Chapter 106

“Damn it……”

Hong Yushin felt a throbbing pain in his head.

Before him lay the seven bodies of the Seven Stars Hall, lined up in a row.

The members of the Hao Clan had collected them overnight.

Exactly seven. Not a single one was spared; all were killed by Pyo Wol.

“To think seven of them would be taken out in a single night.”

The Seven Stars Hall were renowned Martial Artists in Hunan Province.

There was a reason why a sect of only seven members had made such a name for itself among other formidable sects.

In particular, the eldest, Sa Hyokyung, possessed not only powerful martial arts but also excellent judgment. The fact that he was defeated without being able to put up much of a fight was proof of just how outstanding Pyo Wol’s martial arts were.

“There’s outstanding, and then there’s this. This is just…”

The history of Jianghu had proven it time and again.

Those who were too exceptional always brought a wind of change to Jianghu, even if they themselves did not wish for it.

Pyo Wol was in that very situation.

“I need to find out more about this man.”

Having organized his thoughts, Hong Yushin gestured to the waiting Hao Clan martial artists. They immediately rushed over and took away the bodies of the Seven Stars Hall members.

These were not ordinary martial artists.

They were more like scholars than martial artists.

Scholars who had learned martial arts.

From now on, they would thoroughly analyze and dissect the bodies of the Seven Stars Hall to learn about the martial arts Pyo Wol used.

While it was impossible to know the exact martial arts, it would be a great success just to identify the weapon he used and his primary martial art through the wounds.

In this way, the Hao Clan accumulated information on individuals who could pose a threat to Jianghu.

“We must gather as much information as possible while he’s still in Sichuan Province. It’ll be too late once he leaves.”

Hong Yushin’s gaze turned cold.

Having experienced Pyo Wol’s martial prowess firsthand, he knew how strong he was.

In a direct confrontation, he might be inferior to the masters of the Two Powerhouses, Three Clans, Three Manors, Three Hegemons, and the top martial artists of Jianghu. But Pyo Wol was an assassin.

Despite having mastered formidable martial arts, he had not abandoned his identity as an assassin.

That meant he could launch a surprise attack at any time.

He felt no guilt, no shame.

If an expert like Pyo Wol decided to launch a surprise attack, even the top experts of Jianghu would be in danger.

In a way, he was a more lethal being than any other expert in Jianghu.

Pyo Wol was a completely new kind of threat that had never existed before. That was why Hong Yushin was paying close attention to him.

Hong Yushin asked a subordinate standing beside him.

“Where is he?”

“He is at the workshop.”

“The workshop?”

“The one run by the descendant of the Tang Clan.”

“Have you figured out their relationship?”

“We are in the process of determining how such a strong bond was formed.”

“Dig into everything about him without missing a single detail. We may not be able to control him, but the more information we gather, the higher the price we can sell it for.”

“Understood.”

The subordinate made a fist-palm salute and retreated.

Left alone, Hong Yushin let out a sigh.

“Hah!”

＊＊＊

Tang Sochu asked Pyo Wol.

“So, this man named Pung-jon took Shin-woo to protect him? In your opinion, do you think he was telling the truth?”

“It didn’t seem like a lie.”

“Hah!”

Tang Sochu let out a deep sigh.

Last night, Chengdu had been turned upside down again.

The fire set by Yeo Seol-yeong had burned down a third of the slums, throwing Chengdu into great chaos.

Countless people lost their homes and were left to wander the streets.

Public sentiment, which had barely been brought under control, turned grim again, and the atmosphere on the streets was more serious than ever.

All of this was because of what the Seven Stars Hall had done. And the reason they had done such a thing in Chengdu was to capture Nam Shin-woo.

“Just what kind of secret does that child have to become the target of such big shots? And Pung-jon, of all people…”

“Do you know about Pung-jon?”

“How could I not? He’s an absolute powerhouse who stands shoulder to shoulder with the masters of the Two Powerhouses, Three Clans, Three Manors, and Three Hegemons. Even children know that.”

“Tell me in detail.”

The emotion that appeared on Pyo Wol’s face was more than simple curiosity.

He knew almost nothing about Jianghu.

His knowledge was limited to Sichuan Province, and even that was only fragmentary.

He had been so focused on his revenge that he had little interest in the overall state of Jianghu, but now, that had to change.

“I don’t know that much either. Just what everyone else knows.”

“Just tell me what you know.”

“Where should I start? Ah! The Two Powerhouses are, in name and reality, the strongest sects in the martial arts world. Both are new sects, less than a hundred years old, but the achievements left by their founding sect leaders were so great that they are spoken of as the strongest sects in Jianghu.”

“So, what are their names?”

“The Radiant Martial Gate and the Heavenly Martial Fortress. The Radiant Martial Gate is the sect created by Great Hero Lee Gwak, who ended the Great Demonic War, and the Heavenly Martial Fortress is the sect where Great Hero Jang Cheon-hwa, who delivered the final blow to the leader of the Divine Demon Association, the main culprit of the bloody calamity, serves as the Manor Lord. The Radiant Martial Gate rose to the ranks of the strongest in Jianghu thanks to the halo of Great Hero Lee Gwak, and the Heavenly Martial Fortress amassed a huge number of people based on its immense wealth to form the strongest force.”

The current Sect Leader of the Radiant Martial Gate was Lee Gwak’s son, Lee Cheong, and the Heavenly Martial Fortress was said to be still led by Jang Cheon-hwa.

The Radiant Martial Gate was a pure martial sect, while the Heavenly Martial Fortress was a combination of a trading company and a martial sect.

In terms of pure martial strength, the Radiant Martial Gate was far superior, but if you added in funds and influence, the Heavenly Martial Fortress was not far behind.

Following the Two Powerhouses were the Three Clans, which were the traditional sects: the Shaolin Temple, the Wudang Sect, and the Mount Hua Sect.

Having been closed-off for a long time, they opened their doors at the start of the Great Demonic War and re-entered Jianghu.

They made great contributions in the Great Demonic War, widely publicizing how strong the traditional martial sects were.

The Three Hegemons was a term used to collectively refer to the three sects: Dragon Sky Valley, the Swordless Union, and the Thousand Water Society.

Before the Great Demonic War, there were super-powers called the Ten Hegemons that divided and ruled Jianghu into ten parts, but only three of them survived and were grouped together as the Three Hegemons.

The Three Manors were, as the name suggests, three manors. They were established after the Great Demonic War and were said to have amassed tremendous power despite their short history.

They are called the New Moon Manor, the Demon Sword Manor, and the Righteous Sword Manor.

These eleven sects could be said to be the backbone of the current Jianghu.

Although the Radiant Martial Gate and the Heavenly Martial Fortress possessed the most superior military power, the power held by the remaining sects was by no means small.

These eleven sects maintained a delicate balance of power, and the peace of Jianghu continued.

“The masters of these eleven sects can be called the rulers of Jianghu. But there are those who, despite having no faction, are not inferior to the masters of the eleven sects in terms of individual martial power. They are called the Eight Constellations and the Three Venerables. I don’t know the details about the Eight Constellations, so you’ll have to ask someone else.”

“And the Three Venerables?”The Martial Venerable Yeom Bul-eui, the Sword Venerable Han Yu-cheon, and the Wind Venerable.” They are known as the top martial artists of Jianghu who have all achieved mastery in their respective fields.”

“So you’re saying there are at least twenty more martial artists like Pung-jon.”

The masters of the eleven sects, the eight members of the Eight Constellations, and the three members of the Three Venerables. A total of twenty-two people.

Since it was said that there were as many eccentrics and masters in Jianghu as there were grains of sand, if you included the unknown martial artists, there would be far more.

Pyo Wol once again realized just how vast Jianghu was.

He, who had settled in Sichuan Province after finishing his revenge, was no different from a frog in a well.

‘Now I’m starting to come to my senses.’

The encounter with Pung-jon had awakened his vigilance.

Jianghu was by no means an easy place.

Today he had survived, but tomorrow he could become a cold corpse like the members of the Seven Stars Hall.

‘I must become stronger.’

To survive in this hellish place, he needed to become stronger and more tenacious.

Pyo Wol stood up and said.

“I will definitely find the child named Shin-woo.”

“There’s no need.”

“Why?”

“My emotions got the better of me for a moment, but he was a child I couldn’t keep for long anyway. It’s probably better for him to be protected by Pung-jon.”

Tang Sochu composed himself faster than expected.

He apologized.

“I’m sorry! I made you go through all this trouble because of me.”

“Thanks to you, I learned something valuable too.”

“That’s a relief, at least.”

“Yes! It was a good experience.”

As Pyo Wol nodded, his eyes were colder than ever.

Losing Nam Shin-woo to Pung-jon had also been a great shock to Pyo Wol.

‘Next time, I won’t have anything taken from me.’

The feeling of having something of his taken away was fouler than he had thought.

Whether it was something tangible or intangible.

His heart, which had loosened slightly after his revenge, felt like it was being tightly squeezed again.

“I’m leaving!”

Pyo Wol bid farewell to Tang Sochu and went outside.

Even after leaving the workshop that had been filled with scorching heat, his mood was not refreshed, undoubtedly because of the memory of the previous day.

A day had already passed, but the memory of being blocked by Pung-jon stubbornly lingered, tormenting him.

Others might call it a useless obsession, but for Pyo Wol, it was a matter of survival.

Pyo Wol was the type who couldn’t let even the most trivial thing go, and he had to solve even the smallest problem to be satisfied. This was because he had been exposed for a long time to an environment where he had to be that way to survive.

‘Right now, everything is exposed. I need a hideout of my own.’

Staying at an inn was convenient, but his every move was exposed to the eyes of others.

Even now, he could feel the gazes of the Hao Clan members and other martial artists from a distance.

Since Pyo Wol’s movements were exposed, many martial artists naturally kept track of his whereabouts.

Even now, his route would be reported to the Hao Clan in real time.

He couldn’t do anything like this.

First, he had to hide himself.

To do that, he first needed to secure a new hideout.

Securing a hideout required a huge amount of money. It wasn’t difficult to get the money.

If he threatened a sect or a trading company in Chengdu, they would surely offer him gold taels. But that was not Pyo Wol’s way. And if he received gold taels from them, the flow of money would be traced.

He needed funds that the world did not know about.

After thinking for a moment, Pyo Wol left Chengdu and walked without hesitation.

He walked for three days and three nights.

Pyo Wol had a firm destination he had to reach.

The problem was that he didn’t know the way to the destination.

He had only been to the destination once, and that was in a situation where he was loaded onto a carriage and couldn’t see the outside scenery at all.

It was like trying to find an oasis in the desert without a map.

The only thing he could trust was his own intuition.

Pyo Wol walked, smelling the moisture and scents in the air.

Although a long time had passed, he still retained a vivid memory of that time.

The Microscopic Sense ability that had blossomed in the underground cavern made it possible.

Thus, Pyo Wol traced the faint remaining trail like a wild dog tracking its prey. And after three days, he was finally able to arrive at his desired destination.

A small manor surrounded by a high wall.

On the old signboard were written the three characters, Azure Wind Manor.

There was no sign of life at the Azure Wind Manor, as if it had been abandoned for a long time.

Creeak!

As Pyo Wol opened the gate and entered, the rusty hinges screamed.

The inside of the Azure Wind Manor was in an even more serious state.

There were clear signs of looting, as people had realized it was an abandoned place. The doors and furniture were broken, and anything of value was completely gone.

Pyo Wol frowned slightly as he looked around the inside of the Azure Wind Manor.

The Azure Wind Manor was one of the bases of the Bloody Shadows Guild.

After Pyo Wol and the children came out of the underground cavern, the first place they arrived at, loaded onto a carriage, was the Azure Wind Manor.

He still remembered it because he had bathed and eaten a proper meal for the first time here.

After the Bloody Shadows Guild was annihilated by the Emei Sect, the Azure Wind Manor was abandoned.

With no one to manage it and no visitors for a long time, the people living nearby were the first to notice it was abandoned and stole everything of value.

Although the appearance had changed a lot, Pyo Wol was certain that this was the place he had stayed at before.

He remembered it clearly because he had stayed here for a few days before being immediately deployed for Woo Gun-sang’s assassination.

Pyo Wol walked towards the largest building in the Azure Wind Manor, the Great Moon Hall.

The Great Moon Hall was the residence of Gu Ju-yang, the leader of the Bloody Shadows Guild. The Great Moon Hall had also been thoroughly looted. Not only the furniture, but anything of value was gone without a trace.

Pyo Wol paid no mind to the lost treasures.

He hadn’t expected any of those things to still be there.

Pyo Wol looked at Gu Ju-yang’s residence.

The residence of Gu Ju-yang, the leader of the Bloody Shadows Guild, was completely destroyed. This was because people had searched this place with particular thoroughness.

They had thought that since it was the largest building, there would be many valuable items left.

Pyo Wol thought the same.

However, the items Pyo Wol considered valuable were different from what other people thought.

Pyo Wol lay down on Gu Ju-yang’s broken bed and looked up at the ceiling. He tried to think from Gu Ju-yang’s perspective.

“If it were me, where would I hide my most valuable possession?”

A place within reach.

A place in plain sight, yet one that people wouldn’t easily think of.

Suddenly, a part of the ceiling with a different pattern caught Pyo Wol’s eye.

Pyo Wol leaped up to the ceiling and pressed the part with the different pattern. The cover of the part he pressed fell off, revealing an empty space.

While hanging from the ceiling, Pyo Wol searched the empty space. Then, his hand grasped an object.

Pyo Wol landed on the floor, holding the object he had grabbed.

In his hand was a booklet wrapped in oil paper.

When Pyo Wol carefully unfolded the oil paper, a yellowish booklet was revealed. The booklet, which didn’t even have a title, smelled of old paper.

Pyo Wol carefully opened the booklet.

Flip!

A smile appeared on Pyo Wol’s lips as he turned the pages of the booklet.

‘I knew it.’