Chapter 192. Eight Years of Hardship and Suffering (13)

However, the Western Nihility Gate had been destroyed. Even in the Song Family, the Western Nihility Gate's techniques were just side arts that they dabbled in.

Since none of them had the intention of reestablishing the Western Nihility Gate, there was no such thing as a Gate Master or successor anymore. However, if someone was pretending to be the successor of the Western Nihility Gate, then, as the actual successor of the main branch, Woo-Moon had no choice but to step forward.

'To think that the final successor or whatever really is such a bastard.'

Woo-Moon’s expression turned cold.

"Are you really the final successor of the Western Nihility Gate?"

The warriors of Heaven Slaying Alliance couldn't understand why Woo-Moon was asking such a question.

However, since he was both their savior and a Paragon, none of them stopped him.

"Yes, Great Hero. I am the final successor of the Western Nihility Gate.”

Woo-Moon laughed inwardly at the words “final successor.”

From what he knew, there were three successors of the Western Nihility Gate in his family alone, so how could this loser be the only successor?

"I just want you to know, if you're lying, don't think about keeping your life. If you're truly the final successor, then show me the Western Nihility Gate's martial arts right now."

By the Western Nihility Gate's martial arts, he was referring to none other than the Western Nihility’s Three Annihilations.

The warriors of Heaven Slaying Alliance gradually began to be irritated by Woo-Moon's questioning.

They had already come to trust Ok Ji-Gyeong. With Woo-Moon doubting someone whose identity they had already verified, even going so far as to ask him to prove himself, they began to feel like he was overstepping his bounds.

As expected, Ok Ji-Gyeong was also irritated at being asked to perform in front of Woo-Moon, someone he disliked.

"I'm sorry, Great Hero, but I can't follow your request."

Woo-Moon just responded firmly.

“It was not a request. I am ordering you to do it.”

It was at this point that one of the warriors of the Heaven Slaying Alliance behind Woo-Moon stepped forward.

"We've already verified his martial arts. He's definitely the successor of the Western Nihility Gate, so you don't have to doubt him."

The others began to grumble, too.

“We appreciate your help, but we cannot tolerate this excessive interference. Furthermore, even if you were to see the techniques of the Western Nihility Gate, how would you even verify it?"

Woo-Moon didn’t even bother with an explanation. He raised his fingers and jabbed at the air.

Thwip!

Three consecutive bursts of finger aura erupted from all ten fingers simultaneously, creating a hole in the rock to his left.

"F-Flawless Finger!"

The eyes of Ok Ji-Gyeong and the others watching nearly split open.

Woo-Moon had just displayed a peak-level Flawless Finger.

"I've shown you the Flawless Finger, and now I'll display the Transcendent Flash Sword, too."

A flame spread across Lightflash, quickly becoming bright white.

Although Woo-Moon was shielding the others from a considerable amount of heat, those around him were unable to even withstand the meager amount of energy that he let out, and they quickly retreated.

Woo-Moon swung his sword toward a cliff.

White flames flew out, billowing toward the cliffside. The trees around it were engulfed in flames and instantly turned to ash, while the rocks and boulders melted into lava and flowed to the ground.

"The Three Annihilations. These are the foundational techniques that only the Gate Master and his direct descendants are allowed to learn. The only exception to that rule was the technique I performed first, the Flawless Finger. That was sometimes awarded as a reward to those who had made great achievements or reached high positions."

As he spoke, Woo-Moon suddenly released all of his aura without holding back.

Immediately, an enormous pressure and untouchable majesty flowed out from his entire body, endowing him with the incredible aura of a true master.

He looked at Ok Ji-Gyeong.

"I command you as the Gate Master of the Western Nihility Gate. If you truly are a member of the Western Nihility Gate, show me the techniques."

Dae-Woong, who was technically the Gate Master, was currently missing, so it wasn't wrong for his eldest, Woo-Moon, to declare himself the acting Gate Master. While the only inheritance passed down in the Song Family was the Three Annihilations, Woo-Moon had an idea about the other lost techniques due to Dae-Woong's explanations.

Other than Yeo-Seol, Ma-Ra, and Eun-Ah, none of those around him could even raise their heads properly because of Woo-Moon's aura.

Ok Ji-Gyeong's face turned pale.

Woo-Moon had heard all of his lies, and since he truly seemed to be a member of the Western Nihility Gate, even if not the Gate Master as he claimed, he certainly knew there was no secret technique for reading fate or whatever.

Realizing he couldn't lie anymore, Ok Ji-Gyeong frantically looked left and right before quickly stomping on the ground and using a movement art to try to escape.

However, there was no way for him to evade the reach of a Paragon.

Woo-Moon suddenly appeared in front of him.

"AHHHH!"

Ok Ji-Gyeong let out a shout and jabbed out with his fingers.

Thwip!

A blast of finger aura shot out of all ten fingers simultaneously, aiming for Woo-Moon.

Woo-Moon's eyes lit up in surprise.

'Hmm, it really is the Flawless Finger.'

A Paragon could perfectly control the qi around him. The moment Ok Ji-Gyeong's Flawless Finger aura approached him, it quickly dissipated into a breeze.

Shing!

Woo-Moon placed Lightflash at Ok Ji-Gyeong's throat.

“If you want to remain in this world, answer me. Where did you learn the Flawless Finger?”

Ok Ji-Gyeong looked around frantically again. He was most likely wracking his brain for what sort of lie would save him here.

"

ANSWER!

" Woo-Moon shouted right in front of him.[1]

The shout shook Ok Ji-Gyeong to the core, and the powerful aura contained within tore through his brain.

Woo-Moon held Ok Ji-Gyeong's shoulders so tightly that they almost shattered and stared straight into his eyes. He spoke clearly, revealing the full majesty of a Paragon.

"Tell me everything, and I mean

every single thing

. Right now."

Ok Ji-Gyeong spoke with a trembling gaze.

"Wh-when I was young, I went to play on a mountain and I fell into a cave. There, I discovered a corpse. I searched his clothes and discovered some manuals marked with a seal that read ‘Western Nihility Gate.’ The manuals were for the Flawless Finger and a qi cultivation method. After cultivating it, I went out into the

gangho

. One of the warriors of the Heaven Slaying Alliance happened to see me use the Flawless Finger one day and brought me here."

Now scared out of his wits and under Woo-Moon’s suffocating pressure, Ok Ji-Gyeong found it impossible to tell even the most minor lie.

“Who was the one in the cave?”

"He was a member of the Western Nihility Gate named Lee Mu-Gwang. He was lucky enough to survive the slaughter and escape. However, he ended up dying of his wounds while in seclusion."

“What happened to the body and the manuals?”

"I was afraid of someone discovering them if I took them with me, so I burned the manuals after I memorized the contents, then I caused a little landslide that filled the cave completely."

Woo-Moon had been planning to collect the remains and retrieve the manuals, but hearing Ok Ji-Gyeong's answer, he understood that there was no need to do so. Now, the only reason to keep Ok Ji-Gyeong alive was gone.

Squelch!

Woo-Moon’s sword pierced Ok Ji-Gyeong’s heart.

"An animal like you will only bring shame to the Western Nihility Gate’s name. No, why am I even talking about the future? You already brought shame to it. I'm glad to be able to clean up the Gate's reputation."

Kicking Ok Ji-Gyeong's body to the side, Woo-Moon beheaded him and headed toward the Heaven Slaying Alliance.

"You did a good deed executing him," Su Ran said.

Princess Namar sighed. "What a shame; I wanted to be the one to kill him."

The Heaven Slaying Alliance warriors looked at each other in puzzlement. They had no idea how to react now, so they naturally turned to Su Ran, wanting her to resolve the situation.

She looked over at Woo-Moon.

"Are you really the Gate Master of the Western Nihility Gate?"

“Only the direct descendants of the main branch of the Western Nihility Gate can learn all three of the Western Nihility Three Annihilations. If we're being picky about the details, my father is actually the Gate Master. Since he's currently missing, I am acting in his stead."

Woo-Moon's confirmation, combined with the Three Annihilations he had shown them earlier, made the Heaven Slaying Alliance members quite happy. The fact that the main branch of the Western Nihility Gate still existed was amazing in and of itself; as for the Gate Master being a Paragon, that was just the cherry on top.

Each of the members had an unresolvable grudge against Martial Heaven. Martial Heaven had attacked and destroyed any force that might have discovered their identity or had techniques that threatened them or techniques they coveted.

They were all descendants of those who had barely survived the destruction of their sect and discovered Martial Heaven's existence, gathered together to fight against Martial Heaven.

Well... maybe it was a bit much to say that they were fighting Martial Heaven.

It was more correct to say that they harassed Martial Heaven whenever they got the chance while fleeing. In all fairness, their strength was far from enough to be called “fighting against Martial Heaven.” After all, they had almost been eradicated by the Great Darkness Palace, which was only one of Martial Heaven's subordinate groups, albeit one of the important ones.

In the beginning, a few hundred years ago, they had planned to reveal Martial Heaven's existence to the public and have all of the

murim

’s forces fight them together.

However, no one believed them.

If they were to try to reveal Martial Heaven's identity by spreading rumors, those who heard the rumors would simply brush them off as myths. However, if they were to expose themselves to the

murim

and directly speak out, Martial Heaven would do what they did best and simply slaughter them all.

They had suffered enormous damage more than once by revealing themselves, and the power of the Heaven Slaying Alliance, which was originally much greater, had eventually weakened to what it was now. In the end, they chose to hide themselves, avoid Martial Heaven's grasp, and just harass them.

That was the last option that the Heaven Slaying Alliance had.

But now, everyone began to think to themselves that maybe, really

maybe

, things could change for them. Seeing that the new Western Nihility Gate Master was a Paragon, made them feel like things could finally be different.

"For now, this isn't a good place for us to have this conversation. Let's quickly handle things and move somewhere else."

Martial Heaven had already discovered his place. They would definitely send new troops when they found out that the Great Darkness Palace had failed. And if they sent two Paragons, the Heaven Slaying Alliance would stand no chance, even with Woo-Moon helping.

Woo-Moon and Ma-Ra helped the Heaven Slaying Alliance hide their tracks as they moved toward another secret location.

While the Heaven Slaying Alliance was quite skilled at hiding after being on the run for so long, with the help of the Death God Ma-Ra and her elite subordinates, the unified Assassin Gate, they were able to move so perfectly that they left no tracks whatsoever.

They marched for two whole days without sleeping.

Of course, walking for two days was nothing for martial artists. However, not all of those in the Heaven Slaying Alliance were martial artists. Even though the members had devoted their lives to fighting Martial Heaven, that did not mean they lacked all human desires. They naturally wanted to find love, form families, and have children. Moreover, since the battle against Martial Heaven was a long one, it was necessary to have future generations continue their battle.

Of course, none of them wanted to address whether or not it was right for them to have children for the sake of furthering their desire for revenge.

Their resentment was just too deep for them to consider it.

In any case, there were many women and children among them who weren't martial artists. They struggled and suffered from the arduous trek.

'I'm going to end this. I'll definitely destroy Martial Heaven with my own two hands. I'll end all of this myself.'

Martial Heaven was strong.

Terrifyingly strong.

Woo-Moon had long since realized that Martial Heaven wasn't as simple as he and his grandfather had thought.

Back then, his grandfather, an Absolute Master, hadn't considered them to be that great of a danger. And yet... How had things ended up for him?

Once again strengthening his conviction, Woo-Moon went around looking for those who were struggling and imbued them with his qi. He took turns allowing them to rest on Eun-Ah's back but felt heartbroken when he realized they were simply too many.

It was only after another day had passed that Su Ran allowed the Heaven Slaying Alliance to rest.

Woo-Moon gathered the children and massaged their arms and legs personally, loosening their muscles while imbuing them with qi to boost their energy. As for the women—the wives of the Heaven Slaying Alliance warriors—he massaged their acupoints using Spatial Manipulation, as it wasn’t appropriate for him to touch them directly.

1. This is the same “I rebuke thee” shout he has used before. ☜