Chapter 1

Chapter 1 – Prologue

“He is like an evil spirit.”

Jin Lee-Bong, the head of the Rare Goods Merchants’ Association, was losing his mind.

Gwi Myung, the Ghost Killing Sect’s best assassin, pondered upon what kind of individual had caused such a disaster for the wealthiest man in Hebei.

“If he were truly an evil spirit, then you would not have been spared.”

Jin Lee-Bong turned his gaze upwards towards Gwi Myung’s sneer.

Jin Lee-Bong’s eyes appeared sunken and hollow, making him look ten years above his actual age. It was clear that he hadn’t had proper sleep for days.

His gaze turned dim as he stared at Gwi Myung’s bamboo hat and spoke.

“...The only reason I was spared was so that he could make me suffer even more.”

“What do you mean?”

“That guy robbed me of all my wealth.”

Whoever this individual was, they were thorough with their job. What was the exact amount of wealth the Rare Goods Merchants’ Association contained? It was certain that it wouldn’t be easy to clean it all out.

Gwi Myung instinctively knew that this opponent would not be easy to track. If he had indeed robbed this man of all his wealth, then he should be very elusive. However, he had confidence in his own tracking skills, so sooner or later, he would be caught.

Maybe due to his anxiousness, Jin Lee-Bong added.

“You shouldn’t underestimate my wealth. Even with the leftover scraps he left, I am still considered wealthy within the martial world.”

Still, the fact that Gwi Myung had been called to meet with Jin Lee-Bong was unusual.

If an assassin is working under an organization, there is never contact between the one performing the task and the client. The assassin should never know who the one commissioning the job is, due to the possibility of the assassination failing. If they were to get caught, and their suicide attempt was thwarted, there would be danger in knowing the client’s identity. How would the organization’s reputation look then? Who would come to them with commissions?

However, this case was a different issue.

The Ghost Killing Sect Leader secretly briefed Gwi Myung on the task before he left. The task was not an official commission, but instead, a personal request. He didn’t know how much compensation the Sect Leader received, but he had been given a rare note worth a thousand nyang.

Although he had doubts as to why this simple task was handled so complicatedly, he knew there must be special circumstances for the wealthy client. If there was a special request for Gwi Myung to be sent, then Jin Lee-Bong must’ve been an important client for the Ghost Killing Sect.

This person accumulated his wealth through assassinations, and even if he had lost ten million nyang, he was not one that deserved sympathy.

Taking out a piece of paper from his pocket, Gwi Myung handed it to him.

“Write down the individual’s name, appearance, and any other information you believe I should know to identify him.”

The target was likely going by a pseudonym, but this was necessary to start tracking him.

This request would offer a larger reward the sooner he found the target, so Gwi Myung wanted to finish the job quickly and return.

Jin Lee-Bong gave him a nasty smirk, as if he could see right through his intentions.

Gwi Myung returned his smirk with a frown full of killing intent, but Jin Lee-Bong didn’t even flinch. Instead, he pushed the paper he received aside.

“There’s no rush.”

Did Jin Lee-Bong even know who he was facing?

The Ghost Killing Sect was one of the three major assassin organizations within the entire martial world, and he was known as the most capable within the organization. Among the 97 commissions he was tasked with, there was not one failure. Given his track record, he could be considered the undefeated king of assassins.

‘Best in the Martial World’ often preceded his name nowadays, making him the current most successful assassin.

“The manual contained the secret martial arts of the Thunder Sword.”

“The Thunder Sword? Which Thunder Sword are you talking about?”

“It was the secret martial arts manual of the actual Thunder Sword, Naeng Lee-Sang!”

Gwi Myung’s eyes opened widely, showing his surprise.

‘Thunder’ was a unique article of description associated with many different kinds of martial arts within the martial world, but there was only one martial art associated with being the true technique of the Thunder Sword, Naeng Lee-Sang.

He was an absolute master ranked within the top ten for his prowess and made his appearance within the martial world forty years ago. A few years before the Great War of the Orthodox and the Demonic, he had disappeared from the martial world. Many speculated the exact reason behind his disappearance, but he had not revealed himself until now, and it was presumed that he had died.

The situation caused Gwi Myung to burst into laughter.

“Hahaha! The great Jin Lee-Bong was swindled out of his wealth because of a martial arts manual?”

The conclusion that Gwi Myung came to was that the manual was a scam, because it was unlikely that Naeng Lee-Sang’s manual would appear out of nowhere, and even if it did, there was no way that this extraordinary martial arts manual would be in the hands of such a young man.

However, Jin Lee-Bong’s answer was shocking.

“The manual contained the true martial arts of the Thunder Sword.”

“That is not possible.”

When Jin Lee-Bong signaled for a servant with his hand, the servant removed a screen covering something. There was a wall located behind the screen that was slightly smaller than the screen itself.

“Take a look.”

Gwi Myung’s gaze turned to the wall, and once he saw it, he was astonished.

There was a mark that appeared to be a lightning bolt, soaring as if it were a dragon. It was definitely the markings of the Thunder Sword that he had only heard of in rumors. However, he still could not bring himself to believe what he saw.

“This must have been forged.”

“The move was performed right in front of my eyes; he said this was the level of just one strike.”

“Such a mark was left from only one strike?”

The sword mark on the wall captivated Gwi Myung, and he couldn’t turn his gaze away from it.

Then Jin Lee-Bong left a final statement that broke down his suspicions.

“In order to confirm that the renowned master, Naeng Lee-Sang, was indeed the one who wrote the manual, I secretly acquired a sample of his actual handwriting. He was indeed the one who wrote that manual.”

“So what happened next?”

Jin Lee-Bong let out a sigh.

“You should know that the value of the secret manual is worth more than a thousand gold. I only had one choice once I verified its legitimacy.”

Jin Lee-Bong would never have become the wealthiest man in Hebei if he had the common decency to not covet the belongings of others. Gwi Myung already knew what he had done.

“Who did you send to steal the manual?”

Gwi Myung was now hooked on what this story would entail.

“At first, I decided to send only the most trusted warriors within my household, but they are not ones that should be underestimated due to their old age. Among those sent, there was the Life and Death Sword, Chu Baek.”

Gwi Myung flinched after hearing that name.

“The Life and Death Sword, Chu Baek?”