Chapter 379

“Thank you sincerely for your help, Great Hero Pyo.”

Jang Jin-sam expressed his gratitude with a Fist-Palm Salute to Pyo Wol.

His eyes, as he looked at Pyo Wol, were filled with awe and fear.

It was because Pyo Wol had disposed of those who had driven them into such a corner with far too much ease.

It was shocking enough that the martial artists of the Righteous Sword Manor had disguised themselves as members of the Blood Phantom Organization, but Pyo Wol’s martial prowess in subduing them so easily was even more shocking.

The Righteous Sword Manor was, after all, one of the Three Manors of All Under Heaven.

It meant they possessed a fighting force that ranked within the top three of the countless manors in All Under Heaven.

Pyo Wol had subdued the elites of such a manor with far too much ease.

Seeing his inhuman martial prowess, the members of the Blood Phantom Organization all threw themselves overboard to escape.

Loyalty and camaraderie did not exist in the Blood Phantom Organization.

The most important thing to them was their own lives. They swam away to escape without a single look back.

Jang Jin-sam’s heart wanted to chase them down and kill them all, but the damage was too great for him to do so.

Dozens had died on the ship alone.

A significant number of them were martial artists from the Jewon Merchant Group.

It was Jang Jin-sam’s duty to collect their bodies.

Pyo Wol spoke.

“The situation looks bad.”

“Honestly, it’s not very good.”

“When did it get like this?”

“It happened after you disappeared, Great Hero Pyo. It started when the martial artists of the Righteous Sword Manor entered Poyang Lake.”

“It seems I was the target from the beginning.”

“Yes! They were asking around about your whereabouts, Great Hero Pyo. Then they found out that our Merchant Group was connected to you and started to pressure us.”

Although the Jewon Merchant Group wielded great influence in Jiangxi, it could not compare to the Righteous Sword Manor.

Faced with their pressure, Namgung Wol and others eventually stepped in, and the issue escalated into a problem between the Golden Sky Society and the Silver Lotus Society.

Jang Ho-yeon drew in nearby sects under the Righteous Sword Manor’s influence, and the Jewon Merchant Group and the Silver Lotus Society countered by calling in their own allies.

Like a well-staged play, the situation deteriorated in an instant, and the clouds of war gathered over Poyang Lake and the entirety of Jiangxi.

The problem was that it didn’t seem like the situation would end at just this.

Jang Ho-yeon’s Righteous Sword Manor, Namgung Wol’s Thousand Water Society, and Yong Hasang’s Dragon Sky Valley were all sects renowned throughout All Under Heaven.

Their clash meant the intervention of the Righteous Sword Manor, the Thousand Water Society, and the Dragon Sky Valley.

If the three sects were to collide with their full strength, it would be a disaster in itself.

It would be no different from the beginning of a Great War Under Heaven.

As the situation worsened, the eyes of countless sects in All Under Heaven focused on Poyang Lake.

To martial artists, Poyang Lake was perceived as a dangerous place that held the embers of the Great Chaos Under Heaven.

The renowned experts of the Murim were watching the Poyang Lake situation with concerned eyes, and many young martial artists entered Poyang Lake.

The young martial artists wanted a battlefield where they could make a name for themselves. To them, the chaos of Poyang Lake was not a cause for concern but the only outlet to quench their thirst.

“Currently, numerous martial artists have entered Poyang Lake. They are taking sides according to their own interests, and I am worried that a war might break out. I know of your martial prowess, Great Hero Pyo, but please be careful.”

“Hmph!”

“For now, I will return to the Jewon Merchant Group and report this situation.”

With a dark expression, Jang Jin-sam looked at the corpses of the martial artists scattered on the deck. His expression grew even darker when he saw the bodies of the Righteous Sword Manor’s martial artists.

They were proof of the Righteous Sword Manor’s direct involvement.

There was a world of difference between having proof and not having it.

With this, the Jewon Merchant Group had gained the justification to actively resist the Righteous Sword Manor’s invasion.

However, what worried Jang Jin-sam was that he couldn’t dare to predict how far this situation would spread.

‘This matter is out of my hands. I can only pray that it gets resolved somehow…’

Jang Jin-sam looked at Pyo Wol.

His gaze held the hope that if this man actively intervened, the situation might change. But he couldn’t bring himself to ask Pyo Wol directly.

Pyo Wol was not a man who moved by someone else’s coercion.

It was as clear as day that forcing him would only breed resentment.

“Hoo!”

The moment Jang Jin-sam let out a sigh, Pyo Wol’s figure vanished from the ship as if by a lie.

He had already leaped away and returned to the Southern Sky Inn.

Jang Jin-sam shook his head and gave an order to his subordinates.

“Let’s hurry back to the Jewon Merchant Group.”

“Yes!”

＊＊＊

Yoo Soo-hwan unclenched his tightly balled fist.

He had clenched it so hard that it felt like his fist had cramped. That was how tense he had been.

It was because of Pyo Wol.

Pyo Wol’s martial arts, which subdued his opponents in a single breath, had shaken his heart.

‘Pyo Wol!’

An ordinary martial artist would have been intimidated just by seeing Pyo Wol’s martial prowess, but Yoo Soo-hwan was no ordinary martial artist.

He was once a martial artist who ranked within the top five of the super-powerful faction known as the Swordless Union.

Losing his martial arts didn’t mean he had lost his fighting spirit.

Watching Pyo Wol, Yoo Soo-hwan felt a fiery fighting spirit.

He didn’t want to be called ungrateful to his savior. Still, he wanted to cross hands with him just once, without holding back.

‘I am still a martial artist.’

He once again realized that he was a martial artist.

He was born an ordinary human but was raised as a martial artist.

When he was young, he hated the fact that he had to live his life with the blood of others on his hands. That was why he kept his distance from the Swordless Union and lived a carefree life.

There were times he thought he was happy because he didn’t use his martial arts, but now that he had lost them, he understood.

He hadn’t been happy; he had only pretended to be.

A martial artist is truly happy only when they can display their abilities as a martial artist.

At that moment, Pyo Wol returned to his original spot.

Yoo Soo-hwan composed his expression and said.

“You’ve worked hard. May I know what happened?”

He had seen Pyo Wol subdue the enemies, but he couldn’t hear what was said on the ship.

“The Righteous Sword Manor has intervened in the conflict between the Jewon Merchant Group and the Blood Phantom Organization.”

“The Righteous Sword Manor?”

“I confirmed it myself.”

“The problem has become serious. If they have officially intervened in a fight between a trading company and an underworld group, the situation won’t be resolved at this level.”

“Those with great ambitions will be pleased.”

“Yes! The Troubled Times will begin.”

A shadow fell over Yoo Soo-hwan’s face.

Some might rejoice, thinking it an opportunity to realize their ambitions, but for the ordinary people who had to live through the Troubled Times, it was nothing short of an age of despair.

He couldn’t even begin to guess how many people would shed tears of blood.

Yoo Soo-hwan asked.

“Do you perhaps have any intention of stopping the Troubled Times?”

“A single individual cannot stop the torrent of an era.”

“Can’t you at least delay it to some extent?”

“How? Should I assassinate the leaders of both sides? You don’t think that will solve the problem, do you?”

“It would rather make the problem bigger.”

“To stop the Troubled Times, you need someone who can see the big picture. And they must be willing to sacrifice themselves. I have no intention of stopping the Troubled Times at the cost of sacrificing myself. The most important thing in the world is myself. The world is only worth existing if I am alive.”

“I understand.”

Yoo Soo-hwan nodded his head.

He had only said it out of frustration; he didn’t actually think Pyo Wol would intervene.

Pyo Wol’s disposition was far from the virtues a hero of the Troubled Times should possess.

“Hoo!”

Yoo Soo-hwan’s worries deepened.

Pyo Wol left him alone and returned to his room.

His room was just as he had left it.

The innkeeper had left everything untouched.

Pyo Wol lay on the soft bed and stared at the ceiling.

His body was tired, but sleep did not come easily that night.

＊＊＊

“Heok! Heok!”

Rough moans flowed out from the room.

The subordinates standing guard outside felt like they were dying at the sound, which was like a wild boar panting for breath.

Even without seeing, they knew what was happening inside the room.

“Shit! This is driving me crazy.”

“I’m gonna die.”

The subordinates crossed their legs and grimaced.

They were men, too.

They had the desire to embrace a pretty girl. But they were not given the chance to fulfill their desires.

Instead, they had to listen to the sounds of their Boss fulfilling his desires from outside.

It was then.

“Th-There’s trouble.”

Suddenly, the door burst open and someone rushed in.

The one who rushed in with a disheveled appearance was none other than Lee Gu-yeol, who had gone to raid the Jewon Merchant Group’s ship.

The martial artist guarding Boss Deung Cheolung’s residence asked.

“What is it? Why do you look like that?”

“The Boss?”

“Can’t you hear?”

Only then did Lee Gu-yeol hear the rough moans coming from the room and make an incredulous face.

“What? Is it that right now?”

“It’s that.”

“Damn it! He sends his subordinates to their deaths while he’s doing that?”

“What can we do? It’s what the Boss wants.”

At the subordinate’s reply, Lee Gu-yeol shook his head.

No matter how urgent it was to satisfy his desires, to be rolling around with a woman at the very time his subordinates were fighting for their lives.

It was absurd, but he didn’t dare interrupt Deung Cheolung’s great affair.

He knew what would happen if he ruined his mood.

“Heok!”

Finally, the sound of Deung Cheolung finishing his great affair was heard.

Only then did Lee Gu-yeol hurriedly open his mouth.

“B-Boss! There’s big trouble.”

“What’s all the fuss?”

A moment later, the door opened and Deung Cheolung came out, pulling up his pants.

“Th-The Righteous Sword Manor…”

“What about those bastards? Did they act up again?”

“It’s not that…”

“Then what is it? You bastard! Speak clearly.”

“Th-They’re all dead.”

“What?”

“They’re all dead, I say.”

“What does that mean? All dead?”

Deung Cheolung’s face contorted.

“It’s true.”

“Then what about the Jewon Merchant Group’s ship? You didn’t manage to seize it?”

“How could we seize the ship when the guys covering our backs are all dead? It’s a miracle I even made it back alive.”

“What happened?”

“Pyo Wol, they were all killed by him.”

“Pyo Wol? The Reaper? Wasn’t he supposed to have left Poyang Lake?”

“He’s back.”

“Crazy! What is there to gain for him to come back?”

Deung Cheolung prided himself on being a stubborn bastard.

He was confident that his tenacity and poison qi were second to none.

He was only satisfied when he returned what he had received in kind, and he never forgot a grudge, always repaying it. But even he knew that there were beings he should never touch.

The so-called absolute experts of the Jianghu were such people.

Deung Cheolung’s tenacity or poison qi didn’t work on them.

With just a flick of their finger, Deung Cheolung would lose his life.

Deung Cheolung didn’t dare to think of opposing such people.

The problem was that Pyo Wol was one of those who had reached that level.

Although he had entered the Jianghu late and was not that old, his terrifying martial prowess was in no way inferior to that of the absolute experts.

In fact, to Deung Cheolung, someone like Pyo Wol was more fearsome than other absolute experts.

Other absolute experts, for the sake of their reputation, would not personally deal with people like Deung Cheolung. But Pyo Wol was different.

The him known in the Jianghu was not someone who cared about reputation or the opinions of others.

To Deung Cheolung, someone like Pyo Wol was an even more terrifying existence.

“Are you sure Pyo Wol has returned?”

“I heard him talking to the Righteous Sword Manor martial artists with my own two ears. He definitely said it was Pyo Wol.”

“Damn it!”

CRACK!

Deung Cheolung slammed his hand on the table, and it split in two.

“An opportunity I barely seized… We’re going to the Heavenly Sea Manor.”

The Heavenly Sea Manor was the manor where Jang Ho-yeon and the martial artists of the Righteous Sword Manor were currently staying in Poyang Lake.

Originally, the Heavenly Sea Manor was one of the secret safe houses Deung Cheolung had prepared.

He had given the Heavenly Sea Manor to Jang Ho-yeon to secure a connection with the Righteous Sword Manor.

“Do you think they will move to catch the Reaper?”

“They came here to catch that bastard in the first place, so they won’t just stand by. You, instead of standing here, send some men to the inn where that bastard is staying and have them watch him.”

“I understand.”

“Fucking bastards! I have to kill everything that gets in my way. The Reaper? No matter what I have to do, I will kill that bastard for sure.”