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Chapter 115. Five Dragons Fight for a Pearl (11)

“These Black Bull Gang bastards dare attack us and harm members of our Righteous Faction?! We must take this opportunity to eliminate all of those evildoers.”

The audience was buzzing with excitement.

“The Commander has not finished speaking yet.”

“Please listen.”

When the two martial ministers came forward, the crowd’s attention shifted back to Palan Shin-Tong.

“I don’t know why they suddenly committed such an extreme action. However, no matter how weak our presence in Jiangsu Province is, given that they had even succeeded in hiding their presence from the Beggar Gang, this doesn’t seem to be some spur-of-the-moment decision. Most likely... there is another force acting in tandem with them.”

***

The Northern Region’s Huinong branch of the Justice Coalition.

A yellow wave struck Huinong, creating a massive dust storm. At first, the Justice Coalition warriors assumed it was just some bandits and rushed to protect the city. However, they soon realized that they had two things wrong.

First, the attackers weren’t raiding Huinong to attack or plunder it but rather targeted the Huinong branch of the Justice Coalition itself.

Second, although the attackers were numerous, which hinted at them being a random mob, each one turned out to be an expert in their own right. Experts whom the warriors of the Huinong branch could never compete against.

During the battle—or, more correctly, during the massacre, the head of the Huinong branch recognized their enemy. With as many as five axes stuck in his back, he hung a letter written in blood on a frigatebird’s leg and sent it to headquarters.

Some of the attackers discovered his actions and quickly tried to shoot the bird down.

“Never!”

The head gathered the last of his strength and jumped up, trying to block them from hitting the bird. However, he ran out of qi and was unable to knock aside some of the arrows with particularly strong auras. Resolving himself, he instead used his own body to stop them.

Thanks to his sacrifice, the frigatebird was able to fly far out of the arrows’ range.

Coo!

The dry desert ground was still dry, even with the ocean of blood splattering over it. As he lay dying, the head of the Huinong branch saw the magnificent yellow waves envelop him.

‘Cruel Sandstorm Riders. These damned bastards are...’

Those who had once stained the Central Plains with blood forty years ago had reappeared once again.

***

Returning to the Justice Coalition, the Righteous Warrior Squadron encountered someone completely unexpected as they passed through Guandu.

“W-we greet Lord Chief Commander Emeritus!”

The Sword Emperor was rushing toward them from in the distance, creating a storm behind him. Surprised to face a living legend, the talents were flustered, and they put on respectful expressions as they hurriedly greeted him.

“It’s fine. I heard the news. They say that you were able to win after a close battle.”

“I’ve shamed you... Please forgive my rudeness for not being able to stand up and greet you,” Yu Cho said, having come to his senses not too long ago. As he was seriously injured, he was lying on a cart with the other injured talents.

“It’s okay as long as you’re safe.”

“But, what brings you this way alone?”

“There are quite a few problems currently. You’ll find out when you return to headquarters. Rather, I’m actually here for the Song Family kid.”

Understanding that he was the one being called, Woo-Moon stepped forward.

“Yes, Lord Chief Commander Emeritus.”

“I plan on going to the Hegemon Clan right now. Would you like to come with me?”

The others turned to give envious looks. On the other hand, Woo-Moon was flustered, having absolutely no idea why the Sword Emperor would suddenly spring this on him. However, he quickly composed himself and decided the journey might be fun and nodded his head.

“You seem to be in a hurry. Would it really be okay?”

“Hohoho. With your lightness arts, we shouldn’t have any major problems. What do you say?”

“Understood.”

Eun-Ah pranced forward and tried to jump into Woo-Moon’s robes again.

“Nope!” Woo-Moon quickly stopped her.

Kya?

“Do you plan on tearing my robe to pieces? Just think about how big you’ve gotten. You can’t do this anymore,” he explained before pointing at his shoulder.

Quickly understanding what he meant, Eun-Ah jumped up to sit on his shoulder.

“We have a long way to go, let’s go.”

“Yes!"

The Sword Emperor set off first, using his movement technique to run quickly, followed by Woo-Moon, and, of course, Ma-Ra.

Yu Cho and Hyeon Mu-Cheol looked at Woo-Moon’s back with gazes full of envy and jealousy, while the members of the Three Great Sword Families just watched as Woo-Moon left, unable to say anything as it was the Sword Emperor himself who was bringing him away.

“Uncle...”

“Well, I’m sure he’ll be back soon. We should return first.”

Seeing as they’d already left, the rest of the Righteous Warrior Squadron hurried on their way again.

Woo-Moon used his movement technique to the best he could in order to keep up with the Sword Emperor.

‘He’s incredible. There’s so much I can learn just from watching him use a lightness art.’

The Sword Emperor was moving forward at just about Woo-Moon’s maximum pace.

On the other hand, while Ma-Ra was also extremely skilled at her movement technique and kept up decently well, she was beginning to fall behind little by little. As time passed, her qi reserves continued to drop, making it increasingly difficult for her to move at that pace.

At that moment, an unknown aura enveloped her body as, at the same time, a refreshing energy showered over her, making it easier for her to continue using her movement technique.

Woo-Moon had actually been growing concerned about Ma-Ra’s difficulties. However, in the midst of his concern, he suddenly felt the change. Realizing what had happened, he looked with admiration toward the Sword Emperor.

‘The Absolute realm really is something beyond us—no, we can’t even begin to comprehend what it truly means. He’s even imbuing Ma-Ra with pure qi by projecting qi behind him while running leisurely at my maximum speed. This truly must be what it means to see a heaven beyond the heavens.’

Just like the talents had felt as they watched Woo-Moon’s incredible martial skills, Woo-Moon too, felt the gap between heaven and earth while watching the Sword Emperor.

He had always known that there was a big gap between him and his grandfather, the Palm Martial Emperor. However, considering how much he had grown, Woo-Moon had thought that he might have been able to bridge that gap somewhat by now. But now? He realized that it had all been a dream.

Woo-Moon was closer to reaching the Absolute Stage than anyone else in the Righteous Faction, but that was just relative to his peers. That one step he had to take was less of a step and more of a giant leap across a massive chasm whose edge he could barely see in the distance.

‘Fine, I still have a long way to go to reach my grandfather. But one day, I will stand by his side and see the world!’

The Palm Martial Emperor Baek Sang-Woon.

He was the person Woo-Moon respected above all others and the role model he wanted to be like. That respect also transferred over to his grandfather’s close friend, The Sword Emperor.

They continued to run as they eventually arrived at Taiyuan, Shanxi Province, the home of the Hegemon Clan.

Although the current leader of the Justice Coalition was the Shaolin monk Mu Oh, the person who actually represented the Justice Coalition was none other than the Sword Emperor Hwa Mu-Gyeol.

That very same Sword Emperor, wearing a neat robe with plum blossoms embroidered on it, slowly walked toward the main gate of the Hegemon Clan.

Clang!

The two warriors guarding the main gate crossed their spears to block the path and demanded snappily, “State your name!”

The Sword Emperor just smiled softly.

“I’ve come to see an old friend. Do you think you could call him for me?”

Although he didn’t exert any force, the Sword Emperor exuded a majesty that was difficult to overcome, and the guards could immediately feel that in spite of his soft-spoken manner, he was not one to be trifled with.

One of the warriors cautiously said, “May I ask who you’re looking for?”

“Hoho. My friend’s name is Gu Yu-Ho.”

The warrior repeated the name in his head for a moment. Then, his expression changed from shock to indignation as he realized who that was.

“How dare you say the patriarch’s name so carelessly! You must be insane!”

“Hoho, this really is quite troublesome.”

Woo-Moon had been watching awkwardly. Thinking that things had gotten to the point where he should step forward and teach the warriors who it was they had just yelled at, he took a step forward.

However, he instantly realized there was no need for him to do anything.

The Sword Emperor waved his hand once, and the two warriors found themselves floating in midair.

“Huh? What?!!”

The two warriors soared into the sky, crossing over the high main gate of the Hegemon Clan and falling to the other side.

“Aghh!”

Thud!

Of course, the Sword Emperor only dropped them from a height where they wouldn’t be injured.

In a split second, a massive figure broke through the roof of one of the Hegemon Clan’s pavilions. The figure then fell down from the sky like a comet before the main gate of the Hegemon Clan, swinging a saber downward in the process.

BOOOM!!!

The unprecedented force that erupted from the saber created a deep crack in the ground, splitting the main gate of the Hegemon Clan in half. It continued forward, rushing toward the Sword Emperor, Woo-Moon, and Ma-Ra.

Kyaaa!!!!!

Eun-Ah cried out, feeling an instinctive sense of crisis, while Woo-Moon’s eyes almost tore at the seams.

‘What the hell is that humongous thing?!’

The Sword Emperor’s hair was blasted back toward the sky.

He spoke with a faint smile, “What a grand welcome.”

A wrinkled hand gripped the hilt of a sword.

As Woo-Moon watched, engrossed, the Sword Emperor’s sword slowly inched out of its scabbard and cut the air, producing a quiet breeze.

Seeing the Sword Emperor’s strike, it was like a bolt of electricity cascaded down his spine. It was such a simple movement, yet the sword intent within it seemed higher than the sky.

It was truly ecstasy for him.

Of course, the Sword Emperor wasn’t the first Absolute Master Woo-Moon had witnessed.

There was his grandfather, the Palm Martial Emperor, and the Night Spear Devil Gyeong Hong. Moreover, he had also experienced the power of the Blood Cloud Demon Emperor, the Saber Emperor, and the Otherworldly Ice Fairy Ah Hee for himself.

None of them were in any way inferior to the Sword Emperor. They just each had their own special field of martial arts; at the end of the day, they were all Absolute Masters.

Still, in the end, none of the other Absolute Masters had reached their level by taking the Dao of the Sword to the extreme. Although there had been plenty for him to learn by watching their techniques and combat style, this one move from the Sword Emperor taught Woo-Moon more than all the others combined.

The breeze created by the Sword Emperor gently flew forward while gradually increasing in size. It soon encountered the seemingly unstoppable force generated by the large figure’s saber.

Pop, pop, pop, pop, pop!

At the same time, thousands of buds in the breeze burst and bloomed at the same time.

Tens of thousands of plum blossoms bloomed magnificently, giving off a fragrant plum blossom scent and standing up to the mighty power of the saber.

It was eerily quiet as the insurmountable saber power disappeared along with the plum blossoms without a sound, almost as if it had never existed in the first place.

Plum blossom petals falling one by one from the sky, drifting in the wind, filled Woo-Moon’s gaze. On the other side, jets of water burst out like fountains from the crevice in the ground cleaved open by the saber’s power. A dazzling mist filled the air.

At the other end of the crevice, an old man with hair like a lion’s mane could be seen lifting a massive saber.

“It’s been a while, Sword Emperor!” the Hegemon Clan Patriarch said.

It was the Hegemon Emperor, an Absolute Master and—alongside the Sword Emperor—one of the Eight Heavenly Martial Emperors.

As he greeted the graceful and transcendental Sword Emperor, the large main gate of the Hegemon Clan, which had been torn in half by his blow, fell down with a great crash and shattered into pieces.

BOOM!

“Agh!!! Patriaaaarch!!”

The Gold King, one of the elders of the Hegemon Clan and the man in charge of finances, grabbed his head with both hands and looked at the gate in despair, as if he was about to faint. It was going to cost an enormous amount of money to restore the main gate and fix the cracked ground after the Hegemon Emperor’s attack.

“Gu Yu-Ho, I came here in person because there’s something urgent we need to discuss. Would you like to hear it?”

Thud!

The Hegemon Emperor smiled arrogantly as he placed his favorite weapon, the titanic Divine Dragon Cleaver, in front of him.

“It must be important, considering that a lazy ass like you deigned to come here in person.”

The Sword Emperor smiled politely.

“Oh, did you not know yet? It seems the Hegemon Clan’s intelligence network isn’t as good as it used to be.”

The Hegemon Emperor\'s eyebrows twitched.

“Should we express all of our grievances here and now?”

A wave of Hegemon force so strong that it made Woo-Moon’s entire body tingle rippled through the air, accompanied by a terrifying bloodlust. Although they had called each other friends, there seemed to actually be some kind of great resentment between the two emperors.

‘It makes sense. After all, they’re from the two major factions that are at odds with each other. There’s no way that they would have a good relationship.’

—Eldest brother Song! It’s been a while.

Woo-Moon looked in the direction of the voice transmission to see So Geom-Rak. He smiled as he saw the Hegemon Clan’s third young master bow toward him.

—Yes, it’s been a while. Was everything resolved properly?