Chapter 15

Finally, the Ghost Gate opened.

It was accompanied by a powerful wave of evil energy that any martial artist gathered in Muan County could sense.

The sudden opening of the Ghost Gate. Despite it being the very next day after the Paeng Family had arrived, the martial artists acted calmly.

The location of the Ghost Gate had already been identified under the command of the Iga Clan, so as soon as the gate opened, the martial artists immediately moved to their assigned positions.

Namgung Woo was also among them, rushing to the designated position with the Yang Brothers.

“Can’t we just destroy it before the gate opens?”

“It’s possible, but…”

“There are no sorcerers here.”

“Is it difficult with martial arts?”

“That’s also possible, but…”

“Only a handful of the strongest can do it!”

A handful of the strongest.

Could he really do it if he went all out? Namgung Woo questioned himself.

Meanwhile, Yang Jeong shouted at Yang Kwae, who kept interrupting him.

“Stop interrupting me, brother!”

“You talk too much, man. Time is urgent. Has there been any signal yet?”

“None at all. We might be the first to encounter them.”

“Tsk. I told them to send scouts to the Ghost Gate earlier. They got too complacent with the Paeng Family’s reputation…”

Yang Kwae clicked his tongue.

“It’s below blue level, right? So they must have gotten lazy.”

“Blue level?”

“It’s a rating for the Ghost Gate and demons. They use the five colors of the rainbow.”

Namgung Woo was more familiar with the seven-color rainbow (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet), but in the East, rainbows were seen as five colors.

Yellow. Red. Blue. Black. White.

They were rated based on the scale of energy and actual danger, with yellow being the lowest and white the highest.

After Yang Jeong’s explanation, Yang Kwae asked a question.

“But doesn’t the Yopyeong Escort Agency teach that?”

“Ah, I was only there for a short time.”

Including the time he spent as a guest, it was about half a month, but it was only his third day since he started claiming to be from the Yopyeong Escort Agency after making an agreement with Pyeong Choyul.

Either way, it was a very short time.

“Really? Anyway, if it’s below blue, it’s either yellow or red, so it’s not that terrifying. Yellow-level demons can be handled even by civilians without martial arts!”

“It’s probably red. With the five peak masters of the Paeng Family and the Iga Clan leader, there shouldn’t be any major issues.”

“It’s a great opportunity to gain experience—that’s what I’m saying.”

The color system seemed quite absolute, and the Yang Brothers relaxed a bit, their conversation growing longer.

Namgung Woo also loosened his tension, prioritizing his curiosity.

“But why use the colors of the rainbow? Isn’t the rainbow an auspicious sign?”

“The rainbow? Well, in the past, it was seen that way, so it’s not entirely wrong, but now it’s considered an ominous sign.”

“And, most importantly, the being that came out of the first Ghost Gate was like that.”

“The first Ghost Gate?”

“Yes. What came out of the first Ghost Gate was a giant dragon. A massive dragon with dazzling, multicolored scales.”

“It’s called the Hongyeryong (Rainbow Dragon). And it’s widely believed to be the origin of all demons and evil spirits.”

It sounded a bit strange to Namgung Woo that just because it came out first, it was considered the origin.

Before he could answer, Yang Jeong asked.

“Do you know Nüwa?”

“Nüwa? The goddess from mythology who created humans, right?”

“You know well. That’s correct. She molded humans from clay in her own image. Those she made by hand became nobles, while those she made by splashing mud with a rope became commoners.”

“That’s nonsense.”

Ignoring Yang Kwae’s interjection, Yang Jeong continued.

“The Hongyeryong is similar. It’s said that when it flapped its wings, demons were born.”

“So it’s only natural to rate their territory with the colors of the rainbow, right?”

“I see…”

Namgung Woo felt like he had uncovered another secret of the world.

There was still so much he didn’t know about this world. About the martial world, and about history.

‘When I get to Beijing, I should seriously study world affairs and historical knowledge.’

But that was a story for after this battle.

Namgung Woo sensed the approaching unfamiliar energy and alerted the others.

“I sense evil energy nearby. It seems we’ll be the first to encounter it.”

The reactions of the two to Namgung Woo’s briefing were quite dramatic.

“What? You can sense that?”

“Now that I think about it, you were the first to notice the Paeng Family’s arrival at the Iga Clan…”

“Hey, little brother! Did you learn some special detection technique?”

“Not exactly… I just have a good sense.”

Namgung Woo vaguely attributed his Azure Tranquility Eyes to having a good sense and gauged the distance to the strange energy he felt.

At this rate, they would meet in less than 10 minutes.

‘No, if they’re moving too, we’ll meet even sooner.’

“They’re moving too. We’ll meet soon.”

“Looks like you had a hidden card up your sleeve, little brother.”

“I can feel it too. Let’s get ready.”

The Yang Brothers’ demeanor began to change. Unlike before, when they were focused on running, they now entered a combat stance, exuding a fierce energy.

To an ordinary person, they would look like martial artists, but that was just ignorance.

To Namgung Woo, it seemed like they were leaking energy because they couldn’t control it properly.

Namgung Woo’s disappointment didn’t end there. In his eyes, the brothers’ movement techniques were below expectations. Despite having strong and pure internal energy, they weren’t utilizing it properly.

To Namgung Woo, who used the Heavenly Thunder Emperor Divine Art’s internal energy, which also belonged to the Thunder Qi category, their movement techniques were crude.

With the Thunder Qi, known to be the fastest in the world, they were only moving at this speed? At first, he thought they were conserving energy for the upcoming battle, but after observing, that wasn’t the case.

Though the quality of their internal energy was slightly inferior to the Heavenly Thunder Divine Energy, the gap was still hard to comprehend.

Namgung Woo could also see this in their sword techniques.

Swoosh!

Finally, they encountered the demon.

The semi-transparent body of the demon was sliced through by the swords of Yang Kwae and Yang Jeong.

The brothers’ swords, infused with the Spirit-Infused Sword Technique, tore through the demon’s body.

Despite cutting it down in one strike, the brothers’ expressions weren’t great.

“Damn it! We got a tough one!”

“A wraith… this is the worst.”

The brothers, clearly annoyed, adjusted their positions. They stood in front of Namgung Woo, protecting him.

“Little brother, since your senses are sharp, focus on pinpointing the enemy’s location.”

“I’ll help too.”

Namgung Woo placed his hand on his sword, ready to strike at any moment.

He had waited to see the brothers’ skills, but perhaps they misunderstood, thinking he was scared or couldn’t keep up with the demon’s movements. As Namgung Woo tried to step forward, Yang Jeong stopped him and explained.

“Those things are wraiths. Their bodies are made of energy, so normal attacks won’t harm them. You need at least the Spirit-Infused Sword Technique to cut them.”

They were notoriously hard to kill, and even if you did, there were no valuable byproducts.

For wanderers seeking the Ghost Gate, they were the most avoided targets.

“Normally, you’d need to be a Sword Energy Master to completely destroy them, but our internal energy is special, so we can do it.”

“In that sense, we’re lucky. Bad luck, though.”

Lightning has long been believed to have the power to exorcise evil.

It’s no coincidence that a lightning-struck jujube tree was said to repel demons.

“But what about the wanderers on the side without the Paeng Family and the Iga Clan leader?”

“…There’s nothing we can do. It’s just their fate.”

“It’s a harsh thing to say, but it’s true. Our priority should be to retreat safely. As for closing the gate… we’ll have to leave that to the Paeng Family martial artists.”

Do we really have to?

Namgung Woo wanted to see the Ghost Gate with his own eyes.

From what he heard, the Ghost Gate was more like a portal to another world, transcending time and space.

If that was the case, maybe he could find a clue to return to his original world.

With his Azure Tranquility Eyes, he was sure to find some lead.

Swoosh—

With a clear sound, the sword was drawn. A high-quality sword gifted to him by the Yopyeong Escort Agency for saving their benefactor. As Namgung Woo infused it with energy, a radiant sword light began to flow.

The profound sound it emitted was something unimaginable from a mere second-rate martial artist, causing the Yang Brothers’ heads to tilt back involuntarily.

“Little brother?”

“Young hero?”

Ignoring the brothers’ astonishment, Namgung Woo swiftly engaged the approaching wraiths with his sword.

And just as the brothers, distracted by watching him, let their guard down, the wraiths extended their grotesque claws towards them.

Finally, Namgung Woo’s sword sliced through the air.

Whoosh—! Slash!

A light single strike.

But its impact was anything but light.

The platinum energy condensed on the sword formed a blade shape, shattering the wraiths that had been targeting the brothers’ backs.

Unlike the brothers’ crude sword strikes that tore through the demons, Namgung Woo’s strike left a smooth, glass-like cross-section.

A sword energy so refined it was on a completely different level from the half-baked sword energy even top-tier martial artists struggled to produce.

Not just infusing sword energy into the blade, but also launching it through the sword wind—this was the pinnacle of Flying Sword Energy.

“What is this…?”

“You weren’t hiding three parts, but nine parts of your strength.”

Yang Kwae was completely stunned, while Yang Jeong, though shaken, tried to maintain his composure.

The two brothers, forgetting that their lives had been on the line, were replaying Namgung Woo’s unbelievable strike in their minds.

“From now on, I’ll take the lead. We’re heading straight to the Ghost Gate, so if you want to follow, stay close and don’t fall behind.”

Namgung Woo walked past the brothers, who were frozen like statues, and moved forward.

His eyes were fixed ahead.

Towards the Ghost Gate, which was pouring out a level of evil energy far beyond that of the wraiths.