Chapter 140:

Chapter 140:

Body (1)

Apart from discovering the name of the Head of Unhyangwon, Tang-gak and Tang Pae-jin continued to interrogate the Inner Hall Elder.

They were curious why an elder who had dedicated his entire life to the clan had betrayed it.

However, all they received was emptiness and anger.

Surprisingly, Inner Hall Elder Tang Min sincerely believed that this incident was for the benefit of the Sichuan Tang Clan.

Yet, there was a deeper motive behind it. According to the interrogation results, Tang Min had been associated with the Head of Unhyangwon since his youth.

Throughout that association, he had steadily received bribes under the guise of gifts and had been influenced by such stories.

“How can it be that a clan filled with outstanding individuals like Brother Tang is divided into three parts by Emei, Qingcheng, and Sichuan?”

Gradually, through continuous bribes and flattery, Tang Min began to be swayed by the Head of Unhyangwon.

Well, in all that time, they had never asked for anything in return.

Even Tang Min’s wife was a woman introduced by the Head of Unhyangwon, and naturally, Tang Hyeok-soo, who inherited the values of both parents, also became a traitor.

“I will kill that woman immediately.”

Tang-gak, whose eyes had turned red with anger, tried to kill Tang Min’s wife immediately, but Mu-jin quickly stopped him.

“Right now, we should not touch his wife but rather capture the Head of Unhyangwon first.”

“Hmph. I will first clean up the clan, then deploy our martial artists to prevent even a single ant from escaping Unhyangwon.”

Mu-jin shook his head at Tang-gak’s words.

“You’ve got the order wrong. These are people who even moved Emei and Qingcheng. If we delay even a little, they will use Emei and Qingcheng to pressure the Tang Clan in return.”

At Mu-jin’s words, Tang-gak and Tang Pae-jin nodded in agreement.

“Then, it would be better to move quickly with a small number of people to prevent any information leaks.”

“Father, are you planning to move personally?”

“A clan head must protect the clan. Therefore, an old man like me should handle such matters. Hehe.”

“Understood. Once you leave, I will capture the Inner Hall Elder’s wife for interrogation and strengthen internal surveillance. There may be those who attempt to transmit information.”

Perhaps because they had experienced the horror of an elder being a spy.

In that brief time, Tang Pae-jin devised a plan to use the current situation to flush out all the spies.

As the two men quickly finalized their plans and were about to move, Mu-jin intervened.

“Elder Dark King, may I join you?”

Approaching the core of the shadowy forces. Naturally, Mu-jin wanted to be on the scene.

After all, they had come this far thanks to Mu-jin, so it seemed likely he could join, but he asked just in case.

Since it involved the Tang Clan’s spies, he worried that Tang-gak might want to move alone.

“Hehe. You dragged the situation this far, and now you’re asking to be left out?”

However, his concern was unnecessary. Tang-gak gladly accepted Mu-jin’s request.

* * *

Through a hidden passage in the Tang Clan, Tang-gak and Mu-jin sneaked out of the Tang Manor and headed towards Unhyangwon alone.

‘Incredibly fast, indeed.’

Despite moving in secrecy, Tang-gak’s speed was remarkable, while Mu-jin’s Fast Ascent Step was not suited for stealthy movement at all.

‘I need to learn the Ghost Steps if Mu-gyeong can provide me with a translated version.’

With such thoughts in mind, Mu-jin soon saw a quaint manor on the outskirts of Chengdu.

‘What will that crazy old man do?’

Watching the back of the Dark King who had arrived at the vicinity of Unhyangwon before him, Mu-jin soon made a startled face.

The Dark King, Tang-gak, jumped onto the wall of Unhyangwon with no hesitation and waved his sleeve.

“Ugh!”

As if conversation was unnecessary, Tang-gak launched a preemptive strike.

– Don’t kill everyone!!

Mu-jin hurriedly jumped over the wall and sent a telepathic message, but he saw that all the people outside the manor were already lying on the ground.

With one strike, he had inserted throwing needles into the heads of a dozen people.

Small throwing needles called Wu Mo Needles.

‘Damn it. This time we need to avoid killing everyone.’

In both Paedobang and Taeeulmun, everyone had committed suicide, leaving little information to be gathered.

From the darkness of the wall, a blackened dagger stabbed towards Tang-gak.

The black-clad figure had not fled but was waiting for an opportunity to ambush Tang-gak.

“You rat-like wench!”

But as expected of an old master who earned the title of King, Tang-gak sensed the ambush just before it happened.

He raised his hand, using Qi to deflect the nearly invisible blackened dagger of the black-clad figure.

However, Tang-gak’s real opponent was not the black-clad figure but the Head of Unhyangwon.

While Tang-gak was blocking the ambush, the Head of Unhyangwon had already reached close proximity to Tang-gak.

Bang!!!

Just as the Head of Unhyangwon was about to swing his sword at Tang-gak.

Mu-jin, using the Fast Ascent Step to its extreme, crashed through the wall and lunged at the Head of Unhyangwon.

“Tsk.”

The Head of Unhyangwon clicked his tongue lightly, missing the chance to finish off Tang-gak, and swung his sword at Mu-jin.

Bang!!

The clash of the Head of Unhyangwon’s sword and Mu-jin’s fist created a fierce explosion.

“Ho?”

The Head of Unhyangwon’s eyes glinted as he looked at Mu-jin, who had blocked his sword strike.

More precisely, at the golden aura surrounding Mu-jin.

“You claimed names like Kang Hyuk or Teukjeonmun, names I’ve never heard of. Now I see, you are the Shaolin Divine Dragon.”

Although his true identity was exposed in an instant, Mu-jin was unconcerned.

The Head of Unhyangwon was a man who fought evenly with the Dark King. Hiding his martial arts in this battle would be suicidal.

“I’d like to take my time figuring out why you’re here, but first, I’ll cut off your limbs and then think about it.”

While Mu-jin was blocking his attack, the Dark King was pressing the black-clad figure.

Fortunately, it was night. If it weren’t, the black-clad figure would have already been caught by Tang-gak.

The black-clad figure’s martial arts specialized in stealth and ambushes.

“You’re using a bizarre stepping technique, wench!”

The black-clad figure was barely buying time with a peculiar stepping technique that made their steps almost imperceptible and a shadow-like martial art that blended their body with the darkness.

Therefore, the Head of Unhyangwon decided to deal with Mu-jin before the black-clad figure got caught.

Whiiiing.

With a fierce wave of Qi, the Head of Unhyangwon’s sword flew at tremendous speed.

But Mu-jin, who had perfected the Golden Turtle Technique, was determined to charge at the Head of Unhyangwon.

If not for the intense warning of his instincts about the danger to his life.

“Ho. Quite perceptive for a late-stage cultivator?”

The Head of Unhyangwon spoke with a sinister smile as Mu-jin hastily retreated, but Mu-jin’s gaze was not on the Head of Unhyangwon’s face.

“......Sword Qi.”

Mu-jin’s eyes were fixed on the dazzling blue aura emanating from the Head of Unhyangwon’s sword.

The aura known as Sword Qi or Gang Qi.

The ultimate weapon in martial arts, created by layering sword energy dozens or even hundreds of times.

Before this unprecedented weapon, even Vajra Indestructibility and Qi membrane were useless.

Swish.

Despite his quick retreat, Mu-jin’s chest was already slashed, and blood began to flow.

‘A master.’

Mu-jin’s gaze remained calm as he looked at the Head of Unhyangwon’s Sword Qi.

There was no doubt that Gang Qi was an incredible weapon, but there were at least dozens of masters in the martial world capable of creating it.

Among the first disciples of Shaolin whom Mu-jin frequently sparred with, some could also create Gang Qi.

However, there were only a handful of masters who could create Gang Qi without any preliminary movements or preparation.

‘And those masters are at the level of the Seven Kings.’

In the world, such masters were often referred to as the Seven Kings.