62: The Nameless Foot Soldier's Counterattack (5)
Just moments ago, Seo Baek had looked utterly exhausted.
But after taking a single deep breath, an immense surge of inner energy erupted from his entire body.
Jegal Hyeok asked in a voice full of disbelief.
"How could a brat like you... Did a peak expert pass on even a single circuit's worth of their inner power to you?"
"Unfortunately, I never had that kind of fateful encounter."
Seo Baek shrugged with a look of bewilderment on his face.
But Jegal Hyeok, unable to accept it, pressed the question again.
"Then did you undergo balmoseu?"
Balmoseu—the “Marrow Cleansing” process—referred to the practice of improving a disciple's constitution at a young age, a method used by prestigious orthodox sects to cultivate the next generation.
Each sect had its own unique method for balmoseu, and it was known to be extremely dangerous. But if successful, it granted tremendous achievements in inner energy, laying the foundation to reach peak level.
Seo Baek shook his head again this time.
"Balmoseu is something you should undergo."
"What nonsense is that?"
"It means your body and mind have rotted away, so you need a complete overhaul to become a new person."
"You little...!"
"This inner technique is the Shika Heart Method, the hereditary art of Shika Manor."
"A no-name martial clan whose name I've never even heard of, and they have some hereditary art? Who do you think you're trying to fool?!"
Jegal Hyeok bellowed loudly, then tilted his head as if struck by a sudden thought.
"Right... I did hear there's a method in the western frontier that boosts inner energy like yours..."
"The western frontier again? I'm sick of hearing about it."
"The inner technique is impressive, but let me teach you that martial forms have layers beyond layers."
Chak.
Jegal Hyeok drew two judge's brushes from within his robes.
Seeing them, Seo Baek smirked and said,
"So the revenant's judge's brush forms were your technique."
"Figured it out now, have you?"
"Yes. I'd heard the Jegal clan's judge's brush techniques were the best in the world for their unpredictable changes, but the revenant's version was so sloppy and vague that I thought it was all rumors."
"You punk! How dare you wag your tongue like that!"
Jegal Hyeok exploded in rage and unleashed his forms.
And rightly so—for Jegal Hyeok had single-handedly refined the judge's brush techniques into his own unique style.
He had incorporated the strokes of Tang poetry, like the Heaven-Earth-Mysterious-Image Formation, into his judge's brush forms. The principle was to wield the brushes like writing poetry with a brush, bewildering the opponent's eyes and striking their vital points.
His swordsmanship might not surpass his older brother and heir apparent, Jegal Seong, but with the judge's brushes, he prided himself as the best.
So when Seo Baek belittled his judge's brush techniques, he lost all reason.
"Die!"
The two judge's brushes drew eerie lines as they flew toward Seo Baek's vital points all over his body.
Shh-shh-shh-shick.
The two brushes flew in utterly unpredictable directions. And not content with that, they twisted their paths at every moment like wriggling snakes.
To someone ignorant of martial arts, the flashy display would have been dizzying.
Jegal Hyeok sensed victory.
What good was a superior inner technique?
Before he could even swing his sword or thrust his fist, he'd be acupointed and done for!
"Kuhahaha!"
At that moment, a fierce gust of wind blew, tousling Jegal Hyeok's hair.
"...?"
As Jegal Hyeok stood dumbfounded, unsure what was happening, a raging gale swept over his entire body.
Whoooosh.
Then two lines of sword light stabbed into Jegal Hyeok.
Pa-pat.
I Am the Madman of Chu
Thud. Something heavy hit the floor.
Jegal Hyeok was utterly bewildered, unable to grasp what had happened. Then, as his eyeballs darted around, he realized the floor was right next to his face.
Only then did he understand.
His head had been severed by the sword!
Jegal Hyeok couldn't believe how Seo Baek had cut off his head.
But something even more unbelievable had happened.
The brat in front of him had effortlessly dodged the judge's brush forms modeled after the strokes of Li Bai's poetry.
The Heaven-Earth-Mysterious-Image Formation could be excused since even a three-year-old knew the Thousand Character Classic. But there was no way a kid like this knew the complex strokes of Tang poetry.
"You... how did you break my forms...?"
"Forms?"
Seo Baek paused for a moment before replying in an indifferent voice.
"Ah, you mean Li Bai's poetry?"
"...!"
"It's laughable that an ignoramus like you would play around with Li Bai's verses."
Jegal Hyeok gaped in shock.
Did he read the flashy judge's brush forms, traced in an instant, as Li Bai's poetry and counter them?
Impossible...
Jegal Hyeok tried to speak, but blood foam bubbled from his mouth, preventing any sound from his vocal cords.
Gasp... gasp... gasp...
The next instant, a red line cracked vertically across Jegal Hyeok's face, splitting it open to the sides.
Crack.
The Shika Sword Technique's Third Road sliced the neck in a cross shape.
After severing the neck, it targeted the intersection where the Blood Thread Worm's heart meridian resided with a vertical slash. In other words, the Third Road was a sword path designed to instantly confirm and kill the Blood Thread Worm's heart meridian.
Jegal Hyeok, who had used revenants and even committed patricide to seize control of the Jegal clan.
This was the end of the second son's ambitions.
Seo Baek walked forward and rolled Jegal Hyeok's severed head with his sword.
Unexpectedly, there was no Blood Thread Worm heart meridian inside Jegal Hyeok's neck. Contrary to expectations, Jegal Hyeok was not a revenant.
"Huh. I thought he was a revenant."
Jegal Myeongjae, turned revenant, had gained immense power through talisman tattoos. So Seo Baek had assumed Jegal Hyeok had become a revenant himself to obtain that power.
—If there's a way to gain power, a true martial artist will pursue it even if it means the Central Plains falls to ruin.
His master's words rang hollow this time.
Jegal Hyeok had turned the clan head into a revenant but avoided becoming one himself. Was it because he found the idea repulsive?
If so, it was a petty, cowardly decision fitting for Jegal Hyeok.
"A narrow-minded fool who didn't even need the Shika Sword Technique."
Seo Baek spat the words indifferently and turned to leave.
In front of the main hall building, Wang Yi Sam and the martial artists had collapsed to the ground, catching their breath.
Exhausted from relentlessly swinging their heavy broad daos to maintain the linked formation.
Soon, the blue-robed man returned, accompanied by a few Jegal clan warriors.
Most of the warriors had already fled; these were the few who hadn't escaped in time, captured as prisoners.
If they'd charged with mutual destruction in mind, at least one or two might have gotten away. But cowed by the blue-robed man's icy gaze, the warriors chose surrender over gambling their lives.
However, the warriors were carrying large oil jars on their backs.
Wang Yi Sam asked the blue-robed man,
"What's that?"
"Oil jars from the Jegal clan's warehouse."
"Oil jars? What for? Gonna light a fire and grill some meat?"
At that, the blue-robed man gave an uncharacteristically wry smile and muttered,
"Something like that."
At that moment, a figure emerged from the main hall building.
It was Seo Baek.
Wang Yi Sam rushed over first, greeting him joyfully.
"Junior bro! You didn't die!"
"Die? How could I? A junior can't go ahead of his senior brother—that'd be rude."
"You punk! You telling me to die first?!"
After their fierce ordeal, their banter felt warmer than ever.
Seo Baek looked at the warriors and asked,
"Prisoners?"
"Yeah. The rest all ran off."
"No wonder there were so few warriors and the fight was easy. Thanks to you, senior brother."
"Wahaha! I swung this broad dao like Zhao Zilong on a rampage today!"
Wang Yi Sam asked what had happened after Seo Baek fell underground, and Seo Baek explained everything.
When the long tale ended, Wang Yi Sam and the martial artists gaped in shock.
Especially the revelation that Jegal Hyeok had turned even the clan head into a revenant—it seemed to be a secret even within the clan, as the captured warriors looked stunned too.
"How could such a thing...?"
"That's just how the Central Plains martial world is."
The sects and clans of the Central Plains waged endless wars to expand their power. And within those sects and clans, internal strife never ceased.
Son betraying father, second son betraying clan head—the result was that Yongzhong, home to the Jegal clan's main hall, had become a hollow shell.
One of the warriors muttered in a daze,
"Then our Jegal clan is...?"
"Not your concern."
The blue-robed man said coldly,
"Jegal clan members are scattered across the Central Plains, holding positions everywhere. This place is called the main hall, but it's just holed up in a corner of the Central Plains—Yongzhong. The heir apparent, Jegal Seong, a key figure in the Murim Alliance, will inherit the clan head position. No need to worry about the Jegal clan."
Wang Yi Sam nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, even if a family falls, it lasts three years. No time to fret over the Jegal clan."
Then the blue-robed man addressed the martial artists.
"Return to the refugees and relay this message: The Jegal clan grounds will burn, so everyone must leave."
"...!"
"Head east, not north or south—that way, you'll have less chance of encountering revenants. Farewell, and may you find good fortune."
The blue-robed man politely returned the courtesy with clasped hands to the martial artists who had helped subdue the Jegal clan. They reciprocated with clasped hands and headed back to the refugees.
The final task was, as the blue-robed man said, to burn the Jegal clan grounds.
Especially the underground revenant den—they had to torch it completely.
"The revenants probably won't open the mechanism formation themselves and come up to the surface. But just in case, better to be thorough."
"Agreed."
Seo Baek's group led the warriors carrying the oil jars into the main hall.
Though it had been a while since surfacing, Seo Baek had memorized the underground revenant den's layout beneath his feet like a map in his mind.
Seo Baek inspected the cracks in the main hall floor and directed the warriors where to pour the oil.
"Pour here. And here. This spot is the center of the revenant den—dump an entire jar."
Wang Yi Sam watched Seo Baek in admiration, tongue clicking, while the blue-robed man stood with arms crossed, pretending not to notice.
Soon, not a drop remained in the massive oil jars.
Wang Yi Sam groaned in exhaustion.
"What was that second son thinking, stockpiling so much oil in the warehouse?"
"Probably a contingency for if the revenants escaped—he planned to set it ablaze and flee."
"But the revenants are his own creation?"
"A petty, cowardly man like him couldn't sleep without a backup plan."
"Tch. With this much, not even ashes will remain."
Seo Baek tossed a burning rag into a floor crack, and the group exited the main hall.
Moments later, a tremendous roar erupted as a pillar of fire shot up from the building.
Kwaaaang.
The sudden blaze in the sealed underground reversed the air flow, causing an explosion.
Roooar.
The flames devoured the main hall in an instant.
As Wang Yi Sam said, the building and underground revenant den would burn to cinders.
The wails of revenants rolling in the infernal flames echoed like an auditory hallucination from afar.
Kweeeek...
A chilling sound that would send shivers down the spine if heard at night.
Then Seo Baek muttered something—unclear if to the trembling Jegal clan warriors or the revenants below.
"Those who seek profit from revenants will be punished in the name of the Central Plains martial world."
With that cold declaration, Seo Baek turned.
"Let's go."
Seo Baek's group turned and departed.