The World’s Greatest Martial Arts Instructor - Chapter 160
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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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Chapter 160. Currently Searching
Blood Flying Shadow Do Mun-wi had breathed his last.
Ha Mu-baek looked down at his corpse with a calm expression.
“I may dislike the smell of blood now, but if it’s from Blood Cult bastards, that’s a different story.”
A quiet murmur.
He had been restraining himself from killing recently, partly because of his younger sister Ha Seol-ran.
Master had always told him to rid himself of the smell of blood.
However, he couldn’t do the same for Blood Cult and Demon Cult bastards.
As he had told Do Mun-wi, they were mortal enemies.
They were the culprits who had made him and Ran-i become beggars wandering All Under Heaven.
When he was still very young, carrying the even younger Ran-i in his arms as they wandered All Under Heaven.
If he hadn’t met Master then, Ran-i would surely have died.
And he too would have died before long.
To the Ha Mu-baek siblings, Wi Ji-gun was their Master, their benefactor, and their parent.
Ha Mu-baek slowly approached Do Mun-wi’s corpse and searched through his belongings.
There wasn’t much of note.
Some money, items necessary for escape, and a secret manual of Destruction Art.
“Divine Destruction Arts?”
Ha Mu-baek unfolded the manual and slowly flipped through it. He had already observed the movement of Do Mun-wi’s Internal Energy.
The bastard had shown no hesitation in using Destruction Art for rapid recovery.
Matching the manual’s contents with the movement of Internal Energy, he roughly understood it.
Soon he shook his head.
“You can’t escape the curse with trash like this.”
Even roughly sketching it out in his mind, the curse would undoubtedly come at the twelfth level of Ultimate Achievement.
It would just be slower compared to Destruction Art.
He could tell even without having learned it.
This was Ha Mu-baek’s talent.
“This is martial arts with mystical arts embedded in it. This can never be solved with martial arts theory alone.”
Ha Mu-baek ignited Samadhi True Fire and burned away the Destruction Art manual.
Mystical arts.
No matter how much it was Blood Cult martial arts, martial arts alone couldn’t turn a perfectly healthy person into a jiangshi.
Some power beyond martial arts had interfered.
Ha Mu-baek thought that power was mystical arts.
“More precisely, it would be correct to call it dark magic, no, a curse.”
Literally a curse.
After briefly contemplating Destruction Art, Ha Mu-baek turned his steps.
It was time to return to Gyoryong Hall.
Unlike when he came, Ha Mu-baek moved leisurely. Then he bought a suitable horse from a nearby village and rode.
It took nearly three days to reach the place where he had first encountered Do Mun-wi.
“As expected, she’s not here?”
Yeong So-hyang was nowhere to be found.
She had probably returned to Haomun.
Ha Mu-baek set his direction toward Muchang. He had no more business with Haomun now.
He had settled all matters related to Destruction Art.
There might be minor issues remaining, but Four Seas Alliance would handle those on their own.
From now on, it was the real beginning of his period of seclusion.
***
Yeong So-hyang arrived at Haomun’s Main Hall in a pitiful state.
She had simply walked.
Walked aimlessly.
When the sun set, she slept wherever her steps had stopped, and when the sun rose, she walked.
So when she arrived at Haomun, she was just like a beggar.
Even so, her beauty couldn’t be hidden, so there were sect members who recognized her.
“Grand Princess!”
At someone’s shout, sect members gathered around.
Currently, Haomun was in a state of extreme chaos.
Second Guardian Bae Un-san.
No, now he was Hao Sect Leader Bae Un-san.
Suddenly the Sect Leader had changed, and Flame Gate from Four Seas Alliance had turned Haomun upside down.
Haomun’s sect members wondered what on earth was happening.
Even so, they didn’t dare rebel.
Ye Cho-ah had already lost her martial arts and been captured by Flame Gate, and the Protectors were also acknowledging Bae Un-san as Sect Leader.
It was chaos itself.
The timing of Yeong So-hyang’s arrival at Haomun was exactly then.
News of her arrival was immediately conveyed to Bae Un-san, and Yeong So-hyang was able to meet him.
“Second Guardian, no, you’re the Sect Leader now. What on earth has happened here?”
Yeong So-hyang, having finished bathing and changed into clean clothes, asked with a voice full of questions.
“Grand Princess, what on earth happened to you? To return in such a state.”
The two had many things they were curious about regarding each other.
The two people looked at each other for a moment.
Bae Un-san was the first to speak.
After his story ended, Yeong So-hyang’s story began.
After they had both told each other their circumstances.
The two were looking at each other with expressions of disbelief.
“Ha Mu-baek…”
“Ha Mu-baek…”
The name that flowed from both their lips simultaneously.
In the end, the beginning of this whole mess was Ha Mu-baek, and the end was also Ha Mu-baek.
No, to be precise, the beginning was Sip Ho-beop. That damned bastard from Blood Cult who had infiltrated Haomun.
“That bastard is probably Blood Flying Shadow Do Mun-wi, one of the Ten Blood Elders of Blood Cult.”
“How do you know that?”
“When he deployed Lightness Skill at full power, a red shadow-like energy remained, which is his unique martial art. In the last war, he used that to make several masters look like dogs chasing chickens.”
Bae Un-san immediately guessed the identity based on Yeong So-hyang’s mention of red energy remaining.
Having experienced the last war, he could recall it immediately.
“Blood Cult…”
The sound of grinding teeth could be heard.
Yeong So-hyang’s eyes were blazing with fury.
“Sect Leader.”
Yeong So-hyang called out to Bae Un-san.
That title was not Second Guardian, but Sect Leader.
It meant she would now fully acknowledge him as the new Sect Leader of Haomun.
“Yes. Grand Princess.”
Nevertheless, Bae Un-san maintained the title of Grand Princess.
He had no wife or children.
He had planned to live as a Guardian of Haomun and end his life that way.
As circumstances flowed, he thought he had somehow become the Sect Leader by chance.
“Please allow me to learn the Blood Sea Ghost Death Palm.”
At Yeong So-hyang’s request, Bae Un-san nodded.
“Do so. And you must become the Sect Leader in the future.”
Hao Sect Leader Bae Un-san decided to think of himself as temporarily holding the position of Sect Leader.
If even Grand Princess Yeong So-hyang were dragged to Sahaeryeon, there would be no other way.
Since it was revealed that it was the scheme of Do Mun-wi, Blood Flying Shadow, one of the Ten Elders of the Blood Cult who had infiltrated disguised as Sip Ho-beop, it seemed unlikely she would go to Sahaeryeon.
Moreover, if the one who revealed this was Ha Mu-baek.
“First, we must find his whereabouts. He needs to tell Sahaeryeon about the Grand Princess so that you can remain here.”
At Bae Un-san’s words, Yeong So-hyang nodded.
“I understand. Sect Leader. And since I am no longer the Grand Princess, please dispense with the formalities.”
In a situation where everyone already knew how Sahaeryeon had come to interfere with Haomun.
Yeong So-hyang obediently accepted Bae Un-san’s words.
“I understand. Then I shall appoint you as Vice Sect Leader.”
Bae Un-san’s will to pass the position of Sect Leader to Yeong So-hyang was firm.
“Hmm. Is that so?”
Hwa Yu-gun, who faced Bae Un-san, showed a lukewarm reaction.
“That is correct. So please allow Yeong So-hyang to remain here.”
Hwa Yu-gun tapped the table lightly.
“That sounds plausible, but isn’t there no evidence? How can we know if that child Yeong So-hyang is lying?”
“That child doesn’t know Blood Flying Shadow’s Moonlit Blood Shadow Body Technique. Yet she accurately described its characteristics.”
Hwa Yu-gun nodded.
It was a reasonable point. However, there was still something that bothered him.
“After that fellow left saying he would judge after seeing Yeong So-hyang first. No word has been delivered.”
He cleverly shifted the decision-making authority to Ha Mu-baek.
Bae Un-san had expected this.
Nevertheless, it was frustrating.
To think that Sahaeryeon was being cautious about just one martial artist.
Just what kind of person was he?
He keenly felt that what Haomun had grasped about his identity was merely the tip of the iceberg.
“We are searching for him.”
At Bae Un-san’s words, Hwa Yu-gun nodded once more.
“Then we’ll discuss it again at that time. Once that matter is concluded, we will return to Sahaeryeon.”
With those words, Hwa Yu-gun left his seat.
“Damn it.”
A small curse flowed from the lips of Bae Un-san, left alone.
***
Countless messenger pigeons flew up from Hao Gate Headquarters.
The purpose was singular.
To locate Ha Mu-baek’s whereabouts.
Ha Mu-baek, whom Haomun was desperately searching for, had set his direction toward the Yangtze Three Gorges.
From there, he planned to take a boat and travel by waterway to Muchang.
“I should travel comfortably now.”
Using the waterway was faster and more comfortable than riding horses on land routes.
Once he paid the fare, he could have complete use of a ship cabin.
He was quite tired from the forced march up to this point.
Since it was a break period, he was only thinking about resting leisurely.
Moving at such a relaxed pace, Ha Mu-baek was able to reach the dock of the Yangtze Three Gorges at the border of Hubei Province.
However, he didn’t immediately look for a boat.
As soon as he arrived at the bustling place, he felt numerous gazes directed toward him.
‘Why are these bastards still here?’
Ha Mu-baek immediately recognized that those gazes belonged to Haomun.
He approached an old man who was nearby.
“Hey. Old pickpocket.”
At Ha Mu-baek’s call, the old man was startled.
“Pickpocket? Don’t say such nonsense.”
Pickpocket.
It was a term for thieves. So the old man was shocked.
Someone had called him a pickpocket in a place full of people.
“You know me, right?”
Ha Mu-baek asked bluntly. The old man didn’t deny it.
“It seems like I’m roughly done with you people, so why are you being such a nuisance?”
His voice was fierce. Because of that, the old man flinched and trembled.
“Th-the sect is looking for you, Great Hero.”
“Why?”
“How would someone lowly like me know anything?”
Ha Mu-baek frowned.
There was nothing wrong with the old man’s words. He really was just an ordinary pickpocket and wouldn’t know anything.
He was just affiliated with Haomun, serving as their eyes and ears.
“Annoying.”
Ha Mu-baek spat out an irritated mutter and headed toward the largest pleasure house nearby.
His ki sense detected Haomun’s internal energy from that place.
When Ha Mu-baek entered, prettily dressed courtesans came rushing out in a crowd.
He waved his hands dismissively at them.
“Annoying. Tell the owner to come out.”
At Ha Mu-baek’s words, the courtesans who had just come out to greet customers stiffened.
Some didn’t know what to do.
Just then, as if news of Ha Mu-baek’s arrival had been delivered, a middle-aged beauty who appeared to be the general manager came out and guided him.
“Please follow me, honored guest.”
The top floor of the pleasure house.
In what appeared to be the owner’s room, a middle-aged woman of outstanding beauty was waiting.
“What’s the matter?”
“I apologize for disturbing your mood, Great Hero. However, urgent orders came from the sect to locate your whereabouts, so we committed this discourtesy.”
The owner was respectful.
“Why?”
A brief question.
“That is… it’s because of the Vice Sect Leader’s situation.”
“Vice Sect Leader?”
Ha Mu-baek tilted his head.
As far as he knew, there was no one in Haomun who would become Vice Sect Leader yet.
“Ah, it’s the person who was the Grand Princess.”
With the following explanation, Ha Mu-baek finally showed an understanding expression.
But why would they ask him about her situation…
“Ah.”
A small exclamation.
He had forgotten about dealing with that Do Mun-wi bastard.
Moreover, since she seemed to have returned to Hao-mun without waiting, he thought everything was finished.
He had said he would decide what to do with her after catching her.
“It’s fine. There’s nothing. So just tell her to do as she pleases and live her life. Well then, I’m going.”
Simply giving his conclusion, Ha Mu-baek soon left the pleasure house.
And he boarded a ship that was just about to depart for Muchang.
Fortunately, there was one empty ship cabin available.
It was a cabin just the right size for one person to use.
That was sufficient, so Ha Mu-baek paid the fare and lay down on the bed in the cabin.
How long had it been since he could lie down comfortably like this?
The ship moved its massive body toward Muchang, following the flow of the Yangtze River.
Not knowing what awaited him at Gyoryong Hall, Ha Mu-baek fell into sleep.
***
“A reply came saying it’s fine.”
Bae Un-san handed Hwa Yu-gun the message bird that had flown urgently from the Yangtze Three Gorges branch.
Hwa Yu-gun quietly nodded his head.
“I understand. Then let us also withdraw now. Let the Hao-mun sect members enjoy the New Year celebration among themselves.”
They had already finished preparing to leave.
Only the question of whether Yeong So-hyang would come with them when they departed remained.
Thus, the Four Seas Union withdrew from Hao-mun.
Yeong So-hyang shed tears as she saw off the haggard-looking Ye Cho-ah.
And in the hands of the woman who turned away was held a manuscript copy of the Blood Sea Ghost Death Palm Secret Manual.
She headed straight for the closed training room.
“Tomorrow is New Year’s Day, yet you’re going to enter today?”
Bae Un-san, who had now somewhat adapted to the position of Sect Leader, asked.
“To me, it’s just another day. I will learn it as quickly as possible.”
A cold voice.
Yeong So-hyang left those words and entered the closed training room.
The door closed firmly.
When that door opened again, what kind of person would Yeong So-hyang be?
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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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