Chapter 54: Gate of Assassins (2)

A short step back in time.

Before the regression.

Deep within the mountains where no human footprints remained.

“Huff, huuh.”

Sewoon and the Assassin stood face-to-face after an intense round of training.

Both gripped the same paired weapons, the Twin Daggers, yet everything else about them was in stark contrast.

Sewoon, hair in disarray and drenched in sweat, was gasping for breath as if it would choke him. The Assassin, however, remained perfectly composed, without a single scratch, brimming with leisure.

But now—

“Ha, this is just absurd.”

The one grumbling with displeasure was none other than the Assassin.

Having retrieved the Demonic Twin Fangs, one of the Ten Demonic Weapons, he shook his head at Sewoon.

“No, how long has it even been since you learned it, and you’ve already pushed One Point Kill to seventy percent mastery?”

For the speed at which Sewoon’s One Point Kill improved was nothing short of ridiculous.

Even faster than when Nameless himself had trained within the Gate of Assassins.

“Click, even if the teacher is outstanding, this leaves me feeling a little deprived, you know.”

“…It must be because that ‘bastard’ fully opened my Upper Dantian. They say one’s potential explodes once the Upper Dantian is unlocked.”

Sewoon wiped the sweat from his forehead and replied as if it were nothing.

Of course, that “bastard” referred to the Blood Demon.

Around this time, as his Reverse Heaven Qi improved, all of his other martial arts had been rising rapidly as well.

But the Assassin shook his head.

“No, that’s not the case.”

“…What?”

“Just opening the Upper Dantian could never bring about this much. Those lunatics of the Heaven-Piercing Sect, who forcibly open the Upper Dantian through Human Sacrifice, never reach this level, do they?”

“…!”

Heaven-Piercing Sect.

The largest unorthodox force, one of the Five Evils, with the Hall of Ten Thousand Demons where all spellcasters of the Central Plains gathered.

Since the Assassin’s killings did not discriminate between orthodox and unorthodox, he must have infiltrated Heaven-Piercing Sect for an assassination before.

At any rate, the Assassin tilted his head and continued.

“It’s more like something long suppressed is suddenly exploding out all at once. Hmmm, perhaps that so-called Heavenly Punishment you were born with isn’t actually a curse at all…!”

“Enough with the pointless nonsense. If you’re rested, let’s continue.”

Sewoon once again raised his Twin Daggers into the starting stance.

In the Assassin’s eyes, a spark of admiration and competitive spirit appeared at the sight.

Though they were friends, they were also like senior and junior martial brothers.

“Well, you sure do enjoy being beaten down. Quite the peculiar taste, my friend.”

“…This time will be different.”

“Hehe, will it, now?”

Pabat!

As Sewoon dashed forward with explosive steps—

‘This time I’ll hit you with something new,’ the Assassin’s voice rang in his ears.

Fwoosh!

Suddenly, flames erupted from the Assassin’s hands.

“This was the martial art I ‘stole’ during my very first kill. Its name is…”

‘Extreme Flame Radiance.’

The moment Sewoon saw the living flames burning in Nameless’s hands, he instantly recognized the martial art the Assassin had brought forth as a counter to the Thousand Silk Technique.

It was the Demonic Art obtained by Dan Huisho, the Vice-Lord of the Southern Sea Sun Palace, through a miraculous encounter—what drove him to challenge for the throne of the Sun Palace.

The very same demonic art that had compelled the Sun Palace Lord himself to request an assassination from the Gate of Assassins, was now being wielded by Nameless.

The reason the Assassin had been able to infiltrate the Tang Clan and impersonate Jang Yi so flawlessly was not merely due to the Human-Skin Mask or masterful Voice-Altering Technique.

It was because he had perfectly reproduced the martial arts Jang Yi practiced.

Indeed.

What the Assassin stole was never just his target’s life.

‘A being who can replicate any martial art just by seeing it, and eventually make it fully his own.’

A talent in martial arts acknowledged even by the Blood Demon.

Nameless, the Assassin, was the owner of the Heavenly Martial Physique—hailed as the best innate body under heaven.

“You really don’t have time to relax like that!”

At that moment, Nameless spat sharp words as he charged Sewoon.

Fwoosh!

Before he knew it, the ferocious flames of Extreme Flame Radiance engulfed his arms up to the shoulders.

Instantly, Sewoon, who had been tracking Nameless’s movements with his eyes, moved his ten fingers like plucking the strings of a zither.

Shaa!

Ten waves of black silk surged like crashing tides, engulfing Nameless’s body.

For a moment, his body seemed about to be shredded into dozens of pieces.

‘Hooh, impressive.’

Instead of evading, Nameless’s eyes lit up as if satisfied upon confirming Sewoon’s hidden strength.

Rather than avoiding, he hurled himself into the waves of cutting threads.

And just before those blade-like strands could touch him—

Thud!

He stamped his foot heavily and soared high into the air.

Rumble!

A shockwave of blistering heat blasted forth as he rose, sweeping away the threads surging toward him.

“!!”

As Sewoon’s face revealed surprise—

Whirrr!

Nameless spun in the air like a whirlwind.

‘Flame Scales.’

The internal flow of qi, exactly the same as the Flame Revolving Fist of the Sun Palace, which had once been completely analyzed and dismantled, now coursed through Nameless’s meridians.

Fwoosh!

Boom!

This time, ten blazing spheres of fire were unleashed from both of Nameless’s hands like arrows.

Ssshh!

The flames shot forth like living vipers, racing along the strands of the Thousand Silk Technique toward their master.

It was a feat difficult to believe even when witnessed.

Known for its violent and explosive nature, controlling this qi with delicate precision was said to be nearly impossible. Yet Nameless wielded it flawlessly.

The Flame Scales, the essence of Extreme Flame Radiance, was a lethal strike capable of intercepting enemies at range like a bow art.

Sewoon quickly severed the threads connected to himself, but—

Swae-ek!

“-!!”

The ten Flame Scales that had already traveled along the Thousand Silk strands reached right before his eyes.

Fwoosh!

They were about to sink their venomous fangs into Sewoon’s body from all directions.

Startled, Sewoon pulled his body back and immediately stepped into movement arts to evade the assault.

But—

‘Too late.’

Nameless sneered as he witnessed the attempt.

Escape was impossible.

The reason was simple.

He had already anticipated every possible route of evasion and fired the Flame Scales in advance to block them.

No matter what Sewoon did, at least one of the flames would scorch one of his limbs.

Chachang!

“!!”

But unfortunately for Nameless, the outcome he predicted did not unfold.

Sewoon made a completely unexpected move.

‘Oh? Look at this brat.’

Abandoning the silk, Sewoon had drawn his Twin Daggers.

The retreat was not an attempt to evade.

Swae-ek!

With a sharp tearing of the air,

Sewoon thrust One Point Kill directly into the Flame Scales that had approached.

He was attempting to shatter the flames themselves.

In theory, it was possible.

One Point Kill collided the energy of two crossed blades, unleashing the immense explosive force upon the enemy.

That destructive force was enough to annihilate any opponent whose power did not exceed his own.

‘Pointless struggle.’

But the surprise lasted only briefly.

Nameless concluded it was nothing but desperate thrashing.

For the conditions required to turn theory into reality were extremely demanding.

‘To erase my Flame Scales would require at least forty years of accumulated inner qi. On top of that, One Point Kill must be at least at eighty percent mastery…’

Pupupung!

“!!”

A massive explosion erupted.

Right before Nameless’s eyes, the Flame Scales struck by Sewoon’s One Point Kill were scattering weakly.

Wooong!

Innate True Qi.

The qi that only manifested when a martial artist burned his own life force was rippling from Sewoon’s Twin Daggers.

Pupupung!

Another Flame Scale burst apart.

For the first time, emotion flickered in Nameless’s eyes, eyes that had always maintained calm no matter the circumstance.

And it was inevitable.

‘Ninth level…?’

The depth of enlightenment contained in Sewoon’s One Point Kill, the level of its mastery—

Was unmistakably higher than his own.

The moment Nameless confirmed this, a cold realization sank into his mind.

The game was over.

‘Suppress him and uncover everything.’

Paat!

Kwa-ga-ga!

Nameless’s figure, wreathed in Extreme Flame Radiance stronger than ever before, lunged forward.

“-!!”

As Sewoon shattered the Flame Scales, he was caught off guard by the sudden close-range charge, unable to mount proper defense.

Until now, Nameless had shown Extreme Flame Radiance only as a long-range intercepting art. But that had been his deception.

It was precisely to exploit this moment of carelessness and close the gap in an instant.

Chuk!

Nameless seized Sewoon’s right wrist the moment he closed in.

And at the same time—

Fwoosh!

The flames of Extreme Flame Radiance devoured Sewoon’s right arm, exactly as Nameless had intended.

“Kuagh!”

Sewoon writhed in agony, groaning—

“—Or did you really think I would?”

“!!”

In an instant, his expression twisted like a clown’s mask.

The screaming agony vanished, replaced by a chilling sneer.

‘A trap…!’

Goosebumps rose on Nameless’s skin.

He realized he was mistaken.

It was not Sewoon who had been caught in a trap.

Shaa!

It was himself.

Whirrr!

The silk strands that had been lying limply on the ground suddenly reeled back at tremendous speed.

They wrapped around Sewoon’s wrist and, along with it, the Assassin’s hand gripping it—like shackles binding them together.

“Kh!”

This time, Nameless grunted under pressure.

Ssshhhk!

A massive hiss of steam rose as the flames of Extreme Flame Radiance were snuffed out.

The fire consuming Sewoon’s arm had been extinguished in an instant.

‘What?!’

Nameless could not hide his shock.

For from the black silk coiling around his arm surged an unfamiliar, chilling Yin energy.

Ssshh!

Nameless poured more qi to break free, but the completely bound black silk would not budge.

At that moment, Sewoon’s eyes glinted coldly.

“Stop your pathetic struggling.”

“…!”

Swae-ek!

Another slicing sound rang.

One of the black threads shot out, snaring a dagger that had been lying on the ground, and came flying back.

‘That must be stopped—!’

Paat!

Nameless swung his free hand desperately.

A Flame Fist shot forth to deflect the incoming blade.

Chuk!

‘…??’

But before it could even reach him, the dagger halted in midair.

What was this?

As Nameless stood bewildered, Sewoon spoke unexpected words.

“What are you doing, not taking it?”

“…!”

The dagger was not meant to strike.

Rather, the opponent was generously handing him back his own weapon.

For the first time, Nameless was being thoroughly toyed with by his target’s intent.

“Now then, let’s decide who the true successor of the Gate of Assassins is.”

“-!!”

From Sewoon’s lips came words even more shocking.

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