Rainwater seeped into his wound, and a throbbing pain washed over the wound.

But Chung Myung’s focus remained on Black Jackal.

Crack!

The distinct sound Black Jackal made when he moved.

“…I do not understand.”

Black Jackal slightly tilted his head to the side.

“Even a hefty bull would die from the drop of the poison I applied. Even if it was a shallow cut… you should have died?”

Three scratches were clearly marked on Chung Myung’s face. Enough time had passed for the poison to spread through his jaw. But there were no significant signs of Chung Myung being affected by the poison.

Right now, only the area around his cheek was turning black. By now, a normal person would have died, their entire body having turned black.

Of course, poisons didn’t work well on those who had a perfect understanding of the qi in their body. If such people could normally be defeated with poison, then he wouldn’t have even tried.

And his opponent was a young Taoist.

It was true that he was strong for someone his age, but with how recently he must have learned martial arts, he shouldn’t have already been able to subdue the poison.

“The more we fight, the more mysterious you become.”

Black Jackal reached out and rubbed his fingers on his blade.

Even as he touched it, blood dripped from his fingers, which were wrapped in bandages. He seemed to be unaffected by the poison, but the cut still stung.

Still, it didn’t work.

“Well, fine. If the poison isn’t working properly, I can just stab you in the stomach.”

As he smiled, Chung Myung just glared at him with cold eyes.

Actually, the poison, which had come in from the wounds on his cheek, was already spreading. It wasn’t difficult to burn the poison out of his system, but it was impossible to do in the middle of a fight.

Since the start of the fight, Black Jackal was aiming to delay Chung Myung, so he wouldn’t have time to recover.

In the past, when Chung Myung was the Plum Blossom Sword Saint, the poison wouldn’t have even bothered him. He would have just immediately pushed it out of his system. Even after being reborn, he experienced tremendous growth, growth he would never have imagined in his previous life.

Who was the Plum Blossom Sword Saint?

A swordsman who completed the sword techniques of Mount Hua and had even established his own martial art. The Plum Blossom Sword Saint was someone who had been acknowledged by the Heavenly Demon who shook the world.

It was a long way to go for Chung Myung, who hadn’t reached his past self yet.

He could feel the poison that remained in his open wound, poison that was slowly entering his face through it. For now, he did his best to keep it from spreading too quickly.

But.

‘This is fine.’

This poison wouldn’t be a big deal if he could defeat this guy. So he slowly began to move toward his opponent.

Kukuku.

His sword dragged on the floor, and his body began to speed up little by little, and soon he shot like a missile at Black Jackal.

In the blink of an eye, he closed the distance between himself and his opponent and swung his sword with lightning speed toward the head of his foe.

Kwaang!

The two blades clashed, and his sword was blocked.

The sword and metal claws collided, and the rain, which couldn’t handle the force, scattered in all directions.

Gagaga!

The sound of metal rubbing against metal.

Chung Myung’s eyes, burning with anger, and his opponent’s, filled with killing intent, collided.

“Huh!”

With a raspy breath, the claws tightened around Chung Myung’s Plum Blossom Sword, trying to break it. It was almost like he was a predator grabbing his prey, which in this case, was Chung Myung’s sword.

Kiiing!

Having caught the Plum Sword in his claws, Black Jackal smiled.

“I will not miss this…”

Puak!

But then, Chung Myung’s feet hit him in the stomach, and in an instant, his body was pushed back. But still, Black Jackal never let go of the sword.

Kakaka!

His claws scratched against the sword, and he fell down. The sword spilled away from the claws, freeing them both, and so he aimed for Chung Myung’s forearm.

Tat!

Chung Myung’s toes kicked the floor as he jumped back to widen the distance.

However, Black Jackal followed closely behind him. The closer he was to his opponent, the more damage he could confirm on them.

Kakak!

But then, a strange sound came from his outstretched claws.

Crack!

A small, double-headed blade underneath his claws dug into Chung Myung’s forearm, creating five holes.

Even Chung Myung, who had gone through all types of battles, was a bit shocked by this unexpected situation.

It wasn’t normal for him to suffer like this.

Thud!

He was too close to wield his sword.

But Chung Myung’s sword wasn’t all he had, so he swung his fist at his opponent.

Crack!

With the sound of bones being crushed, the bandaged face of Black Jackal caved in. His head was bent back a bit as if it would break. Red blood could be seen soaking through his bandages.

However, Black Jackal pushed his head back into place, almost as if he didn’t feel any pain, and pushed his claws further into Chung Myung’s arms.

Crack!

The claw finally pierced through and poked out from the other side of his arm.

“Kuak!”

A strange elated voice came from Black Jackal’s mouth. Chung Myung’s fist, clenched, hit him again.

Puak!

It was almost like an explosion had happened, as the body of Black Jackal bounced back. And at the same time, his claws were pulled out.

“…”

Throb!

Chung Myung stared at his punctured arm with a hardened face.

Black poison and blood gushed from the five holes, and the poison was making his arms tingle.

He infused internal qi to stop the poison from spreading further and tried to apply strength into his hand. Fortunately, he didn’t see a major wound forming there.

He bit his lip and regained his composure.

In the past, even an opponent with the most unusual weapons wouldn’t have shocked him. It wasn’t possible to immediately know whether the reason for this injury was because he was less than he was before or he had become complacent due to the peace on Mount Hua.

He tried to stop the bleeding, but it seemed like he had already lost a lot, and his vision became blurry.

At that time, Black Jackal, who had fallen to the ground, jumped back up.

“Huh.”

And he touched his face; the corners of his lips were soaked in blood. As he snapped his own neck to relieve the stiffness, he got back up.

“Ugh.”

He reached out to the bandages around his mouth and ripped them off. Severed pieces of tongue and broken teeth fell out.

“… if I weren’t protecting my head, it would have snapped right off.”

The tip of his tongue, or the lack thereof, made his pronunciation odd. But his eyes were now shining madly.

But Chung Myung had no intention of carrying on a conversation right now.

Pat!

He spurred the ground with his feet and dashed forward.

His sword trembled lightly, and red plum blossoms began to pour out.

Making of a River.

As the name suggested, plum blossoms gradually increased in number and soon turned into a river of blossoms. The plum blossoms that crossed the broken embankment rushed wildly, covering the place.

Black Jackal’s eyes widened in shock.

‘Is this a sight that can be accomplished with only a sword?’

He had dealt with so many swordsmen and killed many of them. But not once had he seen such a scene unfold in front of him.

Under the heavy rain, the river of plum blossoms moved for him. It was a sight that wasn’t just beautiful but royal.

However, within that royalty was a terrifying murderer. It was clear that the plum blossoms would come and crush everything.

And so he folded his knees. Black Jackal, who pinned his claws into the ground, lowered his stance until his knees were touching the ground. With bloodshot eyes, he watched the plum blossoms rush in.

“Phew!”

With a short breath, Black Jackal jumped forward.

The plum blossoms only continued to grow. If he tried to avoid them without a plan, he would get caught up and swept away.

So instead, run forward!

Which was why he lowered his body. Lifting his claws, he injected internal qi into them, and his skinny body began to spin.

Like a wounded beast swinging its claws, his hands moved violently as he moved for the plum blossoms.

And soon, Black Jackal moved into the river of plum blossoms. Black Jackal, who felt that everything in front of him was plum blossoms, let out a bizarre scream as he moved forward.

But the plum blossoms were sharp, and there were too many.

They just kept coming.

Even if they were dug away, more would come. Even if they were pushed away, more would come; they just kept coming for him.

No matter how much humans tried, they could never get away from this overflowing rain.

But…

“Kaaak!”

A sound like that of a howl rang out from his throat.

Before long, he slammed himself to the ground and lifted his body up again. This black form jumped over the plum blossoms and flew at Chung Myung.

Of course, that choice came with a heavy price.

Slash! Slash!

Black Jackal’s legs were swept by the river of plum blossoms and were bruised with numerous wounds. And it didn’t stop there, there was also the pain of being cut hundreds of times on his leg.

Black Jackal’s mouth was left open from the pain, but he didn’t scream. There was only a silent scream…

However, Black Jackal’s body didn’t stop, it only moved forward for Chung Myung.

His dark eyes were glistening with killing intent.

As if he had bet everything in this life on one goal, he moved at his opponent. Blood poured down his nose, and like a dam that had burst, tears of blood began to drip from his eyes.

“Haaaa!”

All the qi he could gather was radiating from the claws in either of his hands.

This man, with gigantic arms and frail legs, appeared like a hawk flying for its prey.

And he attacked Chung Myung…

Chung Myung’s eyes were focused on his plum blossoms.

“Dieee!”

His ten claws were opened wide on both sides as they made their way for Chung Myung.

Chung Myung lowered his body and jumped back lightly, retreating a little.

Right then!

Pung!

A small explosion caused Black Jackal’s bandage to burst! Four claws had ejected themselves from his hand.

They blocked Chung Myung’s retreat, but none of them had actually managed to tag him.

Blocked from retreating, Chung Myung stepped forward. After slightly twisting his body to avoid being hit, he swung his sword at the flying Black Jackal.

Kwak! Crush!

Even so, Black Jackal didn’t back down.

Dozens of holes were instantly poked into his body, yet he still moved forward. His claws exuded killing intent as they moved to stop Chung Myung’s movement.

“Kuak!”

If he continued to struggle here, then his body would be torn to pieces.

And Chung Myung rushed into the man.

Puak!

Chung Myung’s sword stabbed into his opponent’s stomach. As his claws had grown, the advantage he held within the short distance had disappeared. Now, whoever got close first would win.

At that crucial moment!

Hug.

The man hugged Chung Myung with his bony arms.

Crack!

Eventually, his own nails began to pierce his arms, and not Chung Myung’s. Chung Myung lifted his head with wide eyes.

Black Jackal laughed with blood dripping down his face.

‘Skeleton Arts.’

His arms, still holding onto Chung Myung, began to stiffen. Chung Myung tried to use his internal qi to push him away, but it was as if his body had turned to iron.

“Ack!”

Chung Myung stabbed his sword further into Black Jackal’s stomach, causing the contents of his stomach to fall out. But even so, his arms never budged.

“No, no! Kuak.”

Even as he puked blood, Black Jackal smiled with joy as he said,

“Now! Kill him!”

Paat!

Something hiding on the ground soared high, and black shadows moved for Chung Myung.

The last remaining member, who had been hiding below the ground until now, fired up like a cannon at the command of their captain.

Swish!

Their body was covered in a black haze.

And Chung Myung, who saw them, turned his head as he could see the sword coming for his heart.

“Die!”

Chung Myung’s eyes shone blue.

The thought was brief, and the decision was made right away.

Crack!

He lowered his head and bit the neck of the Black Jackal, and a handful of flesh was ripped off as blood began to drip down Black Jackal’s shoulder.

“Kuak.”

Taking advantage of this moment when the grip around his body loosened, Chung Myung…

Thud!

Pushing forward, Black Jackal’s chest caved in, leaving enough room for Chung Myung to swing his sword.

Chaak!

Chung Myung pulled his sword out and cut off the arms restraining him and pushing them away, giving him room to maneuver.

Seeing what Chung Myung did, the eyes of the member widened.

‘Ah. No…’

Chaaak!

The sword was swung, and another opponent lost their life.

Thud!

The body split in half and fell down.

“…euk.”

Chung Myung let out a rough breath and grabbed his pierced arm, approaching the fallen Black Jackal.

Step.

With his limbs cut off, Black Jackal was no threat now, and Chung Myung aimed his sword at the throat of his fallen opponent.

“… you shouldn’t have climbed Mount Hua.”

The light quickly went out of his eyes.

However, the remaining emotions in his eyes were not of fear, but of doubt.

“…how?”

Blood was flowing down his mouth as he spoke.

“Why didn’t the ambush….”

It was then…

Drop!

Three heads rolled on the ground, making him turn his head toward the noise.

“… the one who found them.”

A woman’s voice.

Yu Yiseol limped out of the forest with her uniform soaked with blood.

“…Sago? Sago, why…”

Yu Yiseol looked at Chung Myung with her usual expression, but she just pointed to the opponent at the end of Chung Myung’s sword.

Chung Myung nodded and looked at his opponent. His venomous eyes met Chung Myung’s cold gaze.

Puak!

And Chung Myung’s sword cleanly pierced through his neck.

His body trembled and slumped. His eyes were still full of doubt as his last breath left him.

Chung Myung pulled his sword out and looked at Yu Yiseol.

“…why did you come here?”

“You call me Sago.”

In the pouring rain, Yu Yiseol said,

“Sago needs to look after her sajil.”

“…”

Chung Myung sighed as he looked at her.

“The wounds? Was it poisonous?”

“They were different ones.”

“… I see.”

It seemed like a lot of troops were put here for an ambush.

If Chung Myung considered who was the most dangerous among the Black Swan Troop, then it had to be this one.

This last-minute ambush would have been difficult if it had worked.

He looked down at Black Jackal before raising his head.

“Let’s go back. We need to clean Mount Hua.”

“Yes.”

Chung Myung and Yu Yiseol flew toward Mount Hua.