Chapter 401: I'll Return the Favor in Kind
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Peng Ya-hwi’s dark brown pupils rapidly expanded upon confirming the attire.
“Ah! Could you perhaps be…?”
The martial uniform the person who had appeared before his eyes wore was as stylish as the Hebei Peng Family’s.
The pattern embroidered on pitch-black cloth.
It was a white mountain.
Peng Ya-hwi seemed to recognize who he was the moment he saw it.
He knew it too well.
The embroidery depicting a giant mountain in concise lines was the symbol of White Peak Sword Sect, and particularly, martial uniforms harmonizing black and white colors signified the Sect Master….
That’s why one person’s name immediately came to mind.
Cheol Ryu-heun.
An unprecedented genius and rising warrior who had earned the glorious sobriquet Hunan’s Foremost Martial God in a short period.
He couldn’t not know.
Because his exploits and martial fame were shaking the current Jianghu.
Sure enough.
“Yes.”
Cheol Ryu-heun, having lightly nodded his head, continued in an indifferent voice.
“I am Cheol Ryu-heun.”
At the same time, Peng Ya-hwi felt a tremor like waves crashing.
‘As I thought…!’
The enemies positioned on the opposite side were the same.
However, the meaning was different from Peng Ya-hwi’s feeling.
It was a tremor of crisis and tension rapidly intensifying after confirming the opponent’s identity.
It was natural.
Because he was an opponent they couldn’t easily handle with their strength.
GULP.
Raging Saber Monster Uk Uk Bon-sa from Great Monster Mountain Manor, the leader of the group, swallowed dryly.
A strange feeling encroached.
Facing him directly made it even stranger.
An aura as if he hadn’t practiced internal energy techniques at all….
It was inexplicable.
However, he had already heard about that.
That he possessed transcendent martial power separate from that.
Already, even Great Sword Tyrant Lord Danmok Cheon, a warrior of the highest tier among Detached Three Army Corps leadership at the Division Commander level, had been defeated by Cheol Ryu-heun’s fearsome martial power in a previous battle.
That’s why the full force came here now.
The ultimate target had appeared.
But no one stepped forward readily.
Their fighting spirit had been broken before even exchanging techniques.
At that time, Cheol Ryu-heun spoke again in a leisurely posture.
“Let’s talk. No need to mind those over there.”
It was an attitude of completely ignoring the enemy camp.
That instead brought a strange sense of relief to Peng Ya-hwi.
“Ah, yes! I’m Peng Ya-hwi, Young Master of our family. I got separated from Father about half a shichen ago. There were too many enemies, so I ended up like this while fleeing. So I don’t really know where he is either.”
In the midst of that, Uk Uk Bon-sa sent a Sound Transmission Mind-to-Mind to his subordinate martial artists.
It was a wise decision.
Because without the support of a Commander or Division Commander level, defeat was certain against Cheol Ryu-heun.
But then.
“Stop.”
Cheol Ryu-heun immediately turned his head to the opposite side and released an indifferent voice.
Then the dozen or so Detached Three Army Corps members flinched just as they were about to retreat.
As if that dry expression and eye-light, in which not a bit of humanity could be glimpsed, had bound their bodies and minds….
“Are you deaf? I said stay right there earlier.”
Then Uk Uk Bon-sa’s sense of crisis and tension transformed into extreme fear.
THUMP THUMP.
Uk Uk Bon-sa’s heartbeat became violent.
Cheol Ryu-heun was merely standing with hands clasped behind his back, yet he felt like he couldn’t do anything.
He was instantaneously overwhelmed.
By those emotionless eyes and voice.
‘If only I hadn’t known…!’
Knowledge became poison.
If he hadn’t heard the story about the previous battle with Danmok Cheon, his options for action would have been free.
In a flash.
HWIIIK… PUHAK… !
One warrior of the Detached Three Army Corps rose upward in the blink of an eye and his entire body was cruelly ruptured.
By formless aura.
HUDUUDUK, HUDUUDUK…
Crimson fresh blood and countless pieces of flesh fell to the ground.
It was precisely Cheol Ryu-heun’s handiwork.
Truly phenomenal levels of void object grasping and void treading.
He had killed the opponent by wielding formless aura with just a nod of his head.
It was a sight representing the gap in martial prowess, a different dimension of cultivation.
Uk Uk Bon-sa despaired in his dazed state.
He finally realized clearly.
That Cheol Ryu-heun was like a reaper wielding the power of life and death over all….
Resistance was meaningless.
Living and dying was entirely a matter dependent on the will of the powerful existence called Cheol Ryu-heun.
‘I… What can I do before that bastard!’
Thus the eye-light of Uk Uk Bon-sa, who repeatedly fell into despair inwardly, wavered like waves.
Ripples born of fear.
Peng Ya-hwi lost focus in his eyes.
His vacant gaze indicated inner shock.
Meanwhile.
Cheol Ryu-heun, having instantly killed one enemy, turned his head again and asked.
“Are you alone here?”
Then Peng Ya-hwi quickly regained focus.
“Ah, y-yes, that’s right. At first there were four following me, but….”
His gaze quietly shot toward the opposite side.
Even without hearing the rest, it was understandable.
They had been killed by the enemy currently positioned over there.
“Then I should return the favor in kind.”
Simultaneously with Cheol Ryu-heun’s words ending.
KKWADEUK… !
Along with a chilling sound, an enemy flew backward.
KWANG… !
The Detached Three Army Corps swordsman who had crashed his back against a rock lay face-down on the ground.
His chest crushed from receiving a heavy punch.
Cheol Ryu-heun had moved close to the enemy camp before anyone knew it.
Even with the Gan Jiang drawn.
SYUKAAAK!
A sharp piercing sound burst out as five swordsmen met their deaths.
It was an extremely fast single sword stroke.
Fast enough to call even a flash too long.
SYUCHAK, SYUKAAK, SYUCHAK… !
Techniques that outpaced sound, bright red blood droplets scattering in all directions.
Tremendous cultivation poured out in the sword strokes.
Peng Ya-hwi trembled yet again.
It was tremendous power.
Every time Cheol Ryu-heun unleashed his techniques, enormous cultivation burst out fiercely and quickly.
It even seemed to surpass his father’s extreme cultivation.
Despite that, it was light.
It felt like swinging a tree branch carelessly.
Yet the cultivation emitted in contrast to those movements was terrifying.
It was somewhat heterogeneous movement.
Honestly, it was hard to follow those connected movements.
Because the sword force ignored eyesight.
Those rapid connected movements were only transmitted through energy sense.
Twelve swordsmen of the Detached Three Army Corps were thus slaughtered.
It literally happened in the time of a few breaths.
The sole survivor, Division Commander Uk Uk Bon-sa, reflexively began his escape.
No, perhaps describing it as struggling would be correct.
A desperate struggle to survive.
It was the execution of lightness technique using extreme cultivation.
But a transparent, giant palm rushed in before him.
KKWAKWANG!
It was Cheol Ryu-heun’s fearsome void treading.
The moment Uk Uk Bon-sa, who had bounced back, collapsed on the ground with a TEOLSEOK!
“There’s no need to look into your head.”
Cheol Ryu-heun’s quiet voice knocked against Uk Uk Bon-sa’s ears.
It was close behind him.
‘Kek!’
Uk Uk Bon-sa jumped to his feet and, in continuous motion, spun his body and swung his saber.
Following the trajectory of the blade, blue saber energy sprayed out.
It was Monstrous Moon Great Light Slash, a horizontal severing finishing move within the Monstrous Cunning Saber Technique, the authentic transmission of Monstrous Saber King Bul-bi, the first Manor Master of Great Monster Mountain Manor of old.
KKAAAAAANG… PEOEOEOEOEOONG!
Amid the metal sound and roaring sound harmonizing.
“Eok!”
Uk Uk Bon-sa was shocked.
Because he saw Cheol Ryu-heun’s left hand gripping his blade.
‘B-bare-handed…!’
Uk Uk Bon-sa, whose hair stood on end, quickly tried to retrieve his saber but it wouldn’t budge.
It couldn’t be helped.
He had no choice but to abandon even his weapon and flee.
Uk Uk Bon-sa released the sword hilt he was gripping and rapidly flew his body backward.
But he couldn’t actually advance more than a dozen paces.
DEOLKEOK!
His body stopped as if by magic.
A heavy formless aura bound Uk Uk Bon-sa’s entire body.
In that state, the sound of footsteps was heard.
JEOBUKJEOBUK.
It was the sound of Cheol Ryu-heun approaching from behind.
‘EUEU… Monster…!’
Thick fear swallowed Uk Uk Bon-sa’s reason.
His teeth chattered.
It was a reaction of extreme fear.
He intuited that the moment of death was imminent.
Cheol Ryu-heun’s indifferent voice, standing close behind him, burrowed into both ear holes again.
“You should have made your master of old a negative example and lived accordingly. Then you wouldn’t have met me and shed blood.”
The master of Raging Saber Monster Uk Uk Bon-sa.
It meant Monstrous Saber King Bul-bi of the Jianghu Thirteen Seats of old, who had died by beheading as Seop-pyo’s first target.
At that time, Cheol Ryu-heun’s Gan Jiang stabbed into his back.
PUHWOOUK!
Immediately after, the skin of Uk Uk Bon-sa’s entire body split cruelly.
PIPIPIPIT, PIPIPIPIT, PIPIPIPIT…
An unpleasant rupturing sound arose as fresh blood and flesh pieces flew.
“Kkeuaaaak, kkeuaaaaaaak!”
Uk Uk Bon-sa, trembling violently, screamed.
Pain as if the blood in his body was boiling hot.
It was his first experience.
What kind of power was this?
But Uk Uk Bon-sa’s question was instantly cut short.
PEOEOEOEOEOEOEOENG!
The body in which blood had been boiling soon burst into pieces into the air.
Thus even the last survivor of the enemy camp disappeared.
CHEOLKEOK!
Cheol Ryu-heun, having stored away the Gan Jiang, spoke while pivoting his body.
“With this, it’s exceeded fifty.”
The expression of Peng Ya-hwi, who had been in a daze from witnessing the phenomenal and mystical martial prowess, changed completely.
“What do you mean by that…?”
“I killed several enemies on the way here. Including those who appeared to be cadres. And I also obtained some additional information.”
“…!”
“Anyway, there’s no Divine Martial Sword here. It’s a scheme and false rumor concocted by the enemies of the Shiwan Mountains.”
“What? That can’t be…!”
Light of consternation arose in Peng Ya-hwi’s two eyes.
“It’s the creation of the Darkness-Craving Blood Clan, Heretic Cult, and the hidden manipulator lurking behind them. The ultimate purpose is soul energy. They plan to capture martial artists and offer them as sacrifices.”
“Heavens… You’ve already discovered all that?”
“Yes, I used my power repeatedly. It’s a different type of power from internal energy, so I’m somewhat tired.”
“At this rate, even Sect Master Cheol might be in danger…”
“It’s my head, not my body. My body doesn’t get tired. Fighting, well, even all day is fine.”
Then Peng Ya-hwi repeatedly showed consternation.
“A-all day… you say?”
“Yes. Believe it or don’t.”
Cheol Ryu-heun replied indifferently and soon stared to the side.
“You can come out now.”
At that moment, a transparent ripple arose in the side space.
Peng Ya-hwi was startled upon seeing that.
‘No way…!’
Because a series of presences were only then detected.
It seemed to be some kind of illusory formation-type technique.
Soon, the large shadow that revealed itself, pushing through that wave-like heat haze, was none other than Divine Wind.
But.
That wasn’t all.
Countless shadows flickered from behind.
Peng Ya-hwi exclaimed in admiration upon confirming the entities.
“Ah…!”
The identities of the shadows that had appeared alongside Divine Wind were surprisingly martial artists from various places.
That is, people whom Cheol Ryu-heun had newly rescued.
At a glance, their number seemed to exceed one hundred.
In that context, Cheol Ryu-heun spoke with an expressionless face.
“I predict that one of the enemy’s highest echelons will probably appear where Lord Peng is. Nine Springs Demon Dragon Sang-jan, a great demon of the previous era called the Commander. So, I intend to kill him first. He’ll be just right as a sacrifice to announce the all-out war.”