Chapter 67

The moment he heard the voice, Oh San-gyeong felt every single hair on his body stand on end.

‘Who?’

His palms grew damp.

Though it looked shabby on the outside, a strict security network was established around the Hao Clan’s Chengdu branch.

As the Hao Clan lived and died by information, they were more sensitive to external threats than any other sect. Because of this, even the slightest suspicious person’s appearance was immediately reported to Oh San-gyeong.

Thanks to this, Oh San-gyeong and the Chengdu branch had been able to escape countless threats until now.

They were confident that no martial artist, no matter who they were, could evade the Hao Clan’s strict surveillance system. But at this very moment, the voice coming from behind him shattered Oh San-gyeong’s pride to pieces.

Oh San-gyeong swallowed dryly and carefully opened his mouth.

“Who… are you?”

He secretly raised his internal power.

At that moment, a pure white hand shot out from behind him.

The white hand grabbed the book Oh San-gyeong was holding.

It was a book containing all the information on martial artists that the Hao Clan’s Chengdu branch had collected so far. To Oh San-gyeong, it was more important than his own life.

Oh San-gyeong tried to turn around and attack the owner of the voice. But strangely, his body was stiff and he couldn’t move.

His acupoints hadn’t been struck, nor was he forcibly restrained. Yet, his body wouldn’t move.

He was overwhelmed by the aura emanating from the unknown opponent.

Oh San-gyeong gritted his teeth and tried to move his body, but it was futile.

In the meantime, the white hand had completely snatched the book from Oh San-gyeong’s grasp.

Flip, flip!

The sound of pages turning came from behind him.

A brief moment felt like an eternity to Oh San-gyeong.

He heard a murmuring voice.

“I haven’t been in Chengdu for long, yet you’ve investigated me quite well.”

“I, I am the head of the Hao Clan’s Chengdu branch. If you harm me, the Hao Clan will absolutely not stand by.”

“I know! That’s why I came.”

“You came even though you knew? Why on earth?”

“Because I don’t like my information floating around without my permission.”

“Then?”

Oh San-gyeong’s mind raced.

‘Does that mean he’s someone listed in the Capital Martial Artists Registry?’

He wracked his brain, trying to remember if there was a martial artist with such an aggressive disposition in the Capital Martial Artists Registry.

Quite a few people came to mind, but among them, the name of a martial artist so secretive and chilling did not come easily.

Oh San-gyeong suddenly recalled the opponent saying he hadn’t been in Chengdu for long.

There was only one such martial artist in the Capital Martial Artists Registry.

“Y-You must be Pyo Wol.”

“Correct!”

The owner of the voice was none other than Pyo Wol.

Pyo Wol did not hide his identity and revealed it.

At that moment, a cold sweat ran down Oh San-gyeong’s spine.

There was only one reason for a martial artist who had secretly infiltrated to readily reveal his identity.

‘Kill and Silence?’

If you reveal your identity, you just have to kill the other person to keep them from talking.

Oh San-gyeong had seen such cases countless times. But he had never dreamed that he would be the target.

“L-Let’s compromise.”

“Compromise?”

“I will keep the Great Hero’s identity a secret. The Great Hero’s name will never escape my lips.”

“You chattered quite well to the Taoists of the Qingcheng Sect.”

“That was because of a request…”

Oh San-gyeong realized that Pyo Wol had been watching from beginning to end.

Pyo Wol’s discovery of the Hao Clan’s Chengdu branch was a coincidence.

He had stumbled upon it while monitoring the movements of the Qingcheng Sect.

Until he saw the Capital Martial Artists Registry, he had planned to just leave quietly. But the moment he saw the contents of the Capital Martial Artists Registry, his mind changed.

The first page was filled with information about himself.

If this information went up to the Hao Clan’s main headquarters, his existence would be revealed to all under heaven.

For now, only a rough outline was written, but if the Hao Clan decided to trace his background, the truth would be revealed in no time.

He knew he would be known someday, but for now, he wanted to remain quietly buried. At least until his revenge against the Qingcheng Sect and the Emei Sect was over.

“Who else has read this book?”

“No one but me… Please spare me.”

“You’ll talk if I let you live.”

“No, I won’t. Please believe me.”

Twitch!

At that moment, Oh San-gyeong’s fingers moved.

As a result of steadily raising his internal energy while buying time, his stiffened body had loosened.

“Die!”

Oh San-gyeong spun around like a thunderbolt and swung both his arms.

It was the Shadow Flick Hand, a special technique of the Hao Clan.

With complete mastery, it was a hand art that could cut down a large tree in a single blow.

Oh San-gyeong unleashed the Shadow Flick Hand with all his might.

He had no doubt that even if this one move couldn’t take the opponent’s life, it would at least make him retreat.

He planned to run outside and escape if the opponent retreated.

Swoosh!

His hand cut through the space where he presumed Pyo Wol would be. But there was no sensation at his fingertips.

His hand had merely cut through empty space in vain.

Ting!

At that moment, Oh San-gyeong heard the sound of a string being plucked.

At first, he didn’t know what it meant.

Drip!

If he hadn’t felt a stinging pain in his neck and something flowing out, he wouldn’t have even known what had happened to him.

Oh San-gyeong unconsciously touched his neck with his hand. A damp liquid met his touch.

‘What is th…is?’

Oh San-gyeong felt all the strength drain from his body.

“Guhhh!”

Suddenly, a sound like air escaping came from his throat.

His throat was split wide open, like the gills of a fish. Air was leaking from the gash.

Oh San-gyeong desperately tried to cover the wound.

In his eyes, fear and doubt coexisted.

‘Wh-When, and how?’

He hadn’t noticed what kind of technique the opponent had used at all.

He hadn’t even seen Pyo Wol’s face yet.

“L-Like a demon…”

Oh San-gyeong couldn’t finish his words and collapsed.

That was Oh San-gyeong’s end.

Until the moment his breath stopped, he never realized how he was dying.

Only after Oh San-gyeong’s breath had completely ceased did Pyo Wol reveal himself from the darkness.

Pyo Wol waved his hand and retracted the Soul Restraining Thread.

Despite having killed Oh San-gyeong, there was no trace of guilt on Pyo Wol’s face.

Pyo Wol tucked the Capital Martial Artists Registry into his robes.

He searched Oh San-gyeong’s quarters and confirmed that there was nothing else related to him besides the Capital Martial Artists Registry.

If the Hao Clan’s main headquarters sent people to investigate the truth, his existence would be revealed. But by then, everything would be over.

Pyo Wol quietly went outside.

The Hao Clan martial artists outside had no idea what had happened inside.

Pyo Wol slipped past their eyes and escaped the Chengdu branch.

A long time after he disappeared, the screams of people echoed through the Chengdu branch.

“Branch Chief!”

“Quick, call a physician.”

＊＊＊

Before any major event that would shock people, there always existed what was called a precursor.

Trivial things that were overlooked at the time were, in fact, a kind of signal that occurred before a major incident.

This was especially true in the Jianghu, where incidents and accidents were frequent.

The event in the last hundred years of Jianghu history with the most precursors was the Great Demonic War.

At that time, many had sensed the precursors but ignored them. As a result, a major incident that embroiled all the martial artists of Jianghu erupted, which was the Great Demonic War.

Fortunately, an outstanding martial artist named Lee Gwak appeared and concluded the Great War, but the incident left a deep scar on the hearts of martial artists.

The older martial artists who remember that time no longer overlook even the smallest incident. They fear that this small incident might escalate into a great war in the Jianghu.

There was such a martial artist in Sichuan Province as well.

Po Sanhae, the Boss of the Crimson Dragon Clan, was such a person.

Unlike his rugged appearance, he was very resourceful and had a broad perspective for reading the bigger picture.

Thanks to this, he inherited the Crimson Dragon Clan just fifteen years after becoming a disciple of the previous Crimson Dragon Clan Boss, and built the most solid force among the Four Rooms.

A deep furrow was etched between Po Sanhae’s brows.

“The young master of the Thunder Clan was assassinated by an assassin presumed to have learned the martial arts of the Qingcheng Sect, and now the atmosphere inside the Hundred Flowers Room is unusual?”

It was the latest news his subordinate had just brought.

Because the Hundred Flowers Room was keeping it so quiet, it was impossible to know exactly what had happened inside. But seeing as the atmosphere inside the Hundred Flowers Room was extremely agitated, it was clear that an unusual incident had occurred.

“This is the first time the atmosphere has been this murderous in seven years.”

Seven years ago, there was a major incident that had shaken the entire Sichuan Province.

It was the deployment of the Celestial Net, in which all the sects of Sichuan Province participated to subjugate an assassin group called the Bloody Shadows Guild.

Since it was an affair led by the Qingcheng Sect and the Emei Sect, Po Sanhae also participated, leading the Crimson Dragon Clan.

It was unthinkable not to participate in an affair led by the two sects in Sichuan Province.

One misstep could make them the public enemy of all the sects in Sichuan, so Po Sanhae put aside his misgivings and participated in the Celestial Net.

At the time, he participated with a light heart.

Although the Bloody Shadows Guild was a renowned assassin group in Sichuan, it was impossible for them to escape the Celestial Net in which all the sects of Sichuan participated.

The martial artists who participated in the Celestial Net hunted down and killed the assassins as if they were on a hunt.

The reason for subjugating the Bloody Shadows Guild was not important to them.

The fact that they could kill assassins, the scourge of the Jianghu, at will was more important to them.

In a way, it was a kind of amusement.

After the Great Demonic War, a new order had emerged in the Jianghu.

The Two Powerhouses, represented by the Radiant Martial Gate and the Heavenly Martial Fortress, along with the existing Jianghu sects such as the Shaolin Temple, Wudang Sect, and Mount Hua Sect, had firmly established their positions.

Unfortunately, no such sect existed in Sichuan Province.

The most likely candidates were the Qingcheng Sect and the Emei Sect, but unfortunately, they were closed-off when the Great Demonic War occurred.

Therefore, they were bound to be pushed back in standing by the newly established sects. The reclusive geography of Sichuan also played a part in this.

Being a basin surrounded by high mountain ranges, it was possible to survive without external exchange, and since advancing outside was difficult, its own Jianghu ecosystem was created.

After this unique order of Sichuan was established, there were rarely any fights among themselves. It was probably because they were all entangled in various relationships.

The assassin hunt, which occurred as such tedious times were passing, threw the martial artists of Sichuan into a frenzy.

The fact that they could hunt assassins without having to worry about anyone’s opinion excited them.

Po Sanhae was worried about such an atmosphere, but he still participated in the Celestial Net.

To withdraw from the stage set by the Emei Sect and the Qingcheng Sect was no different from declaring that they would be ostracized by all the martial artists of Sichuan.

The subjugation was successful.

The martial artists of Sichuan found the assassins one by one and killed them brutally.

They were confident of a perfect, cost-free victory.

Then, that incident occurred.

One of the assassins had assassinated Woo Gun-sang, a prodigy of the Qingcheng Sect.

The Sichuan Jianghu was turned upside down.

When all the other assassins chose to escape, someone had defied everyone’s expectations and carried out an assassination alone.

The enraged Qingcheng Sect sent its disciples directly to pursue the assassin, and the Emei Sect also participated.

They said they chased the assassin to the end and eventually killed him. But for some unknown reason, the relationship between the Emei Sect and the Qingcheng Sect deteriorated to the worst possible state afterward.

In the end, the two sects representing Sichuan came to regard each other as enemies and fought. They clashed several times and suffered great damage.

Thinking back, there were precursors before that incident as well.

They just hadn’t recognized them.

And seven years had passed.

Due to the conflict between the two sects, the sects of Sichuan were divided into two sides.

The Crimson Dragon Clan had remained neutral so far, but they couldn’t stay like this forever.

Eventually, they would have to choose a side.

That’s why he was worried.

“The young master of the Thunder Clan is dead, and now there’s trouble in the Hundred Flowers Room again. Perhaps this is a precursor. A precursor that will drive the entire Sichuan Province into a storm of blood.”

Po Sanhae stroked his beard with his hand.

“It’s unsettling. It feels like all the recent incidents are connected. Could there be an undercurrent that no one knows about?”

It was true that the Emei Sect and the Qingcheng Sect had been fighting for seven years, but the recent incidents were too sudden.

Without giving any time to think, incidents erupted one after another, driving the relationship between the Emei Sect and the Qingcheng Sect to its worst.

It was enough to make one think that someone was instigating it.

“If such a person really exists…”

Just the thought of it sent shivers down his spine.

Just as he was about to continue his reasoning.

“B-Boss!”

An urgent voice came from outside.

A sense of foreboding made Po Sanhae jump up from his seat and open the door. A disciple rushed in.

Po Sanhae asked.

“What is it?”

“A-A fight has broken out between the Qingcheng Sect and the Emei Sect in Chengdu.”

“What?”

“Because of that, there’s chaos in the center of Chengdu right now. You must go and see.”

“I understand.”

Po Sanhae grabbed his weapon.

He completely forgot all the thoughts he had just been having.

Po Sanhae took his disciples and ran towards the place where the fight between the two sects was said to be taking place.

A sticky wind clung to his face as he ran.