The Lazy Young Master of the Jin Clan

"D-Don't come!"

The sword in the hand of Sangsuk, a disciple of the Changryong Sect, trembled like an aspen tree in the wind.

The men who had blocked them laughed at the end of his disorganized sword.

"Is this what they call a next-generation talent of the orthodox faction?"

"What a bunch of morons."

"Don't be so harsh. Do you think the greenhorns of the orthodox faction, who still smell of milk, have ever had a proper fight?"

The five men tilted the swords in their hands towards Sangsuk.

The young martial artist who had been in the same group as Sangsuk had already put down his sword and was on his knees.

"Please spare my life!"

At the sight of the young martial artist begging for his life, Sangsuk became even more anxious.

"G-Get up! Get up and fight back like me! Do you think those brats will spare you!?"

Sangsuk shouted, trying to muster up his courage.

"Oh! His spirit is quite something."

"Which sect do you belong to?"

"Th-The Changryong Sect!"

"I've never heard of such a shabby sect, but I'll be sure to tell them how brave you were. Of course, along with your severed head!"

The five men rushed towards Sangsuk without even deciding who would go first.

He had never thought he could win from the beginning.

Sangsuk just swung his sword like a madman and shouted.

"Uwaaaak!"

He had long since forgotten the sword techniques he had honed.

Sangsuk, whose head was empty with fear, swung his sword randomly, like a thoughtless child chasing away a stray dog he had met on the street.

Of course, his random sword technique had no chance of working.

"This bastard!"

One of the men lightly deflected Sangsuk's sword.

Following that, three black-clad men swung their swords in succession to kill Sangsuk.

At that moment.

Swoosh—!!

Three flying swords that flew in a wretched manner, as if they were tearing through the air, pierced their hearts.

Thwack thwack thwack—!!

The death of his companions, who had been alive and breathing in front of him just a moment ago.

The man who had deflected Sangsuk's sword blinked, unable to grasp the situation.

"Wh-What..."

Before he could say anything, a sharp sword pierced his neck.

Thump—!

As the four men died, the man who had been watching without stepping up had his eyes narrow.

'This is... a flying sword!?'

What had killed his subordinates were four flying swords.

'Don't tell me Kang Cheon has appeared!? Why now, after being silent for several years?'

Cold sweat flowed down the forehead of the man who had recognized the flying sword.

If Kang Cheon had really appeared, there was no chance of him returning alive.

Soon, a woman appeared from between the bushes.

She stood between Sangsuk and the young martial artist and said.

"I am Oh Seolhwa of the Huashan Sect. Are you two alright?"

"Y-Young Lady Oh!"

The young martial artist, who had been kneeling, quickly got up.

He greeted Oh Seolhwa with a tear-stained face.

"We... we are fine."

"That's a relief. Do you see that peak over there?"

As they turned their gaze along Oh Seolhwa's fingertip, there was a towering peak.

"Yes!"

"You two, go there. There will be other officials of the Blue Dragon Daoist Temple there. For now, join them."

"Thank you!"

"But what will the Young Lady do?"

"I have to save the other officials. Now, hurry up and go! There's no time!"

"Yes!"

As the two martial artists ran towards the peak with a fist and palm salute, the remaining Oh Seolhwa and the man glared at each other fiercely.

"A disciple of Huashan."

"Who are you?"

"Who are you? How does a disciple of Huashan know how to handle Kang Cheon's flying sword?"

Oh Seolhwa realized that the man had mistaken her for the one who had thrown the flying sword.

"Why should I tell you that?" 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"You're an arrogant wench. If you wanted to kill me... you should have ambushed me without revealing yourself."

The man drew his sword.

At the same time, an ominous qi enveloped his entire body.

"Now there is no possibility of you returning alive."

"Is that so?"

As Oh Seolhwa drew her sword, the man found it strange.

'Come to think of it, for someone who threw a flying sword...'

There was no flying scabbard to put the flying swords in.

The man who had realized this late swallowed dryly.

'There's one more!'

The man spread his qi sense wide and looked for Oh Seolhwa's companion.

But it was too late for that.

A cold blade was felt under his neck.

"When did you..."

It was another flying sword with the same shape as the flying sword that had killed his subordinates.

"I'll ask only once. How many of you came in total, and what is your purpose?"

"Hehehe! Nearly eight hundred unorthodox faction martial artists have gathered. The purpose? Of course, it's to kill the arrogant next-generation talents of the orthodox faction."

"Who instigated this?"

"Who else could move an unorthodox faction of this scale? You brat."

"The Heretic's Path Alliance."

"Yes. It is the Heretic's Path Alliance."

Jin Sohyun stood in front of the man with the tip of his sword aimed at his neck.

"Why are you telling me so meekly?"

At Jin Sohyun's question, the man smiled eerily.

"Do you think anything will change just because you know this? The Heretic's Path Alliance is behind us, and a whopping eight hundred unorthodox faction members have gathered."

The man laughed as if he were enjoying it.

"Can you stop the massacre that will soon occur?"

"..."

"No. You can't. Even if you die and are reborn a hundred times, you can't stop this massacre...!"

Jin Sohyun cut both of the man's wrists with the flying sword he was holding.

"Keuak!"

Following that, Jin Sohyun's left foot kicked both of his knees.

"Kkeueueueu!"

Jin Sohyun, looking down at the man who had sat down on the spot with his knees broken, extended his hand.

The swords of the dead men flowed into his grasp.

The eyes of Oh Seolhwa and the man, who were watching this, widened beyond belief.

'The Void Grasping Art!?'

'The Void Grasping Art that can move a sword!'

Oh Seolhwa, who had been evaluating Jin Sohyun as a third-rate martial artist until now, belatedly realized how strong a martial artist he was and felt goosebumps all over her body.

'He had such strong power, and I didn't even recognize it. Don't tell me... he's been deliberately hiding his strength all this time?'

While Oh Seolhwa was looking at Jin Sohyun's back and was confused, Jin Sohyun stuck the swords of the dead men into both of the man's thighs.

"Kkeueuaak!!"

"Let's go, Young Lady Oh. There's no time."

"Y-Yes! But this man... are we just leaving him like this?"

"His two legs are broken, so he can't run away, and since I've cut the tendons in his wrists, he won't be able to do anything."

"Ah... yes! Let's go!"

As Jin Sohyun and Oh Seolhwa left, the man tried to pull out the swords that were stuck in his legs like nails.

But with his tendons cut, he could not possibly pull out the swords.

"Hell... hell!"

The man felt that his life was over.

'It's over.'

In the world of the unorthodox faction, a martial artist who had lost his martial arts was treated worse than trash.

Even if he were to survive by a stroke of luck, all that was left for the man was a life of contempt and ridicule.

Biting his tongue and committing suicide was the best choice.

But the man did not die.

"Not yet... not yet..."

He stared into the darkness with a hateful gaze.

The hunting dogs that had smelled the blood would find him soon.

And the man's thoughts were not wrong.

"What? I came because I smelled blood, but it was one of us."

Ten black-clad men appeared and walked over the man who was lying in a mess.

"What a pathetic sight. Were you defeated by a mere next-generation talent?"

"Hehe... don't be careless. Among the next-generation talents, there is a disciple of the Ten-Armed Blood Ghost."

"The Ten-Armed Blood Ghost?"

"This bastard... isn't he lying because he's embarrassed to have been defeated by the next-generation talents?"

"Look at the corpses. They weren't killed by ordinary weapons."

As the man had said, his dead subordinates were all dead with holes in their chests, as if they had been hit by a large hidden weapon.

"Only a flying sword can create such a wound..."

"Do you understand now?"

"Did the disciple of the Ten-Armed Blood Ghost do this to you?"

"Yes. That brat is strong. He has a strong internal energy, enough to move a sword with the Void Grasping Art."

"Nonsense!"

"See for yourself. That brat went up this way just a moment ago with a female disciple of the Huashan Sect."

The ten black-clad men raised their heads in the direction the man had pointed.

"The disciple of the Ten-Armed Blood Ghost... interesting."

Rustle—!

Other black-clad men appeared from between the split bushes.

"And you are?"

"We are the Sadok Sect. And you?"

"The Gwangjung Faction."

"Don't tell me you're also after the disciple of the Ten-Armed Blood Ghost?"

"It seems so."

The martial artists of the Sadok Sect and the Gwangjung Faction, who had learned that their target was the same, showed their killing intent at the same time.

"That brat is ours."

"No, that brat is the prey of our Sadok Sect. There are quite a few disciples of our sect who have been defeated by him."

"Then it's first come, first served."

The one and only disciple of the Ten-Armed Blood Ghost, who was no different from a disaster to the unorthodox faction.

If they could just kill him, they could expect not only the recognition of the unorthodox faction, but also the favor of the Heretic's Path Alliance.

The two forces, whose eyes were sparkling with greed, threw their bodies to the north without even deciding who would go first.

"Hehehehehe... you won't be able to get out of here with your body intact."

The Sadok Sect and the Gwangjung Faction.

Both were places that were considered prestigious among the unorthodox factions active in the south of the Central Plains.

No matter how strong the disciple of the Ten-Armed Blood Ghost was, it seemed difficult for him to survive the pursuit of the two sects.

'Is this the end for me too?'

The unorthodox faction members did not care about the dying man.

In the world of the unorthodox faction, you had to take care of your own life.

That was the rule of the unorthodox faction.

"A rule is a rule..."

The man looked up at the sky with open eyes.

At that moment, a single hypothesis flashed through the man's mind like a flash of light.

"Why did that brat spare me?"

Jin Sohyun had spared the man.

Was it because he was too precious to just kill?

If not...

An ominous thought brushed past the man's mind.

"Did he... did he... use me as a signpost?"

The two eyes of the man, who had been transcendent even in the face of death, shook rapidly.

"My goodness."

He had realized it too late.

The reason Jin Sohyun had spared him was not because of a single shred of sympathy.

He had known that if he spared him, the unorthodox faction members who had smelled the blood would come, and that the man would lead them to him.

"He... used... me..."

The man turned his head and looked at the Sadok Sect and the Gwangjung Faction, who were moving away.

Although he tried to open his mouth urgently, no voice came out.

Due to excessive bleeding, his vision was becoming increasingly blurry, and his mind was also becoming distant.

'No... you can't go...'

His silent shout could not be delivered to the Sadok Sect and the Gwangjung Faction, who were blinded by greed.

***

Sitting on a high tree, Jin Sohyun waited for the right time.

As expected, the man he had spared had become an excellent signpost.

In fact, the martial artists of the Sadok Sect and the Gwangjung Faction, who had come to find him, had revealed themselves between the forests, chasing Jin Sohyun.

Jin Sohyun, who was quietly watching them, took out a flying sword from his bosom.

Four flying swords flashed with a cold light in his hand.

"Is it alright for the Gwangjung Faction to go ahead?"

As a martial artist of the Sadok Sect said with a concerned voice, the leader who was leading them said.

"Yes. As that brat said just now, if that brat is really the disciple of the Ten-Armed Blood Ghost, he won't be an easy opponent. So it's better to let the brats of the Gwangjung Faction wear him out."

"Ah... so when the brats of the Gwangjung Faction wear him out, we'll finish him off!"

"Hahaha! That's right. There's no need for us to step up first and waste our strength."

"What if the Gwangjung Faction kills the disciple of the Ten-Armed Blood Ghost?"

"Then... we'll just have to kill the brats of the Gwangjung Faction too. What's important is who survives."

"Aha! I see."

At the voice that followed, the leader's expression became peculiar.

"I've never heard that voice before."

The leader who had stopped in his tracks turned his head.

There was no one there.

The leader, who had belatedly realized that something was wrong, drew his sword.

"Who's there!"

At his shout, two blades slowly revealed themselves from the darkness.

A drop of blood was formed at the end of the blades.

"Y-You brat..."

Thump—!

"Keok!"

The leader discovered the two blades that had pierced his upper chest and abdomen and had come out.

They were flying swords.

Soon, a slow footstep was heard from in front of him.

Along with this, a man with a handsome appearance, wearing a white robe stained red with blood, appeared.

"You... the disciple... of the Ten-Armed Blood Ghost..."

The leader of the Sadok Sect realized.

That they were not the ones who were chasing.

They were the ones who were being chased.

(End of Chapter)