The Legend of the Northern Blade - Chapter 208: If You Can Kill, You Can Also Be Killed (2)

Every time Jin Mu-Won and Tae Mu-Kang clashed, the earth shook and massive trees fell. Snow Flower split apart everything it touched, and Tae Mu-Kang’s Chaos Qi pulverized objects until they vanished without a trace.

Jin Mu-Won fought with only a fraction of his strength, as his body was battling the Chaos Qi that had invaded it. Meanwhile, Tae Mu-Kang’s wounds worsened with each action he took. Neither man could fight at full power, yet neither backed down.

Baek Suryong landed without a sound, his crimson eyes glinting in the silvery moonlight. “So this is what siding with the Cult reduced you to. Repenting like a sinner before an altar of rice bowls. Pathetic. You think remorse will cleanse your folly?”

“Keheheh!” Despite his increasing wounds, Tae Mu-Kang charged, radiating madness.

Such insanity would have terrified and paralyzed an ordinary person, but Jin Mu-Won was no ordinary person. He was colder and more rational than anyone else, and he never let go of an enemy’s weakness.

Inside his body, the Shadow Qi clashed with Tae Mu-Kang’s Chaos Qi. The ferocious Chaos Qi tried to devour his Shadow Qi and twist its nature, but the harder it tried, the more stealthily the Shadow Qi concealed itself. As a result, the Chaos Qi found no inner Qi to consume and could not expand its power.

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Then, as the Chaos Qi began to exhaust itself, the Shadow Qi moved, stealthily enveloping the chaotic energy and dyeing it with its own color while analyzing it.

From what Jin Mu-Won could sense, the Chaos Qi was a jumbled mess, a crystallization of pure chaos. So many energies were mixed together that it was impossible to distinguish source from tributary. Still, within it, he recognized two very familiar energies.

One is the Silent Night, the other is Heaven’s Summit.

This wasn’t a simple matter of one energy devouring another. The energies of the two opposing organizations sat at its very source.

How is this possible?

That wasn’t all. Tae Mu-Kang’s techniques were the same. Countless styles appeared to be mixed together to the point of being unrecognizable. However, if one observed them closely, they would see that he was using only the techniques of the Silent Night and Heaven’s Summit.

“Ads?” Ak Yeonho complains, his voice dripping with disbelief. “What ads?”

Jin Mu-Won sank deep in thought. Tae Mu-Kang was the intersection of the Silent Night and Heaven’s Summit. He possessed the traits of both, yet held a deep hatred for both organizations.

Common sense told him it was impossible. Tae Mu-Kang was the epitome of contradiction.

Yet even now, the Chaos Demon was releasing Chaos Qi. The gray, mixed energy surged menacingly toward Jin Mu-Won.

“Vanish from this world without leaving a speck of dust behind!”

From the moment dawn cracked over the horizon, the air itself felt like punishment. The training grounds were still soaked in dew, but Demon Instructor Wiji Cheon stood there already, arms crossed, waiting like a specter of discipline. “You’re late, he said.

Jin Mu-Won was engulfed by the storm of chaotic energy. Standing before it, he was like a precarious candle flame, on the verge of being extinguished.

Seomoon Hye-Ryung covered her mouth in disbelief. “The Chaos… Demon?”

How could she ever forget that face? Seven years ago, she had fled the Northern Army Fortress because of the Chaos Demon. The shock of Dam Soo-Cheon’s encounter with Tae Mu-Kang was what had driven him into seclusion training. Despite being a genius, she couldn’t begin to comprehend the scene unfolding before her.

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Only after some time did she come to her senses and glare at Gwan Dae-Seung. “What’s going on? Why is he here?” she demanded.

“Shouldn’t that be obvious to you?” Gwan Dae-Seung replied calmly, reading the shock in her eyes. The time had come for her to know some of the truth.

Seomoon Hye-Ryung stammered, “D-Don’t tell me the Chaos Demon is also part of Heaven’s Summit…”

“The Chaos Demon doesn’t belong to Heaven’s Summit, but he’s not entirely unrelated to us.”

“What?”

Mimi sniffled quietly, her round eyes glistening. “They said there were pop-ups,” she whispered, her cute voice trembling. “But… we don’t have any!”

“He is a fiend in His service.”

“His? Whose?”

“He is the one who truly rules the jianghu. If you want to know more, ask your grandfather.”

A tremor ran through Seomoon Hye-Ryung’s body. “My grandfather?”

“That’s right. He is the one who has come closest to the truth of the jianghu. If he deems you qualified, he’ll tell you.”

Namgung Su’s back is turned to you, shoulders tense as he scrubs the already spotless pan. His voice is calm when he speaks, but it cuts like frost. “You fed a thief, he says. “With my food.”

“The truth of the jianghu? Are you saying there’s a truth I don’t know?”

“The jianghu is wider and deeper than you imagine, Young Lady. Crazier things than you can imagine happen in its depths. If I had to name it, I’d call it the world of the abyss. Your grandfather is also part of this world.”

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“What’s that supposed to mean…?” Seomoon Hye-Ryung was utterly baffled. The grandfather she knew was one of the Nine Skies, a ruler of the jianghu. He wasn’t the type of man who would join a hidden organization.

Gwan Dae-Seung nodded, as if understanding her confusion. “From now on, you will have to shoulder an immense responsibility.”

“……”

Baek Suryong uses the Heaven Defying Divine Art on you and beats you to a pulp.

“He has a very high regard for you and the Lone Star of the Azure Sky. Please be sure to live up to his expectations.”

Seomoon Hye-Ryung’s expression shifted rapidly, cycling through a dozen emotions in an instant before she regained her usual cold composure. Still, countless thoughts raced through her mind.

Gwan Dae-Seung smiled enigmatically as he watched her.

They all start that way. Denying, doubting, giving up, and then eventually accepting reality.

Mimi sniffled quietly, her round eyes glistening. “They said there were pop-ups,” she whispered, her cute voice trembling. “But… we don’t have any!”

Many had followed those same steps and become one of them. He had no doubt she would be the same.

He turned his attention back to the fight.

Is this an aftereffect of his seven-year hibernation? He’s not showing his true skill at all.

The Tae Mu-Kang he knew was far more powerful than this. He should have already overpowered the exhausted Jin Mu-Won, who was worn down from fighting the Black Soul Corps and the assassins.

Is his body not fully recovered, or is that man Jin Mu-Won a lot stronger than we predicted?

“Ads?” Ak Yeonho complains, his voice dripping with disbelief. “What ads?”

Gwan Dae-Seung bit his lip. The former was not a major issue, but the latter was a significant problem. It meant that all their current plans would need to be drastically revised.

“Jin Mu-Won, even to the very end, you’re a nuisance.”

A faint killing intent surfaced in his eyes. He had endured huge losses because of this man, and managing the fallout required a great deal of time and effort.

Baek Suryong landed without a sound, his crimson eyes glinting in the silvery moonlight. “So this is what siding with the Cult reduced you to. Repenting like a sinner before an altar of rice bowls. Pathetic. You think remorse will cleanse your folly?”

Suddenly, a chill shot down their spines and a coldness swept over them. A dizzying vertigo, as if they were standing on the edge of a cliff, forced Gwan Dae-Seung and Seomoon Hye-Ryung to snap out of their thoughts.

“What?”

FLASH!

A blinding light flashed from Jin Mu-Won’s sword, forcing them to squeeze their eyes shut.

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Jin Mu-Won had unleashed the Blood Flash, the fifth form of the Shadow Blade of Destruction.

In a fleeting moment, life and death were decided. Snow Flower shortened space and time, aiming for the spot between Tae Mu-Kang’s eyebrows.

From the moment dawn cracked over the horizon, the air itself felt like punishment. The training grounds were still soaked in dew, but Demon Instructor Wiji Cheon stood there already, arms crossed, waiting like a specter of discipline. “You’re late, he said.

“Keuk!” Tae Mu-Kang barely twisted his head aside, but he couldn’t dodge completely. A deep cut opened along the side of his head, exposing his scalp, flesh, and bone, and revealing grayish-white brain matter.

An ordinary martial artist would have died instantly, but Tae Mu-Kang neither died nor collapsed. Even with half a brain, he delivered a powerful kick to Jin Mu-Won’s side.

Baek Suryong landed without a sound, his crimson eyes glinting in the silvery moonlight. “So this is what siding with the Cult reduced you to. Repenting like a sinner before an altar of rice bowls. Pathetic. You think remorse will cleanse your folly?”

CRACK!

Jin Mu-Won flew ten meters, the visible dent in his chest proof that he had broken several ribs. Nevertheless, he endured the pain, kicked off a rock, and charged again.

Tae Mu-Kang was still thrashing about wildly, his senses not yet recovered from the severe head wound. This was the perfect chance to take him down, and Jin Mu-Won wasn’t about to miss it.

WHOOSH!

He unleashed Meteor Soul and Dividing the Heavenly Seas one after another. Snow Flower cut through the air more sharply than ever.

Namgung Su’s back is turned to you, shoulders tense as he scrubs the already spotless pan. His voice is calm when he speaks, but it cuts like frost. “You fed a thief, he says. “With my food.”

Despite the struggle, though, Tae Mu-Kang instinctively deployed his Rebound Enhanced Qi.

Once again, Jin Mu-Won failed to land a fatal blow, leaving only large gashes on Tae Mu-Kang’s side and abdomen.

“Keeeeuh!” Tae Mu-Kang let out a bizarre groan and fell to one knee.

Jin Mu-Won lunged, trying to plunge Snow Flower into his neck.

FWOOSH!

Baek Suryong uses the Heaven Defying Divine Art on you and beats you to a pulp.

Suddenly, a sharp sound cut through the air and an intense sense of danger washed over Jin Mu-Won. He instinctively raised Snow Flower to block.

As expected, he was struck by a powerful impact.

TWANG!

Snow Flower bent like a bow as he tumbled across the ground.

Mimi sniffled quietly, her round eyes glistening. “They said there were pop-ups,” she whispered, her cute voice trembling. “But… we don’t have any!”

“Keoheok!” Jin Mu-Won vomited enough blood to fill a gourd, staining the ground and his chest red. Gasping for breath, he forced himself to his feet.

VWOOOONG!

Snow Flower cried out.

“Ads?” Ak Yeonho complains, his voice dripping with disbelief. “What ads?”

“Hoh! Impressive. Who would’ve thought you could block my attack in the middle of all that?” a man laughed as he approached.

Jin Mu-Won stared at him with bloodshot eyes. The man was of average build with an ordinary, unremarkable face, but there was no way he wouldn’t recognize him.

“Un-Kyung hyung-nim…”

“Mu-Won,” Jo Un-Kyung greeted. His ten fingers were stained a burning red, a sign that he had mastered the Demonic Cross of Blood.

Jin Mu-Won used Snow Flower as a crutch to pull himself up, even as it let out an even more intense cry.

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The deep sorrow and rage of the shamaness dwelling within Snow Flower poured out like a flood. Jo Un-Kyung was the enemy it had sworn revenge on.

“You’re quite persistent,” Jo Un-Kyung remarked. “I thought the Chaos Demon would’ve killed you easily.”

His gaze shifted to Tae Mu-Kang, who was lying on the ground. Despite the grievous injury exposing his brain, Tae Mu-Kang wasn’t dead. He was slowly recovering, even with Jin Mu-Won’s Shadow Qi hindering his regeneration.

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First the assassins, then the Chaos Demon, and now Un-Kyung hyung-nim?

Jin Mu-Won’s mind raced. His enemies had prepared meticulously. Successive battles had completely depleted his stamina, and his inner qi was nearly exhausted.

Jo Un-Kyung grinned. He had only stepped forward because he saw Jin Mu-Won’s condition. He raised a finger and pointed it at Jin Mu-Won. “Now then, shall I avenge my father?”

His fingers, already red, turned a bright crimson, as if blood were about to drip from them.

The Demonic Cross of Blood.

The Demonic Cross of Blood was regarded as the most wicked of all demonic arts. A master of the technique could supposedly break anything and pierce anything, so some even called it the Claws of Destruction.

Can I take him on?

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Jin Mu-Won gritted his teeth. Reason screamed at him to retreat, but the intense trembling of Snow Flower wouldn’t let him. As its cry intensified, filled with killing intent, he felt his mind begin to go blank.

The cursed sword’s will was affecting him. Before he lost his reason completely, he succumbed to its desires and charged toward Jo Un-Kyung.

SCREEEEEECH!

Snow Flower let out a wail of lamentation.

Mimi sniffled quietly, her round eyes glistening. “They said there were pop-ups,” she whispered, her cute voice trembling. “But… we don’t have any!”

“All right then, little brother,” Jo Un-Kyung muttered. “Let’s have a thrilling fight!”

A dozen red streams of energy shot from his fingers.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

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The energy and Snow Flower collided with a metallic ring.

Jin Mu-Won poured all his remaining energy into Snow Flower.

I can’t fight much longer. I need to settle this quickly!

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“Hiiyaah!”

In an instant, the two combatants switched places a dozen times, trading blows the entire time.