Chapter 104: Fifth Jade Knife (2)
Chapter 104: Fifth Jade Knife (2)
Five days later, Lim Soo-yeon visited Woon-seong again. The other three did not join her.
Kwak Soo-dong was the oldest, but it seemed that Lim Soo-yeon was in charge.
She finally came back with a letter from the master of the First Jade Knife.
“The master of the First Jade Knife sent an answer.”
“What does it say?”
Lim Soo-yeon flinched for a moment because of Woon-seong’s cold, serious tone.
She had no idea how to approach him
She did not want to accidentally anger him and be crushed under the pressure like the other day.
“Before you meet the master of the First Jade Knife, it looks like you need to meet someone else first.”
Woon-seong could not help but notice.
Just how many steps were there to meet the First Jade Knife?
It’s quite difficult to meet the Alliance Master of the Justice Blood Sect. I’m sure it would be easier to meet the heads of the Five Noble Clans.
Woon-seong shook his head. “And who do I need to meet?”
“The Seventh Master.”
The Seventh Master, owner of the Seventh Jade Knife.
The problem was that Woon-seong had no idea who that was.
“And who is that?”
Lim Soo-yeon shook her head too.
“Just because we’re members of the Justice Blood Sect does not mean we know all seven masters. They each conduct missions secretly in their own positions. The Seventh Master is especially unknown, as none of us have met him.”
“So you don’t know either.”
“Exactly.”
The mysterious Seventh Master of the Justice Blood Sect.
Since my master Nok Yu-on was one of the Seven Masters, this person should also be at a similar level. But there aren’t many people who are at such a level.
I know too little about this alliance sect and the Seventh Master. I can’t make a reasonable guess based on this information…
I should just start with meeting this Seventh Master.
Woon-seong shook himself out of thought.
“So, I can meet the Leader of the Justice Blood Sect after I meet this Seventh Master?”
“That is a matter the Seventh Master will decide.”
Woon-seong sighed again. Every step is so tedious.
It felt like he was sighing a lot lately.
***
Two weeks after receiving the letter, the master of the Seventh Jade Sword contacted Lim Soo-yeon.
The message stated that he would be waiting in an old shrine just outside of Yichang.
“Do you know where this old shrine is?”
“We just need to leave from the east gate and walk northwest for a bit. People don’t use that place anymore.”
Woon-seong nodded at her words, satisfied.
“It’s good you know the way. Lead me there.”
***
Two silhouettes dashed through the mountains.
In front of Woon-seong, Lim Soo-yeon was running first.
Unfortunately, she had to lead because only she knew the location.
Lim Soo-yeon sighed deeply while guiding Woon-seong. I can’t believe I’m acting as a mere tour guide.
To her, Woon-seong was still frightening.
She may complain in her heart, but she had no choice.
He looks younger than me, but he seems used to commanding people below him. On top of that, his martial arts skills don’t match his age.
Maybe he’s one of those rejuvenated martial artists from the legends?
But I’ve heard that even rejuvenation can’t hide the aging of fingernails and toenails.
And this young master’s fingernails look like those of a young man who’s barely in his twenties…
Then what does that mean? That he’s one of those legendary innate martial bodies?
Or… I don’t know… Did he learn martial arts since he was in the womb or something…?
While Lim Soo-yeon was busy with such thoughts, the two of them had arrived near the old shrine in no time.
The said shrine was one made for Taishang Laojun, one of the three highest deities in Taoism [1]
But why this old shrine?
Woon-seong gazed at the shrine, tilting his head.
Most martial artists avoided high profile locations and used places like graves for meetings instead.
At least, it was the first time he was meeting someone for the first time at a shrine.
Is there some special meaning behind this shrine?
Maybe it’s simply that this person is a Taoist who serves Taishang Laojun.
Taoism was quite a big influence, so countless sects and martial artists were followers.
That’s right… he’s most likely a Taoist.
Of course, that was just a guess.
Everything would be solved once he met the Seventh Master, so Woon-seong stopped thinking.
Lim Soo-yeon stopped running as soon as she reached the entrance.
Woon-seong walked past her and went inside.
Soon, he could see the face of the person waiting for him.
At that moment, Woon-seong flew towards him like an arrow.
“Sage of the Bright Rock!”
A mortal enemy who could not possibly be kept alive under the same sky.
These words described the people on Woon-seong’s hit list.
The Sage of the Bright Rock, the Sect Leader of the Mount Hua Sect, was one of them.
So the Seventh Master was Sage Myung Am?!
Then why did he kill Master, who was also a member of the Justice Blood Sect?
Woon-seong ran, unwrapping his spear and swinging it.
Contrary to his expectations, when he saw the face of an enemy, he did not get lost in bloodlust.
Or perhaps it was different for each encounter.
The closer he got to Sage Myung Am, the more Woon-seong’s mind was calming down.
It was as if everything unnecessary had flown from his consciousness, leaving behind only Woon-seong and his spear.
The White Night Spear in his hands split the wind.
Shh-shh-shh!
“W-What?”
The startled Sage of the Bright Rock drew his sword.
But he was half a pace slower and quickly retreated backwards.
Woon-seong did not let up, rushing forward.
Boom!
Woon-seong’s shoulder slammed straight into the Sage’s chest. All of his energy, from the tips of his toes, was transferred through this body slam.
Kuang!
The Sage of the Bright Rock smashed into the wall of the shrine, crashing through and onto the floor.
“Cough!”
The man threw up a puddle of blood.
Myung Am was around Demonic King-level in strength, which wasn’t enough to face Woon-seong.
However, the leader of the Mount Hua Sect rolled a few times on the floor before getting up.
“So it looks like you didn’t become the sect leader of Mount Hua by winning it in a gamble,” Woon-seong sneered, walking towards the man.
It all happened so fast.
Lim Soo-yeon, who just figured out the situation, shouted: “You! What are you doing!”
But her cry was too weak to do anything.
Woon-seong was already in pursuit of the Sage of the Bright Rock, who had been thrown out of the shrine.
When Woon-seong stepped out, the man had his sword in hand.
Sage Myung Am’s nickname in Murim was the ‘Plum Blossom Sword Saint’.
Like the plum blossoms Mount Hua was known for, their sword art caused swirls of pink and purple flower petals.
The moment this sword art came out, the Sage’s momentum skyrocketed.
It would not be smart to attack unprepared.
But who was Woon-seong?
Leader of the Cult of the Heavenly Demon.
Even if the Sage Myung Am was the sect leader of one of the Ten Great Sects, Woon-seong was one of the three semi-divine martial artists in the world!
He dashed forward in an instant.
Boom, boom!
“What is the meaning of this?!”
The Sage swung his sword to block the spear, but every time he did so, his body would violently shake.
Woon-seong’s immense qi, which he inherited from Chun Hwi, was overwhelming.
How is each stroke of his spear full of such force—
“Cough!”
After the impacts accumulated, the Sage vomited blood again.
Woon-seong swung his swear relentlessly, pressuring the Sage into a cold sweat.
“Sage of the Bright Rock… You filthy hypocrite.”
“What are you talking about?! I simply came here because I heard the master of the Fifth Jade Knife was here…”
Woon-seong stomped his foot.
Kwa-rung—
A rumbling sound arose as the ground trembled.
The earth cracked open, shattering like a spider web and forming a large pit.
“You are the one who killed that very Fifth Master!”
Did something come to mind when Woon-seong yelled that?
The Sage shouted in horror, “What?”
In the meantime, Woon-seong reached for his ring.
A light flashed from his fingers and something flew towards the Sage.
‘Flying explosive rings’!
The man swung his sword in haste.
Kuang!
With a huge explosion, a massive flame engulfed the Sage of the Bright Rock.
With one sword swing, the flame was cut off.
From inside the explosion, a man with burnt clothes and skin walked out.
Because of the fire, the man weirdly looked healthier than earlier, no longer pale from coughing up blood.
Woon-seong pushed forward relentlessly.
‘Lightning stitching throwing knives’!
A shower of glass knives rained down on the Sage of the Bright Rock.
Of course, the man was in a hurry to get out of harm’s way.
The difference between someone who had stepped upon the Divine threshold and someone who had not was tremendous.
From the side, Lim Soo-yeon was gaping as she watched this fight. This isn’t some fight I can even imagine intervening in! He’s pushing the leader of the Mount Hua Sect into a corner at such a young age!
After some more struggling, Sage Myung’s movements had become slower and weaker.
At this point in time, one of his knees hit the ground.
He had become exhausted.
Woon-seong slowly approached the man.
Just like with the others, the Sage of the Bright Rock would vomit out everything he knew before dying by Woon-seong’s hands.
I’ll start with ‘crushed bones and squeezed muscles’…
Woon-seong raised his hands to tap the other’s body.
At that moment, the Sage grabbed hold of his sword, lifting it up.
“Are you still planning to resist? I pulled my punches until now, but if you continue to…”
Woon-seong raised his finger, ready to use another ‘flying explosive ring’.
But he did not do so.
The Sage of the Bright Rock was pointing the sword at himself.
In a situation that he did not understand, Woon-seong spoke frostily. “What are you doing?”
The Sage coughed before answering, “Before the very end… I’d like to ask you one thing.”
“I should be the one asking questions.”
“…”
Sage Myung paused, then blinked his eyes slowly.
“How are you related to the Spear Master Sect?”
It was enough to make Woon-seong pause momentarily.
[1] Taishang Laojun the ‘Supreme Venerable Sovereign’, is one of the Three Pure Ones at the top of the pantheon of Taoist gods.