Chapter 326: The Gray-Robed Man
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Do Woo-pung sharply glared at the eccentric who exuded an inhuman atmosphere.
‘Heuk… Ma-yung?’
It was a name he was hearing for the first time.
However.
He intuited.
The one who introduced himself as Heuk Ma-yung was the Clan Leader of the Darkness-Craving Blood Clan.
KKWAK!
Do Woo-pung, having put strength into the hand gripping his sword hilt, raised his internal power and let out a cold voice.
“How dare you covet my son’s blood… and make him look like that?”
At that, Do Jwa-baek replied with a smile instead of Heuk Ma-yung.
“Hoot… Father, please put away your hostility. This person has given me new power. He is a benefactor second to none in a martial artist’s life.”
It was an attitude like a religious fanatic.
Do Woo-pung knew well.
The fact that when one was bitten by a pure-blooded Darkness-Craving Blood Clan member, one’s mind and body became subordinated like a slave, but in exchange, one’s physical abilities were strengthened like a master who had learned external martial arts that enhanced the body.
It was already too late to undo.
It wasn’t that there was no method at all to normalize Do Jwa-baek after he became like that.
There was one.
An ancient secret technique that could sever the connection of subordination…
However, that essence had been lost for far too long.
Therefore, it was an impossible task with his own capabilities.
Do Woo-pung, sword raised, shouted while emitting a cutting-keen eye-light.
“I’ll take you with me! And I will definitely find a way to reverse this!”
Yes, it had to be done before it was too late.
If left like that, it would truly become irreversible.
Right at that moment.
“Elder Brother.”
Another familiar voice was heard.
‘…!’
Do Woo-pung flinched and turned his head to the side.
Roughly ten or so paces away.
There, bathed in the pouring moonlight, one person stood alone.
Crow Pattern Sword Hall’s core master, Crow Brightness Sword Do Woo-byeong.
Do Woo-pung’s younger brother and the culprit who had killed the family of the Tiger Rock Gate Master, with whom he had previously been close, and fled.
He too had become Heuk Ma-yung’s loyal slave.
Just looking at his elongated fangs and fingernails, one could easily tell.
“You wretch! Were you in cahoots with the Darkness-Craving Blood Clan from the start?”
At that moment, Heuk Ma-yung let out an eerie voice.
“You should comply with the order of darkness that This Lord has established. You cannot escape this place anyway.”
“Shut up!”
Simultaneously with his roar.
KKWANG!
Do Woo-pung, having kicked off the ground, attacked Do Woo-byeong standing to his side.
Intending to subdue his brother first.
The gap was instantly narrowed.
It was nimble movement befitting one of the Four pillars of Guangdong.
In the blink of an eye.
SYUISYUT!
A blade rushed toward Do Woo-pung’s side.
Accompanied by rapid sword energy.
Do Woo-pung immediately twisted his body and defended against that swift sword.
KWACHAHAHANG!
At that, the owner of the sword strike staggered back in retreat.
It was Do Jwa-baek.
Though his physical abilities had been enhanced by the supernatural power of the Darkness-Craving Blood Clan, he was apparently no match for his father, an ultra-master representing the Guangdong region.
However.
UKSHIN.
Do Woo-pung also felt pain in his wrist.
‘The strength…!’
His son’s arm strength, having advanced so, was surprising.
PAT, PAPAT-!
Do Jwa-baek and Do Woo-byeong pressed close from left and right and launched a combined attack.
CHAENG, KAKANG, JJEONG- PEONG, PAPANG, KKWAWOONG…!
A melee of roughly a dozen exchanges rapidly deployed.
The sword power throughout was naturally Do Woo-pung’s overwhelming dominance.
Each time metallic sounds and air-splitting noises burst, Do Jwa-baek and Do Woo-byeong’s bodies shook.
But those two wouldn’t easily back down.
Like beasts starved for blood, they grew increasingly more violent as they swung their swords and attacked madly.
On the other hand, Do Woo-pung was hesitating.
Hesitation was contained in his sword strikes.
Why?
Because they were blood relatives.
Now that he knew the Darkness-Craving Blood Clan was the culprit, subduing them was the priority.
But trying to fight them without killing intent was quite difficult.
‘Damn it!’
It looked like he would have to cut off at least one limb to end this.
That hesitation ultimately called forth blood.
CHYUCHYUT-!
A long red scar was inscribed on his left forearm.
By Do Jwa-baek’s swift swordsmanship – as befitting one who was definitely in the upper tier among the Jiangnan Unorthodox Jianghu’s rising talents.
‘Keuk!’
Do Woo-pung grimaced at the stinging pain.
At that moment, Do Woo-byeong struck from behind, thrusting his sword.
SYUKAAAAK!
Do Woo-pung threw his upper body backward as if lying down and released sword energy.
JJEOJEONG- PEOHEOEONG!
With a loud noise, Do Woo-byeong, wrapped in heat haze, was flung hard backward.
KKUKKUNNG!
Having crashed into a large boulder, he collapsed with a THUD! on the ground and trembled as he glared with both eyes.
Still a savage killing gaze like a wild beast.
In the meantime, Do Jwa-baek fiercely closed in from the front.
Targeting the opening of his thrown-back upper body.
SSYANG-!
A blade fell, cutting through the wind from above to below.
It was a rapid descending technique that represented the prestige of the epithet Flash Blade Sword.
But at that moment, sword wind flew in from somewhere.
SYUISYUT- PEOPEONG-!
A sharp wind striking the blade caused Do Jwa-baek’s right hand to sway greatly.
PEOHEOEONG!
A second sword wind spread out as if exploding transparently.
Do Jwa-baek’s form, having received that force, was pushed to the side by about five or six paces.
HWIIHWIK.
The owner of the sword wind had appeared nearby before they knew it.
It was Danli Hyeok, the famous talent of Righteous Sea Martial Gate.
“Are you alright?!”
He who had gotten separated while losing his way had arrived just in time.
Do Woo-pung, having immediately righted his form, brightened.
“You…!”
But he wasn’t alone.
FLUTTER-
A figure appeared nearby, fluttering a gray robe.
His features couldn’t be seen because his face was wrapped around and around with gray cloth.
At that moment, Danli Hyeok’s Sound Transmission reached his ears.
At the unexpected words, Do Woo-pung was startled.
‘What? An ally?’
In the meantime, Heuk Ma-yung over there sneered.
“Hoot, interesting. You were still alive?”
His tone and expression showed he knew who the mysterious gray-robed man was.
PAK!
Do Jwa-baek, having kicked off the ground, came approaching fiercely.
Seeing that, the gray-robed man quickly took out a talisman and threw it.
Black background with bright red mystical writing.
FLASH!
The moment the talisman thrown into the air spewed light.
SYUSYUSYUSYUSYU-
Thick grayish mist spread widely in all directions.
It was clearly some kind of incantation art that created illusions and phantasms.
Thus, Do Jwa-baek, whose field of vision was blocked, stopped moving.
“Chiiik!”
But suddenly, a phantom accompanied by strong wind engulfed him.
-Woowoowoo, woowoowoo…
The echo of a chilling ghost wailing.
Soul spirits of all shapes surrounded him from front, back, left, and right and drew near.
Startled, Do Jwa-baek wildly swung the sword in his right hand.
“G-get away! Damn it…!”
But he only slashed helplessly at thin air over and over.
It was natural.
Because the soul spirits were phantasms that deceived his field of vision.
Do Woo-byeong, who was about to fly his body again to help Do Jwa-baek, likewise had dizzy eyes.
They were currently blocked in their senses by the talisman’s phantasm and found it difficult to visually distinguish their surroundings.
Only the movements of soul spirits were visible to their eyes.
“Now!”
The gray-robed man burst out a short shout and quickly approached Do Jwa-baek’s side.
PEOK, PEOPEOK-!
Simultaneously with the successive striking sounds, Do Jwa-baek fainted.
DEOPSEOK!
The gray-robed man supported his collapsing form as he lost consciousness.
It was acupoint sealing accomplished in an instant.
Just looking at that skill was enough to know.
The fact that the gray-robed man who used incantation arts was a Jianghu master.
In the meantime, Do Woo-pung also moved swiftly and quickly pressed Do Woo-byeong’s fainting acupoint.
“Keoh…!”
Just as he was about to quickly support his unconscious body.
PIPIPIPIPIT-!
Long objects rushed in along with a sharp sound of wind.
‘Hup!’
When Do Woo-pung withdrew his hands and hurriedly pulled his body back.
KWAKWAKWAKWAK!
Objects that flew through the mist and struck embedded into the ground.
They were Heuk Ma-yung’s fingernails.
PIPIPIPIPIT-
Before they knew it, the five fingernails were retracted.
HWAK!
A huge shadow parted the gray mist and suddenly appeared.
Without any presence at all.
It was Heuk Ma-yung.
‘Ah!’
The moment Do Woo-pung and Danli Hyeok were astonished, the gray-robed man approached as if shielding them and executed a palm strike of superior power.
HOOWOOOWOONG- KKWARORORORUNG!
Amid the booming sound, Heuk Ma-yung’s voice mixed in.
“You managed to hit me.”
The heavy palm force struck directly into his torso across the gap.
But Heuk Ma-yung himself wasn’t pushed back.
The gray-robed man, having released Sound Transmission, carried the unconscious Do Jwa-baek on his back and deployed superior lightness arts to flee.
FLUTTER FLUTTER-
It was already too late to support Do Woo-byeong who had collapsed on the ground.
If they weren’t careful, there was a high possibility of being caught by Heuk Ma-yung.
Realizing that, Do Woo-pung fled along with Danli Hyeok.
PAPAPA, PAPAPAPA-
Heuk Ma-yung leisurely watched their retreating figures and smiled.
“Ho ho, troublesome fellow…”
Suddenly, a giant three-headed tiger appeared before him and roared savagely.
“Grrrrr!”
“Keoheung, keoheoheung!”
“Kraang!”
When the three tiger heads roared, the atmosphere and ground shook.
It was clearly a mystical phantom beast the gray-robed man had summoned through some incantation art right after fleeing.
It was an enormous mass.
Just one of the heads was far larger than an ordinary wolf, so it felt like the front was completely filled.
PAK-!
The phantom beast leaped and roared.
At its sound, the atmosphere and ground again let out tremors.
HOOWOONG- KKWANG!
The phantom beast’s striking front paw and Heuk Ma-yung’s upward-swinging hand collided.
KKWADEUK, KKWADEUDEUK, KKWADEUK…
In the aftermath of that force, the ground in a two-Zhang radius split apart wildly.
KKWANG, KKWANG, KKWANG-!
The phantom beast’s fierce continuous offensive.
Each time the sound rang, the ground burst and cracked with a JJEOJEOJJEOK! sound and cried.
Soon.
KKWANG, KKWAKKWANG, KKWANG…!
When the phantom beast charged and fiercely swung its front paws, Heuk Ma-yung’s form was pushed back little by little.
At that moment.
Heuk Ma-yung discovered a talisman stuck to the center of his chest.
‘Ho-oh, what’s this? When did…’
It was probably from when the gray-robed man had executed the palm strike earlier.
The moment Heuk Ma-yung’s eyes flashed as if to say that.
SSYASSYAT-!
Suddenly, the phantom beast and talisman exploded with bizarre radiance as they connected and caused a powerful explosion.
HWARUREUREUK- KKWAGWAGWANG!
A vast flame reminiscent of blue ghost fire.
It was the linked activation of incantation arts the gray-robed man had arranged.
It was clearly an unfathomable spell technique of the highest level of this era.
But who on earth was he?
CHEUCHEUCHEUEU, CHEUCHEUCHEUEU…
Thus, amid the space where mist and smoke were mixed.
“Ho ho.”
Heuk Ma-yung’s soft sound flowed out.
‘That bastard… is he struggling now, after all this time?’
* * *
Around that time, the gray-robed man fleeing glanced behind him.
Do Woo-pung and Danli Hyeok, who had been diligently following behind, also turned their gazes along with him.
They had heard the echo of an explosion ringing through the darkness.
The gray-robed man, turning his head forward again, moved his legs as he spoke.
“He will be unharmed. But we’ve bought time to flee.”
At that, Do Woo-pung from behind threw out a question.
“Heuk Ma-yung – is he really the Clan Leader of the Darkness-Craving Blood Clan?”
The gray-robed man answered with a silent nod in place of words.
“First, thank you for your help. But who are you…?”
Right at that moment, Danli Hyeok beside him spoke as if cutting him off.
“He’s the Heretic Cult Leader.”