Chapter 415

Although Jang Sachun rarely involved himself in the affairs of Jianghu, he always kept a close watch on its trends.

Thanks to this, he was aware of most of the Experts who had made a name for themselves in Jianghu.

Among the Experts he knew, Pyo Wol was a Martial Artist of the highest risk.

If it were simply a matter of strong Martial Arts, he wouldn’t have rated him so highly.

Pyo Wol possessed Martial Arts of the highest caliber in Jianghu, and he knew how to perfectly utilize the skills he had mastered.

Above all, he was a mind-reader and an Assassin who would not hesitate to use sneak attacks to achieve his goals.

People like Jang Sachun considered someone like Pyo Wol a more difficult opponent than an Expert from a prestigious Orthodox Faction.

This was because the things considered weaknesses in ordinary Martial Artists—morality, justification, family—did not exist for Pyo Wol.

Facing such a person was no easy task, no matter how great an Expert one was.

Furthermore, Pyo Wol’s Martial Arts were formidable.

Among them, the Soul Restraining Thread, a Martial Art that used Qi Threads, was an object of fear for many.

In reality, one was treated as an Expert just for being able to coat a sword or blade with qi. Yet Pyo Wol compressed his qi as thin as a thread to use it.

It was a Martial Art that defied the common sense of Jianghu.

Most importantly, Pyo Wol had interfered with their plans at every turn. For that reason, he was impossible not to remember specifically.

“Hoo! What a terrible fate, Reaper!”

Jang Sachun’s gaze deepened.

The moment he realized his opponent was Pyo Wol, his mindset changed.

Pyo Wol was by no means an opponent who could be easily defeated.

He was a formidable enemy whose defeat could not be guaranteed even if he staked his all. To face him, he too had to be prepared to lay down his life. And Jang Sachun was a man fully prepared to do so.

Hwoong!

A single streak of light coated Jang Sachun’s blade.

It was Blade Aura.

He had recently gained enlightenment and become able to manifest Gang Qi. However, he had not yet fully mastered the insight, so it was incomplete.

Normally, he would have fought using Blade Energy or the subtleties of his Technique Forms instead of Blade Aura, but Pyo Wol was not so lenient an opponent that he could afford such leisure and still guarantee victory.

Jang Sachun launched himself toward Pyo Wol.

As he rushed through the underground space, there was neither sound nor presence. His movements were as ethereal as a ghost’s.

It was the Footwork known as the Ghostly Step.

Mastering this Footwork allowed one to move like a ghost, just as its name suggested.

Especially in a dark underground space like this, the power of the Ghostly Step was amplified.

As if tearing through the darkness, Jang Sachun suddenly appeared before Pyo Wol. And he swung his blade, imbued with Blade Aura. But in the next moment, he could not help but be horrified.

Pyo Wol, whom he had expected to be right there, was nowhere to be seen.

Feeling a chill run down his spine, Jang Sachun quickly turned around.

Pyo Wol had already taken the position behind him.

If Jang Sachun had the Ghostly Step, Pyo Wol had the Serpentine Steps.

The Ghostly Step’s power was amplified in the dark, but the power of the Serpentine Steps was even greater.

A fight without sound or presence was what Pyo Wol did best.

Without a sound, the Soul Restraining Thread was unleashed.

Two strands of the Soul Restraining Thread shot out like vipers, aiming for Jang Sachun’s neck and heart.

Both were vital points where even a small wound could be instantly fatal.

Jang Sachun instinctively swung his Blade Aura to defend the two vital points.

Ting!

With a faint metallic sound, the Soul Restraining Thread was deflected. But he could not relax.

The deflected Soul Restraining Thread changed direction in mid-air and flew at him again.

It was so thin that it was difficult to distinguish with the naked eye, and its speed was as fast as a beam of light, making it too late to judge and react after seeing it.

He had to judge by instinct and defend.

Jang Sachun swung his blade like a madman.

Titititing!

A continuous series of metallic sounds rang out.

He was Jang Sachun, known by the Alias Phantom Demon Blade.

To those Jang Sachun had fought, he was called a ghost, and he had delivered nightmares to match.

Now, he was experiencing the very nightmare that those who had faced him must have felt.

Pyo Wol was stronger and more stealthy than him. And even more vicious.

In the past, Pyo Wol had used the Ghostly Rain attached to the Soul Restraining Thread.

Back then, at least the sound of the Ghostly Rain cutting through the air could be heard. But the Ghostly Rain had all been destroyed, and Pyo Wol now used only the Soul Restraining Thread.

The light Soul Restraining Thread did not even make the common sound of tearing through the air.

For the one facing it, it had become even more difficult.

“Keuk!”

Jang Sachun’s face contorted more and more.

Trying to block the Soul Restraining Thread with instinct alone was becoming increasingly taxing.

The moment he cut one strand, another would fly at him in an instant, driving him mad.

‘At this rate, I’ll be the one to fall.’

Pyo Wol was far away, brandishing the Soul Restraining Thread with just a flick of his fingers, while he was dancing a frantic sword dance.

The rate of stamina consumption was different.

If this continued, he would truly be unable to do anything and collapse from exhaustion.

‘Give the flesh to take the bone.’

Jang Sachun gritted his teeth and executed the Ghostly Step.

He disregarded defense.

His only trust was in his single blade.

He charged forward with terrifying speed, like a fish swimming up a river.

Pupuk!

The Soul Restraining Thread pierced his left shoulder and waist.

The extreme pain felt like it would shatter his mind, but he gritted his teeth and endured.

Thanks to that, he was able to close the distance to Pyo Wol to a mere half-zhang. A distance where his blade could reach if he swung it.

“Chahat! Ghostly Soul-Severing Slash!”

At close range to Pyo Wol, his ultimate Technique Form was unleashed.

A Blade Aura so intense that it momentarily pushed back the darkness exploded toward Pyo Wol.

Jang Sachun’s blade was just about to touch Pyo Wol’s neck.

Suddenly, a streak of light blossomed from Pyo Wol’s neck area.

It was the Gang Qi made of Qi threads, the Silken Serpent Strong Energy.

The power of the Silken Serpent Strong Energy was on a different level from the Soul Restraining Thread.

Teong!

Not only did it send Jang Sachun’s blade, imbued with Blade Aura, flying far away, but it also delivered a great shock to his insides.

“Keuk!”

Jang Sachun’s face contorted in shock. But there was no time to leisurely cry out in pain.

Pyo Wol had switched from defense to offense.

Approaching through the darkness, Pyo Wol’s fist struck Jang Sachun’s chest.

Kwang!

With a deafening boom, Jang Sachun was thrown backward.

He did not go down helplessly. In the midst of it all, he had extended the palm of his non-blade hand to block Pyo Wol’s fist. But as a price, all his fingers were bent in the opposite direction. They had snapped like twigs.

“Keub!”

Suddenly, Jang Sachun let out a choked groan.

Something had wrapped around his neck without him noticing.

‘This is?’

The Silver Thread, so fine it was impossible to distinguish with the naked eye, was the Silken Serpent Strong Energy.

Pyo Wol applied force and pulled the Silken Serpent Strong Energy.

Seogeok!

In that moment, Jang Sachun’s head floated up into the air.

His head and body had been separated by the Silken Serpent Strong Energy.

Watching his own body from mid-air was truly horrifying.

‘Damn… it!’

That was Jang Sachun’s last thought.

Seeing this, Gwak No-saeng was greatly surprised.

“Incredible!”

Although Gwak No-saeng always treated Jang Sachun dismissively, he acknowledged his Martial Arts skills.

Jang Sachun was a rare Expert, yet Pyo Wol had defeated him too easily. To his eyes, it looked as if Pyo Wol had played with Jang Sachun as he pleased before killing him.

After Jang Sachun, it was Gwak No-saeng’s turn.

Pyo Wol approached Gwak No-saeng. Despite this, Gwak No-saeng showed no sign of fear.

“You! Truly incredible. That Jang fellow was quite a formidable Expert, yet you killed him so easily. Did you say you were the Reaper?”

“……”

“I’ll make you an offer. It won’t be a bad one for you either. Come and serve under me. In return, I promise you wealth and glory the likes of which the world has never seen.”

“……”

It was an offer not even worth listening to, so Pyo Wol did not even reply.

At Pyo Wol’s attitude, Gwak No-saeng’s face contorted.

“Are you refusing? You’ll regret it.”

“I’d rather bite my tongue and die than become an old man’s lackey.”

“What an insolent brat. Fine! If that’s your choice, then don’t regret it.”

Gwak No-saeng grinned crookedly.

Pyo Wol shot the Soul Restraining Thread toward Gwak No-saeng’s neck. But the Soul Restraining Thread never reached Gwak No-saeng’s body.

Someone had blocked the space between them.

The Soul Restraining Thread pierced the chest of the one who blocked it.

If an ordinary person were pierced by the Soul Restraining Thread, they would have screamed or shown some kind of reaction. But the person standing in the middle just stood there silently like a wooden statue, showing no physical reaction whatsoever.

Pyo Wol realized that the person who had been pierced by the Soul Restraining Thread in Gwak No-saeng’s place was one of the people who had been lying on the stone beds.

When pierced by the Soul Restraining Thread, a human feels extreme pain.

It would be a mistake to think that a small hole means small pain. The many Martial Artists who had been struck by the Soul Restraining Thread up to now had proven that fact.

But the person pierced by the Soul Restraining Thread now showed no reaction.

It was as if he couldn’t feel pain at all. But his eyes were strange.

Not a single shred of will or emotion that a human should possess could be seen.

It wasn’t that he was thoroughly hiding his inner thoughts like Pyo Wol.

It was empty, as if such things had never existed in the first place.

He was like a corpse that had lost its Soul, not a living human.

Pyo Wol spoke without realizing it.

“A jiang…shi?”

“A living jiangshi, to be precise.”

Gwak No-saeng kindly corrected Pyo Wol’s mistake.

“A living jiangshi? You turned a living person into a jiangshi?”

“A masterpiece of my own making. Heheh! What do you think? Isn’t it truly magnificent?”

“You’re insane!”

“One cannot create a masterpiece without going insane.”

Gwak No-saeng chuckled sinisterly.

He was genuinely proud of the work he had created.

It was not yet a finished work. But it was also true that it was on the verge of completion.

Using the Medicinal Herbs like Fire Heart Grass that Jang Sachun and his Subordinates had procured, he could make it even more perfect.

The living jiangshi were different from the Ghost King.

With good materials, his medical skills, and massive support, he could mass-produce them without limit.

He could truly form a powerful army.

It was a horrific atrocity that abandoned all human ethics, but Gwak No-saeng felt no guilt.

He was a man of such cruel disposition that he would willingly slaughter thousands if it meant he could achieve his goal.

Geueueu!

With a bizarre sound, the people lying on the stone beds rose to their feet.

At the sight, not only Yong Seol Lan but also Jang Sachun’s Subordinates were horrified.

“What is this?”

“Damn it!”

They knew that Gwak No-saeng’s research had borne some fruit. But seeing it with their own eyes and experiencing it up close was a shock on another level.

Gwak No-saeng shouted.

“My creations! Run wild as you please. Kill all the intruders who have dared to invade my space.”

Guwoooh!

As Gwak No-saeng’s command fell, the living jiangshi simultaneously let out a cry.

Beings on the borderline between the living and the dead.

Their cries contained a strange power that shook the spirits of the living. The ones who took the biggest blow were Jang Sachun’s Subordinates.

“Keuk!”

“Wha-what is this?”

They covered their ears and collapsed.

The living jiangshi charged at Pyo Wol and Yong Seol Lan all at once.

They did not know how to distinguish between friend and foe.

Except for Gwak No-saeng, everyone who had entered the underground space was their enemy.

Kuwooh!

The living jiangshi shrieked as they bit and tore at Jang Sachun’s Subordinates.

“Ugh!”

“Damn it!”

Jang Sachun’s Subordinates were terrified and resisted, but it was useless. They had already taken a huge blow from the living jiangshi’s roar.

The living jiangshi were all Martial Artists.

Before being kidnapped and brought here, they had been known to be quite formidable.

Although they had forgotten all their Martial Arts upon becoming living jiangshi, their physical abilities remained.

They had no reason, no fear.

In their minds, there was only the thought of carrying out their master’s command.

“My god!”

Seeing Jang Sachun’s Subordinates being attacked by the living jiangshi, Yong Seol Lan’s face turned white.

No matter how iron-willed she was, the scene of living people being bitten to death by living jiangshi was bound to be shocking.

It was clear what kind of catastrophe would unfold if the living jiangshi were released into Jianghu.

“You must not let a single one of them get outside.”