abcnovels
Chapter 85
Chapter 85
Chapter 85 – One Strike, One Kill (3)
I sat down a short distance from Yeom Hwa and ordered some alcohol.
“Bring me some liquor and side dishes.”
The innkeeper glanced at Yeom Hwa, trying to gauge the situation. When Yeom Hwa nodded in approval, he rushed to the kitchen.
The Yeom Hwa I knew was hot-tempered and self-centered. There were two reasons why such a person might show this kind of attitude: either he was playing with his prey before cruelly killing them, or he sensed an instinctive threat.
Yeom Hwa looked at me and asked, “Who are you?”
“Just a passerby. I stopped at this inn because I was hungry.”
Yeom Hwa sneered at my response. “There’s more than one inn around here, isn’t there? Is there a particular reason you chose this one?”
“What about you? Why are you drinking in front of all these people? If I were you, I wouldn’t even be able to swallow my food.”
Yeom Hwa’s eyes narrowed. He instinctively sensed that I was no ordinary person. That’s why he was engaging me in conversation instead of throwing the first punch as he usually would.
I smiled slightly and said, “Well, I understand. There are always those who want to show off.”
Second Friend, who had been standing nearby, rushed forward and grabbed my collar.
“You bastard! Do you want to die?”
Just then, the innkeeper, who was bringing out the alcohol and food, was startled.
“Let him go. Even dogs aren’t bothered when they’re eating, right?”
At Yeom Hwa’s words, Second Friend released my collar and stepped back.
I spoke to Second Friend in a languid tone, “Touch me one more time, and you’re dead.”
“You son of a—! Even so—!”
As he was about to lunge at me, Yeom Hwa raised his hand to stop him.
I began eating and drinking what the innkeeper had brought.
“Delicious. I can see why you want to monopolize this place.”
“What do you want to say to me?”
“Why do you think I have something to say to you?”
“You seem too calm for someone who’s about to commit suicide over a meal.”
I glanced at Mae-rang and Ho Yeon Suk-jeong, who were nearby, and said, “It seems there are people even braver than me.”
Mae-rang sighed and said, “We women were brought here against our will.”
Third Friend, who was next to her, bared his teeth and said, “Shut up, you old whore!”
His harsh words made the onlookers frown. Regardless of the silver he had scattered, speaking abusively to an elderly woman was frowned upon.
I voiced what everyone was thinking, “What a bastard.”
“What?”
“Just talking to myself.”
As an agitated Third Friend tried to rush at me, Yeom Hwa once again raised his hand to stop him.
“Are you from the Ho Yeon Clan?”
“I’ve heard that news too. Didn’t you say that all the disciples who were there that day should be killed?”
The onlookers murmured at these words. This information hadn’t yet spread among the general public.
Yeom Hwa didn’t try to hide the fact. Instead, he spoke loudly for everyone to hear.
“That’s right! It’s better for useless people to disappear.”
“Nonsense!”
Mae-rang shouted angrily and tried to step forward, but Ho Yeon Suk-jeong held her back.
I asked Yeom Hwa, “It’s all over now, so why? Is it because of your useless pride?”
“What?”
“Is your pride so great that it’s worth taking the lives of all those young people?”
“Of course. How dare you compare those worthless beings to me?”
I couldn’t even imagine how many people had been unjustly killed to create Yeom Hwa’s reputation as the Heavenly Blade Sect’s assassin.
Yesterday’s First Friend was the same. He tried to kill someone just for interfering with his business.
These people aren’t incapable of controlling their anger. They choose not to control it because they don’t have to.
“From my perspective, you seem even more worthless.”
Before Yeom Hwa could even make an unpleasant expression, Second Friend, who was next to him, grabbed my collar again.
“You bastard! Just because you have a hole in your face, you think you can run your mouth? You’re dead.”
“Didn’t I tell you? Touch me again, and you die.”
As I grabbed Second Friend’s wrist that was holding my collar, I lightly kicked his foot from the side.
Whoosh.
As he lost his balance, I spun him around once in the air as I pleased.
Thud.
He fell to the ground after performing what looked like an acrobatic flip in the air. To an onlooker, it might have seemed like child’s play.
“Hahaha.”
The spectators outside burst into laughter. But soon, the laughter gradually died down.
Second Friend, who had fallen to the ground, wasn’t moving.
Third Friend ran over to check on him.
He shouted in shock, “He’s… he’s dead!”
The next moment, my hand swiftly cut through the air. It was as fast as a snake striking its prey.
Swish.
My hand edge struck Third Friend’s neck with precision.
Crack!
My hand, which had shattered his neck bone, instantly returned to its original position. The movement was so fast that the onlookers only heard the sound.
Crunch, crunch.
His head, with its shattered neck bone, wobbled back and forth before dropping forward.
Thud.
He collapsed to the ground.
Third Friend had also perished with a single strike.
“You bastard!”
Fourth Friend shouted angrily and lunged at me.
Swiiiiing!
Thwack!
He flew past me and fell outside the inn.
“Ahhh!”
The spectators outside screamed.
A dagger was suddenly embedded in Fourth Friend’s forehead as he lay lifeless on the ground.
Not only was it impressive to throw the dagger so quickly that Fourth Friend couldn’t even dodge, but it also required tremendous internal energy to drive the dagger into the forehead of a strong martial artist.
In the time it took to take a single breath, Fourth Friend had become a cold corpse.
Yeom Hwa sprang to his feet. His eyes were a mix of shock and excitement.
“You!”
I finished the drink I had been holding while standing and asked, “Do you only use those fists to intimidate women you’ve dragged here?”
My provocation intensified the look in Yeom Hwa’s eyes.
“Of course not.”
“Then there’s no need to fight disgracefully by using them as hostages.”
I gestured with my eyes for Mae-rang and Ho Yeon Suk-jeong, who were sitting nearby, to leave. The two hurriedly went outside.
The spectators outside stepped back. However, no one left, not wanting to miss this excellent spectacle.
Yeom Hwa extended his hand to one side.
Tss tss tss tss tss.
Alcohol vapor was expelled from his hand. The drunken man instantly became sober. He was skilled enough to quickly expel the alcohol from his body.
He approached me with clear eyes.
“What’s your goal?”
“Goal? Of course I have one. Why else would I cause such a scene in broad daylight?”
“What is it?”
“That’s something for after I kill you, so you don’t need to worry about it.”
“You son of a bitch!”
Yeom Hwa’s killing intent surged.
I was slightly excited. Yeom Hwa was a practitioner of fist techniques. This would be my first time facing a master of fist techniques with the Immortal Crane Secret Art.
Whoosh!
A fist came flying with an incredible gust of wind. It would be a mistake to underestimate a bare fist. A master of Yeom Hwa’s caliber could imbue their fist with enough power to shatter a large boulder in a single blow.
Whoosh! Boom!
To describe his attack, imagine a massive iron mace flying at a speed invisible to the naked eye, striking repeatedly.
Everything his fist grazed turned to dust.
After continuously dodging, I infused my fist with internal energy.
Instead of avoiding the incoming fist, I threw my own punch.
Bang!
My fist collided head-on with his.
I staggered and slid back. Yeom Hwa was also pushed back.
The Immortal Crane Secret Art wasn’t primarily meant for such frontal attacks. It was a martial art that used the opponent’s strength against them to deliver an even greater impact.
But I wanted to test my strength head-on just once.
I wanted to see the destructive power of the Immortal Crane Secret Art. It wasn’t often that I got the chance to fight an opponent like Yeom Hwa.
Kwaaang!
Our fists collided in mid-air, causing tremors in the surroundings.
The impact traveled up my arm. Yeom Hwa’s fist technique was formidable, pursuing extreme power.
Of course, Yeom Hwa wasn’t at ease either. He too was throwing punches with a pained expression.
At first, I thought we were evenly matched because my internal energy was overwhelming his.
But as we continued to clash, I realized that there was a hidden destructive aspect to the Immortal Crane Secret Art.
I could tell. This destructiveness wasn’t inherent to the Immortal Crane Secret Art itself, but rather the temperament of its creator had seeped into the martial art.
The person who created the Immortal Crane Secret Art must have used a more ruthless martial art than anyone else. But in their later years, they gained new insight and created the graceful Immortal Crane Secret Art instead of a ruthless one. They succeeded in creating a completely different martial art, but in the process, the martial artist’s temperament naturally seeped into it.
Ah, so this is possible!
This was an insight I couldn’t have noticed if my martial arts hadn’t reached a certain level.
After several clashes, we separated for a moment.
Yeom Hwa glared at me, panting. He was genuinely surprised.
It must have been a long time since he had engaged in such a straightforward, brutish contest, and he was astonished that I had withstood his punches.
In truth, my arms felt like they were about to fall off. So, this crude experiment ends here.
“Well, shall we start in earnest now?”
My words startled Yeom Hwa.
From his perspective, he hoped my words were just bluster to shake him, but my fighting style completely changed.
Swaaaaaang!
I dodged the fist flying at me with tremendous internal force and dove towards his chest. My movements became faster and more precise.
Thwack!
My shoulder struck his chest. Not only were my movements incredibly fast, but the main reason he couldn’t avoid it was that it was a completely unexpected move.
If he had been an ordinary master, his chest would have been shattered, but he only staggered, remaining unharmed.
“Not a chance!”
Two consecutive punches flew at me, and for the third attack, his elbow aimed for the space between my eyebrows.
Swish.
The attack grazed my forehead.
I didn’t miss the opportunity to collect the price he had to pay for missing such a big attack.
Thwack! My elbow struck precisely at his armpit.
As he staggered, I didn’t miss the chance and kicked his arm again. To be exact, it was his elbow joint. Crack!
“Ugh!”
For the first time, a scream escaped his lips.
Thwack! Thwack!
My fists struck his vital points in succession.
Yeom Hwa charged at me ferociously like a wounded beast. Flames erupted in Yeom Hwa’s eyes as he pushed his internal energy to the limit.
However, anger only becomes effective in fights between mid-level practitioners.
Whiiiirl.
I wrapped around his arm and rotated once.
Crack.
There was a bone-cracking sound from his arm, but it didn’t break completely.
“Ngh!”
I applied all my strength.
“Craaaaaack.”
Yeom Hwa’s arm broke.
“Aaaargh!”
I leaped up, wrapped around his neck, and spun once.
Yeom Hwa’s heavy body rotated once and slammed face-first into the ground. Second Friend had died from this single move, but he didn’t.
He sprang up and dashed outside.
The spectators screamed.
What he sought were Mae-rang and Ho Yeon Suk-jeong. As anger and fear mixed, his instincts told him that using them as hostages was his only chance of survival.
Just as Yeom Hwa was about to lunge at the two, he froze.
His legs wouldn’t move. I had followed him like a shadow and suppressed the acupoints in his legs.
“I told you, didn’t I? That you seem even more worthless. Look at what you’re trying to do now. This is who you really are!”
The eyes of the gathered heroes focused on him.
Gazes of contempt.
For someone who had lived enjoying their admiring glances, this was the worst moment.
“Aaaaargh!”
He let out a terrible scream.
The next moment, I leaped up high, wrapped my legs around his neck, and spun like a windmill. His massive body whirled through the air with me.
Craaaaaack.
As the horrific sound ended.
Thud!
He slammed into the ground. His neck was completely twisted, and he died with his eyes wide open.
In the ensuing silence, everyone looked at me with surprised faces.
I spoke to everyone in a low voice infused with internal energy:
“The Heavenly Blade Sect, which produced this Alliance Leader, is sending successors to various parts of the Central Plains to build power and seize local interests! I warn them clearly. If they underestimate the martial world, they will surely pay the price.”
I could sense the delight of the onlookers. Although they remained quiet out of concern for appearances, they were pleased.
If this wasn’t Wuhan, where the Martial Righteous Alliance headquarters was located and the Heavenly Blade Sect held sway, they would have cheered and applauded.
I looked at Mae-rang and said:
“This lady came here to inquire about the death of her grandson, who was a disciple of the Ho Yeon Clan. But she couldn’t even meet the Alliance Leader. Who exactly is the Alliance Leader for? The Heavenly Blade Sect? The Ho Yeon Clan? The reason this person stepped forward today was to convey to the Martial Righteous Alliance and the Heavenly Blade Sect that justice still lives in this martial world. That’s all.”
As I was about to turn away, Ho Yeon Suk-jeong asked me:
“Please tell us your name, benefactor.”
I gave her a faint smile before leaping high into the air.
After jumping into the air, I bounded across several nearby rooftops in succession, disappearing from the scene in an instant.
The reason I stepped forward today wasn’t just to save Mae-rang and Ho Yeon Suk-jeong.
From this moment on, the nameless martial artist will become a topic of conversation throughout the martial world.
This was also why I eliminated Yeom Hwa in broad daylight in front of everyone, instead of doing it secretly.
I now felt the need to create a hero.
The Byeok Clan Sword Manor will quietly build its strength, and when there’s a need to make a move, this Nameless One[1] will step forward. The more the Nameless One appears, the more the Byeok Clan Sword Manor can build its formidable power away from the attention of its enemies.
When it’s later revealed that the Nameless One is the Byeok Clan Sword Manor, the martial world will be shocked once again.
There was another reason as well. From now on, the shadowy forces, the Martial Righteous Alliance, and the Heavenly Blade Sect will all try to uncover the identity of this Nameless One, and I plan to use that to my advantage.
Now I will fight them as both light and shadow. Sometimes I’ll drive out darkness with light, and sometimes I’ll cover darkness with an even greater darkness.
Towards unknown enemies, this is how I’m moving forward, one step at a time.