The moment he saw the old man, Pyo-wol felt a chill as if he had fallen into an ice pit.
He had come across numerous people with strong martial arts until now.
Mu Jeong-jin of the Qingcheng sect who is a swordsman capable of unifying a region, and Hyeolbul of the Xiaoleiyin Temple who is a person worthy of looking on top of the world.
He also met a super strong person who called himself as the Wind Saint, and just a little while ago, he also competed with the Wolf King, King Gujin.
There was not a single one among them who was easy to deal with. Pyo-wol had to risk his life when he faced them.
And even against those opponents who Pyo-wol could easily win over, he still did his best. He would consider countless possibilities and choose the most efficient way to fight them.
In this way, Pyo-wol was able to win the fight and save his own life.
Pyo-wol was able to survive every time since he desperately dug into the enemy’s weaknesses.
However, there was no such thing as a weakness in the man in front of him.
Just as it is natural for water to flow down from a high place, the old man appeared naturally as if he had been here from the beginning.
Pyo-wol thought that fighting against King Gujin with his life on the line was worth it. However, against the old master who is in front of him, he didn’t even have that kind of heart.
It wasn’t a matter of incompetence.
Just the very existence of the old man made it impossible for him to feel that way.
Pyo-wol rarely showed or felt any emotional agitation, but in front of the old man, he had no choice but to put on a puzzled expression without even realizing it.
The old man’s gaze turned to Pyo-wol.
“Is it you? The one who chased the wolf away?”
“…….”
“You’re quite good. He’s still one of the few warriors in the world who is known for being savage, yet you managed to chase him away.”
The old man smiled.
His smile was so bright and pure as if he didn’t even have a speck of dust.
Pyo-wol asked unknowingly,
“Who are you?”
Pyo-wol is usually the one who did not initiate a conversation except when he had to deliberately disguise his identity. It was only now that he spoke first without even realizing it.
The old man scanned Pyo-wol up and down and said,
“I’m called Il-gum. I live in Wudang Mountain. What about you?”
“Yes?”
“It’s the first time in a long while since I’ve met such a foolish guy. Hoo!”
The old man, who identified himself as Il-gum, exclaimed as he looked at Pyo-wol.
If someone else had acted like this towards Pyo-wol, he would not have stayed still. But, he didn’t feel that way towards the old man.
He strangely felt at ease.
Pyo-wol’s nerves, which had been tense like a bowstring pulled to its fullest, loosened.
The old man’s gaze suddenly turned to Soma, who was laid down on the ground in the distance.
“That guy will die soon.”
Like what he said, Soma was severely paralyzed.
Because Pyo-wol left Soma unattended while fighting King Gujin, Soma’s wounds got worse.
The old man said to Pyo-wol,
“Carry that little guy on your back and follow me.”
“Pardon?”
“Are you going to let him die? Tch!”
At the old man’s urging, Pyo-wol hurriedly carried Soma on his back.
When he turned his head again, the old man was nowhere to be seen.
At that moment, the old man’s voice rang in his ears.
“What are you stupidly looking around for? Look up.”
When Pyo-wol looked up, he saw the old man floating in the air.
He was as light as a feather. Whenever he stepped on a branch, he would go as far as a dozen feet. It was the representative qinggong of the Wudang sect, the Cloud Ascending Ladder.1
However, the realm was so high that it seemed like walking in the air.
Pyo-wol chased after the old man with Soma on his back.
Pyo-wol ran down the mountain at a terrifying speed. But even then, he found it difficult to follow the old man. If he slowed down even slightly, the distance between him and the old man would widen, making him lose sight of him.
‘Il-gum?’
Pyo-wol already knew that there was once a great warrior who retired a generation ago in the Wudang sect.
Prior to Sang-jin, there was another warrior who was called the Wudang sect’s Number One Sword. Pyo-wol learned that the warrior’s name was Il-gum while staying in the Wudang sect.
Pyo-wol had assumed that the difference between Il-gum and Sang-jin would not be that great.
Even if Il-gum is said to be the Wudang sect’s Number One Sword a generation ago, a person’s strength and senses decline with age. To some extent, this would offset the strong internal energy and experience that had accumulated over the years.
All in all, the overall ability of the person had no choice but to go down the curve.
Pyo-wol thought that even Il-gum would not be able to escape the same fate. However, only after seeing it for himself like this did he realize how wrong his thoughts were. He finally could finally see how great the power of the prestigious sect was.
He didn’t know how many more masters like Il-gum were still in the Wudang sect. All he knows is that several more masters of the same generation as Il-gum were still alive. Their martial arts may be inferior to Il-gum, but they will never be inferior to the current Wudang sect elders.
Pyo-wol’s heart became heavy.
‘If the Wudang sect is like this, how many more great masters are there in the Insane Martial Arts sect or Cheon Mujang?’
Pyo-wol realized how wide Jianghu was.
He wasn’t disappointed though.
Pyo-wol had once started from the bottom where he was nothing. Yet he still managed to get where he is right now.
In the future, as long as he continues to work diligently while keeping his guard up, he will not die in vain.
As Pyo-wol was running after Il-gum, he arrived at an unknown mountain peak.
It was one of the numerous rock peaks on Wudang Mountain.
This was the abode of the Il-gum.
After retiring from the Wudang sect, he lived alone in a rock peak where there were few people.
There was a shabby house on one side of the rock.
Pyo-wol looked around with Soma on his back.
He felt a strong sense of dizziness that he couldn’t detect in the Wudang sect. This seemed to be the reason why Il-gum chose this place as his hiding place.
“Put him down on the bed.”
Pyo-wol put Soma down on a bed inside the house.
The wooden bed was made by Il-gum, and it was barely maintaining its shape.
Il-gum muttered as he checked Soma’s condition.
“The wolf’s hands are just as cruel as before. Tch! I should have killed him then. Anyway, what is this…”
Il-gum rolled up his sleeves as he murmured to himself.
He turned the unconscious Soma, making him lie flat with his face downwards.
Pyo-wol silently watched the monk’s actions.
He wondered about the red color on Il-gum’s finger, which he used to stab Soma on the back.
Puk! Puuk!
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