Chapter 113
Yeollak Ruju smiled as if completely at ease and said to me,
“Haha, Master Sunwoo, the Hao Sect’s branch in Sichuan would never…”
But I cut him off immediately.
With the fierce spirit of a supreme martial artist, I spoke firmly,
“You’d better stand by those words. I doubt Hao Sect will get a second chance. I had hoped you understood that, but it seems people don’t realize reality until they pay the price.”
Without hesitation, I turned to Dang Sojeo and said,
“Let’s go.”
Of course, it was a threat—but not a complete lie.
The Hao Sect was useful, but if they couldn’t be trusted, it was better to have no one at all.
If Ruju didn’t reveal what he was hiding before we left, I was ready to contact Brother Hwa and have the Hao Sect dealt with immediately.
As expected, there was a reaction.
He urgently called out to me,
“W-wait! Please wait a moment, Master Sunwoo!”
I stopped and turned to him with a cold glare.
Sweat was pouring down his face as he pleaded,
“I-I never meant to hide anything. It’s just that we don’t have precise information, so we couldn’t speak freely!”
Of course.
The bait had been taken.
But on the surface, I just laughed as if his excuse was ridiculous, then replied coldly,
“Oh, I see. That was a very convincing excuse. Well then, until next time. Though I don’t know where we’ll meet.”
He squeezed his eyes shut, and when he opened them again, exhaustion showed on his face as he finally spoke with difficulty,
“I will tell you. The branches in Guizhou… they’re acting strangely.”
I stared at him silently, signaling him to continue.
He resumed with a resigned expression,
“Master Sunwoo, I don’t know how much you already know, but we’re not exactly sure which Guizhou branch is cooperating with the Blood Sect. Communication has been poor lately. However…”
I clenched my teeth without realizing it.
The Hao Sect in Guizhou was collaborating with the Blood Sect?
That was shocking news.
Suddenly, the Yun family from before—the ones who nearly killed the Demon Daoist Manjongim—flashed through my mind.
And my own family, the Sunwoo clan.
I cut him off coldly,
“What are the chances it’s all the branches in Guizhou?”
He hesitated, then sighed deeply and answered,
“…It’s not impossible.”
I exhaled deeply inside.
I had hoped that after dismantling the Justice Alliance, this time we’d completely block the Blood Sect’s advance. But it seemed I had been too hasty.
If the entire Hao Sect in Guizhou was compromised, the situation there could be even worse than in Sichuan.
Perhaps even my father’s Sunwoo clan was already…
At that moment, Yeollak Ruju shouted urgently,
“B-but! The chances are still much lower! Please don’t jump to conclusions…!”
I looked at him coldly.
He was probably worried about the Hao Sect in Guizhou being wiped out.
He must be as concerned about this situation as I am.
If that’s the case…
I spoke firmly and coldly,
“If there’s no accurate information, we have no choice but to annihilate the entire Hao Sect in Guizhou.”
His face turned pale as if sentenced to death.
“W-what?!”
He looked like he might collapse in despair.
After watching him for a moment, I offered a lifeline,
“But if you bring us accurate information, things might be different.”
He suddenly lifted his head and asked quickly,
“…What do you mean?”
I eased off the pressure and said seriously,
“You must bring precise intelligence from the Hao Sect. To prevent what you fear, Ruju.”
He stiffened for a moment, swallowed hard, then nodded tensely,
“Understood. I will do my best. I will find out the situation in Guizhou.”
His eyes shone with firm resolve.
With that look, I thought he might be worth trusting at least once.
I smiled faintly and added,
“Also, please relay this conversation immediately to Brother Hwa Youngbin. With Hao Sect’s abilities, it should reach him within two days. But it must be accurate.”
“…Leave it to me. I will report everything as it is.”
There was a chance he might manipulate the information, but knowing that Brother Hwa and I could meet anytime, I doubted he’d try such a cheap trick.
By now, he must realize the Hao Sect branch in Sichuan wasn’t completely safe either.
With that conversation over, we stepped outside Yeollak Ruju’s place.
Dang Sojeo exhaled deeply as if releasing pent-up tension,
“Phew, that was nerve-wracking.”
She looked at me with sparkling eyes and said,
“I don’t know much, but did you just make a deal with the Hao Sect to get information on the Blood Sect forces in Guizhou?”
I chuckled and replied,
“It wasn’t a deal. It was a threat. If they don’t bring us solid intel, we’ll wipe them out.”
She shook her head in admiration,
“That was amazing. You were so cool.”
Cough.
Cool?
Her words pricked my heart.
After all, it wasn’t me who could wipe out the Hao Sect—it was Brother Hwa’s power.
I was just playing bodyguard, yet she called me cool. It was embarrassing.
Still, Dang Sojeo looked at me with eyes full of admiration.
That gaze wasn’t unpleasant.
In fact, it was a little heartwarming.
Clearing my throat, I changed the subject,
“Hmm, anyway, Dang Sojeo, are you ready to move?”
She looked puzzled,
“Move? Where to?”
I smiled and handed her the Infinity Mask,
“Isn’t it time we head to the Thousand Rivers Assembly? As someone other than Sunwoo Jin and Dang Yeoeun, that is.”
She took the mask and smiled brightly,
“Yes, let’s do it!”
Finally, it was time to rescue Domunseung and uncover the secret of the Ascending Swordmaster, Mak Woojeon.
In Deokchang, slightly northwest of Yeongnam—the southernmost part of Sichuan—stood the main hall of the Thousand Rivers Assembly, the center of southern Sichuan’s martial sects.
As the sun dipped low in the evening sky, the gate guards of the Thousand Rivers Assembly chatted comfortably, relieved that the day had passed without incident.
“Shall we grab a drink after duty?”
“Sounds good. Where to?”
“How about that place near Guho?”
At that moment, with the setting sun behind them, two figures—a man dressed entirely in blue and a woman clad in red—walked steadily toward the assembly. Even the tassels on their sheathed swords matched their clothing colors.
Something felt off.
The gate captain quickly ordered his men,
“Stop! Stay alert!”
The guards noticed the approaching pair and tensed, focusing their gaze on them.
Step by step, the two approached the main gate at a steady pace.
The guards soon noticed their faces were deathly pale, devoid of any color.
Dressed in vivid red and blue with ghostly pale faces, they were undoubtedly the infamous martial arts monsters spoken of in legends.
The captain hurriedly sent one man inside to report, then called out in a tense voice,
“Stop! This is the Thousand Rivers Assembly! State your business!”
The man and woman exchanged glances, then burst into eerie laughter,
“Ki ha ha ha ha ha!”
“Oh ho ho ho ho ho!”
Their laughter was chilling, like the cackling of ghosts.
The guards covered their ears, staggering under the overwhelming sound.
“Ugh!”
“Gah! What is this?!”
It wasn’t just that the laughter was unpleasant—it carried immense internal energy.
Energy so powerful the guards couldn’t measure or withstand it.
Suddenly, the laughter stopped simultaneously.
The man in blue spoke in a sharp, strange voice that made it impossible to guess his age,
“We are the Azure-Scarlet Twin Swords! Is the greatest villain in Sichuan, Mak Woojeon, here?”
The captain gritted his teeth and shouted,
“How dare you slander our leader as Sichuan’s greatest villain! Our leader is the greatest hero in Sichuan!”
The man scoffed, his voice still sharp,
“Pitiful fools. You have eyes but cannot see! I have no desire to kill the likes of you! Step aside without further words!”
But the captain was a man of spirit.
If he were going to back down at mere words, he wouldn’t have drawn his sword.
Clenching his teeth, he shouted to his men,
“Draw your swords! We defend this gate with our lives!”
Inspired by his courage, the guards drew their blades and responded,
“Yes, Captain!”
Clang! Clang!
Just as they charged toward the man and woman,
Swish!
In the blink of an eye, the two strangers had closed the distance, standing right before the eyes of the Sumo warriors.
“!”
At the same instant, countless strikes rained down upon them.
Brrrkkk!
“Gyaaah!”
“Uwaaah!”
“Guhhh!”
There wasn’t even time to react.
The Sumo warriors, struck by the two strangers’ powerful blows, were flung outward in all directions almost simultaneously.
Bang! Crash! Thud!
Like thrown stones, they collided with the main gate and walls before collapsing to the ground, writhing and groaning like wounded insects.
“Ugh!”
“Ughh…”
Surprisingly, none seemed to have died.
But none could move either.
The two strangers paid no mind to the writhing warriors on the ground.
Like ghosts, they glided silently toward the main gate and pressed their palms against it simultaneously.
The next moment, the main gate exploded outward with a thunderous roar.
KRAAAASH!
The first master the Sumo warrior encountered upon entering to report was Cha Hojung, the fierce swordmaster training in the courtyard just behind the main gate.
In his thirties and at the cusp of mastery, Cha Hojung was one of only eight peak-level experts in the entire Sumo faction, and the leader of the elite Mengung Corps—the strongest fighting unit within the Sumo.
The Sumo warrior’s face brightened upon seeing him training alongside the fifty Mengung warriors.
If anyone could handle a pair of strange freaks, it was Cha Hojung—considered the future of the Sumo alongside the faction leader’s son, Mak Seryeol.
Urgently, the Sumo warrior shouted to him.
“Master! Strange individuals are approaching!”
Cha Hojung looked at him with a haughty glare, silently urging him to continue.
“They’re a strangely looking man and woman! They…”
Before he could finish, chilling laughter echoed from the direction of the main gate.
“Ki ha ha ha ha ha!”
“Oh ho ho ho ho ho!”
At the mention of only two attackers, Cha Hojung’s expression hardened sharply.
The laughter carried a formidable internal energy.
Without hesitation, Cha Hojung ordered his Mengung warriors.
“Stop training! Prepare for battle, all of you!”
Sweat pouring down their faces, the Mengung warriors immediately ceased their exercises and responded in unison.
“Yes, Master!”
“Yes, Master!”
“Yes, Master!”
Without further orders, they formed a wedge formation around Cha Hojung.
Their synchronized response and flawless movements marked them as elite warriors unmatched anywhere in the martial world.
Then, with a tremendous crash, the main gate burst open.
KRAAAASH!
Though sudden, Cha Hojung remained composed.
He drew his greatsword and shouted.
“Draw swords!”
The fifty Mengung warriors drew their blades as one, shouting their battle cries.
“Hyaaah!”
Clang!
Beyond the shattered gate, two strange figures strode forward—one clad in blue, the other in red, both pale-faced and eerie.
They stopped upon seeing Cha Hojung and the Mengung warriors.
The man in blue spoke first.
“The Azure-Scarlet Twin Blades have arrived! Where is Mak Woojeon, the greatest villain of Sacho?!”
His voice was sharp and hard to place in age.
Cha Hojung frowned briefly, then shouted back with a booming voice.
“Azure-Scarlet Twin Blades?! The greatest villain?! How dare some unheard-of scum from the heretical sect utter the name of our faction leader?!”
The two strangers burst into laughter again, simultaneously.
“Ki ha ha ha ha ha!”
“Oh ho ho ho ho ho!”
Their laughter was like a ghostly dirge, chilling and resonant.
As the laughter filled the space, the Mengung warriors grimaced and groaned.
“Ugh?!”
“Damn it!”
Even Cha Hojung, a peak master, couldn’t help but frown.
The internal energy woven into their laughter was powerful, and the way the two voices resonated seemed to shake their very souls.
‘Are they using sound-based internal energy techniques?!’
Thinking this, Cha Hojung wasted no time.
“Attack, Mengung Corps! All of you, strike!”
The groaning warriors roared in response and charged forward.
“Hyaaah!”
There was not a hint of hesitation in their assault.
Their overwhelming training made their actions instinctive.
Fifty Mengung warriors charging two opponents looked like a pack of wolves hunting a rabbit—unstoppable and fierce.
Watching this, Cha Hojung smiled coldly.
Even if those two were stronger than him, they couldn’t withstand the combined assault of fifty.
But then his eyes widened in shock.
“No way…!”
The first to move was the woman in red.
Like a ghost, she dodged the sword of the leading Mengung warrior and plunged a blade into his chest.
Pew!
“Ugh!”
That much was believable.
She was clearly a master, and she had taken down only one warrior.
What happened next was astonishing.
The woman who had stepped forward immediately circled back, holding tightly to the hand of the man in blue.
They switched places.
The man stepped forward into the hail of three swords.
Shu-shaak!
Holding the woman’s hand, the man seemed oblivious to the incoming blades.
He simply spun his leg like a whirlwind.
What happened next was incredible.
Chak-chak-chang! Brrkk!
His spinning leg deflected the swords and warriors alike.
It was as if he struck an iron mace made of steel.
All the swords shattered.
“Ugh!”
“Gyaaah!”
“Guhhh!”
Three Mengung warriors were blasted backward like cannonballs.
This caused chaos among the warriors charging behind.
They couldn’t risk striking their flying comrades, and the formation cracked.
Seizing the moment, the woman in red switched places again and spun forward like a whirlwind, stomping toward the faltering warriors.
Bababababap!
“Ugh!”
“Gyaaah!”
“Guhhh!”
The warriors struck by her kicks were sent flying backward once more.
At the same time, the man in blue spun forward again.
Brrrkkk!
It was like watching a Taiji dance.
The man in blue and the woman in red spun together, holding one hand each.
Their unprecedented whirlwind assault tore through the formation of fifty Mengung warriors, shattering it completely.
Cha Hojung’s heart raced.
He couldn’t let this continue.
At this rate, total annihilation was imminent.
He quickly enveloped his sword in a yellow aura and charged.
“Hyaaah!”
His fierce greatsword—the source of his nickname, the Mengung Swordmaster—was aimed at the joined hands of the two enemies.
If he could break their grip, he could shatter their combined attack.
But before his blade could reach them, the two suddenly released their hands.
“Huh?!”
Startled by their ease, Cha Hojung saw the man in blue flying toward him at lightning speed, accelerated by their earlier whirlwind.
Though caught off guard, the peak warrior didn’t panic.
He simply redirected his sword tip and thrust at the incoming man.
Pew!
His greatsword pierced the man’s chest.
Or so he thought.
If the man hadn’t moved as lightly as a petal in the wind, smoothly deflecting the blade, Cha Hojung’s eyes would not have widened in horror.
“What?!”
The next moment, Cha Hojung felt a heavy blow strike his jaw.
Thud!
His consciousness immediately faded.
It was a devastating uppercut from the man.
In that instant, the Mengung Corps—the premier strike force of the Sacho faction in southern Sichuan—was shattered by just two opponents.