The Annihilation Of A Clan (5)

Bang!

The blue sword light shattered and scattered in every direction.

The somewhat dark inner hall of the Cheongyang Association brightened for an instant under the scattering light, then darkened once more.

“…Hmm.”

The one who had leaped out from the very center and blocked Jin-hyeon’s sword strike was an older man who looked over fifty, yet boasted a sturdy build.

“Who are you bastards!”

Ha Jun, who had been standing behind the man, jumped forward and shouted.

But only for a moment.

“You?!”

Ha Jun’s face twisted like a ghost.

Beyond the kneeling warriors, he saw a white-haired young man holding a large sword at an angle.

It was the name Ha Jun could never forget. Jin-hyeon.

“You son of a bitch! How dare you do this to our association…!”

“Be quiet.”

Startled by the man’s words, Ha Jun flinched and stepped aside. But his eyes, full of killing intent, did not leave Jin-hyeon.

The man, Ha Jung-gang, the Cheongyang Association’s First Elder and Vice Association Leader, asked in a low, sunken voice.

“Who are you?”

“Enemies.”

Jin-hyeon’s plain voice rode the wind and reached Ha Jung-gang.

Ha Jung-gang frowned.

“I know you are enemies just from the fact that you barged into another’s house as you pleased and harmed our warriors. I am asking what you are…”

“The fox should step aside now and tell the tiger to come out.”

“What?”

“You’re not the one in charge, are you?”

Compared to his voice, his manner of speech was excessively arrogant. At least, that was how it sounded to everyone, starting with Ha Jung-gang.

Ha Jun foamed with rage.

“You madman! Do you know who this is!”

In that instant, Han Cheol-sang’s blade swung like lightning.

Jjeooooong!

“Huk!”

Ha Jun’s face turned pale.

A sharp saber mark was carved into the ground where he had stood and the wall behind him. If someone had not grabbed him by the nape and pulled him away, it was a saber strike that would have split him in two before he could even try to defend.

Han Cheol-sang spoke calmly.

“Shut your mouth.”

“You!”

Ha Jun’s face flushed crimson. But that was all. Having truly nearly died, he did not know what to do with the sudden fear.

Ha Jung-gang’s face hardened.

‘He’s strong.’

He slowly clenched his right hand.

His hand was trembling faintly. It was the hand that had blocked Jin-hyeon’s sword light after it flew across more than ten meters at the beginning.

Blood was seeping from the palm he had clenched so those around him couldn’t see it.

‘He wounded me even though my Corpse-Stiffening Art is at the eighth level?’

And it was his hand, no less. Cutting the hand of a Cheongyang Association warrior, who placed importance on fist and palm training, meant that if that strike landed wrongly anywhere on the body, it could cause a severing wound.

And what about the saberwork of the saber wielder standing beside him?

‘Just what are these bastards?!’

Then, the young man who had pulled Ha Jun by the nape revealed himself.

He possessed a truly impressive build. His height easily exceeded six feet, but beyond that, his broad shoulders and limbs as thick as logs were so solid that they looked as if even a needle could not pierce them.

He was Ha Ung-gwon, the Cheongyang Association’s eldest son and the designated next Association Leader.

“I have heard of you. They said some young brat with white hair has been causing quite a commotion lately. So that was you.”

Looking at his size, one might expect his voice to be low and rough, but unexpectedly, it was sharp.

Ha Ung-gwon stiffened his expression and spoke.

“I do not know what reason you had to commit such an outrageous act…”

“A fox, a little rat, and now a big mosquito.”

Han Cheol-sang shook his head and spoke.

“What is this, a marketplace? Stop chattering and call your leader.”

Hwaaaak!

Terrifying killing intent burst from the four people. Han Cheol-sang’s remark was far too insulting to simply let pass.

Ha Ung-gwon spoke coldly.

“You brats chatter without knowing how high the sky is!”

“Why did you learn martial arts?”

“What?”

“If you sing a tune with that oriole-like voice, it would be incredible. Shall I find you a courtesan house even now? I think you would make a lot of money.”

Wooooong!!

A faint vibration rose from Ha Ung-gwon’s body.

His forearms, neck, and even his face, exposed by his sleeveless clothes, gradually turned pale.

It was like looking at a corpse whose blood had congealed. It was a chilling sight, but the qi waves pouring from his entire body were cold and heavy.

A strange glint appeared in Han Cheol-sang’s eyes.

‘Impressive.’

At a glance, he seemed to be around the same age as Han Cheol-sang. His qi waves were also excellent.

At this level, he easily surpassed most heads of the Eight Martial Houses. Han Cheol-sang had never seen anyone in Sichuan of that age who had learned such martial arts.

‘So this is the Cheongyang Association’s next leader.’

They said he was called the greatest genius in the Cheongyang Association’s history, and he was indeed no ordinary person.

“Uncle.”

Despite emitting tremendous killing intent, his voice was calm. His build was like a bear’s, but his self-cultivation was quite refined.

“Is there any need to wait longer? Let us make them kneel first.”

“Of course we should.”

Though he answered that way, Ha Jung-gang was more cautious than that.

He lifted his chin and asked.

“Where are Heon and Gun?”

“Kneel.”

“…What?”

At some point, Jin-hyeon had driven the Indestructible Sword into the ground and placed both hands on its hilt as he spoke bluntly.

“I do not want to waste strength on miscellaneous trash.”

“…”

“Kneel.”

“…You are completely insane!”

Ha Jung-gang could no longer endure it.

“I will turn all three of you into lumps of blood!”

Pabababak!

Ha Jung-gang, Ha Ung-gwon, and a middle-aged man exuding qi waves no less impressive than Ha Ung-gwon’s charged forward.

Do Il-gang, tense and preparing to draw his sword, suddenly realized something strange in Ha Jung-gang’s words.

‘Three?’

But there are four of us?

But that thought soon vanished. Battle was right in front of him.

The moment Do Il-gang tried to draw his sword.

Rumble!

Hairline cracks spread out beneath Jin-hyeon’s feet with a crack.

He had not even stomped, yet cracks formed in the blue stone floor. The density of the Heavenly Wolf True Qi released in that instant was tremendous.

‘!!’

Ha Jung-gang, who had kicked away the kneeling warriors and truly begun using movement art, was utterly shocked by the qi waves that burst from Jin-hyeon in an instant.

‘He’s strong!’

At the moment Jin-hyeon’s two legs became wrapped in wind.

Jjeooooong!

Shock appeared on Ha Jung-gang’s face.

Jin-hyeon’s fist flew in like silent lightning, and Ha Jung-gang’s body was knocked backward.

‘Insane!’

He instinctively used Jade Immortal Seal to block it, but his palm stung and his wrist throbbed. It was an honest fist strike, but because the attack fully used its speed, its power was tremendous.

‘Our association’s martial arts won’t work.’

It was something he realized instinctively. The first sword strike was one thing, but the martial arts revealed through skin against skin, shockingly, approached his own level. In particular, the opponent’s lightness art was far above his.

Ha Jung-gang immediately drew up the Yan Clan’s internal energy.

Hwaaaak!

His skin turned pale like Ha Ung-gwon’s. But the aura he emitted was stronger and more viscous.

The peak martial art of the renowned fist clan, the Jinzhou Yan Clan, which had once vied with the Peng Clan for hegemony in Hebei, revealed itself. It was the Jade-Yin Soul-Returning Divine Art.

His aura changed in an instant. It seemed as if the person himself had changed.

Jin-hyeon brought the Indestructible Sword down without changing his stance.

Jjeoeong!

It was like iron rods colliding.

Even though he blocked with his forearms crossed, his muscles weren’t cut. Only his flesh was slightly scraped.

Considering the hardness of the Indestructible Sword and the power of Heavenly Wolf True Qi, it was truly remarkable defensive power.

Jin-hyeon smiled.

“Not bad.”

“You bastard!”

Ha Jung-gang stretched his arms left and right, deflected the Indestructible Sword, then immediately swung his fist.

And from that moment, the real fight began. Han Cheol-sang took on Ha Ung-gwon, and Do Il-gang took on the middle-aged swordsman.

Bang!

Ha Jung-gang’s fist strike drew a strange arc, and Jin-hyeon’s upper body twisted to the side.

It was a strike as hard as steel. It felt as though he had knocked aside a flying lump of iron.

Jin-hyeon didn’t panic and retreated two steps.

Seureuk.

Ha Jung-gang immediately caught up to Jin-hyeon.

Though he moved very dynamically, there was little sound of his feet brushing the ground. It was not an assassin’s martial art. It was a strange footwork, as if a corpse possessed by a ghost were moving.

Ha Jung-gang’s two fists swung in a flurry. It was the Soul-Returning Divine Fist that Ha Suk-heon had once displayed at Divine Iron.

Jjeojeojeojeong!

The Indestructible Sword moved like an illusion and deflected all of Ha Jung-gang’s two fists.

But the pressure could not be ignored. Jin-hyeon’s body trembled faintly as he scraped across the ground and retreated.

Ha Jung-gang smiled coldly.

“You fool!”

Whoosh!

Ha Jung-gang took Jin-hyeon’s flank with Ghost Step and swung his fist diagonally.

The motion was bizarre, but the fist pressure spreading from his fist sealed off his opponent’s movements. It was first-rate internal energy control embedded in the technique.

Jjeooooong!

‘!’

Ha Jung-gang’s face stiffened.

The strike should have shattered everything from the shoulder to the collarbone in one blow. Yet Jin-hyeon blocked that powerful strike by raising the sword face without even looking back.

His reaction speed was impressive, but even more astonishing was the body that suffered no wound from the shockwave.

‘Has this bastard trained an external art?’

External arts alone could not explain it. Even if it was not on the level of the Corpse-Stiffening Art, he had clearly trained in martial arts that increased the body’s hardness.

‘No matter what martial art he learned, it cannot compare to Corpse-Stiffening Art!’

Jjeojeojeojeojeong!

All of the consecutive fist strikes he poured out like lightning toward the sword face were fist forms of the Soul-Returning Divine Fist.

Ha Jung-gang’s Soul-Returning Divine Fist, unleashed with the power of the Soul-Returning Divine Art, emitted power completely different from Ha Suk-heon’s. If one took all those chained fist strikes, even a large boulder seemed as if it would crumble in an instant.

But.

Jjeoeong!

‘Keuk!’

Hit on the collarbone by the Indestructible Sword slashing down diagonally, Ha Jung-gang staggered back.

Wooooong.

True qi surged and dispersed the remaining shock in his collarbone.

But the shock left in his mind didn’t disappear.

‘How can this be?’

His opponent was far too unharmed.

His clothing had been torn and ripped in places by the fist pressure, but he did not shed a single drop of blood.

Ha Jung-gang could not believe it. The Yan Clan’s martial arts were not simply powerful. They were a killing fist that dealt continuous damage to the opponent’s body through formless explosive force carried in the fist pressure.

There was no way he could be that fine. He might be able to pretend to be fine, but normally, his qi flow should have become unstable.

“What are you?!”

Instead of answering, Jin-hyeon lifted his right foot.

Flash! Kwang!

With a tremendous stomp, the Indestructible Sword swung diagonally and swept across Ha Jung-gang’s torso in an instant.

Peok!

Ha Jung-gang’s body flew away with an explosive sound and struck the wall.

‘Crazy!’

Blood was seeping out in spots over his clothing. He had not simply been knocked away. He had been cut as well.

“You baaastard!”

Paaak!

Ha Jung-gang charged in again, and in that instant, he saw the massive blade flying toward his chest.

Kaaang! Peok!

Ha Jung-gang’s face twisted fully as he was slammed into the wall again.

His insides seemed to ring with pain. The Yan Clan’s Corpse-Stiffening Art was a divine art that strengthened not only the outside of the body but the inside as well, but the inside was bound to be weaker.

Ha Jung-gang tried to counterattack immediately, then was startled. In that instant, the sword was flying in again.

This time, it was his neck.

Kwang!

The wall pierced by the Indestructible Sword shattered into pieces and flew apart.

He tilted his body and barely dodged, but Ha Jung-gang felt his innards grow cold.

He used Soul-Returning Divine Fist from a low stance.

Jjeoeong!

In that instant, Ha Jung-gang’s eyes went wide.

The sword that had extended out had somehow blocked his fist again. He couldn’t understand how that heavy sword moved so quickly.

“You!”

Jjeoeong!

Before he could even withdraw his fist, the opponent’s sword struck his collarbone once more.

That was the beginning.

Jjeong!

“Keuk!”

Jjeojeong!

“You!”

Jjeojeojeojeojeong!!

“Kuaaak!”

The greatsword’s high-speed slashes struck mercilessly.

Whether he tried to escape or swing his fists, the sword speed was too fast for him to do anything.

Without the use of Heavenly Evasion Steps, sword strikes of Ten Steps, Certain Death poured out more than twelve times in an instant. It was an extreme quick-sword technique gained while training with Do Il-gang, one that cut down the enemy with minimal internal energy.

Ulkkeok!

Though it was called a quick sword, they were sword strikes filled with Heavenly Wolf True Qi.

At last, blood seeped from Ha Jung-gang’s mouth. Furthermore, countless sword wounds were carved across his upper body.

“Hoooo.”

As Ha Jung-gang trembled, Jin-hyeon stopped his sword and caught his breath.

He was openly catching his breath even with an enemy right before him. It was exactly the sort of act that invited a counterattack.

But even though Ha Jung-gang could clearly see the opponent’s opening, he couldn’t attack.

Flinch!

Strength left his legs, and both arms shook so hard he could no longer move them as he wished.

‘This makes no sense!!’

Wooooong! Wooooong!

The Jade-Yin Soul-Returning Divine Art was failing to work as it should.

Patches of his skin repeatedly turned red, then pale. The Corpse-Stiffening Art was not circulating properly.

‘Why?!’

In that instant, Jin-hyeon’s breathing subsided.

A brief silence.

Puuk!

The Indestructible Sword pierced into the reddened skin above his solar plexus.