Chapter 9: Leave Life and Death to the Heavens.

A very long time ago.

Jin Yeong-in recalled a conversation he had with his master.

One day, he suddenly became curious about how to escape a crisis and had asked for guidance.

‘Master.’

‘Why do you call?’

‘What should I do if I find myself in a crisis?’

‘What kind of crisis?’

‘When I can’t think of any way to escape? What they call a life-or-death crisis.’

‘First, you have to fight. Are you going to stand there trembling until you get stabbed to death?’

The master retorted as if to ask if that was even a question.

‘Of course not.’

‘Then why do you ask?’

‘Isn’t there some kind of special method?’

‘If there is such a thing, let me know first. Why don’t you teach this master? Then I will serve you as my master.’

‘…….’

Feeling like he had asked a foolish question, he was about to move on, thinking, “Of course,” when the master spoke.

‘My disciple.’

‘Yes, Master.’

‘I assure you, there is no special method to escape a crisis in this world.’

‘Ah?’

‘If there is a way to escape, is it a crisis? It’s called a crisis because you can’t go forward or back, when you feel like you’re cornered and about to die.’

Hearing that, he couldn’t help but nod, thinking it was true.

As the master said, if there were such a method, who in this world would die in a crisis?

‘Perhaps.’

The master spoke in a rather serious tone, so he straightened his posture.

The master would become serious like that whenever he talked about the martial principles he had realized throughout his life or the mindset of a warrior.

‘If you find yourself in a crisis, leave life and death to the heavens, and empty this first.’

The master said, tapping his head with his finger.

‘Are you telling me not to think?’

‘Yes. In the time you spend wracking your brain and rolling your eyes because you don’t want to die, swing your sword one more time. It’s not enough to be fully focused on the enemy you’re facing, but you’re having other thoughts? Then you have nothing to say even if you get stabbed and die, right?’

‘But…….’

‘What did this master say a warrior’s mindset should be?’

‘You told me not to fear death, nor to feel wronged by it. That a warrior has no right to do so, and that to die fighting is a blessed death.’

‘That’s right. Therefore, the moment you cross swords with an enemy, you must forget everything. It won’t be easy, but that’s how a path to survival opens up.’

‘……!’

‘If you focus all your energy on the fight, a path to survival will somehow open up. When the situation is chaotic, a gap is bound to appear. It’s not too late to think then.’

It was truly a gem of a teaching.

The very bottom of the bottom.

Despite being a wanderer, he stood shoulder to shoulder with warriors from renowned orthodox sects and ultimately survived the war with the Demonic Cult. The realization of a veteran of a hundred battles was contained in the master’s teachings.

‘What if it still doesn’t work?’

‘Then you die. The thoughts you forgot while focusing on the fight, the emotions you ignored, you can think and feel them right before you breathe your last. You’ll be at peace soon anyway, so how long will the suffering last? It’s just a moment.’

‘Ah.’

‘Well, maybe luck will be on your side and you’ll survive.’

‘Luck? Can I hope for something like that?’

‘Why not? Luck is very important. The saying that luck is seventy percent and skill is thirty percent isn’t for nothing. Among the masters who rule the world, how many of them got to their position without luck? Not even one in ten thousand. The higher you go, the more essential luck becomes.’

‘Then, Master, you…….’

‘I was lucky.’

The master said with a grin.

‘If I weren’t lucky, how could I have survived until this day? This master is someone who has overcome a hundred life-or-death situations. Ahem!’

Why was he thinking about that time now?

It was probably because the current situation could be called a life-or-death crisis.

The small boats of the Righteous Heavenly Alliance were rapidly closing the encirclement, and he couldn’t think of any particular way to break through the current situation.

If that was the case, there was only one answer.

‘Fight.’

That was the reason why Jin Yeong-in calmly, even with a slight smile, drew his sword.

For now, Jin Yeong-in decided to forget everything and focus only on the fight.

Returning to the past?

His grudge against the Orthodox Factions, against the Righteous Heavenly Alliance?

The deep-seated anger, hatred, resentment?

He erased them all from his mind.

Like a warrior, he would only fight.

As his master taught, it would be enough to think about miscellaneous thoughts right before he breathed his last.

At Jin Yeong-in’s appearance, Danmok Cheong gave an embarrassed smile and offered a clasped-hand greeting.

“It seems I have shown an unsightly side of myself in front of you, Young Master Jin. I apologize, Young Master Jin.”

“Pardon?”

“I am ashamed to have shown a moment of weakness. Having been in the Bat Squad for a long time, I seem to have forgotten that I am a warrior of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult. If by some chance I survive and complete the mission, I will have to go back to the cult and get some of this Central Plains water out of me. Haha.”

Danmok Cheong laughed good-naturedly, then drew his sword, his eyes shining.

He had been momentarily flustered when the worst-case scenario unfolded, but Jin Yeong-in had helped him regain his composure.

“Escort team, prepare for battle! We must stop the enemies from approaching as much as possible!”

“Yes!”

At Danmok Cheong’s shout, the warriors of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult belonging to the escort team began to move quickly.

Soon, the warriors of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult took their positions, holding iron balls the size of an adult’s fist.

Chiiik!

Seeing the thick fuse sticking out burning rapidly, it seemed it was no ordinary hidden weapon.

“What is that?”

“You’ll see.”

At Jin Yeong-in’s question, Danmok Cheong gave a meaningful expression and looked back at his subordinates.

“All escort team members! Prepare to throw!”

“Ready!”

“Three, two, one! Throw!”

“Throw!”

Shweeeeeek!

The iron balls were shot towards the enemy’s small boats at a terrifying speed.

“Don’t you dare!”

A warrior wearing a blue robe with a blade pattern embroidered on it.

Just as a Demon Extermination Squad member leaped from a small boat and swung his sword at the approaching iron ball.

BOOOOOOM!

Rumble!

The iron ball exploded, and a loud roar echoed as if lightning had struck.

Wharrrr!

Crimson flames scattered in all directions, heating the air.

Thud!

The remains of the exploded Demon Extermination Squad member fell onto the surface of the water, dyeing the Yangtze River red.

“It’s called a Thunderclap Yama Bomb.”

Danmok Cheong said with a smile, as if to show off.

Thunderclap Yama Bomb.

A firearm developed by the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, a weapon with enough killing power to be called a demonic weapon.

***

Firearms like thunderbolt bombs were items strictly forbidden by the government.

The manufacturing method was barely known, they were very difficult to obtain, and the moment one used them, they were branded a traitor and their entire family for nine generations would be exterminated.

The only firearms allowed for ordinary people were firecrackers used during holidays.

But that was a story that only applied in the Central Plains.

The Heavenly Demon Divine Cult was located where the laws of the imperial court did not reach, and its followers were not subject to the emperor’s rule, nor did they recognize him as the Son of Heaven.

Therefore, they had no hesitation in using firearms.

“Keep throwing!”

“Throw!”

The power of the Thunderclap Yama Bombs was truly immense.

BOOOOOOM!

Rumble!

Every time a Thunderclap Yama Bomb exploded, the enemy’s boats were shattered into pieces.

Its power in the water was just as terrifying.

Kwoong!

Chwaaaaaa!

Every time a Thunderclap Yama Bomb exploded in the water, a pillar of water shot up nearly ten zhang, and large waves rose on the Yangtze River.

The bodies of the Righteous Heavenly Alliance warriors who had fallen into the water floated to the surface.

Exposed to the shockwave of the Thunderclap Yama Bomb that exploded underwater, they had clearly suffered internal injuries and died instantly.

Wharrrr!

In the meantime, the Yangtze River had turned into a sea of fire.

The flames that spewed from the Thunderclap Yama Bombs did not go out and continued to burn, creating a blaze on the Yangtze River.

‘To possess such firearms.’

Jin Yeong-in was once again surprised by the capabilities of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.

He had heard of things like thunderbolt bombs, but this was the first time he had seen one in person.

Firearms were very dangerous and unstable weapons, so even the government troops used them in a limited capacity…….

However, the Thunderclap Yama Bombs were not invincible.

Shweeeeeek!

Plop!

Some of them were duds, some didn’t even have their fuses lit, and even if they did explode, a considerable number of them didn’t produce their full power.

Also, the Righteous Heavenly Alliance was not just standing by.

“Use hidden weapons to stop the thunderbolt bombs from reaching us!”

“Shoot arrows! Harass them so they can’t throw the thunderbolt bombs!”

The Righteous Heavenly Alliance, as if they had also prepared for a naval battle, responded by shooting arrows.

Shwek! Shweeeek!

Arrows filled with inner arts flew like beams of light.

“Arrows, shoot arrows!”

The escort team, once their Thunderclap Yama Bombs ran out, also shot arrows and fought back against the Righteous Heavenly Alliance.

The naval battle, which had continued for about a quarter of an hour, ended when both sides ran out of arrows, and the warship carrying Jin Yeong-in’s party and the boats of the Righteous Heavenly Alliance began to get closer.

‘I’ll use them all now.’

Jin Yeong-in took all the Three Lives Stimulation Powder he had to prepare for the upcoming close-quarters combat.

He would lose all his inner arts with this, but it didn’t matter.

If he didn’t survive today, he wouldn’t see the sun rise tomorrow.

There was no reason to save his inner arts for a rainy day.

“Stop the enemies from boarding! Don’t let them on the deck!”

“Yes!”

Soon, a fierce battle broke out between the Righteous Heavenly Alliance warriors trying to board and the escort team trying to stop them.

***

Defending the deck was not easy.

The Righteous Heavenly Alliance warriors who had brought their boats close swarmed in like demons and desperately tried to get onto the deck.

Jin Yeong-in’s party gritted their teeth and swung their swords to prevent the Righteous Heavenly Alliance warriors from boarding.

But that was only for a moment.

Thud, thud, thud!

Six warriors leaped over Jin Yeong-in’s party and landed on the deck.

‘Scaled Dragon Sword Masters!’

Jin Yeong-in recognized them at a glance.

On the backs of their martial uniforms was a crest of an anchor and two swords, and on their sleeves was the water spirit, the Scaled Dragon, shaped like a ship’s wheel.

Scaled Dragon Sword Masters.

The most elite warriors of the Hainan Sect.

As those who roamed Hainan Island, located far in the southern sea, they were said to be second to none in water combat and naval battles.

Indeed, their reputation was well-deserved.

The way they shot up from the water and climbed the side of the ship was proof of that.

They didn’t need equipment like grappling hooks, ropes, or ladders.

The martial arts they had honed by enduring the harsh sun and rough waves of the vast South Sea were enough.

“There will be no mercy for the wicked!”

“The sword of the South Sea will punish you!”

The six Scaled Dragon Sword Masters began to fiercely push back Jin Yeong-in’s party.

‘Damn it!’

Jin Yeong-in bit his lower lip.

It would be troublesome to let the Scaled Dragon Sword Masters run wild.

If other warriors belonging to the Righteous Heavenly Alliance, especially the Demon Extermination Squad members, got onto the deck while they were drawing attention, the situation would become even more difficult.

However, just dealing with the Scaled Dragon Sword Masters was a handful.

They were veterans of a hundred battles who had fought an overwhelming number of real battles at a young age, having subjugated pirates from the East Sea, that is, Japanese pirates, every day in the South Sea.

In other words, they were real warriors who were incomparable to mere prodigies.

Chwararak!

The Hainan Sect’s ultimate technique, the Angry Waves Heavenly Wind Style.

The Scaled Dragon Sword Master’s sword, imbued with the killing intent forged on the battlefield, flew towards Jin Yeong-in.

‘One, two… now!’

Jin Yeong-in’s sword struck the Scaled Dragon Sword Master’s opening, the vital point of the Angry Waves Heavenly Wind Style.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep