Chapter 51

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Translated by Seoulbound

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net
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“Let’s go by land, focusing on secluded mountain paths.”

“Indeed. Secluded mountain paths are certainly best for security… But by land for all four thousand li?”

The faces of the surprised team members came into view.

No matter how important mission secrecy was, traveling the entire four thousand li by land, and on secluded mountain paths at that, would not be an easy task for the children of prestigious clans.

However, I presented a clear justification.

Originally, for an argument where opposition was expected, a source that was clear and had the authority of an original text was effective.

“It is said, ‘If one reaches formlessness and soundlessness, one can become the controller of the enemy’s fate.’”

It was a passage from The Art of War stating that if one could conceal signs such as form and sound, one could control the enemy’s life.

All the team members were the children of prestigious families and rising stars of the righteous faction.

The citation of the classic quickly erased the dissatisfaction that had arisen on the faces of the rising stars.

“Indeed. Since it was spoken by Master Sun.”

“It is right to follow the art of war.”

“Taoist Yeon is well-versed in the art of war even at that age. I am impressed.”

Regardless of their true feelings, everyone had no choice but to agree.

In addition, apart from their physical comfort, they all agreed that the land route was stealthier, so everyone nodded and agreed to my decision.

Above all, a sense of happiness hovered over Su-gyo’s face.

It was likely the satisfaction of not having to meet anyone other than the team members while traversing a whopping four thousand li.

Along with that, so did I.

‘I have gained time to practice martial arts while traveling.’

I was self-satisfied with the thought that it was a decision killing three birds with one stone, making everyone happy.

**

As I displayed the Flowing Cloud Movement Skill over the uninhabited mountain path and simultaneously utilized the qi accumulation formula of the Primal Chaos Tai Chi Art, internal power was constantly supplied to the muscles of my lower body, leaving me unaware of exhaustion.

Although the stealth of the mission was the highest priority, if speed could be added to it, it would be the icing on the cake.

What was best of all was that, after defeating the Red Yang Demonic Immortal recently, taking the Flesh-Generating Tendon-Connecting Pill and the Supreme Clarity Pill at the same time had allowed my further increased internal energy to permeate every corner of my body’s fine meridians and acupoints, reducing fatigue and maximizing physical capabilities.

I had become in the optimal physical condition to use and master martial arts.

With my body thus optimized for movement, I sorted through the things I had gained from the previous battle.

‘If it had been before the fight with the Red Yang Demonic Immortal, it would have been difficult to finish against the River of Three Crossings assassins without sustaining a single wound.’

The attacks by the additional members hiding in the shadows, after the first assassins who had ambushed Su-gyo and me, were definitely threatening. If I had not learned the internal heavy strikes method of the Cloud-Dispelling Palm in advance, it would not have been easy to slay them in a single blow. Among fist and palm techniques, there were not many methods that could so definitively incapacitate an opponent in a single blow as the internal heavy strikes method.

The martial arts of the River of Three Crossings assassins were just that threatening.

That meant their martial arts were perfect as materials for inspiration. As I had always done, I began to extract useful formulas from the martial arts they had shown.

‘Since having that dream in the Library Pavilion, this is the most enjoyable time.’

A time when experience, knowledge, and inherited martial arts merged into one.

Suddenly, the words my master had spoken before leaving came to mind.

-It is a good thing to gain learning by meeting people. I wish you martial fortune.

Since I had gained learning even from meeting the assassins, my master’s words were indeed not wrong. Engraving those words in my heart, I pondered how to utilize the extracted formulas.

First of all, what came to mind first was the same footwork force.

‘If I add the assassins’ secret maneuver formula on top of the steps of the Flowing Cloud Movement Skill that reduces the coefficient of friction? I can reduce the value consumed by sound. If I can even hide my presence on top of that, it will be the icing on the cake.’

Energy exists in various forms.

Heat, light, sound, motion, and so forth.

If all force and energy were concentrated on motion at the moment the body moved, heat or sound would not arise. Of course, this was physically impossible, but.

The principle by which all things under heaven move.

Since one of the kinds of the Tao was precisely the ‘law of conservation of energy’.

To accomplish the maximum work with the same energy, it was best to minimize the value wasted on heat, light, and sound.

‘I will maximize ankle flexibility to minimize the noise and impact generated during ground friction.’

As the secret maneuver formula of the River of Three Crossings assassins was added to the steps of the Flowing Cloud Movement Skill which reduced the coefficient of friction, in addition to the sound disappearing during movement, the speed also rose slightly higher.

As proof of that, the body of Su-gyo, who had been shoulder-to-shoulder beside me, was gradually falling behind.

‘The effect is clear.’

Feeling the thrilling pleasure of the moment what I had conceived in my mind was realized through my body, I moved on to the next.

To the memory before facing the assassins that day.

‘Qingcheng Sect, Subtle Concealment Method.’

Thanks to having shared various opinions regarding the martial arts of each sect with Taoist Su-gyo before the assassins’ attack that day, I had come to know clearly how the Subtle Concealment Method could be implemented.

However, because stealing the martial arts of another sect without permission was something that deviated from the common sense of the martial world.

‘If I just take the concept of total internal reflection of light and apply it? Excellent stealth and camouflage studies will be possible.’

There was no need to maintain stealth at all times unless one was an assassin or an informant.

If so, why were stealth and camouflage necessary?

It was because I already knew how massive of an effect temporarily deceiving the opponent’s eyes in the middle of fierce combat could have.

Forming the point of impact for the release of force was as good as half the achievement of high-level martial arts.

If one could blur that point of impact?

There would be no better method than this to protect the body and launch a counterattack.

Immediately, I began to twist and squeeze out true qi using my own formula.

**

Tang Si-hyeok, belonging to the green wind unit of the Sichuan Tang Clan, was quite confident in his footwork force. He was confident that, excluding the experts of the Beggars’ Sect among those of a similar age, he would never fall behind in terms of speed or stealth.

And that mindset was not unique to Tang Si-hyeok; it was the same for Namgung Hyeok of the Firmament Sword Squad and the other team members as well.

From this point on, a spirit of competition ignited among the team members, and they traversed the mountain paths passing one another while displaying their body-lightening skills. It was a competition over how quietly and how quickly they could move.

Meanwhile.

‘Hmm?!’

As the speed of the body-lightening skill of Yeon Baek-jung—the assistant of Group Bing, who was the youngest but silently took the lead and set the path—suddenly increased, new oil was poured onto the team members’ competitive spirit.

This was because, although everyone recognized his martial arts skill, the body-lightening skill was a different domain from general martial arts.

‘Whatever else may be, I cannot lose in body-lightening skill!’

‘If there is a difference in internal energy yet I lose in a movement skill confrontation, I will lose face!’

‘I must win. I must win. I must win.’

Insofar as the deep maturity of internal energy decisively influenced the body-lightening skill, falling behind the youngest, Yeon Baek-jung, in speed and endurance was tantamount to admitting that they were inferior in internal power to a young Taoist who had not even reached twenty.

‘I must not lose. I must not lose!’

The same thought occurred in everyone’s minds.

They ran and ran again until their faces turned deathly pale.

However, the figure of Yeon Baek-jung, who had begun to speed up, grew increasingly faint, and at one point.

‘Huh?!’

Since his figure began to flicker like the light of a firefly.

The minds of the members of Group Bing became filled with a single thought.

-Is that a human?

Thanks to the inhuman body-lightening skill of the Group Bing assistant, all the members of Group Bing were able to reach their destination a day earlier than the time expected when heading south by water.

**

“Is the gathering of the pufferfish completed?”

“Yes. We have secured the quantity mentioned by Lord Constrained Sage.”

“Then let’s go.”

The men pushed a cart filled with pufferfish and passed through the market streets. Around the time they passed the fish market and reached a secluded road, the young man pushing the cart from behind spoke up.

“By the way, how will this clinical trial proceed?”

At the young man’s question, the heavily bearded man pulling the cart from the front scolded him.

“That is for the masked lords to handle on their own. Why do you care?”

“Ah, well… It’s because our work will decrease only if it goes well.”

“Hey, you bastard. Throw away that useless sympathy and push the cart a bit harder.”

“Yes, I underst…”

The heavily bearded man let go of the cart handles and turned around.

“You bastard, aren’t you going to answer properly? And why aren’t you putting any strength into…”

The angry man had no choice but to trail off at the end.

In addition to the target of his anger having vanished from his field of vision.

“W-Who are you?”

It was because an unknown man was occupying the young man’s place. The heavily bearded man and the youth were also second to none when it came to a threatening impression, but the man before his eyes was not at that level.

As if he had not washed or slept for days, his hollow, bloodshot eyes were filled with nothing but malice, making a shiver run down his spine just by locking eyes with him.

Furthermore, though his clothes seemed to have been made of high-quality fabric originally, they were torn and frayed into a shabby state, as if he had rushed down some mountain path.

In a word, he had a fiendish face and a beggar-like appearance; since the description of the demon Yaksha in Buddhist scriptures was exactly like that, the man found it difficult to calm his trembling heart.

At that moment, the Yaksha’s figure blurred for an instant.

“Hieek!”

He appeared right in front of the man’s eyes. The man tried to scream in surprise, but his voice would not come out, perhaps because his mute acupoint had been sealed at some point, and only the Yaksha’s voice was heard softly near his ear.

“The Chaotic Heaven Green Forest’s poison manufacturing workshop. You know where it is, right? That is probably why you are pulling the cart.”

At the Yaksha’s question, the man nodded his head frantically. It was due to the sense of crisis that the glistening purple liquid on the needle thrust under his chin would soon enter his body.

Seeing the man in such a state, the Yaksha showed something resembling a smile and continued speaking.

“Good. Then start guiding the way.”

**

The man wearing a gorgeously decorated green monkey mask shouted as he mixed finely ground powder into the pre-made poison liquid.

“When is the pufferfish arriving!”

No answer returned to his shout.

The masked man frowned and stood up from his chair.

‘These bastards have gone soft.’

The eggs and organs of the pufferfish were one of the most important ingredients of the poison currently being made. If the ingredients were not added right now during the manufacture of the poison, the effectiveness of the poison would decrease, which was why this situation of looking for the pufferfish, which should have already arrived at the workshop, displeased him.

The moment he stepped out of the poison manufacturing room and looked around the workshop, he got goosebumps.

The third-class, Constrained Sages were all bound on the floor with their masks stripped off. The personnel who had subdued them, the Constrained Sages of the Chaotic Heaven Green Forest, did not exceed ten at most. With ten people, they had subdued more than double their number before he could even sense their presence.

It meant the difference in skill was obvious.

The man with the Changyou mask, a gorgeously decorated green monkey, immediately pulled a pouch from his breast. It was an imitation of the Tang Family’s Immortal Ruiner that he had previously made and kept in his possession.

The man immediately scattered the poison inside to the surroundings. Or rather, he tried to scatter it. However, a rough hand grabbed his arm.

“Ugh, ah, aaack!”

The owner of the rough hand was, surprisingly, a young-looking Taoist boy. As this Taoist boy applied force to his hand, the man’s fingers spread open, and the pouch containing the poison fell helplessly to the ground. The boy who held his arm caught the pouch on the top of his foot and said:

“Something this dangerous.”

Confirming that the boy’s eyes had momentarily turned downward, the Changyou mask raised his other uncaptured arm to strike the crown of the boy’s head. At that moment, a gentle breeze blew, and a faint energy gathered in the boy’s hand before lightly touching his chest.

Rejoicing inwardly at the touch that was too feeble to pierce the Yurong Armor worn on his chest, the man put even more strength into the arm he was swinging at the crown of the head. However, no strength would go into it.

Along with a cracking sound, intense pain surged in.

“Keo-heok!”

Even while vomiting blood, the man could not understand the reason.

‘How did he… the Yurong Armor?’

This was because the defense of the Yurong Armor, made of hundred-refined steel in addition to the techniques of internal energy defense, could easily withstand the palm strikes or sword attacks of most prestigious righteous sect disciples.

He simply could not understand the current situation.

However, the Changyou mask did not know.

That the technique of the internal heavy strikes method had permeated the touch of the extended palm. With that, he closed his eyes.

The hand that used to manufacture the deadly poisons to kill martial artists could now never move again.

**

The peddlers gathered at the inn laid down their packs and gulped down unrefined rice wine.

“They say the Murim Alliance is organizing warriors and beating down all the Green Forest bandits.”

“Thanks to that, it’s great that we don’t run into masked Green Forest bandits during our trade travels these days.”

“Was it Liuzhou at first?”

“Right. After that, it was Wuyi, Pingnam, and Bukyu. Those are the places where the Green Forest’s mountain strongholds were burned down.”

“How gratifying! Soon, we won’t have to meet masked thieves in Guangxi anymore!”

Like the peddlers’ words, the biggest news in the Guangxi area currently was the mysterious group subjugating the Chaotic Heaven Green Forest.

People merely presumed that they were the result of the Murim Alliance meeting held at Shaolin not long ago, but did not know their true identity.

Therefore, all sorts of speculations were rampant.

“They say there is someone using a mysterious sword art among the Murim Alliance’s strike force.”

“A mysterious sword art? Is it the Wudang Sect?”

“No, they said it’s the Qingcheng Sect.”

“There is someone even worse! The rumor is that a monster who tears people apart just by touching them is included in the Murim Alliance’s subjugation force!”

“Tearing people apart just by touching them? Is there such a martial art in the Nine Sects and One Association or the prestigious clans?”

“Could it be that, instead of the Murim Alliance, another force of the Six Great Evils is waging war against the Green Forest?”

“How could that be! The Six Great Evils are not fools, and unless they unite as one like the Murim Alliance, why would they engage in internal strife? That is absurd!”

“Indeed.”

The peddlers continued their story while repeatedly drinking alcohol. At that moment, a man with a bamboo hat pressed deep down approached them.

“Fellows. You are speaking of interesting things. Could you perhaps tell me more of that story?”

“Who are you…”

The peddlers, who were wary at first, wiped their drool upon seeing the small silver piece on the palm of the man in the bamboo hat and quickly began their story.

“In the Murim Alliance, those Chaotic Heaven Green Forest bandits…”

“I have already heard that story.”

“Then what kind of story…?”

“How those Murim Alliance warriors active. I am curious about that. How was the mysterious sword art, and how were the masked bandits torn apart?”

“Ah, that is too absurd, so…”

“Even so, since the traces were left that way, is there any choice but to speak of it?”

“Ahem. If that is the case…”

The man in the bamboo hat, who had heard the story from the peddlers, distributed the silver pieces he had placed on his palm to them and soon left the place. The place he headed for in that manner was a secluded mountain path.

The man took out a long rod from his bundle, which was a longsword.

Holding the longsword, the man recalled the descriptions of the martial arts the peddlers had spoken of just before. Although one might dismiss them as wandering rumors, those rumors would have ultimately been transmitted based on the wounds left on the corpses, or by the exaggerated words of extremely rare eyewitnesses.

The man, who had been wielding the sword for a moment, thought.

‘A mysterious sword art. It is not the Wudang Sect, but the Qingcheng Sect’s Nine Rivers Celestial Wind Sword?’

The man reconstructed the sword art of Su-gyo that had been implemented at the scene at the time using only the idle gossip of the merchants.

Then he put down the sword again and spread his palm.

‘How did he tear the person? This was seasoned with the internal heavy strikes method… Is it a Nine Sects’ martial art? But among the Nine Sects’ martial arts, there is no such rough technique. If so, the Ouyang Clan or the Peng Clan? Where is it?’

Even for a man who had quickly reproduced the sword art of the Qingcheng Sect’s Su-gyo, there were bound to be martial arts that were difficult to guess.