Episode 266
It was actually Makyeong Manhaksung who was left speechless by the Saintess’s straightforward admission.
For someone like her—one of the absolute powers in the martial world—to so easily belittle herself as if she had no pride at all was something Makyeong simply couldn’t fathom.
But the Saintess’s humility didn’t stop there.
She turned to Yongwooshin, the Dragon Clan’s leader, and said, “Since the outcome is already decided, may I ask you, Yonggaju, to assist me in the remaining fight? I have no confidence in defeating him on my own.”
Yongwooshin, who had been avoiding her gaze out of guilt until now, looked at her in surprise.
Then the Saintess twisted her face into a grotesque expression.
To an outsider, it would have been chilling—ugly and repulsive to the bone.
But Yongwooshin knew that was her smile.
She was smiling brightly, as if to say there was no need for him to feel sorry.
Understanding her words and actions, Seon Woojin couldn’t help but marvel anew.
Instead of blaming Yongwooshin for tarnishing her honor, the Saintess simply accepted her defeat to Makyeong, easing his guilt.
Such grace and consideration were unheard of among most orthodox sects, where pride was held above life itself.
Mukrang, admiring her, said aloud, “Wow! Honestly, I used to wonder why she was called the Saintess just by looking at her appearance, but now I understand perfectly. I’ve rarely seen a woman so wise and compassionate in my life!”
Encouraged by Mukrang’s admiration, Seon Woojin shared what he knew.
“Actually, she was an incredible beauty in her youth. But wicked men coveted her, took her purity, and her entire clan was wiped out. Her face was disfigured in the process.”
Mukrang gasped, “I see! For a once-beautiful woman to end up like that, the wounds must have been even deeper…”
Seon Woojin nodded. “I believe so too. After that, she spent over a decade honing her strength through hardship and began her path of vengeance. She had six enemies and hunted them down one by one. But after killing the first three, she couldn’t bring herself to kill the remaining three.”
The reason she spared them was because those enemies had started families.
Seeing them as heads of households, she couldn’t bring herself to kill them.
Instead, she subdued them and gave their innocent families a chance, declaring she would spare them once more.
Though she had lost both her family and beauty because of them, she chose not to repay their sins with the same cruelty.
Mukrang asked in disbelief, “So she gave up on revenge despite having the power?”
That decision was incomprehensible to martial artists who revered vengeance like law.
She was even criticized heavily at the time.
But she paid no mind to others’ judgments.
She simply watched from afar, observing how her enemies lived, subtly controlling their actions.
Eventually, her enemies split into two groups.
Two of them relapsed into evil and were killed by the Saintess, but one genuinely repented and lived a life of virtue.
The Saintess took that reformed enemy’s child as her disciple and began supporting the families of those she had killed financially.
“People asked her why she didn’t take revenge and instead burdened herself with such trouble. She answered simply that she chose the path that brought her peace of mind. From then on, people started calling her the Saintess.”
Mukrang was genuinely impressed. “Wow, what an amazing woman.”
Seon Woojin glanced back at the Saintess, who had resumed her fight with Makyeong.
For some reason, her face no longer looked grotesque as before.
Perhaps it was because of the story they had just shared.
Now, instead of appearing ugly, she seemed almost sacred.
Seon Woojin turned to Yongwooshin, who was still staring blankly at her, and spoke.
“Since the Saintess has given her consent, shouldn’t we join the fight as well?”
Yongwooshin snapped back to reality and looked at the two locked in battle.
“Earlier, the surprise attack worked, but now that Makyeong is aware of us, do you think that’s still possible?”
His doubt was valid.
Since Makyeong was now alert to their presence, a sneak attack was unlikely to succeed.
That was why he hadn’t retreated immediately after striking earlier.
If they approached clumsily and caught Makyeong’s attention, it could even hinder the Saintess.
Still, Seon Woojin explained confidently despite the risks.
“I sense Makyeong’s defensive energy is focused on the Saintess. If we threaten his rear, it will disrupt his concentration. And if we get close…”
Yongwooshin listened carefully.
Though he was among the top thirty-six stars of the world, he was open-minded enough to heed others’ advice.
He also thought that Seon Woojin, despite his youth, had keen insight—after all, he had saved the Saintess earlier.
Meanwhile, the fight between Makyeong and the Saintess was unfolding much like before.
Makyeong maintained his defensive energy as he pressed his body against the Saintess.
But this time, the Saintess hesitated to attack, and Makyeong looked far more desperate.
“Hyaah!”
Kraaaang!
Makyeong charged with a body check, realizing his time was running out.
His internal energy was nearly depleted.
Now, win or lose, he had to prepare his final strike.
At that moment, he sensed two presences approaching from behind.
The two who had ruined his perfect opportunity earlier and wounded him—Inparang and Yongwooshin.
“Those bastards again…”
Makyeong feigned ignorance of their approach.
He wanted to lull them into complacency to finish them off first.
To land his final blow on the Saintess, he had to eliminate those pesky flies first.
“Hyaah!”
With his back completely exposed, Makyeong lunged at the Saintess.
Then, the flies began to swarm.
They shot straight toward his rear, aiming for a surprise attack.
“Fools!”
Grinning, Makyeong didn’t even turn his head.
He swung one arm and unleashed a massive energy sphere.
It was the same colossal sphere that had once rendered Jin Taedo incapacitated with a single blow.
Swoooosh!
Makyeong was certain the attackers would be hit.
They were airborne with nowhere to dodge.
Even if by some miracle they evaded it, they wouldn’t be able to interfere for a while.
So without checking the outcome behind him, he charged at the Saintess.
He was preparing to unleash his secret trump card—the Phantom Spirit Hand.
Seon Woojin and Yongwooshin stealthily closed in on Makyeong’s back.
He was so focused on the Saintess that he didn’t even glance behind.
They exchanged a brief nod and launched themselves at his fully exposed back.
Thwack!
Like two arrows fired simultaneously, it was a swift ambush.
But at that moment, Makyeong, without turning around, swung his arm and fired the energy sphere at them.
It was a massive sphere, taller than a man.
Swoooosh!
Seon Woojin and Yongwooshin watched the enormous sphere barreling toward them.
They were suspended in midair with nowhere to land.
Their eyes met briefly in the void.
After firing the sphere behind him, Makyeong began to manifest his secret technique—the Phantom Spirit Hand.
This technique, which required both his own energy and the use of the Origin Energy, drastically shortened the user’s lifespan after a single use.
It was a demonic grip that dragged opponents into hell.
Makyeong had mastered it solely to face the Saintess.
Wooohhh!
Black, ominous energy began to billow from Makyeong’s hand like smoke.
In an instant, a gigantic black hand obscured his upper body.
“!”
The Saintess immediately sensed the gravity of Makyeong’s move.
She threw all her strength into retreating.
“Hyaah!”
Thwack!
But at that moment, Makyeong stretched his hand forward.
The black smoke extended rapidly, and the enormous hand reached right before the Saintess’s eyes.
“What?!”
Realizing she couldn’t dodge, the Saintess swung her sword at the smoky hand.
“Hyaah!”
Shaaak!
Her blade passed smoothly through the black smoke.
But that was all.
It felt as if she had sliced through nothing, and the smoky hand remained unchanged.
She had failed to block Makyeong’s technique.
“!”
The black hand closed in, attempting to seize her entire body.
Just moments before, the massive energy sphere was about to collide with the airborne Seon Woojin and Yongwooshin.
It was a dire moment, but neither of them showed panic.
In an instant, their eyes met, and midair, they simultaneously struck each other’s feet.
Crack!
At that very moment, Kanghwan dashed through the gap between the two, missing them both.
Whoooosh!
This was exactly the countermeasure Sun Woo-jin had prepared, anticipating Ma Kyung’s response.
Up until now, Sun Woo-jin had been holding back his speed to keep pace with Yong Woo-shin, but now, pushing off the ground, he surged forward at full throttle toward Ma Kyung.
Shhhhhh!
His speed was almost like a ray of light.
In the blink of an eye, Sun Woo-jin closed the distance and unleashed his most powerful sword strike on Ma Kyung’s back.
Mukrang Sword Technique, First Move: Gaechun.
A heavenly horse’s slash that tore through space itself.
Shhhhhh!
Ma Kyung, just as he was about to seize the Saint with his Spirit Guard, felt a chilling sensation from behind.
He realized that if he continued deploying the Spirit Guard, he would surely die.
“Ugh!”
Forced to withdraw the Spirit Guard, he spun around hastily to block Sun Woo-jin’s sword strike.
Crackle!
Though hastily deployed, his protective barrier was being shredded mercilessly under the full force of the attack.
Pffft!
“Ugh!”
Blood splattered as Ma Kyung’s chest was cut.
Fortunately, the wound wasn’t deep, but the cold shock was undeniable.
As Sun Woo-jin finished Gaechun and stepped aside, Yong Woo-shin swooped in, delivering a sword strike aimed at the split in Ma Kyung’s Spirit Guard.
“How dare you!”
Enraged, Ma Kyung swung his arm, deflecting Yong Woo-shin’s blade.
Thud!
He immediately tried to counterattack.
But at that moment, a chilling wall of ice erupted from the ground, blocking his vision.
Seollang Sword Technique, Second Move: Cheonjang Ice Wall.
Shshshshsh!
“!?”
It was an unfamiliar, eerie technique unlike anything Ma Kyung had ever seen.
While he was momentarily thrown off by the strange move, the Saint—who had retreated to avoid the Spirit Guard—charged at him again.
“Ma Kyung!”
“Damn it!”
Ma Kyung stopped his hand from shattering the ice wall and turned toward the Saint.
Flies were just a nuisance, but the Saint demanded his full attention.
While bracing for the Saint’s attack, he remained alert to Yong Woo-shin and Sun Woo-jin’s movements.
His senses detected Yong Woo-shin retreating to the rear and Sun Woo-jin flying in from the side once more.
“What a pain!”
Without looking, Ma Kyung hurled a massive Spirit Guard orb at Sun Woo-jin.
Startled by the sudden attack, the approaching figure screamed and dodged.
“Ughhh!”
‘Huh?!’
Hearing that frivolous scream, Ma Kyung’s eyes flicked anxiously to the side.
The voice he’d just heard wasn’t Sun Woo-jin’s.
Instead, a small, middle-aged man leapt aside, narrowly avoiding the orb.
It was Jeung Chil.
“!”
Ma Kyung was taken aback.
He had assumed the attacker was Sun Woo-jin.
‘Then where is he?!’
Just as Ma Kyung frantically expanded his senses to locate Sun Woo-jin’s presence—
Pew!
“!”
A transparent ice blade pierced through his back, emerging from his chest.
Sun Woo-jin, hidden behind the ice wall, had seized the opening to launch a surprise attack—the third move of the Seollang Sword Technique: Absolute Ice Blade.
Ma Kyung was horrified.
He couldn’t believe he hadn’t felt a thing as the blade passed through him.
Though the ice blade hadn’t physically pierced him but had materialized out of thin air, the reason remained a mystery to him.
As he stared in stunned disbelief at the transparent blade protruding from his chest—
The Saint’s sword suddenly swept past his neck.
Shhhhhh!
Ma Kyung let out a hollow laugh and sighed.
“I’ve been bitten by a tiger cub. From start to finish, I was toyed with by that brat.”
In the next instant, a thin red line appeared across his neck, blood spurting forth.
Splatter!
The death of Ma Kyung Manhaksoong, the Absolute One and sole master of Cheonhasama, had come.