Chapter 65
Guangxi Province, Yizhou.
The pleasure district of Yizhou was filled with dazzling red lanterns and courtesans dressed in silk.
Every street resounded with the sounds of the pipa and bamboo flute, and the taverns never ran out of laughter or wine.
At the center of Yizhou's pleasure district stood a huge three-story pavilion.
This was the headquarters of the Black Wind Society, called Black Wind Pavilion.
The black tiles and red pillars of that building radiated an oppressive aura, as if a giant beast lay in wait.
Normally, the front entrance of Black Wind Pavilion would have been lined with fierce-looking gatekeepers.
But today was different.
The entrance was shattered, and the gatekeepers lay sprawled in pools of blood.
"Urgh..."
Instead of the sound of the courtesans' pipa, only the stench of blood and screams echoed through the air.
Top floor of Black Wind Pavilion.
There, over a hundred members of the Dark Path were strewn across the floor.
"A m-monster... That's what he is... Gack...!"
Standing above the fading corpses, a young man wearing a black mask stood.
He was barely past his early twenties, but he was an incredible expert whom none dared to face.
In front of him, Jang Cheolsan—the Inner Hall Master of Black Wind Pavilion—trembled.
His pupils shook with terror and his lips were parched and dry.
'Wh-what is this monster...?! Where in the world did such an expert come from...?!'
Just two watch-intervals earlier, Jang Cheolsan could never have imagined such a sight.
A lunatic with a black mask had appeared, demanding to know where the leaders were.
Jang Cheolsan thought of him as 'a fellow desperate for death,' and called his subordinates together.
But even though more than a hundred attacked, they hadn't managed a single scratch on him.
No, they didn't even see how he moved.
There would just be a flashing gleam, and a dozen or so would fall in a single stroke.
"If anyone else wants to die, come forward."
Jaseong spoke, gripping a sword dripping with blood.
His voice was cold and heavy as ice.
Before him, the remaining dark-clad Black Wind Society members trembled in fear.
'It's o-over... Unless the leaders arrive, no one can handle that monster...'
And then—
BOOM!
The door to the third floor of Black Wind Pavilion burst open with a thunderous noise, and countless footsteps echoed into the hall.
Three giants entered first.
The First Leader, the Old Black Wind Freak, was a massive, elderly man with wild, white hair, bearing a blade as tall as a person slung across his back.
The Second Leader, the Poison Smoke Viper, had a thin body and snake-like eyes, brandishing an iron whip that oozed poisonous energy.
The Third Leader, blood-Faced Twin Killer, was a burly man hefting an enormous iron mace on his shoulder; his martial robes were stained with blood.
Thump— Thump—
Behind the three leaders, endless waves of Dark Path members poured in.
They packed the third floor where Jaseong stood, filled the second floor, the first floor, and eventually surrounded every inch around Black Wind Pavilion.
'Just as Hyang-I warned, the number surpasses at least eight hundred.'
The reason Black Wind Society was so numerous was simple:
It was an alliance of dozens of Dark Path organizations from Guangxi Province.
And now, the Black Wind Freak—the First Leader of this giant organization—stepped forward and demanded of Jaseong,
"Who are you?"
Jaseong replied coolly.
"Hao Sect's Ansun Branch Leader."
"... Hao Sect?"
"That's right."
"Heh, this is some nerve. A mere wretch from a notorious sect dares barge into the Black Wind Society."
"......"
"Either way, after making such a mess in Black Wind Pavilion, you'd best abandon any hope of leaving here alive!"
With killing intent surging from him, the Black Wind Freak drew the giant blade from his back.
But before he could even fully draw it—
FLASH!!
A blinding flash erupted.
Then—
SHUAAAK!!
A fountain of blood gushed up, and the Black Wind Freak's head soared into the air.
Next, his massive body collapsed forward in slow motion.
THUD!
"......!"
"......!!"
"......!!!!"
The surrounding space froze in silence.
It was, without exaggeration, a sword strike like a flash of lightning.
It was so fast that, among the crowd of Dark Path members, not a single one had clearly seen Jaseong's sword.
"Poison Smoke Soul-Killing!"
Realizing Jaseong was an overwhelming expert, the Second Leader—the Poison Smoke Viper—immediately swung his iron whip, unleashing a cloud of poison.
It was a clever attack.
Poison arts could work against someone even at a higher level than oneself.
But when the violet poisonous cloud engulfed Jaseong—
'What, what is this...?!'
Amazingly, Jaseong remained unharmed inside the poisonous mist.
This was thanks to the Heaven Evading Soul Transformation Formula he had obtained as the fifth reward from Heaven's Mandate.
The essence of Heaven Evading Soul Transformation Formula was its ability to purify poison and demonic ki.
As soon as the poison spread, Jaseong activated the internal energy he had accumulated over the past three months with the Heaven Evading Soul Transformation Formula.
Just as the Seven Sages of the South Sea once did in Gui Lin Valley, he immediately burned away every trace of poison entering his body.
STEP, sTEP—
Even as he calmly walked out of the violet fog, the Poison Smoke Viper's jaw dropped in disbelief.
Then suddenly—
FLASH!
A flash once again.
SHUK!
"Guh-urk!"
The Second Leader, the Poison Smoke Viper, was pierced through the chest.
Spitting blood, he saw Jaseong before him—without ever knowing when he approached.
"Next."
"......!!"
"If you still want to die, come forward."
Holding a blood-dripping sword, Jaseong spoke.
Faced with his overwhelming presence, the Black Wind Society's members trembled.
Their numbers were in the hundreds, yet not a single one dared challenge Jaseong.
His overwhelming martial skill terrified them, but even more frightening was his presence—utterly unfazed despite being surrounded by hundreds.
That arrogance was reminiscent of the Heavenly Demon himself reincarnated.
"W-what are you doing! No matter how strong he is, he's just one! We're hundreds! Attack together!"
The final Black Wind Society leader, blood-Faced Twin Killer, shouted.
But the moment Blood-Faced Twin Killer unsheathed his iron mace—
SWISH! SWISH!
Daggers whistled through the air, striking him in the throat and chest simultaneously.
It was a hidden blade attack loaded with massive internal power.
Twin Killer blocked the one aimed at his chest, but could not stop the one at his neck.
Resulting in a SPLASH! as a blood fountain erupted from his throat and he collapsed.
TAP! TAP! TAP!
Soon after, the thrower of the blades strode forward lightly.
It was none other than Gu Janghu, the youngest first-class assassin of Killing Valley.
Then, Lee Rin bounded up the stairs.
"Great hero! What are you doing running off by yourself!"
Lee Rin called out, and behind her rushed Silent Traveler, Little Devil, and twenty martial artists from the Hao Sect's Ansun Branch.
The reason they arrived late was simple.
Just before entering Black Wind Pavilion, Jaseong had abruptly declared, "I'll go in ahead and deal with the leaders."
Then, he dashed alone to the upper floors.
Thus, his subordinates could only arrive belatedly,
and were left gasping in shock at the carnage on the third floor.
'Did the Branch Leader... do this alone...?!'
'He took on well over a hundred people alone...?!'
'I'd heard rumors the Branch Leader single-handedly beat the peak experts of Three Souls Hall and the Demonic Cult... but to this extent!'
'... I really made the right choice joining under Ansun Branch Leader. He'll make waves in the martial world, no doubt about it!'
As the Ansun Branch martial artists marveled in their hearts, Jaseong asked Gu Janghu,
"Did you find the goods?"
Nodding, Gu Janghu replied,
"I believe this is the Tri-Unity Black Wind Plaque you mentioned, branch leader."
In Gu Janghu's hand was a black jade token broken into three pieces—the Tri-Unity Black Wind Plaque that generations of Black Wind Society leaders used to signify their identity.
Unlike the sacred items of the Nine Great Sects or the Evil Path Association, the plaque had no particular power.
It was simply a well-crafted piece of jade.
Yet Jaseong had directed Gu Janghu to collect it because of the information from Hyang-I.
[The Black Wind Society has left deposits at various banks throughout the martial world. The key to finding the funds is the leaders' plaques—the Tri-Unity Black Wind Plaque.]
The Dark Path was driven by money and force.
With force shown, it was now time to seize the Black Wind Society's wealth.
'Only then can I force its remaining members into total submission.'
There was a symbolic reason as well.
In a situation where Jaseong had overwhelmed the leaders with force and also taken their plaque, the token of leadership...
It signified the birth of a new leader.
"Let me ask one last time. Who else wants to die?"
Jaseong asked, holding up the Tri-Unity Black Wind Plaque—the symbol of leadership.
No one dared step forward.
"......."
Hundreds of dark-clad men bowed, trembling as if afraid to even meet Jaseong's eyes.
A single man, by force of will alone, overawing hundreds—a truly staggering sight.
With absolute pressure, Jaseong slowly spoke again.
"From today onward, the Black Wind Society of Guangxi Province is under the total control of the Hao Sect Ansun Branch."
"......!"
"Anyone who expresses even the slightest dissatisfaction—I, the Branch Leader, will visit personally to take your head."
"......!!"
"But anyone who obeys my commands will enjoy even greater wealth and luxury than before."
From beneath his black mask, Jaseong spoke coldly.
Under that pressure, the Black Wind Society members swallowed hard and fell to their knees.
Eight hundred Dark Path members—all submitted utterly to him.
* * *
Jaseong sheathed his sword, letting out a long exhale.
His eyes remained cold, but there was a hint of satisfaction in them.
'Thank goodness, everything went according to plan.'
As expected, the Black Wind Society's numbers meant nothing—there wasn't a single true expert among them.
They were all rabble.
Knowing this, Jaseong never hesitated to storm Black Wind Pavilion, despite the overwhelming odds of 800 to 23.
'If things got hairy, I was ready to use the Azure Spirit Pill, but there was no need. They lost their nerve far too soon...'
He looked around.
The bodies of the three Black Wind Society leaders, fallen in vain, caught his eye.
At that sight, Jaseong recalled a verse once sung by a courtesan in the Red Light District.
—I have seen it.
Many evils of the martial world.
Some flourished like wild trees, growing to cover the heavens and earth.
But—
Where are they now?
After I passed by, not a single one remained.
Search as I might, I could not find them.
Call as I might, there was no reply—only empty shadows.
Even the Heavenly Demon of the Demonic Cult was the same.
All evil's destiny is destruction.
The fate of the fallen Black Wind Society leaders was befitting of that verse.
Leaders who once ruled the largest clique of Dark Path in Guangxi Province.
Now felled ignominiously by Jaseong's sword, they were, in every way, evildoers who deserved to die.
They robbed the people, kidnapped young women for their own pleasure,
murdered and intimidated entire families.
There was not a day when their hands were free of blood.
They even harmed the families of their own subordinates.
'They got what they deserved.'
Jaseong looked around again.
From the first to the third floor of Black Wind Pavilion, every last Black Wind Society member was lying face down, trembling.
Jaseong approached one of them.
It was time to achieve the 'second goal' for coming to Guangxi Province.
"You there."
At the sound of his voice, Jang Cheolsan, Inner Hall Master and the Bloody Wind Swordsman, flinched violently.
"Y-yes, sir! Did you call for me?"
"I've heard there's a black market here in Yizhou managed by the Black Wind Society. I'm told precious herbs are traded there. Is that true?"
"Y-yes! Absolutely! The largest black market in Guangxi Province is right here in Yizhou!"
"Good. Then lead us there."
His moniker as the Bloody Wind Swordsman was laughable now, as Jang Cheolsan trembled fiercely as he guided Jaseong's group.
Well, it would have been odd if he didn't tremble, given they had just wiped out the Black Wind Society's three leaders in a flash.
"P-p-please, this way..."
The route to the black market was narrow and gloomy.
Jang Cheolsan led them down a small alley connected to Black Wind Pavilion's rear entrance.
The glow of lanterns and sound of the pipa faded, replaced by darkness, the stench of garbage, and reeking refuse.
After walking for a while,
"Here it is...!"
Jang Cheolsan stopped in front of a shabby inn.
Looking at it, Lee Rin sent a puzzled voice transmission.
[Is this shabby inn really Guangxi's largest black market? I can't quite believe it.]
[I know, right? It's smaller than I expected.]
[But great hero, umm...]
[?]
[If there's something I like at the market, can you buy it for me? Just one?]
[... You want me to buy you something? Did you run out of the travel funds you brought from North Sea Ice Palace?]
[The funds are fine! I just... want to get a gift from you, is all.]
[Hmm... What do you want? A hidden weapon? A sword?]
[... You're really the type girls don't like, are you.]
[Huh???]
[What kind of girl would want something like that as a gift? From a man, no less?]
Unmoved by feminine sensibilities, Jaseong simply couldn't understand.
But as he exchanged these words with Lee Rin and entered the shabby inn,
a sight completely contrary to expectations unfolded before them.
Murmur— Murmur—
The moment they passed through the inn's narrow doorway, a vast underground hall was revealed—
Easily five hundred paces across, an immense space.
Hundreds of merchants and black-clad men bustled around.
Precious herbs, forbidden martial manuals, and stolen treasures cluttered rickety wooden tables, the air pungent with incense, blood, and sweat.
[It's night and day compared to the outside, branch leader. Maybe here we'll find Fire Dragon Grass and Silver Spirit Flower?]
Fire Dragon Grass and Silver Spirit Flower.
For Jaseong, those were as crucial as conquering the Black Wind Society.
With them, he could create an elixir that would massively boost his internal power.
With such hope spiraling in his gaze, Jaseong started to scan the black market's stalls.
But some were spying on Jaseong's group from a distance.
"......."
At the very edge of the black market,
in a corridor so dark even torches barely reached.
There, four women watched Jaseong's group.
Amazingly, they had been tracking the party since leaving Guizhou City.
They had even witnessed the entire battle at Black Wind Pavilion,
yet not once revealed their presence to Jaseong's group.
This signaled they were true experts.
But their interest was not focused on Jaseong.
Their gazes were locked onto Lee Rin, the one walking at Jaseong's side wearing a black mask—
The young lady of the North Sea Ice Palace.
"... At last, we've found her."
The woman standing at the far left spoke quietly.
In the next instant, a deadly chill filled the eyes of the other three.
"This time... we will take her, no matter what."