Dropped into Murim with an Instant-Kill Skill - Chapter 151

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 151: The Rear Waves of the Yangtze Push the Front Waves (25)

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The waves of Dongting Lake could clearly be heard, yet the lake itself was nowhere to be seen.

The world swallowed by dense fog felt strange, even frightening.

Were those sounds beyond the mist truly the waves of Dongting Lake?

With every step, the fog grew terrifyingly thicker.

It was so heavy that they could feel its texture against their skin.

It was strange.

They had walked far enough that they should have reached the lake long ago, but Dongting Lake never appeared.

The sound of the waves seemed to grow closer, only to drift away again.

They had been walking straight ahead.

The White-Robed League members each spread their qi sense.

Yet they felt nothing.

It was as though even their qi was being absorbed by the fog.

They could not tell what lay beyond it.

Even when they looked around, wondering whether they had lost their way, all they found was damp mist.

This should have been familiar Yuezhou, but they had no idea where they were.

“This is...”

“Hmm...”

Several White-Robed League members looked around uneasily.

It was understandable.

Once one reached first-rate, qi sense became as precise as a second eye.

Since entering their realms, they had never experienced such utter blindness, as though their eyes had been completely covered.

Yeon Sowol suddenly stopped.

He too had realized that they could not continue like this.

So Hye, who had been walking close beside him, bit her lip anxiously.

“Hmm. I don’t think this is an ordinary peerless formation...”

Jin Geol cut in from behind.

“Miss So. Doesn’t this seem like the Eight Formation Diagram mixed with the Golden Gate Formation, with the Flower Shadow Ten Thousand Bewilderments Formation layered over it?”

“Oh?”

So Hye quickly turned toward Jin Geol.

“How did you know? Now that you mention it, I think you’re right.”

“I’m nowhere near as skilled as you, Miss So, but I have studied formation arrays myself. These are particularly familiar formations, so I can tell them apart.”

So Hye’s eyes lit up.

“Then do you know how to break it?”

Jin Geol scratched his head in the fog.

“That’s a little... There are already three formations plainly visible. Combining the Eight Formation Diagram with the Golden Gate Formation alone would be incredible, but they added the Flower Shadow Ten Thousand Bewilderments Formation on top of that. I think there’s something else as well. I have no idea what brilliant formation master created this, but it’s beyond what I can handle.”

“Ah.”

So Hye’s expression darkened.

She glanced at Yeon Sowol.

“Brother Yeon, um... what should we do? This is much harder than I imagined. I... I’m not deeply versed in formation arrays...”

So Hye was the most knowledgeable about formation arrays among them.

Had she felt pressured to be the one who dismantled it?

She kneaded her lips as if she might cry. Tears welled in her large eyes, as though they might roll right out.

“Hmm.”

Without answering, Yeon Sowol stood still and spread his qi sense.

Only after carefully feeling through the fog in every direction did he turn to So Hye.

“It’s easier than I expected.”

“What?”

So Hye stared blankly, then suddenly came to her senses and cried out.

“Don’t tell me! You can feel the surroundings with qi sense? It feels like the fog blocks everything...!”

“It does, but...”

Yeon Sowol closed his eyes once more and spread his qi sense through the formation.

“If you probe persistently, there are faint cracks.”

“Cracks?”

“Yeah. There are tiny gaps where qi sense can pass through without being blocked... and there are a lot of them.”

“...Really?”

After hearing Yeon Sowol, So Hye closed her eyes and spread her qi sense again.

She was not the only one. Every member who heard him discreetly spread their qi sense and felt around them.

Then they all tilted their heads.

‘What cracks is he talking about?’

‘I can’t sense anything at all.’

‘As expected of the League Leader!’

Only Jin Geol clapped his hands and exclaimed in admiration.

“Of course! Sowol’s right! There really are cracks!”

“What?”

Won Huiseung narrowed his eyes at Jin Geol.

It was strange.

Won Huiseung of the prestigious Zhongnan Sect, who had reached Faint Fragrance Unfading and stood on the verge of the peak realm, could not feel them. Yet Jin Geol, who remained at mid first-rate, at the realm of Fierce Flame Pierces the Heavens, could?

Jin Geol noticed Won Huiseung’s suspicious stare.

‘This bastard...?’

The look that plainly regarded him as inferior annoyed him immensely. Even if it was true!

Jin Geol’s face twisted sourly.

“What? Why?”

“No. Isn’t it strange? I can’t feel them. How can you...?”

“Hmm? Maybe it’s because your skills are lacking?”

“...”

So Hye hurriedly calmed the trembling Won Huiseung.

“Young Hero Jin took the Spirit Elixir, remember.”

“Spirit Elixir?”

“Back in Hengyang.”

“Ah.”

It was the elixir pill they had completed after fighting off the temptations of the Strange Ghosts in Hengyang and standing guard over it.

Yeon Sowol had eaten it and gained enlightenment about the universe.

Won Huiseung had gained the aptitude to commune with the energies of the heavens, such as wind and lightning.

Jin Geol’s Niwan Palace had opened clearly, allowing his spirit and qi to communicate freely.

Remembering that much, Won Huiseung asked,

“But wasn’t that Spirit Elixir meant to make it easier to reach a stage of maturity...?”

“That was its main effect. But an opened Niwan Palace means one’s spirit can clearly communicate with the world. Naturally, qi sense improves as well.”

“Ah.”

Only then did Won Huiseung nod as if he understood.

“That’s not it, Miss So. It’s just that Won’s martial arts are lacking.”

Jin Geol snickered and teased Won Huiseung.

Won Huiseung looked offended, but he did not argue further.

‘Well... it is true that my qi sense is inferior. It would be petty for a man to argue over something like this.’

Still, it was disappointing.

‘I ate the Spirit Elixir too, but I can’t tell what effect it had on me at all.’

Did he really need to be struck by lightning once?

Won Huiseung tried to let it go, but Jin Geol had no intention of letting him off yet.

“Look at him. He can’t say anything because he knows I’m not wrong.”

“...! Jin Geol! I just don’t want to make excuses...! And it’s not my martial arts! Maybe my qi sense, but...!”

“Is qi sense not part of martial arts?”

“No, that’s... Ngh!”

Yeon Sowol swallowed a sigh as he watched the two bicker quietly in the fog. So Hye, who had been about to mediate, also swallowed a sigh and approached his side.

“Brother Yeon, what comes next? I understand that the cracks let us examine the surroundings, but can we find a path?”

“We can do more than that. We can determine how the formation’s energy flows.”

Qi was a force that brought about transformations.

An artificially created flow of qi had enclosed and isolated this entire area, producing all sorts of strange effects.

It created thick fog and made people lose their way.

But if they could read that flow of energy...

“There’s a formation node over there.”

They could precisely identify the location of the vital structures maintaining the formation.

“Really?”

“Follow me. Step exactly where I step.”

Yeon Sowol patted So Hye’s head as her eyes widened, then moved ahead.

His white robes swayed behind him.

So Hye hurried after him.

The White-Robed League quickened their pace as they watched the backs of the tall man and the smaller woman.

Yeon Sowol did not continue straight ahead.

He would abruptly turn right, then turn left again two steps later. Sometimes, he turned left once more after only a single step.

It was such a strange route that it seemed he was walking in circles.

Yet because he followed his qi sense rather than what his eyes saw, Yeon Sowol’s guidance was precise.

“The fog... It’s clearing.”

“Even this much makes me feel alive again. At least I can see ahead now.”

Wherever Yeon Sowol stepped, the fog thinned.

Light seeped through it, making it look as if he were opening a door of light.

The White-Robed League simply followed.

Then Yeon Sowol, who had been leading them, suddenly stopped.

The fog had noticeably thinned.

Earlier, even the trained eyes of martial artists could not pierce beyond ten steps. Now they could at least see within thirty steps.

Nothing unusual was visible there, but...

“Prepare for battle.”

The moment Yeon Sowol spoke, the bearing of every White-Robed League member changed.

“About one hundred meters ahead. Around five hundred people. They appear to be government soldiers.”

Yeon Sowol clenched his teeth once and turned toward the White-Robed League.

“We have to break the formation. We have to let everyone know the truth beyond it. To do that, we must destroy the formation nodes one by one.”

But...

“Soldiers are guarding them. A legitimate army of the Emperor, supported by the state’s provisions and charged with protecting this land, stands there. Blocking our path.”

They did not know what they were doing.

“They don’t know what kind of man Yang Hoeam is. They’re only following orders as soldiers.”

Yeon Sowol fell silent for a moment before finishing.

“...Even so, we must do this. But avoid injuring the soldiers as much as possible. Our goal is to break through by subduing them where we can.”

Step.

Yeon Sowol turned his back again.

He stepped forward.

The White-Robed League’s momentum drew taut.

“Break through!”

Like arrows released from the bowstring, white robes shot through the fog.

* * *

To the White-Robed League, this battle felt rather familiar.

A battle in fog so thick they could not see an inch ahead?

Wasn’t this exactly like the campaign to suppress the Dongting Lake water raiders?

The White-Robed League advanced as though they were completely used to it.

“I am Won Huiseung of Zhongnan!”

Won Huiseung stood at the front.

He did as he had when they suppressed the water raiders.

He broke through at the front, drawing the enemy’s attention.

“I-I am Ha Jeop of Huashan...! Uh, but is it all right to reveal that now...?”

Ha Jeop asked as he followed behind Won Huiseung to support him.

Without looking back, Won Huiseung shouted,

“Go openly! Openly! A dragon does not rise while hiding!”

Like a dragon soaring amid wind, rain, and lightning, Won Huiseung charged forward without hesitation.

“I can’t lose this time either. Namgung Ujin is here!”

“I’m Hwangbo Hwi!”

Namgung Ujin and Hwangbo Hwi also stepped forward, proudly shouting their names without hiding who they were.

It was their determination to win without causing trouble afterward, and a declaration that their cause was righteous.

The rising young talents of prestigious sects had much to lose, yet they stepped forward like that. The White-Robed League members behind them could not help but be fired up.

“Let’s go!”

“Break through!”

The White-Robed League members charged, matching their spacing with nothing but their eyes. The teamwork they had developed while suppressing the Dongting Lake water raiders naturally clicked back into place.

But this time, their opponents were not water raiders.

They were government troops.

The Patrol Guard Army directly mobilized by Yang Hoeam, the provincial governor of Yuezhou, patrolled and protected every city and village.

They were considered the weakest of the Five Armies, but government troops were still government troops.

The strength of troops commanded by martial officials who had passed the civil service examination was never something to take lightly.

“They’re coming! They’re coming!”

“Form ranks!”

“Don’t let a single one escape!”

Furious shouts erupted one after another from beyond the fog.

“Fire!”

Commands and responses rang out in quick succession, followed by a loud sound tearing through the wind.

Screeeeech!

Hundreds of arrows.

Trained archers drew their bowstrings with the force of fifty kilograms.

All that force was carried by arrows carved from flexible wood.

The feathers at their tails rode the wind, while the sharp heads at their tips pierced through the air like lightning to strike their targets.

Thudududud!

The force of a hammer blow was concentrated at each small arrowhead. Even a master could not take them lightly.

Especially when their senses were restricted by fog and the arrows came down like rain.

“They’re coming!”

“Watch out!”

The White-Robed League masters tensed, raising their protective qi arts and gripping their swords more tightly.

Whoooooosh!

The fog scattered as wind blew through it.

Sword lights and sword qi fanned out in every direction, creating countless white plum blossoms.

No two streaks were alike.

Some sword qi extended thickly, forming strong, unyielding branches.

Others scattered delicately, creating dazzling petals that seemed to burn.

Plum blossoms bloomed without end.

Twenty-Four Hands Plum Blossom Sword Art.

White plum blossoms formed a fragrant sea of snow.

Sea of Fragrant Snow

Invisible sword qi tangled and rebounded against itself, seeming to cover the entire sky.

Most of the falling arrows were knocked aside by sword qi. The masters could deflect or evade the arrows that somehow pierced through it.

The government troops’ first move had been blocked.

Yet the generals leading the army did not panic.

As though they had expected it, they immediately continued issuing orders.

“That one! Capture him first!”

Fwoooosh!

The fog tore apart.

They met the frost-cold eyes of a general.

He held the follow-through of a sword swing.

The general had scattered the fog with sword wind alone. He precisely pointed at Ha Jeop, who had just deflected the arrows, and shouted,

“Javelins!”

Screeeech!

Heavy spears flew as though they had been waiting for the command.

Each spearhead carried destructive force as heavy as a great hammer blow.

Then one spear leaped among them like a salmon.

It had been thrown by a general. Qi spread in every direction from it, and wind rose. Transformative force wrapped around the area.

All the spears around it rode that force and began accelerating at once.

Screeeech!

Rather than losing strength as they flew, their momentum only grew fiercer.

One extraordinary javelin led the ordinary ones, displaying the majesty of a general charging alone on horseback with a cavalry force following behind.

Every spearhead converged on Ha Jeop.

After using a powerful technique, his stance was still unsteady. Alarm crossed his face.

“Hup!”

Someone leaped in front of Ha Jeop.

Won Huiseung.

Thirty-Six Swords Under Heaven

The Protecting Star

Heaven-Aiding Star

Clangclangclang!

The straight blade moved heavily, little by little, as though pushing aside Mount Tai, parrying countless spearheads.

Clangclangclang!

He parried them, blocked them, and continued deflecting them, even as the spearheads refused to end.