Chapter 150 – The Successor is Confirmed (1)

As an assassin, he had mastered countless techniques and could tear a man’s throat out with his bare hands. He had no doubt that his hand would do just that to Yu-jin’s neck.

But unfortunately, his hand only cut through empty air.

“Well, well, what a shame. I was planning to let you live, seeing as you followed Seol-rin.”

Yu-jin, who had appeared behind Shin Do-yeong in an instant, whispered lightly into his ear. Meanwhile, the other top-tier assassins, who had been startled by Shin Do-yeong’s sudden attack, lunged toward Yu-jin.

But before they could even reach him, their throats were slit by Eun Seol-rin and Ran. Only then did Shin Do-yeong come to his senses, unable to hide his bewilderment.

‘What in the world did I just do!’

He had originally intended to follow Eun Seol-rin and Yu-jin, but a sudden surge of emotion had led him and his surviving comrades to their doom.

Though he thought it was already too late, Shin Do-yeong flung the silver threads hidden in his sleeve. The scattered threads were imbued with sword ki, slicing through the air as if to shred Yu-jin’s body at any moment.

Just as the silver threads were about to tear into Yu-jin, his body once again dispersed into black particles.

“Blame yourself for not seizing the opportunity I gave you.”

*Crack!*

Yu-jin, now in front of Shin Do-yeong, grabbed him by the neck and spoke. Then, he revealed the truth into Shin Do-yeong’s ear.

“Aren’t you baffled? Why did you suddenly want to kill me? No matter how jealous one gets, a top-tier assassin should be able to easily conceal such feelings within his heart.”

Shin Do-yeong knew that better than anyone. Yet, he had forgotten the simplest principle of an assassin—to kill all emotion—and had charged at Yu-jin. He still couldn’t understand his own actions.

“I’d like to say I’m sorry. The truth is, I made you do it.”

The arts that Kang Yu-hyeon had learned were truly useful to Yu-jin. They were all such excellent techniques that he wanted to laugh at Kang Yu-hyeon for being consumed by madness and failing to use them properly.

But among them all, the one Yu-jin liked most was the Mind’s Eye, said to be capable of controlling a person’s mind as one wished.

‘Destroying a person’s mind is easy, but to be able to control someone like this without them even knowing? Isn’t this a truly fantastic art?’

Although it was an art that could only be used after reaching the Profound Realm and understanding how to give form to one’s will, once mastered, it was nothing short of fantastic.

“And you know, no matter how skilled a subordinate is, I don’t particularly like men. Curse yourself for being born a man. Ah, but before that, I’d like to know who ordered my assassination. I hope you’ll tell me honestly.”

As soon as Yu-jin finished speaking, his eyes flashed, and Shin Do-yeong’s mind was completely shattered. He then revealed every truth he knew to Yu-jin before slitting his own throat.

“Hmm, I felt the need to deal with the elders, but I’m grateful they took the initiative. Seol-rin, Ran.”

“Yes.”

Eun Seol-rin and Ran responded immediately to Yu-jin’s call.

“Investigate the elders who follow Elder Gwan Cheol-woo. Get information on them from the Underworld Sect. I’m not going to be peaceful anymore. And I’ll show the world that there is only one person fit to be the head of the True Dragon Sword Clan.”

Frankly, recruiting people was a pain. Why bother with such tedious work when he possessed the overwhelming power to dominate everything?

He had gathered enough people; now it was time to erase those who opposed him.

“I understand.”

“I accept your command.”

Eun Seol-rin and Ran replied before vanishing into thin air. However, Eun Seol-rin took one last look at Shin Do-yeong before disappearing. After all, he was once a man who followed her; she still had enough sentiment left in her to mind his corpse.

“Does the King of Assassins still have human sentiment? Well, it doesn’t matter. I wonder how the other women are doing.”

Recalling the women he had dispatched to Zhejiang and Fujian provinces, Yu-jin made all the corpses in his residence vanish.

* * *

Deep in the night, in the inner sanctum of a certain sect.

Han So-un smiled brightly as she looked at the old man before her. The old man was Cheong Pung-so, the leader of a sect called the Okhyeonmun in Zhejiang Province.

One of the most renowned swordsmen in Zhejiang, he was furious with Han So-un. It was because Han So-un had suddenly burst in while he was training in his inner sanctum.

But when his instincts screamed at him not to underestimate the woman, he suppressed his anger.

“Did you say the Great Young Master sent you?”

Although Han So-un was significantly older, she looked very young, so Cheong Pung-so spoke down to her, and Han So-un didn’t mind.

“Yes. The Great Young Master wishes for all the sect leaders who follow the True Dragon Sword Clan to support him.”

Han So-un, on the contrary, adopted a courteous posture as she answered Cheong Pung-so.

“I am already planning to support Young Master Kang Yong-hoon. Are you aware of this?”

The head of the True Dragon Sword Clan was not chosen lightly. As the hegemon of Jiangxi, Zhejiang, and Fujian provinces, the True Dragon Sword Clan highly respected the opinions of the leaders of their vassal sects.

That was why Cheong Pung-so could confidently declare his support for Kang Yong-hoon.

“I am aware. However, Sect Leader, you must support the Great Young Master. Most of the sect leaders in Zhejiang have already changed their minds to support him.”

At Han So-un’s words, Cheong Pung-so’s brow twitched. He had been quite perplexed lately by the sudden change of heart among the neighboring sect leaders. To think that the woman before him was behind it all.

‘Were they captivated by this woman’s body?’

It was the only explanation Cheong Pung-so could come up with. And it was a plausible one. Han So-un was a woman of such outstanding beauty that the term “nation-toppling” fell short.

“No matter what tricks you use, I have no intention of changing my mind. I will forgive your secret intrusion into my inner sanctum, so please leave.”

But even at Cheong Pung-so’s words, Han So-un did not back down. Instead, she began to build up her momentum. At that, the darkness began to stir.

An even deeper darkness rose from her entire body. The sight made Cheong Pung-so’s face change color. He had ignored his instincts’ constant warnings about the woman, but now he finally understood why they had been so insistent.

Han So-un’s presence was ominous. But then, her existence had always been ominous to others. Her title was the Demonic Empress. She was the absolute ruler who had dominated the demonic path before the Heavenly Demon.

Though she was now content to serve Yu-jin as his woman, in reality, she was strong and ruthless beyond measure.

“I will ask one last time. Do you truly have no intention of following the Great Young Master?”

“I admit that you are strong. But I will never change my mind.”

*Shing!*

With those words, Cheong Pung-so drew the sword from his waist and pointed it at Han So-un. It was a clear display of his unyielding will.

“They all said that at first. But later, they realized how meaningless it was.”

“I will never change my mind!”

Shouting thus, Cheong Pung-so kicked off the ground. His body lunged at Han So-un, leaving behind only a faint afterimage.

Closing the distance in an instant, he swung his sword, unleashing a massive wave of blade energy that exploded toward Han So-un’s body. But Han So-un dodged the attack with ease.

Cheong Pung-so focused his ocular power, trying to track Han So-un’s movements.

“You may be fast, but you cannot escape my eyes!”

Cheong Pung-so swung his sword once more, and the resulting blade energy carved a large crater in the ground. Amidst the barrage of such ferocious attacks, Han So-un moved leisurely, evading all of Cheong Pung-so’s strikes.

Though his sword cut through the darkness, he felt no contact with Han So-un. She was clearly right in front of him, and he was moving to follow her trajectory, yet he could not catch her.

“Your lightness skill is indeed superior to mine. But what about an attack you cannot evade!”

As Cheong Pung-so swung his sword, dozens of streams of sword ki flew in all directions, slicing through everything in the vicinity. But even with this attack, Han So-un did not allow herself to be hit.

“It’s impressive, but not enough to do anything to me.”

*Flinch!*

At the voice coming from behind him, Cheong Pung-so’s body trembled, but he spun around and swung his sword. By the time he did, however, Han So-un was no longer there.

“Damn it!”

Cheong Pung-so let out a sharp cry and threw himself backward. Sensing a threat to his life, his movements were incredibly swift.

But Han So-un didn’t care and lunged after him. She effortlessly closed the distance to Cheong Pung-so and thrust out her hand. The speed of her hand was terrifyingly fast.

Cheong Pung-so hastily channeled blade energy, raising his sword in front of him and mustering his protective aura. And in that moment, Han So-un’s hand struck his protective aura.

*BOOOOM!*

An explosion erupted, and a massive cloud of dust rose. When the dust settled, one person was standing, and the other was on one knee. Had he not been leaning on his sword, he would have already collapsed.

Naturally, the one standing was Han So-un, and the one on one knee was Cheong Pung-so.

“*Cough*. How could someone like you… be by the Great Young Master’s… side…”

It wasn’t that he had lost to a young woman that mattered. What was important was the fact that such a formidable master was following Yu-jin.

“The Great Young Master is my master, so it is only natural that I follow him. I’ll ask one last time. Will you not follow the Great Young Master? If you refuse this time, I’m afraid the Okhyeonmun will have to disappear from the Central Plains.”

Only then did Cheong Pung-so understand why the surrounding sect leaders had changed their minds. The woman had shown them her overwhelming power, filling them with terror, and then threatened them with their families and disciples.

In Cheong Pung-so’s eyes, the woman had the power to annihilate the Okhyeonmun single-handedly. In that case, he had only one choice.

“I… will support… the Great Young Master…”

At Cheong Pung-so’s words, Han So-un smiled brightly. She couldn’t help but be happy, because once the Okhyeonmun was on their side, all the sects in Zhejiang would be following Yu-jin.

‘Now I can return to Master.’

Her heart yearned to return to Yu-jin as soon as possible and be held in his arms.

* * *

While Han So-un had subjugated all the sects in Zhejiang, Na Ye-jin and Bukri Eun had done the same to all the sects in Fujian.

It was no exaggeration to say that almost everyone associated with the True Dragon Sword Clan now followed Yu-jin.

Following the words of the women who had subjugated them, they announced their support for Yu-jin. With that, the matter of the True Dragon Sword Clan’s succession once again began to shake the martial world of the Central Plains.