Martial Arts Ain't That Big of a Deal-Chapter 229: Hwangbo Clan Head (1)

"Whooo..."

Seo-jun exhaled a slightly ragged breath as he gazed at the devastated landscape of the Sword Sect.

There was no life here anymore. Any signs of life had been wiped out, leaving no trace—not even an ant.

The heir of a sect destroyed seeking revenge to gain strength?

It's too clichéd. He didn't want that kind of situation.

If there were ordinary people who didn't know any better, it might have been different, but given the nature of the Sword Sect, such people didn’t exist, so there was no real hesitation.

‘Still, it’s a relief that things went as planned.’

Other factors didn’t matter. Geom Hyeon. The fight with the previous leader of the Sword Sect didn’t deviate much from expectations, making things easier.

At a glance, it might seem like he won easily with a single counter technique, 'Swordbreaker,' but beneath that was a significant amount of tactical thinking.

The reason Seo-jun won relatively easily was that Geom Hyeon didn’t reveal many of his hands. Additionally, Geom Hyeon’s martial technique, 'Ye' (銳), was a technique focused on sharpness, which played a large role.

If that weren’t the case, Seo-jun wouldn’t have intentionally let himself be pierced by his sword.

Had the entire body been pierced, no matter how regenerative he was, he might not have been able to recover.

‘The clone technique I showed last time probably helped too.’

Thanks to that, in the final moments, Geom Hyeon hesitated for a brief moment, creating a perfect opening.

Anyway, once he decided to counter instead of retreating, the outcome was sealed.

This chapter is updat𝓮d by freēnovelkiss.com.

Having won against an old expert who had lived in the martial world for so long, it made this battle quite worthwhile.

‘I can be sure of one thing: There is no martial artist in the Central Plains with more tricks than I have.’

Seo-jun exhaled deeply and retrieved Geom Hyeon’s sword that had fallen to the ground.

It was called the 'Cheonhwa Sword,' according to Jegal Tong. It seemed to be a valuable weapon, a divine sword crafted by a master.

Clink—

While holding it, Seo-jun used his 'Victory Sword' to draw the scattered blades around him.

Simply attaching a thousand blades to the sword was enough to give him a headache.

‘If I leave it with the Namgung Clan, someone will probably use it.’

It wasn’t something he could use. Handling a thousand blades with the Victory Sword? That would be insane.

He would rather create thousands of his own weapons.

After strapping the large Cheonhwa Sword to his back, Seo-jun stamped the ground and soared into the air.

The job had finished quicker than expected, and he was still a slight distance away from the Black Lotus Union’s forces.

‘It’s going according to plan.’

He immediately tore through space and moved.

Although the enemy had somewhat maintained a blockade, that blockade was meant to prevent Seo-jun from returning to the orthodox factions' domain.

But Seo-jun had no intention of returning to the Namgung Clan just yet.

‘Daeheuksan Sect.’

It was a sect closely allied with the Sword Sect and one of the Seven Demonic Masters.

He would strike their sect, those who had participated in Namgung Jincheon’s assault.

****

Seo-jun moved, tearing through space. His speed was much faster than the average Hwagyeong-level cultivators.

It was thanks to his use of the 'Hwonbo,' but tearing through space itself was an advanced technique.

Namgung Jincheon might have used it casually, but Seo-jun was a special case.

Seo-jun utilized his massive domain to tear space between the farthest corners of his territory and his current location, a technique that only someone with control over a vast area like him could perform.

‘My condition isn’t normal.’

There was still a slight discomfort in the areas where Geom Hyeon’s sword had cut him.

The residual qi from his sword—strong qi—was still lingering in the wounds.

‘He really was a strong one.’

He hadn’t expected the spiritual energy within the qi to impede his recovery.

Usually, qi had some of that effect, but Geom Hyeon’s qi was strangely tenacious compared to others.

Perhaps it was the sharpness of Ye (銳). That sharpness had likely even cut through the concept of Seo-jun himself.

Had he kept pushing forward, he might have encountered the effects of the Heart Sword’s mystery.

Boom—!!

Upon arriving at the Daeheuksan Sect, Seo-jun erased every last trace of Geom Hyeon’s lingering presence.

The strange sensation in his {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} wounds had completely disappeared. He used his qi to push it all out.

"Well then..."

Whhhuuuuu—

A ridiculous amount of natural energy gathered in his palm.

"Nice to meet you."

Without a trace of humor, he unleashed his full force with the Hwonwon Ilwol Gong technique.

****

Daeheuksan, the mountain where the Daeheuksan Sect was located, stood in the Black Dragon Province.

Known for its strange peaks and bizarre rocks, it was famous for its unique landscape...

"That crazy bastard."

The sect leader of the Daeheuksan Sect, Heukgang, gritted his teeth as he looked at the devastated view of Daeheuksan. The insane 'Myeolsa Cheon-gun' had done this.

‘Did Ryeo-won, that old man, know this was coming?’

The former high-ranking master of the Daeheuksan Sect, Ryeo-won, had once cooperated with the Black Lotus Union and had since gone missing.

It was typical. That old man was probably somewhere drinking his life away.

He was called a former high-ranking expert for a reason. He never showed up in person, being treated as a relic of a previous generation of martial artists.

"...I’m sorry. I tried my best to protect it, but..."

The disciple of the Daeheuksan Sect, Heukgweol, bowed his head. Heukgang shook his head.

"Enough. It was my fault for being away."

The Sword Sect and the Daeheuksan Sect were close. Because of the rampaging 'Myeolsa Cheon-gun,' the Daeheuksan Sect had taken quite a heavy hit.

The sect leader, Heukgang, had planned to eradicate Myeolsa Cheon-gun, but instead, he found his sect under attack.

He had been caught off guard.

‘I knew that bastard would be a problem.’

Had he been in his right mind, he wouldn’t have dared to push into the depths of the Black Lotus Union’s territory while the Hwagyeong cultivators were closing in.

Heukgang, realizing the unexpected turn of events, rushed back to his sect, only to find half of it destroyed.

"How are the disciples?"

"...Even the top experts have lost four lives."

Heukgang ground his teeth and focused his internal energy into his eyes. Woong—! As a peculiar pattern appeared in his eyes, the energy in the area began to tremble.

Creeeak—!

The boulders that had shattered the Daeheuksan Sect’s buildings rose up, and all the debris was sorted and piled into one place.

The bodies of the disciples were also placed together in one spot, but... there were so many corpses that not only were their identities unrecognizable, but even their shapes were barely discernible.

‘...That cunning bastard!’

At this rate, revenge was out of the question. Heukgang had a hard time even leaving his post.

The Namgung Clan was located deep within the orthodox faction's territory, so infiltrating it was difficult. Without serious expertise in lightness skill, one could easily be caught in the process.

The fact that he couldn’t catch Myeolsa Cheon-gun was due to his lightness skill being out of the ordinary.

That was the issue. What if Myeolsa Cheon-gun came again while Heukgang was away?

Then, the entire Daeheuksan Sect would be destroyed, save for Heukgang.

“Damn it...!”

Blood leaked from Heukgang's clenched teeth.

The annihilation of the Sword Sect.

The near-collapse of the Daeheuksan Sect.

That was the result of this battle.

****

After saying his goodbyes at Daeheuksan, Seo-jun turned and circled east, heading back to the Namgung Clan.

The encirclement formation they set up was somewhat reasonable, but if they were really going to do it, they should have gathered at least six Hwagyeong-level cultivators to set up a proper blockade.

At that speed, they couldn’t catch up with him.

Though it was impossible for the Black Lotus Union to manage at the moment, that wasn’t something Seo-jun was concerned about.

“I’m back.”

Sitting on the wall and waving his hand, Seo-jun caught the attention of Namgung Sua, who smiled faintly.

“Back already?”

Her expression had clearly brightened compared to before. Had something happened to help her? He wasn’t sure, but she seemed a bit better, and that was enough for him.

Seo-jun jumped off the wall and embraced Namgung Sua tightly.

“Is this good enough?”

“Hehe, you didn’t forget, huh?”

“Of course not.”

Namgung Sua chuckled softly and whispered in his ear.

“Then, a little tighter.”

A bit more?

He felt a slight worry, but she was also an absolute top-tier martial artist. There was no way her body would be in danger from this.

He squeezed her slender waist tightly enough to bend it slightly.

“Ugh...!”

The intense pressure caused her to exhale in surprise as she smiled contentedly.

Seo-jun pressed his lips to the flushed cheek of Namgung Sua, playfully asking.

“By the way, did someone come over? It seems a little chaotic here.”

“Oh, the people from the Hwangbo Clan arrived.”

“Already?”

“Yeah. Hwangbo Sojeo is here too.”

“Ah, right.”

Since his future fiancée was from the Hwangbo Clan, it wasn’t strange for them to arrive early.

Using the constantly active domain, Seo-jun assessed the information inside the clan and grabbed Namgung Sua’s hand.

“Let’s head to the main residence. It looks like Chun-bong is nearby.”

****

After picking up the wild Geum Chun-bong, Seo-jun made his way to the main residence.

Although Namgung Myeong hadn’t officially ascended to the position of Clan Head, due to various circumstances, he had been using the main residence.

In practice, he was already functioning as the head, so it wasn’t a problem.

‘It feels a bit odd.’

Seo-jun opened the main residence doors with Hogongseobmul.

When his father-in-law was here, the door would open by itself.

With a somewhat unpleasant feeling, Seo-jun entered and was greeted by the martial artists within.

“Myeong-ah, I’m coming in.”

“Yes, hyung-nim.”

Upon entering the room, Seo-jun saw Namgung Myeong and Hwangbo Hyeji.

Other than Hwangbo Hyeji, there were no other people from the Hwangbo Clan. Given the time of day, they must have already exchanged greetings.

“Jingi Jaecheon-sunbae.”

As he accepted Hwangbo Hyeji’s offering, he asked her.

“It’s been a while. How’s your mother these days?”

Hwangbo Hyeji glanced carefully at Namgung Myeong before answering.

“She’s doing very well. She must have understood my intentions, as she’s been focusing on her training.”

From her tone, it seemed that her mother had somewhat forced her into it. Seo-jun smirked and sat down.

“Well, that’s good. I didn’t interrupt, did I?”

“A, a-no...”

Hwangbo Hyeji’s cheek turned slightly pink.

“It’s not like that.”

Her bashful expression wasn’t as bright as it usually was. Was something going on?

Seo-jun observed Namgung Myeong’s expression, and he too had a slightly bitter smile on his face.

Seo-jun instinctively realized something. The Hwagyeong energy he could feel from the Namgung Clan. Perhaps...

“Did the head of the Hwangbo Clan say something?”

“Ah...”

Namgung Myeong and Hwangbo Hyeji both let out a strange exclamation at the same time.

‘What’s this?’

Seo-jun’s brow twitched. A strange smile appeared on his face.

‘How many more hits will this guy need to take before he learns his lesson?’

Hwangbo Jun, and Hwangbo Hyeji’s mother as well. It seemed like people from the Hwangbo Clan often needed a few slaps to come to their senses.

Seo-jun stood up from his seat.

“If something like that happens, you should’ve told me.”

“Hyung-nim?”

“Wait here. I’ll take care of it.”

If it’s the Hwangbo Clan’s wish to become mysterious, then I can easily grant it.

“This disrespectful little bastard. How dare he treat the head of the Namgung Clan like this.”

Myeolsa Cheon-gun, Seo-jun, set off toward the main residence.