chapter 311

Not Everything Goes as Planned (2)

Drip, drip!

Red blood trailed down the blade.

Gyeong Un-cheon’s arm, which was gripping his sword, trembled slightly. A long gash had opened up on his upper forearm.

He had been wounded by Lee Gwak’s blade.

A look of disbelief crossed Gyeong Un-cheon’s face.

It was the first time he had been injured since becoming the master of the Nine Dragons Clan.

“Lee Gwak!”

Gyeong Un-cheon glared at Lee Gwak.

Despite the fierce battle, Lee Gwak’s demeanor was eerily calm.

Facing an opponent who swung his blade so ferociously without even breaking a sweat filled Gyeong Un-cheon with a chilling sense of dread.

Lee Gwak’s gaze was steady as he looked back at Gyeong Un-cheon.

There was no doubt that Gyeong Un-cheon was strong.

As one of the Ten Sects, and as the Sect Leader of Nine Dragons Clan, he possessed skills befitting his reputation. But Lee Gwak did not fear him.

His Iron Blood Soul Sword art was among the greatest under heaven. Gyeong Un-cheon had deeply understood and mastered it to perfection. Its destructive power was by no means inferior to the Heaven Killing Blade.

Even so, Lee Gwak felt no fear because Gyeong Un-cheon’s sword was dull.

After becoming the Sect Leader of Nine Dragons Clan, Gyeong Un-cheon had never once neglected his training. He had sparred with his subordinates regularly to maintain a sense of live combat.

But sparring and real battle are different things.

No matter how seriously his subordinates fought him, they would never genuinely bear killing intent.

Having faced only such opponents, Gyeong Un-cheon’s blade had dulled.

It lacked the distinctive sharpness that a true master should possess. That was not enough to instill fear in Lee Gwak.

The hardships Lee Gwak had faced on his path were far too severe for such a blade to scare him.

His approach to battle was different from the start.

Lee Gwak’s blade was sharp.

Though the blade itself was unremarkable compared to the Dragon Form Sword, Lee Gwak’s straight and determined spirit was fully embodied within it.

Lee Gwak executed his Revolving Steps and approached Gyeong Un-cheon.

As Lee Gwak rushed towards him, lowering his stance, Gyeong Un-cheon unleashed the ultimate move of the Iron Blood Soul Sword.

Boom!

A powerful strike, unlike any before, targeted Lee Gwak.

Clang!

But it was easily blocked by Lee Gwak’s blade.

Lee Gwak twisted his blade, effortlessly dispersing the massive shock.

Swoosh!

His blade pierced through Gyeong Un-cheon’s side.

It was not a particularly stylized move.

Such was the nature of the Heaven Killing Blade technique: it prioritized intent over form , and relied heavily on instinct and feeling.

Squirt!

Blood spurted from Gyeong Un-cheon’s side.

He roared furiously.

“How dare you!”

Kwa-ga-ga-ga!

Multiple bursts of sword qi streamed from Gyeong Un-cheon’s sword towards Lee Gwak.

The technique, known as Rain Sword Qi, involved showering one’s opponent with sword qi.

Even creating a single sword qi blast consumed enormous internal energy. Producing so many that they seemed to pour down like rain was possible only because Gyeong Un-cheon possessed the greatest internal energy in the land.

From childhood, he had consumed all sorts of rare elixirs as if they were daily meals, and cultivated his internal energy through Jade Heart Technique. Only thus could he unleash such attacks.

Lee Gwak’s figure was obscured by the rain Rain Sword Qi.

Ssshit! Ssssiiit!

Lee Gwak swung his blade repeatedly.

He deflected some of the sword qi and diverted others as he steadily advanced towards Gyeong Un-cheon.

Gyeong Un-cheon’s eyes flickered. The sight of Lee Gwak pressing forward through the storm of sword qi reminded him of a single word:

‘Shura!’

Sssssiiit!

The Shura’s blade targeted his throat.

Gyeong Un-cheon felt the threat of death.

Without realising it, he stepped back, shouting in panic.

“Attack him, everyone!”

Faced with the brink of death, he forgot all about his pride.

No matter how important pride was, it all ended if he died.

Only by surviving could he enjoy wealth and power and aspire to conquer the world.

Aiming for world domination, he must live on.

At Gyeong Un-cheon’s command, the Black Dragon Iron Cavalry of the Nine Dragons Clan, who had been merely watching so far, charged in.

The Black Dragon Iron Cavalry consisted of one hundred members, each one a top-tier martial artist.

“Kill him!”

“How dare he target our Sect Leader within the Nine Dragons Clan?”

In an instant, the grounds turned into a scene from hell.

Eun Mu-yeong, who had been observing the situation until now, also moved. However, he moved in the opposite direction from where Lee Gwak was.

‘He had a son, if I recall correctly.’

He remembered seeing the boy at the martial arts tournament.

He had clearly seen Lee Cheong escaping from a collapsing building just moments ago. If he could take Lee Cheong hostage, it would be much more efficient to control Lee Gwak.

It was a cowardly act, but Eun Mu-yeong did not care.

If he had felt shame, he would never have dared to use poison on Nam Woo-gyeong.

He prioritized results over means.

As long as he achieved the desired result, any means were acceptable – this had long been his motto.

Lee Cheong was far away from the battlefield, avoiding the aftermath of the fight.

Just as Eun Mu-yeong reached out to grab I Cheong—

“You are still as cowardly as ever.”

A voice came from his side.

“What?”

Startled, Eun Mu-yeong turned to look beside him.

Bang!

An unexpected, powerful blow struck his side.

“Guh!”

Eun Mu-yeong staggered back, screaming.

After staggering back nearly a dozen paces, he raised his head and looked at his attacker.

The moment he confirmed the man’s face, Eun Mu-yeong’s eyes widened as if they would tear apart.

The man in shabby clothes was Nam Woo-gyeong.

“You… How? Weren’t you outside the Nine Dragons Clan?”

“Hmph! I never left the Nine Dragons Clan to begin with.”

Nam Woo-gyeong snorted and took hold of I Cheong’s hand.

When Bu Yak-yeong had gone to Lee Gwak’s room, Nam Woo-gyeong was already out in the corridors.

Originally, he had planned to slip out among the other guests after the final day of the martial tournament, leaving the Nine Dragons Clans. But the unexpected duel between Lee Gwak and Gyeong Un-cheon changed his mind, prompting him to reveal himself.

Eun Mu-yeong clutched his injured side and laughed.

“Heh heh! What a fool you are. After barely saving your own life, you should have fled outside. Yet here you are, still inside. How laughable!”

“What’s so funny?”

“Isn’t it funny? The big fish didn’t escape the net but revealed himself instead. All for the sake of saving a mere child. Foolish beyond belief!”

Eun Mu-yeong’s eyes glinted madly.

This was the perfect chance to make up for his earlier mistake.

If he could overpower Nam woo-gyeong again and implant the poison, he could redeem himself.

Though many eyes were still watching, the Nine Dragons Clan would manage to handle that with its influence.

As Eun Mu-yeong exuded killing intent, Nam Woo-gyeong spoke:

“Like master, like disciple. Instead of reflecting on your wrongdoing, you try only to hide it. With you in charge, the Nine Dragons Clan will surely collapse in your generation.”

“Shut your trap.”

Eun Mu-yeong roared and lunged at Nam Woo-gyeong and Lee Cheong.

At that very moment—

Kwaaang! Kwaaang!

A series of explosions erupted within the outer court of the Nine Dragons Clan.

“What’s that?”

“Ugh! What is happened is happening?”

Eun Mu-yeong and the martial artists of the Nine Dragons Clan were startled and turned to look at the source of the explosions.

A massive flame had arisen, as if to devour the outer court. The blaze surged fiercely, ready to engulf everything.

“Is that… a Thunderbolt Bomb?”

This level of explosive force and accompanying flames could only be produced by the extremely rare and powerful Thunderbolt Bomb. But obtaining one was exceedingly difficult, so it could not be used lightly.

“Aaagh!”

“Help!”

Screams rang out in the place where the Thunderbolt Bomb had exploded, turning it into a living hell. Most of the victims were Nine Dragon Clan’s martial artists.

Eun Mu-yeong glared at Nam Woo-gyeong.

“Is this your doing?”

“A little gift from me.”

The one who had set up the Thunderbolt Bomb was a member of the Hao Clan.

Without anyone realizing it, a Hao Clan operative, hidden among the martial artists, had planted the Thunderbolt Bomb near the outer court.

“You?”

“One should repay a debt of gratitude; that’s the way of the world. Don’t worry. I’ll repay it with interest. This is just the beginning, so look forward to it.”

“What is happened have you done, Woo-gyeong?”

“You’ll find out naturally, so don’t fuss, Mu-yeong.”

“You bastard!”

Eun Mu-yeong charged at Nam Woo-gyeong. However, by the time he got there, Nam Woog-yeong and Lee Cheong had already disappeared into the dense smoke.

Eun Mu-yeong looked around in a daze. Nam Woo-gyeong was nowhere to be seen.

His shoulders trembled violently.

“Woo…gyeong! Dammit!”

Only now did he truly understand the situation.

Why the Nine Dragons Clan’s intelligence network had fallen into disarray, and why information had been blocked from reaching them.

It was clear that Nam Woo-gyeong had been using the Hao Clan’s influence to cut off all sources of information.

Now that Nam Woo-gyeong had escaped safely, the Hao Clan would more blatantly cover the eyes of the Nine Dragons Clan . For the Nine Dragons Clan, whose ability to gather intelligence was already severely compromised, this was tantamount to a disaster.

Suddenly, Eun Mu-yeong raised his head sharply.

“There’s still a chance.”

His gaze turned toward Lee Gwak.

If he could just capture Lee Gwak, maybe he could negotiate with Nam U-gyeong somehow.

“We must catch him. Everyone, get him at once!”

Eun Mu-yeong screamed at the nearby martial artists. His demeanor showed none of the dignity he once had.

Cornered, he revealed his true nature.

He shoved the martial artists in Lee Gwak’s direction.

At that moment—

Shuuu!

Lee Gwak, who had been dealing with the Black Dragon Iron Cavalry, suddenly changed direction and charged straight toward Eun Mu-yeong.

“shit!”

Startled by the sight of the blood-soaked Lee Gwak rushing towards him, Eun Mu-yeong instinctively swung his sword.

Swoosh!

But his sword didn’t even touch a hair on Lee Gwak’s body.

Lee Gwak ducked smoothly beneath Eun Mu-yeong’s sword and delivered a kick.

Thud!

“Ugh!”

Eun Mu-yeong let out a brief scream and was sent tumbling backward.

Had he maintained his usual composure, he wouldn’t have shown such a pitiful display. But after a series of shocks, he was no longer in his right mind and couldn’t react properly.

Ssshiit!

Lee Gwak’s blade sliced through the air.

In that instant, Eun Mu-yeong’s eyes went wide.

A fiery pain flared in his right shoulder.

Glancing at his shoulder, he let out a horrified scream.

“Graaaah!”

The arm that had been fine just moments before was now cleanly severed, lying on the ground.

For a swordsman who lived by the sword, the loss of the arm that wielded his weapon was a greater pain than the physical loss.

“Aah!”

Eun Mu-yeong knelt on the ground, continuously letting out desperate screams.

“Young Master!”

“How could this happen!”

The Nine Dragon Clan’s martial artists, who hurried over, turned their heads away from Eun Mu-yeong’s horrific state.

In that brief interval, Lee Gwak vanished without a trace.

“Good heavens!”

“How could something like this…?”

People were left speechless by the terrible scene.

All of this had happened in mere moments.

The power and prestige of the Nine Dragons Clan, which had reached its peak after the successful completion of the martial arts tournament, was now mercilessly thrown into the mud.

From heaven to hell.

This entire catastrophe had been caused by a single individual.

“Lee..gwak!”

Not only the martial artists of the Nine Dragons Clan but also the spectators who had come to watch the martial arts tournament had that name etched deeply into their minds.

For them, today would remain an unforgettable moment.

Gyeong Un-cheon rushed over.

He didn’t even glance at Eun Mu-yeong, who had lost an arm, and yelled loudly.

“What are you all doing here? Go after him! Form pursuit squads, track him down, and deploy a heaven-earth net to seal off the entire area!”

“Y-Yes, sir!”

“Understood!”

Only then did the martial artists snap out of it and hurriedly ran off, though they looked utterly disheartened.

Gyeong Un-cheon gritted his teeth.

“This can’t be happening. How could I let this happen to the Nine Dragons Clan?”

The position of the supreme ruler was within his reach.

It had seemed so close, just an arm’s reach away, but now it felt impossibly distant.

The human cost was not that great.

At most, about ten people had been killed by Lee Gwak. That was hardly worth mentioning.

The real problem was honor.

The honour of Gyeong Un-cheon, Eun Mu-yeong, and the Nine Dragons clan itself had hit rock bottom.

No matter how robust their forces, without honor, people would not follow or fear them.

Even if the Myriad Merchant Troupe provided immense funding, it was useless without people’s support.

This was the situation Gyeong Un-cheon feared the most.

Having lost both honor and practical benefits…

“I will kill Lee Gwak. I must!”

Though Gyeong Un-cheon burned with rage, he looked just as weak.