Tension
The word was a signal.
The Black Death Corps began surging forward like a rising tide.
Their movements resembled a black wave crashing toward us.
Without making the slightest sound, they charged like phantoms and unleashed a merciless barrage upon us.
Thud!
I planted both feet firmly on the ground and drove my fists repeatedly into the faces of the charging Black Death assassins.
Yet not a single blow landed cleanly.
They deflected my attacks with fluid grace and countered in one seamless motion, like water flowing naturally downstream.
Slash! Slice!
Blood sprayed through the air.
The number of wounds carved into my body kept increasing.
The gap in skill was obvious.
They’ve grown impatient.
Good.
The fact that the assassins were becoming desperate meant they were unsettled by my words.
The White-Eyed Assassin had mobilized the Black Death Corps and was pressing us relentlessly.
Drip, drip.
The volume of blood grew heavier, and my fingertips began to grow numb.
A sword strike grazed my cheek by a hair’s breadth, and the enemy’s onslaught continued without pause.
“Young Master… at this rate, we won’t last much longer.”
“I know.”
“I’ll carve a path. In that moment, please escape—”
“No.”
I refused firmly.
Even during this brief exchange, the assassins’ attacks never ceased.
Crack!
I seized one assassin’s arm, snapped it cleanly, and growled in a low voice.
“If we run, we’ll all die.”
At my current level, I couldn’t even keep up with the White-Eyed Assassin, let alone the mobility of the Black Death Corps.
The only option was to lure them into a head-on fight.
Still, Muyoung’s words weren’t without merit.
My fingertips were growing dull, and my breathing had turned ragged.
The real problem hasn’t even shown itself yet.
He hadn’t moved.
More than the Black Death Corps, the White-Eyed Assassin was the true threat.
There was a clear limit to simply waiting for my youngest uncle to arrive.
It was time to make a decision.
Boom!
Inhale. Exhale.
The circulation of energy throughout my body shifted with the change in breathing.
From Small Heavenly Circuit to Great Heavenly Circuit.
The flow of true qi grew fierce, and my dantian began to tremble violently.
Rumble!
Like the roar of a dragon, a thunderous sound erupted as my entire body’s muscles swelled with power.
Dragon Heaven True Qi.
The Dragon Heaven True Qi had reached its peak.
And then it rose.
Whoosh!
A single small flame.
The tiny spark that began beneath my navel at the lower dantian unleashed scorching yang energy without restraint, as if it would incinerate my entire body.
My breathing grew violently ragged.
It’s a little early… but I have no choice.
Crack, crack.
The wounds etched into my skin healed at an astonishing speed.
The bleeding stopped. New flesh sprouted.
“……!”
Muyoung’s eyes widened dramatically at the sight.
His gaze was filled with disbelief.
“It’s a secret.”
I winked at him and spread the energy throughout my entire body.
According to the formulas. According to the natural order.
As it should be. As it must be.
Rumble—!
Heaven and earth split open.
The Black Death Corps and the White-Eyed Assassin.
Everyone’s movements froze.
The small flame gradually grew larger until it completely engulfed my body.
“What kind of sorcery is this…”
The White-Eyed Assassin had only gotten that far before something startled him and he rapidly retreated.
Crack!
Five Black Death assassins were sent flying, their bodies grotesquely twisted.
“Re…reincarnation God Technique.”
Muyoung stood with his mouth agape, muttering in utter disbelief.
Reincarnation God Technique.
One of the Ju family’s exclusive martial arts that could only be used once Dragon Heaven True Qi reached its peak.
As long as the neck or heart wasn’t pierced, it granted an absurd regenerative ability that healed nearly any wound in an instant.
The speed of breathing and heartbeat increased several times over.
In exchange, the meridians carrying the blood flow expanded dramatically, boosting internal energy circulation by at least three times the normal rate.
Hah, it doesn’t feel like my pulse is beating—it feels like it’s trying to burst out.
The pressure was so intense it felt like my blood vessels might rupture.
In my previous life, I could handle this technique without issue, but my current realm was still somewhat immature, so the side effects appeared far more severe.
Regardless, the Reincarnation God Technique granted me overwhelming power.
Of course, it demanded a price in blood.
Boom!
I grabbed the neck of a fearlessly charging Black Death assassin, slammed him down, and snapped it in the opposite direction.
Even a light grasp unleashed a terrifying surge of energy strong enough to shatter bone.
“Seven.”
In total, seven members of the Black Death Corps rolled across the ground, their souls scattered to the void.
“Light.”
My body felt incredibly light.
Red haze continuously rose from me as if my entire being had been swallowed by flames.
“Hah, so you can finally see me now?”
I pierced straight through the location where the White-Eyed Assassin was using his stealth technique.
This art also consumed a massive amount of internal energy, so I needed to end things as quickly as possible.
Crunch!
With a single step, the ground caved in deeply.
Immense power. An uncontrollable, ten-thousand-pound force!
Booom—!!
I shot forward like lightning toward the White-Eyed Assassin’s position.
Violent Wind Binding Moon.
Like fierce winds wrapping around the moon, I closed in on the assassin’s chest in an instant and drove an uppercut into his jaw.
Crack!
A crushing sound rang out as the White-Eyed Assassin vomited blood and flew backward.
Yet he made no scream.
True to his brutal training as an assassin, his eyes burned with vicious killing intent.
“So you were hiding a trump card after all.”
The White-Eyed Assassin wiped the blood from his mouth and slowly rose to his feet.
The sword in his hand was now enveloped in a hazy white aura.
Sword energy.
He was tense.
He was watching me with extreme caution.
Black Killing Divine Art.
The White-Eyed Assassin’s exclusive martial art.
The moment it was activated, the user’s entire body melted into the shadows.
It erased all presence, reduced the heartbeat to a minimum, and transformed the user into a state perfectly optimized for assassination.
The White-Eyed Assassin vanished right before my eyes.
“Tsk.”
But my senses were sharp.
No—calling them sharp wasn’t enough.
I had already read his movements.
Even the way he circled behind me and raised his sword.
Clang!
“……!”
I spun around and caught his blade with my bare hand.
The collision between hand and sword produced a metallic ring as if they were both made of steel.
“You… you?”
The White-Eyed Assassin’s eyes widened in shock.
“Surprised?”
Of course he was.
Crack!
I exerted force and snapped his sword in two.
The back of my hand had sprouted countless hard protrusions like dragon scales.
“Dragon Claw Hand!”
“Oh, you recognized it?”
The White-Eyed Assassin recoiled in horror.
What I had used was the Dragon Claw Hand.
It was a martial art from Shaolin.
In my previous life, I had wandered the entire Central Plains for decades.
How could the number of techniques I had mastered be small?
Among them, the Dragon Claw Hand had excellent synergy with the Ju family’s martial arts.
Especially with Dragon Heaven True Qi—the compatibility was perfect.
“Damn it.”
The flustered White-Eyed Assassin belatedly regained his senses and tried to retreat.
But my hand was faster.
I closed the distance of dozens of meters in a single step and seized him by the back of his neck.
In a straight line, at least, the speed of Violent Wind Binding Moon was unmatched.
Capturing a fleeing opponent was child’s play.
Crunch!
I clamped down on the White-Eyed Assassin’s right wrist.
It was the power of Shaolin’s Golden Holding Technique infused with the subtlety of the Dragon Claw Hand.
“Ugh.”
He tried to resist, but his wrist crumpled helplessly.
Unless one was at the level of the Twelve Demon Lords or the Four Evils, there was no escaping the Dragon Claw Hand.
In response, he swung his broken sword and severed his own wrist to break free from my grasp.
“Hah, you startled me.”
The White-Eyed Assassin let out a chilling laugh.
“There won’t be a second time.”
“Oh, really?”
I charged straight at him.
Once I had seized the momentum, I couldn’t give him even a moment’s breathing room.
Black King Advance Strike Body.
Boom! Bang!
While the Black Death assassins were somewhat weak in direct confrontations, the White-Eyed Assassin was different.
Being in an entirely different league, even after losing one hand, he displayed transcendent martial prowess.
Swooosh!
Three-pronged sword energy shot toward me. I urgently twisted my body and threw myself out of range.
At that moment, the White-Eyed Assassin widened the distance even further.
“Fist, palm, finger, and kick… so that’s it.”
The wariness in the White-Eyed Assassin’s eyes deepened.
Given the nature of close-quarters combat, he must have judged that yielding distance would put him in danger.
Therefore, he seemed intent on maintaining distance and slowly tightening the noose around me.
At his signal, the Black Death Corps that had been surrounding Muyoung quickly broke formation and charged toward me.
“Was that the right choice?”
I smiled with satisfaction.
Thanks to that… Muyoung’s feet were now free.
Crack-crack-crack!
Muyoung’s sword strike descended upon the rear of the charging Black Death Corps.
Explosive Thunder Thirteen Sword Technique.
Under Muyoung’s lightning-fast sword strikes, four Black Death assassins were instantly skewered like meat on a spit and sent flying.
“Huff… huff.”
Even Muyoung was beginning to tire.
Eight Black Death assassins remained.
Slash!
I couldn’t completely avoid their attacks either.
The White-Eyed Assassin and the Black Death Corps closed the distance at once, striking at my openings as if in coordinated assault.
The blow caught me in the shoulder. A serious blunder.
Too fast.
We were exhausted, while they remained relatively fresh.
Assassins had no sense of camaraderie whatsoever, so their morale wouldn’t falter in the slightest.
“Damn it! Young Master!”
Muyoung cried out in despair.
He too was covered in wounds.
The White-Eyed Assassin’s sword was already thrusting toward my throat.
No choice, then.
I clenched my eyes shut.
I could only draw out every last ounce of energy and endure as best I could.
It was a gamble relying on the Reincarnation God Technique’s exceptional regenerative power.
I overdid it.
I should have raised my realm even a little more before moving.
It seemed my impatience had gotten the better of me.
Just as regret began to surface—
Boom!
“……!”
The White-Eyed Assassin’s movements froze completely.
As if turned to stone, he remained motionless with his sword thrust mere inches from my throat.
No—he couldn’t move.
“This aura…”
He had arrived.
Finally.
“You filthy assassins dare raise your blades against whom?”
A thick stench of blood swallowed the entire area.
Both the Black Death Corps and the White-Eyed Assassin knew.
The moment they moved even slightly, their heads would leave their shoulders.
“……Blood Sovereign.”
The instant the White-Eyed Assassin spoke, the sky flashed.
At least, that was how it appeared to me.
Slaaash!
The White-Eyed Assassin’s body split cleanly in two and collapsed.
The family’s supreme sword art.
Paecheon Infinite Sword Technique.
My uncle had arrived at the perfect moment.
“You little bastard, Woo-jin! How dare you make this uncle’s heart nearly stop? You truly…”
“I’m sorry, Uncle.”
Only then did the tension finally release.
I collapsed to the ground as if my strings had been cut.
Right after, warriors poured out from behind Ju Tae-hwi.
The Ju family’s elite.
They were the warriors of the Yellow Dragon Unit.
They instantly slaughtered every last remaining member of the Black Death Corps, then lined up neatly behind Ju Tae-hwi.
“Are you badly hurt? You’ve lost so much blood.”
My uncle checked my pulse at once and lifted me up with a worried expression.
“I’m fine. I just need a short rest.”
“Go wait in the village. It seems…”
“No. I must go as well.”
“Haha, those corpses in the village… they weren’t your doing, were they?”
He was referring to the mind-broken ones.
Of course, since Ju Tae-hwi had come this far, he must have witnessed the scene clearly.
“You overdid it. Rest.”
“Uncle.”
“Yes?”
“Then please listen to just one request of mine.”
“Speak.”
“From now on, you must kill everyone we encounter. The mind-broken ones are no different from rampaging lunatics who have lost all reason.”
“Kill them all… heh, understood.”
Ju Tae-hwi nodded readily.
Almost as if he already knew something.
“It’s not even that difficult. If only you had trusted this uncle and waited from the beginning, how much easier it would have been.”
“If I had, you wouldn’t have come all the way here, Uncle.”
At those words, Ju Tae-hwi gave a bitter smile.
It seemed I had struck the nail on the head.