Pay‑to‑Win King of Martial Arts (Novel) - Chapter 219 - Night Parade of One Hundred Demons (2)

Chapter 219: Night Parade of One Hundred Demons (2)

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Translated by Heavenly Cat

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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How could this be? I couldn’t understand it. No matter how much we couldn’t tell day from night while trapped, our sense of time wasn’t that dull.

I suddenly thought of the countless formations that the immortal had boasted were suspended in the space.

That had to be it. The time inside and outside the burial mound was different.

We thought five years had passed, but in reality, only half a year had passed outside.

I let out a sigh of relief inwardly. Still, it was a comfort that we had come out relatively quickly.

I roughly made an excuse that I was dull to the passage of time due to closed-door training in the deep mountains and remote valleys, and then left the house.

In truth, there were many more things I wanted to ask, but because that uncle and his family were so wary, it was too awkward to stay any longer.

When I went outside, all the people who had been walking around were gone.

The reason was clear.

My vagrant-like appearance made people wary.

I remembered when I was young, whenever unfamiliar vagrant martial artists wandered through the village, my mother would hurriedly send me inside the house.

“Those who come are not good; those who are good do not come.” That might be the phrase that has saved the most lives in the Central Plains.

Of course, I felt a bit wronged since I had been washed up here without any bad intentions. But what could I do? That was just my current state.

I wanted to gather more information, but I decided to leave the village instead of making the innocent residents anxious. Going to a bustling city rather than a small village would at least draw less scrutiny.

Come to think of it, even though I had traveled all over the continent, I had never personally been to Hainan. I had supplied goods to Hainan before, but that was the extent of it.

Why? Because I was busy enough just focusing on the continent. Hainan had too few customers compared to the mainland, and it took too much time to travel back and forth, making it unsuitable for me to go.

‘If it’s Hainan, Haikou, which is adjacent to the continent, is at least a bustling city.’

But thinking about it, I didn’t know where this place was. Because the shock of it being half a year later was so great, I failed to ask what I should have. Should I go back and ask?

But there was no need to do that. I felt a presence approaching me from far ahead.

I was about to welcome them gladly but flinched. They weren’t approaching slowly like ordinary commoners. They were aggressively rushing toward the entrance of the village using lightfoot.

I stood still. They soon confronted me. They were dressed in indigo martial robes resembling the cool sea.

“Stop.”

“I am stopped.”

“…Right.”

When I pointed out the obvious, the man in the indigo robe scratched the back of his head, looking embarrassed.

“We came after receiving a report. It seems you are the suspect.”

“Me?”

“Yes. A report that an unidentified person is wandering around the village and causing anxiety.”

“…”

I smacked my lips. I expected as much, but hearing it directly made me feel a bit sorrowful.

Looking back at the village, thick smoke from the mountain behind was filling the sky. It seemed they had lit a signal fire to make the report.

I asked out of sudden curiosity.

“By any chance, are you martial artists of the Hainan Sect?”

“We are.”

I nodded. Indeed, the only sect in charge of Hainan’s public security was the Hainan Sect.

“Show us your ivory plaque.”

The Hainan Sect martial artist spoke stiffly. I instinctively pretended to rummage through my clothes.

However, neither my identity plaque, my plaque proving my status in the Embroidered Uniform Guard, nor the wooden plaque proving I was a Wudang Sect martial artist remained; they had all been swept away by the sea. All I had was Myeong-a, which I brought from the burial mound.

Even if I had them, showing them was out of the question. My identity was written on them, and I didn’t know what kind of treatment I was receiving in the jianghu or the Central Plains right now.

“Haha, I don’t have one.”

“I see. I expected as much, actually. Unidentified martial artists found in Hainan are usually like that.”

There were three Hainan Sect martial artists in total. They naturally surrounded me.

“Sorry, but the Hainan Sect temporarily detains martial artists like you until their identity is verified. Rest assured, if your identity is confirmed or if you are deemed harmless, you will be released.”

“I am a harmless person.”

At my innocent gaze, they snorted.

“Everyone says that. The public enemy of the martial world who fled to Hainan Island last month said the exact same thing, didn’t he?”

“That’s right, Senior Brother. He was a vicious criminal who killed twenty helpless commoners.”

“…”

It seemed this wasn’t the first or second time the Hainan Sect martial artists had dealt with this.

To be fair, I knew this as well. Hainan Island was a famous place of exile for the Empire. It was usually counted alongside Dunhuang as one of the two major places of exile.

As such, I had heard that many of the Empire’s criminals and those branded as public enemies of the martial world fled to Hainan Island.

“If I am detained, what is the procedure?”

Even though I showed a gentle demeanor, the Hainan Sect martial artist didn’t lower his guard at all as he continued.

“First, before detention, we will conduct a body search to see if you are hiding anything. Once you are in detention, we will compare you with the portraits of public enemies kept by our sect.”

“And if I don’t match any of the portraits of the public enemies?”

“We will draw a portrait of you, send it to the Imperial Court and the Martial Alliance, and wait for a response.”

“That sounds like it will take quite a while.”

Sending people from Hainan Island to Beijing and Nanjing and waiting for a response… All my efforts to come out early would go down the drain. And above all, I absolutely couldn’t allow my face to be sent to the Martial Alliance and the Imperial Court.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t do that. I don’t have enough time.”

“Don’t make a choice you will regret.”

As I openly declared my hostile intent, the Hainan Sect martial artists placed their hands on their sword hilts.

“Hainan Island allows for the summary execution of unidentified martial artists. Judging by your accent, you seem to be from the mainland. How tragic would it be to die in this far-off, foreign land?”

“I understand your circumstances, but I have my own situation as well.”

“Don’t throw away thirty years trying to save one.”

The Hainan Sect martial artists warned me as they slowly closed the distance.

The aura emanating from their bodies was as fierce as waves. Moreover, they had trained extensively in coordinated attacks, as there were no overlapping energy waves.

Gradually, their energy waves and intent approached me. I immediately unsheathed Myeong-a. They stopped.

“Don’t come any closer.”

Sweat dripped from their foreheads.

Being martial artists, they could probably feel it too. The fact that if they stepped any closer, they would enter my domain.

“So you possess profound martial arts. However, your energy waves don’t seem like those of an orthodox martial artist.”

“But I am from a prestigious orthodox sect.”

“About last year, there was an unorthodox bastard who claimed to be a martial artist of the Kongtong Sect.”

The thought suddenly occurred to me. If I displayed Wudang Sect’s Flowing Cloud Sword Art, would they recognize it? Right now, my energy was overbearing because I had only practiced the Heavenly Demon Divine Art for five years.

A faint mist billowed from my sword. They flinched.

“…This?”

“Do you recognize it?”

I spoke triumphantly. I thought things might turn out well this way.

But that was just my wishful thinking.

“It’s a sword art I’ve never seen before.”

“It’s Wudang’s Flowing Cloud Sword Art.”

“Sorry, but I have never been to the mainland.”

“Have you never even heard of a martial art that emits this kind of mist?”

“Of course I have. However, the overbearing energy felt within the mist cannot be seen as Wudang Sect’s martial arts at all. Rather than the Flowing Cloud Sword Art, it seems more fitting to call this the Poison Mist Sword Art.”

“…Sigh.”

I let out a sigh. Master, Sect Leader, I am sorry. To think that Wudang’s Flowing Cloud Sword Art was mistaken for a Poison Mist Sword Art. This wasn’t just throwing dirt on Wudang Sect’s face; it was like pouring black ink all over its body. Since my Heavenly Demon Heart Art, which I had trained for five years, was the problem, I had no excuses.

“Enough of this. We are sick of tricks like claiming to have lost your ivory plaque, claiming to be an orthodox martial artist, or trying to deceive us with mainland martial arts just because we are islanders.”

“I have no choice then.”

I shook my head. Persuading them was impossible. If so, I had no choice but to subdue them with force and move on.

Seeing my eyes change, they also drew their swords from their sheaths simultaneously.

Placing my balance mostly on my heels, I quickly bounced my body and shot toward the Hainan Sect martial artist who seemed to be the eldest senior brother. He would be the core of their sword formation.

Boom!

Two pits gouged out where I had been standing, and in an instant, I appeared right in front of the Hainan Sect martial artist.

“…Gasp!”

A belated sound of air filling his lungs was heard.

The time spent with the clearing of the Governor and Conception Vessels obtained through Awakening and my Grade 4 Talent was not in vain.

Holding my sword in a reverse grip, I struck the numbing acupoint on the back of his neck with the pommel. Judging by his appearance, he seemed to be around a first-generation disciple, but I had subdued him in a single instant.

“Senior Brother!”

The martial artist who formed the core of the sword formation collapsed in an instant, and a step too late, the martial artists on both sides rushed toward me.

I looked back and forth between them. They appeared so slow that I would have time to spare even if I double-checked them multiple times.

Twisting my waist as much as possible, I drew a circle with my foot and then shot upward.

Suspended in the air, I looked down at the two martial artists on the ground. I had risen so high that they looked like tiny dots. They were looking left and right as if they didn’t even realize I had gone up.

Using the technique of the Thousand-Pound Drop, I descended rapidly and easily subdued their numbing acupoints with finger wind.

“Ugh!”

The two Hainan Sect martial artists collapsed easily. I had tried to strike their numbing acupoints as lightly as possible.

A numbing acupoint is also a type of vital point. Although it is a point that paralyzes the body, striking it too hard can be fatal.

Furthermore, I had wanted to talk with them after subduing them. However, all three had lost consciousness.

Startled, I grabbed their wrists one by one to check their pulses. Fortunately, their lives were not in danger.

I sheathed Myeong-a and clenched and unclenched my hand.

I still couldn’t control my strength properly. I hadn’t intended to make them lose consciousness.

It seemed I had indeed grown stronger. Those who collapsed were not some neighborhood ruffians, but disciples of the Hainan Sect, a prestigious orthodox sect.

I had subdued them all in a single strike. Five years—no, to be precise, half a year—had not been spent in vain.

Suddenly, I thought of Uncle Zhu Mun-hwan. Without him, gaining this kind of strength would have been impossible. I clasped my hands and prayed for his soul’s rest once more.

I looked down at the fallen disciples of Hainan. Even if I killed them, other Hainan Sect disciples would come looking, and since I had wandered around the village, my portrait would surely be drawn anyway. There was no practical benefit in killing them.

I spotted a binding rope at their waists. It seemed to be the rope used to restrain unidentified martial artists. I gathered them together and tied them to a tree stump.

Whether someone found them or they broke free on their own, they would get out eventually. It was a temporary measure, but I had taken it to ensure they wouldn’t pursue me immediately.

‘First, I must escape Hainan.’

A goal was set. Since I had subdued the Hainan Sect disciples, the minimum I would face was detention.

There was only one way to escape. I had to take a boat from the port of Haikou and head to the mainland.

Though I didn’t know whether my current lightfoot skill would allow me to perform treading on duckweed and crossing water, it definitely wouldn’t be enough to cross between Hainan Island and the mainland.

Crossing a small lake with treading on duckweed and crossing water is on a completely different level from traveling between the mainland and an island.

I was about to move immediately. But at that moment, an immense energy wave was felt.

“…!”

Someone was approaching this place at an extremely high speed. Not just somewhere nearby, but targeting this exact spot.

In the blink of an eye, a middle-aged man with a fluttering beard appeared before me.

With a swift glance, the middle-aged man scanned both me and the Hainan Sect martial artists tied to the tree stump.

“Who are you?”

Having clearly grasped the situation, the middle-aged man asked in a low voice. An overwhelming energy wave, incomparable to the martial artists I had just faced, poured over my body.