Chapter 102: Falling into a Trap (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 102: Falling into a Trap (2)
I gritted my teeth and spoke.
“Let me go while I’m still being nice, and I’ll act like this never happened.”
As I spoke in a low, hushed voice, the men around me snickered and jeered.
“There is no going back. The only way you’re leaving this training hall is as a corpse.”
At his words, the realization hit me—I was truly caught. No matter how much I racked my brain, I couldn't think of a way to escape this death trap.
Even if I mobilized every bit of martial arts I possessed, I wouldn't be able to dodge the wheels they were about to unleash.
I grew despondent at the thought that my fate was to be turned into minced meat.
Just imagining the sheer power of twenty-four experts attacking with wheels made my knees tremble.
‘This is the end.’
Yet, driven by the desperate desire to live, my tongue began to wag.
“What do you want? I’ll give you anything.”
The men let out a series of guttural chuckles at my plea.
They were the type of bastards who knew how to savor the tension, like predators toy with their prey.
“It’s already too late. You should have known when to stop; instead, you forced them to mobilize even us. Did you think the Nine Demons Chamber was some children’s playground? Once you’re caught by the Four Wheels Twenty-Four Guests, there is no walking out alive. You’ll only leave this place as a ghost.”
Their absolute confidence sapped my spirit.
However, their words triggered a sudden association. I had completely forgotten about it in my state of terror, but they had just reminded me.
“Thanks. I guess it’s true that a loose tongue invites trouble.”
As I regained my composure, one of them spoke.
“What? Now that you’ve accepted your death, have you finally become calm? Most of the bastards we catch are like that. They beg for their lives at first, but once they resolve themselves for a tragic end, they actually settle down.”
I reached into my robe and said, “We’ll see whether it’s me who dies or you lot.”
“It seems you still haven't grasped the reality of the situation. Shall we begin, then?”
The man tossed a pair of wheels into the air, and the others followed suit simultaneously.
The numerous wheels whirled through the air without ever colliding with one another.
“This is the Whirling Wheel Great Calamity Demon Formation that will lead you to your grave.”
As forty-eight wheels, infused with internal energy, crisscrossed through the confined space, I felt an immense pressure.
Moreover, I couldn't even move properly.
The fear that even the slightest movement would result in being shredded by the sharp, serrated edges of the wheels paralyzed me.
Overcoming that terror, I spoke.
“I’ll sing a little tune for my final moments.”
One of the men shot back, “It’ll be your funeral dirge, so sing it well.”
I smirked at their relaxed arrogance.
That very arrogance would be what led them to their deaths.
I began to mutter the incantation.
As I recited something in a low voice, one of them shouted.
“An eerie aura is flowing. It feels strange. I think he’s up to something. Enough games. Strike!”
But my incantation was already finished.
The moment I finished the mantra, I pulled my hand from my robe.
I scattered the pouch containing the Soul Spirit Beads into the air.
In an instant, the Soul Spirit Beads felt as if they were shattering, and a thick, roiling black smoke billowed out.
I collapsed to the floor, overwhelmed by the sudden surge of ghostly energy.
It was an aura far beyond what any human could endure.
Hearing them mention the word "ghost" had reminded me of the Ghost Heaven Soul Formation that Hwang Chu had taught me.
Hwang Chu had left the formation with me to prepare for an attack from the Demonic Cult League.
According to him, the Ghost Heaven Soul Formation was a ghostly array where spirits possessed people and forced them to kill one another. If that was true, these bastards were nothing.
I had broken through the Demonic Cult League’s Heaven-Earth Dragnet using possessed low-level martial artists; I believed that if I deployed the Ghost Heaven Soul Formation using the spirits of the most powerful demons, I could easily handle these men.
My prediction was correct.
“Aaaaagh!”
A wheel sliced through one man’s body, splitting him in two and killing him instantly.
Just as Hwang Chu had said, the twenty-four wheel-wielders began to attack each other. The ghosts had possessed their bodies, forcing them into a fratricidal slaughter.
I curled into a ball in the corner of the wall and covered my ears.
At this moment, things like the dignity of a master didn't matter. A hellscape beyond my imagination was unfolding, and I couldn't bear to watch.
Even though I had deployed the Ghost Heaven Soul Formation to survive, I couldn't watch limbs being severed, flesh being torn, and bodies being butchered with a sane mind.
Whir! Whir! Whir!
The wheels continued to fly through the stone chamber.
“Gah!”
One of the wheel-wielders, whose neck was hanging by a thread after being slashed, stumbled toward me.
Just then, a wheel charged straight at me as I crouched there.
Whooooosh!
Seeing the wheel rushing toward me, tearing through the air, I instinctively grabbed the dying man with the severed neck and used him as a shield.
Splat!
The wheel embedded itself in the man’s back with a sickening thud.
Then, the blood geysering from the man’s neck drenched my face and body.
The stench of blood made me retch.
I vomited so violently I felt as if my stomach might come up with it.
By the time I had nothing left to heave, I looked up to find that no one was left standing in the stone chamber.
The room was still filled with a spine-chilling ghostly energy.
Even in my dazed state, I recited the mantra to deactivate the Ghost Heaven Soul Formation as Hwang Chu had instructed.
Immediately, the black energy filling the training hall was sucked back into the Soul Spirit Beads.
I slumped down and let out a long sigh.
I felt something stuck under my hip and pulled it out.
It was an arm, severed as cleanly as if it had been sliced by a razor.
“Hehehehe!”
I laughed like a madman.
“I knew a day like this would come. But... but it’s too soon.”
I knew I would eventually witness such a scene of slaughter, but seeing this place turned into a literal slaughterhouse was agonizing to behold as a fellow human being.
“They say one is not a man unless he is ruthless.”
Gritting my teeth, I gathered the Soul Spirit Beads scattered across the sea of blood.
Tears streamed down my face.
I had never truly considered that once I became a master, many people would die because of me.
However, this was something I had resolved to face from the moment I first picked up a sword.
It was just that seeing a scene that surpassed my limits had sent me into a temporary state of panic.
‘Being a third-rate martial artist was better.’
If I were still a low-level weakling, I wouldn't be picking up Soul Spirit Beads while smelling this stench of blood.
Still, a sense of resentment continued to well up within me.
Thinking back, everything had gone wrong from the start—going to Ten Thousand Dragons Fortress, meeting Mok Seon-hwa, being forced to eat the spirit medicine by Mok Gal-jin.
I resented the heavens for bestowing such a fate upon me.
As I wept, a memory of something Elder Third Rate had said when I committed my first murder surfaced.
Back then, the shock of the killing had left me unable to eat for a month, doing nothing but vomiting.
His words hadn't reached my heart then, but now they felt desperately relevant.
‘There will come a day when you regret the moment you picked up the sword, the moment you became a warrior. But remember this one phrase: "He who resents others is confined by his own limitations; he who resents Heaven lacks a true will." If you have the will, you can survive even in hell without regret.’
The phrase "Resenting others leads to poverty; resenting heaven leads to a lack of will" was a quote from Xunzi. It meant that resenting others is a sign of one's own inadequacy, and resenting heaven is a sign of a weak will. Ultimately, resentment stems from a lack of personal resolve.
If I had absolute conviction in my sword and my identity as a warrior, I would have accepted even this stench of blood, death, and murder as part of my path. But faced with this sudden, horrific slaughter, my sense of self had been thrown into chaos.
‘Am I a warrior?’
If a warrior fears death and fears killing, does he truly have the right to hold a sword?
Realistically, there was no way to hold a sword and not point it at others.
Because a martial artist is someone who points their blade at another.
I stood up and wiped my tears.
‘I am a warrior. I am a warrior. Even if I am a third-rate one, I am a warrior.’
I felt as if I could hear Elder Third Rate’s faint voice.
It was what he used to say whenever I was struggling.
‘A warrior does not shed tears from his eyes. A warrior’s tears are shed through his sword. "Sword Tears" are the tears of a warrior, Ja-seo.’
I made a vow.
From this moment on, I would shed my tears through my sword.
I noticed something squirming in the corner.
The instructor who had grabbed me by the waist and shoved me into this room was huddling there. He had somehow survived.
As I approached, the man trembled violently.
“P-please... spare me.”
His eyes had already lost focus. Looking closer, blood was continuously flowing from his neck.
It seemed a wheel had grazed his throat and nicked a blood vessel; the bleeding was incessant.
*
Counselor Wu felt as if his heart would stop every time a scream echoed from inside the stone chamber.
The screams sounded like they could be Eo Ja-seo’s, or perhaps those of the wheel-wielders.
Still, as the screams continued, he found a small bit of comfort.
‘Since the screaming hasn't stopped, it means Young Hero Eo is at least still alive.’
However, Do Geon spoke as he sipped his tea.
“It sounds like limbs are being torn off one by one.”
He drank his tea while making such a gruesome comment.
“We don't know whose limbs those are yet.”
“Ho? Counselor Wu, you seem to have a great deal of faith in Eo Ja-seo.”
“Of course.”
“Well, I suppose he’s the only one you can trust right now. Chamber Leader Gu is unlikely to recover from this. So, why not come over to our side? A man of your talents could easily secure a high position. They say "A wise bird chooses its tree." Think it over carefully.”
The proverb "A wise bird chooses its tree" meant that a capable subordinate should select a good leader—in short, he was telling Wu to betray his current master and join them.
Counselor Wu let out a short, mocking laugh.
“There is also a saying: "A dog is not good just because it barks well."”
The proverb "A good dog is not defined by its bark" implies that a person is defined by their actions, not just their eloquent speech.
Through this, Counselor Wu was indirectly saying that Do Geon was untrustworthy and merely a loud-mouthed dog with no credibility.
Do Geon’s face flushed red, but he suddenly burst into laughter.
“They say a man should "Seize opportunity without delay." To take such well-meaning advice that way... tsk, tsk.”
Despite Wu’s sharp tongue, Do Geon laughed it off. He was showing that he still had that much composure.
He simply felt pity for Counselor Wu, imagining the state Eo Ja-seo would be in when he was dragged out like a tattered rag.
As Do Geon spoke while clicking his tongue condescendingly, Counselor Wu suppressed the surge of anger within him. The phrase "Seize opportunity without delay" meant one should act immediately when a chance arises, but it grated on his nerves.
“The reason I do not change masters is because "Swallow sparrows bear no phoenix."”
The proverb "Swallows and sparrows do not give birth to phoenixes" was a direct insult, meaning that people of Do Geon’s caliber were incapable of leading someone like him.
At that, Do Geon’s composure finally shattered.
“How dare you! What nonsense is this! You’ve clearly lost your mind!”
Do Geon reached into his robe to draw a hidden weapon.
In that instant, Counselor Wu also circulated his Ice Heart Divine Skill.
Just as the two were about to clash, Gyeong Mong and the surrounding instructors turned pale and scrambled backward.
If they accidentally fell within the range of Do Geon’s poison, they could die without even being able to make a sound.
Just as Do Geon’s hand gripped a hidden weapon, the stone door began to open.
Rumble!
At that sound, Do Geon’s gaze shifted from Counselor Wu to the stone door. Counselor Wu also turned his head toward the door as if they hadn't just been about to kill each other.
The Adam’s apples of Do Geon, Counselor Wu, and Gyeong Mong all bobbed simultaneously as they swallowed hard.
As the stone door slowly ground open, everyone’s eyes were fixed on it. Once it was fully open, a human figure gradually emerged.
“Oh!”
Do Geon let out an exclamation. The person appearing from the stone door was none other than his own subordinate, the training instructor.
“Hahahaha! Is Eo Ja-seo dead? Seeing you come out, he must surely be dead!”
Do Geon laughed with pure, triumphant delight.
“H-he... he isn't human. He’s not... human. Not human...”
The instructor muttered like a man who had lost his soul, staggering forward.
Then, he collapsed face-first. Judging by the way his entire body was convulsing, he was on the verge of death.
Step, step, step.
His shoes were so soaked in blood that his footsteps sounded as if he were walking through rain.
“Young Hero Eo!”
Counselor Wu sprang to his feet.
Eo Ja-seo’s body was so completely drenched in blood that if his white teeth hadn't been visible when he spoke, one might have mistaken him for a blood demon.
“What happened?”
When Counselor Wu asked, Eo Ja-seo replied with sorrowful eyes.
“I had no choice. If I didn't kill them, I...”
“I understand, even if you don't say it, Young Hero Eo.”
Do Geon and Gyeong Mong, confused by the situation, rushed into the training hall.
A moment later, Gyeong Mong came sprinting back out, screaming.
“You monster! You tore all twenty-four of the Four Wheels guests to pieces! You absolute monster!”
Gyeong Mong didn't even dare to attack; he simply pointed a trembling finger at Eo Ja-seo and shrieked.
At those words, Eo Ja-seo roared back.
“Shut up! Who made me like this? If you bastards hadn't shoved me in there, this never would have happened! This is your doing!”
As Eo Ja-seo approached Gyeong Mong, radiating a terrifying killing intent, a sinister aura exploded outward. Gyeong Mong scrambled backward and fell onto his backside.
Do Geon also glared at Eo Ja-seo.
Seeing Do Geon’s hands trembling with rage, Counselor Wu didn't even have the courage to look inside the training hall.
“You... you bastard...”
Under Do Geon’s murderous gaze, Eo Ja-seo slowly approached.
“If you ever put me in a dog-shit situation like this again, you’ll be the next one to end up like that! Do you understand? Next time, I won't just kill you—I’ll destroy everything you have!”
Counselor Wu saw a ghostly fire flickering in Eo Ja-seo’s eyes as he spoke.
It wasn't just killing intent; it was a ghostly flame.
Even Wu himself felt a momentary sense of helplessness from the sheer terror.
Do Geon was barely holding his ground, but he couldn't withstand Eo Ja-seo’s eerie aura and began to shake.
Then, thinking that Eo Ja-seo was close enough, Do Geon attempted to overcome his fear by suddenly unleashing a hidden weapon.
Since he threw it from less than ten feet away, he believed Eo Ja-seo wouldn't be able to block it.
“Ah!”
Counselor Wu gasped as Do Geon suddenly threw the weapon.
But what was even more shocking was that Eo Ja-seo’s sword unsheathed itself and blocked the hidden weapon.
Clang-clang-clang-clang-clang!
And after blocking the weapon, Eo Ja-seo’s sword spun through the air. Right in front of Do Geon.
Squelch!
The sound of bone being ground echoed, and a moment later, Do Geon’s right arm fell to the floor with a thud.
Eo Ja-seo’s sword slowly slid back into its scabbard from the air.
“You brought this on yourself. If you hadn't thrown that weapon, your arm would still be intact.”
Counselor Wu stared blankly at this version of Eo Ja-seo, who was completely different from before, wondering if this was his true self.
Seeing such a powerful and cold-blooded side of Eo Ja-seo, he even wondered if he was looking at a different person entirely.