Chapter 74

Takgung had just arrived at the Shandong Branch.
“The atmosphere is quite lively. The Huang Bo family has led Shandong so well.”
The smiles on the faces of the people in the streets were bright, and the expressions on their faces were as genuine as ever. Even in Qingcheng, whenever he descended from Mount Qingcheng to deal with the occasional torpedo boat, he could still see the same smiles, so he was more like Huang Bao of the Six Great Families than Huang Bao.
“……What is it? Aren’t you a Taoist?”
“Worma? Dosa……?”
As the passing warlords looked at Takgung and turned on the twin wands, Takgung gave them an incredulous look. The passing warlords, who hadn’t even touched the homes of the other people, bared their fangs at him as if they had been waiting for him.
“I am the ……Taekwondo of the Blue Castle.”
“Huh!”
“Ha! Tea!”
The bullies snorted, snorted, snorted, snorted, and snorted. Huang Boga must not have gotten it right, because they were still running around.
“You said the enemies would meet at the wooden bridge. Now that Qing Sheng is gone, Qing Sheng is coming!”
“Very well!”
“Chisel. Hold still. I’ll take care of it.”
As it turned out, even Qing Sheng was quite a skilled archer. There was no way that such a weakling could be in front of him, and he realized that something was wrong with the world.
Then, suddenly.
Qing Sheng’s gone, Qing Sheng is coming…….
At that, Takgung felt like they knew something about Yeogon,
or something about him.
“Tell me about it.”
“What? Is this master disrespecting our Black Dragon Sect?”
“Come on, let’s give this Taoist a real hot look, he’s already gone to harass that Qing Sheng Sect bastard even more.”
“All right, big guy, I’ll take charge and make sure this spoiled brat gets his comeuppance.”
The six spirited warriors immediately set out to beat up the master in front of them and lock him up in a private house in place of the missing Qing Sheng master, and they would be heroes.
With that, they lit a fire in their hearts.
Kudangtang!
Kwak! Kwak!
Live, live……!
With the sound of a pig being slaughtered, the six generals were thrown to the ground.
Takgong looked at them in disbelief. No matter how much of a martial artist he was, the martial artists in the middle kingdom all had their own specialties.
Among them were Qing Sheng, Shaman, Huashan, Kunlun, and Co. Each of them was considered to be one of the most prestigious schools. However, when they saw Qing Sheng, they were not afraid of him, but thought of attacking him.
However, they were soon convinced of their absurdity.
“The death penalty has become a laughingstock in front of everyone.” ……
I don’t even want to call it a death penalty, but what can I say, even if you’re dead, you’re still blue in the face.
Anyway, from what the gang members had told me, it was clear that he had been here.
“But I have a question.”
“I, lord……. Please, tell me.”
Seeing that each of the gang members’ eyes were dyed red, Takgong opened his mouth.
“I have come to Shandong.
“Why can’t I see the warriors of the Huang Bo family?”
“That’s because the Nan Gong family defeated the Huang Bo family!”
“……They pushed out the master of Shandong, and the branches gathered in the farthest reaches of the country are the masters.”
That’s the part that makes sense.
Even if the Southern Palace was the ruling family of the Six Great Families, there was no way that the Huang Bo family he knew would be weak enough to be defeated by the Southern Palace’s branch.
“Tell me more.”
“……Do you know the master of the Southern Palace?”
The Southern Palace branch must be referring to the Grand Duke.
Takgung’s pupils grew wider and wider as he pondered the story of the clansmen.
* * *
Flash!
Digging!
Every time the son-in-law in front of them flashed, the Chu Pozos of the Qing Sheng Sect collapsed one by one. This was not the kind of power that a young man of only a certain age could display.
Takgong swallowed hard with each thunderbolt.
The gangsters spoke, and it was well known throughout Shandong.
They said there was a new sword castle.
“……The master of the Southern Palace called it the Thunder Sword Castle, I believe. ”
Thunder Sword Star.
When I first heard it was called a sword star, I dismissed it as just another rumor spread by the Shandong branch.
How many people in the entire Zhongyuan Clan could claim to be a sword saint as soon as they reached the age of the Covenant?
But judging from the quality of the thunderbolts falling in front of you, even the title of swordsman seems tenuous.
Tak Gung saw nearly twenty people fall in an instant, and he came to his senses. This can’t be allowed to happen. It was one thing to take over Ye Gong, but to fall so easily to the Grand Duke of the Southern Palace in front of him would mean that Qing Shui’s position in the Gu Sect would be threatened.
So Takgong finished his thoughts and moved his body immediately, believing that it was the only way to save even one member of the Qingsheng Sect.
Pabababab!
Standing between the ground-spurred sword-wielding Chu Po of the Qing Clan and the Grand Duke of the Southern Palace, Takgong stretched his hands into the air and shouted.
“That, stop! Stop!”
Aaahhhhhhhhh!
The tip of the sword sliced through Takgong’s brow as he shouted. The tip of the sword seemed to have no intention of stopping, and Takgung squeezed his eyes shut. He realized what was about to happen.
His body would be sliced in two by that unrelenting sword.
I must have joined too late.
I’m hoping so.
“Your courage is imaginary.”
Seeing the Grand Duke of the Southern Palace turn around with his leaden sword, T’ak-gung’s legs relaxed, and a shout came from behind him.
“Inoue, Takgung, what are you doing? You should press the bridge of that fool’s nose right now and apologize to him for causing this situation!”
At those words, Takgung raised an eyebrow. At the same time, he turned around and shouted at his executioner, Ye Xiang, who was also shouting at him.
“We’re the ones who rushed in, we’re the ones who should take over, and we’re the ones who behaved like a torpedo boat. Death penalty!”
“What, you, you……!”
“Look. Because of the greed of the death penalty, look what happened to the surroundings!”
Yeosang’s voice is now raging. His excitement subsides, and what comes into his view is.
He could see the members of the Chu Pao of Qingcheng, who had dropped their swords after failing to block a single thunderbolt.
Eh……?
They had brought nearly fifty people with them, and in the space of a few breaths, nearly half of them had been killed.
Yeosang seemed to have gotten her bearings, and she made eye contact with Takgung. If it hadn’t been for Takgung’s intervention, they would have been annihilated.
“……ha, but.”
“Death penalty. Remember the face of the man back there.”
The woman raised her head at Takgung’s words. Aside from the Grand Duke of the Southern Palace, there were four other men with them, all young men.
“This is …… An Baek Daehyeop.”
“Anbaek……?”
Anbaek, Anbaek, Anbaek…….
As Ye Xiang recited the words, she recalled a figure that flashed past her. If one were to name the top ten swordsmen in the center, An Baek would surely be included.
“Iron Blood Sword King An Baek!”
“He is now called the Iron Blood Sword King.”
“……!”
An Baek, the Iron Blood Sword King.
One wrong move and he would be annihilated.
“He was a …… star.”
The words made Ye Xiang look like he had chewed something. It wasn’t because Takgong’s words were rude, but because of this situation, where her pride had been crushed by power. When had she ever been insulted like this under the shadow of Qing Shui?
And then.
“That bastard Ye Gong said that the logic of power, political parties, and factions don’t matter, only survival of the strongest.”
With those words, the Grand Duke of the Southern Palace cast a cold glance at the group of Qing Shui. Seeing that their breathing hadn’t wavered, she swallowed hard. It was impossible for even she to subdue such a large group of people in such a short time.
“We’ll deal with them according to Qing Shui’s methods.”
The Grand Duke of the Southern Palace turned and spoke majestically, and his appearance was similar.
A sword master engraved in the history of the Southern Palace.
There is one phrase that is uttered by those who walk the path of the sword, once they reach the top.
“…emperor.”
There are many realizations and desires that come with reaching the end of the sword.
The power of the name Namgung is the desire to reach a position of enlightenment that can only be realized by working hard at the sword.
The moment you see the Grand Duke of the Southern Palace,
the moment you see the Grand Duke of the Southern Palace.
For the first time, Ye Xiang and Takgong had to take a step back.
* * *
Inside the cage on the cart, a dried up man was still glancing around with hopeless eyes. He seemed to be searching for the missing Qing Shui men, but it was no use.
“You should have been a little gentler.”
I shook my head at my bruises.
“No need to be gentle. He’ll move as we go. I’m already in a hurry.”
“You’re the one who insists on leaving him behind to ease your steps.”
“You should tell Master ……. He’s been harassing you, and it’s up to you to decide what to do with him.”
Nan Gong Yue, my master, was being escorted away, half worried and half looking forward to what he would say when he saw Ye Gon, and he felt it was up to him to end the bond.
“Things have gotten out of hand. What if the Lord of Qingcheng really does come?”
“Even if he does come, I’ll just have to face him.”
“You’re so fast, you don’t even realize it’s the people around you who are dying at your every word.”
In all that grumbling, there was no fear, or any emotion for that matter, in my uncle’s eyes, just words based on concern for me.
But I know that feeling all too well.
“Forget it, look ahead.”
This blunt response has been my only way of dealing with the emotionlessness. So far.
“Finally, Anhui.”
“That’s right. Anhui.”
It was long, long, long. It had been a very long time before the walls of the South Palace of his former life had returned to Anhui.
I smiled at the sight of Anhui Castle, a formidable citadel, its stone walls a stern warning that no one dared enter or leave easily.
I smiled.
“What’s so great about it?”
“It’s good, because it’s just beginning.”
Yes, it was time to get serious.