Chapter 312
It was then.
Sun Woo-jin spoke again.
“But believing that’s sincere and actually trusting you are two different things. How can we trust someone who’s willing to betray the Sa-moon so easily? If the situation changes, won’t you betray us again, just as sincerely? And more than that—if you’ve been following Wi Jeong-guk’s orders all this time, you must have killed countless innocent people. Don’t you think you owe a price for those sins?”
Hong Chu’s face lit up as he shouted, “Exactly! That’s exactly what I’ve been saying!”
But Mo Dong-ju’s expression darkened once more.
He had no rebuttal.
Even he thought that if this were someone else’s case, he’d probably be the first to tell Sun Woo-jin to kill him.
Still, he couldn’t give up.
He didn’t want to die here, especially because of a Sa-moon he no longer cared for.
Besides…
No matter how he thought about it, if Sun Woo-jin truly intended to kill him, he wouldn’t have bothered saying all that—he’d have just done it.
So there was still a chance for him to survive.
Mo Dong-ju pondered.
“Think, think. What can I offer to buy my life?”
His mind raced at full speed.
Then, suddenly, an idea struck him.
“Ah! How about this?! I…!”
Mo Dong-ju desperately explained.
He had never tried so hard to gain someone’s approval before.
Hearing this, a look of interest flickered across Sun Woo-jin’s face.
“That’s not bad.”
And so, the black sheep of Hyeongsan Sect, the rebellious swordsman Mo Dong-ju, succeeded in buying himself more time.
Whoosh!
Two figures flew through the treetops like flying squirrels.
They lightly pushed off thin branches, moving as if gliding through the air with their lightness skill.
They were the Hyeongsan Sect’s top-tier masters: Cheong-yeom swordsman Oh Gi-jong and the fiery swordsman Ja Woo-jin.
Cheong-yeom swordsman Oh Gi-jong soared ahead like a flying bird and shouted, “Aren’t we too late, brother? We should’ve just finished off the remnants of the Cheongpae Sect and come back!”
Ja Woo-jin matched his pace, replying, “Who would’ve thought those rat bastards could hide so well? And it’s already too late—what can we do now but hurry up!”
Both had nicknames related to ‘fire,’ and their fiery personalities matched well, so they often teamed up.
They were currently heading to Cheonjungmun in Anhyang, following orders from their sect leader Wi Jeong-guk, after attacking the Cheongpae Sect, a rival faction opposing Hyeongsan.
They had started from Cheonjasan, at the northwest edge of Honam Province, so they should have hurried more. But since they had to finish off the Cheongpae remnants first, they were running behind schedule.
Oh Gi-jong spoke again.
“Just thinking about how strict Ja-myeong brother will nag us is already giving me a headache!”
“Ha ha ha! Don’t worry! We’re so late he won’t even have time to nag! If you’re going to be late, be completely late! Half-hearted lateness just means more nagging!”
“Oh! I suddenly want to tell that to Ja-myeong brother! Then all the nagging will be on him, not me!”
“What?! Ha ha ha! You’re one step ahead of me!”
As they joked and continued their lightness skill flight, something streaked toward them like a beam of black light.
“Oh brother! There’s something like a black streak ahead!”
Black light? Even saying it felt strange.
How could light be black?
They guessed it might be a black arrow or something similar.
But soon, they realized the streak was actually a person dressed in black.
The figure had stopped midair just a few steps ahead, as if defying the laws of physics.
Oh Gi-jong and Ja Woo-jin were doubly shocked.
First, that something moving at such impossible speed was actually a person.
Second, that this person was an incredibly young and handsome youth.
Who on earth was this?
A young swordsman wielding a black sword engraved with a wolf’s head.
With such a unique sword and astonishing technique, he must be an absolute top-tier master—but they had never heard a rumor of such a young prodigy.
Distinctive sword, amazing skill, youthful good looks—he had all the traits that would make him famous.
Yet, no one seemed to know him.
Neither Oh Gi-jong nor Ja Woo-jin dared underestimate him and stopped a few steps short.
They said politely, “I am Ja Woo of the Hyeongsan Sect. It’s a pleasure to meet such a young and handsome master. We’re in a hurry, or we might have had a chance to talk. It’s truly a pity.”
Though polite, the message was clear: they were warriors of Hyeongsan and wanted him to step aside.
They spoke respectfully because the man’s aura was formidable.
But he didn’t move.
Instead, he shifted his gaze from Ja Woo-jin to Oh Gi-jong and asked, “Then you must be Oh Gi-jong?”
“?!”
The two were stunned.
He already knew who they were.
And he spoke to them informally, as if they were juniors.
It was clear this man had come with ill intent.
Oh Gi-jong and Ja Woo-jin drew their swords in a flash, shouting,
“Who are you?!”
The black-clad youth slowly gripped his sword and smiled coldly.
“Reaper.”
At that moment, the youth’s figure suddenly appeared right before Ja Woo-jin’s eyes.
“!”
Horrified, Ja Woo-jin swung his sword, thinking,
“Yi-hyeong-hwan-wi?!”
But he couldn’t complete the strike.
The moment he moved his arm, his wrist holding the sword was severed.
“!”
He felt nothing, yet his wrist was cut clean off.
He stared blankly at his flying severed wrist, blood spraying everywhere, feeling detached from his own body.
‘When did this happen?!’
At that moment, Oh Gi-jong shouted in shock from the side.
“Brother!”
Ja Woo-jin, struck head-on, couldn’t see what happened, but Oh Gi-jong, watching from the side, caught a glimpse.
It was like a legendary Yi-hyeong-hwan-wi technique—the youth’s sword blurred slightly as it passed before Ja Woo-jin’s eyes.
Apparently, that was when he severed Ja Woo-jin’s wrist.
An unbelievable sword technique.
But that wasn’t the worst.
Oh Gi-jong desperately charged at the youth, swinging his sword.
If this continued, Ja Woo-jin’s life was in grave danger—they had to save him.
“Stop!”
Suddenly, the youth who had been in front of Ja Woo-jin was now directly facing Oh Gi-jong.
It was as if the space between had vanished.
Oh Gi-jong gasped in horror.
“Mu…! Gahk!”
Blood gushed from his mouth.
He realized the youth’s sword had already pierced his chest, penetrating his heart.
Like Ja Woo-jin, he hadn’t even reacted to the strike.
The youth casually withdrew his sword.
Ssshk!
Only then did Oh Gi-jong feel a burning pain, instinctively pushing his chest forward and groaning.
“Gahk!”
At that moment, he saw Ja Woo-jin charging at the youth with bloodshot eyes.
“Brother!”
He wanted to stop him.
“Brother, you have to run…”
But his body was already collapsing, beyond his control.
As his vision blurred, Oh Gi-jong saw the black-clad youth turn naturally to face Ja Woo-jin.
His sword, wielded so swiftly it was hard to tell when, now pointed skyward.
“Brother…”
With that image, Oh Gi-jong’s consciousness faded.
His body collapsed to the ground, blood pouring from the gaping wound in his chest.
Thud!
Fortunately for the dead Oh Gi-jong, a red line appeared diagonally across Ja Woo-jin’s chest only after Oh Gi-jong lost consciousness.
The red line split open with a sharp crack, blood spraying out, and Ja Woo-jin collapsed to his knees.
Splat!
“Gahk!”
That was the end.
It took only two breaths for two of Hyeongsan Sect’s top masters to fall.
Without even confirming Ja Woo-jin’s collapse, Sun Woo-jin immediately turned and leapt away.
Crack!
Though he had dispatched two of Hyeongsan’s top masters as if they were mere amateurs, his expression remained utterly indifferent.
There was no hint of emotion.
The martial arts he had just used to finish them off were the Haenamma Sword’s Jin Tae-do’s Jinryong Sword Technique and the Spear’s Saille Sword Technique.
He chose these two because the Jinryong Sword Technique was faster for slashing, and the Saille Sword Technique was quicker for thrusting.
Even among past top masters, Jin Tae-do’s Jinryong Sword Technique was nearly invisible to the eye.
Combined with Sun Woo-jin’s Cheonpung Divine Technique, the effect was even more terrifying than when Jin Tae-do himself used it.
Moreover, Sun Woo-jin had used both techniques in the state of the Moonlight Phantom Sword Dance’s third form, ‘Hyeonmangwol.’
These were the very sword techniques that, under the same conditions, even the legendary Three Divine Blades of the Thirty-Six Heavenly Stars—Sam Ji-shin-chang and Gam Jak-hyeong—had failed to properly counter and had been utterly overwhelmed by.
“No way those techniques could have reacted to mere novices barely stepping into the realm of the ultra-elite, especially when even the Thirty-Six Heavenly Stars couldn’t fully respond,” he thought.
That was why the recent battle left Sun Woo-jin completely unmoved.
He seemed to become one with the wind itself, gliding lightly as he muttered to himself, “Well, that wraps up the northwest completely.”
Until yesterday, Sun Woo-jin and his group had been waiting at Anhyang’s Cheon Jung Gate, where they took down two of Hyeongsanpa’s top masters who came to confront them—two out of the seven ultra-elite warriors who were supposed to gather there.
Only these two had arrived far too late.
Growing impatient, Sun Woo-jin had gone out to meet them himself.
That was how the current situation had come about.
Suddenly, he glanced toward the southern sky and murmured, “Then the next target is…”
Their next destination was Sang-eum, where all nine of Hyeongsanpa’s ultra-elite masters were set to assemble.
Of course, this was assuming that Seol Poong and Yeon Tae-jin had already taken care of the four ultra-elite warriors coming from the east.
But Sun Woo-jin had no doubt about that.
“Four ultra-elites? Seol Poong alone could handle that easily.”
Though he didn’t rate his own talent too highly, Sun Woo-jin was well aware of how much he had grown.
Amhyeolhyang, Heukhyeolhwanma Du-dang, Dokam Jijon Dang Jeong-hoo, Haenamma Sword Jin Tae-do, Sam Ji-shin-chang Gam Jak-hyeong—
All of these were figures from the Thirty-Six Heavenly Stars he had faced at least once.
He was confident that if he fought them again now, he wouldn’t lose.
In fact, even in his dreams, using the Monghon Great Technique, he had defeated them all.
Still, there was one person he couldn’t yet guarantee victory over: his sworn brother, Seol Poong.
When he fought the summoned Seol Poong using the Monghon Great Technique, he had lost more times than he had won.
That was why he was looking forward to the battle in Hyeongsan, where Seol Poong would shine.
The world was about to witness the astonishing man named Seol Poong.
Sun Woo-jin’s eyes were already fixed on the Hyeongsanpa headquarters.