirled around his hands.
It was his ultimate technique, the Green Thunder Demonic Hand.
“Die, all of you!”
Rumble!
Blue lightning swept across the deck.

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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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