Chapter 204
Inside Inparang’s bundle were two books.
One was a secret manual documenting the family’s martial arts heritage of the Haenam clan and the Haenamsa sect. The other was a journal Inparang had kept over the years.
Sun Woojin and his companions buried Inparang and then began reading through the journal.
It detailed the disappearance of In Gyeun, the previous head of the Haenam clan, and the events that followed.
The journal’s first entry read:
— My father has finally passed away.
Before he took his last breath, I promised him I would have my revenge.
Yes. I must take revenge.
Against all who attacked us.
Against the Haenam Jin family and every clan allied with them.
But honestly, I’m terrified.
Only four of us survived.
I’m only fifteen years old…
Can we really take revenge on all of them?
Is that even possible?
I’m so scared. —
After skimming the journal, Sun Woojin sighed.
“So it’s true. The disappearance of In Gyeun and the others from the Haenam clan was caused by an attack from Jin Tae-do of the Haenam Ma Sword sect. It was the Haenam Jin family and the other Haenam factions loyal to Jin Tae-do who launched the assault.”
Jungchil asked, “But if some survived, why didn’t Inparang just return to the Haenam faction? Why didn’t he go back?”
Seolpoong’s expression darkened as he answered, “I think it was because they couldn’t tell friend from foe. So many clans were involved in the attack that no one knew who was on their side or who to trust. Maybe they even thought the entire Haenam faction was the enemy.”
Sun Woojin glanced at Seolpoong, sensing a deep empathy in his expression toward Inparang’s plight.
Perhaps Seolpoong had faced a similar situation himself.
He added, “According to the journal, In Gyeun and his closest allies from the Haenamsa sect were secretly traveling to meet with the Hyeongsan faction. They were seeking a secret alliance and support. But Jin Tae-do somehow found out about their movement, even though they hadn’t told anyone in their own clan. So naturally, they couldn’t trust anyone.”
Jungchil sighed sadly. “So after nearly ten years hiding and sharpening his blade for revenge, the moment he steps out into the world, he’s killed right away? That’s a cruel fate.”
It was true.
Inparang had spent years training in the mountains, finally reaching the pinnacle of his skill.
He thought he could finally take his revenge, but his first step back into the world became his last.
It was heartbreaking.
Seolpoong suddenly spoke up.
“Back when In Gyeun was clan head, he was also on his way to meet the Hyeongsan faction. Now it seems Inparang met the same fate while trying to seek their help. That means…”
Sun Woojin nodded.
“Yes. It’s almost certain now.”
Though Inparang couldn’t trust the Haenam faction, he still believed in the Hyeongsan faction, hoping to borrow their strength.
So as soon as he reemerged, he sent a letter asking for help, and after receiving a willing response, he was on his way to meet them.
But the result was the same as his father’s—an ambush.
There was no doubt now: behind it all were not only the Haenam faction but the Hyeongsan faction as well.
The three fell into a heavy silence, unsure what to do next.
Jungchil finally spoke.
“Strictly speaking, we have no reason to get involved in this. It’s tragic that Inparang died, but we have no ties to the Haenam faction.”
He had a point.
They weren’t obligated to intervene, and even if they wanted to clear Inparang’s name, the enemy was formidable.
The Hyeongsan and Haenam factions were powerful forces—one a member of the Nine Great Gate factions, the other nearly so.
No matter how skilled the three of them were, opposing such forces would be reckless.
It might be as dangerous as charging headfirst into the Blood Sect in Yunnan Province.
Seolpoong’s face grew serious.
“Of course, we have no obligation to interfere. But I don’t like the idea of walking away from this. Regardless of Inparang’s grievances, I can’t stand by while these people massacre innocent civilians for their own goals.”
“Hmm.”
Jungchil grunted in agreement.
It was true.
No matter how powerful these factions were, ignoring such atrocities was unthinkable.
These so-called righteous sects were thriving while coldly slaughtering ordinary people.
After a moment, Seolpoong and Jungchil looked to Sun Woojin.
Their opinions conflicted, and since Sun Woojin had been leading the group, his decision was crucial.
Sun Woojin bowed his head, deep in thought.
But beneath his calm exterior, he had nearly made up his mind.
Though it wasn’t his fight, someone dear to him had ties to Inparang.
In his mind, Mukrang spoke.
— The last child of the Haenam clan… Though our past connection ended with my death, it still weighs on me. Jin, I know this is difficult, but may I ask a favor? I want to see this child’s revenge fulfilled.
Mukrang had saved Sun Woojin’s life countless times and was more a mentor than even the legendary Gwanghyup Geomgoe.
He was also a close friend who shared everything with him.
If Mukrang wished for Inparang’s revenge, Sun Woojin would see it through.
There was no other choice.
So rather than debating whether to get involved, Sun Woojin began considering how to avenge Inparang.
Then, with a sly smile, he looked at Seolpoong and Jungchil.
“Taking revenge on them directly might be impossible for us. But I can’t just ignore this either. Actually, I have an interesting plan. Want to hear it?”
Seolpoong and Jungchil’s eyes widened as they focused on him.
“An interesting plan?”
“You say we can hit them back? Tell us.”
Jungchil was drawn by the promise of fun, and Seolpoong by the chance to strike back.
Sun Woojin smiled mischievously and asked, “Remember how they mistook me for Inparang earlier?”
Both nodded, a bit dazed.
“Yeah, they did. So what?”
“Well, we look remarkably alike. So why not give them exactly what they saw? I’ll become the real Inparang.”
Seolpoong and Jungchil’s faces twisted in disbelief.
“What?”
“Jin, you’re saying you’ll become Inparang?”
Though they looked shocked, as Sun Woojin explained further, their expressions slowly shifted to match his mischievous grin.
Under the cover of night, a large group moved stealthily near the jungle where the Yunnan Province’s Bilong Thirteen Sect was located.
There were over three hundred of them.
They quietly split into three groups and began encircling the Bilong Thirteen Sect.
Not a sound was made.
Among the three hundred, not a single one was below the intermediate first-rank level.
All were elite warriors—members of the Black Tiger, Black Dragon, and Black Wolf squads.
These were Je Gal Ji-gang’s hunting dogs.
They had come all this way to hunt down the mere sixty members of the Bilong Thirteen Sect.
At the rear, the Black Tiger squad leader, Won Dang, suddenly stopped and raised a hand.
Swish!
Instantly, the entire Black Tiger squad halted in perfect unison.
Their coordinated movement was astonishing for a group of over a hundred.
Truly the elite force of the Martial Alliance.
Today, Won Dang and the Black Tiger squad’s role was to sweep through the Bilong Sect’s interior.
Meanwhile, the Black Dragon and Black Wolf squads, positioned on the opposite side, would ambush any fleeing enemies.
The encirclement was nearly complete.
After some time, a wolf’s howl echoed from the distant forest.
“Awooooo!”
It sounded just like a real wolf.
But Won Dang recognized it as the Black Wolf squad’s signal.
Then another sound came from a different direction.
“Buuuuuu!”
That was the Black Dragon squad’s signal.
The encirclement was now complete.
Won Dang smiled coldly.
The time to spill blood had finally come.
The long-awaited hour of slaughter.
Before becoming Black Tiger leader, Won Dang had been a squad captain in the Shadow Squad.
He was a bloodthirsty man—so addicted to killing that he couldn’t sleep without it.
Being assigned to the assault team rather than the encirclement was a stroke of luck for him.
“Here we go!”
Wondang swallowed the saliva that kept dripping from his lips, then suddenly raised his right hand high.
At once, every member of the Black Tiger Squad tensed up.
They looked like wild beasts about to leap out from the underbrush.
And when Wondang finally slammed his right hand forward with a sharp motion, the entire Black Tiger Squad sprang forward silently.
Crack! Crackle!
It was as if a pack of black tigers had launched a stealthy attack.
The eerie silence only made the assault feel more savage. Leading the charge was Wondang himself, the Black Tiger Commander, grinning brightly as he charged toward the barracks of the Flying Dragon Thirteen.
Swish!
Then—
Wondang’s eyes caught sight of a lone shadow standing just outside the barracks.
The figure stood frozen, seemingly unable to react to the sudden attack.
With a face full of exhilaration, Wondang zeroed in on the target and lunged.
“You’re mine!”
He wouldn’t let anyone else claim his first prey.
His gleaming white blade shot forward like a ray of light.
Shiiiiiing!
But just as Wondang’s sword came down—
The doll-like figure’s eyes finally met his.
To Wondang’s surprise, it was an old man with white hair.
“Hm?”
Of course, the fact that he was old wasn’t what caught Wondang’s attention.
He didn’t discriminate when it came to slaughter—young or old, male or female.
What unsettled him was the calm, composed gaze in the old man’s eyes, and the faint smile that played on his lips, even as the blade came down.
Then, just as the sword was about to strike—
A sudden thought flashed through Wondang’s mind.
“Hm? Now that I think about it, there aren’t any old men in the Flying Dragon Thirteen…!”
And then—
Shwaaak!
In an instant, Wondang’s body was split in two.
With a single step forward and a smooth swing of his sword, the old man cut Wondang down as if Wondang had run right into the blade himself.
“!”
“!”
The Black Tiger warriors chasing behind were stunned.
Their commander, a master with over eighty years of internal energy cultivation, had been killed with a single strike.
And the old man who had slain him didn’t stop—he danced forward, swinging his sword gracefully as he charged at them.
Shwaaak!
Pfuah!
“!”
“!”
In moments, the area within about twenty feet around the old man was drenched in blood.
The Black Tiger warriors couldn’t comprehend what was happening.
Even as they died, they didn’t scream.
But that didn’t mean they weren’t terrified.
Shwaaak!
Pfuah!
It was an incomprehensible sight.
The old man moved his sword with the fluidity of a dance, yet the result was a blood-soaked hellscape around him.
As is often the case with the unfathomable, this scene filled the Black Tiger warriors with an indescribable dread.
Though the blood everywhere made it hard to see clearly, the truth was that the old man’s sword was scattering long, white sword energies in a massive circle about twenty feet in diameter, turning the space into a sea of blood.
Shwaaak!
Pfuah!
That circle looked like a space that devoured people.
It didn’t stay still either—it moved toward the remaining living Black Tiger warriors.
Before they could react, the advancing circle swallowed them whole.
Though it didn’t seem fast to the eye, the blood circle relentlessly pursued and consumed them, and within just a few breaths, half of the Black Tiger Squad had become lost souls.
“Ughhh!”
“Ghhrrk!”
Shwaaak!
Pfuah!
What was happening looked less like the work of a single person and more like a massive natural disaster, a calamity.
There was no way to fight back, no will left to resist.
Finally, one Black Tiger warrior, unable to bear the fear any longer, shouted out.
“R-Run!”
Fear spread like wildfire.
The Black Tiger warriors could no longer hold their ground; they screamed and scattered in all directions, fleeing for their lives.
“P-Please spare me!”
“It’s a monster!”
Faced with this unprecedented, awe-inspiring martial prowess, all they could do was run as fast as they could.
But the white-haired old man—Baekhak Nokgeom Yang Munheon—had no intention of letting any of them escape.
With a solemn expression, he muttered,
“I had hoped that child’s prediction would be wrong.”
Before leaving, Sun Woojin had already anticipated this situation.
That Je Gal Ji-gang might try to wipe out the entire Flying Dragon Thirteen.
But Yang Munheon had hoped that at least this prediction would prove false.
He never wanted to witness the martial alliance’s warriors attacking the Flying Dragon Thirteen.
Yet, Sun Woojin’s prediction had come true, and so Yang Munheon had no choice but to open the killing intent.
He could never let those who committed such acts live.
Yang Munheon’s new form scattered sword energies as he pursued the fleeing warriors.
The glowing sword energies filled a radius of twenty feet, and the Black Tiger warriors had no chance to resist—they were swallowed whole.
Shu-hak!
“Gahk!”
“P-Please… spare me… agh!”
Originally one of the Thirty-Six Heavenly Stars, Baekhak Nokgeom Yang Munheon had recently broken through a long stagnation and begun advancing to the next level.
Thanks to the Moonlight Sword Dance he learned from his granddaughter-in-law, Dang Yeoeun, he had the potential to surpass the internal energy wall of the second rank, the Fire Realm.
Moreover, having recently started learning new techniques from his son-in-law, Je Un Swordmaster Byeok Rijung, Yang Munheon’s speed had improved to the point where he could easily catch up to first-rate martial artists.
This was unfortunate news for the Black Tiger warriors.
Of course, some among them were skilled in new techniques.
They managed to dive into the forest before being swallowed by Yang Munheon’s sword energies, finally letting out a sigh of relief.
“Haah! I’m alive…!”
But even in the forest, people were waiting for them.
Shu-haak!
“Ugh?! Gahk!”
“Ughhh!”
Han Gyoseong, the Blue Wind Sword Dragon and First Lieutenant of the Flying Dragon Thirteen, cut down the Black Tiger warriors who had fled into the forest, speaking in a languid voice.
“You’ve improved a lot, Miss Dang.”
Dang Yeoeun, who was killing the warriors with just the necessary amount of sword energy without moving much, replied coldly,
“I’ve worked hard. And…”
She swallowed the rest of her words.
There was no need to tell Han Gyoseong that she had to become much stronger to stay by Sun Woojin’s side.
Han Gyoseong sighed inwardly.
Not long ago, he had thought Dang Yeoeun was clearly beneath him, but now she had risen to a place he could no longer reach.
He hadn’t been idle himself, but it was clear he needed to push harder.
As Han Gyoseong and Dang Yeoeun dealt with the fleeing warriors, Yang Munheon pursued from behind, finishing off the rest.
Soon after, the Black Tiger Squad was completely annihilated.
This all happened barely half an hour after the Black Tiger Squad had confidently charged the Flying Dragon Thirteen.
Dang Yeoeun, spotless and unmarked by a single drop of blood, smiled calmly at the equally serene Yang Munheon and asked,
“Grandfather, aren’t you tired?”
Yang Munheon chuckled softly.
“This is nothing. And even if I were tired, what choice do I have? We still have to deal with the others.”
At the main gate of the Flying Dragon Thirteen, Yang Munheon’s son-in-law, Je Un Swordmaster Byeok Rijung, along with the Thirteen Captains—Pungyang and Jeomchang Sword Tiger Je Won-young—stood ready, anticipating an attack from the other side.
All of this had been planned in advance thanks to Sun Woojin’s warning about Je Gal Ji-gang’s assault.
It was also thanks to Yang Munheon’s keen senses—he was one of the Thirty-Six Heavenly Stars and now constantly activated the Moonlight Sword Dance’s Flying Moon technique.
Rubbing his white beard, Yang Munheon said,
“Since they didn’t move while our side was being wiped out, it seems the others were just meant to hold the perimeter.”
Dang Yeoeun smiled faintly in reply.
“Then we should go ahead and take care of them.”
Watching the gentle exchange between the two, as if on a leisurely stroll, Han Gyoseong couldn’t help but swallow hard.
He felt a strange pity for those who were about to face this pair—two forces of nature so overwhelming they seemed like a natural disaster.