Chapter 172

The warriors looked toward the main gate and shouted.

“Who goes there!”

Jin Ja-gang scattered needles from both hands. The orthodox faction warriors at the gate were struck by the needles. The effects appeared immediately.

“Uaaaah!”

The warriors struck by needles foamed at the mouth and collapsed.

Jin Ja-gang stood his ground.

He could see Soso lying beaten in the middle of the courtyard. When Soso saw Jin Ja-gang, she sobbed and continuously shook her head.

“Ah-eo-eo, ah-eu-eo-eo-eo.”

Fire blazed in Jin Ja-gang’s eyes.

He recalled the memories of Soso caring for him with devotion.

Grind grind grind.

Jin Ja-gang ground his teeth.

“I repent that I forgot, as a human being, that there are things I must naturally protect because I am human.”

Jin Ja-gang drew needles in his hands. Then he walked in without hesitation.

“What nonsense are you spouting…!”

The warriors rushed at him.

Jin Ja-gang recalled the villagers who had died at Stone Forest Gang and Shadow Bureau. Even though he later learned it was because of him, he was ashamed of himself for dismissing them as unavoidable rather than feeling compassion or seeking revenge for them.

“I repent that I failed to be angry at things I should rightfully have been angry about!”

Jin Ja-gang threw needles. Some staggered after being hit by needles, while others rushed forward and brought down their swords. Jin Ja-gang drew sickles from behind his back, gripping one in each hand.

Thud thud, thud thud thud.

As he activated Mad Blood Heaven technique, rupturing sounds echoed from the qi and blood throughout his body as internal energy began circulating rapidly.

Clang!

After blocking the sword flying toward his head with the sickle in his left hand, he swung the sickle in his right hand to tear open his opponent’s abdomen. He immediately rotated his body to the side to avoid the flying sword, using the rotational force to swing his sickle. He struck the sword with the back of his sickle to deflect it, then turned another half circle and stabbed the side with the opposite sickle. The side pierced by the sickle was torn right off.

In an instant, two men collapsed spilling their entrails. The warriors struck by needles also fell one after another.

The orthodox faction warriors hesitated.

Jin Ja-gang spoke through gritted teeth.

“I repent that I was bound only by revenge and tried to pass by even when witnessing injustice.”

Jin Ja-gang shook his sickles to fling off the blood on the blades. He caught his breath briefly and walked further inside.

“I repent my cowardice in avoiding righteous deeds, claiming I could not perform them because I was not a chivalrous hero of the martial world.”

Jeon Woong clutched his wrist and grimaced as he shouted.

“Attack!”

Jin Ja-gang poured internal energy from Mad Blood Heaven technique into his feet and leaped. A warrior blocking his path thrust a spear. Jin Ja-gang hooked the spear with his sickle and deflected it. The shaft of the spear caught by the sickle snapped clean off. In the moment the warrior was flustered, he stabbed the warrior’s crown with his sickle.

Thunk!

The sickle embedded deeply into the head up to its curved part, with the tip piercing through and emerging from the nose.

The warrior with the sickle embedded in his head dropped to his knees with a thud.

Jin Ja-gang pulled out the sickle. Blood and brain matter gushed from the hole, then the warrior trembled violently before falling face-first and dying.

This horrific sight made the orthodox faction warriors’ flesh crawl.

“Cr-cruel evil faction b*st*rd!”

Jin Ja-gang recalled Chu Sajin. He remembered giving Chu Sajin a long speech about whether the orthodox faction was righteous. He also recalled dismissing Bian Bu’s words about distinguishing between orthodox and evil when he had heard them with one ear and let them pass through the other.

Jin Ja-gang’s right eye began turning red.

Pop.

Blood vessels burst inside, turning his eye bloodshot.

“I repent that I discussed justice with an insincere attitude despite having neither experienced nor knowing much about it.”

Grind grind grind.

Jin Ja-gang ground his teeth as he continued walking forward.

He could see the crying Soso and Bian Bu vomiting blood. Their appearances reminded him of Master Jang’s family and his wife, and Rangrang. He thought of the dinner he had shared with the Jang family, and recalled Master Jang hovering between life and death, his wife being beaten by the Zhuge family, and Rangrang.

“I repent that I abandoned those I should rightfully have protected!”

Limp, limp.

As Jin Ja-gang approached with his limping gait, the warriors hesitantly retreated.

Jin Ja-gang recalled the people of Medicine King Sect and Vice Sect Leader Yong Myeong who had died in his place when escaping from Extreme Poison Sect.

Bloody tears flowed from his bloodshot right eye. He felt utterly ungrateful for having thought he would do what he could but accept death if it came.

“I repent for being ungrateful and acting arrogantly.”

Jin Ja-gang looked at Dan Ryeong-gyeong, who was being overwhelmed by Myowol with wounds all over her body. Dan Ryeong-gyeong’s right shoulder was empty, and blood continued flowing from the severed shoulder.

Jin Ja-gang realized he had had several opportunities to learn martial arts. If he had learned then, he wouldn’t have suffered such a fate against Baek Li-gwon at Lan Family Village, and wouldn’t have needed to be carried here. Then he wouldn’t have had to cause harm to Soso and Bian Bu like this. He wouldn’t have had to let so many people in the manor die. Dan Ryeong-gyeong wouldn’t have had to lose her arm because of bringing him.

“I…”

Jin Ja-gang’s fists trembled.

“Though I cannot distinguish right from wrong, I was trapped in the arrogance of believing I alone was orthodox. Because of this, I caused suffering and harm to those around me.”

Jin Ja-gang expelled blood energy from his eyes while emanating increasingly intense killing intent.

“I repent.”

Jin Ja-gang bit his lips until they bled.

“I repent to ensure I never again commit such foolish acts. I repent that I have only now realized the present moment is the most precious time for me.”

Blue blood vessels bulged prominently on his neck and jaw as capillaries burst. Extreme pain struck him. Along with this, internal energy surged even more intensely within his body.

And the more this happened, the more intense the killing intent and aura Jin Ja-gang emitted became, making the Sichuan orthodox faction warriors even more intimidated.

Myowol twisted her mouth crookedly as she looked at Jin Ja-gang.

The aura emanating from that smooth-faced young man exceeded her imagination. No, it wasn’t aura but precisely killing intent.

Unrefined killing intent.

Not the refined killing intent learned through high-level training from childhood at prestigious orthodox sects, but unrefined killing intent that had become ingrained through daily exposure to death while staining hands with the blood of countless people.

That vicious and unfamiliar killing intent made even her tongue sting.

If she felt this way, how must the others feel?

The orthodox faction warriors had been retreating since earlier. When Jin Ja-gang approached, they retreated. They seemed unaware of it themselves… The Sichuan orthodox faction warriors were not common street thugs you might see in broad daylight. They had stronger pride and more backbone than those from other regions. Yet they were overwhelmed by Jin Ja-gang’s massive killing intent.

Jeon Woong suddenly remembered something and looked at Jin Ja-gang’s gait, his eyes widening greatly.

“Poison Dragon… it’s Poison Dragon…”

The weight that the name Poison Dragon carried.

The incident of destroying Yunnan’s poison sects and consecutively defeating the Zhuge family’s Young Phoenix and the Baek Li family’s Silent Dragon had shocked the martial world.

Regardless of how strong his martial power was or how lucky he had been, Poison Dragon had become a sufficient object of fear just from the number of people he had killed.

The Sichuan warriors swallowed dry saliva. After hearing the name Poison Dragon, their hesitation became even more severe.

Jin Ja-gang turned his gaze to Jeon Woong.

“I ask you.”

Jeon Woong was clutching his increasingly blackening hand and sweating profusely when he met Jin Ja-gang’s bloodshot eyes and his body stiffened. He barely escaped the binding by drawing up internal energy, but fear crept up insidiously.

“What are you asking!”

Jin Ja-gang asked in a chilling voice.

“What is the reason you attacked this place and killed people?”

“We… received orders from the Martial Arts Alliance.”

The fact that he had already used the word “we” revealed that Jeon Woong had an evasive mindset from the start. Jeon Woong seemed to realize his mistake and added more words.

“Eliminating the evil faction and establishing chivalry in this land is the destiny of us orthodox faction people!”

Jin Ja-gang sneered and said.

“Then you have nothing to say even if you die.”

“Wh-what?”

“If your cause is worthy enough to kill others and establish, shouldn’t it be natural to stake your own life?”

Jin Ja-gang pointed his sickle at Jeon Woong’s hand.

“Isn’t it hot?”

Jeon Woong was startled. The hand struck by the needle had been swelling and feeling burning pain since earlier.

“You will soon die as all the blood in your body boils. I’ll give you a chance to establish your chivalry during your remaining time.”

Jin Ja-gang pointed his sickle at himself.

“Kill me.”

“Why should I…”

“From now on, I’m going to kill all of you here. So you need to kill me before that to stop it.”

Jeon Woong was astounded. He glanced sideways at Myowol, seeking help.

However, Myowol was just watching.

Myowol felt intoxicated by that strange atmosphere Jin Ja-gang was emanating. So she had no intention of stepping forward yet. Even if Jeon Woong died, it wouldn’t greatly affect Myowol. To be honest, she was more interested in observing Jin Ja-gang further.

Was it possible to overwhelm an entire group of fifty warriors just by killing a few people?

Even that attitude of muttering as if talking to himself was doubling the killing intent Jin Ja-gang emitted. Anyone would feel fear.

‘Has he reached observational killing intent beyond visual killing intent?’

Rustle.

The slight goosebumps rising on Myowol’s arms proved it.

Jeon Woong had no choice but to step forward when Myowol showed no intention of intervening.

“We just do… as we’re told. The Martial Arts Alliance…”

“Hearing those words makes me feel even more at ease. There’s no antidote anyway.”

“What did you say?”

Jin Ja-gang laughed long while blood dripped from burst capillaries in his eyes, face, and jaw. Now he looked not at Jeon Woong but at all the other Sichuan orthodox faction warriors and said.

“So you can direct your resentment not at me but at the Martial Arts Alliance.”

Jin Ja-gang exploded all his swollen internal energy at once and charged. Several warriors who had been overwhelmed by his aura couldn’t even move and had their throats torn by Jin Ja-gang’s sickles.

Three men clutched their throats and staggered before sitting down. Their throats were half-severed and dangling as they spewed tremendous amounts of blood.

“Huk! Huk!”

After pouring out his internal energy all at once, Jin Ja-gang felt the agony of his entire body crumbling as he placed his hands on his knees and gasped for breath.

Belatedly, the Sichuan warriors shook off their fear and rushed at Jin Ja-gang.

Jin Ja-gang activated Mad Blood Heaven technique for the second time. Due to consecutive use, his entire body’s qi and blood ruptured, bringing pain so intense his vision turned white. Jin Ja-gang bit his lips to wake himself from the pain.

He lowered his body and stabbed the approaching warrior’s instep with his sickle, then rolled to the side and hooked another warrior’s ankle with his sickle. The moment he pulled the sickle, the ankle and heel were severed and bent grotesquely.

“Uaaaah!”

He stabbed the face of the warrior who was screaming and rolling on the ground with his sickle. The warrior died with his eyes wide open, unable even to close them.

The warriors were startled and stepped back, bringing down their swords and thrusting with spears.

After avoiding a sword, Jin Ja-gang hooked his sickle on the guard between the blade and handle and pulled. The warrior was dragged forward while still gripping his sword. Jin Ja-gang headbutted the warrior’s nose, and when the warrior’s head jerked back, he slit his throat.

Then he rolled on the ground to avoid a spear while stabbing the instep with his sickle and hooking the ankle to sever it. In an instant, three or four men were rolling on the ground. Jin Ja-gang crawled on the ground and methodically stabbed each fallen warrior to death. The poison he had applied to the sickles had already been wiped clean.

Due to the nature of sickles, blood splattered severely when attacking. Jin Ja-gang was quickly drenched in blood. More blood from others splattered on him than the blood flowing from his own burst capillaries.

The ordinary warriors couldn’t properly follow Jin Ja-gang’s movements. This was Jin Ja-gang who had engaged in countless life-and-death battles with masters. Now his movements had become even faster and stronger due to Mad Blood Heaven technique.

In just a short time, more than ten men had already met their deaths.

“Huk, heo-eok!”

Jin Ja-gang gasped for breath again.

When warriors approached to attack during this gap, Jin Ja-gang raised his head and glared at them. When he flashed his killing eyes while drenched in blood, the warriors’ legs went weak momentarily and they couldn’t move.

They were overwhelmed by his aura to a seriously problematic degree. Due to their bodies stiffening, they couldn’t properly display their original skills either.