Chapter 221

The first to charge at the enemy was Jin Gongmu, the head of the Jin family.

With the force of a raging bull, Jin Gongmu surged forward. Before reaching the warriors of Baekgyo faction, he leapt high into the air and slammed his iron staff down with tremendous power.

The technique was called the Eighteen Whirlwinds of the Mad Horse—twelve strikes in total.

A fierce assault.

Whoooosh! Kraaang!

An explosive roar shattered the air.

The moment the iron staff struck the ground, the earth itself buckled and rose, rippling outward like a giant fan-shaped tidal wave.

Seven Baekgyo warriors caught in the wave were torn apart instantly.

“Arrgh!”

“Ughhh!”

The Baekgyo vanguard was shattered in an instant.

But Jin Gongmu didn’t stop there.

Using the momentum of his strike, he sprang up from his crouch and spun his body around.

The iron staff, embedded in the ground, whipped horizontally, scattering dust and gravel like a cyclone.

The force was so intense the staff seemed to bend like bamboo.

Whoooosh!

“!”

“Ugh!”

“Argh!”

The iron staff struck three Baekgyo warriors who had been rushing up from behind the fallen.

Their faces pale, they desperately raised their swords to block the blow.

But it was useless.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The iron staff shattered their swords like glass.

And the warriors holding those swords were broken just as thoroughly.

Crack!

“Gahk!”

“Ughhh!”

“Arrgh!”

The strike was so powerful it didn’t just push them back—it crushed their bodies on the spot, folding them into unnatural angles.

Their guts spilled from their mouths, and their eyes bulged out, a brutal testament to the force of the blow.

“Impossible!”

“Ugh!”

The Baekgyo warriors who had charged forward with confidence froze in shock at the horrific scene.

One single martial artist had broken the entire momentum of the Baekgyo faction.

Jin Gongmu, the Mad Horse of the Jin family, was showing exactly why he was feared by that name.

Like a wild stallion gone mad, he was tearing through the Baekgyo warriors.

His fury and power were enough to convince anyone he was a supreme master.

And Jin Gongmu wasn’t the only one from the Jin family.

While he demolished the Baekgyo vanguard, other elite Jin warriors followed behind, crashing into the Baekgyo ranks.

“How dare you challenge the Jin family!”

“I’ll grind you to dust!”

“Hah!”

Whoosh!

“Arrgh!”

“Ughhh!”

These were the Jin elders, the Seven Masters of the Jin family, all supreme experts who had mastered the secret technique known as the Thirty-Six Whirlwinds of the Old Tiger.

Each had over seventy years of internal energy cultivation.

Before their iron staffs, the Baekgyo warriors fell like leaves in a storm.

It didn’t take long for the Baekgyo fighters, who had started with such confidence, to fall into disarray.

If this continued for another half hour, total annihilation seemed inevitable.

“Hmph.”

Yun Sak, the Blood Sea Demon of the Southern Sea’s Three Demons, watched the carnage from his ship with a faint, grim smile.

Despite his subordinates being slaughtered, a trace of pleasure flickered on his lips.

His closest aides, seeing this, looked uneasy.

One finally spoke cautiously.

“Master, if this continues, our men will—”

Before he could finish, Yun Sak suddenly leapt from the ship without a word.

Swish!

The Blood Sea Demon, one of the Southern Sea’s Three Demons, had finally made his move.

He lightly touched the rolling waves twice, then soared straight toward the Baekgyo warriors who were being slaughtered—the place where two of the Jin Seven Masters, Cho Chaeon and Son Andang, stood.

“Die!”

Crack!

“Get lost!”

Smack!

“Arrgh!”

“Ahhh!”

Cho Chaeon and Son Andang were ranked second and third among the Jin Seven Masters, each with over eighty years of internal energy.

They were skilled enough to slaughter enemies while remaining alert.

Their eyes caught sight of Yun Sak flying toward them.

“Brother Son! Enemy incoming! Looks like a master!”

“Hmph! No matter how skilled, it’s foolish to leap into battle like that!”

Simultaneously, Cho Chaeon and Son Andang thrust their iron staffs at Yun Sak as he descended.

“Take this!”

“Hah!”

Thwack!

Their staffs shot toward Yun Sak like cannonballs.

Since he was airborne, he couldn’t dodge their strikes, and their staffs were longer than his short sword at his waist, giving them the advantage.

Then—

With a faint, sinister smile, Yun Sak’s hand suddenly grasped the hilt of his short sword.

In that instant, a brilliant line of light sliced through the air.

Shhhhk!

It felt as if the world itself had been split horizontally, slightly misaligned.

Like a river carved by a master swordsman, the line divided everything.

Those caught on the line—Cho Chaeon, Son Andang, and the Baekgyo warriors fighting them—were all affected.

The two masters flying through the air were naturally split in two.

Blood gushed from their severed bodies.

Whoosh!

“?!”

“Gahk!”

They could see their own bodies being cleaved apart with their own eyes.

Their breaths stopped immediately after, their faces frozen in shock as they died.

The Baekgyo warriors on the ground were a beat slower.

They stared blankly as Cho Chaeon and Son Andang’s bodies split, then noticed red lines tracing across their own bodies.

Blood sprayed like fountains as they screamed and died.

Whoooosh!

“Arrgh!”

“Ma-Master…?!”

“Why us too…!”

Jin Gongmu and the other five Jin Seven Masters witnessed the horrific scene.

It was a devastating blow.

They immediately realized that the ‘draw’ technique Yun Sak had just displayed was a realm beyond their reach.

Especially Jin Gongmu, who had struggled for a long time against the wall of supreme mastery, could feel just how profound that technique was.

“Impossible…”

It was clearly a realm beyond even the highest peak he had sought.

Now, with a cold smile, the Blood Sea Demon Yun Sak fixed his gaze on Jin Gongmu.

It was clear who his target was.

Crack!

He began charging toward Jin Gongmu.

At that moment, Jin Gongmu felt like a mouse facing a snake.

His body froze under the overwhelming presence of the master focused on him.

Two of the Jin Seven Masters nearby—Gwa Joodong and Jo Mok—hurriedly leapt toward Yun Sak to block his advance.

“Stop!”

“You bastard!”

Whoosh!

Their iron staffs swung at Yun Sak with the force to crush boulders.

But Yun Sak’s eyes never left Jin Gongmu.

Ting!

Without even looking, Yun Sak’s sword lightly deflected Gwa Joodong’s staff and sliced through his chest.

Shhhhk!

Blood sprayed as Gwa Joodong’s chest split open a moment too late.

The staff Jo Mok swung at Yun Sak next met the same fate.

Ting! Ssshh!

Whoosh!

The power was overwhelming.

It took only four slashes to kill two of the Jin family’s top masters.

Despair flickered in Jin Gongmu’s eyes as he watched.

An unbeatable master—the Grim Reaper—was closing in on him.

But he didn’t collapse.

Jin Gongmu was the head of the Jin family, known for his fierce spirit.

He refused to wait passively for death.

Gritting his teeth, he prepared to fight to the bitter end.

“Arrgh!”

With a desperate shout, he shook off his frozen body and focused all his energy to unleash his strongest technique.

The Eighteen Whirlwinds of the Mad Horse—final form.

The Mad Horse’s Roar.

“Waaah!”

Grasping the middle of his staff with his left hand, Jin Gongmu wildly swung and thrust with his right.

From his left hand, the staff seemed to multiply and explode outward in a cone-shaped storm aimed at Yun Sak.

Whoooosh!

To Yun Sak, it felt like a violent gale and torrential rainstorm crashing down all at once.

His smile deepened.

“Good.”

At the same time, his short sword multiplied into dozens of blades.

Shhh shhh shhh shhh!

Ting ting ting ting ting!

Yun Sak lightly swung his swords, deflecting the storm of strikes and wind.

Step by step, he advanced.

Like a salmon swimming upstream, he steadily dodged Jin Gongmu’s fierce assault.

Ting ting ting ting ting!

And finally, when Jin Gung-mu’s body stepped within the reach of the blade, Yoon Sak gave him a pale smile.

It was a smile that seemed to say, “That was quite entertaining.”

At the same moment, his saber’s arc was drawn.

Shhaaak!

Watching the blade slice toward him, Jin Gung-mu realized there was no way out.

His technique, already fully expended, had been completely countered—he had neither the means nor the strength left to block it.

Suddenly, his father Jin Sa-mong’s face flashed through his mind.

Words he hadn’t yet spoken to him…

“I should have told you… I actually wanted to see you.”

He squeezed his eyes shut.

“Father.”

Then, just as he braced for the end, a strange sound reached his ears.

Thud!

And someone shouted right beside him.

“You idiot! Can’t you get a grip?!”

Was it a hallucination?

Startled, Jin Gung-mu snapped his eyes open.

He couldn’t believe that, even at what he thought was his final moment, he was hearing his father’s scolding voice.

“Father?”

But as he opened his eyes, Jin Gung-mu realized it wasn’t a hallucination.

His father’s face, flushed with a healthy red unlike before, was there—swinging a wooden staff, seemingly dispelling the saber’s arc that Jin Gung-mu had thought unbeatable, as if it were an illusion.

Tat-tat-tat-tat-tang! Tang!

“…Father?”

Jin Gung-mu called out again, stunned.

He couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

The staff his father held wasn’t a steel chain or iron rod—it looked like a flimsy wooden pole, as if he’d cut it from some flagpole.

Yet that wooden staff moved with the fluidity of flowing water, yet struck with the sharpness of a raging storm, precisely deflecting the saber’s edge as if it were a beam of light.

Tat-tat-tat-tat-tang!

“Ho?”

Yoon Sak, seeing the old man with the wooden staff block his fierce assault, wore a look of grudging respect and took a step back.

The old man, Jin Sa-mong, who just moments ago had been too ill to stand, had in an instant killed four of Jin Ga-chil-su’s men and nearly slain the clan leader Jin Gung-mu himself with a single move—enough to force Yoon Sak to retreat.

Jin Gung-mu stared at his father, mouth agape in shock.

Then a thought suddenly struck him.

The legendary technique his father had just used—the one he’d only heard about in stories from their ancestors’ era.

“…Natural Staff?”

Jin Sa-mong, still keeping his eyes locked on Yoon Sak, scoffed.

“Hmph! As if this is any kind of Natural Staff! It’s just a poor imitation!”

“But Father! That staff technique just now—!”

Whether the opponent used sword or saber, the method of not clashing head-on but instead disrupting and neutralizing the flow was unmistakably the Natural Staff technique he’d only heard about in tales.

Yet thinking that made things stranger.

It was impossible for his father Jin Sa-mong to have mastered the Natural Staff.

The Natural Staff was said to require a lifetime of training in the Eight Directions Staff technique to master—and his father had already mastered the Fierce Demon Eighteen Staff and the Old Tiger Thirty-Six Staff.

How could he have learned this?

Jin Gung-mu was at a loss for words, confused.

Then his father spoke quickly.

“Didn’t I say I saw potential? The important thing wasn’t the Eight Directions Staff.”

“Huh?”

“The key was calmness! The peace of mind needed to return to nature! The calmness to unite with the staff! The problem was the Fierce Demon and Old Tiger techniques—they amplify anger! The Ultra Supreme level is the same…!”

Just then, Yoon Sak, who had stepped back, surged forward again.

Chalalalalak!

His saber now moved faster than before.

It was as if shards of sunlight had shattered and were flying toward them.

Jin Sa-mong gritted his teeth and swung his staff.

Tat-tat-tat-tat-tang!

He began furiously deflecting Yoon Sak’s saber arcs.

From the side, it looked as if a whirlwind wrapped around Jin Sa-mong’s body, scattering the flying shards of light.

The scene was similar to before, except this time Jin Sa-mong’s expression looked far more strained.

But Jin Gung-mu didn’t notice his father’s grimace.

He was too shocked by what his father had just said.

“The Eight Directions Staff isn’t what matters—it’s calmness? Anger was the problem?”

That was something he’d never considered.

The Jin family had built their reputation on the Fierce Demon Eighteen Staff and Old Tiger Thirty-Six Staff, techniques that amplified their power through anger.

That’s why the Jin warriors never backed down once enraged, and their fierce spirit—willing to die rather than retreat—was their pride.

But now, anger was the very thing holding them back.

Moreover, Jin Gung-mu somehow sensed what his father hadn’t fully said.

The Ultra Supreme level—the barrier blocking it was anger, too.

It was a shocking revelation.

But at the same time, it felt like a breath of fresh air, as if he’d finally found the answer.

Jin Gung-mu’s mind raced.

“That makes sense. Usually, amplifying emotions to boost martial power is a method used by demonic arts.”

In that regard, critics had often condemned the Jin family’s martial arts.

They said amplifying anger to exceed one’s limits was no different from demonic arts.

But the Jin warriors had always been proud.

Though their techniques amplified power through anger, unlike demonic arts, they never lost reason or fell prey to possession.

Their hallmark was self-control, preventing them from crossing the line.

“But on the flip side, that means the Jin family’s martial arts prevent emotions from reaching their extremes. Usually, those who master demonic arts either overcome or succumb to the emotional extremes—reaching Ultra Supreme or falling into possession.”

Dwoong!

Suddenly, a bell seemed to ring inside his head.

It was a clear, refreshing chime that shattered the mental walls confining his thoughts, freeing his mind.

Without realizing it, Jin Gung-mu murmured aloud.

“So that’s it. The anger that strengthened us at lower levels was what held us back at higher levels. So…”

Realizing the cause, he immediately thought of a solution.

“If anger is the problem…”

He didn’t necessarily have to master the Eight Directions Staff.

Rather, he might need to abandon the Fierce Demon Eighteen Staff and Old Tiger Thirty-Six Staff.

No, he didn’t have to abandon them entirely.

He just needed to modify the mental method that amplified anger.

Of course, he could try removing all limits on anger, pushing himself to the extreme to challenge the Ultra Supreme level.

But he couldn’t do that.

That would make him no different from practitioners of demonic arts.

“So in the end, there’s only one path for me to reach Ultra Supreme.”

He had to let go of anger.

The very anger that had been the Jin family warriors’ greatest weapon.

It wouldn’t be easy.

It might even weaken the Jin family’s strength for now.

But as this thought crossed his mind, a bright smile appeared on Jin Gung-mu’s face.

“Maybe… maybe I can try again.”

The dream of the Natural Staff he’d been forced to abandon in childhood while learning the Fierce Demon Staff under his father’s pressure…

Just that thought made his heart pound wildly for the first time in a long while.

But while Jin Gung-mu was lost in these thoughts, his father Jin Sa-mong’s battle against Yoon Sak was growing more desperate.

Shrrrrrik!

Ttit-ttit-ttit-ting!

Though Jin Sa-mong continued to swing his staff with dazzling skill, blocking Yoon Sak’s relentless saber strikes like a whirlwind scattering shards of sunlight, he was steadily being pushed backward.

“Ugh!”

Jin Sa-mong couldn’t be sure how long he could keep this up.

He might collapse at any moment.

Gritting his teeth, he reminded himself.

He was already prepared to die—if he fell here, he would have no regrets.

But he had to protect his son, the current Jin clan leader, Jin Gung-mu.

Shrrrrrik!

Ttit-ttit-ting!

Then, suddenly, Yoon Sak’s assault faltered.

Jin Sa-mong’s eyes flashed as he shouted to his son.

He didn’t know why Yoon Sak had withdrawn his saber, but he couldn’t miss this chance.

“Gung-mu! Fall back, now!”

“Y-Yes?!”

Jin Gung-mu snapped to attention at his father’s shout.

At that moment, he saw Yoon Sak’s demeanor shift dramatically.

The man who had been fighting his father suddenly sheathed his saber and crouched low, like a tiger flattening itself before pouncing on prey.

Sensing the calm before the storm, Jin Gung-mu shouted urgently.

“Father! Dodge—!”

But before he could finish, Yoon Sak drew his saber again.

Shhaaak!

Jin Gung-mu saw it clearly.

A brilliant line dividing the world into two—above and below.

On either side of that line, the world seemed to shift and distort.

The devastating strike that had taken down two of Jin Ga-chil-su’s men at once was unfolding again.

Jin Gung-mu muttered in stunned disbelief.

“…Shyeo-ya…”

Suddenly, the image of the staff and palm technique splitting into two by that strike flashed before his eyes like a vision.

He simply couldn’t believe that his own father might end up like this.

But no matter how much he wished otherwise, in the next instant, blood burst forth from Jin Sa-mong’s body without mercy.

Puhak!

“Ughhh!”

“Father!”

Jin Gong-mu called out desperately as he rushed to his father’s side.

At that, Yoon Sak let out a small, impressed exclamation.

“Oh!”

Jin Gong-mu hurried over and supported Jin Sa-mong.

“Father!”

Fortunately, Jin Sa-mong hadn’t died instantly from that devastating strike.

Perhaps it was thanks to his staff technique, reminiscent of the natural staff style, that he managed to endure it. His chest had been split open, but the wound was shallow enough to keep him alive.

Still, it was only a matter of holding on once.

A third of his wooden staff had been shattered, and the wound on his chest was far too severe for him to continue fighting.

Desperately, Jin Sa-mong pressed on his blood points to stop the bleeding and shouted to his son.

“You fool! Didn’t I tell you to fall back?!”

But Jin Gong-mu, whose fiery spirit was second only to his father’s, snapped back fiercely.

“What do you mean, fall back?! You want me to abandon you and run away like you did?!”

“Y-You brat?!”

It was then.

Yoon Sak, a faintly bitter smile playing on his lips, charged at them once more.

“Together.”

He muttered softly, as if promising to take them both down at once.

Jin Sa-mong’s face went pale as he lifted his staff—half of it already gone.

Jin Gong-mu gritted his teeth and thrust his iron staff forward.

Charararang!

Yoon Sak’s blade shattered again like fragments of sunlight scattering—light, swift, and precise.

Ting! Shak!

With just four cuts, he deflected Jin Gong-mu’s iron staff and snapped Jin Sa-mong’s wooden staff in two once more.

The father and son were left utterly stunned, their faces blank with despair.

Yoon Sak swung his blade toward them, muttering quietly.

“End.”

This was the end.

But then—

Just as Yoon Sak was about to cleave them in two, something impossible to ignore hurtled toward him.

Piiiiik!

A massive phoenix, glowing with a soft lavender light, flapped its wings and charged at him with incredible speed.

“!”

Startled by the sudden attack of the phoenix, Yoon Sak was forced to withdraw his blade before finishing off the Jin family, swinging it down to strike the bird.

Shaaaak!

Pas-s-s-suk!

The phoenix cracked under his blade’s energy and dissolved into nothingness.

But caught off guard by this strange, unprecedented event, Yoon Sak stood dazed, watching the dissipating energy like mist.

That was why—

He missed the presence of someone rushing at him from behind the phoenix, if only for a moment.

Shiiik!

“!”

By the time Yoon Sak sensed his opponent, the man was already within striking distance.

Yoon Sak’s eyes caught sight of a handsome young man, barely in his early twenties, grinning slyly.

The next moment, a massive cross-shaped blade appeared before Yoon Sak’s eyes.

Chwaaaak!

The Southern Cross Sword of Haenam.

Sunwoo Jin had arrived.