Chapter 323 : The Arrival of Monsters (2)

Chapter 323: The Arrival of Monsters (2)

I could endure hearing stories about Yong Hwarin.

Even when they rambled on about how he was the Heavenly Sword Hero or one of the top prodigies, someone destined to be a cornerstone of the Murim's future, I could endure it.

But what I couldn’t stomach was hearing them refer to his father, Yong Biyang, as the Azure Dragon Hero, revered by Murim.

Martial artists at the next table were having a conversation that was testing the patience I was barely holding onto.

“I'm telling you, the Heavenly Sword Hero didn’t just appear out of nowhere. He was trained under someone like the Azure Dragon Hero.”

“Exactly, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. But how has Heavenly Central Sect remained hidden until now? A place with experts of that caliber should’ve made waves long ago.”

“They say heroes rise in troubled times, don’t they? The world’s been a mess, and now sleeping dragons are stirring. With places like Blood Demon Castle and Heavenly Demon Sect provoking them, how could they stay hidden any longer? If peace had continued, people would’ve simply thought of them as just another sect near Mount Tianzhong.”

“You're right. Chaos breeds heroes. Their latent power must be terrifying. They even drove out the powerful martial artists from Blood Demon Castle, strong enough to overwhelm both the Shangguan Clan and Mount Song Ak Clan.”

“Isn't Shangguan Clan Head Shangguan Byeokin no ordinary man himself? He was nearly killed, wasn’t he? If Heavenly Central Sect saved him, then they clearly surpass the Shangguan Clan in force. The fact that a place like that remained hidden until now is what’s truly incredible.”

Shangguan Byeokin despised hearing his name mentioned alongside Yong Biyang’s, especially when he was being compared unfavorably.

Annoyed by their chatter, Shangguan Byeokin called the innkeeper.

“What is it, my lord?”

“My family will rent this entire inn today. Evict all the guests.”

“Some of them are still eating…”

“I’ll pay for their meals as well. Just get them all out. Now.”

With someone of the Shangguan Clan Head’s authority speaking like that, the innkeeper couldn’t possibly refuse.

“Yes, understood.”

The innkeeper sensed he might lose his head if he refused, so he complied immediately.

He approached the guests and announced that meals would be on the house, asking them all to leave.

But a young man sitting quietly in the corner didn’t budge.

“Young Master, please. I ask you to leave. You don’t even have to pay. Just go.”

The youth was dining with a middle-aged man.

He looked up and replied.

“No. Leaving behind food I’ve barely touched would be an insult to my pride. And being thrown out? That’s not something I’ve ever tolerated.”

The innkeeper pleaded with a distressed expression.

“Young Master, this isn’t the time to argue. Do you even know who that is? That’s Lord Shangguan Byeokin, Clan Head of the Shangguan Clan, one of the Murim Twelve Great Families. If he wants you gone, then you'd best go. If you stay, there’ll be trouble.”

“Hahaha, I understand your concern, innkeeper. But I’ll finish this meal and then leave.”

“Oh dear. This Young Master really is naive to the ways of the world.”

To the innkeeper’s eyes, the young man wasn’t just handsome—his intelligent gaze made him likable. That’s why he tried so hard to reason with him. But the youth wouldn’t listen.

The young man glanced at Shangguan Byeokin and chuckled.

“Even if it were Shangguan Byeokin's grandfather here in Qinghai, I’d still finish my food before leaving.”

One of the Shangguan Clan’s bodyguards, overhearing this, suddenly shot up.

“Where do you get off showing such insolence? When asked politely, you should listen. Some people only understand when they’re taught a painful lesson.”

The bodyguard strode toward the youth.

“I try to eat, and they try to throw me out. Then they yap at me like dogs. It’s enough to ruin any appetite.”

As the young man set down his chopsticks, the clean-cut middle-aged man beside him tapped the sword lying on the table.

With a light click, the sword slid out of its sheath, spun once in the air, then returned perfectly into place.

A breathtaking display.

That kind of technique required mastery of Void Telekinesis at the very least.

Clack!

“I shall handle this, sir.”

“No. Wait. There’s no need to go that far.”

Knowing that someone who could command a master like that was no ordinary youth, Shangguan Byeokin hesitated. But his nephew Shangguan Joyoung, still clueless to the world, found the young man’s arrogance unbearable.

“You seem to have some skills, but if you don’t want to die, you’d best crawl out. This is your final warning!”

It was unfortunate that Ha Yanggyo and Shangguan Mijong were absent, off bathing.

Had they been present, they surely would’ve stopped Shangguan Joyoung’s recklessness, and Shangguan Byeokin wouldn’t have tried to forcibly evict the inn’s guests to begin with.

As Shangguan Joyoung reached for his blade to intimidate them, he froze.

Thunk!

A bodyguard’s head slipped off his neck diagonally and slowly thudded to the ground in an eerie, surreal manner.

Ordinarily, severed heads caused fountains of blood to gush out, but no blood flowed from this one.

That was only possible if it had been sliced with overwhelming sword qi.

Shangguan Joyoung stood paralyzed, unable to decide whether to run or fight.

“You bastards!”

Instead, his fear triggered a primal urge to attack.

“No! Yeong-ah!”

Shangguan Byeokin shouted, but Shangguan Joyoung was already swinging his sword.

Clack!

Before his saber could even spin, it was halted mid-air.

The sound of the middle-aged man’s sword striking rang out first.

Shangguan Joyoung felt his grip on the sword weaken strangely. In fact, his entire arm felt oddly light.

“Huh?”

Just as he sensed a sting in his forearm, his right arm dropped cleanly to the ground.

“Aaaaargh!”

The scream burst out only after he had stared at his severed arm for quite a while. When his right arm was severed, Shangguan Joyoung collapsed as though he'd lost his mind.

Shangguan Byeokin leapt from his seat and unleashed saber energy toward the middle-aged man.

Jjeoeong!

When Shangguan Byeokin and the middle-aged man clashed, both were sent flying back.

That single exchange revealed that the middle-aged man and Shangguan Byeokin possessed similar levels of internal energy.

“Hm, so you really are a clan head.”

The young man took a sip of tea and covered his mouth.

Then he stood and said,

“But still, you’re the head of one of the Murim Twelve Great Families. I can’t just leave this to a subordinate. I’ll deal with you personally.”

Arrogantly, the young man walked forward to face Shangguan Byeokin.

“Little Lord, please leave it to me.”

“No, shouldn't I be the one to finish this? Why are you trying to have all the fun alone?”

At that, the middle-aged man stepped back.

“Let’s see that proud True Sky Hundred Connections Saber of the Shangguan Clan for myself.”

Knowing he had to subdue the young man to escape this situation, Shangguan Byeokin summoned his full internal energy.

He attacked with the most powerful technique from the True Sky Hundred Connections Saber.

“Hm, this one’s got some bite.”

The young man, intrigued, drew his sword.

Shiaaak!

Jjeong!

Shangguan Byeokin’s saber was blocked mid-strike by the young man’s sword.

A dark aura surrounded the young man’s sword.

Its surface was uneven and grotesque in appearance.

“I just thought of something fun. You’re unlucky. You made me have that thought.”

While their weapons clashed, Shangguan Byeokin tried to force his energy into the young man’s sword.

No matter how exceptional the young man’s energy was, Shangguan Byeokin didn’t believe it could surpass his own.

But the young man only gave a small smile, completely unaffected.

Just as Shangguan Byeokin tried to pull back his saber, something squirmed from within the young man’s black sword. A worm-like entity detached from the blade and crawled up along the saber.

“Gasp!”

As Shangguan Byeokin attempted to pull his saber back, the worm-like black thing bit into the back of his hand and recoiled.

It happened so fast that Shangguan Byeokin couldn’t even defend himself. Only after being bitten could he withdraw.

He realized he had been caught by the young man’s energy and couldn’t detach his saber.

And once he realized what the young man’s sword truly was, a gasp escaped his mouth.

“Good heavens, the Nine-Serpent Flying Sword.”

“As expected of a clan head. You even recognize my beloved weapon.”

The Nine-Serpent Flying Sword was a legendary demonic weapon in Murim history.

It was created by feeding Gongcheong oil to nine Black Steel Serpents, which were said to be stronger than steel, forming monsters that could even block sword energy.

Those serpents were fused to the blade, and depending on the user's qi manipulation, they could fly toward enemies or spew venom, making it a terrifying living weapon.

Even veteran experts couldn’t defend themselves when a Black Steel Serpent suddenly launched from the blade mid-fight.

Most didn't even realize they had been bitten until it was too late.

And that Nine-Serpent Flying Sword was said to have been passed down in the sacred sect of the Demonic Path known as Sacred Heaven Sect.

“You… you’re the Little Lord of the Demonic Sect?”

While those of the demonic path called it Sacred Heaven Sect, the orthodox side referred to it as the Demonic Sect.

Blood Demon Castle and Heavenly Demon Sect openly called themselves “demonic,” but members of Sacred Heaven Sect never uttered the word. Believing themselves to pursue a sacred world, they called themselves followers of Sacred Heaven Sect.

Thus, calling them part of the “Demonic Sect” was a provocation that could lead to death.

Though they were all of the demonic path, the ideals pursued by Sacred Heaven Sect, Blood Demon Castle, and Heavenly Demon Sect were all different.

“That’s right.”

Shangguan Byeokin murmured.

“You must be the Little Lord of the Demonic Sect, Sanbi.”

“You dare speak the Lord’s name so carelessly?!”

The middle-aged man tried to cut down Shangguan Byeokin, but Sanbi stopped him.

“Elder Man, hold it. The show’s not over yet. There’s something the Shangguan Clan Head seems to have forgotten. It doesn’t matter who I am. What matters is, once bitten by a Black Steel Serpent, if the poison isn’t neutralized within one moment, you die. And you know well—there is no antidote for Black Steel Serpent venom.”

That meant the only way to survive was to sever the infected limb.

Just as Sanbi said, Shangguan Byeokin’s hand was swelling with a large bluish blister, and as the venom spread along his veins, his skin was already necrotizing.

The blue energy had already passed his elbow.

Shangguan Byeokin tightly shut his eyes and severed his own right arm.

As the bodyguards of the Shangguan Clan all stood to attack the youth, Shangguan Byeokin shouted,

“Everyone stand down. Do not move without my command!”

With a flushed, red face, Shangguan Byeokin spoke.

“You may leave.”

He already knew that even if all the martial artists of the clan attacked together, they wouldn’t be able to defeat the two.

“At least you’re not a fool. Today, the Shangguan Clan might have disappeared from Murim altogether.”

Sanbi scoffed and stepped outside.

Just as he opened the door, he turned and said,

“Next time, don’t go throwing people out of inns so casually. There are plenty in the world stronger than you. Arrogance always ruins a man.”

As Sanbi’s words echoed, Shangguan Byeokin’s body trembled.

After Sanbi had left and some time had passed, Shangguan Mijong’s scream rang out.

Ha Yanggyo staggered as she saw both her husband and son with one arm severed each.

“What on earth happened?”

Ha Yanggyo regretted having stepped away to bathe in preparation for departing for her maiden home the next morning.

“Aaaaargh!”

Shangguan Mijong ran out with a sword in hand.

She tried to chase after Sanbi, but Ha Yanggyo quickly caught her.

“This is not the time for that. You must calm the hearts of our people and tend to your father and brother! Get a hold of yourself! If something happens to you as well, the Shangguan Clan will be ruined!”

At Ha Yanggyo’s stern scolding, Shangguan Mijong lowered her sword.

And right at that moment, a heavy downpour began.

“Aaaaargh!”

Shangguan Mijong screamed in helpless fury. Her wail echoed mournfully alongside the sound of rain.