Chapter 346

Jo Jakyung’s eyes, as he looked at Pyo Wol, were filled with rage.

Although not a direct descendant, Jo Igwang was like a grandson to him. Moreover, he was currently indebted to the Cheongpyeong Manor.

Naturally, he couldn’t help but be enraged by Jo Igwang’s death.

Furthermore, he had been greatly humiliated in his confrontation with the Ghost King just a moment ago, and ever since the Life-Death Guest Gyeong Musaeng had intervened, he had been completely pushed aside.

Because of this, Jo Jakyung’s pride had hit rock bottom.

He had inwardly thought he would never fall behind against the Ghost King or Gyeong Musaeng, but reality was different from his imagination.

Both the Ghost King and Gyeong Musaeng were more than half a step stronger than him.

The Ghost King’s martial prowess, in particular, was so great it was impossible to fathom. If Gyeong Musaeng hadn’t intervened in time, he wouldn’t even be standing on two feet.

In the end, Jo Jakyung had to suffer the humiliation of being pushed to the periphery, away from the center of this battle.

For Jo Jakyung, it was the first time in his life he had experienced such a shameful event.

His heart was already filled with rage because of it, and then the sight of his grandson-like Jo Igwang, brutally killed, entered his eyes. And next to him stood Pyo Wol.

For Jo Jakyung, it was a situation where he couldn’t help but see red.

Jo Jakyung shouted.

“I asked if this was your doing. Was it your doing?”

“No!”

“Don’t lie. The evidence is so clear, yet you dare to deny it.”

“Why bother asking if you’re not going to believe me anyway?”

“That child was a precious child who would have led the Namgyeong Jo family. You have essentially severed the lineage of the Namgyeong Jo family. Do you understand now? How grave a sin you have committed.”

“Then do you know what sins Jo Igwang committed?”

“If you intend to insult a child who is already dead, then stop. It won’t work on me.”

Jo Jakyung raised his spear and aimed it at Pyo Wol.

Pyo Wol closed his mouth.

There was nothing more unproductive than talking one’s mouth off to someone who had already closed their ears.

Jo Jakyung had already branded Pyo Wol as the fiend who killed Jo Igwang. It was clear that no matter what Pyo Wol said, he would not change his mind.

What Jo Jakyung needed right now was a scapegoat to restore his shattered self-esteem. And unluckily, Pyo Wol was in that spot.

Fwoosh!

Intense heat and flames rose from the spear Jo Jakyung was holding.

It was a phenomenon that occurred when the Fire Dragon Demon-Subduing Spear Art was deployed to its extreme.

“Pay the price for your sins.”

Shwaaak!

Jo Jakyung’s spear swept toward Pyo Wol like a broom.

At that moment, Pyo Wol raised his foot and blocked the spear shaft. Although an intense heat was rising from the shaft, it had no effect on Pyo Wol’s clothes or skin.

“Quite impressive.”

Jo Jakyung twisted the spear’s body. The shaft then bent like the head of a venomous snake, and the spearhead stabbed toward Pyo Wol’s neck.

The spear Jo Jakyung held was no ordinary weapon. Made of a special material, the spear had strong elasticity, allowing it to bend as smoothly as a whip.

Anyone who didn’t know of this characteristic would have a high chance of being caught off guard by such an unexpected attack. But Pyo Wol had not let his guard down for a second, and the moment the spearhead stabbed at his neck, he bent his upper body back to avoid it.

Shwoooong!

The spearhead cut through the air, passing just under Pyo Wol’s chin.

At that moment, Pyo Wol’s counterattack began.

Tssst!

The Ghostly Rain was unleashed.

Jo Jakyung dodged the Ghostly Rain, which dug in from close range like a viper, by a hair’s breadth.

Pyo Wol retrieved the Ghostly Rain with the Soul Restraining Thread and aimed for the back of Jo Jakyung’s head.

“Not a chance.”

Clang-clang-clang-clang!

With a roar, Jo Jakyung furiously spun his spear. The Ghostly Rain struck the spear shaft and bounced off.

Jo Jakyung continuously unleashed the ultimate techniques of the Fire Dragon Demon-Subduing Spear Art.

It was as if a fire dragon was swimming through the sky. The massive fire dragon opened its huge maw, trying to devour Pyo Wol.

“Aigoo! It’s a dragon.”

“The dragon is angry.”

People who saw the spectacle from afar prostrated themselves on the ground, trembling.

Though it was merely a mass of formless energy, in people’s eyes, it looked like a real dragon.

Fwoosh!

The wreckage of the mansion, destroyed by the clash with the Ghost King and others, burst into flames as the fire dragon swept past.

The place had already become an Asura Field, and now a fiery hell was added to it.

The more Jo Jakyung performed the Fire Dragon Demon-Subduing Spear Art, the more fiercely the flames blazed. It seemed as if they would engulf the entire Great Lake.

Pyo Wol vanished into the flames.

“Hiding like a coward.”

Jo Jakyung shouted in great anger.

There was nothing more cowardly than disappearing in the middle of a fair and square duel between martial artists.

His animosity toward Pyo Wol grew even stronger.

Fwoooong!

A Gang Qi resembling a fire dragon formed on Jo Jakyung’s spear.

It was the Fire Dragon Spear Gang.

Maintaining the Fire Dragon Spear Gang, Jo Jakyung heightened all his senses.

‘I will kill him in a single blow.’

With his senses, Jo Jakyung could detect even the movement of an ant amidst extreme chaos.

What’s more, he was now maintaining the Fire Dragon Spear Gang; his senses were activated to a level of sensitivity incomparable to his usual state.

Jo Jakyung could dare to guarantee it.

No matter how stealthily Pyo Wol approached, he would be able to detect him immediately. But soon, a perplexed expression appeared on his face.

It was because even though he had fully activated his senses, he couldn’t feel Pyo Wol’s presence at all.

Because of the flames burning on all sides, he couldn’t even feel his opponent’s body heat.

It was truly a situation of being caught in his own trap.

Only then did Jo Jakyung feel his mind snap to attention.

He had chosen Pyo Wol as an opponent to vent his surging anger, but he didn’t even know Pyo Wol’s name or identity.

It was a mistake his usual self would never have made. But it was too late for regrets.

‘First, I’ll subdue him, then find out his identity.’

Thinking this, Jo Jakyung carefully took a step.

His gaze sharply scanned the flames. But Pyo Wol was still nowhere to be seen.

‘He’s more formidable than I thought.’

There were only a few in Jianghu who could deceive his senses so perfectly.

To this extent, one would have to have mastered an assassin’s studies like high-level Stealth Skill and Breath Concealment Art. And at a very supreme level at that.

There weren’t many assassins in Jianghu who had reached such a level.

At best, there were the Ten Blood Assassins of the Hundred Wraith Union, and the Reaper, a rising new assassin who had recently been making a name for himself in Jianghu.

‘The Reaper? Could he be the Reaper?’

The thought suddenly struck him.

It was just a guess with no evidence, but he was convinced of his own speculation.

An assassin who would dare to challenge him, one of the Eight Constellations, without an ounce of fear could only be the Reaper.

Jo Jakyung felt himself tense up automatically.

If his opponent was truly the Reaper, he was definitely in the worst possible situation.

He shouldn’t have let an assassin who had reached such a level go into stealth. He should have finished him before he hid.

This time was not his time.

It was the time of Pyo Wol, the assassin.

He was exposed in the light, while Pyo Wol, the assassin, was hidden somewhere in the flames.

It was an overwhelmingly advantageous environment for Pyo Wol.

However, Jo Jakyung believed in himself.

In his senses.

In the spear arts he had trained his entire life.

He maintained the Fire Dragon Spear Gang and prepared for Pyo Wol’s ambush attack.

It was a battle of patience and endurance.

No matter how profound Jo Jakyung’s internal energy was, it was not infinite.

He could maintain the Fire Dragon Spear Gang for a while now, but he couldn’t hold it indefinitely.

Jo Jakyung closed his eyes while maintaining the Fire Dragon Spear Gang.

As his vision was blocked, his other senses became more active.

‘Where are you? Where are you hiding?’

The world was never completely silent.

Crackle! Crackle-crackle!

Wood was burning in the flames.

The fiery hell he had created was ironically disrupting his senses. Still, Jo Jakyung did not give up and tried his best to sense Pyo Wol. And finally, he was able to detect a sign that he presumed to be Pyo Wol.

Thump! Thump!

A faint sound was echoing at regular intervals.

The sound was so faint that even Jo Jakyung would never have been able to detect it if he hadn’t activated his senses to the extreme.

The corners of Jo Jakyung’s mouth lifted.

‘The sound of a beating heart. You hid everything else, but you couldn’t hide the sound of your heart beating.’

Jo Jakyung’s blade-like gaze turned toward the source of the heartbeat.

He was deliberately trying to pressure his opponent.

Jo Jakyung infused his gaze with internal energy. It was intended to exert even greater pressure on his opponent. And the intention worked splendidly.

Shwiik!

In the end, Pyo Wol couldn’t stand it and burst out.

“This is the end, you bastard!”

Jo Jakyung thrust the Fire Dragon Spear Gang toward Pyo Wol.

Puhwaak!

The Spear Gang exploded like a firecracker and pierced through Pyo Wol.

‘I got him.’

A look of triumph appeared on Jo Jakyung’s face. But the next moment, a look of astonishment appeared on his face.

Pyo Wol’s form, struck by the Fire Dragon Spear Gang, had vanished in an instant like mist touched by the morning sun.

‘A phantom?’

It was an unbelievable sight.

He had clearly confirmed even the heartbeat, yet it was a phantom.

In Jo Jakyung’s common sense, it was an impossible event.

Puk!

At that moment, Jo Jakyung felt an immense pain in his waist.

“Keuk!”

He felt a sinister breath from behind him.

He knew who the owner of the breath was without having to turn his head to check.

‘Pyo Wol!’

He had ambushed Jo Jakyung.

“Haaap!”

Jo Jakyung endured the pain and spun furiously on his left foot as a pivot. It was to shake off Pyo Wol, who was stuck to his back. But when he turned around, Pyo Wol was already gone.

It was because Pyo Wol had rotated at the same speed as him.

In his hand, another Ghostly Rain had appeared.

Pyo Wol mercilessly stabbed the Ghostly Rain into Jo Jakyung’s waist.

At that moment, Jo Jakyung deployed his Protective Gang Qi.

Teong!

The Ghostly Rain bounced off the Protective Gang Qi.

Having succeeded in defending, Jo Jakyung went on the offensive again.

Jo Jakyung attacked Pyo Wol with the Fire Dragon Spear Gang.

He thought Pyo Wol would hide and ambush him again. But contrary to his expectation, Pyo Wol neither hid nor dodged.

The novelty of an ambush attack was good for one time.

He didn’t expect the same trick to work twice against an absolute expert like Jo Jakyung.

Rather, he was satisfied with having inflicted such a deep wound using an ambush with the Devil Shadow Illusion Guard.

An absolute expert like Jo Jakyung was like a solid barrier, almost impossible to break down in one go.

Like a single drop of water persistently drilling a hole in a huge rock, one had to attack relentlessly and break them down one by one.

The Ghostly Rain lodged in Jo Jakyung’s waist was the starting point of that falling water.

Shreerik!

The Soul Restraining Thread uncoiled from Pyo Wol’s hand.

Each Soul Restraining Thread, with a Ghostly Rain attached, attacked Jo Jakyung.

“Using evil arts.”

Jo Jakyung furiously spun his spear, deflecting the Ghostly Rain and Soul Restraining Thread.

Kagagagagang!

Sparks flew between the two men, and fragments of energy and metal flew about.

Both Pyo Wol and Jo Jakyung fiercely attacked their opponent without retreating a single step.

The nine Ghostly Rains were each like living creatures.

To block the Ghostly Rains flying in different trajectories, Jo Jakyung had to swing his spear with all his might.

‘Keuk!’

Suddenly, Jo Jakyung’s face contorted.

The continuous flow of his internal power had suddenly been cut off and become impure.

The Ghostly Rain stuck in his back was the problem.

The Ghostly Rain was obstructing the flow of his energy.

Because of that, not only did it become impossible to maintain the Fire Dragon Spear Gang that had been imbued in his spear, but even executing his spear forms became difficult.

Pyo Wol did not miss that opening and dug in.

Following Black Lightning, Jade Destruction was unleashed.

Kwaang!

With a loud explosion, Jo Jakyung was thrown backward.

Jo Jakyung’s hair was completely disheveled, giving a measure of the impact he had received.

It was fortunate that he had blocked it with his spear shaft just before Jade Destruction hit; otherwise, his breath would have been cut short.

“Keuheuk!”

Jo Jakyung staggered, letting out a frustrated groan.

Pyo Wol extended his hand toward the staggering Jo Jakyung.

At that moment, a single thread of energy shot out like a snake.

Unlike the Soul Restraining Thread, this thread of energy with a distinct form was the Silken Serpent Strong Energy.

Jo Jakyung scraped together his remaining internal power and focused it on his spear.

At that moment, the Silken Serpent Strong Energy collided with the spear.

Jjeo-eong!

Jo Jakyung’s eyes widened.

Before his very eyes, his spear was exploding.