NOVEL ONLINE FREE Chapter 144
“Master! Urgent news!”
“Urgent news, you say? What is the matter?”
As Jin Mu-han was skimming through reports coming from all over Yunnan, Yeon-hong approached him with a troubled look on his face and knelt down before him.
“Apparently…the experts we recruited have been beheaded, and their heads are now hanging in the marketplace.”
“What do you mean by that?”
The quietness of the office was shattered by a loud noise as Mu-han slammed his fist on the table in anger. Sighing after seeing the table split in half, he called for a servant to bring a new one.
Once the situation had calmed down, he fixed his gaze on Yeon-hong.
“Explain in detail.”
“There are reports that the heads of the Three-Eyed Monster, Iron Sword Pursuer of Souls, and Devil of Poisonous Mountain are hanging in the marketplace.”
“What? Aren’t two of them among the pinnacles of martial arts? You mean all of them have been beheaded and hung for everyone to see?”
Confounded by the news, a bizarre laugh escaped from Mu-han’s lips.
‘How much effort did I put into recruiting these individuals!’
While it’s reasonable for first-rate masters to be loyal with the right incentives, recruiting the peak martial artists is extremely challenging. Given their high status everywhere, it requires a significant sacrifice to bring them under your command.
“If this is false information, there will be severe consequences. Ensure the authenticity of this report.”
“…It seems…according to information sent by courier, they are bringing the heads to the main hall.”
“Hmph.”
‘Could this be the work of an opposing force? Or just an act of revenge out of personal enmity? However, doubting personal vendettas feels somewhat unconvincing.’
While it’s common for martial artists to fight to the death over grudges, such situations usually involve individuals with similar levels of skill. Regardless of the Three-Eyed Monster’s abilities, cutting the heads off Iron Sword Pursuer of Souls and Devil of Poisonous Mountain presents a different story.
“Iron Sword Pursuer and Devil of Poisonous Mountain are among the best of the dark side martial artists; it’d be almost impossible for someone with mediocre skills to cut their heads off…”
“Currently, we’re in the process of sending out people to track them down, but our investigation is running into difficulties since the culprit seems to be skilled at erasing traces.”
“Spread the word among the recruited experts to be on guard. That is all.”
“Understood!”
As Yeon-hong exited the office, Mu-han looked out the window, unable to mask his growing unease. The city was bathed in the afternoon sun.
While he stared at the city, which he had partially conquered, Mu-han fell into thought.
‘This needs to be dealt with. Whether their aim is to weaken the power of the Blood Cult or not, this will create a significant obstacle in controlling Yunnan in the future.’
An individual capable of effortlessly killing top-notch experts.
‘They must be at least one of the best among the peak martial artists, or someone willing to resort to despicable means to eliminate their opponent.’
He intentionally ignored the worst possible scenario.
‘They couldn’t be a super-peak expert, could they?’
Super-peak experts usually have their reputations spread throughout Central Plains, making the probability of this low.
But still, what was Central Plains?
A place where, in times of great crisis, all sorts of mysterious figures emerge.
Places where an unknown super-peak expert might late-enter the martial world after secluding themselves in secluded mountains and valleys.
Considering those circumstances, the situation could be somewhat convincing.
‘This situation might call for me to intervene personally if it escalates.’
The changes within the Blood Cult.
If he stays silent, the attention of the elders in the Blood Cult would surely be on him.
‘High-level experts are dying, so why isn’t he handling it?’
Doubt breeds chaos, and chaos leads to division.
Given his hard work might be undone by these events, whether he likes it or not, he had to resolve this situation.
His power base was still not completely solid.
“…First, we need to determine who the culprit is.”
‘Could it be the Demonic Sect? Or an unexpected force?’
For now, nothing is certain.
While continuously brainstorming all possibilities, he began plotting.
Strategizing to deal with whoever is attempting to undermine his grand design.
——————-
“Uncle, I’m tired…”
“I understand you’re tired, but stay still for a moment.”
William wiped the blood off Hye-ryeong’s cheek with a cloth he’d brought. Hye-ryeong stood quietly, gazing at his face while he cleaned her cheek.
Unlike his usual demeanor, his eyes were half-closed.
“Deathmatch duels really are exhausting, aren’t they?”
“Of course. There’s nothing harder in this world than gambling your life.”
William casually responded while shifting his gaze to the corpse in the shadow.
‘That person was slightly higher in skill than Hye-ryeong, but lost by being distracted for just a moment. There’s a lot I can coach her on from this fight.’
Though they estimated Hye-ryeong could adequately handle someone slightly above her level, there were still some close calls.
‘She gained ample combat experience by fighting against pirates, but her inexperience against a true martial arts master is showing.’
The skills and techniques of ordinary pirates differ greatly from a seasoned martial expert trained in the Martial World.
A pirate who swings their sword clumsily is no match for a martial expert whose weapon has been honed over years.
Precisely because of this, William hoped Hye-ryeong would grow stronger through these life-and-death duels.
Because he won’t always be able to protect her.
At the very least, she needs to reach the peak stage. Ideally, achieving the super-peak stage as in the original story would ease his concerns. Thus, while mentally compiling what he needed to teach her, he addressed them one by one.
“Mulberry girl, clean up the body, and let’s leave.”
“Yes, sir.”
“I’ll help too…”
“You should rest over there.”
“Yes…”
Confirming that Hye-ryeong had wobbled and sat down near a stump, William pulled out a shovel from his back and started digging a suitable spot. A place out of sight and devoid of grass where the evidence could be easily concealed.
With ease, a space was soon dug, large enough to contain the headless corpse. He roughly pushed the body, which belonged to some Qing An Demon Lord or other, in the pit, quickly covered it with dirt, and began the process of camouflage.
Placing a few well-positioned pebbles and stones, he crowned the area with a bigger rock, making it difficult to spot any buried remains.
Wiping the sweat off his brow, William said with satisfaction,
“This is undetectable.”
“Is it really necessary to place a rock on top?”
“People rarely think to search underneath rocks.”
‘I would need to further disguise the areas where rocks were pulled from as well.’
Seeing that Mok-kyeong had wrapped Qing An Demon Lord’s head securely in a cloth, William slung it over his side.
“Let’s go.”
“Yes, sir. By the way, miss Hyeryeong…”
“I’ll carry her, don’t worry.”
“Yes.”
Gently hoisting Hye-ryeong, who was fast asleep, William led them away from the scene of the murder.
————————
“Hye-ryeong, what did you feel during yesterday’s fight?”
“Umm… It was extremely dizzying. My arms and legs got tangled…”
As she recalled yesterday’s battle, Hye-ryeong’s eyes cast downward with a look of deep thought. Observing her, I took a bite of the steamed bun I’d received from the waiter.
Mm, it’s delicious.
“Practitioners who fight unarmed typically rely on internal energy to power their attacks.”
Given that blades require protection with energy, it’s a natural progression. Hye-ryeong nodded in agreement with me and added her thoughts.
“Countless palm images were flying at once, so I had trouble deciding which one to block. I managed somehow, but transitioning from defense to offense was extremely difficult. If I hadn’t suddenly retreated…”
“I would have intervened.”
I’m raising her to be strong, not letting her die.
“Why did he do that?”
“…He probably had his reasons.”
It seemed somewhat inappropriate to directly say, ‘Your bosoms caught my eye and distracted me.’
“Anyway, when facing someone who uses palm techniques, keep three things in mind: palm shadows, fist energy, and palm winds. These three make up the core of palm techniques.”
Whether it’s fist techniques or palm techniques, unless you’re at a first-class level, you’ll have difficulty combating someone with weapons.
This is because, fundamentally, the human body consists of skin and flesh, and no matter how well trained, it will always have this limitation. Thus, those who use internal energy to enhance their fists or palms focus their training on their internal power.
The more energy they channel through their fists and palms, the stronger they become against weapons and the more powerful their techniques.
For example, the Wu Tang Finger Palm Technique or the Beggar Sect’s Dragon Subduing Eighteen Palms.
Both of these are time-tested and require significant cultivation of internal energy before their full power is revealed.
Many lower-level palm techniques employ shadow palm maneuvers to hide their actual technique.
“Protect the fists with internal energy, obscure the real movements with palm shadows, and then attack with palm winds. Most palm techniques use some variation of this method because it’s efficient.”
“Ugh, I know it intellectually, but it was still so difficult. It was also hard to keep counterattacking while trying to block their palm techniques.”
“Those are things that improve over time.”
“Listening to your explanation, Uncle, it all seems to make sense now!”
“Then it’s a relief.”
“But… can you reach the peak level through these life-and-death matches?”
“There’s no better teacher than actual combat.”
Martial arts, after all, are meant for combating others.
Martial arts without practical application is nothing more than gymnastics.
“I’ll work hard!”
“If you have questions, feel free to ask. I’ll explain what I can.”
Just then,
The sliding door opened with a sound, and Mok-kyeong appeared.
“Sir, it seems the Blood Cult is starting to move.”
“Is that so?”
“Also… We’ve confirmed the location of the Ghost-Faced Killer.”
This is progressing smoothly again.
“So it seems we still don’t have complete control over the recruited experts.”
I smiled in satisfaction as I stood up from my seat.
“Hye-ryeong, prepare yourself; you’ll be fighting again.”
“Yes!”
Ghost-Faced Killer.
One of the wanted demon kings with a bounty on his head.
We’ve chosen him as our next target.