Chapter 109 :

Chapter 109. The Grand Journey of Pandemonium (8)

After Moyong Jaehwa took up the bow, our journey began to grow easier.

Twang.

Whenever Moyong Jaehwa’s Horse-Piercing Arrow fell upon the attackers through the gaps in my crude illusory arrows, they scattered in every direction, terrified by its absurd power.

An arrow they could not defend against became an object of fear and made them hesitate to advance.

Our party used that hesitation to rest.

“Elder Brother, do you remember what you said before?”

“What?”

“The story about the man who stopped ten thousand enemies by himself. You exaggerated it, did you not?”

Even after hearing that it was a story about his own future, Jaehwa still seemed unable to believe it easily.

I chuckled.

“It was true. There was not the slightest exaggeration.”

The only reason I had been able to travel with that man, who had resembled a lone wolf trusted by no one in my previous life, was because of my memory.

Thanks to that, I had been able to witness the astonishing sight that no one else had seen.

“He stopped ten thousand enemies alone.”

The maximum range of a horn bow was said to be one hundred jang, but the iron bow he used could reach four hundred jang.

Moreover, his signature technique, the Thunderbolt Arrow, caused an enormous explosion of energy and inflicted a tremendous impact upon the surrounding area.

Whenever I described the terrain drawn within my memories, he sensed the wind, the landscape, and the movements of the earth before firing an arrow toward a target he could not see.

When a single arrow fired from an invisible distance fell upon the enemy formation, damage spread in every direction as though they had been bombarded.

Even demonic practitioners who had mostly gone mad from demonic energy instinctively protected themselves from the thunderbolts falling upon their heads.

Before his iron bow, ten thousand people could not advance even a single step.

“The Thunderbolt Arrow… How could that person have had exactly the same idea as me?”

“The Ghost Bow Sect’s horn bow looks sturdy, but it probably cannot withstand your strength. Replace it with an iron bow later. I will introduce you to a skilled craftsman.”

“Elder Brother……”

His voice sounded strange, so I looked back.

His eyes were brimming with tears.

“Wh-why are you crying?”

“Elder Brother, you truly are my benefactor. From now on, even if you claim that red beans can be used to make fermented soybean blocks, I will believe you and follow you.”

I suddenly remembered Jaehwa from my previous life and could only click my tongue.

—Trust people? Humans possess less loyalty than dogs.

His innocent appearance, so different from the man he had been in my previous life, somehow made me feel relieved.

“But Elder Brother, why have I never heard of someone like that?”

I considered telling him a suitable lie, but instead said something else.

“He… died alone.”

“What? Why?”

—Please be the only one who remembers that I existed. My life was always shameful, filled with avoidance and flight.

Those were the words he had left behind when the Dark-Side Soul-Severing Corps finally killed him.

“Because he was ashamed that he had never confronted his own circumstances.”

I spoke in the hope that the regrets of Moyong Jaehwa from my previous life would reach the Moyong Jaehwa of the present.

He fell into deep thought.

#

With Jaehwa and me keeping the attackers in check, we traveled safely to Namso.

Thanks to that, the party was able to rest briefly and even get a little sleep.

“Elder Brother, more are coming.”

“I see them. Prepare yourself.”

“They truly never grow tired of coming after us.”

Even though Jaehwa had been moving constantly beside me and helping keep the attackers in check, he showed no sign of exhaustion.

Twang.

Our arrows fell over the heads of a force that appeared to number around five hundred.

“What? Elder Brother, they are not running away.”

Until now, the attackers had always hidden behind boulders or beneath trees, unable to move because they were terrified by the power of the Horse-Piercing Arrow they could not counter.

“Let us try again.”

This time, we each fired three arrows in succession.

Thanks to the illusory arrows, a true rain of arrows poured over the attackers’ heads.

Yet this time, they did not appear flustered.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

All five hundred people unleashed palm force toward the sky at the same time.

A sound like thunder erupting across a clear sky echoed through the area.

“Wait here for a moment.”

I needed to confirm their identity.

There were not many groups capable of unleashing palm force in perfect unison with five hundred people.

I instantly closed the distance with the World-Solitary Divine Movement and examined their martial uniforms.

A low groan escaped my lips.

“Zhongnan……”

It was another one of the Nine Great Sects.

The strategy was unbelievably crude, but it was also undeniably effective.

Moreover, since Moyong Jaehwa could not yet use the Thunderbolt Arrow, we had no means of inflicting meaningful damage upon them.

We had been heading toward Nanyang, but we ultimately had no choice but to change our course toward Wugang.

We no longer possessed the strength to confront five hundred people, especially enemies on the level of the Zhongnan Sect.

Our only option was to flee.

However, the entire party had already reached its limit, and we could not continue simply refusing to sleep.

I spoke in a low voice.

“This time, it is Shaolin.”

After we turned toward Wugang, three hundred members of Shaolin began pursuing us.

“The real problem lies elsewhere.”

The expressions of those who had already been staring at me with exhausted faces grew even darker.

“The Twelve Peaks Fortress still has not given up. Mount Hua and Diancang are moving as well.”

“Can we be certain they are pursuing us?”

Namgung Seonhwa moved her cracked, dried lips.

She looked ready to collapse at any moment.

Regretfully, I had no choice but to shake my head.

“The fastest route from Mount Song to Cheonmun, where the Martial Academy is located, passes through Namso and Dongju before entering Hubei. The Dabie Mountains block the route through Wugang. They came all the way here specifically to target us.”

She looked as though she desperately hoped it was not true.

“What should we do, Young Master Jin?”

Seong Moran looked no better than Namgung Seonhwa.

The woman who normally radiated overflowing energy in every direction now appeared so fragile that a strong wind might break her.

“The best method would be to cross the Dabie Mountains.”

“Ah……”

It felt like choosing between burning to death and drowning.

After making our choice, we began moving again.

“There they are! They have entrance plaques!”

“Attack!”

“They are exhausted! If we defeat them, we can enter the Martial Academy!”

The appearance of great sects such as Shaolin, Mount Hua, and Diancang did not cause the robbers to give up.

Since they had been waiting along the route ahead of us, they desperately tried to seize our entrance plaques before the members of the Nine Great Sects arrived.

Sighs escaped from every direction.

Even the warriors who had endured through sheer determination and followed us this far already knew that they could not cross the Dabie Mountains.

Moreover, three dark-faction sects were based throughout the Dabie Mountains.

If we became entangled with even one of them, we would not merely fall behind because of injuries.

We would lose our lives.

“However, that would probably be too difficult. We will instead travel through Nanyang and continue toward Dongju. There will be no shortcuts.”

“That would still be better.”

“Yes, that sounds better.”

“Haah… Haah……”

“Ugh… Haah……”

Our party fought with greater desperation and exhaustion than ever before.

Those who were already exhausted no longer had the strength to shout or release battle cries.

They thought only about defeating the enemy in the shortest possible time, using the most efficient method, and escaping the area.

#

Our party hid on a small, unnamed mountain along the road toward Nanyang.

Even though the evening had long since passed, no one could bring themselves to start a fire.

No one even took out the jerky they habitually ate.

Everyone wanted only to close their eyes quietly within the darkness.

The moon emerged from behind the clouds and illuminated Seong Moran’s dried, exhausted face.

She smiled awkwardly.

“I never imagined I would practice energy circulation this diligently in my entire life.”

“What does the message say?”

“Qingcheng and Kongtong have passed Wuhan and are advancing north.”

Everyone could only form awkward smiles.

No one had enough strength to laugh.

Screech—

An eagle’s cry sounded through the moonlight.

Thinking it could not possibly be what I suspected, I stood and whistled quietly.

Sure enough, the eagle descending with its huge wings spread wide was Haomun’s Iron Eagle.

“Why would it come at this hour……?”

Haomun sent information once every morning.

The fact that they had deliberately sent another messenger eagle during this dark night could only mean—

I quickly examined the Iron Eagle’s leg.

A larger amount of parchment than had been sent that morning was wrapped around it.

“……”

Everyone who knew that I received information about our movements from Haomun stared at my face.

I could not determine how I should convey what I had just read.

The final destination of the Qingcheng Sect and Kongtong Sect, who had taken the examination south of the Yangtze River, should have been Wuhan, where the Martial Academy was located.

After a long silence, Namgung Seonhwa spoke with a hollow expression.

“Why are they advancing north?”

No one voiced the conclusion that came to mind regarding why they had passed Wuhan and continued north.

“No, that is not what I mean… Does this not seem strange? There should already be more than enough entrance plaques south of the Yangtze River. From the perspective of Qingcheng and Kongtong, traveling farther only lowers their chances. Why would they deliberately do that?”

“You are right. Admission to the academy is what matters. It would be strange for them to chase us merely because we possess many entrance plaques. The number of third-stage plaques is fixed.”

“Shaolin is the same. Why are they pursuing us? They have already secured more than enough entrance plaques.”

It was not only Shaolin.

Mount Hua, Diancang, and Zhongnan had all secured roughly the same number of entrance plaques as they did in previous years.

“I believe I can answer that question.”

Clang! Clang! Clang!

We reacted like lightning to the voice emerging from the darkness and drew our swords.

A silhouette moved smoothly through the dark forest.

“A g-ghost?”

Geumpyo recoiled in terror.

He was not the only one who flinched.

The warriors of the various families tightly gripped their swords as the figure moved from side to side like a ghost.

“I apologize for startling you. However, you were hiding so thoroughly that finding you was exceedingly difficult.”

I watched the figure slowly emerge from the darkness.

“What brings Senior Ilmyeong all the way here?”

He was none other than Ilmyeong, the Little Buddha of the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering.

Unlike the warriors who were rubbing their chests after being startled, I did not take my eyes off him.

“I came to explain what is currently happening.”

“You make it sound as though someone intended all of this.”

Ilmyeong displayed his characteristic warm smile, making those who had just mistaken him for a ghost feel embarrassed.

“People say the Martial Academy examination of my generation was the fiercest competition in history, but I do not agree.”

“……”

“The examination being taken by all of you will probably become the cruelest and most chaotic examination in history.”

Ilmyeong nodded slowly.

“And ultimately, every one of you will fail.”

“This is the first time I have heard that Shaolin’s Little Buddha possesses the ability to see the future.”

I ground my teeth, but Ilmyeong merely laughed gently.

“You are still like a fiercely burning flame.”

“Please forgive my rudeness. Our current circumstances have made me somewhat sensitive.”

Ilmyeong nodded as though he understood everything.

“We came to change the future in which all of you fail.”

“You keep saying ‘we,’ but are they invisible only to me?”

“Ha ha. We separated while searching for your party, so I happened to arrive here alone.”

“Who are the others in this ‘we’?”

“Strictly speaking, perhaps I should not call it ‘we.’ He proposed and executed the plan.”

“Hyeoncheong… No, it would be better to call him Yong Soa. He wishes to meet you.”