Chapter 118. Enlightenment (5)
Pat-!
The blade fragment that was spat out briefly hindered the advance of the assassin who had been approaching from the front.
Huuuung-.
Seizing that moment, Dong Bong-su leaped forward, spinning into a large somersault.
Whiririk.
Avoiding another assassin's shuriken that flew in from behind with a jump in place, he lightly tapped the shuriken with the tip of his foot and flew forward.
As the gentle spring breeze parted his bangs, his field of vision opened wide. Far away, he could see Hee-a staring at him with her eyes wide open. It was probably because she was seeing a side of him fighting that she had never imagined even in the past few days. Or maybe it was because she had seen his eye.
But.
It did not matter anyway.
Pat-!
At some point, Dong Bong-su stepped on the shuriken and jumped high.
Then, flying down over the head of the assassin who was too busy blocking the blade fragment he had thrown earlier and the shuriken Dong Bong-su had been riding, he brought down the Wanderer's Sword.
"Descending Swallow Breaking Branch."
The slightly slanted downward strike looked just like a swallow landing wrongly, breaking a tree branch and bending it.
Kkagagang-!
Even in his flustered state, the assassin managed to neutralize Dong Bong-su's attack.
It was fortunate that he had blocked it while retreating backward. Otherwise, his fingers gripping the sword hilt would have been completely sliced off by that sword formula that slid in as if crashing straight into him.
However, the only reason he had been able to deflect Dong Bong-su's attack was because Dong Bong-su had announced the name of the form.
"Flying Swallow Forty-Two Swords? Zhejiang Flying Swallow Sword, Ji Hu?"
No, no.
The assassin had to withdraw the thought that had flashed through his mind. He had never met Zhejiang Flying Swallow Sword Ji Hu, but Ji Hu was not such a young man.
Then, was he his disciple?
No, no.
That also did not seem right. Ji Hu had died during the Anhui Great Slaughter Calamity, and at that time his age had only been in his early thirties.
Then was he perhaps his senior or junior fellow disciple?
No, no. That was not it either.
Ji Hu, he had been thoroughly alone. The story that he had picked up the secret manual of Flying Swallow Forty-Two Swords by chance in a cave and trained by himself, and his stubbornly solitary temperament, were quite well-known in the martial world.
Then who in the world was this person...?
However, his deduction could go no further.
Pubeobeok-!
"You guessed wrong."
Dong Bong-su was using the form Gangyeonchuji with both hands, while using another form with his right foot. And that form, Drunken Tiger Striking the Ghost, was caving in the assassin's face as it was.
Soul-Chasing Leg Kang Gang-eol.
Even as he died, the assassin could not resolve the question he had first had. Rather, only more questions arose.
The technique that killed him had nothing to do with Ji Hu at all, but was that of Soul-Chasing Leg Kang Gang-eol. And thinking back, the Left-Turning Profound Slayer form he had seen earlier had been the life sword art of Demon-Capturing Fierce Sword Nogu. And even the few movements before that had all been ultimate techniques of different people.
Just how?
But he would never be able to solve those questions.
Hududuk.
Dong Bong-su grabbed a handful of hair from the corpse of the assassin who was falling backward and tore it out. Without a moment's delay, he immediately turned around and threw that hair toward the assassin behind who had thrown the shuriken earlier.
The hair, now stiffened, flew toward the assassin. It was clumped together in the shape of a butterfly.
"Keok...!"
The rear assassin could not avoid it at all and turned into a hedgehog and left this world.
This form was Soul-Chasing Flying Butterfly.
Tang Family's...
"Three eliminated. Two left?"
Three out of five had become combat-incapable in an instant.
The remaining hidden assassins also revealed themselves.
The two maintained a straight-line formation with Dong Bong-su in the center and began circling around. It was probably because they were shocked by Dong Bong-su's strength, which was far greater than they had expected.
Three first-grade assassins had died in the time it took them to barely even exert their strength or take a few breaths.
But Dong Bong-su seemed to have no interest in such assassins, as he was looking far down toward the foot of the hill.
The children were still lingering around the stone cairn, or catching frogs by the stream, or swallowing or bursting the eggs they had laid, giggling away.
Even so, Hee-a had not blinked once and was watching the entire fight between Dong Bong-su and the assassins.
Dong Bong-su muttered, baring his white teeth.
"So, I thought you were an elephant cub, but you were a tiger cub."
If we meet again later, you'll be a beast flashing tiger fangs instead of ivory.
Dong Bong-su began to move again. No, to be precise, his surroundings began to move.
The piles of stones, branches, and leaves scattered around the hill began to float in midair.
"H-heok, empty-space manipulation...!"
The feet of the assassins, who had been circling while watching Dong Bong-su's mood, stopped. They were far too shocked. Using empty-space manipulation was proof that Dong Bong-su had reached an exalted realm that they could not even dream of. It was not something that could be reached or displayed simply by learning outstanding forms or peerless martial arts.
Enlightenment that those who could not reach it would never know, the use of true energy, the strength of internal energy.
Only when all realms of martial arts reached a level they could not even imagine would it become possible. That was empty-space manipulation.
Moreover!
The empty-space manipulation unfolding before them now was not a single object floating and moving. Dozens, hundreds of objects were floating and rotating.
If they had known he was such an opponent, they would not have come!
No wonder the client had paid more than usual...!
At that moment, Dong Bong-su's indifferent voice, carried on a Super True Energy Wave, reached their ears.
"It's Flying Butterfly Qi Art."
"...!"
The assassins were as shocked as when they had realized it was empty-space manipulation.
Flying Butterfly Qi Art was—!
Because it was Tang Wu's life ultimate technique.
It was not a Tang Family technique. Soul-Chasing Flying Butterfly was a Tang Family technique, but Flying Butterfly Qi Art was Tang Wu's unique empty-space manipulation divine art. It meant that even within the Tang Family, only Tang Wu could use it, a unique secret art.
But Tang Wu had already become a dead man who never returned during the Anhui Great Slaughter Calamity...? And all the techniques this person had used earlier were the life ultimate techniques of masters who had died during the Anhui Great Slaughter Calamity...?
Then this person is...?
Pubeobeobeok-!
At the moment the assassins' eyes grew as big as oil lamps, stones and other objects all at once assaulted their bodies. They could not even think of dodging and simply accepted all those dancing stones, branches, and leaf butterflies into their bodies.
"J-just who...?"
"W-who... are you...?"
Even as they turned into hedgehogs, the two assassins split their last words of curiosity between them. The blood flowing from their bodies was a secondary concern. Perhaps it was because there would soon be no blood left to flow anyway.
But Dong Bong-su had no interest whatsoever in their final lines. Extras end when they die. Delivering lines was not their role.
Extras only need to play the role of extras and leave. When the cut is over, they should quietly exit, that is all.
"Not bad."
Dong Bong-su's short remark announced the end of the battle.
It was a 'delivery meal' with more flavor and nutrition than expected. Perhaps it was even better because he had obtained it after shaking off the annoying Ha Seon-hyang. Also, he gained certainty that the martial arts he had reinterpreted in his own way were indeed the martial arts he had obtained from them back then, without the slightest discrepancy.
Licking his tongue slightly in satisfaction and fullness after a long time, he looked down the hill.
Hee-a was still looking up at him. With her mouth wide open, she seemed too shocked to even close her jaw.
A gentle breeze came and lifted Dong Bong-su's white-streaked bangs. With that, his emotionless one eye was revealed once more.
He raised the hand that was not holding the sword and gently brought his index finger to his lips.
Ten cross.
Hee-a had not learned letters, but she instinctively knew what that meant. She immediately raised her own small finger and placed it on her dream-holding lips, making the same ten cross.
Then she made her mouth round.
Dong Bong-su could not hear it, but he could read the sound.
Shh-.
Dong Bong-su's snow-white teeth responded.
And then he disappeared with the wind.
***
Aggro.
In games, if you apply a certain level of threat or attack to monsters, the player will be attacked. This is commonly expressed as "drawing aggro."
This New Murim Online is not a real game, so it is not divided into aggressive mobs (monsters that automatically attack as soon as a player approaches within a certain range) and non-aggressive mobs (monsters that never attack first before the player attacks). Therefore, unless you do something that specifically draws aggro, you will not be attacked first. Sometimes, when wars or disputes break out, all NPCs may automatically turn into aggressive mobs, but such things only happen occasionally as event-type occurrences.
However, the place where you can buy such 'event-type aggro' with money is precisely this New Murim Online.
Just like delivery food from the other world.
Of course, the kind of delivery food that you can send not only to yourself, but also to others.
***
Tak.
Yeon Yeong-ha, who had been struggling with the noodles and shredded chicken in her Chicken Shred Noodles with clumsy chopstick handling, put them down on the table. Only then did Elder Noh seem to sense that something was strange and quietly stood up from his seat. His hand had already gone into his clothes.
"Elder Noh, sit down. It's mine."
"...."
"It's a gift that came to me. It must be what that person who recognized me sent."
"... Tomorrow is Awakening of Insects. If someone dares to target young lady so boldly and perhaps informs the Martial Alliance of young lady's existence..."
"That won't happen."
Yeon Yeong-ha said flatly.
Those five vulgar killing intents that pushed through these overflowing madnesses and poked at her nerves were the gift he had sent.
She had that kind of certainty.
Was it a reply to the greeting she had sent before? It was a gift, but she was not sure whether it was a return gift or had some other meaning. Well, it would be more comfortable if she just thought of it as a gift and moved on.
So what?
It was a gift sent by the only man in the Central Plains who could communicate with her.
"I thought he was a man without emotions, but he's more romantic than I thought. Hehe-."
She laughed lightly once, then picked up the entire bowl of Chicken Shred Noodles and poured it straight into her mouth.
"Chomp, chomp. I was about to be bored for the next few days because I have to control my strength, but he sent it just in time. Thanks."
Chopsticks? No need.
Isn't it fine to just swallow?
Yeon Yeong-ha stood up and left the inn.
The bustling madness of the busy streets made her feel good.
"Ah, this is nice! But in a few days, a day when I can open my eyes wide will surely come, right?"
"...."
"Ah, well, just having that person is probably enough, but I still won't feel at ease. Hehe-. Well then, shall we go? To the center of this crazy Central Plains."
Yeon Yeong-ha stretched once and walked toward Cheongsin Mountain where the Martial Alliance was. Elder Noh followed right behind her. And behind them, five killing intents followed.
And filling the emptiness behind them, the sound of a frog from somewhere.
Gaegol, gaegol.
That day was the day before the Awakening of Insects.
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