Chopsticks of Instant Kill
While staying in Hefei for over ten days and studying the Je Wang Geom Hyeong, Namgoong Juhee came to one clear realization.
That sparring with 1st Rate experts wasn't helping her skills improve at all.
Martial arts only get better through real clashes—hitting and getting hit.
That's the only way to figure out your weak spots and strengths.
There's a reason why actual combat is called the ultimate training.
But 1st Rates? Sparring with them didn't even make sense from the start.
One sword stroke, and they're dead in an instant—no time to analyze strengths or weaknesses.
That was exactly why Namgoong Juhee was itching to leave Hefei for somewhere new.
Even in a peaceful region like this, there were just too few Peak realm experts.
And right on cue, two Peak realmers plopped right in front of her.
From their thuggish banter, they weren't boss-tier, but Peak for sure.
Namgoong Juhee smirked.
"Bro! That bitch is laughing!"
"Tsk tsk, she's lost her mind. This won't be fun."
"Then can I have her first? I wanna try some fresh meat for once."
"Hm... yeah, sure. Big bro's feeling generous. You go first this time. But use her carefully, got it?"
"Yeah!"
They were the picture of brotherly love.
The immature little bro and the mature one who knew how to yield.
If only the topic hadn't been raping women—and if they weren't both creepy old men in their forties—it might've been a heartwarming scene.
But you can't change people's age or gender that easily.
Let alone their twisted values.
That was why Namgoong Juhee whipped out her chopsticks right away.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
A sharp whistle cut the air from her slender hand.
Two chopsticks flew straight at them.
Chopsticks—mere tools for eating—became deadly when infused with the essence of Cheok Jeuk Gyeol.
If her targets had been 1st Rate or lower, their skulls would've been pierced, brains spilling out.
"Bro! Watch out!"
"Oh, Cheok Jeuk Gyeol. Not bad."
Namgoong Juhee's opening move was blocked easily enough.
The chopsticks, hurtling with menace, got caught between Hyeok's and Du's index and middle fingers.
"Looks like you're pretty skilled in hidden weapons yourself. Must've trained for at least a decade."
"Right? Bro! This'll be fun. So much fun!"
"Yeah... fellow hidden weapon masters get each other. Wanna show her what we've got?"
"Hell yeah! Let's do it!"
Hyeok and Du each pulled massive needles from their sleeves.
They gleamed like silver, with threads tied to the hilts.
Actually, threading hidden weapons was standard practice.
Not for practicality—for the cost.
Hidden weapon masters burn through a ton of gear in every fight.
And those weapons ain't cheap.
They've gotta be tough enough to punch through skulls, not snap easily, and super light.
You need a top-tier blacksmith for that, plus expensive metals.
Money flies out the window with every scrap.
That's why Hyeok and Du's needles had threads.
"Oh ho."
Namgoong Juhee clocked the threads and got it immediately.
And thought: Those must cost a fortune.
"Ready, Hyeok?"
"Yeah, bro! Here I go!"
Whoosh! Whish!
Expensive needles shot from their fingertips.
Fierce momentum.
"Whoa."
So fast they vanished from Namgoong Juhee's sight for a split second.
In a hidden weapon duel, lose track of the projectiles, and you're done.
They always target vitals.
Namgoong Juhee's life was hanging by a thread.
"...She dodged?"
"Bro! She dodged it?"
If not for her reflexes, she'd be reciting her sins in hell right now.
Before they even threw, she instinctively twisted her limbs in weird directions, sowing confusion.
Her specialty.
"One more time, Hyeok! Focus!"
"Got it, bro!"
Peak realm hidden weapon masters turn retrieval into another attack.
The two needles that missed now came at her from behind.
Whoosh! Whish!
But they missed again.
Moves proven against a whirlwind ghost of an expert.
No way these local tough-guy Peaks could read them.
"What the? Bro! Bro! What's going on?"
"Don't panic, Hyeok! We're still superior in hidden weapons! Time's on our side!"
"Right, bro! And what are you lot doing, you worthless scum? Block that bitch for us!"
"Y-yes, sir!"
They weren't wrong.
Handling two hidden weapon masters for less than a month? Tough.
Plus over a dozen underlings.
Clear disadvantage for Namgoong Juhee.
Are these idiots for real?
If she were a hidden weapon master, maybe.
But she's a swordswoman at heart.
Cheok Jeuk Gyeol was just a side hobby.
Luk Hap Sword and Je Wang Geom Hyeong—those were her mains.
Swish.
She raised the sword in her hand.
And... BOOM!
"...Huh?"
Formless swordsmanship unfolded in Namgoong Juhee's hands. No fixed stances—true to its name, Mu Cho, the sword of the emperor defies rigid forms.
In an instant, the necks of the 1st Rates and 2nd Rates fell like autumn leaves.
Mu Cho—formless.
Because the Emperor's Sword can't be standardized.
That's why the Je Wang Geom Hyeong manual is just a tome on essential sword principles and subtleties.
Why the Namgoong family's lineage nearly died out.
No mortal can easily grasp it.
But if you do understand it all?
Every motion becomes the Emperor's path—the act of swinging the sword is the form.
Like Namgoong Juhee right now.
"B-bro! What the hell? How?!"
"Fuck! Weren't you a hidden weapon master?!"
"Huh. Did I say that?"
They'd assumed on their own and flipped out.
Namgoong Juhee thought.
Panicking over her hidden weapons when they'd barely kept up—yet so full of themselves.
But they couldn't know that.
Pondering it, she realized she'd never claimed to be one.
They'd just jumped to conclusions.
"Uh... you're right?"
"Yeah, figured it out? Then die."
Pfft!
Her sleeve fluttered, another chopstick flying out of nowhere amid the chaos.
The perfect use of Cheok Jeuk Gyeol for an assassin.
"Gaaah!"
"Hyeok!"
It stabbed right into Hyeok's left eye.
Adding one more cyclops to the world, courtesy of her.
"I thought you said you weren't a hidden weapon master!"
Du roared in fury.
A lion's bellow laced with intent to kill the bitch who ate his brother's eye.
Anyone below 1st Rate would've burst their eardrums from the shout alone.
"When did I say that?"
Whatever.
Namgoong Juhee stretched languidly and strolled toward Hyeok and Du.
"Hilarious, though. Making a fuss over hidden weapons? Huh? If only masters can use 'em, where do newbies get experience?"
"You... crazy bitch! Hyeok! Snap out of it!"
"Yeah, hope he does. Makes killing more fun."
Rule one for hidden weapon masters: keep your distance.
Throwing works best from afar, and up close, swords dominate.
So Hyeok and Du needed to back off from Namgoong Juhee.
"F-fuck... Move! Move your ass!"
But their legs were glued to the ground.
Hyeok despised himself.
Scared shitless by her slicing those 1st and 2nd Rates, making a fool of himself.
Actually, it was her acting.
Amid the casual saunter, she exuded killing intent, ready to block any escape.
So when she reached them, Hyeok and Du hadn't budged an inch.
They just glared wildly, thrashing in panic.
"C-could you... maybe spare us?"
Average unorthodox endgame.
Swallow your pride, keep your head—opportunity will come later.
Perfectly rational.
"Nah. Just die."
"Huh?"
Slash.
If that worked, sure.
In the end, they died as fools who'd begged and lost their heads anyway.
Average unorthodox death.
"Hyeok and Du... at the same time?"
Yi Hayeon, back from a month in Wuchang, had her minions track Namgoong Juhee's whereabouts.
Two reasons.
First, rumors she'd won over Hefei's locals.
Hefei folk were clannish, shunning outsiders.
She'd poured fortunes into rooting Eonha Merchant Group here.
Yet Juhee blended in under a month.
Had to know how.
Second, whispers she'd picked a fight with the Black Kitchen.
Even newly established, their forces weren't to be trifled with.
Taking them on solo with Peak realm? Suicide.
Intriguing move.
Yi Hayeon insisted it had nothing to do with her rejecting the proposal.
Just curious what big thing made her turn it down.
Classic clingy woman line.
Anyway.
New intel hit her: Namgoong Juhee had taken out Black Kitchen's Peak experts Hyeok and Du.
"Impressive. She handled two Peaks single-handedly?"
"Yes... and she was surrounded by multiple 1st Rate experts too."
"...Incredible. Thought she was just some wandering ronin."
Yi Hayeon's face flushed red.
A merchant who'd misjudged the goods.
Should've known when she turned down three gold taels.
Experts who can handle two Peaks? You'd need crates of gold to hire 'em.
If they even take gigs—most don't wander as ronin.
"I was an idiot."
"Calm down. You haven't botched it yet."
"...Right. Mistakes can be fixed."
Grab her now.
Money's no object.
She'd show her why power and wealth rule.
With that, Hayeon shot to her feet.
"When did Namgung Sojeo kill Hyeok and Du?"
"About an hour ago."
"Not too late then. Call the guards. We're heading to Black Kitchen immediately."
"Yes, ma'am!"
For Black Kitchen's leader, Geum Seongje, this was truly rotten luck.