Chapter 142: Jangcheon Sect (1)

The expression on Dokgo Yul’s face as he glared ahead was truly terrifying.

The light from his single eye was enough to make one’s legs tremble, and for his enemies, it was a nightmare.

“Such despicable actions.”

His softly muttered words made the surrounding swordsmen, who had surrounded him, flinch.

“You will not leave here alive.”

With his stern declaration, the pupils of his enemies shook with fear.

Even though they considered themselves formidable warriors.

Even though they had surrounded him with significant numbers, it felt as if the blade of the reaper was already at their throats.

‘This is not good.’

The leader of the ambush thought.

‘I need to boost morale.’

Fortunately, someone stepped forward first.

“One-Eyed Sword God, even though you have quite a reputation—”

The words of the first to step forward were cut short.

*Slash!*

In an instant, a lightning-fast strike slashed through his chest.

“What—”

All they saw was the flash of the sword.

*Slash! Slash!*

In that moment, three deaths occurred.

“An unbelievable quick sword!”

The leader of the ambush, the strongest among them, could barely follow the sword’s afterimage with his eyes.

‘His fame in the Jianghu is not unfounded.’

His judgment had been a mistake.

‘This is not a young tiger.’

This was a fully grown tiger.

A monster with wings, ravaging both heaven and earth.

*Swish!*

The price of the mistake was devastating.

Wherever the One-Eyed Sword God passed, comrades and weapons were split apart.

*Slash! Clang!*

The elite forces they had painstakingly gathered were melting away shortly after the fight began.

‘This is a slaughter. Forget the awakening stone, we need to retreat and regroup.’

The leader gave up any thought of fighting.

He was filled with despair.

He even considered turning his back and fleeing, but that was not easy either.

*Boom!*

A thunderous roar shook the earth from beyond.

‘The ground… is shaking?’

*Rumble.*

The ground was trembling.

*Crack!*

The forest of towering trees swayed violently, caught in the shockwave, and swayed like weeds.

What appeared next was a massive dragon of fire.

*Whoosh!*

A fire dragon, consuming everything, appeared with a brilliant flash.

*Rumble.*

At the same time, the trees caught in the whirlwind instantly turned to ashes.

The fire dragon, growing by consuming everything, twisted its massive body.

*Roar!*

It was an overwhelming sight, as if a heavenly fire dragon had descended to the earth.

“The Light of the Flame Ma. Damn it.”

Seeing the feat that turned a small forest into ashes in an instant, his legs went weak.

The leader, who was most loyal to the Society, felt that way, so the reluctant followers had no hope.

‘If that monster joins in, it’s truly over.’

‘We must risk everything and flee.’

‘If we delay, we won’t even have a chance to escape.’

They realized that against such overwhelming power, they were nothing but expendable.

“Everyone, retreat!”

But their decision came too late.

*Boom!*

As the fire struck the rear of the encirclement.

“Argh!”

“Screaming!”

Comrades melted by the heat turned to ashes with a single scream.

“Damn it.”

As he cursed, the One-Eyed Sword God, who had been emitting a terrifying light from his single eye, vanished.

What remained was a beautiful silver line.

‘Where is he! Where did he…’

As he quickly scanned the area, he felt a burning sensation in his chest.

*Slash!*

Seeing the blood spurting from his chest, he realized.

‘What a ridiculously fast sword.’

That was his last thought as he fell.

After the battle ended.

*Crackle. Crackle.*

As he walked through the charred remains of the forest, he found someone sitting relatively intact on a rock, waiting.

“Master Ma.”

The Light of the Flame Ma Gil-sang shook his head.

“They were quite something. I can’t remember the last time I used the Flame Dragon Emergence.”

Flame Dragon Emergence.

Was that the fire dragon he saw earlier?

Adding the information about the Light of the Flame to his mind, Dokgo Yul asked.

“To make Ma Daehyup use his full strength, where did these people come from?”

“I’m not sure, but there’s only one place to suspect.”

“The Heavenly Destruction Society.”

“Right. There were some strange ones among them.”

With a light laugh, Ma Gil-sang made a fierce expression.

“I didn’t expect them to use the Solar Yang Palm against me.”

“To challenge the master of the Flame Dragon with the Solar Yang Palm, that’s absurd.”

Like a firefly challenging the sun.

Ma Gil-sang shook his head.

“They weren’t bad.”

He pointed to his charred sleeve.

“They managed to give me a meaningful impact.”

“Really?”

“Fire is consumed by a bigger fire. Thanks to that, I could deal with them easily.”

Despite the victory, Ma Gil-sang’s expression was not good.

“There were many skilled people in the Jianghu. I can’t believe they can produce such people. It’s unbelievable.”

“I can understand why Elder Chui Geol-gae had such a hard time.”

“We must be more vigilant. Even more so than now.”

“I agree. We should send a message to the Chief Administrator as soon as we return.”

As they discussed the aftermath.

“Chief Instructor!”

A distant instructor came running.

“What is it?”

“A message from the instructors on the Murim Excursion.”

The instructor relayed the recent news about the demonic practitioners.

Hearing this, Ma Gil-sang’s expression darkened.

“This is quite a coincidence.”

At the same time we were attacked, they also targeted the Murim Excursion.

The instructor asked.

“The damage is significant. Should we continue the Murim Excursion?”

“What to do.”

Ma Gil-sang was troubled.

The Murim Excursion had already been delayed.

They had prepared meticulously, but unexpected incidents from the start left a bitter taste.

“Should we stop?”

For the safety of the students, it was an unavoidable choice.

As he muttered, he saw Dokgo Yul’s determined face.

‘That’s right. He’s here.’

He was the one who had prepared for the Murim Excursion more passionately than anyone.

It was wise to hear his opinion before making a crucial decision.

“Instructor Dokgo, what do you think?”

“We’ve just started the Murim Excursion. If we retreat out of fear of a few monsters, we’ll be the laughingstock of the Jianghu.”

“That’s an unexpected answer. I thought you cared most about the students’ safety.”

“Once you step into the Jianghu, you can’t always walk a safe path.”

“Cold, but true.”

As he pondered this unexpected ruthlessness, another word followed.

“The dangers of the Jianghu must be faced by the adults.”

“Haha. So we need to work harder.”

Reading the warm consideration, Ma Gil-sang made up his mind.

“Right. Once decided, we can’t easily change it.”

“How about changing the way we conduct the Murim Excursion?”

“Do you have a good plan?”

“Well, it’s…”

As he explained, Ma Gil-sang nodded in agreement.

“Send a message to the Chief Administrator.”

***

Namgung Yun-ho was quite flustered as he left the room.

“Did you hear? That person is him.”

“Isn’t he the student who caught the Hidden Moon Flying Thief?”

“A student caught the villain who even defeated a senior instructor.”

“Isn’t he an assistant instructor, not a student?”

“Whether a student or an assistant instructor.”

As soon as he left the room, he was followed by stares and murmurs.

Namgung Yun-ho, unaccustomed to attention, found it uncomfortable.

‘Should I just go back to the room?’

He hesitated for a moment.

‘No, I shouldn’t.’

If he ignored it, it would soon die down.

But as he walked through the garden and corridor, the attention only grew.

“Oh, excuse me.”

“Are you alright?”

“I’d like to talk for a moment.”

Namgung Yun-ho had to endure quite a bit of sweating as female students subtly bumped into him or started conversations.

He only found freedom from the stares when he reached the annex.

The place Myojinmun’s sect leader had specially opened for the small heroes, the residence of the cats.

Inside, there was already a guest.

“You’re here?”

“Tan.”

It was Jegal Tan.

As usual, he was holding jerky, trading with a cat, and approached with the cat in his arms.

“What’s wrong? You don’t look well.”

“Well, you see.”

After hearing the explanation, Jegal Tan sighed.

“It can’t be helped. You’ll have to endure it for a while.”

“That’s not good.”

“The appearance of demonic practitioners is causing quite a stir. Many people will flock here for a while.”

“I understand, but it’s very inconvenient.”

Jegal Tan, who seemed to know even the secrets of the Murim Alliance and the academy, shared what he had overheard.

*Meow.*

“Oh dear.”

With a cat perched on his shoulder, Jegal Tan continued.

“Not only that, the academy plans to widely promote Myojinmun.”

“Myojinmun? Why?”

“Because they dealt with the demonic practitioners the fastest.”

Even the Hidden Moon Flying Thief, who had escaped after defeating a senior instructor.

“They’ll say that the academy’s instructors worked together to avenge the previous defeat. It’s quite a good story.”

“That’s true.”

Cats were hanging from both arms.

As they clung to his sleeves with their claws, he bent his arms to give them a place to stand, and they climbed up to his shoulders.

“We can’t avoid the attention for a while.”

“Why not enjoy the attention for once?”

“It’s impossible for me.”

Living as a ghost in Dongcheon Hall is what I’m used to.

*Meow.*

A cat, making a strange sound, ate the jerky and jumped out of Jegal Tan’s arms.

“Oh… it’s gone.”

Jegal Tan, reaching into the air, turned to Namgung Yun-ho and said.

“For someone unaccustomed to attention, you’re quite popular.”

Seeing the cats surrounding him, Namgung Yun-ho sighed deeply.

“I’m not used to attention from people or winning the favor of cats.”

Jegal Tan, envious, smacked his lips.

***

The peaceful chat time ended.

“What is it? Annoying!”

With a loud shout.

Stomping in, Baek Ri Seol glanced back, fuming.

“What’s with those failed creations?”

“Sister, calm down.”

The noisy arrivals were a glamorous beauty and a cute girl.

Baek Ri Seol and Mo Yong So-hye.

As the cats quickly distanced themselves, Baek Ri Seol’s irritation grew.

“Those guys and those guys.”

“What happened?”

“Where did they get those faces with eyes, noses, and mouths?”

After listening to Baek Ri Seol’s rant for a while, it seemed she had faced a similar situation.

The difference was that, being a glamorous beauty from the prestigious Baek Ri Clan, she attracted more attention from the opposite sex, which was the worst part.

“They should leave if I keep my mouth shut.”

“They seem to find your cold attitude more attractive.”

Mo Yong So-hye’s explanation made Baek Ri Seol grimace.

“Crazy people. They should strip and run to the North Sea Ice Palace.”

Spewing venom, Baek Ri Seol covered her mouth and looked around.

When she reacted like this, it meant one thing.

‘She’s looking for the instructor.’

Realizing there was no need to be conscious of the surroundings, Baek Ri Seol asked sharply.

“Where is the instructor?”

“Well, I don’t know.”

Turning her head, Baek Ri Seol smiled and said, “You’re tall but useless.”

It hurt a little.

“If he’s with Instructor Yeo Mae-hong.”

“Right. I saw him being dragged by the ear by Instructor Yeo this morning.”

“Why would the instructor Spend time alone with another woman?”

Jegal Tan explained.

“He must have done something unreasonable again.”

“Oh.”

A short explanation, but Baek Ri Seol seemed to understand.

The instructor’s authority had seriously declined.