29

“…”

An icy silence settled over the hall.

Those who had been voicing complaints against the Namgung Family, and those among the Namgung Family’s warriors who had tried to placate them, all stood there dumbfounded, having lost the ability to speak.

Namgung Paengsaeng was dead.

In the inner courtyard of the Namgung Family, at the very heart of their stronghold, an Elder had been killed.

And not just anywhere, but in the middle of the grand banquet hosted by the Namgung Family themselves.

“…”

Faced with this unprecedented calamity, no one could find the right words or actions.

Amidst it all, Chui quietly went about finishing his business.

…Thud!

Namgung Paengsaeng’s corpse flew through the air and tumbled onto a table at the center of the banquet hall.

Food and tableware scattered in all directions, and the nearby attendants shrieked and collapsed in fright.

Clang! Ching! Shrrrk…

Only then were swords drawn.

The Namgung Family’s warriors surrounded the altar like a pack of well-trained war hounds.

“…He’s a supreme master.”

“Exercise extreme caution.”

“He’s strong enough to beat an Elder to death by himself.”

Only now did the Heavenly Net truly close in.

There was no way they could simply let the culprit, who had infiltrated deep into the main stronghold and caused such havoc, walk away.

At that moment, someone parted the sea of blades.

Namgung Pa.

Cold sweat streamed down his forehead, and his once neatly combed hair had fallen into disarray.

He was still carrying his daughter on his back.

“…”

As soon as he reached the center of the banquet hall and saw Namgung Paengsaeng’s corpse, Namgung Pa swallowed heavily.

Then, in a low and heavy voice, he spoke.

“Keep your promise, Samchinghwangcheon.”

“…”

Chui immediately understood what Namgung Pa meant.

Not even half a shichen had passed yet, so Namgung Yul was still in a poisoned state.

Namgung Pa must have gone to find a physician, only to be told there was nothing they could do, and then returned here.

But once enough time passed, the poison would resolve itself naturally.

Chui was not one to lie by nature, but since lives were on the line, he decided to drag things out a little longer.

Swoosh—

Chui picked up the bottle that had been circling the altar once more.

“This is the antidote.”

“Nonsense. That’s poison.”

“If you keep to the proper dosage, it’s medicine. Just a tiny amount, enough to prick with a needle and smear on the tongue.”

At Chui’s words, Namgung Pa bit his lip.

He could neither believe him nor disbelieve him.

But with his daughter’s life at stake, he hesitated.

Chui shook the bottle.

The bottle was completely empty, but that was something only Chui knew.

He loosened the stopper slightly.

“There’s only a little left.”

“Fine. I understand, so hand it over quickly. Then I’ll spare your life.”

“The stopper’s loose. If you don’t retrieve it quickly, it’ll all spill.”

“…?”

Namgung Pa, who had been reaching out, frowned in confusion.

At that instant—

…Snap!

Chui threw the glass bottle.

It fell into the large artificial pond set beside the banquet hall.

Splash!

The bottle sank into the center of the pond.

Namgung Pa shouted without realizing it.

“R-retrieve it!”

The Namgung Family’s warriors rushed toward the pond.

Seizing that opening, Chui leapt down from the altar.

…Boom!

Stepping on the faces of several warriors as they drew their swords, Chui crossed the estate in an instant and vaulted over the wall.

Chui was confident in his lightness skill.

As long as the spear-ghosts braced him with their hands from ground and air alike, all he had to do was step on them and leap.

Had other martial artists seen it, they might have mistaken it for the realms of supreme lightness skill—Grass-on-Water Flight, Treading Snow Without Leaving Tracks, or Walking on Air—abilities only absolute masters could display.

…Boom boom boom boom!

Chui evaded the sword strikes of several Namgung Elders like a ghost, wrapping their bodies in a crimson wind formed by afterimages.

“A-at the pinnacle of mastery!”

“To think such lightness skill exists in this world!”

“Even the Namgung Elders can’t handle him!”

“I can’t believe my eyes. Was Samchinghwangcheon really this strong…!”

Those martial artists unaffiliated with the Namgung Family could only gape in awe.

But bound as they were under the name of Namgung, they too had no choice but to draw their swords.

Only now did Chui become a truly hunted man.

The entire estate turned into a forest of blades.

Sword-flowers bloomed, and saber-bamboo stood tall, as Chui flitted about the estate like a butterfly.

Minor wounds accumulated across his body, but Chui paid them no mind.

At this rate, he could clear the Namgung Family’s high walls without serious injury and before exhausting his inner power.

It helped that Namgung Pa and the other high-ranking figures had all rushed to the pond in search of the antidote.

Sensing success, Chui hurled himself toward the final wall.

…At that very moment.

“!”

Chui saw himself beheaded.

More precisely, he saw the illusion of his own head being severed.

Just before clearing the wall, a single slashing strike flew in from behind and cut through his neck.

Startled by the vivid vision, Chui immediately retreated.

…There was no sword behind him.

…No sword strike had come flying.

Instead—

“Heh heh heh—sharp instincts, child.”

An old man in plain black robes ambled forward.

Aside from a beard that reached all the way to his knees, he looked utterly ordinary.

Yet Chui’s expression hardened at the sight of him.

Sword King Namgung Cheon.

The previous generation’s head of the Namgung Family.

A living legend of the old martial world.

One of the absolute peaks among the Fifteen Provinces, a man who had once even served as Alliance Leader of the Martial Alliance.

Chui ran a hand across his own neck.

Cold sweat trickled down, but his neck was perfectly intact.

Then what had he just seen?

‘If I’d taken one more step, my head would really have been cut off.’

Namgung Cheon had released condensed killing intent in a split second, sending it flying. It had triggered Chui’s survival instinct and forced him to stop.

Mind Sword.

A miraculous technique said to be possible only for masters who had entered the absolute realm.

Meanwhile, Namgung Cheon still appeared utterly relaxed.

Hands clasped behind his back like a harmless old man, he asked lazily,

“Not leaving?”

“You sent killing intent at me.”

“Heh—how did you know? At that level, it’s hard to notice.”

At Chui’s reply, Namgung Cheon clapped his hands and laughed like a child.

Chui shot back,

“Aren’t you going?”

He glanced toward Namgung Yul lying behind them.

Under the guard of several escorts, Namgung Yul lay on a makeshift bed, drenched in cold sweat.

At that—

Namgung Cheon leapt over and landed beside Namgung Yul.

Then—

Tssssssss…

He poured inner power into her palm.

“Khuk!?”

Namgung Yul spat blood.

It was blood mixed with Chui’s essence.

With a relaxed expression, Namgung Yul passed out.

Namgung Cheon immediately flew back to stand before Chui.

“…”

Chui found himself at a loss for words.

From the beginning, Namgung Cheon had been capable of detoxifying Namgung Yul.

With his flawless and absolute inner power, he could simply burn away Chui’s energy.

The many onlookers who witnessed this were thrown into confusion.

Chui was no exception.

“Heh heh heh—”

Namgung Cheon could have neutralized every one of Chui’s moves from the start, yet he had not intervened until now.

Which meant he wanted something from him.

Chui spoke curtly.

“If you wanted me dead, you’d have killed me already. You’re doing this because you want something else.”

Similar to what Namgung Cheon had said earlier.

And Namgung Cheon replied with words similar to Chui’s own from before.

“Clever, young man.”

“Thanks, old man.”

As they spoke, Namgung Pa and the Namgung Family’s warriors once again surrounded Chui.

Chui frowned.

If he steeled himself to endure some wounds and focused solely on escape, he believed he could shake off everyone here.

But that was only if Namgung Cheon were not a factor.

In the past Chui remembered, Namgung Cheon had long since retired from active duty and lived in seclusion.

Then Namgung Pa shouted,

“Capture the villain! Bind him alive and bring him before me!”

The Namgung Family’s warriors charged forward with drawn swords.

At that moment—

“Stop!”

Namgung Cheon bellowed.

The expression of gleeful amusement vanished from his face.

With a blank expression, Namgung Cheon radiated a pressure that felt almost inhuman.

Even Namgung Pa, who had been like a great tiger moments before, faltered under his father’s presence.

“F-Father. What brings you here…?”

“Who told you to spoil my fun? You lot lost that child. I’m the one who caught him. Don’t try to steal credit.”

“Father! He poisoned Yul and killed the North Palace Elder!”

“So what? Yul’s been cured, and the North Palace Elder was always a thorn in your side, wasn’t he?”

“Father!”

As Namgung Pa raised his voice, Namgung Cheon picked at his ear, scowling.

“Didn’t you promise earlier that if Yul were handed over, you’d let that boy leave safely?”

“That was under duress—”

“Recall the old tale of Cao Mo’s Covenant. Duke Huan of Qi wasn’t a fool for acting as he did. And in the end, didn’t you remove a political enemy without lifting a finger? You should be thanking that Samchinghwangcheon boy instead.”

“What are you saying, Father!? Honestly!”

Namgung Pa looked blindsided by his father’s words, but Namgung Cheon paid him little heed.

“In any case, don’t interfere with my entertainment. This is the most fun I’ve had in nearly twenty—no, thirty years. Be a filial son, will you?”

Namgung Cheon wasn’t scolding only Namgung Pa.

Turning to Chui, he laughed heartily and said,

“Within the Namgung Family estate, my word is law, my friend. Even His Majesty the Emperor gives priority to my opinion.”

“…”

“Now then, shall we establish a new rule?”

Namgung Cheon stroked his beard, pondering.

Then he raised his index finger and continued.

“No leaving the Namgung Family estate without my permission.”

Chui glanced aside.

Behind lay a dense urban district.

If he pushed deeper inside, he’d reach a slum with uneven elevations.

If he slipped in there, his chances of escape were about thirty percent.

Prepared to gamble if needed, Chui asked,

“What would earn me permission to leave?”

“Heh heh heh—”

Namgung Cheon raised his right hand and spread all five fingers.

“I’ll yield you five moves.”

At those words, Namgung Pa and the crowd were shocked.

The Sword King, facing a mere junior, spoke of “yielding moves.”

And only five, at that.

It meant he rated the man before him—Samchinghwangcheon—extremely highly.

Namgung Cheon smiled inscrutably and continued.

“I won’t draw my sword. I’ll just evade. Go on, run wild to your heart’s content.”

In other words, unleash everything he had.

There was no reason to refuse.

Chui adjusted his grip on the staff and shifted his stance.

A posture where his weight and the staff’s mass were focused entirely on the front foot.

A preparatory stance to draw in a heavy blow.

Kuuuuuuuu!

The mud beneath Chui’s foot began to bubble, then hardened, and finally baked smooth like glazed pottery.

The inner power squeezed from countless spear-ghosts surged through Chui’s entire body, concentrating at the tip of the black staff.

Tssssssssssss…

Then Chui’s weight and the staff’s mass shifted from front foot to back foot.

The staff shot straight forward.

Kwa-ang! Krrrraaaash!

With Chui’s stamping step, the surrounding walls collapsed.

At the same time, a terrifying force exploded straight ahead.

Like a gigantic arrow, a dark crimson spear-tear—or rather, staff-tear—flew forth.

It dragged in everything around it, then shredded it apart.

At that same instant—

“Hah!”

Namgung Cheon drew his sword.

Clang!

The momentum of the staff, which had reached point-blank range, was cleanly severed.

The diagonally cut remnant of Chui’s strike completely destroyed a distant pavilion and a bridge spanning the lake.

…Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-boom! …Ruuuumble!

The surrounding terrain was utterly transformed.

A massive mushroom-shaped cloud of earth rose above the collapsed pavilion, and the lake water that had swallowed the destroyed bridge surged out in a flood.

Before this heaven-shaking spectacle, the crowd was left utterly stunned.

Meanwhile, Chui frowned at Namgung Cheon, who now held a drawn sword.

“The sword.”

“Hm?”

“You said you wouldn’t draw it.”

“Ah!”

Namgung Cheon was genuinely flustered by Chui’s remark.

He glanced back and forth between the sword and Chui, fidgeted, then casually sheathed the blade and feigned innocence.

“Well, you see, at my age, a sword’s more comfortable than my bare hands. It just moves on its own. And I forget what I say real quick. Really. You’ll understand when you reach my age. And lately, I think a bit of dementia’s been creeping in and out—well, something like that…”

Apparently, being called a senile old man was preferable to being accused of breaking a promise.

Soon after, Namgung Cheon continued with a smile.

“Anyway, your first move was just a test, wasn’t it? I’ll truly receive the remaining four without drawing my sword.”

“…”

At Namgung Cheon’s words, Chui adjusted his stance once more.

Four moves remained.

Whether they would be four moves of exchange, or four moves leading to death, was still unknown.