abcnovels
Chapter 88
Chapter 88
Chapter 88 – Where the Secret Words Lead (3)
The pointed sword trembled slightly.
I wasn’t looking at the tip of the sword, but at Sim Hwang’s eyes.
Just then, the door opened and someone entered, speaking loudly.
“That’s right. An invitation is something that allows entry when presented.”
It was Joo Do-chi, the master of the Joo family estate. He was exuding a sharp aura, quite different from the benevolent and gentle appearance he had shown earlier in front of people. It was like seeing opposite-natured twins.
“Remove that wide-brimmed hat.”
“I refuse.”
When I flatly refused, Sim Hwang, who was pointing his sword at me, twitched. He wanted to swing his sword and behead me right away. But with Joo Do-chi’s appearance, he couldn’t act alone.
I warned him.
“You’d better be careful. My patience for your rudeness is only once. You’ve already used that chance when you swung your sword at me.”
Killing intent flashed in Sim Hwang’s eyes. He wasn’t skilled enough to be intimidated by such words.
Joo Do-chi stopped him.
“Step back.”
Sim Hwang retreated. But even after stepping back a few paces, he still glared at me warily.
Joo Do-chi said to me.
“You’d better be careful too. You also have only one chance to live.”
I smirked. I really couldn’t have imagined that such a situation would be waiting at the place where I decoded the cipher.
“So you won’t show your face? You’re acting too precious for someone who’s not even a beauty.”
“It’s not like you’re butchering pigs based on looks, is it?”
Joo Do-chi laughed and said.
“Hahaha, that’s true. Alright. Then as the one who issued the invitation, I suppose I can ask this much. The owner of that invitation you brought, Cho Byeok, is already dead. So why do you have his invitation?”
“Because I killed him.”
“One more thing, who are you?”
“Let’s just say I’m someone who couldn’t ignore a bastard running a brothel by kidnapping children.”
Joo Do-chi scrutinized me sharply. But he wouldn’t be able to find out anything. I was perfectly controlling my aura.
“I killed Cho Byeok and happened to find the invitation. And I came here. Now, let me ask. What exactly is this place?”
Joo Do-chi smiled leisurely.
“As you can see, I’m welcoming guests for my birthday. You people here are specially selected guests.”
“Explain it simply.”
“We sent invitations to those who want to share our vision. We told them to come if they wanted, and not to come if they didn’t. It was your will to come here. Ah, of course, you seem to have come out of curiosity.”
“How many people did you send invitations to today?”
Joo Do-chi’s eyes flashed keenly at my question.
“Why do you ask?”
“Answer how many first.”
Curious about my intention, Joo Do-chi answered straightforwardly.
“Seven in total.”
“I’m worried about the other four who didn’t come here.”
At my words, Joo Do-chi was momentarily speechless. Probably by this time, they had all been eliminated. Judging by the skills of Joo Do-chi, Sim Hwang, and the other men, this was no ordinary organization.
Joo Do-chi smiled enigmatically.
“If your guess is correct, you could say you’re very lucky. At least you’re alive like this, aren’t you?”
While answering my question, he was also intimidating us.
“We’re trying to change this martial world anew.”
“How so?”
“A righteous martial world, a martial world with chivalry. That’s why we’re gathering talent. Not a martial world dominated by the old-fashioned martial artists, but a new martial world cultivated by new martial artists like you.”
I chuckled.
“Why are you laughing?”
“You don’t look young enough to be talking about old-fashioned ways.”
One of Joo Do-chi’s cheeks twitched and his eyes distorted. But he didn’t easily reveal the bottom of his patience.
“Isn’t that why we called you?”
“Let’s be honest. You just want to dominate the martial world.”
“When pursuing great deeds, misunderstandings and jealousy are bound to follow.”
“Fine. Let’s say I misunderstood. So what will you give us in return for participating in this endeavor?”
“Power.”
At Joo Do-chi’s signal, one of his subordinates came forward with an iron tray.
On the tray were three pills.
“These are Heavenly Craft Pills[1]. They’re elixirs that instantly grant half a lifetime’s worth of internal energy.”
The eyes of the other two men wavered.
In these times when elixirs were scarce, half a lifetime’s worth of internal energy was a temptation not easily refused. I knew this well, having recently bought some elixirs myself.
The temptation didn’t stop there.
“Also, we’ll pass down martial arts superior to what you’ve learned.”
Joo Do-chi pointed at me and said to the other two men.
“Whoever kills that man can have his Heavenly Craft Pill too.”
It was a powerful temptation. With two Heavenly Craft Pills, one could have internal energy approaching a full lifetime’s worth.
The two men hesitated for a moment. They couldn’t make a hasty decision without knowing my skill level. Moreover, the way I had been calmly dealing with Joo Do-chi made them even more hesitant.
But the temptation was too great to give up entirely.
One of the two men sprang forward. As long as there was anxiety that someone else might move first, it was inevitable that at least one would make a move.
The man’s sword flew towards my heart.
I slightly dodged his sword while grabbing his wrist. At the moment our bodies overlapped.
Slash!
A dagger that had suddenly appeared in my hand sliced his throat.
“Guk.”
The man spewed blood from his neck, staggered around as if dancing, and then collapsed forward.
Then the remaining man said to Joo Do-chi.
“I’ll just take mine.”
Fearing the situation might change, the man strode towards the tray. Just as he was about to grab the Heavenly Craft Pill, I said.
“Are you sure that’s a real Heavenly Craft Pill?”
At my words, the man froze.
“Let’s hypothesize. You want to devour this martial world. But you have several Heavenly Craft Pills in your possession. Would you eat them yourself to increase your internal energy, or would you call in complete strangers to feed them?”
The man looked at Joo Do-chi with suspicious eyes.
The next moment.
Flash.
The man collapsed just like that.
In Joo Do-chi’s hand was a sword dripping with blood.
It was truly a rare swift sword technique; he was a much stronger master than Sim Hwang.
“Today’s business is ruined. Get rid of him too.”
As if they had been waiting, Sim Hwang and the ten men behind him exuded killing intent and approached from all directions, pressing in.
Swish.
I threw a dagger at Sim Hwang.
Sim Hwang twisted his body to avoid it. Of course, I didn’t intend to kill Sim Hwang with that dagger.
After throwing the dagger, I immediately rushed towards him.
Sim Hwang quickly thrust out his sword.
Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish!
His sword struck five points in the air in the blink of an eye.
As I was flying towards him, I suddenly twisted my body and pounced on the man to the right. He had been my initial target all along. Throwing the dagger and rushing at Sim Hwang had all been a feint.
Whoosh. Thud!
I fell to the ground with his body. The surrounding men didn’t know how to react, not expecting this situation.
Although it looked like I had just fallen backward, the first man was already dead. Meanwhile, I sprang up like a spring and pounced on the hesitating man next to him.
Thwack!
My fist struck his jaw forcefully. Using the man with his jaw shattered as a shield, I pushed towards the next man.
Swish!
The man behind desperately thrust out his sword.
The panicked man’s sword pierced through his comrade, aiming for me behind him.
But it was a futile response. I easily avoided the sword, and before he could pull it out again, I leaped over the man who had become a shield and struck the opponent’s face with my knee.
Thwack!
The man’s face caved in, and he fell backward.
By the time I landed on the ground, the three men who had been my initial targets had become cold corpses. It all happened in an instant.
Sim Hwang shouted to his subordinates.
“He’s a master! Be careful!”
I was a much higher-level master than they had anticipated, and my techniques were unexpected.
But if being careful was enough to block it, how could it be called mastery?
I rampaged through the place like a tiger leaping into a flock of sheep.
When facing multiple opponents, the first consideration is to kill the leader.
But there’s no need to rush headlong towards the leader right away.
At least not at this moment. Moreover, Joo Do-chi was watching me intently from behind.
In this fight, I eliminated the subordinates first.
Sometimes mercilessly, sometimes using them as shields.
Thwack!
One man staggered back from my punch. I stuck close behind him. As I finished him off with a kick, I immediately leaped towards another man.
Swish!
A sword energy flew from behind.
It was Sim Hwang’s sword energy.
I lowered my body and slid. The sword energy passed over my head and struck the man I was about to attack. The man’s body was sliced, and he collapsed.
As I was sliding on the ground, I changed direction.
Swish!
Simultaneously, a dagger flew from my hand.
The dagger pierced the ankle of the man in front, causing him to stumble.
Thwack!
I had already kicked his head and was flying towards the man behind him.
Once again, sword energy flew from behind.
Swish!
I blocked the attacked man’s vision as much as possible and twisted my body at the last moment.
The sword energy that narrowly grazed me sliced through the man’s face as it passed.
When Sim Hwang muttered “Damn it,” another man had his ribs shattered by my fist.
Daggers flew towards the men who were standing awkwardly, waiting for my attack.
Unable to dodge, they all fell. In normal circumstances, they might have been able to avoid such attacks, but their frightened bodies couldn’t evade this unexpected assault.
Throwing when it’s least expected – this is the most appropriate way to use daggers as a supplementary weapon.
In this way, all ten subordinates instantly became corpses.
“You bastard! I’ll kill you!”
Sim Hwang flew at me, thrusting his sword. Indeed, Sim Hwang deserved to be called a master.
His sword flew quickly and accurately, aiming for my vital points. He realized that the person he was facing was an extraordinary master, and this realization combined with his anger to produce tremendous power.
Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish!
But no matter how enraged a hunting dog might be, it couldn’t defeat a tiger alone.
I penetrated through a move that he never thought would have an opening.
At the moment he widened his eyes in surprise, my arm was already inserted into his side.
He looked at me with despairing eyes. In contrast, I, executing the move, was utterly calm. If we couldn’t handle this final moment, we shouldn’t have entered this martial world in the first place.
Bang!
Sim Hwang’s body slammed into the ground.
He died instantly, without even time to feel pain.
Now the only person left there was Joo Do-chi.
Whether he was confident in his skills or had some other plan, he didn’t run away.
I was curious about who he was. Whether he was the leader, or if there was someone else behind him. If there was a backer, whether it was someone connected to Ma Bong-gi, or someone behind Ma Bong-gi. Or perhaps a completely separate third party.
“They say masters are as numerous as grains of sand on a beach. But a master like you, I’ve heard of someone…”
He startled suddenly.
“…I’ve heard of someone like you before. They say a Nameless Hero killed the Heavenly Blade Sect’s butcher with bare-handed techniques. That’s you, isn’t it!”
Although I neither confirmed nor denied it, he was convinced that I was the Nameless One.
“If it were you, I would have sent a very special invitation.”
I slowly walked over and picked up the Heavenly Craft Pill that had fallen to the floor.
I smelled it. It had a scent similar to a Heavenly Craft Pill. But it wasn’t one. I could tell exactly because I had taken them during my time as an Alliance Leader.
Then I noticed a subtle different scent mixed with the Heavenly Craft Pill’s aroma. The moment I realized what it was, I was shocked.
The Unrepentant Demonic Spiritual Pill[2]!
It certainly was an elixir that granted half a lifetime’s worth of internal energy.
But the price to pay was harsh. It was called a devil’s elixir because if you took it, you would definitely die after seven years.
If you took two, you could gain a full lifetime’s worth of internal energy, but your lifespan would be reduced to three years. If you took three, you’d gain one and a half lifetime’s worth, but would only live for one year. Taking any more would result in immediate death.
It was called “Unrepentant” because it was said that those who took it never regretted it. It was used by the Blood Heavens Divine Cult in the past. Despite its fatal flaw, an elixir is still an elixir – it took enormous money and resources to produce.
But why was an item from the extinct evil sect here?
“What do you think? If you take it, I promise you much better treatment than the others.”
“Have you taken it yourself?”
He flinched at my sudden question. It occurred to me that he might have taken it too. I wonder if he knows what it really is?
To think there was an organization growing its power using the Unrepentant Demonic Spiritual Pills. It was truly an unexpected situation.
“Well, it doesn’t matter. Even if it’s not you, there are plenty of people who won’t think twice if offered internal energy.”
He flicked his fingers as a signal.
Clank, clank, clank.
At once, doors opened on all sides. People were standing surrounding the separate building.
I was shocked. They were the well-wishers I had met earlier.
Over a hundred of them were glaring at me. I could tell. They were all on the same side.
Joo Do-chi mocked the words I had said earlier.
“We only send invitations to people we know.”
From the beginning, this place was meant to gather people. Probably, birthday celebrations are held frequently. Each time, they would all act out the same lines and pretend to be well-wishers.
The aura of these people revealing their killing intent was extraordinary. And then there was Joo Do-chi on top of that.
Feeling the killing intent concentrated from all directions, I coldly sneered.
“You really like your new martial world, don’t you?”