Chapter 8: Revenge (3)
Ouyang Po, leader of the Black Path Gang.
He was gritting his teeth as he watched the bloody battle taking place in the corridor right now.
The appearance of a demonic practitioner who had mastered demonic arts.
What did this mean?
Trickle—
Cold sweat drenched the back of his neck.
Ouyang Po was originally a martial artist who was born and raised in the heterodox faction.
Just as the ‘Orthodox’ of the Orthodox Faction was not ‘righteous (正)’ but ‘fixed (定)’, the ‘Heterodox’ of the Heterodox Sects was not ‘evil (邪)’ but ‘similar (似)’.
Just as the Orthodox Faction did not mean a ‘righteous group,’ the Heterodox Sects also did not mean an ‘evil group.’
The only difference was a tendency to place relatively less importance on justifications and norms; in terms of worshiping martial arts and cultivating the body and mind, the two were concepts that shared the same track.
……But it was not so for the demonic (魔).
As the literal meaning of the character, it carried the meaning of ‘non-human,’ and was evil itself, far surpassing the Black Path, which was referred to as a rough and inhumane group even among the heterodox faction.
Regardless of whether it was orthodox or heterodox, the demonic was a public enemy that had to be unconditionally destroyed.
‘What on earth is that bastard! Why in the world did he appear in the Black Path Gang!’
When he first saw the attacker’s face, Ouyang Po thought he was an expert of the Orthodox Faction.
‘Who else would do this except those Orthodox Faction bastards who are infatuated with their own definition of justice.’
Judging by how he cut off the heads of the Four Heroes of the Black Path and rolled them over, he thought he might be a bastard who was as uprightly crazy as a bamboo pole, but…… that thought changed with the death of the Cao Family Manor’s escort warrior.
‘No matter how crazy of a bastard he is, this is crossing the line. He cannot belong to the Orthodox Faction. He is underworld. That guy must be from the underworld!’
But all of it was wrong.
That was the demonic (魔). It was a terrifying existence that was on an entirely different track from the orthodox (定) and heterodox (似).
Ouyang Po thought.
‘A demonic practitioner is a beast who only knows how to run wild and lose control. It would be no different from a wild beast coming down from the mountain. So I must quickly escape through the back gate and send a request for help to either the Heterodox Alliance or the Martial Alliance.’
Demonic arts were originally like that.
In the beginning, the learning speed was incredibly fast, but once it passed the midpoint, nine times out of ten, they would become insane.
This could only be overcome by reaching the supreme realm in the latter half, but there were hardly any demonic practitioners who survived to that realm.
Even if there were, it would only be after they were already branded as public enemies of the martial world and died trapped in the inescapable net, or were imprisoned in the dungeon.
…Thud! …Thud! …Thud!
The enemy was beating the Cao Family Manor’s escort warrior to death with the bone.
Ouyang Po, who took his eyes off the face of the escort warrior who had practically become a meat batter, crept toward the secret passage inside the inner chamber.
At that time,
“……You are Ouyang Po, right?”
An unbelievable thing happened.
Human words came out of the mouth of the demonic practitioner.
“!?”
Ouyang Po, who was about to escape, stopped in his tracks, startled as if he had seen a ghost.
‘He has…… reason?’
It was an astonishing thing.
To think that there was a demonic practitioner in the world who maintained his sanity.
‘If so……’
His legs began to tremble violently.
The opponent was a demonic practitioner. A demonic practitioner who possessed sanity.
If that was the case, there was a high possibility that the opponent was an existence who had ascended to the supreme realm.
‘A peak expert!’
For Ouyang Po, who was standing at the threshold of going from second-rate to first-rate, it was a realm higher than the sky.
Sssssss……
Soon, the demonic practitioner began to restrain his aura.
Surprisingly, the thick demonic energy that had been felt until then completely vanished.
Ouyang Po despaired even more.
If it was a powerhouse capable of controlling demonic energy on his own, he could never defeat him even if he died and was reborn.
He knelt down abruptly in front of the enemy.
And he began to beg desperately, rubbing his hands together.
“Please spare my life! If only you spare my life, I will do anything!”
* * *
Chui was suppressing the demonic energy through the breathing technique of the Miao Tribe.
As he absorbed the clear energy in the air and stored it in his dantian, the acrid energy that was raging like a storm gradually subsided.
Sssssss……
The escort warrior of the Cao Family Manor whom he had just killed became a Spear Ghost and clung to Chui.
[Yo…… ung…… ma…… ster……]
The karma of the slaughter clung to his soul, and because of that, the internal energy of the Spear Ghost Calling became even deeper.
Since he had absorbed another strong Spear Ghost following the Four Heroes of the Black Path, Chui’s realm rose as well.
Chui reached the fourth tier of the Bowed Pavilion in an instant.
It was a realm that had taken him over a year to reach in his past life.
Right at that moment,
“P-Please spare my life!”
Ouyang Po, the leader of the Black Path Gang, bowed his head.
“If only you spare my life, I will do anything!”
Although he was trembling, he resolutely continued speaking.
“T-Today is the day we offer the tribute to the Heterodox Alliance. If a problem arises, I would just die like a fly’s life and that would be the end of it, but…… I am worried that by any chance, a troublesome matter might occur for the esteemed one!”
In a word, it meant that since he was under the protection of the Heterodox Alliance, there would be repercussions if he was killed carelessly.
Chui hesitated for a moment.
The opponent seemed to have misunderstood something about Chui’s level of martial arts, and he felt that if he utilized this opportunity well, things might be resolved much more easily than expected.
Chui said briefly,
“Cripple your own martial arts.”
“W-What? My martial arts?”
“If you don’t want to, then die.”
“······.”
Ouyang Po gritted his teeth.
If he shattered his own dantian to destroy his martial arts, he would become a cripple.
In that case, since it was no different from being dead anyway, it was worth making a desperate struggle.
Right at that moment.
Shudder—
A cold sensation settled on the back of the prostrate Ouyang Po’s head.
The moment he hastily tried to retreat backward,
Crack!
Chui’s bone grazed Ouyang Po’s head, missing slightly.
“Kkeuhg!?”
He allowed the attack because he was lying flat in fear.
Ouyang Po retreated unsteadily, bleeding profusely.
Chui was slowly walking toward him.
Ouyang Po shouted as if spitting it out,
“You bastard! You are not a peak expert! How dare a mere second-rate martial artist!”
He instantly gauged the depth of the opponent.
“What kind of trickery did you use to deceive my eyes!”
“······.”
Chui merely smirked.
Whoosh—
The bone was swung.
A dark red energy crept up through the bone and was scattered into the air.
“Keu-heuk! Cough! W-What is this!?”
Ouyang Po, who inhaled the red energy spreading into the air, coughed repeatedly.
His eyes stung and his mouth felt spicy.
Somehow, he felt as if the internal energy flowing inside his body had turned turbid.
[Kikikikikiki……]
[Die…… You die too……]
[Come with us…… Gang Leader……]
Moreover, familiar laughter continued to sound in his ears.
They were the voices of the dead Black Path Gang members.
“U-Uwaaa…… Uwaaaaaah!”
Ouyang Po drew the saber at his waist and swung it repeatedly.
However, the spirits of the dead Black Path Gang members continued to hover around Ouyang Po’s body.
At that moment,
Spinnn—
Ouyang Po’s body staggered.
Blood was pouring from the back of his head, which had been struck by the bone while he was lying prostrate earlier.
It seemed he had been hit in the wrong spot.
“T-This……”
Gradually, the strength in his fingertips faded.
The sword he was holding began to grow heavier and heavier.
A dark shadow fell in front of the staggering Ouyang Po.
“If things were as usual, it might have been a bit difficult to kill you.”
Chui nodded toward the staggering Ouyang Po.
Originally, Ouyang Po was a martial artist who was on the verge of the first-rate realm.
If he had made up his mind and focused only on defense, it would have been quite troublesome for Chui as well.
However, because the guy misunderstood something on his own and wavered, the situation became much easier.
Gurgle!
The Four Heroes of the Black Path and the Cao Family Manor’s escort warrior became Spear Ghost and assisted Chui.
The spirit of a strong person is like a spiritual medicine that makes one’s internal energy even deeper.
Chui gripped the bone firmly.
And he swung it in a straight line toward Ouyang Po in front of him.
Ouyang Po hastily tried to avoid it, but
…Crack!
he narrowly ended up giving up his elbow.
“Kkeuhg!”
The elbow grazed by the bone was instantly shattered.
Ignoring his arm dangling downward, Ouyang Po stabbed his sword in a straight line.
However, Chui bent his waist with bizarre movements that did not seem human, dodging Ouyang Po’s attack.
“What!?”
Ouyang Po shouted in surprise, but it was already too late.
Chui was familiar not with fights where form clashed against form, but with large-scale, massive chaotic battles.
He knew how to survive amidst all variables, such as not only swung swords but also flying arrows, enemies fallen on the ground, scattered body fragments, exploding gunpowder, fire, blood, dust, mud, and death throes.
Regardless of the trajectory that human anticipation could reach, Chui knew the movements to take an enemy’s life at any time and from any posture.
‘This bastard is not just a second-rate martial artist. A highly trained assassin, or what is he……!?’
He was too free to be said to belong to any sect.
His movements had discipline to be called a rogue.
He was openly straightforward to be called an assassin.
Moreover, demonic energy?
However, Ouyang Po’s thoughts could not continue to the end.
Whoosh—
Chui threw his body into the air and thrust the bone in his hand forward.
The bone, extending like a harpoon, shattered both of Ouyang Po’s collarbones and struck his Adam’s apple.
“Kke-hek!”
Ouyang Po floundered while supporting his collarbones with one hand.
Due to that, Chui’s bone fell once more onto his fully exposed torso.
Crack!
This time, it was his flank.
Ouyang Po sat down, vomiting up everything he had eaten.
Chui’s bone was loosely lowered in front of him.
At that moment,
“Ugh! Uh-uhhh!”
Ouyang Po began to wave his hands in dismissal.
“P-Please spare my life, Great Hero! Please, at least my life……”
He began to beg with tears and snot flowing.
It was a far more submissive attitude than before.
If the people of Inner Pine County knew that the great leader of the Black Path Gang was showing such a sight, everyone would surely be shocked out of their wits.
Because at least within Inner Pine County, he was an existence no different from King Yama, holding the power of life and death over countless commoners.
However,
“Bring the map of the Cao Family Manor.”
In front of Chui, he was now merely a bug that could be crushed to death at any time.
“T-The Cao Family Manor, you say? Understood! I will bring it right away!”
Ouyang Po crawled like a dog from his prostrate position toward the inner chamber, and soon returned carrying a large map, presenting it to Chui.
Chui put the map in his breast pocket and said,
“Do you have any money lent to the Tiger Pit Sect?”
“W-What? The Tiger Pit Sect?”
“Do you have it or not?”
“I-I do! There are debt documents!”
“Where is it?”
After trembling, Ouyang Po looked toward one side of the drawer inside the inner chamber.
…Boom!
Chui smashed the drawer by striking it down with the bone.
Then he pulled out all the debt documents, slave contracts, ledgers, and so on that were inside it.
Ouyang Po was kneeling, dripping blood and cold sweat.
“G-Great Hero. If only you spare my life, I will reward you greatly……”
“How many were there?”
“Yes?”
Ouyang Po raised his head with a puzzled expression.
Chui asked him.
“The people who begged for their lives in front of you just like this. How many were there.”
“G-Great Hero…… please……”
Ouyang Po lowered his head as if he were about to cry.
But Chui only looked through the ledgers in his hand with an indifferent expression.
“You kidnapped commoner women from other provinces, raped them, sold them to red-light districts, exploited their earnings, and grew the Black Path Gang largely with that money. You also accumulated a lot of debt for the Swift Tiger Escort Agency without their knowledge. Through borrowed-name bonds, that is.”
“T-The Black Path all do it like that. I am also merely a lackey……”
Ouyang Po could not finish his words.
It was because Chui struck down with the bone repeatedly.
Crack— crack! Crack! Crack!
Both of Ouyang Po’s knees were shattered and both of his hands were crushed.
“Aaargh!”
He ended up rolling on the floor in a miserable state.
Chui kicked the brazier nearby and burned all the ledgers and various documents.
The fire consumed all the ledgers, grew in size, and began to burn the entire inner chamber.
“With this, the resentment of the Swift Tiger Escort Agency’s escorts should be somewhat resolved.”
At the mention of the Swift Tiger Escort Agency, Ouyang Po’s eyes widened.
In front of such a man, Chui leaned his face in.
“Now it’s time to take revenge for my brother.”
Chui raised the bone high and struck Ouyang Po’s head directly.
Crack!
The long corridor was split into two pieces.
It was the same for Ouyang Po’s head.
“······.”
Chui stuck his head out of the corridor window and looked at the Black Path Gang members coming up toward him.
Even at a glance, the number was close to one hundred.
For Chui, who was tired from breaking through all the way here, it was a difficult number to handle.
However,
Sssssss……
From the blood-red stained floor, a new spirit raised its body.
Ouyang Po. The former owner of the Black Path Gang, who had just died and become a Spear Ghost, became Chui’s new strength.
…Crack!
A sound of something tearing occurred inside his dantian, and the amount of his internal energy increased rapidly.
This was the true power of the demonic art ‘Spear Ghost Calling (倀鬼稱)’ which absorbed strong people and summoned them as Spear Ghost.
Thud— thud— thud—
Chui holding the bone slowly went down toward the bottom of the stairs.
The sound of the remnants of the Black Path Gang coming up from below was heard.
“The night will be long today.”
Perhaps he would be able to warm up his body to his heart’s content.
Unrivaled Spear Ghost