‘...?!’

Yeon Hojeong lifted his head and looked up at the sky.

What is this?

The sunset carried an intense red glow.

Within half a shichen, the world would be dark. A faint moon had already begun to show itself on the far edge of the sky.

The air is churning.

If he went a little farther, he’d be near Changsha.

But the air he felt coming from there was strange.

Too restless. Did something happen?

Changsha was the provincial capital of Hunan Province. Even after night fell, there were always people. No—because of the crowds that gathered to enjoy themselves, it would be even more lively.

But this wasn’t the confusion that came from a lot of people.

KRAAAH!

The Vermilion Bird Qi rooted in his heart let out a harsh cry.

Killing Intent?!

Fire blazed from Yeon Hojeong’s eyes.

KRRRROOOOOM!

A powerful Stamping Step shook the earth.

Sensing at once that the situation was not normal, Yeon Hojeong began to wake, one by one, every bit of power he had kept suppressed for the sake of the mission.

TSSS—TSSS—TSSS!

Flame-like qi surged out of his body as he ran, having minimized his internal force to erase his presence.

WHOOSH!

The awakening Vermilion Bird Qi heated his heart until it burned. His heart rate spiked, increasing output, and the blood it drove through his body whipped through every limb, sharpening his nerves to an extreme.

HOOOOOO.

The White Tiger Qi he drew in maximized the capacity of his lungs.

A sudden leap in cardiopulmonary function. Strength overflowed into his arms and legs, and his senses sharpened further. The flow of the air felt close enough to grasp. His muscles and bones tightened, and every joint in his body turned supple.

WUUUUNG!

The Wall of Martial Arts at full strength minimized the [N O V E L I G H T] burden on his body. But the Vermilion Bird Qi and White Tiger Qi were so violently fierce they could be called peerless under heaven, and even with that protection, it couldn’t completely stop fatigue from building in his muscles.

Then the Azure Dragon Qi surged up.

HISSSSSS!

His liver’s function activated, blasting away the fatigue that had accumulated in an instant. Divine qi of the Eastern Heaven—his heated Azure Dragon Qi pushed his recovery to its peak.

The power of the Three Divine Forces, wrung to the limit—body and qi alike.

But even that wasn’t enough. He was in a state more than sufficient to unleash explosive martial arts, but if he wielded power that was too strong, he could lose delicacy. If he slipped even slightly, his balance could collapse and cause internal injury.

Hwaaaaaa.

Divine qi of the Northern Heaven, adjusting balance from where it could not be seen.

Black Tortoise Qi. As it surged, it erased every trace of turbid qi that had formed for even a moment and corrected his internal balance perfectly.

Yeon Hojeong took a deep breath.

Good.

Depending on the situation, he’d only drawn out one or two forces at a time.

But the true value of the Four Spirit Martial Art only revealed itself when he handled every current freely.

Now I’ve got nothing holding me back.

In Yeon Hojeong’s eyes, the energy of four colors flashed in sequence. The Four Spirit Qi was deploying for the first time in a long while—those legendary martial arts finally showing themselves on Hunan soil.

Yeon Hojeong kicked off the ground.

KRRRROOOOOM!

The surface of the earth flipped.

BAAANG!

He accelerated to nearly twice his previous speed. The Yeon Clan’s greatest movement art, Heaven-Granted Flowing Flight, received the power of mutual generation and granted him staggering speed and limitless freedom.

FLAP-FLAP-FLAP-FLAP!

The tails of his long robe snapped like mad. If he pushed the speed any higher, it looked like the edges would shred.

The moment Yeon Hojeong swept into the outskirts of Changsha, his qi-sense caught the presence of the operational team at once.

West!

BAAANG!

It was a startling movement art.

He kicked again in midair and accelerated.

He shot forward like a single beam of light. The instant he opened the strength he had restrained, the energy that had been suppressed seemed to roar in unison, as though it were pushing his martial arts itself up a level.

And finally—

From high in the air, after kicking off the roofs of several pavilions, Yeon Hojeong saw the operational team.

PUUUUK!

Three warriors who had been radiating internal force from their meridians collapsed on the spot under one blazing sword.

It was Pae Yul. He must have refined his Piercing-Sun Sword further—the explosive power carried in his strikes looked even stronger.

He was the most conspicuous among them. Every sword form that began from the Middle-Stage Stance was simple yet practical, and with each slash, enemy heads dropped in clumps.

Even without using the martial arts of Azure Mountain Sect, he was more than strong enough. As expected of the youngest elder in the sect—his ascending killing sword, honed through countless battles, was ravaging the enemy.

PAPAPAPAPANG!

Tang Sang-a’s martial arts were astonishing as well. The martial arts of the Tang Clan of Sichuan’s greatest prodigy didn’t fall short even compared to a seasoned expert who had seen every kind of battlefield.

And she wasn’t using hidden weapons.

Fast, light palm techniques. She wasn’t even driving poison qi, yet whenever one palm landed, someone went down without exception.

Her movement art was sinister as a snake, and the palm force she drove out, soft on the surface, aimed for lethal death points. Flexible yet chilling fists and feet turned into a dance of death, toying with the Soul-Slaughter Band.

KRRRROOOOOM! KRRRROOOOOM!

The biggest surprise was Je Gal Ahyeon.

In battle or in missions, she had always stayed a step behind. From the start, she was better at using her head than martial arts, and even when results didn’t go her way, she enjoyed seeking out another move.

Not now.

CRACK! PUUK! BAAANG!

The Je Gal Clan’s lofty martial arts transformed into a brutally lethal killing blow, mowing enemies down.

Astonishingly, Je Gal Ahyeon’s practical combat ability was exceptional. Whether she’d absorbed it while commanding the Evil-Smiting Corps, her use of killing blows—if you looked only at application—was even above Tang Sang-a.

Furious at the deaths of innocent civilians, Je Gal Ahyeon was unfolding terrifying martial arts she had never once shown even Yeon Hojeong.

And Ga Deoksang.

If Je Gal Ahyeon was the biggest surprise, then the most worrying was Ga Deoksang.

“Die!”

CRACK! PUUK! PUUK!

His agitation showed in every movement.

Even though he could kill with a single strike, he smashed an enemy into a mess over at least three hits.

Was he still holding on to one thin thread of reason? He was using the Beggars’ Union’s off-beat, seemingly sloppy but fiercely strong fist strikes, but thank heaven he hadn’t revealed their secret arts.

“These bastards—call them all!”

“Contact the Band Master! Bring everyone here—!” 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

BAAANG!

Ga Deoksang closed the distance in an instant and kicked a Soul-Slaughter Band member square in the chest.

CRACK!

The man who took the kick couldn’t even scream as he flew back. His sternum had caved in; he wouldn’t survive.

“Yeah. Call them all!”

Thick Killing Intent blazed in Ga Deoksang’s eyes. It was fierce enough to pierce even the hood of the wind cloak.

“Call them all! I’ll kill every last one of them!”

It was a frightening momentum.

His rage had raised the power of his martial arts, but he’d lost delicacy and balance.

Because each strike had grown heavier, his stamina drain was severe. His breathing was starting to roughen.

The leader of Soul-Slaughter Band’s Third Squad, Ghost Blade, shouted.

“Everyone, fall back! Don’t approach carelessly! Surround them until reinforcements arri—!”

At that moment, a single finger-wind pierced the air.

PUUUUK!

With a chilling sound, Ghost Blade’s eyes unfocused.

His head lost its strength, and he collapsed with a dull thud.

WHOOSH!

A fierce heat spread in all directions, stealing everyone’s gaze. Every martial artist there turned toward where the finger-wind had been fired from.

KRRRROOOOOM!

A monstrous gale cleaved through the center of the battlefield.

Not the sky—the ground. Yeon Hojeong had fooled everyone with explosive fire qi, then drew White Tiger Qi to its highest output and drove straight into the densest cluster of Soul-Slaughter Band members.

Yeon Hojeong’s twin fists poured out a storm of savage blows.

PUH-BUH-BUH-BUH-BUK!

Strong and fast.

At the same time, precise and delicate. Like the fangs of the Beast-King, the Western Emperor, the White Tiger—his strikes hammered the hearts of fifteen Soul-Slaughter Band members with pinpoint accuracy.

PUH-WHAAACK!

They collapsed, vomiting blood.

The remaining soldiers, thrown into confusion, snapped their eyes toward Yeon Hojeong—but he was already gone. Unlike the others, he wasn’t wearing a hood, and he’d judged he couldn’t let his face be seen.

Shortest time. Maximum efficiency.

PUUUUNG!

Exploding Solar Qi propelled Yeon Hojeong into the realm of divine speed.

PUH-BUH-BUH-BUK! CRACK! KRRRROOOOOM!

He was the reincarnation of a fire god, spewing merciless fists and palms.

Yeon Hojeong drove his Killing Intent to its limit, becoming an invincible general breaking through the heart of the enemy line, sweeping away villains who had abandoned basic decency like fallen leaves in a storm.

The Soul-Slaughter Band members tried to widen the distance too late, but Yeon Hojeong did not permit their retreat.

He moved at extreme speed. They couldn’t read his face—couldn’t even catch his eyes.

PUH-BUH-BUH-BUH-BUK!

It was the moment when the number of enemies Yeon Hojeong killed surpassed the number the other four had taken down.

“Uh...?!”

Shock surfaced on Ga Deoksang’s face, the man who had been the most fired up of all.

Young Master Yeon!

Among them—excluding Je Gal Ahyeon—he was the one who had seen Yeon Hojeong’s martial arts the most.

Je Gal Ahyeon shouted.

“North!”

BAAANG!

Before her words had even fully fallen, Pae Yul and Tang Sang-a shot toward the north.

KRRRROOOOOM!

Yeon Hojeong—who had just incinerated five or six Soul-Slaughter Band members on the spot with the death art he unleashed through both palms, Red-Flame Six-Kill Art—rocketed straight toward Ga Deoksang.

BAAANG!

There was no time to even be startled. Yeon Hojeong’s movement art, already moving with Ga Deoksang slung over his shoulder, was fast enough to make your vision spin.

Ga Deoksang shouted.

“Two left!”

He looked ready to kill them all. As he glared at the two enemies retreating in the distance, Ga Deoksang’s face twisted like a demon.

Yeon Hojeong shouted back.

“More are coming from behind! Now’s the time to open distance!”

“FUUUCK! Do you even know what those dogs did?!”

“If we stay, that place becomes a battlefield! Better to lure them away!”

“...Damn it!”

He looked unbearably wronged. Moisture rose in Ga Deoksang’s eyes.

Damn it. Damn it.

For whatever the reason, because of the Alliance of the Martial World’s mission, dozens of innocent civilians had died. Among them were children who couldn’t have been more than ten.

I’m sorry.

More than rage, he was drowning in self-loathing and guilt. Truly—he had never imagined those bastards would do something like this.

“Hu Gae.”

“......”

“Don’t think about anything right now. Focus only on getting out.”

Yeon Hojeong understood the situation immediately. He was furious too, but there was nothing to gain by staying there any longer.

For the operational team—and for the civilians, too.

Ga Deoksang clenched his teeth.

“I-If those bastards do it again...”

“Yangcheon is someone who understands propriety. His subordinates are the same. They know that turning the place into a slaughterhouse like this brings them nothing.”

“......”

“Get your calm back.”

“...Put me down.”

Yeon Hojeong drew in a breath, then threw Ga Deoksang forward.

FLAP!

Ga Deoksang landed with a stylish movement art and ran in step with Yeon Hojeong.

“Young Master Yeon.”

“Speak.”

“...Thank you.”

“Save those words for after we’ve escaped.”

Yeon Hojeong’s eyes flashed with violent emotion.

“They’re swarming in from all sides. The mission isn’t over yet.”