Chapter 92 :

Chapter 92. Time to Hunt (6)

“What kind of dreams does someone with a good memory have?”

On the evening of the last day of the Gyemi cycle in the Musin month, Jwa Daegi asked the question while we were finally catching our breath after barely shaking off the demonic practitioners.

“What?”

He was the fellow who claimed to have learned the spear style of the renowned military family, the Yuk Family Estate of Nanjing, and called himself the Six-Form Wolf.

In truth, he had been a slave of the Yuk Family Estate.

He had secretly copied the Young Master’s martial arts by watching him practice, was caught, nearly beaten to death, and then fled.

His mouth was so foul that instead of calling him the Six-Form Wolf, we called him that damned bastard Jwa Daegi.

“Think about it. If your memory is that good, you must remember all your dreams too, right? Meeting beauties in your dreams, doing this and that with them, and remembering all of it…”

Another fellow quickly joined in.

“Hey, then can you control what happens in your dreams too? See Aengaeng one moment and Yeondu the next?”

Once the daylight hours spent hovering between life and death ended, the despair awaiting us tomorrow descended through our surging exhaustion.

“Damn it! So that bastard is the only one having a good time every night?”

To overcome the fear of the death waiting before us the next day, we would spend every night talking about such pointless things.

In truth, for something that damned bastard had come up with, he had been surprisingly accurate.

My dreams were precise and vivid.

When I was young, there were enjoyable moments just as he had said, and there were times when I looked forward to nightfall.

However, after leaving the Sojeong Unit, I avoided sleep for the rest of my life.

“Huff… Huff… Huff… Huff…”

“Damn it, damn it.”

“Damn it! Save me!”

The members of the Sojeong Unit were running beside me.

I knew that the people I saw were merely beings within my dream.

I had already left the Sojeong Unit and hidden myself deep within remote mountains and valleys.

That was why I did not easily waver at the vivid sight or the scenes that clearly showed their suffering.

“Why are we running like this?”

“Damn it! Those Demonic Cult bastards are chasing us!”

Believing this was only a dream created from my memories, I spoke to them reassuringly.

“This is just a dream. Stop running now.”

“…!”

“…!”

The men who had been fleeing for their lives glared at me as though they wanted to kill me.

“It is only a dream to you!”

“Huff… Haaah… Haaah.”

I drew in breath after breath.

The dream I had not experienced for some time after regressing had returned.

“A-Are you all right?”

Startled, I turned my head and saw Gang Seopyo looking at me with concern.

Only after seeing him did I realize that I had awakened from the dream.

“Did you have a nightmare?”

“…Ah. A nightmare.”

Was it truly a nightmare?

Or had I seen them because I missed them?

Unable to answer even myself, I remained silent.

He did not ask any more questions.

He placed what appeared to be my share of the food beside me and spoke.

“…Fortunately, we are sailing smoothly. You should rest a little longer.”

“Are there no more pursuers?”

“They need sleep too.”

When I looked out the window, darkness had already settled over the surroundings.

It seemed the exhaustion of the past several days, combined with using the Mad Heaven Divine Palm for the first time in a while, had caused me to sleep like the dead.

“That is fortunate.”

“…Thank you.”

I raised my head at Gang Seopyo’s unexpected words.

“I should be the one thanking you. Thanks to you, the Geum, Eun, and Dong brothers arrived safely.”

After joining them, the Geum, Eun, and Dong brothers had become much more emotionally stable.

The warriors of the Namgung Family and the Iron Sword Sect treated the three not as disciples of another sect, but as though they were their own younger brothers.

That was all thanks to the care shown by captains Gang Seopyo and Cho Mubin.

“Because of us, you have been forced to endure an even more difficult journey.”

Gang Seopyo shook his head.

“We should be the ones thanking you…”

A gentle smile appeared on Gang Seopyo’s lips.

It was an expression that would have been unimaginable when we first met on the Maling Plateau.

“After you joined us, Young Master, not a single one of our people fell behind.”

“Once again, thank you.”

“Ah, yes.”

“Please sleep a little longer. We will tell you immediately if anything happens.”

“Even so…”

“You are the one leading us now, Young Master. If you become exhausted, our losses will naturally increase.”

Since Gang Seopyo went that far, I nodded.

Although I had awakened from a nightmare, for some reason I felt that even if I returned to sleep, I would not have another one.

I scratched the back of my head awkwardly.

In my previous life, I had never received anyone’s gratitude.

Those bastards from the Sojeong Unit were the sort who would curse at me instead.

None of them would ever have thanked me.

“Is he all right?”

The corners of Gang Seopyo’s lips rose slightly when he heard the voice the moment he closed the door.

“If you are that worried, you should have brought the food yourself.”

“…Ah, b-but entering a room where a man is alone…”

Namgung Seonhwa had a feminine personality, but she had never been this cautious around men.

It was hardly unusual for women of the murim world to mingle freely with men.

For Namgung Seonhwa, who had grown up seeing such behavior as normal, to feel this embarrassed meant only one thing.

‘What a wonderful age…’

Gang Seopyo could not stop smiling.

That little girl had grown so much and had finally found a man she cared for.

“Come to think of it, I am a little worried.”

“What?! A-About what?”

She displayed a startled expression she had not even shown when told to take the entrance examination with only twenty people.

“It seemed he had a nightmare. I wonder whether he will be able to sleep peacefully…”

“Yes… What?”

“I am merely saying that nothing is wrong.”

Only then did Namgung Seonhwa realize Gang Seopyo was teasing her, and her fingers began fidgeting.

“I apologize, but I believe I will be somewhat tired tomorrow morning, so please bring Young Master Jin his meal.”

“…You think you will be tired?”

“Yes… And I would feel uncomfortable all day if I suddenly entered a man’s room and happened to see him changing clothes.”

Namgung Seonhwa’s face finally turned as red as a ripe persimmon.

Could she truly like him that much?

“P-Please stop!”

When Namgung Seonhwa finally reacted after realizing she was being teased, Gang Seopyo burst out laughing.

Embarrassed by Gang Seopyo’s laughter, Namgung Seonhwa hurriedly changed the subject.

“By the way, what are the warriors of the Azure Dome Corps doing with the Geum, Eun, and Dong brothers?”

After boarding the ship and lying sprawled out to rest for a while, the warriors had begun gathering on deck one by one.

At the same time, they drew their swords to demonstrate movements, performed techniques, and exchanged explanations.

The Geum, Eun, and Dong brothers were usually the ones speaking, while the warriors of the Azure Dome Corps and the Iron Sword Sect listened.

“I heard they are learning a sword formation from the disciples of the Taeul Sect.”

“A sword formation…?”

Namgung Seonhwa tilted her head.

Did the Taeul Sect possess a famous sword formation?

More importantly, was there any reason for warriors of the Namgung Family and the Iron Sword Sect to learn another sword formation?

“I heard the formation practiced by the Taeul Sect disciples resembles the White Tiger Sword Formation.”

She was familiar with the White Tiger Sword Formation.

It was a formation connected to the White Tiger Sword Art, an official martial art of the Martial Alliance.

Its name sounded impressive, but was it not merely a crude mixture of the Three Talents Formation and the Eight Trigrams Formation, designed so that Martial Alliance warriors could learn and apply it easily?

“Why would they bother learning the White Tiger Formation…?”

“It is not exactly the same. From what I heard, Young Master Jin taught it to them after modifying it himself.”

Namgung Seonhwa’s reaction became amusing the moment Jin Sowoon was mentioned.

Gang Seopyo looked toward the warriors gathered on the deck and continued.

“Its defining traits are that it is simple, easy to learn, and highly versatile.”

Namgung Seonhwa understood even less.

In any case, being simple and easy meant its destructive power would be correspondingly weaker.

Why would they spend their limited rest time learning it?

“Well… I heard it is an escort formation based on the White Tiger Sword Formation.”

“…An escort formation for what?”

“The formation the Geum, Eun, and Dong brothers use to protect their food.”

“No. I should learn it too. I want to cook and eat rice porridge with Sister Moran.”

“Ah… Then let us go.”

Namgung Seonhwa’s gaze turned toward the deck.

At the center of the warriors surrounding them, the Geum, Eun, and Dong brothers were demonstrating the White Tiger Sword Formation.

She had thought it looked familiar.

It was the formation they had used every time they were attacked during a meal.

Even after the other warriors became so sick of the ambushes that they refused to cook any longer, the Geum, Eun, and Dong brothers stubbornly continued preparing and eating proper meals.

“Everyone wanted to learn it somehow… and they readily agreed to teach us…”

This time, Gang Seopyo’s face turned red.

He understood how the warriors felt, but explaining it directly to his young lady was somewhat embarrassing.

“They said they were tired of living on dried meat… The martial arts of our family are powerful, but they lack versatility… And the White Tiger Sword Formation can be performed by only three people…”

“…Could I learn it too?”

“What?”

Before reaching Sihong Harbor, we stopped the ship in the middle of the river and crossed the current.

It was to prepare for those who might already be waiting for us at Sihong Harbor.

“It is strangely quiet.”

Seong Moran spoke while using internal energy to dry her wet martial uniform.

Just as she said, the surroundings were so quiet that it felt unsettling, especially after everything we had experienced during the journey.

“Let us move for now.”

The third checkpoint examination was held in four locations throughout the murim world.

Nanak in Henan Province.

Dongcheon in Shaanxi Province.

Chengdu in Sichuan Province.

And Ak Buksan in Hunan Province.

The examination sites were each located roughly two provinces away from Wuhan, where the Martial Alliance was situated.

They had been established in the north, south, east, and west to accommodate examinees from across the murim world.

As a result, the routes taken by the examinees became largely predictable.

Because of that, examinees often waited along those routes to eliminate competitors weaker than themselves.

That was also why we had faced interference not only from Diancang and the Huayang Escort Agency but from numerous other competitors.

After traveling through the night, we reached Sihong Harbor, our original destination, around daybreak.

In the distant harbor, examinees were waiting for ships.

Namgung Seonhwa spoke quietly.

“There are… fewer people than I expected. Should we consider that a good thing?”

“If it were me, I would not wait at Sihong Harbor. I would wait along the road leading to Feng County.”

“I would do the same.”

We passed straight through Sihong Harbor and headed toward Suqian.

No one had followed us yet.

Caw!

While I was tearing into dried meat in place of breakfast, a messenger hawk cried out as it approached me.

Wudang Sect’s Hyeonjeong, two others, and their warriors.

Mount Hua Sect’s Yeon Umun, three others, and their warriors.

They are currently waiting along the road leading to Feng County.

The bulletin delivered by Haomun contained the names of the disciples from Wudang and Mount Hua who were pursuing us.

What was strange was that both disciples were people I remembered.

‘Who are they?’

They were not among the people who had entered the Martial Academy in this cohort.

Even so, the fact that I remembered them was strange.

As I searched through the library in my mind, Seong Moran and Namgung Seonhwa approached.

“What are you thinking about?”

“These names seem familiar.”

I showed the message to the two women.

After receiving it, Seong Moran nodded as though she understood.

“Hyeonjeong is famous for being Yong Soa’s junior brother.”

“He is famous for being Yong Soa’s junior brother?”

“Yes. When Yong Soa was at Mount Wudang, Hyeonjeong was the junior brother who always followed him around. Hyeonjeong himself is also exceptionally talented, so Wudang considers him a highly promising disciple.”

“What about Yeon Umun?”

“He is the eldest son of the Yeon Family. I heard he became a lay disciple of the Mount Hua Sect, so it seems he is taking the Martial Academy entrance examination this time.”

The Yeon Family was renowned for fist arts.

Its unique fist and kicking arts ranked among the ten greatest under heaven.

If the eldest son, who was supposed to inherit the family, had entered the Mount Hua Sect specifically to learn the sword, then his talent with the sword had to be no less remarkable than Hyeonjeong’s.

“Is that all?”

Still feeling that something remained unresolved, I asked again, but Seong Moran merely shook her head.

“Saying that is all makes them sound insignificant. They are formidable opponents who cannot be taken lightly.”

“Geum…”

As I was about to search the Simhyeon Pavilion records in my mental library, the Geum, Eun, and Dong brothers entered my sight.

“What are you three doing?”

While walking, the three brothers were stretching out their hands and playfully grabbing one another’s sleeves.

“Ah… Well, we learned some grappling techniques from the warriors of the Namgung Family.”

“Grappling techniques?”

“Yes. They said every warrior should know at least some basic grappling techniques.”

The technique the three brothers were practicing was the Thirteen Grappling Hands, which I also knew well.

It was not as widespread as the Three Talents Sword Art, but anyone with some martial arts experience had likely encountered it at least once.

The Geum, Eun, and Dong brothers were filling in the gaps left by the martial arts legacy of the Taeul Sect and the Taeul Sword Emperor on their own.

“…Are we not supposed to learn it?”

Geumpyo cautiously watched my expression.

Most sects prohibited their disciples from learning martial arts belonging to other sects or techniques commonly sold in the marketplace.

I shook my head.

“It does not matter. In fact, you should learn it diligently.”

“Really? But the warriors said that if we practiced it too seriously, it could affect our original martial arts…”

“It is not as though any of you will ever practice that seriously.”

“…Senior Brother…”

“I was joking. Do you know which of the Taeul Sword Emperor’s martial arts is the greatest?”

“…The Ten Thousand Seas and Heaven-Earth Sword Art.”

Geumpyo answered as though it were obvious, and Eunho and Dongryong nodded in agreement.

“That is merely his strongest martial art. It is not his greatest.”

“Then what is?”

“The Taeul True Scripture.”

If one had to choose the most extraordinary of the Taeul Sword Emperor’s teachings, it was undoubtedly the Taeul True Scripture.

“The essence of the Taeul True Scripture lies in comprehending the principles of all creation.”

“…What?”

“And his other martial arts are merely the Taeul Sword Emperor’s interpretations of those principles through the Taeul True Scripture.”

The Geum, Eun, and Dong brothers still wore confused expressions.

“As long as the Taeul True Scripture exists, the martial arts of the Taeul Sect can continue even if every other martial art disappears.”

“I do not understand.”

“The Ten Thousand Seas and Heaven-Earth Sword Art, the Small Heaven Sword Technique, the Great Heaven Sword Technique, and the Myriad Transformations Invincible Fist are all merely forms and patterns.”

“But without forms and patterns, would it not cease to be martial arts?”

“Tsk. Do the absolute experts of the murim world defeat their opponents using impressive forms and patterns?”

“…”

“Forms and patterns are merely ladders that make the process of enlightenment easier to climb. Once you reach the top, neither forms nor patterns are necessary.”

Only then did the three brothers begin to understand.

“Focus above all else on cultivating the Taeul True Scripture. Then diligently learn many different martial arts. One day, you may be able to create forms and patterns of your own.”

“Us?”

Eunho, who had always shown the greatest interest in the deeper principles of martial arts, brightened and asked again.

I nodded.

“Yes. That is precisely why the Taeul True Scripture is such an extraordinary martial art.”

At my words, the three brothers began putting even greater effort into their energy circulation.

“You fools! If your running speed drops because of that, how will you take the examination?”

Only then did the three brothers return to their original pace.

“Nothing has happened here either.”

We had remained extremely tense while passing Xuzhou.

There was a branch of the Changgung Merchant Guild in Xuzhou, so we rested there to relieve our tension.

However, by doing so, we could no longer conceal our trail from the pursuers.

Even so, after leaving Xuzhou and nearly reaching Feng County, we still saw no examinees.

“I have never found peace this unsettling before.”

We deliberately left traces of our passage and even lit a fire in an open field at night to cook food.

Still, no one pursued us.

We personally searched places along the road to Feng County that seemed suitable for ambushes, but found no sign of anyone.

“What is going on?”

If only Mount Hua and Wudang were plotting something, they could have displayed coordinated movements.

However, they were not our only competitors.

Just as countless examinees had watched for openings while the Huayang Escort Agency pursued us, other competitors should have appeared to exploit the gap created by Mount Hua and Wudang targeting us.

Caw!

At the cry of the hawk, I raised my head.

The message that usually arrived every morning had not come even by noon, so I had been waiting for it.

The messenger hawk slowed as it reached my shoulder and extended its right leg.

I placed a piece of dried meat in its beak and opened the message.

Wudang Sect’s Hyeonjeong, two others, and their warriors.

Mount Hua Sect’s Yeon Umun, three others, and their warriors.

Their current location cannot be traced.

Namgung Seonhwa and Seong Moran, who had been reading the message beside me, were also left speechless.

The situation we had feared most had occurred.

“There must be at least five hundred of them.”

“And they all disappeared at once?”

Like us, it was never easy for a group containing so many people to conceal itself.

Considering that even assassins and thieves rarely moved in groups larger than ten, this was only natural.

Yet they had vanished completely from the eyes of Haomun, whose intelligence network rivaled even that of the Beggar Gang.

“We must assume they are hiding somewhere, correct?”

“Captain Cho, Captain Gang, strengthen the guard.”

“…”

While Namgung Seonhwa and Seong Moran surveyed the surroundings and heightened their vigilance, I finally found the names of those two men in the deepest part of the library within my mind.

“…Yes.”

At the urgency in my voice, the warriors of the Namgung Family and the Iron Sword Sect immediately became tense.

“There may be an enemy even more terrifying than Wudang and Mount Hua waiting for us.”

“What?”

“What do you mean…?”

Perhaps we were already too late.

During the entire journey from Xuzhou to Feng County, we had not seen a single person.

“Young Master Jin, please explain!”

“Move first.”

I looked toward the sun.

It was already hanging over the western mountains and slowly beginning to set.

I hurriedly turned toward the two women.

“From this point onward, we run at full speed.”

“What?”

“Do you know when the attack will come?”

I also spoke to the Geum, Eun, and Dong brothers.

“Stop your energy circulation and run at full speed from now on.”

“…?”

When I began moving urgently without explanation, the Geum, Eun, and Dong brothers followed first, and the warriors of the Namgung Family and the Iron Sword Sect followed after them.

We had to reach a village as quickly as possible.

If my prediction was correct, darkness and night belonged to them.

Thump.

Thump.

My heart began beating violently.

It was not caused by my intention or my emotions.

I had already lived through one lifetime.

In this life, I had even learned the Taeul True Scripture, allowing me to maintain a state of perfect calm more easily than anyone else.

“…Young Master Jin, please explain something. You are making me nervous for no reason.”

Therefore, this violent pounding of my heart had been caused by an outside force.

Even though I had identified the enemy, how could I explain it?

Would they even believe me?

Even the Martial Alliance had refused to believe in them when they first appeared in the world.

“They are enemies.”

“Enemies?”

In the deepest reaches of the library inside my mind was a section I had never searched before because I had shown no interest in it.

It was located among the records of Simhyeon Pavilion.

The names of the two men were written there.

Unsolved Case Report

Wudang Sect’s Hyeonjeong.

Mount Hua Sect’s Yeon Umun.

They were annihilated together with their junior brothers.

The attack is believed to have been carried out by professionally trained individuals.

Distinctive feature: portions of the recovered corpses’ bones had turned black.

The fragments of information had been scattered too far apart.

Moreover, I had never imagined that they would already be active in this place.

“They are an organization specializing in covert attacks and ambushes.”

Something entered the energy sense I had expanded in every direction.

“Get down!”

The warriors flinched and lowered their heads the instant I shouted.

However, those who reacted slightly too late had black flying swords embedded in their abdomens, and blood sprayed from their wounds.

“What is this…?”

Even with the Taeul True Scripture, I had barely sensed them.

For the others, the situation could only be even more shocking.

“I did not sense anything.”

Namgung Seonhwa and Seong Moran stared at the forest in disbelief.

Soon, the shadows of the trees stretched unnaturally long, and nearly twenty black figures appeared one after another.

“…”

Everyone merely stared with their mouths open, unable to say anything at the bizarre sight they had never witnessed before.

“What… are those people?”

The Dark Severing Soul Corps.

They were known as the most terrifying blade of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.