C 345
Kuuuu!
A powerful wave struck around Taeho.
The intangible wave, invisible to the naked eye, struck people's minds. As a result, most people felt an inexplicable anxiety and fear.
"Ah!"
"Gag!"
Many people crouched down or collapsed on the spot, vomiting.
They didn't even know why they were experiencing these symptoms. Their reasoning was paralyzed by instinctual fear, rendering them unable to think.
Everyone in the guest room fell and moaned.
Pyo Wol stared at the scene for a moment and then approached the window.
Taeho's waters surged like a storm.
The wave that struck people's minds had started from the other side of Taeho.
In Pyo Wol's eyes, the air on the other side of Taeho was clearly seen to be rippling.
The energy felt from the other side was so intense that it made Pyo Wol shudder.
He hurriedly looked around.
The waves were too rough to cross by boat, and it would take too long to go around Taeho.
Pat!
Pyo Wol leaped straight towards the Taeho lake.
His body, which had flown ten or more feet, crashed straight into the water.
He felt the sensation of his feet touching the surface of the water.
In an instant, he slammed the surface of the water and released his Internal energy.
Just as he was about to submerge up to his ankles, his body bounced off.
It was a water flight, one of the ascension techniques. mymtlnoveltranslations
He hadn't learned it from anyone, and he hadn't specifically sought it out, but Pyo Wol naturally ran across the water.
At first, it consumed a lot of inner energy and the movement was unnatural, but as time went on, his movements became more natural.
He only used the necessary amount of inner energy and naturally bent his waist to maintain the optimal balance.
Pa-pa-pat!
Pyo Wol ran across Taeho at a terrifying speed.
When he was about halfway across Taeho, an unbelievable sight entered his eyes.
A giant snake was wreaking havoc on the shore.
'Imoogi!'
It was undoubtedly the Imoogi, the mount of the Master of Life and Death(Gyeongmusaeng).
The fully exposed Imoogi was as massive as a dragon. The enormous creature caused havoc, and the surrounding mansions shattered like a war zone.
Crash! Bang!
As he got closer to where the Imoogi was wreaking havoc, the surrounding scenery became clearer.
Three martial artists were using their martial arts skills around the Imoogi.
One martial artist was the Master of Life and Death, who owned the Imoogi; another was an old man wielding a spear; and the last one was a strange person wearing a mask on his face.
Their martial arts skills were all at an astonishing level.
The intense battle was enough to make the hair on Pyo Wol's arms stand on end, even from afar.
The sight of the spear's energy, launched like a meteor, being repelled by the barrier technique was not an everyday occurrence.
On top of that, the Master of Life and Death was pressuring the masked stranger while surrounded by an unidentified ominous energy. mymtlnoveltranslations
Crash! Bang!
Explosions and dust rose like a fog.
"Ah!"
"Save me!"
People screamed and scattered in all directions.
It was like hell on earth.
Whoosh!
A giant wooden pillar, struck by the Imoogi's tail, flew toward the direction Pyo Wol was running.
Instead of dodging, Pyo Wol launched himself toward the incoming wooden pillar.
Just before the collision, he gracefully twisted his body and landed on the wooden pillar.
Pyo Wol, who had ridden the wooden pillar, leaped into the air again.
Shuuuu!
Pyo Wol's body soared dozens of feet into the air. From the high sky, he could clearly see the situation below.
The situation was more serious than what he had seen on the water's surface.
The well in the square had been completely destroyed, and all the mansions in the area had collapsed and turned into ruins.
They were still fighting fiercely, and the ground shook with each clash. The problem was that there was no sign of their fight ending anytime soon.
Pyo Wol spread his arms wide and descended into the middle of the battlefield.
He slowed down his landing speed as much as possible, while facing the headwind. At that moment, a strange sight caught his eye.
He saw a boy lying behind the masked monster and Jo Ik-gwang approaching the boy like a thieving cat.
Jo Ik-gwang had a sword in his hand.
.
He was trying to stab the sword into the boy's heart
.
As soon as Pyo Wol recognized the boy's face, he threw a Ghost Blade.
Thud!
"Ugh!"
The Ghost blade struck Jo Ik-gwang's shoulder.
Jo Ik-gwang screamed and dropped his sword. Pyo Wol silently landed in front of him.
"You are?"
Jo Ik-gwang looked at Pyo Wol and trembled like a person with chills.
Pyo Wol didn't even look at Jo Ik-gwang and stared at the fallen boy.
Though his skin had melted and scabs had formed, it was clearly Do Yeonsan.
No one had explained anything to him, but Pyo Wol instantly understood what had happened.
"It was you."
"What, what are you talking about?"
"You killed this kid's sister, didn't you?"
"What, what nonsense are you talking about? Do you have any evidence?" mymtlnoveltranslations
"No!"
"Then stop talking nonsense and step back."
"I can't do that."
"What?"
"I have a connection with this kid. I don't have any evidence, but if I wake him up and ask him, I'll know. Whether you're the culprit or not..."
"Th-then..."
Jo Ik-gwang was flustered and stuttered. His reaction only strengthened Pyo Wol's conviction.
Pyo Wol approached Do Yeonsan and injected his inner energy into the boy's vital points.
Seeing this, Jo Ik-gwang panicked and tried to run away.
He was already flustered because the situation had escalated beyond his imagination.
The bustling area of Taeho had turned into a complete wasteland, and countless people had died.
Eventually, the martial artists of Kangho would investigate the cause of this disaster, and if they traced it back, they would surely find out that he was involved.
He had to either escape or completely destroy the evidence before that happened.
"It's still possible to fix this. If I just get rid of the torture tools in the blue peacock manor’s basement, there won't be any evidence left."
Jo Ik-gwang didn't know how things had gotten this bad, but he thought his luck was terrible.
Although it bothered him that he hadn't killed Do Yeonsan and silenced him, confronting Pyo Wol head-on would be foolish.
That's when it happened.
Whoosh!
Suddenly, an excruciating pain shot through his calf, and he fell forward.
"Ugh!"
Screaming, Jo Ik-gwang looked at his leg. Something faint was piercing his calf.
'A thread?'
Before he could realize that it was a thread made of qi, his body was pulled toward where Pyo Wol stood.
Swish!
"Ugh!"
Jo Ik-gwang struggled to escape from the thread. However, the more he squirmed, the tighter the thread constricted around his calf.
He tried to break the thread, but it was useless.
In the end, Jo Ik-gwang was helplessly dragged in front of Pyo Wol.
Jo Ik-gwang looked up at Pyo Wol. And suddenly, Do Yeonsan, who had regained consciousness, was standing beside him.
Do Yeonsan had been revived by Pyo Wol's internal energy.
Do Yeonsan's lips parted, and a muffled sound came out. mymtlnoveltranslations
"En...emy..."
His vocal cords were damaged, so his pronunciation was distorted. But Pyo Wol understood what Do Yeonsan was trying to say.
"Enemy? Is this guy the one who killed your sister?"
Do Yeonsan nodded his head.
In that instant, Jo Ik-gwang screamed.
"It's a lie. That brat is lying."
Jo Ik-gwang's usual dignity was nowhere to be found.
He had always acted aloof and superior, but now he couldn't.
His life was hanging by a thread.
He had no room to worry about appearances.
The problem was that the Soul Reaping Thread was still wrapped around his calf. He couldn't escape even if he wanted to.
Do Yeonsan's empty eyes looked at Pyo Wol.
Pyo Wol knew what his gaze meant.
Pyo Wol nodded and took a step back. Then, Do Yeonsan approached Jo Ik-gwang.
"Hey, you bastard! Don't come any closer. You want to die?"
Jo Ik-gwang threatened Do Yeonsan with all his might. But Do Yeonsan didn't care and approached Jo Ik-gwang.
Jo Ik-gwang gathered energy in his arms to threaten Do Yeonsan.
Although Pyo Wol had restrained his lower body, there were no restrictions on his arms.
His hands, concentrated with internal energy, were in some ways more dangerous weapons than a sword.
On the other hand, Do Yeonsan was an ordinary person who hadn't learned martial arts and was weakened by poisoning.
If Jo Ik-gwang wanted to, he could twist Do Yeonsan's neck and kill him like wringing a chicken's neck.
Do Yeonsan knew that as well.
He staggered as if he would collapse at any moment, but he didn't stop walking toward Jo Ik-gwang.
Suddenly, Do Yeonsan bent down and picked something up from the ground.
It was the cylinder that fired the secret weapon.
At that moment, Jo Ik-gwang's face turned pale. He knew the power of the cylinder.
Do Yeonsan aimed the cylinder at Jo Ik-gwang.
"No, don't!"
"Huu!"
A strange breath came out of Do Yeonsan's mouth. At the same time, the corners of his mouth twitched.
Do Yeonsan was laughing. And he was crying.
Pyo Wol could feel that strange emotion. And it seemed like he could understand it.
At that moment, Do Yeonsan activated the firing mechanism of the cylinder. mymtlnoveltranslations
Whoosh!
The poisonous needles flew towards Jo Ik-gwang.
Jo Ik-gwang managed to block the needles flying towards his upper body with his energy-concentrated hand, but he couldn't defend his lower body, which was caught by the qi thread.
In the end, he was hit by two poisonous needles.
"No, don't!"
Jo Ik-gwang cried out.
At that moment, he felt an immense pain inside his body.
It felt like fire was raging through his veins at an incredible speed, causing him unbearable pain.
"Argh!"
Eventually,Jo Ik-gwang couldn't bear the pain and screamed.
His scream was so terrifying that the three fighting absolute experts stopped their actions for a moment.
Jo Ik-gwang scratched his body with his fingers.
His flesh was torn apart. But he didn't stop and continued to scratch himself violently.
His skin was melting away.
The poison of the needles was taking effect.
The poison melted his skin and then his muscles.
Unfortunately, Jo Ik-gwang didn't have the same resistance as Do Yeonsan.
It would have been better if he had died sooner, but his cultivated internal energy made it difficult for him to die easily.
Because of this, he had to experience the pain of his body melting away vividly.
"Ugh! Ah!"
He kept screaming. But soon, even his screams stopped.
His vocal cords had melted away as well.
Do Yeonsan silently watched Jo Ik-gwang suffer. Tears flowed down his face.
He aimed the cylinder filled with poisoned needles at his own head.
There was no reason to live now that his revenge was complete.
Too many people had been killed and injured due to his personal vendetta.
This place had become hell, and Do Yeonsan had no confidence or will to deal with the aftermath.
From the moment he started this, he had only one option left.
Pyo Wol knew that Do Yeonsan was trying to commit suicide but didn't try to stop him.
Without even looking, he knew that Do Yeonsan's thirst for revenge had caused all of this. If that was the case, Do Yeonsan had to bear the consequences.
Do Yeonsan activated the firing mechanism of the cylinder without any hesitation. But at that moment, a large hand grabbed the cylinder.
The hand belonged to the Ghost King.
The poisoned needles couldn't be fired and were crushed in the Ghost King's hand.
"Let...me...go! I have to die..."
At that moment, the Ghost King spoke.mymtlnoveltranslations
"You can't die. You have to become me."
"What?"
Just as a questioning look appeared in Do Yeonsan's eyes, the Ghost King knocked him unconscious. mymtlnoveltranslations
The Ghost King carried the unconscious Do Yeonsan on his shoulder and disappeared in an instant.
"Stop! Ghost King! Damn it! Are you planning to switch to a new body?"
The Master of Life and Death chased after him, riding the Imoogi .
Kwakwakwa!
A huge trench was created in the ground where the Imoogi had passed.
Pyo Wol stood in place, watching them disappear into the distance.
At that moment, Jo Jakyung approached him.
As he watched Jo Ik-gwang's melting corpse, he asked Pyo Wol.
"Is this your doing?"