Clack
The carriage that was going down the road rocked a lot. The expressions of the people in the carriage were dark because of the shaking.
“Seriously. Is the coachman the problem or the road? Or if not… I wonder if the ones leading the path are the problem?”
There were four people in the carriage.
Among them, a tall man in his fifties eventually could not stand it anymore and complained about it. The carriage was supposed to move alone and have left for its destination by now.
However, when the destination overlapped with the Lucky Mountain Escort Services, their paths crossed.
“Still, this is a good chance. Bandits appear too often here… safety is not guaranteed if you aren’t with reliable people like this,”
Said a man who seemed to be about the same age from across the street.
He was dressed in a comfortable suit, his face sad, yet he had a good impression.
“The bandits couldn’t have learned martial arts… I don’t know if they can even wield a sword properly.”
When the tall man said that as if this was nothing, the one guiding them said,
“Ehh, hyung. Still, the people around here are quite the reckless kind. To the extent that the people say these are the Green Forest Bandits. A few months back, people were passing through and they got robbed of their money and anything valuable.”
“It is a mess to go around without a proper escort. Speaking of which, martial arts learners like me aren’t afraid of such things.”
“Oho, I roughly expected you to be a warrior, and… if I am not being too rude, may I ask what your name is?”
Seeing the man proudly boast about himself, a person seemed interested.
“Well, even if I say it, you wouldn’t know. I am a person who doesn’t like to reveal that much to others. All I can say is that I am running a few branches around the Sichuan province.”
“Ohhh! Sect leader! I didn’t know about this!”
The man hurriedly said and raised his hands.
Perhaps because it felt like a courtesy of some sort, the man received it awkwardly.
“But…”
And this time, the man looked to the side at the person next to him and asked,
“Who is this? Seeing them ride together during the day, it seemed like they belonged to the same group…”
The man next to him—
He was all tall as Jang Han, the sect leader, and the guy was neatly dressed in navy blue clothes. Unusually because of the bamboo hat, his face could not be seen.
“Oh, the one next? He is the one I brought as a guard in case bandits or thieves come. The name is Ghost Faced Great Tiger.”
“Ghost Faced Great Tiger?”
The sect leader who seemed a bit shocked, asked,
“I-is he the one who won the prize at the Yangtze River Murim tournament?”
“Yes, it is him. He attended and took seventh place.”
“I thought I recognized you. Nice to meet you, I am Songo.”
When the man showed respect, the man in the bamboo hat just nodded his head.
However, the sect leader did not think it was arrogant behavior.
Making a name in the vast lands is tough.
It was true that, except for those in the Nine Great Sects or the Murim Alliance, it is difficult for anyone to become known publicly unless they got tangled with something else like a tournament.
So, the reputation the man had was amazing.
“I don’t know why such a man would take this rough road. If you go a little further, we will have to get off the carriage and walk on our own because the path gets too rugged…”
The elder man subtly changed the topic and asked the guy he was talking to earlier.
“Nothing was spoken about a comfortable path. If we want to transport goods through the river here or upstream to the Yangtze river, this is the fastest way.”
“Aha. It is said that trade is carried out through waters. I thought only of the land…”
Songo smiled.
Just like that, the atmosphere inside the carriage went quiet.
“That…”
A man slightly gazed to the side, a man with a skinny body—
It was impossible to talk when one was already occupied, but all the time that they had been traveling, they had not said a single word yet.
Nor did he appear to be a merchant or farmer. Even though in cloth, there was a longsword
“Where are you going?”
Still, trying out his luck, he asked.
“…”
As expected, no answer came. Seeing that he did not even turn his head, it seemed like he was annoyed.
Still, the guy did not give up.
“Sir, where are you going?”
He asked again.
Suddenly the man went wide eyed, and he said something which could not be understood.
“…It is back.”
“Uh?”
The people in the carriage were puzzled at these words, but the man did not care.
<You have returned to the specified area.> <Combat methods can be used again.>
The text appeared in front of Seol-Hwi’s eyes.
It was for this that he returned to Sichuan. At first, if it was a fight, he had come prepared
Combat method <Free>
When the familiar phrase floated in front of him, Seol-Hwi’s expression brightened. In the past, this was something he hated, but it was different now.
After several deaths, he was happy to see it again.
It was then—
“Euk!”
“Huk!”
Kiik!
The carriage stopped, and the eyes looking at Seol-Hwi turned to the door. Songo lowered the window to confirm the situation outside.
“What is happening?”
When asked, Songo said,
“There seems to be a problem.”
“What kind…”
“I think it would be better if you look.”
When the people came out, the atmosphere looked highly agitated. There were hordes of bandits, and they seemed to number around 200.
There were too many of them to consider them as just a single bandit troop.
“This, can we not negotiate?”
Songo shook his head at the question.
“Seeing how the envoy has pulled their swords out. It must be said that we are past that stage.”
What he said was true. Around the convoy ahead, there were those bandits who seemed stubborn.
And as if to prove it, one shouted,
“Hehe. Negotiations won’t happen. Kill all the men and take the valuables and women!”
“Woahhhh!”
Bandits attacked from all sides.
Songo and the other man were caught up in commotion but hurriedly took out their swords and came out.
And, sure enough. Three to four bandits were slashed.
Swish
The start was fine.
One bandit was easily killed by the momentum of the swifty swung sword. Moreover, the warrior next to this other man had slashed a few bandits with a single blow.
“Oh! As expected! A person who runs an operation in Sichuan must be right.”
“Your warrior, too.”
At this the man next to the merchant nodded, and when he looked around—
Shh
This time, as many as five surrounded them.
In addition, unlike the guys in rags, these ones seemed well dressed.
“They learned martial arts,”
Songo shouted. The fact that they were concentrating right onto those with swords was telling them that this would not be easy.
“…Seems like it.”
The escort warriors seemed nervous. Even if their martial arts were excellent, their superiority in numbers was not something to be ignored.
Moreover, he was in a situation where his body did not seem to be in perfect condition, and now they had to protect their client.
At that time, there was tension filling into his body
Drrr
A man walked out of the carriage which was not closed. The entire party was defending the guy who was stepping down just now, and even the opponents were there.
“…”
Seol-Hwi glanced at them. After that, he gazed at the other side. In his eyes, the combat method changed when he left the carriage
<Which Simulation would you like?>
When asked so kindly, he said,
“How do I easily take down these bandits?”
<Analyzing…?>
The word analyzing appeared before his eyes, and it did not take too long for it to come up with an answer.
<Found it!> <Kill the figures with ‘Remove’ floating above their heads. All three.>
At that moment, he looked at the heads of those who had fallen and they had <Remove> written above them.
Shh
“Uh?”
“Hey, you will be hurt if you go there!”
The escort warrior and Songo warned him, but Seol-Hwi approached those on the other side.
“Hah!”
When three bandits who thought they found an opening swung their swords, Seol-Hwi moved.
Chak
A single sword movement passed. That alone was enough to resolve the situation.
The heads of the three people were on the ground.
“What is this…”
“Ah…”
“Hahaha.”
Not just Songo and the escort warriors who watched, but even the merchants who stared at this were shocked.
The man’s movement did not stop though.
He quickly dug around everywhere among the bandits, he appeared from the side of who seemed to be the leader.
“…Danger!”
Songo shouted but it did not even get heard.
Blades cut through the air without a flash.
Scream
And because three heads soared into the sky, the people were speechless.
“Leader is dead!”
“There is a monster here!”
“If you want to live, then retreat!”
Voices of fear, confusion, and annoyance filled the surroundings. The group of bandits ran away and the bandits around Songo and escort warriors were also busy retreating.
“…I guess he is a warrior.”
At his words, Songo blinked, then he slowly turned his head and said,
“The thing about a training center in Sichuan…”
“The title of Ghost Face Great Tiger…”
The escort warrior too said at the same time,
“Forget it.”
“Please forget it.”
Compared to this new man’s skills, theirs felt too shabby.
Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau.
It covered most of the two provinces of Yunnan and Guizhou is a part of Sichuan known as the fourth largest plateau.
The southeast was shallow, but the northwest was high with many mountains around.
Seol-Hwi chose this as his training place.
It was because there was a limestone cave area under the plateau, so it would not be disturbed by others, and there was no way rumors would come out even if someone was there.
“Half a year at the latest, four months at earliest….”
Seol-Hwi, who sat down at a suitable site, calculated the time when the First Disciple would appear.
Since it was a little over a year and a half in his previous life, he calculated that it would be around that time.
Ah, turn based… all here.
Seol-Hwi checked the combat method while turning and confirmed that he could choose it. Of course, the AI did not appear right away perhaps because it was not a crisis or he was not in combat.
It wouldn’t be easy to force summon him.
In the past he jumped off a cliff to get him, but now there was no guarantee for it. It was necessary to create a condition for the AI to come out, but it would not be easy to use that when he was near the Supreme Demon level.
The stronger you get, the harder it was to summon him.
Well, you can do it slowly…
Seol-Hwi’s interest was elsewhere. It was this—
Combat method <Simulation Lv2>
A lot will change depending on how he used it in the future.
<Which Simulation would you like?>
When it was usable after half a year, Seol-Hwi used it again.
“When will the End Demon come to see me?”
He asked for fun.
<That is beyond the range which can be calculated.>
Sure enough, it said the expected result.
<Which Simulation would you like?>
Seol-Hwi straightened his form and asked again. This time, seriously asked a question,
“How can I obtain the Absolute Supreme Demonic Martial Arts?”
<Analyzing…?>
The simulation began to work right away. Seol-Hwi looked at it nervously.
If he could find this out, he can grow a lot more.
<Found it!>
“…!”
Seol-Hwi’s eyes widened. It was a simulation. Although not omnipotent, it might as well be that way to him.
<There are two ways. The first is to obtain it from the disciples of the Heavenly Demon.>
The first one was known to him, and of course that is impossible too.
<And the second… in the sect leader's secret room. You need a key to enter.>
“Uh?”
The moment he heard that, he thought he had heard something similar before.
Secret letter—
Was it talking about what he gained when carrying out missions? For a moment Seol-Hwi checked into the toolbox.
<Would you like to open the toolbox?>
He checked and—
<Miscellaneous Goods.>
Various documents, secret map, secret key…
“Ah! This was it.”
Confirmed.
If only he knew the location on the map was for this… did it not mean that he could get the martial arts right now?