Chapter 144: Chapter 144
As the Sect Leader had worried, the cliff was high.
However, for Cheon Woo-jin, it was a good thing. Because he could see the village at a glance, finding his way was rather easy.
Falling to the midpoint of the cliff, Cheon Woo-jin suddenly pushed and kicked off the cliff face.
Bang!
Like an arrow shot from a tautly drawn bowstring, Cheon Woo-jin surged forward parallel to the ground.
Utilizing the subtleties of Soaring Through the Void, he kicked off empty air several times midway. With nothing like trees or buildings in his way, advancing in a straight line through the air befriending the night wind, the sight of the Martial Alliance Qinghai Branch soon entered his vision.
The Qinghai Branch was exceedingly modest in scale.
Compared not only to the overwhelmingly massive main headquarters, but even to places like the Sichuan Branch, the land was small and there were only a few pavilions.
A peculiar point was that those few pavilions had been built with considerable distances between them.
‘A branch built with burning in mind…’
Master White Elder had said that the Martial Alliance regarded the Qinghai Branch and the Kunlun Sect in such a manner. Because their role was to stall for as much time as possible when the Demonic Cult stirred and invaded, they had widened the spaces between pavilions so that fire would spread slowly.
Thinking so, Cheon Woo-jin descended before the Qinghai Branch.
Ordinarily, he would have started by launching the Crescent Moon Staff first and slaughtering several assailants.
However, this time he could not do so.
Thud, thud.
As Cheon Woo-jin walked in with calm strides, fifty to sixty martial artists confronting each other amidst the burning pavilions simultaneously turned their gazes toward him.
Half were demonic martial artists, and half were martial artists of the Martial Alliance.
The demonic martial artists each held hostages, and without exception, the hostages were people who had not learned martial arts. Maidservants, laborers, physicians, cooks, and the like, surely commoners from nearby hired to work at the Qinghai Branch.
“P-Please save me…”
A maidservant wept tears as large as chicken droppings. A dagger aimed by a demonic martial artist rested against her neck. If he applied even a little force from there, her blood vessel would be severed, killing her instantly.
Cheon Woo-jin clenched and opened his hand around the Crescent Moon Staff for a moment, then sent a sound transmission to the Chief Strategist.
[Is this revenge for earlier?]
[It is revenge and at the same time a demonstration of might. Showing that even though the Cult Leader died, the Demonic Cult is still alive and well.]
Chief Strategist Sima Hwi judged so.
The Demonic Cult had tried to hide the Cult Leader’s death by even deploying the Inescapable Heavenly Net, but it was ultimately exposed. Therefore, they were displaying their intact strength even more to check the movements of the Martial Alliance and the Black Overlord Castle.
Beside the Chief Strategist stood the White Sword Hall Master, guarding him. True to being called the sword of the Martial Alliance, he was a high master possessing martial prowess approaching the Realm Beyond the Heavens.
Cheon Woo-jin also joined beside them. Looking at the demonic martial artists from this spot, a sigh escaped on its own.
Since Cheon Woo-jin’s appearance, the demonic martial artists exchanged glances and widened the distance between each other even further.
They were conscious of the speed of Cheon Woo-jin and the White Sword Hall Master. Even if they charged in an instant and rescued two or three hostages, their attitude declared that they would kill all the remaining hostages.
“What do they want?”
Staging a hostage crisis like this surely had a purpose.
The one who answered Cheon Woo-jin’s inquiry was not Sima Hwi, but the Demonic Cult’s side.
“So you are the Heartless Wanderer.”
It was a thoroughly unpleasant voice laced with a metallic rasp.
Cheon Woo-jin frowned and looked at him. He was an old man covered in age spots, and his pupils were as red as blood, exuding a bizarre aura.
“Pleased to meet you. I am the uncle of Yeo Hu-rak, who died at your hands in the Inescapable Heavenly Net.”
“I don’t know him well. Because I killed most before even hearing their names.”
“…”
The blood-eyed old man glared fixedly at Cheon Woo-jin.
Though he said nothing, it was certain that his temper was severely offended.
“Kill one hostage.”
The old man ordered a demonic martial artist.
It was the demonic martial artist holding hostage the maidservant who had been crying for help a moment ago. As soon as the order fell, he nonchalantly threw the maidservant he was holding into a burning pavilion.
“Aaaahhh!”
Her scream dragged on long.
However, there was no pain of burning.
The moment the demonic martial artist threw her, Cheon Woo-jin pulled her over using the subtleties of Telekinetic Attraction.
“T-Thank…”
Before her thanks could even finish, Cheon Woo-jin sent her to the Chief Strategist behind him, staring fixedly at the blood-eyed old man.
He was still not stating what he wanted. Ordinarily, those taking hostages meant the situation was urgent, so dragging out time like this was unusual.
Chief Strategist Sima Hwi also seemed to have a similar thought.
[Squad Leader, it seems their objective is not this place. Right now, both you and the White Sword Hall Master, who can be considered the highest masters in Qinghai, are tied down here. Then what they are aiming for is…]
Clamor in the east, strike in the west.
It meant making noise in the east and striking in the west.
Naturally, the east would be the Martial Alliance Qinghai Branch, and the west…
The gazes of Cheon Woo-jin, the White Sword Hall Master, and the Chief Strategist simultaneously turned toward Mount Kunlun. Soon, a fire began to blaze on a scale incomparable to this Qinghai Branch.
Seeing fire burning like that despite being a rocky mountain with few trees, they must have poured a tremendous amount of oil.
A ferocious hostility to erase Mount Kunlun itself from the map was felt intact.
“Do not even think of going. If even one of you moves, everyone here will be killed.”
The blood-eyed old man chuckled. The orthodox bastards were truly weak. Was this pathetic situation not born from putting forward futile chivalry and putting on hypocritical airs?
Regardless, Cheon Woo-jin spread his qi sense and counted even the number of hostages in places out of sight.
‘Thirty-seven, thirty-eight…’
Excluding the maidservant saved just now, there were thirty-nine hostages. Even if he unleashed Crane Wind Single Annihilation all at once and leaped forward in person, thirty people was all he could save.
[How many can you save?]
Cheon Woo-jin sent a sound transmission to the White Sword Hall Master.
Hiding his expression while assessing the situation, the White Sword Hall Master soon replied.
[Five at most.]
In the end, four people would remain.
Cheon Woo-jin pondered for a moment.
If he sacrificed only four people, he could save everyone else. That thought crossed his mind, but his body would not move. Inside his head, the philosophies he had learned from his two masters clashed violently.
Laughing repeatedly, a sudden thought struck the blood-eyed old man.
If he brought the corpses of the Heartless Wanderer and the White Sword Hall Master, wouldn’t the young master of the Yeo Clan become a step closer to the throne of Cult Leader?
His deliberation was short. The present Demonic Cult was in a period of great chaos. The young masters were waging a war of blood, and it was obvious that unless they killed, they would all end up dead.
“If you two come to us with your entire body’s acupuncture points sealed, I will release all the hostages. Capturing fools who do not even know martial arts like this is a bit shameful, after all.”
Sima Hwi immediately objected.
No matter how remarkable Cheon Woo-jin and the White Sword Hall Master were, they could not face martial artists with their internal energy sealed. That was common sense in the martial world, akin to immutable truth.
The Hidden Dragon Squad members, the Kunlun Sect martial artists, the Courier Hall Master, the Divine Physician on Mount Kunlun, and even those held hostage here.
All were precious lives. However, in a situation where war might break out, none was as important as a single martial artist of the Realm Beyond the Heavens like Cheon Woo-jin.
People might point fingers and curse him as worldly, cold-hearted, and cruel, but as a strategist, it was the best judgment he could make.
“Above all, there is no guarantee they will release the hostages.”
The Chief Strategist added thus.
Even so, his words did not reach Cheon Woo-jin’s ears.
Because right now, two clamorous voices completely filled his head.
– Hostages or whatever, slaughter them all, Woo-jin! How can the disciple of Black Elder be played by such scum!
– Woo-jin, a martial artist who turns away from the sacrifice of the weak possesses no chivalry. If you simply seek to kill, how are you any different from those fellows before you?
– You hypocritical Baek fellow, then what should we do in this situation? Do you have some great method?
– How can a method always be visible to the eyes? Yet because we do not give up, we are called the Righteous Path. If one only wishes to walk the easy path, why would ideology and conviction be needed?
– Damn it, this is why I said we shouldn’t send him to the Martial Alliance!
Cheon Woo-jin suddenly felt a headache from the words pouring out endlessly. It was always like this. He loved his two masters dearly, but their opinions were always at opposite poles.
Making a choice was painful, and whichever choice he made, satisfying both of them simultaneously was never easy.
Feeling his headache growing worse, Cheon Woo-jin suddenly tossed the Crescent Moon Staff and Crane Feather Fan onto the ground.
And with that, the voices of his two masters vanished without a trace.
“Squad Leader?”
From behind, the Chief Strategist’s worried voice was heard.
Regardless, Cheon Woo-jin discarded all weapons and extended both hands toward the demonic martial artists.
Even at that slight movement, the demonic martial artists flinched heavily.
“Shall I seal them myself?”
“…Go and seal his acupuncture points.”
The blood-eyed old man ordered the subordinate beside him.
Wearing a look of ‘why on earth was I picked,’ he approached Cheon Woo-jin hesitantly. The Heartless Wanderer’s fame had already reached the Demonic Cult as well.
Unable to dare meet Cheon Woo-jin’s eyes, the demonic martial artist kept his gaze lowered halfway and began sealing Cheon Woo-jin’s acupuncture points throughout his body.
Soon, after checking several times, he nodded toward the blood-eyed old man.
“Heh, release half the hostages. And you bastard, come over here quickly.”
In this manner, Cheon Woo-jin and half the hostages were exchanged.
Because Cheon Woo-jin had stepped forward first, the White Sword Hall Master could not hold out either.
The White Sword Hall Master also crossed over to the demonic martial artists’ side with his acupuncture points sealed, and after releasing the hostages, the blood-eyed old man warned the martial artists of the Qinghai Branch once more as they slowly retreated.
“If you approach, know that I will slaughter these two fellows at once. Heh.”
Thanks to that, the Chief Strategist and the Qinghai Branch martial artists could only watch the retreating Cheon Woo-jin and White Sword Hall Master.
Overjoyed and relieved to have survived, the hostages ran like mad, some collapsing as their legs gave out midway.
Watching that sight, the White Sword Hall Master suddenly spoke with a half-resigned voice. Since his internal energy was completely sealed, he could not even send sound transmissions.
“Look here, Hidden Dragon Squad Leader. Do you have a plan? Or are we dying like this?”
Cheon Woo-jin remained silent. He merely let his body be dragged along as the demonic martial artists pulled him.
How much time had passed like that?
The distance from the Qinghai Branch had grown considerably far. Seemingly because the Martial Alliance members had set out to extinguish the blaze, the flames also appeared to have subsided considerably.
Confirming this, Cheon Woo-jin suddenly grabbed the wrist of the demonic martial artist dragging him.
“What?”
The demonic martial artist no longer feared Cheon Woo-jin. Because a martial artist whose internal energy was completely suppressed was no different from a street thug who threw some weight around in a small village.
Soon, the demonic martial artist channeled internal energy and yanked his captured wrist. To think the day would come in his life when he could demonstrate the gap in strength to a martial artist of the Realm Beyond the Heavens.
Just as he felt quite pleased with himself thinking so.
“…”
The grabbed wrist did not budge in the slightest.
Even when he channeled more internal energy, it was the same.
Staring at the demonic martial artist with an impassive gaze, Cheon Woo-jin snatched the sword hanging at his waist and drove it straight through his chest.
It was an event that transpired in an absolute flash.
“W-What? Don’t tell me you were faking it?”
The White Sword Hall Master asked in shock.
Cheon Woo-jin shook his head. It was true that his internal energy was completely sealed.
– Baek fellow! Did you teach that boy martial arts? Did you forget our promise that we would only teach cultivation methods once he turned seven?
– Black Elder, what kind of nonsense are you spouting again?
– …You didn’t teach him? Then how did he uproot a tree?
Recalling what happened when he was six years old, Cheon Woo-jin roughly pushed his palm into the chin of an approaching demonic martial artist.
Crack!
The demonic martial artist’s jaw shattered completely, killing him on the spot.
Next, he collapsed ribs and broke limbs.
When a sword surged forward, he struck its flat to snap it, then caught the blade and thrust it into the neck of the fellow beside him.
The demonic martial artists began to falter.
Regardless, Cheon Woo-jin grabbed another demonic martial artist’s wrist. The man tried to pull it free by channeling internal energy, but it didn’t budge, as if locked in shackles forged of Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron.
“M-Monster…”
Looking impassively into that demonic martial artist’s eyes, Cheon Woo-jin reached out his hand once more. Soon, Cheon Woo-jin’s rough hand, containing not a speck of internal energy, clamped around his throat.
Crunch.
Thud.
With his neck twisted in an unnatural direction, the demonic martial artist crumpled to the ground.
.
.
.
Around one ke of time passed.
The surroundings were full of blood and corpses.
He had killed around twenty people without a single drop of internal energy.
The remaining dozen or so fled. They ran away utterly terrified, as if they had seen something not human.
Cheon Woo-jin strode back to the Qinghai Branch and told the martial artists to unseal his acupuncture points. The martial artists unsealed his points with half-dazed expressions.
Immediately after, Cheon Woo-jin headed straight for Mount Kunlun.
* * *
The cliffs of Mount Kunlun felt even steeper when climbing than when descending. Furthermore, because the entire area had turned into a sea of fire, even ordinary martial artists could hardly approach.
However, without the slightest hesitation, Cheon Woo-jin continuously leaped by kicking off the cliff.
Song Yi-yeon, Jin Un, and Namgung Jin.
The faces of the Hidden Dragon Squad members, the Courier Hall Master, the Divine Physician, and Dok-ra-su crossed his mind one after another.
The last face that came to mind was the Sect Leader of the Kunlun Sect. The one who had spoken of the sorrow of Kunlun’s history while expressing his gratitude.
In an instant, he scaled the cliff and landed at the entrance of the Kunlun Sect.
The pavilions had already all collapsed, and rivers of blood and fierce flames dyed the entire Kunlun Sect crimson.
Truly, a horrifying scene unfolded.
“…”
At Cheon Woo-jin’s appearance, the demonic martial artists flinched heavily.
The Hidden Dragon Squad members were also reduced half to rags. Fortunately surviving, the three looked at Cheon Woo-jin with eyes deeply mingled with relief and grief.
However, Cheon Woo-jin’s gaze was directed elsewhere.
The Sect Leader who had spoken of Kunlun’s sorrow before descending the cliff was lying on the ground, looking up at Cheon Woo-jin. With his torso cleaved in two, through eyes more aggrieved and sorrowful than ever before.