Chapter 51
As the night deepened, the lights scattered across the island began extinguishing one by one.
Whoosh.
A dark shadow darted toward the island's center, concealed within the darkness.
It was Bu Eun-seol, clad in a form-fitting night suit.
'This is the Blood-Yin Heretical Cult.'
After running for some time, Bu Eun-seol's eyes gleamed sharply as he reached the island's heart.
Dozens of pavilions stood in orderly rows, with cult followers wearing red veils patrolling the area.
'The vice leader of the Soul Seizing Hall, was it.'
Recalling Ma-un's briefing and the contents of the dossier, Bu Eun-seol swiftly scanned the cult's interior.
Though he had never once trained in stealth techniques, he moved like a seasoned assassin, slipping through the shadows unseen.
Swift Shadowless.
The peerless movement art created by Go Wol, the once-great thief, combined with Bu Eun-seol's razor-sharp yet cautious nature, allowed him to move like a ghost.
Halt.
Bu Eun-seol, who had been gliding past multiple pavilions, suddenly froze.
Across from him, beneath another pavilion, a middle-aged man stood conversing with someone.
The man's under-eyes were deeply shadowed, his lips thin and crimson. He looked like a viper that had taken human form—sinister and cold.
'Seok-jeong.'
That viper-like middle-aged man was none other than the vice leader of the Blood-Yin Cult's Soul Seizing Hall, the Black Serpent Saber Seok-jeong.
'As expected...'
Bu Eun-seol narrowed his eyes as he observed Seok-jeong from a distance.
Even in the darkness, his piercing gaze flickered like a blade's edge, and an aura as sharp as a drawn sword emanated from his entire body.
At a glance, it was clear—this was no ordinary master.
Moreover, this was the Blood-Yin Heretical Cult's headquarters. One misstep, and he could be exposed before even getting close.
'I really am about to play assassin for once.'
He had already endured countless ambushes on Hell Island.
Among them were those who attempted assassination through unorthodox methods, as well as trainees from the Ultimate Assassin Pavilion, the great sect of killers.
'First, I need to find the optimal location for an ambush.'
When launching a surprise attack, the foremost consideration is the location.
Striking from an ill-suited spot could invite a counterattack or allow the enemy to call reinforcements too easily.
"Then, let's proceed accordingly."
Just then, the conversation seemed to conclude. The other person departed, and Seok-jeong retreated back into the pavilion.
Whoosh.
Bu Eun-seol, moving like a specter, slipped silently into the pavilion after Seok-jeong.
'This place...'
After passing through a long corridor, a staircase leading underground came into view.
Descending cautiously, the pungent scent of medicine assaulted his nose.
'Here—'
As he ventured deeper, a spacious stone chamber unfolded before him.
On one side stood an armory lined with weapons, while large jars—big enough to hold a person—were arranged throughout the chamber.
These were the very jars the Blood-Yin Heretical Cult used to ferment elixirs for their sorcery.
'The perfect location for an assassination.'
As an elixir storage area, only members of the Soul Seizing Hall could enter—outsiders were barred.
Moreover, being an underground chamber, the chances of noise escaping were slim.
'Good.'
Bu Eun-seol slowly reached for the assassin's sword strapped to his back.
An assassination attempt was akin to the utmost limit of real combat. He had to seize the precise distance and opportunity—a single missed strike could lead to irreversible consequences.
'I'll finish it here.'
At that moment, Seok-jeong was inspecting the jars.
There could be no more opportune time for an assassination.
Gripping the assassin's sword, Bu Eun-seol crept toward Seok-jeong's back as the man examined a jar. Just as he prepared to deliver the fatal strike—
"...!"
His pupils abruptly dilated, and time seemed to freeze.
The keen senses of the Way of the Beast had detected something pouring down from the ceiling.
Thud.
Without a moment's thought, he twisted his body aside—
Thwip-thwip-thwip!
Dozens of steel arrows pierced the stone floor where he had stood.
"Assassins truly are incorrigible."
Seok-jeong smiled faintly as he looked at the jar where Bu Eun-seol was hiding.
"Why do they always choose this place for their ambushes, as if by some unspoken agreement?"
Hearing those words, Bu Eun-seol realized something.
'The ninth issuance...'
Seok-jeong, who had survived eight assassination attempts until now.
He had thoroughly grasped the patterns of every assassin who had infiltrated this place.
"Come out. There's no hole for you to escape through anyway."
At Seok-jeong's words, Bu Eun-seol, who had been hiding, slowly stepped out.
With the exit already blocked, there truly was no way out, just as he'd said.
"This time, it's quite a young one."
Seok-jeong stared intently at Bu Eun-seol's eyes, visible beneath the mask.
"Old or young, you rats are all the same. Always sneaking in through the supply boats, waiting for your chance. The moment I step inside, you try to assassinate me."
Seok-jeong smirked, pressing a hand to his temple as he observed Bu Eun-seol crouched low.
"That's why I installed a mechanism to detect assassins like you in this place. So I'd know the moment a little rat crawled in."
'So that's it.'
Because the ambush point was so obvious, Seok-jeong had always encountered assassins in the same location.
He had prepared a device to detect infiltrators hiding here.
'This is the Slaughter-Seeking Squad's problem.'
At last, Bu Eun-seol understood the flaw in the Slaughter-Seeking Squad's methods.
They carried out missions assigned by their branch without knowing each other's sects or identities. While this was effective for concealing spies and classified information, it was an inefficient system for achieving objectives.
Without sharing intelligence among themselves, they were doomed to repeat the same mistakes—just like now.
Sshhk.
Instead of drawing the Black Serpent Saber at his waist, Seok-jeong hefted a large blade from the armory.
"Assassins like you have no choice but to take your own lives when cornered."
A cruel smile twisted his lips as he spoke again.
"The desperate thrashing of a doomed assassin—it's as addictive as opium. Heh heh heh."
Seok-jeong had no intention of raising the alarm. He planned to deal with Bu Eun-seol himself.
'Exactly what I wanted.'
The assassination had failed, but he had gained the opportunity for a fight.
Bu Eun-seol drew one of the two assassin swords strapped to his back and stepped toward Seok-jeong.
Swish!
Without hesitation, he thrust his blade straight for Seok-jeong's throat—an instinctive killing move, an adaptation of the Quick Sword Form from the Fire Rain Thunder-Splitting Sword.
"Oh?"
Seok-jeong's expression flickered with surprise as he recognized the stability of Bu Eun-seol's swordsmanship.
"This isn't the swordplay assassins usually use."
Smiling leisurely, he raised his blade to mid-guard.
"Try blocking this."
Hiss.
As Seok-jeong unleashed his saber technique, a sandstorm-like killing intent coiled around Bu Eun-seol's entire body.
The Black Serpent Saber Technique—a style that had shaken the martial world for over a decade, now unleashed in its full, ruthless glory.
Clang!
Sparks flew as sword met saber.
Before mastering the Internal Energy Method, Bu Eun-seol would have been overwhelmed by the sheer force, sent stumbling back.
But now, it was Seok-jeong who was forced two steps back by Bu Eun-seol's defense.
"For a brat, your internal energy is remarkably deep."
Startled by Bu Eun-seol's level of cultivation, Seok-jeong poured his full power into the Black Serpent Saber Technique.
Whirrrr—!
Layers of saber strikes preemptively sealed off every possible angle of movement.
Simultaneously, an unrelenting barrage of killing moves pressed down without giving Bu Eun-seol even a breath.
Slash! Slash!
Blood bloomed across Bu Eun-seol's body as he blocked the onslaught.
'Strange.'
He had parried the saber strikes perfectly, yet Seok-jeong's blade still somehow grazed him.
'Again.'
This time, when Seok-jeong aimed for his head, Bu Eun-seol deliberately slowed his sword to provoke a clash.
Flick.
But Seok-jeong's saber seemed to vanish mid-motion—only to reappear slashing toward his shoulder instead.
'I see.'
As the blade skimmed his shoulder, Bu Eun-seol's eyes flashed.
'He's altering his forms mid-execution.'
A strike aimed at the head suddenly veers toward the shoulder. A thrust feigning at the chest instead cleaves the waist.
Feints.
Seok-jeong's Black Serpent Saber Technique was a form of Transformation Blade—creating afterimages to deceive the enemy, misleading their counters. A variant of the elusive Transformation Sword, but adapted for the saber.
'This is the difference experience makes.'
No matter how skilled one might be with transforming blade techniques, it's nearly impossible to maintain the composure to casually unleash feints in a life-or-death situation.
Only someone like Seok Jeong, who had survived by cutting down countless enemies, could wield such methods with such ease.
'I have to steal that secret.'
As Bu Eun-seol continued observing Seok Jeong's blade techniques, his own sword strokes gradually began to shift.
At times, he altered his straightforward thrusts mid-motion; other times, he abruptly halted them. Occasionally, he struck wildly at unexpected angles, and slowly, Seok Jeong's offensive began to falter.
'This technique isn't all that impressive.'
Bu Eun-seol, who had been mimicking the Black Serpent Saber Technique, couldn't hide his disappointment.
But this wasn't the truth.
Using feints recklessly in real combat only exposes vulnerabilities. That's why, when learning the Transformation Sword, a master demonstrates viable feints through sword techniques, slowly and methodically.
But Bu Eun-seol had trained in the Beast Path, and his innate combat instincts were extraordinary.
Even in the midst of battle, he was naturally grasping the Blade Essence of Seok Jeong's techniques as effortlessly as flowing water.
'This bastard—?'
A chill ran down Seok Jeong's spine as he noticed Bu Eun-seol gradually copying his Black Serpent Saber Technique.
'He's mimicking my blade technique in a situation where his head could be lopped off at any moment?'
Seok Jeong twisted his grip on the blade.
'This brat will be trouble!'
Swish—CRACK!
Changing his blade technique, he unleashed an unrelenting barrage of attacks, pressing Bu Eun-seol without pause.
"Go on, try copying this too!"
With a thunderous roar, Seok Jeong's blade technique grew even fiercer.
After thirty or so exchanges, fresh crimson scratches began appearing on Bu Eun-seol's body.
'So this is what it means to fight someone stronger...'
The only master Bu Eun-seol had ever faced who stood above him was Go Gun-pyeong of the White Horse Monastery—and even that had merely been a test of enduring five forms, not a true battle.
But Seok Jeong's blade technique was no test. He swung his blade with the sole intent of cutting off Bu Eun-seol's breath.
Whish—whish—whish—whish!
Not blade techniques, but a storm of killing moves rained down.
Yet Bu Eun-seol, relying on the Beast Path's abilities and his own combat instincts, deflected each blade stroke one by one.
Seeing Bu Eun-seol—who looked like he could collapse at any moment—still stubbornly holding on, Seok Jeong let out an irritated shout.
"You little rat! Are you just going to keep scurrying around?!"
BANG!
At the same time, he stomped hard on one of the blue stone tiles beneath him.
He had reactivated the hidden weapon mechanisms installed in this underground stone chamber.
Shh—shh—shh—shh!
Thirty-six steel needles shot down from the ceiling in staggered intervals, all aimed at Bu Eun-seol.
Fwoosh—
In that instant, Bu Eun-seol's figure blurred—and the needles passed harmlessly through his afterimage.
He had activated Swift Shadowless, shifting his position thirty-six times in the blink of an eye.
Splat!
But Seok Jeong had been waiting for that opening. His blade grazed Bu Eun-seol's forearm.
Drip... drip...
Seok Jeong licked his lips in satisfaction.
"Heh heh heh... I can almost see the Grim Reaper looming behind you now!"
Click—shh—shh—shh!
As Seok Jeong triggered the Spring Needle Tubes repeatedly while pressing his blade assault, gaps began appearing in Bu Eun-seol's defenses.
Bu Eun-seol swung his sword with all his might, but there was no way to break through the Black Serpent Saber Technique and land a fatal blow on Seok Jeong.
'Should I use the Peerless Thunderbolt?'
Currently, his strongest trump card was Cheon Un-gwang's Peerless Thunderbolt Form.
However, each use of the Peerless Thunderbolt Form drained an extreme amount of stamina and internal energy.
Moreover, if it didn't kill the enemy in a single strike, it would leave him vulnerable—a double-edged sword technique.
'I'll try applying the martial principles I've learned so far.'
So-jeon's Heavenly Domination Saber Extremity.
Je Un's Divided Mind Dual Use Art.
And Han Dan's Heavy Sword Technique.
Hadn't he joined the Slaughter-Seeking Squad precisely to master these three martial principles and fuse them into one cohesive whole?
CLANG!
At that moment, their blades clashed by chance, sparks flying.
Seizing the opening, Seok Jeong slashed Bu Eun-seol's shoulder once more.
Splat!
As blood sprayed, Bu Eun-seol's mind sharpened—and he realized one crucial fact.
'This man isn't trying to kill me!'