Chapter 147 :

Those Wearing Black Masks (6)

To Seong Moran, Jin Sowoon was an uncomfortable presence.

Even setting aside the affairs between their sects, he was someone she couldn’t feel at ease around on a personal level.

A man who would risk his life for others at any time.

Even if they had once been his enemies, he’d do it as if it were only natural.

That was why Seong Moran was always dissatisfied with his actions, yet couldn’t push him away or leave him.

Perhaps she kept calling him by a nickname he disliked because, deep down, she wanted him to become a little more selfish.

So this is how it turned out.

If she hadn’t agreed with his decision in the first place, they wouldn’t have ended up facing a situation this bad.

“Do you even know where you are……?”

A displeased voice rumbled low, like a tiger growling.

Though the weather had grown quite warm, steam poured from his entire body.

He must have just expelled all the alcohol from his system and readied himself for battle.

Jong Byeokgi, Flying Cloud New Wind.

A rising star who had claimed a place in the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering during Yong Soa’s generation, once called the strongest generation.

If not for Yong Soa and Ilmyeong, he would have been more than worthy of being named a future leader of the next generation.

Now he was radiating murderous intent.

“Who are you? Reveal your identity.”

Energy shimmered around Jong Byeokgi’s sword.

Seong Moran recoiled from the sharp killing intent she sensed from him and spoke to Jin Sowoon.

—Young Hero Jin, what do we do now?

Jong Byeokgi’s arrival meant the Diancang Sect’s warriors were probably close behind.

And they would surely stop at nothing to hide their ugly deeds.

—Now that we’ve revealed ourselves, we should be glad.

Seong Moran bit her lip.

—As expected, hanging around the rising star of the heretical faction keeps getting me into fights with righteous sects.

Seong Moran adjusted her grip on her sword.

She didn’t want to be someone who only relied on him and stayed by his side.

She wanted to be someone he could rely on.

No, at the very least, she wanted to be someone who believed in him.

She didn’t know why she felt that way.

Her heart had simply turned in that direction.

—They’ll fight desperately.

—Don’t worry. The Iron Sword Sect’s blades don’t break so easily.

—Understood. Then let’s end this as quickly as we can.

—You’re not thinking of fighting Senior Jong Byeokgi, are you?

The previous generation of the Martial Academy’s Dragon-Phoenix Gathering had truly been a war among stars.

The presence of Yong Soa and Ilmyeong had raised the standards of comparison to an extreme level.

As a result, the current Dragon-Phoenix Gathering was filled with more powerful fighters than ever before.

Jong Byeokgi was one of the experts expected to lead the Diancang Sect in the future.

He was a promising young martial artist whose talent was said to be on another level.

—Of course not. I’m just going to buy us some time.

Despite his words, a faint killing intent lingered in Jin Sowoon’s eyes beneath his mask.

She hadn’t seen him look like that even during the Martial Academy entrance exam.

What on earth had happened to him?

—Anyway, let’s not get hurt or killed. It’d be embarrassing to get injured while helping other people.

Seong Moran tried to hide her worry and scolded him instead.

That was the way she knew best to say it.

—I was about to say the same to you. Be careful, or Young Lady Namgung Seonhwa will scold you.

—You’re hilarious. Seriously.

With that, they split off in opposite directions.

“You bastards dare……”

Jong Byeokgi’s sword flashed like lightning, unleashing a volley of sword energy.

The swift sword form of the Shooting Sun Sword Art.

The bursts of sword energy were so fast they were difficult to see with the naked eye.

They shot toward Jin Sowoon.

Jin Sowoon kept running without slowing down at all.

The moment he let the sword energy strike his body—

“Hah!”

His figure shattered like an apparition and disappeared.

The sword energy continued on, striking only empty air.

Jong Byeokgi’s eyes widened.

Sensing something strange, he turned his head.

Jin Sowoon, who’d vanished from sight, was right before him, coming down like a bolt of lightning to split his head open.

“Crazy……!”

Clang!

The swords collided with a tremendous impact, as if space itself had been torn apart.

Jong Byeokgi staggered back five steps and vomited up the food and wine he’d consumed the night before.

Jin Sowoon immediately thrust for his throat.

“You bastard…… How dare you……”

Thinking his opponent’s sword was heavier than expected, Jong Byeokgi brought out the Fire Dragon Sword Art.

The moment Jin Sowoon’s sword collided with Jong Byeokgi’s, the sound of twisting metal rang out across the scene.

Gwoooong—

The shrill sound pierced the eardrums of the Yuwol Gate warriors.

They covered their ears, but the agonizing noise continued as the two swordsmen exchanged blows.

At least Jong Byeokgi had recovered his senses and was now driving the masked man back.

The Yuwol Gate warriors were all smiles for a moment.

Then the masked man’s sword, which had been retreating under the Fire Dragon Sword Art, began forming those same illusion swords again.

“Be careful! He uses illusion swords!”

One of the Yuwol Gate warriors warned him about the sword art that had already killed so many of his comrades.

Jong Byeokgi’s mouth fell open in surprise.

“I-illusion swords?”

Had some unpleasant memory come back to him?

At that moment, dozens of illusion swords burst from the masked man.

“……You…… No way—damn it!”

Jong Byeokgi clenched his teeth and scattered sword energy wildly.

A storm rose with the sword energy: the Diancang Sect’s supreme art, the Returning Wind Flowless Sword.

Kwo-kwa-kwa-kwa!

The storm met dozens of illusion swords and grew enormous, swallowing both the illusions and the true swords hidden among them.

Whiiiiish!

When the storm passed, even the weeds growing freely across the ground had been swept away, leaving the area barren.

But the masked man was nowhere to be seen.

“Jin Sowoon……”

Jong Byeokgi spat out the name through clenched teeth.

The masked man’s figure fluttered down and landed within the traces left by the Returning Wind Flowless Sword.

“Are you insane? Or has the Taeul Sect grown so powerful that it can afford to make an enemy of the Diancang Sect?”

Jong Byeokgi spoke as though certain it was Jin Sowoon, but the masked man didn’t answer.

Frustrated, Jong Byeokgi shouted.

“Answer me! Jin Sowoon! Are you really going to keep pretending you’re not him?”

The masked man said nothing.

He simply began stepping through that damned footwork again.

Jong Byeokgi clenched his teeth and raised his sword.

He’d circulated his energy to drive out all the alcohol, but the hangover still clouded his mind.

In this state, he couldn’t distinguish illusion from reality.

Then I’ll face him head-on.

He’d already learned during the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering that the Shooting Sun Sword Art didn’t work on this man.

Jong Byeokgi wasn’t stupid enough to keep repeating the same steps.

He unleashed the Gale Swift Sword, built by taking only the most forceful strengths of the Returning Wind Flowless Sword.

Whoosh!

The sword energy shot forth with a fierce wind, about to swallow Jin Sowoon.

Jin Sowoon vanished, leaving an afterimage behind, just as before.

He appeared on Jong Byeokgi’s right.

“How long are you going to keep using the same trick?”

Jong Byeokgi turned his sword again and brought down the Falling Shadow Flying Flower Sword.

Like the shadows of falling blossoms, its sword energy cleaved through space and blocked every escape route.

These were ultimate techniques: if even one struck, Jin Sowoon would lose a hand or a foot.

Jin Sowoon raised his sword and slowly spun it around.

Though he knew it wouldn’t work, he conjured illusion swords.

Jong Byeokgi’s eyes, brimming with confidence, began to widen.

“W-what?!”

Sword energy began to form around each of the many illusion swords adorning the sky.

Illusion swords shouldn’t have been able to carry sword energy.

But the sword-energy-clad illusions cut through the starting point of the Falling Shadow Flying Flower Sword and blocked its strikes.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

With every impact, the flowers disappeared.

Jin Sowoon broke through the entire Falling Shadow Flying Flower Sword and closed in on Jong Byeokgi.

Jong Byeokgi hurriedly thrust out the Ten Thousand Bows form, a successor technique of the Shooting Sun Sword Art.

Whoosh!

Kwang!

Jong Byeokgi, who’d flown in like lightning, was sent hurtling away like an arrow.

Ghk.

Blood streamed from the corner of his mouth.

Jong Byeokgi leaped to his feet, about to resume the fight.

Slice.

Jin Sowoon appeared behind him and cut through the tendons at his heel.

“Gah! Ugh!”

Jong Byeokgi collapsed to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut.

The Yuwol Gate warriors stared in shock.

“Young Master Jong! Young Master Jong!”

If the Diancang Sect’s rising star, Jong Byeokgi, died here, they had no idea what would happen.

If this ended with only their misconduct exposed, at worst they’d be cursed out, but the Diancang Sect would still protect them.

But they couldn’t imagine what the Diancang Sect would do if Jong Byeokgi died.

“Protect Young Master Jong! Hurry!”

The Yuwol Gate warriors rushed at Jin Sowoon, throwing their lives away as if they were nothing.

But the Geum, Eun, and Dong brothers wouldn’t let them.

“Why are you meddling in the boss’s fight?”

Geumpyo stepped forward and blocked the Yuwol Gate warriors.

Eunho and Dongryong also brought out their Myriad Swords and stopped them completely.

The Yuwol Gate warriors couldn’t get past the three brothers.

Jin Sowoon leisurely approached Jong Byeokgi, who was screaming.

“Now you’ll pay for insulting my sect.”

“You…… You’ll regret……”

Jin Sowoon watched Jong Byeokgi grit his teeth in agony, then changed his grip on his sword.

He slammed it into Jong Byeokgi’s dantian with enough force to pierce through his body.

Thud.

A strange sound, impossible to believe had come from a human body, rang out like something breaking.

Jong Byeokgi let out an eerie scream.

“Gwoooagh!”

He spewed out a mouthful of black blood mixed with flesh.

Before he could even see what he’d thrown up, his eyes rolled back and he fell over.

“Insane……”

“……Did Flying Cloud New Wind just lose?”

“Go get them! Kill that bastard now!”

Just then, a tremendous boom sounded as the huge gate flew away like a tree branch.

KWA-BOOM!

“………”

The ones who’d smashed through the gate were warriors of the Diancang Sect, each radiating a powerful presence.

Behind them, the Yuwol Gate warriors came rushing after them.

Among the hundred or so Diancang experts, a middle-aged man who seemed to be their leader looked at Jong Byeokgi, then raised his head to face Jin Sowoon.

“……Who are you?”

At the middle-aged man’s terse question, one of the Muwol Unit members pointed at Jin Sowoon.

“Y-Young Master Jong…… He called him J-Jin Sowoon.”

“Jin Sowoon?”

The middle-aged man stared at Jin Sowoon with a cold gaze.

“Are you Jin Sowoon of the Taeul Sect?”

“You knew we were from the Diancang Sect, and that boy was Jong Byeokgi of the Diancang Sect, didn’t you?”

“……I did.”

“You knew? Then can you explain why you did this?”

“Jong Byeokgi was involved in the kidnappings in Yueyang. Did the Diancang Sect know about it, too?”

“………”

The middle-aged man’s face stiffened.

But it quickly turned angry.

“What are you talking about? Kidnappings?”

“Heh…… I knew you’d deny it. That’s why I took action. At the very least, you should pay a price, too.”

“You’re insane…… The sect will find out what you were thinking when it investigates this. And your sect will no longer exist in the murim world. Don’t expect anyone to help you.”

As the middle-aged man turned away, radiating killing intent, the Diancang warriors began forming the Splitting Light Five Ghost Sword Formation.

It was a legendary killing formation from which no one who entered could escape before becoming a ghost.

Seong Moran, who’d watched the whole thing in tense silence, didn’t know what to do.

She could only look at that foolishly upright man, who never hesitated to walk into death himself to save someone else.

Then Jin Sowoon’s voice sounded in her ear.

—Young Lady Seong, don’t leave the formation under any circumstances.

—What?

Before Seong Moran could answer, Jin Sowoon shouted.

“Geum, Eun, Dong!”

The three brothers immediately took their places around Seong Moran.

She recognized the White Tiger Deathblow Sword Formation.

“Eunho, you take charge. I’ll fill in for Saryeon.”

“Understood.”

“Start with Myriad Illusions. We’re at a disadvantage if this drags on.”

“Yes!”

Seong Moran could hardly think straight.

Meanwhile, the Splitting Light Five Ghost Sword Formation began to activate.

Fifty swords were drawn at once and thrust toward the Taeul Sect group from all eight directions.

Four swords appeared around the group, then began sweeping through the space by themselves, as if dancing.

Shrrrring.

Bang.

Dozens of illusion swords sprang from the four swords and dazzled the eyes of the warriors performing the Splitting Light Five Ghost Sword Formation.

“Ignore them! They’re only illusion swords!”

At the middle-aged man’s shout, the emboldened Diancang warriors ignored the illusions and thrust their swords forward.

But—

Shrrrring!

Clang-clang-clang!

Amid the clashes with the illusion swords, which should have made no sound, a strange metallic ringing echoed.

Cries rang out from all around.

Ghk!

Aaargh!

Ah!

Five swordsmen in the Splitting Light Five Ghost Sword Formation were wounded, and for a moment the formation fell out of alignment.

The other Diancang swordsmen waiting behind them tried to fill the gap.

But Jin Sowoon slipped into it during that brief opening.

“Don’t let him!”

The middle-aged man’s eyes blazed.

Cold Flame Palms erupted from his hands in a furious barrage.

Boom, boom, boom, boom!

The ground flipped over, and weeds flew everywhere.

Jin Sowoon dodged the Cold Flame Palms and returned to the White Tiger Deathblow Sword Formation.

The Splitting Light Five Ghost Sword Formation spread wide in an instant, then closed in around the entire Taeul Sect group, as if determined not to let Jin Sowoon escape again.

The Splitting Light Five Ghost Sword Formation completely surrounded the White Tiger Deathblow Sword Formation.

It was a formation designed to face a single peerless expert.

Even one of the Top Hundred Experts Under Heaven had no way to escape it intact.

“Star Piercing!”

At Eunho’s shout, the Twin Heaven Sword Art shot out from the four swords in every direction.

“Guh!”

“Ghk!”

One by one, the warriors forming the Splitting Light Five Ghost Sword Formation fell.

But the formation itself didn’t collapse.

“Fill the gaps!”

At the middle-aged man’s order, the Diancang warriors waiting behind them shot forward and filled the empty spaces.

They kept pressing the attack, as if they meant to fight to the bitter end.

“You’ve got some skill, I’ll grant you that. But let’s see if you can escape the Diancang Sect’s grasp.”

The Splitting Light Five Ghost Sword Formation, which had spread wide, began closing in.

Only the Diancang Sect suffered casualties, but with every loss, the formation tightened around the White Tiger Deathblow Sword Formation.

At last, the Taeul Sect disciples’ clothes began to be cut apart, one by one.

Yet not one of them left the formation.

Seong Moran’s life was in imminent danger, but she kept her eyes wide open.

She had decided to trust them.

To trust him.

And at that very moment—

“Stop!!!”

With a voice that rang throughout the estate, more than two hundred warriors appeared atop its walls.