Chapter 22 – The Price of Sin

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Translated by Heavenly Cat

Read more at Nineheavens.org

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Chapter 22 – The Price of Sin

In the suddenly silent arena, powdery frost flowers like white dust drifted in the breeze, playing a faint tune.

Swish, swish-swish…

The martial artists who had been spreading the circular encirclement showed no movement.

Under the influence of the cold energy exploded from the White Ice Jade, they had all frozen stiff and lost consciousness.

The young man couldn't close his mouth beneath the mask.

It was a shocking sight.

He had guessed something amazing would happen, but he never imagined such a masterstroke had been prepared.

Haa.

White mist came from his mouth.

It was because even the air in the arena had turned cold before the mystical power of the White Ice Jade.

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

Thanks to following those words, the young man had avoided harm.

Since it had happened without warning, if he hadn't been forewarned and prepared, he too would have ended up like those people.

'Wait! What about the horse?'

He quickly turned his head to the side and saw Swift Wind.

It was perfectly fine.

Not a single hair was harmed from head to tail.

Having consumed the Thousand-Year Immortal Ginseng, also called the Three Triple King, it seemed its powerful yang energy had settled in its body and blocked the cold energy's invasion.

Suddenly, Cheol Ryu-heun's indifferent voice could be heard.

"Still think it's bluffing?"

The target of the question was Jo Jung-eung, the Mantis Martial Academy Master, standing twenty paces straight ahead.

Befitting a famous swordsman who dominated Shimen, he had blocked the White Ice Jade's power through swift internal energy circulation.

In truth, he wasn't the only one.

Three swordsmen who were the top executives of the Mantis Martial Academy, the so-called Three Lesser Mantises, could also be seen standing after enduring the cold energy.

The young man was inwardly impressed.

'As expected, they're seasoned!'

Honestly, he had thought they wouldn't be able to block such an unexpected trick, but they had managed reflexive judgment and response in that brief moment.

It was a moment that made him realize anew that the prowess of the elite executives led by Mantis Twin Swords should not be underestimated.

Meanwhile, Jo Jung-eung struggled to suppress his startled heart.

'That was close! If my reaction had been just a bit slower…'

He had been caught completely off guard.

To think they had prepared such an unfathomable technique akin to the Ice Demon Art of the foreign martial world.

In the blink of an eye, he had lost well over five hundred subordinates.

However.

He himself was still standing, and the Three Lesser Mantises beside him were still standing.

The real fight started now.

There were two on that side, four on this side – if they didn't let their guard down, they could use their numerical advantage to press and seize the upper hand.

Jo Jung-eung raised one corner of his mouth.

"The attempt wasn't bad, but… as you can see, it couldn't harm me."

When he gave a hand signal, the Three Lesser Mantises behind spread out to the sides and assumed battle stances.

The young man hurriedly whispered against Cheol Ryu-heun's back.

"What's the next plan?"

At that, Cheol Ryu-heun finally drew the Gan Jiang Sword from its scabbard.

Shring-

A clear sword sound.

As the slender blade, tinged with a blue color as clear as the blue sky, reflected the moonlight, Cheol Ryu-heun tossed out his voice quietly.

"What else? I'll give them a good thrashing with my own hands."

"…!"

The young man was quite curious.

Setting aside his confidence in his own martial prowess, what kind of circumstances had led him to be hostile toward the Mantis Martial Academy?

"Enough talk!"

Having shouted fiercely, Jo Jung-eung injected true energy into the twin swords in his hands.

The Three Lesser Mantises did the same.

Each injected true energy into their swords, openly revealing their killing intent and fighting spirit.

Simultaneously, the young man gripped his sword hilt, enduring the pain in his wrist.

'Let me help him!'

At that moment, Cheol Ryu-heun said.

"Don't step in, just rest."

Right after, with a sound like an explosion, one of the Three Lesser Mantises was sent flying backward.

"Keck!"

He let out a scream and sprawled face-up on the training ground floor.

Trickle.

Fresh blood flowing from the corner of his mouth.

It was proof of severe internal injury.

Looking now, Cheol Ryu-heun's right hand holding the sword had somehow extended straight forward.

That meant in the blink of an eye he had fired sword energy and reduced one of the Three Lesser Mantises to that state.

Jo Jung-eung got goosebumps without realizing it.

The reactions of the remaining two Little Mantises were no different.

They couldn't even see or feel that attack.

It was astonishing.

It was sword energy so fast that it completely ignored all the senses of the body – fast enough to make the time spent on martial arts training feel hollow.

The young man standing behind Cheol Ryu-heun shivered slightly, his hair standing on end with a thrill.

'Good heavens, to wield such tremendous sword energy!'

It was martial prowess at an immeasurable level.

At the very least, the young man's own abilities couldn't properly gauge that skill.

"Gugh…"

The Little Mantis who had sprawled far back let out a groan and struggled to rise, and at that moment Cheol Ryu-heun's feet kicked off the ground.

Thwack!

A body charging straight ahead.

Jo Jung-eung and the two Little Mantises immediately moved as if going out to meet him, swinging their swords fiercely.

Swish, swish-swish, swish-!

But Cheol Ryu-heun slipped through the gaps like wind and mercilessly pierced through the chest of the internally injured Little Mantis.

Splurt!

Crimson blood spread from the hole the Gan Jiang Sword had made.

"Gur… gle…"

The Little Mantis, whose lips had been moving, dropped his head and collapsed, closing his eyes.

Whoosh- whoosh-whoosh-!

The remaining two Little Mantises quickly surged in, targeting his back.

Not to be outdone, Cheol Ryu-heun pivoted and swept his right hand horizontally, releasing a massive sword wind.

BOOM-!

"Argh!"

"Urgh!"

The two Little Mantises, their heart meridians shaken at once, flew far backward and slammed into a line of Mantis Martial Academy martial artists before falling with a thud.

That wasn't the end of it.

Whoosh!

Moving toward them as swiftly as a flash of light, Cheol Ryu-heun showed no mercy in his handiwork.

Squelch, squelch-squelch-!

The Little Mantises had no time to collect themselves before their hearts were pierced through, and they lay on the ground, breathed their last.

Cheol Ryu-heun quickly spun the Gan Jiang Sword in his right hand once to flick off the blood on the blade.

Patter.

Silence returned once again.

In the pupils of Jo Jung-eung, who had witnessed the deaths of his two subordinates, great ripples arose.

Shock.

His heart pounded violently.

The surrounding air was clearly cold, yet sweat poured from his forehead and armpits.

Before this once-in-a-lifetime crisis, his body was instinctively displaying a fear response.

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

He truly realized now that those words he heard earlier weren't just bluster to exaggerate his momentum.

White Snake Head Sword Gul Ma-hun's martial prowess was not below his own, and if he had died at that man's hands… the outcome of this fight was crystal clear.

That's right.

This was an opponent he couldn't beat.

He didn't need to cross swords to know.

Simultaneously disposing of the Three Lesser Mantises like that was something beyond his current ability…

At that moment, Cheol Ryu-heun quietly turned around, holding the Gan Jiang Sword at an angle.

"Your eyes are about to pop out."

Only then did Jo Jung-eung collect himself and bulged the veins in his neck.

"What are you! What wrong did this academy commit to make you do such things!"

It sounded like shouting to hide his terrified appearance.

"Scentless Soul-Sealing Pill."

At Cheol Ryu-heun's indifferent words, Jo Jung-eung's expression stiffened momentarily.

"…!"

"Because of that, I was practically a living corpse for a while, so do you think I'm angry or not? That's what you get for selling such a thing in the first place."

For Jo Jung-eung, who didn't know the whole story, this was bewildering.

But he roughly grasped what situation was unfolding.

'Damn, so that's why he killed White Snake Head Sword? That bastard secretly bought Scentless Soul-Sealing Pills and schemed at something, only to get caught by this guy…'

Furthermore, that he had figured out this was the supply source and came meant the Clear Heart Medical Clinic must have suffered greatly too.

Cheol Ryu-heun's attitude remained bland as ever.

"Whether you make excuses or not, you die either way."

Following that, his clothes fluttered lightly.

Flutter.

Intangible energy radiated out from his form like waves.

Rumble, rumble-rumble-

The surrounding atmosphere trembled violently and roared.

At the same time, the ground within one jang radius visibly shook and became covered with spiderweb-like cracks.

Crack, crack-crack, crack…!

The moment the young man experienced that overwhelming presence, one figure came to mind.

'It feels like facing the Thunder Cloud Sword Duke!'

Thunder Cloud Sword Duke Wei Ji-am.

The current sect master of the orthodox faction Thunder Lightning Sect and one of the Five Supreme Martial Experts of Hunan Province.

The young man had once happened to see the mighty bearing of Thunder Cloud Sword Duke Wei Ji-am from a distance.

Cheol Ryu-heun's presence was like that now.

He didn't know exactly how strong his martial power was, but the overall feeling was reminiscent of Wei Ji-am's.

Cheol Ryu-heun moved forward with a leisurely posture.

"I'm not punishing you according to this world's established notions of good and evil."

He continued speaking as he slowly advanced.

"I'm just crushing all the culprits who harmed me. Orthodox or unorthodox, it doesn't matter – I'll make sure they never try such nonsense again."

In that instant, a curse burst from Jo Jung-eung's mouth.

"Daaaamn!"

Dragging out the last ounce of courage, he clenched his teeth and circulated his maximum internal energy.

He had resolved himself for a life-or-death battle.

Hum!

The twin swords resonated.

It was the sound of them vibrating from the fully infused true energy.

Cheol Ryu-heun advanced expressionlessly and gestured with his chin.

Go ahead, give it your all.

That seemed to be the meaning.

One eyebrow twitching, Jo Jung-eung prepared his final ultimate technique with maximum power without further hesitation.

He was about to execute the Great Mantis Hunt, said to be the essence of the Mantis Sword Art.

Thwack-!

His form charged fiercely forward, releasing internal energy through the yongcheon acupoints on the soles of his feet.

Having closed to ten steps' distance, Jo Jung-eung's twin swords curved left and right as they surged in.

Shwaaang, shwaaaang-!

Along with the sharp piercing sounds, green sword energy extended from both blades like long scythes and crossed.

It was a sword form like a giant mantis swinging its sharp forelegs at its prey.

BOOM-!

Following the clamorous explosion, a circular haze spread.

"Guk!"

Jo Jung-eung's body retreated even faster than it had advanced.

Unable to break through the membrane of intangible energy the opponent had generated, he was helplessly pushed back by its repelling force.

Screech, screeech-!

Barely stopping by digging his feet into the ground, despair settled in Jo Jung-eung's eyes.

The moment he truly felt the gap in power.

Whoong-!

The opponent's face seemed to suddenly loom larger, and then extreme pain spread from his abdomen.

"GWAAAAHK!"

In an instant, Cheol Ryu-heun's sword, having compressed the distance, had been thrust into the center of his belly.

A heavy sound followed.

Thud!

It was the sound of Jo Jung-eung, pushed back by Cheol Ryu-heun's single-sword charge, slamming into a wall.

The wall surface meeting his back cracked in a circular pattern and collapsed.

Rumble, rumble-rumble…

Cheol Ryu-heun, maintaining his thrust posture, spoke quietly.

"When you see the snake head there, give him my regards."

The moment Jo Jung-eung, seized by fear, showed a stiff movement.

Spurrt, splurrrt, splurt-!

The sword energy exploded from the Gan Jiang Sword instantly tore Jo Jung-eung's body to shreds that adorned the air.

Patter-patter-patter, patter-patter-patter…

The sound of countless body pieces falling mixed together.

As the nauseating smell permeated the air, Cheol Ryu-heun soon turned and strode back to his original spot.

The young man stood frozen, looking at his face.

His expression showed genuine admiration before such overwhelming might.

Impressive.

And also.

Endlessly enviable.

Their ages seemed similar, yet their martial power was like heaven and earth apart.

Cheol Ryu-heun took out a piece of cloth and wiped the blood from the blade before meeting the young man's eyes.

"What are you spacing out for? Now go find what you want. His quarters or wherever."

"Ah…!"

The young man quickly composed his expression, formed a respectful clasped-fist salute, and spoke courteously.

"Thank you. I truly owe you a great debt. This was something that carried considerable risk, but thanks to you, I can safely complete it. How should I ever repay this grace…"

"That's enough."

"Actually, let me properly introduce myself. Under these circumstances, not revealing my identity would be improper. I am Namgung Sang-rin, a direct bloodline of the Namgung Family."

At that, Cheol Ryu-heun stared at his face with a peculiar look.

"…"

The Namgung Family?

That place fell over ten years ago, didn't it?

A bloodline of what was once an orthodox martial world aristocratic family with a long history… This is quite an interesting encounter.

Wait.

Should I take him to our sect this time?

Well, if the conditions are right.