Pay‑to‑Win King of Martial Arts (Novel) - Chapter 143 - Karmic Ties (7)

Chapter 143 – Karmic Ties (7)

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Translated by Heavenly Cat

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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I naturally knew very well where the Fang Estate was. If one was a merchant, then at the very least one had to know the influential houses and powers of each region.

I truly ran as if I were about to cough up blood. There was no time to secure a horse and ride it.

If I traveled by horse, I would have to take the official roads and make a detour, and there was no horse to be found that could run a thousand li from Wudang Mountain to Luoyang in a single stretch.

Most importantly, if I drove my qinggong to the utmost right now, I was faster than a horse anyway. The scenery around me was hurled backward at high speed.

A distance of more than a thousand li. In my previous life, when I traveled a thousand li on business, it took me five or six days.

But now many things were different. The situation was different, the goal was different, and I myself was different.

“Damn it!”

When my breath rose to my throat and my lungs felt as though they would burst, I shouted like that with rage in my voice. That rage was directed at myself.

The current me was not permitted even the slightest weariness or rest. And yet I kept yearning to stop, just for a moment, to catch my breath.

The shout was a kind of method for tightening the discipline of my weakening heart. If not for the talents I had purchased from the martial shop, I would have collapsed before even leaving Hubei, gasping for breath.

I was only using qinggong, and yet there truly was no talent that wasn’t needed.

The talents I possessed now were as follows. Grade 4 All Streams Return to the Source.

Grade 4 Ghost. Grade 5 Indomitable.

Grade 5 Talent for Sword Intent, intermediate. Grade 5 Heavenly Bones.

Grade 5 Talent for Body Arts, intermediate.

The internal energy needed to use qinggong was aided by All Streams Return to the Source. The speed, the most crucial thing, was aided by Ghost.

When I felt as though I might collapse from exhaustion, Indomitable supported me. The stamina that sustained me came from Heavenly Bones.

When thick branches or brush appeared in my path, my Talent for Sword Intent helped. And the quick reactions and instantaneous agility needed while running came from my Talent for Body Arts.

Of course, my experience as a merchant also helped.

If I had taken the official roads, I would have had to make a wide detour, but by using the shortcuts I had learned while traveling on trade, I could cut down the time tremendously. “Haa, haa.”

As I continued dragging breath in and out, I felt as though there was a taste of blood in my throat. I had already gone far beyond the limits of my body and mind.

The only thing keeping me from falling now was the talent called Indomitable.

When had I ever driven myself so hard? To think I was using qinggong to run along mountain ridges for more than ten shichen without lowering my speed.

For the me of my previous life, it would have belonged to the realm of the superhuman. “I’m going crazy.”

Naturally, what I wanted most was to meet Cheong-su somewhere on the way. But whether because he had also used qinggong with death on his mind or because he had left half a day earlier, I couldn’t see him.

If anything, I could only hope I had somehow passed him without realizing it because we had not taken exactly the same route.

At some point, a thought occurred to me. Was there truly any reason for me to drive myself this far just to save Cheong-su?

The answer came instantly. Of course there wasn’t.

Cheong-su was not my Master, and he was also the culprit who had leaked the Taiji Wisdom Sword. To begin with, the idea of driving myself to the limit for the sake of saving someone was something I would normally have called ridiculous.

And yet, somehow, my body kept moving.

Even while knowing there was not the slightest rational reason to go this far, I kept running. I decided to think about it later.

Only after more than ten shichen, after spending almost an entire day in motion, did I finally enter Luoyang. I looked so terrible after using qinggong without pause for a full day that I could feel a few people’s gazes on me, but I had neither the time nor the spare strength to care.

I ran at once for the Fang Estate I remembered. Around the main gate, a crowd had already gathered in noisy uproar.

Cheong-su had clearly already reached the Fang Estate.

There was no time to ask people to move. I drew in one breath and threw myself at the crowd.

“Ack!” “What the hell!”

Forgive me, but I stepped on shoulders and heads alike, leaping over the wall and into the estate. Once over the wall, a scene from hell spread before me.

Corpses and blood lay scattered in all directions.

Judging from the traces on the severed surfaces, it didn’t seem as though Wudang’s sword forms had been used. Cheong-su clearly did not want to bring trouble onto Wudang.

Finding Cheong-su was easy. The corpses were making a path for me.

All I had to do was follow the dead.

Following them, I reached the Clan Head Hall. From within it, I could feel an immense aura.

There didn’t seem to be time to go inside the building and take the stairs. I ran up the outside wall and hurled myself through the window toward the source of that aura.

Inside, an old man was bringing a sword down toward a blood-soaked man. The one collapsed on the ground was covered in blood from head to toe, face included, but there was no difficulty recognizing him as Cheong-su.

“Hah!”

At once, I squeezed out the little strength I had left and leaped. Then I thrust out my sword.

Fortunately, my blade intercepted the path of the old man’s descending sword. The old man’s eyes widened.

I met his gaze and grinned. Whatever else, I had saved him.

I dragged in breath harshly.

This was the longest my two feet had stayed on the same patch of ground all day. “Hold on a moment. Let me catch my breath first.”

I breathed hard. Now that I’d stopped moving, it almost made me dizzier, and I felt as though I might collapse.

But if I collapsed here, then the whole thing would amount to nothing. “What are you?”

The old man asked in an irritable tone.

I jerked my chin toward the collapsed Cheong-su. “The man who came to take him away.”

“You must have seen the atrocities that one committed here.” “Whether they were atrocities or not, I can’t judge that right now. I’m only here to protect one of my people.”

“Then you can die with him!” The muscles on the big old man’s body twitched.

Seeing it, I immediately bent my waist backward with the iron bridge method.

The strange sword, its edge jagged like the fangs of a beast, swept past my waist. Using the backward bend, I planted both hands on the ground, flipped, and rose again.

“Haa, haa. I told you, let’s catch our breath for a second. I haven’t finished catching mine yet.” “Shut up!”

The old man charged at me at once.

But his killing pressure wasn’t as sharp or strong as his shout. At a glance, he too was clearly not in proper condition now, just like I wasn’t.

He had likely spent a great deal of strength fighting Cheong-su. Then again, no one always got to fight in their best condition.

That was only possible in formal bouts between righteous sects. “Hup!”

I poured internal energy into my sword and met his blade.

The instant our swords clashed, my wrist bent violently. Startled, I sprang back.

“This old man has quite a lot of strength.” “You came to interfere without even knowing who I am?”

“Who are you, then?” “Do you not know the name Wolf-Fang Sword King?”

“Ah. I’ve heard it. So you’re the Wolf-Fang Sword King.”

No wonder the edge of the blade felt odd. I remembered hearing that the Wolf-Fang Sword King used a strange weapon called a wolf-fang sword, its blade made like the teeth of a saw.

“Since I’ve revealed myself, courtesy says you should reveal yourself too.” I was about to answer, then faltered.

If I revealed myself as a man of Wudang here, then I would effectively be admitting that Cheong-su too was a man of Wudang. “Unfortunately, I don’t have a name I can reveal right now.”

“Hmph. Then I’ll simply find it out myself!”

The Wolf-Fang Sword King leaped again. As we exchanged words, my breathing had gradually steadied, and perhaps because he too had recovered some, the old man’s pressure was stronger than before.

Even so, he had clearly suffered internal injuries, because bright red blood kept spilling from his mouth. As for me, once I had gathered my breath again, there was no problem at all on the side of internal energy.

We were both in poor condition, but if one were to ask whose condition was better, it was mine. If the Wolf-Fang Sword King had been in perfect condition, and I as well, then my chances of defeating him would have been even lower.

“Hah!”

At last, the Wolf-Fang Sword King’s sword and mine truly began to mix in earnest. Just as his title suggested, his swordsmanship was extremely rough and full of dirty tricks.

And perhaps because it was the martial art of a wandering blade, unlike the righteous sects that used only the sword in lofty purity, he used hands and feet freely too. When he twisted his body to thrust his sword upward and then kicked at my shin with internal energy in his foot, I was genuinely startled.

It was because I had never seen martial arts so lacking in fixed form. Fortunately, I reacted in time and gathered internal energy into my shin, otherwise the bone would simply have snapped.

Even after reinforcing it with internal energy, my shin was swelling purple, which said everything.

When my leg wavered, my footwork faltered slightly. The Wolf-Fang Sword King didn’t miss it.

Closing the distance, he pressed me hard with his sword. There were no feints or tricks in the Wolf-Fang Sword King’s blade.

It was a purely practical sword made only of killing moves.

The sword coming toward my solar plexus split into five at close range. All five points were aimed at my vital gaps.

Without thinking, I used the Flowing Cloud Sword Art to guide away three and block two. At this point, I was in no position to defeat the Wolf-Fang Sword King while still hiding anything.

It was already a matter of giving everything I had and still not knowing whether I could win. The Wolf-Fang Sword King’s eyes widened when he saw my sword guiding his own aside so fluidly.

Then he sprang back and shouted,

“You’re one of Wudang!” “…No I’m not.”

I flinched, but immediately lied without shame. The Wolf-Fang Sword King clearly had no intention of believing me.

“No, indeed. As far as I know, that cowardly and suffocating swordsmanship belongs to no one but Wudang.” “Cowardly and suffocating swordsmanship? That’s a harsh thing to say.”

“There, you see? If you weren’t some hook-nosed Wudang Daoist, you wouldn’t have bristled at that.”

“Your mother was a courtesan in a pleasure house. If she wasn’t, then don’t get offended.” The Wolf-Fang Sword King’s face flushed red right to the top of his head.

“Wretch!” Whether his mother had truly been a courtesan or not, he flared with absurd anger and charged at me.

Even so, his sword didn’t waver, nor did his movements grow excessive. No matter how depleted he was, the Wolf-Fang Sword King was still a transcendent peak master whose name had been known in the Jianghu for decades.

There was no easy way for me to defeat him.

So I simply thought, to hell with it, and swung Wudang’s sword by feel, focusing only on defense as much as possible. At that point, anyone looking could tell it was Wudang’s sword.

“Decades ago, one of Wudang’s bastards came and turned the Fang Estate upside down, and now again! What grudge does Wudang bear against our Fang Estate! I will make Wudang answer for this!” The one shouting that from the corner was the fat-bellied man, evidently the head of the Fang Estate.

Naturally, I had no idea that a man of Wudang had once caused such havoc at the Fang Estate decades ago, so I had nothing to say. “…I’m not a man of Wudang. I left behind a note asking to be expelled.”

At that moment, the collapsed Cheong-su spoke in a voice barely hanging on.

Trembling, he forced himself up. Looking closely, I saw that his face was like a beehive.

He really had done everything possible to avoid being identified as a man of Wudang. “You asked what grudge I have, Fang Clan.”

At that eerie appearance and voice, the Clan Head of Fang trembled, yet still shouted,

“Yes! What grudge could you possibly have against me!” “My name is Jang Hae-won. I am the elder brother of Jang Hae-rin.”

“…Jang Hae-rin?” At Cheong-su’s words, the Clan Head of Fang frowned.

He clearly had some vague recollection. Even while spitting blood, Cheong-su continued.

“Yes. I am the family of the woman you violated twenty years ago.”

The Clan Head of Fang jerked in shock. In that instant, he glanced toward the beautiful woman and little girl beside him.

Presumably they were his wife and daughter. “Wh-what nonsense! A slanderous lie!”

The Clan Head of Fang’s voice trembled. That trembling alone was enough to tell me the truth.

Cheong-su’s words were true, and Fang remembered it as well.

“I didn’t come merely to slander you. I came to kill you.” Cheong-su forced himself upright with his sword planted in the floor.

But he clearly didn’t have the strength to move further. “Hall Master of the External Hall! Kill that man first! Quickly!”

The Clan Head of Fang shouted, his face pale. But I was already standing in front of Cheong-su.

If the Wolf-Fang Sword King wished to cut Cheong-su down, then he’d have to cut through me first.

“So that’s the story.” I nodded.

The Wolf-Fang Sword King too seemed to understand something and clicked his tongue. “I told you so, Clan Head. I told you long ago that if one builds karma in the Central Plains, it will one day return.”

“Wh-what are you saying, Hall Master!” Ignoring the noisy Clan Head of Fang, the Wolf-Fang Sword King looked at me.

“Listen, I regret it, but I’m no knight-errant. I’m a hired man, so I can only do what I must.”

“I understand. Everyone has what he must do.” “Both of us look equally spent. How about ending this in a single exchange?”

“Agreed.” A destructive force burst from the Wolf-Fang Sword King’s body.

Mist streamed from my own sword.

It was openly the Flowing Cloud Sword Art. Behind me, I thought I could almost hear Cheong-su sighing.

He’d gone so far as to flay his own face in order to hide Wudang, and here I was, the one who came to help, publicly announcing that I was from Wudang. But if I didn’t use Wudang’s sword art, I had no chance at all.

Truth be told, it didn’t look as though I had any chance even now. No matter how weakened he was, the Wolf-Fang Sword King was a transcendent peak master whose name had been known for decades.

No matter how extraordinary my talents were, defeating him in a single exchange would be difficult.

Then a thought flashed through my head. Compared to the Wolf-Fang Sword King, there seemed to be only one thing in which I held a comparative edge at all.

It wasn’t strength, or agility, or internal energy. It was the method Hyeon-wol had taught me for assimilating with nature.

Back then, I had briefly assimilated with nature and found Hyeon-wol. What would happen if I applied that to martial arts?

Of course, before applying it, I first had to segment my perception and assimilate with nature, just as Hyeon-wol had said.

Can I do it? Whether I could or not wasn’t important.

I had to do it with the mindset that if I didn’t, I would die. “Here I come.”

The Wolf-Fang Sword King spoke slowly. Unlike his tone, he charged at me with the speed and force of a storm.

In that instant, I recognized this room as the whole of the world.

The sensation of assimilating within the formation returned to me again. Like a bird’s-eye view from above the room, I could see the Wolf-Fang Sword King’s movements, the Fang family cowering in the corner, and Cheong-su as well.

“What!” The Wolf-Fang Sword King sucked in a sharp breath.

To me, who had taken command of this space itself, the path of his movement lay entirely within my hand. I slipped past it naturally and thrust my sword toward his heart.

Then the assimilation broke.

The moment it did, I felt terrible dizziness and vertigo. It seemed that because my segmentation of perception was still incomplete, there were side effects.

But even so, my sword had already pierced the Wolf-Fang Sword King’s heart. “…What technique was that? How did you suddenly vanish…”

Staring at me in disbelief, the Wolf-Fang Sword King collapsed. When the huge body of the old swordsman crashed down, only then did I register the Clan Head of Fang trembling behind him.