I Kidnapped the Youngest Daughter of the Sichuan Tang Clan
Chapter 335: Golden Ghost Wolf King (3)
Srrng.
I drew my sword.
The reaction was immediate.
“B-Rank, support from behind! Special-Rank and A-Rank, target the two bastards in the rear!”
Shouting like that, the Golden Ghost Wolf King drew his sword as well. Behind him followed more than a dozen wandering warriors who appeared to be first-rate experts. In their hands, each held a different—but similarly shaped—Heaven-Shaking Thunder Pearl.
As a martial artist who had reached the Flowering Stage, he must have known well enough. No matter how many Peak Stage warriors there were, they could not pierce my protective qi and bring me down.
That was why he intended to restrain me with explosive weapons instead.
As the remaining wandering warriors swung wide to the sides, aiming for Tang Sowol and Twin-Ghost Killing Sword, I opened my mouth.
“Twin-Ghost Killing Sword.”
As if he had been waiting, he pulled out a small bead from his robe and bit down on it.
A high-grade poison resistance bead. With that, Tang Sowol would be able to unleash her poison arts without restraint.
The opponents numbered five or six Sub-Perfection masters and dozens of Peak Stage warriors.
No matter that Tang Sowol and Twin-Ghost Killing Sword stood at the very edge of Sub-Perfection, it was still a dangerous situation. But—
“Do not worry.”
Explosive poison qi burst forth from Tang Sowol’s body, now free of restraint.
Within the thick purple miasma that blanketed the surroundings, only her voice carried through.
“I will finish before Young Master Cheon and come assist you.”
“That, I look forward to.”
With a hollow chuckle, I kicked off the ground and burst out of the poisonous fog.
“Hahaha! Insolent brat! Have you forgotten where you stand?!”
Clutching his sword, the Golden Ghost Wolf King rushed in close and took his stance.
His legs spread wide, his waist twisted to its very limit. A posture that could unleash immense power—but just as full of openings.
With the speed at which we charged at each other, evasion was difficult, but countering was easy.
The problem was the Heaven-Shaking Thunder Pearl flying in a beat later from behind.
I did not know their exact power, but they did not seem capable of piercing my protective qi.
Still, since he had brought them knowing he would face me, even if they could not break through, perhaps the shock alone would be enough to disrupt my stance.
If I failed to finish the Golden Ghost Wolf King in one strike, I would be the one at a disadvantage.
Had he been alone, it would be another matter. But like this, he was troublesome.
“Go on! With that precious sword of yours, try cutting me down!”
He shouted with absolute confidence.
His momentum. His voice. The blue-black aura of sword qi.
Everything pressed closer by the second, yearning for my death—
I ignored it all.
I turned my eyes away from the sword that shot toward my waist with lethal force and closed my ears to his exhilarated voice.
Instead, I swung my blade toward empty air at my side.
Kwaang!
Fragments of aura scattered like sparks in the empty air, and through my hand I felt something being forced back.
“What?! How did you know?! Could it be those bastards—”
“To dare use a Demonic Cult formation before me. Admirable courage.”
Indeed. This formation was separate from the one that prevented events within the manor from leaking outside. This one concealed one’s presence and deceived the opponent’s senses.
It was the reason the Demonic Cult had not been completely overwhelmed by the Orthodox and Unorthodox Alliance despite lacking both numbers and average strength—excluding the Heavenly Demon. A formation purely for deception.
And it was also a formation whose method of breaking had been widely spread through the cooperation of Sama Yuryeon and Zhuge Bu.
The directions in which qi could be distorted were limited. Focus there, and one would not fall for it so easily.
Moreover, with my Heavenly Eye, I could now see the flow of qi with my own eyes.
Beyond roughly guessing where he might be, I knew his exact position.
“There are more questions to ask before killing you. I will say this in advance—answer well, and I will grant you a painless death.”
“This is why the Demonic Cult dogs— …No, at this point, it hardly matters.”
Just as I tensed, wondering what he intended—
Suddenly, several Heaven-Shaking Thunder Pearl began falling from the air. Though I could see with the Heavenly Eye, there had been no forewarning.
“So it is only natural.”
The Heavenly Eye allowed me to see qi. That was how I had immediately located the Golden Ghost Wolf King hidden behind the formation.
But Heaven-Shaking Thunder Pearl were explosive weapons, devoid of qi.
Though all things in the world carried at least a trace of qi, and Heaven-Shaking Thunder Pearl would be no exception… inside this formation already twisted with distorted qi, detecting them was nearly impossible.
With a bitter smile at the realization that the Heaven-Shaking Thunder Pearl might prove more dangerous than the Golden Ghost Wolf King, I swiftly swung my sword.
Slice.
The violent sword strike instantly cut down most of the Heaven-Shaking Thunder Pearl.
As I moved to finish the remaining few—
Sensing my moment of distraction, the Golden Ghost Wolf King thrust his blade without hesitation.
“How troublesome.”
I twisted my waist and sharply altered the path of my sword.
The blade that had been about to rend space itself gathered its edge inward, condensing along the sword’s body.
The sword, now brimming with qi, met his blade in time.
Kagaak!
With the sound of something grinding apart, both he and I were pushed back simultaneously.
Up to this point, it was acceptable. We had reached a draw.
But there was one difference between us—
Right before me remained several Heaven-Shaking Thunder Pearl whose fuses had just burned down completely.
Kwaaaang!!
As expected, the explosions failed to pierce my protective qi. And unlike my expectation, the shock was not enough to break my stance.
It was simply far louder than I had thought.
With three or four detonating at such close range, my ears rang for a moment.
The absence of a sense—even one as relatively less relied upon as hearing—left a noticeable void.
My sharpened perception wavered for an instant, and because of that, I failed to respond in time to the Golden Ghost Wolf King charging in once more.
“Die—!”
With the Heavenly Eye, I saw it clearly. The immense aura-laden blade extending along the shortest path toward my neck.
Instantly, I concentrated my protective qi at my throat and twisted my body.
Kuuung!
With a heavy impact, the swollen protective qi shattered. I had barely diverted it, but a trace of heat remained at my nape.
From the thin line of a wound, I felt a single drop of blood fall. I narrowed my eyes.
So this was the Golden Ghost Wolf King’s martial art.
As someone who had reached the Flowering Stage, its depth was not lacking—yet it was not specialized in anything either.
It was not like the Namgung Clan’s sword, which sought the first step toward the infinite within the ordinary.
Simply put, it was neither bad nor exceptional. Mediocre.
But if one maintained a solid level across all aspects, the story changed.
Footwork. Stealth techniques. Swift sword. Use of formations. Psychological warfare. Understanding of Heaven-Shaking Thunder Pearl.
In every regard, the Golden Ghost Wolf King was not extraordinary—but he was impressively competent.
A mindset that believed money could accomplish anything. A life as a wandering warrior, gathering whatever proved useful.
I could roughly guess what realization he had gained at the end of that path.
He must have aimed to become proficient in everything—a versatile master.
With the wealth he possessed and the resources he could mobilize, it suited him perfectly.
But I knew.
There were opponents that mere proficiency could not overcome.
And I, too, had begun stepping into that realm.
The Heavenly Eye showed only the flow of qi; I could not see the expression hidden behind the formation.
But I did not need to. I knew he was smiling, continuing into his next technique.
So I curled my lips into a grin as well and tightened my grip on my sword.
“This is enough.”
As I focused, the aura compressed naturally, shrinking to the size of the blade.
For a fleeting instant, it had pierced even the protective qi of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art. In sheer power, it yielded to no one.
White Sword.
But it did not end there.
The sword engraved in my heartscape overlaid reality, a translucent flicker layering itself over the white blade.
Sensing something amiss, the Golden Ghost Wolf King accelerated—but it was already too late.
I had seen exactly what needed to be cut.
His sword still aimed for both my neck and heart. But slightly behind it—
I focused on the flow of qi that filled this space, endlessly trembling, overlapping and parting.
The moment two currents and one sword aligned—
“Hup!”
Swallowing my breath, I detonated all my strength and inner qi in an instant.
Kwareung!
Thunder erupted from somewhere within me.
In a world slowed by concentration drawn to its utmost limit, only my sword retained its original speed.
Thunderclap Sword.
Like lightning striking first and thunder following after, an ultimate swift strike swung half a step ahead of the thunder that had just burst forth.
White lightning surged upward from the ground, carving a clean line through the air. Everything it touched was severed.
“Keugh?!”
Though his blade had been wrapped in aura, it was cut cleanly in two. The Golden Ghost Wolf King spat blood.
At the same time, the two formations covering the area began to collapse.
Like casting off layered blankets—refreshing, yet strange.
Within the sharpened clarity of my sight, the flow of qi and physical reality merged as one.
The two formations connected to him shattered in an instant. Unable to withstand the impact even with aura, his insides churned violently as his body staggered.
Terrified, the wandering warriors hurled newly lit Heaven-Shaking Thunder Pearl and even rare spears and arrows.
“Pathetic.”
At the killing intent that burst outward from me, their bodies froze. They could not even breathe properly and collapsed to the ground.
Naturally, the Heaven-Shaking Thunder Pearl and other weapons veered wildly, passing far from my side.
In severe cases, some even dropped the Heaven-Shaking Thunder Pearl at their own feet.
I had considered swinging my sword once more to finish them cleanly—but it seemed unnecessary.
Ignoring the first-rate warriors frozen in fear despite knowing the Heaven-Shaking Thunder Pearl at their feet would soon explode, I advanced swiftly toward the Golden Ghost Wolf King as he barely regained his stance.
Kwareung!
With the same thunderous acceleration as before, I closed the distance in a single step.
Not expecting it, he widened his eyes in shock as I drove my kick into his abdomen.
Peok!
He flew backward without even managing a scream.
When he slammed into the wall behind him, the large building failed to withstand the impact and began to collapse.
Perhaps it had been an armory.
Fine weapons worthy of being called treasured artifacts rained down over his head.
“Not yet! It is not over yet!”
Spitting blood, he rose and seized whatever weapon his hand touched, swinging with desperate ferocity.
Calmly, I said,
“No. This is your end.”
Drawing out my remaining inner qi and willpower, I swung with full force once more.
Kwareung!
A heavy broadsword wrapped in aura was cleaved in two.
“Y-You damned—!”
He grabbed another weapon and swung.
A long spear, cleanly wielded without excess. But—
Kwareung!
It could not withstand the Thunderclap Sword and snapped in half.
“Stop!”
Kwareung!
A scythe-like strange weapon shattered.
“I was going to leave the Central Plains after this anyway! I will withdraw quietly, so just—”
Kwareung!
A massive great blade as large as a man slid apart from the middle.
“You monster!”
Kwareung!
A heavy black sword, forged from dark iron like mine, shattered into fragments.
There were no weapons left to seize.
“M-My life! Yes, spare my life! How much do you want?!”
Kwareung!
Along with the remaining weapons, the half-destroyed armory and the golden mansion behind it were split in two and collapsed.
Beneath the slanted sky, I spoke in a low voice.
“So? What is your life worth?”
“My entire fortune! I will give you everything! I swear, I hide nothing—everything!”
His arms dangled uselessly from repeated impacts as he shouted desperately. But—
“Not nearly enough.”
Thud.
I drove my sword into the heart of the Golden Ghost Wolf King, who could not even muster proper resistance.
“If I kill you and take it, that is enough.”
“……!”
A wheezing sound escaped from his gaping mouth.
In the end, he left no final words as his breath slowly ceased.
I had made a mistake. I had intended to pry into his connection with the Demonic Cult before killing him, but in the heat of battle, I had slain him outright.
Letting out a deep sigh, I gazed quietly at his end.
As tension drained away and my senses dulled slightly, a trace of unease brushed the edge of my perception and settled upon my back.
Chaeng!
Only after barely blocking a sword swung without the slightest presence did I speak.
“I do not understand this situation either.”
There stood a familiar figure clad in black.
But he was someone I should never have seen again.