Chapter 267

Zhuge Ming frowned.

“What is his intention?”

But Baek Li-jung pondered something thoughtfully, then muttered.

“Is he making a gamble?”

Baek Li-jung said without smiling.

“Now that I think about it, what that bastard Mang Ryo said was not wrong at all. He said that fellow keeps doing things outside of common sense. That must be his survival method.”

Zhuge Ming also recalled Jin Ja-gang’s actions up to this point. It was sufficiently understandable behavior.

“Then we’ll respond with common sense from our side. There’s no need to go crazy along with a madman.”

Baek Li-jung, Zhuge Ming, and the sect leaders of Sichuan waited for Jin Ja-gang in the barracks.

With a lingering doubt about whether he would really appear so brazenly.

But he really did appear.

Limp, limp.

As if nothing was wrong.

Even though warriors were surrounding him with heightened vigilance and weapons raised.

Jin Ja-gang was walking into the barracks where the sect leaders were gathered, limping on his foot.

And his clothing was even strange. It was high-quality silk unsuitable for battle. Combined with his white skin appearance, he gave off the feeling of a high official’s son.

Coming into the middle of enemy territory in such a state was truly astounding.

The sect leaders clicked their tongues at Jin Ja-gang’s audacity.

“What a complete madman.”

However, that madman had destroyed the Yunnan poison sects, broken through the Zhuge family’s Nine Palace Eight Trigrams Formation, and killed Young Phoenix, Silent Dragon, and Swift Dragon.

That’s why his bravado didn’t seem like entirely groundless behavior.

Limp, limp.

The closer Jin Ja-gang approached, the more the sect leaders became tense. They had no idea what tricks he was hiding.

Jin Ja-gang stopped about twenty steps in front of Baek Li-jung and the others.

Warriors surrounded Jin Ja-gang’s rear to prevent his escape.

But Jin Ja-gang showed no fear and remained calm.

Enraged by this sight, Baek Li-jung unconsciously emitted killing intent.

Hiss.

The sect leaders flinched. Chilling killing intent spread around them. The killing intent emanating from Baek Li-jung’s body was engulfing the surroundings.

Baek Li-jung asked.

“Have you come to find your death?”

Jin Ja-gang stared directly at Baek Li-jung.

“Someday…”

Jin Ja-gang paused briefly, then continued.

“I said it before, didn’t I? I came to pay my respects.”

Blood vessels bulged at Baek Li-jung’s temples.

In his dim memories, he began to remember the words left by a ten-year-old boy.

The public trial day at Hundred Flowers Valley.

The bold child had said:

“I’ve realized how foolish it is to hope for others’ help. I’ll definitely come to pay my respects and thank you.”

That ten-year-old child had grown up, killed his adopted son, and appeared before him.

And now he says:

“Didn’t you answer that you would wait for me, Martial Alliance Mediator Hero Baek Li? Surely you haven’t forgotten me?”

“I remember.”

Baek Li-jung’s killing intent soared to the heavens and his eyes began to turn bloodshot. Emitting terrifying killing intent, Baek Li-jung stepped forward and spread both arms.

He was so angry that he gritted his teeth until his gums burst and blood beaded between his teeth.

“I’ll praise you. You came without forgetting the promise from ten years ago. So what do you plan to do?”

Jin Ja-gang slowly bowed his head to Baek Li-jung.

“Thank you. Thanks to you, I’ve survived without dying until now.”

It was a respectful attitude and tone without a hint of sarcasm.

Rather, Baek Li-jung spoke sarcastically with a sharp tone.

“Good. If you’ve received, you must pay. That’s the principle of the martial world. What will you offer as payment? Your head?”

“How could that be?”

Jin Ja-gang raised his head and said.

“Contrary to my thoughts, I was able to stand here with the help of countless people. In the end, one doesn’t live in this world alone.”

Baek Li-jung’s cracked and dried lip curled up in a smile.

“Then I’ll have to catch and kill them all one by one. I won’t be bored for a while.”

Swoosh!

Jin Ja-gang drew sickles from behind his waist.

“Isn’t there something to do before that?”

The sect leaders flinched.

“Surely not…?”

Even Zhuge Ming and the sect leaders had been thinking that surely Jin Ja-gang hadn’t come to fight. They thought that no matter how crazy he was, he wouldn’t start a fight in the middle of hundreds of masters and ordinary warriors waiting!

But as if mocking that thought, Jin Ja-gang raised his internal energy.

Whirlwinds surged from Jin Ja-gang’s feet to the crown of his head all at once, and internal energy inflated his clothes. A chilling aura emanated from the sickles in both hands.

“He’s really going to!”

“That crazy bastard!”

At that moment, Jin Ja-gang kicked the ground and rushed at Baek Li-jung. Jin Ja-gang instantly reached Baek Li-jung and swung his sickle.

Swoosh!

The sickle grazed past Baek Li-jung’s nose. Though Jin Ja-gang gave his best effort, he missed. Baek Li-jung was glaring at Jin Ja-gang with his head slightly tilted back. With just a slight movement, he had avoided Jin Ja-gang’s first attack.

Baek Li-jung said coldly.

“Your lightness technique is terrible, your moves are rough. The only thing worth noting is your killing intent?”

Jin Ja-gang lay flat on the ground and circled the floor while stabbing at Baek Li-jung’s ankle with his sickle. Baek Li-jung raised his foot and stepped on the sickle.

Bang!

The sickle trampled under his sole shattered and Jin Ja-gang staggered. Jin Ja-gang stabbed the ground with his other sickle and turned his body to kick Baek Li-jung’s knee hollow with his foot.

Thud.

Even while being hit, Baek Li-jung stood firm. Jin Ja-gang continuously kicked one of Baek Li-jung’s legs.

Thud! Thud thud!

Baek Li-jung merely looked down at Jin Ja-gang while enduring with internal energy using Thousand Catty Drop. When Baek Li-jung lifted his foot, Jin Ja-gang instantly turned his body to lie down and spun like a top.

Click.

Soul Seizing Thread separated from Jin Ja-gang’s hand. The separated Soul Seizing Thread wrapped around Baek Li-jung’s raised foot. Even for Baek Li-jung, Soul Seizing Thread wasn’t something easily visible. However, before the Soul Seizing Thread could fully wrap around, Baek Li-jung trampled Jin Ja-gang’s chest with his raised foot. Jin Ja-gang twisted his body while turning the Soul Seizing Thread. Baek Li-jung’s foot passed right next to Jin Ja-gang’s ribs and embedded in the ground.

Baek Li-jung put force into his foot embedded up to the ankle and kicked Jin Ja-gang. Jin Ja-gang took the hit to his chest and flew two zhang away, tumbling.

Baek Li-jung didn’t immediately pursue.

There were no less than four needles embedded in Baek Li-jung’s calf and knee. When Baek Li-jung put force into his leg, the needles were pushed out and fell. Even poison liquid was pushed out from where they had been embedded and dripped.

“Shallow.”

Baek Li-jung had instantly contracted his leg muscles to prevent the needles from penetrating deeply into his energy channels.

Jin Ja-gang immediately got up and pulled the Soul Seizing Thread. Baek Li-jung pulled out his leg and leaped high to avoid the Soul Seizing Thread. Jin Ja-gang rushed at Baek Li-jung again while throwing poison needles.

Without even drawing his sword, Baek Li-jung knocked most of the poison needles to the ground just by waving his sleeve. However, one of them pierced through his sleeve. It grazed past Baek Li-jung’s hair.

“Sharp Needle technique. The Tang family needs to learn a lesson.”

Jin Ja-gang continued attacking by changing directions and throwing poison needles at Baek Li-jung. Baek Li-jung concentrated internal energy in his right hand and extended it backward, then moved to thrust forward but hesitated.

Thunder Splitting…

Because Jin Ja-gang cleverly changed positions, the sect leaders ended up like a folding screen behind Jin Ja-gang.

Baek Li-jung realized Jin Ja-gang’s intention. For Baek Li-jung to use his full strength, the nearby sect leaders and warriors were actually in the way. But even if he used such cunning tricks, couldn’t Baek Li-jung deal with Jin Ja-gang?

Baek Li-jung’s body became blurred for a moment.

There was a big difference from Jin Ja-gang’s lightness technique. Baek Li-jung’s body instantly penetrated Jin Ja-gang’s blind spots several times, pressuring him. Jin Ja-gang slashed his sickle horizontally while retreating and tried to lay Soul Seizing Thread on the ground. However, Baek Li-jung didn’t let Jin Ja-gang go and stayed right in front of him the entire time.

No matter how much Jin Ja-gang retreated, Baek Li-jung’s face and angry eyes were right in front of his nose.

Jin Ja-gang drew in a breath. At that moment, Baek Li-jung kicked Jin Ja-gang’s abdomen with his knee.

Reading the moment of inhalation and attacking precisely, Jin Ja-gang’s breath was completely cut off. Baek Li-jung grabbed Jin Ja-gang’s head and lifted him up.

“Kugh!”

Feeling pain as if his head would split, Jin Ja-gang dropped his sickles and Soul Seizing Thread. Instead, he gathered internal energy in both hands and struck both sides of Baek Li-jung’s temples. It was a double palm strike using all four dikes.

Baek Li-jung also raised his internal energy with Heavenly Blade Divine Sword and raised his left hand to block. He blocked Jin Ja-gang’s right hand with his elbow and met Jin Ja-gang’s left hand with his palm.

As the palms filled with internal energy collided, a metallic scraping sound came from the palms.

Clang clang! Clang!

Jin Ja-gang’s hand trembled violently. Jin Ja-gang’s eyes suddenly widened.

Baek Li-jung felt something strange from Jin Ja-gang’s expression.

“Hmm?”

Baek Li-jung squinted very slightly.

He realized the reason for Jin Ja-gang’s changed expression.

There was no doubt that he had sensed the phenomenon that occurred when Baek Li-jung’s Heavenly Blade Divine Sword and his own Jade Void Nine Lights Five Thunder Toad Art collided.

If that was the case, it wasn’t unreasonable for Jin Ja-gang to feel something strange.

Jin Ja-gang kicked Baek Li-jung’s chest and pulled out his head, throwing his body backward. He rolled on the ground while grabbing his sickles and Soul Seizing Thread.

The sect leaders wondered why Baek Li-jung wasn’t pursuing Jin Ja-gang. But surprisingly, Baek Li-jung staggered.

Then he even knelt on one knee!

“Pavilion Master!”

At the sect leaders’ outcry, Baek Li-jung shook his head and raised his hand to show he was fine.

Then he got up and examined his left arm. There was a needle embedded in his elbow that wasn’t visible. The flesh around where the needle hit had turned black.

It was a terrible poison. It was poison that even Baek Li-jung was seeing for the first time.

Jin Ja-gang asked.

“Did it go in properly deep this time?”

Baek Li-jung glared at Jin Ja-gang without answering. Jin Ja-gang spoke again.

“Different yet the same, same yet different.”

Heavenly Blade Divine Sword and Jade Void Nine Lights Five Thunder Toad Art were different yet the same, and the Heavenly Blade Divine Sword of his disciple Silent Dragon and Baek Li-jung’s Heavenly Blade Divine Sword were same yet different.

Jin Ja-gang had heard the secret history related to Jade Void Nine Lights Five Thunder Toad Art from Fire Cult’s Enlightened Teacher Yelu Huan. And he had just confirmed that Baek Li-jung had learned internal energy of the same origin.

But something was strange.

Jin Ja-gang asked with puzzled eyes.

“I felt seven or more whirlpools. Why do you know the latter half? No, why does it feel different from what I know?”

Baek Li-jung’s eyes glittered with killing intent. Further conversation was dangerous. Revenge for his adopted son was one thing, but he had to kill him now to eliminate future troubles.

Until just now, Baek Li-jung had tried not to kill Jin Ja-gang in one blow. Baek Li-jung had things to confirm, and Jin Ja-gang had things to confirm too.

However, now that he knew Jin Ja-gang had received everything from Yelu Huan, there was no need for that anymore.

Baek Li-jung silently gathered his internal energy again.

Sensing that Baek Li-jung would use his full strength, Jin Ja-gang no longer held any attachment.

“Today is just for greetings.”

“I decide that.”

Just as Baek Li-jung was about to rush out, Jin Ja-gang leaped among the sect leaders and scattered a large amount of poison powder from his sleeve.

“Poison!”

“It’s poison!”

Everyone around had just seen that he possessed poison strong enough to make even Baek Li-jung kneel. The sect leaders and warriors were terrified and retreated.