Chapter 231
Sun Woo-jin and his group were moving eastward.
Since the demon realm’s stronghold, Daenam Island, lay off the northeastern coast of Guangdong Province near Fujian Province, their plan was to first cross over to Fujian and then take a boat from there.
But their pace was far from swift.
They were traveling slowly, taking frequent breaks, showing no sense of urgency.
It almost felt as if they were hoping someone would catch up to them.
And even now, that was the case.
Sun Woo-jin was sparring with Jin So-eun, offering her advice on the areas she needed to improve.
Whoosh!
Thud-thud-thwack!
“Jin So-jeo, your natural staff technique excels far more in defense than offense. That’s because you’re not using your internal energy at all when attacking. If you learn to apply your energy at the right moments, your attacks will become much stronger.”
“Ah, yes! Thank you!”
“Also, since you’re a woman and not very large in build, you’ll struggle against opponents who rely on brute strength. You should focus on enhancing your footwork and body techniques.”
“I see! Thank you, Master In!”
Sun Woo-jin not only sparred with Jin So-eun but also taught her some effective moves and body techniques she could use.
Her eyes sparkled as she hung on his every word, as if trying to imprint his entire figure into her memory with an intense, passionate gaze.
Nearby, Yun Chwi-gak’s disciple Son Dae-su and his granddaughter Son I-rang sat on the grass, watching the two.
But their expressions were far from cheerful.
Son Dae-su looked grim, while Son I-rang seemed a bit sulky.
After a while, once Sun Woo-jin finished his instruction and Jin So-eun began practicing what she’d learned, Son Dae-su suddenly called out to Sun Woo-jin.
“Master In, may I have a word with you?”
Sun Woo-jin smiled warmly and replied, “Of course.”
The two moved aside for a private conversation.
After a brief hesitation, Son Dae-su spoke.
“Master In, perhaps you’re concerned about our slow pace…”
Before he could finish, Sun Woo-jin smiled knowingly and interrupted.
“Is it because we’re moving too slowly?”
Son Dae-su’s face brightened.
“Exactly! I thought you might be thinking the same. As you know, assassins from the Hyungsan Sect are pursuing us, and if your words are true, the Jintae Sect is after us as well. But at this pace…”
Sun Woo-jin nodded.
“Yes, I expected you’d think that. And you’re right. If we keep moving like this, the enemies will catch up soon enough.”
Son Dae-su’s expression shifted subtly.
It seemed that despite knowing this, Sun Woo-jin was deliberately moving slowly.
After a moment’s thought, Son Dae-su’s eyes widened in surprise.
“Y-you don’t mean…?”
“Yes, you’re right. I’m waiting for them on purpose.”
Son Dae-su let out a heavy sigh.
“Hmm.”
He worried that this young master might be underestimating the enemy’s strength—especially considering they were up against the Hyungsan and Hae-nam Sects.
Of course, given the skills Sun Woo-jin had shown so far, he had every reason to be confident.
This young man, In Pa-rang, was a prodigy and a formidable martial artist unlike any Son Dae-su had ever seen.
But even so, the Hyungsan and Hae-nam Sects were among the top ten most powerful forces in the world.
No matter how rare a talent In Pa-rang was, facing those two alone would be a daunting challenge.
The combined might of the Hyungsan and Hae-nam Sects—both on par with the Old Gate Sect—was not something this young master could handle by himself.
With a dark expression, Son Dae-su cautiously spoke.
“Master, in my opinion…”
But once again, Sun Woo-jin cut him off with a gentle smile.
“I understand your concerns well. But it will be fine. I can’t reveal everything to you now, but the forces you see on our side are not our full strength. And the reason I’m waiting for them is because, according to my plan, this time we must defeat them—decisively.”
“…We must defeat them?”
“Yes. Only then will their leader reveal himself.”
While Son Dae-su and Sun Woo-jin were having this conversation, Son I-rang quietly glanced over at them before approaching Jin So-eun, who was diligently practicing her footwork.
With a mischievous smile, she spoke.
“So-eun unnie.”
Jin So-eun, focused on her training, turned her head and replied.
“Hm? What is it?”
Son I-rang grinned slyly.
“Unnie, you like Master In, don’t you?”
It was a blunt question.
Jin So-eun blinked in confusion, then answered absentmindedly.
“Of course I do.”
“Oh!”
Son I-rang was a little surprised.
Given Jin So-eun’s personality, she expected her to be too shy to admit it outright, even if it were true.
But such a bold confession was completely unexpected.
However, the very next thing Jin So-eun said made Son I-rang frown deeply.
“Well, isn’t that obvious? Master In is our benefactor and treats me so well. How could I not like him? Why are you asking?”
Her face was the picture of innocence, as if she had no idea what Son I-rang was really getting at.
Son I-rang clenched her teeth and took a deep breath.
“Phew.”
Then she carefully rephrased her question.
“No, I mean, do you like him as a man? Do you have feelings for him as a man?”
But Jin So-eun just blinked, still clueless.
“As a man? Well, Master In is a man, so of course I like him as a man…”
Son I-rang couldn’t hold back any longer and suddenly shouted.
“No, that’s not what I mean!”
Jin So-eun looked at her, scratching her head, unsure what she’d done wrong.
Seeing Jin So-eun’s apologetic expression, Son I-rang calmed down and tried to explain.
“I mean, unnie, there’s this feeling called ‘love,’ you know?”
“?”
“It’s when a man and a woman…”
“?”
“Like, when a man and a woman get married and have children…”
“?”
“Ahhh! Seriously!”
It seemed that after fifteen years living in the mountains, it would take a lot of time and effort to teach Jin So-eun the common knowledge she’d missed out on.
At the same time, in a small village along Sun Woo-jin’s route, a sudden storm of bloodshed erupted.
Whoosh!
“Ahhh!”
“P-please, spare us! Ahhh!”
“Why? Why? Kyaaa!”
“Please, just spare my child! Nooo!”
“Mom! Ahhh!”
This was a small, humble slash-and-burn farming village that had always lived in relative peace despite its hardships.
But suddenly, a group of men dressed in black appeared without warning and began slaughtering the villagers mercilessly.
Their faces showed no emotion, no remorse.
They cut through the people like weeds in a field, their massacre mechanical and cold.
It took less than half an hour for the entire village to be wiped out.
After confirming there were no survivors, the black-clad men gathered silently in the village center like ghosts.
Shhhhk!
The one standing at the center spoke.
“We’re cleaning up the village. Remove the bodies and tidy the place. Don’t forget to build an inn at the center.”
The others nodded in unison and dispersed to begin the cleanup.
Before long, the once dirty, mountain farming village was reborn as a larger, cleaner, and surprisingly bustling settlement.
The black-clad men had changed their attire to that of ordinary townsfolk.
They took on the roles of farmers, merchants, innkeepers, and children.
The village soon became a lively place filled with smiling faces and children playing noisily in the streets.
This was the meticulous groundwork of the Blood Brotherhood’s assassin corps—the most feared killing organization in the martial world.
Meanwhile, further east of the occupied farming village, seven Death Forest Assassins clad in blood-red robes were advancing westward, moving swiftly through the air.
At the front was a small, delicate-looking figure—perhaps a woman or child—leading the charge like a storm.
Behind her, six other Death Forest Assassins struggled to keep up, gasping for breath.
Tat-tat-tat-tat!
“Haah! Haah! Haah!”
Suddenly, one of the Death Forest Assassins, unable to endure any longer, called out in a dying voice.
“Master! Master!”
The small figure at the front stopped abruptly and turned back, lifting the exhausted assassin with ease.
Beneath the hood was a beautiful woman with radiant pale skin.
She spoke sharply to the one who had called her.
“You want to die, huh? Didn’t I tell you to train harder? You slack off and now you’re holding me back?!”
Her scolding made the subordinate shake his head frantically.
“N-no, Master! I’m not slacking! It’s just that you’re too fast! Look, everyone else is struggling too! I’m just speaking for the group…!”
“Shut up!”
Smack!
“Ugh!”
The woman’s sharp rebuke silenced him instantly.
With a thunderous kick from her, the Jukrip warrior who had been speaking was sent flying backward before he could finish his sentence.
Watching their comrade fall, the other Jukrip warriors felt a mix of sympathy and gratitude deep in their hearts.
Because thanks to him stepping forward first and taking the beating, it seemed like the rest of them would have an easier time.
The Arkwon leader, Yeon Taejin, was known to have a foul temper, but she wasn’t the kind of leader who didn’t care for her subordinates.
Now that she knew her people were struggling, everyone was certain she would take some kind of action.
Sure enough, after venting some of her anger by kicking her subordinate, she cast a displeased glance around at the others.
At that moment, the Arkwon warriors’ eyes gleamed with determination as they silently shouted to themselves:
“Now’s the time!”
“This moment is crucial!”
Avoiding Yeon Taejin’s gaze, they began to clear their throats awkwardly.
“Ahem, ahem.”
“Uh-huh, ahem.”
It was a difficult act to pull off—pretending to be unaffected while actually struggling inside.
Yeon Taejin scowled deeply and spat out her words.
“Useless fools.”
Cursing her subordinates for not keeping up, she suddenly turned around and looked westward.
She was itching to face that Inparang fellow in battle.
In the past, she had desperately wanted to fight him but hesitated, fearing she wouldn’t survive. That man who had defeated Yoon Sak of the Blood Sea Demons—even if it was a joint effort—was someone she was determined to confront.
She wanted it so badly that she’d be willing to give up her position as Arkwon leader just for the chance.
(Of course, she’d wanted to quit that job for a long time anyway…)
Anyway, that was how she felt.
Frowning as she stared west, Yeon Taejin suddenly turned back to her subordinates and asked,
“If I head that way, will I really find that Inparang guy?”
One of her men quickly replied,
“Yes! According to Hao Moon’s intel, he’s moving along the path beneath Namgon Mountain. That means this is the only route!”
“Is that so?”
Nodding at the news, Yeon Taejin cracked a sly smile and told her men,
“I’ll go ahead. You all follow at your own pace.”
Her subordinates were taken aback and stammered,
“W-what?!”
“We’re going to fight him, but you’re not planning to fight alongside us, right? So there’s no need for you to come with us. Just take your time and follow. I’ll go first.”
“N-no, L-leader, that’s…!”
They tried to stop her, but Yeon Taejin was the type to act before she spoke.
Having said that, she was already sprinting ahead.
“L-leader!”
“Leader, wait!”
The Arkwon warriors could only watch helplessly as she vanished in an instant, their shouts echoing behind her.
“Ahhh!”
“Leader!”
“Leader, come with us!”
Though she had a foul temper and acted before speaking, they couldn’t just let her go alone.
They had stood by her side since childhood and cared for her deeply.
At the same time, farther northwest, two groups of Jukrip warriors—six in each, twelve total—were rapidly moving south.
Swoosh!
They were running at a speed incomparable to the Arkwon warriors.
Like two flocks of wild geese, they maintained a precise formation, their movements so synchronized it was as if they were a single entity.
Suddenly, the lead Jukrip of one group sent a silent signal to the leader of the other.
“Let’s take a short break here.”
He then stopped abruptly.
The five warriors behind him halted perfectly in unison.
Thud!
Their movements were so precise it was like watching one person.
Once the first group stopped, the other group followed suit, halting in perfect synchronization.
Thud!
The leader of the second group lifted a Jukrip slightly, frowning as he asked,
“What kind of rest do you expect to take here, Undang? There’s nothing around.”
The one called Undang chuckled softly and replied,
“Isn’t it the leader’s duty to keep the team in peak condition? Just because the others can’t say it doesn’t mean they aren’t struggling.”
Hearing this, Woonkyung, leader of the Hyeongsanpa’s Pasan Chiljo group, glared sharply at his comrade’s back.
But he said no more and ordered his men,
“Everyone, sit and begin breathing exercises.”
At his command, the five Pasan Chiljo warriors dropped to the ground simultaneously and began their breathing techniques.
Woonkyung sat down among them.
Before starting, he shot a glance at Undang, leader of the Pasan Sajo group.
He already knew why Undang had suggested a break.
He had long envied the Pasan Sajo group, which included the woman Woonyeong.
“Lucky bastard,” he thought.
Closing his eyes, Woonkyung began his breathing exercises.
He knew watching would only make him jealous.
Undang smiled slyly and glanced at Woonkyung before ordering his own team,
“Everyone, begin breathing exercises.”
The five warriors dropped to the ground in perfect unison.
Like clockwork.
But Undang remained standing, his eyes fixed on one of them.
That was Woonyeong—the only female member not just of the Pasan Sajo group, but one of the few women in the entire Yukhab Geomsu.
Undang licked his lips with a greedy smile and commanded,
“Woonyeong, stop your breathing exercises and come here.”
Expressionless, Woonyeong opened her eyes and rose to approach him.
“Heh heh heh.”
Undang’s hands began to roam over her body, but despite his boldness, Woonyeong showed no reaction.
Her humanity had long since been erased; she simply allowed his touch with a blank stare.
Undang savored his luck once more as he fondled her.
When he was first ordered to join the Yukhab Geomsu, he had been worried.
But his sect leader, Wi Jeongguk, was not one to abandon his own.
He had appointed Undang—who had sworn loyalty to the sect leader rather than the Hyeongsanpa—as leader of the Yukhab Geomsu.
Now, entrusted with commanding the powerful Gui-myeol Yukhab Geomjin, capable of defeating even the strongest masters, Undang’s future was certain to be paved with glory.
It was an incredibly satisfying prospect.