Chapter 181
That night. News of the Poison Valley battle was delivered to the Murim Alliance office.
Murim Alliance headquarters, Namgung Cheon-rui's office. Heavy silence prevailed in the darkness-shrouded room.
"... Tang Tian-yue... was defeated?"
Namgung Cheon-rui asked again, his face showing utter disbelief. His voice was low, but the shock within could not be concealed.
"Yes, alliance leader. The new Evil Path Association Leader's martial arts... are beyond imagination," said the warrior relaying the report, with his forehead pressed to the floor and his voice trembling.
"Tang Tian-yue, the clan head, recently gained a lucky opportunity and displayed might close to the Transformation Realm... Yet the Evil Path Association Leader overwhelmed even that."
Namgung Cheon-rui's face twisted. The teacup in his hand crumbled to powder and scattered.
'He defeated Tang Tian-yue, who had absorbed the Millennium Poison Pearl? That brat?'
Namgung Cheon-rui gnashed his teeth.
His scheme had, once again, gone awry.
His plan to destroy the Hao Sect and keep the unorthodox factions in check had only resulted in nurturing the monster called Jaseong.
'Red Light Calamity... Are you truly a calamity sent from heaven?'
Namgung Cheon-rui's eyes shone with a chilling light. He couldn't just sit back and watch anymore.
Jaseong was no longer a mere enemy—he had become a massive calamity threatening the very existence of the Murim Alliance.
"Prepare our defenses. He'll soon be coming to strike back."
With those words, Namgung Cheon-rui took down one of his treasured swords from the wall.
* * *
Right after the Poison Valley battle ended.
In the front yard of Poison Valley where the stench of blood hadn't faded, Jaseong immediately prepared to leave.
Dokgo Yeon blocked his way, a look of confusion on her face.
"You're not going to rest? Where are you trying to go?"
Jaseong's answer was simple.
"Murong Clan."
"What did you say?"
Dokgo Yeon asked again, surprised.
Heading straight for one of the Five Great Clans' bases right after such a massive fight—it seemed mad.
"They ambushed Poison Valley; so we'll return the favor, won't we?"
In truth, Jaseong already had a perfect plan crafted, using the Hao Sect's information network.
He had learned in advance that the warrior forces of three of the Five Great Clans would ambush Poison Valley.
That was why he timed his support for Poison Valley perfectly.
But that wasn't all.
At the very moment Poison Valley was ambushed, Jaseong had prepared for a break-in—the target: Murong Clan.
Under Jaseong, nearly a thousand Tianxia Association black-path warriors disguised as merchants had already surrounded the Murong Clan's vicinity.
Two hundred swordmasters from the North Sea Ice Palace were also lying in wait near Liaoning, where the Murong Clan was based.
"Murong Clan is currently vacant because all their experts are out raiding Poison Valley,"
Jaseong said.
"The main base will be empty."
Dokgo Yeon stared at Jaseong, chills running down her spine.
"I didn't expect you'd prepare this much. You really are... amazing."
"Now is the perfect window to wipe out the Murong Clan," he replied.
"But Liaoning is far even by horse... It'd take at least fifteen days to get there,"
Dokgo Yeon asked.
Jaseong, sheathing his sword, answered, "Now that I've reached the Transformation Realm, my movement skill has also changed."
"What...?"
"Rin, Gu Janghu. This time, I'll go alone."
Lee Rin widened her eyes.
"Great hero, by yourself? Let us come, too!"
"No. If I'm to reach Liaoning as quickly as possible, that's for the best. You handle cleanup here and follow after."
With those words, Jaseong launched his body forward.
Shuuuu!
He seemed to fly through the sky, not kicking off the ground but stepping on air itself.
Having reached the Transformation Realm, his movement skill had attained the level of "walking on air."
"What, what is that...!"
"A human flying...!"
The Poison Valley warriors stared at the sky in shock. Every time Jaseong stepped, he soared dozens of meters.
Thanks to that, he could cover a distance that usually took mere mortals several days in half a day.
Shuak! Shuak! Shuak!
The fierce wind brushed Jaseong's face.
As he sliced through clouds heading for Liaoning, memories of the past flashed through his mind like a revolving lantern.
* * *
Before he became a martial artist.
Hongdeung Red Light District in Ansun.
The Bloodbath day when he lost his eldest brother, sister-in-law, and nephew.
"Big brother! Sister-in-law!!"
A young Jaseong was plunged into despair and rage at the sight of his family's corpses.
In front of him appeared sword-wielding martial artists.
Blood stained them in spots, but their garments still looked expensive.
They were neither bandits nor black-path folk. Not even infamous Demonic Cultists.
They were renowned orthodox faction experts famed for their justice and chivalry.
But despite their "orthodox" title, they felt nothing for the innocent citizens who died because of them.
Rather, they wore expressions of relief at having driven off the Demonic Cult remnants with little loss.
One martial artist asked, "What about those dead civilians over there, clan head?"
The Murong Clan's clan head, Murong Cheolsan, replied indifferently, "If we cared for such lowborn folk in a pleasure district, we couldn't have killed Demonic Cult scum so easily."
"I suppose you're right."
"It's just a small sacrifice for the greater good. Don't worry about it."
"Yes, sir."
They reacted as if swatting a fly.
To their eyes, the people of the Red Light District were little more than scenery or pebbles to be kicked aside.
Jaseong stared blankly at them.
'Small sacrifice? All this is just a 'small sacrifice' for the so-called greater good...?'
His late sister-in-law had been pregnant and worked at the inn to help their living.
His elder brother, a fool, looked after nothing but his younger sibling and wife.
Yet all their deaths were considered a mere "small sacrifice"?
"You... bastards who deserve to die."
Jaseong muttered, almost involuntarily. Rage paralyzed logic, swallowing up his fear.
At that moment, the orthodox experts' gazes snapped toward Jaseong.
"What is this? That little brat?"
"A brat with no fear—how dare he talk like that before us?"
Several middle-aged experts glared sharply.
The courtesans close to Jaseong all looked worried.
Their eyes seemed to say:
'Jaseong! These aren't the back-alley thugs you used to scrap with—! Lower your head or you'll be killed!'
But Jaseong didn't hear them. He couldn't. All he saw were his enemies before him.
Step— step—
Jaseong walked toward them, step by step.
The killing intent emitted by the experts felt like thousands of needles pushing him back.
Still, he gritted his teeth and forced himself forward. His anger almost burned his head to ash.
He would only calm down after beating in the faces of these mortal enemies...!
"Withstanding these experts' killing intent? Is that kid even human?"
One expert's brow twitched.
Jaseong wanted to rip out the corners of that bastard's eyes. He wanted to run in and bite through his throat.
But—unfortunately,
Puh-uck!
A lightning-quick kick sent him rolling across the ground.
"Gah...!!"
A single blow made him vomit yellow bile. Agonizing pain wracked his intestines.
But Jaseong did not pass out.
Rising from the dirt, body trembling, he seized a handful of sand in each hand, then flung it and rushed them again.
"A mere brat resorts to tricks from the unorthodox sects, eh?"
Paaang!!
But no matter what he tried, his fists couldn't reach them.
He rushed until he coughed up blood-black liquid, but he couldn't even brush their sleeves.
"Annoying brat. Should we cripple him?"
"Enough. Even an orthodox fighter has his pride—no need to hurt a mere child."
"Still, his look makes me think he'll cause trouble."
"Hmph. What could a wretch from the pleasure district possibly accomplish?"
Murong Cheolsan, head of the Murong Clan, brushed dust from his robes and walked toward Jaseong indifferently.
Then—
Papapak!
He struck Jaseong's blood points, sealing his mobility and even his ability to speak.
"You won't be able to move for a week."
"Ugh! Aaagh!"
"Be thankful you're young. And about that revenge you spouted earlier—tsk. Know your place."
"Ugh...!"
"Revenge is a word for those who can handle it. It's not a term for lowly brats like you."
"Aaah!"
At Murong Cheolsan's ridicule and scorn, Jaseong howled.
Overwhelmed by bone-chilling helplessness, consumed by loathing for his weakness.
With an animal's cry ripped from his throat, Jaseong made a vow.
He would have vengeance.
He would become a power who makes the world shudder,
rip off their arms and legs,
throw them in a pigsty,
and torment them until they begged for death—he would inflict all possible suffering on them...!
That oath from that day once again blazed in Jaseong's heart.
'Wait for me, Murong Cheolsan.'
Jaseong's eyes blazed as his speed through the air increased.
'The revenge of that day—today, at last, I will have it.'
* * *
And so, Jaseong ran relentlessly for a day and a half.
Even with his Transformation Realm power, a human body couldn't help but tire from such a desperate march.
But Jaseong had a secret weapon.
'Azure Spirit Pill.'
An elixir of the Celestial Realm, crafted with Heaven Evading Alchemy.
It swiftly recovered the ki in his dantian, and healed spent stamina and even wounds—a miraculous medicine.
Jaseong took a Azure Spirit Pill from his robe and swallowed it.
Vitality quickly returned to his exhausted body, and the internal power that had been depleted swelled once more, as if from a spring.
Thanks to this, he could keep moving without rest. Finally, a massive mansion appeared before his eyes.
Murong Clan.
Situated in the heart of Liaoning, one of the Five Great Clans of the world, with hundreds of years of history.
It was the den of foes who had taken Jaseong's family.
"At last... I've arrived."
A shabby hall, a hundred meters from the Murong Clan's front gate.
As Jaseong reached the prearranged spot, two people appeared silently from the shadows: the Little Devil and the Silent Traveler, who led the Tianxia Association.
"We pay our respects to the Sect Leader,"
Little Devil said, kneeling on one knee. The Silent Traveler bowed deeply as well.
"All preparations are complete. At your signal, the Tianxia forces on standby will overrun this place within half a shijin."
A thousand Tianxia black-path warriors. Two hundred sword masters from the North Sea Ice Palace.
With them all, over twelve hundred elite warriors stood ready to fall upon the Murong Clan—all awaiting Jaseong's command, holding their breath.
But Jaseong made a declaration that caught them off guard.
"I'll go in alone."
"What...?"
Little Devil looked up, stunned, eyes wavering.
"Sect Leader, what do you mean? The Murong Clan is one of the Five Great Clans. Hundreds of martial artists are arrayed inside."
"......"
"Moreover, Clan Head Murong Cheolsan is considered a leading master among the Ten Great Experts. No matter how strong you are, alone is too dangerous!"
Jaseong raised his hand to silence Little Devil.
"You stand by. Enter when I give the signal."
Jaseong drew the Wicked Flame Sword. On the black blade, a crimson light curled like a snake.
'This is my revenge. I must end it with my own hands.'