Chapter 11

“They’ve completely lost their minds.”

“……”

“The Long Sword Sect? I’ve never heard of such a sect in my life—have they grown powerful enough to put on this kind of display?”

“……Are you mocking the Long Sword Sect right now?”

“I’m mocking you because you deserve to be mocked. Stop using half-baked fame as your shield. It’s thoroughly pathetic to watch.”

“……”

“I will say this only once, so listen carefully. First, vomit up every single penny you’ve leeched from Ya Woon-sang up to now. Second, lift your control over this place.”

The man let out a scoffing laugh.

“This is ridiculous…… Has the Branch Master of Seol-ap eaten something wrong? Have you gone mad?”

“Is that a refusal?”

“Isn’t that obvious?!”

“Then so be it. The ‘one hundred thousand gold taels’ you’ve taken from us—I’ll make sure to collect it myself.”

“……What…… What?!”

Hearing such an absurd, unrealistic figure made the man’s mouth drop wide open in utter disbelief, but it did not matter to me.

I already had Ya Woon-sang’s ledger, and I could fabricate whatever I needed.

That would serve as a pretext, and it would give us a reason to fight.

From that point on, I simply had to do what I always did.

That’s right.

As I always had.

Flash Void Needle Technique (閃虛一針術).

Drawing the Cold Ice Flying Dagger (Hanbing-visu) from my waist, I thrust it forward with lightning speed.

Puuuk—!

It plunged deep into the man’s side.

“Keo-hook……”

Wrenching it out, I flipped my grip into a reverse stance and drove it straight into his throat.

His eyes quivered violently.

He was begging for his life with his eyes, but I had already given him a chance.

Not once, but multiple times.

If he failed to take even that, it was no different from asking to be killed, and I intended to grant his wish.

I twisted the dagger.

With a sickening crunch, his neck snapped.

The moment I pulled the dagger free, he collapsed onto the ground like a broken puppet.

Only then did the martial artists of the Long Sword Sect occupying the Cheongreung Mine grasp the gravity of the situation and begin rushing toward us.

Sheathing the dagger back at my waist, I drew the Snow White Sword (雪白劍).

I noticed the branch members behind me attempting to draw their own swords as well.

“Stop. Do not draw your weapons.”

“……Pardon……?”

“Watch closely. This is the first stance of the Heaven-Slaughtering Wolf Star Formula—Solitary Host Traverses the Heavens (獨群行天).”

I looked straight ahead. I saw two martial artists rushing toward me. True to the name Long Sword Sect, they wielded massive longswords, but their level was painfully lacking.

They were merely at the Heavenly Circulation Realm (Jucheon-gyeong).

Gripping my sword, I charged forward. My Dantian squirmed, and my Internal Energy began to surge in an instant.

There was no need to draw upon the Qi of Void and Mystery.

For opponents of this caliber, normal Internal Energy was more than enough.

My Sword Qi amplified. Encircling the blade like faint moonlight, it sharpened into frost within a heartbeat.

As I swung, the Sword Qi split into dozens of strands, swarming over the two martial artists.

Seo-geo-geo-geo-geok—!!

Ignoring the two men as they were shredded to pieces, I spoke in a calm, steady tone:

“The essence of Solitary Host Traverses the Heavens lies in splitting a single line of Sword Qi into dozens. When you master it, every single divided strand of Sword Qi will carry uniform power.”

This time, three martial artists were charging at me. Behind them, two more could be seen. Five in total.

Gazing at the three upfront, I held my sword horizontally.

Slowly, I drew together the frigid energy lingering in the empty air.

“The second stance—Solitary Cry Beneath the Moon (月下嘟天).”

Without hesitation.

I swung.

It was a single strike, yet it unleashed forward like a wolf howling at the moon, and the unleashed Sword Qi detonated all at once.

Kwa-roo-roo-roo-roong—!!

In an instant, the three martial artists were reduced to a bloody pulp.

The two martial artists rushing behind them finally realized what was happening and froze dead in their tracks.

They were filled with terror, but it was meaningless.

“Solitary Cry Beneath the Moon may look like nothing more than rising Sword Qi that explodes on the surface, but it is not. Exploding the ambient energy in the air from the starting point until it touches the destination—that is the core. If you can freely control and even amplify the energy to be detonated, it can be considered complete.”

A sound resembling awe escaped from behind me, but I paid it no mind.

The Heaven-Slaughtering Wolf Star Formula consisted of three stances.

Kicking off the ground, I lunged toward the two martial artists who were hesitating in fear.

“This can be called the true essence of the Heaven-Slaughtering Wolf Star Formula. The third stance—Cold Star Piercing the Void (寒星破空).”

I detonated every last drop of Internal Energy in my body.

A immense amount of energy scattered across the night like stars before gathering back into a single point.

Lightly swinging the sword wrapped in that power—

The Long Sword Sect martial artist raised his sword to block, but—

Seogeok—!

His sword was split in two along with him, and Kwaaaaang—! Everything touched by the blade exploded.

Spinning my body with the momentum, I thrust the sword forward.

“W-Wait a minute……”

Into the neck of the begging martial artist—

Puuuk—!

The sword plunged in, and soon after, Kwaang! His neck region exploded.

Blood drenched my body.

Flicking the blood off my blade with a gentle stroke, I turned my head back.

“Cold Star Piercing the Void—the core lies in gathering the surrounding ambient energy and the Dantian’s Internal Energy into a single point before detonating it. It appears simple, but it is the most difficult and unpredictable of the three stances.”

The reason was simple.

In the case of Solitary Cry Beneath the Moon, it exploded everything along the trajectory of the sword, inevitably causing the energy to disperse.

Hence, its power was naturally diluted. However, Cold Star Piercing the Void concentrated condensed energy onto a single focal point before bursting.

The sheer destructive power could not be compared. Furthermore, by detonating it upon contact or right before contact, it could also be utilized in the same manner as Solitary Cry Beneath the Moon.

From an enemy’s perspective, it was agonizingly difficult to deal with.

Because its applications were endless, the Heaven-Slaughtering Wolf Star Formula—despite consisting of a mere three stances—was classified as a Heaven-Earth Grade martial art.

Wiping the blood off my face, I continued:

“As is typical, once you reach the stage of mastery with a core stance of this level, you can unleash power that far surpasses the realm you currently occupy. Against powerhouses of the Five Realms of the Martial God, such amplification might be meaningless due to the nature of the opponent, but it certainly works against martial artists within the Four Realms of Heaven and Earth.”

Sheathing the Snow White Sword back into its scabbard, I added:

“Every martial artist, upon reaching a certain realm, shares a common dilemma.”

Cheon Pung asked:

“……What is that dilemma?”

“How to draw out the maximum possible power from within that realm.”

“……”

“The Heaven-Slaughtering Wolf Star Formula provides the answer to that question for martial artists up to the Four Realms of Heaven and Earth.”

“……”

“It consists of merely three stances, but depending on how you use them, modified variations can be born. These three are the foundation and the completion, yet they are merely three techniques created by a single man.”

“……”

“Keep this in mind. Do not let yourselves be consumed by martial arts. How you use that martial art and which path you walk is entirely up to you. Martial arts are a tool. If you commit the mistake of letting yourselves be consumed by a mere tool, you will regret it for the rest of your lives.”

“……Th-Thank you! Thank you very much!”

I turned around.

There were twenty martial artists of the Long Sword Sect occupying this mine in total.

Since six had died by my hand, fourteen remained.

“Now, practice.”

“Practice…… you say?”

“I see roughly fourteen targets over there.”

From somewhere, the sound of someone swallowing hard could be heard.

One of the Long Sword Sect martial artists screamed:

“Please spare us! We will never set foot near Seol-ap again!!”

I ignored him.

“Kill them all.”

The eyes of the branch members turned clear and sharp.

If one was a martial artist—a martial artist with even a shred of intellect—they would realize that every word I spoke was of immense help to their growth.

The branch members had at least that much sense.

With unwavering eyes, they shouted in unison:

“Understood!!”

The five branch members charged forward, and a storm of blood began to brew across the mine.

I quietly observed the scene.

Seol-ap was my land.

Presumptuously talking about controlling it or not……

I intended to collect a fair price from those who had acted this way up until now.

If you have been wronged, it is only natural to pay it back.

Gratitude and grudges were more important than anything else.

Grace with grace, and grudges with grudges.

To turn a blind eye to that makes one unqualified as a human being, let alone a martial artist. No matter how many crazy things I may have done, I lived as a human being.

And I intended to continue living that way.

This was my way of life.

It did not take long to slaughter every single martial artist of the Long Sword Sect.

To begin with, all the branch members of Seol-ap were martial artists at the Heavenly Circulation Realm (Jucheon-gyeong).

Now, they possessed a top-tier Heaven-Earth Grade mind formula and wielded a Heaven-Earth Grade martial art.

In my assessment, Cheon Pung possessed the comprehension to smoothly ascend to Five Flowers Converging at the Crown (Ogi-jowon), while the rest varied.

Among them, ‘two’ were particularly impressive:

A man of slender build, and another who was slightly larger but similarly lean.

If I remembered correctly, their names were Won Yang and Han Mu-rin.

Judging comprehensively from their combat demeanor, movements, and how quickly they absorbed and embodied martial arts, those two seemed capable of reaching the Four Realms of Heaven and Earth.

At any rate—

Against martial artists of the same Heavenly Circulation Realm, their victory was guaranteed. And if they did not lose concentration, they had a 30% chance of victory against someone in the Sunshine Two Manifestations stage.

There was a reason why people desperately searched for high-tier martial arts.

It was all for a good reason.

Looking forward—

The five blood-drenched branch members were gazing at me with resolute eyes.

It was great that they were filled with confidence, but—

“Do not be complacent.”

“……”

“There is a saying about putting a pearl necklace on a pig. No matter how great the martial arts, mind formulas, or weapons you possess, if there is a flaw in the person wielding them, it is all useless.”

The five swallowed hard. This was advice I had to give as their Branch Master and as the person who taught them martial arts.

“Know the size of your own vessel. Clearly distinguish between what you can and cannot do, and if your strength is lacking, ask those around you for help. Do not harbor arrogance until it seeps into your very bones, only to regret it when it is too late.”

Cheon Pung, who had been listening quietly, spoke up:

“Branch Master…… I hope you will ask us for help as well.”

“Me?”

“Yes.”

I let out a smirk.

“At your current level, you cannot guard my back.”

“……Then, to what level must we reach?”

“Who knows. You would need to reach at least the Four Realms of Heaven and Earth to even step on my shadow.”

Looking at them as they blinked in surprise at my words, I quietly took a step forward.

“Devote yourselves to cultivation, and follow me.”

“Yes!”

Where I moved was toward the entrance of the Cheongreung Mine.

Roughly fifty people were gathered there, trembling in fear—porters and miners.

And behind them sat a substantial stash of Cold Spirit Jade Crystal.

It had clearly been mined from within.

“Who is in charge here?”

At my words, a trembling middle-aged man stepped forward.

“Name and affiliation.”

“……I am Yang Deok-soo of the Sangji Merchant Group.”

“Are you the Chief Manager?”

“……Yes.”

“Then who are those people behind you?”

“……They are miners…… and porters hired by our Sangji Merchant Group……”

The Sangji Merchant Group.

Frankly, it was my first time hearing of it.

Cheon Pung stepped closer and whispered in a low voice:

“It is a merchant group from Yangryeong County. The head of that merchant group comes from the Long Sword Sect.”