Chapter 10 – Making a Splash

===================

Translated by Heavenly Cat

Read more at Nineheavens.org

===================

Chapter 10 – Making a Splash

In a cave of Three Immortals Mountain where Ascending Heaven Sword Dragon, the supreme one of the Central Plains thirty years ago, had secluded himself.

Deep inside.

The swordsman trapped in the pit-like underground space sat down with a thud on the floor, his expression lost and vacant.

"Whew."

Over several days, he had repeatedly circulated his energy and fired sword energy again and again at the ceiling sixty feet above.

But until now, there had been no results – only his strength had been depleted.

It was only natural that a deflated sigh escaped him.

'How many days have passed?'

With everything pitch dark and no way to tell if it was day or night outside, he felt like a blind man with perfectly good eyes.

From hunger, all the strength had drained from his body, making it difficult to move any further.

It seemed escape was a distant prospect.

Still, he must not give up.

For he had a lifelong wish that he must fulfill.

To give up here would be a waste of the past half-century he had endured.

'Even if the sky falls, there's always a way out! I will somehow escape from here!'

The moment the swordsman, having steeled his resolve, inadvertently moved his hand that was touching the floor.

Thump.

Something soft touched his fingertip.

'Hm?'

Puzzled, he carefully felt it.

He couldn't see well due to the thick darkness, but through touch, he finally clearly identified what it was.

'It's a mushroom!'

Immediately after, when he extended his hand to the side, he discovered several more mushrooms of similar size.

Finally, he had something to eat.

If he had known it would be like this, he should have felt around more carefully earlier.

'Thank goodness! There's no law saying I should just die! Wait, given the nature of this place, it could be some kind of elixir…'

Unlike ordinary caves, it was an extraordinary place with even secret mechanisms installed, so such a thought naturally occurred to him.

Among the elixir-type mushrooms that grew naturally in caves, the most famous was the Earth Spirit Mushroom.

This was because it was found somewhat more often compared to other rare species.

'Could this be an Earth Spirit Mushroom?'

However, the possibility that it was a poisonous mushroom similar to the Earth Spirit Mushroom couldn't be ignored either.

Just by the shape he could feel, it was hard to properly determine whether it was or not.

Swallowing hard, he lowered his head and sniffed at it.

Sniff, sniff.

At the appetizing smell, his stomach gurgled and churned.

He was troubled.

Should he eat it? Should he not? What to do?

Due to the extreme hunger, he couldn't readily make a decision.

'I can't take it anymore! Let me satisfy my hunger first!'

In the end, appetite overcame reason.

His plan was to eat first and if poison seemed to be spreading, use his true energy to try expelling it from his body.

Of course, whether it would be as easy as he hoped was uncertain.

Snap-

The swordsman immediately plucked a mushroom and put it in his mouth, chewing and swallowing it.

Thus a little time passed.

'Hmm, was it just unfounded worry?'

With no symptoms appearing, he felt somewhat relieved and ate a few more mushrooms.

A moment later.

The moment his hunger subsided a bit, his internal blood vessels pulsated and generated some kind of invigorating energy.

'Oh, would you look at that!'

His expectant expression was short-lived before his face suddenly contorted horribly.

Thud!

Lying collapsed on the floor, he curled up, clutching his stomach and trembling violently.

It was because extreme abdominal pain had suddenly struck.

'Guhhh… Damn… It was a poisonous mushroom… after all!'

The swordsman immediately clenched his teeth and tried to rotate his dantian to operate his internal energy.

But then.

'Gah!'

The true energy that had been circulating through his blood vessels suddenly cut off, and simultaneously the abdominal pain intensified.

"Gaaahhhh! Ow, ow! I'm dying!"

The wail came out on its own.

Suddenly, a person's face flashed through his mind.

The mysterious young man who had imprisoned him here – Cheol Ryu-heun.

'Despicable bastard! I don't know who you are, but… I will definitely…!'

The swordsman, consumed with rage, resolved on revenge before finally losing consciousness.

The space instantly became quiet.

At that moment.

Piercing through the darkness, faint lights bloomed in clusters.

A flow of energy like white haze was wafting gently from the swordsman's body.

Following that, very faint sounds broke the heavy silence.

Pop, pop, pop-pop-pop…

The sound, like bubbles bursting in succession, showed no sign of stopping for a long while.

* * *

Under the gray sky that had finally burst into tears.

Whoooosh- Whoooosh-

The Thousand Snake Gang members each covered themselves with small conical rain hats and pressed on ceaselessly through the rain.

Splish, splish, splish, splish…

When they had traveled for about half a shichen along the muddy forest path.

White Snake Head Sword Gul Ma-hun, at the head of the column, suddenly stopped and raised his left hand.

Along with him, the two hundred-some including Vicious Poison Snake Sword Geum Ja-jeom also halted in unison.

In that instant, Gul Ma-hun's eyes emitted a chilling light.

'At last…'

His gaze directed toward the bottom of the hill.

At a distant point about three hundred jang away, a martial school with a cluster of tiled roofs was visible.

That's right.

Their destination, White Peak Sword Sect.

Befitting an orthodox faction with over a hundred years of history and tradition, the scale of its grounds was far more vast than any ordinary manor.

However, it was only the surface that was impressive – it was no different from a fruit without substance.

Now that Sagong Woon, its core, had departed from this world, its fighting strength was essentially at the level of a minor sect.

The number of executives was merely four, and among them, the only swordsman who posed any threat was Chief Supervisor White Flash Sword Tiger Hyeop Mu-geuk.

The sect's other pillar, Elder White Mountain Sword Excellence Yeop Hwon, had difficulty moving due to chronic illness, and Young Sect Master Cheol Ryu-heun had fallen into an unconscious vegetative state while steadily growing.

In truth, eliminating just Hyeop Mu-geuk alone would leave White Peak Sword Sect beyond recovery.

Gul Ma-hun quietly rolled his eyes to survey the entire area.

White Peak Sword Sect, surrounded by dense forests, was situated on flat ground between mountains.

Except for the southern main gate that led directly to the nearby village, the three other directions were connected to narrow paths through the forest that were normally devoid of people – and today, due to the foul weather, even more so.

Currently, the Thousand Snake Gang members were standing on a cliff on the northern side of White Peak Sword Sect.

Rain was pouring down.

There was no one coming or going.

On top of that, an overwhelming difference in fighting strength.

Could there be better conditions than this for a surprise attack?

Suddenly, Geum Ja-jeom grinned and spoke quietly.

"Gang Leader… I feel as though my blood is already boiling hot. I want to hurry and display the skills I've honed."

At that, Gul Ma-hun opened his mouth with a meaningful expression.

"Is this the manifestation of a competitive spirit?"

Geum Ja-jeom laid bare his thoughts without beating around the bush.

"I wish to repay the debt I owe to Hyeop Mu-geuk from the past."

The two martial artists had fought each other when they were young men just starting out in the martial world, and at that time, Geum Ja-jeom had tasted defeat after a narrowly contested match.

What he just said meant he wanted to make up for that.

"I permit it."

"Thank you, Gang Leader. It absolutely won't take long."

Soon, Gul Ma-hun stroked his chin and murmured as if reciting.

"Strangely enough, I do feel some regret."

"Pardon?"

"Sagong Woon isn't there, is he? I wanted to personally defeat that man with my own hands."

"Ah, so that's what you meant."

"Heh heh, as if White Peak Sword Sect is worth me feeling any regret over."

At Gul Ma-hun's sneer, Geum Ja-jeom nodded and added.

"Today's extermination will be blamed on that mysterious killer who killed Sagong Woon, so for us it's killing two birds with one stone, isn't it?"

"Indeed."

With those words, Gul Ma-hun listened to the sound of raindrops hitting the leaves and briefly recalled events from about two years ago.

The sparring match he had with Sagong Woon.

The intense tension and excitement from that time were still vividly imprinted in his heart.

In truth, before they crossed swords, he had looked down on Sagong Woon.

He had dismissed him as merely a latecomer who had lucked into fame while running around trying to revive his fallen sect.

But.

As the saying goes, a false reputation never spreads in the world, and once they actually crossed swords, he realized Sagong Woon was a true master.

He hadn't earned the title White Gate Sword Gentleman for nothing.

He had misjudged.

He had initially thought he could subdue him within twenty or thirty exchanges, but unexpectedly, it had gone past fifty.

At that point, he had become so anxious to somehow suppress his opponent that he had even executed the final three techniques of the White Snake Secret Stride Sword.

But the result was defeat.

Even his prized three techniques had been blocked by the ultimate technique of Sagong Woon's White Peak Sword Manual.

It had been a pride-wounding sparring match.

Because it was Sagong Woon who had first proposed ending it at around fifty exchanges since continuing was meaningless.

He had no choice but to reluctantly agree.

Because he worried that if he stubbornly insisted on extending the time, he might be defeated even more miserably.

That was how powerful the series of techniques Sagong Woon had displayed were.

He couldn't help but inwardly praise the essence and subtlety of the sword techniques' power, speed, and combinations.

Especially the grandeur of the ultimate technique executed at the end of the sparring match was enough to make admiration come naturally.

When they had thus agreed to put away their swords.

Sagong Woon had left these words before departing.

-I have heard various unpleasant stories regarding the Thousand Snake Gang. One of them being that young women from nearby cities are being kidnapped… I warn you, if any such incident occurs in this sect's territory, you will pay the price before my completed ultimate technique.

It had been quite a shock.

Gul Ma-hun's own three ultimate techniques were already complete, yet his opponent's ultimate technique was still incomplete…

After hearing those words, he had become anxious.

So he had worked tirelessly to devise sword techniques that would surpass the ultimate technique of the White Peak Sword Manual.

But things did not progress easily, and that eventually led to the scheme of secretly recruiting Eul Sa-jeok.

Gul Ma-hun soon erased his thoughts and grinned.

'Now at this point, I no longer need the White Peak Sword Manual.'

Having recently obtained a secret manual comparable to the White Peak Sword Manual, all that remained was to eliminate the evidence and wrap things up.

"Let's go."

When Gul Ma-hun gave the command and moved forward, the two hundred-some including Geum Ja-jeom followed behind.

Before long.

Having descended the hill, the Thousand Snake Gang had reached a point roughly sixty jang from White Peak Sword Sect.

The northern gate and wall were visible just ahead.

Gul Ma-hun, with his target before his eyes, radiated killing intent from his gaze.

"We advance using foot techniques, then scale the wall and infiltrate."

At that, Geum Ja-jeom responded on everyone's behalf from behind him.

"Yes."

At that very moment.

Thu-thud… Thu-thud-thud…

An unidentifiable sound struck everyone's ears from quite a distance.

'Hm?'

Gul Ma-hun and the two hundred-some immediately halted their bodies.

Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud- Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud- Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-!

Heavy sounds cutting through the rain were rapidly approaching.

An impossible speed.

It was from behind.

The moment the Thousand Snake Gang all turned their heads toward the forest behind them.

Crash!

Something burst through the dense forest, creating an enormous splash of water and rushing out at high speed.

Simultaneously, the eyes of the Thousand Snake Gang went wide.

'Gasp!'

'Wh-What the!'

The sight of a horse pulling a cart, enveloped in haze and galloping fiercely.

Every time the horse's hooves struck the ground, heavy vibrations sent large clumps of earth flying into the air.

"Move!"

At Cheol Ryu-heun's shout from the horse's back, the startled Thousand Snake Gang parted to the left and right.

Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh-whoosh-whoosh- Splash-splash-splash-splash-splash-!

The horse and cart shot past that spot like a beam of light and collided hard with the White Peak Sword Sect wall beyond.

Crash-!

Following the thunderous sound.

Rumble, rumble, rumble…

Bricks collapsed as if a path had been cleared.

Thus the horse pulling the cart disappeared into the interior of White Peak Sword Sect.

All of this had happened in the span of just a few breaths.

The Thousand Snake Gang members, having been splattered all over with muddy water, each muttered with dazed expressions.

"Good heavens, a horse using lightness technique…?"

"I-It was too fast, I couldn't even see it properly!"

"Could the legendary Red Hare have been reincarnated?"

"Then is the one riding that horse the reincarnation of Lu Bu?"

"Red Hare my foot – it's pitch black!"

Amidst this, Geum Ja-jeom stared at Gul Ma-hun with a blank look.

"Gang Leader… it seems we're not the only ones trying to ambush White Peak Sword Sect…?"

It was an unexpected situation, so Gul Ma-hun was equally bewildered.

However, he soon regained his composure and addressed his subordinate gang members.

"Calm down. There's no change to the plan. Is there anything to think about? We just need to kill and eliminate everyone alive, including that uninvited guest."

Then he drew the sword hanging at his waist.

"Let's go."

"Yes! Gang Leader!"