***
While I was approaching the man, I had been preparing a surprise attack while drawing up the twenty years of internal energy dwelling within my body.
Then, while the man’s gaze was directed upward, I carried out the ambush.
The man’s subordinates let out screams of horror at that sudden turn of events.
“Wha-what is this?!”
“B-Boss!”
However, those fellows should have attacked rather than screamed.
Because I had no intention of stopping there.
Letting go of the sword stuck in Mak Gu-sam’s chest, I spun my body around and drew the saber I was carrying on my back, swinging it.
Shuak!
As a single streak of saber light sliced through space horizontally, the neck of the man right beside me was sent flying with a single strike.
Puh-a-ak!
“Aaaagh!”
“Jang-oh!”
Only when blood sprayed in all directions did the fellows shout.
“It-it’s an ambush!”
“Block him!”
Shu-a-ak!
“Kh-a-a-a-ok!”
While drenched in blood and slicing another man upward from his groin to his shoulder, I thought:
It should be ‘strike,’ not ‘block.’
Stupid bastards.
Puh-a-ak!
“Kh-a-a-a-ok!”
Only when I had sliced the third man’s chest diagonally did the fellows properly aim their sabers at me.
“Y-you rascal!”
“How dare you!”
A sneer escaped me.
Your response is far too slow.
I threw the saber I was holding with full force at the fellows who were holding out their sabers with frightened faces.
As the saber, which I had intentionally made to spin, flew while making a whirring sound, the fellows were startled and barely managed to block it.
“W-woah!”
Chae-cheng!
But at that moment, I was already rushing toward them while pulling out the sword that had been stuck in Mak Gu-sam’s chest.
And in a single instant,
Sword light scattered into the air as if wings of light were unfolding.
Shu-ha-a-ak!
“Aaaagh!”
“Kk-a-a-a-ok!”
It was the first form of the Thirteen Swords of Sunwoo, ‘Divine Eagle Soaring’ (Sin-eung-bi-sang), performed for the first time across two lives.
By then, the ronin who had come with me also began to move.
Though it was a bit late by my standards, they had rushed forward as quickly as they could.
“Charge! Support Young Master Sunwoo!”
“Wo-o-o-o-o!”
The bandits now had no choice but to fall into disarray.
In any case, with the exception of the boss Mak Gu-sam, the rest were nothing more than third-class dregs who couldn't even use internal energy; in a situation where there was no central figure to bind them, they had no reason to charge in while risking their lives.
“S-save me! It’s a butcher!”
“Let’s run! Everyone, scatter!”
Recklessly, I slaughtered the fellows who turned their backs during combat while smiling fiercely.
My soul was rejoicing in the air of the battlefield I had returned to.
The battle did not last long.
Since the six of us couldn't catch all the bandits, there were seventeen corpses of bandits scattered across the grounds; roughly fifteen bandits seemed to have escaped.
Only then did the tension break, and I threw my sword aside and flopped onto the ground, letting out a groan.
“Ugh, I’m dying!”
However, the gazes of the ronin looking at me were not the same pathetic gazes as before.
What dwelled in their eyes were clearly etched feelings of surprise and fear.
Warrior Jang hesitated for a moment before asking me.
“Young Master Sunwoo, are you perhaps a master who has undergone Rejuvenation (Ban-ro-hwan-dong)?”
I laughed even with my exhausted face at the completely unexpected and absurd question and answered him.
“Aiyee, where would such a thing exist? And even if it did, would a master who underwent Rejuvenation be this exhausted and collapse just from a fight of this level?”
Then, he shook his head back and forth and spoke.
“Of course that is true, but it is not easy to commit murder without hesitation like that at your age. Furthermore….”
He suddenly looked around and continued speaking.
“Looking at you, Young Master, lounging and resting comfortably in this place filled with corpses, such an absurd thought came to mind.”
At his words, I suddenly looked around; indeed, the surroundings were covered in corpses and blood.
Actually, my own body was even more drenched in blood than the surroundings.
It seemed I had naturally grown comfortable because these were such familiar sights.
Still, I couldn't say such a thing openly, so I smiled awkwardly and made an excuse.
“I must have been so tired that I couldn't see what was in front of me. Let’s rest just a bit more and then move to a different spot.”
Even in that situation, at my words that I would rest just a bit more, the ronin stared at me with bewildered eyes.
While I was resting, the ronin collected the spoils and decapitated Mak Gu-sam to take his head.
Since there was likely a bounty on him, it would be quite profitable if they took it to a government office.
And only after we moved to a different spot and it was time for a meal were we able to share a conversation again.
Warrior Jang took a glance at me and asked.
“U-um, Young Master Sunwoo, are you perhaps a first-class warrior?”
I laughed and shook my head.
“No. I am still second-class. My internal energy is only about twenty years.”
“But when I saw earlier, your sword looked blurry; I wondered if it might be Sword Qi….”
“It is a form of the Thirteen Swords of Sunwoo. Originally, it’s a form of the illusion-sword lineage, so it likely appeared that way due to the afterimages.”
Then, the ronin who were listening with their ears perked up let out exclamations of admiration.
“Ahhh, the famous Thirteen Swords of Sunwoo?!”
“As expected of the ultimate technique representing Guizhou Province!”
Warrior Jang spoke with a slightly envious expression.
“As expected, the sword techniques of a prestigious family are different. To think a sword technique used at the second-class realm could produce such power. It will be even more amazing once you reach the first-class realm, Young Master.”
I simply smiled at those words.
In truth, I was also looking forward to it.
Once I reached the first-class realm and became able to discharge Sword Qi, the Thirteen Swords of Sunwoo, which were illusion-swords, would show their true power.
‘However, that is still nothing more than a distant story.’
I gave a bitter smile as I thought that.
To discharge Sword Qi, one’s internal energy had to be at least thirty years—that is, more than half a ‘gapja’ (sixty years).
A second-class warrior with more than thirty years of internal energy is at the realm of ‘Sword Qi Harmful to Humans’ (Geom-gi-sang-in). That is, when one can harm a person with energy discharged through enlightenment, they are called a first-class warrior.
As for me, I already possessed that enlightenment, so that part didn't matter, but I couldn't do anything about the requirement of thirty years of internal energy.
To accumulate the lacking internal energy, I would have to continue making constant efforts in the future.
Warrior Jang spoke with a sigh.
“I am forty years old and the internal energy I’ve accumulated so far is twenty years, yet you, Young Master Sunwoo, who are only in your early twenties, already have twenty years of internal energy; it makes me regret once again that I should have lived more diligently. I am simply ashamed.”
I just gave a bittersweet smile at those words.
It wasn't something I necessarily had to tell him, but the fact that I had accumulated twenty years of internal energy for now was only possible because Father had me consume a spirit elixir the night before last.
If not for that, I likely wouldn't even have ten years of internal energy.
Father had given me two more of the same spirit pills after that.
But at the same time, he had strictly warned me that I must never consume them right now.
The reason, of course, was something I knew well.
It was because half of the internal energy currently accumulated in my body was not something I had built myself, but was external energy I had accepted.
‘It means it’s a state perfectly suited for falling into Qi Deviation (Ju-hwa-ip-ma).’
Therefore, for the time being, I had to make an effort to build internal energy directly as much as possible and to make the external energy pure.
Then, I suddenly remembered something and asked Warrior Jang.
“Warrior Jang, what kind of internal art have you mastered?”
I asked because it didn't seem likely that a wandering ronin like him would have mastered a proper internal art.
Then, he cleared his throat and answered as if embarrassed.
“Well, it’s just the Six Harmonies Internal Art (Yuk-hap-sim-beop). That was all I could obtain…. Ahem.”
“Ah, the Six Harmonies Internal Art.”
My gaze turned pitying.
I thought he wouldn't have mastered a good internal art, but for it to be the Six Harmonies Internal Art of all things—it was truly a pitiable matter.
That was a third-class internal art that could be easily obtained even at a used bookstore in the marketplace.
‘Rather, for him to have accumulated twenty years of internal power with the Six Harmonies Internal Art, that is more impressive.’
I wasn't just saying that; it was truly impressive.
Because it would have been an achievement that couldn't be attained without truly constant effort.
As my gaze grew pitying, he avoided my eyes and stood up, dusting off his seat.
“Now, now, let’s get moving soon! If we don't go a bit further before it gets dark, we won't even arrive within three days.”
I couldn't say anything more to him.
Because even if I told him that I also once had to copy and beg for others' martial arts because I couldn't find any I could learn, it would only sound like pity to him.
My gaze as I looked at him was deepening.
The remnants of the Green Tiger Fortress who had scattered and fled in all directions were only able to regroup with each other long after Sunwoo Jin’s group had passed.
Returning to the place where the incident occurred, they burst into rage upon seeing the corpses of their slain boss and comrades piled in one place.
“These cruel bastards! To think they wouldn't even bury them in the ground, even if they were enemies!”
“Look! They took all the belongings too! These filthy, robber-like bastards!”
“Bastards who deserve to be fried in sewage! May all of you be devoured by the demons of the Blood Demon Cult!”
While they were venting their anger by cursing Sunwoo Jin’s group for a long time, one of them suddenly spoke about the reality they had been ignoring for a moment.
“But…. What do we do now?”
“What do you mean, 'what do we do'? We go back to the Green Tiger Fortress and elect a new boss.”
“…If we elect a boss from among us, will we be able to run the business properly? The boss was the only second-class warrior among us.”
It was when they all fell silent at the cold reality that struck them to the bone.
Suddenly, they saw someone coming on horseback from the other end of the road. There was only one horse, and one person.
Everyone instinctively looked that way.
Then, the one with the best eyesight swallowed hard and whispered in a low voice.
“It’s a woman.”
Then, his startled comrades hurriedly whispered back.
“What?!”
“A woman?!”
“A woman alone?!”
“Is she pretty?!”
The one who had held out his palm to make his comrades wait whispered again after a moment with shining eyes.
“I’m not sure because her face is covered by her bangs, but she’s likely pretty. First of all, her figure is good. Her build is a bit small, so she’s probably in her late teens?”
Then he swallowed hard and asked his comrades.
“What should we do?”
Then, while exchanging looks with tense eyes, one of them spoke up.
“To think a woman is coming so confidently by herself—what if she is a master?”
Those words threw cold water on their boiling passion.
Be careful of women and the elderly.
It was an old proverb of the martial world.
Suddenly, a light of fear appeared in their eyes.
The events they had suffered at the hands of Sunwoo Jin earlier came back vividly.
They shuddered.
“A-as expected, would it be better not to do it?”
When one of them spoke in a frightened tone, the one with good eyes who had first seen her stole another glance toward her.
Although her eyes were covered by her bangs, an oval-shaped jawline was now clearly visible beneath them; no matter how one looked at it, she seemed like she would be a beauty.
While agonizing over the regret of having to let such a beauty go, he spoke as a thought suddenly occurred to him.
“But… can a girl in her late teens be a master? She’s too young.”
Those words provided light to the heads of the other bandits once more.
Indeed, that was true.
No matter how dangerous a woman alone might be, how strong could a girl in her late teens be?
Of course, if it were a direct disciple of the Nine Great Sects, a child of the Five Great Clans, or the children or disciples of the absolute masters of the martial world—the One Emperor, Two Kings, Three Saints, Four Demons, and Five Grotesques—it could be so.
But why would such a person come here?
Ultimately reaching a conclusion, they boldly rushed out toward her as she passed by on her horse.
“Stop, you wench! How dare you pass through the territory of these heroes without permission?!”
“Get off the horse right now! And start by taking off your clothes! Khahaha!”
“No! You can take them off while on the horse! Khahahahaha!”
She stared blankly at the bandits who were laughing among themselves after speaking, and then suddenly asked them.
“By any chance, did a person named Sunwoo Jin, the third young master of the Sunwoo Clan, pass through here?”
The bandits who heard that name lost their laughter in an instant.
They were so shocked they even hiccuped.
“H-how do you know that guy….”
“A-are you also a companion of that human-butcher-like fellow?”
Seeing that reaction, the corners of her mouth curved into a satisfied arc.
“It seems he passed through. How long has it been since he passed?”
The bandits, who had been frightened for a moment by the horrific memory from earlier, soon hardened their expressions again.
The fact that the fellow had passed through earlier didn't change the fact that this young wench was alone, did it?
“Actually, this is better! Let’s collect the debt for the boss’s life from this wench!”
“Yes, that’s right! It’s not like the guy who passed earlier is coming back, right?”
While the bandits were reviving their fighting spirit in that way, Hae Cheong-yeon, who had obtained all the information she wanted, muttered.
“So he passed through earlier? I’ll meet him soon.”
Then, she lightly vaulted her body from the horse.
Hwi-ik!
The bandits stared blankly at her form as she soared lightly into the air like a water-soaked swallow.
That appearance was so elusive and even beautiful.
Then, having gracefully spun once in the air, she plummeted toward the bandits like a bolt of lightning.
Hwi-ri-rik!
“…!”
There wasn't even time to speak.
In an instant, as sword light like a spiderweb filled the space, the bodies of the bandits who had been staring blankly at it split wide open, spraying blood like a fountain.
Puh-a-ak!
By the time blood splattered in all directions, she was already vaulting back into the air and returning to the horse's saddle.
Having killed fifteen people in a single second by discharging Sword Qi, she simply flicked the blood from her sword and sheathed it.
And she began to lead her horse away as if nothing had happened.