Chapter 187: I Don’t Know If It’s Possible
The four people who had escaped from the prison cell moved beneath the wall, avoiding the eyes of the Baek Li Clan martial artists.
Since everything was still quiet, it seemed the death of the Medical Hall Leader had not yet been discovered.
Jin Seong-un briefly looked up at the wall. With just one leap, they could escape this place.
But there was one thing that held him back.
“Baek Li Clan must have grown impatient.”
After all, had their misdeeds not already been exposed?
Fortunately for them, they had thrown the four witnesses into the prison cell, but even so, impatience was inevitable.
Jin Seong-un continued.
“Once they notice our disappearance, it will become even worse. I don’t know what they plan to do with the children, but they may hasten their actions and erase the evidence.”
The three others nodded.
Seo Yu-gyeom asked, narrowing his eyes.
“And so?”
“Someone must remain here and continue the fight. I will stay. Young Master Seomun, head to the Seomun Clan. Huamyeong, go to the Murim Alliance. If not now, we may never get the chance to reveal this matter to the world.”
Seo Yu-gyeom spoke in a light tone.
“Alright, then the two of you should go. I’ll stay here. First, I have no one to tattle to, and second, if you die, Jin Seong-un, I’ll have no home to return to.”
Jin Seong-un nodded.
Seo Yu-gyeom’s recent martial achievements had been astonishing, so surely he would be of help.
That left Seomun Ak and Hwamyeong.
Perhaps stirred by Seo Yu-gyeom’s words, Seomun Ak spoke with determination.
“I’ll stay too. We can fight together, can’t we? Do you still see me as a wastrel?”
Seomun Ak stared intently at Jin Seong-un.
It was a rare and truly earnest gaze.
But Jin Seong-un was resolute.
“That is not possible. Given the situation, I’ll speak plainly. The two of you would only get in the way.”
“……”
Seomun Ak and Hwamyeong fell silent.
It was hard to deny.
The very reason they had been captured and thrown into the Baek Li Clan’s prison cell was largely because of the two of them.
If they had not surrendered and fought instead, they would surely have died, and the Baek Li Clan had known this and exploited it.
‘If Jin Seong-un had been alone in that situation…’
He might have escaped.
No, he most certainly would have.
Seomun Ak could not fathom the true extent of Jin Seong-un’s martial prowess. The gap between them was simply too vast.
But he felt that no matter where Jin Seong-un was thrown, he would not die. He had no concrete reason—just blind faith, or perhaps instinct.
“Go. We don’t have much time.”
Jin Seong-un urged them again to leave.
Seomun Ak’s expression stiffened.
For a young and chivalrous martial artist, there were times when pride was more important than life itself—and this was one of them.
It wasn’t that his pride was wounded by being weak. Rather, it was that leaving his friends behind in mortal danger while saving himself was a humiliation.
With his personal feelings, he wanted to stay and fight alongside them, whether they lived or died. But for the greater cause, he had to go to the Seomun Clan and deliver the news.
As Seomun Ak struggled between those conflicting emotions, Hwamyeong, who had been silent until then, spoke with firm resolve.
“I will think of it as a mission. Both of you must survive. I will definitely return with the Murim Alliance to save you.”
Hwamyeong’s tone was calm.
It wasn’t that his temperament was cold—it was that, as a Captain of the Murim Alliance, he had faced countless missions.
He looked at Seomun Ak, who was still agonizing.
“Young Master Seomun, stop this. Don’t act like a child. Let’s do what must be done.”
At that, Seomun Ak’s expression was as if he had been splashed with cold water. He realized that his actions truly were no different from those of a child.
After a brief breath, Seomun Ak made his decision.
He would flee to the Seomun Clan. For someone as proud as Seomun Ak, it was a choice more painful than death.
As the two of them finally nodded to Jin Seong-un and Seo Yu-gyeom—
They’ve disappeared!!
A shout rang out from the distant prison cell. At the same moment, Seomun Ak and Hwamyeong pushed off the ground and leapt onto the wall.
Thanks to that, the Baek Li Clan martial artists immediately spotted them.
Over there!
In an instant, a chilling rush of air accompanied a torrent of pure white Sword Qi surging toward them.
The two ignored the ferocious sensation at their backs and kicked off the wall again, leaping forward.
Seomun Ak and Hwamyeong entrusted their rear to Jin Seong-un.
As if to answer their trust, Jin Seong-un rose onto the wall in a flash and swept his steel sword sideways.
Jjeoeeoeeoeng—!
The surging Sword Qi exploded violently in midair, resounding with a thunderous roar.
Because of that, the Baek Li Clan martial artists in the inner quarters rushed out in a swarm.
It seemed even more had gathered—their number easily fifty or sixty strong.
Baek Li-cheon burst out in a panic and, upon spotting Jin Seong-un standing on the wall and the two fleeing in the distance, felt his heart plummet.
If this matter were exposed to the outside world, the tower he had built over the past ten years would collapse into nothing.
“The entire White Hawk Squad, go after the two who fled immediately…!”
But before the words were even finished.
Jin Seong-un unleashed a massive sword qi that burned like crimson flames upon the martial artists of the Baek Li Clan.
Kwaaaaang—!
The ground struck by the sword qi shattered into pieces.
The martial artists nearby hastily shielded themselves and scattered to the sides.
Thanks to that, Seomun Ak and Hwamyeong were already far enough away that they could no longer be seen.
A strange glint passed through Jin Seong-un’s eyes as he looked down at the martial artists. When he had released his sword qi just moments ago, he had not shown any restraint in his strike. And yet, not a single person had died.
‘As expected.’
They were the Baek Li Clan, renowned as an orthodox noble clan, despite the vile deeds they plotted behind the scenes.
They were fundamentally different from the martial artists of the Mount Heng Sect, who had already been walking the path of decline.
I’ll retrieve the dagger, so wait. Our goal isn’t to kill them all—it’s to make sure we survive.
Seo Yu-gyeom’s voice transmission rang in his head.
Jin Seong-un gave a small nod, and Seo Yu-gyeom’s figure melted into the void.
With a leap, Jin Seong-un landed atop the roof of the secret house. He did it to draw attention and aid Seo Yu-gyeom’s movements.
The martial artists of the Baek Li Clan craned their necks to the point it seemed they might snap, glaring up at Jin Seong-un.
The sight of dozens of martial artists simultaneously drawing their swords and aiming at one place alone created a crushing sense of pressure that weighed down the entire courtyard.
But Jin Seong-un remained calm.
As always, he simply looked down at the martial artists of the Baek Li Clan with his unique, detached gaze.
There was not even the slightest trace of intimidation in him, despite standing alone against an entire clan. A few martial artists, upon seeing this, felt a surge of admiration even as they tightened their grips on their swords.
Jin Seong-un’s voice continued.
“The Seomun Clan and the Murim Alliance will arrive. You’ll have to kill me before that.”
“……”
“Whether you can or not, I’m not so sure.”
A martial artist barely in his twenties stood upon the roof, looking down on an entire clan as he said this.
For the proud and lofty Baek Li Clan, and especially for their clan head Baek Li-cheon, this was deeply insulting.
Baek Li-cheon fixed his sharp gaze upon Jin Seong-un and spoke.
“Kill him within the next moment.”
At that instant, dozens of martial artists simultaneously unleashed their sword qi. Among them, a rare few even displayed sword flux.
The overwhelming scale of it gave the illusion of an immense white ocean surging forth.
Everyone expected Jin Seong-un to hastily evade. For that reason, several masters had already cut off his retreat and were lying in wait.
But Jin Seong-un, who had been watching the scene with detached eyes, instead leapt straight into the white ocean.
It was a movement without the slightest hesitation.
Kwaaaaaang—!
Flames spread across the white ocean.
The Fire Dragon Escape Sword of the Sword Immortal, which subdues evil with good, dyed the Baek Li Clan’s hypocritical white ocean red.
Jin Seong-un had deliberately chosen a loud, extravagant response.
The effect was quite effective.
When the martial artists of the Baek Li Clan witnessed that the sword qi of dozens could be split and torn apart by the strike of a single man, their momentum faltered.
Of course, Jin Seong-un himself had strained his hand considerably, and his palm throbbed in pain. Naturally, he revealed not the slightest sign of it as he spoke.
“Is that all?”
A brief silence followed.
Everyone glanced at one another nervously.
And then, Clan Head Baek Li-cheon’s furious roar burst forth like a fit of rage.
“What on earth are you all doing!”
His roar was so forceful that the martial artists nearby recoiled in shock.
At the same time, the martial artists of the Baek Li Clan charged at Jin Seong-un all at once.
Jin Seong-un simply stood in place and watched them, then raised his iron sword high and widened his stance.
“They’re coming!”
The martial artists at the forefront showed tense expressions. No doubt, the blazing inferno they had just witnessed was etched in their minds.
Even so, they did not slow their charge. It was clear now that those gathered here were the very elites of the Baek Li Clan.
Jin Seong-un swung his sword in a wide horizontal arc.
A fierce crimson flame flared up mightily in an instant…
But just as the martial artists of the Baek Li Clan swung their swords in response, the flame vanished in an instant.
The martial artists, who had swung their swords with death in their hearts, felt only emptiness at their fingertips.
Sseugeok—!
But then, not at the vanguard, but just behind them, the sound of flesh being split rang out.
The martial artists turned their heads sharply. A clan member who had just been eating with them moments ago now lay in a pool of blood, his upper and lower body severed apart.
Having stepped in with Step Without Shadows, Jin Seong-un had split three martial artists with a single strike.
“Stand aside!”
Unable to endure any longer, Baek Li-cheon charged forward.
He had grasped Jin Seong-un’s intent perfectly.
After planting fear into the martial artists’ minds with a single overwhelming strike, he was now exploiting that fear to its fullest, reaping maximum results with minimal effort.
This was not the attitude of a martial artist entering battle.
Rather than perish together with hundreds, his stance was that he would kill one or two and survive himself.
Kaaang—!
Baek Li-cheon’s sword clashed head-on with Jin Seong-un’s.
Because the Baek Li Clan wielded especially heavy swords, Jin Seong-un’s toes dug a fraction into the ground as they were pushed back.
Baek Li-cheon’s sword strikes continued.
He swung his massive sword with great force.
Jin Seong-un calmly received them, retreating endlessly step by step.
Through his fingertips, Baek Li-cheon felt a strange sensation. He was clearly overwhelming his opponent, forcing him to block desperately.
Yet, whenever their swords collided, it felt strangely hollow. There was no true sense that he had struck solidly.
Baek Li-cheon remembered feeling this sensation once before—when he had dueled with White Cloud Sword, an elder of the Wudang Sect.
The sword of Wudang diverted the opponent’s strength.
With four taels of force, it redirected a thousand catties—that was the essence of Wudang’s sword.
Jin Seong-un recalled the swords of Baek Sang, Baek Seol, and White Cloud Sword Hyeon-un, and imitated them. It was only possible because the Daoist essence he had learned from Heavenly Martial Star and the Sword Immortal had merged together.
The sword flux surrounding Baek Li-cheon’s blade grew even fiercer. His strikes, heavy from the beginning, became increasingly weighty as if embodying his rage.
Kwaaang—!
With each clash of their swords, a thunderous roar erupted as though the earth itself shook.
Yet, as he felt the weight of his strikes dissipate without fully transmitting to his opponent, Baek Li-cheon let out a furious roar.
“You! How long do you think you can keep slipping away like a rat!”
Jin Seong-un wanted to give a provoking answer.
The reason was simple. The more a man grew angry and lost control of his emotions, the duller his sword and senses became.
So, thinking of how Seo Yu-gyeom would respond, he spoke.
“Hasn’t a full quarter-hour already passed?”
He was mocking Baek Li-cheon’s earlier command to kill him within one quarter-hour. Of course, far more time had already passed.
The effect was tremendous.
Baek Li-cheon’s face flushed crimson with rage, and the moment his senses dulled with anger—
From behind, the Heaven-Slaying Dagger struck forth like a flash of light.