Chapter 181 :

<Rewriting the Sichuan Blood Incident>

Twang! Whoosh—

A sharp arrow cut through the sky.

But instead of reaching its intended destination, it veered off course, fell limply to the ground, and exploded.

Fragments of the arrowhead scattered in every direction, but no one was injured.

"Are you kidding me?"

Jin Sowoon's voice grew menacing as he stood beside him with his arms crossed.

Moyong Jaehwa, who had fired the arrow, was drenched in cold sweat.

"Forget two hundred jang! That didn't even reach a hundred and fifty, you brat!"

Moyong Jaehwa could not have felt more wronged.

An arrow was considered impressive if it reached even a hundred jang.

Yet his had flown beyond a hundred to reach a hundred and twenty jang.

Even the archery instructor currently taking a break at the Martial Academy would have been astonished, but Jin Sowoon clicked his tongue as though it was nowhere near enough.

"Big Brother… No matter how I look at it, this is unreasonable. No archer could shoot a hundred and fifty jang, let alone…"

"Then are you saying I'm lying?"

"No, that's not…"

"Ah! Then did I take some strange medicine and hallucinate?"

"…No, Big Brother, that's not it."

"Or did I hallucinate after taking medicine I was supposed to take?"

Jin Sowoon's eyebrows slanted as displeasure filled his face.

Of course, he always kept his word, and nothing he said had ever been wrong, but surely something impossible was still impossible.

'What kind of person shoots an enemy more than two hundred jang away…?'

Even the renowned Sword Breaker was not this irrational about the limits of martial arts.

Yet Jin Sowoon casually spoke of things that went beyond irrational and into outright unrealistic, driving Moyong Jaehwa mad.

"Th-then please show me yourself, Big Brother."

"I can't."

"What?"

"I said I can't show you."

"…"

Why was he so confident about saying that, too…?

Geumpyo and Eunho sometimes said they wanted to give Jin Sowoon a good beating.

Back then, he could not understand why they would harbor such disrespectful thoughts toward such an outstanding big brother.

…Now he understood.

'Oh, come on! Seriously!'

Jin Sowoon shook his head as though Moyong Jaehwa was hopeless.

"Shoot again…"

"Um… Could I circulate my energy for a bit first?"

Jin Sowoon looked appalled.

"You've already used up all that internal energy?"

"…I don't actually have that much…"

"Didn't you consume a fire tiger's inner core? And you're short on internal energy?"

"…"

"Besides, you must have lounged around the Moyong Family estate, taking elixirs like tonics whenever you pleased. And you're short on internal energy?"

"…B-Big Brother."

"And Sword Breaker must have performed marrow cleansing on you when you were young, too. And you're short on internal energy?"

"…"

Ah… If only he could hit him just once…

Even when he packed an arrow with as much internal energy as he could muster and fired with all his strength, a hundred and twenty jang was the limit.

But Jin Sowoon was not satisfied with that.

So he had no choice but to pour in two or three times his usual amount of internal energy.

No matter how much internal energy someone possessed, no one in the world could sustain that kind of expenditure.

"That man never consumed a fire tiger's inner core, but he fired thunderbolt arrows at enemies three hundred jang away, one after another. His enemies couldn't even figure out where he was, much less dare approach him."

"No… That's what I'm asking. Who was he?"

"…Are you talking back to me?"

When Jin Sowoon glared at him menacingly, Moyong Jaehwa immediately backed down and lowered his head.

He could not understand how Jin Sowoon could be even scarier than his grandfather, Sword Breaker.

"If you shoot from a hundred jang away, they'll eventually discover your position. Once they spot you, you have no choice but to keep moving."

Jin Sowoon continued as though recalling the past.

"Then the enemy will stop fearing you, because they have a target to confront. They'll think all they need to do is send a pursuit squad to catch you."

"…"

"Are you confident you can keep escaping through enemy territory alone every time? Especially when your enemies this time are iron jiangshi?"

"…No."

"That's why you need to shoot farther. Besides, you don't even need to be accurate. It's easier than what an ordinary archer has to do, so why can't you manage it?! Have you still not suffered enough?"

By this point, Moyong Jaehwa desperately wanted to see Eunho.

'I'm sorry I misunderstood you all this time…'

Jin Sowoon's mouth never stopped moving.

"If you could shoot enemies two hundred, or even three hundred jang away, would those blood-robed men have dared consider releasing their iron jiangshi?"

"You make it impossible for them to approach. You throw them into confusion and make them tremble with fear. What else would you call heavenly punishment raining from the sky? What could the enemy do under that kind of punishment?"

"…Run away."

"Yes! Exactly! You don't need to relentlessly pursue a single opponent. Other experts can handle that. Your task is to deal with large numbers. As long as you stop them from approaching, you've succeeded."

By now, Moyong Jaehwa's stubborn determination was beginning to rise.

Just as Jin Sowoon said, how desperately had he yearned for strength when he found himself helpless before the iron jiangshi?

Moyong Jaehwa sank into deeper thought than ever before in his life.

'No matter how much internal energy I pour in, I can't shoot farther than a hundred and twenty jang. Then how can I shoot two hundred or three hundred jang, like Big Brother says?'

It meant surpassing the physical limits imposed by nature.

It was like the principle that humans could neither fly through the sky nor breathe underwater.

As Moyong Jaehwa fell into a state of selfless absorption, Jin Sowoon's calm voice seeped into his ears.

"Don't set limits for yourself. Humans have always surpassed their own limitations. With their natural abilities alone, humans cannot fight tigers or run faster than deer. They cannot be harder than steel. But haven't humans already overcome all those things?"

Humans could not fly.

That was why they developed movement techniques and flight arts that allowed them to remain airborne for long periods.

Humans could not breathe underwater.

That was why they created water arts that allowed them to hold their breath for a long time underwater.

'Internal energy alone can't make it reach… Then…'

Moyong Jaehwa opened his eyes and drew the string of his steel bow.

He did not pull it so hard that the bow threatened to snap, as he had before.

Nor did he keep the bow at the low angle he had used earlier.

He simply raised it high, as though aiming at the sky.

And then—

Twang! Whoosh—

The instant the arrow launched with a light twang, an explosion erupted behind it.

The arrow vanished from sight in the blink of an eye.

"…"

Moyong Jaehwa lowered his bow and sharpened his vision, searching for the arrow he had fired.

Fifty jang…

A hundred jang…

Even after passing a hundred and twenty jang, the arrow showed no sign of slowing down.

A hundred and thirty jang.

A hundred and fifty jang.

A hundred and eighty jang.

At last—

Two hundred jang…

Pop—

The descending arrow exploded with a small popping sound.

It was too far away for the screams to carry clearly, but he could see blood-robed men stumbling out of a tent in agony.

He had succeeded.

"Ha…"

"See? It's possible, isn't it?"

Jin Sowoon looked at Moyong Jaehwa triumphantly.

Moyong Jaehwa was more awed by the man before him than by the arrow he had just fired.

"Big Brother!"

"You need to carefully control the area of the explosion at the moment of launch. That will keep it from veering off course."

As he listened, Moyong Jaehwa suddenly noticed something strange.

"…Don't tell me you knew from the beginning, Big Brother?"

If internal energy was not enough, use a martial art.

He had placed the power of the Heaven and Earth Wave-Splitting Sword, which he normally stored in the arrowhead, at its very tip as well.

Had Jin Sowoon already known about this absurd way of using a martial art?

Jin Sowoon's relaxed voice reached his ears.

"When have I ever lied?"

"…"

It was certainly impressive, but seeing that smiling face made him feel somewhat wronged.

"Then… If you'd told me sooner…"

He would not have had to endure all that pointless harassment…

Jin Sowoon replied bluntly, as though he could not understand the complaint.

"If I had, you wouldn't have reached that enlightenment yourself. You need to keep improving on your own even when I'm not around. These little experiences will add up to form a strong foundation for you."

Moyong Jaehwa decided that when he saw Eunho, he would offer him a sincere apology.

Yes…

He was right.

He was definitely right, but…

"To think I even considered your future so you could keep improving on your own. You must feel incredibly fortunate to have met a big brother like me, eh? Mwahahahaha!"

"…"

Why was the sight of him laughing with his shoulders thrown back so infuriating?

Once again, Moyong Jaehwa understood how Geumpyo and Eunho felt as they practiced their sword formations relentlessly, desperate to land even a single blow on Sowoon despite their immense respect for him.

He really, truly understood.

Moyong Jaehwa wondered why his anger refused to subside.

'Eunho… I'm sorry again.'

The Blood Cult bastards struck by Moyong Jaehwa's attack hurriedly reorganized their troops and moved their position farther back.

Moyong Jaehwa and I moved in secret until their troops were within his range again.

Then I descended the peak alone.

I waited for the moon to disappear behind the clouds. As the darkness deepened, I quietly activated the World-Solitary Divine Movement and slowly approached their camp.

Having withdrawn in a hurry, the Blood Cult's troops were bustling about even in the middle of the night.

Despite that, they had not lit any fires, apparently afraid of Moyong Jaehwa's arrows.

"Get those tents up!"

"Shields! Bring out every last shield!"

"Assemble the search parties! We're finding that bastard!"

With hundreds of people moving around, I could make them out clearly even without any lights.

I intended to enter their camp before they posted sentries.

"Huh?"

As I approached the camp in secret, something unexpected blocked my path.

'What's this?'

An illusion formation like the one that had activated when Nam Hwaseong accidentally broke a lantern was now spread around the camp.

Damn, they were quick to react.

One limitation of mystical formations and mechanical formations was that once they were installed, they could not easily be moved elsewhere.

Yet somehow, these bastards seemed to have turned an illusion formation, something art practitioners normally had to painstakingly establish, into a simple, portable mystical formation.

'This… I'm a little jealous.'

They could set up an illusion formation anywhere, just like a mystical formation.

That would give them an enormous advantage in battle and war.

Even setting that aside, the most dangerous time for escort guards and warriors enduring long journeys was after they fell asleep. The presence of an illusion formation would surely make a considerable difference to their peace of mind, even with the same sentry arrangements.

'Should I kidnap one of their art practitioners?'

I soon shook the thought from my head.

I already had my hands full stealing a single piece of Blood-Sea Jade.

Considering that I would have to take Moyong Jaehwa and flee if anything went wrong, even a slight delay could ruin everything.

"Still, what a shame. Once the Martial Alliance launches its campaign, the Blood Cult's art practitioners will be wiped out."

Regrettable or not, some things could not be helped. I quickly abandoned the idea.

I carefully approached the illusion formation.

A rippling sensation passed over me, followed by an eerie chill that seeped through my entire body.

Once I entered the illusion formation, every Blood Cult voice I had heard until a moment ago disappeared.

And then—

The Blood Cult camp that should have been right in front of me was nowhere to be seen.

No matter how much I heightened my energy sense, I could feel nothing.

If I had not actually seen the Blood Cult from a distance before approaching, I would never have imagined they were still here.

Ring—

A moment later, a strange, sinister sound pierced my mind. I quickly raised my Jade Purity Heavenly Star Power to protect my upper, middle, and lower dantians.

Awooo—

Grrr—

The cries of wild animals that had filled my ears vanished, and the inside of the illusion formation came clearly into view.

I advanced as carefully as possible to avoid triggering a gate of death.

How much time had passed?

"Here! Wounded! We have wounded here!"

"Save the art practitioners first!"

"Have the search parties still not found the archer?"

"There's been no signal yet."

The bustling voices of the Blood Cult members reached me again.

'Where is it…?'

Concealing myself in the darkness, I searched for a place that might hold the Blood-Sea Jade amid the hundreds of Blood Cult members coming and going.

A short while later, I spotted a tent that looked exactly like the one described in the records I had read in the archives.

A smile escaped me before I knew it.

"There you are. 'My' Red Light Sword."

Using the Ghost-Breathing Step, I slipped among the people.