Chapter 8

The Fujian three Murderers’ deaths flustered the Sea Dragon Gang outlaws. They believed that the Fujian Three Murderers would naturally overpower Baek Mu-Gun. However, not only did they fail to overpower him, but he also easily annihilated them. Moreover, Mu-Gun's used extraordinary martial arts to defeat them. The level he displayed was one they couldn’t withstand.

The pirates hesitated, not daring to charge at Mu-Gun. Seo Ja-Gang, the leader of the Sea Dragon Corps’ Black Dragon Squad and captain of the Black Dragon Ship, frowned at the sight of it.

"He's alone! It doesn’t matter how strong he is, he won't be able to deal with all of us! Don't let fear get to you and charge at him!" Ja-Gang ordered. The Sea Dragon Gang members hesitated for a moment longer, then finallyl rushed toward Mu-Gun. Ja-Gang’s words made them believe in their numbers.

Mu-Gun's lips curved mockingly. He jumped into the midst of the Sea Dragon Gang.

Shhlickkk!

"Kuhkkk!"

Mu-Gun swung his sword while using the Thunder God’s Aerial Steps to zigzag through the opponents.. Those before him collapsed on the floor with every swing, blood splattering from their necks and chests.

The Sea Dragon Gang members were different from ordinary pirates. They were all martial arts practitioners. Most of them were third-rate, however, and only about one or two in ten were second-rate. With such skills, they wouldn’t be able to deal with Mu-Gun no matter how many they numbered.

As Mu-Gun destroyed the Black Dragon Ship alone, the White Wolf Squad engaged in close-quarter combat against the Sea Dragon Gang's Red Dragon Ship. This prevented them from helping Mu-Gun even if they wanted to.

However, the same applied to the Red Dragon Ship. The Red Dragon Squad Leader, captain of the Red Dragon Ship, couldn’t come to the Black Dragon Ship’s aid, even though he could see them being attacked. The White Wolf Squad fulfilled its role quite well just by preventing the Red Dragon Ship from intervening.

Thanks to that, Mu-Gun defeated the pirates on the Black Dragon Ship without having to pay any attention to the Red Dragon Ship.

'How could a young man be so bold?'

Ja-Gang thought with a horrified expression as he watched Mu-Gun knock down his underlings without hesitation.

In truth, those with powerful martial arts would still often have difficulties in actual combat if they lacked experience. It was common for people to hesitate to attack others out of fear of hurting or killing their target despite the crucial opportunity. Because of this, rising stars of prestigious families often suffered defeat at the hands of opponents with weaker martial arts than themselves.

According to what Ja-Gang had heard, Mu-Gun had never been in a real battle before, yet he still seemed like he had been traversing the murim for decades. Unaware that Mu-Gun had awakened his reincarnation, he questioned it. Mu-Gun indeed used to be a rookie, but that changed when he awakened.

To put it bluntly, even if all the people of the murim were put together, they still wouldn’t have killed more people than him. That was why he didn't have a problem killing the Sea Dragon Gang members. That didn’t mean he enjoyed killing, though. On the contrary, he was actually rather cautious when it came to using a sword. However, he would no longer show mercy the moment he wielded his sword.

After eight reincarnations, he realized that sparing the bad guys would eventually cause harm. Becoming merciless when dealing with those deserving of punishment was far better for the world.

The Sea Dragon Gang plundered and hurt innocent people without hesitation for their personal benefit. In other words, they deserved to die. Even if he did not kill them, he had to make sure they wouldn’t return to piracy ever again. Therefore, Mu-Gun's sword showed no mercy. With every move it made, screams would spread like wildfire and blood would splatter.

Mu-Gun’s overwhelming martial prowess made the Sea Dragon Gang lose their will to fight. Ja-Gang's expression stiffened beyond measure. Their numbers didn’t matter. The Sea Dragon Gang’s capabilities were far too lacking to stop Mu-Gun.

Ja-Gang had to step forward, but he couldn’t easily make a move. It wasn’t that his martial prowess had deteriorated. His martial arts were still first-rate and at Peak Realm, and he was still one of the ten strongest Sea Dragon Gang members. He wasn’t strong enough to win against all of the Fujian Three Murderers, but his capabilities were not inferior to any one of them.

On the other hand, Mu-Gun singlehandedly defeated every single member of the Fujian Three Murderers. Though they didn’t combine forces from the beginning, Mu-Gun's skills were still the real deal. Ja-Gang instinctively felt that he was no match for him.

However, unless he was going to run away or surrender, his only option left was to fight Mu-Gun. He would’ve run away without looking back if he was on another ship, but that wasn’t possible now since Mu-Gun was on the same ship as he was. He could also throw himself into the sea, but even if he ruled over the ocean, it would still be difficult to survive in the middle of the sea with nothing but himself.

Nonetheless, he couldn’t surrender. Surrendering meant he would be handed over to the government office. There, he would be rotting in prison or suffering from hard labor for the rest of his life. Dying in a fight against Mu-Gun was a far better fate than that.

"Stop! Stop fighting!" Ja-Gang shouted toward Mu-Gun and his subordinates, having made up his mind. Upon hearing him, the pirates stepped back without delay.

"I refuse.”

However, Mu-Gun had a different plan in mind. Having no intention of listening to Ja-Gang, he chased down the retreating Sea Dragon Gang members. Ja-Gang's expression stiffened. He jumped in front of Mu-Gun, who kept slaughtering his underlings.

Clang!

Ja-Gang’s saber blocked Mu-Gun's sword just as the latter was about to stab the shoulder of one of the outlaws. Unable to withstand Mu-Gun’s sword force, he took a few steps back.

"You're finally stepping up. I thought you were just going to keep sitting still and watching all your subordinates die."

Mu-Gun's words caused Ja-Gang's expression to distort. He wanted to charge in right away and crush that arrogant mouth of his. However, he had witnessed how Mu-Gun cut down the youngest of the Fujian Three Murderers. Trying his best to calm himself down, he said, "I have a suggestion."

"I don't have any intention of negotiating with pirates."

"Why don't we settle this with a duel? The fight ends no matter who wins."

"Your words would make others think that you care about your subordinates very much. Nevertheless, I've made myself clear that I don't intend to do that."

"Are you going to kill everyone here?"

"If you don't want to die, you can just surrender. Otherwise, my sword will never stop."

Ja-Gang frowned at Mu-Gun’s resolute words. He shouted in his subordinates’ direction.

"Heed my call, Black Dragon Squad! If I lose to this person, you are to surrender no matter what. This is my order as the squad leader. No one is to go against it."

Ja-Gang didn’t want his men to die. If they surrendered, they would go to prison or work in hard labor, but they would at least be able to keep their lives. His death alone should be enough.

"You're making a big fuss pretending to be a hero. In truth, you’re just a wicked pirate," Mu-Gun sneered.

"Aren’t the Sea Dragon Gang and the Baek Sword Sect similar in that we both overpower the powerless by force? Our only difference is that we are more honest with our desires."

"Well, that could be the case if you want to quibble over it. However, that is simply the fate of those who belong in murim—a world where the strong survive and the weak die. At the very least, unlike the lot of you, we don't point our swords at the commoners who had never practiced martial arts. Now, stop rattling over trivial things and wield your saber."

Ja-Gang laughed bitterly at Mu-Gun’s words, then brandished his weapon.

'I have to go all out!'

He had already confirmed Mu-Gun's skills, so there was no meaning in gauging him out anymore. He had to give it his best shot right from the start. Otherwise, he would die without being able to do anything, just like the youngest of the Fujian Three Murderers.

Ja-Gang mustered his internal energy with all his might and unleashed the strongest technique he knew.

Kwang bzzt bzzt-.

The saber shadow gushed out from his saber and raged toward Mu-Gun with the strength of a pouring waterfall. Though he didn’t avoid it, Mu-Gun stretched out his sword to face off against it. He unleashed the Soaring Moonlight, the trump card of the 36 Phantom Moon Blades, which momentarily enveloped the space in front with sword shadows.

Kaboooooom!

An explosion resounded as their sword energies clashed. Amid it all, Mu-Gun’s sword shadow penetrated Ja-Gang’s saber shadow and pierced through his left shoulder. Ja-Gang, fortunately, turned at the last moment. His arm would have been severed otherwise.

"Kurghhh."

Holding back his groan from the pain of having his left shoulder torn, he hurriedly swung his saber. An array of sword shadows soared from Mu-Gun's sword once more and impaled him. Ja-Gang didn’t even have the spare time to distinguish between which techniques were real and which ones were fake.

With all the strength he could muster, Ja-Gang exerted his all and swung his saber like a windmill. The saber force from his saber swept away the sword shadows which was attacking him from all directions.

Kaboooooom!

The shockwave caused by their energies’ collision struck Ja-Gang violently since he was very close. Ja-Gang was blasted off violently by the shock wave.

Mu-Gun activated the Thunder God's Shadow and broke through the side where Ja-Gang had been sent bouncing back. Reading his movements, Ja-Gang quickly tried to extend his saber forward.

However, he couldn’t keep up with the lightning-speed movement of the Thunder God's Shadow.

Shluckkk!

Before Ja-Gang could even swing his saber, Mu-Gun's sword had pierced and cut Ja-Gang's right shoulder.

"Kuackkkkk!"

Ja-Gang screamed while rolling on the floor. He had lost his grip on his weapon due to the terrible pain. Mu-Gun could have killed Ja-Gang, but he intentionally kept him alive. After all, he still had something he wanted to find out about the Sea Dragon Gang through its squad leader.

Mu-Gun left Ja-Gang alone and turned toward the remaining Sea Dragon Gang members. With even Ja-Gang defeated, the Black Dragon Squad completely lost their will to fight.

Clink clank!

"We surrender."

One of the Sea Dragon Gang members threw away the weapon in his hand and knelt on the floor. The other outlaws followed suit, discarding their weapons and kneeling before him to express their willingness to surrender.

Mu-Gun sheathed his sword, having been left with no other choice. He couldn’t possibly kill those who had already dropped their weapons and surrendered.

While Mu-Gun brought an entire pirate ship into submission, the Red Dragon Ship, which was fighting against the White Wolf Squad, immediately fled after confirming that the situation had become unfavorable for them. The White Wolf Squad didn’t bother chasing after them. Instead, they came over to the pirate ship that Mu-Gun captured. They then tied up the Black Dragon Squad members that had surrendered.

"Are you hurt?" Baek Cheon-Ung asked Mu-Gun upon approaching him. He had come over with the White Wolf Squad.

"I'm fine."

"This situation, fortunately, turned out well, but that was too reckless of you."

"I had to minimize the damage to the White Wolf Squad, so I had no other choice.

"You are the first son of the Baek Sword Sect. Don't you know how important you are?"

"Protecting myself as the first son of the Baek Sword Sect is important, but it is also important to defend the sect’s members. This won’t be the last time, either. I’ll take on as many risks as I need to if it means I can protect the people of the Baek Sword Sect."

The White Wolf Squad could hear Mu-Gun from the side. Their perception of Mu-Gun had completely changed now that they had confirmed his powerful martial prowess and learned about his desire to protect them. They felt that, as the first son and successor of the Baek Sword Sect, he did not lack anything.

Furthermore, even if not for loyalty, there was a change in their hearts that made them want to follow Mu-Gun. With that alone, Mu-Gun's trip to Dongtou proved meaningful.