novelraw Chapter 316 : Dang Cheolgi, Becomes a Hero (1)
Chapter 316 : Dang Cheolgi, Becomes a Hero (1)
Chapter 316: Dang Cheolgi, Becomes a Hero (1)
At Yong Hwarin’s words, the crowd was struck speechless with shock.
A momentary silence fell over them.
Then, as if drawn by a magnet, everyone rushed behind Yong Hwarin.
“It’s the Heavenly Sword Hero, Yong Hwarin!”
“He must’ve let himself be taken hostage to save us!”
“No wonder he toyed with Lightning-Faced Madman…”
“How can he be so strong at that age?”
As people murmured and flocked behind Yong Hwarin, Dang Cheolgi’s face twisted.
Up until now, he had been the center of everyone’s attention, but Yong Hwarin had suddenly taken it all, and that stirred his jealousy.
Breaking that momentary silence, Zhao Qiansheng let out a burst of boisterous laughter.
“Wahahahahahaha!”
Zhao Qiansheng threw back his head, laughing loudly.
“We must’ve had some deep karmic connection in our past lives. Not long ago, I fought your father, and now I find myself clashing with the son. And to top it off, the brat who disgraced my grand return to the murim world shows up in a place like this. How marvelously fate arranges things!”
His eyes glistened with excitement.
“You clashed with my father and survived? That’s a miracle in itself, Senior.”
“What? Damn, that tongue—both father and son know how to run it. Don’t you believe your father died by my hand?”
Yong Hwarin smirked.
He had been informed that his father had headed toward Shaolin Temple with Mo Biyoung, Violent Dragon Twin Swords, Jong Seok, and Deung Ae.
With that lineup, even if Zhao Qiansheng attacked with all his might, it wouldn’t be easy to bring them down.
Especially since his sworn brother Jong Seok had reportedly left seclusion after mastering the Black Death God Light Poison Art to the eighth level. The true power of that was beyond even his imagination.
And Deung Ae too—Mo Biyoung was surely much stronger by now as well. If Yong Hwarin himself had grown this much, surely they had too.
He couldn't believe they had been killed by Zhao Qiansheng.
“If my father was slain by your hand, then I’ll be the one to avenge him.”
He replied calmly, which made Zhao Qiansheng shake his head.
“Then today, to commemorate my release of pent-up feelings, I’ll take your head!”
“Senior Zhao, I advise you to leave while I’m still being polite.”
“Senior Zhao?”
Seeing Yong Hwarin speak so flippantly, Zhao Qiansheng burst into a coarse laugh.
“That tongue of yours… I should rip it out and keep it as a souvenir!”
Zhao Qiansheng then addressed Mo Baek, who stood at his side.
“Baek-ah, cut down all hostages who resist.”
“Understood!”
Wi Oh had regained his senses after meeting Zhao Qiansheng—he was no longer under the Soul Capturing Art.
“To think you dared use the Soul Capturing Art on me and disgrace me… I won’t forgive you!”
The unexpected early return of Zhao Qiansheng had derailed everything.
But Yong Hwarin knew—if he backed down now, all the hostages would be slaughtered. He forced himself to remain sharp.
“I am Yong Hwarin! None who raise their blade against me will survive! Attack!”
The sudden declaration made Zhao Qiansheng snort in disbelief.
The only ones wielding swords in defiance were Jeong Minji’s group and Dang Cheolgi’s group.
Barely ten in total.
To tell them to attack made the hostages wonder if Yong Hwarin had gone slightly mad.
But that cry was a signal to Deuksang.
From the thicket, daggers suddenly flew in.
More than ten warriors of the Dragon-Slaying Blood Sword Unit were struck down and killed without a real fight.
“Which bastard did that?!”
Wi Oh roared and led the Dragon-Slaying Blood Sword Unit into the forest. Since the Blood Green Unit were professional assassins, ambushes in the woods suited them better.
Yet despite the sudden strike, Zhao Qiansheng did not falter.
“As expected, not an easy one. But if you think the Homa Heavenly Corps are on par with those rabble, you’re sorely mistaken.”
Mo Baek issued an order.
“Sever his limbs and bring him to my lord!”
At that, the warriors of the Homa Heavenly Corps charged at Yong Hwarin.
When they tried to capture the hostages, Dang Cheolgi swung his sword without mercy.
The Poison Blade of the Tang Clan lived up to its fearsome reputation.
If the Poison Blade were completed, it could truly be called invincible. It was a martial art that synthesized all of the Tang Clan’s techniques and martial teachings.
It was not just about coating a blade with poison.
The true method involved absorbing poisonous energy into the body without harm, harmonizing it with one's inner energy, and then infusing it into the blade like sword qi. It was not a technique that could be mastered easily.
To develop this method, countless Tang Clan masters and artisans had sacrificed themselves over generations.
Before completing the unparalleled martial art known as the Poison Blade, they had first devised three genuine poison-coated swords by simply injecting real venom into the blades.
One of those had ended up in the Namgung Clan.
Comparing those with the Poison Blade wielded by a master who had fully learned the Poison Blade Art helped evolve the technique further.
The finished result was the very Poison Blade now used by Dang Cheolgi. Moreover, the Tang Clan had long preserved the claw technique, Soul-Chasing Flying Butterfly, and Dang Cheolgi had revived it as a sword art.
Soul-Chasing Flying Butterfly bore the closest resemblance to sword techniques among all claw arts.
Thus, Soul-Chasing Butterfly Sword was born as the Tang Clan’s one and only sword art.
And when Dang Cheolgi’s Poison Blade unleashed the Soul-Chasing Butterfly Sword, he became truly invincible.
Just approaching him was enough to succumb to the poisonous aura, unable to exert any power before dying on the spot.
Even if one held their breath and attacked, the Soul-Chasing Butterfly Sword was so exquisite that a mere graze would render the victim completely blackened and dead within moments.
“I am the Poison-Hearted Dragon of the Tang Clan, Dang Cheolgi! Come at me, you bastards!”
Dang Cheolgi had shouted this, imitating Yong Hwarin who had boldly proclaimed, ‘I am Yong Hwarin!’ to Zhao Qiansheng. Yong Hwarin had looked so incredibly cool doing it that he couldn’t help but follow suit.
He looked so gallant that Dang Cheolgi couldn’t help but shout too, fighting in his own way.
Wi Oh, who was battling the Blood Green Unit, soon realized that they were at a disadvantage in the forest.
Within half a breath’s time, half of his subordinates had silently collapsed and died.
Only then did Wi Oh quietly slip out of the forest.
‘If they won’t come out of the forest, there’s no need to deal with them. Capturing Yong Hwarin is the priority now.’
With that self-justification, he exited the forest.
The first thing that caught his eye upon emerging was Dang Cheolgi.
Because Dang Cheolgi was rampaging like a wild beast, even the warriors of the Homa Heavenly Corps were helpless against him. Around him, the corpses of warriors from both the Dragon-Slaying Blood Sword Unit and the Homa Heavenly Corps were piled high.
Thinking himself to have been humiliated by Dang Cheolgi, Wi Oh charged at him.
Wi Oh held his breath and attacked.
For a peak-level expert like Wi Oh, holding his breath for one breath’s worth of time posed no real problem.
‘I’ll kill him in a dozen seconds.’
If he killed him before needing to breathe, the Poison Blade would be meaningless.
Wi Oh believed that without the poison, someone like Dang Cheolgi was no match for him, and so he unleashed all of his internal energy.
As Wi Oh launched a life-or-death assault and took the offensive, Dang Cheolgi was driven into a defensive position.
While Wi Oh kept Dang Cheolgi occupied, warriors from the Dragon-Slaying Blood Sword Unit launched an attack on Wi Jiman and Seomun Yooon.
Seomun Seoseol and Han Gwiok also raised their swords in resistance, but they were no match for the Dragon-Slaying Blood Sword Unit warriors.
In less than a dozen seconds, their swords were sent flying through the air.
“Kill anyone who resists!”
To set an example, they needed to kill those who defied them. At that moment, Dang Cheolgi broke off his fight with Wi Oh, quickly stepped back, sheathed his sword, and pulled a hidden weapon from his robes.
“Where do you think you’re looking?”
Wi Oh slashed at Dang Cheolgi’s back with his sword.
“Guh!”
A searing pain spread along his spine, but Dang Cheolgi utilized the Poison Blade Art on the hidden weapon and hurled it.
The five warriors who were rushing at Wi Jiman and Seomun Yooon were struck by the hidden weapon, and before they could take even three steps, they coughed up blood and died.
It was a clear demonstration of just how potent the Madok Petrification Leaf’s poison truly was. With five of them dead, Wi Jiman and Seomun Yooon could handle the remaining warriors.
They were, after all, heirs of prestigious clans.
The two of them waged a bloody battle against four warriors.
With Seomun Seoseol and Han Gwiok joining the fray, they were no longer in immediate danger.
Instead, it was Dang Cheolgi who found himself in jeopardy.
He had sustained a long sword wound on his back and was bleeding profusely.
“Worry about your own life.”
As Wi Oh charged with reckless speed, swinging his sword, Dang Cheolgi rolled along the ground and aimed for Wi Oh’s leg.
The pain of his back tearing open as he rolled caused Dang Cheolgi to bite his lip.
But Wi Oh leapt away, avoiding the strike, and swung his sword downward from above, placing Dang Cheolgi in danger.
At that moment—
Dang Cheolgi deflected Wi Oh’s sword with his right hand and struck with his left using the Poison Dragon Claw.
Seeing the suicidal technique, Wi Oh hurriedly dodged.
At this point, Dang Cheolgi’s body could practically be called a weaponized poison. Wi Oh instinctively avoided close combat.
Swish!
As Dang Cheolgi closed in and unleashed the Poison Dragon Claw, Wi Oh’s hand was scratched across the back.
“Urgh!”
With a sharp pain, the back of his hand swelled up like a dumpling in no time.
Dang Cheolgi chuckled as he stepped back and said,
“You’re as good as dead now. I’ve always wanted to cut off that hand you used to grope my butt. If you don’t cut it off now, you’re dead.”
Enraged by a moment of carelessness that allowed his hand to be scratched, Wi Oh watched in horror as the poison quickly climbed to his elbow.
Gritting his teeth, he cut off his own arm up to the now-blackened elbow with his sword.
“Gaaah!”
Dang Cheolgi watched him amputate and staunch the bleeding without batting an eye.
Seeing this, Wi Jiman murmured,
“That proves he really is the Poison-Hearted Dragon.”
Though the nickname seemed far too flippant for someone called Poison-Hearted Dragon, this ruthless scene confirmed that he was indeed the Poison-Hearted Dragon of the Tang Clan.
After losing his right arm, Wi Oh lost his will to fight. He retreated behind Zhao Qiansheng.
As Wi Oh withdrew, Dang Cheolgi staggered.
“Young Lord Dang.”
With the wound on his back bleeding so heavily, Dang Cheolgi felt dizzy and swayed.
Han Gwiok supported him and helped him sit down.
She quickly tore the inner garment beneath her light armor and bound the wound on his back.
Even in the murim world, where people weren’t strict about formalities, for an unmarried maiden to administer such care was no easy matter.
“Thank you, Lady Han.”
Dang Cheolgi barely managed to suppress the urge to scream in pain.
Too many eyes were watching him, and some held him in esteem. He couldn’t scream over a mere sword wound and act disgracefully.
‘Damn it, playing the hero isn’t easy.’
Sweat trickled down his forehead as he tried to maintain composure through the agony of the wound.