The Patriarch of the Northern Heavens - Chapter 20

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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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Master of the Bukcheon Sword Family – Chapter 20

“….”
Yu Qing-ah fell silent for a moment at my proposal.
A brief pause hung between us.
But the silence did not last long.
Her voice drifted through the door once more.
“That’s quite a reckless plan. What if something goes wrong?”
“Either way, we’ll have to fight them when they attack that day. Better to set a trap on our side first, don’t you think?”
“Are you confident?”
“If I weren’t, I wouldn’t have brought it up.”
“Very well.”
Yu Qing-ah accepted my proposal without hesitation.
“I’ll trust in you, Young Master.”
“A wise choice.”
I smiled broadly as I spoke to her.
“You can have faith. I won’t disappoint you.”

* * *

Days later.
As the Medicine King Hall neared completion.
Yu Seon-woo moved stealthily toward the warehouse under the pretense of taking a walk.
He carried oil in a gourd flask and flint hidden within his robes.
‘The Blue Snake Sect asked me to set a fire, but… is this really okay?’
An uneasy feeling gnawed at him.
This was entirely different from the various incidents he’d orchestrated before.
If something went wrong, it could spiral into something truly catastrophic. If discovered, wouldn’t it mean more than just expulsion from the family?
‘Calm down.’
Yu Seon-woo forced himself to suppress his anxiety.
‘Besides, most of the family’s warriors are at the Medicine King Hall right now. There’s no way I’ll be caught.’
All he needed to do was cause a small disturbance.
A nighttime operation with virtually no chance of discovery.
And besides, he planned to keep the fire small.
He intended to set the blaze in a less important warehouse, not the truly critical one.
‘I’ll be inheriting the family eventually, so I can’t burn my own future assets.’
This act was merely to punish his younger sister for her arrogance and lack of propriety.
It was as Yu Seon-woo began pouring oil on one wall of the warehouse that a voice cut through the darkness.
“I had my doubts after hearing the Young Master’s account, but I never imagined you’d actually be this insane.”
Thwack!
Someone suddenly struck the back of his head with a sharp blow.
“Ugh!”
Yu Seon-woo cried out and collapsed on the spot.
Im Ho-gyeong, the man who had knocked him unconscious, bound his arms with a contemptuous expression.
He then seized the oil and flint that had been in Yu Seon-woo’s possession.
“Young Master. I’ve gathered everything.”
“Good work.”
Upon hearing Im Ho-gyeong’s report, Jin Cheon-hui let out a sharp, high-pitched whistle.
Another whistle answered in return.
The signal meant preparations were complete.
The two men poured oil onto a pile of refuse they had prepared beforehand and set it ablaze.
As the garbage caught fire, black smoke rose into the air, illuminated by the moonlight.

* * *

“Hm. It seems Yu Seon-woo handled his part well.”
The leader of the Blue Snake Sect, standing outside the Shanxi Yu Clan and gazing at the sky, wore a cruel smile.
“I was worried whether such an incompetent fool could succeed, but fortunately he did.”
“It must mean his inferiority complex toward his younger sister runs quite deep. Pathetic, really.”
“Well, thanks to him, things work out nicely for us. While they’re putting out the fire, we’ll seize the Medicine King’s secret elixir and kidnap Yu Qing-ah.”
“Indeed. Now we wait, and those infiltrators inside will open the gates for us.”
The subordinate’s words proved accurate.
Creak.
The gates of the Shanxi Yu Clan, firmly shut in the dead of night, swung open, and roughly a dozen Blue Snake Sect assassins who had been hiding inside posing as patients emerged.
“Here, take these.”
The Blue Snake Sect leader distributed weapons to the assassins.
Dozens of fully armed assassins poured into the Shanxi Yu Clan and made their way toward the Medicine King Hall.
But something felt wrong.
“Why is it so quiet?”
The path to the Medicine King Hall was completely deserted.
It was eerily silent.
“Didn’t they all go to extinguish the fire?”
“Mm. I suppose so?”
They exchanged these words while observing the black smoke rising in the distance.
The Shanxi Yu Clan’s grounds were so vast that the flames weren’t directly visible, but….
The smoke was billowing so thickly that it was certain a fire had broken out somewhere.
“Fine. We’ve already come this far—there’s no turning back now. We proceed as planned!”
They followed the guidance of those already infiltrated inside and headed toward the Medicine King Hall.
“Kehehehe. Soon the Medicine King’s secret elixir shall be mine!”
The leader of the Blue Snake Sect cried out with excitement.
Medicine King Divine Elixir.
It was typically crafted for patients suffering from severe injuries, but it proved effective for martial artists as well.
Not only did it elevate one’s internal energy to a certain level, but it also strengthened bones and organs.
That was why its price was extraordinarily steep.
Yet now, with this opportunity to obtain it, his spirits soared.
“Come on, let’s move!”
And so, when the exhilarated bandits of the Blue Snake Sect finally arrived at the Medicine King Hall’s entrance.
They realized something had gone terribly wrong.
“It’s them!”
“Block the escape routes!”
Dozens of martial artists who had been hiding nearby greeted them warmly.
The leader of the Blue Snake Sect’s eyes widened in shock.
“What… what is this?”
Why were these people here when they should have been suppressing the fire elsewhere?

* * *

“They’ve arrived.”
I, who had been leaning against a pillar of the Medicine King Hall, rose slowly as I watched the Blue Snake Sect warriors enter.
Their numbers appeared to be around several dozen.
At a glance, one could tell they were bandits from their appearance.
Their clothing lacked uniformity, and their weapons appeared of poor quality.
However, the leader among them was someone to be wary of.
‘Though he appears flustered now, his skills seem quite formidable.’
From the aura I sensed, he seemed to be at the peak of the mid-tier realm.
Even standing idle like this, his true strength likely surpassed that level.
For a bandit, not a bad standard at all.
‘Are there any other enemies?’
I extended my perception to scan the surroundings just in case, but detected no one else.
Even if there were, Yu Qing-ah and the Medicine King Divine Elixir would be safe.
I had positioned Sa Gong-cheon at her side as a precaution.
With him—the most skilled among our group—they could handle any situation unless a master of the Harmony Realm appeared.
Then.
I drew my blade with a sharp ring.
I stepped forward before the enemies.
“What brings you bandits to a clinic in the dead of night? It hardly seems like you’ve come for a consultation.”
I spoke with a smile.
“Could it be you’re after the Medicine King Divine Elixir?”
“Kuh!”
The leader of the Blue Snake Sect let out a groan.
As if he’d finally grasped the situation, he erupted in fury with a booming voice.
“It was a trap! Yu Seon-woo, that bastard led us into a trap!”
There seemed to be some misunderstanding, but I didn’t bother correcting him.
There was no need to, and besides, these people wouldn’t be leaving this place alive anyway.
Of course, if they surrendered even now, things might be different….
“Damn it! We outnumber them! Kill them all!”
There was no way these black-robed bastards who’d come all this way would make such a choice.
“Block them!”
“Don’t let them get inside!”
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Immediately, fighting erupted in front of the Medicine King Hall.
Dozens of black-robed disciples clashed with the warriors of the Shanxi Yu Clan.
I watched Jin Cheon-hui and Im Ho-gyeong rushing over from a distance as I raised my sword.
The foot soldiers would be handled by the Shanxi Yu Clan’s warriors and those two, so I intended to face the leader myself.
Whoosh.
My body glided forward as if sliding through the air.
It was a ghostly movement without the slightest sound.
But the leader of the Blue Snake Sect was already watching me and responded with keen reflexes.
He drew the sword at his waist and immediately aimed for my throat.
Clang!
Blade met blade, and we engaged in a brief test of strength.
“Ugh!”
He let out a groan.
My physical strength must have been greater than he expected.
I felt the Vajra Yaksha Technique enveloping my entire body, making it stronger.
A faint, subtle golden radiance flowed forth.
It was a precursor to Yaksha Transformation, the supreme technique of the Vajra Yaksha Divine Art.
If I continued to train diligently and cultivate the Vajra Yaksha Divine Art, I would eventually succeed.
But not yet.
With that thought, I stomped forward fiercely and simultaneously pushed back the Blue Snake Sect leader, unfolding the Gale Whirlwind Sword technique.
First form: Gale Slash.
Boom!
A slash of tremendous power struck down against the enemy’s blade.
“You!”
But he wouldn’t just take it—he immediately counterattacked.
A faint light gathered on his blade. It was sword energy, the mark of a master.
With a confident expression, he swung his sword to kill me, but.
Whoooosh!
“What!?”
Clang!
If he can wield sword energy, so can I.
The two blades collided, producing a sharp metallic ring.
Another test of strength ensued.
He couldn’t overcome my enhanced grip strengthened by the Vajra Yaksha Divine Art and was forced backward.
“What are you! I know you came from the Bukcheon Sword Family, but how could someone as young as you reach such a realm…”
“You must not understand how the world works, playing the big shot in some backwater village. In the Central Plains, there are countless cultivators who’ve reached peak realm or beyond at my age.”
Of course, they’re called geniuses.
But the Central Plains is vast, isn’t it?
Even if each region had only one or two such geniuses, searching across the entire Central Plains would yield dozens of them.
It’s hardly surprising that I’ve reached this level.
“And I am the Young Master of the Bukcheon Sword Family. To lead a clan in the future, shouldn’t I be capable of at least this much?”
“…!”
His expression turned to shock at my words.
“The Young Master of the Bukcheon Sword Family? That doesn’t make any sense…”
“What, have you heard rumors about me?”
I’m widely known as sickly with mediocre skills, after all.
It wouldn’t be strange if he’d heard about me here, close to the Bukcheon Sword Family.
But that’s then and this is now.
Whether he felt wronged that I differed from the rumors or not, what did it matter to me?
I simply had to do what I needed to do.
“Let’s end this.”
“Shut your mouth!”
His blade came slashing diagonally, filled with rage.
It was a reckless move, carrying power on an entirely different level than before.
I immediately deployed Heavenly Rotation, the second form of the Gale Cyclone Sword.
Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh!
Sword energy spread outward in a semicircular arc, deflecting his blade away.
“Damn!”
He hastily reset his stance and tried to continue his assault.
But it was already too late.
My blade, gleaming with golden sword energy, had already pierced through his chest.
Whirrrrr!
Wind spiraled around the blade, and a gale strike pierced through his heart.
Thud!
“Cough!”
He stared at me in disbelief.
But only for a moment.
With his heart pierced, there was no way he could survive.
Thump.
The sword held by the leader of the Blue Snake Sect clattered to the ground.
At that moment, horror flooded the faces of the black-clad disciples who had been monitoring our duel even as they fought fiercely among themselves.
“No—the Sect Master has fallen!”
“Aaaaaaaah!”
They were seized by terror, unable to have imagined such an outcome.
I withdrew my blade from the leader’s chest and charged into the enemy ranks.
And then.
Shhhhwack!
A one-sided slaughter had begun.
The battle did not take long to conclude.
I cut down the last enemy offering resistance and turned to look behind me.
Yu Qing-ah had emerged from the Medicine King Hall and stood before me.
I flashed her a grin as she gazed blankly across the battlefield.
“I told you so. You can have hope.”
“…!”

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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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