Chapter 225. Nine in the Fifth Place (21)

Chapter 225. Nine in the Fifth Place (21)

Ma-Ra didn’t even consider following Woo-Moon using her stealth technique.

She could sense the fierce Paragon aura of the person who had controlled the Myriad Lives Monk coming from the monk’s remaining flesh. If that person really was a Paragon as strong as that, then not only would she not play much of a role in the fight, but she might even be captured and used against Woo-Moon.

‘Come back safely, Woo-Moon.’

As for Hyeon Yu-Yeon, she had fainted the moment the Myriad Lives Monk had exploded in front of her.

***

“E-eeek!!!”

The terrified empress stepped back.

The palace was covered in blood. All the guards and soldiers protecting the emperor were simply torn apart; hundreds of powerful martial artists were turned into nothing more than piles of flesh and puddles of blood.

The only ones left alive were the emperor and empress.

“You bastard!”

The roar of the emperor wearing the dragon robe resonated through the hall.

—Shut up.

His voice transmission was clearly heard by everyone under the vast ceiling. The emperor, struck by the formless energy, vomited blood and flew backward.

Squelch!

Two spears lying on the ground flew out and pierced the emperor’s shoulders, nailing him to the wall.

“Ahh!!!!”

The emperor screamed and writhed in pain. He looked at the Martial Heaven Emperor and begged.

“P-please... please spare me. Please, the spears, the spears! I’m begging you!”

The Martial Heaven Emperor burst into a cheeky laugh.

—These dead guards of yours are far more noble than you. They even sacrificed their lives to save you, and yet here you are, begging for your life after just a little bit of pain Kekeke. How exciting. As expected, this world is so much fun! How could a weakling like you become the emperor?

Despite the Martial Heaven Emperor’s mockery, the emperor only cried out for his life. Struck by pain and terror the likes of which he had never experienced before, the emperor could no longer act as a mighty ruler.

The empress just watched the scene with a blank gaze. None of it felt real. It was all like a dream. She never could have imagined something like this happening in the palace.

She pinched her cheek, and fortunately, the pain made her wake up to reality. Unfortunately, she found that this was reality.

‘H-how is this not a dream?!’

She wanted to escape this situation somehow.

Right as she thought that it would be nice if someone could come and defeat this unknown and cruel enemy, someone came to mind.

‘Yes, Jin Yo! If it’s him and his miraculous strength, he can do it!’

As the empress suddenly stood up, hope in her heart once more, a general clad in armor flew into the palace with a great roar.

“You outrageous bastard!”

The one who had appeared was none other than the Battle Emperor. His sharp guandao, imbued with a mighty aura, seemed as if it would split the enemy’s slender body in twain with a single blow.

“Battle Emperor!”

The emperor and empress called out to the Battle Emperor in joy, feeling as though they were looking at their savior.

Then...

Squelch!

The Battle Emperor’s imposing stature instantly became shorter.

It wasn’t that he had been vertically compressed, but rather that a part of his body had gone missing. A bright stream of blood gushed out, pouring down his neck, and the hall was once more painted crimson.

“A-agh-ahhhh!!!”

As the last remaining hope was cruelly vanquished, the emperor’s eyes rolled back and he fainted on the spot.

‘Jin Yo, there’s only Jin Yo left!’

The empress, who had the advantage of not being pinned to the wall like a butterfly in a collection, ran as fast as she could to Jin Yo’s residence.

—Oho. Is there still someone left worth pinning your hopes on? Interesting. How about I follow you there?

The empress’s steps quickened even more when she heard the strange man say that he would follow her.

Upon arriving at Jin Yo’s residence, the empress opened the door to the underground secret passage with trembling hands and hurriedly went down.

The path that had always felt incredibly long due to her anticipation and excitement at meeting Jin Yo now felt even longer... way, way too long.

“I have to... hurry... hurry... hurry!”

The empress finally reached the last floor and opened the door.

“Jin Yo! Save me, please, save me!”

Jin Yo was sitting cross-legged and circulating his qi.

The empress ran behind Jin Yo and hid, shivering.

Thud, thud.

A series of explosions rang out, and Jin Yo’s entire body, except for his torso and head, was torn to shreds.

—Kekekeke.

All of Jin Yo’s attacks were blocked by the Martial Heaven Emperor’s protective barrier.

Seeing Jin Yo’s miserable appearance, the Martial Heaven Emperor seemed to be in a good mood and repeatedly detonated his qi.

It was at this moment that a seemingly never-ending tidal wave of black arrows flew into the sky from below, targeting the Martial Heaven Emperor.

—Oh?

He looked down and saw the emperor cursing vehemently while pointing at himself, with tens of thousands of soldiers surrounding him.

—You don’t seem to understand. Whether it’s one big ant or a swarm of tiny ants, what’s the difference?

Naturally, none of the arrows could threaten the Martial Heaven Emperor.

While some of the arrows contained the aura of martial artists who had reached Peak Class or the Transcendent realm, that was all there was to it.

The Martial Heaven Emperor flicked his fingers as if he were plucking a lute in the air.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Hundreds of bolts made of Transcendent Aura fell like hail.

They flew at precise intervals, piercing hundreds of soldiers at once.

—Bang! the Martial Heaven Emperor quipped.

As his red lips soundlessly opened, the arrogant soldiers all heard the same sound in their ears.

BOOOOOOOOM!

A terrifying explosion rang out.

All of the soldiers who had just been pierced by the transcendental blasts simply exploded, sweeping away the other soldiers crowded around them.

“Ug... ugh... ah-AHH!!!”

A general, the commander of the imperial army, looked around with his left arm and leg missing, letting out a groan as he passed out.

It was certainly a sight to see—the whole world filled with the crimson color of blood.

Over ten thousand people had died instantly, and about twice that number were lying down with minor and major injuries, groaning in atrocious pain.

—Kekekeke!

With a cursed voice transmission, the Martial Heaven Emperor’s thin hand once again plucked the lute in the air.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Within seconds of bombardment, all the soldiers lost their lives, leaving only the emperor alive.

—Bring him.

One of the Martial Heaven Emperor’s personal Absolute Master retainers leaped into the air and brought Dae-Woong to him.

“You-you demon bastard...!”

Dae-Woong was horrified by the sight, as any normal person would’ve been. Yet his reaction was not to cower in fear; instead, he turned to the Martial Heaven Emperor and cursed at him.

—Kekeke. Hush hush, your son will soon come. You should save your strength.

The Martial Heaven Emperor’s subordinates ran and erected three columns in the Forbidden City, each a whopping twenty zhang high.

Dae-Woong, Jin Yo, and the emperor were hung from the columns. As the Martial Heaven Emperor had placed a restriction on Jin Yo, Jin Yo found himself unable to use any qi.

The Martial Heaven Emperor disappeared from the air, reappearing on the pole where Dae-Woong had been hung. He sat down on the top of the pole and licked his lips.

‘Now, come quickly, Song Woo-Moon. The leader of those who oppose Martial Heaven in this era. Come and entertain me. If you take too long, who knows who might end up dying? Kekeke.’

***

“I’m worried, Unnie,” said Yeo-Seol.

Si-Hyeon hugged her, pulling Yeo-Seol’s head to her chest. Then, she reached out to Ma-Ra, who was sitting next to her, and pulled her close in the same way.

“Don’t worry. Everything will be okay. Let’s trust him. He’ll definitely come back smiling with the elders.”

Although her words expressed nothing but trust and hope, Si-Hyeon also felt as though she was dying on the inside.

‘Please, you have to come back safely. If... if... if you die, I’m going to bring you back just to scold you.’

“Uh, um... where am I?”

Suddenly, Hyeon Yu-Yeon came out of the room and wiped the boogers from her face with her hand. Then, she felt the unkind gazes of the three women pour over her.

“Huh? Who are you?”

Hyeon Yu-Yeon, who had fainted while drunk, seemed to have not yet come to her senses.

An instant later, though, when she looked at Si-Hyeon and Ma Ra more closely, her eyes widened.

She belatedly recalled what had happened.

“Ah...”

She wanted to die.

1. The wuji here (無極) refers to the primordial oneness that gives birth to yin and yang (which together form the immediately subordinate concept of taiji 太極). According to Dao De Jing, the fundamental book of Daoism, the Dao begets one (wuji), one begets two (taiji), two begets three (usually heaven, earth, and man), and three begets all things in existence. Another related interpretation of wuji is “limitless,” and we believe that this is the intended meaning in this context—that this cultivation method allows the cultivator to access the essence of all things around them and use them however they please. With that said, there is a very complex body of research and critical literature, as well as theological literature, concerning what exactly these concepts refer to and how they should be interpreted, so take everything we say about them with a grain of salt. ☜