Chapter 21 – Let the Horse Run

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Translated by Heavenly Cat

Read more at Nineheavens.org

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Chapter 21 – Let the Horse Run

A man in his forties wearing gray clothes sat at a table woven from thin branches, taking a sip of premium Longjing tea.

Slurp.

It was Jo Jung-eung, the Academy Master of Mantis Martial Academy, known as Mantis Twin Swords.

Setting down his teacup gently, he smiled as if intoxicated by the lingering flavor.

"As expected, this is wonderful. Yes, this is what a truly civilized life looks like. There's nothing money can't buy."

As if to prove it, all the furnishings in his quarters, including the teacup, were luxurious branded goods.

Having accumulated considerable wealth through black market dealings, Jo Jung-eung was now indulging in luxury while envisioning a new grand dream in his mind.

'At the shortest, one year; at the longest, three years… This academy will swallow up three or four cities around Shimen one by one, and be reborn as a major power ranking among the top in all of Hunan Province!'

Having emptied his teacup, he went to a dresser on one side of the room and opened the topmost drawer.

Slide-

It was a habit he repeated once or twice before going to bed.

An old book placed inside the drawer.

On its yellowed cover were written four characters: 'Seven Poisons Manual.'

It was a toxic substance manufacturing manual thought to have disappeared decades ago.

The Seven Poisons Manual was created by the Seven Ghost Hall, an unorthodox faction from Jiangxi Province in the past, and was naturally lost after the faction declined due to major internal strife.

Yet now that old book was in Jo Jung-eung's hands.

In truth, he hadn't obtained it through any difficult search.

One day, while stopping by a local antique shop, he happened to discover it and eagerly bought it for thirty taels.

'Heheh, for me, it's the greatest treasure. If I keep periodically changing the poison pill names and distributing them, there will be no trail to follow.'

Originally, the Scentless Soul-Sealing Pill was the Soul-Losing Pill, one of seven recorded in the Seven Poisons Manual.

The same went for the others.

The remaining poison pills, including the Lustful Spring Poison that wildly aroused sexual desire, were also secretly sold at regular intervals with only their names changed.

There was only one reason.

It was to prevent any clues about the Seven Poisons Manual, the legacy of the Seven Ghost Hall, from being discovered.

If word started spreading, it was certain that groups seeking to claim it would appear.

That was the nature of the martial world.

Who, when, where, and how they might covet it and attack was unpredictable.

In the black market, it was extremely common for yesterday's customer to become today's enemy, so such precautions were only natural.

The fortunate thing was that Jo Jung-eung himself was no amateur.

If he hadn't established himself early on as a famous swordsman representing Shimen, he wouldn't have dared to try making money even with the Seven Poisons Manual.

'Hm, now if I can just obtain an old martial arts secret manual of comparable value to the Seven Poisons Manual, I'll want for nothing… But since I'm putting out money and searching everywhere, I'll probably have good results within the year.'

Just as Jo Jung-eung was grinning and stoking the ambition in his heart.

Crash!

A thunderous boom like an explosion echoed from far away, and simultaneously.

Crack!

The sound of a door being smashed came, followed by.

Rumble, rumble-rumble…

A great tremor shook the night air as if part of a wall had collapsed mercilessly.

'An enemy!'

The moment Jo Jung-eung paused his movement in puzzlement, thunderous booms rang out in succession.

Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud- Crash, crash-crash!

Right after, sharp cries came from the training grounds.

"Night intrusion!"

"Assemble, assemble!"

"Damn! What the hell is that crazy horse!"

Jo Jung-eung stared blankly at the door with an absurd expression.

'Crazy horse? So… a four-legged horse is causing all this ruckus?'

Pushing the drawer shut, he grabbed the two swords that symbolized his title and furrowed his brow deeply.

"Tch!"

A horse? What kind of nonsense was that?

Could they have eaten something wrong at night and gone mad…?

* * *

Under Divine Wind's fierce charge, the two martial artists standing guard at the main gate received a great shock and were sent flying into the air before tumbling across the ground.

Following that.

Clatter!

The place where Divine Wind dug into the ground and stopped was the rectangular training grounds beyond the main gate.

The moment over twenty martial artists who had been cleaning the area were startled by the sudden intrusion of horse and rider.

"That way first."

When Cheol Ryu-heun yanked the reins in one direction, Divine Wind charged with a terrifying momentum like a starving beast.

The target was a long building situated on the far left side of the training grounds.

It was the dormitory where lower-ranking martial artists ate and slept.

Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud- Crash, crash-crash!

In the blink of an eye, Divine Wind smashed through the dormitory's front entrance.

Seeing this, the martial artists in the training grounds scrambled about, each shouting loudly.

"Night intrusion!"

"Assemble, assemble!"

"Damn! What the hell is that crazy horse!"

Personnel from the buildings around the training grounds came rushing out one after another.

Meanwhile, the inside of the dormitory had become a pandemonium.

Bang- Crash- Crack-!

Personal lockers, shared beds – various furnishings were overturned and shattered in a complete uproar.

On top of that came the shocked cries of the internal martial artists who had been struck by this bolt from the blue while resting.

"Gaaah! What's happening!"

"Th-That thing…!"

"The horse has gone crazy and is running wild!"

"Get out of the way!"

Meanwhile, the perimeter guards frantically rang the emergency bell for assembly of all personnel within the grounds.

Clang, clang, clang, clang, clang-!

As the urgent bell sound echoed loudly, over two hundred who had gathered first in the training grounds drew their swords and ran toward the dormitory.

At that moment.

Crash!

Divine Wind broke through a wall and came outside, then headed for another building accompanied by ground-shaking hoofbeats.

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

This time it was a warehouse storing various goods.

"Ahh!"

"Over there!"

"Chase it!"

The crowd heading to the dormitory were startled and quickly changed direction.

Just like before, sounds of all sorts of things being destroyed burst out ceaselessly from inside the warehouse.

Thud, thud-thud- Clang- Crash-!

Just from hearing those clamorous sounds, it seemed nothing would be left intact.

Inside the warehouse.

While Divine Wind was destroying things indiscriminately with its four legs, Cheol Ryu-heun heightened his energy sense and detected that the number of people outside was increasing.

"Good, they'll all gather."

At that, the young man behind him screamed internally.

'What's good about this! We're about to be surrounded with no plan! Ugh, with this horse running wild like crazy, I'm getting motion sick…'

With his wristbone cracked on top of that, it was even worse.

Cheol Ryu-heun, as if seeing through his companion's inner thoughts, said briefly.

"Getting surrounded is the plan."

The young man made an absurd expression and opened his mouth beneath the mask to shout.

"What kind of plan is that!"

But Cheol Ryu-heun didn't even pretend to listen, staring at the ceiling.

Suddenly having a strange premonition, the young man asked.

"What are you trying to do?"

"Time to really go wild."

"R-Really…? No, even now is plenty…"

"Divine Wind! Show the monstrous strength from consuming the Thousand-Year Immortal Ginseng!"

The young man couldn't help but doubt his ears.

'What? Thousand-Year Immortal Ginseng? Don't tell me he fed that to the horse?'

The moment Divine Wind snorted white mist from its nose and mouth, it powerfully kicked off the warehouse floor and soared upward.

Whoooosh-!

Feeling the sensation of being suspended in mid-air at tremendous speed, the young man squeezed his eyes shut and screamed.

"Waaaahh! This craaaazy hooooorse!"

Having broken through the ceiling and mounted the roof, Divine Wind shattered a mass of roof tiles as it leaped and landed in front of a building to the side.

Boom!

From the impact of landing, the ground beneath its hooves caved in like a small puddle.

"Good heavens…!"

"Is that a horse or a bird!"

The martial artists who had just surrounded the warehouse were dumbstruck at the incredible sight.

In a flash, Divine Wind, carrying its master Cheol Ryu-heun and the unknown young man on its back, charged into the building ahead and swept through its interior in a line.

"What are you all doing!"

"Hurry and catch it!"

"We must not let it escape!"

The moment the Mantis Martial Academy martial artists resumed their pursuit, Divine Wind had already headed for another building.

Crash, bang…!

Just from hearing those clamorous sounds, it seemed nothing would be left intact.

Right then, Academy Master Jo Jung-eung appeared at the scene, emitting killing intent and fighting spirit as he bellowed.

"Bastard!"

Gripping twin swords, he immediately deployed his lightness technique and leaped into the building where Divine Wind was.

Right after.

Crash!

Divine Wind instantly broke through the wall of an adjacent building and invaded, beginning indiscriminate kicking.

Crack, crack-crack, crack…!

One of the Mantis Martial Academy's executives commanded in a booming voice.

"Don't panic, establish a wide encirclement!"

Simultaneously, all the martial artists on the grounds moved in perfect order to form a large crescent formation, and meanwhile Jo Jung-eung quickly entered that building.

But he was one step too late.

Boom!

Just as before, Divine Wind burst through the ceiling and leaped onto the roof of yet another building.

It was truly unpredictable movement.

Jo Jung-eung surged up through the hole in the ceiling and let out a roar of rage.

"What! Like a little rat!"

At that moment, a quiet voice flowed from between Cheol Ryu-heun's lips.

"Good job."

Divine Wind seemed to understand those words, twitched its two ears slightly, then stomped and shattered roof tiles as it leaped up.

Crunch!

Countless debris scattered chaotically in all directions.

Whoooooooosh-

Tracing an arc high in the air, Divine Wind crossed over the encirclement and landed, then came to stand in the center of the training grounds.

Not to be outdone, the Mantis Martial Academy martial artists led by Jo Jung-eung moved swiftly and surrounded it in a large circle.

With over five hundred people forming the circular formation, there was no gap to escape in any direction.

Cheol Ryu-heun then glanced at the young man behind him.

"When I take out a certain object, protect your internal meridians with your maximum internal energy."

"…!"

The young man instantly sensed that he was preparing some kind of secret move and responded with a silent nod.

Trust had built up before he knew it.

Honestly, when they had first charged in recklessly, he had been skeptical, but by now he couldn't help but be impressed by the other's skill.

So he thought. No, he anticipated.

That something even more incredible than the chaos created using the strange horse called Divine Wind would unfold.

As Cheol Ryu-heun and the young man stepped onto the ground, Jo Jung-eung came forward a few steps and sneered.

"What, has your horse bastard finally run out of strength?"

"I'm about to step in now."

At Cheol Ryu-heun's curt reply, Jo Jung-eung smirked and exuded even thicker killing intent and fighting spirit.

"Trust in a strange horse to make a mess, and when things don't go your way, you resort to bluffing at the end?"

"The snake head paid his price. So it's your turn."

At Cheol Ryu-heun's words, the expressions of Jo Jung-eung and all the Mantis Martial Academy gang changed completely.

Of course, the young man's reaction wasn't much different either.

'Snake head? Wait, that's the derogatory nickname for White Snake Head Sword Gul Ma-hun, a master of this region…'

Jo Jung-eung's eyes flashed as he asked quietly.

"Are you saying you killed the Thousand Snake Gang leader with your own hands?"

Instead of answering, Cheol Ryu-heun reached into his clothes and pulled out a small orb as white as snow.

White Ice Jade.

A peerless jewel from beyond the borders that held a mystical cold energy.

'What's that?'

The moment Jo Jung-eung tilted his head, Cheol Ryu-heun's bland voice pierced his ears.

"I've been suppressing its natural cold energy with my internal power, so you couldn't feel anything. Now I'll let you truly experience it."

The moment the words ended.

Crackle-!

As Cheol Ryu-heun squeezed hard and shattered the White Ice Jade, an energy like blue haze spread in all directions, covering the Mantis Martial Academy martial artists' bodies with pure white frost.