Chapter 104. I Told You, I’m Going First.

“Hwang Won-pyeong pays his respects to the Dem… no, the Seventh Young Master of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult!”

Having performed a full prostration, Hwang Won-pyeong bowed his head to Jin Cheon.

It was an act possible because his foundation was that of a merchant, not a martial artist.

“N-no!”

“Young Master Hwang! What on earth are you doing?”

The martial artists were greatly flustered by Hwang Won-pyeong’s actions.

They had thought it was just a common situation where martial artists got into a squabble in an inn…

“You damn bastards!”

Hwang Won-pyeong, on the contrary, got angry at the martial artists.

“What are you all doing? Our opponent is the Seventh Young Master of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult! Quickly, prostrate yourselves! If you don’t want to die!”

“……?”

“If you keep your heads held high, you’ll all die!”

However, despite Hwang Won-pyeong’s shout, the martial artists only exchanged glances and did not bow their heads to Jin Cheon.

“Th-the Seventh Young Master of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult…?”

“That traitor who defected to the Demonic Cult?”

While everyone was hesitant, a few of them showed hostility towards Jin Cheon.

“How dare you Demonic Cult bastards come here!”

“Do you think Demonic Cult followers can set foot in Guangdong Province and leave unscathed!”

A few of them drew their weapons like lightning.

“N-no! What are you doing! Please stop! You’ll all die!”

“Young Master Hwang, how can you bow your head to a Demonic Cult bastard! Have you no shame?”

A martial artist dressed in the uniform of the Diancang Sect shouted at Hwang Won-pyeong.

“Is shame what matters now? We’re all about to die! All of us!”

“A martial artist does not bow his head to the enemy even with a sword at his neck!”

“What’s the use of all that if you’re dead? Shouldn’t we save our lives first?”

“And you can still call yourself a martial artist after that, Young Master Hwang?”

“I am not a martial artist! I’m a merchant!”

“Ha!”

The Diancang Sect martial artist let out a scoff as if he couldn’t believe it.

“Yes, continue to live so wretchedly…”

Pang!

A jet-black powerful qi pierced through the head of the Diancang Sect martial artist.

Thud!

His fallen head had a hole the size of an adult’s fist, and white brain matter and crimson blood flowed out.

“If you don’t want to live wretchedly, I have no choice but to kill you.”

Jin Cheon said with a grin.

“……!”

Hwang Won-pyeong and the martial artists who saw the scene were startled.

Just handling powerful qi was something most martial artists couldn’t even dream of in their entire lives, but to think he could fire a finger powerful qi and pierce a person’s head…

“We-we pay our respects to the Seventh Young Master of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.”

“We pay our respects to the Seventh Young Master.”

One by one, the martial artists bowed their heads to Jin Cheon.

“So-called martial artists bowing their heads to the enemy?”

A bitter smile appeared on Jin Cheon’s lips.

Pang, paang, pang, pang, pang!

Soul-Chasing Finger Powerful Qi flew towards the martial artists who had come with Hwang Won-pyeong.

“……!”

They couldn’t even make a squeak.

They all had their heads or hearts pierced and died on the spot.

‘Wh-what does this crazy bastard want me to do!’

Hwang Won-pyeong couldn’t figure out what to do in the face of Jin Cheon’s actions.

He killed them if they begged, and he killed them if they tried to fight.

In the end, wasn’t he just going to kill them?

* * *

Jin Cheon didn’t even bat an eye after carrying out a massacre.

“I’m a bit busy right now.”

Jin Cheon said to Hwang Won-pyeong, who was still prostrated.

“I’ll make some special time for you. Come and sit.”

“I-I was wrong!”

Hwang Won-pyeong slammed his head on the floor.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

Drip, crimson blood gushed out, but Hwang Won-pyeong did not stop banging his head.

“Please, I beg you, forgive me!”

“Enough, come and sit.”

“Yes…?”

“I’m busy as it is. Do I have to leisurely watch you bang your head?”

“Ah, I understand!”

Hwang Won-pyeong scurried over and sat in front of Jin Cheon.

“I don’t think that’s your seat.”

“……?”

“I’d appreciate it if you knew your place.”

“I-I’m sorry!”

Hwang Won-pyeong, startled, got down from the chair and knelt before Jin Cheon.

“Why did you do it back then?”

Jin Cheon asked simply.

“Th-there were no personal feelings involved.”

“Really?”

“I just hung out with the Seven Prodigies because I needed to build connections. I never wanted to bully you, Young Master.”

What Hwang Won-pyeong said was true.

The reason he had painstakingly entered the Heavenly Martial Academy—by consuming all sorts of spiritual medicines and even giving bribes—despite his martial arts and aptitude being nothing special, was to build connections with the people of Murim as the heir of the Azure Dragon Silver Manor.

Wealth and martial prowess were inextricably linked.

To do big business on the vast stage of the Central Plains, it was an indispensable element to have good relationships with the people of Murim and help each other.

The people of Murim needed money, and the merchants needed power.

“Hmm. I understand. But that doesn’t mean what you did to me is forgiven.”

“I-I have committed a mortal sin.”

“Do you want to live?”

“Yes…?”

“I asked if you want to live.”

“Well… isn’t that obvious? Haha, hahaha…”

Hwang Won-pyeong nervously rolled his eyes.

Recalling the merciless slaughter Jin Cheon had just committed, he couldn’t predict when he might suddenly change his mind and kill him, even while speaking like this.

“Then prove it. Prove whether you’re a bastard worth saving.”

“Uh. Hmm.”

“Surely you’re not thinking of buying your way out with money, are you?”

Jin Cheon gave a cold smile.

“N-no, sir! How could I offer loose change to the Seventh Young Master of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult!”

“Then how will you prove it?”

“Could you please give me some time to think? The situation is so sudden, it’s not easy to satisfy you, Seventh Young Master…”

“Alright, then.”

“……?”

“I’ll give you plenty of time. But you’ll have to follow us for a while.”

Jin Cheon grinned at Hwang Won-pyeong.

“Surely you didn’t think I’d let you go.”

“……”

“You’d better use your head. Otherwise, not only you but also that great Azure Dragon Silver Manor of yours will be shattered.”

When Jin Cheon laid down the threat, Hwang Won-pyeong couldn’t say a word and just hung his head low.

He had no right to feel wronged.

It was a fact that he had ganged up with the so-called Seven Prodigies in the past and bullied Jin Cheon.

‘Damn it all. No wonder the fortune telling this morning felt ominous.’

Hwang Won-pyeong bitterly regretted not believing his fortune this morning.

* * *

The naval battle on the Yangtze River was truly fierce.

The Yama Fortress, led by So U-bin, killed, and killed, and killed again the swarming Righteous Heavenly Alliance martial artists and government forces, proving that they were no mere band of water bandits.

The secret to how the Yama Fortress managed to hold on somehow despite the disadvantageous situation was due to the performance of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult’s martial artists and So U-bin.

In particular, So U-bin’s martial prowess was nothing short of dazzlingly great.

So U-bin, who used the Wind Blade Fan Wing Edge, the greatest Fan Art under heaven, based on the Puppet Black Demonic Qi, the family martial art of the Puppet So Clan, was fully deserving of his name, the Evil Flower Young Master.

It was to the point that the corpses piled up in front of him numbered nearly a hundred.

However, So U-bin was not without his limits.

As the fight continued, So U-bin’s movements became slower and slower, and minor injuries began to accumulate one by one.

“Anyway, no matter how many vermin I kill, they never seem to decrease.”

So U-bin wore a twisted smile as he looked at the enemies swarming like a pack of dogs.

But they were no match for So U-bin.

“The martial arts of a demonic soldier are truly surprising.”

A middle-aged martial artist, exuding a chilly aura, approached So U-bin.

The emblem of a hawk’s eye was embroidered on his sleeve.

Seeing the mark, known as the Eagle Eye Emblem, he was clearly a master of the Diancang Sect.

“I am Deung Cheon-pung, a disciple of the great Diancang Sect. Today, I will make an example of you.”

“Heh. The bastard who goes around with the grandiose title of Diancang Divine Sword.”

So U-bin sneered upon realizing who his opponent was.

The Diancang Divine Sword was a renowned master.

His estimated martial arts level was approximately Transcendent Master.

He was known to have participated in the Righteous-Demonic War when he was a prodigy and achieved some merit, and since then, he was an active martial artist who was still vigorously active as one of the masters the Diancang Sect prided itself on.

As he was a figure expected to one day break through the wall and reach the Realm of Transformation, he was an opponent who could never be taken lightly.

A true master, on a different level from those he had fought so far, had stepped forward.

“A greenhorn demonic soldier dares to comment on my title.”

“Get your words straight. Not a demonic soldier, but a Demonic Lord.”

So U-bin gave a grin.

“I am the Fifth Young Master of the great Heavenly Demon Divine Cult. I am not someone to be called a demonic soldier by the likes of you.”

“A disciple of the Iron-Blooded Demonic God?”

“The world has gotten better. That the likes of a nobody like you dare to utter her title.”

“You bastard!”

The enraged Deung Cheon-pung drew his sword like lightning.

“Very well, today I will cut you down and send your head to the Iron-Blooded Demonic God to hold her accountable for the sin of raising a demonic soldier.”

“There’s a limit to not knowing one’s place. Aren’t you ashamed to say such things even when you know your position?”

“Shut up!”

Deung Cheon-pung rushed towards So U-bin.

Soon, a fierce battle unfolded between So U-bin and Deung Cheon-pung, a fierce engagement where life and death were decided in the blink of an eye.

The battle began with Deung Cheon-pung’s overwhelming offensive, and so it continued.

Deung Cheon-pung was a Transcendent Master who had mastered the Diancang Sect’s ultimate technique, the Sun-Piercing Sword Art, and as someone who had participated in the past Righteous-Demonic War, he was a seasoned martial artist who had been through all sorts of hardships.

On the other hand, although So U-bin’s martial arts level itself was outstanding, he was exhausted from the long battle.

Deung Cheon-pung was a worthy opponent against whom victory couldn’t be guaranteed even when So U-bin was in his best condition, so fighting now was bound to be disadvantageous.

“The righteous cannot be defeated by the demonic.”

“Kugh!”

“The sword of Diancang will execute you.”

While Deung Cheon-pung was cornering So U-bin like a rat.

“Gack!”

“Aaargh!”

The martial artists of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult and the water bandits of the Yama Fortress couldn’t withstand the enemy’s assault and fell one by one.

They had been holding on somehow thanks to So U-bin’s efforts, but when that became impossible, the balance of power crumbled.

Just like that, the naval battle on the Yangtze River seemed to be ending with the overwhelming victory of the Righteous Heavenly Alliance and the government forces.

* * *

Meanwhile, as soon as Jin Cheon’s party left the inn, they ran along the Yangtze River towards the scene of the naval battle.

It was around the time they had been running like mad for about two hours.

“My lord! Over there!”

Danmok Cheong pointed to a spot in the distance where dozens of ships were entangled.

The problem was the distance.

From where Jin Cheon’s party was to where the battle was taking place was well over several dozen jang.

Moreover, because they had rushed here in a hurry using their movement arts, there was no boat to take them to the battle site.

But such a thing was no problem for the martial artists of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.

In the Blood Wolf Corps, water arts and swimming were taught as essentials, so there was no way they would be stranded just because there was no boat.

“Commander Dan.”

“Yes, my lord.”

“I’m going first, so take command of the Seventh Divine Demon Squad and join me.”

“Then, my lord, you will…?”

“I told you, I’m going first.”

After saying that, Jin Cheon leaped towards the Yangtze River.

The scene that unfolded next was nothing short of astonishing.

Chwaaaaaa!

Jin Cheon’s two feet glided across the surface of the Yangtze River as if it were a sheet of ice.

Heavenly Demon Fighting Soul Martial Art, Ghost Soul Dance.

The greatest movement art under heaven, said to make even flight possible upon mastery, was unfolding.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep