Black and White Martial Emperor

PAAAAAK!

Yeon Hojeong and Mookbi crossed the Daebyeol mountain range in a single breath and turned north.

Mookbi asked, “Will it be all right?”

“What will?”

“Clan Lord Tang... sir.”

It seemed she still found speaking respectfully to Tang Gwan terribly awkward. Her expression, too, was somewhat bewildered.

Yeon Hojeong spoke cheerfully.

“He says he’ll be fine. Since he showed that much confidence, he probably will be.”

“You know this too, Young Master Yeon. A match isn’t decided by pride.”

“It is decided by pride.”

“What?”

“If it’s pride on the level of Clan Lord Tang’s, it will have a major effect in real combat.”

“What do you mean?”

“The arrogance of the Tang Clan of Sichuan comes from the terror they built up themselves. And that terror was power. They aren’t called the progenitors of poison and hidden weapons for nothing.”

“That’s true, but...”

“And this is Tang Gwan. Before he is the Dark King’s son, he is the head of the Tang family, who reigned through terror not only over Sichuan, but over the entire world. His pride won’t break even before the Thirteen Seats of the Supreme Heavens.”

Mookbi sighed.

“You mean he has reason to possess absolute confidence in his own skill?”

“Of course.”

“I’m still a little uneasy.”

“We have no choice but to trust him. And honestly, there’s no reason not to trust him, is there?”

“What?”

Yeon Hojeong’s eyes deepened.

He knew not the Tang Gwan of the present generation, but another Tang Gwan from a different past and future. And he had a history of fighting bloody battles at Tang Gwan’s side against the monsters of the Perverse Lust Cult.

The martial arts Tang Gwan had shown then had not been an exaggeration to call absolute. Apart from the question of overall skill, the killing power of his martial arts alone was enough to contend for the peak of the martial world.

And he possessed that.

“The true masters of the Tang Clan never behave arrogantly once they enter a fight. They kill the opponent by any means necessary.”

“......”

“Killing the opponent in the shortest possible time. That is why the Tang Clan was able to sow absolute terror throughout the world. And that also aligns with the aesthetics of real combat.”

“The shortest possible time...?”

“Beyond that, although he may be weaker than he was ‘then,’ as Clan Lord, he possesses the Tang Clan’s strongest secret art. That secret art was perfected in the hands of the Dark King Tang Hyeong and transformed into an invincible divine art worthy of leaving a stroke across the history of the martial world.”

Yeon Hojeong still remembered it clearly. That moment from what had been both past and future.

That fearsome ultimate technique, which had annihilated all thirty-three members of the Perverse Lust Cult’s special-operations unit sent to kill the leadership of the Black-White Alliance with a single martial move.

A death god’s martial art that scattered an utterly dazzling rain of steel flowers, the worst anti-personnel killing martial art—one that even he, who had been the Dark Emperor then, might have died to if one thing had gone wrong.

“In any case, there’s nothing to worry about. Clan Lord Tang is a master who can rival Father. In fact, when it comes to compatibility, even Father is at a disadvantage. Since a master of that level has stepped forward, he’ll surely be able to win.”

“Mm, if you put it that strongly.”

To Mookbi, Tang Gwan was someone impossible to trust. Conversely, Yeon Wi was an adult she trusted more than anyone else.

She did not think Tang Gwan could defeat Yeon Wi, but if he at least was not greatly inferior to him, then somehow he would not lose. That was what she thought.

It was then.

KOOOOONG!

A thunderous roar that had erupted from far, far away became an echo and carried all the way to where they were.

“It’s begun.”

The fight between Tang Gwan and the warrior-general of the Divine Flame Cult.

“Let’s pick up the pace.”

“Yes.”

PAAAAANG!

The two became wind and shot forward.

*****

He’s a dangerous one.

Once someone reached the level of one of the Divine Flame Cult’s Eighteen Warrior-Generals, they could acquire reasonably extensive knowledge about the famous masters of the martial world.

Of course, it was impossible to meet every one of those masters in person. But since he knew detailed descriptions of them, it was not difficult to infer an opponent’s identity just by sensing their disposition.

However, even after reading his opponent’s disposition, Yo Roe could not determine his identity.

Except for one fact.

This man is dangerous.

Sinister? Gloomy? Uncanny?

He could not be described with ordinary words like those. His presence was closer to yin than yang, yet within it was also an overwhelming spirit that felt as if it could shake even the heavens.

Light and darkness coexisted. Overall, his presence was dark, but within it slept the potential to unleash an explosive strike.

Pssssss.

When the opponent stepped forward, the frozen ground softened, giving off smoke.

He had reached a level where even the tiny amount of external qi expressed through battle will alone could damage objects around him. If one had to define it, he was in a realm that had ripened considerably even within the domain of Transcendent Peak.

FLASH!

The light in Yo Roe’s eyes grew more and more intense.

I don’t know who he is, but at the very least, he’s on the level of a clan lord from the Nine Sects and One Union or the Six Great Clans—or above.

The corners of his mouth rose.

Very entertaining.

Before the man had revealed himself, when Yo Roe had judged him only by the pressure subtly transmitted from him, he had certainly seemed several moves beneath Yo Roe.

But facing him up close was completely different. Looking only at the Killing Intent that seized the surroundings like fog, his martial prowess was not much different from Yo Roe’s own.

Strength entered Yo Roe’s fist.

Crack, crack.

The savage sound ringing out from his enormous fist shook °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° the area.

Tang Gwan smiled bitterly.

“Have you given up on running?”

“Running?”

Yo Roe smiled broadly.

“Why would I run with such an entertaining toy in front of me? I should be grateful instead. I truly was bored.”

“Hmm.”

“Why? Are you anxious because your opponent isn’t afraid?”

“I’ve seen far too many brats who don’t know their place throwing themselves around.”

A sneer appeared on Tang Gwan’s face.

“At least I know one thing now. You’re not someone who will become great. Blinded by your competitive spirit, you saw and still stayed put. You’re merely a little boy with more strength than sense.”

Yo Roe’s eyes went cold.

The competitive spirit that had been burning like fire died down in an instant. It was a drastic change that was hard to believe even after seeing it.

“You bastard, what is your identity?”

“Too late.”

Tang Gwan softly took one step.

FLASH! Riiip!

In that instant, Yo Roe bent his upper body backward. Considering his massive frame, his flexibility was simply unbelievable.

“Not bad.”

PAAK!

Yo Roe, who had snapped his body upright with frightening elasticity, swiftly turned around and lowered his stance. At some point, Tang Gwan had already been standing behind him.

Tang Gwan opened the fist he had clenched tight.

Flutter!

What fell from his hand was a piece of Yo Roe’s torn front garment.

“Your reaction speed is decent. Well, if a bastard from beyond the frontier managed to seize a government post, I suppose there had to be at least one thing you were good at.”

They were words that trampled ruthlessly on his opponent’s pride.

But Yo Roe did not stir. With that one move, he had learned his opponent’s ability, but more importantly, he had realized that the opponent knew his identity clearly.

“You know me... know us?”

“You truly are stupid beyond measure. Then did you think I came all the way to this mountain hollow without even knowing who you were?”

“......!!”

“Well, I heard the one who got smashed to pieces by that ill-mannered bastard also charged in without thinking. It seems all you frontier bastards are like that. If you’re stupid, you should at least have caution, yet there isn’t a single thing any of you can do properly.”

For a moment, Yo Roe lost his words.

Tang Gwan’s words were logical. Indeed, there was no way a master of this caliber had appeared suddenly in the middle of the Central Plains by coincidence.

But Yo Roe had not thought of it that way. No, he had not had the leisure to think that deeply.

Because he had been starving.

And that was not all. Most of the Divine Flame Cult’s followers who had infiltrated the Central Plains were probably forcing down their swarming desires.

Battle, blood, and death.

To them, who regarded it as a virtue to live life as splendidly and fiercely as flame, the fact that they had suppressed their uncontrollable power until now was itself a remarkable thing.

Without their deep-rooted faith, they would never have been able to endure it.

“I see.”

HWARURURUK!

A strange light flashed in Tang Gwan’s eyes.

Scarlet flames were surging from Yo Roe’s body. They were not actual flames, but they were the substance of Fire energy, hotter and more lethal than real fire.

“Thank you for reminding me. Yes, before my desire comes the greater cause.”

Hwaruk! HWARURURUK!

The Fire energy he emitted grew fiercer and fiercer.

Soon, the trees around him began to catch fire. And that fire spread in all directions in an instant.

It was similar to when Yeon Hojeong and Gyu Jeok had fought before. The only difference was that Gyu Jeok had deliberately formed a fire formation, while Yo Roe had formed one before he knew it, despite having no such intention.

That difference was greater than it seemed. It was only a single move’s difference, but Yo Roe was a strong warrior capable of doing what Gyu Jeok could not.

“You bastards are almost certainly from the Martial Alliance, aren’t you? Then that means you have noticed our existence.”

“Have you only now begun to use that ignorant head of yours?”

“I see. So that was it.”

“By the way, where did the original owner of that thatched hut go? Did you send him somewhere else on assignment?”

Yo Roe’s eyes sank darkly.

He did not answer Tang Gwan’s words and muttered, “You bastards were the ones who killed Gyu Jeok too.”

“I don’t care whether his name was Gyu Jeok or whatever. Instead, I did hear that one of your comrades was torn limb from limb by a certain rude bastard I know.”

“...You’re a ridiculous man too. To openly tell me something you should hide in case of any possibility.”

“Why should I?”

“What?”

Tang Gwan tilted his head as if he genuinely found it strange.

“Am I not allowed to complain to prey I can easily trample to death?”

“......”

“You couldn’t possibly truly believe you would return alive, could you?”

“You bastard...”

“Kha ha ha ha!!”

WOOOOOOONG!

Terrifying Inner Qi was carried in Tang Gwan’s wild laughter.

JJEOOOOOEONG!

It seemed he could kill a person with his laughter alone. The laughter spreading outward was like a lethal sound art in itself. It was a laugh as striking as the Buddhist Lion’s Roar.

Of course, his laughter was entirely different from Lion’s Roar. It was far darker than that, filled with vicious Killing Intent.

If nothing else, his Killing Intent surpassed even Yo Roe’s. Yo Roe’s face twisted fiercely.

Then Tang Gwan stopped laughing.

“Impudent bastard!”

KURURURUNG!

A faint sunset-colored radiance rose from both his hands.

It was utterly different from Yo Roe’s fiery momentum. That True Qi, which somehow felt almost beautiful, rippled wildly along the wind as if it would scatter at any moment.

But Yo Roe could not dismiss that power.

Strong!

Within that True Qi wavering like a haze, he sensed the breath of the most vicious venomous serpent under heaven.

Poison?

A strange True Qi that possessed a ferocity no less than the Divine Flame Cult’s heat-yang arts, while also containing lethal poison qi completely unsuited to that ferocity.

The world called that martial art the Guiding-Reversal Three-Yang Return-to-Origin Art, and feared it.

“Don’t tell me—the Tang Clan?!”

In that instant, Tang Gwan’s hand moved like lightning.

BANG!

There was no time to dodge. Yo Roe crossed his arms and blocked Tang Gwan’s palm force, only stopping after he had broken two trees.

Tang Gwan wore a savage smile.

His smile brought to mind a venomous serpent. A venomous serpent larger than a dragon and fiercer than a tiger.

“If you know I am of the Tang family, quietly offer me your neck. I shall show you mercy with a painless death.”