Chapter 141. Trying to Row a Boat On Land (12)

Chapter 141. Trying to Row a Boat On Land (12)

His torso had been ravaged by a saber, and his wounds were so deep that his internal organs were visible. He clearly had some things he couldn’t let go of, seeing as he was forcing himself to keep breathing through sheer will alone. However, it didn’t seem like he could last long.

Woo-Moon walked over to the Night Spear Devil and knelt before him.

“Of course. I’ll do whatever I can, no matter what.”

The relationship between the Night Spear Devil and Woo-Moon was far deeper than just casual pleasantries. Woo-Moon owed a lot to the man.

“Take this. If you end up escaping from here, could you find my son and become his master? My son is currently recuperating at a Confucian school in Taiyuan, Shanxi Province.”

Woo-Moon nodded, taking the small pendant the Night Spear Devil held up and putting it into his sleeve.

“All right. I’ll do everything in my power to make sure he becomes a master of the spear, one that surpasses his father.”

The Night Spear Devil smiled, feeling happy at Woo-Moon’s assurance that his son would become a better master than himself.

“Thank you...”

With these final words, the Night Spear Devil Gyeong Hong closed his eyes for the last time.

The two Absolute Masters who had fought in the battle of the century in Goryang Plains, the Palm Martial Emperor Baek Sang-Woon and the Night Spear Devil Gyeong Hong, died together, like brothers, in this silent stone chamber, with only Woo-Moon to watch over them.

“Ma-Ra, let’s go.”

“Mmm.”

Ma-Ra’s tone felt heavier than usual.

Woo-Moon quickly dashed deeper into the cave system. His whole body felt strong and full of energy. Once more, he felt confident that he could accomplish anything and defeat anyone who stood in his path.

‘I refuse to lose you too, Si-Hyeon. I’ll definitely save you. Just wait for me, Si-Hyeon!’

A while after Woo-Moon left the stone chamber, something happened to the Palm Martial Emperor’s corpse. Something that neither Woo-Moon nor the Sword King, the one who had killed the Palm Martial Emperor, could ever have expected.

Although his heart had stopped, the Palm Martial Emperor's brain was still alive, as was his dantian.

‘To deceive the enemy, you must first deceive your allies. I'm sorry, Woo-Moon. And... Martial Heaven... look forward to the day I come back. I will rise as the Dark Palm Martial Emperor, and that will be the last day of your lives.’

Unfortunately, his revival would take a very long time.

Hundred Deaths, Thousand Lives was a mystical revival art that the Palm Martial Emperor had learned from a heretical cultivator whom he had met by chance during his days wandering the gangho. It was an incredible art, something that approached divinity. However, it had one major drawback—it took an incredibly long time to take effect.

***

Si-Hyeon was facing a desperate crisis in front of the final seal.

The Staff, Baton, and Sword Martial Ministers were now attacking her after a persistent chase.

Although her wounds may have healed significantly due to the incredible regeneration abilities of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art, Si-Hyeon's injuries had been so severe that she was still not fully recovered.

At this point, even Dark Sword had to step in as well, and the only people left to protect her were the Dark and Bright Sword duo.

Things were manageable at first. However, as the other Martial Ministers began to appear, starting with the Leg and Saber Martial Ministers, the two gradually began to lose ground.

The brutal battle continued.

Squelch!

Suddenly, the Sword Martial Minister’s sword pierced through Dark Sword’s stomach.

“Agh—RAH!”

Although the Dark Sword shifted from a scream to a roar as he threw a throwing knife, the Sword Martial Minister retreated so quickly it wasn’t even funny as he dodged the blade.

Then, the Martial Ministers exchanged glances, and one of those holding Dark Sword and Bright Sword back disengaged and moved to attack Si-Hyeon.

To make matters worse, four of the high-ranking and eight of the low-ranking Seventy-Two Heavenly Dippers had also appeared, attacking Dark Sword and Bright Sword together.

Bright Sword found himself once again astonished by Martial Heaven’s tremendous power. It seemed that even in their last war with Martial Heaven, their enemies hadn’t shown their full strength. Otherwise, the power they displayed now made no sense; it would have been impossible for them to raise such a number of powerful experts during this time.

He couldn’t even begin to fathom how many experts they had.

‘No, it’s not that they’re strong. No, it’s that we, the Heavenly Demon Cult, have become too weak. If only we were as strong as before—if we still had our previous glory!’

In order for them to regain glory, the Heavenly Demon must be reborn.

A Heavenly Demon Cult without the Heavenly Demon could never truly become strong.

However, helping the Heavenly Maiden break the seals was a tall order right now. The enemies in front of them were by no means weak.

There were five Absolute Masters and four high-level Transcendents standing before them. They definitely weren’t opponents that the Bright and Dark Swords could handle by themselves.

Even after seeing the Saber and Baton Martial Ministers move to attack Si-Hyeon, they were unable to free themselves from their opponents and help her.

A few moments later, their lips finally separated, and Si-Hyeon's eyes opened... only to reveal that blank look once more.

As if all her pain had never existed, she resumed crawling across the ground toward the onyx.

“Junior sister! What’s wrong? You should be staying still and resting right now.”

Si-Hyeon’s life was in danger from the wounds and blood loss. However, although Woo-Moon tried to stop her and explain, Si-Hyeon continued to struggle and tried to force her way toward the onyx.

“I have to go... I have to go...”

Woo-Moon quickly realized that he couldn’t stop her... and maybe it was for the best that he did not stop her.

“You have to go? You mean you have to get that thing, right? Fine, then I’ll protect you. Even if it means giving up my life, I’ll protect you so you can get there, junior sister.”

Woo-Moon bit his lips before standing up tall and drawing Lightflash.

The turmoil in his heart slowly settled, and he looked over with cold equanimity at the Martial Ministers who were preparing to attack.

At the same time, Ma-Ra stopped hiding. It was pointless, since everyone in the room knew she was there. Thus, she gave up trying to sneak attack them and reappeared behind Woo-Moon.

An eerie voice echoed throughout the room.

“Anyone who stands in the way of my junior sister will not be able to escape my sword.”

The Saber and Baton Martial Ministers rushed forward first, laughing.

“What a brave little dog! Bold words for a murim puppy!”

“Aren’t you a little arrogant, young man?”

Lightflash pointed at the ground, and Woo-Moon looked calmly at the two Absolute Masters, the Saber and Baton Martial Ministers, as they rushed toward him.

“A while ago, these words might have been just arrogance. But that was then, and this is now.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Woo-Moon’s figure turned blurry.

It was a new level of the Divine Phantasm Steps, a level that surpassed transcendence!

Woo-Moon’s silhouette hadn’t even completely disappeared from his original spot when he appeared behind the Baton Martial Minister.

“What?”

Horrified, the Baton Martial Minister quickly used the legendary Donkey Roll and barely avoided Woo-Moon’s attack.

The Sword Martial Minister’s eyes widened. He was known for being the most level-headed of the group, and he immediately realized things were not going well for them.

“Be careful! Don’t underestimate the kid!”

Two of the higher-ranked Heavenly Dippers and the Staff Martial Minister, who were heavily pressuring the Bright and Dark Swords through sheer numbers, rushed to attack Woo-Moon together instead.

‘It’ll be difficult to deal with them once they join forces. Before that, I have to kill one of... it’ll be you, then!’

Woo-Moon could easily tell that the terrifying gash that extended from Si-Hyeon’s abdomen to her hip was the Saber Martial Minister’s doing.

‘Northern Wind!’

Without a single sound or even a hint of bloodlust, Woo-Moon’s sword flickered faster than any quick sword technique toward the Saber Martial Minister’s blind spot.

“...!”

The Saber Martial Minister only noticed the sword right as Northern Wind almost grazed his clothes and he hurriedly tried to pull his shoulder back. However, he was unable to dodge the attack completely, ending up with a shallow cut across his chest.

Even though the Sword Martial Minister had warned him, the innately arrogant and haughty Saber Martial Minister was still caught off guard by Woo-Moon’s prowess. Even so, he was relieved, thinking that he had avoided the technique.

Bang!

However, Woo-Moon’s Raging Wind Palm suddenly shot up from below and struck him square in the chest.

“Ugh!”

It was an instant kill.

Woo-Moon’s Raging Wind Palm shattered the Saber Martial Minister’s sternum and ruptured his heart and lungs.

The Palm Martial Emperor and the Night Spear Devil had been stronger than the Martial Ministers even though they were all in the same cultivation realm, and Woo-Moon was now even stronger than his grandfather had been.

This result was inevitable.

Everyone in the hall, whether it be those from Martial Heaven or those from the Heavenly Demon Cult, was shocked.

The Saber Martial Minister wasn’t someone who should have been killed so easily, no matter how careless he was.

‘While I’m at it, there’s another bastard, too!’ Woo-Moon thought as he dashed toward the Baton Martial Minister.