Chapter 144 Summary-5

Chapter 144 Summary-5

The Ha Clan had fallen.

With the death of the head, Ha Gyu-yang, and all the peak masters, and even the high-ranking masters beneath them silently assassinated, there was no martial artist left in the Ha Clan capable of blocking the Sunwoo Clan’s path.

As he took over the Ha Clan, the clan head, Sun Woo-jung, declared his intention to accept all the lower-ranking executives and ordinary martial artists into the Sun Woo Clan.

As a result, most of the Ha Clan’s forces were swiftly absorbed into the Sunwoo Clan.

Few warriors remained loyal to the Ha Clan, for all hope had vanished.

It was the karmic retribution for Ha Gyu-yang, who had only ever sought to dominate.

Thus, the Ha Clan, which had long been renowned as one of the Eight Great Clans of Guizhou, vanished into history.

It was the moment when Guiyang City, the capital of Guizhou Province, long divided between the Ha Clan and the Xianyou Clan, was finally unified.

Recently, whenever people in Guizhou City met, they all talked incessantly about this very matter.

“Wait, wasn’t the Ha Clan overwhelming the Seonwoo Clan? How could they fall so suddenly?”

“Exactly. That’s what I thought too. How did the tables turn so suddenly?”

“Tsk tsk, your information is so slow. It’s all because the great master of the Sunwoo Clan, the Illusory Swordmaster Sunwoo Jung, was biding his time.”

“Waiting for the right moment?”

“Yes! He was quietly building his strength in the shadows, just waiting for the Ha Clan to reveal their ambitions! Then, when the Ha Clan targeted his life, he immediately launched his counterattack!”

“Wow! That’s amazing! So all those rumors about Seonwoo Jung, the master of Seonwoo, being indecisive were just nonsense after all?”

“Exactly! It was all part of his strategy to wait for the right moment!”

Seonwoo Jung, once known merely as the indecisive head of the Seonwoo clan, had now been elevated in the eyes of the people of Gwiju Province to a dormant dragon biding his time.

After repelling an attack from the Ha Clan, Guizhou City’s most powerful sect, and then counterattacking to crush them, it was only natural he was seen this way.

But strangely, nowhere could one hear any mention of Seonwoo Jin, the man who had killed Ha Gyu-yang.

Seonwoo Jung had ordered the elders and high priests who had witnessed the scene firsthand to keep silent.

Thanks to this, the elders and high priests who knew the truth felt like shouting, “The king has donkey ears!”

Right before their eyes, the Crown Prince Seonwoo Seong and the Third Prince Seonwoo Gi were tormenting Seonwoo Jin.

“Jin, where the hell were you during that critical moment?!”

At Seonwoo Seong’s voice, bursting with anger, Seonwoo Jin, his body hunched over, stammered out an excuse in a voice that seemed to crawl out.

“Ah, no, I was just sleeping in a bit…”

“Sleeping in? Sleeping in?! Is that even a valid excuse?! What kind of freeloader are you? Sleeping in when the fate of the entire clan hangs in the balance?! And you call that an excuse?!”

“That’s right, Brother! This is absolutely unforgivable! Father must not pardon him this time!”

This gathering was originally meant to celebrate the victory in taking over the Ha Clan.

But Sunwoo Jin, who hadn’t been seen when it came time to deal with the Ha Clan, only now crept into view. Sunwoo Gi, who had never been fond of him, began to sneer, and that was the start of it.

Upon hearing those words, Seonwoo Sung began to bark orders at Seonwoo Jin as if he were the head of the family himself.

Now that even Seonwoo Hyeok was imprisoned in the brain cell, Seonwoo Seong, convinced he was the only one left to become the successor, believed he, as the soon-to-be head of the family, had to step forward and make an example of him.

Of course, Seonwoo Gi also wanted to see Seonwoo Jin properly punished at this opportunity.

Thus, the two were in the midst of vehemently denouncing Seonwoo Jin in front of many people.

“You disgrace to the family! How could you go to the front lines and not change a single bit!”

“Exactly! He may have lost weight, but once a pig, always a pig, it seems!”

But the elders and chief elders watching the scene felt as if they were sitting on a bed of thorns, their hearts pounding with anxiety.

Elder Seo Tong-seong, who had originally pushed Seonwoo Seong as the successor, wanted to rush over immediately and tear Seonwoo Seong apart.

What if Seonwoo Jin, unable to bear it any longer, drew his sword?

The very thought of it was truly terrifying.

No one here could stop him. To Seo Tong-seong, Seon Woo-seong now looked like a puppy with its head stuck in a tiger’s jaws, screaming.

He closed his eyes tightly and prayed inwardly.

‘Your Highness, please stop. That place is a death trap.’

But fortunately for the anxious elders and chiefs, the matter concluded before Seonwoo Jin could explode.

“Enough! What kind of disgraceful spectacle are you putting on in front of outsiders?!”

When Lord Seonwoo Jung scolded them, the Seonwoo brothers fell silent as if they had never raised their voices.

Now, no one in the Seonwoo family could dare cross their father, Seonwoo Jung’s, will.

Seonwoo Jung swept his sons with a sharp glance before shifting the mood and addressing the assembled guests.

“Now then, starting tomorrow, we’ll all be busy beyond measure. So let’s enjoy raising our cups together just for today!”

At Seonwoo Jung’s words, the gathered guests emptied their cups and began chatting merrily.

A commemorative drink for becoming the true loser of Guiyang—even a small amount of liquor was enough to get me drunk.

As the drinking party progressed and the conversation grew more relaxed,

Elder Sa, who had been watching the room, suddenly slipped away from the table, saying he needed to attend to some business.

He glanced around once, but no one seemed to pay him any attention.

Then, having casually left the main hall, Yodumyeon swiftly deployed his lightness technique the moment he stepped outside and returned to his own room.

Then he retrieved the pigeon he had hidden in his room, quickly wrote a letter, and tied it to the bird’s leg.

‘Quickly, quickly.’

Having swiftly finished the task, Yodumyeon went to the window and sent the pigeon flying.

Flutter!

Success.

Watching the pigeon soar safely into the sky, Yodumyeon finally let out a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, it seemed he had succeeded in delivering the report without being caught this time too.

But then it happened.

A dart suddenly flew from somewhere, piercing the pigeon’s body.

Thud!

“Squeak!”

Yodumeon gasped in horror at the sight of the pigeon plummeting to the ground with a death cry.

What on earth was going on…?

But that wasn’t the most important thing right now.

He had to retrieve the letter somehow.

He stopped thinking and began running quickly toward where the pigeon was falling.

He had just leaped out the window and cleared the wall.

Yodumeon froze in utter shock.

A man had caught the falling pigeon and was calmly pulling out the letter to read it.

“Hmm, it was Third Young Master Sun Woo-jin who killed Ha Gu-yang of the Ha Clan. He appears to be a peak master who has surpassed the seventy-year barrier. Prepare accordingly…”

Seon Woo-jin, who had been reading up to that point, gave a sly smile and addressed Yo Du-myeon.

“Where do you think this is going, Elder Yoo? Disobeying the orders of our father, the head of the family, and secretly leaking information like this.”

Yodu-myeon broke out in a cold sweat and stammered an excuse.

“I-I don’t know what you’re talking about, young master. I was just having trouble digesting and used a divine technique…”

Seon Woo-jin cut him off.

“Of course it’s the Yun Clan, right? Truthfully, I wasn’t even that curious.”

At those words, Yodumyeon’s eyes widened.

It meant he already knew where he stood.

Seon Woo-jin slowly approached him and asked.

“But aren’t you curious, Elder? About how I plan to deal with you, the traitorous elder.”

Yodu-myeon swallowed hard.

Only now did he realize everything had been exposed.

He didn’t know how Sunwoo Jin knew, but if things continued like this, he too would undoubtedly meet the same fate as Elder Jang Gakjung.

“Gahhh!”

Yodumeon spun around and began to flee.

He had to escape Sunwoojin at all costs.

But he didn’t know.

If I were to fight Seon Woo-jin, I wouldn’t stand a chance, of course. But what’s worse is that when it comes to speed, I’m even more hopelessly outmatched.

It was when Yodumeon had barely taken two steps.

Sunwoo Jin, who had silently closed the distance to his back, swiftly sealed his acupoints.

Thud!

“!”

From Seon Woo-jin’s perspective, it couldn’t have been more convenient for him to willingly expose his back like that.

Thud!

Seon Woo-jin stared at Yodumyeon, who had fallen to the floor stiff as a rock, and recalled events from his past life.

Elder Yo Du-myeon, like the third elder Gak Jung-gwang who had switched allegiance to the Ha clan in his past life, had also switched to the Yun clan.

In fact, that period was even faster than Gakjunggwang’s.

So while the other Grand Masters had ordered Jik Mahyeok and Gyeon Jung to keep watch, this particular Yodumyeon was one that Seonwoo Jin himself had been personally monitoring.

‘Now the traitors who betrayed me directly have been roughly dealt with.’

Having dealt with the traitors from his past life, he thought that now he only needed to keep a tight rein on those who remained.

After all, those who had been drawn into the succession struggle in his past life and ultimately left the Sunwoo family might not do so again in this life if managed properly.

Seon Woo-jin stared at Yodu-myeon lying on the ground for a moment before suddenly looking south toward where the Yun Clan Manor should be.

From now on, the ones he would have to deal with were the Blood Cultists.

Monsters incomparable to the Ha Clan, who merely played at being kings in exile.

Therefore, caution, and more caution, was absolutely necessary.

***

Late at night, after secretly meeting his father, Seonwoo Jung, Seonwoo Jin summoned his two subordinates to the deserted rear garden.

“Ma Hyeok, Gyeon Jung.”

Two figures swiftly emerged from the shadows of a nearby tree.

“You called, Young Master?”

“……”

Their appearance was as sudden and ghostly as if they had materialized out of thin air.

Seon Woo-jin smiled with satisfaction at the stealth skills of his two subordinates, who had now reached a level comparable to his own, and tossed several booklets their way.

Whoosh!

Jik Mahyeok caught them effortlessly and asked with a puzzled look.

“Master, what’s this…?”

“These are the most useful techniques among the treasures of the Seonwoo Clan. I wish I could teach them to you myself, but I don’t know the techniques well either. For now, both of you should learn them. They aren’t anything extraordinary, but simply mastering a variety of techniques will be helpful. It will also aid in awakening the techniques of the Thousand-Year Secret Art.”

At his words, Jik Mahyeok and Gyeon Jung exchanged glances and hurriedly checked the booklets.

They were three booklets titled ‘Chanryu Technique,’ ‘Chalheun Technique,’ and ‘Jeokho Technique.’

The martial arts techniques mastered by the two assassins of the Ssangcheon Assassins’ Sect were, after all, the techniques of assassins focused on ambushes.

Of course, given their exceptional talent and skill, this alone was usually sufficient against most opponents. However, as they had felt when facing the Ha Clan’s Mo Shundao this time, relying solely on that approach clearly had its limitations.

Moreover, these days, while learning the Heavenly Assassin’s Secret Technique, it was also true that they were struggling to master the newly introduced advanced martial arts beyond stealth and assassination skills.

After reviewing the scrolls, Jik Mahyeok looked at Seonwoo Jin with a burning gaze and said.

“Master, we are already deeply grateful for all you have done for us thus far…”

It seemed this emotionally rich Shuhao was moved once again.

And that look in his eyes was shared by Gyeonjung as well.

Though he said nothing outwardly, he too gazed at Seonwoo Jin with intensely warm eyes.

Seeing the pure, easily moved expressions of his two subordinates, Seonwoo Jin chuckled softly and said.

“What’s so great about that? Like I said before, I want you two to grow into proper martial artists. That’s good for me too. So train hard. You can’t be weaker than those guys when you meet your younger brothers again, right?”

The two replied with determined looks before turning their eyes back to the book.

“Understood. We’ll do our best, Master!”

“Understood.”

Seon Woo-jin gave them a faint smile as they began reading the book frantically, then turned away.

Seon Woo-jin had sent Jik Ha-gun, the younger brother of Jik Ma-hyeok, and Jik Ha-yeon to the cave of the Broad-Sword Sword Saint, Jeong Myeong-gang, who had become Seon Woo-jin’s master.

He had done so because both were still young, their skills as assassins somewhat lacking, and given their sufficiently outstanding talent, he judged it better to train them as warriors from the start rather than assassins.

Therefore, after teaching them the Great Union Heart Sutra, Seonwoo Jin had instructed them to first seek out the head disciple of the Yeongnam Sword Sect.

If the three who mastered the Grand Alliance Heart Decision were together, they could certainly open the Second Gate. And if it were their master, the absolute master of fifty years ago, Master Guangjian, he could probably teach them suitable martial arts, even if it wasn’t the Moonlit Sword Dance.

And once matters at the Sunwoo Clan were settled, Sunwoo Jin planned to send Jik Mahyeok and Gyeon Jung there as well.

‘Then my subordinates would grow stronger, and with people around, Master wouldn’t be bored either. That’s killing two birds with one stone, isn’t it?’

With that thought, Seon Woo-jin was happily returning to his room when he suddenly paused near the door.

“Hmm.”

He sensed the presence of someone inside his room.

It didn’t seem to be an assassin, but a martial artist of considerable skill—likely beyond the peak level—was hiding and waiting for him.

‘Beyond peak…’

Seonwoo Jin frowned.

Among the peak masters existing in the Seonwoo Clan, there were at most his father, Seonwoo Jung, and the Grand Elder, Heo Jin-guk.

But the feeling emanating from the person in the room was definitely not theirs.

Then that means an outsider…

Whoever he was, the mere fact that an external master of the highest caliber was waiting for Seonwoo Jin was problematic enough.

After all, the one thing he had been most careful about since arriving at the Seonwoo Clan was not revealing himself.

Yet the fact that someone seemed to be paying attention to his existence made Seonwoo Jin feel extremely uneasy.

Seonwoo Jin opened the door and stepped inside.

Immediately, a sword flew toward him.

Shushak!

Seonwoo Jin stepped aside, lightly parrying the sword, and assessed his opponent.

The opponent was a small, slender figure clad in black and wearing a mask.

Then, just as he was about to counterattack and sever an arm, Seon Woo-jin decided to step back further.

It was too slow for the sword of a peak master.

Moreover, it felt devoid of any killing intent.

Above all, there was a certain scent that reached Seon Woo-jin’s nose. The moment he caught that scent, Seon Woo-jin couldn’t help but bite his lip.

‘Damn it.’

The black-clad masked figure, having failed with the first strike, continued to press forward with attacks.

But Seon Woo-jin, exhaling a sigh, asked her in a calm voice.

“What are you doing, Miss Zhuge?”

Then the masked figure stopped abruptly, glared at Seonwoo Jin for a moment, and finally removed his mask.

The face revealed beneath was indeed that of Je Gal Seo-yul.

She spat out the words toward Seon Woo-jin.

“To deceive the world so flawlessly, you fraud!”

At her words, Seon Woo-jin smiled bitterly inside.

It was a mistake.

Had he known sooner, he wouldn’t have dodged the sword.

Unfortunately, by the time he recognized her identity from the scent of her perfume, he had already instinctively dodged the sword.

But there was no undoing the fact that he’d been exposed.

Seon Woo-jin frowned at her, his expression suggesting he didn’t understand what she was talking about.

“What am I deceiving you about?”

Then, Je Gal Seo-yul shouted.

“What did you deceive? You deceived me about your martial arts! It seemed strange. How could someone who’d been on the front lines come back weaker than before?”

‘Ah, so that was the problem?’

He seemed to have underestimated her insight after all.

But Seon Woo-jin retorted with an exasperated look.

“You mean to tell me you hid in my room late at night and ambushed me for that flimsy reason? Because I took the beating to avoid fighting my brothers?”

This question was a bait.

If that was all she knew, then Je Gal Seo-yul would be seen as the reckless one who misunderstood Seon Woo-jin, who didn’t want to fight his brothers, and ambushed him.

If she didn’t want that to happen, she’d have to reveal more of what she knew.

Then, Zhuge Xiyu immediately took the bait.

“Th-that’s not all! The part about sleeping in when you attacked the Ha Clan was a lie too, right?! I came looking for you then, but you weren’t anywhere near Sunwoo!”

That seemed to be the real reason he had started suspecting him.

Seon Woo-jin smiled inwardly at that point.

This young master certainly had an unexpectedly simple side, unlike someone from the Zhuge clan, making him very easy to deal with.

It was a welcome thing.

Seon Woo-jin answered her with confidence.

“That’s only natural. With my father and brothers fighting a battle that holds the fate of our clan in the balance, do you really think I’m such a fool that I’d actually be asleep?”

“Th-that’s…!”

Seon Woo-jin’s answer left Zhuge Seo-yul flustered instead.

She couldn’t find any flaw in his answer.

At least, that was true for her.

Seon Woo-jin now spoke to her with a deeply displeased expression.

“It’s true I concealed my abilities. I’ve always done so. I didn’t want to fight my brothers. But I never imagined it would be such a heinous act that it would warrant an ambush like this. Well, is your curiosity satisfied now? I sincerely hope so. Then would you kindly leave now? You may feel refreshed, but I am utterly exhausted.”

It was an exceedingly cold dismissal.

The coldest treatment Zhuge Xueyu had ever received from a man in her entire life.

Her pride was utterly crushed.

My heart ached so deeply that tears welled up in my eyes.

But Jegal Seo-yul didn’t storm out.

Instead, she gritted her teeth and asked Seonwoo Jin again.

“Ever since you came to the Seonwoo family, everything started changing. It’s all because of you, right? Isn’t it? What exactly are you scheming?”

At that, Seonwoo Jin let out a hollow laugh.

She was undoubtedly just a naive rich girl, but even if she was a greenhouse flower, she was still undeniably a seed of the Zhugase family.

‘Then where?’

Seon Woo-jin now spoke to her with a serious gaze.

“I have no idea what basis you’re making such claims on. What exactly am I supposed to have fabricated? And even if we assume that’s true—why should I answer for that to someone from the Zhuge family who might have harmed Lady Qingyan?”

At that question, Zhuge Xueyu’s face instantly turned pale.

“Wh-what! You-you harmed Qingyan…!”

But before Zhuge Xueyu could deny it, Sun Wujin’s cold gaze silenced him.

He asked coldly.

“Do you truly believe your father did not harm Lady Qingyan?”

Zhuge Xiyu couldn’t bring himself to answer.

No, he couldn’t.

He could only move his lips, unable to utter a word.

Then, Seon Woo-jin added one final remark to Zhuge Xueyu, whose eyes were brimming with tears from the shock.

It was the words that finally made Zhuge Xiyu bow her head in defeat.

“Whatever I may be scheming, it is not an act of plundering another family’s sword techniques. Therefore, young lady, please cease your concern and return.”

Jegal Seo-yul had no choice but to turn away, her strength drained.