Chapter 17
Chapter 17
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 17
Chapter Title: Hidden Needles
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As a shabby thatched hut came into view, Bu Eun-seol halted his sprint.
By the time he reached the vicinity of the Nang-ya-gak's training hall, the shadows that had been relentlessly pursuing him had vanished.
“Were they trainees from the Hwau Sword Sect?”
The fact that he had learned the Nang-ya-gak’s Beast Art was known only to the trainees gathered at the Hwau Sword Sect's intermediate hall.
So when he suddenly dashed toward the Nang-ya-gak's training hall, his pursuers must have felt something was amiss and immediately gave up the chase.
“As I thought, he’s not here.”
The hut was empty, and the spot where Sau had buried himself in the ground had been flattened again.
From the looks of it, he seemed to have left this place a long time ago.
“First, I need to recover my strength.”
Having repeated training and exploring the island without a single day of rest, his body and mind were slightly exhausted.
Bu Eun-seol stared blankly at the spot where Sau had buried himself.
“What’s this?”
Brushing away the topsoil with his hand, he saw a piece of cloth covered in dirt.
*Rustle.*
Lifting the cloth revealed a space large enough for a person to lie down comfortably.
Sau, who knew the Earth Evasion Technique, had created an empty space underground and covered it with cloth, making a hideout.
“Could it be… for me?”
Bu Eun-seol’s eyes wavered like ripples on water.
On Hell Island, Bu Eun-seol was the only one who had come to learn the Nang-ya-gak's martial arts. Could it be that the man who found even teaching a bother had shown such consideration?
*Slide.*
As he entered the space, a deep and large area was revealed, like a grave before a coffin is buried.
“Mmm.”
Lying down on the earth, he felt an unprecedented warmth and comfort.
“...!”
Bu Eun-seol, who had closed his eyes and relaxed, suddenly snapped them open.
“My senses…”
Once underground, the senses of the Beast Art expanded.
The sound of feet kicking off the ground, the sound of wide stances as someone performed sword techniques, and more…
The vibrations conveyed vivid information about his surroundings, as if he were seeing them with his own eyes.
“He didn’t just make a hideout; he was trying to teach me an application of the Beast Art.”
The Beast Art, a realm of extrasensory perception that could even detect the flow of air.
This mysterious art could use the earth as a medium to expand its extrasensory domain.
*Thud.*
Just then, he felt a vibration as if the ground was shaking. Someone dozens of yards away had struck a large rock with something.
For a moment, Bu Eun-seol’s heart pounded.
The vibrations and waves created by striking an object also expanded his extrasensory domain.
“I see.”
Having gained this insight, Bu Eun-seol felt as if his vision had suddenly brightened.
The Beast Art could expand its senses not just through the earth, but by using all surrounding objects.
*Vroom. Thump.*
Meanwhile, the vibrations continued.
Through the vibrations transmitted by the ground, Bu Eun-seol could clearly perceive his surroundings within a thirty-yard radius.
As his mastery of the Beast Art deepened, that range would expand even further.
“But…”
As Bu Eun-seol continued to sense the vibrations from underground, his eyes grew dim.
Constantly perceiving his surroundings through the vibrations rapidly drained his stamina, and fatigue washed over him like a cloud.
“The drawback is also clear.”
Expanding his sensory domain through vibrations and waves consumed a great deal of physical and mental energy.
“Hmph.”
Bu Eun-seol slowly shut down his heightened senses and closed his eyes.
Once he left this place, he didn't know when he would get another chance to rest.
How much time had passed?
*Rustle.*
Opening his eyes, Bu Eun-seol slowly emerged from the ground.
“Hoo.”
As he stood tall and gazed at the distant sky, a sharp glint flashed in his eyes.
Having rested comfortably deep underground, he had fully recovered his physical and mental energy.
“I only ever thought of it as a resting place for the dead… but now, the earth has become the safest and most comfortable place for me as well.”
Bu Eun-seol, who had mastered the Beast Art.
To him, the deep earth was not only a place to expand his senses but also a sanctuary where he could quickly recover his tired body and mind.
*Whoosh.*
Just then, he heard a sound like something fluttering in the wind.
‘The sound of peak-level movement techniques.’
Bu Eun-seol’s eyes flashed as he gripped the hilt of his iron sword.
‘This is a perfect opportunity to gauge the skills of the participants in the third trial.’
Judging by the sound and presence, there was only one enemy.
Moreover, this was the Nang-ya-gak's training hall, a place familiar to Bu Eun-seol. It was an ideal spot for a fight.
‘Hmm.’
Bu Eun-seol narrowed his eyes.
The figure rushing toward him, stirring up a strong wind, was a handsome young man whose features were distinct even from a distance.
“Ah!”
Upon spotting Bu Eun-seol, the handsome youth who had been dashing forward with a movement technique showed a look of relief rather than drawing a weapon.
“Help me!”
*Drip, drip.*
The boy seemed to have been cut on the thigh; blood was flowing from a tear in his martial arts uniform.
As Bu Eun-seol stood still with an indifferent gaze, the boy pointed behind him and cried out urgently.
“There’s a group of people coming to kill me!”
For a moment, a glint appeared in Bu Eun-seol’s eyes.
The boy was clearly being chased by a group.
‘A one-versus-many fight.’
After a moment of deep thought, Bu Eun-seol shook his head.
Right now, Bu Eun-seol knew neither the skill level of the participants nor the extent of his own martial prowess.
It was too soon to engage in a chaotic battle.
“This has nothing to do with me.”
Bu Eun-seol turned to leave in the opposite direction.
He had no intention of killing the injured boy, but he didn't want to get involved in a situation where someone was being chased by a group.
“Wait!”
But the boy suddenly grabbed his sleeve.
“Please, take me with you!”
The sweat-drenched boy’s eyes were filled with desperation.
With stray hairs stuck to his face, he looked so pure and beautiful that one might mistake him for a woman.
Was it his captivating appearance?
Bu Eun-seol suddenly stared intently at the boy’s face and waist.
“Wh-what is it?”
Staring at the boy without a word, Bu Eun-seol suddenly walked to the front of the hut and revealed the hideout concealed by the cloth.
“There’s a place like this here!”
The boy cried out in delight and entered the hole.
After Bu Eun-seol followed him in and replaced the dirt-covered cloth, it was as if the two had vanished without a trace.
‘They’re coming.’
As he pushed the Beast Art to its maximum, Bu Eun-seol’s pupils dilated, and the scene above ground appeared in his mind’s eye as if drawn there.
*Thump. Whoosh.*
He felt the vibrations of three people kicking off the ground as their footsteps rapidly approached.
“Damn it! He definitely went this way!”
one of the men who arrived at the hut shouted.
“Could he have already left the area?”
The sounds of them searching the area around the hut were heard, then someone else shouted.
“No way. He couldn’t have gotten away that fast. He must be hiding somewhere around here.”
“That bastard! I’ll kill him for sure!”
*Whoosh.*
Using their movement techniques again, they left the training hall grounds.
“...”
Once their presence faded, Bu Eun-seol removed the cloth and slowly climbed back above ground.
“Phew.”
The boy, having climbed out, let out a long sigh and bowed his head to Bu Eun-seol.
“Thank you so much. You saved my life.”
When the boy smiled, it was as if the surroundings brightened.
“How on earth did you make a hideout like this? Did you train at the Nang-ya-gak's hall?”
When Bu Eun-seol said nothing, the boy scratched his head and shook it.
“Sorry, that was a pointless question… Ah, my name is Geum Cheol-yeong, from the Blood Sect.”
The boy, Geum Cheol-yeong, whose smile was as pure as the morning sun, put on a gloomy expression.
“As soon as the third trial began, I fled into the forest… but that group suddenly attacked me.”
Geum Cheol-yeong was not only handsome, but his voice was as clear and bright as a chirping bird.
“I didn’t want to fight, so I ran… but they pursued me relentlessly, as if I were their sworn enemy.”
Geum Cheol-yeong let out a deep sigh and lowered his head.
“If I had known the third trial would be like this, I never would have come here.”
Geum Cheol-yeong chattered on ceaselessly.
But Bu Eun-seol remained as indifferent as an old man on his deathbed listening to someone boast about their grandchild.
“Though I suppose with one less person… the chances of becoming a candidate for the Sip-ma-jeon-in increase.”
As Geum Cheol-yeong’s long-winded chatter showed no signs of ending, Bu Eun-seol finally spoke.
“So…”
Pausing for a moment, Bu Eun-seol gave an uncharacteristic smile.
“How many have you killed?”
“What?”
As Geum Cheol-yeong tilted his head in confusion, Bu Eun-seol pointed to his waist.
“I’m asking how many you’ve killed with that hidden weapon at your waist.”
*Fwip.*
It was a faint whoosh, barely audible.
Simultaneously, hundreds of needles rained down on Bu Eun-seol like a torrential downpour.
“What?”
Geum Cheol-yeong, who had fired the hidden weapon from his waist, let out a cry of disbelief.
Bu Eun-seol had already shifted his body to the left, as if he had never been there in the first place.
“You…”
Geum Cheol-yeong, who had attempted a surprise attack with a cruel hidden weapon, couldn't hide his astonishment.
Bu Eun-seol’s evasion was so perfect it was as if he had predicted the attack from the very beginning.
“Don’t be ridiculous!”
Geum Cheol-yeong leaned back, placing both hands on his waist.
*Fwoosh!*
Just as the swarm of black needles was about to engulf Bu Eun-seol,
*Shing.*
the sound of an iron sword being drawn echoed like a death knell.
*Swish.*
The sharp tip of the sword cut fiercely through the air, simultaneously stabbing toward Geum Cheol-yeong’s neck and chest.
“Kuh.”
Geum Cheol-yeong was also a martial prodigy who had trained at one of Hell Island’s halls.
Faced with the unexpectedly swift sword strike, he dodged it with the agility of a tiger.
*Whirl.*
In that instant, the sword move Bu Eun-seol had executed changed again mid-air.
The horizontal blade began to spin like a whirlwind, sweeping down with terrifying force toward the spot where Geum Cheol-yeong had dodged.
*Sh-sh-sh!*
Unable to evade the furiously spinning blade, Geum Cheol-yeong had already drawn a sharp dagger.
*Clang! Clang! Taaang!*
The sharp dagger and the old iron sword clashed rapidly in mid-air.
Geum Cheol-yeong swung his dagger with all his might, but he couldn't predict the direction of the iron sword’s relentless attacks.
*Click.*
As if their fierce exchange had never happened, Bu Eun-seol sheathed his iron sword.
Geum Cheol-yeong, who was holding his dagger in a reverse grip in a defensive stance, spoke calmly.
“...How did you know?”
Geum Cheol-yeong’s once-bright eyes turned as sharp as a viper’s.
“Until now, no one had ever noticed this Yin Punishment Needle Projector.”
“When you wear something around your waist, the movement of your spine becomes rigid.”
“Are you from a medical family?”
Bu Eun-seol shook his head and said in a flat voice.
“I used to help the dead find peace.”
“I… see.”
*Gush.*
Muttering lowly, Geum Cheol-yeong coughed up a mouthful of blood.
“If I were as strong as you… I wouldn’t have had to secretly bring a hidden weapon like this.”
His martial arts were weak, and he could never advance beyond the intermediate hall at any training facility.
In the end, he had secretly brought the Yin Punishment Needle Projector, a hidden weapon device forbidden by his sect.
“You’re wrong.”
Bu Eun-seol looked at Geum Cheol-yeong with cold eyes.
“It’s because you brought that hidden weapon that you couldn’t become strong.”
“Because I brought a hidden weapon… I couldn’t become strong?”
Seeing the terrifying, burning conviction in Bu Eun-seol’s eyes, Geum Cheol-yeong nodded.
“Is that so? Because I brought a hidden weapon that could easily kill even a peak master.”
He caught his breath for a moment, then gave a hollow smile.
“Because I had a weapon that could easily dispose of others at any time, I neglected my training…”
Muttering regretfully, Geum Cheol-yeong,
*Thud.*
collapsed to the ground like a log and breathed his last.
*Whoosh!*
Just then, the sound of another group moving toward them could be heard.
‘It’s dangerous to stay in one place for too long.’
A bloodthirsty glint in his eyes, Bu Eun-seol quickly left Sau’s training hall.
For the sole purpose of survival, of becoming one of the Sip-ma-jeon-in… the battle on Hell Island, where they had to kill or be killed, had begun.