Chapter 5: Yes, well. That’s what happened.

“Brother Moyong!”

“Even Young Master Moyong…!”

When Moyong Hwi fell after Hwangbo Seung, the remaining members of the seven were quite surprised.

Yes, they must have been surprised.

Hwangbo Seung fell at the drawing of my sword, Moyong Hwi lost his sword in a single strike and had his jaw shattered by the following kick.

For those who thought I was just wasting away from qi deviation, it must have been a shocking sight.

From my perspective, the seven were nothing more than prey.

All martial arts have inherent weaknesses, that is, ‘vital points’.

It was a comprehensive concept that was hard to define, including not only the form but also the circulation of true qi and the characteristics of the martial art itself.

However, once one understands the vital points, one’s perspective on martial arts changes completely.

This is called eye-opening.

Not only did I reach the state of eye-opening during my time in the Demonic Prison, but I also knew the martial arts of the seven better than they did themselves.

I didn’t know all of them.

The martial arts of the newly established Seomoon Clan were shallow, and the Azure Dragon Silver Manor, being fundamentally a merchant family, was not a subject of research in the first place.

On the other hand, I had dealt with the core martial arts of the Moyong Clan, the Hebei Peng Clan, the Hwangbo Clan, the Diancang Sect, and the Beggar’s Gang at least once.

As a result, I naturally came to know the vital points of various martial arts, and it was only natural that the seven who used those martial arts would be crushed by me.

I might have had trouble with a high-level master, but I was confident I could subdue someone like the seven within five moves.

“Which bastard wants to be crushed next.”

I turned my gaze to the remaining five.

Flinch!

I could see them freeze up, clearly tense.

Seeing Moyong Hwi, who had been acting as the leader after Hwangbo Seung, get crushed in just two moves, they must have lost their will to fight.

“How dare you use demonic arts right in front of the Heavenly Martial Academy!”

“You villain! The Demon Extermination Squad will soon come and execute you!”

They still had their mouths, but their terrified expressions were so obvious that I snorted.

Like a scared dog barking louder.

It was so obvious they had no real combat experience that it was almost pitiful.

Of course, it was greedy to expect someone of a prodigy’s age to have a lot of combat experience.

It’s a stage where they slowly build up combat experience and grow.

On the other hand, even at this age, I had accumulated more combat experience than most warriors.

The reason… was because I had no money.

When I was short on living expenses, I would chase after wanted criminals, participate in bandit subjugations, or go out to exterminate monsters like demons.

Although I did it for the money, it turned out to be beneficial in the end.

I earned money, gained combat experience, and even got the martial name of Heavenly Divine Dragon.

That aside.

“What demonic arts.”

It was so absurd that I couldn’t help but laugh.

They say you only see what you know, and it was just like them, who had been spreading false rumors that I was secretly practicing demonic arts.

“Demonic arts? You people have never even seen real demonic arts. If I had used demonic arts, you would have already melted into a pool of bloody water.”

Their faces turned pale.

“Bl-Bloody Water Demonic Art?”

“Heek?!”

That’s not the bloody water I meant…….

“Ha.”

At this point, it felt meaningless to even talk to them.

Since the wounds of Hwangbo Seung and Moyong Hwi were necrotizing and turning black due to the turbid qi, they would associate anything I said with demonic arts.

Without asking any questions.

“Today will be the most regrettable day of your lives for blocking my path.”

As I limped towards them, they stumbled backward.

“Uwaaaaaah!”

“Kyaaaaaaak!”

Screams of terror erupted from their mouths.

***

The time it took to crush the remaining five was only a moment.

Starting with Paeng Mu-gil of the Peng Clan, Hwa Mu-rin of the Diancang Sect, Sip Bang of the Beggar’s Gang, and Seomoon Seol of the Seomoon Clan.

There was no need to even subdue Hwang Won-pyeong of the Azure Dragon Silver Manor.

“P-please spare me! Please spare me!”

He stood there and wet his pants.

He seemed to have frozen at the sight of blood splattering before his eyes, but I wasn’t particularly disappointed.

What could I expect from a merchant by birth, just a rich man’s son?

“Hand it over.”

“Wh-what….”

“Hand over everything you have.”

My money pouch was feeling empty, so this was perfect.

“H-here it is! Please just don’t kill me!”

Hwang Won-pyeong rummaged through his pockets with trembling hands and took out the bills and a few gold ingots he had.

Peok!

“Uweeeeeeeek!”

Hwang Won-pyeong, struck in the solar plexus, began to throw up everything he had inside.

Wow, he ate a lot.

Could you really swallow all that in the morning?

“Keuuuueueu!”

“My leg, my leeeeg!”

“Sob, sob sob!”

I turned my gaze and saw the self-proclaimed Seven Prodigies of Heavenly Martial groaning as they crawled on the ground.

‘Should I kill them?’

No, that wasn’t the picture I wanted.

It was an opportunity for revenge that came sooner than expected, but I didn’t want to kill them now.

Revenge had to be carried out when I wanted, in the form I wanted.

Limp, limp, I walked towards them.

“Hi, hiiiiiik?!”

“Don’t come here! I said don’t come here!”

Terrified, they scurried backward on their butts, screaming.

Seuk.

I brought the tip of my sword to the face of the fallen and groaning Moyong Hwi.

“What are you trying to….”

Seuk.

“Uwaaaaaaaaauwaaaak!”

Moyong Hwi clutched his face and rolled on the ground.

Jureureureureuk!

Blood flowed freely from the gash carved into Moyong Hwi’s cheek.

It was clear that a deep and large scar that would never fade would be left.

“Y-you! Do you think you can get away with this! You will regret this! You will bitterly regret doing this to me… Keuuueuk!”

I pressed down on his chest with my foot, and Moyong Hwi let out a pained groan.

“Do you know why I’m not killing you?”

“Th-that’s because you’re afraid of being chased by the Murim Alliance….”

“Keukkeuk, keukkeukkeuk!”

It was so absurd that I laughed.

“It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say the chase has already begun. Didn’t you say with your own mouth that a complaint has reached the Alliance Leader?”

“Th-that’s.”

“Nothing will change even if I kill you. I’m going to be hunted anyway, so is there any reason to be careful?”

At my words, Moyong Hwi clamped his mouth shut.

“I just don’t want to kill you right now. I’ll kill you when I come back.”

I didn’t want to kill them as a failed prodigy or a fugitive.

I wanted to get my revenge as a key figure of the Demonic Cult, no, the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.

That would be the greatest revenge against the Orthodox Factions that had thoroughly used, ostracized, discriminated against, and violated me.

“C-coming back?”

“This is the meaning of that.”

I said, poking Moyong Hwi’s cheek with the tip of my sword.

“When you get a scar, look at it and remember that I will come back someday. That day will be the day you all die.”

“Thii… thiiiis…!”

Leaving Moyong Hwi, who was trembling with humiliation, I fairly carved gashes onto the faces of the rest of the seven.

“Keueuk!”

“Kyaaaaaaak!”

The screams of the seven were as sweet to my ears as the sound of a zither played by a master musician.

Murmur murmur!

Despite the early morning, onlookers began to gather due to the unexpected commotion.

“I hope your skills have improved even a little by the time we meet again. I don’t want to cut down opponents who can’t even last a single move.”

I quickly left the scene.

“What do I do now. Haha.”

I was at a loss as to what to do.

Now that it had come to this, a quiet departure was out of the question.

No matter how much of a problem the seven were, they were still official disciples and precious children of renowned orthodox sects.

Having inflicted serious injuries on them and even slashed their faces, there was no way the Heavenly Martial Academy would stay still.

But what bothered me more was the thoughtless remark Moyong Hwi had made.

‘If a complaint has been reported to the Alliance Leader through the Demon Extermination Squad, the chase will begin soon.’

The seven would claim my martial art was a demonic art based on the fact that the area around their wounds necrotized and turned black, so it was safe to assume that a pursuit by the Demon Extermination Squad was inevitable.

‘This has gotten complicated.’

The Demon Extermination Squad I knew was nothing more than evil.

They were a filthy group that took on all sorts of dirty work, acting as the dogs of the Righteous Heavenly Alliance.

Later, through the war with the Demonic Cult, they became even more cruel, eventually becoming no different from demonic practitioners.

Weren’t the members of the Demon Extermination Squad present at the scene of my death?

The thought of being chased by them again made my teeth grind already.

‘The chase by the Demon Extermination Squad will begin within four hours at the latest. If I go straight to the Red Moon Pavilion, they’ll catch up to me.’

Even if I went to the Red Moon Pavilion, I had to throw them off my trail.

‘What should I do?’

I racked my brain for a way to confuse the pursuit.

As various thoughts crossed my mind, I focused on where I was now.

Wuhan in Hubei Province, where the Heavenly Martial Academy was located, had long been a center of logistics through its waterways and a strategic point, as well as a large city where many people lived.

As a result, there were docks and ports all along the riverbank… Ah!

‘Waterways! The waterways!’

Wuhan had the perfect conditions for catching a boat.

I hurried to the port and was lucky to find an express boat about to depart, and I got on.

The destination wasn’t important.

What was important was that it became known that I had taken a boat.

Even though it was early morning, there were quite a few diligent people at the port, so there would be enough witnesses.

Soon, the express boat carrying me began to ride the waves of the Yangtze River and head east.

***

It was late in the afternoon.

“Hoho, hohoho….”

No Dae-yeong, the owner of the Red Moon Pavilion, could only laugh in disbelief.

Heavenly Divine Dragon Jin Yeong-in.

Disciple of the Azure Heaven Divine Warrior Jang Guk-pyeong, twenty-three years old this year.

A promising talent at the Heavenly Martial Academy, but a prodigy who was considered to have lost his life as a warrior due to qi deviation.

Such a Jin Yeong-in had come to his office unannounced and secretly, asking for help because he had caused some trouble.

Wondering what on earth had happened, he decided to listen first, but the story was a spectacle.

“Uh… so.”

No Dae-yeong, who had heard the whole story, opened his mouth as if he was dumbfounded.

“You’re saying you cut down the Seven Prodigies of Heavenly Martial early in the morning and ran here, is that right? Young Master Jin?”

“Yes, well. That’s what happened. Haha.”

“Are you even saying that with a straight face?”

Seeing Jin Yeong-in scratching the back of his head and laughing, No Dae-yeong almost fainted from frustration.

‘Is he crazy?’

There’s a limit to causing trouble, but to be able to laugh after cutting down the Seven Prodigies of Heavenly Martial?

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep