Pay‑to‑Win King of Martial Arts (Novel) - Chapter 224 - Successor (3)

Chapter 224: Successor (3)

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Translated by Heavenly Cat

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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Although the mention of a specific name seemed to throw the people into confusion, the squad leader shook his head.

“We were ordered not to let any outsiders in. I don’t know what connection you have with Young Master Hwangbo, but you are no exception.”

The squad leader was stubborn. Considering the gravity of the situation, it was understandable.

However…

“…!”

The expressions of the people changed.

I had drawn Myeong-a.

“That is understandable, but I have my own reasons as well. I don’t wish to delay even for a moment.”

“Are you going to fight us?”

The squad leader murmured in a heavy voice. Since I had claimed to be an orthodox practitioner, he seemed hesitant to use his blade.

“Form the battle formation! Kill him if necessary.”

Still, a squad leader was a squad leader. His judgment and command were swift. If I were in his shoes, I would have ordered the same. Right now, they couldn’t even be sure whether I was actually an orthodox martial artist or not.

Instead of the Heavenly Demon Sword Art, I used the Flowing Cloud Sword Art. Since they were also members of prestigious orthodox sects, they recognized the Flowing Cloud Sword Art at a single glance.

“…Wudang Sect?”

“No. The Flowing Cloud Sword Art doesn’t have such an ominous energy. It’s something that looks like the Flowing Cloud Sword Art.”

As the squad members wavered, the squad leader spoke firmly. Indeed, since my current energy was unified under the overbearing Primordial Origin Qi, claiming it to be an orthodox martial art was a bit embarrassing.

I thought they would recognize the Flowing Cloud Sword Art if I performed it like this, but since the energy itself was so different from Wudang’s, it was only natural for them to think that way.

In an instant, people surrounded me, occupying all eight directions. What was surprising was that their intents did not overlap at all. It showed how much they had trained in this battle formation.

“Strike!”

People from all eight directions charged at once.

I stood still. No matter how much they had practiced, the sword strikes flying in from the eight directions did not match in speed or power. This was an unavoidable issue arising from the fact that they weren’t originally from the same sect or family.

This meant that as long as my speed was overwhelming, I could deflect their swords sequentially.

My sword paths moved rapidly, wrapping around my body. Without even needing to clash forcefully, simply deflecting their strikes was enough to shatter their battle formation with destructive force.

“This… makes no sense…!”

One of the squad members spoke in a dazed voice. Having their own martial discernment, they must have caught a glimpse of a higher realm in the speed and power of my blade.

When their formation collapsed, they tried to restore it immediately, but I didn’t miss the split-second gap.

I struck the paralyzing acupoints of those at a distance with finger qi, and those close to me with my sword hilt. With that single sequence, I subdued five people, smashing more than half of the eight-man formation.

I flashed a slight smile at the dazed squad leader, who was as stunned as his members. In my own way, I wanted to show that I held no murderous intent and was harmless.

“Shall we talk again?”

However, perhaps due to how he interpreted that smile, the trembling squad leader, whose lips and hands shook violently, seemed to have no room to answer.

“Scatter!”

His panic was prolonged, but his decision was swift. The squad leader shouted to scatter without the slightest hesitation.

The other members, who had been preparing for a battle of attrition, sheathed their swords and fled immediately. As if they had pre-arranged their escape routes, they scattered in all directions.

“…This is a bit troublesome.”

I pondered for a moment.

Since I had only one body, I couldn’t pursue all of them.

In times like this, it was only right to pursue the leader. I immediately deployed my lightness art toward the direction where the squad leader had vanished.

The speed that I couldn’t adapt to when I first arrived on Hainan Island was now within my control.

“You monster!”

The squad leader shouted as he saw me closing in behind him in the blink of an eye.

Stepping on a thin branch no thicker than a child’s arm, I soared high into the air. As I leaped over him, I met the eyes of the squad leader, who was looking up at the sky.

I cleared his head and landed in front of him. Dropping rapidly using the Thousand Jin Fall, I retrieved the internal energy gathered in my Yongquan acupoint just before landing. The branch I landed on swayed slightly but did not break.

Simply witnessing that seemed to drain the squad leader of all resolve. It was indeed a feat unimaginable for me before entering the burial chamber.

“You said you were an orthodox practitioner.”

The squad leader’s tone naturally shifted to formal respect.

“Yes.”

“I cannot understand. I have experienced the martial arts of the Nine Great Sects and the Five Great Families, but I have never heard of a master like you.”

“Isn’t the Central Plains vast beyond compare?”

“True. May I ask your esteemed name?”

“There’s no need for such respect.”

I let out a dry laugh. To hear a title of respect that I had never even heard in my past life at such a young age… It brought back deep emotions.

“My name is Muk Hui-yeong.”

“…What?”

One of the squad leader’s eyebrows shot up. Surely, it was a name he must have heard.

Especially since the Imperial Court had labeled that incident the Geyu Shipwreck and pinned all the blame on me.

In a way, I was the one who had changed the landscape of the jianghu, so it would be stranger if he hadn’t heard of it.

“…There is only one Muk Hui-yeong I know of.”

“I am probably that Muk Hui-yeong.”

“Are you saying you are the Muk Hui-yeong of the Geyu Incident?”

“So they call it an incident here. I heard they refer to it as a shipwreck on the mainland.”

Should I have revealed my name first instead of fighting? But just as that thought crossed my mind, the squad leader drew his sword.

“To claim to be a dead man… How utterly absurd.”

“It’s only natural for you to think that way.”

“No, even if you wanted to impersonate someone, you should not have chosen him.”

The squad leader’s gaze shifted. A murderous aura flared from his blade.

In that moment, I realized my mistake. It would have been a disaster if I had revealed my name first.

“Impersonating the Eastern Emperor is an insult to us.”

“The Eastern Emperor? Who is that?”

“It is the posthumous title of the one you dare to claim to be!”

The squad leader lunged at me. He was certainly in a different league. The pressure he exerted was far greater than when the members attacked in formation.

I reflexively drew my sword and blocked his strike. His blade curved toward me at an incredible speed.

The squad leader’s sword seemed to waver before dividing into five distinct blades.

“Calm down first.”

“Shut up!”

I had no idea why he was so furious over my name.

Even the Hainan Sect Leader and Elders didn’t really know my name, so why was he reacting like this?

Then again, those who came from the mainland were bound to be different. They were directly connected to that incident in the month of Geyu. Still, I hadn’t expected to receive a posthumous title.

The squad leader’s speed increased further. I flinched. The light of essence fire, which appeared when one burned internal energy, flashed in his eyes.

Normally, people merely circulated and released the internal energy they had accumulated, replenishing it when they rested. The vessel containing the internal energy remained undamaged.

But burning internal energy was different. It was akin to searing the Eight Extraordinary Meridians and blood vessels with fire, which was bound to leave severe aftereffects. In exchange, it produced immense destructive power.

The squad leader was now fighting me even at the cost of discarding his lifespan and future as a martial artist.

“I told you to calm down!”

I stopped retreating and began to advance.

I had planned to extract information while clashing swords, but that was no longer an option. If he burned any more of his internal energy, it would leave irreversible damage.

I immediately began executing the Heavenly Demon Sword Art. Since he was already skilled and now burning his internal energy, subduing him was no easy task.

“Just stay still!”

I shouted from the bottom of my heart, but there was no way he would stay still.

This fellow already regarded me as his sworn enemy. The essence fire flashing in his eyes began to burn even brighter.

“You lunatic!”

To emit that level of brilliance, he was undoubtedly burning even his innate true qi. His sword paths grew wilder and more unpredictable.

The squad leader was now performing sword techniques that far exceeded his original cultivation. It was only natural since he was burning his innate true qi. If this continued, his blood vessels and muscles would all tear. My mind grew increasingly anxious.

To think it would be this frustrating to have no way to prove my identity.

If so, even I had to resort to a gamble. I swung my sword widely, leaving a slight opening. Caught in a near-trance, the squad leader naturally lunged for the gap.

This was a dangerous move for me as well, since I was yielding my defensive perimeter.

But without doing this, I couldn’t end the fight quickly. I deliberately raised my arm to expose my axillary artery, widening the opening further.

The squad leader’s sharp blade pierced toward my artery. I minimized the wound as much as possible using only the body-protection scripture and precise movements. Only after permitting a wound near a vital spot did a chance to subdue him finally present itself.

I gathered internal energy in my free hand. The Primordial Origin Qi gathered through the Heavenly Demon Heart Art swirled violently in my palm.

I carefully placed it against the squad leader’s lower dantian.

Boom!

Even before my hand made contact with his dantian, the sound of the atmosphere being crushed echoed.

And the moment it connected, the squad leader was blown back violently by the recoil.

“cough!”

Vomiting blood into the air, the squad leader flew back. He was thrown with such force that trees snapped and fell. The crashing of trees was followed by the sound of startled birds taking flight.

I quickly ran toward the direction where the squad leader had flown. He lay face down in the bushes, still throwing up blood.

“Kill me.”

“Just shut up for a second.”

The squad leader muttered with half-open eyes, but I immediately began administering first aid.

First, I successfully injected my own internal energy directly into his dantian using the internal heavy hand technique.

If foreign internal energy invades the dantian, the body’s natural purifying mechanism gathers and expels it. I had targeted his lower dantian specifically to trigger that reaction.

Afterward, I began sealing his acupoints. First was the mute acupoint, as I didn’t want to hear his demands to be killed.

“Mmph, mmph.”

Despite that, the squad leader struggled, but since his paralyzing acupoints were sealed, he could only wriggle helplessly.

I pressed various points, I drained the fiery heat remaining in his blood vessels. Looking closely at his prone form, I saw his arms and legs were dislocated and twisted. It showed just how excessively he had pushed his body.

After completing the emergency treatment, I unsealed his mute acupoint. The squad leader surely knew that I had administered first aid.

The moment the mute acupoint was freed, the squad leader spat at me and spoke.

“Are you treating my body just to torture me?”

I tilted my head to the right to avoid the spit.

“Have you lived a life of constant betrayal? You really don’t trust people, do you?”

Then again, I probably wouldn’t believe it either. How could anyone believe that a man reported dead had suddenly appeared alive?

“Just kill me quickly. No matter what you do, I will not utter a single word.”

“Hmm.”

I had no choice. I began pressing the acupoints that controlled pain reception on the prone squad leader one by one.

“Aaaagh!”

Instantly, tears welled in his eyes as he screamed. Pressing the nerves where pain gathered and stirring them with internal energy was bound to cause agonizing pain.

It was a common torture technique used in the jianghu, making his accusation about treating him just to torture him ring true.

“Just speak.”

“Shut up! Aaaagh!”

No matter how trained they were to endure pain, that training was only for physical trauma to the flesh.

Pain that clawed at the nerve bundles erupted from deep within, making it impossible to train against.

Of course, it wasn’t a technique that left permanent damage. On the contrary, by applying shock to the nerve bundles, internal energy gathered there, making the nerves sturdier. In a way, it was a form of torture that yielded the same benefits as Blood-Tracing Acupressure.

Yet, the squad leader was incredibly stubborn. To endure the agony of shredded nerves for nearly two hours was a testament to his immense mental fortitude.

But in the end, even he had to submit.

“Alright, alright! I’ll speak, so please stop!”

“Good. Lead the way to your headquarters.”

Sealing his paralyzing acupoints again, I hoisted him over one shoulder. Carrying him like this made me feel like a true unorthodox scoundrel.

I headed toward the direction he indicated. It was deep within the mountains, far from any human habitation. A logical location for a group in hiding.

“Where do we go from here?”

“Hehe.”

Deep in the mountains, the squad leader let out a sinister laugh.

I sensed the ominous intent behind his laughter. Simultaneously, short arrows rained down from all directions. It was a finely crafted mechanical trap.

“Ah, seriously, this bastard…”

“Aaargh!”

After giving the squad leader’s nerve bundles another squeeze, I spun my body and sword in a circle, knocking down every arrow.

Despite all that torture, this guy had led me to a trap instead of their headquarters. Should I admire him for his loyalty?

The traps didn’t end there. A massive log studded with iron spikes swung toward me.

I could have dodged it, but I had no intention of doing so. I drew my sword with one hand. With a crescent-shaped flash, the massive log was split clean in half vertically.

“…*Hiccup*!”

I heard the squad leader hiccup. Bringing me into a trap while paralyzed meant he was prepared to die himself. But being prepared to die and actually dying were two different things.

Without giving me a moment to breathe, the ground beneath me caved in. Looking down, I saw spears with glistening tips planted pointing upward.

I bent my toes and stepped on the spear tips. The blades couldn’t pierce my shoes or soles. That was how flawless my control of internal energy was.

Naturally, that wasn’t all. A shower of flying needles burst from the walls of the pit.

“You really prepared a lot of these.”

I stepped from spear tip to spear tip, I dodged the needles. Whenever dodging seemed impossible, I deployed a sword barrier to deflect them.

“Phew.”

Once the needle shower ceased, I flipped backward, escaping the pit of spears.

The squad leader spoke in a hollow voice.

“…To think you dodged all of that.”

“You are dead meat.”

I lowered him from my shoulder and began working on his nerve bundles to my heart’s content.

Endless screams echoed. Though it sounded like brutal torture, it was actually highly beneficial for nerve strengthening.

He screamed so much that blood practically came from his throat. His voice even seemed to have reached a higher pitch. To think I had taught him how to hit high notes; there could be no torture as beneficial as this.

“Stop.”

And just as expected, a presence made itself known behind me.

“…Unit Leader.”

The squad leader, who was facing backward, spotted him first and muttered.

My prediction was correct. I figured that even if this wasn’t their headquarters, it was bound to be close. Otherwise, there would be no reason to build such elaborate traps here.

Surely, anyone would come out if their subordinate’s screams kept echoing like this.

I turned around immediately. There stood the Unit Leader and several others, fully prepared to strike.

My eyes met those of the Unit Leader. It was a familiar face. Furrowing my brow and looking closely, I realized he was indeed someone I knew.

“The Thousand-Poison Scholar?”

The Thousand-Poison Scholar, Tang Se-ui. He was someone whose portrait I hadn’t seen in the bundle Gok Pyeong-un gave me.

Tang Se-ui also squinted at me as if I looked familiar, and then his face warped in sheer shock.

“…Is that really you?”

“Who else could it be?”

Looking closely, there were others behind Tang Se-ui who were also acquaintances. They and Tang Se-ui stood in stunned silence, their mouths agape.