The God of Death and the God of War - Chapter 50
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Evil Hegemon Martial God
Chapter 50
“Huff, huff…!”
Thud!
Hwang-no knelt down, breathing heavily.
He had squeezed out whatever strength remained to try to cut down Yarugi, but this was his limit.
His entire body had no strength left, and his complexion had turned pale and wrinkled like wet parchment.
It was due to the backlash.
Not only had he forcibly drawn up his energy to face Yasudomma, but he had also endured all those tremendous attacks.
He had gone beyond exhaustion and completely depleted his vital energy.
‘Is this the end…?’
Hwang-no sensed his final moment.
As his energy channels wavered from the backlash, the traces of demonic energy left by Geom-ma began to stir.
Until now, he had suppressed it with his internal energy.
But now that his energy channels were shaking and his internal energy was depleted.
There was no longer any force to suppress the demonic energy.
‘…I couldn’t kill Geom-ma.’
If he could take Geom-ma with him.
He could accept even this death with a smile.
As Hwang-no trembled with resentment, Jeok-un who was nearby approached him.
Being a master who had crushed Yarugi, he must have noticed his condition.
Hwang-no looked at Jeok-un.
‘…An utterly unpredictable person.’
He had suddenly swallowed the Gold Pavilion and instantly surpassed the wall of Hwagyeong.
Gold Pavilion was known to be particularly difficult to control among spiritual objects.
To control the energy of such Gold Pavilion so perfectly in an instant could only be explained by possessing overwhelming talent superior to it.
It wasn’t just words, as he had unilaterally crushed Yarugi who had reached mastery at the early stage of Hwagyeong.
‘Even I at the same age couldn’t have done that.’
Though Hwang-no had grown at an astonishing pace throughout Sal-mun’s history, he couldn’t compare to Jeok-un’s growth rate.
And what about the power he showed while beating Yarugi to death?
‘Isn’t it far too beautiful?’
Most likely, his current form wasn’t the completed version.
If he were to reach the end of that martial art.
‘…He could cut down all the demonic leaders of the Demonic Cult, including Geom-ma.’
Having reached that thought, Hwang-no fell into contemplation.
Facing unavoidable death before his eyes.
Finally, Hwang-no slowly opened his mouth.
“…Daeju.”
“Speak, Hwang-no.”
“Cough, do you truly have a grudge against the Demonic Cult?”
“That’s right. Even more than those damn Jeongpa bastards.”
At those words, a gleam appeared in Hwang-no’s eyes.
Though just speaking made blood boil in his throat, he gritted his teeth and endured the pain as he continued.
“…Then, may I make one request?”
“Hmm, let me hear it.”
Jeok-un continued without any particular reaction.
Hwang-no spoke each word with sincere conviction.
“It seems I’ve reached my limit here. So please avenge my son, repay my grudge.”
“…”
“The Vice Leader of the Demonic Cult, Geom-ma. Please kill that man.”
Jeok-un said nothing.
Assuming the meaning, Hwang-no mentioned the price for revenge.
“I’m not asking you to do it for nothing. Cough…!”
There was only one thing a warrior could offer another warrior as payment.
“Instead, I’ll give you all my martial arts. Especially, the Ghost Step will be of great help to you, Daeju.”
“…”
It was martial arts.
He intended to pass on all the secret techniques that made him known as the world’s greatest assassin.
If he could achieve revenge, nothing would be too precious.
Ghost Step.
The movement technique that led Hwang-no to become the world’s greatest assassin, undoubtedly worthy of being called the best in the martial world.
“And lastly, to that child Hae-yeon…”
Hae-yeon.
A child who reminded him of his deceased granddaughter. If his granddaughter had grown up safely, she would have been about Hae-yeon’s age.
Perhaps because of that, when he kept noticing Hae-yeon and saw Ya-ju’s violence being inflicted on her in earnest, he couldn’t bear it and ended up teaching her martial arts to protect herself.
In the process, they had truly developed a deep bond like grandfather and granddaughter.
Just as Hwang-no was about to ask him to deliver a final farewell message to her.
“I refuse.”
“…!”
Jeok-un cut off his proposal like a blade.
As Hwang-no stared at him in bewilderment, Jeok-un spoke as if it were obvious.
“Hey, you should take your own revenge yourself. Why dump it on some innocent stranger?”
…Right, is that how it is?
Certainly, with such martial talent, his martial arts might not be of great value.
Hwang-no couldn’t hide the bitterness in his expression.
But then.
“And why are you suddenly trying to leave some tragic last words? If you have something to say to Hae-yeon, just go back and tell her directly.”
“…What?”
“Don’t pointlessly set the mood. Hurry up and eat this.”
“Uh, uhp…?”
Before Hwang-no could say anything, Jeok-un roughly fed him what he was holding.
Already exhausted of energy and unable to move even a finger, Hwang-no couldn’t resist at all.
“…?!”
Reflexively chewing what entered his mouth, his eyes widened.
The fresh scent of grass and faint earthy smell spreading through him.
Dense true energy rising after that.
At this point, he couldn’t not know.
‘This is, could it be?’
As Hwang-no recalled the identity of ‘something’ in his mind, Jeok-un’s voice transmission came as if to confirm it.
[It’s the root of Gold Pavilion. I’ll start the energy circulation now.]
Swoosh!
Starting with his voice, he felt the true energy of Gold Pavilion from his throat.
This feeling continued as it went down his esophagus to the center of his stomach, reaching his dantian.
Hwang-no reflexively sat in lotus position and controlled the flowing energy.
‘What in the world…!’
Hwang-no realized how amazing the Gold Pavilion he had only heard about truly was.
He could feel energy filling his dantian like spring rain on cracked, dried farmland.
‘They say it’s inferior to the actual Gold Pavilion fruit, but even just the root is comparable to thousand-year ginseng…!’
It was a spiritual herb where not only the fruit but even the small roots couldn’t be wasted.
‘Kugh!’
However, Hwang-no couldn’t rejoice carelessly.
As mentioned earlier, the root of Geumnyeongseol was also a spiritual herb containing tremendous qi.
Even with a healthy body, receiving such energy was not an easy task.
But now his body was in tatters, and even his qi channels were unstable.
Trembling.
‘This won’t be easy.’
As the qi from Geumnyeongseol was added, his entire body began to shake violently.
To put it in perspective, it was like massive waves crashing against a cracked dam.
It meant the dam could burst at any moment.
Whoosh!
At that moment, he felt a new energy from behind his back.
It was a mysterious energy that was both magnificent and warm.
[Old man, I’m going to start the treatment now. Keep your mind clear and follow my instructions unconditionally.]
‘Ah.’
It was indeed Jeok-un.
It seemed he truly intended to begin the qi circulation treatment.
However, Hwang-no was bewildered.
His wounds were impossible to heal, even with Geumnyeongseol’s root.
He had devoted the past twenty years to recovery, but couldn’t even restore fifty percent of his original state.
‘…Perhaps it would be better to transfer all my energy through Gyeokche Jeongong and ask for revenge instead.’
Just as he was having such thoughts.
Jeok-un’s telepathic voice reached him.
[Hey, weren’t you planning to leave your last words and die anyway? Since you’ve already trusted me this far, trust me to the end.]
‘…!’
Strangely enough, those words made Hwang-no change his mind.
Yes, perhaps this person was worth trusting.
Whoosh!
Hwang-no slowly entrusted his body completely to Jeok-un.
‘Good. Now let’s begin.’
With that, Jeok-un also began to emit his qi in earnest.
Whooom!
In an instant, Paecheon Singi took control of all the major meridians throughout Hwang-no’s body.
As Paecheon Singi grasped and firmly supported the wavering and collapsing eight meridians, the root’s qi also stopped resisting and began to follow the guidance obediently.
Before beginning the healing, Jeok-un assessed Hwang-no’s current condition and clicked his tongue.
‘This is the worst. It’s a miracle he’s alive.’
If not for his obsession with revenge, he probably would have died long ago.
The wounds inflicted by demonic qi were that severe.
‘Indeed, the only good Demonic Cult member is a dead one.’
Demonic qi remained in the scars left in his dantian, repeatedly rampaging whenever the wounds tried to heal, then settling down again, endlessly gnawing at his body.
Like termites boring into a pillar, slowly eating away at the body until the moment it could no longer withstand the passage of time, completely bringing it down.
Before his regression, this was exactly what had caused the orthodox martial world to suffer greatly when the Demonic Cult’s offensive began.
Once infiltrated by demonic qi, one could hardly recover their original level.
Especially in cases like Hwang-no’s, where over twenty years had passed, it would be impossible even if Hwamul of the Black Robe Sect, or even the legendary physicians Hwa-ta or Pyeon-jak returned.
But of course…
‘I can do it though.’
Whoooosh!
Suddenly, Jeok-un infused the power of a star into Paecheon Singi.
The star that had been most effective in defeating Yasudomma.
It was Nokjon.
Nokjon’s application wasn’t limited to combat alone.
The power to control and neutralize.
Any demonic qi was like spring icicles before Nokjon’s energy.
‘First, I’ll annihilate all the demonic qi embedded like thorns.’
Flare!
Instantly, Nokjon’s energy blazed like flames, beginning to burn away all the demonic qi it encountered.
Hiss!
When cutting grass, one must cut down to the roots.
Under Nokjon’s power, the demonic qi was completely annihilated without leaving even the smallest trace.
However, the demonic qi didn’t just take it lying down.
“Urgh…!”
Hwang-no involuntarily let out a groan.
The demonic qi thrashed wildly, desperately trying to burrow deeper into his dantian to escape and survive until the end.
It was truly a death struggle.
Jeok-un had seen this countless times and knew the most appropriate method.
[This is going to hurt a bit, Hwang-no.]
Whooom!
Crash!
Suddenly, the Nokjon energy contained within Paecheon Singi began to surge to two, three times its previous intensity.
Amazingly, the power of another star was being added to Nokjon.
‘I’ll add Tamrang to Nokjon’s power.’
By breaking through the wall of Hwagyeong, he had become able to use the combined power of two stars.
Tamrang’s enhancement was further amplifying Nokjon’s abilities.
Flicker!
Hiss!
The flames of Paecheon Singi grew even fiercer, and the demonic qi began to burn away without a trace, having nowhere left to flee.
Amazingly, the demonic qi that had tormented Hwang-no for all those long years was being completely annihilated.
But it wasn’t over yet.
‘Good, now that I’ve erased all the demonic qi, I need to restore the dantian.’
The real ‘treatment’ was just beginning.
From the start, Jeok-un hadn’t given Hwang-no the Geumnyeongseol root just to erase the demonic qi.
‘I must repay the kindness of protecting my subordinate.’
With that thought, Jeok-un withdrew Tamrang and activated Geomun’s energy.
Whoooosh!
This time, precisely concentrated Nokjon energy began to gently caress the damaged dantian.
A truly amazing spectacle unfolded.
Whoosh!
The crushed and mangled dantian began to transform into its complete form, like new flesh sprouting.
It was a miracle worthy of being called divine medicine (Sinui).
After quite some time had passed like this.
Finally, Jeok-un slowly removed his hands from Hwang-no’s back.
“Ugh, using my strength after so long has made me a bit stiff.”
Jeok-un stood up and stretched.
Following that, Hwang-no also slowly opened his eyes.
“…Wh-what is this…?!”
Then he was overwhelmed with shock.
An unbelievable miracle had occurred.
The demonic qi that wouldn’t disappear no matter what efforts he made had vanished without a trace, and his dantian, which had been scarred, was clearly healed of all wounds.
How could such a thing be possible?
Hwang-no had a dazed expression, as if he couldn’t believe this situation.
Then, Jeok-un spoke nonchalantly.
“You’ve probably recovered to around the early stages of Hyeon-gyeong.”
“Yes, yes.”
“Hmm, originally your martial arts seemed to have reached complete mastery. Right now it’ll be difficult to get back there immediately, but if you receive treatment from me a few more times, you should be able to recover completely.”
“…!”
“Of course, it’s not free. Let’s settle the treatment fee with that martial art you mentioned earlier. Ghost Step or Phantom Step, whichever it was, that one looks quite useful.”
“?!”
Hwang-no was utterly dumbfounded.
He could hardly believe the current situation was real.
Not only had that terrible demonic energy disappeared in an instant, but his realm had recovered considerably as well.
That alone was earth-shaking, yet the Daeju before him was acting as if this was completely natural….
‘Was he not a genius but a monster…?’
As he stared blankly at Jeok-un like that.
“What? Are you already trying to change your mind?”
“N-no, sir.”
“Mm, good.”
Having agreed on the treatment fee, Jeok-un subtly moved straight to the main point.
Now that he had set all the traps, it was time to aim for another harvest.
“So, what will you do now? Old man.”
“…I don’t know.”
To Jeok-un’s question about his future destination, Hwang-no answered sincerely.
Until just moments ago, he had thought he was truly going to die.
But with the situation completely reversed, his mind wasn’t working properly.
Then Jeok-un pointed to Yarugi’s corpse lying miserably scattered and said.
“The information about the Demonic Cult this bastard was trying to tell you was definitely all lies. Well, still, if you want to strike at the Demonic Cult alone, I’ll gladly hand over the information I know about the Demonic Cult.”
“…!”
Hwang-no’s eyes trembled as if an earthquake had struck.
After losing his family, he had always been alone, and thought he would carry out his revenge against the Demonic Cult by himself as well.
Therefore, if he recovered his original realm, Jeok-un’s words would certainly be the most suitable choice.
But strangely, the words “I’ll do that” wouldn’t come out of his mouth.
Then, as if reading his heart, Jeok-un spoke.
“But that would be a foolish choice.”
“…!”
“Following behind me would undoubtedly be the fastest path to destroying the Demonic Cult.”
“!!”
Jeok-un said to Hwang-no, no, to Hyeong Seok-yeong.
Follow me and achieve your revenge.
That’s right. The harvest Jeok-un was aiming for was none other than Hwang-no himself.
“Now, they say the enemy of my enemy is my ally. What do you think, old man?”
In some ways, this was more valuable than killing Yasudomma and consuming the Golden Command.
‘Once fully recovered, he’ll be at complete mastery of Hyeon-gyeong, and if I help him, even higher realms will be sufficiently possible.’
If he could take a trustworthy Hyeon-gyeong master as his subordinate, it would be an enormous help in the war against the Demonic Cult.
And that outcome depended on the choice being made now.
“I will…”
Finally, Hwang-no also seemed to have made up his mind as he opened his mouth.
“I will follow you, Daeju.”
Jeok-un smiled brightly.
It was the moment when the former greatest assassin under heaven entered Jeok-un’s fold.
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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