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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: cyno
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“Ugh……”
With a groan, Namgung Soso woke up from unconsciousness.
Her head throbbed as if it were splitting, and she took a moment to recall her memories.
‘I was… in the middle of a martial arts duel with Geomhwarang……’
In her desperation to capture the masked man, she had forcibly drawn upon her innate energy.
She had used her innate energy excessively during the Great War of Righteous Blood, fighting alongside Namgung Bin, so only a sliver remained. But it was enough to push Geomhwa to the brink.
‘Right… I eventually forced Geomhwa to her knees……’
She had succeeded in knocking her down.
However, Geomhwa, clutching her scattered energy, stood up again.
At some point, she began to draw upon her own innate energy, just like Soso had.
After that… they clashed hundreds of times, both battered and bruised, and with the mindset of a decisive battle, they each struck a final blow at each other.
‘I don’t remember what happened after that……’
She didn’t need to ask anyone to know she had lost.
Unlike Geomhwa’s relatively unscathed body, her own bore a long wound stretching from her shoulder to her waist.
The wound didn’t hurt.
But the fact that she had ultimately failed to keep the masked man by her side left a bitter taste in her heart.
‘……This is no time to dwell on it. Where am I…?’
Snapping back to reality at the sound of weapons clashing, Namgung Soso looked around to assess the situation.
The first thing she saw was a broad back.
A back that closely resembled Namgung Cheolbin’s, who had always protected her.
“……!”
“Die!”
“Aaaah! My arm! My arm……!”
The owner of the back was the masked man.
His gray hair, now tinged with red, fluttered as he planted his left foot near her and Geomhwa, fending off the swarming enemies.
With each flash of his sword, screams and thunderclaps followed.
He was wielding a sword so fast it was almost invisible.
‘What… what’s going on……?’
But the lightning energy emanating from his sword felt strangely familiar.
‘Why… does it feel so familiar?’
There are countless sects in the world that use lightning energy.
But the masked man’s lightning energy felt somehow familiar.
No, beyond familiar—it felt welcoming.
So welcoming that it brought tears to her eyes.
Gulp-.
“Huh?”
While people fell like autumn leaves before her eyes, spraying blood, tears welled up in her eyes without her realizing it.
Knowing this wasn’t the time for tears, she tried to stop them, but they wouldn’t cease.
“You’re awake.”
A man’s rough voice pierced her ears.
It was the kind of voice one would expect from the madmen of the Blood Cult, but…
“Yes, yes…!”
‘Why does it… sound so good……?’
It was as if she had finally heard the voice she had longed for, and the corners of Namgung Soso’s eyes trembled with excitement.
“Stay still. The Lord of the Hangshan Sword Sect will take care of this soon.”
At his words, she snapped back to her senses and looked around more broadly. In the distance, she saw the sect leader facing off against a giant man, surrounded by dozens of Hangshan Sword Sect disciples.
But the sect leader will take care of it?
‘Then who are these people?’
The masked man stood tall and unwavering, protecting her and Geomhwa.
And around him lay over a hundred corpses, along with those clutching their limbs, groaning in pain.
There were no Hangshan Sword Sect disciples nearby—only the corpses of enemies and what seemed to be the remnants of a once-thriving forest of swords.
“Did… did you do all this alone?”
“I’ve stopped the bleeding. Rest now.”
Whoosh!
Splat-!
“Aaaah!”
Even as he spoke, Byeok calmly swung his sword, cutting down another member of the Wangsa Faction.
His movements were as light as stepping on an ant.
‘…But that’s no ant.’
Namgung Soso’s eyes widened as she briefly caught a glimpse of the man who had just died.
The man who had fallen to Byeok’s feather-like sword was none other than Wang Jicheol, the fourth-ranked warrior of the Wangsa Faction, known as the Heavenly Axe Guest.
He was the younger brother of Wang Sabang, the leader of the Wangsa Faction, and was infamous for killing one of the Hangshan Sword Sect’s elders before fleeing.
And yet, Byeok had killed him as easily as crushing an ant.
Moreover, the man himself seemed utterly unfazed by what he had just done.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
As if he didn’t know—or didn’t care—who he had just killed, he showed no concern.
“Who… are you?”
‘I knew he was strong, but…’
At the very least, he was a peak expert, someone who could easily take a place among the Twelve Supreme Masters if he emerged in the martial world.
“Didn’t you give my lady an order?”
“……What?”
“Since you lost to my lady, our business is now concluded.”
“Ugh…….”
“Just stay still for now. I’ll protect you until the Lord of the Hangshan Sword Sect finishes off the remaining enemies.”
“Ugh…….”
That’s right.
She had lost.
The anxiety and trembling she had forgotten came rushing back.
No matter how reassuring it was to have someone strong protecting her, she was still in the middle of a battlefield. Panic began to creep back into Namgung Soso’s mind.
‘What’s going to happen now…?’
Will I have to send Byeok away?
Will I have to live forever in this inexplicable mental illness, tormented by it?
‘No, no… that can’t happen……!’
There’s no other way.
He wasn’t even her subordinate to begin with. She had forced him into a duel under the pretext of martial arts, and she had lost.
“Ugh…….”
While Byeok struggled ahead, Namgung Soso wrestled with her inner demons, her heart aching.
—
Originally, the Hangshan Sword Sect held an overwhelming position as the dominant force in Shanxi Province.
All the righteous, unorthodox, and demonic factions in Shanxi secretly paid tribute to the Hangshan Sword Sect.
However, after the death of their sect leader, the Iron Dragon Sword, a peak expert, during the Great War of Righteous Blood…
His younger brother, the Hidden Dragon Sword, ascended to leadership, and the Hangshan Sword Sect began to decline rapidly.
Like most sects, they fell to the bottom of the Nine Great Sects.
They were now on par with rising new factions like the Taiyuan Zhen Family and the Wangsa Faction.
The Great War of Righteous Blood itself was structured so that the stronger martial artists fought on the front lines and died, so the current martial world was essentially made up of the dregs.
Of course, there were places like the Northern Shaolin, Southern Wudang, and the Namgung Family that had survived the Great War of Righteous Blood, but they were only a small minority with the highest martial prowess.
Given these circumstances, the current leader of the Hangshan Sword Sect, the Hidden Dragon Sword, was plagued by various issues.
He was angry that they were now paying tribute to the Wangsa Faction under the guise of “compensation.”
So, in an attempt to break this cycle—or rather, to test the waters—he decided not to pay the compensation. In response, the Wangsa Faction suddenly launched a preemptive attack.
As the saying goes, “A black knife doesn’t yield to others,” but drawing the blade first was truly barbaric.
But what could he do?
The current Hangshan Sword Sect was weaker than them.
‘I’m doomed……! I must have gone mad to pull the wolf’s tail……!’
The black-clad warriors of the Wangsa Faction poured in like a tidal wave.
Indeed, being a black-clad faction, they seemed to outnumber the Hangshan Sword Sect by at least tenfold.
No, not just tenfold—closer to a hundredfold.
“Damn it.”
If only the elders were still intact, it might have been manageable.
But two of the Hangshan Sword Sect’s three elders had gone mad after witnessing the horrors of the Great War of Righteous Blood, and the third had lost his life to the Wangsa Faction last year.
‘This is the end…! If only I hadn’t been so reckless……!’
For a moment, he held onto the hope that perhaps Bihwa could turn the tide, but when she didn’t appear, he abandoned such futile expectations.
As Wang Sabang approached, the Hidden Dragon Sword could only watch the carnage unfold, unable to move.
His third and second-generation disciples were dying before his eyes, but he, powerless, could do nothing.
“Hey, Sect Leader. How… have you been? Have you had any change of heart in the past few days?”
The voice that snapped him out of his panic was Wang Sabang’s wolf-like tone.
“Hey… Sabang… no, no, Lord Wang! Hero Wang! Master Wang! I was wrong! I must have gone mad and made a mistake!”
“Is that so?”
“I’ll pay! I’ll pay whatever you want! Just please stop! If this continues, we’ll all die!”
“Hmm, is that so? But what should I do?”
“Hey! Wang Sabang! What are you trying to do?”
Wang Sabang raised his sword high and swung it down with great force.
Whoosh-!
The sword energy that shot from his blade sliced through three Hangshan Sword Sect disciples in the distance.
“You should have said that sooner. Before I brought my men here.”
“Even if we’ve fallen, our sect is still one of the Nine Great Sects! Do you think you can attack one of the Nine Great Sects and get away with it?”
“The current Martial Alliance Leader… the Sword Sovereign, is too incompetent. Our faction leader said it might be worth a try. If the previous Martial Alliance Leader hadn’t been killed by the Blood Demon, this would have been impossible.”
“If it weren’t for the sacrifices of our sect and the Martial Alliance, you wouldn’t even exist! You’re truly ungrateful for the lives you owe us!”
“The Martial Alliance? The Hangshan Sword Sect? How strange, according to the information I have, wasn’t it the Sword Saint who drove out the Blood Cult? Along with the Divine Monk, the Jade Flower, and a few other elite forces? Even Bihwa under your command was one of them. You didn’t even participate in the war, yet you have a lot to say.”
“Kuh……!”
He had no retort.
Wang Sabang’s words were all true.
It was indeed the Sword Saint and the Divine Monk, along with a small group of elite martial artists, who had driven out the Blood Cult. He had been too busy tending to the dead sect leader and disciples at the time.
Just like the black-clad warriors of the Wangsa Faction now.
“Even the Sword Saint turned out to be trash. All that hypocrisy was calculated, they say!”
“Wang Sabang, you bastard…….”
“All the heroes are dead. The dragon known as the Sword Saint has fallen, and the tiger known as the Blood Cult has been torn to shreds and vanished. What remains is just prey for wolves and jackals. Like… you and me.”
“Heaven… will not forgive you……!”
“So don’t feel wronged. Being born a martial artist and dying by the sword is more common than you think.”
As the Hidden Dragon Sword conversed with Wang Sabang, the Hangshan Sword Sect disciples gathered behind him, gripping their weapons.
Looking at them, the Hidden Dragon Sword steeled himself.
‘Pull yourself together.’
He was the only one who could lead the disciples now.
“Oh ho, want to fight?”
‘I must lead them.’
“Well, that’s fine too. After all, you and I are both born martial artists.”
Live by the sword, die by the sword.
That’s what it means to be a martial artist.
With that mindset, he glared at Wang Sabang, who was approaching with his sword raised.
“Aaaah!”
“Boss! There’s a monster over there!”
“Everyone’s dead! Even the eighth and third-ranked warriors were killed in a single strike!”
The sudden cries of alarm made the Hidden Dragon Sword turn his head.
The next moment, his eyes widened.
“What… what is that……!”
What entered his vision was a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood, reminiscent of the Great War of Righteous Blood. And standing tall in the midst of it all was a masked man drenched in blood.
A masked man who exuded no aura, making him all the more terrifying.
“What’s going on! What happened! Why are they like that!”
Wang Sabang, uncharacteristically agitated, shouted at the top of his lungs.
However, overwhelmed by the sword-like aura of the masked man, no one dared to speak.
Even those who had been screaming while fleeing from the masked man fell silent, as if struck dumb.
“…….”
In that silence, the masked man was the only one to speak.
“Is it over?”
“……!”
“……!”
His appearance alone, drenched in blood, was intimidating enough, but the rough voice that emerged from his throat was utterly terrifying.
The combination made everyone present feel as if they were facing an asura from hell.
“Or… shall we continue?”
Just two words.
But they were enough to turn the entire scene upside down.
The Wangsa Faction members, as if entranced, began to lower their weapons one by one.
Even their leader, Wang Sabang.
The Hangshan Sword Sect, realizing that this display of defeat wasn’t directed at them, dared not step forward.
They could only stare at the masked man with a mix of unease and fear.
Wang Sabang’s mind raced faster than ever.
‘What… what should I do now?’
He had never heard of such a monster in the Hangshan Sword Sect.
No, even the sect leader seemed surprised by this man.
That meant he was a hidden expert who had lived in obscurity.
His white hair and voice suggested he was an old man… but whatever method he used, he was no ordinary person.
Even without the blood and corpses, the fact that a peak expert like himself felt such overwhelming pressure was something that couldn’t happen naturally.
‘Is he a hidden old monster?’
That seemed the most plausible hypothesis.
‘But why is this old monster helping us…… Ah.’
As Wang Sabang cautiously observed Byeok, his eyes caught sight of the two figures behind him.
Faces that Wang Sabang, well-versed in the notable figures of Shanxi, couldn’t possibly miss.
Bihwa Namgung Soso, her face panicked and her mouth trembling, and Geomhwa Jin Gayeong, leaning against her, fast asleep.
In the midst of this chaos, she was sleeping soundly—a testament to how meticulously the man had protected her.
“Hey… Great Hero……!”
Instinctively realizing that survival meant submitting not to the Hidden Dragon Sword but to the masked man, Wang Sabang forced a servile smile and addressed Byeok.
“Yes?”
“Great… Great Master! Old Master! Please spare me! I’ll do anything!”
Byeok, with a genuinely puzzled expression, asked a question.
“Why do you call me Great Master?”
Caught off guard by the unexpected question, Wang Sabang hesitated for a moment but quickly replied.
“Because… you’re strong…….”
“Does being strong make one a Great Master? Even after committing such slaughter?”
“Isn’t that… natural……? I’m sorry if I’ve overstepped!”
Wang Sabang had spoken without thinking, simply stating what he believed to be obvious.
But to Byeok, it was a thought-provoking statement.
“When I hid my strength and did good deeds, people called me a fool.”
“Huh? Someone called you a fool?”
“But when I revealed my strength and walked the path of slaughter, they called me a Great Master.”
Byeok was speaking to the world at large, but Wang Sabang mistakenly thought it was directed at him.
Thud-!
Wang Sabang, wondering when he had ever met such a person, fell to his knees.
His mind was racing, desperately searching for a way to apologize for his past misdeeds.
“I’m sorry! I’ll apologize right here! For all my past arrogance and recklessness! I’ll prostrate myself and beg for forgiveness!”
He banged his head against the stone floor, desperately trying to apologize.
He was even berating himself for things he hadn’t done.
‘I must have been blind to not recognize such a master! Wang Sabang, you’ve gone mad!’
In the black-clad factions, where hierarchy was everything, survival depended on keen instincts.
Wang Sabang, as the leader of the Wangsa Faction, prided himself on his sharp instincts.
‘A mistake… a mistake I can never make again……’
And yet, he had overlooked such a master, one who could easily rank among the Twelve Supreme Masters.
It was an unforgivable blunder, one that couldn’t be rationalized away.
“Great… Great Master? Will you accept my apology……?”
But Byeok had no interest in Wang Sabang’s internal turmoil.
His attention was solely on…
“I’m glad our lady is unharmed.”
Jin Gayeong.
“Yes! I’ll be forever grateful!”
Wang Sabang didn’t know whether Byeok’s “lady” referred to Bihwa or Geomhwa, but he didn’t show his ignorance.
He was too busy quickly organizing his men to retreat.
The Hidden Dragon Sword, still not fully grasping the situation, shouted, “Chase them down and kill them all!” but when Byeok retorted, “You do it,” he quietly shut his mouth.
And so, another day at the Hangshan Sword Sect, filled with much bloodshed, came to an end.
—
At the same time.
In Anhui.
A man and a woman, each carrying a famous sword and a treasured blade, were entering the Namgung Family estate.
They were the Sword Sovereign, the Blade Sovereign, and the Saber Sovereign, who had traveled a long way to inform the Sword Saint about traces of the Blood Cult.
“State your identities.”
A gatekeeper of the Namgung Family blocked their path.
“How dare this wretch ask who we are…….”
It was an unfamiliar treatment for the three Sovereigns, who were among the highest-ranking figures in the Central Plains martial world. The Blade Sovereign growled lowly.
“What’s so difficult about stating your identity?”
The gatekeeper didn’t back down and retorted rudely.
Strangely, he didn’t flinch under the pressure the Blade Sovereign was exuding.
“Has this one lost his mind? Have I been too quiet lately?”
“Whoever you are, I’m following the orders of our family head to guard the gates of the Namgung Family. If you want to enter, state your identity.”
The Sword Sovereign, sensing something amiss, quickly stepped forward and tapped the Blade Sovereign to mediate the conflict.
“Ahem, I am the Martial Alliance Leader, Cheon Seolryeong. Some call me the Heavenly Flower Sword Sovereign. This gentleman here is the Flame Heaven Blade Sovereign, Peng Guangwu, and this lady is the Saber Sovereign, the Dragon King of the Water. As proof, here is the Alliance Leader’s token.”
The Sword Sovereign took out a token from her pocket and showed it.
After checking it, the gatekeeper pointed inside without a hint of apology.
“You may enter.”
His attitude was as if he were looking down on the three Sovereigns.
“Let’s go.”
As they entered, the Saber Sovereign glared, but the Sword Sovereign tapped his side again.
– Something’s off. Don’t let your guard down. And don’t cause any trouble.
Though hot-tempered, the Blade Sovereign was still the Blade Sovereign, so he reluctantly nodded.
– It’s eerie. Is this the Sword Saint’s aura? For the atmosphere of an entire region to change because of one person’s mood… truly, he is the Sword Saint.
– We’ll see once we go in.
Exchanging secret messages, the three Sovereigns stepped inside the Namgung Family estate, only to gasp in shock.
The chilling aura they had faintly sensed outside now permeated every corner of the Namgung Family estate.
The Namgung Family, once the sun and sky of the Central Plains, now felt like a different place.
As they stood in shock, a white-haired man with slit-like eyes approached them.
A man they all knew well, resembling a white snake.
“White Serpent King? What are you doing here…….”
He was the former leader of the White Serpent Squad, the hidden blade of the Martial Alliance.
“That’s something you’ll have to hear from our family head. The family head was quite surprised to hear that the three Sovereigns had come.”
The White Serpent King’s snake-like tone sent a shiver down the Sovereigns’ spines.
Of course, they didn’t want to admit that they, the Sovereigns, felt fear, so they quickly shook it off.
But the lingering discomfort clung to them like a shadow.
“How did you know we were coming to see the family head?”
“The family head told me. He said the three of you would be coming soon.”
“Hmm…….”
They had come in secret, hiding their presence to inform the Sword Saint about the Blood Cult. Had their information leaked?
Or had the Sword Saint, with his unparalleled martial prowess, sensed their presence?
Whatever the case, it wasn’t a welcome situation for the three Sovereigns.
“I’ll take you to the family head now. Follow me.”
The White Serpent King turned gracefully and led them.
His back, though exposed, showed no openings—a testament to his skills as the former leader of the White Serpent Squad.
“Here, the family head is inside.”
The place they arrived at was familiar to the three Sovereigns.
The Namgung Family head’s office.
The last time they had been here was three years ago, but the atmosphere was much more sinister now. Still, it was unmistakably the office where the Namgung Family’s major decisions were made.
“Thank you for guiding us.”
“Then, I’ll take my leave.”
“Do so.”
Led by the Sword Sovereign, the three Sovereigns swallowed their saliva and entered the office.
Inside, sitting alone in the center of the room was……
“……Military Advisor?”
Namgung Bin.
“Where… where is the Sword Saint?”
“Why is the Military Advisor sitting in the family head’s seat…….”
Instead of the slender and elegant Namgung Cheolbin, the bulky and overweight Namgung Bin sat in the chair.
The former Military Advisor of the Martial Alliance during the war, who had devised countless brilliant strategies to drive back the Blood Cult.
“Alliance Leader, it’s been a while. Since the southern campaign of the Demonic Cult, right?”
Namgung Bin licked his lips and smirked.
He didn’t even rise from his seat.
“Mi… Military Advisor…… Where is the Sword Saint? Why are you sitting in that seat?”
The Sword Sovereign, who had come expecting to see the Sword Saint Namgung Cheolbin, asked in confusion.
“My elder brother is currently away. I’m temporarily acting as the family head.”
Namgung Bin lied without changing his expression.
A lie the three Sovereigns had no way of knowing.
“…Is that so? Hmm…….”
“Then… what do we do now…….”
“Indeed. Do we just wait here until the Sword Saint returns…….”
As the three Sovereigns whispered among themselves, worried about the Sword Saint’s absence, Namgung Bin offered them chairs.
“I don’t know what brings you here, but if you have something to say to my elder brother, you can tell me. I’ll relay it to him.”
With no other options, the Sword Sovereign nodded after a moment of hesitation.
“Hmm, alright. If it’s the Military Advisor, I can trust you.”
As the Sword Sovereign sat in the chair offered by Namgung Bin, she began to speak in a grave tone.
Though Namgung Bin quickly cut her off, forcing her to stop.
“Wait, before that, let’s all calm down. You all seem too tense. You there! Bring some tea!”
At his call, maids entered with four teacups and a teapot.
They handed a cup to each of the Sovereigns and one to Namgung Bin.
Then, they poured steaming hot tea into their cups, but the Sovereigns hesitated, holding their cups awkwardly.
‘No matter how close, never drink tea offered by others.’ A famous saying in the martial world came to mind.
“What’s wrong? Do you think I poisoned it?”
Seeing their hesitation, Namgung Bin smiled innocently and gestured for them to drink.
“We’re fine. We’ve been traveling for a long time, and our stomachs are a bit upset…….”
Feeling uneasy, the Sword Sovereign made an excuse to decline.
“This is… disappointing. To think I’m such a lowly person in your eyes.”
“I’m sorry, but please understand.”
“Hah, no, it’s fine. You’re all martial artists, so I understand. But it’s a shame to let it go like this…….”
Namgung Bin picked up the teapot and poured tea into his own cup.
The powder that had settled at the bottom came out, making his tea slightly darker than the Sovereigns’.
After pouring his own tea, he drank it in one gulp.
“See? Still don’t trust me?”
“Hmm… no, I think we’ve been too rude. We shouldn’t have doubted your goodwill.”
Finally, the Sovereigns glanced at Namgung Bin’s empty cup and drank their tea.
Gulp-.
The warm tea indeed began to soothe their nerves.
Watching them with a satisfied smile, Namgung Bin got to the point.
“So, what brings the three Sovereigns to see my elder brother?”
The Sword Sovereign spoke in a grave tone.
“Traces of the Blood Cult have been found.”
“Gasp! Is… is that true?”
Namgung Bin feigned surprise, exaggerating his reaction.
Of course, he was somewhat surprised.
About 30% of his reaction was genuine.
“We don’t know the details. We only found talismans and zombies in caves near Xi’an and Sichuan.”
“Please tell me more! If it’s true, we must send an investigation team immediately!”
“First, calm down. There were three male and three female zombies, and they were unlike any iron or active zombies we’ve seen before. They were stronger.”
“Can you list their characteristics?”
“They’re strong. But not just strong—they regenerate even when cut. And when we went back, all traces of the Blood Cult had been burned, so we suspect there are more hidden Blood Cult branches.”
“Hmm, I see. This is indeed a serious situation. What do you plan to do now? Shouldn’t we send an investigation team?”
As he asked, Namgung Bin leaned forward.
To the Sovereigns, it seemed like he was genuinely interested in the topic.
“We don’t know the Blood Cult’s intentions yet, so sending a team might just give them a chance to escape. That’s why we came to see the Sword Saint. If anyone knows how to handle the Blood Cult, it’s him. It’s better to let him take the lead.”
The Sword Sovereign’s explanation was persuasive, but Namgung Bin didn’t seem entirely convinced.
At first glance, he seemed like a devoted younger brother, genuinely concerned for his elder brother.
“My elder brother is too exhausted. It’s unreasonable to burden him again after all he’s done—driving out the Blood Cult, the Demonic Cult, achieving the greatest feats in martial history. Do you really want to pile more on him?”
The Sword Sovereign, feeling a twinge of guilt, hesitated.
“But what else can we do? Isn’t it natural to sacrifice the small for the greater good?”
She awkwardly laughed, trying to lighten the mood.
Namgung Bin smiled even more and asked.
“Do you even know where he is? My elder brother didn’t leave without reason. He’s exhausted.”
“Exhausted? The Sword Saint, exhausted?”
“Don’t you know? About his… ugly deeds. Since they’ve all come to light, of course he’s exhausted…?”
With a genuinely concerned expression, Namgung Bin cautiously brought up the topic.
Hearing this, the Sword Sovereign brightly smiled and responded.
“Don’t worry about that! Everything about the Sword Saint is a frame-up! The Divine Monk himself said so, so it’s as good as fact!”
The Blade and Saber Sovereigns also nodded with satisfied smiles.
“Re… really? Did the Divine Monk really say that?”
Namgung Bin reacted with surprise and a broad smile.
“Yes! I heard it clearly with my own ears! I can swear on the Primordial Heavenly Lord!”
Her laughter was pure, without a hint of deceit.
So pure that it was almost suspicious.
“Is that so? Truly… that’s……”
And then, in an instant.
A moment so brief it was a tenth of a snap.
In that fleeting moment, a tiger, the king of beasts, revealed its claws.
Crash!!
“Ugh!!”
A thick, boulder-like fist burst through the desk and slammed into the Sword Sovereign’s abdomen.
Her slender waist bent at a right angle.
“Not surprising at all.”
Namgung Bin’s face had turned into a chilling mask.
The face he wore when revealing his true self.
“What… what are you doing!”
“Military Advisor! What is the meaning of this!”
The two Sovereigns behind her, the Blade and Saber Sovereigns, jumped to their feet and shouted.
In their panic, they tried to gather their internal energy to unleash their martial power, but…
Fizzle-.
“Ugh……!”
“Kuh……!”
Instead of gathering, their internal energy scattered.
In that moment, Namgung Bin swiftly approached them.
Crash-!
He grabbed their heads with each hand.
Crack-!
“Aaaah-!!”
“Uuuugh-!!”
Unable to do anything, the two Sovereigns dangled in the air, their limbs flailing.
It was a helplessness unfamiliar to those who had achieved the title of Twelve Supreme Masters.
“Ugh……! Ugh……!”
Meanwhile, the Sword Sovereign, clutching her stomach, lay face down on the floor.
As Namgung Bin subdued the two Sovereigns, she tried to gather her internal energy, but…
Crack……!
“How annoying.”
Namgung Bin stepped on her head, pressing it into the stone floor, rendering her as helpless as the other two.
Perhaps due to the reverse flow of internal energy from the depths of her dantian, white foam bubbled from her mouth.
In the blink of an eye, Namgung Bin had subdued three of the Twelve Supreme Masters.
Amidst the chaos, he spoke calmly.
“I sent that man to the abyss, yet the world still tries to make him a hero.”
Licking his lips, a habit of his, he continued.
“I guess I’ll have to defy heaven’s will a bit.”
[Your Text Here]
