In his eyes, Jin Sa-wol, who was standing at a distance of five zhang, was seen disappearing with a blurry afterimage.

"To show your true form in front of me... What great confidence."

After cutting the masked person's neck from left to right and pulling out the dagger, Jin Sa-wol looked at her falling back.

The moment he saw the opponent's figure, he had already jumped over her head and landed behind the masked person.

Because he had simultaneously unfolded the Explosive Art of the True Blood Demonic Art and the Phantom Demonic Ghost Step, even the masked person could not see him properly.

A sword blade touched Jin Sa-wol's Adam's apple. It was like a silence that surpassed stealth.

A circular sword energy rose around Jin Sa-wol, who had sat down and rotated, cut the passage in half, and flew to the end.

The masked person standing behind Jin Sa-wol fell to the floor with their waist cut in two. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

The thick smell of blood stimulated Jin Sa-wol's nose.

At the familiar smell and atmosphere, Jin Sa-wol lightly touched his neck.

A drop of blood that had flowed from his neck seeped into his hand.

A smile hung on his lips. The fishy smell told him that the opponent's sword was poisoned.

"Interesting."

It was a smile he himself could not understand. He didn't even realize he was smiling.

"I never thought the Flower Pavilion Master would welcome me so grandly."

They were assassins of a higher level than the killing ghosts or flower ghosts he had met so far.

Their infiltration and stealth, which could deceive his eyes and ears, were enough to send a chill down his spine.

As he briefly thought that assassins were scary, he shook his head without realizing it. Because he himself was essentially a stealthy assassin like them.

Jin Sa-wol, who had stepped on a puddle full of blood, ate a Demonic Core Pill and then headed for the end of the passage.

Beyond the end of the passage, a wide open space came into his eyes. It was a space about ten zhang in radius.

In that instant, black figures pouring down like a rain of arrows were seen in Jin Sa-wol's two eyes.

* * *

Two black shadows seeped into the Sinryeong Valley, where the rain had stopped.

The two shadows, as if familiar, moved quickly, avoiding the blood threads here and there, to the seven-story pagoda.

The masked people who entered the pagoda entered the first floor, which was full of hot air.

The flower ghosts, who were waiting as if they had been waiting, showed themselves.

The two masked people showed the Hwayeong Pavilion's token and asked.

"We are the Twin Killing Flowers of the Hwayeong Pavilion. Where is the intruder?"

"In the underground training ground."

"He'll come out of the Heart Killing Pavilion. How many have died?"

"We're in the process of cleaning up, but it's over forty."

"A lot have died. What about the master?"

"In the Heart Killing Pavilion."

At the flower ghost's answer, the two Twin Killing Flowers moved quickly towards the back gate. But they could not cross the back gate.

Dozens of hidden weapons were embedded in their entire bodies.

Behind Seo Mun-ok, who was sitting on the fifth floor of the Heart Killing Pavilion, several lamps were shining brightly.

In front of Seo Mun-ok, a middle-aged woman with white hair was smiling with her eyes. She was Yeong-yeong, the master of the Sinryeong Valley.

"There are two Flower Shadow Ghosts waiting in the basement. No matter how great a master he is, he cannot avoid the Flower Shadow Ghosts' awls."

The highest masters of the Flower Pavilion were the Flower Shadow Ghosts. There were five of them, and two of them had gone into the basement to wait for Jin Sa-wol.

Of course, they did not know about the deaths of the Flower Shadow Ghosts.

"What if the Flower Shadow Ghosts died?"

"Even so, the first floor is full of poisonous fog, so he won't be able to breathe."

"What if that also fails?"

"I will kill him."

Only when she saw the bowed Yeong-yeong was Seo Mun-ok satisfied.

"Then you shouldn't be here. What are you doing? You should go down quickly."

At Seo Mun-ok's words, Yeong-yeong stood up from her seat and went outside.

As Yeong-yeong went out, Seo Mun-ok took off her clothes and changed into a night-traveling suit. Perhaps because it was clothes she was wearing after a long time, it felt awkward.

* * *

From the basement of the Heart Killing Pavilion, the ground shook with a huge vibration.

Immediately after, with a 'kwang!' sound, a large hole was drilled in the floor, and Jin Sa-wol came up from there.

Jin Sa-wol stood in the center of the dark first floor and looked at the wide main hall at a glance.

Black-clad people standing on all sides came into his eyes, but Jin Sa-wol only looked at the middle-aged woman approaching like the wind from the right.

She was Yeong-yeong, the master of the Heart Killing Pavilion.

Jin Sa-wol's figure headed towards the middle-aged woman.

He avoided the sword that was stabbing at him, grabbed her right hand and neck with both hands at the same time, and pressed down.

Jin Sa-wol, who had pushed Yeong-yeong against a pillar, lifted her up.

"Keuk!"

Yeong-yeong's face contorted as her neck was choked.

Jin Sa-wol, seeing Yeong-yeong, who was the only one among the flower ghosts not wearing a mask, instinctively knew that she was the leader.

"Where is Seo Mun-ok?"

"I don't know."

It was an expected answer, so there were no lingering feelings.

After breaking Yeong-yeong's neck, Jin Sa-wol extended his right palm towards the pillar. The strong internal energy contained in his hand was transmitted to the pillar.

A crack appeared in the huge pillar. Immediately after, the entire Heart Killing Pavilion shook greatly.

It was then that the eyes of the black-clad people who were jumping towards Jin Sa-wol widened.

The pillar burst and the pagoda shook. Subsequently, the ceiling collapsed.

Jin Sa-wol quickly moved to the left and struck another thick pillar with his right palm.

As the pillar burst, the pagoda shook, and in an instant, a crack appeared in the wall.

With a tremendous roar, the Heart Killing Pavilion collapsed, and stones and pieces of wood flew up.

Roof tiles flew, and a strong wind raged.

The flower ghosts who were in the pagoda ran outside, but some were trapped in the collapsing pagoda and died screaming.

Jin Sa-wol, who had climbed onto the wreckage of the collapsed pagoda, looked around.

The sky was a deep blue color.

A light was visible from the east far away. When he turned his head and looked around, he saw numerous masked people hiding in the shadows of the forest.

Since they all had the same attire and similar body types, he could not identify Seo Mun-ok.

Did she hide among the group of flower ghosts? Or did she run away?

He had thought Seo Mun-ok would come out if he collapsed the pavilion, but she had instead hidden herself, so he was not in a good mood.

A group wearing red martial arts uniforms surrounded Jin Sa-wol and gathered.

Jin Sa-wol looked at the group with the character 'Blood' written on their chests and then looked at the chubby man walking towards the center.

"It's even better to see you here."

Mun-gang stroked his beard and took out his half-moon saber. But he did not step forward himself.

"Attack!"

As he commanded his subordinates, the group wearing red martial arts uniforms flew towards Jin Sa-wol.

What would change if he killed the subordinates? They were a group that would scatter if he just killed the leader anyway.

Jin Sa-wol unfolded the Phantom Demonic Ghost Step and at the same time flew in a straight line towards Mun-gang.

Jin Sa-wol's figure disappeared, and only a lightning bolt passing horizontally flashed.

"Hmph!"

Mun-gang, his eyes wide, crossed his twin sabers and blocked the front.

With an explosion, Mun-gang's figure flew back. His body was shriveled, and the robe he was wearing flew away in the wind.

Mun-gang, who had fallen into the forest, broke a dozen or so trees and then barely stopped his figure.

He, wearing only his underwear, stood with his twin sabers crossed.

Since he had unfolded the Iron Shadow Demonic Art, there seemed to be no particular external injuries.

"Uek!"

But he could not avoid internal injuries. Because it was a sudden blow from Jin Sa-wol, he could not even prepare properly.

His mind became confused by the fast sword and strong internal energy he had never seen before.

"You're not a wild man."

Mun-gang, who had lowered his twin sabers, glared at Jin Sa-wol standing in front of him.

The Jin Sa-wol he had seen when he was with the Chung Pavilion Lord and the Jin Sa-wol of today were completely different people.

It was as if he were facing an absolute master.

Jin Sa-wol, who had driven Mun-gang into a corner with his sword aura, stood in front of him like a ghost. No one had seen properly how he had moved.

Jin Sa-wol looked at Mun-gang, who looked like a dead tree. Mun-gang, with his brown skin from head to toe and his dehydrated body, was eerie just to look at.

"I've been curious for a while, what martial art is that?"

"Do you need to know?"

Mun-gang, who had raised his twin sabers, gathered his internal energy.

Just then, dozens of blood threads passed in front of Mun-gang's eyes like a spider's web.

"What are you doing?"

Although Mun-gang's voice echoed, the flower ghosts standing around were silent.

Around Jin Sa-wol, numerous blood threads filled all directions and made a spider's web.

"You're making a useless effort."

Jin Sa-wol muttered, raising his sword. With the sharpness of the Yuseom Sword and his sword energy, he could easily cut them.

"Please wait a moment."

Jin Sa-wol, who had turned his head at the low voice of a woman echoing from all directions, looked at the flower ghost standing beyond the blood threads.

Although there were dozens of flower ghosts standing on all sides, only one person had spoken.

"Why?"

"If you wait a moment, you can get what you want."

At those words, Jin Sa-wol lowered his sword. If it was just waiting for a moment, it was not a difficult thing.

* * *

Whoosh!

The number of masked people who had jumped over the mountain ridge was about twenty. They were all flower ghosts with slender figures.

"You want me to kill a monster like that? You're crazy."

The masked people who had landed in a wide open space of about ten zhang gasped for breath, sat down, and rested for a moment.

Seo Mun-ok took off her mask and shook her head.

"That bastard Cult Leader... That bastard knew everything. That Jin Sa-wol bastard is a dog-like master. He knew and told me to kill him. He's telling me to die."

Dam-ji, who had taken off her mask next to Seo Mun-ok, handed her a leather pouch filled with water and nodded.

"He's not someone we can kill."

Seo Mun-ok, who had drunk the water while listening to Dam-ji's story, sighed deeply.

"The Flower Pavilion is about to be annihilated because of one Jin Sa-wol. Request reinforcements..."

Seo Mun-ok, who was speaking, clutched her chest. As her eyes widened, Dam-ji tilted her head.

"What's wrong?"

"You fucking bitch... You dare to poison me? You lowly bitch..."

As Seo Mun-ok was speaking, her face turned red. At the words 'lowly bitch', killing intent sat on Dam-ji's face.

Her mother was a courtesan in a brothel, and her father was the Seo Mun family head. Naturally, the Seo Mun family did not acknowledge her existence.

"Aaargh!"

"Kraaak!"

With screams, the masked people who had drunk the water fell powerlessly to the floor. Then, the two masked people who had not drunk the water stabbed the foreheads and chests of the masked people who had fallen to the floor, killing them for sure.

As Seo Mun-ok lay on the floor, Dam-ji placed her foot on her chest and pressed down.

"You bitch..."

"Sister Dokgo asked me to kill the sister who had an affair with Cheon Woo-rin. Of course, the price is big enough to move the family head. If Cheon Woo-rin were alive, you wouldn't have died like this... Because he was your shield."

Dam-ji, seeing the breathless Seo Mun-ok, lowered her foot. Immediately after, she cut Seo Mun-ok's neck with her sword.

"It's my father's will."

* * *

The blood threads made Mun-gang's figure blurry. Should I say it felt like wearing a mask made of silkworm thread?

Mun-gang, who still looked like a dead tree, did not withdraw his killing intent.

"Where are all the people who entered the Demonic Cult?"

"They all die. There are people who enter, but no one comes out."

"How are the bodies disposed of?"

"I don't know."

Mun-gang answered, recalling the slaves he had sent to the Demonic Cult. The sun was rising in the east, casting a bright light.

Last night's rain seemed like a lie.

The blood threads that had filled Jin Sa-wol's surroundings disappeared at a fast speed.

Whoosh!

Dam-ji appeared in front of Jin Sa-wol like the wind.

"Lord Mun is a necessary person for us. If there's no reason to kill him, I'd appreciate it if you let him go."

While listening to her words, Jin Sa-wol was looking at the person's head held in her hand.

It was Seo Mun-ok.

"Did you kill her?"

"Yes."

Seo Mun-ok's head fell at Jin Sa-wol's feet.

"Let's make a deal."

Dam-ji showed a bright smile and took a step closer to Jin Sa-wol.

(End of Chapter)