3
7
4.
Phew.
“Ugh.”
A person collapses with a painful scream.
It was clear that he was in mortal danger, but his colleague could not bring himself to step forward.
This was because there was already a dangerous opponent in front of him from whom he could not easily escape.
Chaechaechaeng.
Blocking the threatening movement of the blade, I shout loudly to warn my comrades of the danger.
“It’s an enemy! Block it!”
However, no one came.
No, they might not have been able to come because they encountered another enemy on the way.
The man, realizing he could neither defeat the enemy nor retreat, began to put forth his full effort.
As I unleash the Azure Dragon Sea Fist that has reached the tenth level, the opponent’s sword path begins to get tangled.
“this guy!!!”
The long robe swells up as if about to burst, driving the enemy back.
The opponent, who was initially a formidable opponent, began to retreat before long, and Gong Won-so, the leader of the Yuryong Kwonmun, seized the momentum and drove the opponent to the very end.
Pow pow pow!
With every punch thrown, a gust of wind bursting from the gauntlet tears apart the opponent’s clothes.
The enemy tried to force his sword into the gap, but Gong Won-so blocked the sword and attempted a counterattack at the same time.
Pow pow!
The intricate intricacies of the Changryongyuhaegwon, where offense and defense unfold simultaneously, shone brightly in moments like this.
The enemy, flung backward in an instant, rolled twice on the floor and spat out blood covered in blood.
*Spit* “Who the hell is this!”
“…….”
Black martial arts attire. Even the appearance of offering absolutely no response.
The moment Gong Won-so first saw them, she was reminded of the people her daughter had described in her letter.
Those bastards who tried to kill my daughter in Mukrim.
However, the ones I faced in person were different from the enemies in the letters.
Unlike the description that he was emotionless as if life did not exist, the eyes visible through the gaps in his mask often held a hint of bewilderment, and he could not contain his surprise when attacked.
Well, it doesn’t matter what it is now.
Whether they were enemies or not, climbing over the wall of the Yuryong Martial Arts Sect in the middle of the night was no easy feat.
As punches burst forth, the opponent’s hands and feet become even more severely entangled.
Where has that initial momentum gone, and now even hesitation hangs over that sword.
Park Won-so unleashed his final killing spree to quickly deal with the guy and help the disciples.
However.
Squeak.
The arm that had been swinging the fist had vanished in an instant, and blood was pouring from his shoulder blade.
“!!!”
A scream bursts out from the extreme pain felt for the first time in my life.
“Ugh!”
He quickly tries to pinch the pressure points, but the bleeding—as if his arm had been severed—is unlikely to stop easily.
“Gasp, gasp, gasp.”
After being momentarily spaced out, Gong Won-so realizes he is in the middle of a battle and takes two steps back with a start.
However, the attack did not continue.
It must have been a golden opportunity for him to show a weakness while flustered.
However. ‘Why…’ Even though it happened unexpectedly, the other person did not seem to have any intention of taking advantage of the opportunity.
Then, suddenly, I felt that the swordsmanship displayed by the villain looked all too familiar.
at that time.
“Are you wondering why I didn’t attack?”────!
Park Won-so was so startled by the sudden voice that he couldn’t even scream.
The enemy removed his mask and let out a vile laugh, leaving Gong Won-so in shock.
“……
Seon Ja-chun, how could you!!!
It was a face I never imagined.
And rightly so, considering they were fellow disciples of Jongnam who studied together, were united under the alias Guiyeong Geomgwon in their youth, and in their later years established their own martial arts schools nearby to support one another.
Even when I first noticed the raid, I first thought about how I could inform Seon Ja-chun of the situation.
As if betraying that belief, Seon Ja-chun let out a sneer.
I feel a pity, my friend.
That … …
“Is that really a question!”
“Well then, what should we do? We were just starting to feel the limits of expansion. And even in Jongnam, there is a lot of deliberation over which sect to support.”
“No matter what…!”
In Shanxi Province, located right next door, the influence of the Black Dao began to grow as the Black Alliance established itself.
With the tribute money he originally received reduced by half and feeling a sense of crisis due to the unreasonable expansion of his competitors, Gong Won-so also wondered if he should devour someone.
However, no matter what, I could not bring myself to strike a friend with whom I had shared joys and sorrows for over thirty years.
“Think about it the other way around. Aren’t we the ones who can clearly see each other’s strengths and weaknesses? To me, you were my biggest weakness, and to you, I must have been that weakness.”
“her…….”
A hollow groan escaped from Gong Won-so’s lips.
No matter how heartless the martial arts world may be, I never thought they would even think such a thing.
“Be honest with me. Didn’t you think about it too?”
There’s no need to unnecessarily lend weight to those words that sound like an attempt to relieve guilt.
Gong Won-so drew up his internal energy with all his might and looked at his friend, Seon Ja-chun.
“You made the wrong choice. Just as you said, I know your weaknesses best.”
Then, he performed the initiation ceremony of the Azure Dragon Sea Fist.
“Ah, do you happen to know this? I’m actually better with my left hand.”
“Hehe. Is that so?”
“I will kill you right here and now, and I will annihilate your sect as well.”
Seon Ja-chun’s lips stiffened for a moment.
Because the aura emanating from Gong Won-so’s body was that extraordinary.
However, a faint smile soon rises on Seon Ja-chun’s face.
That probably won’t happen.
Chuck, chuck, chuck, chuck, chuck.
A dozen or so black-masked men surrounded the park.
You’re the last one.
Seon Ja-chun let out a bitter laugh.
Damn it.
Park Won-so let out a low curse.
He drew up his innate energy without further delay.
A tremendous explosion of energy burst out around him.
A short while later.
Gong Won-so, who had been standing tall in the center of a dozen or so corpses, suddenly knelt down.
“Phew… this guy is giving me a hard time right up to the very end.”
Seon Jachun turns away, shaking his head.
Gong Won-so, who had been glaring at him with bloodshot eyes, fell to the floor with a thud.
The final moment.
Amusingly, what he recalled was not his own life, but the image of his daughter a thousand miles away.
“I wonder if she bought the right outfit to wear to the graduation ceremony?” Gong Won-so was secretly looking forward to the ceremony, even while grumbling, because she had sent him several letters insisting that he buy the very best clothes. “What a shame… I really wanted to see it.” Imagining his daughter’s bright smile that he had never seen, he slowly breathed his last.
It was something that happened quite frequently whenever dark night fell upon the martial arts world.#“You’re skipping the graduation ceremony?”
It was already the third one.
A student returning to their hometown with graduation just around the corner.
Of course, not being able to attend the graduation ceremony does not mean that the graduation will not be recognized.
Because returning to my hometown right before an event I had longed for my entire life was tantamount to saying that something extraordinary had happened.
“also?”
Jang Woo-jae nodded at my question.
“after…….”
Gong Yoo-seon’s story makes me involuntarily let out a sigh.
Coming from a powerful clan of the Jongnam lineage, she had always hoped to enter Cheongnyonggak.
However, since I couldn’t go with mediocre grades, I was just about to look for another option when…
Unlike previous cohorts, the competition rate for Blue Dragon Pavilion dropped significantly this time due to the eccentricities of the Murim Academy students, and thanks to that, he was accepted and was spending his days happier than anyone else.
Then came the bad news.
“And there were no traces of the raiders?”
“yes.”
That is already the third time.
And that is only among the sects to which the academy students belong.
Across the entire martial arts world, a much larger number of sects were disappearing overnight without a trace.
According to recent reports, requests for the Qimen Formation are flooding into the Mosan Sect and the Jegal Family at an explosive rate, leaving the sorcerers unable to get proper rest.
“They say the Dark Path of Martial Arts is even worse?”
It’s ridiculous that while the ‘real Demonic Cult’ has only just emerged, the ‘fake Demonic Cult’ is more active than ever.
If this chaos intensifies, war will eventually break out within the Murim Alliance, and the Alliance will pay a heavy price.
However, no one is concerned about this.
Due to those whose greatest goal is to immediately strike down a colleague next to them and take away their livelihood, the Jianghu will be unable to prepare for a true enemy and will eventually struggle to fight back.
“Representative… by any chance, is your private matter alright?”
Anhui Province, where Taeeulmun is located, is also not inferior to other places when it comes to competition.
Moreover, as profits increased through the Daecheon Merchant Guild, the number of people viewing Taeeulmun unfavorably increased.
There was a high possibility that he would become a scapegoat in this power struggle.
I looked at Jang Woo-jae and nodded.
I’ve roughly prepared for it.
With Jegal Cheon-gi’s mechanical formation completed and Baek Hae-gwang staying as a guest, there was no chance of news of the clan’s destruction being spread by the ‘fake Demonic Cult’ unless the real Demonic Cult appeared.
Jang Woo-jae lets out a small exclamation of admiration, saying, “As expected.”
I see. You mean the mechanical formation you mentioned before.
He seemed to have remarkably remembered what had been mentioned in passing the other day.
Jang Woo-jae, who had been muttering something as if deep in thought for a moment, raised his head.
“By any chance… may I ask that you install one at our Yujangmun as well?”
“huh?”
Although the Wang clan installed Zhuge Tianqi’s Mechanical Formation following Taeeulmun, the preconception that “Mechanical Formations are weaker than Qimen Formations” is still evident in the minds of the people of the Jianghu.
But to think they are installing a mechanical system.
Upon hearing that Representative Jin had installed the Gwan-gwan Formation instead of the Gimun Formation at Taeeulmun, the elders of the sect decided to install the Gwan-gwan Formation as well.
“oh?!”
Jegal Cheon-gi harbored deep regret over not being able to complete his mechanical formation in his previous life.
It is the perfect opportunity to receive the result that his theory was successful.
I sat up and looked delighted.
“of course.”
With the help of the Wang family, preparations have already been made to sell the mechanical formation through the Daecheon Merchant Guild.
Whenever Jegal Cheon-gi’s dream comes true, a massive amount of money flows into the Daecheon Merchant Guild; isn’t this truly killing two birds with one stone?
As I said before, the thought of his dream coming true makes me want to dance with joy.
After the discussion about the engine formation was finished, Jang Woo-jae asked me.
“How many people from Samun will be attending this graduation ceremony?”
Seeing the peculiar smile on his lips, it seemed that Jang Woo-jae was also quite looking forward to the graduation ceremony.
“Everyone is probably going crazy trying to come.”
Honestly, it would be absurd to think the school would be empty in this situation, but quite a few people were expected to attend the graduation ceremony.
They said something about how something like this would never happen again.
“Anyway, I told you he’s the most dramatic person in the martial arts world. Still, it looks like it will be quite a commotion for a while.” Imagining the Taeeul Sect members unable to hold back their laughter for the first time in a long while, I, too, began to look forward to the graduation ceremony. #“Hmm… It looks like everything I prepared has gone to waste.”
Wang Geum-san said with a troubled expression.
The scale of the food, wagons, and horses he prepared for this journey to Wuhan was almost equivalent to that of a large guild, but on the day of departure, the number of people heading to Wuhan decreased drastically.
That’s exactly what I’m saying.
Jin Taesan, whose eyelids were as dark as Daeungmyo’s, shook his head as if to say it couldn’t be helped.
I never thought they would go this far.
The root of the problem was the promise between Baek Haegwang and the elders of Taeeulmun.
Only those who passed the criteria set by Baek Haegwang by the day the journey to infinity began could leave for the journey to infinity.
Hong Mun-gi was the only person who passed that test.
Well, they brought this all upon themselves.
Hong Mun-gi’s somewhat cold demeanor made Jin Tae-san feel unfamiliar.
“Well, from what I heard, it was a bit of an unreasonable standard, but…”
Hong Mun-gi gazed quietly at Jin Tae-san with his steadfast eyes.
“Mount Tai, freedom is by nature not granted to the weak.”
I can feel the hardened calluses on the hand resting on my shoulder. ‘He has definitely changed a bit.’ It’s not just his personality that has changed—that hard-to-change trait said to remain unchanged after forty.
The outward appearance was also vastly different from the past.
Where did that generous and well-built impression go? Now it has changed into a gaunt and sharp appearance.
The most significant change is that I can sense a strange aura even while standing still.
“What on earth is he undergoing training for?” When I heard he was training with Baek Haegwang, I wondered how much he could change, but this was beyond the extent of a change.
It wouldn’t be surprising if he had become a completely different person.
Even looking at the present, that is the case.
The gentleman, who normally would have benevolently pleaded with Baek Haegwang himself to take the clan leaders to Muhan, coldly glared at the clan leaders staring at him from the side with eyes like those of a bull being led to a slaughterhouse, and then slipped into the carriage.
“Phew, isn’t there a single decent person in this damn family?”
Wang Geum-san burst into a chuckle at Jin Tae-san’s lament.
“Why do you look so miserable? Your son is finally graduating as the representative student of the Murim Academy. You should be trying hard to hide your smile, shouldn’t you…?”
“That guy is the biggest problem! He is!! What on earth is he doing that his reputation as the ‘Divine of the Black Path’ keeps growing day by day?”
“Tsk tsk. Are you still talking about that?”
At Wang Geum-san’s rebuke, veins bulged in Jin Tae-san’s neck.
“What do you mean, ‘still’? Is this a big deal? Isn’t your notoriety growing the more you build your reputation?”
“That’s all in the past now. My son-in-law… no, So-un is going to graduate as the representative student of the academy, so who could possibly spread such nonsense about him being a joint successor of the Black Dao or a spy?”
Come to think of it, didn’t the leader of the Murim Alliance say he would personally hand over the diploma?
If that scene spreads through the mouths of the world’s connoisseurs, there will no longer be anyone who denounces Jin So-un as a member of the Dark Path.
“You should stop worrying uselessly and go inside to get some sleep. You should show up looking decent when you stand in front of So-un, shouldn’t you?”
At Wang Geum-san’s words, Jin Tae-san breathed a sigh of relief and entered the carriage. Just like the entrance to the Black Lotus Taiyi Sect in Shanxi Province, a large procession was conducting its final inspection.
“Hehe, graduation. I am deeply moved.”
Dam-ak slightly furrowed his brow at the sight of Cha Seok-du, who was beaming with pride at the scale of the large guild.
“Master, that fellow is a member of the Murim Alliance.”
“Military Officer Dam. Don’t say such things. It was I who enrolled that fellow in the academy. Tch, honestly, if I could have, I would have loved to go and congratulate him in person at his graduation.”
As Cha Seok-du wore a peculiar expression as if reminiscing about the distant past, Dam-ak quickly stopped him.
Of course, I will say what cannot be said.
“Please do not do it.”
“Ahem… So, you go in my place and give them a grand celebration. Make sure the name of the Black Alliance is not brought to shame.”
“Since it is an order, I have no choice but to obey, but…”
Cha Seok-du chuckled as he watched Dam-ak frowning and trailing off.
You’re enjoying it, too.
No. Due to this incident, I have been giving deep thought to the future relationship between the Murim Alliance and the Dark Alliance…
“Understood. You handle that yourselves. But keep this in mind. As for the celebration, make sure to proceed exactly as I’ve set it up.”
“Lord Ryeonju, this agreement is…….”
I really have to do this.
Damak, who had been hesitating, let out a small sigh.
All right.”
In fact, that was the part he was looking forward to the most on this schedule as well.
As Damak nodded, the procession began to depart.
Cha Seok-du murmured softly as he watched the receding figures of the monks.
Will this be the last graduation ceremony? I really hope not.
