Chapter 182
At Jaseong's resolute answer, Little Devil and Silent Traveler exchanged glances.
They knew they could not change Jaseong's resolve.
"... Understood, Sect Leader. We will follow your orders."
Jaseong raised the Wicked Flame Sword.
And in the very next instant—
Shuak!
As if teleporting, Jaseong's body vanished.
In the blink of an eye, he arrived at the front gate of the Murong Clan and, without hesitation, swung his sword.
'Heaven Evading Flash Sword, First Stroke, Heaven Evading Flash Radiance!'
Kwaaaaaaang!
A massive golden sword aura struck the Murong Clan's front gate.
The sturdy, decades-old gate was instantly blown to pieces, fragments scattering in every direction.
The deafening explosion was like a detonation that shook all of Liaoning.
"What, what is all this commotion?!"
"An attack! We're under attack!"
Murong Clan's warriors swarmed out like a hive of bees.
True to the prestige of one of the Five Great Clans of the Central Plains, hundreds of warriors instantly filled the plaza.
Their hands gripped cold, gleaming swords and their gazes glistened with murderous intent.
But Jaseong paid them no mind.
Even faced with hundreds of enemies, he strolled forward as if out for a stroll.
"My business is with Murong Clan Head Murong Cheolsan and his protectors."
Jaseong's eyes gleamed coldly.
"Those who wish to keep their lives, step aside."
But none stepped back.
Instead, one of the Murong Clan's warriors drew his sword and shouted.
"Do you even know where you are, coming alone to act so arrogantly at the Murong Clan?! Kill him! Punish him for the honor of the Clan!"
"Waaaaah!!"
Hundreds of warriors charged at Jaseong in unison.
It was an overwhelming presence, like a massive wave crashing down.
But regrettably—
Shuaaaaak!
When Jaseong swung his sword, golden sword aura whirled about like a storm.
Chuak! Chuak! Chuak! Chuak! Chuak! Chuak! Chuak!
"Kraaaagh!"
"Keurk!"
Those leading the charge were sent flying like fallen leaves.
With a single strike, dozens spewed blood and collapsed.
Not a single sword even brushed Jaseong's clothing.
"I-It can't be...!"
Murong Clan's warriors were appalled.
To scatter dozens single-handedly—such might was almost unbelievable.
But Jaseong did not stop.
He unleashed the Heaven Evading Phantom Step.
Shushushushuk!
Over a hundred afterimages filled the plaza.
The lower-level warriors of the Murong Clan couldn't tell which body was real.
All they could do was swing their swords into empty air.
Jaseong did not miss the gap.
Chuak! Chuak! Chuak! Chuak! Chuak! Chuak! Chuak! Chuak!
Each time the Wicked Flame Sword sliced, the sound of flesh tearing echoed throughout the estate.
With every sweep of his sword, Murong Clan's warriors fell.
Blood scattered like rain.
"Stop him!"
"Surround him! Don't let him escape!"
But it was useless.
Anyone who reached the transformation realm—in the face of even a horde of 1st-rate experts, they couldn't lay a finger on them.
The difference of realms was insurmountable.
Moreover, of all the warriors who'd gathered, the number of true 1st-rate experts was only a handful.
'Heaven Evading Flash Sword, Third Stroke—Hundred Descending Calamities.'
Kwarang! Kwarang! Kwarang! Kwarang! Kwarang!
As if a rain of lightning, a hundred blades of sword radiance fell to the ground.
Each time, screams rang out and warriors were struck down.
In mere minutes, hundreds of Murong Clan's warriors lay strewn across the plaza.
Amidst the slaughter-soaked scent filling the square, only Jaseong stood tall.
It was then.
"How dare you cause such chaos here!"
A voice rang out with dignity.
Backed by internal energy, it instantly suppressed the commotion in the plaza.
Down the steps of the Murong Clan's main hall came a man clad in ornate silk, a middle-aged man with a sword engraved with the Double-Phoenix at his waist.
It was Murong Cheolsan, head of the Murong Clan.
At his side were two others.
One was a middle-aged man dressed like a beggar.
His clothes were tatters, but his eyes burned brightly.
The other was a high monk clad in crimson robes, holding a weighty iron staff.
It was the new leader of the Beggar's Union, tagu Divine Beggar Gwak Muyeong.
And the new abbot of Shaolin, Vajra Invincibility Master Hye Gwang.
They were people secretly enticed by Namgung Cheon-rui.
They had betrayed their masters, obtaining the positions of leader and abbot by killing them.
Blinded by the lust for power, they had abandoned justice.
Their reason for being here was simple.
'So the Beggar's Union must have caught wind of my movements.'
The Beggar's Union, along with the Hao Sect, was one of the two major intelligence organizations of the Central Plains.
True to their prestige, they had foresensed the Tianxia Association's operations.
And to protect the Murong Clan head—or rather, to eliminate Jaseong—they were lying in ambush here.
Murong Cheolsan looked down at Jaseong with a sneer.
"So you've come to die on your own. Evil Path Association Leader. If I sever your head and present it to the Murim Alliance Leader, I'll be greatly rewarded."
Three against one.
The three giants of the orthodox faction had surrounded Jaseong.
But Jaseong was not fazed in the slightest.
Instead, he threw Murong Cheolsan an odd question.
"Clan Head Murong, do you recognize me?"
"What?"
Jaseong picked up a fallen torch with his sword and shone it on his own face.
In the flickering light, Jaseong's face was revealed.
Murong Cheolsan narrowed his eyes, peering intently at the face.
It looked familiar.
In the depths of his memory, the face of a pitiful existence he'd brushed past long ago.
And suddenly, he recalled and his eyes grew wide.
"You're... that brat from Ansun's red-light district, the one who dared rush at me?!"
As one would expect from the sharp-minded Murong Clan head, Murong Cheolsan remembered Jaseong.
The muddy, ragged boy who couldn't even cling to his pant leg and had sobbed in misery.
"So that little brat became such a formidable expert...what lucky opportunity transformed you? I can't believe it."
Murong Cheolsan exclaimed, astonished.
For that worm of a child to return as the Evil Path Association Leader who shook the world.
Jaseong replied with a blank expression.
"To kill you. That's why I trained martial arts madly all these years. Just to kill you."
An explosive murderous intent erupted from Jaseong's body.
All the pent-up hatred and anger burst out at once.
Watching this scene, a chill ran down Murong Cheolsan's spine.
It must have felt like a dream to Murong Cheolsan.
A boy who once knew nothing of martial arts now appeared exuding a world-shaking presence.
How could such a thing be possible?
'Wicked Flame Sword. You can take all my innate true ki now, in exchange... give me the strength to butcher those bastards.'
Jaseong addressed the Wicked Flame Sword, eyes glinting with poison energy.
In response, the black sword hilt vibrated, resonating with its master's killer's intent.
Fwoosh!
The Wicked Flame Sword's energy began to blaze.
As if resonating with its master's murderous intent, the sword hilt pulsed madly, emanating a sinister black flame.
Seeing this, the three orthodox figureheads who surrounded Jaseong each drew their weapons.
Murong Cheolsan wielded twin swords.
Beggar's Union Leader Gwak Muyeong gripped the dog-beating staff.
Shaolin Abbot Hye Gwang pressed palms together barehanded.
"Namo Amitabha. To eradicate the unorthodox demon is the way for this humble monk to cleanse their karmic debts."
Golden radiance bloomed from Abbot Hye Gwang's entire body.
It was Shaolin's ultimate move, Vajra Invincible Body.
Gwak Muyeong also adjusted his grip on the dog-beating staff, raising his presence, while icy sword ki emanated from Murong Cheolsan's twin swords.
It was the moment the battle of experts who shook the jianghu was about to begin.
* * *
In truth, even though Jaseong had reached the transformation realm, the situation was by no means easy.
Murong Clan Head Murong Cheolsan, though maybe the lowest of the Ten Great Experts of the Orthodox Factions, was still thoroughly a supreme peak expert.
The new Shaolin Abbot and new Beggar's Union Leader were also astounding experts renowned even among the Nine Sects-One Union.
If these three were to join forces, none under heaven could guarantee victory.
That is why Jaseong hesitated not at all.
He immediately unleashed all his power.
'Celestial Gate Opening Art, Eleventh Gate—Heavens' Opening.'
Kwaaang!
Golden radiance exploded from Jaseong's body.
As if the sun itself had descended to earth, blinding brilliance consumed the Murong Clan's front yard.
From his hair to his toes, golden ki coiled around him, the earth shrieking under the pressure.
"?!"
Staggered by the overwhelming energy, Murong Cheolsan and the others involuntarily recoiled.
It was a divine presence so overwhelming, one could hardly believe it was human.
In that state, Jaseong charged directly at Shaolin Abbot Hye Gwang.
'He's targeting me first, even when I'm in the invincible Vajra state?!'
Abbot Hye Gwang instinctively drew all his internal power, strengthening his body like diamond.
It was Shaolin's absolute defensive martial art—no blade could pierce it.
But in the next moment:
'Heaven Evading Shadow Annihilation Sword.'
Jaseong's blade split the air.
Nine brilliant sword radiances flared simultaneously.
Kwakwakwakwakwa-kwaang!!!!!!
With a thunderous shattering sound, the Wicked Flame Sword pierced the defense of the Vajra Invincible Body.
Abbot Hye Gwang's eyes went wide as if splitting.
Pushushushushuk!
The tip of the Wicked Flame Sword pierced through Hye Gwang's chest and out his back.
"Kuhrk?!"
Abbot Hye Gwang vomited blood in utter disbelief.
The supposedly invincible Vajra Body was broken in a single blow.
"This is insane!"
Beggar's Union Leader Gwak Muyeong, aghast, swung the dog-beating staff.
"Dog-Beating Staff, heaven Without Dogs!"
The staff danced dazzlingly, targeting Jaseong's back.
The Dog-Beating Staff.
Despite the comical name, it was the most profound and lightning-fast staff technique under heaven.
Dozens of shadowy staff images attacked Jaseong's blind spots.
But in that instant, Jaseong's eyes gleamed—the Samadhi Eyes had activated.
Suuuuung!
The world slowed.
The path of Gwak Muyeong's staff, the intent he projected, became shockingly clear.
With a cold smile, Jaseong unleashed the Heaven Evading Phantom Step.
Shushushuk!
Hundreds of afterimages scattered and dodged the staff attacks.
Gwak Muyeong's dog-beating staff only struck empty air.
He was certain he'd hit, but Jaseong was already gone.
'What kind of sorcery is this?!'
A cold sweat ran down Gwak Muyeong's spine.
Just then, Murong Cheolsan's twin swords flashed again at Jaseong's back.
"Heaven-Earth Double Phoenix Flash Sword!"
The twin swords in Murong Cheolsan's hands whirled spectacularly, unleashing a flurry of sword aura like two rising phoenixes.
It was the Murong Clan's ultimate move, polished over decades.
Kwakwakwakwa-Gwak!!
Magnificent sword aura rained down as if it would drown Jaseong.
There was nowhere to escape—the perfect encirclement.
But Jaseong's Samadhi Eyes had already foreseen all those traces.
Shushushushuk!
Jaseong moved like a phantom, evading every blade.
Only afterimages shimmered in the places the sword aura passed.
To Murong Cheolsan, it felt like fighting a ghost.
'Has this bastard eyes on his back? No matter how fast, how can he avoid the concerted assault of all of us?!'
At the moment Murong Cheolsan's eyes quivered in disbelief,
Jaseong spoke.
"Now it's my turn."