Chapter 148: Chapter 148
The woman and the child stared intently at Cheon Woo-jin.
It was neither a terrified expression nor a bewildered one.
With faces devoid of all emotion, they took one step, two steps closer and spoke.
“Great Hero, what do those words mean?”
The voice was exceedingly pleasant and gentle to hear.
Soon, the two people suddenly threw their bodies forward. The woman embraced Cheon Woo-jin’s entire body, and the child grabbed his right hand.
Simultaneously, with eyes red as though pooling with blood, they shouted.
“Ten Thousand Years to the Heavenly Demon, All Demons Bow in Submission!”
Boom!
Along with that shout, the two became living detonations and set off a crimson explosion. It seemed to be a demonic art that reversed demonic qi to rupture the qi channels of the entire body.
The explosive power was quite immense, as if a large explosive had been detonated whole.
Simultaneously with the explosion, Cheon Woo-jin raised his body-protecting astral qi to protect himself. Furthermore, he diffused his energy to instantaneously gather the explosive force that was trying to expand in all directions.
The sensation of controlling the explosion of the Explosive Demon in the past remained intact in Cheon Woo-jin’s palms. This was precisely the point that had made White Elder and Black Elder shake their heads in awe the most.
Teach him one, and he grasped ten; teach him ten, and he grasped a thousand. Once he experienced something once, from then on he was as skilled as someone who had done it hundreds of times.
Soon, the explosive force condensed into a single point.
Cheon Woo-jin contemplated for a moment whether to use this energy, but because it was difficult to distinguish between assassins and commoners, he fired it toward the sky.
A streak of energy surged high into the sky and erupted within the clouds. As though fireworks of the Thunderbolt Gate had exploded, the sky brightened.
Bang!
People watched that scene for a moment in tense suspense. The splendid explosion looked just like a flare announcing a battle.
Had such a massive explosion been left alone, a dozen or so commoners in the vicinity would have died.
The problem was that among those whom Cheon Woo-jin had just saved, it was hard to tell who were real commoners and who were assassins. That was the core issue of this battle.
Thinking so, Cheon Woo-jin approached the corpses of the woman and child. Because the two had been at the focal point of the explosion, their bodies were already shattered and scattered in pieces.
However, looking at the remaining bones of the two, one could tell they were adult males rather than a woman and child. Like this, assassins could not be judged by outward appearances.
Soon, the fight began from afar.
The first to be targeted was a Daoist of the Zhongnan Sect.
An assassin who suddenly revealed himself pounced toward an old woman running a street stall as if to take a hostage.
It was an action aimed at the nearby Zhongnan Daoist, but because he was not a novice either, he hesitated at the thought that even the old woman might be an assassin.
However, in that brief moment of hesitation, the assassin’s sword slashed through the old woman. Spewing blood, the old woman collapsed onto the ground with a thud. Her eyes, which had not even closed, were directed toward the Zhongnan Daoist.
“…”
His eyes trembled. The thought arose that an innocent person had died because of his blunder. Belatedly, he rushed forward to kill the assassin.
The heavy sword unique to the Zhongnan Sect rushed toward the assassin.
But the assassin changed direction in an instant. Just like moments ago, he charged while targeting another commoner. It was a middle-aged man carrying a slight aroma of alcohol, as if he had been drinking since afternoon. The red-faced middle-aged man was startled out of his wits as he saw the assassin flying toward him.
“Uh, uh…”
At that, the Zhongnan martial artist who had witnessed the sacrifice earlier hurriedly threw himself forward. Because the old woman had already died before his eyes due to his blunder, his body moved first before he even had time to think.
Soon, the middle-aged man’s lips twitched slightly.
Swish!
Squeezing past his lips, a slender poisoned needle surged forth.
The moment the Zhongnan Sect Leader and the Wudang Sword Immortal saw this and were about to leap forward in great shock.
Whoosh!
A streak of finger wind exquisitely threaded between the teeming crowd and reached the poisoned needle. The finger wind did not stop at knocking away the poisoned needle, but also pierced through the middle-aged man’s forehead.
At the same time that Cheon Woo-jin saved the Zhongnan Daoist with his finger wind, the Wudang Sword Immortal, who had arrived before anyone noticed, slashed through the assassin’s torso with a single stroke of his sword.
Flicking the blood off his sword, he spoke.
“If you have no knack for distinguishing them, consider everyone an assassin.”
That was the only way. Because of the bizarre formation muddying their energy sense, even the Wudang Sword Immortal had difficulty properly distinguishing assassins from commoners. Let alone the Daoists of Wudang and Zhongnan being able to pull that off.
In the end, to minimize the Martial Alliance’s sacrifices, they had no choice but to assume everyone was an assassin and maintain composure no matter what happened.
Soon, a quiet battle unfolded between the Daoists and the assassins.
The Daoists guarded in all directions with tense postures. Because they did not know when an assassin might spring forth.
Hiding among the commoners, the assassins completed their preparations to pour out lethal strikes at any moment.
The clashing sounds of weapons were heard occasionally.
Usually, those who moved first were the assassins.
Every time a lethal strike was unleashed from among the commoners, either an assassin or a Daoist died.
The situation was advantageous to the assassins, but the momentum of the battle gradually tilted toward the Daoists. Because this side had two martial artists of the Realm Beyond the Heavens.
Though they were flustered the first few times by the assassins’ ingenious attacks, after adapting, instances of Daoists dying or getting injured decreased drastically. One by one, corpses of assassins were piling up around them.
The Wudang Sword Immortal judged that at this rate, they would be able to kill most of the Ghost Demon Squad within a few hours and return to the Alliance. It was when he cut down another assassin while thinking so.
Suddenly, a chill so intense it numbed the back of his neck was felt.
The Wudang Sword Immortal was also an expert who had reached the Realm Beyond the Heavens. Instinctively, he stepped back. Soon, from the spot where he had stood, a long spear easily eight chi in length shot out.
If he had been late by even a single breath, he would have been pierced straight through from his feet to the crown of his head.
The Wudang Sword Immortal immediately stomped his foot down hard. Then, with a roar, magnificent internal energy unhesitatingly shattered the ground.
Kaaaboom!
Soil and stones burst out in all directions. Surprisingly, what was holding the long spear inside the pit was not a person, but a wooden puppet.
The Wudang Sword Immortal’s eyes narrowed. In all the world, there was only one assassin who employed such a method.
“Could it be…”
Soon, a low voice was heard from directly behind his back. As if a large block of ice had been pressed against the nape of his neck, the hairs all over his body stood on end.
“Indeed so, Sword Immortal.”
The Wudang Sword Immortal swiftly turned around and swung his Taiji Sword.
Space rippled along the trajectory the sword traced. Drawing a bizarre flow like waves, the extended sword reached its destination in an instant. It clearly drew a curve, yet it arrived twice as fast as a straight line.
It was the ultimate technique of the Wudang Sect, the Taiji Wisdom Sword.
Controlling space itself through the profound mysteries of Taiji. Rather than the sword being fast, it was closer to folding the space through which the sword passed to shorten the distance.
Therefore, if one fought while expecting a conventional sword, their neck or heart would be pierced through by the blade at an unexpected moment.
“…”
However, his sword failed to cut his opponent.
There were few in the world who could dismantle the Taiji Wisdom Sword personally displayed by the Wudang Sword Immortal.
“Divine Killing Society Leader, you were still alive?”
The Divine Killing Society.
It was an assassin collective of the previous generation. It was not famous because the assassins were strong, but because of a single person, a society leader who had reached the Realm Beyond the Heavens as an assassin.
Divine Killing Society Leader Myeong-hwi. Contrary to his name meaning to shine brightly, he was an unprecedented assassin who roamed the darkness for decades and killed many experts regardless of orthodox, unorthodox, or demonic affiliations.
“Divine Killing Society? I have long forgotten that stale name. Please call me the Ghost Demon Squad Leader.”
“A squad leader at that age? Are you not ashamed?”
“Obsessing over official titles is truly just like you. The elders and young masters of the Demonic Cult all tremble before me, so what does it matter if I am a squad leader or a hall master?”
The Wudang Sword Immortal’s eyes narrowed. To think that the Divine Killing Society Leader, who had vanished decades ago, was raising assassins in the Demonic Cult.
When he made his entrance, the assassins who had concealed themselves in various places began to step forward in earnest. An assassin who had reached the Realm Beyond the Heavens possessed tremendous symbolism. The morale of the assassins soared as if piercing the sky.
The sounds of clashing weapons grew frequent in various places.
Ghost Demon Squad Leader Myeong-hwi smirked toward the Wudang Sword Immortal.
“How about making a wager between us old men? As to who kills more people between you and me.”
Soon, the Ghost Demon Squad Leader’s figure vanished.
To be precise, it would be more accurate to say he became transparent.
The Wudang Sword Immortal quickly spread his energy sense, trying to find Myeong-hwi who had vanished before his eyes.
However, originally there were few under heaven who could detect the Divine Killing Society Leader’s concealment, and it was even harder due to the unique formation muddying energy sense.
Soon, a few steps away, the chest of a Wudang Daoist was split wide open. In front of the Daoist collapsing while spewing blood, the Ghost Demon Squad Leader was standing.
Staring straight at the Wudang Sword Immortal, he chuckled.
“Should you not get moving quickly? At this rate, the Wudang Daoist bastards you cherish will all end up dead.”
Saying so, he hid his body once again.
The Wudang Sword Immortal gritted his teeth. Even though his disciples were dying before his eyes, there was nothing he could do.
‘We must retreat.’
That was the first thought that occurred to him. Stepping into and fighting on a board laid out by an assassin of the Divine Killing Society Leader’s caliber, rather than just an ordinary assassin, carried far too great a burden of risk.
In the first place, the Martial Alliance’s failure to grasp his existence was the mistake. This mission had been buttoned up wrong from the very start.
Around the time he thought so.
Thump!
Out of nowhere, the sound of a drum bursting was heard.
Cheon Woo-jin had struck empty air with his Crescent Moon Staff.
And having taken a strike to the solar plexus, the Ghost Demon Squad Leader flew straight back and slammed into the wall of someone’s house.
Everyone, including the Wudang Sword Immortal and the Zhongnan Sect Leader, looked at Cheon Woo-jin with astonished eyes. How on earth had he seen through that bastard’s concealment!
Of course, the one most astonished was the Ghost Demon Squad Leader himself. Rather than the pain felt in his solar plexus and back, the shock that his concealment had been broken through was far greater.
Rising to his feet, the Ghost Demon Squad Leader spat out saliva mixed with blood.
Then he glared intently at Cheon Woo-jin.
In his entire life, there were few people he had failed to assassinate. Including those called the Three Pillars Under Heaven, they could be counted on one hand.
Yet among those few bastards, there was also one who carried around such an iron staff.
“…Just who in the world are you?”
“I am Cheon Woo-jin.”
He had not been asking for his name.
Thinking so, the Ghost Demon Squad Leader concealed himself once again. Once could simply be an accident, or broken through because he was careless. But if he unleashed it deliberately, the situation would be different…
Smack!
This time, he was struck across the back. Had he raised his body-protecting astral qi even a moment later, his spine would have snapped cleanly and he would have died.
The Ghost Demon Squad Leader collapsed onto the ground. He had not lost consciousness, but it was awkward to even stand up.
“…”
Everyone looked at such a Ghost Demon Squad Leader.
To the point where even assassins, who usually kept their emotions strictly controlled, revealed dismay on their faces.
Not missing this, Cheon Woo-jin fired finger wind at several bastards who were violently agitated.
Swish, thud!
Without exception, assassins whose foreheads were pierced fell backward.
In that gap, the Ghost Demon Squad Leader sprang up and widened the distance with Cheon Woo-jin. He realized instinctively. Head-on, no matter what scheme he employed, there was no chance of victory.
‘Could that bastard have returned to youth?’
No, to say that, he was handsome. Even if that bastard underwent shedding the mortal body and cleansing the marrow a hundred times, he could never become that handsome.
The Ghost Demon Squad Leader felt a sense of regret. He had been so preoccupied with staying cooped up in the pitch-dark cavern teaching assassins. If it were when he was active in service, he would have possessed all the intelligence in the world.
Clicking his tongue inwardly, the Ghost Demon Squad Leader spoke in a low voice.
“Seal.”
The voice was quiet, but infused with internal energy, everyone present could hear it. No sooner had the words dropped than the assassins began running toward a single point without even thinking of hiding their figures.
Each of their hands held a hostage.
Cheon Woo-jin, the Wudang Sword Immortal, and the Zhongnan Sect Leader slaughtered the assassins who revealed themselves in that instant. Even so, because they could not kill everyone in a single breath, around thirty assassins gathered in one place.
It was a massive four-story tavern pavilion, yet strangely windowless and with a small entrance.
Soon, a voice came from inside the pavilion.
“It seems misunderstandings have piled up between us. When more than a decade has already passed since my retirement, is there any need to fight like this? I propose a dialogue. If the three of you discard your weapons and enter empty-handed, I shall release the villagers immediately.”
The three he referred to were probably the Wudang Sword Immortal, the Zhongnan Sect Leader, and Cheon Woo-jin. Though he mentioned dialogue, it was an explicit threat. Saying that if they did not enter, he would slaughter all the commoners taken hostage.
The Martial Alliance essentially defended justice and protected commoners. Therefore, those who opposed the Martial Alliance commonly used hostages.
Of course, not all righteous martial artists were the same person. After a brief pause, the Wudang Sword Immortal clicked his tongue.
– Our Wudang Sect shall take our leave now. What does Zhongnan plan to do?
Conscious of the villagers remaining behind, he spoke via voice transmission.
The Wudang Sword Immortal was certain that a killing formation had been deployed inside that pavilion.
A killing formation was a formation that assassins deployed to slay a small number of experts. It was a killing formation known to be capable of killing a transcendent expert with three peak experts, yet inside was none other than Myeong-hwi, an expert of the Realm Beyond the Heavens.
Enter that place empty-handed?
It was no different from telling them to go die.
Soon, the Wudang Sword Immortal also sent a glance toward the Wudang Daoists. His determination to collect the corpses and return to the Alliance was firm.
Since they had already killed about fifty assassins, they had accomplished the retribution against the Demonic Cult that the Martial Alliance originally wanted.
The Zhongnan Sect Leader also nodded his head. If Wudang returned, they had no other choice. When it was difficult even fighting together, half of their combat strength was reduced.
It was at that moment.
“Aaaargh!”
A solitary scream erupted.
The Daoists who were about to leave turned their heads to look at that place.
Instantly, the faces of the Daoists were dyed with shame.
There is a saying that despair and hope are close friends. Amidst this frustration, there was someone struggling desperately to create hope.
Shamefully, he was not a member of the Martial Alliance. The middle-aged man who sold dumplings had tried to pour boiling oil over the assassin guarding the entrance of the pavilion to save the hostages, only to suffer instead.
Drenched in oil from head to toe, he was writhing in agony. Cheon Woo-jin whipped up a wind to scatter all the oil, yet even so, parts of his skin were already melted.
However, the middle-aged man did not give up. Picking up a stone beside him, he hurled it at the assassin. Starting with that, all the villagers began throwing rocks and all kinds of household goods toward the pavilion.
“You wicked bastards! Release the people right this instant!”
There were even those who tried to set fire to the pavilion, shouting that they should burn it down whole.
Those called Daoists had given up on the situation, but they could not give up. They had lived here all their lives, and their families were inside, so how could they possibly give up?
“Are you saying you will retreat even like this?”
Cheon Woo-jin asked calmly.
The Wudang Sword Immortal looked at Cheon Woo-jin and the villagers for a moment before furrowing his brows.
“It is a war, is it not? We cannot save everyone. Furthermore, we cannot throw ourselves into a situation where dozens of the Righteous Path’s elite might die just to save a few. At least, I am not that kind of person.”
Indeed, the Wudang Sword Immortal was someone who had told the Chief Strategist from the start to draft more Zhongnan martial artists instead of Wudang to reduce Wudang’s sacrifices.
Cheon Woo-jin nodded his head.
It was merely a difference in values. As a leader guiding a faction, how could one live without calculating?
Master White Elder also had no interest in the position of Martial Alliance Leader for such reasons.
Yet, he was a Sword Immortal, was he not?
Was he not an existence referred to as the sole immortal upon this earth?
Had it been his master who was called the White Flower Sword Immortal, he would have immediately discarded the Crane Feather Fan and stormed into the pavilion.
“The moniker of Sword Immortal does not suit you.”
“Wh-What did you say!”
The Wudang Sword Immortal roared in rage as if having a fit.
Because the Wudang Sword Immortal originally had an inferiority complex toward the White Flower Sword Immortal, it was probably all the more so.
Regardless, Cheon Woo-jin roughly threw the Crane Feather Fan and Crescent Moon Staff onto the ground. Soon, he entered the pavilion alone. Several Daoists merely looked upon that departing back with shame on their faces.