The culprit was, without question, Seok Woohaeng’s handiwork.
The guests, composed of righteous sect masters, were a force capable of aiding Janggeom Mountain Manor at any moment. He had preemptively released a scattering poison, poisoning the guests of the manor.
"It’s mixed with a stench that induces vomiting, but it’s a scattering poison!" A guest knowledgeable in medicine shouted.
Fortunately, the scattering poison wasn’t life-threatening. Moreover, most of the martial artists present could expel the poison using their inner energy.
"Protect us!" The fallen martial artists sat cross-legged, exerting all their strength to purge the poison.
This left the remaining warriors of Janggeom Mountain Manor in a panic. Instead of receiving help, they now had to protect the guests.
‘It’ll be over soon.’ Myo Cheon-woo, unleashing a barrage of Annihilation Palms, wore a victorious smile.
Seok Woohaeng’s plan was meticulous, single-handedly throwing the manor’s warriors into chaos and suppressing the Zhongnan and Kongtong Taoists.
Now, if he could just take Han Seong’s head, everything would be over.
Ching!
Suddenly, a clear sword cry resonated through the sky.
"…!" At the same moment, a white sword aura poured down like a storm over Myo Cheon-woo’s head. "What?" Myo Cheon-woo quickly tried to evade the cascading sword aura.
Whoosh!
But the sword aura, which had been pouring down, suddenly vanished before his eyes, only to strike at his back.
"The Cloud-Severing Sword?" The cascading sword aura was identical to the moves of Han Seong’s Cloud-Severing Sword.
Yet, its precision and cunning surpassed Han Seong’s, striking at an angle impossible to evade.
"Urgh." Myo Cheon-woo spun his body like a top, releasing a palm strike.
It was the life-saving technique of the Annihilation Palm, the Heaven-Turning Creation of Annihilation.
Swirl.
A circular wave of palm force enveloped Myo Cheon-woo’s entire body. But even with the life-saving technique, the sword aura pierced through, leaving a deep wound on his forearm.
‘This!’ Struck by a sword on his left forearm, Myo Cheon-woo was greatly alarmed.
The flesh wound wasn’t severe, but the inner energy in the sword aura had blocked the meridians in his left forearm.
Thud.
At the same time, a slender figure descended from the air beside Han Seong.
"Qingmei?" Han Seong’s jaw dropped as he recognized the woman beside him.
Clad in white, the woman held a gleaming longsword in one hand. It was Qing Choxian, a Great Righteous Master from the Emei Sect.
"What brings you here?" As a flustered Han Seong shouted to her,
Whoosh!
A low sword cry accompanied a sharp sonic boom above Seok Woohaeng, who was facing the Zhongnan and Kongtong Taoists.
Slash!
The sonic boom turned into an explosive sound, tearing through the air toward Seok Woohaeng’s head. He tried to dodge, but Kang Jung-ryang and Du Yue, sensing his move, desperately blocked his retreat.
Splatter!
Blood sprayed from Seok Woohaeng’s side as the sharp sword aura struck.
Thud.
At the same time, a large figure landed from the air in front of the Zhongnan and Kongtong Taoists.
It was a man in navy-blue robes. His eyes were filled with vitality, and his body exuded a sharp aura. Moreover, a distinctive longsword with an arrow-like tip hung at his waist.
"The Tianshan Sect?" Recognizing the sword as one used by Tianshan Sect warriors, Seok Woohaeng’s eyes flashed.
"…A Great Righteous Master."
The man grinned and nodded.
"Guan Shitian of Tianshan."
The Tianshan Sect had produced two Great Righteous Masters. One was Young Jiwi, who joined late, and the other was Guan Shitian, a first-generation disciple.
—Why is a Great Righteous Master from Tianshan here?
The unexpected situation caused the onlookers to murmur.
"Shitian, what brings you here?" Han Seong asked, and Guan Shitian approached with a playful reply.
"It’s been a while, Young Master Han." Han Seong’s face reddened.
"Are you still teasing me about that?" During his training in the Martial Alliance, Han Seong had endured harsh training by shouting, “I am the young master of Janggeom Mountain Manor!”
From that day, his nickname among the Great Righteous Masters became “Young Master Han.”
"What brings you here unannounced?" Han Seong’s eyes widened, and Guan Shitian smiled.
"I heard Janggeom Mountain Manor was preparing to catch a Ten Demon Warrior. So, I came to lend a hand." Though he spoke lightly, Han Seong’s expression hardened.
The plan to trap the Ten Demons Warrior was a closely guarded secret within the manor.
Yet, he came to help after hearing about it? Did that mean there was a spy among the manor’s leadership leaking information? Seeing Han Seong’s expression, Guan Shitian sighed.
"Don’t worry. Would I place a spy in my friend’s house?" His gaze rested not on Han Seong but on Han Yeongbaek.
"Could it be Father?"
Guan Shitian nodded and spoke softly. "The master secretly requested our help, in case things went wrong."
Han Seong bowed his head in shame. In the end, his father didn’t trust his son’s abilities and sought help. From his closest friends, no less.
"Why didn’t you tell me beforehand?"
"This had to be kept highly confidential. We had to deceive you to deceive them." Han Seong was dissatisfied but could say nothing.
If they hadn’t come, the plan would have failed completely, and he himself might have been killed.
***
The sudden appearance of Great Righteous Masters from Tianshan and Emei.
Watching their conversation with Han Seong, Myo Cheon-woo sighed as he looked at Seok Woohaeng.
"You didn’t anticipate this, did you?" Seok Woohaeng’s expression stiffened slightly.
As an assassin, he always anticipated unexpected situations and prepared thoroughly. But this time, unforeseen events kept unfolding.
‘Where did the information leak from?’ To kill Han Seong, Seok Woohaeng had spent a month thoroughly investigating the manor and uncovering their trap. Yet, how had the Great Righteous Masters arrived without his knowledge? How had Han Yeongbaek secretly contacted them?
"So that’s how it was." After pondering, he quickly found the answer. "My sect planned to eliminate me."
Since entering the martial world, Seok Woohaeng had distinguished himself by repeatedly defeating Great Righteous Masters.
That must have irked the Extreme Slaughter Sect. They couldn’t allow Seok Woohaeng to become the Demonic Sect’s successor under any circumstances.
"I should have built my own intelligence network." Seok Woohaeng muttered with a regretful expression.
He had relied on the Extreme Slaughter Sect’s intelligence network, which likely allowed them to see through his plans and actions. And someone among them must have secretly leaked information to the righteous sects to trap him.
"So that’s how it was." Myo Cheon-woo, grasping the situation, let out a hollow laugh. "My palace did the same. That’s why I was ambushed in my first battle with a Great Righteous Master."
Myo Cheon-woo spoke calmly, as if giving up.
"From Hell Island… no, from the moment we joined the Ten Demon Warrior, we were doomed to die."
"No, I anticipated this too."
"What?"
"I never expected to assassinate Great Righteous Masters so easily." Raising his sword resolutely, he spoke softly. "I will not die. I will survive and become the Demonic Sect’s successor."
A fierce gust erupted from Seok Woohaeng’s body. As he summoned his full inner energy, the latent energy in his body began to rise like a mirage.
"Impressive aura." Guan Shitian, watching, let out an exclamation of admiration. "The Ten Demon Warrior… if we let them roam for a few years, we couldn’t guarantee victory."
"But that won’t happen." Qing Choxian spoke coldly, drawing her sword. "After dealing with them, we’ll hunt down the remaining Ten Demon Warrior."
At her words, Han Seong and Guan Shitian nodded, assuming their stances.
Kang Jung-ryang, Du Yue, and the five remaining Taoists from each sect also surrounded Seok Woohaeng and Myo Cheon-woo.
Myo Cheon-woo gritted his teeth. His left arm’s meridians were blocked, and Seok Woohaeng was bleeding from a deep wound in his side.
Now, only death awaited them.
Flash!
The first strike came from Guan Shitian’s Four-Sun Sword Technique.
Following it, the Cloud-Severing Sword, the pinnacle of cloud swordsmanship, struck from both sides, while Zhongnan’s Drunken Rain Sword and Kongtong’s Seven-Phase Palm poured down like a storm from the rear.
In response, Myo Cheon-woo unleashed the Ultimate Annihilation Blade Palm, one of the three great palm techniques of the Annihilation Palace. Seok Woohaeng scattered ten types of hidden weapons, five types of deadly poisons, and wielded the Extreme Slaughter Blood Demon Sword.
But the Ultimate Annihilation Blade Palm was blocked by the relentless Cloud-Severing Sword, and Seok Woohaeng’s sword techniques and hidden weapons were countered by Guan Shitian’s Whirlwind Sun-Shooting Form and the Taoists’ sword shadows.
"Huff, huff." Myo Cheon-woo, one arm dangling, was breathing heavily, while Seok Woohaeng, drenched in blood, glared at his enemies.
"Truly the fiends of the Ten Demonic Sects. Remarkable." Guan Shitian looked down at them, unable to hide his admiration.
Even on the verge of collapse, they tenaciously blocked attacks, desperately seeking a way out. When an unstoppable move came, they offered their hips or backs to minimize damage.
In a one-on-one fight, victory would be hard to predict.
"But it’s over now." Qing Choxian raised her gleaming longsword above her head.
Realizing they had no strength left to resist, she prepared to deliver the final strike to sever their heads.
"Wait!" Han Seong spoke with a wronged expression. "This is Janggeom Mountain Manor. If Qingmei finishes them, what becomes of my reputation?"
In truth, it wasn’t about reputation but the desire to claim the fame of defeating the Ten Demon Warrior. Qing Choxian glanced at Guan Shitian, gave a subtle smile, and nodded.
"Do as you wish." Were Qing Choxian and Guan Shitian so indifferent to fame that they’d relinquish the honor of defeating the Ten Demon Warrior to Han Seong?
Not at all.
Three hundred guests had witnessed everything here. Even if Han Seong defeated the Ten Demon Warrior, Qing Choxian and Guan Shitian’s contributions couldn’t be ignored.
‘No choice. This is the only way to preserve the manor’s honor.’ Han Seong knew this well.
But since all the manor’s plans had failed, this was the only way to maintain his dignity as the young master.
"Thank you." Han Seong drew his longsword and stepped forward. "Ten Demon Warrior, it’s unfortunate, but you chose the wrong time!"
As Han Seong’s longsword sliced through the air toward their necks,
Flash!
A meteor suddenly appeared in the sky.
"…!" But this meteor didn’t streak across the heavens—it hurtled fiercely toward Han Seong on the ground.
"Brother!" Qing Choxian, recognizing it as a powerful sword aura, quickly stepped in front of Han Seong.
Clang, clang, clang!
Ear-piercing metallic sounds rang out as her longsword slashed through the incoming sword aura.
"Ugh!" A stifled groan escaped Qing Choxian’s lips.
The sword aura was so fierce that she couldn’t dissipate it in an instant.
"Hah!" Guan Shitian stepped in, deflecting the sword aura to the side.
Clang!
The sword aura struck the ground beside Han Seong.
Boom!
An explosion followed, creating a crater large enough for an ox. The onlookers widened their eyes.
—Who could have unleashed such a sword aura?
Sssss.
At that moment, a ghostly figure in a mask rose from the ground before Seok Woohaeng and Myo Cheon-woo.
"You…" Even facing death, Seok Woohaeng’s eyes, previously composed, sharpened like blades.
"Bu Eunseol…!"
Though masked, he recognized Bu Eunseol by his eyes alone.
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