Chapter 83 - Those Who Chase the Dragon (4)

I took a deep breath and let out a forceful shout.

"Haaah!"

*BANG! * With the sound of bursting air, the killing intent constricting my group was instantly pushed away.

Jong Seogang, who had been pressuring us with a triumphant expression, furrowed his brow heavily.

"You want everything? I refuse. How dare a mere thief act so entitled, demanding things as if they were his own. You must have a death wish."

Jong Seogang, whose brow had been furrowed, suddenly burst into laughter.

"Ha!"

Then he immediately covered his mouth, as if he hadn't realized what he was doing.

"I apologize. I just heard something so absurd."

Jong Seogang smiled cunningly.

"It does not matter if you act tough, but what do you plan to do if your junior martial siblings are put in danger because of it?"

"They are not so weak that you need to worry about them."

Jong Seogang tilted his head.

"They said a dragon was born from a small stream in Anhui Province, but it seems it was merely a fearless serpent."

"The reason people call someone a dragon is because they can see what ordinary people cannot."

"..."

Jong Seogang's face, which had been continuously wearing a triumphant smile, stiffened for the first time. The same went for the men surrounding him like guards.

"Huu... There is never an easy way."

Jong Seogang shook his head and then glared with wide, threatening eyes.

"I will give you one last warning. Hand over the admission tokens. Or choose death. Choose one of the two."

"..."

While listening to Jong Seogang's bullshit, my qi sense was moving busily to grasp the surroundings.

'One hundred and fifty? Two hundred?'

The number of people surrounding us at a certain distance centered around the forest was between one hundred and fifty and two hundred, just from what I could currently detect.

Thinking back to the records of the past, there were probably five hundred people surrounding the area.

'The Young Gang Leader of the Azure Blade Gang hasn't even shown his face yet.'

Furthermore, the entire time we were talking, I couldn't take my eyes off the sword scar crossing the eye of the man standing to Jong Seogang's right.

'Gam Cheoljin, the Heartless Yellow Sword.'

An expert who, after the Yellow Sword Sect was annihilated in the future, was left alone in Jianghu and made a name for himself as a mercenary wanderer.

'Did they even mobilize secret warriors?'

Those who well understood the Jianghu proverb that one must hide three-tenths of their true skill would cultivate secret forces unknown to the Murim Alliance.

The Namgung Clan's Hidden Bow Squad was one such group, and the Iron Sword Sect's Black Sword Squad took on a similar aspect.

And these secret warriors, raised in hiding without engaging in Jianghu activities... were used as a trump card in events like this damn hellish standard exam.

In a way, I understood. If one failed to enter the Murim Academy, they could not attain a position higher than Vice Pavilion Master within the Murim Alliance.

A martial artist's entire life was decided at the Murim Academy.

'If I had secret warriors, I would want to use them too.'

Regardless, there was nothing shittier than a situation where the opponent could use them and I couldn't.

"What will you do?"

Of course, that didn't mean I was going to give up.

"I have no hobby of repeating myself. I refuse."

Jong Seogang let out a soft chuckle, as if he did not doubt his victory.

"You are the one who chose the penalty."

SHING.

The moment Jong Seogang spoke, Gam Cheoljin and the other guards drew their swords.

I also took up my opening stance, showing my intent to aim for Jong Seogang's neck in a single strike.

Seeing this, Gam Cheoljin immediately displayed his intent to target Dongryong.

'Is he that confident in Jong Seogang's martial arts? Or is there another secret warrior mixed in among the guards?'

If we clashed right now, both sides would suffer damage, but our side's losses would undoubtedly be more painful.

The Geum-eun-dong Brothers were already preparing their sword array to brace for combat, but they severely lacked the strength to handle an expert on Gam Cheoljin's level.

Just then, Jong Seogang restrained the area.

"Whoa, whoa. Do not get so excited. Did I not say I wanted to have a conversation?"

Jong Seogang showed no intention of starting a battle right away, seemingly aware that I would definitely attack him.

"Sheathe your swords."

At Jong Seogang's words, Gam Cheoljin and the rest of the guards all sheathed their swords into their scabbards.

"It is said that a wounded beast is always more ferocious."

Jong Seogang turned around with words that sounded full of conviction.

"Haa."

Geumpyo let out his tension and breathed heavily. Eunho asked worriedly.

"Senior Brother, will they retreat with this?"

"No. The ones hiding in the forest haven't left their positions yet."

"Don't worry. We've fought against nearly a thousand people before."

Eunho couldn't hide his look of pity at Geumpyo's words.

"..."

"What?"

In terms of sheer numbers, the Ssangmak Stronghold had possessed a much more overwhelming force, but it was difficult to compare mountain bandits who hadn't learned a single unified martial art to a prestigious sect that proudly placed its name among the 108 Peaks.

Furthermore, confronting them when we didn't know where the secret warriors were mixed in carried a high probability of putting my junior martial siblings in danger.

"For now, let's mov—"

The moment we were about to leave, I locked eyes with Dongryong and stopped in my tracks.

"Are you having a hard time?"

"... Huh?"

Dongryong's eyes were flushed crimson. He hadn't realized it himself, as he looked at his brothers with a surprised expression.

Having taken Gam Cheoljin's killing intent head-on, his murderous nature had instinctively boiled up again.

"Of all times..."

"N-No! I'm fine!"

I took out the Tangmaryeongju from my bundle and hung it around his neck.

"Senior Brother... I'm fi— Huh?"

Miraculously, his crimson-flushed eyes returned to their original color.

"Senior Brother, this is..."

"Do not neglect your study of the Taiyi True Scripture. Relying on a divine artifact is the same as always carrying a burden of risk."

"Yes."

"Let's move."

As soon as we left the area, the forest began to shake violently.

Even though there was no wind blowing, the tree branches clashed fiercely against each other.

"... Senior Brother, just how many of them are there?"

"Wouldn't it be better not to know?"

"... Ugh. That's true. But why didn't they attack right away?"

"Either they wanted to minimize casualties, or they are busy gauging who will make the first move. It has to be one of the two."

"What?"

"They are a group comprised of seven different sects in total."

"... Senior Brother."

Eunho suddenly called me in a serious voice.

"What is it?"

"If a moment ever comes where you must abandon me so that the rest of us can live, please cast me aside without hesitation."

"..."

While I was unable to reply to such an incomprehensible statement, Eunho continued speaking.

"Please promise me. Promise that you will not give up your admission to the Murim Academy for my sake."

He must have been provoked by the bullshit Jong Seogang spouted earlier.

Just as I was about to tell him not to mind it, Geumpyo spoke up.

"Senior Brother, the same goes for me. If a moment comes when you must abandon me, please cast me aside without delay."

Dongryong, whose eyes had returned to normal, quickly added on.

"Senior Brother, me too!"

"What are you talking about, Lee Dongryong! You're the youngest, so you must return alive!"

"You're the eldest son of our family! You need to return alive to inherit the mill!"

The three brothers refused to yield, each arguing that they should be the one to die.

"What are you guys doing?"

"... Well."

"Since when did you brats start thinking about throwing your lives away first? Even if I get admitted to the Murim Academy by sacrificing you all, do you think I could attend with a peaceful mind?"

The thing I regretted to the point of death in my past life was surviving alone while leaving my martial siblings and martial uncles behind.

And right now, I was running with the resolve to die just so I wouldn't repeat that mistake.

"B-But, it's only natural to risk one's life for their martial siblings... Eldest Senior Brother said..."

Just why did they keep claiming I said things I had no memory of?

"I will warn you right now. Do not die under any circumstances. Don't even think about dying. If any of you entertain thoughts of sacrificing yourselves or giving up your lives for my sake, I will immediately send you back to our sect and tell the Sect Leader to expel you!"

"...!"

"Why is there no answer?!"

"U-Understood!"

"Understood!"

"Understood!"

"..."

What the hell did they mean by 'Understood' all of a sudden? I was left speechless at the boys' increasingly strange behavior as the days passed.

* * *

Since we were already being chased by pursuers anyway, taking a mountain path was meaningless.

We immediately turned around, went down the main road, and began running.

"Senior Brother, shouldn't we run faster?"

When performing moving cultivation, the speed of one's footwork naturally decreased.

The pressure from unseen opponents must have been heavy, as Geumpyo and Eunho looked like they wanted to shake them off right this instant.

"No matter how fast we run, we won't be able to shake them off."

Now that we had been surrounded, the moment we clashed to break through their net, the allies spread out in the surroundings would eagerly rush in.

Considering this was the method primarily used by humans to hunt tigers, the tactic the Yellow Sword Sect and Azure Blade Gang were using to hunt us was clearly one designed to yield maximum results with minimal casualties.

"Then what do we do?"

"If we can't shake them off, we just have to use them."

"Pardon?"

Having passed Deqing, we were facing the crossroad between Mount Makgan and Huzhou.

"Senior Brother."

Eunho had his head turned, looking behind us.

At the far end of the main road, Jong Seogang and his guards, whom we had seen earlier, were revealing themselves as they followed, and beside them, warriors wearing the same yellow martial attire were maintaining a set distance to display their encirclement.

"Senior Brother! In the forest!"

Even from the mountain slope we had just descended, people wearing navy martial attire were slowly beginning to close the distance. It was the Namhyang Sect, based in Zhejiang Province.

The strange thing was that the gang members of the Azure Blade Gang were still nowhere to be seen.

"Senior Brother, up ahead."

The reason for that became clear the moment we entered the crossroad between Mount Makgan and Huzhou.

The Azure Blade Gang's Young Gang Leader, Jang Sunwon, was blocking the path to Huzhou alongside people who appeared to be his guards.

"Why does it feel like they're steering us toward the mountain?"

"Because it's easier to hunt in the mountains than in a city."

"They're coordinating perfectly."

"... Let's head up the mountain."

"What? Are you serious? Never flee into a mountain when being chased. Even a seven-year-old child knows that."

"I know that too."

I immediately turned my direction to the side opposite to the path Jang Sunwon was blocking.

Mount Makgan was a rugged mountain not yet famous in Zhejiang Province.

Because it didn't produce good herbs or wild greens, nor did it yield high-quality timber, it was a place the surrounding locals paid little attention to.

'That must be why they chose this place as their hunting ground.'

However, this Mount Makgan would become a place that drew people's attention due to a certain incident several years later.

I originally intended to bring that incident forward a bit and make use of it.

Looking back, the warriors of the Yellow Sword Sect were forming a large semicircle, slowly beginning to encircle Mount Makgan.

"Move faster."

As we climbed halfway up the mountain, a path that crossed the mountain and led in the opposite direction appeared.

"Senior Brother, there are people who look like warriors of the Azure Blade Gang on the opposite side."

The opposite side of Mount Makgan was already blocked off by the Azure Blade Gang.

"There is no way out."

Geumpyo spoke with a bleak voice.

Just then, Eunho snapped nervously, as if he was annoyed.

"Just shut up! Eldest Senior Brother obviously came here because he has a plan in mind!"

"... Shut up? You little punk! To your older brother?!"

"Fuck! So what?!"

When curses flew out of Eunho's mouth, Geumpyo adjusted his grip on his sword hilt as if he was going to kill Eunho right then and there.

Only Dongryong wore an expression of confusion, not knowing what was suddenly going on.

"Brothers, what's wrong?"

"You shut up too! This is all because of you!"

At Geumpyo's harsh shout, tears welled up in the corners of Dongryong's eyes.

The three brothers, whose sibling bond was so strong just a moment ago that they argued over wanting the others to live, were now growling as if they were going to kill one another.

I quickly stopped my moving cultivation and felt around with my qi sense.

'I knew it.'

A killing intent that felt as though it was sharply stinging my entire body.

It was not a direct killing intent scattered by a person, but rather a killing intent that naturally spread through the air to assail the entire body.

When exposed to this kind of killing intent, humans instinctively felt fear, and to overcome that fear, they unleashed rage in all directions.

"Silence!"

When I unleashed a Lion's Roar, the bodies of the three brothers, who looked ready to brawl at any second, stopped dead in their tracks.

"Focus on your moving cultivation."

Because they had increased their speed upon entering the mountain, their moving cultivation had gradually unraveled, and the killing intent had seeped into their calm minds.

As an example, Dongryong had been moving at the exact same speed, but thanks to wearing the Tangmaryeongju, he had not been submerged in rage.

Geumpyo and Eunho, whose faces had been full of dissatisfaction even as I spoke, slowly relaxed their fierce expressions as if they had never been angry.

"Huh?"

"W-What the hell is..."

"Senior Brother, did we happen to fall into an array?"

Could this really be called an array? If it could be classified as an array, it was the most cruel array in the world that humans could unleash upon other humans.

"It's similar, but different. You all have probably heard of it too..."

The tactic primarily used by demonic practitioners of the Demonic Cult to deal with the supreme experts of both the Orthodox faction and the Underworld.

"It's the Heaven and Earth Net."