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Chapter 288
Chapter 288
Chapter 288 – The Northern Sect Blade King (1)
Gu Seong-baek, the Southern Pacification Commissioner.
His other title as the Emperor’s bodyguard was the Northern Blade King, the current pinnacle of the martial arts world and one of the Six Heavens.
The most famous anecdote about him was when he split three large ships led by the Changjiang River Gang on the Yangtze River with a single blade stroke.
Thanks to this tremendous battle, the Southern Pacification Commissioner Gu Seong-baek newly ascended to the peak of the martial arts world, which was originally called the Five Heavens.
-Srrng!
The gaze of Gu Seong-baek, who was drawing his blade, swept past Mok Gyeong-un disguised as a palace maid wearing a human skin mask, So Yerin the Six Offices Commander wearing a palace maid outfit with a black mask, and Dam Baek-ha the Sixth Blood Saint covered in food waste from head to toe.
‘It’s clear.’
He had received the Emperor’s order and was quickly scanning the inner palace and the entire outer palace.
Expanding his perception to the maximum, he found them in an instant.
Finding them was not that difficult.
No matter how much they tried to conceal their energy, it would be stranger if he, known as the pinnacle of the Central Plains martial arts world and one of the Six Heavens, couldn’t find them when he put his mind to it.
‘Faint energy.’
Gu Seong-baek’s sharp gaze turned towards a food waste container after passing by the three people.
Although it was hidden, he detected a subtle energy.
Judging by the extremely ordinary energy, it seemed to be the target they were trying to hide and take away.
Other than that,
‘There’s a traitor.’
Gu Seong-baek’s gaze turned to Ma Ra-hyeon, the Thousand-men Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard wearing a mask.
Ma Ra-hyeon, whose eyes met his, soon let out a rough breath and took a step back.
‘This is… a Six Heavens…’
Ma Ra-hyeon was utterly perplexed.
He thought he had become much stronger after achieving enlightenment, but just the pressure of his energy alone made it difficult to breathe. That man was a monster itself.
It was that moment.
-Pak!
Gu Seong-baek raised his unique blade, the Golden Dawn Moon, with one hand.
The moment his blade rippled with a blue light.
This was Blade Qi.
‘What kind of energy condensation is this?’
Seop Chun and Mong Mu-yak couldn’t hide their bewilderment at the sight.
The blue Blade Qi that formed in an instant without any signs the moment he raised his blade was truly marvelous.
However, the problem was the target of the killing intent that accompanied this marvel.
-Pak!
Gu Seong-baek, who had raised the large Golden Dawn Moon with one hand, swung it mercilessly towards where Mok Gyeong-un, So Yerin, and Dam Baek-ha were.
The moment he swung his blade, the blue Blade Qi took the form of a gigantic blade and struck down ruthlessly in a tyrannical blade strike.
-Kwaaang!
The ground split and fragments rushed in all directions due to the Blade Qi that stretched over ten jang.
The view was briefly obscured by a dust storm, but this disappeared with just a light gesture from Gu Seong-baek.
As the hazy dust disappeared, Gu Seong-baek’s eyes glinted with interest.
Thanks to Dam Baek-ha the Sixth Blood Saint, whose hands were stained with red Blood Jade, and So Yerin in a black mask holding a sword rippling with blue Sword Qi, the impact of the damage did not reach Ma Ra-hyeon, Seop Chun, Mong Mu-yak, or the food waste cart.
“Not bad.”
It was not a merciful strike, as they had crossed the wall.
However, those two masters had exquisitely deflected the force of his blade strike.
They were no ordinary individuals.
‘Red hands. The Blood Jade hands of the immortal witch.’
The moment Gu Seong-baek saw Dam Baek-ha’s Blood Jade hands, he instantly recognized that she was an escaped prisoner.
He was also part of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, so he knew this information.
Gu Seong-baek’s sharp gaze turned towards the food waste container.
In conclusion, they were prisoners attempting to escape and thieves trying to assist them.
-Ssk!
Gu Seong-baek pointed at the food waste container with his left hand and spoke.
“Who is inside that? Who are you trying to take…”
-Ssrk!
Before he could even finish his words.
Something blurry appeared behind Gu Seong-baek and tried to behead him in an instant.
It was none other than Mok Gyeong-un wearing the human skin mask.
Mok Gyeong-un, who utilized the Brilliant Water Crossing Steps for high-speed movement in the instant So Yerin and Dam Baek-ha blocked Gu Seong-baek’s blade strike, targeted his back.
However,
-Pak! Chaaaaeng!
Gu Seong-baek blocked Mok Gyeong-un’s sword without even looking back, moving his blade behind him.
‘Blocking it without even giving a glance?’
This wasn’t the end.
The moment Gu Seong-baek’s blade and the sword clashed,
-Paaang!
Due to the strong rebound, Mok Gyeong-un’s body was pushed back nearly ten steps.
-Chrrrrrrr!
Mok Gyeong-un’s pushed back sword trembled severely.
Then, cracks soon appeared on it.
-Crrrk!
‘A regular sword can’t withstand it.’
He had brought one belonging to an Embroidered Uniform Guard, but with a single clash, the sword’s lifespan had been exhausted.
Mok Gyeong-un’s eyes narrowed.
He was aware that the opponent was an extraordinarily powerful expert, but he was stronger than anyone he had ever encountered before.
It was no exaggeration to say that he had completely transcended human limits.
‘This is the current pinnacle of the martial arts world…’
He had heard that there was only one Six Heavens in the Imperial Palace.
Gu Seong-baek, the Southern Pacification Commissioner.
‘He’s different.’
Mok Gyeong-un had met another one of the Six Heavens before.
He was the leader of the Heaven and Earth Society.
When he met the leader, his martial arts were inferior to now, and the leader himself was significantly weakened due to illness, so despite his strength, he didn’t feel an overwhelming pressure.
However, a Six Heavens in peak condition was truly in a league of his own.
He had indeed reached the realm of a superhuman.
-Kssh!
At that moment, Cheong-ryeong, who was watching from above, tried to descend to where Mok Gyeong-un was.
Instantly, Gu Seong-baek slashed his left hand towards the sky.
Then, sharp Sword Intent rippled and split the empty void.
-Cheong-ryeong!
-…It’s fine.
Cheong-ryeong, who had ascended even higher instead of descending, clicked her tongue.
She knew that the higher one’s martial arts, the more sensitive their perception was, but she was trying to conceal her Spirit Power to the maximum and there was still some distance.
However, she didn’t expect him to accurately launch Sword Intent towards her.
“Hmm.”
Gu Seong-baek, who had launched the Sword Intent, raised an eyebrow and soon turned his head to speak to Mok Gyeong-un.
“Strange. It definitely felt like there was something there.”
“…”
“Anyways, you’re quite peculiar. You have clearly crossed the wall, but the energy I sense from you is very minimal. It’s one of two things. Either you have mastered a unique energy circulation technique or you’re strong enough to deceive the root.”
-Pak!
As soon as those words ended, Gu Seong-baek’s figure appeared right in front of Mok Gyeong-un.
-Chak!
Gu Seong-baek’s Golden Dawn Moon slashed at Mok Gyeong-un’s neck.
To be precise, it slashed an afterimage.
-Ssrk!
As the beheaded afterimage dispersed, Mok Gyeong-un’s figure had already dug into Gu Seong-baek’s right side.
Thanks to his high-speed movement, he could somewhat match Gu Seong-baek’s speed.
However,
-Ssk!
Gu Seong-baek, who lightly dodged Mok Gyeong-un’s Sword Intent-infused finger strike by tilting his head back without turning around, grasped Mok Gyeong-un’s wrist with the Golden Silkworm Hands technique at lightning speed.
Then, he swiftly kicked Mok Gyeong-un’s abdomen.
-Pok!
‘Kuk.’
Mok Gyeong-un’s body soared upward.
Matching that, Gu Seong-baek tried to swing his Blade Qi-infused Golden Dawn Moon at Mok Gyeong-un.
At that instant, blue Sword Qi blocked the Blade Qi Gu Seong-baek was unleashing.
No, it wasn’t completely blocked as it was repelled back.
‘Strong.’
The one who was repelled back was none other than So Yerin wearing a black mask.
Sensing the threat to Mok Gyeong-un, she had intervened midway and blocked the Blade Qi, but the power was so strong that she was instead repelled back.
However, that wasn’t the end.
-Chak chak chak chak chak!
At that moment, Gu Seong-baek successively launched Blade Qi at them.
It was Projectile Blade Qi.
The flying blue Blade Qi was accurately targeting Mok Gyeong-un and So Yerin, who had soared upwards and been repelled back.
-Six Offices Commander!
Mok Gyeong-un’s voice transmission reached So Yerin’s ears.
When she looked back, Mok Gyeong-un had already extended his foot towards her.
So Yerin, who was being repelled back, hurriedly somersaulted,
-Whirrr!
She twisted her body and kicked her foot against Mok Gyeong-un’s sole.
-Pang!
The bodies of the two, who had kicked each other’s soles in midair, were repelled in opposite directions.
Thanks to that, the flying Projectile Blade Qi narrowly passed between them.
So Yerin, whose vigilance had heightened due to the relentless attacks, searched for Gu Seong-baek even while being repelled back.
‘Where is he?’
However, Gu Seong-baek had already headed towards the food waste container, and Dam Baek-ha the Sixth Blood Saint was blocking him.
‘Blood Jade Hands (???) 8th Move – Blood Claw Thousand Shatter (????)!’
Raising her Blood Jade Hands to the extreme, she attacked Gu Seong-baek while unleashing the ultimate move.
Her claws tried to tear Gu Seong-baek apart with unstoppable force, but Gu Seong-baek easily blocked it with just his left hand without even moving the Golden Dawn Moon in his right hand.
-Pa pa pa pa pa pak!
‘What?’
Dam Baek-ha was dumbfounded.
She didn’t expect him to block the ultimate move of her energy-infused Blood Jade Hands so easily.
He wasn’t employing any special techniques, but with just light footwork matching her ultimate move, he was blocking it extremely exquisitely.
Thanks to that, she clearly realized.
‘This bastard… has crossed the wall of walls.’
Dam Baek-ha inwardly clicked her tongue.
Due to the Great Calamity, the older generation of the Old Martial Arts World had collapsed, so she thought such a supreme master of this level would no longer appear.
However, it seemed many things had happened during the decades she was imprisoned.
Seeing a monster like him blocking her way was proof of that.
-Pa pa pa pa pa pak!
-Urk!
Every time she clashed hands with Gu Seong-baek, she felt her insides swelling up.
As the energy was transmitted through her viscera, she felt nauseous.
Gu Seong-baek, who judged himself to be in a superior position, was raising his inner energy, and its impact was being rapidly transmitted to her.
-Grr!
Dam Baek-ha’s eyes turned fierce.
‘Although this one’s energy has only weakened from being trapped in the underground golden prison unable to do anything, I am the Sixth Blood Saint of the Great Blood Cult.’
-Pachi! Pachi!
Blue lightning sparks erupted from Dam Baek-ha’s right hand.
‘Hmm?’
Sensing the manifestation of lightning power, Gu Seong-baek hurriedly blocked his face with the Golden Dawn Moon in an instant.
-Pachichichichi!
At that moment, due to the strong lightning, his body was pushed back about three steps.
‘Lightning power paralyzes the energy. Then…’
Gu Seong-baek, who was being pushed back, chose not to condense his energy on the blade but to release it instead.
Employing the Blossom Connecting Branches of Justice, he raised his blade upward,
-Pachichichichi!
The lightning that was entering through the blade soon spread out into the void.
The blue flames that spread like tree roots were truly spectacular.
“Hmph.”
Dam Baek-ha snorted as if annoyed.
She expected him to be able to somewhat resist lightning power since he had crossed the wall of walls, and as expected, he released it using the Blossom Connecting Branches of Justice.
His response and judgment were too fast.
It was that moment.
Mok Gyeong-un and So Yerin were rapidly rushing towards Gu Seong-baek’s back using high-speed movement.
Matching this, Dam Baek-ha also tried to pressure him from the front by igniting lightning once again.
It was that exact instant.
-Pak!
Gu Seong-baek thrust his blade Golden Dawn Moon into the ground with one hand.
‘Earth Shatter Wave Slashing Form!’
-Cha cha cha cha cha cha!
With the spot where he thrust the Golden Dawn Moon as the center, the ground split, and the fragments created by the splitting along with Blade Qi flew like hidden weapons towards his surroundings.
‘What?’
‘Oh no!’
Mok Gyeong-un, So Yerin, and Dam Baek-ha, who were trying to attack him simultaneously, hurriedly deployed defensive techniques to block the flying Blade Qi and fragments.
-Cha cha cha cha cha cha chaeng!
Although they were merely blocking, the sound of metal clashing and air exploding spread in all directions like thunderclaps.
It was so loud that it was painful to the ears.
Moreover, the surrounding palace walls and buildings were collapsing due to the repelled fragments and the aftermath.
-Kwa kwa kwa kwa kwang!
Witnessing this confrontation, Ma Ra-hyeon, Mong Mu-yak, Seop Chun, and the others were at a loss for words.
This fight had already surpassed the level they could intervene in.
If they rashly intervened trying to help, they might instead suffer severe injuries or lose their lives from a single strike unleashed by them.
“…Is this a confrontation between superhumans?”
“Damn it. To think my ankles would be caught in a place like this.”
At Seop Chun’s remark that was close to a lament, Mong Mu-yak let out a rough sound.
Who would have thought that a supreme master who had reached the pinnacle of the martial arts world would appear right before reaching the summit?
At that moment, Ma Ra-hyeon approached them and spoke.
“There’s no point in us staying here. We won’t be of any help. Now that it has come to this, we need to move while they are fighting.”
“Move?”
“Yes. If we stay, we will only be a hindrance.”
The two, who thought Ma Ra-hyeon’s judgment was correct, soon nodded their heads.
Now that it had come to this, they had to at least avoid being a hindrance.
So they tried to abandon the remaining food waste carts and at least take the cart Holy Fire Priestess was riding in to move.
However,
-Rumble rumble rumble!
“Over there!”
“A fight is breaking out over there!”
They saw a huge crowd rushing from the direction of the southern gate of the outer palace where they had to go.
They were Embroidered Uniform Guards and the eunuchs of the Western Depot.
This wasn’t the end.
-Rumble rumble rumble!
“Waaaaaah!!!”
“It’s over there! Imperial Guard Secret Camp, head northwest!”
“Imperial Guard Armory Camp, block the path leading north!”
‘Damn it.’
The forces capable of wielding military power within the Imperial Palace were already rushing in from all directions.
They were engaged in a confrontation intense enough to shatter the palace walls and buildings, so it would be stranger if this went unnoticed.
The complexions of the three people who were caught in a desperate situation rapidly darkened.
From the moment their ankles were caught by the supreme master of the Imperial Palace, known as the pinnacle of the Central Plains martial arts world and one of the Six Heavens, the situation had already reached a point where they couldn’t escape.
‘Is this the end?’
It was when they were gradually feeling despair.
Right at that moment.
-Swaaaa!
At that instant, a bizarre incident occurred.
Blood began to rise from the ground and slowly ascend into the air.
The Embroidered Uniform Guards and the eunuchs of the Western and Eastern Depots, who were rushing in, stopped in bewilderment at the horrifying phenomenon.
“What in the world is this?”
Ma Ra-hyeon touched the rising blood droplets with his hand.
The foul smell and this warm and sticky sensation were undoubtedly blood, rather than an illusion.
Mong Mu-yak and Seop Chun looked at each other at this strange phenomenon.
‘This is?’
They knew about this.
Because they had experienced it on that rainy day in that village.
-Swish swish swish swish swish swish swish!
The blood droplets that were rising at that time soon flowed in reverse into the air, dyeing the sky blood-red like a pouring rainstorm.
As blood dyed everything in all directions, everyone who had rushed to the vicinity couldn’t hide their shock.
This literally evoked the image of hell.
What on earth was this bizarre phenomenon in broad daylight?
While that was happening, the blood that was flowing in reverse in the air swirled and condensed, and someone revealed their appearance there.
Wearing a crown and holding a pipe, it was none other than Cheong-ryeong.
-Pak!
‘What the hell is that?’
Gu Seong-baek, the Southern Pacification Commissioner who was deploying a technique to deal with multiple opponents, frowned as he pulled out the Golden Dawn Moon he had thrust into the ground.
What exactly was that inhuman existence?
No matter how he looked at it, it didn’t feel like a living human being.
While he was doing that, Cheong-ryeong waved her pipe.
-Swish!
-Swaaaa!
Then, around the place where they were, blood suddenly surged up like a reverse waterfall and created walls in all directions.
‘Could it be?’
Looking around, Gu Seong-baek could realize that he had been cut off from the surroundings by the blood waterfall.
Even the sight and presence of the Embroidered Uniform Guards rushing from all directions were blocked.
-Step step!
Meanwhile, Dam Baek-ha the Sixth Blood Saint, Mok Gyeong-un, and So Yerin were surrounding him from front and back.
-Ssk!
The Southern Pacification Commissioner Gu Seong-baek put the Golden Dawn Moon on his shoulder and spoke with a face that hadn’t lost any composure.
“I don’t know what kind of sorcery you’ve used, but do you think the outcome will change because of this?”
“Well, we haven’t used our full power yet.”
“What?”
As he was questioning back, Mok Gyeong-un soon reached out his hand somewhere.
Then,
-Kwajik!
-Ssuk!
A food waste container shattered, and two swords flew out from inside.
They were none other than Gu Yaja’s demon swords, the Evil Commandment Sword and Plundering-killing Sword.
-Pak!
The moment he grasped the two demon swords in his hands, an ominous black energy began to surge from Mok Gyeong-un’s entire body along with a demonic aura.
‘…He was concealing his energy?’
Gu Seong-baek’s eyes narrowed at the rapidly surging vicious energy.
However, that wasn’t the end of it.
-Gooooo!
At some point, So Yerin’s hair turned red, and the blade she was holding was dyed blood-red.
It was an extremely evil and murderous energy.
-Pachichichichi!
Behind, Dam Baek-ha the Sixth Blood Saint, whose entire body was covered in blue lightning, could be seen.
At the energy of the three people that had completely changed from just a moment ago, the eyes of the Southern Pacification Commissioner Gu Seong-baek, who had been utterly composed, became quite serious.