Chapter 164
Chapter 164
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 164
Chapter Title: Just Two Things
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"Let's begin."
At Byeok Taesan's words, the group focused, their expressions tense.
They were all intensely curious how Byeok Taesan would single out and deal with the Nameless members hidden within the slum.
And they were certain there was something to be learned.
They now stood on a rather high hill that overlooked the entire slum.
Since the slum was relatively small, they could see it all at a glance.
Byeok Taesan gazed down at the slum and spoke to the group.
"Watch closely."
Everyone stared intently at the slum, not even blinking. They didn't want to miss a single thing Byeok Taesan was about to do.
Byeok Taesan's dantian began to spin furiously.
In truth, Byeok Taesan didn't store much internal energy in his dantian.
There was no need to use internal energy when his spiritual energy was more than enough for any task requiring power.
But now, he needed to use internal energy for the sake of his companions.
So, he converted his spiritual energy into internal energy.
A minuscule fraction of Byeok Taesan's immense spiritual energy flowed into his dantian, transforming into internal energy.
Though it was a tiny portion of his spiritual energy, it became a considerable amount when converted to internal energy.
A tremendous amount of internal energy swirled in his dantian.
A few of the people standing next to Byeok Taesan flinched in surprise.
They were skilled enough to clearly perceive the process that had just occurred.
They had never imagined it was possible to convert spiritual energy into internal energy.
Of course, even if one could, there was usually no need to do so.
In any case, those who could clearly sense the conversion gained a small but new enlightenment just by observing it.
Witnessing his exquisite control, they were once again reminded of how incredible Byeok Taesan was.
As everyone watched Byeok Taesan with varying thoughts, the internal energy spinning furiously in his dantian finally burst forth.
Whoooosh!
Byeok Taesan didn't release the energy through his hands or feet, nor through a weapon.
He simply unleashed it from his entire body.
The internal energy that erupted from Byeok Taesan's body split into hundreds of pieces and solidified.
And those solid masses shot high into the sky.
By now, all of Byeok Taesan's companions were capable of sensing such powerful energy.
Even his attendants, the last to begin their martial arts training, clearly perceived the concentration of internal energy and tracked its movements.
Everyone's gaze naturally turned to the sky.
High in the sky, the small concentrations of internal energy gathered together.
Then, they rained down toward the ground.
They didn't just fall straight down; they spread out, showering the entire slum.
Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud!
Those with sharp hearing could hear something bursting each time a mass of internal energy hit the slum.
With looks of disbelief, they glanced back and forth between the slum and Byeok Taesan.
Byeok Taesan looked at Hwaok with an impassive expression.
"Clean it up."
Hwaok bowed respectfully and gave orders to the Underworld Sect members waiting nearby.
The Underworld Sect members swarmed into the slum.
The dumbfounded companions began to come to their senses one by one. They stared at Byeok Taesan in shock.
Byeok Taesan had just singled out and killed only the Nameless members scattered throughout the entire slum.
Byeok Taesan looked at his companions and said.
"Did you watch closely?"
No one could answer properly.
He spoke as if to say, "Now that you've seen it, you should be able to do it too." How could they possibly respond to that?
Not seeming to expect an answer, Byeok Taesan turned and leisurely descended the hill.
They all stared blankly at his back until he was halfway down, then they snapped to their senses and hurried after him.
One of the three Nameless bases in Changsha had just been eliminated.
***
The Underworld Sect members handled the situation with great skill.
Some went into the slum to collect the corpses, while others silenced the witnesses.
With a little money and a few threats, it was handled quite simply.
They could have been more thorough, but there was no need to go that far.
They only needed to maintain silence until Byeok Taesan's group struck the other two bases.
Since the next two would be hit simultaneously, the secret only needed to be kept until the moment the attacks began.
The Nameless base contained more than just corpses.
There were various items they had prepared for their use.
Among them were medicines like wound salves and healing pills, as well as Blood Augmenting Pills they had stocked to use on the slum dwellers.
There was also a substantial amount of funds needed to maintain the base.
And in the heart of the base, there were quite a few secret documents.
Because Byeok Taesan had literally killed every Nameless member in an instant, they had been unable to react at all.
After collecting all the secret documents and valuables from the central area, the Underworld Sect members searched the place more thoroughly.
As it was one of Nameless's bases, there was a high probability of a hidden space.
And indeed, there was a space concealed by a formation.
The Underworld Sect was also highly skilled in dealing with formations.
Even before regaining the Shadow Steps Manual, their struggle for survival had naturally led them to gather knowledge on mechanisms and formations, developing extensive and profound methods to utilize them.
Now, under Byeok Taesan's command, their skills had improved even further thanks to the new knowledge brought in by formation experts like Seung Doheung.
Today, that heightened skill level had accomplished something important.
"This formation is bigger than I thought."
one of the Underworld Sect members said while calmly examining the formation.
As soon as they discovered the formation, the Underworld Sect's formation specialists had swarmed in and begun analyzing it.
The quality of Nameless's formations was higher than expected, but they wouldn't have installed an exceptional one in a base like this.
Of course, most people wouldn't have been able to touch it, but the members gathered here had received special training on formations directly from Seung Doheung.
Even if they couldn't dismantle it completely, they could exploit its weakness to shatter it.
Though that would require an immense amount of power.
In any case, after some trial and error, they managed to punch a hole in the formation.
Since they had only pierced a hole, it would close again over time.
It was unavoidable, as they hadn't completely dismantled or cleanly broken the formation.
With a time limit, the Underworld Sect members moved quickly.
They swiftly entered the formation to see what was inside.
"Huh? What's this? Why are there bodies here?"
The space inside the formation was filled with corpses.
At first, they all just stared blankly, wondering what was going on.
But they soon came to their senses and began checking for anything else, and to identify what these bodies were.
With little time, they all moved busily.
A few members quickly went deeper inside to investigate.
And a few others went to the bodies.
A member who was briefly examining a body shouted in surprise.
"They're not dead yet! They're alive!"
At his shout, several members who were near the formation's entrance rushed over.
"They're alive?"
"Yes. It doesn't seem like they've just fainted. It looks like they're in a state of suspended animation."
The members looked at each other with startled eyes. One of them urgently shouted.
"Get them all outside, now! We don't have time!"
They had to get all these bodies out before the hole in the formation closed.
Of course, even if it closed, they could open it again, but that would take too much time and effort. And money.
Considering the other two bases were also likely to have formations, it was better to conserve the materials used to breach them.
The movements of the Underworld Sect members became faster and more urgent.
Soon, all the bodies were moved outside, and all the valuables and documents from within the formation were removed.
Because they had hurried so much, it wasn't a close call.
As they finished their work and wiped the sweat from their brows, the hole began to slowly close up, and soon the formation was humming again.
"We're pulling out. Move everything out, leave nothing behind. And don't slack on silencing the locals."
The Underworld Sect members withdrew from the slum all at once.
Carrying various valuables and a load of half-corpses in a state of suspended animation.
***
Byeok Taesan's group split in two.
The ten attendants and Yeon Harin formed one team, and the rest gathered in the other.
Yeon Harin's side had more people, but the other team was overwhelmingly superior in terms of combat power.
That was because among the ten attendants, only Hwaok was truly capable of fighting effectively.
In reality, Hwaok and Yeon Harin would do most of the work, with the other attendants merely offering a little help.
On the other hand, the other team had Cheon Gyeongwan, Yu Seoyeon, Yuk Taegu, and Jang Gagu.
Those four alone could crush a decent-sized organization in an instant.
With the Divine Doctor of the Ages and the One-Needle Eccentric added to the mix, what an incredible force they were.
However, the Divine Doctor of the Ages couldn't hide his disgruntled expression.
Because Byeok Taesan was on the other team.
"Seriously, if this is how it's going to be, why even split up... He should just go alone."
the Divine Doctor of the Ages muttered under his breath.
Normally, the One-Needle Eccentric would have had a word or two to say in response, but this time, he nodded in agreement.
He, too, thought the Divine Doctor of the Ages was right.
If Byeok Taesan went over there alone, and the rest of them took this side, wouldn't that be perfectly balanced?
After seeing Byeok Taesan wipe out those men in the slum, he wondered if they were even necessary for this job.
"Anyway, it's a good thing we're taking the martial arts hall. We can just go through it and smash everything, right?"
Everyone nodded at the One-Needle Eccentric's words.
"That's right. We'll clear out the martial arts hall first, and just in case someone shows up in the meantime, one of us should be ready for that."
"The Underworld Sect will handle surveillance."
The families of those at the martial arts hall were also all members of Nameless.
That was why there were no children among their families.
The Underworld Sect was keeping all of them under watch.
So if anything happened, the Underworld Sect would notify them immediately. They could respond appropriately then.
Byeok Taesan, who had been quietly watching them discuss, suddenly spoke.
"Stop making half-baked plans and just go. There are only two things you need to think about."
Byeok Taesan held up two fingers, then folded one down.
"Succeed in your mission."
He folded down the remaining finger.
"And don't get so much as a scratch."
Their expressions hardened. They finally remembered what Byeok Taesan had said earlier.
"Young Master... We're not going to a slum like before, we're going to a martial arts hall. It's common sense that the guys at a martial arts hall are stronger, isn't it?"
the Divine Doctor of the Ages said, his voice full of grievance.
Byeok Taesan just stared at him quietly. Without a word.
The Divine Doctor of the Ages swallowed hard and chuckled sheepishly.
"I was just saying. Yes, we shouldn't get a scratch. Of course."
With that, the Divine Doctor's group left, guided by a member of the Underworld Sect.
Byeok Taesan gestured to his attendants and Yeon Harin with his chin.
"Let's go."
***
Pyeongjarim, the master of the Golden Moon Trading Company, carefully examined the document spread on his desk.
It was a report on the recent attack on Byeok Taesan's group using the Nine Dragons Gate.
It detailed who was mobilized, how they were deployed, and what plans were made.
And the result was written simply in a single line at the end.
'Presumed to have failed.'
Pyeongjarim read that sentence over and over again.
Not 'failed,' but 'presumed to have failed.' What kind of ridiculous report was this?
He had heard that the Underworld Sect members in Changsha were moving busily.
He had been secretly investigating, assuming they were cleaning up after the fight between Byeok Taesan's group and the Nine Dragons Gate, but so far, he hadn't found anything of substance.
One thing was certain: the movements of the Changsha Underworld Sect members had almost nothing to do with the Golden Moon Trading Company.
Pyeongjarim put the document aside and opened another.
This one contained information on the Underworld Sect's recent activities.
It summarized the hot-off-the-press events of the day, but even for the Golden Moon Trading Company, it was impossible to track all of the Underworld Sect's movements, so much of it was filled with speculation and prediction.
Pyeongjarim tilted his head as he studied it. He then took out a map.
It was a detailed map of Changsha.
Pyeongjarim cross-referenced the information on the Underworld Sect's movements with the map, one by one.
His expression gradually hardened.
"Well, look at this."
Through the movements of the Underworld Sect members, he could see what they were targeting.
His finger tapped precisely on three locations.
One of them was a place he knew very well.
It was none other than a base belonging to one of the factions under Hyeokryeon Hwi.
Pyeongjarim shot up from his seat and flung open the door to his office.
"Steward! Where is the steward!"
Startled by Pyeongjarim's urgent shout, the steward came running.
"What is it, sir!"
"Who do we have that can move right now?"
The steward was momentarily flustered, but his mind quickly spun as he answered.
"The Azure Martial Gang and the Upper Heaven Sect each have about thirty men available, and Earth Dragon from the Nine Dragons Gate visited the company yesterday with about twenty men."
"Send them all to the Yellow Springs Martial Hall."
"Sir?"
"Hurry!"
At Pyeongjarim's roar, the steward jumped and replied.
"Yes! I'll see to it at once!"
As the steward rushed off, Pyeongjarim watched his back and smiled grimly.
"Those insidious bastards. How dare they try to pull a stunt here?"