Chapter 356: Feudal Lords of the Empire (3)
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The feudal lords, including Prince Han, hurriedly left the Heaven’s Gift Merchant Company. Although Yeo Bul-jin did not know, the threat the feudal lords and their guards felt from Muk Hui-yeong was that immense.
“How could you, as a feudal lord, cater to the whims of such a lowly commoner, Prince Han?”
Prince Ye, who had stopped the bleeding and wrapped his ear in cloth to finish treatment, grumbled. Prince Han’s eyebrows twitched.
“Your valor reaches the heavens, Prince Ye, but it seems the wisdom accompanying it is somewhat lacking.”
Prince Ye’s expression hardened. It sounded like praise for his valor, but did it not ultimately mean he was foolish?
“If we had protested as a group back then, it wouldn’t have stopped at Prince Ye’s ear; our heads would have flown off. That bastard was fully capable of doing so. And after your ear was cut off, didn’t you remain silent as well, Prince Ye? To come out belatedly like this and rebuke me is a shameful thing, is it not?”
“Then what about the words that seemed to betray the trust of His Imperial Majesty……”
“Naturally, that was a lie. How could we abandon His Imperial Majesty and join hands with a ruffian of unknown origin?”
Prince Han held back from adding, ‘Because you lack such tact, you even had your ear cut off.’ Because going that far would likely waste time bickering with Prince Ye.
In fact, with the exception of Prince Ye, Prince Wen and Prince Xuan had realized long ago that Prince Han was lying. Prince Han was someone who had risen to the rank of feudal lord purely through worldly wisdom and diplomacy.
Belatedly realizing Prince Han’s scheme, Prince Ye expressed admiration. Seeing that, Prince Han immediately continued speaking.
“First of all, we do not have much time given to us right now. If it takes too long, that treacherous New Justice Association Master will think we have other schemes.”
Even while speaking, Prince Han picked up a brush and wrote a letter. In the safe house, there was always a letter hawk ready to be dispatched.
“To deal with an arrogant ruffian, there is only another equally arrogant ruffian.”
The letter hawk flew. Toward Hanzhong, which Prince Han governed.
* * *
About two days had passed. I was still at the Heaven’s Gift Merchant Company. Until the feudal lords returned, I was also in a situation where I could go nowhere.
“The feudal lords have arrived!”
Hearing the news of their visit while waiting like that was exceedingly sweet.
“……However, the atmosphere is quite ominous.”
The messenger told us. Yeo Bul-jin wore a slightly tense expression. Even though I had told him those feudal lords would come seeking revenge, Yeo Bul-jin seemed unable to fully believe my words.
Naturally, Yeo Bul-jin could not help but think that way. Because he was a man who knew better than anyone that the single fathom of a human heart was far deeper and darker than ten fathoms of water.
When we went to greet the feudal lords, just as the messenger had said, the atmosphere among the martial artists behind the feudal lords was far more ominous than that of the feudal lords themselves.
“You have brought many friends with you.”
I smiled brightly on purpose. But no one smiled along with my laughter.
“Do you find this situation amusing?”
“Why are you acting so bloodthirsty all of a sudden? Did we not conclude our conversation on good terms last time?”
“That was then. But thinking about it after returning, I found it exceedingly insolent. For a lowly commoner to attempt to negotiate on equal terms with feudal lords.”
“Aha. So that bothered you.”
I clapped my hands. I still did not withdraw my smile.
“However, shall we be a little more honest with each other?”
“What do you mean?”
“You merely pretended to cater to me back then because you were scared of me on the spot. Fearing that you might die miserably at the hands of that lowly commoner. Having done so, you shouldn’t pretend your mind changed afterward. You were filled with the intention to kill me from the very start, after all.”
“You speak strange slander. Do you think a feudal lord who governs a region possesses such a cowardly liver?”
Prince Han was so brazen that not a single trace of his complexion changed. If I had not possessed the Heavenly Eye, I would have thought I had guessed incorrectly.
“Whether a feudal lord, an emperor, or a commoner, is there anyone whose neck cannot be pierced by a blade?”
“Beyond insolent, you are downright lawless. Where do you dare utter His Imperial Majesty with that foul mouth?”
“Originally, people curse even the Emperor behind his back. That way, the common people can breathe a little as well.”
“For the crime of insulting His Imperial Majesty, you must be summarily executed right here.”
Saying so, Prince Han gestured with his eyes backward. A man with sharp eyes and a scar near his temple stepped forward. He was a man who appeared to be around forty years of age. Prince Han’s high spirits were likely due to that man.
Since I possessed the Heavenly Eye, I could roughly estimate his strength.
“Did you call me because of that brat?”
The man’s tone was sloppy and arrogant for someone addressing a feudal lord.
It was one of two things: either he was that intimate with the feudal lord, or he was someone who did not care about the authority of a feudal lord.
“Is not the New Justice Association Master a master quite renowned in the jianghu?”
“Hmph, no matter how that may be, he is on a completely different level from me. If you thought so, I am rather disappointed in you, Prince Han.”
The man seemed thoroughly dissatisfied with facing me. Knowing his strength, I understood completely.
“And who might you be, Senior?”
“How am I your senior? Are not your seniors those musty old men of the orthodox sects?”
Ah, so he was unorthodox. If an expert of that level existed, did it mean the internal energy of the unorthodox factions was not entirely impure? I learned something new.
“All within the four seas are brothers, so would orthodox and unorthodox truly differ? In an era where even the imperial palace colludes with the Demonic Cult.”
I formed a genial smile. But the man did not smile with me.
“Cease that trivial wordplay. Without any need for idle chatter, we will know once we cross blades.”
The man spoke as if it were a hassle and drew his blade. Strangely, it was a sawtooth saber whose blade formed an uneven, serrated shape. And I knew the master who used that weapon.
“You are Senior Wave Exalt.”
“I told you I hate hearing the word senior from you.”
“If you are one of the Eight Exalts, you certainly deserve to be called senior. Is that not so, Senior?”
Wave Exalt, one of the Eight Exalts. Originally, he had the sobriquet Wave King as the king of wanderers, but after defeating a former member of the Eight Exalts, his title naturally changed to Wave Exalt.
Since wanderers belonged to the unorthodox path, I knew he was also affiliated with the Private Martial Union. It was the moment confirming that the feudal lords were connected to the Private Martial Union.
“Seeing as you keep bringing up senior even when told not to, you never thought of me as a senior from the start, did you?”
“What are you talking about? You are hurting your junior’s feelings.”
“You are truly a born provocateur. I hope the tip of your blade is as sharp as your tongue.”
Wave Exalt unleashed his aura. Normally, when unleashing aura, one refrained from directing it toward one’s own allies, but Wave Exalt sprayed his bloodthirsty aura even toward the feudal lords, as if he cared nothing for that.
The feudal lords, who were practically commoners in terms of martial arts, immediately turned pale upon receiving the aura of one of the Eight Exalts.
“The feudal lords behind you are about to collapse.”
“I have lived too roughly to fight while being considerate of such people.”
Viewed through the Heavenly Eye, his qi was truly rough and fierce. Soon, his figure stretched out like taffy and appeared right before my eyes. It was a frontal attack without the slightest variation.
I leisurely drew Bright Elegance to block it. With a screeching sound, the two blades trembled.
Because the sawtooth saber had a blade shaped like saw teeth, a fight of clashing and parrying generally could not be formed. Once the blade became embedded in the serrations, from then on, it became purely a contest of strength.
Wave King roughly drove his internal energy into the sawtooth saber. The sawtooth saber trembled while radiating blue qi. If it had been an ordinary sword, it would have been twisted and bent in the teeth immediately, or snapped in two, but since my sword was also a renowned blade, that would not happen.
“You use a fine sword. If it were the worn pine-pattern ancient sword of those Daoist priests, it would have snapped long ago.”
“The pine-pattern ancient sword isn’t that weak either.”
In a way, the sawtooth saber, which seized the enemy’s blade and forced a contest of strength, was the natural counter to the Wudang Sect’s martial arts.
Because Wudang’s martial arts specialized in softly flowing with force and turning it back. A sword shaped like saw teeth was difficult to parry and made it hard to display fluid swordsmanship.
Indeed, the sawtooth saber suited Wave Exalt’s martial arts. A martial art typical of the unorthodox path, seeking to suppress purely through rough force. It was a weapon perfectly suited for that.
“If I only knew how to use the Wudang Sect’s martial arts, it would have been somewhat tough.”
“You speak as though you are confident in breaking through it.”
I attempted to pull my sword back. But Wave Exalt pushed his sawtooth saber forward, biting my blade and refusing to let go. It was truly a saber technique like a wolf that refused to let go once it sank its teeth in.
The earth around my feet was scooped out. It was because I was channeling the internal energy Wave King poured through the sword down to the Yongquan Acupoints on the soles of my feet.
“As expected of one who learned from those Daoist priests, you are exceedingly good at deflecting.”
Wave Exalt sneered.
“However, even if the embankment is high, if water floods in heavily, it collapses all the same.”
Wave King was forcing my movement. Being tightly locked by the sawtooth saber was already no different from forcing a contest of strength.
However, I possessed a new weapon. The Heavenly Eye. For a martial artist, being able to see what others could not see was a tremendous weapon.
Even in a seemingly unbroken flow of internal energy, there was a weak point. If I attacked that spot, I could sever the internal energy pouring into me.
“……!”
Wave Exalt’s eyes flew wide open. The aura of internal energy flowing along the sawtooth saber had faded dramatically. He would know as well. That his internal energy had been severed while pouring out.
“What in the world did you do?”
Unable to hide his bewilderment, Wave Exalt retreated. Only then did the sawtooth saber separate from my sword.
Perhaps Wave Exalt himself realized it as well. That his internal energy had been broken and shattered. It was just that until now, no martial artist had ever been able to accomplish that.
If a martial artist with the experience of Wave Exalt suffered it for the first time, denying reality was only natural.
“Was it not Senior who said we would know once we crossed blades without any idle chatter?”
I smiled. Quoting Wave Exalt’s exact words back to him caused his face to flush bright red.
“Your arrogance is severe merely for forcing me back once through sheer luck.”
Wave Exalt’s eyes burned with fire. Once one reached the rank of the Eight Exalts, one had pride. Furthermore, retreating before me, who was far younger than Wave Exalt himself, was a humiliation in itself.
Wave King lunged immediately. This time, he appeared before my eyes just the same, but unlike before, without thrusting his sword, his figure disappeared. I immediately turned my back and blocked with my sword. Wave Exalt attempted a contest of strength with internal energy once more, but I shattered his internal energy again.
At that moment, I gained certainty. I was now a person who would not be pushed back even by the Eight Exalts.
As if unable to believe it, Wave Exalt continuously swung his blade and poured out internal energy, but I dismantled all of that internal energy, causing it to scatter.
Because he had never experienced internal energy being completely dismantled rather than being redirected, his flustered state was clearly felt.
And when a person became flustered, their thoughts shortened, which immediately led to mistakes.
If he were not someone of the Eight Exalts, he might not have made a mistake. However, because he trusted too much in the experience and reputation he had built up until now, he ended up making a mistake.
And in a battle between people of our level, a single mistake meant the outcome of the battle was already decided.
My sword sliced across Wave Exalt’s chest. Even as he watched blood erupt from his own chest, Wave Exalt bore eyes filled with disbelief.