Chapter 83
Chapter 83
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 83
Chapter Title: Crippling the Shadows
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Well, right now, he probably couldn't feel it. In that state, not only his internal energy but even a martial artist's keen senses would have dulled.
As Jinmu took a step forward, Baekpyo laboriously followed behind.
He was dragging his feet with every step, far too slow.
Jinmu shook his head and headed toward a secluded alley where few passersby tread.
Jinmu deliberately chose a spot hidden by a tall wall, where even moonlight couldn't reach.
"Here?"
"Here?"
Jinmu smirked and gazed at the wall casting an even deeper shadow in the darkness.
"This kind of place."
The moment he stepped forward, Jinmu's figure suddenly stretched out.
Then he thrust his hand into the darkness.
But then.
Tzirit!
A streak of flash poured out from the shadow.
"Where do you think you're going!"
Clang!
There was a metallic clash, but Jinmu's hand didn't stop. The Supreme Purity Swordsmanship extinguished the flash, immediately seizing something.
"Kuhk!"
With a stifled groan, the black-clad man grabbed by the throat by Jinmu's hand was slammed to the ground.
And then.
Kwaduduk!
"Kkuk!"
Even after crushing and shattering the kneecap, the black-clad man let out only a short groan, nothing more.
Rather, the sound of bones crunching was louder.
"Look at you enduring it. That must hurt like hell."
Jinmu grinned wickedly.
Pewk!
Even with his leg crushed, the black-clad man pursed his lips and shot something out.
Ting!
I saw that coming, you bastard.
It was a good attempt, but Jinmu simply flicked his hand, and the secreted poison fell to the ground.
Jinmu immediately seized the black-clad man's jaw.
Pruduk!
The jawbone shattered. Just in case he might try to take his own life.
Jinmu didn't stop there and twisted both arms backward until they snapped.
"Kkeuh..."
This time, a more pained groan escaped.
Complete subjugation. Even after achieving his goal, Jinmu's gaze lingered not on the fallen black-clad man but on the roof of a distant building.
Another black-clad figure.
He had been positioned to overlook the entire alley, staring at Jinmu before vanishing.
'Bastard.'
Jinmu smirked.
In the meantime, Baekpyo approached the black-clad man writhing on the ground with all his limbs broken.
"What about this one?"
"He's from the Three Kills Hall, no doubt. Come to fetch their runaway dog."
"Ah."
Baekpyo nodded.
He knew next to nothing about the Three Kills Hall. Partly because his memories were incomplete, but also because, lost in bloodlust, he had no interest. All that mattered were the targets assigned for assassination.
The people he knew from the Three Kills Hall could be counted on one hand: the Blood Lord and the hulking Death Crest who occasionally visited, First Kill Chorip.
Just those two.
Baekpyo, looking at the black-clad man, asked Jinmu.
"So, will you interrogate him now to learn about the Three Kills Hall?"
"What? Why?"
"Pardon?"
He had no such intention.
Assassins didn't usually spill details anyway, and there was no need for torture— they would come crawling back on their own.
There had been one watching earlier, so they would undoubtedly keep coming through the night, being a nuisance.
What Jinmu wanted was combat incapacity.
Killing them felt off, so he planned to cripple each one that came, reducing their forces bit by bit.
Until they flew into a rage.
Then he could just wait in a favorable spot for them to come.
"Hey, Baekpyo."
"Yes?"
"Things are about to get busy from now on. I could use your help."
"...?"
He seemed more than capable alone?
"Your body won't hold up in that state, right?"
"..."
True enough. In his current condition, he couldn't withstand an assassin's attack.
"Assassins are bad guys, you know. No need to feel guilty."
As Baekpyo tilted his head, not grasping the meaning, Jinmu grinned.
"Suck him dry."
"...Pardon?"
"You need to be able to move at least."
"Ah!"
Now he understood.
The Bloodsucking Technique. A martial art that drained the opponent's vitality.
According to Jinmu, it was the only thing Baekpyo could use now.
For the rest of his life, like a summer mosquito in peak season, he would have to survive by sucking others' vitality.
And as Jinmu said, the one before him was an assassin.
"...Understood."
After a moment's hesitation, Baekpyo approached the black-clad man with a hardened expression. He had made up his mind.
"Just suck a little. Enough not to kill."
"...Yes."
Baekpyo shuffled over with his frail body and grabbed the black-clad man's wrist.
Where the pulse throbbed.
The most vibrant spot.
Shwaaak!
"Kkuuuuh!"
Terror flashed in the black-clad man's eyes, now bulging like a gourd, while vitality began to gleam in Baekpyo's pupils.
But somehow, it felt a bit sinister?
Ududuk!
"Kreuk!"
The black-clad man twisted in agony, letting out a pained groan.
This made six. The number of Three Kills Hall assassins whose vitality Baekpyo had absorbed.
At first, two came charging right away, then four more followed.
Of course, Jinmu wasn't one to miss their stealthy approaches. Without fail, those who appeared had their limbs broken by Jinmu and became Baekpyo's prey.
Thanks to the bloodsucking, Baekpyo's movements had quickened considerably.
But only temporarily.
The internal energy gained from the Bloodsucking Technique didn't accumulate in the body. It dispersed after two hours.
'Hmm.'
Jinmu stared silently at Baekpyo, whose eyes now brimmed with vitality after finishing the bloodsucking.
What to do? By tomorrow, his internal energy would vanish, returning him to his original state.
"Hey, Baekpyo."
"Yes! Benefactor!"
With strength restored, his voice brimmed with power, and his eyes shone with affection.
"There's a way to store the internal energy gained from the Bloodsucking Technique in your dantian."
"Pardon?"
Ink Dragon Chaos Origin Art.
Jinmu intended to pass on its basics.
Of course, just the basics.
The Bloodsucking Technique wasn't absolute. It alone couldn't fully assimilate all absorbed energy.
Thus, a refining process was needed, similar to cultivating internal energy with orthodox heart methods.
Absorb only the pure energy from the sucked power and discard the rest.
Even with refining, it couldn't accumulate indefinitely. The internal energy stolen via bloodsucking and refined had a limit; it plateaued after a certain stage. Even at maximum, it reached only the Elasticity Realm?
To reach the Absolute Realm, the next stage was required. Since it wasn't through enlightenment, knowing the foundational art wasn't enough without transmission—it was unattainable otherwise.
And only Jinmu knew that method. Without his guidance, progress beyond was impossible.
Having decided to help, Jinmu planned to do it thoroughly. It was someone else's mess, but since he was cleaning it up, better leave no traces. Clean it spotless, even mop the floor.
Yeah. The guy would off himself anyway—let him enjoy a bit longer.
"But Benefactor, you said there were side effects."
"That's only with the incomplete method."
"..."
The Bloodsucking Technique stole vitality without killing, excluding malice, and with purification of the taken energy, it allowed the fastest ascent to a certain realm—the perfect martial art.
But it required a compatible constitution, so it wasn't taught to just anyone.
How could drawing and using others' energy be good for the body?
He taught it to Cheon U-myeong because his constitution suited it, and Baekpyo surviving forced learning was sheer tough luck.
He endured the side effects while using it. Meaning his constitution was suitable too.
"Listen well. This is how to store the energy absorbed via Bloodsucking Technique in your dantian."
"...!"
Baekpyo's eyes widened uncontrollably at Jinmu's words.
"Primordial Chaos is the origin and source of all energies. The darkness before all purification. Beginning is end, end is beginning, interlocking as one not two, birthing order from chaos—this is the Chaos Origin Art..."
Jinmu's words flowed without pause.
Baekpyo hurriedly sat cross-legged and began circulating qi as guided.
"The energy starting from the dantian passes through the perineum, flows through the Governing and Conception Vessels, returns to the dantian without stopping, until only its purity remains..."
It was an explication of the incantation.
Worried Baekpyo might not understand, Jinmu explained the incantation in detail.
Still, he grasped it far better than Cheon U-myeong—easier to teach.
The explanation repeated, and Baekpyo delved deeper into circulation.
After reciting the explication for a while, seeing Baekpyo familiar with the incantation, Jinmu stopped and watched silently.
"Looks like fate gave me an unwanted guardian. Should've opened an inn and taught there."
Smirking, Jinmu spread his energy to scan the surroundings meticulously.
In preparation for any enemies that might come.
"All dead?"
"Not dead, but all have shattered limbs and are combat-incapable."
"..."
"The martial arts of the one with Baekpyo aren't to be taken lightly."
At the hulking Chorip's words, wrinkles deepened on the face of the Three Kills Hall's master, Bumyong.
The source of his unease.
He had sent Second Kill Hyeonmuk to find Baekpyo. Yet he brazenly appeared on the streets, taking down every low-rank assassin sent to monitor him.
Not killing them, just crippling them enough to fight no more.
"According to Second Kill, he saw him."
"What?"
"He definitely said so. Stared as if he knew he was being watched."
"Damn it..."
Bumyong ground his teeth.
What nonsense was this? Could someone be targeting the Three Kills Hall deliberately?
"Who is he? What's his relation to Baekpyo?"
"Unfortunately, we couldn't identify him."
"What?"
"A stranger. He doesn't allow approach within ten zhang. The moment they enter, they fall to his hands. Strangely, the victims not only have broken limbs but look utterly drained of strength."
"Hm."
A warrior with detection range of ten zhang.
Assassins were warriors, yet not true warriors. Trained solely to kill. Thus, accustomed to ambushes over direct combat.
For ambushes, they investigated targets' haunts, associates, habits, and more.
They never rushed the kill. Lured foes to desired spots, struck only in ideal conditions.
Thus, concealing presence and aura was essential.
Only the three elite assassins of the Three Kills Hall skipped such processes.
Not only detecting their stealth like a ghost but spotting even the distant Second Kill meant no ordinary foe.
Who was he? Why with Baekpyo? What did he want?
But whatever, the conclusion was one.
"Abandon... Baekpyo."
"...!"
A glint flashed in Chorip's eyes.
"Understood."
"But Chorip, you stay out and observe. Leave it to Second Kill."
"Only to Hyeonmuk?"
"Yes. Bounty is one nyang of gold."
"Understood."
No small sum. Lives can't be priced, but one nyang was top-tier bounty.
Tri-Kill Baekpyo. Barely over five years in the Three Kills Hall.
Yet recognized as elite, representing the hall as a peerless master.
Abandoning him was a death sentence, and with bounty set, all assassins save Chorip would mobilize.
He... could never escape death.
Chorip bowed and vanished into the darkness.
Staring at where he disappeared, Bumyong couldn't shake the growing unease despite issuing the order.
His long years of experience kept warning him.
'Just what kind of bastard is he...'