Rumble.
As Gongsun Dankyung departed, Gwak Seong closed the door to the secret passage.
Then he muttered in a low voice.
“We martial artists carry our lives on the edge of a single sword anyway. There’s no regret in dying at any moment.”
Boom.
Once the secret passage door closed completely, he slowly turned around.
“The only pity is dying before we could ever unfold our true aspirations.”
Gwak Seong gazed at the distant sky.
Under Gongsun Dankyung’s command all this time, he had cultivated the mystical formation known as the Phase. He had also trained in the countless superior esoteric arts stored in the Martial Alliance’s Solitary Enlightenment Hall.
Gongsun Dankyung’s memory was genius-level—she could memorize entire martial secret manuals after seeing them just once.
She had transmitted every single one of them to the warriors of the Blood Heaven and Fate Corps but because of the sudden raid by the Jungson family, their great undertaking could no longer be achieved.
“What a shame. Even if all one hundred and eight stars had emerged, I was confident we could win.”
The Phase that Gongsun Dankyung had created was an unprecedented and matchless marvelous art that completely transcended the principles of martial arts and the utility of formations—something the martial world had never seen before and would never see again.
The warriors of the Blood Heaven and Fate Corps had trained without resting even a single day to perfect that Phase.
They had also learned how to handle the Enchanting Shadow Demon Lamp alongside formations.
Yet because of the enemy’s surprise attack, that peerless marvelous art withered away without ever blooming even once.
“I have to at least save the young warriors.”
Gwak Seong drew the treasured sword from his waist.
More than six jia of inner energy, swordsmanship that had reached the level of Ascending Peak, outstanding military strategy, and abundant combat experience.
As a martial world practitioner and as a commander leading a unit, he lacked nothing in any regard.
But could such things allow him to face the One Hundred and Eight Stars? That he could not guarantee.
“Kraaagh!”
In the meantime, the defensive line had collapsed.
The warriors of the Jungson family were rapidly advancing toward this location.
Wherever they passed, the grass withered and the ground turned black.
They were already wielding the power of the One Hundred and Eight Stars.
“Shall I make some companions to go to hell with me?”
Fortunately, those inhuman beings who wielded the supernatural ability power of the One Hundred and Eight Stars all had the restriction of a domain.
And he himself had relentlessly trained in techniques to counter the One Hundred and Eight Stars until now.
Boom.
As Gwak Seong raised his inner energy, waves of true qi spread out in all directions.
He was now about to complete the most brilliant and exhilarating final journey of his life.
***
“Huff… huff…”
Having escaped Sangsu Valley through the secret passage, Gongsun Dankyung unfolded her movement technique like a madwoman.
‘I can’t call for the Sacred Guard Corps either.’
This entire area had already become the domain of the One Hundred and Eight Stars.
Even if she fired a signal flare, it would be useless.
The only way to survive the Jungson family’s grasp was to escape this zone entirely.
Sssss.
But from somewhere came the sound of insect wings flapping.
As expected, they had laid a heavy encirclement around the entire Sangsu Valley area and dispatched pursuers endowed with bizarre power.
Whoosh.
Without looking back, Gongsun Dankyung ran like a woman possessed.
Even in the midst of it, she swiftly picked up branches and stones and threw them in various directions. She was unfolding formations to shake off the pursuers.
Thud thud thud.
She was moving through the Cheongun Mountain region like a living, breathing formation.
Gongsun Dankyung possessed not only outstanding intellect but also a level of achievement in formations comparable to Gongsun Hwa-uk, who was said to be the greatest in the martial world. When a woman like her resolved to unfold formations while fleeing, even the Jungson family’s pursuers could not help but struggle.
Swish. Saaah.
Yet the formations she kept laying down were melting away like snow. At the same time, she could feel the pursuers closing in tightly behind her.
‘The Martial Venerable handed over all the information about me.’
The Jungson family had completed every possible preparation to hunt her down.
Before attacking, they had smashed every Enchanting Shadow Demon Lamp stored in Sangsu Valley. They had even anticipated that she would flee while unfolding formations and were instead using the traces of those formations to track her movements.
Sssss.
Before long, ten pursuers were clinging closely behind the fleeing Gongsun Dankyung.
Her escape route and movements had already been exposed.
‘I have to head toward the river.’
She swiftly unfolded her qinggong toward the sound of water.
A river would erase her scent and traces, allow her to set up a death formation to make a final stand, and in the worst case, let her throw herself in to escape.
Shiiik!
In the meantime, the pursuers closed in on Gongsun Dankyung and unleashed a barrage of hidden weapons.
The experts of the Jungson family were using extremely unique hidden weapons.
With a single gesture of the hand, countless projectiles exploded outward.
‘Sahyang?’
A strange light flickered in Gongsun Dankyung’s eyes.
Sahyang hidden weapons had long terrorized the martial world, but in recent years no one had appeared using them. So how had the Jungson family suddenly acquired large quantities of Sahyang hidden weapons, which were so difficult to obtain?
Pew pew pew!
The Sahyang hidden weapons they used could destroy protective qi and were fired at angles that were nearly impossible to evade.
Clang clang!
In the end, Gongsun Dankyung halted her flight, drew her dagger, and fought back.
“Haaap!”
As she swung her dagger, a bizarre power spread in all directions, and the pursuers’ movements began to slow.
Though her martial arts were not particularly high, she was a prodigy capable of modifying the absolute formation art called the Phase that she had obtained from the mysterious secret manual.
Like the martial arts of the Zhuge family, she embedded formations within her martial techniques.
Every time she swung her sword, a strange power spread out, slowing the movements of the masked men.
“Kh.”
The pursuers had not expected her to mix bizarre formations into her martial arts.
They swung their swords in slight confusion.
The more Gongsun Dankyung swung her blade, the more it felt as though invisible cords were tightening around their bodies.
“Ughhh.”
Splat!
In the end, the masked men—bound and unable to move—were suddenly sliced in half from the waist down, their two halves collapsing to the ground as corpses.
Pat!
The surviving masked men seized an opening in her flight and immediately launched hidden weapons.
Papap!
Sharp saw-like blades embedded in her body, and black blood immediately flowed out.
The poison was so vicious that even when the weapons merely grazed her, her insides convulsed and nausea surged.
‘I have to survive.’
Gongsun Dankyung gritted her teeth and pulled out the hidden weapons.
With a pop, black blood sprayed, and pain like her entire skeleton crumbling assaulted her.
But she had to survive.
Otherwise, who would avenge the Blood Heaven and Fate Corps?
Who would remember the lives of those young people who had devoted their entire existence because of her?
Pat!
She unfolded her movement technique once more and fled the area.
The sound of water was growing louder—she seemed to be nearing the river.
‘Just get there, even if only that far.’
Gongsun Dankyung poured all her strength into her qinggong.
Whooooosh.
But at that moment, suddenly, with tremendous pressure, a transparent wall appeared around a radius of roughly thirty zhang.
It was a massive wall created with inner energy.
Boom.
At the same time, over a hundred figures burst up from the ground around her as though erupting from the earth.
They were all clad in glossy black clothing, their faces covered with veils.
‘The One Hundred and Eight Stars?’
No matter how great human power might be, it was impossible to create a wall that blocked heaven and earth across dozens of zhang using only inner energy.
The number of masked men was exactly one hundred and eight.
Unless they were experts of the Limitless Realm, they were undoubtedly beings wielding the power of the One Hundred and Eight Stars.
“Impressive. They said your martial arts were pitiful, yet you fled all the way here.” The black-clad man at the forefront slowly approached.
A fishy stench immediately stung her nose from all directions.
‘Poison men?’
Looking around, she finally realized the true identity of the one hundred and eight figures before her.
“You created poison men using the power of the One Hundred and Eight Stars.”
Gongsun Dankyung said while staring at the masked men.
“Because the Boundary Prosperity Jade is too precious, you resorted to the Yang Essence Grand Method—turning crowds of people into tools.”
At her words, the apparent leader among the one hundred and eight masked men nodded as though surprised.
“You even know about the Boundary Prosperity Jade. Truly befitting the Chief Inspector of the Martial Alliance.”
“I also know that you people are puppets of the Jungson family.”
Surprised by her statement, the masked man narrowed his eyes.
“I wondered why they mobilized such a large force just to kill you.”
The masked man tilted his head, then nodded.
“So it was because you possess information about our family, and an extermination order was issued.”
Gongsun Dankyung too had been born with one of the One Hundred and Eight Stars, but because of her outstanding mind she had been given only the nickname Wisdom Star.
She herself did not even know exactly which of the One Hundred and Eight Stars she possessed, and she had been rendered permanently unable to manifest its power.
Because on the final day, Chu So had performed a grand method upon her.
‘Once you leave the Jungson family, you will never again let anyone detect that you possess the energy of the One Hundred and Eight Stars.’
Chu So’s words had been true.
After leaving the Jungson family, the faint power that had once circulated within her body could no longer be felt.
‘Don’t I need power too?’
After entering the Martial Alliance, Gongsun Dankyung had felt the necessity of power.
She had made tremendous efforts to break the grand method Chu So had performed but no matter how hard she tried, she could not find a way to manifest the power of the One Hundred and Eight Stars.
At times she even doubted whether she truly possessed one at all.
In the end, after experiencing many things and overcoming countless dangers, she clung to formations rather than martial arts. Because formations would make her stronger faster.
But at last she realized.
Formations could never replace martial arts.
Thud.
Gongsun Dankyung dropped to one knee.
The poison energy was surging so fiercely that she could no longer endure it.
“Killing you right away would be a waste.”
At that moment, the lead masked man scanned Gongsun Dankyung’s figure and narrowed his eyes.
Because of the hidden weapons, her clothes were torn in places, revealing smooth skin.
Seeing it, lust arose within him.
“If you give me some special pleasure, you might live.”
The masked man’s eyes burned hotly.
“Being erased as a martial world practitioner does not necessarily mean death.”
And he spoke coaxingly.
“If you come to our family, you could forget the past and live a new life.”
‘I cannot die.’
Regardless of what the masked man babbled, she extended her index and middle fingers and pressed her own acupoints.
It was the legendary Gold Sphere Grand Method of the divine martial artist Shin Muja—the foremost latent power activation technique in the martial world, granting invincible strength for the duration of one hour.
Ziiing.
Even as golden specks swirled around Gongsun Dankyung’s body, the masked man scoffed.
“Even if you do that, it’s usele-”
Flash!
At that instant, a round, razor-sharp beam of light burst from her dagger.
The light was sudden and impossibly swift—impossible to evade.
Thud.
The head of the masked man who had been loitering in front of Gongsun Dankyung fell powerlessly to the ground.
It was the killing form of the Life-Death Blood Wheel, a murderous technique from the Evil Death Secret Soul Scripture that contained the bizarre black magic of the Black Death Cult rather than righteous martial arts.
“Scatter!”
The masked men dispersed in all directions.
Flash!
The Life-Death Blood Wheel was impossibly fast and possessed the ability to relentlessly pursue living beings like a living creature.
Boom. Boom.
In the end, the masked men struck by the blood wheel collapsed like felled logs.
Yet even after activating her latent power, Gongsun Dankyung could unleash only nine blood wheels.
“Pfft.”
Gongsun Dankyung vomited blood and dropped to her knees.
As the effect of the Gold Sphere Grand Method ran out and her inner energy was completely exhausted, she could no longer hold on and collapsed.
“We don’t know what else she might do—better kill her quickly.”
At his subordinate’s shout, the leader nodded.
“I wondered how someone so young rose to become Chief Inspector of the Martial Alliance. Indeed, she has a vicious side.”
With a nod from him, his subordinates approached Gongsun Dankyung and extended their hands simultaneously.
Ziiing.
Black veins bulged from Gongsun Dankyung’s neck, and black blood poured from her nose and mouth. Even though her martial arts were weak, she was still the Chief Inspector of the Martial Alliance—she might have some hidden trump card.
Thus, the masked men unleashed extreme poison energy from a distance to prevent any counterattack.
‘I’m sorry.’
In the end, she could not avenge the Blood Heaven and Fate Corps.
Her vision grew blurry, and breathing became difficult.
Yet amid it all, one face rose clearly in her mind.
It was the face of Seon Woojin.
‘Just once more.’
Only after death approached did she finally become honest.
‘If I could see him just one more time.’
Her final wish was not revenge… but to see the face of the one she loved once again.
She had lived her entire life carrying a grudge.
She had sworn there would never be romantic affection between man and woman.
Yet deep in her heart, she had dreamed of living happily with the one she loved.
‘May he be happy, please.’
Gongsun Dankyung slowly closed her eyes.
‘And may he safely escape the Martial Alliance.’
Even in the moment of drawing her last breath, her dying wish was not for herself, but for the safety of the person she loved.
Thud.
And just as her soul was about to sink slowly into endlessly deep darkness,
Flash!
Suddenly, from the pitch-black world, radiant light began to burst forth.
At the same time, a pure white figure descended from the distant sky toward Gongsun Dankyung.
His face was utterly ordinary, his aura ordinary as well.
Yet his eyes were endlessly deep and sorrowful, as though gazing somewhere far away.
It was Seon Woojin—the very person she had longed to see so desperately.
‘Am I dreaming?’
As Gongsun Dankyung murmured faintly,
“Chief Inspector.”
Bu Eunseol, who had lifted her into his arms, realized she was dying from extreme poison and immediately infused her with the Ban-Geuk Method.
But her body had already begun to shut down, functions halted by the mystical poison created through the power of the One Hundred and Eight Stars.
‘I have to draw out the poison.’
But if he used the power of the Poison Absorption Body, his disguise might come undone.
If that happened, Gongsun Dankyung would discover his true identity, and the entire plan would collapse.
“You came to save me again.”
Regaining consciousness, Gongsun Dankyung looked at Bu Eunseol and smiled brightly.
“But this time… you were a little late.”
“It’s all right. I’ll detoxify you immediately.”
“It’s no use.”
Gongsun Dankyung shook her head.
“This isn’t an ordinary poison. They used the Yang Essence Grand Method to wield power equal to the One Hundred and Eight Stars.”
And she spoke firmly.
“Though it carries poison energy, it is not true poison. Therefore, even someone who has reached the realm of Poison Absorption Body cannot possibly detoxify it.”
“Chief Inspector.”
“It’s all right. I’ve always been prepared for this.” Gongsun Dankyung smiled calmly. “Anyone who sets their heart on revenge lives with death always in mind.”
Without answering, Bu Eunseol immediately raised the Ban-Geuk Mind Method to draw the poison out of her.
But it was futile.
As she had said, the poison unleashed by the masked men was not true poison but a power that mimicked the effect of poison.
Even Bu Eunseol—who could detoxify any poison—was helpless.
“Conserve your energy. And leave this place quickly.”
Even as she lay dying, Gongsun Dankyung worried only for Bu Eunseol.
“And do not avenge me. Leave the Martial Alliance immediately and live happily.”
Bu Eunseol’s eyes widened.
Gongsun Dankyung had already guessed that he intended to leave the Martial Alliance.
“I truly liked you.”
Reaching out to touch the cheek of Bu Eunseol who held her, Gongsun Dankyung said, “After all my revenge was finished, I dreamed of staying by your side.”
As she continued speaking, Gongsun Dankyung’s eyes grew clearer and more transparent.
“Not as the Sword King of the righteous path… but by the side of Majeon’s grand master whose name shakes the world.”
“Chief Inspector.”
The corners of Bu Eunseol’s eyes trembled violently.
Gongsun Dankyung had already known his true identity.
“Why on earth…”
“I was afraid.”
Gongsun Dankyung smiled faintly.
“Afraid that if you found out I knew your identity, you would leave me.”
A single tear, beautiful as a pearl, fell from the eyes of the hand she extended.
“That’s why… I couldn’t say it.”
Her slowly outstretched arm nearly touched Bu Eunseol’s cheek.
Tap.
But the hand that had reached out eventually fell powerlessly.
In that instant, flowing time seemed to stop, and Bu Eunseol’s eyes turned transparent.
‘She knew.’
When sorrow reaches its extreme, one becomes eerily calm instead.
Bu Eunseol gazed at Gongsun Dankyung with empty eyes.
She had known his true identity for a very long time.
Yet she had never once revealed that she knew, nor had she even considered revealing it.
Because somewhere along the way, she had come to genuinely like him.
If he discovered that she knew his real identity… he might leave forever.
That was the only thing she feared.
Enough to make her abandon even revenge.
“Chief Inspector.”
Bu Eunseol carefully lifted Gongsun Dankyung, who had drawn her last breath.
She did not look dead—she looked as though she were merely in a deep sleep.
“That one is Seon Woojin!”
At that moment, the lead masked man pointed at Bu Eunseol and shouted.
“Kill him too!”
Kwaaaaa.
The masked men encircling them once again unleashed poison energy.
Regardless, Bu Eunseol carried Gongsun Dankyung in his arms and walked slowly forward.
Splat!
At the same time, the heads of the masked men who had been unleashing poison from three zhang away flew into the sky.
“How-”
The masked men blinked in shock.
That man was walking calmly with both arms holding her—how had their comrades’ heads flown off?
Could he be using some sorcery?
Pa! Pa!
Regardless, every time Bu Eunseol took a step, the heads of the masked men soared into the air.
Ten jia of inner energy, and the Wind-Cloud Divine Qi.
The Wishful True Binding that combined those two powers.
And rage fierce enough to tear the heavens apart.
When all of them fused into one, they became an invisible ultra-high-speed sword—an infinitely extending blade of vengeance… that severed the necks of the masked men.
“I’m sorry for not being able to speak honestly.”
Pausing for a moment, Bu Eunseol looked down at Gongsun Dankyung with closed eyes.
Memories of times spent with her flashed before him like a lantern reel.
The times she assigned him various missions, the times they argued because she suspected him, the time they subjugated a sect together, the time they visited the Gongsun family together…
Thinking back, they had spent a truly long time together.
And unknowingly, hatred and affection had piled up between them.
Slice! Slice! Bang!
In the meantime, the necks of the One Hundred and Eight Stars were not merely severed—they exploded violently.
In less than half an hour, all one hundred masked men had become headless corpses.
A mountain of corpses and a sea of blood.
The dead bodies piled up like mountains, and the blood flowing from them became an ocean.
With an expression utterly calm, Bu Eunseol slowly stepped forward across the blood-soaked ground.
