Chapter 130: Jaseung, Sweeps

Yim Sayeon did not know the map in detail either.

“I don’t know. I only suspect that the map is more important than the other three treasures. And I know that Jang Wonso has it.”

Lee Jaseung’s heart surged. He too was a man who lived in this Jianghu.

He had already obtained three of the four treasures that could make one the ruler of Jianghu, and now he had learned the whereabouts of the last. How could his heart not be stirred?

“Forgive me for today.”

Yim Sayeon spoke with genuine regret on her face.

They must have offered her something in exchange for saving Jang Wonso. No doubt, something she could not refuse.

Lee Jaseung did not ask what it was in detail. It was probably related to her child.

“Don’t trouble yourself.”

“Then I will see you next time.”

She soared into the air and vanished.

Lee Jaseung let out a quiet sigh. Regret struck him for failing to kill Jang Wonso while he had the chance.

Though curiosity about the map burned strongly, that alone was not enough reason to let Jang Wonso live.

He was a man who had to die.

He should have eliminated him the moment the opportunity came.

But the fact that even Yim Sayeon had appeared meant that Heaven itself did not yet desire Jang Wonso’s death.

Lee Jaseung leapt in the direction he had originally intended to follow Jang Wonso. He was headed toward the manor where Jang Wonso had wanted to go.

He wished to confirm what had been weighing on his mind all along.

The iron sphere in the underground. The very one that absorbed the true essence of women.

Lee Jaseung went down to the basement through the kitchen.

As expected, the underground chamber was empty. It was as if someone had fled in the night. Everywhere showed traces of being hurriedly abandoned.

It seemed likely that Jang Wonso had just received some message and at once ordered the place to be cleared. Jo Yehyang must have taken it and left.

The words Jo Yehyang had spoken in this room came back to him, when she had said the end was near.

Something very secret and critical was racing toward its conclusion.

And elsewhere, it would continue again.

For what purpose was that iron sphere, which drained women of their true essence, intended?

If it were not found quickly, there would only be more victims.

Lee Jaseung’s lips twisted into a cold smile.

Jang Wonso, a man who sacrificed everything for his own ambition.

Soon, he would be given a fitting end.

When Lee Jaseung came up to the surface, he found people waiting.

Five men sat on the left wall, each wearing different garb.

He did not need their introductions to know who they were.

The Five Soul-Stealing Hands.

The most notorious hired killers of the Shandong region. It was said that if paid enough, they would kill not only friends but even family.

Their skill was exceptional, and they were famed for taking high-priced contracts, specializing in assassinating masters.

“Oh ho, younger than I expected.”

“To think so many of us gathered just to kill one youth.”

They did not know who he was.

Nor were they alone here.

On the opposite side stood seven men wearing wolf masks. That alone told him who they were.

The Seven Wolves.

The most prominent assassins of Shaanxi. Like the others, they lived and died for money, and their mastery of joint assault was such that when they combined forces, even a Transcendent Peak Realm master could be devoured alive.

“They say three million silver coins are on his head?”

“Seems to be the highest bounty ever.”

“But the problem is not him, is it?”

They worried less about killing him than about fighting each other afterward.

“Anyone greedy for more can simply be eliminated together.”

Such was the confidence of the Seven Wolves.

“Do you think it will be so easy?”

The voice that doused them with cold water came from a short, fat old man standing at the center. Beside him was a tall, gaunt old man.

They looked like an odd pair set side by side, but they were the infamous Twin Killers of Henan.

Their cruelty was such that if someone stood in their way, whether woman or child, they would slaughter them without hesitation.

And that was still not all.

On one side stood a lone man, holding his sword close to his chest. His long, ragged hair half-covered his face, but in the shadows gleamed eyes full of malice.

He was the Hell’s Assassin, who in the past four years had succeeded in seventy-five assassinations. Nearly all his targets had been masters, some even at the Transcendent Peak.

Truly, the greatest assassins gathered here. Each opened their mouths to speak.

“Who will strike first?”

“To attack first is to be at a disadvantage, is it not?”

“No. Whoever strikes first and kills him must be credited with the deed. The stronger he is, the greater the risk in facing him alive.”

“And how do we trust you on that?”

“You bastard! Watch your mouth!”

“Now, now, this is no time to quarrel. With a bounty of three million silver coins, his martial skill will not be ordinary.”

“Let us attack together, then split the payment evenly.”

“Easy to say joint assault, but without harmony, how can it work?”

“Then why not draw lots and take turns?”

“Oh, that is not a bad idea.”

“Of course, someone might cheat even then.”

“Then you make the lots yourself!”

At that moment—

Thunk! Thunk!

Lee Jaseung spun like lightning and flicked daggers into the air. Blood sprayed from the void.

Ssshhk.

A hidden man revealed himself, blood gushing from his chest. He had crept up from behind to strike.

“…How did you?”

Lee Jaseung spoke coldly.

“Your footsteps thundered like a storm.”

“…Impossible!”

The man collapsed dead.

Silence fell. Everyone had recognized the fallen man.

He was the Shadow Killer, a master of stealth and one of the top assassins. He had meant to kill Lee Jaseung from hiding, yet he had been killed instead.

Not one of them had detected it until now. Cold dread gripped them.

Lee Jaseung turned slowly and addressed them.

“There is no need for you to quarrel. I will decide the order.”

Someone asked after hearing him.

“Are you saying you will decide who among us attacks first?”

“That is your view.”

“Then what is yours?”

Lee Jaseung’s gaze swept over them, then he spoke like ice.

“The order in which you die.”

The instant he finished speaking, he leapt.

Ssshhhk.

His first strike was aimed at the Seven Wolves. They had not expected him to attack seven at once.

Even so, their strongest, First Wolf, drew his sword.

But Lee Jaseung’s Asura carved through the air.

Slash!

First Wolf clutched his neck and toppled.

To lose their lead man so easily threw the rest into panic and rage.

Second Wolf slashed, but Lee Jaseung slipped past like a shadow and struck from behind.

Stab, stab, stab!

His daggers pierced Second Wolf’s throat, then cut open Third Wolf’s heart in the same instant.

Both fell almost together.

Lee Jaseung’s movements were as fast as lightning.

A flash, and blood sprayed.

Crash!

Fifth Wolf was hurled into the ground, dead at once. It had been nothing more than a simple throw, yet he never rose again.

This time, Lee Jaseung did not conceal his true skill.

For his intention was to slaughter every last one present.

The Qi, worth five hundred and forty years, exploded within him, and with it every art of close combat and Yama’s Dagger Art.

The moment the last Wolf fell—

Ssshhk! Thud!

A gust of wind, and the first of the Five Soul-Stealing Hands dropped from the wall, struck down.

“Huh?”

As the second turned in shock—

Ssshhk! Thud!

He too dropped, and on the ground he saw his elder brother staring lifelessly, throat pouring blood.

‘When did he—?’

He could not understand how it happened, nor why he himself had fallen.

Heat ran down his neck, and his sight dimmed.

‘Oh, I’ve been struck too.’

He never even glimpsed what killed him.

Ssshhk! Thud!

The third fell, blood gushing from his chest.

Though the second watched it happen, he could not grasp why no one could evade.

Moments later, the fourth dropped, his throat split.

The youngest never fell backward.

As the second’s vision faded, he thought to himself.

‘Youngest brother, please avenge us!’

That was his final wish. But it was impossible. The youngest had already died, toppling forward with his chest impaled.

No one would ever believe that the mighty Five Soul-Stealing Hands had been felled like apples plucked from a wall.

Next were the Twin Killers of Henan.

Crack!

The taller one’s spine shattered under Lee Jaseung’s kick. His ribs collapsed without a chance to dodge, like a natural disaster descending.

The shorter thrust both palms forward.

“Die!”

Ssshhk!

Boom!

Lee Jaseung smashed through it with his body, surging forward in a shocking response. The result was gruesome.

Boom!

His shoulder crushed the man’s face inward. He pitched forward lifeless, skull caved in.

Only the Hell’s Assassin remained.

He stared, pale-faced. While the others died, he had watched for a chance to flee.

But he had not dared move. To take even a step, he felt, would draw a dagger through his throat.

Lee Jaseung turned toward him.

The Hell’s Assassin clung to a faint hope.

‘He has not killed me yet. Could he perhaps mean to spare me?’

But no such mercy existed.

Lee Jaseung charged. Mercy existed only in the assassin’s wishful thoughts.

“W-Wait…”

He stammered, unable to finish a word. Such was the end of the man who had slain seventy-five masters.

Ssshhhk!

Crack!

Lee Jaseung’s knee shattered his jaw.

‘If I had known this would happen, I should have tried to flee sooner.’

But it was already too late.

Boom, boom!

His fists pounded the assassin’s chest until it caved.

The Hell’s Assassin’s body slammed to the ground like discarded trash.

Thus, all of them were slain.

Lee Jaseung finally relaxed and scanned the area, but at that moment!

Ssshhhk!

A piercing whistle ripped through the air.

Crack!

The earth split open down the middle.

Strands of Lee Jaseung’s hair fell, severed, onto the ground.

A massive line had been carved from one wall across the courtyard, cutting through where Lee Jaseung stood, all the way to the opposite wall.

Rumble.

The wall collapsed. And behind it stood a figure radiating immense presence.

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