novelraw Chapter 86 : It Won't Be in Vain
Chapter 86 : It Won't Be in Vain
"Ahem!"
Namgung Muhyeok stroked his roughly torn beard with a sorrowful hand.
"How I grew this beard... this thunder-like brat..."
"Please explain how you will turn my life back around."
"I'll be honest. That's impossible."
"What...?"
Namgung Muhyeok shrugged his shoulders lightly.
"The unorthodox faction is already wary of you, calling you the second coming of the Ten-Armed Blood Ghost. It's understandable, as the number of unorthodox faction members you killed in Guizhou that day exceeded a hundred."
"Were there that many..."
Jin Sohyun was very out of it that day.
The presence of unorthodox faction members was felt from all sides, and there were not just one or two officials whose lives were on the line.
While throwing his flying swords, Jin Sohyun did not have the time to pay attention to the deaths of the unorthodox faction members.
That's why he couldn't even guess how many people he had killed.
Only his white martial arts robe, stained red, proved the tragedy of that day.
"..."
Jin Sohyun's eyes sank low.
Namgung Muhyeok, who was watching this, asked cautiously.
"Do you feel guilty?"
"No."
Jin Sohyun's eyes, which had sunk low, regained their original light.
"Master Kang told me not to have pity on villains. Because my pity would return as the death of someone innocent."
"A great teaching from a great master."
Namgung Muhyeok looked at Jin Sohyun with a new gaze.
Jin Sohyun's innate nature was good.
But his inner self was much stronger than Namgung Muhyeok had thought.
He knew how to accurately distinguish what to hold on to and what to let go of.
He did not harbor pity or guilt for his enemies.
Instead, he engraved the guilt for the innocent lives he could not save deep in his heart.
'Has there ever been a martial artist in the Central Plains who is closer to the orthodox faction than this?'
Namgung Muhyeok thought that Jin Sohyun was a martial artist that the Orthodox Martial World desperately needed.
That's why he couldn't let him go.
"How was the level of the enemies you have faced so far?"
"Most of them were third-rate, and a few were quite strong."
"How was it against those strong ones?"
"It was a bit overwhelming, but not to the point where I couldn't win. Ah, I met a man named Go'ung. Innocent people died at his hands because of me."
As if recalling that time, sadness and anger were mixed on Jin Sohyun's face.
Jin Sohyun, who had been silent for a moment as if in mourning, said as if he had remembered something.
"Ah, before Go'ung died, he said the words 'Nameless Pavilion'. He said it was a gift. Thanks to that, I found out that the Nameless Pavilion is after me."
Namgung Muhyeok immediately recognized who Go'ung was.
The Man-Rending Demon Hand, Go'ung.
A demonic head of the unorthodox faction, who had not shown his face for a while, had appeared in front of Jin Sohyun.
'It seems the Man-Rending Demon Hand was under the protection of the Nameless Pavilion.'
"You're saying he's dead?"
"Yes."
"Did you kill him?"
"I had no choice. He tried to kill me, and many people had already died at his hands..."
Jin Sohyun briefly explained what had happened that day.
Namgung Muhyeok, who was listening to this seriously, had to try hard to calm his excitement.
'The fact that no one knows that the Man-Rending Demon Hand is dead... means that he could not even inflict a single wound on Sohyun.'
Namgung Muhyeok, who had finished organizing his thoughts, asked.
"How was he? Was he strong?"
"He was on the strong side."
"You defeated him without a single wound. Is that right?"
"Yes. I was lucky."
'No. That's not luck.'
Overwhelming strength.
Namgung Muhyeok's breath became hot with suppressed excitement.
'He himself doesn't even know how strong he is.'
It was a funny thing.
Although he had the talent and strength to easily reach the number one under heaven, this lazy bum did not acknowledge or understand it.
"The Orthodox Martial World and I will help you. The demonic hands of the unorthodox faction are already after you. There is only one way to get out of this."
"I just have to destroy the Heretic's Path Alliance, right?"
"Yes. That's the most certain way."
"Sigh... I don't want to do it."
Jin Sohyun scratched his head.
"I just have to get rid of those brats, right?"
"Of course. If the Heretic's Path Alliance is gone, there won't be a single brat who will bother you anymore. I promise."
I don't want to do it.
It was a hassle to fight with anyone anymore, and I didn't want to see the deaths of innocent people.
But Jin Sohyun had a hunch.
That as long as the Heretic's Path Alliance existed, the future he dreamed of would never return.
"How strong is the Heretic's Path Alliance?"
"I don't know for sure, but one thing is certain. You are stronger than them."
"Is that so? They're not that big of a deal, then. Indeed, if they were really strong, I would have been dead long ago. I understand. I just have to get rid of the Heretic's Path Alliance, right?"
"Hahaha! That's right."
"Where do I have to go to get rid of those brats?"
"You brat! We don't know that either. But we'll find out soon, so just bear with it and wait until then."
"Tsk... I understand. By the way, is it alright for a person who is a family head to be wandering around like this?"
"Do you think the Namgung Family is a minor family located in some remote corner? Even without the family head, the Namgung Family runs well on its own."
"Still, don't wander around too much. What will you do if you get kicked out of the family head position? Anyway, I'll be going now. Let me know when you find out the location of the Heretic's Path Alliance."
Jin Sohyun bowed his head and then left the reception room.
As he watched him, Namgung Muhyeok felt strange.
"Haha... this is absurd."
The Heretic's Path Alliance was the greatest enemy that had appeared since the Ming Cult.
But Jin Sohyun was talking about them as if he were dealing with the local profligates.
And that didn't seem strange.
On the contrary, he felt a sense of trust.
He also felt a bitter feeling.
"Family Head Jin... you can curse me as much as you want. You can hate this Namgung until the moment you die. But I still can't let go of this child, Jin Sohyun."
He tried to suppress the self-loathing and guilt for his selfish self.
Even if he had to bet everything he had, he had to make the Orthodox Martial World embrace Jin Sohyun.
"As that brat said, I should go back now."
As his meeting with Jin Sohyun, which was his business, ended, Namgung Muhyeok prepared to return to his family estate.
At that moment, the door of the reception room opened.
An unexpected guest came through the open door.
"Is your business finished?"
"Just now."
"In that case, can you spare me a moment of your time?"
"I will."
As Namgung Muhyeok sat back down, Gu Jucheol sat in front of him.
"I heard through Daoist Temple Master Gwak that you were here. So, what is your business with me?"
His tone was quite aggressive.
At that, Gu Jucheol did not feel any dissatisfaction.
It was because Namgung Muhyeok's aggressiveness was all due to his own past karma.
"I had something I wanted to tell the family head... but it seems there's no need for that."
"What did you want to tell me?"
Instead of answering, Gu Jucheol untied his front lapel.
From between it, a bandage that covered most of his upper body was revealed.
"Did you get into a fight with someone..."
Namgung Muhyeok's gaze wavered slightly.
"It is the work of that child that the family head also knows."
"Can you explain it briefly and concisely?"
"If you wish."
Gu Jucheol briefly told him about his fight with Jin Sohyun.
While listening to the story, Namgung Muhyeok let out a short exclamation.
Gu Jucheol, who had finished his short story, tied his front lapel again.
"Sohyun's strength lies in his adaptation."
"Adaptation?"
"It is possible to kill Jin Sohyun in the first move, but it is impossible to kill him in ten moves."
"You mean he reads the flow of the martial arts through the opponent's movements and finds the gaps?"
"I never even imagined that something like that would be possible. Until I saw it with my own two eyes."
"What is the reason you are telling me this?"
Gu Jucheol answered with a faint smile.
"Shouldn't someone know Jin Sohyun's true value?"
"Don't worry about that. I know better than anyone, so there will be no danger to that child..."
"On the contrary."
"What... did you just say?"
"The reason I have conveyed this story to the family head is not to ask you to protect or cherish Sohyun. On the contrary."
The smile disappeared from Gu Jucheol's face.
His face, which had turned cold, spread a cold qi in front of Namgung Muhyeok.
"Do not interfere with the path that Jin Sohyun will walk in the future."
A cold aura that seemed as if it would make one's legs tremble filled the reception room.
But Namgung Muhyeok did not back down.
On the contrary, he let out a solid and heavy qi and faced Gu Jucheol's aura.
The huge qi that the two emitted swept through the reception room.
"Think about it. The power of Jin Sohyun, who has adapted to the entire unorthodox faction. Who would dare to stop him?"
"But you're telling me to neglect Sohyun, who has become the public enemy of the entire unorthodox faction? Nonsense! I can never do that."
"Trust me. I have personally received that child's power with my body."
"Shut up! If you spout such nonsense one more time, I will never forgive you in the name of Namgung..."
Bang—!
The closed door of the reception room opened, and Jin Sohyun rushed in.
"Hah—! Hah—! What are you doing?"
At the sudden appearance of Jin Sohyun, the two giants withdrew their auras as if nothing had happened.
"It's nothing. But why did you come back?"
"Ah! Please hide me! Huh? Are you alright?"
"Yes, you arrogant brat."
"That's a relief! Then I'll be going!"
Jin Sohyun's figure hesitated and then seeped into the darkness.
At his amazing concealment technique, Namgung Muhyeok and Gu Jucheol blinked.
Soon, Gwak Myeong appeared with an angry face.
"I apologize for interrupting your conversation. By any chance, did Jin Sohyun come here?"
"What's wrong?"
At Namgung Muhyeok's question, Gwak Myeong ground his teeth.
"This brat ran away as soon as I said we would start training again!"
At Gwak Myeong's huffing and puffing appearance, Gu Jucheol was the first to snicker and laugh.
"Kilkilkil! That's like him!"
"Don't worry, Daoist Temple Master Gwak. Sohyun is in a closer place than you think."
As Namgung Muhyeok waved his hand in the empty air, a strong wind arose.
At the same time, Jin Sohyun's body rolled on the ground.
"Ugh!"
"This brat!"
Gwak Myeong, who did not miss this opportunity, quickly rushed in and grabbed Jin Sohyun's ear.
"Ow! I'll go! I'll go!"
"If you run away one more time, you'll run a thousand laps around the training ground!"
"Ugh... you mean old man!"
"What kind of language is that to a family head! Just follow me at once!"
Jin Sohyun glared at Namgung Muhyeok with a resentful gaze and then, giving up, was obediently dragged away.
Namgung Muhyeok was the first to get up from the reception room, which was as if a whirlwind had blown through.
"I am afraid of losing that child."
At Namgung Muhyeok's sincere answer, Gu Jucheol also nodded his head.
"It is the same for me. But don't worry. Unless the Heretic's Path Alliance Lord personally leads all the martial artists of the Alliance and appears, there will be no rival who can threaten Jin Sohyun."
Namgung Muhyeok did not bother to answer.
He just hoped that Gu Jucheol's confident assertion was true and left the reception room.
***
"I'd rather you kill me...! Don't insult me and just kill me!!"
"Is this all the struggle you can put up?"
"This... this son of a bitch!"
The middle-aged man with twin sabers rushed in, shouting roughly.
His saber technique was very exquisite and sharp.
The two sabers, which moved organically, drove the opponent hard without giving them a chance to rest.
And yet, the man did not move from his spot.
The red sword blade held in his hand easily dealt with the two twin sabers.
"Heok— Heok—!"
Chu Ryong, who had the title of Twin-Handed Monster Fang, could not understand at all.
The man who had suddenly appeared and had started a fight had wanted Chu Ryong to draw out all his strength from the beginning.
And so the fight began.
Chu Ryong's sabers could not even touch the man's hair.
"What do you want from me!"
"I just want to see all of you. Is this all you can do?"
"Not yet! You son of a bitch!"
Chu Ryong, as if he had a hidden card up his sleeve, squeezed out all his remaining internal energy.
A light flashed from his twin sabers, and they crossed at a high speed.
"Heu-haap!"
A storm of blades that raged without rest swept over the man.
Thirty saber strikes made in one breath.
The continuous strikes that raged without giving a chance to breathe had never betrayed Chu Ryong.
His signature ultimate technique, which had killed numerous enemies.
But.
The man deflected all of Chu Ryong's continuous strikes with bored pupils.
"This is boring."
"What, this...!"
Chu Ryong's words could no longer continue.
It was because the sword held in the man's hand had pierced his heart.
Looking at the blood sword that had dug into his chest, Chu Ryong realized.
"You... the Blood-Sucking... Sword..."
Swoosh—!
The man who had pulled the sword from Chu Ryong's body looked at the bloodstone that had turned red.
"It's all filled up now."
The man, Ma Seongun, took out the bloodstone that was embedded in the hilt of the Bloodstone Bright Sword.
Ten from the orthodox faction.
Ten from the unorthodox faction.
He had killed a total of twenty strong men and had plunged his sword into their hearts.
The bloodstone that had swallowed the blood containing the true qi of the strong men.
Now the preparations were finished.
Ma Seongun's gaze, who had put the bloodstone in his bosom, turned to a distant place.
"Jin Sohyun... look forward to it. Our next meeting will not be as in vain... or as boring as the last time."
(End of Chapter)