Chapter 163 :

<The Black Flame Dragon Who Quells the Chaos (8)>

After nearly three quiet days, the area around the Yujang Sect was filled with commotion.

Every heretical martial artist in Yueyang with any skill with a blade had gathered, leaving no room to stand inside or outside the Yujang Sect.

Some were fighting over who had claimed a spot along the wall first.

Others had set up gambling games, while still more had brought drinks and snacks to enjoy as they waited for the sparring match to begin.

Every sort of strange character had gathered.

A few righteous sects had come to watch as well, but the difference in numbers was so great that they could hardly hold their heads high.

"Righteous faction nobodies, get out of the way!"

"Hey! Your sect is next after the Yujang Sect. You know that, right?"

"The Martial Alliance has no interest in the likes of you! Don't expect any help!"

The decisive sparring match hadn't even begun, yet the excitement kept building.

Just as the crowd's chatter reached its peak—

"They're here!"

At one man's shout, everyone turned to look behind them.

The packed crowd parted to either side like a sea splitting open, clearing a path to the Yujang Sect's already-broken main gate.

"Magnificent! The Mukhyul Gang!"

"Show those bastards what we're made of!"

"Let's drive all the righteous factions out of Yueyang while we're at it!"

Behind Sogyeongchu, the former deputy gang leader who had become the Mukhyul Gang's leader after the previous leader's death, came the assault captain Sang Gwanbaek, Sword Evil, Snake Evil, and the Mukhyul Gang's warriors.

They strode without hesitation through the Yujang Sect's broken gate.

The Mukhyul Gang's men crossed the main courtyard and took their places in the great training ground, facing forward.

The Yujang Sect's warriors, the people from the Martial Academy, and Jin Sowoon's group slowly took their places opposite them.

Even the boisterous crowd fell quiet, and a strange tension swept through the training ground.

At last, Dang Hyeokjae, standing to one side of the training ground with the Martial Alliance members, called out:

"The decisive sparring match will now begin."

"Waaaaah!"

As if anyone could love watching a fight more than the heretical faction, cheers erupted loudly enough to shake the Yujang Sect.

Sogyeongchu frowned as he scanned the Yujang Sect's side.

"Where is that arrogant bastard?"

At his words, Sword Evil stepped forward as well.

"Jin. Representative. Not here. Bring Jin. Representative."

Dang Hyeokjae answered for him.

"Jin Sowoon is getting ready and will be out shortly."

"Ha! Does the Mukhyul Gang look so insignificant to you?"

Sogyeongchu's booming shout silenced even the restless crowd.

Dang Hyeokjae replied calmly.

"...Didn't you simply arrive early?"

"Why are the dark faction bastards so punctual? Tsk."

He had muttered it to himself, but every heretical martial artist nearby heard him clearly.

People here and there gnashed their teeth and released waves of killing intent, but Dang Hyeokjae ignored them, picking at his ear with his little finger.

Soon, footsteps sounded from the hall, and everyone's attention turned in that direction.

"No... Good heavens..."

"What's with that guy?"

"Is that really the Bloodflame Dragon?"

The gathered crowd began to look uneasy.

The Bloodflame Dragon was coming out of the hall, supported by Namgung Seonhwa.

He was so gaunt that he looked close to death.

Only three days had passed, yet he had changed so much that it was hard to believe he was the same person they had seen before.

"Representative. Something wrong."

At Sword Evil's words, Sogyeongchu gave a derisive laugh.

"I can tell just by looking."

His face was bloodless, his eye sockets deeply hollowed, and the veins all over his body seemed ready to burst even as his flesh had wasted away.

"He's suffering qi deviation."

"Qi deviation?"

"He must have tried to develop some technique in just three days and failed. Sword Evil, you'll have to do the honors."

"..."

Supported by Namgung Seonhwa, Jin Sowoon appeared and slumped into a chair the Yujang Sect's people had brought out.

A burst of laughter rose from the heretical faction's side.

"Hey, Bloodflame Dragon! That's the righteous faction's side! Wake up, you bastard!"

"Idiot! You're supposed to stand over here!"

"Master of Four Emperors Peak sends his regards!"

Jin Sowoon, still slumped over, slowly raised his head toward the voices.

"..."

Then he slowly lifted both arms and made a thumbs-up.

Some of the heretical martial artists doubled over laughing at how sluggishly he moved.

Sogyeongchu climbed onto the great training ground.

"...He doesn't look well. Is he still going to take part?"

At Sogyeongchu's question, the Yujang Sect's leader looked at Jin Sowoon.

Jin Sowoon nodded.

"Yes. I intend to go through with it."

"The Yujang Sect has put its hopes in that wreck? No wonder the sect is doomed!"

"..."

Sogyeongchu finished speaking and stepped down from the training ground.

Then a man carrying a sickle climbed up, and Jang Ujae stepped forward from the Yujang Sect's side.

"If you want to blame someone for my brutal attacks, blame Jin Sowoon."

At the sickle-wielding man's words, Jang Ujae looked toward Jin Sowoon.

How shocked had he been when he heard that the man who had told him not to take the Blood Explosion Pill had become so wrecked after overexerting himself in an attempt to help the Yujang Sect?

Jin Sowoon always sacrificed himself and endured more than anyone could expect.

Jang Ujae fixed a steady glare on the man with the sickle.

"Even if I die today, that won't happen."

Jang Ujae took the opening stance of the Flying Flow Sword Art, and the man with the sickle did the same.

"Begin!"

At Dang Hyeokjae's shout, the two men launched themselves at each other like arrows.

The sickle was the first weapon drawn.

Using its short reach, the man slashed the space in a cross, then struck at five death points.

Jang Ujae, who had been performing the Flying Flow Sword Art, hurriedly drew his sword back and blocked the attacks aimed at his vital points.

Clang, clang, clang!

A sickle's attacks were unfamiliar enough that even a seasoned martial artist would have struggled to defend against them.

But Jang Ujae managed to block them with considerable skill.

"Now it's my turn!"

Using the suction technique of the Flying Flow Sword Art, Jang Ujae pulled the sickle toward himself and threw his opponent off balance.

Then he immediately attacked the man with the sickle, aiming for three vital points.

The man tried to dodge, but the unprecedented pulling force left him no choice but to take a wound to the arm.

"Tch!"

After glancing at the wound, the man drew the short saber from his waist as well.

"Now it begins."

The moment he drew the short saber, barely half the length of a normal saber, the man's aura changed completely.

Gulp.

Jang Ujae swallowed without realizing it.

Then—

—The sickle is just a tool to draw your attention. Focus on the short saber.

A voice suddenly came through telepathy.

Jang Ujae met Jin Sowoon's gaze, and Jin Sowoon nodded.

Jang Ujae gritted his teeth and moved first this time.

"Yaaah!"

As he performed the Returning Wind Flying Flow form, wind began to swirl around him.

Riding that wind, Jang Ujae's sword began to hem in the man with the sickle.

"You think you can accomplish anything with cheap tricks like that?"

The man's sickle grazed Jang Ujae's face with terrifying speed.

An ordinary person would have dodged it long ago.

But remembering Jin Sowoon's words, Jang Ujae kept swinging his sword at the short saber instead of the sickle.

"Graaagh!"

Jang Ujae ducked with a scream, leaving a long gash on his cheek.

The man retrieved his sickle and swung it viciously three more times.

His attacks were so fierce that traces of energy lingered in the air.

But even as blood dripped from him, Jang Ujae stood back up and continued using the Flying Flow Sword Art to attack the man's left hand.

Thrust. Thrust. Thrust.

The sound of flesh being pierced rang out as blood burst from Jang Ujae's abdomen, thigh, and left arm.

But it was the man with the sickle who screamed.

"Gaaaagh! My hand!"

The hand that had held the short saber had been severed completely.

Staring at his empty left arm, the man looked as if he couldn't believe what had happened.

Both men were sprawled on the ground, so no one could tell who had won.

Sogyeongchu looked at Dang Hyeokjae and asked:

"Who won?"

Dang Hyeokjae tapped Jang Ujae's cheek to check whether he was conscious, then answered:

"The Mukhyul Gang wins!"

For a moment, cheers rose from the Mukhyul Gang at Dang Hyeokjae's decision.

The Yujang Sect's people carried Jang Ujae away and began emergency treatment.

Jang Sagyeong, standing on the training ground, watched them closely.

"..."

"Is the Yujang Sect worth enduring all this for, even if it means driving your own son to the brink of death?"

When Jang Sagyeong turned his head, Sogyeongchu continued from the training ground.

"The Bloodflame Dragon kept him alive. You could have had him face a suitable opponent and then given up."

"Deputy Gang Leader... No, I suppose I should call you Gang Leader now."

Jang Sagyeong slowly drew his sword.

"Do you know why even powerful heretical sects never last a hundred years?"

Jang Sagyeong's eyes gleamed.

"It's because they lack conviction."

"...That sounds like something a righteous faction bookworm would say."

Jang Sagyeong paid him no mind and looked around as he continued.

"No, this truly matters. Without a powerful conviction to build a sect or family, you're nothing more than a gang of thugs."

"Then today will prove it. Even with conviction, the weak still die."

"Perhaps. If you make it out of here alive, think about what spirit forms the pillars of the Mukhyul Gang."

"You're trying to provoke me with cunning words."

Sogyeongchu raised his great saber and prepared his opening stance.

Like Jang Ujae, Jang Sagyeong took the opening stance of the Flying Flow Sword Art and readied himself.

Neither waited for Dang Hyeokjae to call the start.

Both men unleashed their energy at each other at the same time.

Boom!

Sword energy and saber energy exploded in midair, and sand from the training ground billowed up in a thick cloud.

Without waiting to see who would move first, the two rushed into the dust and continued their match.

Clang, clang, clang, clang!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The clang of metal striking metal.

The explosive sound of energy colliding with energy.

The thick cloud of dust scattered in every direction, blocking everyone's view.

"What? The Yujang Sect's leader was this strong?"

"Then why was he getting beaten so badly all this time?"

The crowd's questions were answered once the dust had completely settled.

A martial artist's internal energy was normally used in the most efficient way possible.

A fist fighter used it in their fists; a swordsman used it in their sword.

But Jang Sagyeong's energy covered not just his sword, but his entire body.

"Is he using innate true energy?"

"Wasn't this a lost cause anyway? Why go this far...?"

"He's just making a desperate last stand."

The dark faction martial artists jeered from all sides.

The Yujang Sect's people were just as shocked by what they saw.

"Master!"

"Father!"

They cried out to Jang Sagyeong at the top of their lungs, but he only watched Sogyeongchu before him.

"...Are you planning to die together?"

Sogyeongchu asked through gritted teeth.

Jang Sagyeong replied calmly instead.

"Are you afraid?"

"You think this cheap trick can close the gap between us?"

"Are you afraid of dying?"

"You bastard!"

Sogyeongchu's Demon-Strength Blood Calamity Saber Art roared as he unleashed saber energy.

Eight waves of saber energy shot in all directions, crashing into the training ground and the surrounding halls before exploding.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Amid that overwhelming destructive force, Jang Sagyeong calmly wielded the Flying Flow Sword Art, deflecting the saber energy and blocking the debris.

"Do you know why you're afraid of death?"

"What?"

"Because you have nothing left behind."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

Jang Sagyeong glanced toward Jang Ujae.

The boy who had been unconscious until just now was watching him with a pale face.

His eyes were full of fear, but he was looking straight at his father.

"That's why conviction... and spirit... matter. Even when death draws near, something remains."

"Fine! I'll give you a death you won't fear!"

Sogyeongchu's great saber glowed red-hot.

Then a two-foot blade of red saber aura appeared above it.

"Blood Calamity Rules the Age!"

Sogyeongchu brought down his saber.

The saber aura split into eight blades, tearing through the bluestone training ground as they shot toward Jang Sagyeong.

"Of course. I'm not afraid."

The energy surrounding Jang Sagyeong grew even stronger.

The Yujang Sect's people cried out in alarm, but he no longer looked back.

"Returning Wind Flying Flow!"

A whirlwind of energy began to surround Jang Sagyeong.

He shot forward and formed a one-foot blade of sword aura at the tip of his sword.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The training ground split open, and mounds of earth surged away like waves.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

"Watch out!"

"Flying gravel!"

Smoke and sand swept through the area, carried by the energy.

The heretical martial artists who had been watching casually recoiled in alarm.

"Flying Flow—"

At Jang Sagyeong's shout, another deafening boom struck their eardrums.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Then, suddenly, the explosions stopped.

For a brief moment, silence fell.

"W-what happened?"

"Who won?"

Those who had turned their heads looked back at the training ground and were left speechless.

"...Good heavens."

"What... What is this?"

Sogyeongchu's beloved great saber, which had claimed the blood of hundreds as the Mukhyul Gang's second-in-command, had been cut in two.

Jang Sagyeong's sword had pierced Sogyeongchu's heart.

"D-damn it..."

With a thud, Sogyeongchu fell backward and didn't move again.

Thump.

Jang Sagyeong, as if he had spent every last bit of strength, dropped to his knees.

The Yujang Sect's people rushed to gather around him.

"Master!"

"Master!"

Then someone wearing a robe of black and white pushed through the crowd.

He immediately checked Jang Sagyeong's pulse, put a pill in his mouth, and inserted more than ten needles into his body.

"Hah!"

Jang Sagyeong, who had been motionless like burnt-out ash, suddenly opened his eyes wide.

"Don't move."

"W-who are you?"

"I came from the Tang Clan."

"I see."

"...Why did you push yourself so hard?"

The man checking Jang Sagyeong's pulse shook his head.

"I'm afraid I've only bought you a little time."

Jang Sagyeong slowly nodded.

"...Thank you. That's enough."

Jang Sagyeong stood up under his own power.

He brushed away the hands reaching to support him and walked back to his place.

A moment later, Jin Sowoon climbed onto the training ground with Namgung Seonhwa's help.

Their eyes met briefly.

Jang Sagyeong spoke in a voice like a breath escaping his lungs.

"Help the Yujang Sect... preserve its... conviction..."

Jin Sowoon smiled faintly with his chapped lips and slowly looked around.

"You've already made it so the Yujang Sect's conviction won't bend, even if it breaks."

Following Jin Sowoon's gaze, Jang Sagyeong saw the Yujang Sect members.

Their eyes were brimming with tears, but they gave off a powerful presence.

They were unwavering eyes.

Jang Sagyeong smiled with satisfaction.

"I see. I should have done this long ago. I should have stood on my own, without relying on anyone."

As Jang Sagyeong left the training ground with the Yujang Sect members, Jin Sowoon slipped away from Namgung Seonhwa's support and slowly walked toward the center of the grounds.

He staggered every few steps, but eventually reached the middle and looked at Sword Evil.

"Come up. We should see this decisive match through to the end."

"..."

For some reason, Sword Evil only stared blankly at Jin Sowoon, without moving.

"Sword Evil! Are you scared of that brat? Why aren't you moving?"

At Axe Evil's rough shout, Sword Evil shook his head as if snapping out of a daze.

"Representative. Strange. Different from three days ago. I won't."

When Sword Evil acted strangely, like a puppy that had encountered a tiger, Axe Evil turned to Snake Evil and cursed.

"Damn it, your puppy's trembling. What are you going to do?"

"..."

Snake Evil glanced at Sword Evil, then cursed too.

"Crazy bastard! He says he won't fight. What do you want me to do? You go out there, then, you bastard."

"Hah! You idiots. What did I expect?"

Axe Evil stomped off and leaped high into the air.

He landed on the training ground with a thud.

"Brat, you don't mind if I fight you instead?"

Jin Sowoon looked toward the Mukhyul Gang.

"If you're willing to accept that...."

The Mukhyul Gang briefly erupted in commotion at Jin Sowoon's question.

With the gang leader and deputy leader both dead, no one was left to make the decision.

A moment later, a man stepped forward and nodded.

"Brat, are you sure you're all right with the stage like this? You look like you can barely walk."

"It doesn't matter. I don't intend to take a step anyway."

"So the stories were true. They said the Bloodflame Dragon was losing his mind."

Jin Sowoon found himself nodding.

"...Lately, I've wondered if they might be true."

"Crazy bastard."

Axe Evil began swinging his great axe around.

Green energy gathered around the weapon, and despite his massive build, he charged nimbly toward Jin Sowoon.

Just as he swung his log-sized arms, about to cut Jin Sowoon in half with one blow—

Slice.

Strangely, Axe Evil's great axe never completed its swing.

He passed Jin Sowoon and took a few steps before reaching for his neck with vacant eyes.

"What... What is...?"

A fine line appeared across his neck, and blood began to pour out.

Then his enormous body and head separated cleanly and rolled onto the ground.

"..."

The sight was so shocking that, even with thousands gathered, not a single breath could be heard.

Sword Evil trembled and grabbed Snake Evil.

"Th-the Sword Demon... It's the Sword Demon! We have to run!"