Episode 64
Georyeokma Jeo Ungwon’s anger boiled up to the very top of his head.
“Idiots,” he thought bitterly. “I sent two men with over seventy years of internal energy each, and they both failed. Now one of them comes back alone.”
According to So Yuryeong, one of his subordinates might have survived, but that was only something they’d know once he actually returned.
If that man didn’t make it back either, their numbers would be halved—from ten down to five.
This was a serious problem.
Not because Georyeokma cared deeply for his men’s lives, but because if they failed to carry out the orders from Sa Wonyang properly, his own life would be at risk.
“Damn fools!” Jeo Ungwon shouted, unable to contain his rising fury.
So Yuryeong knelt, bowing his head deeply in submission.
Jeo Ungwon felt an urge to smash that irritating head of his, but he held back.
If he killed him, only four would remain.
Besides, So Yuryeong was the most capable of the survivors.
“Arrgh!” Jeo Ungwon roared, desperate to vent his anger.
Suddenly, his gaze landed on the woman his subordinate was holding behind him.
She was the sixth woman among the ten Sa Wonyang had sent.
Five of those women had already been toyed with and killed.
That was only possible because Sa Wonyang had warned them not to attract attention anymore, so they hadn’t brought in any new women, instead carefully preserving the ones they had and using them one by one.
That’s why five still remained.
But with how he felt now, Jeo Ungwon knew he couldn’t hold back.
He wanted to break her completely, to vent his rage by destroying her utterly.
“Bring her here!” he ordered, his eyes blazing.
The woman, already shedding endless tears, looked at him with despair.
It seemed all hope was lost.
Then, suddenly—
“Ucha!”
A figure clad in black with a mask leapt over the wall and landed in the courtyard.
The Blood Sect disciples were startled and shouted.
“Who’s that?!”
“What the hell?!”
But the masked man seemed just as surprised.
He shouted loudly, “No way! You’re Georyeokma Jeo Ungwon?!”
Jeo Ungwon’s eyes widened sharply at the voice recognizing him.
“Recognize me? How?!”
He shouted hurriedly, “Who are you?!”
But before he could finish, the man dashed off, leaping over the wall to escape.
“Damn it!”
The Blood Sect disciples, caught off guard by the swift escape, quickly snapped to attention and gave chase.
“Stop him!”
“Hold!”
But Jeo Ungwon shouted to his men, “Hold your ground! I’ll catch him myself!”
Ignoring his stunned subordinates, Jeo Ungwon’s massive frame moved like a nimble swallow as he vaulted over the wall in pursuit.
‘He recognized me. I can’t let him live!’
If this man spread word of his identity, Jeo Ungwon was finished.
This time, Sa Wonyang’s forces would kill him for sure.
He couldn’t trust his men to handle it; he had to do it himself.
Jeo Ungwon pushed himself to his top speed.
But no matter how fast he ran, the distance to the masked man didn’t close.
Apparently, he was a master of some new technique.
Jeo Ungwon had no way of knowing that the masked man, Bi Sa-yeong, was deliberately controlling his speed, keeping a steady distance to lure Jeo Ungwon on.
‘Not bad. Then…’
Jeo Ungwon began to focus his internal energy.
At the same time—
As Jeo Ungwon chased Bi Sa-yeong over the wall, Sak Muhun sent me a message.
But I stopped him.
Even if we charged in now, there was no guarantee we could win.
Their side had one at the early peak level, one master with over seventy years of internal energy, and two others who seemed top-tier.
We had only two: me at early peak and Sak Muhun with over seventy years of internal energy.
If we clashed head-on, we’d be at a disadvantage.
Sak Muhun’s tone grew impatient.
He had a point.
We couldn’t ambush them in the middle of the courtyard, and we didn’t know when Georyeokma would return.
Still, I saw one possibility.
While I was sending that message, the Blood Sect henchmen inside looked at the woman they were holding and spoke up.
“So, are we just going to stand here and watch, hyung?”
I chuckled inwardly.
Typical Blood Sect mentality.
No need to count to ten.
One of the more skilled henchmen scoffed.
“Hah! What, you want to get torn apart by the enraged Danju because we touched her first?”
His answer was surprisingly rational for a Blood Sect disciple.
I was a little disappointed.
But when I was starting to feel that way, the others showed their true colors.
They didn’t give up.
The henchman grinned slyly.
“Of course, we can’t hold her first, but a little fondling won’t hurt, right? It won’t leave marks.”
“Hmm?”
Even he couldn’t argue with that.
He seemed intrigued.
After a moment’s thought, he gave the expected answer.
“True, just touching won’t matter, as long as we don’t get caught.”
The henchman who suggested it beamed.
“Exactly, hyung!”
“Hmm, then how about one of us keeps watch for the Danju’s return, and the rest have some fun?”
“Sounds good, hyung!”
The Blood Sect disciples laughed and picked someone to stand guard.
Naturally, the two peak-level fighters didn’t want to watch, so one of the two top-tier henchmen had to do it.
Unfortunately, the one who had first spoken up was chosen.
“No way…”
“Heh heh, tough luck.”
“Serves you right.”
“If we have time, we’ll switch shifts. Just keep a good watch.”
The chosen henchman trudged toward the wall with a defeated look.
The other three turned their attention back to the woman.
She was still sealed, unable to move, tears streaming down her face.
At that moment, we moved.
With a flash, we burst out from outside the wall.
The henchman on guard’s eyes widened in shock as he drew his sword.
“Hey…!”
Clang!
Whoosh!
But as we brushed past him, a thin line of blood spurted from his neck.
My blade had clashed with his sword, but Sak hyung’s sword had grazed his throat.
We charged at the others, throwing hidden weapons.
“Hah!”
“Hup!”
Whirrrrr!
The henchmen, distracted by the woman, were startled but quickly recovered.
The one in front died instantly, but the others drew their weapons and spread out, dodging or deflecting our thrown weapons.
“Hmph!”
“Where do you think you’re going?!”
Clang! Clang! Clang clang clang!
Peak-level masters weren’t so easy to take down, but they weren’t top-tier.
“Ugh…”
One of the top-tier Blood Sect disciples clutched the hidden blade in his neck and collapsed backward.
Now only the two peak-level fighters remained.
Sak hyung and I exchanged a quick glance and split to attack from both sides.
I faced the man with over seventy years of internal energy; Sak hyung faced the early peak-level one.
“Hah!”
Sunwoo Thirteen Swords, First Strike.
Shin Eung Bisang.
My sword flashed like wings, radiating brilliant light as I struck.
But he sneered and met my blade with his sword.
“Hmph! What tricks do you think you’re pulling?”
Swoosh!
His sword sliced fiercely through the air.
My wing-like sword light was torn in two in an instant.
But I wasn’t behind those wings anymore.
I flowed smoothly with the Cheonpung Shinbeop, slipping behind him.
Then I unleashed Shin Eung Bisang again, spreading my sword wings.
“Hah!”
Shuaaaak!
The attack was fluid and swift, but the skill gap meant it wasn’t enough to land a decisive blow.
He spun and slashed his sword horizontally, scattering my sword light again.
“Cheater!”
Swoooosh!
At that moment, I was already moving behind him again.
I deliberately used the phantom sword to divert his attention, then aimed for his back with superior technique.
Though he was stronger, he was growing frustrated at being forced to react rather than attack.
He furrowed his brow sharply and shouted,
“Stop this nonsense! Are you trying to play ghost games or what?!”
Ghost games, huh…
Not entirely wrong.
The reason I switched opponents with Brother Sak was precisely because I’m skilled at this kind of ghostly trickery.
Even if my opponent was more skilled than me, I was confident I could buy enough time.
I glanced sideways and saw Brother Sak unleashing a fierce assault on his opponent.
The swords of the Blood Cultist looked dizzy and unsteady—this fight was probably about to end soon.
Then my opponent’s gaze shifted toward that direction, and with a panicked expression, he lunged at me.
So, he wasn’t completely dense after all.
“You bastard! Die!”
Shuhaaak!
His sword, glowing with a crimson aura, spread out like a net, tearing through the space as he charged.
It was clear he intended to leave me no room to dodge.
A wide, net-like crimson sword aura that was difficult for me to handle—this was a fitting tactic for facing a lesser opponent like me.
It must have been a very troublesome situation for him.
If only I hadn’t mastered the Celestial Wind Technique.
But!
Like a ghost, I slipped backward, evading his sword aura, and grinned as I activated the Celestial Wind Technique.
Celestial Wind Technique, Secret Art:
Celestial Wind Blossoms.
Shyaaak!
My new form scattered like petals fluttering in the wind, leaving afterimages as I dispersed in all directions.
Celestial Wind Blossoms was a secret art of the Celestial Wind Technique, only usable at its peak—since I hadn’t yet mastered the Shadow Step, I couldn’t use it fully.
My opponent’s eyes darted around in confusion, trying to track my scattered afterimages.
“What… what is this?!”
I’d thought this from the moment I first learned the move: the Illusory Sword and the Celestial Wind Blossoms complemented each other perfectly.
With him still unable to pinpoint my true location, I launched a counterattack.
Sunwoo Thirteen Swords, Thirteenth Move:
Illusory Sword Mirage.
Shuhaaak!
In an instant, my sword multiplied into dozens, even hundreds.
They surrounded him from all sides, ready to rain down like a meteor shower.
Swaaaaah!
“Impossible?!”
Panicked, he swung his sword desperately to defend himself.
From my fight with Mayu Gyeom, I knew that the Illusory Sword wasn’t very effective against opponents of a higher level than me.
A clumsy Illusory Sword could even expose openings to the enemy.
But the Illusory Sword Mirage, the original final move of the Sunwoo Thirteen Swords, had no such weaknesses.
It created an overwhelming number of illusory swords, leaving no gaps to exploit.
My illusory swords filled the space, and his sword aura tore through the air like a violent storm.
“Haaah!”
Shuhaaak!
Then, like a phantom, my illusory swords scattered and vanished.
That was the most frustrating thing about the Illusory Sword Mirage.
Despite the enormous effort to create dozens or hundreds of illusory swords, they were all mere illusions—unable to deal real damage.
And it wasn’t like I could wear down my opponent’s energy, since this technique consumed even more of my own.
That’s why I’d avoided using it until now…
Realizing that all the sword shadows attacking him were illusions, his eyes regained calm.
A mocking smile curled his lips as he muttered,
“What a pointless trick…”
But despite all its flaws, there was a reason I used it.
He still hadn’t located me.
And in his frantic attempts to break through the Illusory Sword Mirage, he’d overextended with large, reckless sword swings.
Meanwhile, I had a weapon I hadn’t had before.
The Silent Spear Technique’s Four-Point Sword Style, capable of striking an opponent’s weak spot at lightning speed.
Appearing behind him, I didn’t hesitate to thrust my sword forward.
Silent Spear Technique, First Move:
One Instant, Four Points.
In a flash, my sword became a beam of light, piercing through his back.
Puhk!
“Ugh!”
He spat blood, struggling to turn his head and look at me.
His eyes were filled with disbelief.
I smiled back at him.
I couldn’t help it—I was overwhelmed with joy.
I never thought it possible, but I’d actually taken down a master one level above me.
A surge of exhilaration flooded my mind.
“Well now, if you keep this up, you’re making me look bad.”
Turning my head, I saw Brother Sak grinning at me with a look of disbelief after slashing through his opponent’s chest.
“I was just lucky. He underestimated me because he thought I was weaker.”
“You almost killed me last time, and now you’re the luckiest person alive. Luck repeated often enough becomes skill.”
I smiled sheepishly at his praise, and we decided to first release the blood seal on the woman watching us with wide eyes.
Her face was streaked with tears, but she spoke calmly, expressing her gratitude.
“I, Jeong-yeon, disciple of the Ami Sect, thank my benefactors.”
We were stunned.
“What?! You’re a disciple of the Ami Sect?!”
“Yes, I’m the twenty-fifth generation disciple of the Ami Sect.”
That was something we hadn’t expected.
Though the Ami Sect’s prestige had waned since the Great Blood Battle, it was still one of the Nine Great Sects.
To think a disciple of the Ami Sect was captured here by the Blood Cult’s demon leaders…
While we were still processing this, she continued.
“Beneath this manor, one of my fellow disciples and three other women are still held captive. I’m sorry to ask, but could you please rescue them as well?”
She seemed unable to move properly even after the blood seal was lifted, likely due to the long duration of the seal.
We readily agreed.
“Of course. Don’t worry, miss.”
We had to hurry.
We didn’t know how long the Illusory Shadow could keep luring the giant demon.
But then, from the forest, I sensed something flying toward us.
It was the giant demon.
I quickly said to Brother Sak,
“Sak, please take care of this lady! I’ll try to lure the demon away again…!”
But before I could finish, the giant demon, despite its massive size, flew lightly like a bird and landed atop the wall.
My eyes widened in shock.
“What? Are there more of these rat bastards?”
With a cold smile, the demon looked at us, holding the limp body of the Illusory Shadow—its life uncertain—in its hand.