Chapter 149: Chapter 149
Divine Killing Society Leader Myeong-hwi.
Once called the world’s foremost assassin, there was an incident where he became famous in earnest. The Vice Cult Leader of the Heavenly Demon Cult, who was called one of the Ten Great Experts Under Heaven at the time, was killed by him.
Regardless of righteous, unorthodox, or demonic factions, the martial world was swept into shock.
Because they had looked down on assassins, saying that they only used petty tricks while hiding in the shadows, the incident where one of the Ten Great Experts was assassinated by an assassin was truly sufficient to astonish everyone.
The assassins were ecstatic about that incident. Centered around Myeong-hwi, renowned special rank assassins from all over the world gathered, and soon the greatest assassin organization, the Divine Killing Society, was formed.
Martial artists feared the Divine Killing Society.
Because if they could kill one of the Ten Great Experts, it meant that everyone except ten people under heaven could become targets of the Divine Killing Society.
Wealthy merchants made efforts to establish connections with the Divine Killing Society. Although they overflowed with money, they were always looked down upon by martial artists because they lacked martial power, but if they had the Divine Killing Society, they could hold the upper hand even in transactions with martial artists.
However, concluding with three or four assassinations thereafter, the Divine Killing Society disappeared from the world. The prevailing opinion was that retaliated against by the Heavenly Demon Cult, the Divine Killing Society Leader had died and the assassins had scattered to the winds.
That was only half true. All assassins belonging to the Divine Killing Society had died. At the hands of the Cult Leader, who was called one of the Three Pillars Under Heaven and known to be closest to the world’s number one expert.
The Cult Leader was greatly amused by the unique formation that had killed the Vice Cult Leader. Thinking it a pity to kill the greatest assassin of the era who had devised that formation, he took him in.
Decades had passed since then, and the newly created organization within the Demonic Cult was precisely the Ghost Demon Squad, and that killing formation which had slain the Vice Cult Leader was currently deployed in the four-story tavern pavilion.
From the large four-story pavilion, a killing intent so thick and suffocating that it choked one’s breath was blooming.
Just looking at it from the outside was enough for one’s instincts as a martial artist to send endless warnings. Telling them not to enter. That if they entered, they would surely die.
There was a person stepping into such a killing formation alone.
He was an expert of the Realm Beyond the Heavens, the Grand Preceptor of the Imperial Palace, a squad leader of the Martial Alliance, and also the disciple of the greatest chivalrous hero of past and present.
Decisively, he was a young man who had just barely reached twenty years of age.
Looking at that departing back, the Daoists could not lift their heads out of shame.
“…Sect Leader.”
A Wudang Daoist sought out the Wudang Sword Immortal.
Though there were no particular words, the emotion of being utterly ashamed was conveyed intact.
Furthermore, by this point, the villagers had also realized that the Zhongnan Sect and the Wudang Sect had abandoned them.
The gazes they cast, and the gazes cast by the disciples of the Wudang Sect, endlessly stimulated the Wudang Sword Immortal.
This could not do. The Righteous-Demonic War was a matter for all of the Righteous Path, but the faction that suffered the greatest damage in that process was no different from having lost even if they won the war.
Look at the Mount Hua Sect. Throughout its long history, there were few times it had yielded hegemony to the Zhongnan Sect, yet after losing all its experts to the Dark Emperor, had it not been powerless?
Those gathered here right now were the first-generation disciples of Wudang.
They were those who personally taught the young Daoists, those who inherited and researched Wudang’s martial studies, and those who would symbolize Wudang in the future.
The Wudang Sword Immortal looked at such disciples.
Their pride as Daoists was completely shattered on their faces.
Their determination to enter that pavilion and fight right this moment was conveyed completely.
The Wudang Sword Immortal let out a low sigh. How could he send those who could be called the future of Wudang?
“I shall go, so you remain here and protect the villagers. However, if something beyond your ability to handle occurs while I am away, you must retreat without fail.”
– Do not forget that you are Wudang itself.
The Wudang Sword Immortal was not a shameless man either. He was not so thick-skinned as to utter such words aloud before the villagers who looked upon them with resentful eyes.
Having sent a voice transmission to his disciples, the Wudang Sword Immortal suddenly spoke to the Zhongnan Sect Leader.
“Let us go.”
“Pardon?”
The Zhongnan Sect Leader put on a face asking what kind of nonsense he was talking about. If this madman wanted to go, he should go alone; why was he suddenly dragging him along?
But the Wudang Sword Immortal was calculating to the very end. How could he enter a place of death alone? Even if he were to die, if he died together with the Zhongnan Sect Leader, Mount Hua would surely repay this kindness someday.
Harboring such thoughts, he handed over his Taiji Sword to his disciple. Because the Ghost Demon Squad had demanded they enter empty-handed.
Seeing that the Zhongnan Sect Leader was still hesitating, the Wudang Sword Immortal drove home the decisive point.
“Our Wudang Sect and Zhongnan Sect cannot turn a blind eye to the suffering of commoners. Knowing full well that place is a land of death, I, the Wudang Sword Immortal, and the Zhongnan Sect Leader shall personally enter to rescue the people!”
At that, the villagers shouted words of gratitude and praise for the Daoists everywhere. The Zhongnan Sect Leader’s expression crumpled fiercely. If things came to this, there was simply no way he could back out.
Pondering for a moment, the Zhongnan Sect Leader abruptly raised his sword high into the sky.
“L-Let us gooo!”
There was no other way.
.
.
.
The killing formation of the Divine Killing Society, no, the assassins who had now become the Ghost Demon Squad, was more unique than any other formation.
Usually, formations deployed by assassins were such that under a massive formation muddying energy sense, they cut off vision with darkness, crept up without sound or rumor, and thrust forward blades and swords.
But the killing formation deployed by the Ghost Demon Squad was different. The interior of the pavilion was bright, and the assassins were revealing their forms as they were.
Since their leader Myeong-hwi was an expert of the Realm Beyond the Heavens in the first place, if it reached the point where he deployed a killing formation, it meant his opponent was also an expert of the Realm Beyond the Heavens.
Against such an expert, scattering their energy sense or blocking their physical senses did not work properly. Because they were people who had already half-stepped beyond the boundaries of mortals.
However, in other words, as long as they still wore the guise of mortals, it also meant a fatal weakness existed unlike divine beings.
It was none other than emotion.
If one was human, anyone would feel anger, sadness, joy, flutter, and frustration.
The killing formation Myeong-hwi used when killing the Vice Cult Leader was also a formation that preyed upon such vulnerable aspects of humanity.
Furthermore, the three people were currently undergoing the exact same experience that the Vice Cult Leader had suffered right before dying.
“N-No…”
The Wudang Sword Immortal reached his hand out into empty air. With half-unfocused eyes, he was staring somewhere. An indescribable sense of despair and sorrow dwelled in his expression.
The scene he was looking at was not the brightly lit interior of the pavilion, but a dream that pulled out what he feared most as if it were reality.
The Righteous-Demonic War had ended with the victory of the Righteous Path. It was an atmosphere where everyone held festivities, but the Wudang Sword Immortal could not. One thousand Daoists of the Wudang Sect had died.
The first-generation and second-generation disciples were wiped out entirely, and even the third-generation disciples who had just begun learning martial arts were killed off.
The only surviving expert was the Wudang Sword Immortal himself.
Though they were praised as “Revered Wudang in the South, Respected Shaolin in the North,” the contemporary Wudang was somewhat falling behind Shaolin. Yet, because Wudang had lost all its experts in the war, it was completely overshadowed by Shaolin.
The term Nine Great Sects and One Clan had vanished. Referring to the unrivaled Shaolin, it was called One Temple, and there were merely the remaining Eight Sects and One Clan.
The ruined Wudang, other Daoist sects coveting its place, dead disciples resenting him, and even the faces of past Sect Leaders looking down with pity.
The reality that the Wudang Sword Immortal feared most and did not wish to face was unfolding before his eyes. Beyond a simple nightmare, it unfolded vividly in his mind, violently prodding at his emotions.
The situation of the Zhongnan Sect Leader was not much different either.
What he feared most was obvious.
“No! Who dares plant plum blossoms on Mount Zhongnan!”
The sole hope of the ruined Mount Hua Sect, Jin Un.
That bastard had eventually become the Martial Alliance Leader and made Mount Hua the hegemon of Shaanxi once more. As if dissatisfied with just that, he was recklessly planting plum blossom trees all over Mount Zhongnan.
Of course, it was a scene originating from the Zhongnan Sect Leader’s delusion, but at least within it, Jin Un was a vicious Alliance Leader.
Around the time the two men were floundering in nightmares more vivid than reality.
Two special rank assassins approached with calm steps. Pitch-black straight sabers were held in their hands. Slaying enemies writhing in agony and completely defenseless like that was easier than drinking cold water. Even if their opponents were experts of the Realm Beyond the Heavens.
Soon, the two assassins who reached right before their noses swung their straight sabers to cut down the Wudang Sword Immortal and the Zhongnan Sect Leader respectively.
Simultaneously with that.
Cheon Woo-jin, who had been standing blankly in the center, moved abruptly.
Crunch.
With bare hands wrapped in body-protecting astral qi, he gripped the two straight sabers.
“…?”
“…??”
Cheon Woo-jin and the assassins looked at each other in bewilderment.
The assassins were bewildered by Cheon Woo-jin moving as if nothing was wrong inside this killing formation, while Cheon Woo-jin was simply bewildered as to what kind of situation this was.
Soon, applying strength to his hands, he snapped the straight sabers.
Without fail, the broken blades lodged themselves into the throats of the two assassins.
Squelch!
The assassins collapsed while spurting blood from their throats.
For a moment, silence descended upon the room.
Even amidst that, the nightmares of the two Daoists seemed to continue, as they were groping at empty air with truly anguished expressions.
Cheon Woo-jin shook the Zhongnan Sect Leader awake.
Because it was no ordinary dream, he did not wake easily. However, when he channeled energy into the Sect Leader’s body, his internal energy was soon activated and he woke from his slumber.
Exhaling rough breaths, the Sect Leader scanned his surroundings with startled eyes.
“Wh-What in the world…”
This time, Cheon Woo-jin woke the Wudang Sword Immortal.
As expected, he did not wake even when shaken, so he struck his forehead with a thwack, sending him flying.
Like a helpless reed, the Wudang Sword Immortal flew through the air, slammed into a corner, and came to his senses as he got up.
Seeing that spectacle from the side, the Zhongnan Sect Leader put on an incredulous face. While he was so exceedingly gentle when waking him, why on earth did he abruptly bash Senior Sword Immortal?
It was certainly revenge for having clashed with the Wudang Sword Immortal. However, because it was Cheon Woo-jin who had saved his life, the Sect Leader could not dare utter such words.
In reality, Cheon Woo-jin spoke nonchalantly as if nothing had happened.
“Since you would not wake up, I pushed you lightly.”
“…”
The Wudang Sword Immortal looked at Cheon Woo-jin for a moment. Unlike himself, the Zhongnan Sect Leader beside him looked completely fine.
Suspicion arose, but having no particular evidence, the Wudang Sword Immortal smacked his lips. In any case, it was also true that his life had been saved thanks to him.
“…Thank you.”
“Do not mention it.”
Having said that, Cheon Woo-jin looked straight ahead.
Not only the assassins, but even Ghost Demon Squad Leader Myeong-hwi wore dumbfounded expressions.
Their killing formation dug deep into the human psyche to violently stir the emotion of fear. Unless one truly became an immortal, there was no way one could dismantle this formation so powerlessly.
“Just what in the world is your identity…”
Myeong-hwi murmured in a low voice.
He had not particularly asked, but Cheon Woo-jin replied as if it were a hassle.
“I told you, I am Cheon Woo-jin.”
Why did he keep asking the same question?
Thinking that he was a truly strange assassin bastard, Cheon Woo-jin stomped the floor lightly. He had left behind his Crescent Moon Staff and Crane Feather Fan. However, he had long surpassed the realm where weapons themselves held significant meaning.
Dark Heavens Qi welled up darkly around his fists. Watching that ominous energy, Myeong-hwi was seized by an instinctive unease.
In Cheon Woo-jin’s eyes, this killing formation held little meaning. Even without this kind of method, there were plenty of ways to stimulate an opponent’s fear.
Fundamentally, all humans harbored a fear of death. Just like that vivid emotion welling in the Ghost Demon Squad Leader’s pupils right now.
Unable to overcome his fear, Myeong-hwi, formerly the Divine Killing Society Leader and now called the Ghost Demon Squad Leader, swung his straight saber in an instant. It was purely an instinctive movement, yet because it was a straight saber swung by an expert of the Realm Beyond the Heavens, its trajectory and speed were astonishingly precise.
Thinking that it would have been more worthwhile to fight him had he not deployed such a killing formation, Cheon Woo-jin extended his fist.
Soon, the straight saber and fist collided.
The energy released by the two experts of the Realm Beyond the Heavens collided head-on, producing a massive explosion.
Kaaaaaaabooom!
Under that impact, the four-story pavilion collapsed whole.
The assassins began fleeing in all directions.
However, there was no way the Daoists would just watch this.
In any case, the Wudang Sword Immortal and the Zhongnan Sect Leader were also leaders of the Nine Great Sects and One Clan, figures with few superiors in the contemporary martial world.
Furthermore, once an assassin revealed their form, they lost their power.
A veritable slaughter unfolded.
.
.
.
Corpses of assassins filled the area around the collapsed pavilion.
The Wudang Sword Immortal and the Zhongnan Sect Leader swallowed their disappointment.
Although they had won the battle completely, there was no corpse of the Ghost Demon Squad Leader.
Because at the final moment, his very existence had vanished as if he had literally evaporated.
Even so, achieving such a victory against one hundred assassins including an expert of the Realm Beyond the Heavens without major casualties was truly a remarkable feat.
It was at that moment.
Picking up the Crescent Moon Staff lying on the ground, Cheon Woo-jin strode somewhere with steady steps. Where he stopped again was in front of a massive ginkgo tree.
Because the tree was so huge, its shade was quite deep.
Cheon Woo-jin suddenly thrust his Crescent Moon Staff into the empty air beneath the shade.
Thwack!
He had stabbed empty air, yet the sound of flesh and muscle being gouged was heard. Soon, the Ghost Demon Squad Leader, whose chest was pierced through by the Crescent Moon Staff, revealed his form.
Everyone could not contain their astonishment. Even before entering the killing formation, Cheon Woo-jin had consistently detected the Ghost Demon Squad Leader’s concealment.
Even as an expert who had reached the Realm Beyond the Heavens, the Wudang Sword Immortal could not feel the slightest trace of energy sense, so he wondered by what skill he was seeing through it.
Of course, the one most curious was Myeong-hwi himself.
“H-How on earth…”
“Because the wind flows unnaturally.”
Under the White Flower Sword Immortal’s influence, Cheon Woo-jin was more sensitive to the wind than anyone else. Beyond the realm of mere qi and senses, he had reached a stage where he could see and feel even the faintest breeze.
No matter how great an art of concealment might be, one could not erase one’s very existence from the world. In the end, the wind could not flow naturally through where he was, and would instead collide or detour.
To Cheon Woo-jin, finding a concealed person was as natural as watching leaves scattering in the wind.