Chapter 96: Core Refining Machine (2)
‘Pa-pathetic?’
Five Great Warriors.
Among the registered Murim warriors, these five people were at the very top.
How much did one have to work to get that honor?
“You!”
Angry at the insulting words, Kwak Woon swung his swords.
There was one secret he realized as he reached this current status.
‘Plum Blossom Sword!’
It was a technique in which shattered sword pieces could be controlled.
However, he had never thought that he would use it on the treasure, Scarlet Plum Sword.
Chachacha!
The sword’s fragments on the ground moved at once.
It may have seemed easy, but it was not.
The trajectory of the fragments of the flying blades followed the 25 Plum Blossom Sword technique.
‘The moment you try to block the fragments, the smaller pieces will cut into you.’
A deadly technique.
As a descendant of an orthodox clan, he knew how vicious this technique was.
Shhh!
As expected, Chun Yeowun raised his hand.
It seemed like he was trying to block the shards of the sword.
“Pretty interesting attempt, but the idea is sloppy.”
‘!?’
Swish!
Chun Yeowun lowered his palm.
Papapak!
The fragments of the blade, which were rapidly flying at him, were knocked onto the ground with internal energy.
‘No!’
Kwak Woon’s face hardened.
His secret technique was blocked as if it was nothing.
‘My… my secret…’
Kwak Woon, who was staggering with extreme shock, coughed blood again.
“Kuak!”
It was because he raised his energy to control the shards, and it then unexpectedly backfired.
Kwak Woon almost fell down, but he held his stomach and glared at Chun Yeowun.
‘Who the h.e.l.l…? Why is this monster here?’
The Murim a.s.sociation had several rules.
The first rule was so important that no one under the a.s.sociation would dare break.
Each year, there would be five requests from the a.s.sociation, and they need to be fulfilled.
But there was an exception.
The higher the rank, the better the treatment.
[Go to Jinan city to check the working of the Yongchun Group, the remnants of the Demonic Cult.]
It was a letter Kwak Woon had been given.
He asked the Murim a.s.sociation executive.
[Weren"t they being monitored by the Jinan city Murim branch?]
[I… I guess you haven’t heard yet.]
[What?]
[Before the latest opening of the Gate in Jinan city, 70% of the Murim warriors of the Jinan city branch who partic.i.p.ated in the war were wiped out, and the remaining ones requested their leaves to be granted.]
[What… why?]
The fact that 70% died and that the remaining ones left the branch meant that the Murim a.s.sociation had no control of Jinan city anymore.
[The head office is concerned about this. They are urgently asking you to stay at Weifang after the Gate issue is done.]
Weifang city was to the east of Jinan.
The Demonic Cult.
The one thing the Murim a.s.sociation was wary of.
Which was why they were monitoring the Cult for 27 years.
[I get it. I’ll take this task.]
Kwak Woon thought of what happened and was now regretting it.
He had one remaining right to refuse the task. He should have used it.
However, since the location was close, he accepted the job.
Shhh!
Blood was clogging up in his throat.
“Haaa… Haaa…”
His injuries seemed worse than he imagined.
The more he tried to use energy, the worse his condition got.
It was as if he was already defeated.
‘Who the h.e.l.l is he?’
It was clear that this young man was stronger than him.
No matter how much he tried, he couldn’t feel the energy from Chun Yeowun, which meant he was on another level than him.
‘Body change?’
There was no other way to explain the young look.
Kwak Woon opened his mouth, while trying to endure the pain.
“Kuak… you… are you from the Demonic Cult?”
He asked out of curiosity.
It was definite that those who interfered with their work must be related to the Yongchun group.
Chun Yeowun moved his finger.
Shhh!
“Huk!”
Kwak Woon hurriedly moved his body.
A sharp sense pa.s.sed by his side.
Sword marks lay on the ground.
‘He made swords which can’t be seen?’
It was something that every martial artist longed for.
Kwak Woon acknowledged this man.
This young man was someone he could never defeat.
“Interesting. To call the Cult like that in front of me.”
Despite saying it was interesting, the voice was cold.
Even when he was in the past, not a single person could use the word Demonic Cult in a degrading manner, but here, in front of Chun Yeowun, this man was calling the Cult in such a way.
‘He has to be from the Demonic Cult.’
Kwak Woon’s expression darkened.
It was because the concerns of the Murim a.s.sociation were correct.
‘What the h.e.l.l? Was there a monster like this in the Cult beside the Black Horse and Wind Demon?’
The Black Horse was a nickname for Chun Woo-jin, the imprisoned Lord.
And Wind Demon was the Great Guardian Marayun.
They were like beasts 27 years ago, until the company fell.
And Chun Woo-jin was one of the Five Great Warriors of that time.
Originally, Kwak Woon was a normal warrior, but 20 years ago, he managed to awaken and took the empty spot.
Grunt!
Kwak Woon grunted through his teeth.
‘… this is bad. It doesn’t matter who I am.’
It was embarra.s.sing, but he had to run away.
If he was gonna stay obsessed with the t.i.tle, then he could be taken hostage or die right there.
‘And if I am caught, the a.s.sociation will have to make a bargain. I need to let them know that there are monsters like this in the Demonic Cult!’
He kept trying to justify his thought to run away.
Without that, Kwak Woon would die.
‘I need to retreat. Retreat…’
Shhh!
“What do you keep mumbling inside?”
“Huh?”
All of a sudden, Chun Yeowun appeared right in front of him.
Embarra.s.sed, Kwak Woon tried to move away by causing a diversion with the sword pieces.
Slash!
In an instant, his arm was cut-off.
“KUAK!”
The pain was beyond imagination.
However, since he was a Supreme Master, he could control his body more freely. So he tried to endure the pain.
Throb!
‘I need to hold on.’
Because he knew the moment his heart would shake, he would meet his end.
Kwak Woon pulled something out of his waist with his left hand.
‘This is the worst. To use this.’
It had the form of a grenade.
M94.
A flash bomb with twice the power of a military M82.
An explosive that emits millions of candelas and sounds over 200 decibels.
It would blind both eyes and even cause permanent damage to the ears.
‘To use this against a Human and not Gate ent.i.ties.’
Phat!
The flash bomb, which was supposed to explode as soon as the pin fixed on the belt was pulled out, exploded immediately.
Along with light, came the sound of a dolphin screaming.
‘kuk!’
Even with his eyes closed, the light was still horrible.
Kwak Woon cuffed his ears to not let the sound enter his ears.
‘It would work in 4 seconds.’
And those 4 seconds were crucial.
Even if the eyes were closed a moment later, they would be burnt.
‘Now is the time. Injure him and run away.’
He knew that the flash bomb wouldn’t do any damage to the opponent.
Feeling the crisis, he knew that the enemy would also expect this.
However, even if the enemy expects it, he would have to sense the opponent without seeing nor hearing.
Phat!
Kwak Woon immediately shut his eyes.
It was then.
Tak!
“Uh?”
His left wrist was caught.
‘Is this even possible?’
Only 2 seconds pa.s.sed.
And the light was bright.
Kwak Woon closed his eyes tightly and tried to shake off the hand.
Slash!
At that moment, something moved through his ankle, and pain came over him.
“Kuaaak!”
Kwa Woon screamed as the light disappeared and opened his eyes.
He didn’t know what happened in the 4 seconds.
It made no sense for a man who lost his blindness and hearing to have such a good sense.
“Y-You?”
Kwak Woon’s face turned pale.
Chun Yeowun, who was holding his wrist, looked at him.
For a man who was supposed to be blind by the light, he was looking straight at Kwak Woon.
“Why did you think I couldn’t do this?”
“No… No way…”
Grab!
“Eup!”
Chun Yeowun slammed his face into the floor.
Bang!
“Kuak!”
Taptaptap!
And then sealed his blood points.
Despite being a Supreme Master warrior, he felt defeated for real.
‘Body isn’t moving.’
Kwak Woon was desperate.
His plan to run away had failed miserably.
Chun Yeowun lifted his hand, which pushed him to the ground.
“Kay. Now I want to hear what you people were trying to do.”
As expected, information.
Kwak Yoon bit his lip strong enough for it to bleed.
He couldn’t answer.
After being caught, it was obvious that the enemy would kill him once he got the information.
Shaking in anger, Kwak Woon opened his mouth.
“Kill me.”
He wanted to protect the honor he had left.
After all, he lost because he wasn’t skilled.
However, he was never going to betray the people by leaking information.
In pain, he tried to speak.
“No matter how much you torture. I will not give you anything, not to you the evil Demonic Cult!”
“That so?”
Chun Yeowun smiled.
‘What?’
Kwak Woon smiled.
Even though he showed such will, the enemy was relaxed.
‘Doesn’t matter. I will endure.’
Even if a sword would be put on his neck, he was going to stay silent.
But it felt strange.
He thought that the enemy would pull out his nails and then cut his fingers, but Chun Yeowun kept asking questions.
“Is the Murim a.s.sociation the one who sent you?”
“Where did you come from?”
“What instructions did you receive?”
“What do you know about the Murim a.s.sociation?”
After each question, he waited for 10 seconds and then asked another.
Kwak Woon couldn’t understand what the man’s intentions were.
He kept asking questions despite not getting any answer. Why was he doing that?
Kwak Woon stayed silent.
He wasn’t sure what mind game was being played, but he wasn’t going to fall for it.
It lasted for around 10 minutes.
“That is all.”
“…?”
Chun Yeowun stopped asking questions.
Kwak Woon’s face turned tense as the questions stopped.
Creepy!
He felt something cold and gloomy.
He was unable to move his body, but the weird energy was very unpleasant and he wanted to run.
‘What? What is this gloomy energy?’
At that moment, Kwak Woon’s eyes widened.
Shh!
Something hazy was moving around.
Like a ghost.
“Wh-what is this?”
Even when he closed his eyes and then opened them again, the ghost stayed.
It was approaching them while pa.s.sing through the warehouse wall, and the sight made him want to run.
And it wasn’t just one ghost.
Shhh!
They appeared from all sides.
Confused, he shouted at Chun Yeowun.
“Y-you can’t see those things around?’
He was trying to see if he was the only one who could see them.
Chun Yeowun smiled.
“Do I look like I don’t see them?”
Shhh!
The ghosts were approaching them.
Kwak Woon, who was unable to move because of the sealed blood points, yelled.
“Are you not going to do anything?”
Despite that, Chun Yeowun stood still.
Soon, the ghosts were near them.
Kwak Woon’s eyes met with Chun Yeowun.
He then looked at the ghost.
‘Seong-gyeom?’
He wasn’t sure, but the face of the ghost was similar to his disciple.
And the others too.
‘These… these are…’
Kwak Woon’s eyes turned red.
‘Did they appear because they couldn’t forget their grudges?’
Kwak Woon believed that the ghosts appeared because of their grudge against Chun Yeowun, who killed them.
He felt ashamed for trembling in front of them.
‘You are the true heroes of the faction…’
At that time, Chun Yeowun spoke to the ghosts.
“Have you dealt with all the rats around you?”
‘!?’
Kwak Woon couldn’t understand why the ghosts were nodding their heads at Chun Yeowun’s question.
“W-what is this?”
“Ah, were they people you brought?”
At Chun Yeowun’s question, Kwak Woon shouted.
“Yes you b.a.s.t.a.r.d! They are the proud disciples of the Mount Hua clan! They will kill…”
Grab!
“Eup!”
Chun Yeowun grabbed his mouth.
And then said.
“Noisy. Whatever they are, I will make sure to use them even if they are disciples.”
‘What?’
Kwak Woon’s eyes went wide at those words.
Unless he misunderstood, Chun Yeowun said he was the one who turned them like this.
“Eup! Euppppp!”
‘What did he do?’
Kwak Woon tried to protest.
But with his mouth closed, it sounded like a groan.
At that moment, Chun Yeowun’s right wrist shone with a gloomy blue light.
Creepy!
And the feeling from it was the same as the energy around the ghosts.
‘C-could this be possible?’
Puck!
Chun Yeowun’s hand pierced his chest.
“Kuak!”
Drop!
The whole body turned pale and fell.
It then soon began to convulse and then stiffened.
It was a truly tragic death for one of the Five Great Warriors, said to be the strongest in Murim.
Shhh!
Before long, a ghost appeared from Kwak Woon’s body.
Chun Yeowun nodded with a smile as he looked at the ghost.
“I must be lucky. A ghost of a Supreme Master.”
He was satisfied.
Reaching out his hand to the ghost’s head, Chun Yeowun mumbled.
“Let’s see what you thought about those questions.”
The ability to read memories.
Finally, he got a chance to use it.