Chapter 80

For the past three days, Pyo Wol had been observing the martial artists who had entered Chengdu.

As a result, he discovered that they were divided into three groups.

The first group was the Qingcheng Sect and Gold River Gate, and the sects that followed them.

The Crimson Dragon Clan was a prime example.

Due to the previous battle, the Crimson Dragon Clan had completely sided with the Qingcheng Sect. Besides them, many martial arts academies and sects followed the Qingcheng Sect.

The second group was the factions that supported the Emei Sect.

Quite a few sects, including the Hundred Flowers Room and the Qingming Room, supported the Emei Sect. However, their power did not match that of the factions following the Qingcheng Sect.

The third was the martial artists who were neither here nor there.

Some belonged to factions, while others had come individually.

Like wild dogs, they loitered around the battlefield, looking for a chance to make a name for themselves by achieving some merit.

This third group was not under anyone’s control. And they were the most numerous.

In a way, they were similar to the Black Cloud Corps. The only difference was that while the Black Cloud Corps were wanderers who roamed the battlefields without a fixed abode, these people all had residences in Sichuan Province.

It was this third group that Pyo Wol attacked.

By attacking them, he had dragged them onto the battlefield.

Unlike the Qingcheng or Emei Sects, the martial artists belonging to the third group did not know what was happening in Chengdu.

They only knew that the atmosphere was unusual.

In that situation, when they were suddenly ambushed by Pyo Wol, they fell under the illusion that unidentified enemies were attacking them.

“Sons of bitches!”

“Kill all the bastards in black clothes.”

The heroes attacked the Black Cloud Corps without thinking.

“Damn it! These crazy bastards…”

Yang Woo-jeong, the Vice Unit Leader of the Black Cloud Corps, wore a troubled expression.

One or two martial artists would not be a problem, but it was a different story when their numbers exceeded several hundred.

The problem was that even at this moment, the number of martial artists joining the fight was increasing exponentially.

Hearing the news of the fight belatedly, the martial artists of Chengdu arrived, and they were swept into the battle between the Black Cloud Corps and the heroes.

Among them were many martial artists from sects that supported the Emei and Qingcheng Sects. As they joined the fray, the madness of the battlefield intensified.

The flames of madness ignited by Pyo Wol had engulfed all of Chengdu.

“Damn it! How long are you going to run like a coward?”

The Blood Monk roared and threw a punch at Pyo Wol.

Kwaang!

The roof of the pavilion where Pyo Wol had been standing exploded as if a Thunderbolt Bomb had gone off.

“Keuk!”

“That bald-headed monk…”

The nearby martial artists, who were covered in debris, attacked the Blood Monk. Because of this, the Blood Monk was held up.

“Damn it!”

Daoshi Go’s face contorted.

It was beyond absurd; it was baffling.

The Black Cloud Corps was being thoroughly toyed with by a single martial artist.

By dragging in the heroes, Pyo Wol had shattered the movements of the Black Cloud Corps, which should have been operating organically.

The Black Cloud Corps was most powerful when they were united and deployed in formation. But by getting entangled in a fight with the heroes, they couldn’t even dream of coordinated movements.

Moreover, they couldn’t even use their core of two hundred cavalrymen. They were still waiting on the outskirts of Chengdu, waiting for their comrades to drive Pyo Wol to them.

“You bastard!”

Daoshi Go, his anger reaching the crown of his head, unleashed a palm strike containing all his internal power toward Pyo Wol.

It was Daoshi Go’s secret special technique, the Dancing Fire Divine Palm.

Daoshi Go expected Pyo Wol to dodge again.

He had been toyed with by Pyo Wol so much that he could now predict Pyo Wol’s movements in advance. He just lacked the speed to catch up.

Just as Heo Ranju moved in advance to the spot where she expected Pyo Wol to move.

Shhh!

Suddenly, something cut through the air and appeared before Daoshi Go’s eyes.

“Huk!”

Daoshi Go was startled and threw his body backward.

He didn’t even think of blocking it. The attack was that far beyond his expectations. Because of it, the Dancing Fire Divine Palm was cut short before it could be fully unleashed.

The internal power that should have been fully discharged backflowed, damaging his heart meridian instead.

What had attacked Daoshi Go was a single flying dagger.

The flying dagger traced a long arc as if it were a living creature, chasing after Daoshi Go.

“Aaargh!”

Daoshi Go’s scream echoed.

His left arm had fallen to the ground, twitching.

The flying dagger had severed Daoshi Go’s shoulder.

“Daoshi Go!”

Heo Ranju shouted loudly and ran toward Daoshi Go.

At that moment, another flying dagger appeared before her.

The flying dagger moved dazzlingly, attacking Heo Ranju.

It was the Ghostly Rain.

Pyo Wol was controlling two Ghostly Rain daggers with the Soul Restraining Thread.

Heo Ranju’s whip and the Soul Restraining Thread tangled.

Seogeok!

In an instant, Heo Ranju’s whip was severed.

“No!”

At the unbelievable sight, Heo Ranju’s eyes widened.

Shiiit!

At that moment, the Ghostly Rain sliced past her side.

Her clothes and flesh were split in a long gash, pouring out blood.

“Keuheup!”

Heo Ranju swallowed a scream and hastily retreated. Even so, her eyes moved, tracking Pyo Wol’s movements.

But Pyo Wol had vanished midway.

He had used Black Lightning again to move.

But the place where Pyo Wol reappeared was right in front of Daoshi Go.

Daoshi Go, staggering from the loss of an arm, failed to sense Pyo Wol’s movement.

“No!”

Heo Ranju shouted urgently.

Daoshi Go lifted his head and looked forward.

Pyo Wol had appeared before him at some point. He had retracted the Soul Restraining Thread and was holding the Ghostly Rain daggers directly in his hands.

“Stop!”

Jang Muryang’s shout echoed across the battlefield.

He had finally reached Pyo Wol’s vicinity after cutting down countless heroes blocking his path.

He reached out his hand to save Daoshi Go.

In Jang Muryang’s hand, a black spear had appeared at some point.

He unleashed the secret transmission technique form of his signature technique, the Zhang Family Spear Art: Black Dragon Explosion.

Kwaaaa!

Tearing through the air, the black spear flew toward Pyo Wol. But Pyo Wol paid it no mind and stabbed between Daoshi Go’s ribs with a Ghostly Rain dagger.

“Heup!”

Daoshi Go’s complexion changed.

The Ghostly Rain had penetrated deep into his lung.

Daoshi Go’s mouth fell open from the extreme pain he had never experienced before.

Daoshi Go tried to say something. But Pyo Wol covered his mouth with his hand and switched places with Daoshi Go.

With his lung pierced, Daoshi Go had lost all his strength and could not resist.

In that instant, Jang Muryang’s attack exploded where he had been.

Kwaang!

“Keuaak!”

A loud roar and Daoshi Go’s scream erupted at the same time.

Daoshi Go had taken Jang Muryang’s spear in Pyo Wol’s place.

Daoshi Go’s back was torn to shreds like a rag, revealing white bone. He had suffered a fatal wound from his own comrade, Jang Muryang.

“No!”

“Daoshi Go!”

Jang Muryang and Heo Ranju rushed over at the same time.

At that moment, Pyo Wol turned his head and glanced at them.

His cool, emotionless gaze pierced their hearts like a dagger.

“Daoshi Go!”

All the capillaries in Heo Ranju’s eyes had burst, turning them so red they looked as if they would shed blood at any moment.

Though they bickered and fought every day, Heo Ranju liked Daoshi Go more than anyone else.

Because among the three hundred and fifty members of the Black Cloud Corps, it was Daoshi Go who understood her the best.

The sight of Daoshi Go falling was enough to make her see red.

She tried to attack, burning with resentment toward Pyo Wol. But by then, Pyo Wol had already thrown himself far away and disappeared.

“Daoshi Go, are you okay?”

Heo Ranju hurriedly embraced Daoshi Go. But Daoshi Go’s breathing was already faint.

“Heuk! Heuk!”

Daoshi Go didn’t even have the energy to answer, only gasping for breath.

“Damn it!”

Jang Muryang gritted his teeth.

It was as if he had killed Daoshi Go himself.

Heo Ranju shouted at Jang Muryang.

“Hurry and chase him! You must tear that bastard to pieces.”

At her cry, Jang Muryang launched himself in the direction Pyo Wol had disappeared.

Heo Ranju held Daoshi Go in her arms and wailed.

“Daoshi Go! Don’t die. Heo-eong! You can’t die.”

Daoshi Go barely managed to reach out and grab Heo Ranju’s hand.

“Girl! Who… says I’m dying…? Why say… such unlucky things…? I’m not… going to die.”

Daoshi Go forced a smile.

＊＊＊

Kwang!

An Emei Sect disciple kicked open the door and rushed into Elder Nun Guhwa’s residence.

“We’re in big trouble, Sect Master.”

“What’s with all the fuss?”

Elder Nun Guhwa glared at the disciple with fierce eyes.

The disciple, who would normally have been intimidated, continued speaking without a care. The matter was that urgent.

“All of Chengdu is in an uproar right now.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“A, a riot has broken out.”

“A riot?”

Elder Nun Guhwa shot up from her chair without realizing it. The word ‘riot’ carried that much of an ominous weight.

“Explain in detail.”

“W-well, the Black Cloud Corps moved to catch the assassin, and their movements provoked the martial artists who had gathered in Chengdu. And then that assassin made the Black Cloud Corps and the martial artists clash…”

“Ha!”

At the disciple’s words, Elder Nun Guhwa let out a sigh without realizing it.

It was unbelievable that the Black Cloud Corps and the heroes had clashed because of a single assassin.

The disciple’s words continued.

“The fight has grown larger and larger, and now even the sects that support our sect have been swept up in it.”

“Does that mean the Qingming Room and the other martial arts academies have also joined the fight?”

“Yes! Not only that, but the sects that came to support the Qingcheng Sect have also jumped into the fight, and all of Chengdu is engulfed in a storm of blood.”

“What in the world?”

Elder Nun Guhwa wore a look of disbelief.

She couldn’t believe that this whole mess had been caused by a single assassin.

Just then, Yong Seol Lan, who was sitting opposite Elder Nun Guhwa, opened her mouth.

“Master, you have to believe it.”

“What do you mean?”

“Seven years ago, he was the one who single-handedly killed the Qingcheng Sect’s Gun-sang, defying everyone’s expectations. Because of that, the relationship between the Qingcheng Sect and our sect has been on a downward spiral.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“What I’m saying is that all of this is part of a bigger picture he has drawn.”

“A bigger picture? Are you saying that some mere assassin is reading and directing the grand scheme of things?”

“Because that’s what is actually happening.”

“Stop talking nonsense and sit down.”

“It’s not nonsense. The events happening now show just how terrifying he is. He’s not a simple assassin. He is something else that has mastered an assassin’s killing method.”

“Seol Lan!”

Elder Nun Guhwa frowned and gestured for her to stop, but Yong Seol Lan did not cease her words.

“None of this would have happened if we hadn’t commissioned the assassination of Gun-sang in the first place. The birth of such a terrifying being is the responsibility of our Emei Sect.”

“So what are you trying to say? Are you telling me to kneel before that bastard and apologize?”

“No! Master is not someone who would ever do such a thing. I’m just saying to be careful. He will never stop until he kills you, Master.”

“Hmph! Even if ten assassins of his ilk came at me at once, they wouldn’t be able to touch a single hair on my head.”

Elder Nun Guhwa snorted.

She did not heed Yong Seol Lan’s advice. She possessed martial arts powerful enough to do so, and she was the head of the Emei Sect, one of the most renowned orthodox sects in the Jianghu.

If the Sect Master of the Emei Sect were to hide in fear of a mere assassin, all her peers in the Jianghu would laugh at her.

Yong Seol Lan let out a faint sigh.

She had thought Elder Nun Guhwa would never listen to her, but she truly hadn’t expected her to be this stubborn.

Yong Seol Lan looked at Elder Nun Guhwa with gloomy eyes.

She was just as intimidating now as she was when she first accepted her as a disciple. But she no longer felt as frightening as she once did.

Perhaps she had developed a tolerance, or perhaps it was because she had grown that much. However, Yong Seol Lan had no desire to challenge her master any further.

“Huu!”

Just as she let out another sigh.

Suddenly, the door burst open and another disciple entered the room.

Elder Nun Guhwa said irritably.

“What is it now?”

“The, the Qingming Room has requested help. They’ve clashed with the Crimson Dragon Clan and are being pushed back due to their inferior numbers.”

“The Qingming Room?”

Elder Nun Guhwa’s face contorted.

The Qingming Room was a sect that was at least friendly to the Emei Sect. If she ignored the Qingming Room’s crisis, the other sects would never follow the Emei Sect.

“I’ve been properly cornered by that assassin bastard.”

Elder Nun Guhwa ground her teeth.

Now, she had no choice but to join the fight.

There was nowhere to run.

She grabbed her Bludgeon Palm and said.

“We must calm the situation before the Daoists of the Qingcheng Sect join the fight. All disciples, take up your weapons and follow me.”

And so, Elder Nun Guhwa and the Emei Sect were also swept up in the storm of blood.