#171. <The Black Flame Dragon that Swallows the Blood Sea>
After a brief meeting with the Kongdongpa elder in the same group as the Second Company, So Chung-hyeon returned to his tent and heard bewildering news.
"What did you say?"
"They say we need to gather all the scattered academy students in Sichuan and move as one."
"So who the hell had the guts to say that?"
"......The academy representative."
"Ha!"
It went beyond mere displeasure into outright absurdity. Even a pup knows fear, but this was ridiculous. Wasn't this basically seeing stars?
"So they want us to sit here and wait?"
"The Victory Banner Hall is rushing here with an official order from the Myriad Communications Division, so they asked us to hold out just until then."
"Unbelievable."
It was so outrageous he wondered if he'd lost his mind. They'd cut back on sightseeing out of worry that the lead group's spear unit and Shaolin team might not handle all the vicious beasts, only to be told to wait? And by whom—to him, a supreme elder of the Murim Alliance no less?
"That total strategist brat's gotten cocky just because he's a bit pretty. And now he's dragging the Victory Banner Hall into it?"
This couldn't be let slide. No, this was the perfect chance to clamp down hard and restore discipline.
"What should we do?"
"If they're coming, we'll move even faster. Depart at dawn. Spread the word to everyone."
"Understood."
As So Chung-hyeon downed a local Gangneung specialty, the golden flower powder, and issued the order to break camp, his disciple moved to head out. At that moment.
A Huashan disciple collapsed to the ground with a thud.
"Huh? What the—"
A sharp sound pierced his head at the same time.
Ziiing——
Though it was a sound he'd never heard before, So Chung-hyeon dropped his precious golden flower powder from his hand.
Clang.
'Death Spirit Demonic Sound?'
His heart pounded wildly, his head spun. The space before him twisted bizarrely, and corrupt music began to play. Even though it was his first time experiencing it, he knew exactly what it was—because from childhood, he'd heard how terrifying it was drilled into his ears.
'One of the Ten Great Forbidden Arts!!'
A forbidden technique that should have been sealed had leaked into the world.
So Chung-hyeon quickly circulated his Purple Cloud Divine Art to protect his mind and shouted.
"What are you doing? Circulate your qi and guard your mind! Huashan's arts won't crumble to such foul techniques."
"Ugh...... ugh......"
But the disciple gave no response.
"Anti-Demon Mantra! Recite the Anti-Demon Mantra!"
Protecting the mind against sound attacks wasn't something first-year academy students learned. He suddenly regretted never paying attention to the academy curriculum.
So Chung-hyeon unleashed his full inner energy in a lion's roar.
"Roar!"
The thunderous bellow shook the area, instantly dispelling the Death Spirit Demonic Sound. The disciple, who had been trembling on the floor, spat up blood.
The mind dominated by the sound had clashed with the lion's roar, ravaging his internals.
"Th-this......"
As So Chung-hyeon panicked, the sound returned.
Ziiing——
"Anti-Demon Mantra...... Recite the Anti-Demon Mantra!"
"Wha... wha... what did you say, Elder......?"
Blood streamed from the disciple's ears. So Chung-hyeon hurriedly carved the Anti-Demon Mantra into the ground, but the disciple had already rolled back his eyes, foaming at the mouth, and collapsed.
'This isn't ordinary Death Spirit Demonic Sound.'
The sealed versions of the Ten Great Forbidden Arts didn't have this level of destructive power. And its penetration was so immense it even pricked at his own protected mind. Moreover, despite his thunderous roar, no disciples rushed in from outside—proof the situation was dire.
"Who are you? How dare you show yourself before Huashan without fear!"
He bellowed to wake even the Kongdongpa elder, but his tent remained eerily quiet. Typical Kongdongpa. With no great expectations anyway, So Chung-hyeon drew his famed Huashan sword, the Red Flower Sword.
Waking the kids under the sound's effect was less efficient than hunting the beast now. He expanded his senses to full power.
The area felt empty. But then, a faint energy snagged on his perception.
"There you are!"
His form shot out like lightning, stepping on a dark shadow projectile.
Whoosh.
As he cleaved the air and swung his sword without hesitation—
'A lantern?'
No enemy, just a floating red lantern in midair.
"You thought this cheap sorcery could stop Huashan?!"
So Chung-hyeon swung without mercy.
Crack.
As the red lantern extinguished, the veil tore—like a curtain ripping—and nearly a hundred blood-robed figures appeared.
Despite the massive scale, So Chung-hyeon planted his feet firmly and glared.
"Cheap tricks like this. Arrogant to the end."
"......"
Figures wrapped head to toe in red. They moved as one, drawing heavy swords from their backs into attack stances.
So Chung-hyeon gripped his Red Flower Sword steady.
"Come! Today I'll show you how fearsome Huashan's sword truly is!"
Flutter.
A single plum blossom petal appeared. Then two more. Then four, invading the space.
The Plum Blossom Sword Technique at the Twelve Stars realm. Plum blossoms bloomed profusely around him, their fragrance shaking the air. Soon, the whirlwind of petals scattered by the wind began falling toward the blood-robes like cherry blossoms in bloom.
Boom boom boom boom!
Boom boom boom boom boom boom!
Boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom!
The blood-robes, unable to respond properly, had arms severed, chests split, heads lopped off wherever the petals touched. Blood redder than their robes sprayed like fountains, pooling on the ground into streams.
Splash—
Even as his feet turned red in the blood puddle, So Chung-hyeon didn't retreat an inch.
"This is Huashan's plum blossom!"
No matter how much blood flowed, the plum fragrance lingered. Overwhelming destructive power. The hundred foes dwindled in an instant.
But So Chung-hyeon's face wasn't relaxed.
"Persistent bastards."
Corpse Mountain Blood Sea. Corpses piled like mountains, blood flowed like seas. But new figures—another hundred—suddenly filled the space. They didn't scream even as comrades died.
"Yes, that's the confidence worthy of Huashan's foes."
He'd panicked at the sound, but up close, their skills weren't that impressive.
'As expected of Demonic Path scum.'
Had the unorthodox ever surpassed the righteous? Disrupt them, cut off the sorcerers' sound, and the kids would snap out and come running.
'Then we can clean them all up.'
Once out of here, regroup and strike them down in one go. So Chung-hyeon envisioned an optimistic future and unleashed another lion's roar.
"Huashan disciples, gather here!"
He bellowed with inner energy several times, fearing they might not hear. Then he scattered more petals, slicing through approaching foes.
At the same time.
At the Huashan and Kongdongpa camps a short distance away, recovered disciples panicked.
"Where's the elder? Haven't seen Elder So Chung-hyeon?"
"Not in his tent."
"Where'd he go all of a sudden?"
Rushing out at the sudden roar, academy students first sought the two elders—but both tents were empty.
"......Maybe the two just went off drinking alone?"
A Huashengmun disciple's words made the Huashan group stiffen.
"Idiot! You think the elders would wander off now?!"
"S-sorry."
"They must've gone to investigate the roar first. Wake all the other students! We find the elders first."
Students scattered in groups. And behind them, red lanterns slowly followed.
#
"I told you we'd avoid them!"
Nam Hwaseong yelled in frustration. All that talk of Dongseomseo-whatever was blatant bullshit.
Jin Sowoon had clashed with three bandit strongholds en route, big and small battles alike. Weirdly, every spot they headed had a stronghold plopped right there.
Like they were begging to be found. And because the bandits kept tailing them, now all three strongholds were teaming up to catch him and Nam Hwaseong.
A miraculous strategy.
"You got caught 'cause you're slow, and now you're blaming me?"
"Fuck......"
The Green Gale Wind Cloud Step was top-tier for speed in the jianghu. He'd unleashed it to show Jin Sowoon up, but the guy's pace didn't lag. Hell, he was casually yapping about tactics while Nam Hwaseong ran like he was shitting his pants.
'What the hell is going on?'
Fine, Jin Sowoon's skill aside—his movement art wasn't the Tae-eul Gate stuff he'd heard of. Nam Hwaseong, who'd dismissed the rumors before, now rewrote his mental file on the sect.
As he organized what to report to Cheol Sunjik, his mind racing, Jin Sowoon pulled out a stack of talismans and handed one over.
"What's this?"
"You know Threefold True Fire, right?"
"Hah, hah, who do you think I am."
"Hyeongsanpa's Demon-Exorcism Talisman. Burn it if your body won't obey or illusions hit. It'll break the sorcery."
This was a Hyeongsanpa talisman? The kind high-do shamans prayed over for a hundred days—martial artists' ultimate luxury. Nice to have, but overpriced for little use. Designer bullshit. Shocked he had a whole bundle, but the sorcery mention made his stomach drop.
Yeah, desperate times......
"Why just one for me?"
Jin Sowoon replied curtly, like it was obvious.
"Wasteful if you hog half and croak."
"Fuck! Always with the—"
Whoosh.
A wind-ripping whoosh sounded; Nam Hwaseong whipped his head around. An arrow flew straight at him—his body froze.
'When did they—!'
The Red Flower Stronghold bandits he'd shaken were back in arrow range.
'Can't dodge.'
Senses dulled, too late to evade. Raising his hand to shield his head at least—
Thud.
No pain came.
"Huh?"
Nam Hwaseong cautiously opened his eyes. Jin Sowoon stood there, arrow snatched barehanded.
"They're closing in. Pick up the pace."
"......Y-yeah. Right."
As Nam Hwaseong scraped his dwindling dantian for speed—
Ten ragtag bandits dropped right in front.
"How dare you mock our Red Flower Strongh—"
Before they finished, Jin Sowoon wildly swung the long iron rod from his back.
Oddly, rod phantoms bloomed around it, filling the air.
The ten bandits, stunned by the overwhelming sight, desperately swung swords and axes.
Thud thud thud thud thud thud.
Swords and axes shattered alike; the rod pulverized skulls gripping them. Peak experts might glimpse the real Tae-eul Gate Illusion art—but not these bandits.
Nam Hwaseong couldn't look away.
'Seen plenty of illusion swords, but illusion rod? First time.'
Jin Sowoon resheathed the rod and pressed on after wiping the ten.
"W-wait, won't this leave traces?"
These messes had the three strongholds dogging them.
Jin Sowoon scoffed.
"Your traces didn't count?"
True, Samwonmun's overbearing fist arts weren't as clean as swordplay. But why use a rod and leave survivors?
Nam Hwaseong cursed inwardly.
'What the hell's he planning?'
Chasing the silent Jin Sowoon, Nam Hwaseong hit his limit. Pride gone, about to beg for a break—
Jin Sowoon slowed.
"Hah, hah, hah... y-you're hitting your limit too, right?"
Nam Hwaseong gasped, glaring.
"......"
Jin Sowoon's breathing was steady.
'What kind of freak is he?!'
Ignoring Nam Hwaseong's struggles, Jin Sowoon walked ahead slowly. Stumbling after—
Nam Hwaseong halted.
'Blood scent?'
A fishy stench stabbed his nose. Ducking instinctively, he realized the liquid at his feet wasn't water.
"Gah! What the—!"
He looked to Jin Sowoon, already far ahead, inspecting corpses amid the sprawl.
"Huashengmun?"
Embroidered uniforms. Broken swords. Disciples of Huashengmun—Huashan's direct lay branch.
Faces he'd seen at the academy.
"What the......"
And most scattered bodies were academy students. Huashan, Kongdongpa, their lay branches—all dead.
"J-Jin Sowoon!"
Forgetting his exhaustion, Nam Hwaseong bolted over.
"W-we gotta tell the Murim Alliance! This ain't small!"
But Jin Sowoon's voice stayed eerily calm.
"Don't make a fuss."
The air around him grew heavy. The corpse he examined was older than the students.
Nam Hwaseong recognized him instantly and shrieked.
"Red Plum Sword So Chung-hyeon?"
A Plum Blossom Sword Technique master who made red plums bloom with every swing—reduced to a corpse. Nam Hwaseong's hands shook uncontrollably.
"Intel said Second Company level, but they hit here already?"
Jin Sowoon's face darkened—first worry despite the bandit chase.
"Wh-who... who could do this to Huashan and Kongdong?!"
"Don't jump to conclusions. Looks like not everyone got hit. But this one-sided? Unexpected."
Oddly, student casualties were clear, but no enemy bodies.
"Then the others?"
"Fled, probably. They're Huashan and Kongdong disciples, after all."
"Fled? From what enemy?"
"Enemy?"
Heavy killing intent poured from Jin Sowoon.
"Attacking the Murim Academy like this—even bold black path scum wouldn't dare."
"......Not black path, you said."
Then Jin Sowoon stood and turned.
"Just in time. Here they come."
"Wh-what?!"
Following his chin, Nam Hwaseong's gaze shifted.
'What the hell......'
Through the darkness, a red lantern floated lazily toward them.