It was a good voice that could be called the “Voice of Jade”, but to me at this moment, it sent chills down my spine.
“Who is it? How long have you been following me?”
The opponent was no more than a first-tier expert at best. To sneak up on me so skillfully without leaving a trace, they had to be at least a Peak Expert level.
If they wanted to kill me, I was already dead multiple times over.
I slowly turned around.
The first thing that caught my eye was a sharply-featured face. It was more than beautiful, but the eyebrow furrowed in a frown with a piercing gaze spoiled that good impression.
Wrapped around her slender neck was clearly red sable fur.
She was a notable figure from the Jeomchang Faction, known throughout the Central Plains Martial World.
A mythical figure named Hyeok Gi-rin, who had shot nine arrows and brought down nine suns out of ten.
The Jeomchang Faction was the organization that served such an illustrious hero.
Hyeok Gi-rin, originally a hunter, was said to have raised red sable to catch rabbits.
In Jeomchang Faction, the ten notable prodigies of the era were collectively called “Ten Prodigies,” granting them the right to adorn themselves with red sable fur. Whatever the origin, they were outstanding experts representing Jeomchang, loaning the faction’s name to those who hadn’t yet made a name for themselves in the martial world.
That was the meaning behind the Ten Prodigies.
Just like the Eighteen Arhats of Shaolin or the Plum Blossom Sword Masters of the Hwasan Sect, even if individual names weren’t known, the red sable fur symbolized that these were the elite of our faction, so don’t mess with them!
Of course, I knew exactly who she was better than anyone else.
There wasn’t a Sacheon Outcast who didn’t know this woman.
But I had to feign ignorance and ask.
Surely, it couldn’t be her — I desperately wished it wasn’t the person I thought it was.
“I am a mere martial artist staying at the Outcast Inn. May I ask the name of the esteemed Red Bamboo Swordswoman?”
“Yeo Il-ye.”
Yeo Il-ye, the Red Bamboo Swordswoman.
She was known among the Members of the Sacheon Outcasts as the “Outcast Crusher.” Just encountering her would lead to outcasts’ limbs being broken and their reputations destroyed. However, as she belonged to the Righteous Faction, she presumably couldn’t kill outright, though I hadn’t heard of her killing any outcast. The stories of outcasts being crippled and forced into retirement after crossing paths with her were countless.
Her nickname, Red Bamboo Swordswoman, was practically created because of the outcasts.
In Sacheon City, outcasts are considered absolute evil, and just catching one is enough to be called a hero. The bloody hands of someone who takes down outcasts were sufficient to associate them with blood – yet she belonged to the Righteous Faction and couldn’t have that blood on her hands, hence the symbolic use of the term “red” to refer to ‘bamboo’ that doesn’t bend while taking down outcasts.
So, she was the Red Bamboo Swordswoman.
This woman was recognized by all as the Outcast Killer.
Today could very well be the day Ho Cheon-an met his end.
“Running away like a rat, you’ve certainly committed evil deeds.”
“Haha, seems there’s been a misunderstanding. I was just making a minor errand at the Gwangyang Sect today.”
“What a ridiculous lie. You just met with the Gwangyang Sect leader today.”
“I swear to the heavens that this is true.”
“No, you have never been to the Gwangyang Sect today.”
Yeo Il-ye wore a sneer on her face. I grasped the situation right away. Those Gwangyang Sect bastards made a backdoor deal with the Jeomchang Faction. Yeo Il-ye, dispatched as a messenger to negotiate with the Gwangyang Sect, must have followed me after hearing the ruckus today to both finish the job and enjoy some action.
“Just how many vile deeds have you committed that you have to run away in such a panic, spinning lies?”
“Great Hero!”
“Getting involved will only dirty your ears and won’t leave any good result, so it looks like I’ll have to open up the slaughter today. Primordial Celestial Venerable.”
This woman definitely had a grudge against the outcast faction.
Otherwise, she wouldn’t be so fixated on hunting them down ruthlessly.
Though claiming to be from the Righteous Faction, even if she held a grudge against outcasts, she usually wouldn’t kill them, only leaving them crippled. But maybe today, with a justification, she was thinking of crossing the line.
That sword-wielding psychopath had a look of glee at the thought of mercilessly cutting me down.
She had one of those faces that makes one want to present it to those who say all beauties are beautiful no matter what they do.
Neither Yeo Il-ye nor I had drawn our swords yet. But her intent to kill me was decidedly firm, and it was time to use my emergency escape plan.
I, Ho Cheon-an, had made a serious effort in survival, scouting out routes for escape in advance.
While it was impossible to account for every threat I might face, I was at least prepared for as much as I could.
Since I was active in Sacheon, I always considered the chances of running into Yeo Il-ye eventually, but…
The problem was that escaping from someone at her level was a matter of extreme risk. As a mere mediocre warrior, I couldn’t help but wonder if this truly was a viable solution.
Whoosh!
As I hesitated about the execution of my emergency escape plan, a gust of my internal power blew forth. Yeo Il-ye had begun her serious energy mobilization, stirring up a cloud of dust in the process.
Facing her fluttering garment and the ruthless psychotic gleam in her eyes, my hesitation evaporated completely. Yes, there was no time to worry about the future; I needed to focus on surviving right now.
I opened my mouth at once.
“Yeo Il-ye, I’ve heard a lot about your usual behavior. I don’t know the grudges that lie within you, but a martial artist must control their inner self.”
“How ridiculous. You, a third-rate outcast…”
“Is that really how it is?”
I drew my sword and assumed a stance, forcing out what little internal power I had beneath my feet. It wasn’t a comparison to her, but a tiny cloud of dust rose beneath me.
Yeo Il-ye flinched, her expression tightening as she reached for her sword.
“You…! You can’t possibly mean…”
The Twelve Dragon Swords.
An ultra-advanced martial art that was impossible to unfold without being a Peak Expert. Anyone who could wield a sword in Sacheon surely knew the power stance of the Twelve Dragon Swords because those who used it had established the foundation of the current twisted Sacheon Martial World.
In this martial universe, I, Ho Cheon-an, had invested over ten years. I prided myself on knowing everything about it.
Of course, I couldn’t actually use the Twelve Dragon Swords.
But the martial world had evolved from ten years ago, and even now was a high-spec game with accurate movements. I didn’t know the martial arts, but I could mimic the power stance.
Yeo Il-ye, highly strung, bent her body down as she probably interpreted my bluff as a sign of weakness.
This was not a matter of her being foolish enough to be deceived by a game screen.
Characters in the martial world during the gaming era usually took about a year to reach the threshold of first-tier. Ho Cheon-an took just a little over a year to reach the limitations of second-tier.
So what had I been doing for the rest of that time?
I had dug into skills beyond just martial arts.
In the realm of martial arts, being skilled in martial arts alone wasn’t enough. There were countless times when one couldn’t use ascendant martial arts due to lack of internal power or insufficient understanding of the martial techniques.
But were all deities and masters in the martial novels skilled martial artists?
Some works describe this, but many do not.
We often see high-ranking characters defeated in battle, divine beings kidnapped by mysterious figures, or great masters killed by those they aided.
While it’s amusing that characters learn medicine, gambling skills, or even escape arts, ultimately, the protagonist will somehow manage to use these learned skills to grow stronger.
Furthermore, skills could impact the battle without being affected by the martial level.
I had spent the last eight years not wasting my time.
I spent it wisely in the gambling halls.
[[Gambling Skill: Sleight of Hand] is now activated.]
[Your actions become more natural.]
[[Gambling Skill: Poker Face] is now activated.]
[The opponent cannot read your psychology.]
I may be a second-tier martial artist, but my gambling skills specialized in deceiving my opponent, assisting me in my actions.
They confused Yeo Il-ye’s perception and threw her mind into turmoil.
The tricks I learned by pouring all my earnings from being an outcast into the gambling hall transformed mere mimicry of the power stance into an action capable of deceiving even a Peak Expert.
To her, I surely seemed like a mysterious outcast expert capable of wielding the Twelve Dragon Swords.
“What are you to the Nangya Sword?”
I maintained my posture without speaking. Sometimes silence can convey more meaning than words.
Those with impulsive personalities who enjoy bloodshed tend to find silence unsettling and feel pressured. In simpler terms, psychos typically lack patience.
After waiting for a while for my answer, she seemed unable to hold back any longer and drew her sword, shouting with a fierce intent.
“Fine! Let’s see if you can keep your mouth shut after experiencing the taste of the Four-Finger Saber Technique!”
As she positioned her feet and lowered her stance, Yeo Il-ye began to concentrate her internal power.
And at that moment, I slightly relaxed my stance and turned my head, as if I was peering beyond her.
To Yeo Il-ye, my movement would seem as though I had suddenly encountered someone completely unexpected down this back alley.
As she instinctively tried to sense the presence behind her…
“Okryong Sinhyeop?”
At my words, Yeo Il-ye swiftly turned around.
Hyeok Gi-rin of the Okryong Sinhyeop. The leader of the Ten Prodigies.
An individual with extreme righteous tendencies, and Yeo Il-ye’s most formidable adversary. A true Great Hero, exuding a deadly aura, in a confrontation with an outcast while also risking exposure of the secret deal with the Gwangyang Sect—he was a walking moral compass.
Now was the only timing to act.
Though my heart was filled with hesitation still, pondering over what this psychotic woman might do in the future, I couldn’t help but feel it was the right choice. Having done all this bluffing, if I didn’t act now, I was truly dead.
“Even the sun and moon must go through phases; human emotions are likewise. The flames of the heart, which may seem eternal, extinguish in a mere moment. This is what we call the principle of extremes leading back to the mean. But does withering truly mean it is indeed withering, and does flourishing genuinely mean it is flourishing? A fire must be heated to take its shape but to be truly completed, it must cool down.”
Her body stiffened. It was a sign she was entering a state of enlightenment. Regardless of the situation surrounding Yeo Il-ye, she would have to focus solely on her current enlightenment.
This was a path set by the heavens.
It was the only method prepared solely for Yeo Il-ye, allowing her to break through her limits.
It was only natural for her to forget everything and delve deep into this.
“What is needed is not just something hot. Flow is completed by both flourishing and withering, thus what is truly necessary is something cold.”
This outcast-loving Yeo Il-ye, frustratingly enough, was at the extreme limit of her enlightenment. The first-tier folks usually have an epiphany that amounts to little more than a line; yet at this peak stage, enlightenment is laden with eloquent phrases.
“The principle of extremes leading back to the mean and the fire refined cold-rolled.”
“Ah!!”
If this were a game, bolts of lightning would rain down from the sky with this log popping up.
[The path of unity between heaven and humanity!]
[You have stepped onto the one path that allows you to transcend the limits ordained by heaven!]
With half-opened eyes, Yeo Il-ye froze, clenching her sword.
Someone might see this frozen Yeo Il-ye as the perfect opportunity to attack. She was only half-awake, not even in a proper stance, and had plunged deep within herself—someone could easily think to strike while she was defenseless.
But they’d die.
In normal martial tales, entering an enlightened state often works like a buff. During enlightenment, one’s martial power greatly increases, and they can react automatically to external threats.
In “The World of Martial Heroes,” even characters in a state of enlightenment would find their battle power significantly enhanced and would instinctively respond to external threats.
Although this may be typical for martial tales, it’s likely a game mechanism designed to prevent abuse of enlightenment. If those in a state of enlightenment were defenseless, one could exploit that with debilitating techniques, and how hollow would it be if a companion succumbs just because of their enlightenment?
Thus, for now, I had to be satisfied that Yeo Il-ye wouldn’t be able to move for the time being while digesting this state of enlightenment.
Silently slipping out of the alley, I rushed toward the Outcast Inn.
While I managed to escape from Yeo Il-ye’s clutches by granting her enlightenment, I had no idea what she would do when she awakened from it.
I had countless mountains to climb to survive against her.
