C 446
"Heuk! Heuk!"
Yoo Soo-hwan gasped for breath, looking around him.
Numerous corpses were scattered around him.
They were the bodies of those who had ambushed him.
Each of them possessed extraordinary martial arts skills. They were skilled martial artists who could be considered main forces even in a Grand Sect.
Their ambush had happened at an unexpected moment.
Thanks to that, Yoo Soo-hwan had faced quite a dangerous situation.
If his quick wits or martial arts skills had been even slightly weaker, it would have been Yoo Soo-hwan lying on the ground by now.
Behind Yoo Soo-hwan stood an old man who appeared to be in his seventies.
The old man stroked his white beard and spoke.
"Your karma has caught up with you. You wretched man! You brought disaster to my dwelling."
"I'm sorry."
"If you're sorry, then get rid of all these foul-smelling things."
The old man was waving his hand with a scowl when it happened.
"I didn't know there was a divine doctor here."
A cold female voice came from somewhere.
For a moment, the old man's eyes sank deeply.
"So, the witch has appeared here as well."
His voice was extremely gloomy.
There weren't many people who knew the old man was a divine doctor.
He possessed incredible medical skills, enough to be called by the nickname "divine doctor," but he had rarely revealed his true identity.
Moreover, his activities were mainly focused on the southern regions, so most of the martial world's people hardly knew him.
Among the martial world's sects, only the key figures of Martial Sword Alliance knew his true identity.
Among them, the one he was most reluctant to face had appeared.
The woman was Eom Soso, a leader of the Martial Sword Alliance.
Sea Squad's forces were stationed around her.
Eom Soso spoke.
“Is this what you call a stroke of luck? Both Master Yoo and the divine doctor are here together. It's clear that heaven is on our side."
"You crazy bitch! Just a wench who's barely licking Dokgo Hwang's toes..."
"You've become quite rough since I last saw you. You weren't like this before, were you?"
"I threw away 'refinement' when you and that man took control of the Martial Sword Alliance."
"Is that so?"
Despite the Divine Doctor’s harsh words, Eom Soso's expression did not change.
Her eyes, watching the two men, were icy cold.
"I hope both of you will follow me quietly. Then, I won't hurt you."
"Crazy bitch! Rather than following you, I'd prefer to bite my own sword."
"Does Master Yoo share the same thoughts as the divine doctor?"
"Hoo! You've grown a lot, Soso!"
Yoo Soo-hwan straightened up as his heavy breathing had finally calmed down.
Eom Soso smirked at him.
"Oh my! I'm delighted. To hear such words from Master Yoo."
The ones who had attacked Yoo Soo-hwan just a moment ago were not from the Sea Squad.
They were martial artists borrowed from the Golden Heavenly Hall.
Judging by how much he struggled against their attack, Yoo Soo-hwan had not yet fully recovered.
If he had been in his prime, he would have been a formidable figure, but now Yoo Soo-hwan was in a significantly weakened state.
Even though he was lucky enough to find the divine doctor and recover his martial arts skills, it was impossible to regain his former prowess in an instant. Martial arts require continuity.
That's why they're called Thousand-day Practice or Ten-thousand-day Practice.
Only by investing such an amount of time consistently can one achieve a high level of mastery.
If the flow is interrupted or practice is stopped, martial arts will no longer develop.
To regain his former skills, Yoo Soo-hwan had to put in more effort than the period he had stopped practicing martial arts.
Having been defeated by Dokgo Hwang, Yoo Soo-hwan had lost his martial arts skills for a long time.
Even though he met the divine doctor and was treated, he couldn't immediately display his former martial prowess.
His limits were already showing.
He was exhausted just by facing the martial artists from the Golden Heavenly Hall, breathing
Heavily.
Eom Soso spoke.
"I'll say this one last time. Follow quietly. Don't make unnecessary trouble."
"Soso!"
"Yes!"
"Why did you choose Hwang? You know better than anyone what kind of person he is."
"I just thought he was more suitable to be the leader of Martial Sword Alliance."
"Martial Sword Alliance might fall because of Hwang. He's bound to bring disaster."
"That will never happen. Because I'm by his side."
"I don't know how a child like you came out of the Martial Sword Alliance”
"What's wrong with me?"
"Monster. A monster who can't distinguish between good and evil."
"Did you forget? Martial Sword Alliance is the place that made me this way."
Eom Soso smirked.
Jeon Mu-ok, the former leader of Martial Sword Alliance, was not just cruel to his disciples.
He had slipped into her bed when she was a child and violated the young girl.
The memories of that time turned her into a monster.
It was also why she took Dokgo Hwang's hand when he reached out.
"Hoo! It seems we have to see this through to the end."
Yoo Soo-hwan gripped his sword.
His body had not fully recovered when he was attacked.
His physical condition wasn't great due to overexerting his internal energy. Still, Yoo Soo-hwan thought it wasn't the worst.
'It's fine! My stiff body has loosened up somewhat.'
When he was first attacked, his body was extremely stiff.
His muscles had become stiff due to the long period of losing his martial arts.
Ideally, he should have slowly loosened his body with training, so he could recover without strain.
However, due to the sudden enemy attack, Yoo Soo-hwan had to fight without properly loosening his body.
His whole body was screaming from the intense movement after such a long time, but his muscles had loosened up quite a bit.
It was nothing compared to his prime, but it was enough to take a risk.
With his eyes still on Eom Soso, Yoo Soo-hwan spoke to the divine doctor.
"I'll hold them off, you should escape."
"Are you telling me to leave you behind and run away cowardly?"
"I have not yet fully recovered my original strength and cannot protect you as well."
"Tsk! You're useless."
"I apologize."
"Never mind. Staying here would only hold you back. I'll go, so please survive."
At the divine doctor's words, Eom Soso scoffed.
"Heh! You think you can come and go as you please? If you want to live the rest of your life in peace, it's best to stay still."
"Old hag! Did you stuff a rag in your mouth? Your breath reeks every time you open it."
"How dare you!"
"I'm telling you, the end of your life won't be pretty either."
"Capture him!"
Eom Soso couldn't hold back her anger and ordered the Sea Squad.
"Yes!”
The Sea Squad responded and charged towards the Divine Doctor.
At that moment, Yoo Soo-hwan swung his sword horizontally.
Swoosh!
Sword energy like a spray of water shot out from his sword.
A Sea Squad warrior at the front fell, his waist sliced in half.
It was an incredibly powerful sword energy.
A moment of silence enveloped the area.
The tiger's claws they thought they had captured were still sharp. To catch Divine Doctor, they had to get past Yoo Soo-hwan.
Eom Soso gave the order.
"Take your time capturing the old man; kill that one first."
"Yes!"
Sea Squad responded and attacked Yoo Soo-hwan simultaneously.
Yoo Soo-hwan charged toward them.
"Bring it on! You dogs of Dokgo Hwang!"
***
Gwi An furrowed his brow.
He held a letter in his hand.
It was news from Kangho that had come through the Hao Clan.
"Finally... has the Martial Sword Alliance made their move?"
The letter contained information about Martial Sword Alliance's elite forces on the move. It wasn't just Martial Sword Alliance.
The thousand kingdom school and the Rain Mountain Manor also showed signs of dispatching their elite forces.
Until now, they had not acted directly, only moving the sects and warriors they had connections with. This was the first time they had moved themselves.
There was only one thing this fact meant.
"Now it's unstoppable. A great battle in Kangho is about to unfold."
Martial Sword Alliance, The thousand kingdom school, the Rain Mountain Manor - all of them were among the top powers in the world.
If they officially participated, other superpowers would not remain idle. It was only natural for it to escalate into a great battle in the martial world.
Gwi An didn't particularly care about the great battle, as it was happening outside of Sichuan.
Sichuan was far from Kangho and had an isolated terrain. Because of this, it was not easily swayed by outside forces.
If the traditional powerhouses, the Qincheng Sect and the Emei Sect, had remained powerful, Sichuan would have been in danger, as they would have had no choice but to send troops considering their relationships with other sects.
Fortunately, they were all suppressed by Pyo Wol and had no influence in Kangho.
Thanks to this, Sichuan was safe from external disturbances.
What concerned him, however, was that Pyo Wol happened to leave Sichuan at this time.
Pyo Wol had traveled to Kangho so far, forming numerous connections.
Among them were good relationships, but also many bad ones.
One of those was Guryongsalmak.
The enmity between Pyo Wol and Guryongsalmak was so deep that it could not be reconciled through dialogue. One of them had to disappear for the feud to end.
The fact that a great battle in Kangho broke out in this situation weighed on Gwi An's mind.
"Phew! I hope my brother can handle it well."
He had no choice but to trust Pyo Wol.
He had managed well so far, and he would continue to do so.
Gwi An thought this as he went outside.
Outside, Pyo Wol, Eun-yo, and Do Yeonsan were seated.
"Gwi An!"
"Brother, you came out?"
Eun-yo and Do Yeonsan greeted him happily.
Although they lived in the same house, it had been a while since they had seen each other's faces.
Gwi An had been collecting information in the basement, and Eun-yo and Do Yeonsan had been busy in their own ways.
Gwi An's gaze turned to Pyo Wol.
Pyo Wol was wearing a black blood robe that Tang Sochu had made for him.
Gwi An knew what that meant.
"Are you leaving today?"
"If we wait any longer, their defenses will only become stronger."
"When you arrive in Hunan Province, stop by Shaoyang."
"Shaoyang?"
"There's a Hao Clan branch there. I've asked them to gather the information you need."
"Thank you."
"Sorry I can't go with you."
"It's fine."
"It seems that leaving the city is still too much for me. I'll stay and guard the place."
"Alright."
Pyo Wol nodded.
Eun-yo and Do Yeonsan decided to follow Pyo Wol and leave Sichuan.
Leaving Sichuan was also a great adventure for Eun-yo.
It wasn't easy for her, who couldn't see, to leave a familiar environment for an unfamiliar place.
But Eun-yo was determined to go with Pyo Wol and Do Yeonsan.
Although she couldn't see, she wanted to experience a broader world.
If not now, she felt she might never leave Sichuan again.
So she willingly decided to follow Pyo Wol.
Gwi An, who had been watching the three for a moment, spoke.
"Just wait a moment."
"Why?"
"I've prepared a means of transportation for the three of you."
"As expected, Gwi An."
Eun-yo smiled.
A moment later, they felt someone approaching from outside.
"They must be here."
At Gwi An's words, everyone went outside.
Outside the fortress, a group of people were waiting for them.
"This time, the Zigong Merchants are going to Hunan for a deal. If you go with them, you should be able to avoid Guryongsalmak's attention to some extent
."
"You thought that far?"
"There aren't many safe ways to leave Sichuan. If I were Guryongsalmak, I would definitely deploy surveillance forces there."
"Right? I would have done the same."
Pyo Wol nodded.
He had been wondering how to leave Sichuan without attracting their attention.
If Gwi An had prepared a merchant group going to Hunan Province like this, it would be much easier to deceive their eyes.
Pyo Wol looked at the middle-aged man who appeared to be in charge of the merchant group.
The man bowed and greeted him.
"I am Lee Sin-pil, the head of the Zigong merchant group. We will escort you to Shaoyang."
"Are you sure? The merchant group could be harmed if something goes wrong."
"Yoo Gi-cheon, the great elder of Snow Cloud Manor, has shown me great favor. Thanks to him introducing me to various clients, the once insignificant merchant group has grown this much. Although I lack the power to directly avenge him, I want to contribute my strength. Please give me the opportunity to serve the three of you."