The Impostor's Taunt
The spear tip, brimming with vigilance, pointed at the man standing there—a figure impossible to forget, no matter how one tried.
Woo-gang glared at him, standing stock-still in the middle of the main avenue cutting through the heart of Deungbonghyeon, and spoke.
“Who are you?”
“It's not been that long—have you already forgotten?”
He seemed familiar, yet in truth, Woo-gang knew nothing about him now. Rather, it was more accurate to call him a stranger: the fake Ak So-cheon.
“I asked who you are!”
Woo-gang shouted at the fake Ak So-cheon.
Dang Cheon-yong and the Dang Family warriors, unaware of the man's identity, simply heightened their guard and watched the situation unfold.
“Very well. But aside from my name not being Ak So-cheon, I've told you young hero not a single lie.”
Only then did Dang Cheon-yong realize who he was.
The mysterious infiltrator who had slipped into the Murim Alliance and approached Woo-gang.
He had appeared.
Woo-gang glared at the fake Ak So-cheon with murderous intent at his brazen response.
With his very identity a lie, what could be trusted?
Even this claim of no other falsehoods was impossible to believe.
As Woo-gang continued to glare, the fake Ak So-cheon gazed at the completely collapsed building.
Though those buried and dead beneath the rubble were surely connected to him, he reacted as if it were someone else's affair, utterly nonchalant.
“I expected it might be futile, but not to this extent. I thought I could at least put you down for a while. Have you grown stronger since then, or were you already at this level back then?”
The fake Ak So-cheon asked.
Even after gauging Woo-gang's power with his eyes and witnessing the results, he showed no loss of composure.
“Reveal your true identity clearly.”
Woo-gang demanded the fake Ak So-cheon's identity once more.
“How persistent. Then again, even during our long conversations, your curiosity always led to relentless questions.”
“Answer me!”
Woo-gang shouted again.
It was unclear if it was deliberate, but one thing was certain: the man kept provoking Woo-gang.
“My name is……”
As the fake Ak So-cheon trailed off, Woo-gang furrowed his brow.
But unlike before, he didn't yell at him.
The fake Ak So-cheon appeared to be transmitting a private message via inner energy transmission, solely to Woo-gang.
“Has your curiosity been satisfied now?”
“Why tell me alone?”
“Didn't I say? I dislike drawing attention from others. You're free to share my name with anyone, young hero, but I simply don't wish to announce it myself before everyone.”
It sounded reasonable, but it boiled down to mere whim.
Woo-gang stared straight into the fake Ak So-cheon's eyes.
Even in this grave situation, a glint of mischief lurked deep within them.
Sensing it, Woo-gang's anger surged anew, but he gritted his teeth and suppressed it.
“Why approach me while hiding your identity? And are you…… connected to Grandfather's disappearance? No, you must be. Where is Grandfather!”
As the questions turned to Yeom Si-woo, Woo-gang's voice rose again.
“The reason I went to such lengths to approach you, young hero…… was curiosity. To see what kind of person you are. And to let you know.”
“Let me know?”
“Yes. What this world is truly like. What the Murim Alliance is. What the current martial world of Jianghu has become. What would you do if the world you believed in turned out to be riddled with lies? You think I've deceived you now, but what if the truth lies with us, and everything you've known until now is false?”
Woo-gang scowled at the fake Ak So-cheon's question.
Part of him wanted to scream that it was nonsense.
But he couldn't—not after what had happened at the Murim Alliance.
He had believed their words, only to return and learn he'd been deceived.
Unable to retort immediately, Woo-gang just glared, and a smile spread across the fake Ak So-cheon's lips.
“Think back on everything you've experienced so far. What do you make of it?”
The fake Ak So-cheon pressed, and Woo-gang scowled deeper.
Who to trust, who to suspect. How far to believe, where to start doubting.
His thoughts tangled endlessly.
Until finally, one rose to the forefront.
“In the martial world of Jianghu, believe in nothing and trust no one. Suspect, and suspect again. The only thing you can rely on is yourself.”
The words heard upon passing Hanchon Secret Cave's trial.
A lesson he had repeated ceaselessly since, especially after the Murim Alliance, determined never to forget.
“Fine. Maybe everything I've seen, heard, and experienced so far is a lie, just as you say. But that doesn't mean I'll believe you. I suspect everything and everyone. That's who I am.”
As Woo-gang spoke, the smile on the fake Ak So-cheon's face slowly faded.
And in that instant, his expression turned utterly emotionless.
Shrieeeek!
The fake Ak So-cheon's form vanished like smoke, and a sword sliced sharply through the spot where he had stood.
“A fine mindset. Don't believe. Suspect to the end, and keep suspecting as you see, hear, and experience. The only thing you should trust is your own experience and judgment.”
In the fake Ak So-cheon's place stood Geomwang, looking as if he had just fought a fierce battle.
His clothes were slightly torn, his neatly combed hair disheveled in places, and bloodstains—whether his own or splattered from elsewhere—dotted his form.
The fake Ak So-cheon reappeared a short distance behind Geomwang.
“Even after that fierce battle on my way here, it seems I've grown old. In my prime, that strike would have taken your head clean off.”
Geomwang sheathed his sword as he spoke.
Then he walked over to Woo-gang's side and glared at the fake Ak So-cheon.
But Woo-gang knew.
It wasn't that Geomwang's strike had dulled; it was that the fake Ak So-cheon's movements were extraordinary.
“I don't know about the rest, but that guy's the closest to Flame King, that friend of mine. Capture him, and we'll learn about Si-woo.”
Woo-gang nodded at Geomwang's words.
Yet the movements he'd just shown were so incredible that even Woo-gang wondered if he could pursue them.
A smile crept back onto the fake Ak So-cheon's face.
He looked straight at Woo-gang and spoke.
“You had one more question for me. Where is the Flame King?”
The words “Flame King” slipped from the fake Ak So-cheon's mouth, and Woo-gang's eyebrow twitched.
“Now, let me pose a question in return. Where might the Flame King be? And……”
The fake Ak So-cheon trailed off, his smile deepening into something more sinister than any before.
“……is he even alive?”
“Shut your mouth!”
Woo-gang finally exploded.
The last barrier of his barely maintained composure shattered.
Whoooosh!
Rumble rumble rumble!
It felt as if every ounce of Woo-gang's inner energy erupted from his body.
Even Geomwang, standing right beside him, stepped back and circulated his energy to protect himself.
Dang Cheon-yong and the Dang Family warriors hurriedly clustered together, channeling their energy to shield themselves and Ak So-cheon.
‘The Flame King's disciple…… is at this level?!’
Even during that lone stand against dozens in the inn, massive auras had occasionally emanated from him.
But this was beyond massive.
If there existed something larger than the world's greatest, it might compare.
Woo-gang's entire body seemed engulfed in rage.
The ceaselessly surging energy shook not just nearby objects but entire buildings.
Anyone facing this would be gripped by terror.
In fact, from the inn's collapse until now, those who hadn't fled hid in workplaces or any visible shelter, trembling in fear.
Yet the fake Ak So-cheon's reaction barely changed.
Merely a hint of surprise at the overwhelming pressure from Woo-gang's aura.
Woo-gang, blood boiling and consumed by fury, glared murderously at the fake Ak So-cheon.
To him, the fake Ak So-cheon spoke again.
“What do you think?”
Mockery? Bold provocation?
The intent behind the question was unclear.
But one thing was certain: that final query had snapped Woo-gang's last thread of reason.
“Die!”
Woo-gang roared, thrusting his spear forward with tremendous force.
A considerable distance beyond the spear's reach.
But that posed no issue.
By then, a massive blaze enveloping Woo-gang's spear shot straight ahead in the thrust's direction.
Boom boom boom boom boom boom boom!
The flames erupting from Woo-gang's spear devoured everything around like a living beast.
Even the wide stone-paved avenue cratered under the immense power.
Kabooooom!
The rampaging blaze exploded violently without end.
The coalesced flames shot endlessly skyward, spreading wide and emitting daylight-bright light before vanishing.
But at its end, no trace of the fake Ak So-cheon remained.
He had already withdrawn before the explosion.
“Arrrrrgh!”
Boom crash!
Unable to contain his rage, Woo-gang let out a primal roar from deep within.
With it, the lingering energy expanded, crumbling part of a nearby building's wall.
“Hah…… hah……”
Having vented his fury, Woo-gang bowed his head, breathing raggedly.
Residual anger mingled with belated sorrow, overwhelming his emotions.
Geomwang approached such a Woo-gang.
All he could do now was offer silent comfort.
What had transpired the night before was nothing short of an incident.
The main avenue through Deungbonghyeon bore traces defying common sense, and the surrounding scene was devastation incarnate.
Collapsed and charred buildings evoked the illusion of a warzone.
Moreover, though few, civilian casualties had occurred, turning Deungbonghyeon into a true hellscape.
Those who stepped in to manage the aftermath were Shaolin monks who had belatedly descended from Song Mountain.
They moved swiftly to contain the situation and assess the damages.
Upon finding Geomwang and Woo-gang and hearing the full story, they were inevitably shocked.
Deungbonghyeon, a stone's throw from Song Mountain, could almost be called an extension of Shaolin itself.
In other words, impure forces had rampaged right in Shaolin's midst, and they had been oblivious.
This was the reality of Shaolin, secluded from the secular world for ages.
Unexpectedly swift action came alongside Shaolin from the Murim Alliance.
Though it had been a battle against enemies, innocent people had suffered.
With the foes gone, anger, criticism, and resentment over the incident could all have fallen on Woo-gang.
The Murim Alliance preempted this, providing real compensation and aid to the victims.
Thanks to Shaolin and the Murim Alliance's handling, the incident seemed to pass without further turmoil that day.