Chapter 66 Black Dragon Sect (5)

Chapter 66 Black Dragon Sect (5)

But the battle didn’t unfold easily.

Simply because Gu Yangji had eased up slightly, Bai Yunhuan’s offensive pressed the Taoists even more fiercely.

If there was an even more unfortunate reason, it was undoubtedly this.

Baek Un-hwan had accurately pierced through Gu Yang-jeok’s intentions.

“How dare you, you wretch! Do you intend to use me, the Black Dragon Sect, as your stepping stone?!”

At those words, Gu Yang-jeok chuckled.

However, it was not Gu Yang-jeok who answered, but the other Taoists.

“This is precisely the justice of the righteous faction!”

“How dare you commit such outrage before the people and officials! You vile creature!”

Gu Yangjie had expected an answer, yet these worthless fools dared to make a show of themselves without a care.

Baek Unhwan let out a bloodcurdling scream and swung his sword wildly.

“Gaaaah!”

Though wounded, he was still the Black Dragon Sect Leader.

Baek Un-hwan wielded monstrous strength like the wind, fueled by internal energy equivalent to a full cycle of the Chinese zodiac.

Bwaaah!

Countless swords swung, seeking Baek Un-hwan’s life. Within that chaos, only Gu Yang-jeok did not fight desperately.

Only then did Baek Un-hwan realize.

‘So that’s how it was. That’s what it was.’

He bit his lip hard.

Before his eyes, Bai Yunhuan saw the Taoist’s robe, its wearer unleashing every ounce of power he possessed.

Zongnan.

Had everything proceeded according to plan, these were individuals who would have remained superficially unconnected to the Black Dragon Sect.

The strategy was set: Huashan would damage Zongnan’s late-stage index to create a rift, then widen that breach to sever their lifeline.

It was Gu Yangji who thwarted that.

Not only that, rumors spread that the Black Dragon Sect had invaded Zhongnan’s sacred grounds. After that, the entire Shaanxi Taoist sect was unified.

Kaang!

Before his thoughts could fully form, Baek Un-hwan barely parried the strike launched by the Zhongnan Taoist.

He followed up by kicking the man’s abdomen and punching his ribs.

“Guh!”

The Zongnan Taoist spat out a mouthful of blood and staggered backward several paces.

Next to approach was a Taoist who venerated the Taiji.

It was the Wudang.

They were enemies he had never even considered. Complete strangers with not a single connection to the Black Dragon Sect.

Perhaps, as a rival Taoist sect in the Central Plains, they had been watching the fall of Huashan.

Zongnan and the Wudang.

If things had gone as planned, they would have been playing in the palm of someone’s hand or watching from the sidelines.

Yet now, these very ones were charging toward Bai Yunhuan.

‘The crime of defiling Zongnan’s sacred ground and wounding the Young Master!’

‘If Bai Yunhuan falls here, light will shine upon the Wudang!’

Whoosh, clang!

Each sword held the value they sought and the banner they aimed for as Taoists. They swung their blades to cleave Baekunhwan.

And it wasn’t just reckless swinging. It was a hastily formed, yet surprisingly well-coordinated, passing-grade teamwork, with power distributed front and back.

It was their resolve to never be outdone by Gu Yangjeok.

‘What a laugh.’

Baek Un-hwan shattered the skull of one of the Taoists.

He laughed, and laughed, until even hollow laughter failed him.

‘Surely they don’t think they’re contributing to my downfall?’

Simply put, it was beyond belief.

Even if a hundred of these so-called Taoists charged at him, he was confident he could eliminate them.

Hadn’t he maintained absolute superiority until Gu Yangji intervened?

Therefore, they were nothing but a timid flock of sheep.

Yet, Gu Yangji stepped aside, allowing them to think they were the protagonists of this scene.

He gave them the opportunity to seize the prime prey: Baek Unhwan, the Black Dragon Sect Leader.

“Damn it.”

Bai Yunhuan gritted his teeth.

He finally understood Gu Yangji’s intent.

“So you orchestrated all this?”

“……”

Gu Yangji remained silent, offering no reply.

But Bai Yunhuan was already certain.

“You made me, the Black Dragon Sect, your prey!”

Whack!

Baek Un-hwan’s fist struck the belly of the Taoist who was swinging his sword. Any sense of composure had long since vanished.

He could no longer waste time testing Gu Yang-jeok’s resolve through telepathy. Baek Un-hwan channeled his fury into his fist.

‘If Hwasan grows any further, it will likely face opposition. Isn’t this about reclaiming the credit (功) of destroying the Black Dragon Sect?!“

The decisive move was made by Huashan, so this should eliminate much of the resentment.

That’s why Bai Yunhuan hated Gu Yangji, who had devised the scheme.

”You piece of trash!!”

The internal energy imbued with his desperate will was also gradually waning, bit by bit…

If this battle of attrition continued, he would eventually tire.

Being human, his vision would blur, fatigue would build in his muscles, and even his senses would dull.

Baek Un-hwan’s appearance was almost desperate, as if pleading for answers even at death’s door.

-No. How could I have gone that far?

Gyu Yang-jeok denied it. There wasn’t even a faint smile of deception.

The reason was simple.

His eyebrows twitched unnaturally.

An artificial movement, devoid of pain or struggle.

Gu Yangji saw right through that peculiar action.

‘Is he regretting something at the brink of death?’

Having lived through similar experiences, he could empathize. But this time, he intended to use it as a weapon to dig deeper.

Gu Yangji let slip a single line of telepathy.

-Losing two sons is tragic, but his delusions run deep.

“You bastard! How dare you!”

Baek Unhwan’s eyes widened in fury. To him now, Baek Cheong-il and Baek Dong-il were like a dragon’s reverse-curved claw.

Gu Yangji, the instigator, couldn’t possibly be unaware of this. No, he knew and exploited it.

That was Gu Yangji’s past life, the way of the Bloodhound, so called on the battlefield.

“Was the Black Dragon that claimed to dominate the light merely a black dog? Even the mongrels roaming the streets wouldn’t bark so viciously.”

Gu Yangji narrowed his eyes, gazing at Baek Unhwan.

Massively swollen muscles and a menacing aura, as if poised to pierce Gu Yangji at any moment, radiated from Baek Unhwan, spreading throughout the entire area.

The imperial guards, realizing the gravity of the situation, had brought some of the soldiers guarding the city gate and were now aiming their bows at Baek Unhwan.

At that moment, Gu Yangji took a step forward.

Thud.

One large, exaggerated step.

“Are you coming?”

Thud.

One short, measured step. His toes lifted from the ground, appearing as if he might retreat.

“Are you not coming?”

Thud.

Gu Yangji stopped in his tracks.

“Only two answers possible. What on earth is a Black Dragon Sect leader like you afraid of?”

-Your sons weren’t afraid, you know.

Baek Unhwan’s expression crumpled. He didn’t know what face to make.

‘They weren’t afraid.’

Baek Un-hwan let out a tearful sigh inwardly.

As death drew near, his regrets grew steadily more numerous.

Once begun, the flood of regret swelled into a river within his heart.

Seeing Baek Un-hwan standing still, the old Taoist, mistaking it for rest, shouted.

“That bastard’s trying to rest by trickery! Shaman’s disciple, prepare the Charyun Formation immediately!”

“Yes!”

Had it been about an hour since then?

Thud!

As his strength gradually waned, it became harder to parry the young Taoist’s left strike. Baek Un-hwan staggered, having allowed the blow to land on his chest.

“Heh, he did it!?”

The Taoist who shouted that had half his face shattered by Baek Un-hwan’s attack.

“Huh, huh…”

Seeing himself fighting so desperately, even drawing upon his core energy, what would Baek Cheong-il say?

‘He’d probably sneer, thinking it’s a sight to see.’

He owed Baek Cheong-il many apologies.

He had publicly declared he would nurture him as his successor, yet after sending him off to the Shaanxi branch, he cut off all support. He had even sabotaged him repeatedly, hindering his growth.

Despite that, thanks to Baek Cheong-il’s strong development, the Black Dragon Sect had flourished day by day.

Baek Un-hwan, driven by greed, had even exploited Baek Cheong-il’s reputation.

In a way, that might have been why he died.

Had he dispatched the Black Dragon Sect’s elder to the Shaanxi branch, everything would have been settled much sooner.

Had his strength slipped away already?

Baek Un-hwan’s arm dangled limply like a kite with its string cut.

Swoosh!

The sword, striking at that moment, sliced through Baek Un-hwan’s torso.

“……”

“Gah!”

Clang!

Baek Un-hwan seized the sword that had left a long gash on his body and snapped it in two. Then, with a swing of his fist, he snapped the swordsman’s neck.

The end.

Realizing it was near, Baek Un-hwan thought of the person he regretted the most.

‘Baek Dong-il, you stubborn fool.’

A blood-tinged sigh escaped him.

Since he had originally designated Baek Cheong-il as his successor, he hadn’t even put Baek Dong-il on the list of successors or taught him martial arts. He had simply thought the boy had grown up recklessly.

A child who was of no use whatsoever to the Black Dragon Sect, one whose capture wouldn’t be missed. That’s how he believed he had raised him.

But what had become of Baek Dong-il?

‘…….’

Baek Un-hwan recalled his final conversation with the man at Yoa-an.

Annoyingly, he had described in detail the process of Baek Dong-il’s death.

He laughed as he said Baek Dong-il, with skills not even worthy of a second-rate fighter, had held off several Taoist masters and fought to the bitter end.

The second son, whom he had considered a good-for-nothing, had been more devoted to the Black Dragon Sect than anyone who had dedicated their entire lives to it.

He had even sacrificed his life for Baek Un-hwan, the father who treated him like a worthless child.

He had never done anything for him, never even considered doing anything for him.

“GAAAH!”

Baek Un-hwan let out a fierce roar, breaking the wheel formation.

He then stepped forward, glaring at Gu Yang-jeok with eyes filled with rage.

The very origin of this entire affair.

The one who personally killed Baek Cheong-il and made the beggar follow Baek Dong-il.

Baek Un-hwan stared at Gu Yang-jeok and spoke stubbornly.

“I, Baek Un-hwan, have always grown up as someone’s terror. So how could I possibly be afraid?”

Besides, if he showed fear, he wouldn’t have the face to look at his two sons.

Baek Un-hwan strained every last ounce of strength, his eyes blazing.

“Draw your sword. I’ll personally kill you, the one who murdered Baek Cheong-il and Baek Dong-il.”

At those words, several Taoists were visibly flustered, questioning whether a Baek Dong-il had ever existed. They even speculated on the probability that the hidden heir had escaped Hwanggwang Fortress.

Swish.

But Gu Yang-jeok, who knew everything, silently took up his sword and assumed a ready stance.

His posture was incredibly fluid, poised to strike Baek Un-hwan’s side at any moment.

His senior brother, Yu Jang-myeong, also pushed through the Taoists and stood beside Gu Yang-jeok.

One against many.

Though anyone could see this was a disadvantageous fight, none of the spectators considered Baek Un-hwan at a disadvantage.

Even though the Black Dragon Sect had collapsed in his later years, he was still a formidable master.

True to his own words, he was someone’s terror.

“Very well.”

Baek Un-hwan smiled, watching Gu Yang-jeok treat this final moment with utmost seriousness.

Even if it was merely a performance for himself and his sect, it didn’t matter.

The higher and more spectacularly Gu Yang-jeok soared, the more the name of the Black Dragon Sect would endure.

“Come!”

Baek Un-hwan met them with his full strength.

* * *

That day, the Black Dragon Sect vanished from Houguang City.

Even the ruffians who had impersonated them in the back alleys stopped whispering about the Black Dragon Sect.

Instead, the topic buzzing through every line of people crowding the market streets and city gates was this:

“Truth always triumphs in the end!”

“Didn’t they say the twin brothers from Huashan in Jiangbei are the strongest among the late-stage cultivators?”

Though this was a matter that would typically only interest martial artists, word of this incident was spreading widely even among ordinary commoners.

In a way, it was only natural.

Merchants inevitably passed through Hogwangseong, and farmers or landowners who met them would inevitably hear the tales.

Moreover, until now, the Black Dragon Sect had been a rogue faction that went beyond martial arts rivalries, ruthlessly devouring any profit in sight.

That such a group vanished overnight—how could it not be a sensation?

Even commoners who normally paid no attention were now chuckling about it, and the rumor spread like wildfire.

“The Huashan Sect? Haven’t they been a has-been since Jin Wuyue?”

“Yu Zhangming… I never paid him much mind.”

“I suppose I should go challenge him to a duel!”

A sect past its prime.

The Sword Gate Sect, always full of empty talk.

But those mocking words vanished without a trace. It was because of the two late-stage cultivators who had emerged: Yu Zhangming and Gu Yangjie.

Some questioned whether the sect’s reputation could truly rise just because of late-stage cultivators, but the next words silenced them.

The martial arts of the Twin Emperors had already reached their peak.

Not a physical peak achieved by guzzling elixirs, but a martial peak.

Especially the perfect sword energy Yu Zhangming displayed was enough to send shivers down the spines of the entire martial world.

This was an unusually early stage compared to his previous life.

That’s why Gu Yangjie watched Yu Zhangming intently from Huashan.

‘What kind of enlightenment did he gain…?’

It remained a mystery even now.

Clearly, Yu Zhangming had reached the peak early thanks to him. But the process was extremely peculiar, unlike in his previous life.

‘Is it some kind of side effect from reaching the peak too quickly…?’

Gu Yangji pondered, his chin resting on his hand.

However, enlightenment is a momentary glimpse into the path toward the ultimate void pursued by an individual, a martial artist.

Yu Jang-myeong doesn’t remember it, doesn’t recognize it.

Yet he unconsciously absorbs it and wields it.

Even Baek Dan-hyeon, who had watched him since childhood, seemed bewildered.

But one thing was certain.

While his enlightenment had an inexplicable aspect, his growth rate would be incomparably faster than in his previous life.

Gu Yangjeok headed to the training hall to instruct Jo Hun.

Meanwhile, Gwak Unpae, who loved wordplay, chuckled and slapped Yu Jangmyeong’s shoulder.

“If everyone could reach the peak like you, even braggarts and nap-takers would be at the top. Those who work hard will be green with envy, their stomachs aching to death.”

“That’s a bit of an exaggeration, Master Ji.”

“Heh heh, that’s just between us. Elsewhere, they’d probably want to shave your head first.”

Yu Zhangming tilted his head at Gwak Unpae’s words.

“Why?”

“Well, naturally, they’d want to shave your head first to see if you’re different from others.”

“……Surely they wouldn’t do that.”

“Does that sound like a joke?”

Gwak Un-pae chuckled softly, then swung his sword in a clumsy, awkward stance.

The cut was neither sharp nor fast.

In that single stroke, Yu Jang-myeong realized it contained so much.

Yet, faintly, he also thought that if practiced repeatedly, one might eventually be able to replicate it.

“You saw it, right?”

When Gwak Un-pae asked, Yu Jang-myeong nodded. Not a trace of hesitation was in his expression.

“That’s exactly what makes ordinary people want to split your skull open.”

Gwak Un-pae gazed up at the sky, as if recalling a distant past.

The lingering images of his brothers who had perished without ever reaching their peak flashed before him.

Then Yu Jang-myeong spoke.

“…Jik-i once said something similar.”

“Jik-i said that?”

“Yes. He advised hiding three-tenths of one’s abilities before people start paying too much attention.”

Saying this, Yu Jang-myeong gave a wry smile.

“Though I failed to follow it, seeing what Elder Gwak says now, it seems the master’s words were right.”

Guo Yunpai pondered the rumors circulating in whispers.

Indeed, Yu Zhangming’s untold deeds had not entirely failed to spread.

If they continued to spread far and wide like this, it was certain that someone harboring hostility toward Huashan, or some eccentric eccentric, might emerge.

‘Could it be that Gu Yangji saw through that?’

Gwak Un-pae glanced at the spot where Gu Yang-jeok had vanished, patted his thick belly, and led Yoo Jang-myeong away.

“Right then, let’s get to training.”

“Yes, Master of the Guest Hall.”

* * *

Gu Yang-jeok, having instructed Jo Hoon on lower-body training, sat down in a spot bathed in warm sunlight.

A bird flew in, chirping.

A small bundle of paper was clutched between its beak.

-Lost.

It was word that the Open Sect had lost track of the Demon Robe.