Chapter 2562 – 2562. The Ascension Of Light

“A disgrace to the Namgung Clan! Die!!”

Namgung Tak’s treacherous blade aimed for my back.

I wasn’t the least bit flustered. I didn’t even consider it betrayal. I never trusted Namgung Tak in the first place, so what betrayal was there to speak of?

‘I didn’t expect a so-called elite warrior of the Namgung Clan to join hands with the King of Assassins. And that guy calls me a disgrace to the Namgung Clan? What a joke.’

Meteor Sword.

Dozens of Meteor Swords appeared in the air, targeting Namgung Tak. Namgung Tak, who was reaching his sword towards my back, didn’t retreat but instead gritted his teeth and advanced. I could feel his determination to kill me no matter what.

The Meteor Swords pounded Namgung Tak’s body. He had deployed protective energy around himself, so I couldn’t inflict a fatal blow. Still, I managed to inflict minor injuries, enough to make it slightly difficult for him to use his martial arts. In exchange, Namgung Tak got the chance to stab me in the back.

‘Or so he thought. Leap.’

I teleported, appearing in front of the King of Assassins, and simultaneously summoned the Fiery Lotus Flying Daggers, wielding them in my hands.

Thunder Sky Style (雷天流) Thunder Flash (雷光).

The red blade struck down with lightning speed. The King of Assassins was shocked but reacted. He blocked the blade with his left wrist.

Clang!

The sound of metal echoed.

‘Was he wearing a wrist guard under his clothes? If it can block Thunder Flash, it must be a magical artifact.’

But I had no intention of missing this opportunity. I immediately kicked the King of Assassins in the abdomen. The King of Assassins fell backward, rolling on the ground. I was about to finish him off when the Cheongun Squad, including Namgung Tak, began to form a formation around me.

“This is the Namgung Clan’s Infinite Sword Formation! Even you can’t escape it. Little Heavenly Demon! Don’t tarnish the name of the Namgung Clan and die here obediently!”

“You’re the ones who should die. I’m actually grateful that you betrayed me first. This way, when I return to the Namgung Clan, I can strut around even more. Heh heh.”

“You fiend!!”

Dozens of Cheongun Squad members moved as one, launching attacks at me. I raised my sword to block and counterattack, but… I had to give up on counterattacking and just block an attack from a swordsman who suddenly popped out from the side.

‘They’ve mastered the sword formation. Even if I try to strike with internal energy like a long-range attack… they’re resonating their internal energy to create an invisible barrier.’

Thunder Sky Style (雷天流) Ten Thousand Thunders (卍雷).

Lightning gathered and rotated around the floor where I stood.

‘Discharge.’

The compressed Ten Thousand Thunders were released, and lightning spread in all directions. But it couldn’t break through the sword formation. The barrier they had created blocked even the lightning and suppressed my energy. It wasn’t very surprising.

‘If it could be broken by mere lightning, it wouldn’t be the best lightning of the Namgung Clan.’

This Infinite Sword Formation was designed to face formidable opponents that couldn’t be handled alone, so even I couldn’t easily shatter it.

‘The Heavenly Demon’s Supreme Steps would be perfect for this.’

If I used the Heavenly Demon Divine Art now, it would clash with the Thunder Sky Style and cause serious internal injuries. Even with full recovery, I had no intention of recklessly launching a self-destructive attack.

The King of Assassins, who had gotten back up, attacked me from within the sword formation. It was a very cowardly attack, befitting an assassin.

‘He doesn’t know much about the sword formation, yet he’s skillfully exploiting the gaps. The reputation of being the best among assassins isn’t a lie.’

If it weren’t for the King of Assassins, I might have been able to do something… but with him, it was difficult. Even if he was an assassin, he had reached the Third Realm. I couldn’t ignore him.

‘Even if I escape with Leap, it’ll only be for a moment.’

The Leap distance was 10 meters. It was too short. With the Cheongun Squad’s skills, that level of variable wouldn’t even be considered a variable.

‘The damage is getting worse. If I bleed any more, it’ll become dangerous.’

While blocking the enemies’ attacks and racking my brain, I came to a conclusion.

I took out a bottle from my inventory. It was a bottle containing the blood of Dang Cheoyong, the One-Handed Killer, whom I had killed before. Dang Cheoyong, a poison user, had poison in his blood, so I had collected it. Since he had died so miserably, this one bottle was all I could recover.

“Get away!! It’s a deadly poison!!”

The old woman shouted even before I had sprinkled it. She had a good nose, probably because she was an assassin closely related to poison.

‘Was she hiding in the toilet with that good nose, trying to target me? She’s a crazy old hag, beyond poisonous.’

But it didn’t matter.

The disadvantage of a sword formation was that it couldn’t be immediately undone. Especially when it was going so smoothly, like now.

I scattered the poison on them. The blood of a Third Realm poison user. Because it was taken from my inventory, it was as fresh as if it had just been drawn, even retaining its body temperature.

Dang Cheoyong’s blood instantly melted through the barrier they had created and poisoned them.

“Kuaaaaaaak!”

“Antidote! Antidote… Kuuuuuk….”

The Cheongun Squad warriors couldn’t last long. There was no way warriors at the early-mid stage of the Origin or Qi Realm could withstand a deadly poison that could kill even a Third Realm master.

Moreover, the poison seemed to react chemically with the corpses, spreading in all directions and poisoning the Cheongun Squad members. The poison was weaker than if they had been directly hit, so they didn’t die immediately. Of course, I wasn’t an exception, and I was affected as well.

‘This is actually good.’

[Absorbed poison. Health and mana are restored.]

“Damn it! King of Assassins! Do you have an antidote?!”

“It’s the blood of the poison user, One-Handed Killer! It’s a deadly poison and a heart poison! Fortunately, the poison has weakened, and Dang Cheoyong is already dead, so the heart poison is weakened. If you circulate your energy, you can control the poison!”

Namgung Tak and the King of Assassins were struggling, poisoned by the toxic fumes.

‘Heart poison. That’s annoying. Even if it’s weakened because Dang Cheoyong is dead, if the heart poison remains, there’s nothing you can do right away.’

I had no intention of giving Namgung Tak and the King of Assassins time. I used even the Flash Step to quickly kill the Cheongun Squad’s weaklings. They were groaning from the poison, so it was as easy as killing bugs.

In less than 20 seconds, only Namgung Tak and the King of Assassins remained.

“Aaaaaaak! Seong Yujin!!”

Namgung Tak charged at me in anger. He was exploding his life force and internal energy. In other words, a suicide attack.

Thunder Sky Style (雷天流) Thunder Flash (雷光).

A red flash sliced through Namgung Tak’s neck. Namgung Tak’s head floated in the air and slowly fell.

“You’re too slow to fight me head-on.”

I kicked Namgung Tak’s head on the ground, crushing it to finish him off.

The only one left was the King of Assassins.

The old woman was sweating profusely, clutching a dagger. Her internal energy was continuously erupting from her body, causing her white hair to rise and writhe.

She was using more internal energy than necessary to resist the poison.

“…Indeed, the One-Handed Killer’s poison. It’s weaker than it should be, but it’s still incredibly toxic. How on earth did you kill the One-Handed Killer?”

“A difference in compatibility? I’m a bit confident when it comes to poison.”

“…That alone wouldn’t explain it.”

“You’re deliberately stalling for time, aren’t you? To try and expel the poison even a little bit?”

I formed a sword finger seal with my left hand. Crackle. Blue lightning flickered from my extended index and middle fingers. The meaning of the seal was unnecessary. If I had to pick one, it was to enhance my concentration through gestures.

“…I am an assassin. I came to kill you on a contract. Aren’t you curious who hired me? Why I tried to kill you with the Namgung Clan’s warrior?”

“I am curious. But I’ve experienced too much to believe the words of an enemy. Let’s figure that out later… I’m more curious about how long the King of Assassins can hold out.”

“…What?”

“One.”

I pointed at the old woman with my sword finger.

Bang!

A bolt of lightning fell from the clear sky towards the old woman.

Although my will was mixed in, its power was similar to that of ordinary lightning. The King of Assassins was emitting internal energy all over her body, so she was unharmed.

“Do you think you can make me submit with such a weak attack…?!”

“Ten.”

Wham!

Ten bolts of lightning fell at once. The King of Assassins was still unharmed.

“Hundred.”

Wham wham wham!

A large amount of internal energy was drained, and 100 bolts of lightning fell on the old woman. The old woman was not unharmed. Her internal energy was violently shaking.

I looked up at the sky. A clear sky without a single cloud. It would have been easier if there had been even one dark cloud.

‘It wouldn’t look good to use the Cloud Summoning Order now.’

I lowered my gaze again. The King of Assassins’ expression was not good.

“…Do you think you can get what you want by doing this?”

“Thousand.”

All of my internal energy was drained, and a thousand bolts of lightning fell on the old woman. The flashes of light that illuminated the world continued for a few seconds before ending. The smell of ozone was everywhere.

Thud.

The King of Assassins, who had been holding on, collapsed and vomited blood.

I was impressed. The King of Assassins didn’t seem to have any major injuries on the surface.

‘…The impact is effective, but the power is less than I thought. I didn’t intend to kill her, but I didn’t expect her to be so resilient. Even if my will was in the lightning, is it because I can’t perceive the mental image?’

To be precise, it didn’t really matter if she died. But the old woman survived. Moreover, even though she was exhausted, she was still mentally alert.

“Heh, heh. True assassins have always endured torture. Among them, there is torture by electrocution. Even if you electrocute me with ten thousand bolts of lightning… I will never submit.”

“It’s so jarring when an old woman, not a beauty, says that. Ah, I’ve got a good idea. Wait here.”

The King of Assassins couldn’t move anymore anyway.

I took out several teleportation scrolls from my inventory. I designated the coordinates of this place on a few, and tore one.

That’s how I summoned Seong Jigon, the expert on old hags.

“Is this the woman?”

Seong Jigon, a man with broad shoulders befitting an imperial general, licked his lips as he looked at the fallen King of Assassins. It was the expression of a pervert who had caught his prey. The King of Assassins was startled. I could see her eyes widening.

“Yes. She’s an old woman called the King of Assassins, so it’s not easy to get her to talk through torture.”

“Haha. Yujin, you told me. Women with strong wills are surprisingly weak to affection. And their back passages are weak, right? Leave her to me.”

The King of Assassins looked at Seong Jigon with eyes as if she were seeing a monster, trembling. Had she sensed her future?

I shook my head, imagining the King of Assassins’ future. I didn’t want to imagine it.

Seong Jigon knelt on one knee in front of the King of Assassins. Then, with a gentle expression, he carefully stroked the old woman’s disheveled white hair.

“Becoming an assassin must not have been your intention…. Don’t worry. I won’t force you. Instead, I’ll embrace you with love….”

“Y-you crazy bastard! Get away from me! Who do you think you are to judge me?! H-huh?! Where are you touching?! You, you fiend! Are you trying to mock an old woman like me?! Just kill me!!”

“Your sharp voice is quite charming.”

Seong Jigon picked up the King of Assassins like a princess and headed somewhere.

I didn’t follow Seong Jigon.

[Trial – Martial Arts Tournament.
 2/3 Completed.]