The Patriarch of the Northern Heavens - Chapter 55
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————
Master of the Bukcheon Sword Family – Chapter 55
“Ugh!?”
The Blood Hand Demon Lord, who had desperately drawn his protective energy to its maximum, wore an expression of shock.
He had managed to avoid being cleaved in two in a single stroke, but….
In that instant, a tremendous impact crashed down upon him.
At the same time, his chest split open with a sickening sound, and blood erupted from the wound.
“No, how is this possible!?”
The Blood Hand Demon Lord cried out in disbelief.
“You’re merely at the peak of the transcendent realm! How are you so different from last time!?”
That was only natural.
When I had faced the Blood Hand Demon Lord before, I had only been slightly faster, unable to land a single meaningful blow against him or the other executives.
That was why I had devised a strategy that bordered on mutual destruction.
But now, everything was different.
Having obtained the Gongcheongseok Jade from that cliff and now wielding the Windgod Sword, I was no longer the person I had been then.
I had transformed completely.
In fact, my blade was now utterly overwhelming his defenses.
However.
Tap-tap-tap!
Whoosh!
Another figure had approached like a phantom from the side, thrusting his blade toward my ribs.
It could have been a dangerous attack.
But the assassin could only be bewildered.
Though he had driven his sword forward properly, he had only grazed my outer robe—he felt no sensation of cutting into my flesh.
“What….”
“It’s a blade-resistant garment, you damned bastard.”
I grinned wickedly and launched a counterattack.
The Inface Demon’s blade-resistant garment, woven from silk threads, was so tough and resilient that it would not be cut unless struck directly by a blade of supreme quality.
The assassin ground his teeth and retreated, caught off guard.
For a moment, a standoff persisted between the Blood Hand Demon Lord, the assassin, and myself.
“So a creature called a Demon Lord intends to fight one-on-one? Your infamous reputation must be weeping.”
I deliberately mocked the Blood Hand Demon Lord.
His face flushed crimson in response.
But he did not fall for the provocation so easily. It seemed my previous strike had made him wary.
“You. Watch for an opening and strike at his vital points. I will draw his attention.”
“Yes, my lord.”
The Blood Hand Demon Lord issued the command and then charged toward me.
Boom!
His hands glowed crimson. True to his epithet, the Blood Hand Demon Lord, he unleashed his specialty—his scarlet energy.
“Die!”
A fist the size of a massive boulder swung toward me.
The overwhelming pressure felt like a house-sized rock hurtling toward my face.
But I didn’t panic—I activated the Windgod Step.
Whiiiiish!
My body retreated with a fierce gust of wind.
Before the creature could regain its stance, I swung my blade again.
The Blood Hand Demon Lord parried my attack and gnashed his teeth.
What followed was a technique from the Gale Wind technique set.
Crack!
“Ugh!”
This wasn’t an ordinary strike—blood erupted from the creature’s arm. Unsatisfied, I immediately unleashed the Whirlwind Strike technique.
Boom-boom-boom-crash!
A vortex of wind erupted, slamming violently against its body.
The Blood Hand Demon Lord was forced to retreat.
Tap-tap-tap!
In that opening, the assassin who had nearly caught me before lunged again.
Instead of facing him directly, I drew two hidden blades from my sleeve—a gift from Dang Ye-rin.
Whoosh!
Then came the Soul-Severing Blade technique.
“What!?”
The assassin seemed utterly shocked to see his own sect’s secret technique coming from me.
I adjusted the wind using Windgod Technique, bending the blades’ trajectories unpredictably. Even as he tried to block them, he couldn’t—the blades cut deep.
And his movements inevitably became sluggish.
“…!”
‘He’s caught in the trap.’
That was because the blades were coated with the Dang family’s signature paralytic poison.
Multiple toxins combined into a poison that was nearly impossible to cure.
“Ugh!”
The assassin’s face turned deathly pale.
Seizing the moment, I summoned wind and fired the blades again.
As if possessed by consciousness, the two blades danced through the air, targeting his vital points.
Clang!
He barely deflected them, but my sword was already coming.
Slice!
The Windgod Sword’s blade tore through his shoulder.
I had aimed to sever his entire arm, but he was skilled enough to twist his body and evade—though not completely.
“You bastard!”
In that moment, the Blood Hand Demon Lord, having recovered, charged at me.
I disengaged from the assassin and clashed with the Blood Hand Demon Lord. The power of Yaksha Transformation and Windgod Technique unleashed fully, golden wind swirling around me.
Crash! Crash! Crash! Crash! Crash! Bang!
In mere moments, we exchanged dozens of blows.
While sword marks etched themselves into the Blood Hand Demon Lord’s body, I felt no significant impact.
The Blood Hand Demon Lord’s face twisted increasingly.
It was the expression of someone whose expectations had been completely shattered by my transformation.
“How is this possible…”
He merely muttered in disbelief.
“Did you gain some fortuitous encounter in the meantime?”
“Who knows.”
Watching him, I unleashed the Gale Wind Cyclone Slash.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Crack!
“Ugh!”
Each strike possessed enough force to shatter boulders, and they came in relentless succession.
The Blood Hand Demon Lord did his utmost to deflect and block my attacks. Yet inevitably, damage accumulated upon him.
The assassin approached once more to support him.
“How dare you target the Young Master!”
Sa Gong-cheon, who had drawn near, intercepted the assassin’s attack in my stead.
Moreover, he relentlessly pressured the assassin using sword techniques he had grown more familiar with.
‘I can trust him with that.’
Then it was time to finish this.
‘Senior, lend me your strength.’
-Very well.
Whoooosh!
I drove deep into the Blood Hand Demon Lord’s defenses using the Windgod Step.
Naturally, he swung his fist to shake me off.
His speed was considerable.
Fast enough that I couldn’t simply evade after charging in first.
It didn’t matter.
In that instant, I immediately deployed Heavenly Rotation, the second form of the Gale Wind Cyclone Slash.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Crack!
A whirlwind erupted around me, lifting the Blood Hand Demon Lord’s body into the air.
Even so, he adjusted his posture and launched a kick toward me.
Truly, the response capability worthy of being called a Demon Lord.
But I had already entered a higher realm.
The power of the Rakshasa Transformation sharpened my senses to an extraordinary degree.
Simultaneously, the Windgod Technique allowed me to adapt to these heightened perceptions.
With both powers combined, I could now overwhelm the masters of the Johwa Realm in speed alone.
Thus, I could already be executing my next move before he even deployed his leg technique.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Power surged through my entire body as a golden tempest enveloped me.
I planted my foot firmly on the ground, channeling the force rising from my sole through my upper body. The power flowed through my arm and converged into the blade.
Whiiiiish!
A small golden tempest swirled from the Windgod Sword’s edge.
I released that storm and swung it toward the Blood Hand Demon Lord, who was unfolding his footwork technique.
Storm Slash!
Crackcrackcrackcrack!
True to its name, dozens and hundreds of slashes tore through the Blood Hand Demon Lord’s body.
Slashslashslashslash!
The Blood Hand Demon Lord tried to endure by drawing his protective energy to its maximum, but he couldn’t withstand it.
Soon, terrible sword wounds began to carve themselves across his body.
His flesh tattered in an instant.
“…!”
Slash!
When I delivered the final diagonal strike, a deep wound opened across his chest.
“This… is impossible….”
The creature stared down at his wounds in disbelief.
But it was only momentary.
Thud!
His lifeless body collapsed to the ground.
The accumulation of excessive wounds had finally pushed him past his limit.
“Huff, huff, huff.”
I caught my breath and rested for a moment.
In truth, even with the Yaksha Transformation active, that final technique I’d just unleashed had been exhausting.
-But you did well. Without that decisive blow, you wouldn’t have been able to cut down an opponent of that caliber.
‘Thank you, senior.’
I immediately assessed the situation on the battlefield.
Sa Gong-cheon, displaying his full prowess against an Assassin with an injured arm.
And our forces, having nearly eliminated the attackers under Jin Seo-hong’s command.
Either way, victory was already within our grasp.
I unfurled the Windgod Step and moved toward the rear of the one Sa Gong-cheon was facing.
“What!?”
The creature reacted too late to my swift movement.
But it was already too late.
By the time he flinched, both my blade and Sa Gong-cheon’s blade rushed toward him simultaneously.
Slice! Thrust!
My blade severed his neck while Sa Gong-cheon’s pierced his abdomen.
The Assassin leader fell without even a chance to scream.
What remained was….
“Sa Gong, guard duty.”
“Yes.”
We immediately rushed toward the assassins still locked in fierce combat.
They attempted to flee upon realizing their leader had fallen, but….
There was no escaping me while I wielded the Windgod Technique.
Soon I was able to strike down each remaining assassin in succession.
“Hah!”
I calmed the forcefully drawn energy and approached Jin Seo-hong.
Jin Seo-hong, drenched entirely in blood, greeted me with a radiant smile.
“Young Master! I witnessed your magnificent defeat of the Blood Hand Demon Lord. You’ve achieved tremendous growth in such a brief span of time.”
“In truth, I encountered an opportunity during that interval. I apologize for not mentioning it sooner.”
“Not at all. Regardless, the Young Master’s increased strength is surely a blessing upon the main family, is it not? Now I believe you could even cross blades with Elder Mo Yong.”
At this level, I could reasonably be counted among the Bukcheon Sword Family’s elite forces.
Even by strict assessment, I likely ranked within the top ten.
This was all thanks to the Gongcheong Stone and the Windgod Sword.
By obtaining them, I had become capable of defeating masters of the Johwa Realm despite not yet achieving perfect unity of spirit, energy, and form.
‘Of course, I must also account for the fact that he was wounded.’
The Blood Hand Demon Lord was not at full strength due to injuries sustained from his fall off the cliff.
Yet even considering that, my growth was extraordinary.
An opponent I could never have matched before—and despite his injuries, I had defeated him so decisively.
“Let us take these corpses to the nearby Martial Alliance Branch.”
“Yes.”
We collected the bodies of the Blood Hand Demon Lord and the assassin leader, then made our way to the Martial Alliance Branch.
The Branch Chief there was genuinely startled upon seeing us.
“Is this truly the Blood Hand Demon Lord?”
“You can verify it by comparing his facial features. And this one is an executive of the Heavenly Assassination Sect.”
“Not only the Blood Hand Demon Lord, but an executive of the Heavenly Assassination Sect as well… Truly, you are the Gale Wind Divine Dragon. I am in awe.”
“Fortunately, as he was injured, we were able to strike him down relatively easily.”
We handed him over and collected the bounty that had been placed on his head.
An unexpected windfall.
The sum was substantial enough to feel quite satisfying.
Thus our party used the funds to lodge at a nearby inn while awaiting support from the main family.
Several days later.
“Young Master. I am Sang Ri-baek, commander of the Gale Wind Brigade. From this moment, we shall serve you.”
The Gale Wind Brigade, which had agreed to reinforce us, arrived at our location.
Only then could we relax and return to the Bukcheon Sword Family.
Even Black Night Fortress could not afford to deploy an entire military force against us, given how much they already had underway.
“The Young Master has returned!”
“Waaaahhhhh!”
Many household members welcomed our return.
News of the Dragon Phoenix Conference and the Blood Hand Demon Lord had already spread.
“You’ve endured much hardship.”
Among those who came to welcome us were my Father and Great-Uncle.
They patted my shoulder with evident pride.
But then.
-Hmm. Are these fellows also descendants of Pungsin?
The senior suddenly posed that question. I nodded inwardly and answered through my thoughts.
‘Yes. They are my Father and Great-Uncle.’
-That’s strange. I can overlook your Great-Uncle, but your Father is the family head of the Bukcheon Sword Family….
‘I beg your pardon?’
Strange? What could possibly be strange about that?
-Why can’t I sense even a trace of the Bukcheon Divine Technique’s aura?
Bukcheon Divine Technique?
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————