The fire ghosts, who were guarding in pairs at various key points of Guryeon Mountain, quickly informed the Namcheonhoe of the appearance of the Baekgeomun's Blue Dragon Hall.
The main gate of the Namcheonhoe was wide open.
The training ground was empty, and although many buildings were visible, there were no people.
The warriors of the Baekgeomun belonging to the Blue Dragon Hall gathered one by one at the main gate of the Namcheonhoe, and at some point, there were hundreds of them. The number was still increasing.
When the Blood Killing Faction was here, the Baekgeomun could not have acted on such a large scale. It was because the number of members of the Blood Killing Faction was so large.
Also, the fact that Gam-hu, the leader of the Blood Killing Faction, had great martial arts played a part.
"It seems there is no one."
"That can't be. The Demonic Cult bastards are definitely here."
The first squad leader said with a cool voice and then stared intently at the signboard of the Namcheonhoe.
"Namcheonhoe? What a funny name."
The first squad leader sneered at the sect name Namcheonhoe and stroked the hilt of his sword.
"Have the Demonic Cult bastards gone mad and changed the name of their sect?"
"How about we go inside?"
When the third squad leader approached and asked, the first squad leader shook his head.
"The Hall Master has not yet ordered an attack. We will wait until the Hall Master arrives."
At the first squad leader's words, the third squad leader retreated.
The first squad leader raised his head and looked at the pavilions visible beyond the wall.
The seventh floor of the nine-story pavilion had its window half open. But there was no sign of a person.
Bi-sun, standing by the window, said to Lee Mak-jeong and Jo-rim, who were sitting inside.
"They are waiting."
"Why are they doing that instead of coming in? They're strange bastards."
Lee Mak-jeong showed a look of incomprehension. If it were him, he would have just charged in and smashed everything.
"There must be a reason."
Bi-sun thought that they were surprisingly cautious.
The original plan was to surround and annihilate the Baekgeomun members all at once when they all came inside.
That was also the reason why the wide training ground was left empty.
Lee Mak-jeong was to take the left, and Jo-rim was to take the right.
Jin Sa-wol, who was sitting on the main seat drinking tea, stood up as a cold wind blew.
"They're moving."
At Jin Sa-wol's words, everyone's expression hardened.
Goe-seong, the master of the Blue Dragon Hall, known as the Wind-Extinguishing Sword, appeared in front of the main gate of the Namcheonhoe with a face full of confidence.
His blue long robe was fluttering in the wind.
Behind him, the squad leaders lined up, and about a thousand warriors of the Blue Dragon Hall stood with tense faces.
"We're going in."
"Waaaaah!"
With his words, as Goe-seong crossed the gate, his subordinates followed him in unison with a roar, crossing the gate and the wall.
They entered the wide training ground, but no one came out. Even though they had made such a loud noise, there was no sign of the enemy.
Goe-seong asked the first squad leader.
"Is it an empty house? What happened?"
"The Demonic Cult bastards definitely came in here."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes. The herb gatherers around here told us."
At the first squad leader's answer, Goe-seong nodded. However, the herb gatherers of Guryeon Mountain were all people of the Namcheonhoe. They had clearly leaked the information on purpose to lure the Baekgeomun.
"Then the Demonic Cult bastards must be somewhere... An ambush?"
Goe-seong decided to divide into groups and search this place. Just as he was about to say that, he saw a person walking out of the main hall.
It was a pale-faced young man with long black hair tied back roughly, wearing a black martial arts uniform.
A sword was held in the young man's hand.
It was Jin Sa-wol.
Goe-seong frowned when he saw Jin Sa-wol. It was because there was no sign of a person's presence.
'Is he a ghost?'
Goe-seong, observing Jin Sa-wol who had appeared without a sound, raised his voice.
"Who are you?"
"Jin Sa-wol."
Jin Sa-wol's voice echoed low. The name was clearly heard in the ears of everyone standing in the training ground.
Goe-seong was quite surprised by the voice that contained considerable internal energy.
But the name Jin Sa-wol was a name he had never heard before.
"I don't know where you rolled in from, but this is not a place for you. If you are a pawn of the Demonic Cult, tell me where the Demonic Cult bastards are and get lost."
Goe-seong said, ignoring Jin Sa-wol. From his point of view, Jin Sa-wol was just a young man.
Jin Sa-wol slowly descended the stairs connected to the training ground.
"Who are you?"
When Jin Sa-wol asked, anger settled on Goe-seong's face.
"Your tone is arrogant. I have no name to tell you. What's the use of revealing my name to a guy who's going to die anyway?"
"That's right."
Jin Sa-wol nodded and slowly drew his sword. *Sreureung!* The sound of the blade scraping against the scabbard was heard coolly.
When Jin Sa-wol gripped his sword, Goe-seong was so dumbfounded by the clear hostile intent that he laughed.
"Hoho! Are you going to face us alone now?"
"There's no reason I can't."
"You crazy bastard."
Goe-seong was so dumbfounded that he shook his head and raised his sword.
"I don't have time to play with you..."
Goe-seong, who was speaking, opened his eyes wide when he saw Jin Sa-wol standing to his left. The Jin Sa-wol standing on the stairs had disappeared in that instant with an afterimage.
'Body-Shifting Illusion?'
He was surprised by the movement, like a cloning technique that only the highest masters called super-experts could perform.
Just then, Jin Sa-wol's sword grazed Goe-seong's neck. Blood dripped, and Goe-seong's body shook greatly.
"There is none..."
Goe-seong, who was touching his neck, clearly had no time. He had to die, so how could he play with Jin Sa-wol?
Jin Sa-wol only glanced at Goe-seong and paid no attention. His interest was in the living Baekgeomun members.
Jin Sa-wol approached the squad leaders who were standing in a daze, not knowing what had happened.
Flash!
A light arose, and as the Hundred Ghost Annihilation Sword unfolded, blood spurted from the foreheads of the squad leaders.
"Keok!"
"Heok!"
"Shit... what?"
Something had definitely flickered before their eyes, but before they could properly identify what it was, a tremendous darkness covered their vision.
As the Blue Dragon Hall Master and the squad leaders fell silently, the Baekgeomun warriors standing behind them opened their eyes wide.
In an instant, the Hall Master and three squad leaders had died. The other squad leaders standing next to them looked at the fallen Hall Master and squad leaders, then at Jin Sa-wol.
"Welcome to the Namcheonhoe."
With his words, Jin Sa-wol appeared in front of the remaining squad leaders and stabbed their foreheads and necks.
"Keok!"
"Keeuk!"
The squad leaders were startled to see Jin Sa-wol, who had suddenly multiplied into several people. They thought of avoiding, but their feet were slower than their thoughts.
"It's a bewitching sword. It's sorcery! Sorcery!"
The last remaining squad leader at the very end shouted, but when he saw his own blood flowing from his forehead, he rolled his eyes back and collapsed.
A thud! sound echoed, and when all the squad leaders were dead, Jin Sa-wol was already standing in the center of the stairs.
Jin Sa-wol put his hands behind his back and looked around at the Baekgeomun members.
It seemed that everyone had not properly grasped what had just happened. Jin Sa-wol raised his hand and said.
"Begin!"
As Jin Sa-wol's voice thundered, the warriors of the Namcheonhoe rushed out from all directions with a roar.
Their attack descended upon the bewildered Baekgeomun members.
***
By evening, the blood flowing in the training ground had become a puddle. Lee Mak-jeong, who had stepped in the puddle, looked around at his subordinates who were clearing the corpses.
Lee Mak-jeong briefly looked up at Jin Sa-wol, who was standing on the stairs.
"Amazing."
Lee Mak-jeong felt a chill because he could not properly see the extent of Jin Sa-wol's martial arts.
Seol Jong, who was encouraging his subordinates to clear the corpses, approached Lee Mak-jeong and said.
"It's been a really long time since I've had such a satisfying fight. It reminds me of when we subjugated the Qinghai horse bandits."
When they subjugated the horse bandit group, Baek Ri-hyeok had driven them to one place, and the waiting Blood Saber Hall had surrounded and annihilated them. Seol Jong was recalling that time.
Lee Mak-jeong asked.
"Did you see it?"
"Yes? What do you mean?"
"The leader's martial arts. That sword."
"I saw it."
"Really? How did he move? What about his footwork? What about his forms?"
When Lee Mak-jeong looked at him with a surprised face, Seol Jong shook his head.
"I only saw him grip the sword."
At Seol Jong's answer, Lee Mak-jeong sighed as if he had expected it and asked again.
"What is the basic of a fight?"
"You have to know the enemy. You have to know the enemy to fight properly."
"Wrong. You kill the head first. That's the priority. No matter how many enemies there are, there is always a head. It's the most basic. The leader put that into practice."
"That's why we caught them easily."
Seol Jong nodded as if he understood. Although he said it easily, Seol Jong knew well how difficult it was to catch the head.
Jin Sa-wol had cut off the head of the Blue Dragon Hall first. The Blue Dragon Hall, which had lost its head, fell into chaos and was slaughtered by Lee Mak-jeong and his subordinates.
"What about the damage?"
"There are a few injured, but no one died."
"Hahahahaha!"
At Seol Jong's answer, Lee Mak-jeong laughed loudly as if he were in a good mood. Although the smell of blood was strong, it was a refreshing feeling.
"What's wrong with him?"
Bi-sun shook his head when he saw Lee Mak-jeong laughing with the corpses in the center of the training ground. There was a rumor that he was a madman, and it seemed to be true.
Bi-sun approached Jin Sa-wol and said.
"What should we do about the ones who ran away?"
"Just leave them."
At Jin Sa-wol's answer, Bi-sun had the same thought, so he said nothing. About a thousand had swarmed in, and about half had run away.
Those who ran away would spread the names of the Namcheonhoe and Jin Sa-wol.
Behind Jin Sa-wol, Seo Mun-ryeon approached with Sama Chung. Seo Mun-ryeon, admiring the many corpses, said.
"It's about time to start spreading the rumors, right?"
"Do so."
"Spread the names of the Namcheonhoe and the leader throughout the martial world."
"Yes."
Sama Chung answered with a firm expression and then retreated. He felt fear as he watched Jin Sa-wol's martial arts.
As Sama Chung retreated, Seo Mun-ryeon looked at the training ground and said.
"The martial world will be noisy for a while because of the Namcheonhoe."
Seo Mun-ryeon muttered and then, with a poljjak! sound, jumped up and approached Lee Mak-jeong.
***
The rumor that a sect called the Namcheonhoe, which had appeared in Guryeon Mountain, had wiped out the Baekgeomun's Blue Dragon Hall spread throughout the martial world, and the Beggars' Sect members who had entered Guryeon Mountain retreated like a tide.
It seemed they had retreated for safety.
The leader of the Namcheonhoe was a person named Jin Sa-wol and was known as a master called the Demonic Sword Ghost in the Demonic Cult.
It became known that Jin Sa-wol had settled in Guryeon Mountain and created the Namcheonhoe, and that Lee Mak-jeong, who had fled from the Demonic Cult, was there.
Son Muk was sitting in the conference room of the Nanchang branch.
To his left sat Gung Tae-yeong and Namgung Wi of the Namgung family. To his right sat the master of the Blue Dragon Division, who appeared to be in his fifties, as well as the branch masters of Jiujiang and Nanchang.
"I never thought I would hear the name Jin Sa-wol again like this."
Son Muk muttered as he looked at the letter.
He had chased the Demonic Cult members, and there was Jin Sa-wol.
"What a funny guy."
Son Muk chuckled and said again. But the smile disappeared in an instant. Although he said it was funny, it was actually a compliment acknowledging his opponent.
Gung Tae-yeong said.
"The Baekgeomun's Blue Dragon Hall went up to Guryeon Mountain and was annihilated. We must move cautiously."
Gung Tae-yeong's story did not enter Son Muk's ears. Son Muk was recalling the inn.
"So he went to Guryeon Mountain with the Thousand Gold Vault. Is Lee Mak-jeong, who was kicked out of the Demonic Cult, a bonus? His power has grown suddenly."
