Chapter:14
The Weakest Under Heaven
The passage beneath the market stall that Kang Yu and Namgung Gu entered was surprisingly spacious — wide enough for five grown men to walk side by side with their arms outstretched.
Who could have imagined it?
That beneath a shabby tent constantly bustling with tourists lay such a vast underground corridor.
The old saying “darkest under the lamp” fit perfectly here.
Judging by the scale of the passage and the expensive night pearls embedded along its walls, it was clear this had not been constructed recently. They had been walking quickly for nearly an hour now. This was not something an individual could have arranged — it had to be the work of an organization. The only question was: what kind of group would carve out such a massive tunnel beneath a tourist site, and for what purpose?
“Where do you think this leads?”
“We’ll find out when we get there.”
“…”
Unlike Namgung Gu, Kang Yu showed not the slightest sign of tension. Namgung Gu, still struggling to find his composure, asked hesitantly,
“Can you still smell the head of the clan?”
“Even more strongly now. He’s definitely somewhere in this passage. And…”
Kang Yu sniffed the air.
“That cinnabar smell is getting thicker too.”
“Cinnabar?”
“Much stronger than in those fortune-telling tents above.”
“…”
Namgung Gu suddenly thought of something — but quickly dismissed it. It couldn’t be. According to the Martial History Archives, that sect had been annihilated fifty years ago.
The two continued walking when—
“It’s a playground.”
The Ten-Dragon Lord (Kang Yu) suddenly stopped, and Namgung Gu halted as well.
“A… playground?”
Instead of answering, Kang Yu tossed a scrap of cloth he was holding a few steps ahead. Instantly, a piercing whoosh echoed through the tunnel.
Pipipipipipip!
The piece of cloth was shredded in midair. The moment it was thrown, the walls on both sides split open, firing countless hidden weapons. Namgung Gu’s face went pale.
A mechanism formation!
Had he taken a single step forward, he’d have been torn apart like that cloth. Yet even after seeing all the blades and darts fly, he still couldn’t sense the presence of any mechanism energy.
Catching his breath, he turned to Kang Yu.
“H-how did you know there was a trap here?”
“A trap? What’s that?”
“Th-this! Just now!”
Namgung Gu pointed at the shredded cloth and the walls.
“Ah, the playground.”
“Playground?”
Right — before stopping, the Ten-Dragon Lord had said something about a playground. And now his nonsensical words began again.
“Everyone plays at the playground when they’re little, right?”
“In… a trap?”
“Trap?”
“No, I mean—playground…”
Kang Yu clapped his hands cheerfully.
“See? Even martial artists played at playgrounds when they were kids!”
“W-well, yes, but…”
Sure, but this wasn’t a real playground. Even the murderous Salmak bandits, infamous for abducting children, would call this madness.
Excited to have found some common ground, Kang Yu continued happily,
“We had one like this in my village too! The villagers built it for me when I was five so I wouldn’t get bored. They were such kind people!”
“F-five years old?”
“Yes!”
“…”
Namgung Gu gave up.
Fine. Whatever. For him, that’s how the world works.
While the Ten-Dragon Lord chattered fondly about his “playground,” he turned back to the corridor.
“But this one’s too simple. For three- to five-year-olds at most. The mechanism is obvious — you can even hear the gears turning behind the walls. How could anyone enjoy this?”
“…”
Namgung Gu strained his hearing. He couldn’t hear any gears — not even a grain of sand shifting. Only the faint whistle of air through the tunnel.
Whoosh—
Fine. Whatever. Just don’t think about it.
He closed his eyes and emptied his mind. The more he listened to Kang Yu, the more it felt like all his hard-earned sanity was crumbling.
“It’s nostalgic, but we’re short on time. Let’s move on — it’s not even fun anymore.”
Kang Yu’s figure blurred.
“Huh!”
Namgung Gu couldn’t help gasping again. The Ten-Dragon Lord had split into two, both figures gliding along the walls, examining everything.
“I… Ihyunhwanwi!?”
The Shifting-Form Art! The stuff of legend!
He already possessed the supreme energy of the Returning Soul Body, movement rivaling the Invisible Phantom Step, superhuman senses of smell and hearing, and even the Heavenly Demon Divine Art, the secret art of the Heavenly Demon Sect — and now this?
Each one of those arts was said to take a lifetime to master — and this absurd little man had them all. If someone wrote him into a martial arts tale, readers would complain he was too overpowered.
At last, Kang Yu appeared at the far end of the tunnel. Instantly, thousands of hidden weapons rained down.
Papapapapapapa—
Pipipipipipipi—
Pupupupupupupupup—
A storm of arrows, blades, and darts filled the thirty-zhang-long passage. When the dust finally settled, all those weapons were stuck deep in the ground and walls. Beyond the deadly forest of blades, Kang Yu waved brightly.
“Come on! Watch your step!”
“…”
Namgung Gu stared blankly, then weakly waved back.
“R-right…”
Fine. Whatever. Just accept it.
Namgung Gu cautiously advanced, reinforcing his body’s defenses, carefully avoiding any remaining traps.
“You’re really jumpy, huh.”
“…”
Though more traps and mechanisms awaited them, the Ten-Dragon Lord disarmed them effortlessly — not by deactivating them, but simply by passing through and breaking them.
Pipipipip—
Every dart cut only through the empty air where he had just been.
“Hurry up!”
“Y-yes, sir!”
Without Kang Yu, they never would have made it this far. Many would have died — if they even found this place at all.
A miracle in human form, thought Namgung Gu.
Rumble—
“Let’s go!”
With that, the massive formation, once powered by countless resources, collapsed in moments under Kang Yu’s casual advance. Soon they entered a vast cavern — a domed space ten zhang high and wide enough to hold thousands.
From the ceiling hung countless stalactites. Beneath each hung thick wooden stakes, coated with a yellowish substance. Namgung Gu touched one.
“What’s this…?”
His hand came away damp — likely from the dripping stalactites. Kang Yu sniffed.
“Smells like the Soho spring water. This cave must be connected to it.”
“Hmm.”
Namgung Gu examined the setup — the water from the stalactites above, the wooden stakes below, and the yellow sulfur coating. Then something clicked.
“The Five Elements…?”
“Five elements?”
“Yes. Judging by the layout, it’s arranged according to the cycle of the Five Elements.”
He explained: the five elements — wood, fire, earth, metal, water — were the foundation of all things. Water nourishes wood (Water creates Wood), meaning the dripping stalactite water represented water, and the stake below it represented wood. Wood feeds fire (Wood creates Fire), so the sulfur on the wood represented fire. Fire creates earth (Fire creates Earth), since ashes become soil — meaning the stakes driven into the ground completed that cycle.
But one element remained: Earth creates Metal.
Namgung Gu’s eyes widened as he traced the pattern. The final cycle — Earth creates Metal — meant something metallic had to lie beneath the earth, under those stakes.
“The stakes! We must pull them out—”
“Huh?”
By the time he looked, Kang Yu was already holding one.
“What did you say?”
He was pulling them out effortlessly, like harvesting turnips.
“…”
Is he reckless or just frighteningly intuitive?
“N-nevermind.”
Beneath the hole where the stake had been was a small cavity — just as Namgung Gu expected. He peered inside.
“A… coffin?”
Indeed, a coffin-sized iron container stood upright inside.
“We should take it—”
“Okay.”
Kang Yu was already dragging it out.
“…Nevermind.”
He opened the lid.
“!”
Inside wasn’t a corpse, but a pool of crimson liquid.
Metal creates Water… Namgung Gu realized — this was the final step of the elemental cycle.
“Ugh, what’s that smell?”
Even with the lid sealed, the odor burst out — strong enough for even Namgung Gu to smell it: the stench of rotting flesh.
“We should open them all.”
They pulled out and opened every coffin. Each contained the same — red liquid reeking of decay.
Until the last one.
When Namgung Gu pried open the final lid—
“!”
A person floated inside, submerged in that red fluid. He quickly pulled the man out and froze when he saw his face.
“H-Hwang Munju! How!?”
“You know him?”
“The head of the Anhui Sandong Sect — an old ally of our Namgung Clan.”
Namgung Gu pressed his hand to the man’s nose.
“He’s still alive…!”
Kang Yu knelt and rummaged through his pack, pulling out a large red pill — a Great Recovery Elixir.
“Move aside.”
A fragrant scent filled the air, instantly masking the stench. Kang Yu crushed the pill and brought it to Hwang Munju’s lips.
“This should—”
BANG!
“!!”
Something struck Kang Yu, sending him flying five zhang into the cavern wall.
KWAANG!
The entire cavern shook. Stalactites fell.
“T-Ten-Dragon Lord!”
Namgung Gu panicked. No one could survive a blow like that. He wanted to rush over — but couldn’t.
Someone stood before him.
“Clan Leader…”
A slicing wind filled the air.
“Kuh!”
He barely managed to dodge using his Bow Spirit Step, but a deep cut tore across his shoulder. His arm almost came off.
He pressed the wound and looked — the clan head’s once composed face was gone, replaced with disheveled white hair, glowing red eyes, and blood-soaked robes.
The once gentle man was unrecognizable.
Namgung Gu’s mind raced. The stench. The red liquid. The man soaked in it — and now the clan leader’s blood-red clothes.
Water gives life to Wood…!
Yes — the red fluid (water) had transformed Namgung Cheon (wood). Somehow, the Five Elements’ cycle had completed — all five phases in one place.
“Wh-what is this…”
Who could have created such a place — and done this to the Namgung Clan’s leader?
“Clan Leader! Please, wake up!”
But the madman’s red eyes only burned brighter as he lunged forward.
“!”
Namgung Gu twisted away, summoning his full internal energy — but the transformed Namgung Cheon was faster, his clawed hand about to tear open Namgung Gu’s throat—
“Clan Leader! Snap out of—!”
BOOM!
The opposite wall exploded.
When Namgung Gu opened his eyes again, the Ten-Dragon Lord stood before him — alive. He had struck Namgung Cheon away with one blow.
“A-are you all right!?”
“No. It hurts like hell.”
From the collapsing dust, a pair of glowing red eyes emerged again.
“That’s the Clan Leader—”
“I heard.”
