Episode 140: Return of the Demon Instructor
As the sun dipped below the horizon, Sabi Kang halted the carriage at the foot of the mountain and stepped out.
Mae Seol-ran, her face etched with concern, asked, “What business do you have here? If it won’t take long, we can wait and go together.”
“It might take a while,” Sabi Kang replied.
“But…”
“Don’t worry about me. You two head back first. I’ll catch up soon enough.”
Dang Ihyeop and Mae Seol-ran exchanged glances. They knew there was no changing Sabi Kang’s mind once she had made it up.
Finally, they nodded in agreement.
“Understood, my lord.”
“Take care, then. We’ll be waiting.”
“Ah, such concern from someone I’ve only spent a night with…”
“It’s just a common courtesy, Instructor Sabi Kang.”
“Right, of course.”
With that, the carriage carrying Dang Ihyeop and Mae Seol-ran set off towards Yongcheon Hall.
Sabi Kang watched the carriage disappear down the forest path before turning and striding into the woods.
“Ah, I’ve been holding it in for too long. I was about to burst,” he muttered to himself as he ventured deeper into the forest.
When he reached a nearby stream, he relieved himself with a sigh of contentment.
Afterward, he adjusted his clothes and surveyed his surroundings.
“Are you not going to show yourselves?”
He seemed to be speaking to the air, his voice echoing in the stillness.
Sabi Kang chuckled softly. “I figured you’d wait until I was alone. I even gave you the courtesy of a bathroom break. Are you really not coming out?”
Just then, the air shifted—a change only someone like Sabi Kang could sense.
His eyes narrowed, a smile playing on his lips. “There you are.”
In an instant, the sky was filled with a barrage of throwing weapons, descending like a deadly rain.
It was a sight reminiscent of the infamous Thousand Blossoms Rain of the Sichuan Tang Clan—both majestic and menacing.
Sabi Kang quickly erected a shield and leaped into the air.
The weapons ricocheted off his barrier, and as they did, a group of ten assassins charged at him.
The first assassin swung a blackened scimitar, but Sabi Kang’s sword, the Vertas, was already in his hand, deflecting the attack.
He then drew the Darkblade from his back and slashed at his foes.
Flames erupted from the blade’s tip, a testament to its magical properties, capable of channeling either heat or cold depending on the mana infused into it.
The assassins, unaware of this, were caught off guard by the sudden blaze.
One assassin, slashed diagonally from shoulder to side, twisted in mid-air before plunging into the stream to extinguish the flames.
Splash!
The other assassins hesitated, their eyes fixed on Sabi Kang.
“Attacking without so much as an introduction? Quite rude, don’t you think?” Sabi Kang remarked, tapping the flat of his Darkblade against his shoulder.
“You seem surprised by what you’ve seen. Want to see something even more astonishing? But be warned, it won’t come free,” he taunted with a sly grin.
And with that, he vanished.
‘Behind us!’
The assassins spun around, swinging their swords, but their blades were effortlessly deflected by Sabi Kang’s protective aura.
Seizing the moment, Sabi Kang swung his Darkblade again.
The assassins, agile as they were, barely managed to evade the strike.
In terms of agility, few in the martial world could rival the assassins of the Silent Pavilion.
But then…
A fierce blizzard suddenly whipped through the air, the temperature plummeting.
The assassins, realizing the cold was sapping their strength, quickly channeled their inner energy to maintain their body heat.
The icy wind howled, freezing the once-flowing stream solid.
The assassin who had sought refuge in the water struggled to free himself from the encasing ice.
Splash!
The assassins retreated, wary and on edge, their focus now on keeping warm.
They were unaccustomed to such bizarre phenomena, and it was clear why previous attempts to eliminate Sabi Kang had failed.
It wasn’t a matter of underestimating his abilities; it was the unpredictability of his attacks that threw them off.
Sabi Kang chuckled, his breath visible in the cold air. “Surprised, are you? I was too, the first time I experienced it. Thought I’d been possessed by a ghost.”
“Is this… sorcery?” asked the leader of the assassins, his voice low and menacing.
“Oh, you can talk? I thought you were all mute,” Sabi Kang replied with a laugh.
“You don’t understand the gravity of your situation. Being targeted by us means you’re as good as dead.”
“The Silent Pavilion, huh? Do all assassins become chatty when they’re nervous?”
“Enough!”
The leader lunged forward, followed closely by his top lieutenants.
The remaining assassins hurled their weapons at Sabi Kang, each projectile arcing gracefully through the air, aimed solely at him.
A flawless execution of their deadly art.
‘Impressive. I see why the Silent Pavilion is feared. But…’
Sabi Kang had faced the formidable Akcheon Goe in a life-and-death battle before. Compared to that, this was a walk in the park.
The moment the assassins failed to kill him with their initial strike, the battle had already tipped in Sabi Kang’s favor.
“Time for the show to begin!”
With a shout, Sabi Kang brandished his Darkblade once more.
The Darkblade, a formidable weapon in its own right, also served as a conduit for magic, allowing for rapid and efficient mana conversion.
“Fire Storm!”
At his command, a fierce storm of flames erupted from the Darkblade.
The heat was so intense that the incoming projectiles melted mid-air, and the frozen stream began to thaw.
Splash! Splash! Splash!
The assassins, thinking the ice would hold, found themselves plunging into the water.
Sabi Kang, with a thunderous shout, plunged his sword into the stream.
“Now for the Thunder Storm!”
Crackling electricity surged through the water, and the drenched assassins convulsed violently as the current coursed through them.
“Argh!”
“Ugh!”
Sabi Kang landed gracefully on a rock by the stream, watching the scene unfold with amusement.
“How was my show? Oh, you might not know what a ‘show’ is. Think of it as a performance. Anyway, you can’t beat me.”
His confidence was palpable. Any ordinary martial artist would have fallen to the assassins.
But Sabi Kang was no ordinary martial artist.
The assassins, accustomed to executing their plans with precision, were thrown into disarray by his unconventional tactics.
Sabi Kang cracked his neck, a grin spreading across his face. “Now, let me teach you a lesson in courtesy. After all, I am an instructor.”
With that, he launched himself at the assassins.
**
The assassins gathered in a room, their expressions grim.
Among them were the elite and first-class assassins, including the fifth-ranked O-Sal.
Every assassin left in the Silent Pavilion was present, their faces set in serious contemplation.
Just then, the door swung open with a bang, and Ilsal strode in.
The assassins who had been seated immediately stood up in unison.
Ilsal scanned them sharply, his voice pressing as he asked, “What’s going on? Why can’t we reach the Master?”
“The Master went on a mission personally, but we haven’t heard from him at all. It’s been two days now.”
“And the elite assassins deployed?”
“Sam, Sa, and Yuk.”
Ilsal’s expression faltered.
He had just returned to headquarters after completing his own mission, only to rush here upon hearing that contact with the Master had been lost.
“Sam, Sa, Yuk…,” he muttered gravely.
This was no ordinary situation.
He had also heard the news that Isal had been killed.
And now, not only was the Master missing, but Sam, Sa, and Yuk were all unaccounted for!
“Who on earth is this Sabigang? Wait, Sabigang…?”
“Yes, the one who killed Akcheongoe.”
“Damn it!”
Ilsal clenched his fist tightly.
Never since the existence of the assassin’s guild had they faced such a dire threat.
And all because of a single target.
‘Just how formidable is this Sabigang…!’
The Master had taken on the mission personally.
In terms of martial prowess, Ilsal might be superior.
But as an assassin, the Master was unparalleled.
No matter how skilled Ilsal was, he couldn’t match the Master’s assassination abilities.
The Master’s skills were unmatched.
And yet, even he had failed in his mission!
“What should we do?” Osal asked, his face serious.
At that moment—
Bang!
The door burst open again, and a man with a swollen face tumbled in with a thud.
“What do you mean, what should we do? We crawl on our bellies.”
A stranger stood tall in the doorway, causing the assassins to recoil in shock.
“Who is this?”
“Wait, is that… the Master?”
“It’s the Master!”
The assassins, recognizing the fallen man, cried out in disbelief.
Osal and Palsal rushed to support the Master.
Meanwhile, Ilsal quickly hurled a hidden weapon toward the entrance.
“You scoundrel!”
Swish!
But the weapons were effortlessly caught between the fingers of the man who had stepped inside.
“Ah, you guys. Like moles, digging tunnels everywhere.”
Sabigang tossed the weapons aside carelessly, grumbling.
Then, a wicked smile spread across his lips.
“Shall we begin the lesson?”