Chapter 37 : Second Round

Chapter 37: Second Round

Jade-Faced Spider Lord Lord, Tang Ga-ryang.

True to the name “spider,” he was a master who manipulated silver threads like a spider web. The attack on Hwang An just now had also been a technique using his prized silver threads.

“Jade-Faced Spider Lord Tang Ga-ryang. A traitor of the Tang Clan.”

“Traitor?”

“He may look young, but he's already over sixty. An old monster who maintains his youth through Yin Harvest Yang Supplement Technique. Not only did he kill several members of the Tang Clan, he also violated a few of the clan’s women. He’s at the very top of the Tang Clan’s extermination list. I heard he was killed while fleeing from them—so he was hiding out in the Asura Sword Sect all along?”

“You talk big just because you’ve got company. If that friend next to you weren’t here, your head would already be rolling on the ground.”

Unlike before, Tang Ga-ryang now glared with sharp, threatening eyes, but Hwang An paid him no mind and continued feeding information to Jang Woo-hyun.

“His weapon is hundreds of strands of silver thread. Brother Jang, you’ll need to be careful. It’s said each one can rival a steel sword. And considering he’s survived the pursuit of the Sichuan Tang Clan this long, his skills are no joke.”

“I’m fine. But… can he handle that?”

Despite Hwang An’s lengthy explanation, Jang Woo-hyun seemed more concerned about something else.

His gaze shifted toward the Sword Yaksha who had brought them here. Including him, there were four martial artists.

Four master-level Sword Yakshas. Too much for Hwang An and Jin Ha-un to handle alone.

“It’s alright. Brother Hwang is a master now, and I’ve improved a lot myself. We can handle that much. And if we want to watch your back properly, we’ll have to take care of them.”

Jin Ha-un smiled as he stepped forward.

“Do what you need to, don’t worry about us. It’s lucky, really—if this had been a trap, there would've been a whole army waiting.”

“Yeah, this much is fortunate.”

Jang Woo-hyun also smiled and stepped forward.

Beside Tang Ga-ryang stood a silent man. He looked at Jang Woo-hyun and spoke.

“Hwi Jeon.”

His voice was low and heavy, and his sturdy build reminded one of a boulder.

“Jang Woo-hyun.”

A name-only introduction. Nothing more, nothing less.

And that was the beginning.

Boom!

He launched himself off the ground.

“Hahaha! ‘One sword, one kill,’ huh? That’s fiery!”

Tang Ga-ryang laughed frivolously and swung both arms. From both earth and sky, dozens of silver threads flew toward Jang Woo-hyun.

Jang Woo-hyun slashed through the air.

No finesse needed. With a single sweep of his sword, all the silver threads were severed.

Tang Ga-ryang’s face stiffened slightly—he hadn’t expected them to be cut so easily. But only briefly. He resumed moving his hands without pause.

Spider Web Prison.

The scattered silver threads condensed visibly, forming a single dome. A hemispherical cage of silver thread surrounded Jang Woo-hyun.

It was a technique so mysterious one could barely guess the principles behind it. A fitting attack for someone named “spider.”

Jang Woo-hyun, marveling at the unusual technique, didn’t hesitate.

A giant crescent-shaped slash burst forth from the tip of his sword. It was Black Wolf Fang, one of the Silent Night Three Swords.

Chaaak—!

He cut through the dome, only to be met with numerous thread attacks flying at him like hidden weapons. He twirled his sword, redirecting all of their trajectories.

Thoom!

As he stepped with precise footwork, the threads strewn across the ground were either shattered or flung away.

Tang Ga-ryang closed in. A distance close enough to split a body in one stroke.

Yet, instead of panicking, he smiled.

“Hup!”

Jang Woo-hyun’s senses screamed in alarm.

Without hesitation, he twisted his body, raised his sword into a defensive stance, and channeled his Internal Energy to guard himself.

KWAANG!

An earth-shattering sound. His body lifted and was thrown back. An overwhelming impact.

“Kh…!”

That wasn’t master-level strength—it rivaled the force of Chul Geuk-jin’s punches. If the impact had been slightly stronger, Flying Swallow Sword (his sword) might have been shattered.

He lifted his head to see Hwi Jeon, expressionless and regaining stance, and Tang Ga-ryang, still smiling.

‘So that’s why they’re together.’

They made a powerful combination. Individually, they could be taken down. But together, they became more than the sum of their parts—one plus one equaled three or four.

Despite the difficult situation, Jang Woo-hyun smiled.

If he could fight and defeat them, it would become nourishment—fuel to take him to the next level.

“You gone crazy from pressure? Doesn’t seem like a time to be smiling.”

Even as he spoke, Tang Ga-ryang didn’t stop moving his hands. And before long, a massive snake made of silver thread appeared between him and Jang Woo-hyun.

Spider Web: Giant Ba Snake.

Like the enormous snake from the Classic of Mountains and Seas that could swallow elephants, the silver-threaded serpent opened its wide maw and lunged.

In response, Jang Woo-hyun sheathed Flying Swallow Sword and swiftly drew Silent Night.

And immediately unleashed a strike. The serpent’s head flew off—but when Tang Ga-ryang flicked his hand again, another snake formed. This time, it had two heads.

Even Black Wolf Fang wasn’t enough.

This place had been prepared. A spider’s web.

A spider named the Jade-Faced Spider Lord had spun this silver web.

Silver threads were spread all around, becoming extensions of Tang Ga-ryang’s arms and swords. It was like a formation in itself.

An unfavorable situation—but Jang Woo-hyun was thrilled. He couldn’t wait to see what he’d gain or how much he’d grow from this battle.

‘If once isn’t enough—do it again.’

He used Black Wolf Fang a second time. One vertical, one horizontal slash.

Black Wolf Fang: Cross Blade.

A cross-shaped strike shattered the silver serpent.

And right after, a blow from Hwi Jeon. Jang Woo-hyun, already expecting it, raised his power and met the strike with Seven Rings Five Layered Sutra.

KWAAAG!

After the clash of raw power, Jang Woo-hyun flung his body backward—using the pushback to evade further attacks.

Thudududu.

Silver threads rained down like a waterfall where he had just been, and as Tang Ga-ryang swept his arm, it surged forward like a wave to engulf him.

In response, Jang Woo-hyun stepped with the Horse King’s Fourth Step.

Its original name was Horse King's Fourth Step: Four Bodies.

A movement technique meant for evasion—it made his body appear to split into four, an illusion of multiple bodies.

But Jang Woo-hyun had deemed the original lacking. Inspired by Jin Ha-un’s Blue Star Sect’s Footwork, he improved it.

The upgraded name: Eight Shadows (팔영).

True to the name, Jang Woo-hyun’s figure instantly multiplied into eight, all of them evading the incoming silver wave.

“You’re like a damn rat!”

At the shout, Hwi Jeon’s next attack followed. Their power clashed again—

KWAANG!

With a deafening boom, the ground flipped over.

The clash of forces was working to Jang Woo-hyun’s advantage.

The immense destructive power shattered and severed all of the silver threads Tang Ga-ryang had laid out.

The attacks that followed followed a similar pattern.

If Tang Ga-ryang stalled or defended, Hwi Jeon would launch a strike.

Jang Woo-hyun, having already figured out their attack patterns, blocked or dodged them all.

As the battle dragged on, it was Tang Ga-ryang who grew anxious.

Every time Hwi Jeon’s punch clashed with Jang Woo-hyun’s sword, the surrounding area exploded, and the silver threads he’d planted were destroyed.

Unable to watch it any longer, Tang Ga-ryang made his move.

He waved his arms more dramatically than before, spreading them upward and downward.

Right hand raised. Left hand lowered.

Then, he brought his arms together as though caught on something, exerting great force as he slowly brought them in.

Clack!

The slowly converging arms eventually met palm to palm.

Spider Web Hell: Heaven's Net Closes.

Hundreds of silver threads rose from the ground, and hundreds more descended from the sky, blocking the heavens.

A true Heavenly Net and Earthly Web.

There were no gaps. And the power behind the threads was unlike before.

Srreung—

Jang Woo-hyun didn’t retreat. Instead, he dashed forward and drew Flying Swallow Sword.

Silent Night in his right hand, Flying Swallow Sword in his left.

Though he couldn’t wield the swords independently in complex techniques, he could still launch basic attacks.

An attack that usually took two slashes—he now performed with two swords simultaneously.

Silent Night slashed vertically, Flying Swallow Sword slashed horizontally.

And then again.

This time, Silent Night sliced from upper-left to lower-right, while Flying Swallow Sword cut from upper-right to lower-left—diagonal slashes at once.

Two intersecting crosses layered over each other.

Black Wolf Fang: Twin Cross Blades.

Four overlapping slashes tore through the silver web that had covered heaven and earth.

Jang Woo-hyun surged through the ripping silver world.

He pulled both swords back, already anticipating Hwi Jeon’s next strike.

This time again, he used both swords at once. As he drew up his Internal Energy, seven rings formed along Silent Night and Flying Swallow Sword.

Hwi Jeon thrust his fist forward, and Jang Woo-hyun countered with both blades.

He unleashed Seven Rings Five Layered Sutra with both swords simultaneously.

KWA-GA-GA-GA-GA-GA-GWANG!

The layered energies interwove and detonated in the middle. The storm of Qi shattered the surroundings.

Even though it was his own technique, Jang Woo-hyun braced his legs to avoid being flung by the shockwave. But he couldn’t fully withstand it—he was forced back, dragging two deep trenches through the ground.

“Kh…”

He suffered a mild internal injury from the exploding energy. That last clash had been overwhelmingly powerful.

Two overlapping Seven Rings Five Layered Sutra strikes were already hard to withstand, but with Hwi Jeon’s punch added in, the destructive force had far exceeded expectations.

The ground caved in from the sheer impact, and rising dust clouded the area. The air still trembled from the lingering Qi.

Jang Woo-hyun swung Flying Swallow Sword, blowing away the dust, revealing the state of his opponents.

Tang Ga-ryang’s arms were destroyed—nothing remained above his collarbone.

Hwi Jeon was in slightly better shape, but he was also dying. Blood poured from his mouth and nose, and one of his arms was gone.

Jang Woo-hyun approached the collapsed Hwi Jeon.

Seeing him approach, Hwi Jeon pulled out what looked like a thin booklet with his remaining hand.

“This… take it… my family… they… used me…”

Sssk!

Though he seemed to have something to say, Jang Woo-hyun didn’t care to listen. He simply sliced off his head.

“If you had something to say, you should’ve said it before we fought.”

What good was it now?

Leaving the decapitated Hwi Jeon behind, Jang Woo-hyun took the booklet from his hand.

Destructive God Fist.

It appeared to be Hwi Jeon’s ultimate technique manual.

Tucking the booklet away, Jang Woo-hyun walked over to the decapitated Tang Ga-ryang, wondering if he had anything useful on him too.

“Brother Jang!”

“Hyungnim!”

Just as he crouched down to search the body, Hwang An and Jin Ha-un rushed over.

“Hyungnim, are you alright?”

“There was a massive noise—are you okay?”

Jang Woo-hyun answered their concern with a smile.

“You’re fine.”

“Phew… And here I was worrying about you…”

“How about you two? You must’ve had a rough time too.”

“Just because we’re following you around doesn’t mean we’ve been goofing off. Four Sword Yakshas is something we can handle.”

“Why four? I took care of three.”

“Hey now, we took down four together.”

“What? You could barely handle one and now you're trying to take credit?”

Jin Ha-un’s clothes were tattered, likely from a rough fight. There was even some blood, indicating he was slightly wounded.

“Ha-un, are you okay?”

“Just a light cut. It was a valuable learning experience.”

“But what are you doing right now?”

“Me? Farming.”

“Farming? What’s that?”

“Looting like this—scavenging from bodies.”

Ignoring Hwang An’s confusion, Jang Woo-hyun continued rummaging through Tang Ga-ryang’s body.

He found a small pouch and two booklets inside his chest.

“Why does everyone carry their stuff in their chest?”

“Because they don’t trust anyone. They want to keep important things on them.”

“Ah, yeah, that makes sense.”

Nodding at Hwang An’s clear answer, Jang Woo-hyun examined the booklets.

“This one’s unnamed… and this one is… Tang Clan Dark Stream?”

“Brother Jang! Don’t open that!”

Hwang An shouted in panic.

“Huh? Don’t look at this? Why?”

“It’s a secret manual of the Tang Clan. You mustn’t read it!”

Jang Woo-hyun stared blankly at Hwang An, not understanding.

“I got this fair and square. I took down Tang Ga-ryang. Why can’t I read it?”

“It’s the Tang Clan’s secret manual! You’re new to the Martial World, so you don’t know, but the Tang Clan is notoriously ruthless…”

“They use poisons and hidden weapons. They’re secretive because of their poison and weapon crafting. And they’re known to take revenge tenfold, right?”

“…Uh…”

Caught off guard by his correct answer, Hwang An trailed off.

“So they just attack you for looking at one of their manuals? Even if I earned it? I mean, are they really that petty?”

“Well… they are… But still, in general, looking at another sect’s secret manual is…”

“Shh.”

“I can just read it and burn it after.”

Seeing how calmly he said it, Hwang An flailed.

“No, no, no! Don’t burn it! The Tang Clan might be looking for that. If it’s Tang Clan Dark Stream, it’s the manual left by Dark Stream Sword. It’s extremely important to them!”

“Whether it’s important or not—I don’t care. I’m curious, so I might read it. And it’s just us three here. If we keep quiet, who’s gonna know I read it?”

“Well… that’s true, but still, reading another sect’s manual without permission…”

“Enough. Don’t worry. I’ll read it discreetly and either return it or destroy it.”

“No! No destroying! Just read it if you must—but don’t say things like burn or destroy!”

Amused by Hwang An’s fussing, Jang Woo-hyun nodded and extended his senses—just in case someone might be nearby.

Then, Jang Woo-hyun smiled.

“Oh? What’s this?”

Something triggered within his expanded senses.

“There are eavesdroppers, huh?”