Reincarnated Sword Ghost

Main Headquarters

The central channel bisecting his meridian shook violently.

With an immediate movement of his foot, true ki raced through his body like a bolt of lightning.

The quantity was so great, the meridian expanded almost explosively.

For any ordinary martial artist, that alone would have caused them to lose consciousness.

But for Jeong-un, it was more than enough.

By now, even calling his meridian "resilient" would be an understatement; it was so solid it could easily withstand it.

With his tremendous internal power, he pressed his foot down, and the energy concentrated as if piercing into the Yongcheon acupoint.

Thud—!

The instant his sole touched the ground, waves of bursting energy rippled out.

It was Powerless Steps.

For a moment, the surrounding air trembled as if shaken.

Even the colorless waves of true ki affected the wind as they passed.

"Ugh!"

"Argh!"

It wasn't only the air that was affected. The guys who surrounded him in layers were impacted as well.

With shocked faces, they all stared at Jeong-un. Some clutched their chests, as if suffering internal injuries.

Faces of men who realized they were facing a tremendous expert.

Not one of them hid their fear; every expression revealed it clearly.

'Don't make me laugh.'

Unconsciously, Jeong-un frowned.

These were the kind that fed off people's blood and flesh to cultivate their martial arts.

They made no distinction regarding their victims. Even ordinary citizens, not just martial artists, were their prey.

'Those bastards...'

He didn't want to weigh the value of human life.

He never had—he, too, was just a human who would one day cross the river of death.

Even so, they were different.

There was a certain line that must not be crossed by any human being—and seeing those who trampled it so brutally display such vivid human emotions on their faces infuriated him.

Saaaak—!

Powerless Steps was a martial art that disrupted an opponent's flow of internal energy with waves of true ki.

He'd once completely nullified the Union Leader's direct disciple's footwork technique with it.

But now, it was different.

His martial arts realm had reached a new level.

He not only stopped their next move, but it actually shocked their insides.

The guys who tried to release ki at that moment would have their bodies thrown into disarray.

Jeong-un swung his sword broadly in full view. Surrounded and under focused gazes.

And yet, nobody reacted.

They stood frozen, eyes wide open, as the sword strike's bursting energy swept toward them.

Slaaash—!

The sword strike's enhanced energy sliced an enormous distance in an instant.

Anything in its path, whether person or object, was mercilessly severed.

It was a slash unleashed with tremendous cultivated power.

His vision, once blocked by thick old trees and silhouettes, became clear.

People, weapons, trees, rocks—all were split and collapsed onto the ground.

Ta-ak.

He slipped right through the opening. His eyes instantly took in the new scene.

The next move formed in his mind as if stabbed in. He charged straight, plunging deeper into the enemy's formation.

"Gah!"

"Urgh!"

Through all this, he swung his sword relentlessly, releasing sword strikes with monstrous speed.

In this moment, he was the incarnation of death—every hand that reached out took a life.

After all, the goal of this mission was to draw all attention to himself.

This was different from having no ambition for merit.

The more the focus was on him, the easier things would be elsewhere.

He was simply using his strength to do his job as best he could.

Most of all, these bastards had sown all manner of evil upon this land.

Since they were swarming before his eyes, it was only right to root them out.

As a martial artist, when else would he display the skills he had honed?

Right then.

Some distance away, he spotted several guys thrusting their hands into their robes.

He recognized the movement immediately, having already fallen victim to it once.

Flaash!

He surged at them, cutting down those in his path with a slash.

His lightness skill never faltered. It was just like sweeping away annoying obstacles.

Saaaak—

His step infused with the secrets of Moonlight Swift Steps, he shot forward.

The rapid movement and swirling sword strikes created a whirlwind, engulfing the surroundings; some even squeezed their eyes shut against the impact.

"That, that lunatic!"

The group who tried to reach inside their robes panicked.

Their motion lasted only a brief instant, yet suddenly, space itself seemed to fold—Jeong-un appeared before their very noses.

Flaaash—!

A flash of the sword lit up.

It was so quick, no one saw the trajectory.

In the next moment, half the necks were already flying through the air.

Fwoosh!

At that moment, Jeong-un was preparing his next move.

There were still enemies with fire bombs hidden in their clothes.

Their moving hands showed tense veins as they manipulated true ki for the throw.

'Troublesome.'

They were trained solely to throw the fire bombs.

From the unbalanced flow of ki in their shoulders and elbows as they moved, it was evident.

Fortunately, he was alone deep within enemy lines right now.

Had these fire bombs gone off amid a chaotic melee, the resulting damage would have been catastrophic.

He moved again with Moonlight Swift Steps.

In one instant, he had to cut down every last one. If not, the fire bombs would explode.

Their hands were now nearly fully drawn from within their robes.

'Before those hands are fully extended...'

At that thought, true ki flared like a flash of light.

Now accustomed to new meridians, he shifted his body's center to waist and wrist.

Sword, body, and movement blended into one seamless attack.

The internal power circulating inside him now dashed to the sword's tip, producing tremendous recoil.

He used that force to slice the sword horizontally.

It was Traceless Flash.

Brilliant―!

A white flash blazed before his eyes, like lightning itself.

Although the sun was high overhead, the glare made his brows furrow.

Thud.

Where that flash had swept by, dozens of enemies—hands still inside their clothes—collapsed in two halves, cut clean through.

"Insane!"

"H-how is this even possible...!"

They didn't even see him swing the sword.

In the blink of that light, dozens of figures turned to corpses. It could only look bizarre.

At that moment, Jeong-un licked his lips bitterly.

'Still...'

Traceless Flash certainly created tremendous recoil.

His shoulder and elbow ached from the blow.

It was only natural. His martial status had risen, so too had the technique's power.

Wooooah—!

At that moment, a huge roaring shout came from far away—echoing from high on the mountain.

Reinforcements were coming.

'They said thousands.'

Even a glance told him there were many.

The arriving enemies split, streaming across the foot of the mountain.

Many were still headed his way despite dispersing.

"Reinforcements are here!"

"It's our chance—kill him!"

"He must be tired now!"

The surrounding men, who stood frozen with open mouths, now began to shout and scramble.

All eyes shifted to Jeong-un, still standing with his sword lowered.

They exchanged glances, forging resolve together.

"Come as many as you like."

Come, all of you, Jeong-un muttered, flicking the blood off his blade.

There was no way he was tired. His body was still uninjured and whole.

Right now, his body was full of enormous internal energy.

He no longer worried about expending true ki even after unleashing Traceless Flash.

The battle had gone on for quite a while, yet he still felt at full strength.

But he couldn't let his guard down. He had already paid dearly for letting it happen once before.

These men wielded so many fire bombs, tossing them without hesitation.

He had to react sensitively to even the smallest of motions.

As the reinforcements surged, he was surrounded again.

"Rush him all at once and stab him with blades!"

"His cultivated energy must be immense—cut him in half and suck his blood dry."

"Even the dead—grab his ankle and hold him down!"

Perhaps relying on their increased numbers, they spoke crudely in front of him.

Their confidence grew with their reinforcements and belief that he was exhausted.

Then something caught Jeong-un's eye—the corpses of the men he'd just cut down.

Ta-ak!

He prodded a corpse with his foot, sending it flying toward the heads of the enemy.

"...?"

The corpse soared lightly over dozens of heads—a completely sudden move.

The enemies reflexively tracked it with dazed eyes.

Saaaak!

And then, once again, a flash burst forth toward the corpse in midair.

Boom—!

With a tremendous roar, the corpse exploded in the sky. The concussion swept away nearby enemies.

He had precisely detonated the fire bomb hidden inside the corpse's robe.

"Argh!"

"R-run!"

"He's detonating the fire bombs!"

The cries and chaos erupted all at once.

Another corpse flew through the air—this time, its position differed, landing atop those killed first.

KABOOM!

Dozens of fire bombs, still held by the dead, exploded in succession, sending up a massive column of dust.

It was utter disaster.

"Argh!"

"Ugh!"

Those near the blasts were swept away by the explosions, or buried in landslides triggered by the concussion.

It was disaster—a battlefield no longer.

In an instant, the swords these men once wielded to act superhuman before commoners became useless chunks of iron.

Those who had boasted, wielding even a modicum of true ki before peasants, now faced terror as their blades became worthless.

They began to flee.

Fwoosh!

Jeong-un pursued, swinging his sword relentlessly.

With a few strides, he closed the distance, intent on slaying those fleeing up the mountain.

Extending his ki sense far and wide, he felt his allies' ki waves.

Each was busy with their own mission, slaughtering the enemy and advancing quickly.

'I have to draw even more attention.'

Only then would his comrades succeed more easily.

He needed to keep the enemy reinforcements coming his way, making it easier for the corps leaders to move.

The mission would only end once the enemy's ringleader was dead.

When he reached deeper in—

At last, the enemy's main headquarters spread out in his field of vision.

'Madmen.'

He'd heard they'd made it into a village, but he'd been wrong—it was a city.

Its entire population was a cult, madly obsessed with one thing.

In the city center stood a massive statue, carved so vividly it seemed alive.

The gigantic statue seemed ready to move at any moment.

He could guess who it represented. Most likely the Blood Lord, the enemy's leader.

Every pavilion in the city was positioned facing the statue in a huge circle.

One could feel the obsession and devotion with just that arrangement.

KABOOM—!

Suddenly, on the far side of the city, waves of vital ki exploded as groups clashed.

Battles raged everywhere. As he expected, Jeong-un wasn't the only one to have made it this far.

Slash!

As he cut down another attacking enemy—

"So this is the madman I heard about."

A calm voice rang out, unfitting for the chaos.

Ki was infused into the words, carrying clearly as though meant only for him.

He turned—and saw a middle-aged man in crimson robes. Not young, with a rolling, weird energy and even red-tinted pupils.

The moment Jeong-un faced him, he understood. This one had bypassed even Jeong-un's ki sense and drawn near.

'High Priest.'

He was a level above any enemy Jeong-un had slain so far.

The previous High Priest Jeong-un killed had claimed he was a leader equal to the great sect masters.

Jeong-un had dismissed it, of course.

You only truly know a martial artist's level with blades crossed, but even by the presence they exude, you can gauge them.

And so—

The man before him was definitely an expert.

"You certainly don't seem sane. No matter how sudden the assault, to come here all alone..."

It wasn't just this man's voice.

Next to him stood another figure, slightly younger—a man radiating a ferocious murderous aura that pricked at the skin.

He, too, was a High Priest.

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=

Damn, 2v1?

【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】