No Escape for the Mad Soul
Deep darkness settled over the valley, and the moon in the night sky began to cast a faint, shimmering light.
"Huu... haaa..."
Crossing the ridge of Mount Arok, Do Ye-cheon slowly stopped and looked back.
Relief washed over his face as he stared down the long, winding path that stretched endlessly into the distance.
Yes. Having come this far, even that bastard Dok-go Cheon won't be able to track me.
He had sacrificed the subordinates who followed him to buy time.
After that, it was a desperate, all-out flight.
He had poured every ounce of his remaining internal energy into his lightfoot technique.
Even if he has transcended into the Life and Death Realm, he won't be able to catch up to me.
Any master pugilist worth his salt was bound to have mastered techniques for self-preservation that were equal to, if not greater than, his offensive martial arts.
He had run without looking back even once, and even in his haste, he had not forgotten to employ clever misdirection.
He had deliberately left tracks pointing toward the river before stealthily veering off toward the mountains.
He had repeatedly left conspicuous footprints as if by mistake, only to immediately push his lightfoot technique to its absolute limit, vanishing without leaving so much as a speck of dust behind.
That was how he had managed to make such a perfect escape.
He collapsed.
Weary and exhausted, Do Ye-cheon slumped onto the ground.
"...Damn it."
As he felt his throbbing dantian and legs that felt as heavy as iron, curses naturally spilled from his lips.
After fleeing for over half a day, the clothes he had stolen from a slash-and-burn farmer reeked of rot.
This was pathetic. He hadn't lived like this since his youth, rolling around on battlefields.
Do Ye-cheon let out a hollow laugh.
"Heh... to think I would end up in such a state."
The throne of Sadocheon had been right before his eyes.
Literally, if he had just reached out his hand, he could have had everything.
But it had all been a trap.
Dok-go Cheon. It is all because of that insidious bastard.
Dok-go Cheon had known everything, yet he had stood by and watched.
He had laid a snare and waited for him to make the first move.
The fact that he held the written pledge means Yukhonbang must have been annihilated as well.
A single question naturally arose in his mind.
But how on earth did he find Yukhonbang's headquarters?
It had been hundreds of years since Yukhonbang first appeared in the Jianghu.
Over those centuries, the karma of their sins was by no means light, and countless people had tried to locate their base.
Yet, not a single soul had succeeded.
It couldn't have been the Beggars' Sect. Did he commission the Haoman of Heukpaeseong?
No, that made no sense either.
Dok-go Cheon was not some common martial artist; he was the Lord of Sadocheon.
There was no way such a figure would directly commission Heukpaeseong.
No matter how much he pondered, the mystery remained as impenetrable as a vast ocean shrouded in darkness.
However, one thing was absolutely clear.
"If Leader Jeok-un had not obtained the intelligence beforehand and informed me, I would have met my death without knowing a thing."
That goddamn bastard again...!
Just as Dok-go Cheon had said, this entire affair had started with the schemes of Jegal Jeok-un.
Do Ye-cheon unconsciously grit his teeth.
Only now did he understand the meaning behind the smirk the boy had worn at the very end.
Rage boiled inside him like molten lava.
I should have torn him limb from limb and made sure he was dead.
Failing to confirm the boy's death was his greatest regret.
That, at this moment, was his deepest regret.
Do Ye-cheon let out a heavy sigh and slowly pushed himself up.
Though he had only rested for a brief moment, a significant portion of his strength had returned.
"Now, I must decide where to go..."
Having shaken off his pursuers, it was time to chart his next course.
The first place that came to mind was the Murim Alliance.
If he surrendered to the Orthodox faction like this...
Rather than the Alliance Leader, if I approach the Poison World Dark Venerable, there is a good chance.
Poison World Dark Venerable Dang Cheon-hwi was a member of the Murim Alliance and the Lord of the Sichuan Dang Family.
Currently, Dang Cheon-hwi was in severe conflict with the Alliance Leader's faction, and especially the Jegal Family, due to the incident at the Tongseong County branch.
If he, the Vice Lord of Sadocheon and a master of the Established Profound Realm, offered to defect and align with them, they would have every reason to welcome him.
Furthermore, the internal secrets of Sadocheon he possessed would serve as an excellent bargaining chip.
But the Poison World Dark Venerable is a double-edged sword.
The Poison World Dark Venerable was widely regarded as the most cunning and venomous mind in the Jianghu.
Entrusting oneself to such a man could easily result in being used for the rest of one's life, only to be discarded like trash.
Do Ye-cheon erased that option from his mind.
That left only one place.
"If I travel down the Yangtze River to Jiangnan and seek refuge in Heukpaeseong..."
It was Heukpaeseong.
Quite a few members of Sadocheon had defected and thrown themselves at the mercy of Heukpaeseong in the past.
When he had received reports on their movements as the Vice Lord, he knew for a fact that some of them had risen to high-ranking positions.
No matter their identity or past, as long as they could bring greater benefit to Heukpaeseong...
They are the kind of bastards who would pay a premium even if you sold out your own parents.
In an instant, Do Ye-cheon's eyes gleamed like those of a venomous serpent.
Yes, then it is decided. I will head straight for the Yangtze River and—
"To think this is where you would flee. How ironic, Ye-cheon."
"...!!"
A sudden voice echoed.
Swish!
Startled out of his wits, Do Ye-cheon instinctively swung his fist.
A sharp crack of parting air followed, but his fist met nothing but empty space.
Even a master of the Profound Realm could not shatter the void by striking thin air.
However...
Damn it...!
Just because he had hit nothing did not mean he had gained nothing.
A man stood just beyond his field of vision.
Do Ye-cheon's eyes filled with despair and rage.
"Dok-go Cheon!!"
The moment he recognized the man, Do Ye-cheon shrieked in fury.
At that reaction, Dok-go Cheon turned to look at his old friend and spoke quietly.
"In our youth, before heading out to battle, you and I shared drinks on that very peak."
The emotion in his eyes was one of deep regret and sorrow.
Though this man was a traitor who had plotted against him and sought his life...
...the fall of a comrade-in-arms with whom he had shared life and death in his youth was profoundly tragic.
"It is a pity. It seems we will never return to this place again."
But that was the end of his sentimentality.
Soon, Dok-go Cheon's eyes turned ice-cold.
At that moment, Do Ye-cheon gathered his energy to its absolute limit.
...Now that he has caught up to me, there is nowhere left to run.
Whoosh!
A ferocious, murderous intent erupted from Do Ye-cheon, matching his grim resolve.
He had only one desire left.
No matter the cost, he would sink his venomous fangs into that bastard's throat.
As Do Ye-cheon clenched his fists, searching for an opening to strike, Dok-go Cheon spoke.
"I am only here to see you off in your final moments."
Dok-go Cheon uttered words that made no sense.
"The opponent you will face is not me."
"What on earth..."
Just as he was about to snap back and ask what nonsense he was talking—
Flash!
What?
A streak of light shot out from behind Dok-go Cheon.
Sensing something amiss, Do Ye-cheon whipped around.
The moment he identified the figure, his eyes widened in sheer bewilderment.
...How is he here?!
The boy he had personally crippled... Jeok-un...
"Do Ye-cheon—!"
...was charging at him, completely unscathed.
He was like a flash of lightning.
This was no mere figure of speech.
Arriving right before him in the blink of an eye, Jeok-un...
Slash!
...brought his twin swords down like a thunderbolt, aiming straight for the crown of Do Ye-cheon's head.
It was a technique containing the principles of 'Mount Tai Pressing Down,' a move known to anyone who had ever set foot in the Jianghu.
Because it was such a basic form, there were hundreds of ways to counter it.
And yet...
What in the world...!
At this moment, Do Ye-cheon could only gape in shock, unable to mount a proper defense.
Whoosh!
The overwhelming dominance radiating from Jeok-un was suffocating.
A terrifying pressure that bound his essence, energy, and spirit, combined with a sword strike as swift as lightning.
Even for a master of the Profound Realm like Do Ye-cheon, this was not something he could afford to take lightly.
He couldn't dodge.
He had to block it.
Do Ye-cheon crossed his arms in an 'X' shape, wrapping them in layers of protective Qi as hard as iron plate.
In that instant, Jeok-un's swords slammed down.
CRASH!
The sound of earth being compressed, packed tight, and then shattering echoed through the valley.
And it happened in rapid, violent succession.
The cause lay beneath Do Ye-cheon's feet.
The ground where he stood had caved in.
The culprit, of course, was the sheer weight of Jeok-un's strike.
Ugh!
Mount Tai Pressing Down.
True to its name, the destructive force felt as though Mount Tai itself were crushing him, forcing a groan from Do Ye-cheon's throat.
An agonizing pain, as if his arms were about to snap, radiated from his shoulders down through his entire upper body.
But at this moment...
...such pain was the least of Do Ye-cheon's concerns.
...The Established Profound Realm?
Do Ye-cheon's eyes trembled like autumn leaves.
The Jeok-un he had fought in front of the Alliance Hall and the Jeok-un standing before him now were completely different entities.
What was this absurd, raging torrent of power?
The source of the energy he was unleashing was easily equal to his own.
No, it wasn't just equal...
...It was far beyond it!
BOOM!
In that split second, Jeok-un stomped the ground and lunged forward again.
With his initial strike blocked, he naturally transitioned into a follow-up attack.
Yet, far more threatening than the deluge of sword strikes...
Ugh!
...were the boy's eyes, burning with a madness that seemed ready to incinerate him, living up to his very moniker.
CRASH!
A sword strike like lightning crashed down once more.
And then...
A second strike.
A third strike.
A fourth strike—
A barrage of consecutive strikes followed, filling the air with a deafening roar that threatened to burst his eardrums.
Do Ye-cheon could not afford to hold back even a fraction of his strength.
He poured everything he had into blocking Jeok-un's blades, and in doing so, he finally realized the truth.
...The other one was a body double?
The opponent before him was not the one he had defeated at the Alliance Hall.
They could never be the same.
The one who had fallen by his hand was merely a shadow.
—Then the Golden Phoenix Merchant Group incident was also this bastard's doing...!
Rumble!
As he blocked the storm-like chain of attacks, the light in Do Ye-cheon's eyes shifted.
Energy surged explosively from his dantian, traveling through his waist, shoulders, upper arms, and forearms before erupting outward.
Soon, his fluid movements carried the ultimate secrets of the Mad Soul Ten Kills Style.
No, this is actually for the best!
If today was to be his final day...
...he would rather drag this insect down to hell with him than Dok-go Cheon!
Whoosh!
Do Ye-cheon thrust his fist straight forward.
ROAR!
A deafening shriek, like the wailing of tormented souls, reverberated through the valley.
It was an overwhelming force, akin to a flooding ocean.
However...
BOOM!
Crash!
Under the might of the Heaven-Dominating Divine Qi unleashed by Jeok-un, Do Ye-cheon's energy was torn to shreds and scattered.
Yet the aftermath of the collision remained.
The turbulent gale generated by the clash of their energies uprooted the surrounding trees and tore the very earth inside out.
Both men were pushed back, carving two long trenches into the ground.
"You bastard...!"
Do Ye-cheon could not hide his shock at Jeok-un's prowess.
Yet Jeok-un remained entirely expressionless, showing no emotion whatsoever.
"No, this isn't enough to satisfy my anger."
He muttered those cryptic words, and then—
Thud! Thud!
...he drove his divine weapons, Il-cheon and Wol-ha, straight into the ground.
"...?"
What was he doing?
A swordsman discarding his own weapons?
The moment suspicion flared in Do Ye-cheon's eyes at this incomprehensible act...
"They say you are one of the top three pugilists in the Jianghu, right?"
Jeok-un clenched his fists.
"I'll chew you up and spit you out, leaving nothing but those three fingers."