Chapter 141

The confrontation with Pung-jon left Pyo Wol with much to ponder.

Until now, Pyo Wol had assassinated numerous Experts with ease using only the Killing Method he had learned in the underground cavern. But to face an Expert who had reached a level like Pung-jon, he needed something different.

Keenly aware of his shortcomings, Pyo Wol strove to maximize his Martial Arts, and as a result, he was able to attain a few enlightenments.

They were still minor enlightenments that would require long hours of study in the future, but among them was something he could use immediately.

It was the Devil’s Hell.

Devil’s Hell was not a Martial Art.

It was a fighting style that only Pyo Wol, the Assassin, could use.

An extreme method of making the enemy misjudge, luring them into his own range, making them flounder, and forcing them to expose a fatal weakness.

He had to dodge the enemy’s attacks by a hair’s breadth. If he dodged with too much leeway, the enemy would become suspicious and not enter.

It was a method that couldn’t even be attempted without absolute confidence in one’s own abilities, the decisiveness to throw oneself into danger, and the boldness to not even blink an eye in a perilous situation.

Shwaak!

By a razor-thin margin, the Gang Qi grazed past Pyo Wol’s shoulder.

Even though it wasn’t a direct hit, the aftermath of the Gang Qi caused his skin to twist into a spiral, forming a dark red bruise.

Pyo Wol suppressed the pain.

He was human, too.

He felt pain and hurt just like anyone else. The only difference was that he knew how to endure it.

Without a single change in his expression, Pyo Wol lured the Blood Buddha into the Devil’s Hell.

He had imagined it countless times, but this was the first time he was actually deploying it.

A single mistake would cost him his life.

It was truly no different from walking a tightrope over a thousand-zhang cliff.

The only place to step was a single, thin rope.

That was Pyo Wol’s situation right now.

It was a desperate situation where one misstep would mean death. Still, Pyo Wol remained unshaken, waiting for the Blood Buddha to expose a fatal weakness.

“How long are you going to run away like a coward?”

Finally, the Blood Buddha’s anger exploded, and the flow of Gang Qi swirling around his body wavered.

The wavering of the Gang Qi lasted only for an instant. But to Pyo Wol, it felt like an eternity.

Shiiit!

Without hesitation, Pyo Wol threw himself through the wavering current of Gang Qi.

Kwakwakwa!

His clothes were torn and his flesh was ripped by the tributaries of Gang Qi. Blood flew, and a terrible pain shot up his spine. Still, Pyo Wol did not let out a single groan.

If you want something, you must pay the price.

To cut the throat of a powerful enemy, one must also accept a commensurate wound.

There is no such thing as a victory without a price.

Chwahak!

His side was split open in a long gash, and blood scattered.

A wound also appeared on his thigh.

But Pyo Wol ignored all those wounds, all that pain.

Puk!

Finally passing through the Gang Qi, Pyo Wol drove a Ghostly Rain into the Blood Buddha’s solar plexus.

“Keuk!”

The Blood Buddha let out a groan.

The solar plexus was one of a human’s fatal weak points. It was impossible for him to be fine after a Flying Dagger was embedded in such a vital spot.

But he was an Expert who had already surpassed the limits of a human.

Even with a wound that would have killed an ordinary person instantly, he was able to move with the help of his powerful Internal Energy.

“You bastard!”

The Blood Buddha raised both his fists and brought them down on Pyo Wol’s crown.

In that moment, the Soul Restraining Thread shot out from Pyo Wol’s hand.

The Soul Restraining Thread tightly bound the Blood Buddha’s two hands, which were raised high above his head.

“This little thing!”

The Blood Buddha snorted and put strength into both hands.

The Soul Restraining Thread was instantly torn apart. But in that time, Pyo Wol had driven another Ghostly Rain into the Blood Buddha’s side.

“Keuk!”

This time, unable to bear it, the Blood Buddha let out a groan and staggered.

Pyo Wol unleashed Black Lightning at the staggering Blood Buddha.

He shot forward like a black thunderbolt.

What followed was Jade Destruction, which focused all power into a single point.

Peok!

With a low sound, the Blood Buddha staggered back.

What Pyo Wol had struck with Jade Destruction was not the Blood Buddha’s body. It was the Ghostly Rain embedded in his solar plexus.

The Blood Buddha’s complexion changed completely.

The Ghostly Rain had become a medium, allowing Pyo Wol’s Jade Destruction to shake his body from the inside.

Just as a single drop of water falling on a calm surface creates ripples across the entire pond, Pyo Wol’s Internal Power, which had infiltrated through the Ghostly Rain, created ripples inside his body.

“Kuaaack!”

The Blood Buddha screamed and staggered. His face was filled with Death Qi.

“How could I…”

The Blood Buddha looked down at his solar plexus with a look of disbelief.

The powerful Internal Power that had sustained him was scattering.

As his Internal Power receded like the tide, his body began to age rapidly.

His skin became wrinkled, and his eyes grew cloudy.

“Venerable Master!”

“Uwaaah!”

The Blood Thunder Ten Monks, who were dealing with Soma and the children, saw the scene. They ran like madmen to save the Blood Buddha.

Soma and the children clung to them tenaciously to stop them. But five of them shook off their grasp and rushed toward Pyo Wol.

Pyo Wol looked at them and raised his Internal Power.

Kwaaaa!

The Special Technique unleashed by the Blood Thunder Ten Monks flew toward Pyo Wol with terrifying force.

Pyo Wol gritted his teeth and performed the Serpentine Steps.

Instead of clashing head-on, he intended to escape the crisis first.

It was then.

“Not a chance.”

Someone secretly approached Pyo Wol from behind and drove a sword into his waist.

Puk!

The sword pierced through his lower back and protruded out.

“Now I finally repay my humiliation.”

The one who succeeded in the Ambush Attack and was laughing was none other than Heuk Am.

While Pyo Wol and the Blood Buddha were engaged in a fierce battle, he had secretly hidden himself, waiting for an opportune moment.

Normally, Pyo Wol would never have allowed Heuk Am’s Ambush Attack, but his senses were greatly disturbed from guarding against the Blood Thunder Ten Monks on top of the fierce battle with the Blood Buddha.

Because of that, he couldn’t avoid Heuk Am’s Ambush Attack.

It wasn’t a fatal wound. But it was enough to drive Pyo Wol into a crisis.

“Die!”

“Haaat!”

The five Blood Thunder Ten Monks simultaneously unleashed their attacks on him.

They were the ones who reigned at the pinnacle of the Small Thunder Sound Temple. And they were combining their full power in a joint attack.

It was as if the sky was collapsing.

There seemed to be nowhere for Pyo Wol to escape.

“It’s over.”

A look of ecstasy appeared on Heuk Am’s face.

To see this moment, he had risked danger, entered the underground cavern late, and ambushed Pyo Wol.

Kwakwakwa!

It was a combined attack from five of the Blood Thunder Ten Monks.

The underground cavern shook as if it would collapse at any moment from their assault.

In that instant, Pyo Wol bent his waist into a curve.

He looked as if he had lost the will to resist and had given up.

It was then.

Twoong!

As Pyo Wol straightened his back, he stretched both hands toward the Blood Thunder Ten Monks.

Shhh!

An invisible, thread-like Qi shot out at a terrifying speed.

It was the Soul Restraining Thread.

Seeing this, Heuk Am sneered.

He had seen the Soul Restraining Thread being blocked by the Gang Qi shield the Blood Buddha had deployed.

A similar shield was formed around the entire bodies of the Blood Thunder Ten Monks attacking Pyo Wol. Although its density was lower than the Blood Buddha’s, it seemed sufficient to block the Soul Restraining Thread.

“Huh!”

At that moment, something unbelievable happened.

Peobeobeobeok!

The Soul Restraining Thread pierced through the shield of Gang Qi.

Passing through the Gang Qi shield without hindrance, the Soul Restraining Thread directly pierced the foreheads of four of the Blood Thunder Ten Monks.

They didn’t even realize they were dead.

The moment the Soul Restraining Thread pierced their foreheads, the world turned to darkness, and their thoughts came to a halt.

The Soul Restraining Thread was a thread made of Qi.

In terms of a sword, it was a Martial Art like Sword Qi. However, it required a delicate operation of Internal Energy in that it was incomparably thinner and could bend freely. Thus, if one achieved Complete mastery, its applications were even greater.

But it could not escape the limitation of being an intangible Qi.

Its very nature was similar to Sword Qi.

But the Soul Restraining Thread he had just unleashed was different.

It was not a simple agglomeration of Qi.

It was Gang Qi, made from threads of Qi.

This Gang Qi, so thin it was like a silk snake, was named Silken Serpent Strong Energy, and no one but Pyo Wol could create or handle it.

He had taken four lives in an instant, but Pyo Wol’s expression was not bright.

He had intended to create five strands of Silken Serpent Strong Energy. But because of the wound inflicted by Heuk Am, his control of Internal Energy had become unstable, and he could only create four strands.

The last of the Blood Thunder Ten Monks who had escaped the Silken Serpent Strong Energy became even more enraged and used all his strength. Pyo Wol had exhausted most of his Internal Power by drawing out the Silken Serpent Strong Energy while injured. There was not enough time to gather his Internal Power.

Pyo Wol glared at his opponent with wide eyes.

It was then.

“Hraaaaaah!”

With a lion’s roar, a single, powerful sword strike hit the last of the Blood Thunder Ten Monks directly.

Kwakwakwakwang!

The underground cavern shook as if a Thunderbolt Bomb had exploded.

“Keuak!”

The last of the Blood Thunder Ten Monks, who had been focusing all his attention on Pyo Wol, screamed and died from the unexpected attack.

“Wha-what?”

Heuk Am’s mouth hung open in surprise at the unexpected situation.

At that moment, a huge man dropped down in front of Pyo Wol.

With his piercing eyes and tightly shut lips, he resembled a tiger, and he possessed a frame like an iron tower.

A domineering Qi radiated from his entire body like a storm.

Without looking back, the man spoke to Pyo Wol.

“Are you alright? Friend!”

“Jin… Geum-woo?”

“You didn’t leave any traces, so I had a hard time chasing you. But thankfully, I wasn’t too late.”

The tiger-like man, Jin Geum-woo, grinned.

A thick layer of dust was piled on his shoulders.

Jin Geum-woo had sent Won Gayoung back to Chengdu alone, while he himself had tracked Pyo Wol.

Although Pyo Wol was the enemy who had killed Ximen Pyeong, he was also the benefactor who had saved Won Gayoung.

At the crossroads of resentment and gratitude, he had hesitated for a moment.

His decision was to repay the debt of gratitude first.

He thought that the resentment could be settled after that.

He desperately chased after Pyo Wol.

Pyo Wol had not left any traces.

Jin Geum-woo also had not learned any particular Tracking Art.

Normally, he would never have been able to track him, but he was the owner of an extraordinary mind.

He recalled the words Pyo Wol had spoken while crossing the western highlands of Sichuan Province.

While tracking Heuk Am and Won Gayoung, Pyo Wol had explained the basics of the Tracking Art.

Clumsily, he tracked him in the same way Pyo Wol had, and with the help of an artifact called the Celestial Origin Disc, he passed through the Formations. The Celestial Origin Disc was one of the Taoist artifacts that allowed one to move in the right direction without being swayed by illusions.

As a result, he had just been able to arrive at the Small Thunder Sound Temple a moment ago.

Thanks to that, he was able to save Pyo Wol by a hair’s breadth.

Pyo Wol straightened his back and said.

“I owe you one.”

“Now we’re even.”

Jin Geum-woo tightened his grip on the sword he was holding.

From his entire body, a ridiculously domineering aura, as if it would split the heavens, was being emitted.

The situation inside the underground cavern was disastrous.

More than two-thirds of the monks had lost their lives, and the surviving monks were groaning from their injuries.

Although Soma and the children had helped, all of this was Pyo Wol’s work.

He alone had driven the Small Thunder Sound Temple, the hegemon of the Outer Regions, to the brink of annihilation.

It was a sight that was unbelievable even after seeing it with one’s own eyes.

He had not only used martial force but also poison and Hidden Weapons, which made it even more terrifying.

It meant that he would not shy away from any means to win.

Anyone who made an enemy of Pyo Wol would never sleep peacefully for the rest of their life.

To his enemies, Pyo Wol was a nightmare. But now was not the time to worry about such things.

“You bastards!”

“Die!”

The survivors of the Small Thunder Sound Temple were rushing towards them like madmen.

The eyes of the monks, who had lost their leader and comrades in a single day, had long since turned red.

They had nothing left to lose.

They threw themselves at Pyo Wol and Jin Geum-woo without a second thought.

Jin Geum-woo walked towards them and said.

“I’ll take care of the rest. Friend!”

“I told you I’m not your friend.”

“Anyway…”

Shwaak!

Jin Geum-woo’s sword split the underground cavern.