Chapter 280. Where Does Conflict Come From? (5)
“……?!”
Gi U-hui’s eyes shook violently as she raced forward.
Who is that……?
A figure charging toward her at terrifying speed from the front. It was beyond human limits. No bird soaring through the sky, no beast pouncing on its prey, not even the swiftest renowned steed in the world could match it.
With her skills and reflexes, Gi U-hui couldn’t track the movements of the man wielding a massive axe and iron chain.
But for some reason, she could clearly see the young man hurtling toward her at speeds that defied imagination. It was as if she alone had fallen into a slowed-down world of time.
In that moment, she could perceive every detail: his piercing gaze, his expression, and the explosive presence radiating from him.
Dangerous.
That was her first impression upon seeing him.
Immensely dangerous!
Instinctively, Gi U-hui twisted her body to evade.
At that instant, Yeon Hojeong accelerated once more.
Kwaaaang!
With a ferocious blast of hot wind, Yeon Hojeong leaped into the air and overtook Gi U-hui in a single bound, surging into the rear.
“Kyaaaaack!”
A scream she couldn’t hold back echoed through the mountains and valleys.
Yeon Hojeong shouted.
“Muk Bi!”
Puuuung!
In an instant, Muk Bi caught up behind him, Hongryeon Palace in hand.
Tatata-tang!
Merciless rapid fire—formless arrows—rained down on the assassins who had revealed themselves.
Thuk! Peubek! Tiiing!
Muk Bi’s eyes flashed.
Three formless arrows blew the heads off three of them, but the remaining two drew their swords and deflected them.
Fast.
Their reaction speed was impressive. Moreover, their internal energy and swordsmanship were top-notch.
It wasn’t archery loaded with iron or wooden arrows, but even so, the piercing power was hard to block with ordinary martial arts—yet they managed it.
But arrows don’t run out.
If she were alone, she would have unleashed the ultimate techniques of the Nine Dragon Heaven Breaking Bow. But there was no need now.
A reliable ally—the incarnation of real combat martial arts—stood by her side.
Buuuuuung! Peueok!
The Gwangryongbu, swung at unimaginable speed, tore the two assassins’ bodies to shreds.
It felt like a slashing gale carrying the weight of a thousand catties.
Flesh and blood ripped away by that overwhelming strike filled the air.
Flames erupted from Yeon Hojeong’s feet.
Kwaang!
It was the charge of the Fire God, blasting through short distances at ultra-high speed.
Using Blood Wing Swing Heaven, he pierced into the forest entrance in one go and gripped the Jiao Dragon Chain bound around his upper body.
Chwarururuk!
Axe in his right hand, Jiao Dragon Chain in his left.
Two in the upper left, three lower left, two mid-right.
He precisely pinpointed the positions of the assassins hidden in the underbrush.
Yeon Hojeong swung the Jiao Dragon Chain.
Chwaruruk! Peubeubeubek!
From upper left to mid-right, the chain—sharpened like an awl—pierced through the torsos of all seven assassins in one motion.
It wasn’t White Tiger Qi or Vermilion Bird Qi.
It was Azure Dragon Qi.
The Azure Dragon Art specialized in evasion and counterattacks. At its core, Azure Dragon Qi had the property of freely altering a weapon’s nature.
When not aiming for instant kills but to pierce and drag, Azure Dragon Qi outperformed even Vermilion Bird Qi.
Yeon Hojeong yanked the chain back.
Kwajik! Kwaang!
The seven assassins with pierced torsos flew through the air toward him, their stances completely broken.
Yeon Hojeong swung the Gwangryongbu.
Peueueueok!
The savage power of Tiger King Nine Thunder Strikes shredded their bodies in an instant.
It was a linked technique with difficult weapons: one weighing eighty catties, the other a five-zhang iron chain—yet he wielded them single-handedly with perfect mastery.
“He’s insane.”
Gang Ryang, who had come to Gi U-hui’s side, stuck out his tongue.
“How does martial arts like that even exist?!”
No matter how many times he saw it, he couldn’t get used to such absurd power.
At the same time, Gang Ryang gained fresh conviction.
In their spar, Yeon Hojeong hadn’t even shown half—no, not even thirty percent—of his true ability.
Mo Yong Woo turned to Gi U-hui and gave a brief cupped-fist salute.
“I am Mo Yong Woo, leader of the Tang Ma Army of the Martial Alliance. You are the Western Divine Maiden, correct?”
“Y-yes?! Ah! I’m not exactly a divine maiden…… well, that is……”
Flustered, she stammered repeatedly.
Mo Yong Woo nodded.
“Gi U-hui, the Western Divine Healer. From now on, we will protect you.”
“Th-thank you.”
Even in the chaos, she bowed deeply in gratitude.
Mo Yong Woo could sense her gentle nature.
Then—
Kwaaaang! Peueong!
A brutal explosion roared.
Trees snapped, and the earth overturned. The destructive force was so immense it seemed to shake heaven and earth.
Yeon Hojeong shouted.
“Mo Yong Commander! Head to the place I mentioned earlier!”
Mo Yong Woo immediately hoisted Gi U-hui onto his back.
“Pardon the intrusion.”
Paaaang!
Mo Yong Woo with Gi U-hui on his back and Gang Ryang shot out of the area in a flash.
At the same time, the assassins waiting in the forest bypassed at exhilarating speeds.
Even through dense woods—not open ground—their movements were frighteningly swift and precise.
Yeon Hojeong yelled.
“Block them!”
Huoooooung.
Muk Bi loaded iron arrows onto Hongryeon Palace.
Dragon Fang Cannon!
Her massive internal energy, amplified by Crimson Heaven Qi, transformed the iron arrows on the string into invincible artillery shells.
Muk Bi released the string.
Buaaaaang!
The spiraling Dragon Fang Cannon shot out, heating the air scorching hot.
Kwaaaaang!
Five or six massive trees shattered, and three house-sized boulders crumbled, forming a giant wall.
It blocked the assassins’ path in one strike.
In that moment, Yeon Hojeong’s eyes flashed.
Paaaak!
Over twenty assassins scaled the blocked wall and soared high into the sky.
Shockingly, their bloodwind robes formed vast membranes, allowing them to glide on the wind.
Incredible.
Such aerial movement required special fabric clothing, exquisitely precise internal energy control, advanced lightness skills, and profound insight.
These aren’t mere assassins.
Even in his Black Emperor Castle days, such elites existed. Special forces scaled cliffs, escaping or infiltrating battlefields just like this.
Not just skill—acquiring such gear demands enormous wealth.
Yeon Hojeong shouted.
“Muk Bi!”
“Got it!”
Muk Bi nocked five iron arrows.
Pipipiping!
Faster than formless arrows, they erased dozens of zhang in an instant, piercing five assassins’ robes and bodies clean through.
Perfect marksmanship, without fail.
As she said, an archer in battle was a tremendous threat to enemies.
Of course, Yeon Hojeong didn’t just watch.
Clang!
Hooking the Jiao Dragon Chain to the ring at the Gwangryongbu’s staff end, he stepped into Blood Wing Swing Heaven again.
Pabababap!
He dashed like weightless flame.
Closing the distance instantly, he climbed trees, stepping onto the tips of branches.
Peueong!
With an explosive boom, he rocketed skyward and swung the Jiao Dragon Chain.
It was Blood Wind Dance.
Buaaaang! Kwajijijik!
A storm of blood erupted in the air.
The elongated Jiao Dragon Chain, with the Gwangryongbu at its end, swept through over ten assassins.
Tch.
Yeon Hojeong frowned.
These are true professionals.
Even watching comrades die right before their eyes, their gazes didn’t waver.
The survivors pressed on toward the target relentlessly.
They even pulled off astonishing feats.
Tatata-tang!
Five formless arrows sliced through the sky again.
Simultaneously, the remaining five assassins twisted mid-air in unison.
Their formation scattered, and the arrows pierced empty space.
Muk Bi’s eyes shook.
They dodged?!
Performing such maneuvers in the air, with its severe movement constraints, was no easy feat.
Individually, their martial arts aren’t much. At best, below Gang Ryang. But……
Yeon Hojeong’s voice rang out.
“Don’t fight them like ordinary warriors! These are properly trained! Remember clashing with Muk Ryong Bu’s Sa Hon Jo!”
Muk Bi’s shaken eyes suddenly gleamed brilliantly.
Sa Hon Jo was one of Muk Ryong Bu’s special units, specialized in battles against masters.
Yeon Hojeong hadn’t struggled against them for nothing.
But under Muk Bi’s command, the Myeol Sa Army had massacred them with terrifying breakthrough power and divine formations.
Was that one-sided slaughter purely due to force disparity?
No.
There was another reason the Myeol Sa Army overwhelmed Sa Hon Jo.
Paaaaak!
The Dragon Tail Following Body lightness skill boasted jaw-dropping speed no matter how many times seen.
She now pierced through the low-flying assassins approaching the target.
Her destination: Mo Yong Woo’s rear guard.
Gang Ryang’s eyes widened.
“Big sis!”
“Lend me your shoulder!”
Paaak!
Muk Bi vaulted onto Gang Ryang’s shoulder in one leap.
Astonishing lightness skill, impeccable balance.
Even on Gang Ryang’s wildly sprinting shoulder, as she drew her bow, her knees and hips moved so fluidly that her upper body and shoulders remained utterly steady.
Gang Ryang was stunned too.
With peerless internal energy control erasing her weight, even carrying another person barely slowed his lightness skill.
Muk Bi shouted.
“Run! I’ve got the rear!”
“Yes!”
Paaak!
Gang Ryang surged forward, while Muk Bi, standing on his shoulders, turned back and aimed at the low-flying assassins.
The reason Myeol Sa Army overwhelmed Sa Hon Jo was one thing.
Kakakakak!
Hongryeon Palace’s string pulled to maximum.
We exploited the environment’s advantages while rendering the enemy powerless!
Hongryeon Palace spat fire.
Peupeupeupeng!
The merciless barrage sent the five assassins into frantic maneuvers.
Titititing! Tititititing!
Muk Bi’s handiwork reached divine levels.
Iron, wooden arrows, formless shots—fired in droves, their trajectories impossible to predict.
Ultra-high-speed rapid fire: no archer in the Central Plains could match her barrage.
Then—
Teureong!
Muk Bi fired a formless arrow toward the ground.
Huooooung! Peueok!
“Guhk!”
With a groan, one assassin spewed blood and plummeted.
An astonishing strike.
Not ordinary arcing fire using gravity from high angles—but a formless arrow grazing the ground, curving upward to pierce the assassin’s throat.
Archery beyond imagination.
Only Muk Bi in all the Central Plains could perform such a feat.
The assassins’ eyes wavered.
They realized they could no longer approach before her fearsome archery.
No good.
Killing intent filled Muk Bi’s eyes.
We need to take them all here to secure our rear.
Tatata-tang!
Formless arrows curved grotesquely from all directions, threatening their lives.
Juruk.
Muk Bi’s face paled, a trickle of blood at her mouth.
Forcing internal energy shots like formless arrows to curve demanded immense mental focus and energy.
Even the unparalleled Muk Bi suffered internal injuries.
Peuk! Peueok!
Two more assassins crashed down.
The sound of their bones shattering as they tumbled reached her ears.
Two left!
Then—
Kwaaaang!
A massive fireball erupted to the left of the fleeing group.
Muk Bi’s eyes bulged in shock.
“C-cannon?!”