Chapter 337: Face-to-Face. (1)

Kuwung-!

A vibration occurs in the sky.

Padadeudeuk-!

I could see the internal energy filling the surroundings being covered by something, its color fading.

A deep black.

An utterly ominous black.

The internal energy that had been spread out in all directions to protect the disciples.

Was being devoured by something.

-Kuaaaaaa!

-S-save me!

Screams could be heard from all directions.

I could feel that something had gone wrong.

As it was a training exercise, I was aware of the risks.

But this.

Was not a scream caused by monsters.

Huwook-!

Internal energy surges.

It wasn’t particularly strange for a martial artist’s internal energy to mix in the air, but the internal energy mixing now was permeated with a terrible aura.

The unique malice emitted by those of the unorthodox path.

That mixed internal energy, entwined with the air, was being spewed out in all directions.

A scent of blood seeped through the forest of trees, and under the sky dyed black, the light was dim and unseen.

From there.

Swish-!

A flash extends.

The tip of the sword, imbued with killing intent, flew towards a disciple who was trembling, unable to grasp the situation.

Only when the sword came right before his face did the disciple flinch and react, but it was too late a reaction.

The sword blade, filled with internal energy, flew towards the disciple’s neck,

Chwak!

and before long, blood spurted, soaking the trunk of the tree.

Just as I thought the disciple had lost his life like that,

“Hieek!”

Surprisingly, the one who met death was not the disciple.

But an unidentified martial artist who was launching the surprise attack.

As the disciple, witnessing the person killed before his eyes, suppressed a startled gasp,

Tuk..

Someone was shaking blood off the tip of their sword, looking around.

Their eyes were checking if there were more enemies.

The woman, after briefly surveying the surroundings, turned her gaze back to the one who had collapsed and asked,

“Are you alright?”

“Y-yes…. I-I’m alright.”

The disciple’s eyes caught the woman’s hair.

Her slightly golden-brown hair was stained with blood.

Small streaks of blood were also flowing down her pristine white cheeks, and the sight seemed somewhat alluring.

Enough to catch the disciple’s attention even in this terrifying situation.

“If you go to the left, the instructor should be there.”

As if not noticing such a gaze, the woman pointed in a direction with her fingertip and spoke.

As if urging him to flee there quickly.

At her words, the disciple regained his senses, got up, and asked the woman.

“W-why aren’t you… coming with me, Sojeo?”

It wasn’t a question born of fear.

Of course, having just been on the verge of death was frightening, but this question wasn’t born from that feeling.

The disciple decided to think of it that way for himself.

Seeing this, the woman, still with an expressionless face, merely glanced around.

She didn’t answer.

“What… what exactly is happening right now?”

“Who knows.”

The woman, leaving a short reply, shook the blood off her sword and exhaled.

The smell of blood grew stronger.

Even so, she glanced at the one she had just killed with her own hands.

She had cut the vital point, so there likely wasn’t any pain.

Even while moving, she had already killed one more person, but it didn’t stir much emotion.

It was the first time she had killed someone since learning the sword.

She had personally cut down a person, and even while looking at the evidence, feeling nothing at all.

“…I don’t like it.”

The woman felt a sense of dislike towards herself.

It meant she was far from being in a normal state.

“What?”

“It’s nothing. Move carefully. If you don’t want to experience the same situation again.”

The woman said so and turned her back.

The disciple, seeing this, reached out urgently, trying to grab her shoulder, but

“…Hk.”

Before his hand could touch her shoulder, the woman glanced back slightly and looked at the disciple.

Her eyes were so sharp that the disciple flinched and had to step back.

“Th-that is, Sojeo, you’re also in danger, so it would be better if you came with me in the direction I told you.”

The disciple knew about the woman.

If one was a current disciple staying at the Divine Dragon Pavilion, it was impossible not to know about her.

She was one of the most famous figures in the entire Pavilion; it was impossible not to know her.

One of the Three Venerables, and the successor of Sword Venerable Wi Hyo-gun, known as the Greatest Sword Under Heaven.

She possessed outstanding strength and was destined to make a name for herself soon.

At that woman’s cold voice, the disciple hesitated and stepped back.

“I don’t need to.”

Wi Seol-ah said, finally turning her eyes.

“I have someone I need to find.”

Immediately after speaking, Wi Seol-ah lightly stepped and leaped.

She didn’t jump high, just enough to get a view of the surroundings.

‘He’s gone.’

Looking down from that position, Wi Seol-ah had to frown.

Because the presence of Gu Yangcheon, whom she had been trying to follow somehow, had vanished.

‘…What happened?’

It was merely an instant.

I intended to check the situation by extending my senses from afar, unsure of what Jang Seon-yeon might do, but the moment I finally found him, his presence instantly disappeared.

Right after that.

I sensed something strange about the internal energy spread around.

It was an aura that sent shivers down my spine just by sensing it.

It would have been fortunate if it were only the aura, but

‘An attack?’

Unknown individuals began mingling among the disciples and committing slaughter.

The scent of blood being sensed was proof of that.

Wi Seol-ah scanned the situation, darting her eyes around.

The air is thick with the scent of blood.

For what reason did they attack this place?

What is their objective?

There were so many things to consider, but

‘…Where did he go.’

Wi Seol-ah didn’t consider those things important.

More than those facts, Gu Yangcheon’s safety was more important to her.

‘I really should have followed him from the start.’

I regret it.

Even while watching where he was heading, I regret not forcing myself to follow.

Wi Seol-ah gritted her teeth inwardly and asked someone.

‘…Did you know things would turn out like this?’

She asked inwardly, but there was no answer.

‘Unnie.’

She called out to her, but there was still no answer.

The reason she hadn’t gone near Gu Yangcheon during this training exercise was because the ‘her’ inside her had stopped her.

Telling her to stay put for his sake.

Wi Seol-ah asked why she had to do that, but the only answer she received was that it was for his sake.

In the end, even knowing Jang Seon-yeon was approaching, I endured it and only sensed his presence from afar, and things turned out like this.

‘For his sake?’

How is this for his sake in any way?

If anything were to happen to Gu Yangcheon,

Kkuuk.

Wi Seol-ah clenched her sword.

Fire ignited in her gentle-looking eyes, and her eyes sharpened.

For what purpose had she learned the sword?

Losing him would render it all meaningless.

‘I have to find him.’

Wi Seol-ah flew towards the last place she sensed him.

It wasn’t a very far distance.

Descending from the air, Wi Seol-ah immediately increased her speed and moved forward.

Amidst her movement, screams were still echoing everywhere, but Wi Seol-ah didn’t turn back.

‘Where is he?’

She moved without rest, searching for the direction.

His energy was exceptionally strong, so even if he hid his presence, Wi Seol-ah could sense it.

Perhaps the highest place in this area.

Wi Seol-ah looked up, gazing somewhere on the mountain, and just as she was about to wrap her feet in internal energy again to leap,

Thump.

“…!”

Suddenly, Wi Seol-ah staggered, grabbing a nearby tree to stop herself.

Due to the intense pain felt within her body, Wi Seol-ah bit her pretty lips tightly and took something out from her embrace.

It was a lucky charm pouch that Shin Ui had given her in the past, and Wi Seol-ah hurriedly opened the pouch, took out a core, and put it in her mouth.

Gulp.

‘Why now…!’

She clenched her teeth.

She felt the core travel down her throat and deep into her body, but since the effect wasn’t immediate, she was in a rather critical condition.

She tried to muster her internal energy somehow, but only vibrations intensified within her body; she couldn’t move easily.

“Hah… huff.”

Wiping away the flowing sweat, Wi Seol-ah moved her feet again.

The pain she was experiencing now was less important than finding him.

However, the problem was.

‘I’m vulnerable.’

For the next few minutes, it would be difficult for Wi Seol-ah to exert her strength, and the surroundings were currently quite dangerous.

Her senses aren’t responding.

Unlike in the past when she could sense her surroundings and hide her presence, Wi Seol-ah, whose vessel had been sealed, couldn’t do so.

‘…Hngh….’

A fever is rising.

The medicine’s effect is gradually spreading, but I’m immobilized in this urgent situation.

Just then.

Pasak.

A sound came from the bushes behind.

Wi Seol-ah looked up sharply and drew her sword.

Is it the same enemy as before?

They were individuals of unknown identity, and although she killed them in a surprise attack, they weren’t weak.

They were what many called first-rate martial artists.

Masters of a certain level.

Wi Seol-ah pointed the tip of her sword towards the direction of the sound, and focused her drugged eyes, barely regaining her composure.

It was a matter of holding out for just a few minutes.

If I can just endure somehow…

“I was curious about where you were rushing off to, so I tried not to show myself if possible.”

“…Ah.”

At the voice coming from beyond the bushes, Wi Seol-ah’s large eyes relaxed slightly.

It was because the voice and tone were familiar.

“Seeing your condition, it seems appropriate for me to step in.”

The person who appeared before Wi Seol-ah while clearing the bushes was wearing distinctive black martial arts attire, and had an impressive appearance with his expressionless face and casually tied hair.

“Are you alright?”

One of the Six Dragons and Three Peaks, the Twin Dragon, Bi Ui-jin.

---

While the situation was rapidly unfolding,

“Uwaaaaa…!”

Cheol Ji-seon was screaming continuously.

It was understandable, as a grown man was being flung around by his collar.

The problem was that it was him.

As if running while carrying a suitcase.

He was being carried around effortlessly.

How could this happen?

Even considering the difference in cultivation levels, it was unbelievable.

Furthermore, the person grabbing Cheol Ji-seon by the collar and running wildly was Sword Dancer Namgung Bi-ah, whom he had just met.

She looked like a delicate woman, yet she was dragging Cheol Ji-seon around as if he were a toy.

‘S-save me.’

In this absurd situation, Cheol Ji-seon could only scream inwardly.

“Sojeo…! Slow doooown…!”

Cheol Ji-seon pleaded earnestly, but Namgung Bi-ah paid no attention.

He wished she would just drop him.

-Where did he go?

Namgung Bi-ah, who suddenly appeared from somewhere and asked about Gu Yangcheon’s whereabouts, didn’t even wait for Cheol Ji-seon’s answer.

She looked in a certain direction, then abruptly grabbed Cheol Ji-seon and started running.

As if she were in a hurry.

“Kkua…!”

The speed was so immense it was hard to believe she was carrying a person.

I couldn’t see because there were monsters like Gu Yangcheon or Jam Ryong nearby, but this woman called Sword Dancer is also on an unbelievable level.

‘…I, I haven’t told her about Jin Ryong yet.’

She hadn’t properly stated who she was looking for, but Cheol Ji-seon knew that the person Sword Dancer was looking for was Jin Ryong.

The look in Sword Dancer’s eyes when she was with Jin Ryong was completely different from how she looked at others, even to Cheol Ji-seon’s eyes, and even if that weren’t the case, the fact that the two were engaged was already common knowledge within the Divine Dragon Pavilion.

How could she, the Sword Dancer, be engaged to that fearsome Jin Ryong? It was a mystery, and it didn’t seem like an arranged marriage forced by their families.

How much the disciples lamented seeing Sword Dancer act so differently only towards Jin Ryong.

In reality, Sword Dancer likely accounted for a large portion of the reasons Jin Ryong was criticized.

Surpassing the Number One Beauty of Anhui, it was whispered that she was the Number One Beauty Under Heaven.

As if she didn’t care about others’ gazes, someone had said this while watching the Sword Dancer perform her sword dance alone.

Cheol Ji-seon had to admit.

It was true that the women around Jin Ryong were all exceptionally beautiful, but among them, Sword Dancer and the Sword Venerable’s successor stood out.

The problem was.

That this wasn’t the time to be thinking about such appearances.

“So… Sojeo-nim….”

Just as he worried his skin might be sliced off by the wind hitting his face, perhaps because she heard Cheol Ji-seon’s pitiful voice, the Sword Dancer suddenly let go of the collar she was holding.

“Wha… wait.”

It was good that she let go, but because she suddenly released him while running at full speed, Cheol Ji-seon was thrown by the sudden recoil and had to roll on the ground.

“Kkwaaak!”

Cheol Ji-seon, rolling on the ground, crashed into a nearby tree and finally managed to stop himself.

“…Hah… Hah… I survived.”

Barely enduring the dizziness, Cheol Ji-seon got up.

Cheol Ji-seon wondered if the Sword Dancer had accidentally let go of his collar, because if not, she had thrown him like a piece of luggage.

‘…I guess I am luggage.’

The terror of nearly dying just moments ago, and the guilt of being dragged around by the Sword Dancer left Cheol Ji-seon disoriented.

He looked around for the Sword Dancer.

No matter what, she was still the benefactor who saved him from danger, and the whereabouts of Jin Ryong, whom she was looking for, were known by Cheol Ji-seon.

‘Will I die if I tell her?’

Such a thought crossed his mind.

Earlier, the Sword Dancer’s face as she spoke with her sword drawn, searching for Jin Ryong, setting aside her beautiful appearance, was terrifying.

Nevertheless, Cheol Ji-seon intended to speak.

He had fallen for Jang Seon-yeon’s persuasion and committed the deed, and although Jin Ryong had also said it was fine to open it,

‘…No matter how I think about it, this isn’t right.’

Ultimately, it was Cheol Ji-seon who carried out the deed.

As Cheol Ji-seon began looking around, intending to find Namgung Bi-ah,

Pajijijik-!

A tingling surge of lightning energy was felt from somewhere.

Cheol Ji-seon immediately recognized this lightning energy as the Sword Dancer’s.

He knew through information that she used lightning energy.

However.

Didn’t emitting lightning energy mean she was in a dangerous situation?

A thought flashed through Cheol Ji-seon’s mind, and hesitation formed at his fingertips.

Wouldn’t it be better to find the instructor right now?

He had that thought for a moment, but he soon lifted his trembling feet again and headed in the direction where the lightning energy was felt.

How much time had passed since he was dropped?

The direction of the sound and energy was farther than expected.

To have moved so far in such a short time.

Cheol Ji-seon also channeled his internal energy and moved his steps.

He drew the sword tied at his waist with trembling hands, and ran towards where the energy was felt.

“…!”

Seeing the scene before his eyes, Cheol Ji-seon gasped.

“Well now.”

The moment he heard the deep voice,

“Another troublemaker has appeared.”

Cheol Ji-seon staggered.

The internal energy contained in the voice was overwhelmingly burdensome.

The one leaning against the rock in the distance was the Poison Fang of the Tang family, and beside him, the one applying pressure to stop the bleeding was a young lady of the Peng family.

And then.

The Sword Dancer, who had somehow spread lightning energy around her and drawn her sword, was blocking someone.

Dressed in dark silk robes, the middle-aged man with his hair neatly braided had striking pale skin, and his pupils glowed purple.

The moment Cheol Ji-seon saw him, he could tell.

That this was not someone he could dare to face.

The man glanced at Cheol Ji-seon, and as if uninterested, directed his gaze at the Sword Dancer before him.

“It’s been a while. You and I have met before.”

“…”

Tension flickered across the Sword Dancer’s face.

It meant she knew the person too.

The man, seemingly displeased with that reaction, slightly frowned and asked the Sword Dancer,

“Do you know me?”

To the man’s question, the Sword Dancer nodded slightly.

“…I know.”

“And yet, you draw your sword.”

His voice carried a tone of condescension.

“Do you find me pathetic?”

“…”

“Or perhaps, because you remember how I fared against the Flame Ghost, you see me as insignificant.”

An unknown dark energy emanated from the man’s body.

“…This Black Night Palace Lord, you see.”

At the middle-aged man’s words, Cheol Ji-seon slumped down.