Chapter 15

The Red Dragon Ship scoured the sea in search of merchant ships.

“Wasn’t it today?” Il-San, the Red Dragon Squad Leader, complained of boredom. He couldn't see the shadow of a single merchant ship even though it had been one hour since they left the Sea Dragon Archipelago.

Merchant ships didn’t traverse the sea every day. In fact, compared to the days when they encountered a merchant ship, their time and effort being wasted without being able to see one was far more frequent. Still, capturing one ship was enough to make up for a few days’ worths of wasted time and effort. It was simply that profitable.

Just as Il-San was about to turn back, they noticed a ship in the distance. Judging by its size, it wasn’t a merchant ship. However, it was a familiar sight—the Baek Sword Sect’s reconnaissance ship.

“What’s that?” Il-San frowned.

“It’s the Baek Sword Sect’s reconnaissance ship,” His subordinate answered.

“Did you really think I wouldn’t be aware of that? I mean, why is it coming this way?”

“Don’t tell me they want to duke it out with us?”

His subordinate’s words made the Red Dragon Squad Leader remember Baek Mu-Gun, the man who singlehandedly wiped out the Black Dragon Ship. If Mu-Gun was on board that reconnaissance ship, then it would be understandable why it was coursing toward them.

However, this situation was far different from that time. Jang Sa-Myeong the Sickle Slaughterer, one of the Sea Dragon’s Four Demons, was currently on board. Born and raised in murim, he was a Peak Realm expert that had killed hundreds of people with his bloody sickle. Even Mu-Gun would be no match for Sa-Myeong.

“They’re a hundred feet away!”

Along with the cries of his subordinate, a figure soared up from the reconnaissance ship. It was Mu-Gun. He invoked the Thunder God's Shadow, then crossed the hundred feet distance between them. The Thunder God’s Shadow was a technique that condensed the thunder qi and discharged it, creating enough tension to propel the body forward.

The Thunder God’s Shadow was developed to allow the practitioner to fly as far as possible at high-speed. Hence, Mu-Gun easily crossed the distance of a hundred feet with a single leap.

Booom!

Mu-Gun landed on the Red Dragon Ship’s prow without any difficulty after crossing a hundred feet in a single burst. The Red Dragon Ship quaked greatly, unable to sustain the impact of Mu-Gun’s landing. Il-San and the other pirates wobbled with it.

Il-San quickly regained his balance and shouted at Mu-Gun, “You’ve got some nerve crossing over to our ship on your own, you bastard!”

“I alone am more than enough to deal with the likes of you pirates.”

“You’re so full of yourself just because you single-handedly destroyed the Black Dragon Ship. However, today will be different.”

“Why? Is the Sea Dragon’s Four Demons perhaps on board?”

“That’s right. I admit that you are incredible, but you are no match for that person.”

“Forget the Sea Dragon’s Four Demons. Not even your leader can stop me.”

“This young lad is quite arrogant,” An elderly man said in a baffled tone. He had just come out of the cabin carrying a blood-red sickle.

“Are you one of the Sea Dragon’s Four Demons?”

“That’s right, I am Jang Sa-Myeong the Sickle Slaughterer.”

“I see,” Mu-Gun answered nonchalantly, then raised his right hand toward Sa-Myeong.

Crackle!

A golden thunderbolt appeared from his right hand, which quickly formed into a sword.

Flash!

It then shot out of Mu-Gun’s hand like an arrow, penetrating Sa-Myeong’s heart at lightning speed.

Bzzt!

“Kuhkk! This son of a bitch...” Sa-Myeong muttered in disbelief as he looked down at his pierced chest.

All Sa-Myeong could see was the golden thunderbolt forming in Mu-Gun’s hand. before he knew it, it had materialized into a sword, flew toward him, and pierced through his chest. He couldn’t even react to Mu-Gun’s attack.

The Thunder Sword Cannon was the first technique of the Heavenly Descent Thunder God Sword Art. It fired off a sword-shaped thunderbolt as if it were a cannonball. It was done so at lightning speed, making it nigh impossible to block once it had been released. Having no intention of fighting Sa-Myeong, a Peak Realm master, for a long time, Mu-Gun pierced his chest in a single strike.

Thud!

Sa-Myeong fell backward as he breathed his last. If he had been prepared for the Thunder Sword Cannon from the beginning, he couldn’t have been so easily defeated. However, Sa-Myeong didn’t expect Mu-Gun to fire off a thunder sword that crossed fifty meters. When he collapsed to the ground, Il-San and the Red Dragon Squad members stood petrified with shock and confusion.

Sa-Myeong was a Peak Realm master who supported the Sea Dragon Gang along with their leader Ak Gun-Hyo. That same person had been defeated in a single blow that came from fifty feet away. They couldn’t believe what happened despite witnessing it firsthand.

More importantly, they now had to deal with Mu-Gun. They didn’t dare charge in, knowing full well he was far stronger than them. How could they fight against an expert who defeated Sa-Myeong with a single attack?

“As I said, even if your leader came, it would still be futile,” Mu-Gun said arrogantly.

However, deep down, he felt otherwise.

‘As expected, it’s still too much of a strain.’

While the Heavenly Descent Thunder God Sword Art was powerful, it heavily consumed internal energy and put immense pressure on his body. Since he used it in an incomplete state, his entire being throbbed.

Despite knowing it would take a toll on his body, he still invoked the Thunder Sword Cannon to put a swift end to his battle against Sa-Myeong. Though Sa-Myeong was a Peak Realm expert, Mu-Gun’s current martial prowess was enough to defeat him. However, his opponent wasn’t alone. Il-San and other pirates were with him.

If he chose to give Sa-Myeong a long, hard fight, Mu-Gun would’ve been in a dangerous situation. To prevent such a possibility, he invoked the Thunder Sword Cannon despite the drawbacks he’d sustain. Considering it resulted in Sa-Myeong being defeated with a single strike, it proved to be the right choice.

There were still Il-San and the Red Dragon Squad pirates, but Mu-Gun could deal with them even in his current condition. They had lost their will to fight anyway due to Sa-Myeong’s death. In their current state, defeating them would be a piece of cake for him. Mu-Gun lunged at the pirates, who were frozen with shock and fear.

“S-stop him! Stop that bastard!” Il-San shouted. Freaking out, he pushed his men in front of him.

Shluckk!

The sword shadows that scattered in all directions from Mu-Gun’s sword pierced through the pirates’ shoulders, causing them to drop their weapons and fall to the floor screaming in pain. Frightened, the pirates tried to retreat while still trying to fight back. However, they couldn’t keep up with Mu-Gun’s movements.

Splatter!

With his every move, pirates fell and blood splattered. Mu-Gun was ruthless. His opponents couldn’t withstand even just one of his attacks. The pirates with injured shoulders rolling on the floor quickly increased in number. For some reason, Mu-Gun didn’t kill them. Rather, he just rendered them unable to fight. Of course, it wasn’t because he suddenly developed a merciful heart. Rather, it was because of the six people watching him from the reconnaissance ship.

Even if his opponents were pirates, brutally slaughtering them could give his subordinates a cruel impression of him. Nothing good could come out of such a situation. Hence, he focused on wounding the arms the pirates were using to hold their weapons instead of killing them. In a way, he thought crippling them for the rest of their lives was a far better way of making them atone for their sins than letting their suffering end with a swift death.

Meanwhile, Il-San got goosebumps at the sight of Mu-Gun knocking down his subordinates like leaves falling in the autumn wind. He would die if he charged at Mu-Gun, but he couldn’t run away either. If he wanted to survive this massacre, the only option he had left was to surrender. Il-San didn’t need to agonize about it for long. The world of the living was better, even if staying in it meant having to roll in a field covered with dog droppings everywhere. He had to survive for now. That way, he could plan for what was to come.

“Stop attacking us! We surrender!” Il-San shouted urgently at Mu-Gun.

“Only I can dictate whether I stop attacking or not. Your surrender isn’t enough to put an end to this. I’ll destroy the dantian of all you bastards so none of you can ever use your powers to oppress others and commit crimes ever again. Nevertheless, you still have the option to surrender. Otherwise, I’ll simply cripple you.”

Il-San and the Red Dragon Squad members stiffened up when they heard that their dantian would be destroyed.

With their dantian destroyed, their qi energy would weaken, ultimately preventing them from being able to use their strength. They would turn into the weaklings they once scorned and looked down on. It would be better to die a swift death than live like that.

Il-San grabbed hold of his weapon and shouted at his men, “It would be better to die than to have our dantian destroyed and live as a cripple. Let’s see this through to the end!”

At Il-San’s screams, the members of the Red Dragon Squad picked up their weapons with determined expressions.

“That’s it! Once you’ve started something, you should see it through to the end.”

Mu-Gun smirked and jumped toward the pirates. After some time, not a single pirate that could stand properly remained.

***

Meanwhile, the six men who remained on the reconnaissance ship closely watched the situation unfolding on the Red Dragon Ship. Mu-Gun told them to stay behind, but they were ready to put their life on the line and cross over to the Red Dragon Ship the moment Mu-Gun was in danger.

However, they soon saw a golden light flash from Mu-Gun’s hand and someone on the opposite side collapse. The six men all looked at each other, amazed by what just happened.

“What was that?” Neung Jo-Eun asked, seemingly unable to believe what he had just seen.

“A golden light formed on the First Young Master’s hand and flew like a bolt of lightning, knocking out the man standing across him,” Woo Byeok-San kindly explained.

“Even if the distance between the First Young Master and his target wasn’t that far, I think it was still about forty to fifty feet, so how did he do that?” Mak Dae-Pung questioned.

“Is it like the Shaolin Temple’s Hundred Godly Fists? Or like the Divine Penetrating Flick?” Sah Do-Kwang pondered.

“I’ve never seen the Hundred Godly Fists or the Divine Penetrating Flick, but I don’t think I’ll be able to reach the level of martial arts that the First Young Master just displayed,” Il-Bang replied, then turned toward San-Kyung. “Brother Baek, do you perhaps know the martial arts the First Young Master just displayed?”

San-Kyung’s martial arts were the best among the six of them. He also had the best insight into martial arts. However, not even he could identify it.

“I have no clue at all. However, I’m at the very least certain that the martial arts the First Young Master just executed isn’t the Baek Sword Sect’s.”

“Are you saying the First Young Master learned an external martial art?”

“I don’t know for sure, but judging from the fact that the First Young Master suddenly regained his cultivation despite losing it due to qi deviation, it is highly likely that he experienced a miracle. I think he probably also obtained the martial arts we just saw through that miracle.”

“Wouldn’t martial arts of that level be one of the highest-ranking techniques even in all of murim?”

“I don’t know about that, but I think it is certain that the First Young Master has gained extraordinary martial arts.”

“He’s really amazing. I think even the successors of the Seven Great Clans can’t do that.”

In the meantime, Mu-Gun defeated the pirates of the Red Dragon Squad alone. Jo-Eun once again stared at him in admiration as he witnessed the sight before him.

“As expected, deciding to follow First Young Master was the best choice.”

“I told you, the history of the Baek Sword Sect will change because of him,” Il-Bang replied with a triumphant look.

Il-Bang was the one who led the others into following Mu-Gun loyally and secretly boarding the reconnaissance ship. Witnessing Mu-Gun singlehandedly annihilating the Red Dragon Squad made it clear that he made the right decision. The others also thought it was correct to listen to Il-Bang.

Mu-Gun once again captivated the hearts of these six men.historical