The Patriarch of the Northern Heavens - Chapter 54

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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 54

“You?”
The Blood Hand Demon Lord stared at him, his expression shifting to one of surprise.
An unexpected person stood before him.
Phantom Thief King Ho-un.
He was the sect master of the Heavenly Assassination Sect under Black Night City and an assassin who struck terror into the martial world.
“Phantom Thief King. What brings you here?”
“I’ve taken an interest in that fellow they call the Swift Storm Divine Dragon.”
The Phantom Thief King spoke and unfolded a map.
“But don’t you have a mission to attend to?”
The Blood Hand Demon Lord was well aware that the Phantom Thief King had received some assignment during the Dragon Phoenix Conference.
At that, the Phantom Thief King nodded.
“True enough. Normally I’d go myself, but I cannot accompany you because of the mission.”
“Then what assistance are you offering?”
“I’ll lend you one of my disciples and thirty members of the Heavenly Assassination Sect.”
“…!”
The Blood Hand Demon Lord looked at the Phantom Thief King in astonishment.
One of the Phantom Thief King’s disciples and thirty members of the Heavenly Assassination Sect.
With that level of force, one could annihilate even a mid-sized sect.
It was far more firepower than should be necessary against someone as young as Jin Muyeol.
“That boy has already proven his strength by holding his own against you to some degree. He’s reached the pinnacle realm, if not the Johwa Realm itself.”
“Is that why you’re lending thirty members of the Heavenly Assassination Sect?”
“Heh. Only then can we be certain of killing him. Without this much force, he might slip away again.”
“That’s true.”
The Blood Hand Demon Lord nodded, recalling Jin Muyeol’s speed from before.
Indeed, judging by that escape speed alone, it would be fair to say he ranked among the upper echelon of masters in the Johwa Realm.
So there was no choice but to construct an airtight encirclement and pressure him relentlessly.
“But you understand, don’t you? If you let him slip away despite this much support, it will be because of your incompetence.”
“That won’t happen. He will die by my hand.”
“So Yu-do won’t be able to participate due to injuries from last time—will that be a problem?”
So Yu-do was the alias of the young man who had attacked Jin Muyeol alongside the Blood Hand Demon Lord previously.
He had broken several bones when falling from the cliff and was currently receiving treatment, unable to participate in the mission.
“Hmph. That mere boy—I alone am sufficient.”
The Blood Hand Demon Lord had already suffered a severe blow to his pride from letting Jin Muyeol escape once before.
So this time, he was determined to kill Jin Muyeol for certain, even if it meant pushing himself to the limit.
“Heh. Such confidence is reassuring. Then take these men with you.”
At the Phantom Thief King’s signal, a total of thirty-one assassins appeared and knelt before the Blood Hand Demon Lord.
Seeing this, the Blood Hand Demon Lord grinned wickedly and spoke to the Phantom Thief King.
“I’ll repay this debt later.”
“Then try to capture him alive if possible. I have questions for him.”
“Understood. I’ll do my best, but I won’t hesitate if the situation calls for his death.”
“That’s sufficient. I’ll take my leave now.”
Phantom Thief King Ho-un nodded and departed.
Blood Hand Demon Lord issued orders to Phantom Thief King Ho-un’s disciples and the Heavenly Assassination Sect members.
“Follow me.”
He continued with a sinister grin.
“It’s time for the hunt.”

* * *

After the Dragon Phoenix Conference ended.
“It’s unfortunate that we have to part ways again.”
“Indeed it is.”
“My original plan was to spend time with Young Master Jin during the Dragon Phoenix Conference, but it seems various matters prevented that.”
Dang Ye-rin spoke with genuine regret on her face.
In truth, I had been occupied with the aftermath of the Namgung Seung incident and hadn’t properly spent time with her.
“Still, we should be able to meet again soon.”
“Is that truly so?”
“I’m planning to visit Sichuan once. We can meet again then, can we not?”
In reality, I intended to go to Sichuan for a certain opportunity I could obtain there.
But it seemed Dang Ye-rin had mistaken it as me coming to see her.
She nodded with a bright, delighted smile.
“You promise? You must definitely stop by.”
“Of course.”
“Oh! This is the protective garment I failed to give you last time. I kept saying I would, but I kept forgetting.”
Dang Ye-rin handed me a protective garment woven densely with thread from the Inface Demon.
It was remarkably intricate and beautiful.
Truly, a masterwork of the Sichuan Dang Family.
The size fit me perfectly, and its performance was exceptional.
It would not be inferior to garments made by the Heavenly Silkworm Sect.
“Thank you, Miss Dang.”
“There’s no need for thanks between us. I’ll let you know once the other items are completed.”
“I look forward to it.”
We exchanged these words and parted ways.
We made a promise to meet again in Sichuan.
Then Chung Yun and the others from the Huashan Sect said their farewells.
“My apologies, Dou. It seems I cannot travel with you.”
“Is there some matter you must attend to?”
“After the Dragon Phoenix Conference concludes, I must carry out the orders given by the Sect Leader. So I’m afraid I’ll need to remain here a while longer.”
Chung Yun spoke with an apologetic expression.
But I shook my head. We had built sufficient rapport, and if he had duties to attend to, there was nothing to be done about it.
“I don’t know the details, but I hope everything works out well. Then we shall meet again next time.”
“Yes. Until we meet again.”
In the end, only our party remained to make the journey back toward Sanseo.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you. My name is Muyeol.”
Namgung Seung joined our group at that moment.
Completely concealing his identity behind a face mask, he would be taken in by the Bukcheon Sword Family as promised to the Namgung Clan patriarch.
However, if we were to openly accept Namgung Seung, who had been cast out, the external perception would not be favorable.
So we concealed his identity.
Fortunately, the party members harbored no great doubts about my decisions.
-It seems you’re quite trusted.
‘Indeed, it appears so.’
If they hadn’t been, things would have been considerably troublesome.
I was grateful that everyone trusted what I did.
Moments like this after my regression always filled me with a sense of fulfillment.
‘I couldn’t do this in my first life.’
In any case.
We traversed the lands of Hubei with the same urgency as our arrival.
If I were part of Black Night City, attacking during travel would be common sense.
Especially the Blood Hand Demon Lord and his subordinates, whom we hadn’t managed to kill on the way here, weighed on my mind.
There was no way of knowing when they might strike.
“Young Master. Please instruct everyone to maintain strict vigilance.”
“Understood. I already sent a messenger hawk to the main family before we departed, requesting that our armed forces come to meet us.”
“As expected of you, Young Master. Excellent foresight.”
Jin Seo-hong grinned at my praise.
“To receive praise from the Young Master is truly gratifying. If we can rendezvous with those forces, we should be able to return more safely.”
“The question is whether an attack will come during that time or not.”
“If I were that demon lord, I would certainly attempt to probe us.”
The Blood Hand Demon Lord.
He was famous for his towering pride.
He wouldn’t want to bear the shame of letting a mere late-stage expert like me slip away.
‘Of course, there’s a possibility he might let it go this time due to his injuries.’
Still, it was best to remain cautious until we returned home.
Did my vigilance bear fruit?
Whoosh!
Tap-tap-tap!
I sensed the flow of wind and blocked all the barrage of hidden weapons that rained down upon our party.
“Everyone, prepare for battle!”
I issued a command to my allies in a loud voice.
We faced dozens of enemies blocking the remote path ahead.
It was an ambush.

* * *

“Young Master of the Jin Clan. Have you been well?”
The one who stepped forward with a sneer was none other than the Blood Hand Demon Lord.
I let out a derisive chuckle at the sight of him.
“Old man. You managed not to die on that Cliff. Your lifespan seems longer than I thought?”
“Insolent brat. Did you truly believe I would perish from such a trivial trap?”
“Yet you couldn’t even evade it. You moved exactly as I guided you, foolishly.”
“You impudent whelp….”
He gnashed his teeth at my provocation.
It was clear his pride had been wounded considerably by that fact.
Meanwhile, I spread my wind perception broadly to assess the number of enemies.
Accompanying him were roughly thirty men.
Fewer in number than before, yet each one emanated a sharp and lethal aura.
They resembled assassins, one might say.
‘No, are they actually assassins?’
This particular aura felt strangely familiar.
I could identify its source.
The Heavenly Assassination Sect’s killing technique.
From these men, I sensed an energy similar to the Phantom Thief King’s internal cultivation—the killing art I had learned by observing a Phantom Thief King-class master.
Which meant….
“Master. Be cautious. Those are assassins from the Heavenly Assassination Sect.”
“…!”
Jin Seo-hong’s eyes widened at my words.
The Heavenly Assassination Sect was one of the three great assassination forces in the martial world, to which the Phantom Thief King belonged.
The arrival of thirty assassins from such an organization was far more dangerous than a rabble of ordinary fighters.
Meanwhile, the Blood Hand Demon Lord was considerably flustered.
“How did you know that?”
His recruitment of the Heavenly Assassination Sect’s assassins had been a secret.
He had never even mentioned it until now.
Yet to discern it so instantly….
“You are no ordinary man indeed. I must kill you here without fail.”
The Blood Hand Demon Lord spoke thus and gave a signal.
Boom, boom, boom!
In that instant, some thirty assassins rushed forward in unison.
“Everyone, form a defensive formation!”
At Jin Seo-hong’s command, the warriors of the Iron Blood Sword Squad and the rear-guard disciples of the Bukcheon Sword Family formed their formation in perfect unison.
It was a formation oriented more toward defense than offense.
But it was the best choice we could make under the circumstances.
Not only were we outnumbered, but each of our warriors was individually outmatched in strength.
However.
-Muyeol, you’re not going to be frightened by mere insects like these, are you?
‘Of course not, Senior.’
Before they could fully close in, I drew the Windgod Sword.
Simultaneously, I felt my senior’s energy resonate with my own. I channeled the Diamond Yaksha Technique and unleashed the opening forms of the Raging Dance.
Whoooosh!
A vicious gale of blade wind tore through four or five of the charging enemies.
“What!?”
The Blood Hand Demon Lord recoiled in shock.
He had never imagined that a single strike would kill nearly half of his subordinates. I grinned wickedly and severed the necks of the enemies rushing toward me.
Slice!
‘Fast.’
Even by my own perception, my movements had become faster than before.
It was partly because the Diamond Yaksha Divine Technique had grown stronger, and partly because I had gained vast reserves of inner power from the Kongcheongseok, but…
‘My senior’s power is amplifying my abilities.’
I was beginning to understand the true efficacy of the Windgod Sword.
It granted tremendous advantages to those who wielded our Bukcheon Sword Family’s martial arts—especially the practitioners of the Windgod Technique!
That was the true effect of the Windgod Sword. I realized it must have been one of our founder’s brilliant designs.
-Hehe. My power doesn’t end here. You simply haven’t learned to draw upon it fully yet.
‘Then I must train even harder.’
I killed as many of the enemies rushing toward me as I could, then burst forward.
This should have significantly reduced the burden our allies had to bear.
Indeed, under Jin Seo-hong’s command, they were holding the line against the enemies with stability.
“You! Jin Muyeol!”
Realizing he couldn’t leave me unchecked any longer, the Blood Hand Demon Lord stepped forward himself.
He and another assassin who appeared to be a captain among the enemies charged ferociously toward me.
I activated Yaksha Transformation and surrendered myself to the wind.
Mad Wind Flash.
Boom!
My strike sent the Blood Hand Demon Lord’s body flying backward.

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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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