The Patriarch of the Northern Heavens - Chapter 45

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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 45

“Nnnngh!”
I groaned as unbearable pain wracked my entire body.
Every muscle felt as though it had been torn to shreds.
I had pushed my inner energy to its absolute limit, draining my reserves completely, and my heart thundered violently in my chest.
“Hah… hah… hah…”
With trembling limbs, I barely managed to steady myself and activated the Vajra Demon God Technique.
A martial art that transformed even this excruciating pain—pushed to its very limits—into nourishment for growth.
That was precisely what the Vajra Demon God Technique was.
After enduring the agony for what felt like an eternity, I finally began to feel somewhat better.
“Exhale…”
I had barely survived.
To be honest, separating from my allies and fleeing alone had been half gamble, half desperation.
I hadn’t known if they would pursue me, and even if they did, I hadn’t been certain they would fall into my trap.
If the terrain hadn’t been favorable and if I hadn’t mastered wind manipulation through the Wind God Technique, I would never have attempted such a reckless plan.
Without those advantages, even deploying the Wind God Palm would have left me unable to land safely in this small cave.
‘Are they dead?’
They had fallen from a waterfall of considerable height.
Even a master of the Johwa Realm would likely have perished from such a fall.
Yet I remained vigilant.
Without confirming their deaths with absolute certainty, there was always a chance they might return alive.
‘Still, for now it doesn’t matter. They won’t be able to find me immediately.’
I barely managed to rise and moved deeper into the cave.
I needed to check if there was an exit from this place.
If there wasn’t, I would have to climb the cliff face to escape…
‘In my current condition, that’s impossible. I need to recover somewhat before I can move.’
At least I had eaten just before the battle, so my stomach was still full.
If I had gone hungry here, my recovery would have been even slower.
As I continued forward with these thoughts, I suddenly froze.
I had noticed a human figure within the cave.
But I quickly realized it was not a person.
The faintly illuminated form was no longer human—it was a skeletal remains, withered and desiccated.
And judging by its condition, it had been dead for quite some time.
Probably at least a decade, given the environment.
‘Why is there a corpse in a place like this?’
I approached the skeletal remains with curiosity.
But that was the moment—
Whoosh!
“…!”
The wind surged, and something sharp hurtled toward me.
I immediately tilted my head back, evading the flying iron bars that came streaking through the air.
Clang, clang, clang, clang.
It appeared that once I approached within a certain distance, these iron bars would naturally spring forth from their mechanism.
As proof, the bars were already retracting back into the wall, their purpose fulfilled.
I felt a chill run through me, yet I pressed forward regardless.
I was consumed with curiosity about what could be worth protecting behind such elaborate traps.
And finally, I reached the skeleton.
Though the darkness obscured much, the skeleton was clearly concealing something.
‘This is….’
A secret manual?
Hidden within the skeleton’s remains were a single secret manual, a peculiar pair of gloves, and a milky-white liquid—barely a few drops clinging to the bottom of a vial.
I moved away from the skeleton toward a spot where light streamed in, and began to read the manual.
And I could not help but be profoundly astonished.
[Secret Manual of the Assassination King (殺王祕笈)]
‘The Assassination King?’
The Assassination King was the legendary epithet of an assassin who struck terror throughout the martial world.
It was said that if the conditions were right, this ghost-like figure could even assassinate masters at the Heavenly Martial Realm.
But the Assassination King I knew was still active in this very age.
There was no way this skeleton could be greeting me as him.
‘Then could this be a forgery?’
I decided to suspend judgment and opened the manual.
The preface contained shocking revelations.
[Destined one. By the time you discover this, I shall already be dead.]
[As you can see from this manual’s title, I am Kang Hee-won, master of the Heavenly Assassination Sect and one known as the Assassination King. I was once a figure who made the martial world tremble in fear.]
[But now I am a pitiful wretch, hunted and betrayed by my own disciple. I barely managed to escape here, squeezing out my last reserves of strength.]
[Time is short, so I shall not write at length. Whoever you are, master my martial arts and take revenge upon the disciple who betrayed me.]
[This is not merely because I harbor personal resentment toward him. After my disciple staged a rebellion and became sect leader, he abandoned the Heavenly Assassination Sect’s original principle of targeting only the wicked. Instead, he became a lackey for some power, killing innocent people without restraint. This betrays the very righteousness our sect once embodied.]
[I tried desperately to stop my wayward disciple, but I was no match for him. Instead, I suffered grievous wounds and became this hunted, pitiful creature.]
[Destined one, though I know not who you are, I believe that one who has come this far through fate’s design must be capable of distinguishing right from wrong.]
[I entrust to you my Heavenly Assassination Heart Method, the Soul-Stealing Flying Blade Technique, and the sect’s treasures—the Heavenly Net and the Void-Clear Stone Milk.]
[Please, I beg you—fulfill my vengeance and set the Heavenly Assassination Sect back upon the righteous path.]
The letter ended there.
What followed were the incantations and annotations for the Heavenly Assassination Heart Method and the Soul-Stealing Flying Blade Technique.
But I paid no attention to the martial techniques contained within. Instead, my gaze fixed upon the glass vial holding the milky-white liquid.
‘Is this truly the Void-Clear Stone Milk?’
The Void-Clear Stone Milk was a heavenly treasure that granted immense inner power with merely a single drop.
If its existence became known throughout the martial world, it alone would spark a bloodbath.
Yet the fact that such a treasure now rested in my hands seemed utterly unbelievable.
I carefully opened the lid and took a whiff of its contents.
‘No scent at all. But the appearance matches what I read about Gongcheong Stone Oil in the texts.’
Then wasn’t it worth attempting?
After all, thanks to the Vajra Yaksha Divine Art, toxins barely affected me anyway.
With that thought, I carefully poured a drop of Gongcheong Stone Oil into my mouth.
Drip.
Just a single drop.
A droplet’s worth of Gongcheong Stone Oil was absorbed into my mouth.
But in that instant, I witnessed a phantom vision of a tidal wave composed of inner energy. The tremendous force contained within that single drop of Gongcheong Stone Oil ravaged through my body.
“Ugh!”
I groaned from the pain surging from within.
The force of the Gongcheong Stone Oil overflowed and raged wildly like a madness.
I barely clung to consciousness as I activated the Vajra Yaksha Divine Art.
Simultaneously, the Vajra Yaksha Energy began protecting my body.
And the force of the Gongcheong Stone Oil gradually became absorbed by that Vajra Yaksha Energy, merging into one.
Crack! Crackle!
“Gaaaaaahhhhh!”
In the process, I experienced the agony of every bone and muscle in my body twisting.
But where the pain had been, I soon felt a refreshing and soothing sensation.
‘This is….’
I could immediately discern what was happening within my body.
The Vajra Yaksha Divine Art and the force of Gongcheong Stone Oil were meeting and creating a synergistic reaction, transforming my body into one more optimally suited for martial arts.
Wouldn’t this be at least a quasi-Bone Replacement and Fetus Theft, if not the complete transformation itself?
“Ha, hahahaha!”
I burst into delirious laughter.
All the injuries and internal wounds I had sustained until moments ago had vanished completely.
Even the sword scars scattered across my body had regenerated cleanly without leaving a trace of scarring.
Simultaneously, this power surging from within.
‘It’s immense.’
With this power alone, wouldn’t I be able to easily handle the Red-Robed Swordsman I had just encountered?
Perhaps I could even challenge the Blood Hand Demon Lord himself.
To grow to the point of battling a master of the upper-middle tier of the Johwa Realm without even comprehending Intent.
The effects were truly extraordinary.
‘The finest elixir I’ve consumed to date.’
I never dreamed I would obtain such a fortuitous opportunity in this place where I had barely survived death.
It was merely an ordinary cave within a cliff found on any mountain.
“Thank you, Great Hero.”
I bowed respectfully to Kang Hee-won, the previous Killing King, and carefully stored away the secret manual and Cheonra.
‘Your wishes will be fulfilled.’
Having received such a gift, it was only natural to repay it.
Based on the surrounding environment and the state of the skeletal remains, it seemed Kang Hee-won had been dead for roughly ten years.
If that were true, then the current Slayer King operating in this era was highly likely to be the target of vengeance.
If I investigated the organization called the Heavenly Assassination Sect and his name appeared, it would be confirmed.
‘And according to the secret manual, the Heavenly Assassination Sect became the hunting dog of some force.’
To be honest, this part seemed rather suspicious.
When it came to the hidden power pulling strings in the martial world, only the Black Night City came to mind.
And if the Heavenly Assassination Sect truly were the hunting dogs of the Black Night City, as I suspected….
‘We would naturally become enemies anyway.’
I could repay Kang Hee-won’s debt then.
But since nothing was certain yet, I should conduct a thorough investigation first.
For his sake, I reviewed what I had obtained once more.
‘It was called the Soul-Severing Secret Technique, wasn’t it? If it’s a secret technique used by the Slayer King, it would certainly be worth using.’
Especially since the secret technique could have tremendous synergy with my wind-manipulating abilities.
Enemies would surely be caught off guard if I attacked from trajectories and angles they never anticipated.
This was the kind of fortunate encounter one couldn’t obtain even with deliberate exploration….
‘I was truly blessed by fortune.’
With that thought, I tucked the secret manual into my robes and donned the Heavenly Silk Gloves.
The Heavenly Silk Gloves resembled white gloves.
The peculiar thing was that the moment I put them on, they wrapped around my arms in several layers.
‘Is this how they’re supposed to be worn?’
I wanted to ask, but all that remained here was Kang Hee-won’s skeleton.
To avoid disturbing his rest, I made my way out of the cave. Thanks to the Heavenly Blue Stone, my body was in perfect condition, so climbing the cliff presented no difficulty.
However.
Crack!
Whether the ground was unstable or not, as I grabbed a protruding stone to climb up, a fissure split across the wall.
I was startled and reflexively reached out my other hand.
But then something extraordinary happened.
Whoosh!
Threads shot forth from the Heavenly Silk Gloves, wrapping tightly around a thick branch above.
And then with another sharp sound!
As the threads wound, my body was instantly pulled up to the branch.
I was astonished by this unexpected usage of the Heavenly Silk Gloves.
“Huh.”
Truly, whether it was a relic left by the Slayer King or not, it was a treasure worthy of the name—its capabilities were extraordinary.
If I became proficient with this technique, how many variables could I create during combat?
As for its durability, it seemed unlikely that even a blade could cut through it.
‘Could it possibly be made from Heavenly Silkworm Thread?’
If so, the value of these Heavenly Silk Gloves would rival that of the Soul-Severing Secret Technique manual itself.
No, to some people, it might be even more precious than the manual.
In any case, it was certain that I had obtained an extraordinary collection of treasures all at once.
‘I came here barely scraping together the means to save everyone’s lives, and yet I’ve stumbled upon such an extraordinary opportunity.’
I realized anew that my judgment had been sound, and that fortune had smiled upon me with remarkable generosity.
Now it was simply a matter of moving to where the others were waiting.
I unfurled the Pungsin Scroll and rushed swiftly southward.
My destination was the nearby Martial Alliance Branch.
Where my companions would be waiting.

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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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