Shadow Unit (3)

Sag Muhun was dumbfounded.

Did they mean to resist him with stealth techniques?

Against him, who had worked in the shadows for nine years?

If there had been one good thing about joining the Shadow Unit, it was that the Murim Alliance spared no effort in giving him access to the best martial arts he could never have seen otherwise.

Internal cultivation methods, sword arts, movement arts—stealth techniques were no exception.

The assassin techniques he had mastered were the secret art of Jo Uso, the Venom-Blood Assassin, once counted among the top five assassins of the previous generation.

And yet, before his very eyes, his opponent dared to fight him using stealth. It was absurd.

Sag Muhun melted into the shadows.

He intended to teach the fool who dared challenge him with stealth what the real thing was.

But as he slowly moved within the shadows, trying to sense his opponent’s position, he was startled to find he could detect nothing.

The presence of snakes or animals, yes—but no trace of a human.

It seemed the opponent too had an assassin’s background.

Moving more cautiously, Sag Muhun thought:

“This fight might drag on. Did I lose her after all?”

While Sag Muhun mistook Seonu Jin’s origins, Seonu Jin had remained motionless in the same spot from the start.

The reason Sag Muhun couldn’t detect him was because Seonu Jin had learned the Thousand Kill Secret of the Shadowless Assassin, one of the most renowned killers a hundred years ago.

On top of that, the ultimate truth of the Heavenly Wind Steps he learned from Bi Sayoung allowed him to harmonize with the wind itself.

Even so, it was impossible that his stealth surpassed Sag Muhun’s, a master at the Pinnacle Realm who had lived his life as a professional assassin.

In terms of experience and mastery, there was no comparison.

Knowing this well, Seonu Jin stayed perfectly still, unlike Sag Muhun who searched for him—silent as death.

Of course, it wasn’t a wise method.

Remaining so still meant he could not find Sag Muhun’s position, and if discovered first, the fight might end right there.

But Seonu Jin wasn’t worried.

He believed that even if he couldn’t discover Sag Muhun, others would.

“I’m counting on you, beauties.”

Having raised his three-colored vipers, Seonu Jin knew:

Stealth did not work on certain snakes.

Whether in light or darkness, snakes could locate humans or animals precisely.

He didn’t know it was because they sensed body heat, but that hardly mattered.

What mattered was that the vipers he had captured in the Poison Forest were now targeting his enemy.

Shiii!

“!”

Sag Muhun was shocked as snakes suddenly flew at him like hidden weapons.

While cloaked in stealth, he couldn’t move abruptly—he nearly got bitten.

He barely dropped his stealth and leapt aside to avoid the attack.

But that was only the beginning.

Snakes appeared from everywhere, flying at him.

Shiii! Shiii!

“Damn it!”

Sag Muhun swung his sword, cutting the flying snakes in half.

Shuak!

“Shiiik!”

“Shiiiiik!”

In the battle of stealth, he had lost.

He had failed to find his opponent, but his opponent had forced him into the open.

But losing in stealth didn’t mean losing the fight.

Sag Muhun steadied his mind like a blade.

If the enemy was truly an assassin, he would never waste this opportunity.

Surely, an ambush was coming at this very moment.

Then, among the flying snakes, he sensed the trajectory of hidden weapons.

“Got you!”

He launched himself toward the direction of the thrown weapons.

If they were on equal footing, it might be different—but he had nothing to fear from the hidden weapons of someone who wasn’t even at the Pinnacle Realm.

But he failed to notice—

He was no longer evading the projectiles, but cutting them down one by one with his sword.

Shuaak!

Cha-chang! Cha-cha-chang!

Flying like lightning, he cut down every weapon thrown. Then he noticed some odd leather pouches among them.

Sssht!

“!?”

His sword instinctively sliced a pouch open, splitting it in two.

From it poured dozens of insects.

Pususss!

“Ugh?!”

A perfect feint.

He had committed his body fully to the leap—there was no avoiding it now.

At such close range, he had no choice but to spin violently, scattering the insects away.

Thudududuk!

Sharp stings burned across his face.

Sag Muhun frantically shook himself, trying to get rid of the insects. The stings alone were ominous.

He gave up on attacking and hastily landed on the ground, brushing himself off.

But when he looked down, several insects still clung, their jaws and stingers embedded in his flesh.

They were venomous bugs.

Seonu Jin had crafted hidden weapons from the Poison Forest’s deadly insects.

Sag Muhun swallowed hard.

This was no longer just a matter of completing his mission—his life was at stake.

The burning pain spread across his face.

Shiiik!

Snakes still flew at him.

Now, he couldn’t bring himself to cut them down—what if another pouch was hidden among them?

He dodged instead.

But he knew moving like this only made the poison spread faster.

Even suppressing it with inner energy was useless—too many parts of him had been bitten.

Restricting blood flow to slow the poison would leave him unable to move.

A dead end.

Sag Muhun gritted his teeth.

Time was running out.

He needed an antidote or meditation to purge the poison—quickly.

But first, he had to deal with the enemy and the snakes.

He resumed slashing the flying snakes.

And again, more pouches burst open.

Psssh!

“Argh!”

Though he braced himself, he barely escaped before the bugs swarmed over him again.

But counterattacking the thrower was impossible.

His vision blurred.

He couldn’t tell if it was from losing his sight or from swollen eyelids shutting his eyes.

His whole face was numb.

He realized his limit was near.

He had to retreat—before blindness or death claimed him.

He was just about to leap away—

When Seonu Jin’s voice rang out.

“Do you know something?”

Sag Muhun tensed, glaring toward the sound.

Through his hazy sight, he spotted his foe in a tree—not far.

If he leapt now, maybe he could still evade him.

“Who else knows you came from the Alliance? Just me? My squadmates? Or maybe the Division Captain who sent you?”

Sag Muhun’s nape went cold.

Even his meeting with the Division Captain was known—was the Captain the true mastermind?

Shiiik!

Another snake flew at him—he hastily cut it down.

Shak!

Seonu Jin’s voice now came from another direction.

“I really wonder… what kind of mind gives the order to kill frontline defenders risking their lives against the Demonic Sect?”

Sag Muhun shivered.

His senses had dulled so much he couldn’t even feel Seonu Jin’s movement.

If this went on, even face-to-face combat would end in defeat.

He had to finish it—now.

“And what kind of fool obeys such an order? What makes you different from the Demonic Sect’s demons? They only eat people, but you… you devour more than that.”

Seonu Jin shifted position as he spoke.

If he could catch him just once…

Another snake struck.

It sank its fangs into his leg.

“Urgh!”

He dropped to one knee, as if finished.

His guard was open.

But Sag Muhun’s mind was sharper than ever.

The snake had bitten reinforced leather under his trousers. He had left that opening on purpose, waiting for Seonu Jin to close in.

He only needed the enemy within three zhang…

Then came the voice:

“Is this the end?”

Seonu Jin approached at last.

Sag Muhun gauged the distance with his best sense—his hearing.

Five zhang.

Four zhang.

Three zhang!

Paaang!

He launched himself, stabbing with all his might.

A blue sword aura thrust like a spear, piercing Seonu Jin’s chest.

Pook!

Or so he thought.

It was an afterimage.

Seonu Jin had already sidestepped, his sword Black Wolf slicing toward Sag Muhun’s neck.

Shaak!

Having seen his footwork earlier, Seonu Jin had predicted it: Sag Muhun would unleash his desperate thrust at three zhang.

Feigning approach, he used the Heavenly Wind Steps to drift like a petal on the breeze, deflecting the strike with ease.

No matter how strong a Pinnacle Realm master, against an opponent who had predicted and prepared for this exact move—especially a movement arts master like Seonu Jin—there was no chance.

Seonu Jin’s sword swung unhesitatingly for his neck.

It was the end.

His swollen eyes couldn’t even see Seonu Jin anymore.

But the blade never finished its arc.

Chaaang!

“Would you wait a moment?”

A middle-aged man in blue appeared, blocking Seonu Jin’s sword.

Seonu Jin was stunned by the sudden presence, as if the man had appeared from nowhere.

He gritted his teeth—he couldn’t just stand there.

He tried to strike again—

“?!”

But his sword stuck fast, unable to move.

It was the dreaded Absorption Grip technique.

He couldn’t even gauge this man’s level.

Then a voice came from behind him:

“Lord Seonu, that’s my father.”

Startled, Seonu Jin turned—Hae Cheong-yeon stood smiling.

“…Your father?”

Looking again, the middle-aged man in blue was also smiling warmly at him.

Hae Cheong-yeon had, in fact, written to her father during her leave.

Unlike the letter she entrusted to Zhuge Jigang, this one said more:

That if Zhuge Jigang did not deliver her letter, then the Murim Alliance itself must be the true mastermind.

She had set this whole chain of events as a test for Zhuge Jigang.

She had also asked her father to come to the frontlines.

If she and her squad could not handle matters, she would rely on him.

Her father had the ability to make any situation safe—so long as it wasn’t a direct clash with the Blood Demon.

That was why she told no one of him, and only asked him to watch from nearby until things truly turned dire.

Now, having resolved everything without his aid, she asked him:

“How did we do?”

Her father smiled with satisfaction, nodding.

“Splendid. That much is enough.”

What exactly was splendid, what was enough—he left unsaid.

Ma Yugyeom, after days of hesitation, finally opened the chest left by the Blood Demon.

Inside were elixirs, poison pellets, and a thin manual.

He had already peeked inside the first day, but unable to bring himself to consume the elixirs or study the manual, he had shut it again.

Now, he opened it once more.

Holding an elixir for a moment, he instead unfolded the manual.

He meant only to skim it.

But once open, he could not close it.

He could not tear his eyes away.

The manual did not contain Demonic Sect martial arts.

Instead, it was filled with miscellaneous techniques the Blood Demon had hand-picked and recorded.

Feeling less guilty since it wasn’t direct Demonic Sect martial arts, Ma Yugyeom read on.

After all, so long as he didn’t practice it, there was no harm.

The first section described how to use poison pellets to avoid qi deviation when one’s internal energy was impure.

It was the very method Seonu Jin’s group had once heard from Elder Seok Gyeongdal.

Ma Yugyeom too had always wondered—why Demonic Sect warriors, who gained much of their energy by absorption, did not fall into qi deviation.

Unknowingly, he was engrossed.

He checked the poison pellets included in the chest.

The second section was about Essence Absorption Art—raising one’s internal energy by absorbing the essence of others.

It was indeed the very practice outsiders thought symbolized the Demonic Sect.

But it wasn’t as grand as the legendary Great Absorption Method.

No mention of absorbing qi with a mere palm touch.

Instead, it described methods using intercourse with women or drinking blood.

Precisely because it was so base, it caught Ma Yugyeom’s eye.

After the fall of the Diancang Sect, with no more access to elixirs, he had been desperate for ways to build his internal energy.

The third section drew his attention most.

It was Suggestion Arts.

Not true soul-control like Soul-Seizing Arts, but leaving a powerful suggestion in the target’s mind until they carried out his will of their own accord.

Unlike Soul-Seizing, the victim believed their actions were entirely their own.

That made it even more insidiously useful.

Ma Yugyeom imagined—if he could use this on Sa Gunil, might Sa Gunil “choose” to revive the Diancang Sect of his own volition?

But he laughed bitterly, shaking his head.

What was the point now?

And even if it wasn’t a true Demonic Sect art, could he possibly use it?

Moreover, the warnings said unless one’s skill was profound, it only worked when the target’s heart was open—or utterly broken.

It would never work on Sa Gunil.

Then a thought struck him—

If only he could use it on her…

He laughed again, hollowly.

He no longer knew where he was headed.

What to live for, or how to go on.

One thing was certain: he could never return to the old self who had dedicated everything to reviving the Diancang Sect.

With a weary smile that had become his habit, Ma Yugyeom gazed blankly into emptiness.