Chapter 347

The shattered fragments of the spear became terrifying weapons and descended upon Jo Jakyung.

Thud, thud, thud!

He twisted his body as much as he could to avoid the fragments, but in the end, three or four of them lodged themselves in his body.

“Keuk!”

Jo Jakyung collapsed to the ground, coughing up a gush of Fresh Blood.

It wasn’t just the spear that had shattered; he too had suffered a deep internal injury.

Jo Jakyung looked up at Pyo Wol with bloodshot eyes.

“Eek! You demon-like…”

Pyo Wol’s complexion was so serene it was hard to believe he had just fought such a fierce battle.

The sight plunged Jo Jakyung deeper into self-loathing.

He couldn’t believe he had been so futilely defeated by a Martial Artist who, at most, looked no older than thirty.

Although it was the law of the world that the front waves of the Yangtze River are pushed aside by the back waves, Jo Jakyung’s Martial prowess was too outstanding to be pushed aside.

He had trained himself relentlessly, never letting his guard down for a single moment. He couldn’t believe the reality of kneeling before Pyo Wol like this.

Even though he had expended his strength fighting the Ghost King and the Life-Death Guest, the fact that he had been so helplessly defeated by Pyo Wol made him feel miserable.

Jo Jakyung forced his mouth open.

“To use a Hidden Weapon on Igwang with skills like these. You truly are not human…”

“He was not the one who used the Hidden Weapon.”

Just then, a woman’s voice interjected.

Swish! Swish!

A woman, her skirt rustling, was approaching where Pyo Wol and Jo Jakyung were.

It was none other than Jo Yuseol.

Jo Jakyung recognized Jo Yuseol at once.

“Why are you here? What did you just say?”

“I said he was not the one who killed Igwang.”

“What kind of lie is that…”

“It’s not a lie. I saw it with my own eyes. The boy the Ghost King kidnapped attacked Igwang with a Hidden Weapon.”

“That can’t be…”

“Grandfather, you may not know this, but Igwang kidnapped that boy’s younger sibling and did terrible things. That’s why the boy did what he did.”

“Good heavens!”

Only then did Jo Jakyung realize he had misunderstood.

A chill, as if ice water had been poured over his heated head, washed over him, and his mind cleared.

Jo Jakyung looked at Pyo Wol.

Pyo Wol was still looking down at him with an indifferent face.

That face, which betrayed no emotion, felt terrifying. It was the first time in his life he had felt such fear.

He now knew for certain that witnessing the great back wave of the Yangtze River effortlessly pushing him aside was a truly dreadful experience.

Jo Jakyung apologized to Pyo Wol.

“My apologies… I misunderstood.”

It was by no means an easy thing for an Expert of his level to apologize to another. But Jo Jakyung willingly admitted his mistake and apologized.

Jo Jakyung was prepared to accept whatever punishment Pyo Wol would mete out. But Jo Yuseol stepped in front of him and said to Pyo Wol.

“Great Hero Pyo, your work isn’t finished yet, is it? I will look after my grandfather, so please, go and finish your business.”

Even after witnessing Pyo Wol’s immense Martial prowess, Jo Yuseol spoke confidently, unawed.

Pyo Wol looked at her and thought.

‘She’s cunning.’

Her actions were calculated, knowing how to best highlight her own presence.

By inserting herself between Pyo Wol and Jo Jakyung to mediate, she had placed Jo Jakyung in her debt.

Furthermore, by exposing Jo Igwang’s evil deeds, she had naturally guided Jo Jakyung into a position where he had no choice but to help her.

The way she tried to turn this great catastrophe, intertwined with the Ghost King, Gyeong Musaeng, and Jo Jakyung, to her advantage revealed the depth of Jo Yuseol’s cunning.

‘So she has what it takes to dream of becoming an Empress.’

Jo Yuseol said in a loud voice.

“Please, go. I will handle this situation with my grandfather.”

She was deliberately speaking loudly for everyone to hear. She was drawing people’s attention to use as a shield.

She was terrifyingly cunning.

Pyo Wol looked at her for a moment, then turned his body.

As she said, it was more important to finish the matter at hand.

Pyo Wol launched himself in the direction Gyeong Musaeng and the others had disappeared.

Tatatak!

Watching his back as he sprinted across the water’s surface using the Water Glider, Jo Yuseol finally let out a sigh of relief.

“Phew!”

The part of her plan she was least confident about was getting Pyo Wol to leave this place.

Her arrival here was no coincidence.

When she heard that a major incident had occurred, she had instinctively sensed an opportunity.

Chaos was both a crisis and an opportunity, in her view.

While everyone else fled to escape the battle of the three absolute Experts, she alone had approached and was able to figure out what had happened.

Just as she was thinking she would have to let a precious opportunity slip by because of the Poison Qi, Pyo Wol appeared.

In the brief moment Pyo Wol fought Jo Jakyung, Jo Yuseol’s mind had worked furiously. She had wracked her brain on how to use this situation to her advantage.

Beside her, Jo Jakyung lamented.

“Hah! It seems I have made a grave mistake. I don’t know how to resolve this.”

“I will resolve it. But I desperately need your help, Grandfather. Because of this, the reputation of the Nanjing Jo family might fall to the ground. Still, we must do this. Clearly identifying the cause of this situation and resolving it is the only way to revive the Nanjing Jo family.”

“I understand. I will help you to the best of my ability.”

At that moment, a subtle smile graced Jo Yuseol’s lips.

＊＊＊

Pyo Wol sprinted, chasing the tracks of the Horned Dragon.

When a Horned Dragon larger than a house moved, it was bound to leave traces.

Normally, Gyeong Musaeng would have used his Invisibility Technique to thoroughly conceal the tracks, but he didn’t think he would do so in a desperate situation like this.

He must have suffered considerable damage while fighting the Ghost King, so he wouldn’t have been able to move while maintaining the Invisibility Technique.

Pyo Wol’s guess soon proved to be true.

Traces of the Horned Dragon’s passage appeared in a secluded area of Tai Lake.

A deep furrow was carved into the white sandy beach connecting to the land, and a scene of large trees and bushes, broken and crushed, unfolded before him.

Pyo Wol ran, following the tracks left by the Horned Dragon.

Only after crossing two large hills was Pyo Wol able to find Gyeong Musaeng and the Horned Dragon.

They were standing in front of a huge rock at the bottom of the hill.

Sssss!

When Pyo Wol appeared, the Horned Dragon reacted by flicking its tongue.

Knowing this was the Horned Dragon’s way of greeting him, Pyo Wol approached without hesitation.

Gyeong Musaeng was staring at something at the base of the rock. He was so focused that he didn’t even notice Pyo Wol’s arrival.

Pyo Wol stood beside Gyeong Musaeng and followed his gaze.

It was a corpse.

The corpse of a strange man dressed in tattered rags.

“The Ghost King?”

A look of doubt appeared on Pyo Wol’s face.

Just then, Gyeong Musaeng spoke.

“It’s a shell. The real one isn’t here.”

“A shell?”

“The bastard switched bodies. This makes finding him even harder.”

Pyo Wol looked at Gyeong Musaeng.

“What do you mean? Switched bodies? Is that even possible?”

“It is. Because he’s not a normal human.”

“What?”

“I brought the dead back to life, and this is how he repays me with betrayal. Kehehe!”

Gyeong Musaeng kicked the Ghost King’s corpse. The clothes tore, revealing bare skin.

Geometric shapes and patterns were tattooed on the Ghost King’s bare skin.

“To escape my Soul Binding Technique like this again?” Do you think you can escape my grasp forever by doing that? It is a Curse Art engraved on the Soul. It may be weak now that you’ve switched bodies, but it will grow strong again with time. How long do you think you can keep running?”

As soon as Gyeong Musaeng finished speaking, the tattoos on the Ghost King’s corpse shone with an intense light before scattering into the air.

Pyo Wol watched the entire scene in silence.

It was a sight that defied his common sense.

‘He revived the dead and bound him with a Curse Art called the Soul Binding Technique?’

If that was truly possible, then the man before him, Gyeong Musaeng, was truly dangerous.

It wasn’t simply a matter of his character; the very fact that he could control the life and death of others at will went against the principles of the world.

Pyo Wol asked in a grave voice.

“Why did you bring the man called the Ghost King back to life?”

“Because I wanted to prove it.”

“Prove it?”

“Hehe! Yes, prove it.”

Gyeong Musaeng looked at Pyo Wol.

A terrible madness flickered in his once-gloomy eyes.

Gyeong Musaeng climbed onto the Horned Dragon’s head.

The Horned Dragon glanced at Pyo Wol, then began to move in the direction Gyeong Musaeng commanded.

The Horned Dragon’s massive body vanished from sight in an instant. Gyeong Musaeng had cast his Invisibility Technique.

Pyo Wol frowned, staring in the direction Gyeong Musaeng and the Horned Dragon had disappeared.

He felt as if a sudden downpour had just swept through.

Pyo Wol examined the corpse of the man called the Ghost King.

The tattoos that had covered his entire body had vanished, leaving the corpse relatively clean.

The mask he had been wearing was gone, revealing his bare face.

It was the face of a man who appeared to be in his early to mid-fifties.

He had an ordinary impression, the kind one could see anywhere.

It was impossible to find any clues from his face.

Pyo Wol examined the Ghost King’s body.

It was then.

Suddenly, the Ghost King’s corpse began to crumble.

It disintegrated like paper that had decayed over time, unable to withstand the flow of years, and soon turned to dust and vanished.

The Ghost King thus disappeared from the world without leaving a single trace.

In the end, Pyo Wol could not find any clues from the Ghost King’s corpse. This was the first time that something Pyo Wol had set his mind to had yielded no results.

‘Do Yeon-san.’

Normally, Pyo Wol would not have concerned himself with the affairs of the Ghost King and Gyeong Musaeng. Although their relationship was intriguing, it had nothing to do with him. But with Do Yeon-san involved, he could no longer do so.

His connection with Do Yeon-san was nothing more than a brief, passing encounter. But his impression and story were so strongly imprinted on him that he felt he could not forget.

‘We will meet again someday.’

With that thought, Pyo Wol returned to Tai Lake.

Tai Lake was a complete wreck.

With three absolute Experts and one Mystical Creature on a rampage, the damage was beyond words.

An entire section centered around where the well had been was completely in ruins, and numerous people were displaced.

As everyone fell into despair, a group of people was methodically helping the people.

They had brought dozens of carts loaded with daily necessities and were distributing them to the people who had lost their homes.

At the center of it all was Jo Yuseol.

Jo Yuseol had personally rolled up her sleeves and was handing out the goods they had brought. And she made a promise.

“I will compensate for all the damages suffered by the people here. We will rebuild the collapsed houses and restore the streets to be even more splendid than before. I swear on my name, Jo Yuseol, and the honor of the Nanjing Jo family, so please believe me.”

“Thank you, Miss!”

“Oh my! How can we thank you enough… We will never forget this kindness.”

The displaced people who had lost their homes held Jo Yuseol’s hands and shed tears.

Jo Yuseol held their hands tightly without a single hint of displeasure.

Jo Jakyung watched the scene from a short distance.

A look of admiration was evident on his face.

It had only been half a day since the incident, but Jo Yuseol was quickly calming the public sentiment.

It was also her idea to give the daily necessities from the Qingping Manor’s warehouse to the displaced.

Thanks to her swift handling of the matter, Jo Jakyung could breathe a sigh of relief.

He, too, bore some responsibility for the destruction of the streets.

Many of the completely destroyed mansions were likely destroyed by his Spear arts. He, too, was not free from responsibility.

‘Truly amazing.’

He couldn’t help but admire Jo Yuseol’s work.

Jo Jakyung was certain.

Jo Yuseol was the talent who would lead the Nanjing Jo family. And he made a vow.

He would help Jo Yuseol resolve this crisis.

Just then, a young Martial Artist entering the destroyed street caught Jo Jakyung’s eye.

Instantly, Jo Jakyung’s face hardened.

‘The Reaper!’

The wound he had received from him throbbed again.

He had been treating it with Qi Circulation Disruption for half a day, but it was still uncomfortable to move.

Although the fight had started from his own misunderstanding, there was no excuse for being defeated.

“Hoo!”

Jo Jakyung let out a deep sigh without realizing it.