Chapter 171 :

The Black Flame Dragon Who Swallows the Sea of Blood

After finishing a brief meeting with the Kongtong Sect elder assigned to the same group on the second line, So Chunghyeon returned to the barracks and heard an absurd report.

"What?"

"They say we should gather the groups of academy students scattered throughout Sichuan and move as one."

"And who dares suggest such a thing?"

"...The academy representative."

"Heh!"

He felt not only displeasure but disbelief.

Even a young pup that didn't know fear had its limits.

Had the boy lost all sense of danger?

"So we're supposed to wait here?"

"They ask that we wait at least until Shenghu Hall arrives with an official order from the Intelligence Department."

"Ridiculous."

It was so absurd that he wondered if they had lost their minds.

He had followed the leading groups from Diancang and Shaolin because he worried they might fail to deal with all the culprits on their own—and now they were telling him to wait?

And they dared say that to him, a revered elder of the Martial Alliance?

"The Chief Strategist shows him a little favor, and he's gotten completely carried away. And now he dares involve even Shenghu Hall?"

He couldn't let this pass.

No—this was the perfect chance to restore discipline once and for all.

"What should we do?"

"If they're coming, we should move even sooner. We leave at the Mao hour. Tell everyone."

"Understood."

As So Chunghyeon dismissed his disciple and drank down some Jinhua Fenjiu, a local specialty of Jiangsu, the disciple headed for the exit.

Just then,

the Mount Hua disciple slumped to the floor.

"Hm? What's wrong—"

At the same time, a sharp sound rang through his head.

Ziiiiing—

Though he had never heard such a sound before, So Chunghyeon dropped the precious wine from his hand.

Crash!

"Deathly Demonic Sound?"

His heart began to pound violently, and his head spun.

The space before his eyes twisted strangely, and an unholy melody began to play.

He had never experienced anything like it, yet he knew exactly what it was. Since childhood, he had heard so often how terrifying this sound was that the warning had been hammered into his ears.

"The Ten Great Forbidden Arts!"

A heaven-defying martial art that should have remained sealed had surfaced in the world.

So Chunghyeon hurriedly circulated the Purple Cloud Divine Art to protect his mind and shouted,

"What are you waiting for? Raise your internal energy and guard your minds! Mount Hua's martial arts will not fall to such wicked techniques!"

"Ugh... ugh..."

But his disciple gave no answer.

"Recite the Demon-Subduing True-Word Chant! Recite it!"

Protecting one's mind against sonic arts was beyond what a first-year academy student was taught.

At that moment, he bitterly regretted the academy curriculum he had never once bothered to think about.

So Chunghyeon raised all his internal energy and unleashed a Lion's Roar.

"Ha!"

The thunderous shout shook the entire area. The Deathly Demonic Sound vanished in an instant, and his disciple, who had been writhing on the ground, spat up blood.

His disciple's mind, already under the sound's control, had been shaken apart when it clashed with the Lion's Roar.

"Th-this..."

As So Chunghyeon faltered, the Deathly Demonic Sound rang out again.

Ziiiiing—

"The Demon-Subduing True-Word Chant... Recite it!"

"Wha... what did you say, Elder?"

Blood trickled from both of the disciple's ears.

So Chunghyeon hurriedly inscribed the Demon-Subduing True-Word Chant on the ground, but the disciple had already rolled his eyes back, foaming at the mouth as he fell over.

"This isn't an ordinary Deathly Demonic Sound."

The Deathly Demonic Sounds sealed among the Ten Great Forbidden Arts weren't this destructive.

And yet this sound had such tremendous penetrating power that it was stabbing even into his mind, despite his efforts to protect it.

Worse, not a single disciple had rushed out of the barracks after he unleashed his thunderous Lion's Roar. That alone showed how grave the situation was.

"Who are you? Who dares appear before Mount Hua without fear?"

He bellowed, hoping to rouse even the Kongtong Sect elder, but the other barracks remained strangely silent.

Figures. That was Kongtong for you.

He had never expected much from them in the first place. So Chunghyeon drew Mount Hua's treasured sword, the Red Blossom Sword.

For now, hunting down the culprit was more effective than trying to wake the children afflicted by the Deathly Demonic Sound.

So Chunghyeon raised his energy sense to its limit.

He could sense nothing in the surrounding area.

But at last, a faint presence registered in his energy sense.

"Show yourself!"

So Chunghyeon stepped into the Dark Fragrance Drift, and his figure shot forward like lightning.

Whoosh!

He rushed ahead, swift enough to cut through the wind, and was about to swing his sword without hesitation when—

"...A lantern?"

Instead of the enemy he expected to find, his eyes fell on a red lantern floating in midair.

"Did you think this pathetic sorcery could stop Mount Hua?"

So Chunghyeon swung his sword without hesitation.

Crack!

The red lantern went dark, and nearly a hundred men in blood-red robes appeared around him, as though a curtain had been torn away.

Despite their enormous numbers, So Chunghyeon planted his feet firmly and glared at them.

"Calling this pathetic sorcery? You're arrogance itself."

The men were wrapped in red from head to toe.

As if they were all one person, they drew heavy swords from behind their backs and took up attack stances.

So Chunghyeon steadied the Red Blossom Sword.

"Come! Today I'll show you how fearsome Mount Hua's sword can be!"

Flutter.

A single plum blossom petal appeared.

Then two more.

Then four. The petals began to spread through the space around him.

The Plum Blossom Sword Art had reached twelve-star mastery.

Plum blossoms burst into bloom throughout the area, and their fragrance filled the air.

At last, the blossoms whirling everywhere like leaves caught in the wind began to fall upon the blood-robed men.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

The blood-robed men could barely react before the blossoms struck. Arms were severed, chests split open, and heads cut off.

Blood, redder than their clothes, sprayed like fountains. Before long, it pooled on the ground and formed little streams.

Splash.

Though his feet had turned red from stepping in the pool of blood, So Chunghyeon did not retreat from where he stood.

"This is Mount Hua's plum blossom!"

No matter how much blood was spilled, the fragrance of plum blossoms remained.

The destruction was overwhelming.

The nearly hundred men were wiped out in an instant.

And yet, for some reason, So Chunghyeon's expression remained troubled.

"What stubborn bastards."

A corpse-strewn sea of blood.

Bodies piled up like mountains, blood flowing like an ocean.

But before long, another hundred men appeared and filled the space.

Even though their comrades had died, not one of them uttered a scream.

"Good. Mount Hua needs enemies with this much confidence."

The Deathly Demonic Sound had caught him off guard, but after crossing swords with them, he could tell they weren't particularly skilled.

"Heretical practitioners are always like this."

Had the sorcerers of heretical sects ever surpassed the righteous faction's strength?

If he could disrupt the sorcerers sustaining the Deathly Demonic Sound, the children would soon regain consciousness and make it here.

"Then we can deal with them all."

Once he got out of here, he could regroup and wipe them out in one fell swoop.

Picturing that hopeful future, So Chunghyeon unleashed another Lion's Roar.

"Mount Hua's disciples, gather here!"

In case they couldn't hear him, he shouted several times, each time filling his voice with internal energy.

Then he scattered plum blossoms once more, cutting down the enemies advancing toward him.

At the same time,

at the Mount Hua and Kongtong encampments a short distance away, the disciples were coming to their senses in confusion.

"Where's the elder? Has anyone seen Elder So Chunghyeon?"

"He's not in his barracks."

"Where could he have gone all of a sudden?"

The academy students had rushed out of their barracks after hearing the sudden thunderous noise. The first thing they did was look for Elder So Chunghyeon and the Kongtong elder, but both men were gone.

"...Could the two of them have gone off to drink together?"

At the words of a disciple from the Huaseong Sect, an affiliated sect of Mount Hua, the Mount Hua disciples stiffened and snapped back,

"Don't be stupid! Why would the elders go anywhere at a time like this?"

"I-I'm sorry."

"They must have gone to investigate the noise first. Wake all the other academy students! We'll search for the elders first."

The students gathered in small groups and began spreading out in every direction.

And a red lantern began slowly following behind them.

"You said we'd avoid them!"

Nam Hwaseong shouted in frustration.

All that talk about the Flash East, Strike West strategy had been a complete lie.

While they were on the run, Jin Sowoon had fought one skirmish after another with each of the three Green Forest strongholds they encountered.

Strangely enough, wherever they ran, a Green Forest stronghold was always waiting for them.

Damn it, it would've been hard to find them even if they'd been looking!

Worse, the Green Forest bandits had kept picking up their trail. Now all three strongholds seemed to be working together to capture Nam Hwaseong and Jin Sowoon.

It was a truly miraculous operation.

"You're blaming me because you got caught lagging behind?"

"Damn it..."

The Deer-Horn Wind-Cloud Steps were an exceptional movement technique, one of the fastest in the murim world.

Nam Hwaseong had shown off his skill, hoping to impress Jin Sowoon, but Jin Sowoon had kept up with him.

In fact, while Nam Hwaseong was running himself half to death, Jin Sowoon was casually chatting beside him about plans and strategies.

"What the hell is going on?"

Jin Sowoon's skill was one thing, but the movement technique he used wasn't anything Nam Hwaseong recognized from the Taeul Sect.

Until now, Nam Hwaseong had never believed the rumors about the Taeul Sect. Now he would have to revise everything he thought he knew about it.

As Nam Hwaseong frantically sorted through what he'd need to report to Cheol Sunjik, Jin Sowoon pulled out a bundle of talismans and handed him one.

"What's this?"

"You can use Samadhi True Fire, right?"

"Haah, haah. You think I'm some kind of fool?"

"It's a Demon-Subduing Talisman from the Hengshan Sect. Burn it if you feel your body becoming unresponsive or start seeing illusions. It should free you from the sorcery."

So this was a talisman from the Hengshan Sect?

The talismans of the Hengshan Sect were said to be made by powerful sorcerers after a hundred days of prayer. They were a popular luxury item among martial artists.

They were nice to own, but not very useful for the price.

A so-called luxury brand.

Nam Hwaseong was amazed that Jin Sowoon had a whole bundle of them. But the thought that the sorcery Jin Sowoon had mentioned might be real made his heart sink.

Yes, they were clearly in a life-or-death situation.

"Why'd you give me only one?"

Jin Sowoon answered matter-of-factly, as though the reason were obvious.

"If you die carrying half of them, they'll go to waste."

"You bastard! You could've said that a little more nicely!"

Whoosh!

At the sound of an arrow tearing through the wind, Nam Hwaseong turned his head.

He froze when he saw it flying straight at him.

"When did they get so close?!"

The Green Forest bandits of the Red Blossom Stronghold, whom he thought they'd shaken off, had caught up and entered arrow range.

"I can't dodge it."

His senses had dulled, and he'd noticed the arrow too late to evade it.

He raised his hands, hoping at least to protect his head.

But the pain he expected never came.

"...What?"

Nam Hwaseong cautiously opened his eyes.

Before him, Jin Sowoon had caught the arrow with his bare hand.

"They're close. Let's pick up the pace."

"...O-oh. R-right."

Nam Hwaseong was about to scrape together what little internal energy remained in his dantian to speed up when—

Ten men in a variety of outfits suddenly dropped into view.

"How dare you look down on our Red Blossom Stronghold—"

Before the bandits of the Red Blossom Stronghold could finish speaking, Jin Sowoon began swinging the long iron staff he had carried on his back with brutal force.

Strangely, afterimages of the staff appeared around it, tracing patterns through the air.

Perhaps they had never seen such an overwhelming sight before. The bandits desperately swung their swords and axes.

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

But the iron staff smashed every sword and axe in its path. It even crushed the heads of those holding the weapons.

There was no way the bandits could counter the Taeul Sect's principle of illusion, whose true form could only be discerned by someone who had reached the peak.

Nam Hwaseong found himself staring helplessly at Jin Sowoon.

"I've seen plenty of illusion swords, but an illusion staff is a first."

After swiftly taking care of the ten bandits, Jin Sowoon slung the staff back over his shoulder and continued onward.

"D-doesn't this leave a trail?"

The three Green Forest strongholds were already pursuing them because of the trails they'd left behind.

Jin Sowoon replied as though the question were ridiculous.

"Guess the mess you left behind doesn't count as a trail?"

It was true that the Tri-Origin Sect's domineering fist arts didn't dispatch enemies as cleanly as swordsmanship.

Even so, Nam Hwaseong couldn't understand why Jin Sowoon, who used a sword, had bothered to pull out an iron staff and leave people alive.

He cursed under his breath.

"What the hell is he plotting?"

With no answer from Jin Sowoon, Nam Hwaseong kept chasing after him until he began to feel he'd reached his limit.

He'd lost all his pride. He was just about to beg Jin Sowoon to stop and rest, even for a little while, when Jin Sowoon gradually slowed down.

"Hah... hah... Hah. You've hit your limit too, haven't you? That's it, right?"

Nam Hwaseong panted, his breath rising to his throat, and looked at Jin Sowoon.

"..."

But Jin Sowoon's breathing remained perfectly calm.

"What kind of monster is this guy?"

Whether Nam Hwaseong struggled in silence or not, Jin Sowoon calmly walked ahead.

Nam Hwaseong followed with unsteady steps, then suddenly stopped.

"The smell of blood?"

A sharp, metallic scent struck his nose.

When he instinctively lowered his head, he finally realized that what was soaking his feet wasn't water.

"Hey! What is this?!"

He quickly looked over at Jin Sowoon, but Jin Sowoon was already some distance away.

He was examining one of the bodies scattered haphazardly around him.

"Huaseong Sect?"

The insignia on the martial uniform.

The shape of the broken sword.

They marked the dead man as a disciple of the Huaseong Sect, an affiliated sect of Mount Hua.

What's more, he was someone Nam Hwaseong had seen around the academy.

"What happened...?"

And he wasn't the only one.

Most of the bodies scattered around them belonged to people from the academy.

Disciples of Mount Hua and Kongtong—

and disciples of their affiliated sects—had been found dead.

"J-Jin Sowoon!"

Forgetting that he'd been gasping for breath moments ago, Nam Hwaseong rushed toward Jin Sowoon like lightning.

"W-we have to inform the Martial Alliance! Th-this is no small matter!"

But Jin Sowoon replied in a voice as calm as could be,

"Don't make a fuss."

The air around him instantly grew heavy.

Unlike the other academy students, the body Jin Sowoon was examining looked older.

Nam Hwaseong recognized him at once and shouted,

"Hongmae Sword So Chunghyeon?"

A master of the Plum Blossom Sword Art, whose every swing seemed to make red plum blossoms bloom across the area, had been found dead like an ordinary corpse.

Nam Hwaseong's hands began to tremble before he even realized it.

"According to the intelligence, they were around the second line. Have they already made it this far?"

A troubled look crossed Jin Sowoon's face. He hadn't seemed worried at all while the three Green Forest strongholds pursued them.

"W-who... who could do something like this to Mount Hua and Kongtong?"

"Don't act rashly. Fortunately, it seems not everyone was harmed. Still, it's quite unexpected that they were overwhelmed so completely."

Even more astonishing was that the academy students' losses were clear, yet their enemies were nowhere to be seen.

"What about the others?"

"They must have fled. They're still disciples of Mount Hua and Kongtong."

"They fled? Who were they fighting?"

"The enemy?"

The familiar, heavy killing intent flowed from Jin Sowoon.

"Attacking the Martial Academy like this is something even the boldest heretical sects wouldn't dare do."

"...You said they weren't heretical practitioners."

Just then, Jin Sowoon stood and turned his head to one side.

"Looks like they're coming now."

"W-what?!"

Nam Hwaseong followed Jin Sowoon's nod and turned his gaze.

"..."

"What is that?"

A red lantern floated through the darkness toward them.