Chapter 21 – Autumn Soul Assassination Sect (2)

“I don’t know anymore.”

Hwang An sighed as he looked at the collapsing front gate of Bright Sage Manor.

Before his sigh even ended, Jang Woo-hyun had already dashed through the broken gate and entered inside.

“Who’s there!”

“We’re under attack!”

A dozen or so swordsmen rushed out from the inside.

‘Their reaction isn’t bad.’

The ones holding swords generally had faint auras, which indicated that they had come to the right place.

Jang Woo-hyun canceled his Dispersing Mist Skill and revealed his energy.

At the same time, he expanded his qi senses to assess the surroundings.

“Autumn Soul Assassination Sect.”

At those words, everyone flinched.

The people surrounding him were more nervous than the one person surrounded.

“Is it right?”

No one could answer under his overwhelming aura.

Jang Woo-hyun confirmed for himself and came to a conclusion.

“It’s right.”

At the same time, he swung his sword, unleashing the Black Wolf Fang.

The warriors of the Autumn Soul Assassination Sect tried to block it with their weapons, but their weapons were cut in half.

Jang Woo-hyun immediately used Swift Sword and closed the distance to launch his attack.

One slash, one kill.

Each time his sword moved, one person died.

Even those who were late in rushing forward met the same fate as the Black Wolf Fang flew toward them.

Those who were charging had their upper bodies separated from their lower bodies in a single strike.

No one could stop him.

More were dying than those being added.

When two more joined, four died.

When three joined, five died.

One against a thousand.

He was like a general from legend who could defeat a thousand soldiers by himself, destroying an entire sect alone.

Not much time had passed, yet Jang Woo-hyun was the only one left alive in the manor.

“My word…”

Hwang An, who had followed him in, stood there with his mouth agape.

The brutality of his attacks wasn’t the issue.

He had grown stronger.

It hadn’t been long since they fought the Insect and Fire Monsters, yet he had already grown again.

‘Just how strong is he planning to become…’

Seeing the situation in front of him, Hwang An resolved to stay with Jang Woo-hyun no matter what.

Lim Jung-young’s judgment was wrong.

Even if it meant getting involved with the Asura Sword Sect, he had to maintain this relationship.

“Are they hiding inside?”

Jang Woo-hyun expanded his qi senses and felt it.

In the building right in front of him.

There were about ten people inside.

They weren’t moving and seemed to be waiting, as if inviting him to come inside.

Thud. Thud.

Jang Woo-hyun began walking toward the building, responding to their provocation.

It was obvious that something was prepared inside, but he didn’t care.

Clang!

He broke down the door to reveal a long hallway.

And a series of pillars along the hallway.

The building was much larger than it appeared from the outside.

He heard faint mechanical sounds coming from inside the pillars and floor.

‘Is it some kind of mechanical trap?’

Without hesitation, he took a step forward.

With his qi senses spread wide, he could detect the locations where the assassins were hiding.

He sent the Black Wolf Fang flying toward the pillar where they were hiding, and his body followed right behind the strike.

Then he strengthened his next step.

Horse King’s Third Step: Sovereign Ruling.

Boom!

The floor shattered, and a spiderweb-like qi wave spread out.

Creak.

Creak-

The mechanical devices that should have activated stopped working properly.

And then his next step.

Boom! Boom!

With more power than usual in his steps, the mechanisms were crushed, and the qi wave swept through.

A scene fitting of the name Sovereign Ruling.

Just by walking, he was ruling over this place.

When the devices failed to activate, the hidden assassins revealed themselves and charged.

Jang Woo-hyun used Shadow Serpent Coiling Sword, striking the nearby pillar with his empowered sword.

Then he unleashed a wave of sword qi toward the ceiling.

The roof shattered, and the falling pillars brought down the surrounding beams and tiles.

With his vision blocked by the debris of falling tiles and wood, he thrust his sword using Single-Heart Sword.

Thud! Thud!

One by one, the assassins fell, unable to even get through the debris before collapsing.

After dealing with all the approaching assassins, Jang Woo-hyun leaped upward.

Crash!

Breaking through the ceiling, he landed on the roof, where four swords immediately stabbed toward him.

Maintaining his balance, he spun his body.

A large circle formed, and with a single move, all the swords were deflected.

And then, the situation continued.

Slash!

The assassins of the Autumn Soul Assassination Sect were dying without even having the chance to properly cross swords.

Of the four that had attacked him, two were left, then one, and then none.

Their dismembered bodies rolled off the roof and fell to the ground.

It hadn’t even been a moment since he entered the building, yet all the assassins were dead.

Jang Woo-hyun shook the blood off his sword and slowly walked down from the roof.

Behind the building, there was a small training ground.

There stood five warriors.

“Who are you?”

The old man at the front asked.

“Jang Woo-hyun.”

“……”

The old man furrowed his brows as if he didn’t recognize the name.

It was a name he was hearing for the first time.

“He was the target of the young ones who went to Sichuan this time.”

The masked man standing beside the old man explained.

The old man gave a small nod and drew his sword.

“It was a mistake.”

They shouldn’t have accepted the request from the start.

Jang Woo-hyun, standing before them, was someone they would need the entire sect’s power to capture.

If they had known his strength, they wouldn’t have accepted the request.

The Autumn Soul Assassination Sect had survived until now by avoiding large-scale conflicts.

They had only taken requests against those they could handle, and against those without major backgrounds.

But one mistake had put their sect on the path of annihilation.

“Still, we must see this to the end.”

The sect had been utterly destroyed.

It would take at least twenty years to recover from this.

Even with their enemy before them, they couldn’t retreat.

And their opponent wouldn’t retreat either.

“Form the Autumn Soul Assassination Formation.”

At the old man’s command, the four warriors spread out and raised their weapons.

Of course, Jang Woo-hyun didn’t wait for them.

Boom!

He surged forward with internal energy exploding from his Yongcheon Blood Point and charged at the old man.

“……!”

The others hurriedly rushed to stop him, but Jang Woo-hyun was faster.

He aimed directly at the old man, who appeared to be the leader of the Autumn Soul Assassination Sect.

Crash!

The old man blocked his Shadow Serpent Coiling Sword but was sent flying backward, coughing up blood.

As Jang Woo-hyun advanced with Sovereign Ruling, the sword paths of the assassins charging at him were distorted by the rising qi wave.

He then drew his Silent Night Sword with his left hand.

‘Will it work?’

He wasn’t confident, as it was his first time trying it, but he decided to use it in real combat.

Raising both hands, he swung his swords, sending the Black Wolf Fang flying in both directions.

Boom!

The massive strike forced the charging enemies to retreat.

Though their skills were decent, they barely managed to block the Black Wolf Fang by combining their strength.

But that was all.

Jang Woo-hyun was already near the old man.

He dropped the sword he had been holding and gripped Silent Night Sword with both hands.

Wooooong.

The famous sword made of black iron hummed with energy.

The sword, filled with powerful sword qi, came crashing down toward the old man.

Clang!

This time, the old man couldn’t fully block it.

His sword shattered, and he fell to his knees.

His internal injuries were severe, with blood flowing from both his mouth and nose.

“Even if I ask who sent you, you won’t tell me, will you?”

“If I tell you… will I live?”

“As if.”

“This is my second mistake then. I should never have resisted.”

The blood-soaked old man smiled as he spoke, and with those final words, he was sliced in half.

“Sect Leader!”

The remaining four rushed forward, but they couldn’t block Jang Woo-hyun’s sword either.

Within a few breaths, all of them were cut down and lay on the ground.

Hwang An, who had followed him in, stood there with his mouth agape once again.

Even though the Autumn Soul Assassination Sect was small and weak in direct confrontations, a sect had been annihilated.

By a single person, in less than half an hour.

‘No, not even half an hour. I don’t think it even took that long.’

He wondered if this was truly the level of a master at the peak.

‘He’s not at the transcendent level, is he?’

If he had reached the supreme level, he would have been using Sword Force.

It didn’t seem like Jang Woo-hyun had reached that level yet.

‘Then… is he standing at the edge?’

Hwang An concluded with one thought.

Jang Woo-hyun was standing on the boundary between the peak and the supreme level.

If he found an opportunity to break through that wall, he would become a supreme master, a ruler of an entire region.

‘Is this what talent looks like?’

Were there not others in martial arts history like Jang Woo-hyun?

They definitely existed.

Geniuses, as they were called.

However, most of them were from large sects.

In contrast, Jang Woo-hyun didn’t even have a proper sect.

– A sect? Not really. I just picked up bits and pieces from here and there. Entering the Martial Arts Repository of the Demon Extermination Sect last time was a big help.

On the way here, Hwang An had subtly asked if he was from a mysterious sect that passed down secret martial arts, but it didn’t seem like that was the case.

Considering how casually he spoke about it, it didn’t seem like a lie either.

“If we search this place, do you think we can find the client?”

“Huh? Oh, the client? Hmm, who knows.”

Hwang An snapped out of his thoughts at Jang Woo-hyun’s question.

“If we search, we might find something.”

Jang Woo-hyun sheathed his sword and headed toward the largest building.

There was a small commotion inside, as a few people disguised as workers and servants rushed at him, but they were quickly subdued.

After letting out the ordinary workers and servants who didn’t know that Bright Sage Manor was part of the Autumn Soul Assassination Sect, only Jang Woo-hyun and Hwang An were left alive in the manor.

They searched the building but didn’t find anything significant.

During the search, however, Hwang An, who had some skill, found a secret passage in the sect leader’s bedroom.

Descending the stairs beneath the bed, they found an underground space.

It seemed to be quite large, with paths leading in various directions.

The two of them diligently searched the underground space and eventually found a safe in the innermost area.

“We need to open the safe, but there seems to be some kind of mechanism…”

Slash!

Before Hwang An could finish speaking, Jang Woo-hyun drew his sword and sliced through the safe door.

“Huh? What did you say?”

“…Uh, no. I thought there would be some mechanism, but I guess there isn’t. Well done.”

“You’re hopeless.”

Jang Woo-hyun opened the cleanly cut safe door.

“Wow…”

Gold bars, jewels, silver ingots, and promissory notes.

It was an enormous amount, likely gathered over a long time.

However, what caught Jang Woo-hyun’s attention wasn’t the wealth.

At the very bottom of the safe were several martial arts manuals that seemed to belong to the Autumn Soul Assassination Sect.

Secret Flowing Body Technique.

Hidden Shadow Steps.

Yin Wind Sword Technique.

Jang Woo-hyun’s eyes gleamed as he took the three manuals.

Then he searched the surroundings and began gathering the items in the safe.

“I’ll give you half of this.”

“Me, too?”

Hwang An was surprised, as half of this was still an enormous amount.

“Are you sure I should take this? Honestly, I didn’t do much, did I? I’m not that shameless.”

“What do you mean you didn’t do anything? You found this place and brought the information. You also found the underground space.”

“Is that so? That’s true. If it weren’t for me, it would’ve taken you ages to find the Autumn Soul Assassination Sect alone. I guess I did contribute.”

Hwang An laughed so broadly that his mouth almost reached his ears, and he approached to help Jang Woo-hyun.

The two of them transferred all the valuables from the safe into a large wooden box.

“Let’s head out for now. We still need to clean up outside.”

After leaving the building, the two of them gathered the bodies in one building and set it on fire.

They didn’t know if there were any survivors of the Autumn Soul Assassination Sect, but today, the sect had disappeared from the martial world.

With their certain rewards in hand, the two of them left the burning manor with the box.

* * *

“You want to go to an auction house?”

“More precisely, it’s an underground auction in Zhangsha, Hunan Province.”

“All of a sudden?”

“Think about the wealth we just obtained. What are we going to do with all of it? We can take it to the auction house and buy whatever we need. There might be good swords, elixirs, or even martial arts techniques available. What do you think?”

Elixirs didn’t interest him much, but the mention of good swords and martial arts made Jang Woo-hyun’s expression change.

Seeing that face, Hwang An clenched his fist quietly.

‘Got him!’

He had other schemes in mind.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep