#94. <The Sharpest Blade in the Darkness>
"Why is it missing?"
Jin Taesan tilted his head as he rummaged through the oldest warehouse in the Tae-eul Gate.
"What are you looking for?"
Hong Moon-gi poked his head in.
"Ah, Sect Leader."
Jin Taesan's eyes trembled faintly at the sight of Hong Moon-gi. The man, nearing fifty, seemed to grow stronger with each passing day, feeling like someone else entirely.
"Have you been training?"
"A sect leader can't be weaker than his disciples, now can he?"
Jin Taesan himself had been too busy sorting through the assets handed over from the Changgung Merchant Group to train, but Hong Moon-gi and the hall leaders and elders had forsaken food and sleep to immerse themselves in the Tae-eul Sword Emperor's Martial Scripture.
"Then go train some more. I can handle this alone."
"Even so, how could I, as sect leader, stand by while an outer hall lord struggles?"
"……."
He was clearly just bored with training and looking for a distraction. Even as a child, he couldn't stick to one thing, always getting scolded by his masters. It seemed he'd improved with age, but apparently not when it came to training.
"I don't know where we put the sect flag."
"You mean the Tae-eul Gate banner?"
"Yes."
The merchant group's reorganization was nearly complete, and iron ore production from the mines was steadily increasing. Once they secured buyers, they'd need a regular distribution network. Though the sect was in seclusion, it was time to leverage the Tae-eul Gate name to expand the merchant group's influence. The sect's power would grow alongside it.
"Someone else took it."
"……Pardon?"
Jin Taesan thought he'd misheard.
The sect flag sometimes served as a mobile nameplate. For a minor sect like Tae-eul Gate, there'd been no need to raise it, but it was still a matter of pride—no something to hand out lightly.
"Sowoon needed it, so I gave it to him."
"Jin Sowoon? My son?"
"Yeah."
Why did that damn name come up again?
"……Why?"
"Who knows. He said he might need it, so I told him to take it."
"……."
These days, Jin Taesan tensed up at every mention of Jin Sowoon's actions.
"Do you need the flag? We could make a new one."
"No need. I'll put in an order."
"Ahem. Can we really do that? A sect flag embodies the spirit of the sect. It should be made with the sect leader's personal care, stitch by stitch……."
"Go train. What sect leader sits around making flags these days?"
Bang.
Jin Taesan slammed the warehouse door shut in irritation born of unease.
#
"From now on, we'll only travel the official roads during the day."
Those with injuries, mobility issues, or exhaustion too severe to move were to be left at the brothel. Told not to step outside even once, the ones staying behind wore strange(?) expressions—worried for the departing group yet unable to hide their relief.
"The problem is the official road from Hateok to Bokyang."
They could reach Hateok by sunset if they pushed their horses to the limit. But from Hateok over the castle walls to Bokyang, there were no villages for half a day. They'd have to camp or travel at night.
"At night, they will definitely move."
Fighting the Dark Soul Union in the darkness was like battling water in water.
"If we pull an all-nighter……."
I shook my head at Seong Moran's words.
The Dark Soul Union trained in the Heavenly Demon Overlord Step. In destructive power and speed, it ranked among the world's top ten divine techniques. Horses couldn't outrun them.
"It would just lead to pointless casualties."
"……."
Seong Moran clamped her mouth shut. The terror they inspired was enough to make even her fierce spirit quail.
Namgung Seonhwa spoke, her voice trembling despite her efforts to steady it.
"Then…… what do we do?"
I looked at Eunho.
"This."
Eunho unfurled the cloth in his hands with a snap.
Seong Moran, who had been sullen, and Namgung Seonhwa, who had been quietly shaking, both went wide-eyed like rabbits.
"A-Are you insane?"
"Even so……."
The reactions to the Tae-eul Gate flag were no different from the women's.
"What they fear most is their identity being exposed. We'll hide among the crowds."
"No, wait…… sigh."
"Young Master Jin, this is too much. Raise that flag, and the whole world will come chasing us."
"That's exactly what I want."
The two women sighed in unison.
#
"Is this really the right call?"
On the way to the first village, Anheun, Seong Moran asked Eunho, who held the flag aloft.
"It's like wrapping yourself in straw and jumping into a fire."
They'd left a dozen warriors at the brothel in Punghyeon. Their numbers were nearing a hundred now. Even absolute masters couldn't win a numbers game. And they weren't absolute masters. Worse, Jin Sowoon was raising the Tae-eul Gate flag, drawing enemies like moths to a flame.
"No idea."
Eunho shook his head, admitting his own confusion.
It was refreshingly honest. Among the gold-silver-bronze brothers, Eunho was the smartest and most articulate, always explaining Jin Sowoon's baffling actions.
"Really?"
Even Eunho was stumped?
"Yes. Big Brother does things that defy common sense sometimes. Well, not sometimes—often."
"……Yet you follow diligently."
Eunho had fetched a bamboo pole himself to raise the flag high. Holding it while riding wasn't easy, but he insisted on doing it personally.
"I don't get it, but I trust Big Brother."
"Huh?"
"His choices always prioritize us. Never himself. This time, he's probably thinking of us first too."
For some reason, Seong Moran's chest thumped.
Memories of their short time together surfaced. Despite being able to eat hot meals with the brothers practicing formations, he'd stayed with them. Thanks to that, Gang Seopyo and Cho Mubin, tasked with guarding her and Namgung Seonhwa, could focus on the others.
She'd never seen him sleep. Even when she dozed off during IV treatments, he was awake; when she stirred, he'd already risen and was gathering firewood.
"That's why I sometimes stop thinking. Overthinking distracts me from Big Brother's intent and slows me down."
"……You really admire him."
Eunho munched jerky while gripping the reins and flag, then grinned.
"How could I not follow such a big brother?"
"……."
Seong Moran nodded instinctively.
"Right. Guess I won't think anymore either."
"Wise choice. Honestly, it's easier to just act without overthinking from here on."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"This morning, Big Brother told Haomen to inform the examinees of our position. No more jerky breaks ahead."
"Hey! You should've said that sooner!"
Seong Moran hurriedly pulled out her jerky pouch.
#
They reached Anheun without major losses. A few groups of examinees appeared, but "shut up and charge" caught them off guard, posing no real threat.
From Anheun to Seongmu, the crowds thickened. Spotting the distant flag, examinees and warriors swarmed from all sides.
No formations or defensive lines. Just charge.
If a horse fell or bolted, they seized another rider's mount and kept going.
By Seongmu, hundreds trailed them in a long line.
They stopped at the Changgung Merchant Group branch in Seongmu. Hundreds had gathered around, eyeing it hungrily, so no need to head to the lit-up brothel at night.
The most dropouts happened between Seongmu and Hateok. Some fell to fights with other examinees; others to the Dark Soul Union.
Just before entering Hateok, ambushed by rivals as sunset hit. In the chaos, any warrior lingering in the unlit dark didn't return.
Only eighty warriors remained, most exhausted from the forced march.
"Now it's real."
They'd dragged a long tail of pursuers from Hateok, racing madly, but as they crossed Shandong Province, the sun dipped low.
Behind, hundreds lit torches one by one; ahead, those lying in wait signaled with their own.
"How do we tell them apart?"
"If you sense no presence, unleash your sword energy there."
"Pardon?"
An absurd, irrational response.
"If no presence amid all these people, that's them."
"……Got it."
Torches ignited everywhere—nearby woods, distant ridges, dusty rear.
Gathering via Haomen intel, Open Faction info, the Tae-eul Gate flag, or spotting other examinees. A thousand strong, all for the pass tokens.
And among them, slipping into the shadows, far worse presences.
Reality dawned, swelling fear and dread.
One thought alone: No presence, strike. No presence, strike.
Dongryong's voice echoed Jin Sowoon's mantra amid the crowd.
###
Clang clang clang claaang. Clang clang clang-.
"Please."
The eighty were finally blocked by hundreds.
Horses collapsed or fled in panic; those thrown swung swords at foes by torchlight without hesitation.
"Go."
Gang Seopyo, who'd insisted on coming despite his chest wound, gripped my reins.
He forced his horse toward Namgung Seonhwa.
I separated from him, unleashing Heavenly Lone Walker God Step to distance myself from the battlefield.
Then maxed out Tae-eul True Scripture to scan presences all around.
Not just the strong with vast inner power, but even those with crude arts—all grasped.
And I pursued the voids with no presence.
A method learned only after the Upright-Demonic War erupted and the Dark Soul Union was revealed.
With so many gathered, seek the unnatural emptiness.
I poured fist energy into the void.
Attacks without qi barely fazed them.
Thud.
In the darkness where nothing should be, startled rabbit eyes popped out.
"Surprised?"
The eyes vanished into shadow.
Something coiled up my arm.
I blasted fist energy at the empty air, but felt nothing this time.
"Same old tricks."
I whipped my head around.
Whoosh.
A bone sword sliced sharply where my head had been.
Countering them wasn't impossible—just fiendishly hard.
"First time, maybe. But I've seen your kind before."
I seized the bone sword trying to melt into darkness.
Crunch.
Pressure that would've snapped a human bone—yet it held.
Startled at being dodged and grabbed, rabbit eyes emerged again.
"Sick of this."
Gripping the bone sword, I unleashed Lianhua in reverse.
Forcing power opposite the rotation axis, flesh tore from the sword.
Grrrind. Thud.
More blood flowed than before. Lianhua had struck him too.
The bone sword piercing my palm tried to retract…….
"No chance."
I slammed true qi into my right foot, crushing it.
Splinter.
-Kyaak!
The bone sword shattered; he screamed.
"Even your screams sound beastly."
-
His eyes reappeared, now bloodshot like a true rabbit's.
-What are you?
A voice echoed in my head—his, presumably. Their vocal cords melted during the fluid bone sword procedure, so they used the special Heavenly Demon Heart Technique.
"Why tell you?"
He succeeded in retracting the broken sword into his palm and hid in darkness.
In that instant, torches across the field snuffed out simultaneously.
Coming…….
Drawing on past-life memories, I predicted their path in the dark.
No presence, so memory-guided preemptive action.
Shuuush.
Three bone swords pierced the afterimage from Tae-eul Eight Myriad Divine Steps—head, heart, dantian.
In that blink, two more appeared.
My would-be fate had I not moved by memory.
They vanished into shadow, wary of their comrade's mistake.
I set aside Tae-eul True Scripture teachings, drawing from another manual.
Reverse Demon Scripture.
Crafted by the Hell Demon Emperor, trapped in the Infinite Eight Trigrams Soul-Severing Formation, resentful of followers who never came. A demonic art born of demonic spite, perfectly attuned to exterminating demons.
"Heavenly Demon and I sharing a goal? Isn't that irony for literature alone? What do you think?"
Chaaaang.
I drew Flying Dragon Claw long; white light gleamed along the Thousand Silkworm Thread.
The glow thickened the threads, reaching the sharp claw tip.
Like the Heavenly Demon Scripture left by the Hell Demon Emperor, Reverse Demon Scripture had principles but no forms or styles.
Thus, manifested forms followed my enlightenment, my desires.
Based on tens of thousands of nightmares from my past life—my deepest thirst for vengeance.
And its embodiment…….
Absolute Demon Light Whip.
Shwaaak-.
The brutal whip to sever demons lashed out.
Something caught in the empty space.
"!!"
Three pairs of startled rabbit eyes popped from the dark.
A smile crept across my lips.
"Finally caught you."