Chapter 14 : No Need to Apologize

Chapter 14: No Need to Apologize

There was no verbal response, yet the eyes glimpsed through the mask clearly conveyed his opponent’s agitation.

However, that lasted only briefly.

Sun Ugon was a martial artist of peak master rank, a key power within the Murim Alliance.

He quickly regained his composure and attempted to retrieve the dagger.

Swoosh!

Sun Ugon's inner strength rapidly surged towards the dagger.

He intended to manifest sword qi and slice through the restraining threads in one swift movement.

Scritch!

Clang!

“Did you really think that would work?”

Surprisingly, what fell to the ground were not pieces of the severed threads, but countless fragments of the dagger itself, cleanly sliced into multiple pieces.

Sewoon had preemptively destroyed the weapon before Sun Ugon could manifest his sword qi.

‘…How could mere threads?’

Fwoosh!

Belatedly recognizing the menacing threat posed by the black threads, Sun Ugon hastily retreated using his movement art.

Observing this pathetic display, Sewoon twisted the corner of his mouth in ridicule.

“Looks like you grabbed some random object from a smithy in Chengdu to avoid leaving traces.”

“Let's see how long you can hold out without drawing your main weapon.”

Fwoosh!

Without giving Sun Ugon even a moment to breathe, Sewoon immediately resumed his attack.

Swiftly raising both hands above his eyebrows, he crossed them into an ‘X’ and pulled them downward towards his waist.

Whoosh!

The Heavenly Net’s black threads surged violently, akin to waves of a vast ocean, lunging towards the enemy simultaneously.

In mid-air, they twisted endlessly like flexible swords, striking at the enemy relentlessly.

Front? Left? Right?

‘Damn it!’

Sun Ugon had indeed faced numerous masters adept in flexible swords in his martial career.

But due to their unique elasticity, even a single flexible sword was extremely difficult to predict.

And now, with ten black threads simultaneously whipping in different directions, anticipating their trajectories was nearly impossible.

“Kugh!”

An involuntary groan escaped Sun Ugon’s mouth.

Ultimately, no perfect evasion method came to mind.

He hurriedly activated a protective qi and spun his body, attempting to defend and dodge simultaneously.

Swish!

But in the blink of an eye, the black threads—like venomous serpents—had already reached him.

Slice!

“Aaagh!”

In the end, the black threads succeeded in sinking their sharp fangs into Sun Ugon.

Something dropped to the ground alongside his anguished scream.

Between torn pieces of the mask, chunks of severed flesh could be seen.

“Since you lost an ear, you can't deny being the culprit now, can you?”

Mocking the protective qi Sun Ugon had desperately activated, the black thread had sliced off one of his ears completely.

Each strand of black thread, once as soft as silk, had now transformed into blades.

Their seemingly chaotic movements were in fact completely controlled by Sewoon’s will.

Just as he'd taught the Assassin One Point Kill in exchange for the Twin Polar Fang.

The martial arts Sewoon had inherited from Surin in exchange for the Heavenly Forge.

Flawless Heavenly Garment (仙衣無縫).

First Move: Unyielding Garment (剛衫).

The Shrine Maiden Sect's ultimate technique, Flawless Heavenly Garment, had been perfectly reproduced.

Flawless Heavenly Garment was a martial art newly created by the Shrine Maiden Sect’s founder, the original Musan Divine Nun, who had cultivated the Iron Cloth technique to its utmost limit.

When martial artists heard "Iron Cloth," they usually imagined a crude outer art that merely toughened the skin.

However, the Shrine Maiden Sect's Flawless Heavenly Garment was nothing so trivial.

Shing!

Driven nearly mad by the excruciating pain, Sun Ugon finally drew the sword strapped to his back.

Seeing this pitiful display, Sewoon mocked him again.

“You should’ve done that earlier.”

“Shut up—!”

Swoosh!

Perhaps having abandoned his intention of hiding his identity, Sun Ugon let his real voice slip out as he furiously charged at Sewoon.

Closing the distance instantly with lightning-fast speed, he unleashed a killing strike at Sewoon’s throat without a moment’s hesitation.

Whoosh!

This was the supreme technique of the Soundless Thunder Sword, granting him the alias Sword Rakshasa.

A swift sword thrust forward like a bolt of lightning.

Indicative of his peak mastery, the blade emitted distinct sword qi rather than just a faint aura.

“Die!”

Only fully realized sword qi could counter such perfected sword qi.

Yet Sewoon was nowhere near the threshold of Peak Master Level, nor could he even manifest a faint sword qi at the pinnacle of First Rate Martial Artist.

Thus, the natural choice was to dodge, yet Sewoon didn’t step back an inch.

Swoosh.

He merely spread his palms toward the enemy and spun his hands in a circle.

With a sharp scraping sound, the black threads of the Heavenly Net, originating from ten different directions, overlapped instantly, forming a wall that completely enveloped Sewoon.

The intricately woven threads merged into a giant shield that protected him.

Flawless Heavenly Garment.

Second Move: Circular Wing.

Sun Ugon’s blue sword qi crashed into the pitch-black shield.

Kiiiiiik!

Boom!

Even greater sparks and shockwaves exploded outward in all directions.

The smithy’s items were swept up in the aftermath, turning into chaos.

Whoosh.

As the dust slowly settled.

“…Cough. Why, just why?”

“You mean why couldn't you pierce it?”

“Because your sword is weak.”

Sun Ugon stood in shock, holding a sword broken in half and wearing tattered black clothing.

Unlike him, Sewoon stood immaculate, not even a speck of dust on him.

The martial arts of the Shrine Maiden Sect were originally founded on the principle of non-killing.

Thus, there were no lethal techniques among them.

However, when it came to defense and subjugation, their strength was unrivaled.

Flawless Heavenly Garment did not simply harden the skin like Iron Cloth.

It was the ultimate internal qi technique that strengthened one’s clothing into armor.

‘Heavenly Net already boasts durability on par with Ten Thousand-Year Cold Iron, and with the enhancement of Flawless Heavenly Garment, sword qi alone can’t even leave a scratch.’

Though it appeared soft like thread, the Heavenly Net retained the hardness of the meteorite iron that Wave Moon had possessed.

And when enhanced by Flawless Heavenly Garment, its strength was pushed even further, allowing it to easily block even perfected sword qi.

‘Hmm, if I can learn to infuse qi into Heavenly Net the same way, even a Thunder Bomb could be deflected with ease.’

From there, the battle unfolded with stark contrast.

While Sewoon was calmly contemplating all this in the heat of battle,

Sun Ugon was being cornered, accumulating countless wounds all over his body.

Snap!

Like now, whenever Sewoon flicked his fingers lightly—

Swish!

Pffft!

“Urgh!”

The Heavenly Net would shoot out in straight lines like arrows, punching new holes throughout Sun Ugon’s body.

Flawless Heavenly Garment, infused with Sewoon’s demonic energy, had been reborn into a form brimming with killing intent.

Thud.

“Cough! Khh.”

Then, Sun Ugon spewed black blood from his mouth and collapsed.

Dropping to one knee, he was visibly rendered combat incapable.

Incredibly, Sewoon had completely subdued a peak master-level martial artist.

With eyes cold as ice, Sewoon muttered,

“Before I hand you over to the Court of Justice, it should be fine to leave you in the same state as Lee Hoseong.”

At the mention of Lee Hoseong, Sun Ugon’s pupils trembled as though struck by an earthquake.

That man had lost two limbs and had his dantian destroyed.

He would rather die than suffer the same fate.

Which meant there was only one choice left.

Shff.

In that instant, Sun Ugon urgently reached into his robe and pulled something out.

‘Is he trying to use a forbidden hidden weapon?’

Sewoon immediately lashed out with the Heavenly Net to sever his neck.

Boom!

Suddenly, a blast of light and noise erupted from where Sun Ugon stood.

What he had pulled out wasn’t a hidden weapon, but a magic artifact.

Soon after, the light faded.

And the place where Sun Ugon stood was now empty.

“A Return Pearl, huh.”

The Return Pearl was a single-use magic artifact imbued with a spell that distorted space, instantly teleporting the user to a predetermined location.

Though it could only move one a short distance and carried various risks if misused, it was extremely useful for emergency escapes, which was why every Murim Alliance officer carried one.

Though he had let the assassin escape right before his eyes, for some reason, not even the slightest disappointment appeared on Sewoon’s face.

“How bothersome.”

Twitch.

At that moment, one strand of black thread connected to his ring finger began to move ominously.

A bamboo forest not far from the Ten Thousand Iron Hall.

Between the towering black stalks—

“Huff, huff, huff.”

Sun Ugon was running madly, drenched in sweat.

The moment he landed here via the Return Pearl, he fled without even glancing back.

‘…No matter how generously I estimate him, he was nothing more than a Second Rate Martial Artist.’

Even as he fled, Sun Ugon could not comprehend the situation.

Before the ambush, he had confirmed multiple times in secret, and even during the fight, he had gauged his opponent’s level.

Sewoon’s martial prowess was nowhere near his own, who had reached the peak of the master level.

‘Not even one proper strike landed.’

It wasn’t just a defeat.

It couldn’t even be called a match.

Such a disastrous result.

‘And that look in his eyes…’

Shiver.

Suddenly, his body trembled from a fear that crawled up from his spine.

Those eyes, void of emotion, that tried to kill him—steeped in nothingness.

Sun Ugon had seen such eyes only once in his life.

‘…Those were definitely the eyes of a Demonic Practitioner.’

Back in his early days in the Murim Alliance, when he had encountered remnants of the annihilated Demonic Cult.

Just remembering it made his spine crawl.

Their strength could only be described as ferociously monstrous.

Rustle.

Just then, Sun Ugon came to a halt.

As he turned to glance behind him, his face showed a hint of relief.

“Huff, huff. At this distance, there’s no way he could follow me.”

He had poured all his remaining inner strength into his movement technique.

Even if Sewoon had subdued him with a divine object, in terms of sheer inner power, Sun Ugon still had the overwhelming advantage.

There was no way the opponent could follow the distance he had covered.

“Now then…”

He had to decide his next destination.

Returning to the Murim Alliance would be suicide.

Too much evidence remained, and no excuse would work.

Even if by some miracle he avoided suspicion, rotting away in the Xinjiang branch for life was not something his pride would allow.

That left only one option.

With half-lidded eyes, Sun Ugon looked into the distance.

“If I follow the Yangtze River down to Jiangnan and throw myself into the Demonic Alliance…”

Sun Ugon had resolved to betray the Murim Alliance and defect to the unorthodox faction.

The decision was hard to make, but once he did, plans flooded into his mind.

“Yeah. If I hand over all the classified intel I know, they’ll definitely reward me handsomely—”

“Tsk tsk, traitors really never change, even after they run.”

Suddenly, a grim reaper’s voice whispered in his ear, startling Sun Ugon.

Fwoosh!

He immediately swung his sword toward the source of the voice.

Clang!

“Urgh!”

“Of all places to flee, you just had to come here.”

But the attack had failed.

It was blocked by a black bamboo that stood in the sword’s trajectory.

When sword met bamboo, the sound that rang out was like steel clashing against metal.

“The black bamboo of Black Bamboo Forest is stronger than steel. Without sword qi, you can’t cut through it.”

At Sewoon’s words, Sun Ugon’s pupils shook violently.

He had been using his full strength on movement techniques and had no energy left to infuse sword qi.

With slashes blocked, his only option was to switch to thrusting attacks.

As he thought that and stepped forward—

Slice!

His foot was severed at the ankle in one clean cut.

Blood dripped from a black thread that must have been wrapped around it for who knows how long.

“Unfortunately for you, once the Heavenly Net bites, it never lets go.”

“Ghk… Khk…”

Sun Ugon couldn’t even groan properly.

A nightmarish pain he had never experienced before overwhelmed him.

Whoosh!

In the meantime, the threads of the Heavenly Net wound themselves around his neck.

Now, reduced to mere prey caught in a spider’s web, Sun Ugon finally understood how his opponent had overcome such a glaring difference in inner strength.

‘Innate True Qi?’

He could feel the innate qi flowing through the threads suppressing his own inner strength.

Just like when he faced Lee Hoseong, the opponent was once again recklessly drawing upon life energy to fuel his power.

‘W-What kind of madman is this…?’

Step, step.

Sewoon approached him slowly as Sun Ugon remained completely immobilized.

Clatter.

Thud.

Then, Sun Ugon dropped his sword and prostrated himself before Sewoon.

“P-Please, just once… forgive me.”

“I… I lost my mind in a moment of shame. If you spare me, I’ll surrender myself to the Murim Alliance. Please, I beg you, just let me live.”

He began pleading, hands rubbing together, sobbing and sniffling, a pathetic mess of tears and snot.

Seeing this revolting display, Sewoon frowned.

“…Disgusting worm. Never appear before me again.”

Rustle!

As soon as Sewoon finished speaking, the Heavenly Net released its hold on Sun Ugon’s neck and slowly retracted.

“Hrk… Thank you! Thank you, sir!”

Sewoon shot him a glare as if looking at filth, then turned his back.

At that moment, Sun Ugon’s lowered eyes gleamed with treacherous malice.

‘You dumb bastard—!’

What good was a divine object or showing strength beyond one’s level with innate qi?

In the end, he was just a greenhorn newly emerged into the martial world.

Go to the afterlife and learn the lesson:

For a martial artist, letting your guard down means death!

Whoosh!

Sun Ugon channeled his remaining inner strength into his sole remaining leg and lunged at his enemy.

Thud!

‘Wha…?’

Suddenly, a burning heat flared between his eyebrows.

His strength left him, and his vision blurred like a mist-covered window.

He knew he was dying.

Yet all he felt was confusion.

There had definitely been nothing in the air just now.

“There’s no need to feel sorry. I never trusted you in the first place.”

Sewoon’s voice was the last thing he heard before his consciousness faded.

On the forehead of the corpse, a distinct vertical slash mark was burned into the skin.

Whoosh!

He retrieved the Invisible Dagger, which had been suspended in midair.

“…Now, one more.”

Sewoon quietly murmured.

Behind him, the dark night faded as a new sun began to rise.