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“So it’s just me, Jin So-cheong, Lee Kwang, and Guk Ho in this battle.”

Only four of us were participating. Sagong Lin was still honing her skills, and the safety of the Sagong Clan was at stake. The same went for Jeonghu, which left the four of us trying to break through the True Heaven Alliance’s heavenly net.

But none of us felt fear or anxiety. Even I, who had always been on edge about death threats, felt surprisingly calm.

Perfectly four of us—it was decided we’d break through the Azure Dragon Martial Arts School’s encirclement individually, in all four directions: east, west, south, and north. Lee Kwang was confident that the four experts of the Thunder God Lineage wouldn’t be caught by any encirclement tactics.

“So, south it is,” I pondered.

As I stepped out of the Azure Dragon Martial Arts School, around ten paces in, I began to sense a murderous intent surrounding me. Extending my Qi Sense, I quickly gauged their skill levels and numbers, pinpointing their locations.

‘About twenty of them. Mostly first-class and second-class fighters…’

Swoosh!!

Suddenly, the Mother and Son Pursuing Soul Needles came flying at me. The one who threw three of them had first-class skill—clearly, the speed and power were far from ordinary. They aimed for my blind spots perfectly.

Swish!

With a single slice, I knocked away the Mother and Son Pursuing Soul Needles, only to be greeted by a fresh wave of ten more flying my way from a completely different direction. Moving swiftly, I deflected with my sword, but soon I was swamped as a barrage of even more projectiles descended upon me.

Clang clang clang!

‘Sword Barrier.’

After clearing the chaotic onslaught of needles, I jumped onto a nearby rooftop, but as if waiting for me, five martial artists emerged, hurling swords, blades, and spears at me.

“Die!”

Still no noteworthy experts among them, I muttered to myself as I effortlessly anchored my position. Simultaneously, I felt the air beneath me shake powerfully.

Thwoom!

Springing off the air, my body suddenly appeared three paces away. The martial artists who were coordinating their attack seemed to flounder, momentarily losing sight of me. A moment later, I unleashed the Ten Thousand Success Sword Technique, sending their heads flying amidst a rain of blood.

Using the Soul Removal Technique and my swordsmanship, decapitating five was a piece of cake.

Someone tried to throw more projectiles at me, but I had no reason to fear long-range attacks anymore. As I stomped on the roof, a tile shot up into the air, perfectly blocking the incoming projectiles. I snatched it mid-air and launched it back with my internal power.

Whump!

“Ugh…!”

What a fitting outcome for those who recklessly throw projectiles at others.

Gleefully, I watched the tile impale my enemy’s chest from twenty paces away. I suddenly understood why Jin So-cheong warned me about being careful with projectiles—their martial arts might be insignificant, but throwing them from a distance while looking for openings is just too annoying.

I danced forward, stepping onto the Soul Removal Technique, heading toward the remaining ambushers.

“Hah!”

“W-What?!”

My speed was so overwhelming that they struggled to match my movements. In a split second, I had closed in within twenty paces, striking each of the enemy’s acupoints with the back of my sword, sending them crashing down, unable to fight anymore.

Crack!

In just a few breaths, I had taken care of all twenty ambushers, momentarily dissolving the encirclement. Even if it was called the heavenly net, it was designed to snare a few weaklings; when I wiped them out quickly, they had nothing to hold me back.

I leaped across the roof of the crowd control zone, muttering, “What a letdown.”

Lee Kwang’s earlier words echoed in my mind.

[Tomorrow’s plan is to smash everything on the way to Mount Hobi.]

Mount Hobi was about forty miles away from the crowd control zone. Guk Ho, who was also listening, chimed in.

[Should I just kill them all?]

[That’s fine, but try to show kindness to the weak who can’t fight back.]

[What do you mean…?]

[I mean leave some room to look like it was self-defense.]

[Understood.]

Yeah, I got what Lee Kwang was saying.

Giving an impression of self-defense—essentially, it meant showing off our strength! Four of us breaking through the True Heaven Alliance’s encirclement should leave us strong enough to spare their lives, and not seem like we wiped them out when we report back later.

‘But surely, it’s fine to kill however many I want, right?’

That said, Lee Kwang’s words were just a guideline. The Thunder God Lineage wouldn’t spare anyone who came at them with the intent to kill, so the other three were likely dealing with anyone they found annoying. I mentally decided to keep alive those that showed potential as I pressed onward.

Whoosh!

After jumping a good distance, I spotted another idiot trying to throw projectiles. I deflected them while grumbling.

“Ugh, seriously.”

With the authority of life and death in my hands, everything started to annoy me. I just wanted to wipe them all out! But I knew that once I indulged in the taste of slaughter, I’d be unstoppable, so I thought to myself,

‘Then I’ll just leave them injured.’

Bang!

I threw tiles at the projectile-throwers, putting them down. My tiles sent more limbs flying than their clumsy projectiles ever could!

“AAAAAAAAH!”

“AHHH!”

The screams tickled my ears delightfully. A relentless tide of swords and spears tried to come at me, but I easily subdued each one within just a second. As I moved like lightning, delivering a single swift strike, they crumpled like straw.

I didn’t kill anyone. I merely subdued them all. The gap in our skills was so vast that I felt no need to kill.

Meanwhile, one swordsman, still conscious, trembled and shouted, “M-Monster!! How could you…!”

I crouched down in front of him and grinned.

“You? Who do you think you are?”

“……”

“You haven’t even encountered a real monster yet, yet you have such strange pride.”

Snap!

I flicked my finger, knocking him out cold with a concussion. It looked like they were just minor players under the True Heaven Alliance’s lower combat organization. Of course, the basics of an encirclement involve grinding down the weak before the strong come in to finish them off, so it would be wrong to consider them True Heaven Alliance’s true experts.

By now, I felt like I had taken down about forty of them. With the area surrounding me becoming significantly quieter, the murderous intent lessened, and I realized how many I had defeated. Just a little further, and I’d be out of the crowd control zone, so I leisurely continued on.

“You scoundrel!”

Suddenly, a shout rang out as some experts blocked my path at the city gate. Unlike the previous weaklings, these guys seemed to have actually mastered their martial arts. There were about ten of them, similar in number to before, but their individual skills were on another level.

I arched an eyebrow, trying to figure out who they were.

‘Part of the Nine Great Sects?’

They all wore either Daoist robes or the colors of prominent orthodox sects. It seemed they were powerful figures of the Nine Great Sects, dispatched to assist the True Heaven Alliance.

The individual skill levels were all first class or better. Scanning the crowd for peak experts, I noticed at least two among them. I landed in front of them, crossing my arms.

“Are you folks with the True Heaven Alliance?”

“Indeed. Put down your weapons willingly.”

“And you’ll spare our lives?”

“That depends on your actions.”

I chuckled softly.

“Crazy guys. Is that how you recommend surrendering?”

“You have remarkable martial arts, but you won’t defeat us easily.”

Swish!

The experts moved quickly, forming a formation. It didn’t seem like they were encircling me, but instead forming a defensive stance at the city gate. I realized they were utilizing the principles of the Four Symbols.

‘Is this a formation from the Wudang Sect?’

That formation would enhance each of their defensive capabilities while suppressing any expert that stepped within its bounds. Of course, wiping it out with my overwhelming internal power wouldn’t be hard at all.

But I walked forward as if it were just a stroll. I felt confident I could break through without needing to rely on my internal power. Seeing me sauntering toward them made the peak expert in the Wudang Sect shout out in anger.

“Do you want to bite the bullet?!”

Piying!

Three peak experts unleashed their blades simultaneously. Unlike their previous attacks, this wasn’t something I could brush off in a second. I dodged their strikes, slipping back like flowing water, and plunged in with the Soul Removal Technique.

“Hah!”

In the blink of an eye, I identified a blind spot, while one expert hastily pivoted on his left foot to block, only for me to have already struck him with the Thunder Cloud Fist.

Crack!

“Aargh!”

The force of my internal energy propelled him away as he screamed. The remaining experts hurriedly filled the spot he left, trying to attack in unison. But I didn’t give them time to coordinate; I charged deeper into their formation.

Then I attacked the peak expert of the Clear Stream Sect with the Ten Thousand Success Sword Technique.

Clang!

“Urgh!”

The Rank One Sword Technique of the Clear Stream Sect managed to hold off my attack for about ten seconds. He truly had a reputation for skills in the Jianghu. But even without exerting much internal power, I quickly spotted an opening, overwhelming him and forcing him down.

Thud!

“……!!”

Both the peak expert of the Clear Stream Sect and everyone else attacking me wore expressions of despair. In an instant, their formation had collapsed with the peak expert suppressed. I grinned, holding my sword against the Clear Stream expert’s neck.

“Still want to keep going?”

“Ugh…”

Even though I’d unwittingly taken a hostage, that wasn’t my real concern. They instinctively realized that even if they threw themselves at me, their chances of winning were slim to none. Taking them down individually, dismissing their encirclement with my Soul Removal Technique meant attacking them would be pointless.

Then the peak expert of the Wudang Sect spoke gravely.

“How can someone your age possess such incredible martial arts… Who on earth are you?”

“I’m Baek Woong of the Thunder God Lineage.”

“Don’t make a fool of yourself. No matter how strong you are, you cannot defeat the main forces of the True Heaven Alliance.”

His words probably held truth. These were just members of a lower combat group in the True Heaven Alliance, but the peak experts of the Nine Great Sects had yet to make an appearance. If they joined the encirclement, I might struggle against them alone. But I merely smiled coldly.

“Cat warns the mouse. The only thing you should be worried about is your own life.”

“……”

“I’ll give you three seconds. Decide whether you’re going to keep fighting or not.”

As I counted, “One,” he spoke hastily.

“Got it, we give up. Let him go.”

“You lot need to stay put here for a day. Understand?”

“… Understood.”

I left the stunned experts behind and exited the crowd control zone. While I could’ve likely killed them all if I kept fighting, it was clear I would’ve exhausted quite a bit of energy doing so. For now, I was satisfied with my escape. Of course, whether those guys would stick to their word was uncertain, but what mattered was that I had clearly established superiority over them.

It was now unquestionable. Unless a peak expert appeared, no one could stop me.

“Hahaha!”

Feeling elated, I burst into laughter. Then Miho, now in the form of a gem, sent me a sulky message.

[What’s so great? This is boring.]

“Miho, feeling bored?”

[Hmph! I wanted to fight too…]

“This is the Thunder God Lineage’s fight, so it’d be a bit tricky. Please bear with it.”

Miho replied,

[Just get to Mount Hobi already. You better treat me to something delicious later.]

“……”

In the end, I decided I’d have to treat Miho to something tasty, so I scratched my head while secretly grinning.

‘I suppose I’m the fastest, right?’

Even I could tell I had slipped out without a hitch from the encirclement. I could likely arrive at Mount Hobi first and brag about it. But when I reached Mount Hobi, my expression warped.

“Ah, I’m late, Baek Woong.”

At the entrance of Mount Hobi, Lee Kwang and Jin So-cheong were already waiting for me. These monsters had defeated their enemies faster and disturbed the enemy encirclement completely already. Jin So-cheong spoke up.

“Did you happen to see Guk Ho on your way?”

“I didn’t see him.”

Just then, Guk Ho burst through the thicket from a distance, landing with a hard thump. Wiping sweat from his forehead, he exclaimed, “Phew! Did I come in last?”

“You’re late, Guk Ho.”

As I teased him, Guk Ho scowled.

“Ugh! Do you know how hard it is to NOT kill them? I figured they’d just drop dead!”

Lee Kwang then spoke to Guk Ho.

“Guk Ho, you need better training.”

“Yes, sir…”

“Well, looks like we’ve broken through the first encirclement.”

Lee Kwang mumbled as he looked toward the summit of Mount Hobi.

“There’s a place called the Tiger King’s Stronghold, led by the leader of the Eighteen Houses of the Green Forest. We must subdue them.”

“The Tiger King’s Stronghold…”

Eighteen Houses of the Green Forest! That referred to the strongest group among the bandit gangs. I had heard of the Tiger King, the head of the Eighteen Houses of the Green Forest. Something felt off, so I tilted my head and asked Lee Kwang,

“Master, I’m sorry, but doesn’t capturing a bandit gang seem strange right now?”

Turns out, I wasn’t the only one thinking this—as curious expressions appeared on Jin So-cheong and Guk Ho’s faces as well. It made sense, really. It was a good thing to break through the encirclement of the True Heaven Alliance, but even if they were the leaders of the Eighteen Houses, capturing some bandits didn’t fit with our current situation.

Lee Kwang chuckled softly, “It’s not strange at all.”

“Huh?”

“The leader of the Tiger King should be affiliated with the Thunder God Lineage.”

“……!!”

“You’ll understand when we get there. Now let’s go.”

We followed Lee Kwang in a daze toward the Tiger King’s Stronghold. The stronghold was massive enough to be seen from the mountain’s base. As we approached, we easily repelled assaults from the bandits, finally reaching the Tiger King’s Stronghold.

Crash!

Lee Kwang’s fist shattered the main gate of the stronghold. When about fifty bandits saw him, they froze in fear.

I understood why they looked so scared.

‘All these guys have mastered martial arts.’

Bandits with no martial arts would be clueless about determining their opponent’s strength and would rush in carelessly. But the bandits of the Tiger King’s Stronghold had clearly been diligently practicing formal martial arts, with many at first-class and above. That’s why they sensed the overwhelming power of the Thunder God Lineage at a glance and felt fear.

What an unbelievable situation! A bunch of bandits practicing formal martial arts like they’re an established sect! There was a reason the Tiger King was the leader of the Eighteen Houses of the Green Forest.

Lee Kwang coldly surveyed them and said, “I don’t want to kill unnecessarily. Bring out the leader of the Tiger King’s Stronghold.”

“I’m right here.”

A middle-aged man, dressed in a tiger skin with a long sword, stepped forward. With a grim expression, he muttered.

“Lee Kwang. Are you here to take my life?”

“That depends on your attitude.”

Suddenly, he sank to his knees and shouted at Lee Kwang, “I am the Green Forest King, Gu Cheol! I humbly plead with you! Take my life but spare these men!”

“……”

Lee Kwang stared down at him silently for a while, then said, “I knew you were sent by the Wind Spirit Sect to gather bandits nearby and keep an eye on the Azure Dragon Martial Arts School and the surrounding forces of the martial world. It is now the day for our Thunder God Lineage and Wind Spirit Sect to test each other, so there’s no reason for me to keep you around.”

“……!!”

Only then did I connect the dots.

That’s right! The reason there were bandits swarming around the Azure Dragon Martial Arts School was that the Wind Spirit Sect had sensed the Thunder God Lineage’s presence here and sent the Green Forest King, Gu Cheol, as a spy! Gu Cheol was a disciple of the Wind Spirit Sect, maintaining surveillance over the Azure Dragon Martial Arts School and the martial forces in the area.

With tears in his eyes, the Green Forest King pleaded, “Please… I beg you. While I acted under the orders of the Wind Spirit Sect, the folks gathered here have their stories. We’ve never recklessly pillaged women and the weak; we gathered to find our own paths to survive. Please spare their lives!”

“……”

I felt astonished. ‘A person from the Wind Spirit Sect like this?’

I had always thought people from the Wind Spirit Sect, including the Dharma Guardian, were nothing but trash. But here was a human willing to sacrifice his own life to save his men, coming from the Wind Spirit Sect! I felt as though I had been hit on the head.

Lee Kwang remained silent for quite a while before saying, “Gu Cheol, then abandon the Wind Spirit Sect.”

“……!!”

“And become the youngest disciple of the Thunder God Lineage, following us into the future. If you can promise that, I’ll spare your life.”

“Th-That…”

“I’ve seen your skills before. If you become our ally, you can spare the Tiger King’s Stronghold.”

Gu Cheol’s face reflected deep contemplation as he thought over it. But his answer seemed predetermined. He bowed his head and declared, “I shall do so!”

Shortly after, the Green Forest King performed the Nine Prostrations Ritual and the entrance ceremony to the Thunder God Lineage, becoming the youngest disciple after Sagong Lin and Jeonghu. I could only watch in disbelief at this absurd spectacle.

‘That guy is the youngest?’

From a glance, the Green Forest King’s martial arts skills were clearly at the peak level, nearly transcending to the highest realm. Given his internal power, he was probably a master of the Wind Spirit Sect, yet Lee Kwang had recruited him as a subordinate in an instant.

Pleased with having taken the Tiger King’s Stronghold, Lee Kwang said, “Send the rest of the bandits down the mountain. They won’t be of any help to our power.”

“What will you do?”

Jin So-cheong asked, and Lee Kwang’s lips curled into a sinister smile.

“What do you think? We’re going to take on the Huashan Sect.”

 

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