Chapter 9 – Namgung Hwa-rin (6)

Beom Sang-woo, a man who disliked commotion, had built a small residence for himself some distance from the main estate. Today, however, his roars shattered the usual silence of the area.

“The Blood Wolf Society’s branch is gone?”

Worried that the Blood Wolf Society might cause trouble, Beom Sang-woo had located their branch in advance and sent his personal subordinates to keep it under surveillance.

But now, his watchers had rushed to him, their faces pale, reporting that the branch had been annihilated in an instant.

Beom Sang-woo couldn’t hide his bewilderment.

“Who did it?”

“It was a complete stranger.”

At the masked man’s words, Beom Sang-woo’s brow furrowed. He had a good idea who the culprit was, but that didn’t make it any less incomprehensible.

*Why would someone who has remained quiet all this time suddenly make a move now?*

Mulling it over, Beom Sang-woo soon realized how pointless his pondering was. Just because someone was lying low didn’t mean they would do so forever.

*Is he planning to rise up by strengthening his backing through marriage with the Namgung Clan’s daughter? And this must be a warning to those of us who are targeting him.*

Just then, a commotion erupted outside.

“You can’t just barge in!”

“The only person who can stop a direct descendant of the True Dragon Sword Clan is the Clan Head himself. Even a Division Head is nothing compared to the direct bloodline.”

*Bang!*

As those words ended, the door to Beom Sang-woo’s room burst open. And there, revealing himself before Beom Sang-woo, was Kang Yu-jin. He looked at Beom Sang-woo with a smile.

“I believe this is the first time we’ve spoken face-to-face, Lord Beom.”

Beom Sang-woo scowled at Yu-jin’s informal tone. It was infuriating to be addressed so casually by a young man who hadn’t lived half his years.

“Mind your manners, First Young Master. Remember that even the Clan Head respects the Division Heads, myself included.”

“Manners…”

Yu-jin smiled at Beom Sang-woo’s words. Seeing that smile, Beom Sang-woo felt an inexplicable chill run down his spine.

But he quickly dismissed the feeling. He was a master on the verge of the Transformation Realm.

Within the True Dragon Sword Clan, only the Clan Head and a few elders were stronger than him. Though Yu-jin was overwhelmingly powerful for his age, Beom Sang-woo believed he posed no threat.

“To be told to show manners to someone who wants me dead… manners are a difficult thing to uphold indeed.”

At those words, all expression vanished from Beom Sang-woo’s face. His subordinates nearby began to radiate killing intent.

“To spout such ridiculous nonsense, are you in your right mind, First Young Master?”

“I’m perfectly sane. And Lord Beom, it seems your loyalty to my younger brother is so excessive it’s driven you mad. Not a single person has ever died during the True Dragon Sword Clan’s succession process. They willingly stepped aside and supported the new Clan Head. That’s why the elders are respected. Well, it seems a little rat has appeared recently, but even he doesn’t conspire like you do.”

At Yu-jin’s tirade, killing intent erupted from Beom Sang-woo’s entire body. As a master nearing the Transformation Realm released his aura, the objects in the room began to tremble.

Yet Yu-jin, the focus of that killing intent, remained perfectly calm.

“Are you planning to lay a hand on a direct descendant? I acknowledge your loyalty to my brother, but you should cool your head.”

“There’s no one around to see anyway. If anyone approaches, my loyal men will warn me. Besides, this isn’t about the relationship between a direct descendant and a Division Head, but a martial senior teaching his junior a lesson. That should be fine, right?”

Beom Sang-woo knew it was sophistry, but if he didn’t strike at Yu-jin now, he felt he might die of sheer frustration.

“What a fine excuse.”

Without replying to Yu-jin, Beom Sang-woo drew his sword. He glared coldly at Yu-jin and swung.

It wasn’t a killing blow, but it was more than enough to injure Yu-jin. However, Beom Sang-woo’s sword never reached him. Yu-jin had simply caught the blade.

“What!”

Beom Sang-woo was utterly shocked by Yu-jin’s action. Even without imbuing it with his internal energy, a casual swing from him was no ordinary strike for an opponent.

To catch such an attack so easily with a bare hand—Beom Sang-woo couldn’t help but be astonished. He quickly thrust a palm with his free hand, forcing Yu-jin to retreat.

“You’d better stop, Lord Beom. If you go any further, I can’t guarantee your life.”

“Enough of your nonsense, First Young Master!”

Beom Sang-woo knew Yu-jin was strong, but he’d never imagined this strong. His face hardened as he began to draw upon his power. His instincts screamed at him to use his full strength.

“It’ll be a problem if things get noisy.”

Although Beom Sang-woo’s residence was in a quiet area, a clash between two masters was bound to be loud.

That meant people might be drawn to the commotion, so Yu-jin decided to end it in one fell swoop.

A hegemonic aura began to pour out from Yu-jin’s body, and the surrounding plants started to wither.

“This is impossible!”

The killing intent Yu-jin harbored, the formless energy emanating from his body, was causing the surrounding flora to die.

A display of power only possible for one who had mastered the art of harming with intent to the point of nearing the realm of killing with the mind. This was something that couldn’t be achieved even at the Transformation Realm.

A feat that only the Clan Head of the True Dragon Sword Clan, the sole member to have reached the Profound Realm and mastered the Mind Sword, could display.

This meant that Kang Yu-jin had also reached the Profound Realm, making him a transcendent being who ranked among the top ten masters in the current martial world.

“I can’t believe it! How could you reach such a realm at your age!”

“You don’t need to know, do you?”

As Yu-jin spoke with a smile, Beom Sang-woo gripped his sword tightly. He then unleashed his most powerful technique, the Soul-Shattering Pursuit, at Yu-jin.

Countless bundles of energy engulfed the surroundings. Spears of light capable of annihilating a person without a trace flew toward Yu-jin, but he simply smiled and extended his hand. His hand was now wreathed in black energy.

“I wonder if you know that you failed to reach the Transformation Realm because your heart is filled with darkness. And to challenge me with such meager skills… you really don’t know your place, do you?”

With those words, Yu-jin charged toward the bundles of energy Beom Sang-woo had created. Yu-jin’s black hand-aura pierced through them, and the energy bundles vanished.

Beom Sang-woo didn’t have time to be surprised at how easily his ultimate technique had been nullified. Yu-jin was already rushing toward him, exuding a terrifying aura.

Beom Sang-woo enveloped his sword in a blade aura and swung at Yu-jin, but Yu-jin’s hand shattered both the aura and the sword itself.

“Kuaaargh!”

Struck by shards of energy and metal, Beom Sang-woo was thrown back, tumbling across the ground. Yet somehow, he forced himself to his feet.

Blood streamed from his entire body, and with every cough, pieces of his shredded organs flew out. Beom Sang-woo already had one foot in the river of death.

“That martial art… it’s not one of our clan’s…”

Yu-jin readily nodded at Beom Sang-woo’s words. He was willing to tell the truth to help a dying man meet his end more peacefully.

“It’s a technique called the Black Heaven Hand, one of the Nine Heavens Divine Demonic Arts that I created. You could say I designed this hand technique to pierce and destroy anything.”

Beom Sang-woo trembled at his words. If “Nine Heavens” meant what he imagined, it meant Yu-jin had mastered eight more of these absurdly powerful techniques.

“How can a human body master so many arts!”

“Some have mastered a thousand arts, so what’s so difficult about mastering nine? By the way, you’re quite clever, Lord Beom. Stalling for time like this to give your subordinates a chance to escape.”

Beom Sang-woo shuddered. Just as Yu-jin said, he was desperately clinging to his fading life to buy time, hoping his subordinates could escape and reveal the truth.

But his hope was dashed. Five women suddenly appeared, each holding the severed head of one of Beom Sang-woo’s fleeing subordinates.

“Oh dear, your last hope is gone. As an apology, I’ll show you a second technique. You should feel honored. I don’t recall ever using two different arts on a single person before.”

Saying this, Yu-jin held out his left hand. A dark green flame formed above his palm. A martial art created by combining a poison surpassing all others with a flame that could melt anything: the Verdant Poison Flame.

“First Young Master, you are…”

“Don’t worry, I have no intention of killing my brothers. I want to be a good older brother. Now, farewell, Lord Beom.”

Yu-jin flicked his hand, and the Verdant Poison Flame engulfed Beom Sang-woo, erasing him without a trace.

“Well, that’s that. Beom Sang-woo was the leader of those who gathered in secret. With him dead, no one else should bother me, right? By the way, to the person who’s been hiding over there for a while, you can show yourself now.”

The five women flinched in surprise at Yu-jin’s words. They hadn’t detected anyone. For someone to be present meant they were stronger than them. Not that it mattered, with Yu-jin here.

Yu-jin and the five women looked toward the bushes, and a person emerged from within.

“Lady Namgung, why are you here…?”

He knew someone had been following him but had ignored them for the sake of a swift resolution. He never imagined it would be a woman he knew.

The woman who had managed to fluster the great Kang Yu-jin. Her name was Namgung Hwa-rin.

***

Namgung Hwa-rin had followed Yu-jin out of curiosity and a hint of jealousy. The fact that Yu-jin had fought on equal footing with her beloved older brother, Namgung Hwi, had made her feel favorable toward him.

So when she saw him moving with several beautiful women, she felt a strange pang of jealousy and decided to follow him. And in doing so, she had caught a glimpse of the real Yu-jin.

*How could he…*

Yu-jin displayed incredible martial prowess against the assassins. No one could withstand a single blow from him. It was the absolute strength that Namgung Hwa-rin herself pursued as a martial artist. And when Yu-jin defeated Beom Sang-woo so easily, she was left bewildered.

The assassins were one thing, but she couldn’t comprehend the existence of a man named Yu-jin, who had subdued a master on the verge of the Transformation Realm with just a few attacks.

*But still…*

Namgung Hwa-rin looked at Yu-jin with eyes full of admiration. The man she was to marry was such a powerful master, and the thought that she now shared a secret with him made her heart flutter.

However, when Yu-jin called her out, she panicked and thought of running, but she gave up and finally revealed herself.

Yu-jin approached Namgung Hwa-rin with a smile.

“You saw everything, Lady Namgung?”