Chapter 285

“You madman!”

Lee Yul’s body trembled.

As soon as Baek Dokyeong realized Pyo Wol had infiltrated, he advised him to flee. But Lee Yul refused.

Until now, he had never once shown his back to another person.

No matter how great Pyo Wol was said to be, he didn’t think he could be harmed. But now, he desperately realized just how complacent he had been.

Pyo Wol was a being beyond any category he could define.

The Black Tiger, the Black Cloud Corps, and even Baek Dokyeong and the Soulless Ghosts.

The combined strength of those Pyo Wol had killed today alone was enough to annihilate a major sect.

That meant Pyo Wol alone possessed the power to face an entire major sect.

A man who single-handedly possessed the power of a giant sect.

And that man’s target was him.

For the first time in his life, Lee Yul felt a strong sense of crisis.

And he regretted not listening to Baek Dokyeong. But there was no time for idle regrets.

Even now, Pyo Wol was leaping over the high wall, rushing toward him.

The sight of Pyo Wol, looking as if he had bathed in blood, was the very definition of ghastly.

It was the first time Lee Yul realized that a beautiful man could be so terrifying.

Lee Yul shuddered.

The plan he had woven was perfect.

The picture he had created by investing so much time and so many human resources was so vast that no one could dare guess its true nature.

But because of one man, Pyo Wol, all his plans had gone awry, and even its true nature had been partially exposed.

“You are incredible, Pyo Wol! I am truly impressed. You are the only person who has ever impressed me.”

If he could, he would have applauded.

He genuinely wanted to tell him he was the best. But he couldn’t.

Even at this moment, Pyo Wol was rapidly closing the distance between them.

Piiing!

With a sharp sound of something cutting through the air, two arrows flew from behind Lee Yul. The arrows grazed both his cheeks and struck Pyo Wol.

Thwack!

With a dull thud, Pyo Wol’s body was thrown backward.

Pyo Wol looked at his hands, which were holding the Ghostly Rain.

The webbing of his hands holding the Ghostly Rain was torn.

He had blocked the arrows with the Ghostly Rain before they reached his body. But the force contained in the arrows was so powerful that the webbing of his hands had been torn.

Pyo Wol raised his head and looked at Lee Yul.

Two men had suddenly appeared beside Lee Yul.

“We will escort you.”

“We have already secured an escape route.”

They grabbed Lee Yul by both arms and took flight.

Pyo Wol’s eyebrows twitched.

The men’s faces were familiar.

‘The Ghost Dance Unit.’

They were the martial artists of the Ghost Dance Unit he had faced on that nameless island.

The ones who had retreated without delay on the order of their Captain, Mok Han-seong.

They had appeared again.

The two men executed their Lightness Art without a single look back.

Pyo Wol immediately gave chase.

If he let Lee Yul go now, there was no telling when another chance like this would come.

Swish! Shhhk!

At that moment, arrows flew again.

Another member of the Ghost Dance Unit had fired them.

Pyo Wol used his Serpentine Steps to evade the arrows. But in that time, the distance between him and Lee Yul had widened.

Pyo Wol gritted his teeth and increased his speed. But each time, he was hindered by the martial artists of the Ghost Dance Unit.

They slowed him down by firing arrows and caught his ankles by activating Snow Blade Sword Manor’s traps.

They never confronted Pyo Wol head-on.

Having fought Pyo Wol before, they knew all too well how terrifying he was.

Their purpose was to rescue Lee Yul, not to have a life-or-death battle with Pyo Wol.

Even though their grudge against Pyo Wol for the loss of their Captain, Mok Han-seong, pierced the heavens, they were never swayed by personal feelings.

They focused solely on saving Lee Yul.

“Now. Send them in.”

The martial artist who had become the new Vice Captain of the Ghost Dance Unit after Jong Ri-gu shouted.

At that moment, four new martial artists appeared and ambushed Pyo Wol.

The Red Lotus Four Ghosts.

They were assassins from the Hundred Wraith Union, hired by Lee Yul along with the Black Tiger.

“Stop!”

“That’s far enough.”

The Red Lotus Four Ghosts attacked Pyo Wol in unison.

Their individual martial prowess was no match for the Black Tiger, but their combined attack was by no means to be taken lightly.

While Pyo Wol was tied down by the Red Lotus Four Ghosts, the Ghost Dance Unit calmly disappeared with Lee Yul.

Pyo Wol gritted his teeth as he watched Lee Yul’s back disappear into the darkness. Unaware of this, the Red Lotus Four Ghosts attacked even more fiercely.

Their combined attack was truly fearsome, but they were no match for Pyo Wol. They attacked for over a hundred seconds, but in the end, they lost their lives to Pyo Wol.

But by the time Pyo Wol had killed all four of them, Lee Yul had vanished without a trace.

“Hoo!”

A ragged breath escaped Pyo Wol’s lips.

＊＊＊

When day broke, the state of the Jin Clan was truly disastrous.

The village was horribly destroyed, and the streets were overflowing with corpses.

The fight with Snow Blade Sword Manor had been truly fierce.

A battle of killing and being killed had continued throughout the night.

It was a midnight raid.

Snow Blade Sword Manor had gambled his fate, and the Jin Clan was enraged by the night attack.

The fight could only grow more intense.

Seeing their comrades die right beside them, the martial artists lost their reason.

The martial artists who had lost their reason went on an even wilder rampage.

Both Snow Blade Sword Manor and the Jin Clan suffered immense damage.

The dead numbered in the hundreds, and the injured were several times that number.

Overnight, the Jin Clan had become a giant tomb.

The pure energy of Mount Tianjung no longer remained here.

All that was left in the Jin Clan were the pained groans of people and Death Qi.

“Save me!”

“Keuk!”

Painful groans could be heard from all over.

The dead were better off.

They wouldn’t feel any pain.

The state of the injured was truly wretched.

With no proper physicians, they couldn’t even receive treatment and had to endure the pain with a clear mind.

The physicians treated the martial artists of the Jin Clan first.

Snow Blade Sword Manor’s injured martial artists writhed in pain, unable to receive even basic treatment.

Not everyone was dead or injured.

Many of the martial artists who had sided with Snow Blade Sword Manor had attempted to escape when the situation turned unfavorable. And the martial artists who had sided with the Jin Clan then pursued and slaughtered them.

As if the grudge between them didn’t already pierce the heavens, this incident made their resentment grow even deeper.

“I will never forget today’s humiliation.”

“Just you wait.”

Those who escaped vowed revenge.

To completely eliminate future trouble, they would have to find and kill them all, but that was impossible from the start.

The Jin Clan had also suffered great losses and no longer had the strength to move.

“Amitabha! What is this?”

It was then that monks from the Shaolin Temple arrived.

The monks were dumbfounded at the sight of the hellscape spread before them in the Jin Clan.

It was the first time even for them to see so many people dead or injured.

“Are we a step too late?”

The old monk leading the monks lamented.

The old monk with a particularly strong impression was Un-song, a monk known as the First Fist of Shaolin.

Un-song frowned and looked around.

The once beautiful appearance of the Jin Clan was nowhere to be found.

Everything was broken and stained with blood, a truly wretched sight.

It even made one wonder if people could continue to live in such a place.

“Amitabha! How can this be dealt with?”

This had happened in Henan Province.

Although it happened in Runan, a thousand li away from Mount Song where the Shaolin Temple was located, it was as clear as day that the aftermath would spread beyond Shaolin to the entire Jianghu.

Even a giant retaining wall could collapse because of a single mouse hole. How much more so for an incident where hundreds of people died and several times that number were injured.

It was impossible to even guess how much public sentiment would worsen and be divided by this event.

“Why did you come only now?”

“What are you going to do, coming here now?”

There were even voices blaming the Shaolin Temple, which had nothing to do with it.

They resented the Shaolin Temple for letting the situation get to this point. Even though they knew that in reality, the Shaolin Temple was not responsible.

The Shaolin monks could not hide their bewildered expressions.

No matter how long they had cultivated their minds to be stronger than ordinary people, they too were not beyond the bounds of being human.

They also disliked hearing unpleasant things, and their hearts grew uneasy when they received baseless resentment.

“Amitabha!”

“Hmm!”

The monks tried to compose themselves, deliberately avoiding the gazes of the martial artists.

Un-song and the monks passed the people and went deeper into the Jin Clan. Still, no one stopped them.

The fight was already over, and they didn’t want to openly antagonize the Shaolin Temple.

Thanks to that, they were able to enter the depths of the Jin Clan with ease.

It was then that a middle-aged man sitting on a large rock caught Un-song’s eye.

When he confirmed the face of the man, who was leaning his upper body on his sword as if it were a cane, a weary look on his face, Un-song’s pupils wavered.

“Amitabha! It is the Sword Venerable.”

“Un-song!”

The middle-aged man, Han Yu-cheon, recognized Un-song.

“Greetings to the Sword Venerable.”

“We pay our respects to Great Hero Han.”

The monks who followed Un-song all greeted Han Yu-cheon. But Han Yu-cheon didn’t even glance at them and spoke to Un-song.

“You’re late.”

“This was as fast as we could get here.”

“Hmph! You were probably late because you were busy calculating. Monks are always more calculating than worldly men.”

“Amitabha! It matters not if you insult this humble monk, but do not lump Shaolin in with your insults. Our temple had its reasons.”

“I’m sure it did.”

“Where is Woon-hae?”

“He must be somewhere.”

“Hah!”

Un-song sighed at Han Yu-cheon’s cold attitude.

Just then, he saw that Han Yu-cheon’s sword was covered in blood.

“Did the Sword Venerable also fight?”

“And if I did?”

“Did you not declare that you would watch the fall of the Jin Clan? Why would a person like you…?”

“The Slayer of Ten Thousand was here.”

“The Slayer of Ten Thousand? That murderous demon?”

Un-song’s eyes widened.

The infamy of the Slayer of Ten Thousand was well-known even in the Shaolin Temple.

Un-song himself had tried to catch him several times, but he was so elusive that he couldn’t even dare to try.

“No, why was he at the Jin Clan?”

“Do I have to explain every little detail of the reason to you?”

Un-song shut his mouth at Han Yu-cheon’s sneer.

He realized that no matter how much he asked, Han Yu-cheon would not answer.

Han Yu-cheon was famous for his eccentric personality.

No matter how great the fame of the Shaolin Temple was, Han Yu-cheon saw it as beneath him. That was why he treated Un-song, Shaolin’s greatest monk, so bluntly.

Above all, Han Yu-cheon did not trust Shaolin.

He had confirmed that unknown individuals were involved in his disciple’s death.

Now, he trusted no one.

The only one he could trust, even a little, was Pyo Wol.

‘The Jianghu has come to this state because fools like these have been strutting around as its great pillars.’

Han Yu-cheon did not hide his contemptuous expression.

Un-song asked cautiously.

“What happened to the Slayer of Ten Thousand?”

“We fought for about three hundred seconds, and then he must have felt he was at a disadvantage, so he escaped.”

“He escaped, you say?”

“Yes! He was lucky to escape this time, but if we meet again, I will surely cut his throat.”

The martial prowess of the Slayer of Ten Thousand and Han Yu-cheon were equal.

They could not easily determine a victor.

In the end, unable to break through the wall that was Han Yu-cheon, the Slayer of Ten Thousand retreated.

Although they had only exchanged blows for a mere three hundred seconds, Han Yu-cheon had expended so much mental energy and his injuries were not light, so he gave up on pursuing him.

Han Yu-cheon stood up and said.

“Un-song!”

“Speak.”

“While Shaolin was dawdling, the gates to the Troubled Times have opened. Do you understand? The Troubled Times have begun.”