Chapter 51: A Blood Star Descends Upon Xinjiang (1)

Hundreds of martial artists rode on horseback.

They were warriors armed with swords, sabers, and spears. At their head rode a man carrying a great banner.

A massive triangular banner, upon which two characters were embroidered in vivid crimson: Blood Scale.

They were the vagrants of the Blood Scale Stronghold.

At their forefront rode a middle-aged man in his mid-forties who exuded a fearsome aura. His thick, caterpillar-like brows, angular jaw, and fiercely blazing eyes left a particularly striking impression.

This was none other than Sim Su-myeong, the Master of the Blood Scale Stronghold.

His epithet was the Blood Scale Ghost Saber.

The very name of the Blood Scale Stronghold had been taken from his epithet, so great was his presence.

Beside Sim Su-myeong, a beautiful young woman rode alongside him. This was none other than Sim Ok.

'Father.'

She cast a sidelong glance at Sim Su-myeong.

Sim Ok's reunion with Sim Su-myeong was nothing short of providential. When contact was lost with Sim Ok and the Black Slave, Sim Su-myeong had immediately launched a search and managed to locate her at a horse ranch.

Sim Ok recounted in detail to Sim Su-myeong what had transpired at the West Heaven Mountain Manor. Upon hearing her words, Sim Su-myeong was consumed with rage.

"How dare they commit such acts in Xinjiang Province."

Sim Su-myeong immediately led his full forces and set out for the West Heaven Mountain Manor.

The West Heaven Mountain Manor had long been an eyesore, a thorn in his side. He had always intended to settle the matter eventually, and so there was not a shred of hesitation in his decision.

In fact, he considered it a stroke of good fortune. By subduing the West Heaven Mountain Manor, he could ascend to become the overlord of Xinjiang.

In the distance, the silhouette of the West Heaven Mountain Manor came into view.

Sim Su-myeong drew the saber at his waist and raised it high.

"It is the enemy. We charge straight through!"

"Yes, sir!"

Clang!

At his command, the vagrants of the Blood Scale Stronghold drew their weapons in unison.

The horses beneath them surged forward.

The charge of man and horse as one was the very symbol of the Blood Scale Stronghold. They rode with the ferocious determination to crush all that stood before them.

Yet, contrary to their expectations, they passed through the front gate of the West Heaven Mountain Manor with startling ease. Not a single soul had moved to stop them.

The moment they set foot inside the West Heaven Mountain Manor, looks of horror appeared on the faces of Sim Su-myeong and his vagrants.

"Gasp!"

"What is this?"

Moans escaped from the lips of the vagrants. The scene that unfolded before their eyes was that devastating.

A painting of hell itself lay spread before them.

There were those who had perished with their limbs twisted grotesquely, corpses whose faces had been smashed beyond recognition. Some had their entire upper bodies blown away, while others lay with every bone in their bodies shattered, their bodies limp as soft cloth.

The blood they had spilled formed rivers. The stench of iron was so putrid that merely inhaling it made one's head spin.

The vagrants of the Blood Scale Stronghold were men who had weathered countless battles. Yet not one among them had ever witnessed such a vision of hell firsthand. Not even Sim Su-myeong himself, the Master of the Blood Scale Stronghold.

"What in the world…"

Sim Su-myeong's eyelids trembled.

Together with the Blood Scale Stronghold, the West Heaven Mountain Manor was the only other entity that could claim the title of overlord of Xinjiang. Even Sim Su-myeong had needed to make extensive preparations before daring to attack them.

And yet, this formidable West Heaven Mountain Manor had been utterly annihilated. All that remained was death.

At that moment.

"That man… it was that man…"

Sim Ok murmured in a dazed voice.

No one had told her the truth, yet by a woman's intuition, she had discerned who was responsible for this massacre.

Sim Su-myeong wore a puzzled expression.

"That man?"

"There is a survivor here."

At that moment, the voice of a subordinate drew Sim Su-myeong's attention. He hurried toward the source of the voice.

"Ugh!"

Sim Su-myeong's eyes quivered.

Sim Su-myeong had spent his life navigating battlefields of carnage. Yet even he had never laid eyes on such a gruesome spectacle.

A man was embedded in the wall. His limbs had been cruelly mangled, his chest caved in. Broken ribs protruded through his skin, a sight of utter devastation.

What made it even more terrifying was that despite such wounds, the man still lived. The vagrants of the Blood Scale Stronghold stared at him with looks of disgust.

"Heh…"

From the mouth of this man, now more beast than human, ghastly breaths escaped. They were so faint that they seemed on the verge of ceasing at any moment.

Sim Su-myeong knelt on one knee before the man.

"Who are you? What in the world happened in here?"

Perhaps reacting to the voice, the man barely managed to open his eyes and look at Sim Su-myeong. Suddenly, a faint smile appeared on the man's lips.

"Heh… heh! Sim… Su-myeong, Master of the Blood Scale… Stronghold."

"You know me?"

"How could I… not? After all, I am the Grand Master of the… Blood Sha Division."

"The Grand Master of the Blood Sha Division? So it's true—the Blood Sha Division was an organization created by the West Heaven Mountain Manor."

Sim Su-myeong's expression hardened to stone.

He had already surmised as much, but to confirm it directly brought an even greater shock.

"What happened here?"

"Heh heh! A demon came."

"A demon?"

"Yes! He is a… demon. A demon in human form."

Sa Pyeong-gang, the Grand Master of the Blood Sha Division, convulsed violently. The mere thought of Dam Ho caused his body to react involuntarily.

"He killed them all. The martial artists of the West Heaven Mountain Manor, the Blood Sha Division…"

"A demon?"

"Heh… you'll see when you look. He is… guhuk!"

Even the mere thought of Dam Ho brought a look of abject terror to his face.

Drip…

Suddenly, tears streamed from the corners of Sa Pyeong-gang's eyes. The blood running from his torn wounds mingled with the tears, making them appear as bloody weeping.

Suddenly, Sa Pyeong-gang began to convulse, foaming at the mouth. But the seizure was brief, and soon his body grew still. He had drawn his last breath.

"Ugh!"

Before Sa Pyeong-gang's death, Sim Su-myeong was struck speechless.

A heavy silence descended upon the shoulders of the Blood Scale Stronghold vagrants.

The Blood Sha Division had once been a name that ruled the desert with fear. And yet, its Grand Master had been driven to convulsions by terror.

Sim Su-myeong rose to his feet and turned around. Countless gazes met his eyes.

These were men who had boldly charged into the West Heaven Mountain Manor. But now, the curiosity that had initially lit their eyes had vanished entirely.

The aura of death permeating the entirety of the West Heaven Mountain Manor had crushed their spirits.

'Not good.'

Sim Su-myeong gritted his teeth.

The morale had plummeted to its lowest. This was unthinkable for the Blood Scale Stronghold's full force. But the deathly atmosphere within the West Heaven Mountain Manor had overwhelmed the vagrants.

Still, he could not simply retreat.

"We advance to the Blood Demon Hall."

"Father?"

"I must see it with my own eyes. Everyone, move out."

"Yes, sir!"

The voices of the Blood Scale Stronghold vagrants as they answered lacked all vigor. Sim Su-myeong had no choice but to accept it.

'I must be the one to slay Eun Ha-seong's head. Only then can I retain the bare minimum of dignity.'

He did not know who had reduced the West Heaven Mountain Manor to ruins, but Sim Su-myeong had faith in his own martial arts.

The epithet Blood Scale Ghost Saber had not been given for nothing. It was a shining gift earned through hundreds of fierce life-and-death battles. The history of his struggles was contained within that title.

"Let us go!"

Sim Su-myeong unleashed his qinggong toward Bok-gyeok-dal Peak.

Behind him, Sim Ok and the vagrants followed.

"Ugh!"

A groan escaped Sim Ok's lips involuntarily. Even along the path ascending Bok-gyeok-dal Peak, countless corpses lay strewn. Their bodies were uniformly gruesome.

'It was that man. It must have been him.'

The man she had encountered at the horse ranch when she went to steal horses. She had been slapped by him and had her teeth broken.

Even now, the mere thought of him made her scalp tingle and her entire body tremble.

Sim Ok shuddered. She desperately tried to shake off her fear.

'Father is with me now, and so are the martial artists of the Blood Scale Stronghold. There is no need to fear him. What I did was wrong, but it was all for a greater cause.'

Sim Ok tried to rationalize her actions. Her heart eased slightly.

Following Sim Su-myeong, she leapt with qinggong up the rugged Bok-gyeok-dal Peak. Since she had been here once before, the path looked familiar.

Sim Ok pointed in a certain direction with her finger.

"It is over there. We are almost there."

"Mmm!"

Sim Su-myeong nodded and increased his speed.

In the distance, a massive gaping maw of a cave was visible. It was the Blood Demon Hall.

"We do not know what dangers may lurk within. Everyone, exercise caution."

"Yes, sir!"

"Ok, stay close behind me."

"I know."

Sim Ok pressed close behind Sim Su-myeong's back.

She could see his broad back, which she had always found so reassuring. That sturdy shield of a back, which had always protected her from any danger, seemed somehow narrow today.

'It's nothing. Just my imagination.'

Sim Ok shook her head when—

Boom!

Suddenly, a powerful tremor reverberated through the entire cave.

As looks of doubt appeared on the faces of the gathered, the cave shook once more with a violent tremor.

Sim Su-myeong's gaze turned cold.

A chill seeped through his skin. Sim Su-myeong knew better than anyone that this was not merely the cold wind blowing from deep underground.

'This kind of qi…'

An energy more powerful than anything he had ever felt in his life was stimulating his skin.

Sim Su-myeong gripped the hilt of his Blood Scale Saber without realizing it.

Crash!

Suddenly, with a deafening roar, the cave wall before them exploded outward, and something hurtled to a stop at his feet. Curled up like a shrimp, it was unmistakably a man.

"Kuhuk!"

The figure stirred for a moment, then groaned as he pushed himself upright.

The sight of this middle-aged man using a saber that radiated a sinister light as a crutch to barely rise left Sim Su-myeong stunned.

"Eun Ha-seong."

It was Eun Ha-seong, the Master of the West Heaven Mountain Manor. But Eun Ha-seong seemed not to notice Sim Su-myeong and his Blood Scale Stronghold warriors, his fierce gaze fixed on something ahead.

'What?'

Sim Su-myeong forgot even that Eun Ha-seong was an enemy and looked in the direction of his gaze.

Thud! Boom! Thud! Boom!

A peculiar sound of footsteps echoed.

Sim Su-myeong's complexion changed utterly. Though his subordinates and Sim Ok felt nothing, he perceived the immense power contained within those footsteps.

Eun Ha-seong ground his teeth and rose to his feet.

"You!"

At that moment, a figure emerged from the darkness.

Right foot forward, left foot dragging as he approached. With each step, the man's shoulders swayed.

'A limp?'

A black-haired man in pitch-black leather robes strode toward them. Through his wild, disheveled black hair, eyes sunken like an abyss caught a glimpse of light.

"Kuhuk!"

The instant he saw him, Sim Su-myeong drew his Blood Scale Saber involuntarily. His body had sensed the danger before his mind could react.

But the man did not so much as glance at Sim Su-myeong. His gaze was fixed on one and only one person: Eun Ha-seong.

"Aaah!"

The moment she recognized him, Sim Ok let out a sound that bordered on a scream.

The man approaching Eun Ha-seong was Dam Ho himself.

Eun Ha-seong leveled the Crimson Saber at Dam Ho and raised his voice.

"Did we have some grudge?"

His voice echoed throughout the Blood Demon Hall.

Eun Ha-seong's eyes were bloodshot and red, and both arms gripping the Crimson Saber were swollen and bruised.

It had been a single blow.

He had allowed only one strike from Dam Ho's fist, yet he felt pain as if his entire body were being torn apart. Had it not been for the Crimson Saber, he would have lost his life on that very first blow.

Vmmmmm!

The Crimson Saber, having clashed with Dam Ho's fist, emitted a rough, agonized sound. As if in pain itself.

Dam Ho's gaze grew even heavier.

"I bear no grudge."

"Then why?"

"Because you provoked me first."

"For so trivial a reason?"

Eun Ha-seong's expression twisted like that of a vengeful spirit.

He had known that operating the Blood Sha Division and the Blood Wolf Division would eventually bring trouble, but he never imagined it would involve someone like Dam Ho.

"Is there no room for negotiation?"

"Did you leave room for negotiation with others?"

"Kuhuk!"

Eun Ha-seong clenched his teeth.

He realized that there was no room for negotiation whatsoever with the demonic figure before him.

"So in the end, one of us must die for this to end."

"The Murim was always such a place."

"Very well. I, Eun Ha-seong, shall stake everything on this battle."

Eun Ha-seong drew upon all his inner power. The immense internal energy left behind by the Demon surged through his body. The Crimson Saber blazed with an even more sinister light.

"Chaah!"

Eun Ha-seong lunged at Dam Ho.

The fierce blade energy emitted by the Crimson Saber split the air of the Blood Demon Hall. And still, Dam Ho did not move.

"Ah!"

Those who witnessed it let out cries of astonishment.

At that very instant, Dam Ho's right foot stamped down upon the ground.

Cwaang!

A powerful shockwave carried by the air erupted through the Blood Demon Hall. The sound waves, striking the walls, multiplied several times over in an instant and pierced into the eardrums of all present.

"Kuhuk!"

Rough groans spilled from the lips of those gathered. The intense sonic waves that struck directly at their brains left their insides churning, rendering them unable to move.

Their stomachs lurched, and they saw two or three overlapping images of everything. But as high-level martial artists with powerful internal energy, they quickly recovered to their original state.

And at that moment, an unbelievable sight unfolded before their very eyes.

The fresh air outside was truly refreshing. Just breathing made him feel cleansed inside. It was incomparable to the foul air in the mine shaft, which had been filled with acrid dust, bitter poison, and the stench of decaying corpses.

The terrifying days spent in the dark mine shaft for years flashed through his mind in an instant.

Jin Ja-gang silently screamed.

AAAAAAAH—!

The hair all over his body stood on end, and his veins bulged.

Only after releasing a silent scream until his face turned red from lack of breath did he clench his teeth and tremble.

“Huff… huff.”

He had clenched his fists so tightly that his nails dug into his palms, drawing blood, and sweat dripped from his face. His eyes were bloodshot, stained crimson.

“Huff…”

Jin Ja-gang breathed heavily.

Rage and killing intent surged madly, making his head feel hot.

The time spent in the mine shaft had been very long and tedious.

One year, two years… three years.

He gradually grew weary of living in the repetitive, unchanging, and endless darkness.

Perhaps if he had gone mad then, there would have been no pain.

But Jin Ja-gang’s mind was always clear due to the side effects of the Intelligence Decoction. At any time, he was aware of his own condition and conscious of reality.

It was almost like torture.

The weight of others’ lives constantly pressing on his shoulders, and the anger that was continuously rekindled by the burden of it.

That accumulated anger exploded in an instant as he escaped from the mine shaft.

“Urrrgh.”

Jin Ja-gang clutched at his chest, feeling pain as if his heart would burst.

Where did this pain come from!

Was it a yearning for revenge, or resentment over lost time?

“I’ll… kill… them… all…”

Jin Ja-gang spoke in a strained voice.

“Kill… them… all!”

His killing intent rose so high that his reason wavered. He wanted to tear apart anything in sight.

Jin Ja-gang had always possessed superhuman patience. However, even Jin Ja-gang couldn’t suppress the terrible pain of resentment that weighed down his entire body.

He couldn’t bear it without seeing blood.

What was even more absurd was that even now, Jin Ja-gang was aware of his own state.

The self that knew he shouldn’t lose his reason clashed with the self that wanted to quench his anger with blood.

This tormented Jin Ja-gang even more.

His head ached.

Killing intent was gradually consuming Jin Ja-gang.

If not for a wild boar that appeared at that moment, Jin Ja-gang might have become a poison person consumed by madness.

A massive body.

A wild boar large enough to easily overturn a grown adult was glaring at Jin Ja-gang with fiery eyes.

It had probably responded to the killing intent Jin Ja-gang was emitting.

Kweeee!

The wild boar let out a long cry, then frantically rubbed its tusks against a nearby tree.

Then it turned to Jin Ja-gang and bared its tusks.

Jin Ja-gang didn’t back down and glared back at the wild boar.

Fight, death, blood!

These words kept surfacing in his mind.

Jin Ja-gang wasn’t afraid of the current situation at all. Rather, he felt goosebumps from excitement.

The wild boar suddenly charged toward Jin Ja-gang.

Dududu!

A normal person would naturally dodge or run away. But Jin Ja-gang didn’t move.

Though he knew in his mind that he should dodge, his desire to fight and see blood was stronger than his desire to avoid harm!

Jin Ja-gang lowered his body and collided head-on with the wild boar.

Kwung!

At the moment of impact, he pressed down on the wild boar’s head and grabbed its neck. However, the wild boar’s tusks had already penetrated two inches into his abdomen.

Jin Ja-gang mounted the wild boar’s back, grabbed its ears and thick neck, and squeezed with all his might.

The wild boar shook its head frantically. Jin Ja-gang didn’t fall off.

Kweeeek!

The wild boar ran wildly with Jin Ja-gang hanging on its front, ramming him against a tree with its back.

Bang!

Jin Ja-gang felt as if his back was being crushed, but he didn’t let go. As the wild boar stumbled and struggled, Jin Ja-gang ended up pinned beneath its massive body.

Nevertheless, Jin Ja-gang applied even more force with his hands.

The wild boar’s ear was torn off.

The wild boar screamed and thrashed. Jin Ja-gang grabbed the wild boar’s lip attached to its cheek with one hand and gouged its eye with the other.

Kweeek! Kweek!

Bright red blood gushed out as its mouth and eye were torn. The skin of its face was shredded.

Jin Ja-gang choked the wild boar’s neck again, fearing it might escape. The wild boar got up while struggling and began to run wildly.

Even when it fell and rolled while running, Jin Ja-gang didn’t let go. Both the wild boar and Jin Ja-gang were covered in wounds, and blood flowed from Jin Ja-gang’s abdomen. Yet Jin Ja-gang felt nothing.

The ecstasy overpowered all sensations of pain or fear.

Crunch.

When the wild boar rolled on the ground once more, there was a dull sound from Jin Ja-gang’s ribs. Though they weren’t broken, they caused tremendous pressure when breathing or moving.

The wild boar seemed to notice this and became even more frenzied.

Jin Ja-gang wrapped his legs around the wild boar’s belly, firmly held its neck with his left arm, and bit his right little finger. Blood drops and poison fluid seeped from the Xiaochi acupoint near his fingernail.

With that hand, Jin Ja-gang tore at the wild boar’s already mangled face. He thrust his hand into the flesh, tearing out blood vessels and chunks of meat.

It was truly a horrific and cruel sight.

Even Jin Ja-gang doubted if this was really himself.

But at the same time, he felt terrible ecstasy.

Kweeeeek…!

The wild boar’s movements gradually subsided. Jin Ja-gang could feel its muscles slackening and strength draining.

Due to poisoning and blood loss, the wild boar was in a dying state.

Jin Ja-gang pushed away the heavy body of the wild boar and rolled out to the side.

The wild boar’s one remaining eye seemed to look at Jin Ja-gang with resentment. Bloody foam continuously flowed from its mouth.

Jin Ja-gang picked up a rock the size of a head and struck the wild boar’s skull to kill it.

Thwack! Thwack!

Then he tore the skin with a sharp stone and ate the wild boar’s flesh and entrails.

After subsisting only on plants and poisonous water for a long time, tasting fresh blood and meat sent shivers through his tongue.

Crunch, crunch.

Only after eating the wild boar’s flesh until his stomach was about to burst did Jin Ja-gang feel his mood settling down.

He sat down heavily and exhaled rough breaths.

“Heu-heu.”

His hands, face, and body were covered in warm blood.

As his hunger subsided, his thirst for blood also greatly diminished.

The killing intent that had surged madly subsided. Though he didn’t realize it himself, the demonic smile that had been on his lips had disappeared.

His hot head and explosively beating heart calmed down. In a much more settled state, Jin Ja-gang exhaled a long breath.

Finally, reason had returned.

Jin Ja-gang had been mad until just now. Of course, since his mind was clear, the phrase “mad with a clear mind” was truly fitting in this case.

Jin Ja-gang reflected on his actions.

He felt throbbing pain from his cracked ribs, and blood was still trickling from the hole in his abdomen. Moreover, his skin was torn and scratched all over, causing stinging pain.

It was a great fortune that nothing was broken.

“Ha, haha.”

It was truly absurd.

“Like a fool…”

Because he hadn’t acted rationally, he hadn’t used any of the martial arts or footwork techniques he had accumulated in the mine shaft, and instead had foolishly engaged in a direct contest of strength with the wild boar.

As a price for his recklessness, he had sustained numerous wounds. Though not serious, he had received injuries that could have been avoided if he hadn’t been consumed by anger.

Once is enough. Such a thing should never happen again. He must never do such a stupid thing again.

Jin Ja-gang took a deep breath.

“Keep the head cool, the actions swift, and the heart calm.”

He must not lose self-control in any situation.

Because Jin Ja-gang’s journey was just beginning.

Jin Ja-gang felt sorry for the wild boar that had become the target of his anger outlet.

However, even in the midst of this, he didn’t forget to gather the wild boar’s meat.

***

Read only at nineheavens.org

Translated by Nine Heavens!

https://discord.gg/XC9DTsTQ9Z

***

With some composure returned, Jin Ja-gang looked around.

Having lived in the dark mine shaft, he had no idea how much time had passed.

Nevertheless, he could tell that a very long time had passed just by looking at the changes in his own body.

His body was already that of an adult, and even his voice was no longer that of a child.

In fact, this had caused many problems when digging out of the tunnel. He had been digging the tunnel as narrow as possible, but as his body gradually grew, he inevitably had to widen the tunnel.

Since he was only digging through solid bedrock to prevent the tunnel from collapsing, widening the tunnel was also an extremely difficult task.

If he hadn’t used martial arts in the latter half, the time spent digging the tunnel would have been even longer.

Anyway, it was fortunate that he could now breathe the outside air and that the tunnel hadn’t collapsed until the end.

Jin Ja-gang briefly indulged in contemplation while looking at the night sky, then quickly regained his senses, picked suitable plants nearby, crushed them, and applied them to his wounds.

Then he returned to the tunnel.

After crawling through the extremely narrow tunnel for quite some time, there was no light at all. Jin Ja-gang moved freely through the mine shaft where not even an inch ahead was visible, as if he could see everything.

In one corner, there was a pile of clothes he had previously stripped from people. He picked up some clothes from there and roughly put them on. There was no need to try them on or choose carefully. In any case, they were all so old and worn that whatever he wore would be rags anyway.

He also tightly tied his hair, which had grown to his waist, with a worn piece of cloth.

Then, going to the farthest corner, he began to wrap the bones on the floor with tattered clothes.

They were small skeletons that had completely decayed and crumbled.

Though there was a terrible smell, Jin Ja-gang paid no attention to it.

He carefully wrapped the small skeletons with tattered clothes, making two bundles. Jin Ja-gang quietly held the bundles and spoke softly as if talking to a person.

“I’m too late, aren’t I? Let’s go home now.”

Jin Ja-gang carefully took the two bundles containing the small skeletons and crawled out through the long tunnel again.

They were none other than the skeletons of the two children from Tuanshan Village.

Unlike the adults who could choose to escape and fight, the two children from Tuanshan Village had died after being caught up in the fight without any choice.

Though Jin Ja-gang had now grown into an adult, the children’s skeletons were still as small and tiny as they had been then.

That’s why Jin Ja-gang’s heart ached.

Children who might have lived if not for Jin Ja-gang.

He could still vividly remember the parents seeing off their children. While others had already lost their sects and had nowhere to return to even in death, the two children had a place to return to.

That’s why Jin Ja-gang had carefully gathered the children’s remains in preparation for escape.

The mountain air was refreshing, but Jin Ja-gang’s heart was much heavier than it had been in the mine shaft.

Finally.

It was the day to go out into the world.

The day he had been desperately waiting for all these years…