Chapter 148: Witnesses
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Jae Gon and the Sword Seal Sect group were at a loss for words.
“…!”
Everyone was bewildered.
Their expectations were completely off.
They thought that revealing their affiliation with Sword Seal Sect would at least elicit a somewhat cautious response…
But looking at that indifferent expression of the young swordsman who had broken through the window and wall entirely, their hearts somehow felt chillingly cold.
At that moment.
Gal Jung-heon, standing with his back to where the main gate had been, radiated a cold gaze and emitted a suffocating formless presence.
“Sword Seal Sect. That was a question I threw out without much expectation… But an even more interesting answer came out.”
The various torches inside the main hall flickered in the cold night air, heightening the sense of crisis.
“Tsk, did you think we’d be intimidated by borrowing Severing Finger Sword Venerable’s prestige?”
Along with those words, Gal Jung-heon moved his hand to the hilt of the Demon-Devouring Sword.
Startled, Jae Gon spoke urgently.
“W-wait!”
At that, Gal Jung-heon’s left hand paused.
“What is it?”
“Must we… See blood?”
Jae Gon naturally changed his manner of speech.
He intended to negotiate by showing appropriate basic courtesy.
“It seems you came to take revenge because you have some grudge against Black Forest Hall, but that has nothing to do with us. My mission is merely collection. I simply came to Black Forest Hall because it was the date to receive the money, so wouldn’t it be better for both sides to leave quietly without causing big problems? I’ll pretend I didn’t see today’s events…”
“That’s sophistry. Knowing all of Black Forest Hall’s dirty deeds and standing by just because they were one of your money sources means you have no guilt? No, rather you must have encouraged them while protecting your subordinate gang. Since you only needed to receive money.”
Before Gal Jung-heon’s firm attitude, Jae Gon realized there was no room for negotiation and gripped his sword hilt tightly while calculating rapidly in his head.
‘We all need to attack together to secure an opening to escape…’
But suddenly a chilling sound reached his ears, and blood spurted from close by.
GUSH- DRIP, DRIP DRIP…
Jae Gon and the others turned their heads to the side and were horrified.
Dead.
The head of one member of the Sword Patience Tenth Squad who had been standing beside him was cleanly severed, rolling on the main hall floor.
By the sharp trajectory of the Gan Jiang Sword wielded by Cheol Ryu-heun, who had closed in on that front before they knew it…
It was a terrifyingly swift sword attack.
None of them could see or sense it.
Immediately after.
‘SWISH!’
Jae Gon reflexively twisted his waist and swept his right hand’s sword horizontally.
WHOOSH-!
The Sword Patience Squad consisted of a total of ten squads comprising elite swordsmen of Sword Seal Sect.
Among them, Jae Gon of the Tenth Squad was quick to react, befitting his rank as deputy captain and his first-rate level skills.
But.
CLING-!
The blade that had cut through the air was caught in Cheol Ryu-heun’s left hand.
‘ACK! With bare hands…?’
Startled, Jae Gon suddenly felt his body float up.
Soon after.
CRASH- CRUNCH!
Jae Gon’s head, smashed through the wooden floor and driven deep in.
Cheol Ryu-heun had grabbed him by the collar, lifted him up, and then slammed him down at high speed.
In an instant.
CRACK-!
Cheol Ryu-heun, with an indifferent face not even blinking, stomped hard on his spine.
“Guh…”
Having let out a low groan, Jae Gon ultimately breathed his last futilely.
SWISH.
Having turned his head, Cheol Ryu-heun gazed expressionlessly at the remaining three swordsmen.
“If you wanted to talk it out, you shouldn’t have drawn your swords in the first place.”
Simultaneously, the Gan Jiang Sword thrust toward that direction emitted brilliant white sword energy.
WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH-!
The sword energy, taking the outline of a long dragon, moved sinuously and ruthlessly pierced through the centers of all three’s chests in succession.
STAB, STAB, STAB!
Countless blood droplets scattered.
DRIP DRIP DRIP, DRIP DRIP DRIP…
The spacious, lamp-lit main hall sank into deep silence.
Having witnessed the series of events, Gal Jung-heon involuntarily clenched both fists as his expression changed.
‘That is…!’
What Cheol Ryu-heun had just executed was Brilliant Dragon Roaming Heaven, the ultimate technique within the final form of Four Dragon Sword Style.
An outstanding application that moved like surging rapids, a sword technique he had also experienced in the past.
It was perfect.
Cheol Ryu-heun’s skill was.
A Brilliant Dragon Roaming Heaven that displayed flawless application, reminiscent of Ascending Heaven Sword Dragon during his lifetime.
Though it wasn’t as vivid a dragon shape as what he had seen before, that part couldn’t be helped due to the different nature of internal energy.
Just understanding the key essence of that ultimate technique and recreating its application was remarkable in itself.
Now he couldn’t help but truly believe.
The fact that he had obtained the fortuitous encounter Ba Hun had left behind.
CLINK-
Cheol Ryu-heun sheathed his sword and spoke quietly.
“That was a sample. Satisfied?”
At that, Gal Jung-heon immediately grasped the hidden meaning in those words.
It meant that while he could have killed them using White Peak Sword Sect’s martial arts, he had deliberately brought out Four Dragon Sword Style to give a bit more trust.
“Excellen… Sir.”
He almost ended with just “excellent.”
It was an awkward honorific.
Well, it would take some time to adjust.
“It was just a sample, what’s so excellent about it? You’ll get to see much more while staying at our Sect from now on.”
At Cheol Ryu-heun’s dry reply, Gal Jung-heon suddenly felt curious.
What exactly was the true nature of the martial world seniority he’d mentioned earlier that easily went back several hundred years?
At any rate, it was definitely the arrangement of a martial artist who had been active in an era older than Ascending Heaven Sword Dragon.
‘Surely… It couldn’t be the true transmission of figures like the Evil Emperor or the Blood God, could it? Hmm. Right, that’s too far-fetched.’
At that moment, Cheol Ryu-heun pointed with a chin gesture at the two bundles lying on the floor beside the corpses.
“See? Even without us doing anything, they gathered things up nicely for us.”
Gal Jung-heon swiftly untied one bundle and checked its contents.
“They’re secret ledgers. Sword Seal Sect affiliates’ lists of collectors are written in detail, including dates…”
“Leaving some kind of record in case of trouble is a habit of bad guys. Since it’s useful for threats or negotiations later.”
“Hmm, so that’s why the Sword Patience Tenth Squad members left the money and everything else and grabbed these first. Since it’s evidence that Black Forest Hall regularly paid tribute to Sword Seal Sect with what they usually extorted from others’ property…”
“Since when did Black Forest Hall become incorporated into Sword Seal Sect?”
“I don’t… No, I don’t really know either, but it seems to be a recent matter. I only learned about Sword Seal Sect’s connection today.”
Gal Jung-heon briefly explained the tragedy of mother and daughter Jang Min and Hong Cheong that was the decisive reason for him coming here, then murmured with a meaningful tone.
“I saw the Sword Seal Sect Master once about ten-odd years ago. From quite a distance… At the time, he was in the forest committing a killing.”
“A killing?”
“Yes. The one the Sword Seal Sect Master tried to kill was a figure called Heaven’s Death Sword Ghost Eum Ryun. In the end, he was beheaded and died, and only then did the Sword Seal Sect Master speak to one subordinate swordsman nearby with a satisfied look. He said he had to find and destroy the Ghost Shadow Sword Technique manual too in order to perfectly erase all traces of Heaven’s Death Sword Ghost Eum Ryun’s lifetime… I surmised it was a grudge involving romantic jealousy. The forest was so quiet at the time that when I enhanced my hearing, I could hear quite well.”
-Heheh, did you think you could covet the woman in my hands and come out unscathed? You, organize a search team and find the Ghost Shadow Sword Technique manual.
-Yes, Sect Master.
-I have to find and destroy that to perfectly erase all traces of his lifetime.
-But what shall we do with that corpse?
-Just leave it here.
-Pardon?
-So that rumors spread through the martial world that Heaven’s Death Sword Ghost Eum Ryun met his death at the hands of an unidentified murderer. I need to bring down his pathetic reputation to rock bottom.
-Ah, yes. Understood.
-Heheh. If there are any groups in the future who fearlessly challenge this seat’s status and Sword Seal Sect’s prestige… I’ll make them all end up like that.
Having recounted that conversation from memory, Gal Jung-heon continued in a low voice.
“Since it was a life-or-death blood fight between unorthodox martial artists, I deliberately hid and only observed. After that, I completely forgot about it and wandered around various places, but through this incident, I came to know that Severing Finger Sword Venerable is the alias of the current Sword Seal Sect Master.”
At the time, the identity of the murderer who had severed Heaven’s Death Sword Ghost Eum Ryun’s head had been a complete mystery.
To think it had been the work of Severing Finger Sword Venerable So Cheon-ak.
At this unexpected fact, Cheol Ryu-heun smiled inwardly.
‘Ha, there’s no such thing as an eternal secret. That bastard too…’
The wanderer who had ruthlessly destroyed him when he was the Divine Martial Sword with overwhelming power.
Right, the secret of that existence would also surely be revealed someday.
Perhaps he was gradually getting closer to that shadow, one step at a time.
Without even knowing it…
Cheol Ryu-heun soon cleared his thoughts and looked at Gal Jung-heon as he asked.
“What do you think happened with that Ghost Shadow Sword Technique manual?”
“Hmm, I wonder. I’m not one to pay much attention to various rumors of the martial world… Actually, I also only happened to hear about matter related to White Peak Sword Sect from a shop customer back then. He was someone who babbled a lot once a few drinks went in, so I couldn’t help but hear.”
“He still hasn’t found it.”
“I see.”
“He has no choice.”
“Pardon?”
“Because the Ghost Shadow Sword Technique manual no longer exists in this world. I tore it up and destroyed it recently.”
“…!”
When Gal Jung-heon flashed a somewhat surprised look, Cheol Ryu-heun lightly tapped his own forehead with a finger.
“But all its key essence is stored in this head.”
“Hah, that…”
“I’ll skip the explanation since it’s bothersome – now do you have a rough idea of what I’m going to do?”
At Cheol Ryu-heun’s meaningful question, Gal Jung-heon answered with a nod.
“Yes. You intend to clean up Sword Seal Sect as well, which covered for Black Forest Hall, while you’re at this… Is my guess correct?”
“That’s right.”
“Indeed, we can’t leave alone Sword Seal Sect which turned a blind eye and protected Black Forest Hall as long as it paid up, regardless of what it did. Then do you intend to spread rumors about the Ghost Shadow Sword Technique’s key essence going forward?”
“Yes, to whet his appetite.”
“Hmm…”
“Why?”
“Um, aren’t you pushing this too hastily…”
“Time is precious, so I need to handle it as quickly as possible.”
“……”
“If he hears that I know the key essence of Ghost Shadow Sword Technique, nine out of ten he’ll react immediately. Then I just need to secure justification and crush him head-on, and it’ll be over simply.”
Such was the confidence glimpsed within his indifferent voice.
Gal Jung-heon was about to say something but closed his mouth and inwardly smiled.
‘Ha… It seems he’s comprehended an even greater level of martial cultivation than I thought through his once-in-a-thousand-years fortuitous encounter. Somehow, I’m looking forward to the showdown he’ll have with the Sword Seal Sect Master.’
He wanted that day to come quickly so he could confirm Cheol Ryu-heun’s true martial prowess.
Even if he failed, it would be fine.
Depending on the situation, if things looked unfavorable, he himself, having become a Guest Retainer of White Peak Sword Sect, planned to personally subdue him.
At that moment, Cheol Ryu-heun strode forward as he spoke.
“Now, shall we leave this place? Grab those bundles.”
“Yes. Cheol… Sect Master.”
That form of address was still awkward, same as the honorifics.
Having followed Cheol Ryu-heun outside, Gal Jung-heon asked casually.
“By the way, what will you do with this?”
“I can’t trust the local government here, so I’ll entrust it to a certain official in Wuyang over there. He’s quite skilled. Didn’t think I’d be pushing forward with another plan with him after the snake den cleanup.”