Chapter 214: Sleeping on Brushwood and Tasting Gall (2)
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Chasing after Gang-ryang, Yeon Ho-jeong thought.
‘That was definitely the Ghost Shadow Divine Step.’
An appearance wrapped entirely in a cape.
He was quite tall and looked to have a big build. However, his walking was light, and contrary to his light walking, his aura was somewhat unstable.
Yeon Ho-jeong was able to grasp all of that in an instant.
Breaking through the Martial Arts´ End Wall, all the Four Gods Qi had entered the formal stage. His five senses could read everything about the one he caught sight of once.
‘But I couldn’t read his True Qi.’
The distance was too far, it was a wide-open place, and there were many people.
No matter how strong Yeon Ho-jeong was, it was hard to find out even the characteristics of the True Qi of a person moving at that far distance.
However, that movement. He could never forget the Ghost Shadow Divine Step unique to Gang-ryang, who was renowned as an iron-blooded gambler and one of the Five Great Divine Generals of the Dark Emperor Castle.
‘Extraordinariness within the ordinary. A unique sense of rhythm that you can’t notice unless you look closely. Even Gang-ryang could only freely operate that sense of rhythm towards the very end of the fight.’
In other words, there is a high probability that the current Gang-ryang has not completed the Ghost Shadow Divine Step. Even if history has changed, the depth of enlightenment would hardly change.
‘Is it you?’
Turbulence appeared in Yeon Ho-jeong’s two eyes as he pushed his way through the raging wind.
‘Is it really you?!’
The reason the Ghost Iron Sword Sect was annihilated was because of the Black Dragon Manor. In other words, it could be said to be Yang Cheon’s doing.
‘If it’s him, he could do that.’
Yeon Ho-jeong recalled Gang-ryang.
The eyes of the tenacious man whose nature was brave and who achieved what he set his mind to by any means necessary, although he became undisturbed by most things as he accumulated experience and age.
‘If it’s him, he would have come to look around the enemy camp even to steady his mind.’
One needs to have considerable guts to look around an enemy camp. Just the fact that the Black Dragon Manor, no, the Combat King Yang Cheon intervened would make an ordinary martial artist not even dare to think about coming.
But if it’s Gang-ryang, it’s possible. Gang-ryang was originally that kind of guy. Whether the opponent was a strong person or a weak person, he was a guy who would catch and kill the enemy he had set his sights on, even at the cost of his own life.
‘If it’s really you…’
If this is fate, is it fate?
He had coincidentally met Gang-ryang in the past as well. They joined hands after he subjugated him by force, but if the thing called fate hadn’t intervened, they would never have been together.
A guy he wouldn’t have even kept alive in the first place if it wasn’t for that time and that environment at that time.
Am I coincidentally meeting such Gang-ryang again like this?
‘…!’
Yeon Ho-jeong’s eyes flashed.
Far away, he saw the person in black wearing a cape staring at Mount Yuelu for a long time.
And even spewing out intense murderous intent full from his entire body.
Yeon Ho-jeong’s expression changed abruptly.
‘Ghost King True Qi!’
The unique bloodthirsty energy buried in the murderous intent.
Although it was of a much lower level than he remembered, less polished, and looked excessively rough due to his agitated state of mind.
‘It’s definitely the Ghost King True Qi!’
It was a supreme inner Qi cultivation method counted within the top ten fingers in the Unorthodox Murim. It was a secret divine art that wasn’t even passed down the first half to anyone except the master and successor of the Ghost Iron Sword Sect.
‘It’s you!’
It was really Gang-ryang.
With his overwhelmed heart, his feet almost stepped out first without him realizing. Yeon Ho-jeong painstakingly suppressed his pounding chest.
Srrk.
Soon calming his mind, he drew up the Azure Dragon Qi.
It was the Yin-attribute Azure Dragon Qi, not extracted to the limit, but thoroughly refined and extracted as formless.
Woooong.
The Azure Dragon Qi spread in all directions swept through all the presences nearby. As there were many people around, it was not unreasonable that countless presences were caught in the Azure Dragon Qi.
‘There isn’t anyone.’
But there wasn’t.
There wasn’t a single suspicious person. At least among those caught in the Azure Dragon Qi, there was no one who had learned a suspicious internal energy or hid a secretive power.
If so?
‘Can I be relieved?’
Yeon Ho-jeong’s eyes flashed.
‘No way.’
Murong Jun was a thorough person.
He suddenly came to Hunan Province, and there is no way it is purely with good intentions. Murong Jun definitely came out into the world to play some kind of trick, other than this mission.
‘Murong Jun doesn’t usually move alone. But from what I heard from Beggars’ Successor, he didn’t bring any subordinates.’
Yeon Ho-jeong frowned.
‘He must have brought an escort skilled in stealth.’
It wasn’t just because it was Murong Jun. Just as high officials and nobles are accompanied by escort warriors, those with high positions in the Jianghu are all accompanied by escorts.
It’s merely a difference of whether they show it or not.
‘If he really brought an escort skilled in stealth, there is no way he wouldn’t have sent him after me after noticing my change in expression.’
He tasted bitterness.
A person who doesn’t even get caught by the qi sense of the Azure Dragon Qi? At this level, it would be safe to say they are at the top level in the industry.
‘He brought an incredible person.’
It was then.
Srrk.
The person in black, presumed to be Gang-ryang, moved.
Paaang.
He wasn’t running, but the speed was considerable.
Looking at the person in black heading towards the eastern forest before he knew it, Yeon Ho-jeong felt dumbfounded.
‘Th-that bastard!’
Isn’t he an idiot, that guy?
If they missed the successor of the Ghost Iron Sword Sect, naturally the Black Dragon Manor would be frantic to catch him as well.
Yet what is that idiotic walk?
It was a footwork that anyone could see was imbued with high-class martial principles. A person who was spewing murderous intent while glaring at Mount Yuelu where the Black Dragon Manor is located is leaving swiftly using a high-class footwork.
Who wouldn’t be suspicious?
Srrk.
In an instant, Yeon Ho-jeong flinched.
‘There were, as expected.’
No suspicious person was caught in the Azure Dragon Qi.
But that was because there was no gaze directed at him. This was the front yard of the Black Dragon Manor, and naturally, countless informants were surrounding the area.
And he felt the eyes of those informants turning to Gang-ryang in unison.
The gazes were so natural that even Yeon Ho-jeong almost didn’t notice them. He was reminded anew that the informants of the Unorthodox were on a different level from the Orthodox’s side.
That wasn’t the problem.
‘Stupid bastard!’
As if he couldn’t steady his agitated mind, he was deploying the Ghost Shadow Divine Step in earnest.
There was no way a person with a good eye wouldn’t recognize that footwork as the martial arts of the Ghost Iron Sword Sect.
Yeon Ho-jeong, who was about to immediately chase after Gang-ryang, flinched for a moment.
‘…’
Damn it.
‘He’s definitely attached to me.’
No gaze or presence was felt at all.
However, Yeon Ho-jeong was certain. That Murong Jun’s eyes were looking at him right now.
The reason was that he himself would have done exactly the same.
‘Damn it. It’s not like I can find him and kill him.’
He didn’t seem like a guy who could be found just by looking for him.
‘First, he will listen to my demand… Gasp!’
In the brief moment he paused, the person in black presumed to be Gang-ryang was disappearing far away.
Yeon Ho-jeong felt his mind becoming urgent.
That forest looked dangerous no matter who looked at it. It was surrounded on all sides, and judging by the sound of flowing water, there was a valley too, so rashly entering a place like that was perfect for getting surrounded.
No, before being surrounded, the probability of them setting a trap was extremely high.
Even so, he couldn’t send a sound transmission. Seeing that half-baked behavior, the danger of even himself getting tangled up was high if he made a mistake.
He couldn’t ruin the mission just to save Gang-ryang.
But he couldn’t watch Gang-ryang die just to achieve the mission either.
Srrk.
Gang-ryang disappeared from his line of sight.
Strength went into Yeon Ho-jeong’s fist.
‘What do I do. Should I just return like this?!’
Does the connection end here? Now that he had returned to the past, would his fate with the Gang-ryang he encountered again end merely as a passing whiff of blood?
It was then.
Ssss.
The Black Tortoise Qi twitched, and at the same time, the Vermilion Bird Qi surged.
‘Murderous intent?!’
It was murderous intent. It was an extremely insidious and sharp murderous intent too.
And that murderous intent was emitting from the forest Gang-ryang had entered.
Yeon Ho-jeong closed his eyes.
‘…Like a damn bastard.’
Woooong.
“Hey.”
The Azure Dragon Qi rising from his entire body extremely stabilized his physical body.
He had mainly used the Azure Dragon Qi while clashing with the Unorthodox. For the time being, he had to settle matches with the Azure Dragon Qi and practical close-quarters combat skills.
“I know you are listening to my words.”
Yeon Ho-jeong said as calmly as possible.
“Clan Head Murong probably sent you to monitor me, but this is the Black Dragon Manor. And everyone here is an informant of the Unorthodox.”
He didn’t know if it would work or not. But he had to try what he could.
If he still doesn’t take his eyes off him after this… it couldn’t be helped then.
‘Since I made a choice, I have to take responsibility.’
Flash!
Yeon Ho-jeong glared.
“From now on, I will indiscriminately broadcast the location where your lord is to all the Unorthodox informants. Of course, they shouldn’t know it’s me, so I’ll shoot it via sound transmission.”
Mu-yeon, who was hiding and watching Yeon Ho-jeong, was inwardly startled.
Yeon Ho-jeong continued his words.
“Decide for yourself whether to inform your lord of this information, or follow me according to your lord’s order. Let me say this in advance, if they find out someone from the Murong Clan’s side has come, the Black Dragon Manor will also send a formidable force.”
“…!!”
“Make the judgment yourself.”
Pasak!
The moment his words ended, Yeon Ho-jeong moved like a gale.
* * *
Claaang! Smack!
A heavy greatsword vertically split the head of a warrior wearing a black sheep mask.
It was a powerful and domineering sword strike. It was simple and honest, but because it was so fast, the sword power itself was strong.
Pararak!
About thirty members of the Black Sheep Squad surrounded Gang-ryang’s surroundings in an instant.
Just when he thought they were striking in, they formed a formation, and just when he thought they were forming a formation, attacks came in before he knew it.
It was a simple yet incredibly effective tactic. It could be called an anti-martial artist formation that could never be used if their teamwork didn’t match.
“Huuuk.”
Gang-ryang’s eyes faintly shook as he looked around.
‘They’re strong!’
After the battle started, the number of enemies he had killed was nine.
He had exhausted more than thirty percent of his Ghost King True Qi to kill those nine.
‘These bastards, they’re strong!’
At this level, they would not fall behind even if compared to the top elites within the Sword Sect.
Paaaang!
Palm force poured in from all sides. They had aimed for that momentary opening when he was catching his breath.
‘Damn it!’
Gang-ryang’s body rotated.
Popopopopong!
All of the Black Sheep Squad’s palm force dispersed at the slash drawing a circle.
It wasn’t a very strong palm force than he thought. But the number of palm forces exceeded twenty. Gang-ryang felt his palm gripping the sword handle throbbing as if it would tear.
‘Dog-like!’
The Black Sheep Squad absolutely never ran wild in excitement.
They were thorough and tenacious. Furthermore, they were adept at disrupting the opponent’s sense of rhythm, so attacks came in the moment he felt like he had gathered his strength.
How meticulous and precise those attacks were, his breathing was already about to be disrupted.
If his breathing gets disrupted, his inner power operation becomes unsmooth, and if his inner power operation is unsmooth, the original power of his martial arts doesn’t come alive.
What was even more chilling was that the leader, Heuk-jang, was only watching with his arms crossed.
Gang-ryang shouted.
“You bastards! Attack properly!”
Paaaak!
Gang-ryang, who charged to the left like a beast, struck down his greatsword.
Claaang!
Gang-ryang’s martial arts was certainly amazing.
As he struck down with one sword, the atmosphere seemed to burn up. Four Black Sheep Squad members had to gather their strength to block that one sword.
Parararak!
Gang-ryang’s body momentarily swept the surroundings like a storm.
Cla-claaang! Smack! Smaaack!
It was the Ghost Shadow Sword Form following the Ghost Shadow Divine Step. At the murderous art deployed while enduring a considerable consumption of internal energy, the lives of three Black Sheep Squad members flew away again.
“Cough! Heok. Heok.”
At the same time, Gang-ryang’s breathing became even rougher.
Wooooong!
The Ghost King True Qi violently shook his Dantian like boiling water.
‘Damn it!’
He shook the formation with force and killed three more.
Even so, the Black Sheep Squad was exactly the same. They aimed at him with the same posture while wearing those incomparably ominous masks, and a bloodthirstiness he hadn’t felt previously seemed to snatch at his ankles.
Gang-ryang gritted his teeth.
He couldn’t see a path to pierce through and advance.