The Weight of a Single Sword
Namgung Woo's gaze shifted toward the Sound Fiend Wolf, the only opponent his eyes had yet to find. The Yang twins were charging at Go Rok-gal, while Paeng Ha-ryeong was locked in a fierce duel with No Hae-rip. That left the Sound Fiend Wolf as the sole responsibility of the lone Namgung Woo.
"Heh, what an arrogant little brat."
The Sound Fiend Wolf dragged his chipped blade across the ground with a grating screech, letting out a sinister laugh. His confident demeanor suggested he was at least a Peak Realm expert. He had seen plenty of young martial artists like Namgung Woo—geniuses hailed as hukigisu, spoiled by praise and prone to overestimating their own abilities. There was a special thrill in teaching those who thought crossing the Peak Realm wall made them something special the cold truth of the gangho.
"Let me teach you one thing. The gangho is a cold place. Save your talk of warmth and mercy for those sects that actually pamper their disciples."
"You talk too much. I like that."
A crack appeared in the Sound Fiend Wolf's smile. He had been happily pondering where to start carving the boy apart when an instinctive sense of unease washed over him. But he brushed it aside. It was just bravado. Even if the kid turned out to be stronger than expected and forced a real fight, he could always flee. Having lived as a wanted criminal of the Murim for years, the Sound Fiend Wolf had more than enough hidden tricks to save his own skin.
Yeah. He's got some experience after all. His poker face is decent, but let's see how calm he stays after losing an arm.
A razor-sharp aura gathered over the Sound Fiend Wolf's jagged blade, sharp enough to slice through steel. He unleashed a powerful surge of internal energy and lunged at Namgung Woo.
Got him…!
"Huh…?"
All he had to do was swing. The arrogant young fool's arm would hit the ground. Yet his body refused to obey.
"Ah… aah…?"
A wheezing sound leaked from the Sound Fiend Wolf's throat, as if his freedom had been violently stolen. He saw it then—the young man before him. And beyond him, a colossal presence gazing down from the heavens.
"You said you'd cut off one arm. You enjoy human suffering, I see."
Namgung Woo's calm voice rang in the Sound Fiend Wolf's ears like the judgment of a heavenly sovereign. There was no resisting it. His soul felt completely bound, crushed against the floor of his own mind. In that state, he could only helplessly accept Namgung Woo grabbing his shoulder and forcing him to his knees.
And then—
Crack!
"Aaaaagh!"
"So you know how to scream. Does your own pain hurt after all?"
The Sound Fiend Wolf couldn't tear his eyes away from Namgung Woo's blue-white pupils. The last fragment of his consciousness exerted the greatest focus of his entire life to comprehend what was happening to his body.
Sorcery? Is this sorcery? No… this is just pressure… pressure so overwhelming it feels like sorcery…!
His teeth chattered audibly.
"A-absolutely… peerless…"
"Enough. From now on, answer only what I ask."
Namgung Woo cut off whatever the man had been about to say. Perhaps experience truly couldn't be ignored. It seemed the Sound Fiend Wolf had dimly sensed Namgung Woo's true nature.
Still, amplifying presence through the upper dantian isn't a bad idea. But combining it properly is still a long way off.
The oppressive feeling the Sound Fiend Wolf experienced wasn't simply from receiving the aura of a supreme expert. It came from the inspiration Namgung Woo had gained after witnessing Paeng Hu-sang's Five Tigers Severing Gate Blade, which fused upper dantian abilities with martial technique.
The Gongryeong Taeheo Singong was empty, yet full. So what if he could fill an opponent's upper dantian with his own presence? The result was the Sound Fiend Wolf trembling before him now. An maximized presence naturally manifested as extreme pressure, crushing the opponent's soul. It was still in its early stages, but what if it developed further? If it merged completely with his martial arts, just like how the Five Tigers Severing Gate Blade combined foresight of an opponent's movements with techniques to dismantle their forms piece by piece.
It's only the first step, but this is good enough for now.
Setting aside his satisfaction at the awakening of his upper dantian ability for later, Namgung Woo refocused on the Sound Fiend Wolf and the current situation.
"Answer me. Are you three the only members of the Bokmanghoe gathered here?"
"…I-I don't know…."
"You don't know?"
"The B-Bokmanghoe… even its m-members don't know who else is a member…."
"Then why were the three of you traveling together?"
"It was… coincidence…. I-I originally traveled with Blood Oath No… and No Hae-rip happened to be targeting those two, so our paths overlapped…."
"And you decided to work together?"
The Sound Fiend Wolf's head bobbed up and down rapidly.
"So you have no idea how many others there are, or who they're targeting?"
Sensing Namgung Woo's interest waning, the Sound Fiend Wolf spoke desperately.
"Th-there is one way to find out! When people join the Bokmanghoe, they receive a token. It contains a spell—if another token is nearby, they resonate. If you reach into my clothes…."
"Take it out."
"Y-yes!"
With trembling hands, the Sound Fiend Wolf pulled out an object resembling a token from his robes. It looked almost identical to a regular identification plaque. A disguise, no doubt.
The power inside is incredibly weak. Even with good senses, it would be hard to notice. The function… resonance and owner recognition?
Compared to the wondrous sorcery Lee Ja-ryong had displayed, this was child's play. There were no special abilities to speak of. Given how weak the energy was, the resonance range must be extremely short—only enough to recognize each other right before combat and retreat at the last moment.
"Since it's linked to you, destroying this would happen if I kill you, correct?"
"Th-that's what I was told."
"And?"
"Huh?"
"Is there nothing else? Better information."
Watching the Sound Fiend Wolf's darting eyes, Namgung Woo pondered. Should he kill him? The man was clearly evil—a murderer who enjoyed killing and inflicting pain. Yet Namgung Woo still found killing difficult. Lee Ja-ryong? That one had clearly transcended the category of human. And at the time, their battle had been a life-or-death struggle that left no room for shallow morality in his heated mind. Besides, if he hadn't killed Lee Ja-ryong then, he himself would have died. The situation was vastly different from now, when he had leisure to spare.
"But this isn't something I can keep putting off forever."
He had to grow accustomed to it. If he was going to live in this gangho. There was no law in this world. Conflicts that could not be resolved through words filled the land. And ultimately, all of them were settled by force. Just as Lee Ja-ryong had tried to overturn Beijing because he felt his position was stolen, just as the Bokmanghoe sought to kill innocents to satisfy personal grudges.
"Huh? G-Great Hero? Did I say something strange while I was talking…?"
The Sound Fiend Wolf asked desperately, but Namgung Woo offered no answer to that question. Or rather, he did give an answer—just not one the Sound Fiend Wolf could hear.
"I've made my decision."
A resolve to stop running and face this world directly. Before the man could even register the sound of a blade being drawn—
Shrrk—
The Sound Fiend Wolf's head tilted and slid sideways. It had been so fast. The people of the Clear Water Sect, who had been watching with wide eyes, only realized that Namgung Woo had drawn his sword after he had already walked past the collapsing body.
Lone Soul Single Sword.
A drawing technique composed of only one form. It was an excessive strike to use on a mere scoundrel like the Sound Fiend Wolf. Because its sole form was the ultimate killing strike, it was a sword Namgung Woo had never even considered using until this moment of resolve.
"S-Senior Brother. Seong-ha. Is what I just saw… really happening?"
"…I can hardly believe it myself."
"Brother, did you see anything? Really?"
"No… honestly, I didn't see anything at all. That neck really got cut, right? I only saw it twitch a little…."
Wi Ji-ryang honestly confessed what he had witnessed. The draw? He hadn't seen it. The beheading? He hadn't seen it. Had he not been focused? No.
"So that's why he's the leader…."
"Hey, Brother."
"Yeah?"
"Those thirty silver taels… we really got a bargain, didn't we?"
"Hm…? Ah! Yes, ahem. Do you finally understand, you sparrow-brained little sister? Perhaps your brother possesses the discerning eye of a great merchant after all."
"That's not a compliment!"
Wi Seong-ha's retaliatory kick struck Wi Ji-ryang squarely in the shin. Lee Gong-seo watched the siblings' playful bickering with a warm smile. The battle unfolding before them? Was there really any need to worry? Not when such an absurdly powerful ally stood on their side.
Yet as the eldest of the Clear Water Sect group and the siblings' protector, Lee Gong-seo did not neglect his duty.
"Young Master Wi, Seong-ha. Watch their fight closely. There is much you can learn from it."
By now the battle was drawing to a close. Paeng Ha-ryeong had maintained a slight but steady advantage in what had been a relatively even six-to-four fight. The Yang twins moved in perfect sync, as expected of brothers, pressing forward without yielding an inch despite facing opponents stronger than themselves. The outcome had not yet been decided, but it wouldn't be long now.
From the moment the Sound Fiend Wolf met his absurdly hollow end, both Go Rok-gal and No Hae-rip had stopped focusing solely on their opponents and begun flailing desperately. They were surely thinking only of escape now. And that very desperation became the blade that severed their own lifelines.
"…Those two were actually quite famous within the Bokmanghoe, which is full of people with unknown identities…."
"They really are strong."
Wi Ji-ryang's eyes sank deeply. Just as Lee Gong-seo had fulfilled his role, Wi Ji-ryang had responsibilities as the young master of his sect. Muttering to himself in echo of Namgung Woo's earlier murmur about having made a decision, Wi Ji-ryang too came to his own quiet resolve.