Chapter 389

Boyeol, you’re in this smoke.

It’s some pretty thick smoke.

“Damn it, how much are they burning? My throat’s on fire!”

Boyeol is a master of the early Realm of Transformation.

But technically, the master of Poison Arts is rated a step below their real level.

As levels increase, they become more resistant to poison.

Besides, look, confining a master of the early Realm of Transformation like this in such a shabby prison with the scent of Mountain Fragrance is ridiculous.

But if all the inner strength is scattered, the rampant Poison Arts will go wild.

Just taking these measures keeps him busy managing himself, rendering him unable to do anything.

So, for now, Boyeol is just quietly stuck here, trying to handle the outburst.

Then it happened.

A vague presence flickered through the smoke, and a guy suddenly appeared.

“Elder, are you alright?”

“Hey, aren’t you the third one from Yoga? What was your name again? Yo Min?”

“Yes, it’s Yo Min.”

Boyeol’s mind sharpened with clarity.

My evidence! The evidence has come!

“Is your cheek healed? Let me see, come closer.”

Yo Min took a step close to the iron bars.

Boyeol held Yo Min’s chin, turning it left and right, inspecting as he poked and prodded, looking anxious as he examined him.

And the result?

“All healed. You’re all healed!”

Really all healed!

Having taken a hit from Supreme Hand-to-Hand Combat, by now his cheeks should have rotted off, exposing his teeth, but instead, they looked smooth and even better than before.

My evidence!

Boyeol’s world suddenly went dark.

But Yo Min, ignoring that, asked.

“Uh, I brought some incense; can this replace the Mountain Fragrance smoke?”

“Wait, you came to help me?”

“Yes…”

“Why? Did Yeonbang ask you to?”

“No, it’s just… I wanted to thank you for checking my injury…”

Boyeol felt like he got slapped.

He was just being his capricious old man self.

Feeling sorry for the poor kid beaten by his father, he peeked to see his recovery and gave him a powdered medicine to keep whatever flesh he had left, which was all he did.

But that was warm compassion enough for the pitiful creature beaten by his father and tormented by his brothers.

Yo Min, following Boyeol’s instructions, opened the furnace lid and ground up the incense, then tucked it away out of sight.

Now the thick Mountain Fragrance was slowly settling, and in its place, the other smoke would serve as a distraction.

If the Mountain Fragrance is cleared, escaping isn’t that hard.

Once the inner strength recovers sufficiently to use Qi, I can cut through the bars and make it out.

“Well then, I’ll just—”

“Hold on, how did you get in here? Wasn’t someone guarding outside?”

“Yes. But there’s a passageway.”

“Hmm. Hey, kid.”

Boyeol scratched his scraggly cheek.

“It’s not my place to meddle in someone else’s business, so I’ve kept my mouth shut, but since you’ve helped me, I’ll tell you now. Your father wanted you dead from the start. The Gye-rim Sword Faction wanted to harm you and were planning to use that as an excuse to storm in here.”

At that, Yo Min’s eyes widened, and tears welled up.

“No, what have I done to deserve this?”

“Staying in the family won’t let you live long anyway. Why would someone building a family let an unnecessary branch like you survive? So it would be best for you to leave quickly, but at my age, already over eighty, I still need someone to take care of me.”

Yo Min’s eyes widened with shock.

The request to take care of him was the same as asking him to become a disciple.

“Me? But I have no talent…”

“It’s true that the untalented should learn the Poison Arts. If you just get used to poison steadily, you can manage one person’s worth. Besides, there are many areas where Poison Arts intersect with medicine, so you can make a living out of it.”

Yo Min gathered his trembling hands.

Yet Boyeol quickly stopped him.

“Think about it. This old man has nowhere to run even if he escapes. So I intend to throw myself to the Blood Sect. If innocent people see me and call me a pawn of the Blood Sect, well, then I guess I’ll become one of the real pawns of the Blood Sect. But you are still young, aren’t you? So if you want to hang out with those vile guys from the Blood Sect, come with me; otherwise, we can part ways here.”

The Blood Sect.

That weighty word made Yo Min gulp.

“I’ve heard they eat human flesh…”

“Who doesn’t eat some human flesh? And they are still people; surely they’d eat tasty food and not just human flesh. I know a child from the Blood Sect who’s actually better than those from the Sapa. He can serve adults too. Thinking about it, there might be some stories even among the trash of the Blood Sect.”

If that child from the Blood Sect hears that and says, “Huh, me?” it would be a whole other story.

“Still, considering the rumors are mostly true, most of them can be seen as trash. If you’d be okay with living among those types for the rest of your life, then follow me; otherwise, let’s go our separate ways now.”

Yo Min hesitated for a while but then his gaze hardened a bit.

He straightened his posture again.

“I know I’m a foolish one. My martial arts are short, and I have no special skills; I’m not confident in making a living anywhere, but since you say you’ll take me in, I will serve you for life.”

“Good. A physician usually doesn’t get treated poorly anywhere. The Blood Sect won’t be rough on the physician who treats their members either. I don’t have any disciples, so let’s just count that as a form of acceptance.”

With that, Yo Min bowed deeply to the floor.

Boyeol, looking at his first disciple with pride, suddenly grit his teeth at a thought.

“But you know, before we go, don’t you think we should at least give these despicable bastards a little smackdown? What, am I giving advice here? An old man older than your father?”

—-

Qing’s lightness is exceptional.

This has been corroborated by the Best Female Martial Artist and Teacher Shintu, confirming it’s deserving of recognition in the Martial World.

With explosive acceleration that reaches top speed in just three strides, along with the quickest footwork in short and medium distances—Gyeokgong Sunshin—and a long-range ability known as Cheonri Flying, she’s got it all.

Making fantastically strange maneuverings with the Moon Lady’s Step, she also employs escape techniques like Nengpa Mibo at will.

So even if Qing excitedly dives right into enemy territory, realizing her mistake, she has the capability to turn right back around and escape.

But usually, it doesn’t happen that way.

If you get caught deep among enemies alone, you should at least die gloriously.

Otherwise, it’s just a dog’s death.

That’s why commanders always emphasize formation and discipline during battles.

As soon as they confirmed Qing’s safe return, the trio of retainer guests breathed a sigh of relief, only to feel a strange emptiness.

“Old Dog!” “Old Man Dog!” “Old Dog!”

Courtesan Chang, Gakdawi, and the illiterate poet shouted.

To that, Qing responded with bravado.

“Let’s go save them!”

“Miss!” “Miss!” “Miss!”

Qing dashed forward again, prompting her peak-tier guest trio to urgently prepare their weapons as they hurriedly braced themselves.

Did they think a mere top-tier would stand in their way?

The trio sliced through the enemies in a frenzy.

“Ouch, big bear! I also—”

Na Yang-gyeol, who was trying to follow behind, suddenly got snagged by one of Wangfu’s retainers, choking him off with a gasp, his two feet lifting off the ground before returning.

“Miss, stay with us. You have to blend in. You’ll only get in the way among the peaks.”

“Miss, will there be any surviving peaks for us?”

Meanwhile, Old Dog fought valiantly.

The unique dual blades of Uchang and Joogeom were each martial arts known as Sangsan Sword and Sangsan Spear.

With the spear and sword drawing straight lines of overwhelming power, his two arms spread wide like a fan.

The Sapa warriors clutched their chests, rolling on the ground.

Despite the spear points piercing, the wounds on their bodies were like tiny punctures.

Precise strikes to vital points escape quickly, causing intense pain, but making it seem as if there’s still a chance of survival.

As enemies rushed in, the Sapa warriors hesitated, creating a circle around Old Dog.

The warriors from the Baek Woong Sect were being tossed about while Jo Kwang-ang, boasting of his military prowess, organized the formation, logically placing his members at the back where injuries would be minimal.

So, would Jo Kwang-ang simply sit back and watch his subordinates die?

An inexperienced girl claiming to be peak-level, an experienced late peak master—just a single small gap between them can make a huge difference.

Then, Jo Kwang-ang, with a bellowing shout, bravely made his presence known.

“How dare you harm the son of the Sado Sect! You.. who is this old man?!”

Although he clearly saw Cheonhwa-geom falling, Jo Kwang-ang found himself face to face with an old man instead.

Crawling on the ground were his subordinates, clutching their throats and chests, but it seemed their wounds were not critical.

Having a hole in the heart likely sealed their fate, but they still looked survivable from the outside.

This made Jo Kwang-ang anxious.

He stomped the ground and shouted to boost morale.

“Alright! You old fool! Today is your funeral!”

Old Dog countered with the tip of his spear.

And then, radiant light blossomed from the palm aiming at him, like a flat star on the ground.

It was Ganghwan.

Jo Kwang-ang displayed a remarkable retreat to the very speed he was running.

Squeak. Though it wasn’t a real sound, it felt tangible as if seen and heard.

For in the Sapa, the strong retreat, and it’s absolutely not shameful!

Retreating to a stronger opponent is no disgrace at all!

“Uh, what’s your name, senior?”

“Why? You called me an old man, right?”

“At the battlefield, isn’t it customary to have a little respect?”

“Yeah. We met on the battlefield, so you have no reason to blame my strikes.”

“Damn it! Hiding a master! You vile bastards! Can you still call yourselves orthodox? Shouldn’t you fight fair and square, revealing all?”

I can’t help but wonder why Sapa warriors find orthodox warriors lacking in competence.

Beads of sweat streamed down Jo Kwang-ang’s face as he thought, “Wow, I really got the short end of the stick!”

However, Jo Kwang-ang is also a self-proclaimed master of military strategy, having read military texts dozens of times by heart.

A brain in distress races to formulate the best plan.

“Strike! Warriors of Baek Woong! There’s one enemy, and we are many! Unleash the Infinite Spear Wave!”

Infinite Spear Wave. It means a massive wave of energy that will infinitely push forward, which is the most basic formation for many against a few.

“Kill!!” “We are Baek Woong!” “The son of Sado is our hope!”

A particularly troubling shout caught Old Dog’s attention.

Those Sapa guys are out of their minds!

Thinking he should at least pierce the heart of that big-headed guy first, Old Dog’s gaze went dull at that moment.

As the swift-moving Sapa warriors settled into formation, the ones nimblest suddenly darted backward, escaping unscathed.

Jo Kwang-ang was no different.

His head came up with a successful plan.

Of the Thirty-Six Strategies, the thirty-sixth: Escape with a shout!

If you can’t win, no hesitation in peeling away!

An order everyone knows is one that’s especially anticipated by the enemy.

An order for the elite of the Baek Woong Sect to perform a formation is not about spreading out to fight; it meant ditching the lowest-rankers and escaping.

In a flash, Jo Kwang-ang burst through the combat unit and urgently approached Moon Jeong-yeok.

“We’ve been had! We need to run right now!”

“What are you talking about? All of a sudden—”

“There was a hidden master! An elite from the Realm of Transformation has been hiding among us!”

At that, Moon Jeong-yeok’s expression turned grave.

“A single elite from the Realm of Transformation shouldn’t be a problem for three of us—”

“Who’s going to face Kang Su-yang? And that woman Seomun Qing!?”

“If the peak warriors form a front—”

Then Jo Kwang-ang began to pound his chest.

“Then who deals with that peak warrior over there?”

“Let’s focus on the best from the combat team first—”

“Are we planning to throw in the towel? Are we going to go all out and face the third ranks? Are we ready to sacrifice the entire combat team? We should save who we can!”

The acute thirty-six strategies of survival.

Ultimately, Jo Kwang-ang’s assessment was akin to a model for commanders, proving he wasn’t someone who’d read military texts for nothing.

If the fight can’t be won, it’s essential to pull back immediately, regardless of losses.

How many commanders in the past and future have met their ends because they were bogged down by losses and couldn’t flee?

Beep, beep!

Finally, Moon Jeong-yeok signaled a retreat.

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