The Battle for the Heavenly Sword - Chapter 91
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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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91
Woo Geom-San’s Struggle for Supremacy
After finishing their meal, Woo Geom-san and Ning Yunxiao spent time walking around the market near the port.
The market itself was quite large, but its contents were ordinary.
They were only selling goods that could be found in any Jianghu market.
If anything, Guangu County seemed to have more things to see.
In Guangu County, they could at least see quite a few things that came in from Beyond the Border.
Woo Geom-san and Ning Yunxiao ultimately returned to the wharf without buying anything.
At the wharf, the Express Vessel was waiting, having finished its preparations for departure.
Im So-ryeong was the first to welcome Woo Geom-san and Ning Yunxiao.
“Welcome back.”
“We’re not late, are we?”
“You arrived just in time.”
“That’s a relief. Then, are we leaving right away?”
“We have to wait a little bit. There are people to pick up here.”
“What?”
When Woo Geom-san wore a puzzled expression, Im So-ryeong smiled and said,
“I told you earlier. That we might take on other passengers. Coincidentally, some people are loading cargo onto the boat to go to Huanggang. Their route overlaps, so we’re going to take them along. You understand, right?”
“Of course.”
Woo Geom-san nodded his head.
Sects that hold shipping rights like the Seven Great Water Gates share a common tenet.
That is, under no circumstances do they operate an empty boat.
If they can load it, they load anything.
Whether that is people or cargo.
Woo Geom-san suddenly looked at Im So-ryeong’s sleeve.
Because it caught his eye that the edge of her sleeve was stained red.
Feeling Woo Geom-san’s gaze, Im So-ryeong raised both arms and smiled brightly.
“This? I caught some fish earlier, and the blood must have splattered.”
“Does the Branch Office catch fish too?”
“Because the men all said they couldn’t gut the fish. Thanks to that, I came back after excitedly gutting fish.”
“You must be going through a lot of trouble.”
“Tell me about it. Ah, the cargo and people are coming over there.”
Im So-ryeong said, looking behind Woo Geom-san.
A peculiar gleam appeared in Woo Geom-san’s eyes as he turned around.
Because the people who appeared at the wharf were those he already knew.
Leng Tianxiang, Leng Shuiyue, and So Jin-seo were entering the wharf along with their subordinates.
So Jin-seo’s subordinates dragged as many as five carts tightly loaded with baggage.
The baggage loaded on the carts was tightly wrapped in waterproof tarps, making it seem like very precious goods.
‘I thought there would be no reason to meet again after parting at the restaurant, but to reunite so quickly. Fate is truly ironical.’
Woo Geom-san wore a bitter smile as he looked at those approaching closely.
Leng Tianxiang and the others also wore slightly surprised expressions upon discovering Woo Geom-san.
Because they too had never dreamed in their wildest dreams that they would reunite with Woo Geom-san at the wharf.
Leng Tianxiang spoke first.
“Are you also boarding this boat? Surely you didn’t tail us, did you?”
“We have been riding this boat continuously. We only went to have a meal while it stopped for a moment.”
Hearing Woo Geom-san’s answer, Leng Tianxiang looked at Im So-ryeong. Then Im So-ryeong shrugged her shoulders and answered.
“It’s just as he said. They are passengers who boarded the boat before you all.”
“Is that so?”
Her suspicion was cleared, but she didn’t bother to apologize.
Because questioning everything was a matter of course for Leng Tianxiang.
Since the war with the Cheonmyeong Association, she guarded against and suspected all repeating coincidences and repeated ties.
That was the secret of how she had survived until now.
Until she saw her disciple Leng Shuiyue rebuild Geangeak, she must absolutely never die or be injured.
Leng Shuiyue possessed the talent to inherit all the martial arts of Geangeak, but she still needed her absolute care.
Therefore, she guarded against the very approach of suspicious figures happening around them.
Though her suspicion was cleared, Leng Tianxiang still seemed displeased about riding the boat together with Woo Geom-san and his companion.
Woo Geom-san also didn’t want to pay attention to her anymore, so he boarded the boat first with Ning Yunxiao.
The two people who boarded the boat went straight inside the cabin.
“Phew!”
As soon as he entered the cabin, Ning Yunxiao let out a sigh of relief.
Because he had been intimidated by the appearance of Leng Tianxiang and the others.
To that extent, Leng Tianxiang was imprinted as a tremendously terrifying existence to Ning Yunxiao.
“Are you all right?”
“I’m fine now. I’ll feel better if I rest a bit.”
“Right! I think it would be best for you to rest inside without going outside for the time being.”
Ning Yunxiao nodded his head at Woo Geom-san’s words.
Ning Yunxiao immediately got onto the bed and closed his eyes.
A moment later, hearing the sound of snoring, he seemed to have fallen into a deep sleep.
Woo Geom-san wore a bitter smile.
Ning Yunxiao was one who had lost his mother just a few days ago.
The energy exuded by Leng Tianxiang was far too fierce for him to handle in his weakened state of mind and body.
An ordinary person couldn’t help but have their stamina tremendously drained just by staying in the same space for a short while.
It was no strange thing for Ning Yunxiao to fall fast asleep like that.
After covering Ning Yunxiao’s body with a blanket, Woo Geom-san pulled out the Bojebang.
Since he didn’t want to bump into Leng Tianxiang and the others, he intended to spend time reading the Bojebang inside the cabin.
Fortunately, the contents inside the Bojebang were truly vast, so there were still many things left to explore.
Woo Geom-san fell deeply into the Bojebang.
***
“It’s not an ordinary boat.”
“What do you mean by that?”
At Leng Tianxiang’s words, So Jin-seo wore a puzzled expression.
Because in his eyes, it was just nothing more than an ordinary boat.
Leng Tianxiang looked at such a So Jin-seo with a pathetic expression.
Because even with eyes, failing to recognize people felt all too foolish.
Not a single person among those riding this boat was ordinary.
From the sailors doing chores to the Captain supervising them all, everyone was trained in martial arts.
The sailors were moving nimbly like squirrels, and the gaze of the Captain directing them shone fiercely.
Above all, what made Leng Tianxiang tense up was precisely the woman who welcomed them at the wharf.
Though she looked ordinary on the outside, she was actually harboring a tremendously sharp energy.
Facing Leng Tianxiang’s gaze without shrinking back at all told that she was no ordinary woman.
Leng Shuiyue, who had been quiet until now, opened her mouth.
“It seems to be a boat operated by the elites of Punglim Fort.”
“It seems so. Seeing that even the shape of the boat isn’t a flat-bottomed boat commonly seen.”
“If it’s someone responsible for this kind of boat, they must surely be an important figure even in Punglim Fort.”
Leng Shuiyue slightly knitted her brows.
Even that appearance was so beautiful that So Jin-seo looked on, losing his mind.
The contents of Leng Tianxiang and Leng Shuiyue’s conversation were already no longer his concern.
All of his nerves and thoughts were subordinate only to Leng Shuiyue. Therefore, he couldn’t think normally.
Leng Tianxiang and Leng Shuiyue continued their conversation without giving such a So Jin-seo even a single glance.
“Who do you think that person’s identity is?”
The one Leng Tianxiang pointed to was Zhang Wangchu, who was pressing the sailors hard.
On top of having a very grand build, his impression was even fearsome, so when he shouted loudly, the area was as noisy as if thunder were striking.
If his voice were simply loud, she would just let it pass, but the momentum he occasionally exuded was unusual.
Leng Shuiyue, who was staring intently at Zhang Wangchu, cautiously opened her mouth.
“In my opinion, he seems to be one of the Six Rivers Squadron Leaders said to be six people in Punglim Fort.”
“Six Rivers Squadron Leader?”
“Yes! I heard that among the Six Rivers Squadron Leaders, there is an expert who has such a grand build and uses a straight sword well. The Yangtze River Tyrant Dragon, Zhang Wangchu. The appearance of that man I heard through rumors matches that person.”
“Yangtze River Tyrant Dragon Zhang Wangchu. I have also heard of him. The rumor that once he holds a single blade, he has no rival upon the water.”
A cold smile appeared on the corner of Leng Tianxiang’s mouth.
Leng Shuiyue noticed that it was a sneer.
Because she thought that even if he was called a Six Rivers Squadron Leader, he was merely exerting power on the Yangtze River at best, and wasn’t that grand of a martial artist when looking at the entire Jianghu.
Fifteen years ago, when Geangeak fought while shedding blood, many sects including Punglim Fort shrank back.
Thanks to that, they preserved their forces perfectly and could enjoy prosperity as they did now.
Most of the sects enjoying prosperity in the current Jianghu were places that had evaded the war with the Cheonmyeong Association like Punglim Fort.
Leng Tianxiang could absolutely never acknowledge them.
She intended to bring them all to their knees beneath her feet when she revived Geangeak someday. But now was a time to endure.
Suddenly, Leng Tianxiang’s gaze directed toward the cabin side.
Her concern was not Zhang Wangchu or Im So-ryeong, but Woo Geom-san.
‘What kind of sect exists to have raised such an expert?’
***
Bang!
“Argh!”
Li Changyi, who was roughly thrown onto the floor, screamed.
The place he was cast down into was a dark, large storehouse.
He wasn’t the only one inside the storehouse.
As many as a dozen men had their limbs tightly bound and were wriggling like bugs.
Li Changyi recognized their identities at a single glance.
They were the people of Mechao Dang, the Red Cloud Sect disciples who had taken root in Cheongang County together with him.
‘Damn it!’
A dismal expression naturally surfaced on Li Changyi’s face.
Not long ago, he and the people of Mechao Dang blew up a storehouse managed by Punglim Fort to help Chilian Xinjun.
It was in order to focus the gaze of the Punglim Fort martial artists on the wharf, and allow Chilian Xinjun to easily snatch the Sect Leader’s son in the meantime.
However, due to an unexpected interferer, their attempt ended in vain.
Chilian Xinjun was killed, and the Mechao Dang martial artists came to be pursued by Punglim Fort.
In the end, Li Changyi abandoned everything he had built up in Cheongang County and fled.
But at some point, he lost consciousness along with a stinging feeling on the back of his neck. And when he regained consciousness again, he was inside an unfamiliar storehouse.
‘Was I caught by Punglim Fort?’
It was when Li Changyi rolled his eyes around.
“Li Changyi!”
A sinister voice echoed from the darkness.
“Y-Yes?”
“There is no need to roll your brain like that. Because no matter how much you roll your brain, the possibility of you bastard surviving today does not exist.”
“What?”
At that moment, the owner of the voice revealed his appearance from the darkness.
He was a man wearing a black battle robe tattered like rags.
Unusually long hands were revealed outside the robe sleeves, and especially long fingernails grown like talons stood out.
At the fingernails reminiscent of a tiger or a leopard, Li Changyi’s face turned stark white.
Because there was one man who possessed this characteristic in the Red Cloud Sect.
“C-Could it be, Xuanxuan Xinjun?”
A member of the Ten Direction God-Kings like Chilian Xinjun, and a far higher-ranking expert, Xuanxuan Xinjun.
If caught by those talon-like fingernails, whatever it was would be ripped apart like a sheet of paper.
Whether it was a person or a weapon.
In fact, he enjoyed ripping people to death with his talon-like fingernails.
He was a super-expert within the top three even among the Ten Direction God-Kings.
Though they belonged to the same Ten Direction God-Kings, even Chilian Xinjun was not his match.
But it wasn’t only Xuanxuan Xinjun who revealed his appearance.
Behind Xuanxuan Xinjun, one clad in a stark white battle robe revealed his appearance.
Li Changyi recalled the man said to always move as a pair with Xuanxuan Xinjun.
“Xueying Xinjun?”
Though they fought like cats and dogs because their dispositions were polar opposites, they always moved together.
To the point where there was a saying that where Xuanxuan Xinjun goes, Xueying Xinjun exists.
Xueying Xinjun had mastered a demonic art of the ice lineage, and as its side effect, he turned stark white from head to toe.
Because of that, he formed a stark contrast with Xuanxuan Xinjun, who enjoyed wearing black clothes.
Since news of Chilian Xinjun was cut off, it was clear the Red Cloud Sect had sent the two of them.
Xuanxuan Xinjun spoke, matching eyes with him.
“Speak everything of what kind of matter happened in Cheongang County.”
“T-That is…”
Slash!
At that moment, one of Li Changyi’s arms was severed at the shoulder area.
Xuanxuan Xinjun’s talon-like fingernails cut off his arm as if it were tofu.
“Aaagh!”
“I extremely dislike stuttering words. If you stutter once more, I will cut off your remaining arm as well.”
“I will speak everything.”
Li Changyi continued his words, desperately enduring the pain.
Xuanxuan Xinjun and Xueying Xinjun silently heard all of his story.
Finally, when Li Changyi’s words ended, Xuanxuan Xinjun nodded his head.
“So you’re saying Chilian lost his life to some young fellow? And he took the Sect Leader’s son too.”
“Yes! He left riding a Punglim Fort boat. This is everything I know. Please save m…”
Suddenly, Li Changyi’s words cut off abruptly.
Because Xuanxuan Xinjun’s fingernails passed by, severing his neck.
As if a red bloodline formed on Li Changyi’s neck, it rolled down just like that.
Following behind Xuanxuan Xinjun, Xueying Xinjun swung his hand. Then, about a dozen streaks of silver-white flash rent the darkness and cleanly struck the heads of the Mechao Dang people.
Pop! Pop!
The heads of the Mechao Dang people burst apart.
The inside of the storehouse was instantly drenched sloppily with the blood and brain matter they spilled.
Xuanxuan Xinjun spoke, looking at Xueying Xinjun.
“Seeing that he killed Chilian so easily, he doesn’t seem to be an ordinary fellow.”
“We must mobilize all available personnel.”
“We report to Qingyi Shizhe and move.”
The Four Great Envoys, who were the guardian deities and strongest experts of the Red Cloud Sect.
One of them, Qingyi Shizhe, was not that far away from here.
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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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