Light Novel: Volume 17 Episode 14
Manhwa: N/A
Jang Sa-chun’s face distorted terribly.
Kwak Nosaeng’s accusations were openly embarrassing him. Resentment rose within him, but if they truly had been followed here, there was no room for excuses.
“How dare you!”
The damaged sword hanging from Jang Sa-chun’s waist was unsheathed.
The qi emitted from the damaged sword directly hit the ventilation hole.
Bang!
The explosion sent debris flying everywhere.
The vent shattered, causing Pyo-wol and Yong Seolran to come out.
Kwak Nosaeng glared at the two and spoke,
“Ha! You two are quite young. How did you get here? You must’ve followed these fools. You seem quite skilled, maybe you’ll make good material.”
Kwak Nosaeng had no intention of listening to Pyo-wol and Yong Seolran’s answers from the start. He spoke, answered, and even drew his own conclusions.
Jang Sa-chun stepped in on behalf of Kwak Nosaeng.
“If you sneak into someone else’s territory, you should at least reveal your identities.”
“If we planned to reveal our identity, we wouldn’t have snuck in like this.”
“Did you really track us here?”
“Yes.”
“I should’ve noticed. We were being tailed and I didn’t even realize it. From where did you follow us?”
“Since your men killed a young man in the village who was interested in the Fire Heart Herb.”
“I thought so.”
Jang Sa-chun turned his head and looked at the three who caused the incident.
The faces of the three who had killed the young man from the village were pale with fear.
“It, it’s like this–!”
“We surely erased all traces…!”
“I, I’m sorry!”
The men hastily made excuses. But none of their excuses were enough to alleviate Jang Sa-chun’s anger.
Shiak!
Jang Sa-chun’s damaged sword slashed through the air.
In an instant, the movement of the men who were making excuses came to a halt.
Drip, drip!
Blood trickled down their necks, and they collapsed.
There was neither resistance nor screams.
It was an event that occurred in a split second.
The atmosphere in the hall froze rapidly.
Everyone was stunned by his action of decisively dealing with the men responsible for them being followed.
Pyo-wol was surprised for a different reason.
He had realized just how skilled Jang Sa-chun’s swordsmanship was.
There weren’t many swordsmen in the Jianghu who could exert such power with a damaged sword.
Anyone with that level of power would surely be known throughout Jianghu, but Pyo-wol had never heard of a swordsman who could wield a damaged sword like that.
A sharp awl, no matter how well it is concealed, will eventually pierce through cloth.1
Likewise, a martial artist with such a level of power would inevitably be known throughout the world. Just like Pyo-wol.
However, for such a person to remain unknown meant that someone had deliberately concealed his identity.
“Is it… Kowloon?”
Pyo-wol did not miss the flicker in the eyes of Jang Sa-chun and Kwak Nosaeng.
With an effort to appear calm, Jang Sa-chun said,
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“It’s okay if you don’t know because I do.”
“Stop talking nonsense and reveal your identity! Otherwise, you won’t be able to leave this place alive.”
“You’re not going to let me live if I answer anyway.”
“I could at least offer you a painless death.”
“Forget it. I decline such an offer.”
“Bastard!”
Killing intent burst out of Jang Sa-chun’s eyes.
Unperturbed by his glare, Pyo-wol looked at the people lying on the stone beds.
He could barely sense any vital signs from the people lying on the stone beds.
If they were alive, they should naturally be breathing regularly, but such signs could hardly be felt from them.
They were definitely alive, but it felt as if they were not alive at all.
Pyo-wol asked Kwak Nosaeng,
“What are you doing to them?”
“Hehe! Young one, this place is the abode of the Demon Doctor. Whatever happens here is none of your business.”
“Demon Doctor? You’re a doctor?”
Kwak Nosaeng had said it offhandedly, but for Pyo-wol, those two words were enough.
A doctor with the word demon attached before it.
There was no way such a doctor could be normal and up to anything good.
“Are you playing with living people?”
“Playing? I am helping them metamorphize into different beings. You’ll be like them too in no time.”
“Metamorphize?”
Pyo-wol’s expression turned cold.
Metamorphosis generally refers to a dramatic change in form during the growth process of insects or animals.
It wasn’t a word that could be applied to humans, so the fact that he used it unconsciously meant that the Demon Doctor had used some sort of forbidden medical technique on them.
“What did you do to them?”
“Hehe! You’re quite the curious one, aren’t you? If you want to know, get past them first.”
The Demon Doctor scoffed at Pyo-wol and turned away.
With his back turned, he spoke to Jang Sa-chun
“Take care of them and make sure no more issues arise. If you mess up again this time, I’ll report you to the leader.”
“That will never happen.”
Jang Sa-chun replied and stepped forward.
His subordinates trailed behind him.
Jang Sa-chun said to his men,
“Bring them here. It’s fine to cut off their limbs. Just keep them breathing.”
“Yes!”
The subordinates replied in unison, rushing toward Pyo-wol and Yong Seolran.
Jang Sa-chun watched the two with narrowed eyes.
He had his men charged at the two to test their strength first.
“Hehe!”
“Chahaha!”
The subordinates laughed eerily as they attacked Pyo-wol and Yong Seolran.
Unlike the Demon Doctor and Jang Sa-chun, they didn’t consider Pyo-wol and Yong Seolran to be much of a threat.
Shiack!
Sword energies came flying towards Pyo-wol and Yong Seolran.
The first one to move was Yong Seolran.
“Hoo, these people are unforgivable.”
Letting go of the ones who killed one of the villagers was one thing, but she could not let the Demon Doctor who committed such horrendous acts against living people go alone and unpunished.
In her veins still flowed the blood of the righteous Emei sect.
Although it had been diluted due to Guhwa Satae, the Emei sect’s philosophy and spirit of controlling demons and exterminating evil2 still remained and lingered within her.
Swoosh!
The Emei sect’s ultimate skill, the Infinite Lotus Sword,3 unfolded from Yong Seolran’s hands.
It was a secret technique that only the direct disciple of the sect leader could learn and master. Its power would surely not be ordinary.
“Keugh!”
“Hugh!”
Martial artists who had rushed in at the forefront fell due to the sharp sword strikes that cut through the darkness.
The blunt twig had transformed into an unparalleled sword in Yong Seolran’s hands.
“Infinite Lotus Sword? You’re a disciple of the Emei sect?”
Jang Sa-chun immediately recognized the martial arts displayed by Yong Seolran and was shocked.
As far as he knew, the Emei sect had gone into seclusion. They had closed their doors and no longer allowed their disciples to engage in external activities.
The Infinite Lotus Sword was among the top martial arts techniques of the Emei sect.
It was not a martial art that could be mastered by just anyone.
The fact that someone who had mastered such a technique had appeared here was not a good omen.
At least from Jang Sa-chun’s perspective.
Yong Seolran’s attacks were so sharp that it was hard to believe she had laid down her sword for a long time.
Every time a white lotus bloomed, someone would scream and fall to the ground.
Jang Sa-chun looked at his men who had fallen and muttered,
“Your swordsmanship is sharp, but your hands are hesitant. Or perhaps your heart is weak.”
Many had fallen, but none had died.
It was proof that Yong Seolran was holding back.
Jang Sa-chun’s mouth curled into a sneer.
In the Jianghu, the most difficult opponents are those who are both highly skilled in martial arts and ruthless.
Such people should not be turned into enemies at all costs.
On the contrary, the easiest to deal with are those who are strong in martial arts, but have a tender heart and find it hard to kill.
This is usually the case with those who have been brought up in a good environment.
Jang Sa-chun thought Yong Seolran belonged to the latter category.
“What are you doing? Attack her all at once! She won’t be able to kill you.”
“Yes!”
There was no one in the room who was afraid of being injured.
Jang Sa-chun might not have trained them personally, but he believed in their martial prowess and perseverance.
“Waaaah!”
The warriors charged at Yong Seolran with even greater fervor.
A flustered look appeared on Yong Seolran’s face for a moment.
Having been away from the Jianghu for so long, she found it not as easy as she thought to shed blood. As much as possible, she wanted to subdue her enemies with only light wounds.
The enemies took advantage of her hesitance.
As soon as they realized that she couldn’t kill them, they threw themselves into her attacks.
Because of this, even with her superior skills, she could only be pushed back.
Pyo-wol watched impassively as Yong Seolran struggled.
All of this was her choice.
It was her choice to follow him here and fight these people.
Pyo-wol had clearly warned her, but she ignored his warning and continued to follow him. Everything that is about to happen from now on will be the result of her decisions.
Regardless of her feelings, she had to bear it all.
It was then.
Swish!
Without warning, Jang Sa-chun launched an attack on Pyo-wol.
He didn’t earn the nickname Phantom Demon Sword for nothing.
The nickname was given for his uncanny ability to swoop down like an owl capturing its prey in the night sky.
His Phantom Demon Sword approached Pyo-wol’s neck in an instant.
Seogeuk!
A slashing sound echoed in the darkness.
Jang Sa-chun’s blade had sliced through Pyo-wol’s throat.
“Hehe! How splendid!”
Kwak Nosaeng clapped and laughed upon seeing the spectacle.
To his eyes, it looked like Pyo-wol’s neck had been slit. However, the expression on Jang Sa-chun’s face, who had drawn his blade on Pyo-wol’s neck, was grim.
‘There’s no feeling in my hand.’
There was no doubt that his blade was sharp.
It was so sharp that it could cut through rocks as if it were radish if he infused his internal energy, but still, it couldn’t cut flesh without feeling absolutely no resistance.
Jang Sa-chun instinctively felt that something was wrong.
At that moment, Pyo-wol’s figure, whose neck he had been trying to slice, vanished without a trace.
‘An illusion? Damn it!’
Jang Sa-chun instinctively unfolded a life-saving technique to protect himself.
Ting!
A faint sound erupted the moment something collided with his blade.
The sound was as small as a tiny pebble hitting something, but the impact was beyond imagination.
“Keuk!”
Jang Sa-chun let out a low groan as he was pushed back, his hand gripping the sword throbbing with pain.
“What?”
Jang Sa-chun’s pupils quivered.
He instinctively blocked his opponent’s attack, but he couldn’t tell what had attacked him.
It was then.
Siit!
Another faint sound echoed.
Jang Sa-chun once again stepped back, unfolding his life-preserving technique.
Thud!
Although he had set up an ironclad defense, something still managed to penetrate through his thigh.
“Keugh!”
The searing pain caused Jang Sa-chun to let out an involuntary groan.
He focused his inner energy on his eyes and stared at the object that pierced his thigh.
‘A thread?’
The thread was so fine that he wouldn’t have been able to see it had he not channeled qi to his eyes.
At that moment, an unbelievable event occurred.
The thread that had pierced his thigh disappeared without a trace.
Only then did he realize that the thread that pierced his thigh was not an actual thread, but rather a thread created by the aggregation of qi.
While there are many martial artists in the world, there is only one person who uses qi thread as a weapon.
Jang Sa-chun let out a sound that was close to a scream,
“Reaper, you’re the Reaper!”
LUNACAVE
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