The Moonlit Trap
Torches blazed high beneath a mountain summit, their flames clawing at the sky.
Men in black robes gathered beneath the light, their faces grim.
A moonless night, clear as glass.
A colossal full moon rose, bathing everything in blue.
Torches.
Countless warriors stood shoulder to shoulder, yet not a single whisper escaped their lips.
Swallowing hard.
The sound of one gulp seemed to echo across the valley.
No wind stirred the night sky.
It felt as though the air itself had died.
In the profound silence of pitch-black ink, the only light was the cold gleam of stars and the full moon, ready to spill from the heavens.
Beneath the great torch, Jegal Sea, myself, and Eun Seollyeong stood around a table.
Jegal Sea unrolled a vast map across the wood.
On the paper, the routes of the Eight Demon Dragons’ approaching meteors and every terrain of Shaanxi were sketched in meticulous detail.
“From this moment, I will speak of the plan to eradicate the Eight Demon Dragons’ meteors.”
Her resolute expression flickered in the torchlight.
A single bead of tense sweat slid down the bridge of her nose, stark against her pale skin.
“Before I explain the operation, let me first review everything we have learned about the meteors so far. Then I will tell you what we must do. Understood?”
I nodded.
Eun Seollyeong also nodded.
Jegal Sea gave a signal. A ten-ji warrior wearing a gauntlet engraved with the character for ten stepped forward and bowed.
With a whoosh, dozens of documents spilled onto the table.
These were all the materials Jegal Sea had gathered through total effort.
“Almost everything is veiled in mystery. Compared to the usual Eight Demon Dragons, this time the opponent we face—a being we call the ‘meteor’—has left behind many traces, especially a strong obsession with gems.”
Jegal Sea struck the table.
“This is the condensed result of every civil official in the Jegal Clan spending a full year digging through six hundred and seventy-seven ancient books.”
I looked at the papers.
“These are merely extracts from ancient texts. We’re supposed to plan an operation based on content that hasn’t been verified at all—only trusting these old records? What if it’s wrong?”
The ten-ji answered my question.
“Do not worry. Those facts have already been thoroughly reviewed by one hundred and twenty-seven warriors over the past six years.”
I met his gaze.
“Reviewed? How? Wait, cooperation? That means…”
“Everyone is dead.”
Jegal Sea touched the edge of the paper with her fingertips.
“The warriors of the Jegal Clan charged at the meteor like moths to flame for six years. They were annihilated, crushed, yet the information was completely reviewed. These blood-soaked records are certain down to the last detail. You can trust them.”
“…”
My tongue felt frozen.
“So the Eight Demon Dragons are that strong?”
“Exactly.”
I glanced at Eun Seollyeong.
“Though the jianghu refuses to admit it, and though they have completely withdrawn from the world to hide, when it comes to raw power, there are none stronger than them in the entire jianghu.”
“Even the Guardian?”
“Even the Guardian. They abandoned everything for one reason: strength alone.”
Eun Seollyeong spoke calmly, as if recalling a memory.
“They were exiled after the jewels were stolen—the only passage to the realm of the Wheel Scripture—along with every sinew severed. Now, with their sole purpose in life lost, immersed in demonic qi and stripped of almost all reason, they are closer to a vengeful spirit flooded with hatred than any human.”
A sharp crack echoed.
The edge of the paper crumpled in Jegal Sea’s grip.
Her voice trembled.
“We must stop them.”
“Correct.”
The ten-ji spoke beneath the torch.
I looked at the unknown warrior wearing the ten-ji gauntlet under the blue moonlight.
And at every Jegal Clan warrior behind him.
From the back, warriors added their voices one by one.
“We all came out tonight knowing this would be our last night.”
“Even if the entire jianghu turns its back on us, we will protect our own family, our own home.”
Everyone’s hands trembled faintly.
Sweat filled their palms.
“It is not that our strength is inferior, but that our hearts are humble.”
“Whether a mere fleeting insect or a moth flying into fire, we are fathers, sons, and warriors of one family. For someone far away with high rank and powerful status, our existence might be just another source of amusement. But we will block the meteor here before it turns Shaanxi into a sea of blood.”
The ten-ji spoke last.
“Absolutely.”
Everyone nodded.
The blue full moon.
Beneath it, Jegal Sea spoke.
“Everyone here is staking their lives right now. We are all of one mind.”
I looked toward the distant darkness, where Shaanxi burned red in the distance.
Jegal Sea continued.
“Based on the ancient texts and the six years of ‘experience,’ the opponent’s characteristics and weaknesses each number three.”
“Three?”
Jegal Sea held up three fingers.
“First, at ten zhang distance, any enemy carrying even a speck of killing intent is immediately detected. They unleash ranged attacks with bows. Especially sensitive to demonic qi. So in this operation, Moyong Bi, you will not use your demonic qi.”
The attack from the bow was not an ordinary arrow strike but something closer to a devastating bombardment.
It felt like the attack itself was a tidal wave and a natural disaster.
Just thinking of it made my body tremble.
Jegal Sea used a brush to rapidly sketch routes on the map.
“Second, the meteor appears to fire powerful ranged attacks continuously without pause, yet there is clearly a pattern. Seven bursts of rapid fire, followed by one powerful strong kill. Then a very long interval before the next attack.”
Jegal Sea held up three fingers again.
“As the third and final characteristic, unusually, the protective qi barrier manifests not in front of its own body but at three zhang distance.”
“Not from its own body?”
My question was answered by Jegal Sea with a nod.
“The defense itself is at a distance. Ancient records state that the protective qi barrier of the meteor, even when concentrated to its limit, cannot be pierced by any means. In reality, wall-piercing bullets and sword qi were completely useless.”
Eun Seollyeong spoke with steady eyes.
“It feels like we are staring at an impregnable gate of defense concentrated at a distance. The strongest spear that detects everything within ten zhang and snipes them all. And the strongest shield—the protective qi barrier that unfolds at three zhang.”
I had nothing left to say.
Only now could I understand what kind of existence we were facing.
“Does this leave a gap?”
The ten-ji asked.
“Yes. We clearly left a wound on the Eight Demon Dragons.”
I blinked.
“How?”
“At the end of the fierce battle, one subordinate managed to slip through within three zhang. That subordinate’s thrown poison dart passed straight through the protective qi barrier without any resistance. I witnessed it with my own eyes.”
The ten-ji let his words trail off.
“Of course, that subordinate was instantly crushed to death by the invisible qi falling from the sky afterward…”
He cut off sharply.
“But one thing is certain. If we dig three zhang into its defenses, the meteor has no protective measures.”
Jegal Sea accepted the words.
“The meteor is not a man, but a monster… this existence does not fit the usual frame of a warrior in the jianghu. It does possess absurdly powerful attacks. But unlike a warrior of that level of power, which is flawless in every way, this one has clear strengths and clear weaknesses. And these three are the weaknesses I have identified. We will dig into them.”
Jegal Sea spread a new sheet of paper.
“First, inside the three-zhang protective qi barrier, the body itself is as fragile as an ordinary warrior.
Second, it possesses no basic footwork whatsoever and moves very slowly. Even its bow-using fierce attacks show no active movement in close quarters. For reference, after observing it for a month while traveling to Shaanxi, the meteor has never used any footwork other than walking normally.
And the third, the opponent’s powerful protective qi disappears when it fires its strongest attack, the strong kill. And we will focus our attacks on this third weakness.”
Jegal Sea then laid out the plan for the future.
I sighed quietly.
“So that was why you asked me to demonstrate the maximum speed of my Blood Fog Phantom Body Technique just now…”
I had already demonstrated the best speed I could manage, based on the righteous qi I possessed, through seven repetitions of the Liu-style Blood Fog Phantom Body Technique known as the Sura Great Annihilation.
Eun Seollyeong thought for a moment.
“The validity of this operation is clear. Excluding Moyong Bi’s eccentric movements, if we limit ourselves to straight-line breakthroughs, no footwork I have ever seen surpasses his speed.”
Eun Seollyeong spoke.
“The plan itself is simple. Everyone attacks at once to distract the enemy’s attention, narrowing the ten-zhang distance to Moyong Bi’s Blood Fog Phantom Body Technique.”
I joined in.
“The opponent will hold out until their seventh burst and then open their protective qi to fire the strong kill. We strike with maximum force and annihilate them in one blow. That’s right.”
Jegal Sea asked Eun Seollyeong.
“How much time do you need to prepare your ultimate finishing technique?”
Eun Seollyeong fell into thought for a moment.
“In the midst of battle, no matter how much I concentrate, I will need at least seven cups of incense.”
I swallowed hard.
“Seven cups of incense while we clash, including the meteor’s rapid fire and the first strong kill? This is gambling.”
“But if you overcome the crisis points, it’s certain. And there is no alternative.”
Jegal Sea spoke firmly.
“As far as I know, Eun Seollyeong’s ultimate finishing technique is stronger than any Guardian’s ultimate finishing technique.”
I blurted out in shock.
“What if Eun Seollyeong cannot withstand the attacks while preparing the technique for seven cups of incense? No, what if I am hit before we even narrow the three-zhang distance? What if, even with the ultimate finishing technique, I cannot kill the opponent in one strike?”
“We will die. All of us. The opponent is one of the unofficial strongest beings in the jianghu… no, a monster.”
Jegal Sea cut her words short.
“…”
“Do not shrink back in fear of failure that has not even happened yet, Moyong Bi.”
Jegal Sea said.
“We must focus all our power on only success. And I, who planned this reckless operation, know better than anyone that there is no other way.”
I swallowed.
“About that additional information I mentioned regarding my internal energy manual, the Patcheon Blood Demon Great Extreme Gong… you said it would be greatly helpful. But it doesn’t appear in this operation at all. Did I misunderstand?”
One reason Jegal Sea had gone to Shaanxi to meet me was that she had some estimate regarding the internal energy manual I had learned— the Patcheon Blood Demon Great Extreme Gong—and wished to confirm it.
Jegal Sea said.
“Yes. Unfortunately, the new characteristics of the Patcheon Blood Demon Great Extreme Gong we discovered will be of no use in this matter. As you know, the opponent is extremely sensitive to demonic qi, and the process of narrowing the distance must use only righteous qi.”
What I knew about the internal energy manual passed down from the ancient White Lotus Demonic Sect was that it could absorb righteous qi like drinking and transform it into demonic qi, and that it could be used freely without assuming any specific posture.
Jegal Sea had stated that all these characteristics were very similar to some martial art she had heard about in the past, and that she wanted to look into that manual in detail.
Asura had strictly warned me never to use it in front of others.
There were no one in the jianghu who had learned it.
Jegal Sea was not a warrior but possessed an encyclopedic knowledge of all rare martial arts.
Unlike ordinary manuals that naturally absorbed qi from the environment and stored it in the dantian, she suspected that what I believed was my internal energy manual was not that at all, but rather the act of stealing qi by pulling it in from the surroundings and transforming it into demonic qi.
According to her explanation, even the slightest trace of demonic qi followed the laws of yin and yang, spreading throughout nature.
Therefore, she estimated that the more this technique was used in places without demonic qi, the more the demonic qi would gradually increase.
Jegal Sea clapped her hands.
“The explanation of the operation is finished. All Jegal Clan warriors, begin preparations as we discussed earlier.”
“Understood.”
“Moyong Bi and Eun Seollyeong, wait at the position I indicated.”
The warriors behind them all dispersed in perfect unison.
I asked Jegal Sea.
“So what is the name of that old martial art that you thought was similar to my internal energy manual?”
Jegal Sea looked at me intently.
“It doesn’t matter if I tell you. You wouldn’t know it anyway. That technique has been completely extinct in the jianghu for a long time. And this operation has absolutely no meaning for it.”
“Still…”
Jegal Sea let out a short grunt of agreement.
Then she tilted her head curiously.
“It was… I think it was called the Great Absorption Technique. Maybe?”
The Heavenly Demon Copies Martial Arts.