Reincarnated Sword Ghost

High Priest

Jeong-un gazed at them in silence.

Their clothing was so dark red, nearly black, that it seemed as if soaked in old, sticky blood.

In contrast, their faces were unnaturally pale.

If not for the vividly distinct pupils with red dots in the whites of their eyes, one might mistake them for corpses.

That was their only similarity.

One of them appeared to be around the age of knowing destiny.

If not for the rippling, chilling energy around him and the sword at his waist, his completely ordinary, middle-aged farmer-like appearance could be deceiving.

Standing next to him was a much younger man, likely around the same age as Yeom Baek, the Blue Scale Corps leader.

Perhaps because of the large saber on his back, the sharp jawline, and fierce eyes, his impression was rather menacing, despite no scars on his face.

Both, unlike the High Priest Jeong-un had first met, were making no attempt to conceal their energy.

When they had approached, they’d been good at hiding their presence.

This meant, clearly, that they had the ability to restrain themselves.

Now that they faced their target, they apparently felt no need to hide anything.

Perhaps it was only natural, considering this was right in front of their main headquarters.

Even so, Jeong-un slightly furrowed his brow.

’Are they truly martial artists?’

Ever since he first cultivated energy in his dantian, he had understood the importance of restraint.

For martial artists, ki pathways revealed much more than the strength of their martial arts.

Internal power tended to mirror the owner’s emotions. Anger or joy would surge directly into their energy.

So, for Jeong-un, it was common sense that concealing one’s emotions—one’s energy—was to be expected.

He had realized this the first time he visited the Five Star Gate, watching his father’s and brothers’ ki waves become unsettled.

Not restraining oneself was like laying one’s emotions completely bare.

In the end, he blurted out without thinking.

”You strut around shamelessly, letting your foul energy flow everywhere.”

”.......”

At that, the two of them exchanged glances and let out a small chuckle.

”That must be the guy.”

”It’s just as the report said. The orthodox bastards have been raising a little dragon.”

Perhaps there was no distinction in rank within their group.

From their conversation, it appeared age was unimportant and equals spoke candidly.

At that moment, the younger man looked at Jeong-un and spoke, his eyes burning red.

”What’s more, I can feel it clearly. Countless of our cultists have lost their heads to that man’s blade. I don’t like how he doesn’t look away from us even now. He must die here.”

Jeong-un’s skin tingled. The killing intent radiating from the man was overwhelming.

A lesser martial artist might have lost consciousness altogether.

In fact, the rabble that had been charging Jeong-un were nowhere to be seen.

They dared not approach, subdued by that immense killing intent.

”Jangwi died at his hands. Don’t let your guard down.”

Then the other one spoke in a calming tone, though his eyes scrutinized Jeong-un narrowly.

”.......”

Judging from their conversation, they already knew who he was.

He had fought his way up here, cutting down anyone in his path. They must have rushed straight here upon hearing the news.

It was no surprise that his name had become known among them, considering Jeong-un had wiped out two of their strongholds, both significant in size and influence.

He had even managed to slay one of the eight High Priests.

Eight out of thousands. It was easy to imagine the position they held within their organization.

Perhaps Jeong-un was the only one who had dealt such a blow single-handedly.

’And these two are among the remaining seven.’

He murmured, raising his energy.

Wooooooooong—

The sword in his hand trembled and made a strange sound.

It happened once the sword blade, filled with his internal power, reached perfect balance.

The two in front of him displayed strange expressions, alternating their gazes between the sword and Jeong-un’s face.

”That guy, he’s a swordsman who can evoke sword resonance.”

”It isn’t a coincidence that Jangwi died. I shouldn’t go easy on him. I was thinking of capturing him alive, but...”

Then, watching their conversation, Jeong-un opened his mouth slowly.

”State your names.”

”What?”

Apparently taken aback by the unexpected question, they frowned. The one with the sword at his waist spoke.

”Don’t orthodox people always exchange formalities before a fight? He’s no different. Judging by his age, he’s probably obsessed with such rituals.”

”Hmph, disgusting.”

Jeong-un stepped forward, pointing the tip of his sword down toward the ground.

The seemingly defenseless posture exuded a strange intimidation, for their expressions stiffened.

”I didn’t ask for your names out of etiquette.”

”......?”

”It’s so I can write your names in my report of accomplishments to my superior. Last time, I killed one of you without even catching his name. Who knows? You might be rank-and-file cultists pretending to be High Priests. I’d better confirm your identity before I kill you.”

”What?”

”How dare he...”

They scowled, faces twisting as if he’d sworn at them. Being equated to regular cultists seemed especially insulting.

Jeong-un continued, his face expressionless.

”So tell me your names. If you want your deaths recorded in at least a sentence.”

”If you defeat me, I’ll tell you my name!”

One of them erupted in a ki wave and charged— it was the one with the saber on his back.

In an instant, he poured out energy and used his lightness skill.

The wind was so fierce that the grass to the side lay flat with a whoosh.

He was certainly a different class from the others Jeong-un had faced so far.

’He’s not as fast as that other one.’

Jeong-un recalled the other High Priest he’d fought, whose body-strengthening art was formidable.

His footwork and evasive movement were masterful.

He must have been adept at reading his opponent’s moves; he had dodged Jeong-un’s sword strike several times, even swinging streams of enhanced energy with his fingertips.

But the one charging straight at him now only exuded powerful energy outwards—his lightness skill itself was not particularly fast.

’Do they each have their own specialty?’

Jeong-un had heard they formed a school of martial arts, but from those he had faced, their techniques were all different.

Perhaps the system pertained only to the sinister mind methods of the blood arts.

Maybe they increased their internal power using the blood arts on top of their original skills; even a power boost to an existing martial art would feel significant to a martial artist.

’These guys were martial artists to begin with.’

Even just looking at the one approaching now, the saber was not an easy weapon to master.

Even with blood arts, to reach that level meant an already profound martial foundation.

As he assessed that one’s martial skills, Jeong-un glanced at the other High Priest.

Should he be relieved?

That one showed no sign of moving, merely tracking the charging man with his eyes.

He had braced for an attack together—he’d never yet faced two such experts at once.

Fortunately, facing them one by one made things easier.

’... No, don’t let your guard down.’

They might yet make an unexpected move to exploit his blind spot.

With opponents who scorned even exchanging names as formalities, he had to keep sharp ki sense on the still one while trading blows.

Thinking that, Jeong-un swung his sword to intercept the oncoming saber.

Crash—!

The shock through his grip was tremendous. As with all saber-based skill, the force carried was immense.

At the same time, a burst of energy exploded, the foul aura rippling outward in a wave; Jeong-un’s hair was whipped backward with a whoosh.

He was disgusted by it.

Woooooooo!

The man, still in mutual contact, channeled even more internal power through his saber, pressing forward.

He apparently planned to crush him outright with raw power—a classic approach for a master of saber arts who was confident in his heavy internal power.

Thud.

Jeong-un took a step backward, crushing the ground beneath his foot.

It was not from being overpowered; Jeong-un was confident in his own internal power.

He simply had no intention of fighting on his opponent’s terms.

Clang!

With a slight tilt of his sword, Jeong-un deflected the saber to the side.

The man’s face showed no surprise.

As if expecting the shift in balance, his left hand shot toward Jeong-un, fingers slicing through the air.

Jeong-un twisted his torso and filled his right hand with true ki. He had prepared this distance by retreating a step to create room.

He didn’t care that his foe moved first—his own speed was superior.

Fwoosh!

He drove his fist forward.

With a small twist of his waist, his internal power surged through his central channel, forging immense force in his wrist like a raging gale.

As he punched out, he twisted his fist further, adding a whirl of force from elbow to knuckles, wrapping it with a wind-like burst.

”......!”

His opponent’s eyes flew wide.

Understandably so—despite striking first, his punch was closing in on the man’s torso even faster.

Still, the man did not withdraw.

He simply reinforced the body-protecting enhanced ki enveloping his torso, thickening it until his clothing distorted.

’He’s planning to endure it.’

His intentions were plain to Jeong-un.

His ki defense was already very thick; he intended to let Jeong-un’s attack land, then counter.

He thought that matching blow for blow would give him the advantage.

’Let’s see.’

All this took only an instant.

Jeong-un drove his fist into the narrow gap between his foe’s ribs and solar plexus.

Bang—!

An explosion sounded.

It wasn’t the noise of flesh being struck, but the impact of Jeong-un’s internal energy, condensed like a storm, crashing into the thick layers of body-protecting enhanced ki.

Crack!

With a sound like crumbling rock, a fracture appeared in the man’s ki defense.

His outstretched hand froze in mid-air, both eyes opened wide, as the shock reverberated deep inside his body.

”......!”

Jeong-un pushed even more internal power into his fist. The man had never realized how deep Jeong-un’s skills went.

At this level, his basic defense could not withstand even a few layers, an unexpected vulnerability exposed.

At that moment—

Saaaak!

He sensed the other man, who had been standing still, suddenly move.

He flashed forward, closing the distance in an instant with his lightness skill.

He had clearly been waiting for this moment.

Jeong-un, as if expecting it, flared up his energy.

Even while trading blows, he had been monitoring the man with his ki sense.

He infused his internal power into his right arm.

Whoosh—

He entwined the subtlety of Traceless Flash into the hand gripping his sword.

Though his posture lost some balance as a result, he didn’t care.

His left hand was striking the body of the man in front, but he was confident he could still execute a sword move.

He never intended to cut down both with a single sword move; merely blocking the ambush would suffice.

Even taking some damage now was worthwhile if he could finish off one of them—it was crucial to avoid being double-teamed.

At that moment—

Whoooosh!

Someone blocked the path of the ambushing man. His lightness skill was impressively refined.

Drawing his sword, he cut right across the path of the charging man.

Clang!

The sword the man had been about to swing was flicked away.

The flapping black garment, seen from behind, billowed in the wake of a ki wave.

Then, turning around, he addressed Jeong-un. Jeong-un’s eyes widened in surprise.

”I’ll handle this one.”

It was Yong So-myeong of the Wudang Sect.