Chapter 179: Lifting the Golden Seal (1)

“Tonight, when they let their guard down and fall into a deep sleep, we strike.”

“But, Division Leader, judging by how the Secret Beyond Secrets assassins were handled, I believe we should proceed with more caution.”

“This is a rare deployment for me. I brought over fifty elites from the Main Division. It’s all to win his favor. Money isn’t the issue here.”

The strategist, seeing the Division Leader who no longer considered any alternative plans, simply nodded.

There was no need for further words now.

“After we deal with these bastards, we’ll take care of the Blood Antler Serpent Group that’s been rubbing us the wrong way lately. The strategy isn’t for these men—it’s for the Blood Antler Serpent Group. Set the plan accordingly.”

“Understood, Division Leader.”

The strategist skimmed through the documents containing information on Yong Hwarin and then stored them away in his robes.

Since there was no need to devise a strategy, the information was no longer necessary.

The reason the strategist trusted the Division Leader was because, despite his brutish demeanor, he was a formidable force among the Three Demonic Absolutes.

His alias was Heaven-Cleaving Saber, and his name was Gu Hyeong.

Heaven-Cleaving Saber Gu Hyeong had gathered followers and formed the Grudge-Dissolving Unit, entering the assassin world himself.

Being from a once-eradicated assassin household, Gu Hyeong harbored ambition to unify the assassin world under his banner.

The only reason they managed to drive out Secret Beyond Secrets, which had reigned as the dominant force in the assassin world for so long, was because of Gu Hyeong.

If nothing else, Gu Hyeong was renowned for his immense cultivation power.

It was said that in his youth, he had a fortuitous encounter and consumed the Millennium Snow Ginseng, granting him cultivation power that surpassed three full Jiazi.

With that level of power, he should have easily earned a place among the Six Demon Clans, not remained within the ranks of the Three Demonic Absolutes. Unfortunately, Gu Hyeong lacked mastery in techniques, unable to match his own inner power.

Because of that, those in the demonic path derided him as Qi Above, Skill Below.

It meant he had high cultivation but weak martial techniques. The phrase came to widely refer to people with strong energy but inferior martial skills.

The strategist believed that no matter how exceptional Yong Hwarin was, there was no way he could stand against Gu Hyeong, and so he relaxed his mind.

Though they had hurried, they didn’t make it to the county and had to camp outdoors. Due to the battle earlier in the day against assassins, the tense atmosphere had eased, and the group began preparing to camp in a nearby clearing.

Once preparations were complete, the party went to sleep early.

It hadn’t been a large-scale battle, but fatigue naturally accumulated after any fight.

Even dissolving fatigue through qi had its limits.

Spending nearly a month on the road while training in martial arts had left them all with considerable exhaustion.

Half of the Ten Prodigies of the Heavenly Central Sect slept while the other half stood night watch, circulating their qi through Qi Circulation Training.

They always alternated like this, dedicating themselves to Qi Circulation Training.

Had they not done so, they never would have mastered Dragon Scale Finger in such a short period.

While meditating, Yong Hwarin stabilized his internal energy and opened his eyes.

The groaning of Seok Unjeong intermittently reached his ears, disturbing his focus.

Looking up at the sky, he saw the moon approaching full.

‘It’s time for Jeongmae’s Moon Yin Meridian Blockage to activate.’

Yong Hwarin headed toward the sleeping area of the Three Chivalrous Sisters.

Seok Unjeong was sleeping among them.

When the pain became severe, Yong Hwarin sometimes used his Tai Chi Dantian to alleviate her suffering.

Seok Unjeong had come to admire Yong Hwarin greatly because not even her own father had been able to ease the pain of her blocked meridians, while Yong Hwarin could.

Perhaps it was because her father had firmly asserted that no one in the world could reduce her pain with inner power.

As Seok Unjeong continued to groan and failed to fall asleep, Yong Hwarin decided to use his inner energy to relieve her suffering.

“Jeongmae.”

Seok Unjeong opened her eyes at the sound of her name.

“Sit up.”

Jeong Minji, who had also awakened from Seok Unjeong’s groaning, raised her upper body as well.

Judging by how everyone else remained fast asleep, it was clear Jeong Minji had been watching over Seok Unjeong.

“I’ll keep watch.”

Jeong Minji didn’t need to say this—her consideration was apparent and appreciated.

Yong Hwarin nodded and pressed his palm against Seok Unjeong’s Life Gate Point.

As he concentrated and tried to channel energy from his Tai Chi Dantian into her Life Gate Point, Yong Hwarin was suddenly startled.

Without warning, the Self-Revolving Inner Qi activated and rampaged through his blood vessels like claws raking his body.

‘So this Self-Revolving Inner Qi is causing havoc after all.’

“Ugh!”

Yong Hwarin suddenly trembled all over.

“Hwarin Orabeoni!”

Seok Unjeong cried out in alarm.

“Hwarin Orabeoni, what’s wrong? Are you hurt?”

Seeing Yong Hwarin display symptoms almost identical to her own, Seok Unjeong thought he was in pain because of her and burst into tears.

“Hwarin Orabeoni, I’m really sorry.”

“Ugh…”

Jeong Minji asked,

“Are you alright? What’s happening?”

Jeong Minji, unaware of the nature of the Self-Revolving Inner Qi, was deeply concerned about Yong Hwarin’s condition.

“Sometimes, the qi moves on its own like this.”

Knowing how dangerous that was, Jeong Minji was visibly shocked.

“Let me try guiding the qi.”

“No. That’s not something you can do. Ghhk!”

It was the first time she had seen Yong Hwarin’s face so contorted in pain.

‘Just hold on a little longer. Like when I fought Pil Gye-young back at the mountain keep… it’ll subside soon.’

But Yong Hwarin didn’t realize that every time the Self-Revolving Inner Qi activated, the duration of pain only grew longer.

As he focused all his mind to suppress it, a subtle, foreign sound entered his ear.

The rhythmic sound of human footsteps only intensified his pain, but also jolted him to alertness.

Because of the Self-Revolving Inner Qi, his mind had been too scattered to sense the enemy’s approach.

‘To have not noticed until they were within ten jang… these aren’t ordinary foes.’

Cold sweat trickled down Yong Hwarin’s spine.

It was too far to send telepathy to Mu Iso.

Gritting his teeth, Yong Hwarin sent a telepathic message to Jeong Minji and Namgung Yoo.

– Lady Jeong, the enemy is upon us. Wake Lady Namgung and the others quietly.

Yong Hwarin stood and walked calmly toward the area where the Ten Prodigies of the Heavenly Central Sect were resting.

With each step, his body jolted as if hiccuping.

Every movement of the Self-Revolving Inner Qi felt like his entire body was being torn apart.

But now was not the time to sit and suppress it.

“What? Enemies?!”

Jeong Daji, hearing Jeong Minji’s telepathic message, sprang up and shouted in her sleep-dazed state.

That instant, a tense silence spread—then killing intent spilled from the forest.

Swaeaeaeaeak!

Something tore through the air. She swung her sword at it.

Jjaeng!

A heavy impact reverberated through her hand.

It wasn’t a normal arrow—it was an iron arrow.

As dozens of iron arrows rained from the forest, Yong Hwarin shouted,

“Iron arrows! Don’t block—dodge them!”

The experience imbued in iron arrows made their speed and power incomparable to ordinary ones.

Even a master at the Peak level would find these hard to evade.

“Ghk!”

One of the Namgung Clan’s escorts was struck in the chest and stomach by an iron arrow and collapsed on the spot.

“Ack!”

Jeong Suji was hit in the thigh and quickly rolled beneath a carriage.

She had been trying to protect Seok Unjeong and Bukri Sogun, which led to her injury.

‘The Ten Prodigies of the Heavenly Central Sect are in danger.’

Half of the Ten Prodigies of the Heavenly Central Sect were performing qi circulation. If struck by the iron arrows, they could suffer internal injuries.

Yong Hwarin instantly flew toward their location.

Swaeaeaeaeak!

Iron arrows flew toward the Ten Prodigies of the Heavenly Central Sect.

Even though Yong Hwarin used movement arts, the arrows were faster.

‘Damn it!’

Yong Hwarin threw his sword.

A sword containing the essence of the Gentle Wind Flying Sword deflected three iron arrows that had been flying toward the Ten Prodigies of the Heavenly Central Sect.

Ttaeng! Tting! Chaeng!

After blocking three arrows, the sword fell to the ground.

Originally, the Gentle Wind Flying Sword could be retrieved, but it couldn’t withstand the accumulated force behind those three iron arrows.

Not only was the power of the iron arrows tremendous, but the Self-Revolving Inner Qi had also prevented him from properly controlling his inner energy.

“Haa!”

“Urgh!”

Recently, the Ten Prodigies of the Heavenly Central Sect had made rapid progress in their martial arts and had entered deep qi circulation meditation.

They were too relaxed now, so focused on their qi that they didn’t even notice enemies had arrived.

Yong Hwarin never imagined that another group of assassins would attack right after the last.

He blamed himself for lowering his guard after reviewing the memories of the previous assassins and confirming no others were nearby.

Two missed iron arrows pierced straight through the chests of the Ten Prodigies of the Heavenly Central Sect.

The ones who had already awakened and were blocking arrows couldn’t protect their fellow cultivators who were in the middle of qi circulation.

He saw Go Ram and Wi Sook collapse, coughing up blood.

Realizing that if they stayed still, they would all fall to the iron arrows, Yong Hwarin dashed into the forest to find the assassins firing them.

“Stop him!”

Someone shouted, seeing Yong Hwarin charging through the rain of iron arrows.

The barrage turned and focused on Yong Hwarin.

Yong Hwarin smiled.

Screeeeeeech!

As soon as I unlocked the Clairvoyant Eye Technique, the swiftly approaching iron arrows came into view.

I had already passed the Half-Breath State and entered the Flowing Stream Realm, eventually reaching the Time-Space Realm.

In the past, unlocking the Clairvoyant Eye Technique would only bring me to the level of the Half-Breath State, allowing me to steal half a breath from the opponent. But now, I had come to understand the flow and natural order, and within that, reached the point where I could see the very space itself—thus, the iron arrows were clearly visible to my eyes.

“That can’t be!”

The assassins who were firing iron arrows from atop the trees were aghast as they saw me evade them.

“He’s just dodging by chance, moving here and there! Don’t be startled—keep firing!”

It was widely known that only martial artists at the level of Murim Composition or above could evade iron arrows imbued with such experience.

The fact that I had evaded such iron arrows led them to believe I was at the level of a Murim Composition master, and so the assassins momentarily faltered.

I avoided the iron arrows while drawing a long needle and flicked it using Dragon Scale Finger.

Ping!

“Ghk!”

With a low groan, one of them tumbled from the tree as the long needle pierced squarely through his forehead.

I dashed about, targeting the direction the iron arrows were coming from, flicking my long needles as I went, and brought down seven of the assassins.

Sweat poured from my body like rainfall.

Because I was moving recklessly with the Self-Revolving Inner Qi activated, it felt as though my body was on the verge of rupture.

It was then—

A thunderous explosion echoed from where my companions were.

Boom!

I flicked a long needle at the last assassin firing iron arrows, then turned my body.

Thud!

A hidden assassin who had been drawing an iron arrow from atop the tree fell.

Another assassin on a separate tree froze momentarily when Yong Hwarin retreated, leaving him behind.

He was horrified as each time a hidden weapon was flicked by Yong Hwarin’s fingers, one of his comrades dropped dead.

They were all comrades skilled enough to avoid most hidden weapons.

Yet not only could they not dodge, they couldn’t even think to block.

By the time one thought Yong Hwarin had flicked his fingers, a comrade was already collapsing—faster than an iron arrow.

Moments later, the assassin spoke to the others in the forest holding iron bows.

“Let’s go. Aid the Division Leader and sweep away the enemy!”

The subordinates charged forward, but the assassin who locked eyes with Yong Hwarin remained frozen.

No—his feet wouldn’t move.

At that very moment, the intense killing intent in Yong Hwarin’s eyes severed the flow of his inner energy.

Two members of the Ten Prodigies of the Heavenly Central Sect were struck down and sent tumbling across the ground by the saber of Heaven-Cleaving Saber Gu Hyeong.

Mu Iso shouted,

“Form the sword formation!”

The remaining six members of the Ten Prodigies of the Heavenly Central Sect surrounded Heaven-Cleaving Saber Gu Hyeong.

Meanwhile, the Three Chivalrous Sisters, the escort warriors of the Namgung Clan, Do Gye-gong, and Oh Pyo-du were engaged in a fierce battle against the assassins.

As more than forty assassins stormed in, Yong Hwarin’s group, outnumbered, was steadily being pushed into a corner.

If the Ten Prodigies of the Heavenly Central Sect hadn’t been tied down by Heaven-Cleaving Saber Gu Hyeong, it might have been a winnable fight—but with their focus centered on him, they couldn’t overcome the numerical disadvantage.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep