Chapter 446

“Haa! Haa!”

Yoo Soo-hwan gasped for breath, looking around.

Countless corpses were strewn about him.

They were the bodies of those who had ambushed him.

Every single one of them possessed extraordinary martial prowess. They were martial artists who could have been considered the main force even in a major sect.

Their Ambush Attack had come at an unforeseeable moment.

Thanks to that, Yoo Soo-hwan had faced a rather dangerous moment.

If his improvisation or martial arts had been even slightly weaker, it would have been Yoo Soo-hwan lying sprawled on the ground right now.

Behind Yoo Soo-hwan was an old man who appeared to be in his seventies.

The old man stroked his white beard and spoke.

“Your Karmic Retribution has followed you all the way here. You rotten bastard! To bring disaster to my home.”

“I apologize.”

“If you’re sorry, then get rid of all these smelly things.”

It was then, as the old man scowled and waved his hand.

“I didn’t expect to find Elder Sin-ui here.”

A woman’s cold voice was heard from somewhere.

In that instant, the eyes of the old man called Sin-ui sank deeply.

“That Demoness has shown up here.”

His voice was incredibly grave.

Not many people knew that the old man was Sin-ui.

Although he possessed medical skills great enough to be called by the alias Sin-ui, he had rarely ever revealed his identity.

Moreover, his area of activity was concentrated in the south, so the figures of Jianghu hardly knew him.

Among the Jianghu sects, the only ones who knew his true identity were the key figures of the Swordless Union.

And among them, the one he was most reluctant to face had appeared.

The woman was none other than Eom So-so of the Swordless Union.

The Sea Mist Unit was arrayed around her.

Eom So-so said,

“Is this what they call killing two birds with one stone? To think Young Master Yoo and Sin-ui are together. The heavens are clearly on our side.”

“Crazy bitch! A bitch who does nothing but lick Dokgo Hwang’s toes dares to…”

“You’ve gotten much cruder since I last saw you. You weren’t originally like that, were you?”

“I threw away things like ‘refinement’ when you and that bastard took over the Swordless Union.”

“Is that so?”

Despite Sin-ui’s venomous words, Eom So-so’s expression didn’t change one bit.

Her gaze, as she looked at the two, was utterly cold.

“I hope you both come along quietly. Then I won’t have to hurt you.”

“Crazy bitch! I’d rather bite down on a reversed sword than follow you.”

“Does Young Master Lee share the same thought as Sin-ui?”

“Hoo! You’ve grown up a lot, So-so!”

Yoo Soo-hwan said, straightening his back as if his ragged breathing had calmed.

Eom So-so looked at Yoo Soo-hwan and sneered.

“Oh my! How delightful. To hear such words from Young Master Lee.”

The ones who had attacked Yoo Soo-hwan just now were not the Sea Mist Unit.

They were martial artists borrowed from the Golden Sky Society.

Seeing how he struggled against their attack, Yoo Soo-hwan had not yet fully recovered.

Yoo Soo-hwan in his prime was a fearsome being, but the current Yoo Soo-hwan was in a greatly weakened state.

He had been lucky enough to find Sin-ui and recover his martial arts, but it was impossible to regain his former skills in an instant.

Martial arts possessed continuity.

There was a reason they were called Thousand Days of Training or Ten Thousand Days of Training.

Only by consistently investing that much time could one achieve a high level of mastery.

The moment the flow was broken or Martial Practice was halted, the martial arts would no longer develop.

To regain one’s former skills, one had to put in twice the effort for the period they had let go of their martial arts.

Yoo Soo-hwan, defeated by Dokgo Hwang, had lost his martial arts for a long time.

No matter how much he was treated by Sin-ui, he could not instantly display his former martial prowess.

His limits were already showing.

Just by dealing with the Golden Sky Society martial artists, his stamina was depleted, and he was gasping for breath.

Eom So-so said,

“I’ll say it one last time. Follow me quietly. Don’t make things difficult for no reason.”

“So-so!”

“Yes!”

“Why did you choose Hwang? You know better than anyone what kind of temperament Hwang has, don’t you?”

“I simply thought he was more suitable to be the Swordless Union Lord.”

“The Swordless Union might fall because of Hwang. That man will surely bring disaster.”

“That will never happen. Because I am by his side.”

“I don’t know how a child like you came out of the Swordless Union.”

“What’s wrong with me?”

“You’re a monster. A monster that can’t distinguish between good and evil…”

“Have you forgotten? The Swordless Union is what made me this way.”

Eom So-so let out a smirk.

Jeon Mu-ok, the former lord of the Swordless Union, was not a man who was harsh only to his disciples.

When Eom So-so was a child, Jeon Mu-ok had snuck into her bedchamber. And he had brutally violated the young girl.

The memory of that time had turned her into a monster.

That was also why she had taken Dokgo Hwang’s hand when he extended it.

“Hoo! It seems we have to see this through to the end.”

Yoo Soo-hwan gripped his sword.

He had been attacked not long after his body had recovered.

His condition was not good due to having forcefully circulated his Internal Energy. Still, Yoo Soo-hwan thought it wasn’t the worst-case scenario.

‘It’s fine! My stiff body has loosened up to some extent.’

When he was first attacked, his body had been extremely stiff.

His martial arts had been sealed for a long time, so his muscles had also stiffened.

Normally, he would have had to slowly and carefully loosen up his body. Only then could he recover without straining his body.

But due to the enemies’ surprise attack, Yoo Soo-hwan had to fight back without even properly warming up.

His whole body was screaming from the intense movement after a long time, but at least his muscles had loosened up a lot.

Compared to his prime, it was a pathetic level, but this was enough to take a chance.

Yoo Soo-hwan, his gaze fixed on Eom So-so, spoke to Sin-ui.

“I will block them, so please, Sin-ui, you must escape.”

“Are you telling me to leave you behind and run away like a coward?”

“I have not yet fully recovered my original skills, so I cannot protect Sin-ui as well.”

“Tsk! Useless.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Enough. If I stay here, I’ll only hold you back. I’ll be on my way, so I pray you survive.”

At Sin-ui’s words, Eom So-so scoffed.

“Hmph! You seem to think this is a place you can come and go as you please. If you want to live out the rest of your life with your body intact, you’d better stay put.”

“That wench! Do you have a rag in your mouth? A foul stench comes out every time you open it.”

“How dare you!”

“I can assure you, your end will not be a pleasant one either.”

“Seize them!”

Unable to contain her anger, Eom So-so gave the order to the Sea Mist Unit.

“As you command!”

The Sea Mist Unit replied and rushed toward Sin-ui.

At that moment, Yoo Soo-hwan swung his sword horizontally in a single stroke.

Shwaaak!

A fan-shaped Sword Qi spread out from his blade.

The Sea Mist Unit martial artist at the front collapsed, his waist split in two.

It was a Sword Qi of terrifying power.

For a moment, the area was enveloped in silence.

The claws of the tiger they thought they had caught were still sharp.

To capture Sin-ui, they had to get past Yoo Soo-hwan.

Eom So-so commanded.

“We can take our time with the old man, so kill that man first.”

“Yes!”

The Sea Mist Unit replied and attacked Yoo Soo-hwan all at once.

Yoo Soo-hwan ran to face them.

“Come at me! You dogs of Dokgo Hwang!”

＊＊＊

Guian furrowed his brow.

A letter was in his hand.

It was news from Jianghu that had come through the Hao Clan.

“Finally… has the Swordless Union made its move?”

The letter contained details about the movements of the Swordless Union’s elite. It wasn’t just the Swordless Union.

Signs were also detected that the Thousand Water Society and the Righteous Sword Manor had dispatched their elites.

Until now, they had not moved directly, only mobilizing the sects and martial artists they had connections with. This was the first time they had moved directly.

This fact meant only one thing.

“It can’t be stopped now. The Martial World War is going to happen.”

The Swordless Union, the Thousand Water Society, the Righteous Sword Manor. All were forces counted among the greatest in All Under Heaven.

If they officially joined the war, other super-powerful factions would not stand idly by. It was a natural course of events for it to escalate into a Martial World War.

Guian wasn’t particularly concerned even if the Martial World War broke out. It was, after all, something happening outside of Sichuan Province.

Sichuan Province was far from Jianghu and had an isolated geography. Because of that, it was not easily swayed by external winds.

If the traditional hegemons, the Qingcheng Sect and the Emei Sect, were still intact, Sichuan Province would have been in danger too. They would have had no choice but to dispatch troops, considering their relationships with other sects.

By a stroke of great fortune, they had all been forced to become Closed-off by Pyo Wol, and could exert no influence on Jianghu.

Thanks to that, Sichuan Province was safe from the external winds.

The only thing that concerned him was that Pyo Wol was leaving Sichuan Province at such a time.

Pyo Wol had traveled throughout Jianghu until now, forming numerous connections.

Among them were good relationships, but there were also many bad ones.

One of them was the Nine Dragons Assassination Guild.

The bad blood between Pyo Wol and the Nine Dragons Assassination Guild was so deep that it was impossible to reconcile through dialogue. The grudge would only end when one of them was gone.

The fact that the Martial World War had broken out in such a situation weighed on Guian’s mind.

“Hah! My brother will get through it just fine, I’m sure.”

He had no choice but to trust Pyo Wol.

He had managed well until now, so he would continue to manage well in the future.

Thinking so, Guian went outside.

Outside, Pyo Wol, Eun-yo, and Do Yeon-san were sitting.

“Guian!”

“Brother, you’re out?”

Eun-yo and Do Yeon-san greeted him warmly.

Although they were in the same house, it had been a long time since they had seen each other’s faces.

Guian had been holed up in the basement gathering information, and Eun-yo and Do Yeon-san had been busy in their own ways.

Guian’s gaze turned to Pyo Wol.

Pyo Wol was wearing the Wind Cloak that Tang Sochu had made for him.

Guian was not one to not know what that meant.

“Are you leaving today?”

“If we delay any longer, their defenses will only become stronger.”

“When you arrive in Hunan Province, stop by Shaoyang.”

“Shaoyang?”

“There’s a Hao Clan branch there. I made a special request for them to gather the information you’ll need.”

“Thank you.”

“I’m sorry I can’t go with you.”

“It’s fine.”

“It seems leaving Chengdu is still too much for me. I’ll protect the Red Pine Manor.”

“Do that.”

Pyo Wol nodded his head.

Eun-yo and Do Yeon-san had decided to follow Pyo Wol out of Sichuan Province.

Leaving Sichuan Province was a great adventure for Eun-yo as well.

It would be no easy task for her, who could not see, to leave her familiar surroundings and go to a strange place. But Eun-yo had decided to go with Pyo Wol and Do Yeon-san.

Although she couldn’t see, she wanted to experience the wider world.

She felt that if not now, she would never be able to go outside Sichuan Province again.

That was why she had willingly decided to follow Pyo Wol.

Guian, who had been watching the three for a moment, said,

“Wait just a moment.”

“Why?”

“I’ve prepared a means for the three of you to travel.”

“That’s our Guian.”

Eun-yo smiled.

A moment later, the presence of people was felt outside.

“Looks like they’re here.”

At Guian’s words, everyone went outside.

Outside the Red Pine Manor, a group of people was waiting for them.

“This is the Zigong Merchant Group, heading to Hunan Province for a trade. If you go with them, you should be able to avoid the Nine Dragons Assassination Guild’s eyes to some extent.”

“You thought that far ahead?”

“There are only a few safe routes out of Sichuan Province. If I were the Nine Dragons Assassination Guild, I would definitely place surveillance personnel there.”

“That’s true, isn’t it? I would have done the same.”

Pyo Wol nodded his head.

He had been wondering how to get out of Sichuan Province without being noticed by them.

If Guian had prepared a trading company heading to Hunan Province like this, it would be much easier to deceive their eyes.

Pyo Wol looked at the middle-aged man who seemed to be the head of the Zigong Merchant Group. The middle-aged man then performed a Fist-Palm Salute and greeted him.

“I am Lee Shin-pil, the Unit Leader of the Zigong Merchant Group. We will escort you to Shaoyang.”

“Will it be alright? The Zigong Merchant Group could be harmed if things go wrong.”

“Great Hero Yu Gicheon of Snow Cloud Stronghold bestowed a great kindness upon me. Thanks to him introducing me to various business partners, the once-nonexistent Zigong Merchant Group was able to grow this much. Although I lack the strength to avenge him directly, I want to contribute in some small way. Please give me the opportunity to serve the three of you.”