Chapter 166: Chapter 166

Dan Woo-hyun pushed through the bushes and walked forward.

The place he was at was Mount Heng, which required traveling several days southwest from Changsha.

It was also the place where the Mount Heng Sect, which had once been a pillar of the Nine Great Sects and One Association, used to exist.

Though its power had waned and it no longer existed now, it was a place that still remained in the minds of many.

Since the Mount Heng Sect had once claimed to be the strongest in Hunan, it was no exaggeration to call it the pride of Hunan.

Even though they could not recover their power after being destroyed by the Demonic Sect, thanks to that, the Kongtong Sect took over the title of the Nine Great Sects and One Association.

In front of that dilapidated place, Dan Woo-hyun stood blankly.

He glanced at the half-tilted plaque and turned his gaze toward the gate. The shabby gate also did not seem to be in a condition to welcome guests.

After staring for a while at the place where not a shred of the Mount Heng Sect’s former glory could be felt, he carefully opened the gate and stepped inside.

Creak.

The ear-grating sound alone was enough to guess its condition.

He wondered who could possibly be in a place like this, but he could definitely feel a human presence inside.

Step by step, he walked inside without hesitation. He saw the remnants of broken and ruined buildings scattered here and there.

Occasionally, bloodstains that had turned black were also visible.

In such a place, Dan Woo-hyun focused his attention on one building.

It was the largest place, which appeared to be the main hall.

Most of the other places had collapsed, but that spot alone remained in a fairly intact state. As if someone had been repairing it, it maintained at least a bit of the dignity of the now-vanished Mount Heng Sect.

Dan Woo-hyun walked slowly toward it.

The moment he finally stood before it after passing through two gates to enter the main hall, a faint figure could be seen inside.

The figure kneeling on the floor was burning incense.

In front of him, numerous spirit tablets were set up.

The thick smell of incense and the spirit tablets.

The spirit tablets were undoubtedly those of the Mount Heng Sect disciples.

In that case, was that figure also a person of the Mount Heng Sect?

Dan Woo-hyun stepped inside while making his presence known.

“Who might you be?”

The voice of the kneeling man flowed out gravely. Although his face could not be seen because his back was turned toward the spirit tablets, his voice felt quite young.

The man, who seemed to have barely passed thirty, firmly gripped with one hand the sword that had been neatly placed beside him.

He seemed ready to slash mercilessly if it were an enemy.

Dan Woo-hyun looked at this and spoke.

“I am looking for Gu Mu-ak.”

“…For what business?”

“You are the leader of the Hao Clan, aren’t you?”

Clang!

A sword was drawn.

The sword, drawn in an instant, flew right before Dan Woo-hyun’s nose. The sword, which flew in without even giving him a chance to dodge, was like lightning.

But the sword stopped dead in front of Dan Woo-hyun’s head and could not move.

This was because Dan Woo-hyun’s sword, extended at some point, lightly blocked the handguard.

The man’s eyes widened.

‘To block the drawing of the sword in that split second?’

Furthermore, since he had foiled the move simply by lightly pressing the handguard with the tip of his sword, how could this astonishment be fully expressed in words?

“It is the internal energy of a prestigious orthodox sect. I heard there was a sect here on Mount Heng… Are you the last descendant of that sect?”

“…”

The tense man could not give any reply.

But that alone was enough for Dan Woo-hyun.

This was because he could determine the opponent’s true identity just by looking at his slightly trembling pupils.

“Gu Mu-ak, the leader of the Hao Clan, right?”

“…What business do you have with me?”

Gu Mu-ak sighed and sheathed his sword.

The opponent was a master.

Furthermore, he was a person with skills that he could not even hope to match. It was only a single clash, but he clearly felt the gap.

If that man made up his mind, he would end up dying without even being able to swing his sword properly.

In such a situation, showing reckless bravado and swinging a sword was nothing more than a desperate struggle.

The moment he realized this, Gu Mu-ak gave up on everything and let out a hollow laugh.

“You buy and sell information?”

“That is how the Hao Clan is. That is what we must do to make a living…”

“But it seems you did not know that there is some information you must not touch.”

Thud!

In an instant, Dan Woo-hyun’s swung sword struck him in the stomach. Although it appeared to be nothing more than a light tap with the scabbard still on, Gu Mu-ak’s body was sent flying ridiculously easily and crashed into a corner.

Crash!

Intact household items broke and rolled around.

The face of Gu Mu-ak, who fell while groaning, turned dark blue.

“Cough!”

A mouthful of blood poured from his mouth, indicating that he had suffered internal injuries.

“You have worked hard managing those ruffians all this time. I will let you rest now.”

Step, step.

Power was carried in Dan Woo-hyun’s voice.

A determination to kill the opponent without fail could be felt.

Falling and trembling all over, Gu Mu-ak twitched his lips.

He had not survived so tenaciously just to die in a place like this. Forcing his stumbling body under control, he stood up.

He raised his sword and pointed it toward Dan Woo-hyun.

Even if he was no match, a cornered rat would bite a cat.

Though he knew that even biting was impossible, he wanted to at least swing his blade once in the air.

“Haa… Who are you, and where are you from?”

“Hunan Dan Family.”

“…”

Gu Mu-ak frowned.

He had heard of them before.

Since he had also stayed in Hunan, there was no way he had not heard the name of the Hunan Dan Family.

The Hao Clan had tried to investigate several times to uncover their identity, but it was a place so thoroughly hidden that nothing ever came up.

Because they could not gather any significant information, those who dealt in information all treated the Hunan Dan Family as low-grade.

It meant it was a place that was worth mere pennies at best.

To think such a master was hiding in a place like that?

He could not perfectly gauge the opponent’s ability, but seeing how he was handled like a child, he guessed that the man might have already surpassed the martial power of the Ten Venerables and reached the realm of the Seven Stars.

“Isn’t this too much just for selling a common piece of information that doesn’t even make money?”

“Did I not tell you? There are some places that you must not touch.”

“I did not know!”

“Well, now you know.”

The expression of Gu Mu-ak, who had been laughing hollowly, froze.

No matter what he said, it would not get through.

The opponent had already come to kill the leader of the Hao Clan.

Now that he felt this with certainty, the only thing he had to ponder was a scheme to overcome this situation.

But was that even possible?

He could not do anything with words.

The same went for his skill.

In that case, should he release the poison remaining in his bosom?

No, the moment his hand went into his sleeve, his entire body would be hacked to pieces and turned into a lump of meat.

Under such a sense of crisis, his mind grew colder and colder.

The opponent’s eyes already seemed to look at a dead person rather than a living one.

If so, there was only one move Gu Mu-ak could make.

He readjusted his grip on the sword and regulated his breathing.

The one move he had sworn never to use from the moment he learned martial arts until now.

If even this failed, there was no more hope.

Gritting his teeth, Gu Mu-ak roughly stabbed his sword into the ground.

For a moment, his solemn momentum shook greatly in the wind.

Soon, Gu Mu-ak.

“Please spare my life!”

“…”

Begged for his life.

For a moment, Dan Woo-hyun stared at Gu Mu-ak with a blank gaze.

It was his first time in his life seeing someone beg for their life so seriously. Even Jang Sam-tae, who did not even know martial arts properly, did not act like this, so the shock was considerable.

“Does a martial artist beg for their life too?”

“A martial artist? Great Hero, I am the leader of the Hao Clan. I might be a merchant who buys and sells information, but calling me a martial artist is out of the question.”

“…”

“It’s true! If you catch a hundred Central Plains martial artists and ask them if the Hao Clan is a martial arts sect, they will all shake their heads. Therefore, as the leader of such a place, I am not a martial artist either!”

He let out a servile laugh while making such excuses.

Although it was a similar sight to Jang Sam-tae, it was somehow different.

“I heard the Mount Heng Sect was a prestigious orthodox sect…”

“The Mount Heng Sect? The martial arts of Mount Heng were just something I happened to pick up and learn by chance, and I came here because of that connection. If I had been a disciple of the Mount Heng Sect, I wouldn’t have even joined the Hao Clan.”

Come to think of it, he had a point.

Although it had collapsed, the Mount Heng Sect was a prestigious orthodox sect.

To think that the last descendant of such a place was the leader of the Hao Clan’s ruffians.

If he had learned martial arts properly and gone to the Martial Alliance, he would have received far better treatment than at the Hao Clan, and he would have had opportunities to make a name for himself or establish a new sect.

A sigh leaked from Dan Woo-hyun’s mouth.

“It is my first time seeing someone like you.”

“It is also my first time meeting someone like you, Great Hero.”

And for good reason, because until now, he had used the Hao Clan’s information network to avoid everyone who looked like a master.

There was no way such a master would suddenly appear before him one day, and since martial artists tended to avoid the Hao Clan by nature, there was almost no chance of meeting them.

Seeing Dan Woo-hyun hesitate slightly, Gu Mu-ak’s eyes flashed.

“Please sit here, Great Hero! I will bring you a cup of tea.”

He set the overturned table upright and wiped the dust off with his clothes. Bringing over a chair that looked relatively decent and patting it down, it was almost like looking at a waiter.

“When I was young, I was the most popular waiter in the marketplace.”

“…”

Dan Woo-hyun was left even more speechless by Gu Mu-ak’s shamelessness.

He thought that if Jang Sam-tae were in this place, they would make quite a well-matching pair.

Although he claimed by his own mouth that he was not a martial artist, for the leader of an organization to show such behavior?

He felt like showing this sight to the members of the Hao Clan.

However, at some point, the killing intent disappeared.

Dan Woo-hyun sat on the chair nonchalantly.

“Hehe, if you wait just a moment, I will serve you some delicious tea.”

“Is there tea in a place like this?”

“Why, who am I? I am the leader of the Hao Clan! Even if I am in a remote place like this, food, clothes, and things to use all come. That is why I became the boss!”

“…I see.”

When Dan Woo-hyun nodded in understanding, Gu Mu-ak beamed with a smile and walked away with quick steps, saying he would bring the tea.

The place his steps were headed was the kitchen.

Although it was quite a distance from the main hall where Dan Woo-hyun was, his pace quickened, as if he wanted to brew the tea as quickly as possible.

Eventually, the moment he arrived at the kitchen.

Gu Mu-ak turned back.

A distance that seemed to be dozens of jang had opened up between him and the main hall.

‘Let’s run!’

Gu Mu-ak ran as fast as his legs could carry him.

There was no way tea or anything of the sort would be in a place like this.

‘Fortunately, that guy is stupid.’

A smile did not leave Gu Mu-ak’s face out of joy that he had made a fool of the opponent.

Now, he planned to escape this place as quickly as possible and hide his body where no one would know.

And he would catch the bastard who leaked his location to that guy and separate his flesh from his bones.

The moment he burned with such a desire for revenge.

Crack!

“Ugh!”

From a sudden impact, his vision went completely black.

Gu Mu-ak fell flat on the floor without even being able to scream properly.

His mind was gradually sucked into darkness. Just before he finally lost consciousness, he heard Dan Woo-hyun’s voice sounding as if it were ridiculous.

“There was a guy exactly like you. From now on, think a bit before you run away.”

‘Damn it…’

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