Chapter 49
"You must have a lot of nerve! For the likes of the Hao Sect to dare invade the headquarters of our Three Souls Hall!"
With a chilling darkness filling the abandoned mine, fourteen Three Souls Hall members surrounded Jaseong closely.
Anyone could see Jaseong was at a disadvantage.
Unfortunately, he was alone.
Even without their leaders, each member of Three Souls Hall was a recognized expert in their own region.
With fourteen such experts present, how could Jaseong not be at a disadvantage?
However, despite this overwhelming numerical inferiority, Jaseong did not even twitch an eyebrow.
'Death Gate, wounds Gate, open.'
KWAAAA!!!
When Jaseong activated the Celestial Gate Opening Art up to the Death Gate, an overwhelming burst of energy erupted from his body.
Thanks to the Humanoid Ginseng, his internal power had been amplified and the might of the Celestial Gate Opening Art increased as well.
His energy vibrated the entire abandoned mine with a thunderous rumble.
Because of this, the fourteen Three Souls Hall members involuntarily flinched their eyes.
'An expert...!'
'Of all times, the leaders are out tracking down the White-haired Blade Elder!'
All fourteen members gathered their internal power.
Among them, several let sword force, a signature of matured 1st-rate experts, surround their blades.
But just then—
Flash!
Suddenly, a flash swept past the eyes of the Three Souls Hall members.
In the next instant—CHUAAAK!—one member spurted a blood fountain and collapsed.
"W-what was that just now...?"
A member shouted in a trembling voice.
None of the members at the scene had caught Jaseong's movement properly.
Jaseong's speed, therefore, was overwhelming.
But it was not just his speed that was overwhelming.
"You brat!!"
Furious at his dead comrade, another member charged at Jaseong.
His sword emitted the most vivid sword force among the members.
But unfortunately,
Flash! KAAANG!!!
Jaseong lightly deflected the sword force-laden attack flying at him from behind.
No—rather than just deflecting, he sent his opponent flying entirely.
KU-QUANG!
"K-KEUGH?!"
The charging member slammed violently into the mine wall, his bones shattering throughout his body.
It was an overwhelming show of power that left everyone dumbfounded.
"E-everyone, together! Attack in unison!"
At someone's cry, the Three Souls Hall members rushed in simultaneously.
Sword blades and sword force filled the air around Jaseong.
At that moment—
SWWISH—
Jaseong unfolded the Heaven Evading Phantom Step, creating two phantom forms.
He flashed back and forth, east and west, unleashing techniques from the Heaven Evading Flash Sword.
CHUAAAK!
"KKEU-HEUK!!"
FWSHUK!
"AAARGH!!!!"
With each flashing sword light, members collapsed, spraying blood fountains.
Against Jaseong's overwhelming power after activating the Celestial Gate Opening Art, they were ripped apart like sheets of paper, slammed into walls with a bang!
It was power truly monstrous in nature.
Watching this, the young boys and girls from the Wandering Warrior Village who had been captured trembled with fear.
Especially Yeongyeong, the girl who had just been beaten by a Three Souls Hall member, was shaking with awe throughout her body.
She felt as if the god she resented had finally sent her a savior.
"Is it already over?"
Jaseong spoke quietly.
At his feet, the defeated Three Souls Hall members lay sprawled in disarray.
Their martial robes were soaked in blood, their bodies horribly ruined, but Jaseong's retribution was not yet over.
"Among you are some who brutally murdered these children's parents."
"Ku-heok... S-spare us..."
"Stand up."
"Gk?!"
"You still have much more pain to repay for what these children suffered."
CHUAK! CHUAAK! CHUAAAK!!!
Jaseong swung his sword with no mercy.
He severed the tendons of arms and legs, destroyed their dantians—inflicting pain upon those who were already no longer able to fight.
"KKEUAAAAK!!"
"P-please, stop....!"
Finally, he struck each of their vital points so that they would bleed out and die in agony.
"Hoo..."
At last, after eliminating all the Three Souls Hall members, Jaseong let out a long breath.
Had the Hainan Sect, one of the Nine Great Sects pursuing Three Souls Hall, seen this scene, they would have been appalled.
Even the Hainan Sect had never wiped out the Three Souls Hall so thoroughly before.
'Fortunately, things went according to plan.'
Jaseong's secret that made this astonishing feat possible was simple.
The Three Souls Hall never appeared again in places they had struck before.
Jaseong predicted where they would stage their next abduction, using that trait.
The western residential area and the village near the northern abandoned mine.
Once his prediction was done, Jaseong put on a human-skin mask sent by Hyang-I via black crow.
He transformed his face into that of an innocent child.
Lee Rin and Gu Janghu also disguised themselves as children like Jaseong.
They all could pull it off because none of them looked over twenty.
Jaseong waited in the northern village, Lee Rin and Gu Janghu in the western residential area, all watching for Three Souls Hall.
When Three Souls Hall finally appeared in the northern village where Jaseong was lying in wait, only Jaseong let himself be apprehended and taken away.
That was the secret to how Jaseong was able to so easily find Three Souls Hall's hideout in the abandoned mine.
PEW!
Having defeated all the Three Souls Hall members, Jaseong fired a signal flare into the sky.
It was a signal to call his comrades.
About a quarter of an hour after the flare burst in the night sky, Gu Janghu and Lee Rin arrived at the mine.
"Wow... You did all this alone, great hero?"
Lee Rin exclaimed, her eyes wide as she gazed at the Three Souls Hall members sprawled about.
Gu Janghu, too, was inwardly shocked.
'... I was worried when the leader insisted on infiltrating alone, but it was for nothing.'
With this, Jaseong had more or less accomplished the task of removing the fifth Heaven's Mandate, Middle Evil.
As proof, a grand voice suddenly boomed inside Jaseong's mind.
〈Student... The fifth Heaven's Mandate has now been achieved.〉
Of course, it was not over yet.
The true enemies were the three Three Souls Hall leaders.
"Lee Rin, Gu Janghu, the three leaders of Three Souls Hall are nowhere to be seen. Did you see them?"
"We didn't spot them on the way here, either."
"They wouldn't just abandon their subordinates and the kidnapped children here and flee... so where did they go?"
It was at that moment.
SWISH!
Someone suddenly entered the mine at great speed.
At that instant, Jaseong and his group instinctively drew their swords like lightning.
'... Speak of the devil, could these be the Three Souls Hall leaders?'
But the newcomer was not one of the Three Souls Hall leaders.
It was an elderly man with a mane of white hair—the White-haired Blade Elder.
[... His body movement technique is incredible.]
[He really is an amazing expert.]
Lee Rin and Gu Janghu sent each other silent transmissions, their eyes full of caution.
They remembered the White-haired Blade Elder's ambiguous words from earlier.
But upon meeting Jaseong and his group, the White-haired Blade Elder revealed no hostility.
Instead, he spoke in a voice full of admiration.
"As I suspected, your skills are truly extraordinary. To have eliminated all the Three Souls Hall members without spilling a drop of your own blood."
Listening to his admiration, Jaseong asked coldly,
"Elder, have you seen the leaders of Three Souls Hall?"
"Of course. I was just fighting them a moment ago."
... The leaders were fighting the White-haired Blade Elder?
So that's why they hadn't appeared at the mine?
"I need your help."
The White-haired Blade Elder collected his breath and continued.
"Alone, I can't take down the Three Souls Hall leaders. Their martial arts are so refined, I nearly fell to them myself."
"Where are they now?"
"They're catching their breath in a cave nearby. But first, let's rescue these children and then talk further."
The White-haired Blade Elder picked up two children, one in each hand.
Then, displaying astounding speed, he carried them one by one out of the mine.
Jaseong's group also helped.
Thanks to them, all the children were soon safely taken out of the mine.
"Now, let us go to the Three Souls Hall leaders."
"Where are we headed?"
"There's a deep cliff not far from here."
"A cliff?"
"In the middle of that cliff is a small cave. That's where they're hiding, recuperating."
The White-haired Blade Elder replied calmly.
At those words, Jaseong nodded and followed after him.
At the same time, he sent a secret transmission to Gu Janghu and Lee Rin.
[Gu Janghu, if you notice anything at all suspicious, launch your poison needle at this old man.]
[Understood, leader.]
[Lee Rin, you also be ready to strike at any moment.]
[Yes, great hero.]
Of course, it was awkward to consider the White-haired Blade Elder just an enemy.
After all, all he'd done in the Wandering Warrior Village was the work of a chivalrous hero.
The only suspicious thing the White-haired Blade Elder had done was to claim that the three Three Souls Hall leaders were disciples of the Hainan Sect.
Soon after, Jaseong's group stopped in front of a rugged cliff, following the White-haired Blade Elder.
WHEEE—
A cliff so high the bottom could not be seen.
A fierce wind blew through, making the group's windbreakers flutter.
"Do you see the cave there?"
The White-haired Blade Elder pointed to the middle of the cliff.
There was a hollow cave in the middle of that perilous cliff.
"The three Three Souls Hall leaders are hiding in that cave."
"... That cave in the middle of the cliff looks impossible to reach, even for a peak expert. How did they get in there?"
"It seems they rappelled down using this rope."
The White-haired Blade Elder pointed to a rope hanging from the cliff.
It was securely tied to a sturdy tree at the top.
Indeed, if they rappelled down that rope, they could easily reach the cave.
But Jaseong's group sent him openly suspicious glances.
"If Three Souls Hall really is in there, then you go down first, elder."
"Hmm. That's fair. I understand why you can't trust an old man you just met."
"......."
"Very well. I'll go first."
The White-haired Blade Elder calmly grasped the rope and rappelled down the cliff.
His white hair fluttered roughly in the wind.
Watching him, Jaseong instantly sent a secret message to Gu Janghu and Lee Rin.
[If Three Souls Hall is really in that cliff cave, their offensive will begin the moment the White-haired Blade Elder sets foot inside.]
[But if not, then his words are a lie.]
[If their attack does not begin, cut the rope immediately.]
At his words, both Gu Janghu and Lee Rin nodded.
It was a testament to Jaseong's thoroughly meticulous nature.
But a moment later, just as the White-haired Blade Elder arrived at the cave, something unexpected happened.
SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!
Suddenly, hidden weapons were hurled from within the cave.
The White-haired Blade Elder narrowly dodged them with agile movements.
Then, in the next moment—
KAAANG!!
A man in black clothes shot out from the cave, swinging a sword at the White-haired Blade Elder.
The Elder drew his battered blade like lightning, barely blocking the attack.
"Just die already, you monstrous old man...!"
The man in black clothes gathered killing intent and unleashed a flurry of attacks on the White-haired Blade Elder.
KAKAKAKAKANG!!!!!
With a chorus of sharp metallic clangs, two figures clashed messily at the cave's mouth.
Jaseong's group flinched at the sight.
"Leader, judging by that man in black clothes, it really is Three Souls Hall... What should we do now?"
Gu Janghu asked.
Meanwhile, the White-haired Blade Elder was pushed all the way to the edge of the cave by the man in black clothes—one step farther and he would fall into a chasm thousands of feet deep.
"What are you waiting for! Come help me, quickly!"
The White-haired Blade Elder cried out urgently.
Hearing his shout, Jaseong fell into deep thought.
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