WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
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Episode 34: Na Yuk-hyeong of the Paeung Temple (Part 3)
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SaMa Yeong beamed brightly.
Despite that expression, her ragged breaths and flushed face showed how exhausted she was.
Her body was covered in cuts and stab wounds.
She must have pushed herself too far while fighting more than twenty masters.
Even so, she was incredible.
She had truly dealt with them first, then arrived to help at the very end.
- My heart nearly stopped.
Did the SoDam Sword even have a heart?
As the tension left me, I collapsed onto the ground.
Twitch. Twitch.
“Ghk!”
As the Golden Blood Body wore off, its aftereffects swept through my entire body.
Every muscle screamed as if it had been torn apart.
As expected, it was a technique with more drawbacks than benefits unless one had a special physique.
“Deputy Brigade Leader!”
SaMa Yeong tried to support me.
When she fought, she looked exactly like a descendant of the Moon-Evil Sword, SaMa Chak. Yet when it came to me, she acted like an innocent young girl.
She was impossible to understand.
“Good heavens...”
A voice of amazement sounded.
Jo SeongWon limped toward me from behind.
‘Their calf was cut.’
Judging by their many wounds, they were in no better condition.
If the fight had continued any longer, this place would have become our grave.
“D-did you defeat Na Yuk-hyeong of the Paeung Temple?”
Jo SeongWon spoke with an expression of disbelief.
Their reaction was only natural.
Na Yuk-hyeong of the Paeung Temple was, in a sense, a supreme master of the same generation as the Southern Heavenly Swordmaster and Bizarre Oddity.
Defeating such a person was practically a miracle.
“I was lucky.”
Honestly, there had been a clear gap between us.
At the very least, Na Yuk-hyeong had been a master of a higher level than me. But my ability to catch him off guard, along with various other factors, had allowed me to kill him.
‘If not for the Heavenly Pearl...’
I never would have been able to break that secret art.
Using the Heavenly Pearl to repeatedly view the secret art, I had seen how Na Yuk-hyeong had been defeated by the Southern Heavenly Swordmaster.
I assumed that, as a martial artist, Na Yuk-hyeong would surely have prepared a countermeasure.
If my prediction had been even slightly off, I would have been the one killed.
‘Was it Heaven's fortune?’
I was truly glad to have survived.
“Thank you, Miss SaMa.”
I thanked SaMa Yeong.
At my words, she twisted a lock of hair that had slipped from beneath her yellow headscarf and smiled shyly.
Was she embarrassed?
“Ahem.”
Jo SeongWon cleared their throat and stared at me.
That expression made it seem as if they wanted recognition too, after risking their life in the fight.
“Yes. Thank you as well.”
Jo SeongWon gave a faint snort of laughter.
They seemed to find the situation amusing too.
If they understood, why were they fishing for such an embarrassing compliment?
They awkwardly changed the subject.
“If martial artists learn that Na Yuk-hyeong of the Paeung Temple is dead, everyone will be shocked. Wasn't he on the level of the Four Venerable Ones or a Blood Star?”
I shook my head at their fussing.
Na Yuk-hyeong had certainly been formidable, but after fighting him, I understood one thing clearly.
I did not know what he had been like twenty years ago, but there was no way he could stand against Evil Heaven.
‘Perhaps he was comparable to Hengshan One Sword.’
I had fought Hengshan One Sword, if only briefly.
Na Yuk-hyeong seemed to be either slightly stronger or nearly equal in skill.
- Just how strong is that mad old man?
‘...Excluding the twelve monsters who have transcended humanity, he is probably among the strongest.’
- I agree.
The Southern Heavenly Steel Sword had watched Evil Heaven for a long time as the sword of the Southern Heavenly Swordmaster, so it agreed with me.
I spoke to the puzzled Jo SeongWon.
“Enough with the nonsense... Ngh.”
Throb!
My shoulder hurt terribly as I spoke.
Jo SeongWon saw my limp shoulder, approached, and said, “Your shoulder is dislocated. It needs to be set. Will you be all right?”
“...You know how?”
“Of course I do.”
They had mastered the Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms, one of the essences of their maternal family's Martial Arts.
At the very least, they would be knowledgeable about the human body.
When I nodded, they grabbed my elbow and shoulder.
“This will hurt. One... two... three!”
They forcefully pulled my dislocated shoulder inward.
Crack!
‘Nngh!’
A sound nearly burst from my mouth.
I had set a bone once before, but it was still painful.
“You can endure it, right?”
“...”
For some reason, that sounded irritating.
I had tried not to act like their superior, but it hurt too much to answer right away.
Only after the pain eased somewhat could I speak.
“Whew. First, let us deal with the bodies and move somewhere safe to perform ki circulation.”
The forest path was littered with bodies.
It would be better to hide the traces in case they caused trouble.
We did not have the strength to dispose of everything completely right now, but before recovering our stamina, we at least needed to hide the bodies in the bushes.
“Hup.”
I tried to rise.
However, the aftereffects of the Golden Blood Body made every muscle cramp, and I collapsed again.
“Deputy Brigade Leader, rest for now. We will handle the bodies.”
SaMa Yeong urged me to rest.
I felt sorry since neither of them was in good condition, but I needed to perform ki circulation with innate life energy before I could move at all.
“...I will leave it to you.”
“Come on. Why say such things between you and me, Deputy Brigade Leader?”
‘!?’
Between you and me?
When I looked at her as if to ask what she meant, she eagerly ran toward the bodies.
She had looked exhausted. Did she still have that much stamina left?
I truly could not make sense of her.
“Whew.”
I needed to circulate my ki, even if only a little, and quickly.
It was dangerous to remain here for long.
I circulated the Innate Cultivation Technique.
A hot energy rose from my heart as though a fire had been lit there, spreading throughout my body.
It was innate life energy.
‘Hm?’
However, the innate life energy had changed.
After completing one Minor Heavenly Cycle, I could sense the state of my Central Dantian. The vessel containing my innate life energy had grown, if only slightly.
I knew innate life energy could grow after surviving a crisis that put one's life in peril, but it was still surprising.
‘Does it grow as much as I suffer?’
It was quite a peculiar power.
Perhaps it was because this energy grew around vitality, the center of life itself.
It was welcome news, but I needed to hurry.
I had completed about two Minor Heavenly Cycles when it happened.
- ...
‘!?’
My eyes opened on their own.
I heard a ringing sound, and it was rapidly approaching.
There was only one sound, but I could not tell whether it truly came from only one person.
‘Ghk.’
If I could circulate my ki for even a quarter of a gak, I would be able to move properly.
The ringing meant someone carried a weapon.
Since it was coming from the direction of Mangok-ri, the person was certainly a martial artist. Yet I could not tell whether that was good news.
My body trembled as I forced myself upright.
After two Minor Heavenly Cycles, I could at least put some strength into my legs.
“Everyone!”
At my shout, SaMa Yeong and Jo SeongWon, who were moving bodies into the bushes, looked at me.
“Stop for now and leave. Someone is coming this way...”
“Deputy Brigade Leader!”
At that moment, SaMa Yeong shot toward me with a shout.
I understood why she had acted so suddenly from the sound behind me.
The ringing had been approaching, but someone had arrived even faster.
Shing!
She urgently drew her sword.
Clang!
Her body was pushed backward by the metallic clash.
When I turned around, an enraged middle-aged man stood behind me.
It was an unfamiliar face, but the long whip made me immediately guess his identity.
He appeared to be a disciple of Na Yuk-hyeong of the Paeung Temple.
I had heard that Na Yuk-hyeong had two disciples, and this seemed to be one of them.
I had thought both disciples would be among the dead, but that was not the case.
‘Ha... This is maddening.’
It was one obstacle after another.
“You dare harm my master!”
The middle-aged man shouted in fury.
I did not know whether this was Myeong Jeong or Myeong Hae.
I knew both of Na Yuk-hyeong's disciples were Expert masters, but I had no strength left to deal with him.
When I looked at SaMa Yeong, her hand was trembling badly.
‘Ah...’
She was exhausted too.
She had fought so many masters and had not even rested yet.
There was no way she had any stamina remaining.
“Damn it!”
Jo SeongWon cursed as well.
Behind the middle-aged man who appeared to be Na Yuk-hyeong's disciple, more than twenty people were running toward us.
‘They had split into two groups.’
Seeing that, I could guess what had happened.
Na Yuk-hyeong and his retainers had not known the secret passage exactly. They had likely predicted possible exits and divided their people.
These people had probably been guarding another location before coming here.
What could we do?
The middle-aged man shouted at us.
“I will tear you limb from limb and appease my master's resentful soul as it wanders the Nine Springs!”
The disciple of Na Yuk-hyeong stared at us with eyes full of rage.
He had immediately noticed that we were not in good condition.
That was why he could spew such words.
Otherwise, how could anyone act rashly before people skilled enough to kill their master, fellow disciples, and entire group?
Swish!
I reached for my sword again.
There was no helping it.
Enemies did not only appear when we were at our best.
Na Yuk-hyeong's disciple sneered at my trembling legs.
“With a body like that, can you even swing a sword prop... Hm?”
He narrowed his eyes and looked somewhere while speaking.
It was toward the forest path where we had been about to go.
Wondering what it was, I turned my head and saw an enormously fat man stomping toward us.
It was surprising that someone with such a body could run.
Who was that?
“Stop right there, you bastards!”
The fat man shouted once he came close.
Na Yuk-hyeong's disciple looked dumbfounded.
“Hey, pig. If you do not want to die, stay out of martial world affairs and get lost.”
Despite the warning, the fat man waddled closer to us.
As the fat man approached, SaMa Yeong tried to point her sword at him in caution.
Then unexpected words came from his mouth.
“Ha! I wondered where you brats had run off to, but you have caused quite a mess. That Paeung Temple bastard is dead? Hahahahahaha!”
At the sound of that hearty laughter, my eyes widened.
‘This person is...’
Na Yuk-hyeong's disciple, on the other hand, seemed more offended by something else.
“You call my master a Paeung Temple bastard? You pig, how dare you!”
Whoosh!
He swung a whip at the fat man.
The whip flew at him with terrifying force, like a surging wave.
Yet the fat man caught it as easily as if he were fishing.
Smack!
Na Yuk-hyeong's disciple was momentarily dumbstruck by how effortlessly the whip had been caught.
But only for a moment. He quickly tried to pull the whip back.
That was when it happened.
Yank! Whoosh!
“Ghk!”
The disciple's body was dragged through the air toward us instead.
Startled, he used a Claw Technique to attack the fat man.
Grab! Crack!
“Argh!”
The fat man caught his hand and snapped it.
He was an Expert master, yet the fat man handled him like a child.
Grip!
The fat man seized his throat.
Na Yuk-hyeong's disciple managed to speak through his shock.
“Ghk... Ghk... Who... who are you...?”
“A worm like you dares target my disciple?”
“Disciple?”
That was when it happened.
The fat man's body began to change.
Crack-crack! Pop!
The skeleton that had seemed ordinary rapidly shifted and grew larger.
It was the effect of undoing a Shrinking Bones Art.
As his body grew, the man's upper clothing tore apart.
‘!?’
Na Yuk-hyeong's disciple's eyes widened.
What had seemed like fat was all muscle.
The disciple's retainers could not close their mouths at the massive muscles that boasted overwhelming bulk.
The muscular giant roughly tore the skin beside his ear.
The face revealed beneath the Skin Mask was none other than Bizarre Oddity, Evil Heaven.
‘!!!’
“B-Bizarre Oddity!”
Na Yuk-hyeong's disciple's face turned pale.
“Even knowing it, you are too late.”
Grip!
Evil Heaven grabbed the stunned man's head with one massive hand.
Then, as if pulling the stopper from a bottle...
“Nnghhhh!”
Crunch!
Evil Heaven tore his head straight from his body.
The end of Na Yuk-hyeong's disciple, who had dreamed of revenge, was utterly horrific.
“D-damn it!”
“Ruuuun!”
The group scattered in every direction, trying to flee in terror at that death.
But masked people blocked their path.
They were Blood Cult warriors.
“W-what is this...?”
As they panicked, Evil Heaven casually ordered the masked people, “Hmph. Kill them all.”
“At your command!”
The instant the order was given, the masked people began slaughtering them.
Evil Heaven approached me after giving the command, looked me over from head to toe, and said, “You suffer once you leave home, brat. Heh heh.”
I never knew that laugh could be so welcome.
* * *
Early the next morning.
A shabby Manor northeast of Shimen County.
This was one of the Blood Cult's hidden hideouts.
Song JwaBaek, Song WooHyun, Ha MunChan, and Yi Gyu, who served as their Deputy Squad Leaders, proudly approached the Manor entrance as though returning home in glory.
Song JwaBaek excitedly said to Deputy Squad Leader Ha MunChan, “That brat has not returned yet, right?”
Song JwaBaek had secured the position of the Clan's rising talent representative in only three days out of the allotted fifteen.
Naturally, Song JwaBaek thought he had arrived before So WoonHwi.
This time, he was certain that Evil Heaven, his master, would praise him.
“Who are you?”
The guards at the entrance stopped them.
Song JwaBaek pointed at the blue sash tied around his waist and produced the plaque identifying his status.
Swish!
The guard quietly bowed.
“Please enter.”
The guards stepped apart and opened the entrance.
Song JwaBaek was about to enter through the main gate when he stopped, grinning as he asked, “Deputy Brigade Leader So WoonHwi has not come yet, right? Well, I did arrive rather quick...”
“He has returned.”
“What?”
Song JwaBaek's smiling expression stiffened.
The guard eagerly whispered, “There is an uproar in the Main Hall right now.”
“Why? Why?”
“Deputy Brigade Leader So WoonHwi and the Squad leaders returned carrying the severed head of Na Yuk-hyeong of the Paeung Temple.”
‘!!!’
Song JwaBaek's face immediately fell.
< Episode 34: Na Yuk-hyeong of the Paeung Temple (Part 3) > End
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