noveltune Chapter 291
Chapter 291
The Woman Like a Snake
“Was it a transformation technique?”
As Dao Yuetian frowned at her suddenly altered appearance,
“!!!”
she dashed towards Dao Yuetian with incredible speed.
The speed was incomparable to when she had the appearance of Baek So-hyang earlier.
However, Dao Yuetian did not panic. Calmly, he unleashed Swift Shadow Strike towards the woman lunging at him.
Then, Dao Yuetian was taken aback once more.
“Qi enhancement!?”
Her nails, which he had expected to be severed, were now emitting qi, blocking his black blade.
No, saying they blocked it was an understatement.
Because of the collision with her qi, he felt himself being pushed back instead.
Bang!
To fend off her deeply penetrating nails, Dao Yuetian had to continuously wield his black blade without pause.
After exchanging over a dozen moves in an instant, Dao Yuetian took a step back and caught his breath.
“If it weren’t for Mu-jin’s guidance, I would’ve been in danger.”
Though he hadn’t yet mastered controlling qi, his increased inner power allowed him to endure.
Unlike the battle with Pae Jin-seong, his arms didn’t feel like they were about to be severed immediately.
Not liking the sight of Dao Yuetian catching his breath, she rushed at him again.
“Dao! Where did this hag come from?”
By then, Pae Jin-seong, who had finished dealing with Jin Geon-yang and his guards, joined him.
“You brat!!!”
Whether it was because of the word ‘hag’ or ‘old demon,’ the woman’s eyes shifted from Dao Yuetian to Pae Jin-seong.
Bang!
Pae Jin-seong’s spear clashed with her nails, creating a thunderous noise.
It was a scene befitting the term ‘battle between dragons and tigers.’
As Pae Jin-seong continued his concise thrusts, she deflected or evaded them while steadily closing the distance, and Pae Jin-seong tried his best to maintain a precarious gap with his footwork.
With Pae Jin-seong drawing her attention, Dao Yuetian’s mind drifted to past memories.
Specifically, the day he set out for Guangxi Province following Mu-jin’s suggestion.
“Although Heo Jin-gang is certainly the leader of Shinchun, there might be another leader within the dark realm.”
“According to the information revealed by a Shinchun subordinate caught in Guangxi Province, one of the Shinchun leaders lives near the coast.”
This was the information Mu-jin had shared with Dao Yuetian and Baek Ga-hwan before they left for Guangxi Province.
Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong Province, was a coastal city and one of the main maritime trade hubs in Zhongyuan.
A woman living near the sea, concealing such skills, and manipulating Guangxi Jin family while disguising her true abilities.
It was highly probable, if not certain, that this woman was the Shinchun leader Mu-jin had mentioned.
But now was not the time to leisurely deduce such things.
Dao Yuetian boldly plunged into the fray where Pae Jin-seong and the woman were clashing.
Collaborating wasn’t simply about adding one and one together.
Those who trained in joint attacks produced greater efficacy than the sum of individual efforts, but those inexperienced in joint attacks often fared worse than fighting alone. RάNoᛒËṦ
Dao Yuetian and Pae Jin-seong had never trained in joint attacks together.
Hence, Dao Yuetian moved cleverly.
Bang!
As Pae Jin-seong’s spear and the woman’s nails clashed with a thunderous sound,
Dao Yuetian used the recoil from the collision to dive in during the brief moment when both their movements slowed.
Shhhk!
Dao Yuetian’s black blade grazed her skin, but it was only a light wound.
The woman barely avoided a fatal blow by throwing herself aside.
However, thanks to this single joint attack, Pae Jin-seong grasped Dao Yuetian’s intentions.
“Hahaha. Your escape is quite disgraceful, old hag!”
Provoking her, he boldly charged at her again.
When Jegal Muhwan returned to where Hyun-Cheon and Mu-jin and other leaders were gathered, Hyun-Cheon asked.
“Military adviser, while supplies are important, Zhongnan and the Jegal Family are still here. Isn’t it better to move together to assist the Tang Clan?”
His point was that it might be better to use the two hundred reinforcements for battle.
Mu-jin, surprisingly, responded to the question.
“It’s probably because of the remaining spies, Abbot.”
Jegal Muhwan nodded, confirming Mu-jin’s guess.
“That’s why we are leaving about fifty Shaolin and Wudang disciples here. Most of the people there are still young and easily swayed by the name of ‘justice.’ The remaining spies might sway them again, so the disciples left here need to check and root them out.”
“To be honest, our disciples aren’t skilled at rooting out spies.”
“Neither are we in Wudang.”
Jegal Muhwan responded with a smile.
“Don’t worry. As long as Shaolin and Wudang disciples remain, it will be hard for the spies to act recklessly. Besides, the Jegal Family will join in a few days and will likely handle the spies.”
The instruction was to keep a light watch and leave the brainwork to the Jegal Family.
“Then, let’s select twenty-five disciples each from Shaolin and Wudang to remain here.”
“As quickly as possible, please. There’s no more time to delay if we are to assist the Tang Clan.”
As soon as Jegal Muhwan finished speaking, Shaolin and Wudang moved swiftly.
* * *
Having finished their preparations quickly, the disciples of Shaolin and Wudang left Huayin County and advanced towards Sichuan.
The distance from Huayin County in Shaanxi Province to Chengdu in Sichuan, where the Tang Clan was located, was considerable, requiring at least three days of travel.
In a way, it was fortunate for Mu-jin.
Due to the excessive use of inner power in killing Wi Ji-hak, his muscles were all overloaded.
“Hoo.”
“Hoo.”
Mu-jin was exercising diligently in the carriage to relieve his strained muscles, focusing on strength training and manual therapy.
Hearing Mu-jin’s heavy breathing from inside the carriage, Mu-gung, who was driving, sighed.
“It’s really creepy.”
Mu-gung wondered if a person with muscle damage should be doing such things.
“Brother Mu-gung, you should give up and feel at ease.”
Mu-gyeong, running alongside, said calmly, causing Mu-gung to chuckle.
“It seems you’ve truly reached enlightenment.”
Mu-gyeong shook his head and pointed somewhere.
“Compared to that, Mu-jin is nothing.”
Looking where he pointed, Mu-gung saw Mu-yul laughing with Ling-ling on top of a carriage, shouting, “Hiya! Haha!”
And the one driving that carriage was Hye-geol.
“...”
“...”
Seeing his disciple committing such a great sin, Mu-gung nodded.
Compared to that, Mu-jin was normal.
* * *
After three days of traveling, alternating driving the carriages, the disciples of Shaolin and Wudang finally reached Chengdu in Sichuan.
“How’s your body?”
Mu-gung asked, and Mu-jin, who had been stretching diligently for three days, replied.
“It’s not fully recovered, but I think I can manage to fight.”
Although his whole body was still stiff, he could fight if he utilized his inner power.
While they chatted, the disciples of Shaolin and Wudang ran through the outskirts of Chengdu towards Tanggata, where the Tang Clan was based.
A clan village using the surname Tang, where the branches of the Sichuan Tang Clan resided.
To Mu-jin, it looked like a region filled with traps laced with poison and hidden weapons.
What met his eyes was Tanggata, already in ruins, with Taoists and nuns from Qingcheng, Emei, and Dianchang attacking the walls of the Sichuan Tang Clan.
And.
“As long as I live, no one will breach the walls of the Tang Clan!”
It was Tang-gak, the Dark King, spreading a bloodthirsty field of flowers while coughing up blood.