Chapter 38

Clang!

Boom!

Kang Tae-ha's body was expelled from the water barrier.

He shuddered, his face pale as snow.

As soon as he returned to the mental world, the aftereffects of pushing his mind to the limit in Yoo Shin-won's memories hit him all at once.

His complexion did not improve easily.

The memories of living as a monster for five years, devoid of his will, were not something he could easily get over.

If he were an ordinary person, he would have gone mad from the alien sensation, as if insects were crawling in his head.

However, even in such extreme conditions, Yoo Shin-won astonishingly did not even let out a small groan.

He had no time to focus on such pain.

He clung to his consciousness and endlessly recited countless people and events in his mind.

The content was none other than what Yoo Shin-won, as a ginger spirit, had done while shedding tears of blood.

"…The youngest noble lady of the clan has gone missing. One year later, the Xiaohu Blood Incident. One year and two months later…"

These were the massacres of the Blood Sect.

He was reciting the large and small events he had secretly overheard, in chronological order.

In the midst of this, his thoughts occasionally escaped his lips, sounding much like a high monk reciting Buddhist scriptures.

His heart, which had been raging with anger and murderous intent, gradually began to cool down.

Soon, calmness returned to Kang Tae-ha's eyes.

He swallowed and spoke.

"…They were even more insane than I thought."

The terrifying scene of the world being covered in flames and blood still lingered in his mind.

He had thought that a group using the power of monsters would not be normal.

But he had never expected that they were a group of fanatics with the absurd goal of bringing about the end of the world under the guise of purification.

They had a more solid organizational structure than he had anticipated and possessed power that surpassed imagination.

Kang Tae-ha slowly turned his head.

He saw Yoo Shin-won looking at him with a strange expression.

Their eyes met, and the final moment came to mind.

The scene of Yoo Shin-won breaking the seal and charging fiercely was vivid.

The superlative movement technique that folded space, the overwhelming demonic aura, and the natural energy contained in his sword.

'This is undoubtedly a martial art at a level higher than the Transformation Realm. It must have been at the Manifestation Realm, or even higher.'

It was hard to believe that a mere zombie possessed the power of the Manifestation Realm.

However, Kang Tae-ha had felt the energy within his body, leaving no room for doubt.

But incredibly, even with such great power, he could not inflict even a speck of damage on the Blood Sect leader.

He only managed to break part of the mask.

The Blood Sect leader did not use even 30% of his power until the last moment.

The Blood Sect leader possessed such absolute power.

'Could I have defeated the Blood Sect leader in my past life?'

This thought naturally came to mind.

But the contemplation did not last long. No matter how he thought about it, there was only one conclusion.

It was a definite defeat.

It was inevitable.

The power Yoo Shin-won possessed as a ginger spirit was almost identical to the SSS-grade spirit master power he had achieved in his past life.

Moreover, when he faced the Blood Sect leader's eyes through the broken mask, Kang Tae-ha realized one fact.

'The guy was a completely different being.'

The Blood Sect leader had transformed into an 'existence' that went beyond being a monster or a human.

It was a hopeless situation.

At that moment, Yoo Shin-won, who had been observing Kang Tae-ha's reaction, spoke heavily.

- …It is not shameful to yield to fear. You can now think only of your own safety.

Kang Tae-ha listened quietly, then frowned and said.

"What are you talking about, you?"

- …?

"Who is yielding to fear? And."

Yoo Shin-won, who was bewildered, saw Kang Tae-ha lift one corner of his mouth in an enigmatic smile.

"Fear is something they should feel from me now."

Of course, he was not as strong now as he was in his past life.

But he had gained a new power, martial arts, and through it, he was continuously surpassing his past life's growth rate.

He was confident.

Over the five years, he would reach a level higher than the Blood Sect leader.

And he already possessed the strength to endure that time.

The memories of the future he had obtained through mental projection.

Though not perfect, he knew about the next five years.

Using this as a clue, he could continue to chase the Blood Sect, continuously hindering and delaying their plans.

Moreover, Yoo Shin-won was used as an assassin to eliminate those who were the greatest obstacles to the Blood Sect's grand plan.

In other words.

The victims he had in his mind were those who had not fallen to the Blood Sect or were the greatest obstacles.

'If I can move one step ahead of the Blood Sect and prevent their sacrifices, and unite them!'

He was confident that he could change the course of history.

Yoo Shin-won, seeing Kang Tae-ha's confident appearance, thought.

'As expected…'

His heart, which had stopped, began to beat wildly.

He wanted to place a small hope in him.

Yoo Shin-won approached Kang Tae-ha with a small smile on his face.

Swoosh.

Then he gently placed his hand on Kang Tae-ha's shoulder.

- I will entrust everything to you. Please take care. …Yea.

Kang Tae-ha, bewildered by Yoo Shin-won's incomprehensible words, was suddenly interrupted.

Whoosh!

Yoo Shin-won's body began to transform into a cluster of white light, which started to seep into Kang Tae-ha's body.

'This is!'

Kang Tae-ha's eyes widened.

He finally realized what Yoo Shin-won was doing.

He was offering the last fragment of his soul to him.

The guilt over the people who died by his sword.

The sorrow over his father, who was poisoned by his brother.

The frustration over not being able to complete his final revenge.

As their souls merged, all of Yoo Shin-won's memories and emotions were transmitted to Kang Tae-ha.

And finally.

Kang Tae-ha, who had embraced Yoo Shin-won.

Yoo Shin-won, who had accepted Kang Tae-ha.

Opened his eyes in the real world, having escaped the mental world.

'Now, rest well.'

He had successfully accepted the memories and souls of both.

The first thing to greet him was.

[The soul fusion has been completed.]

[Hidden conditions have been met.]

[As a reward, the bone, 'Post-Heaven Immortal Bone,' has evolved.]

[You have obtained the bone, 'Heaven-Defying Body.']

[You have obtained a small amount of natural energy.]

[You have obtained the hidden quest, 'Chaser of Chaos.']

[You have obtained the new title, 'Chaos Tracker.']

These were system messages containing unknown content.

Part 2

Quests are tasks given to players through the interface system, promoting growth through rewards upon completion.

[Chaser of Chaos]

Level: ?

Clear Conditions: ?

Content: ?

Reward: ?

However, no matter how he searched his past life's memories, there had never been a quest that provided no information.

The mysterious quest, full of question marks, was confusing, but Yoo Shin-won was not shaken.

'In the end, everything will naturally become clear as I chase the Blood Sect. And…'

One thing was clear, even without information. 'Chaos' referred to the Blood Sect.

'Now, it begins.'

Yoo Shin-won's eyes shone with determination. It was the moment he was about to start a life-or-death battle with the Blood Sect.

It was not out of a sense of heroism or justice.

It was to survive and protect those who followed him.

He realized that his conclusion that the people of the White Cloud Escort Agency were safe from the Blood Sect's target was overly optimistic.

'…These guys will never give up on those who have ruined their grand plan. Everyone in the White Cloud Escort Agency is now a target for elimination by the Blood Sect.'

Wang San, Do Jin-woo, Luo Da-xiong.

And countless subordinates and escorts. If he did not step forward, they would undoubtedly meet a tragic end.

The scene of the final day, with a mountain of corpses, flashed before his eyes.

He clenched his fist tightly.

'I will not let that happen.'

With this resolve, Yoo Shin-won fell into deep thought about his next steps.

- We have been called by many names over countless long periods, trying to purify the world. But every time we were about to succeed, unexpected troublemakers appeared and ruined our great cause.

- Tsk, so we established a new grand plan. We decided to infiltrate them like a slow-acting poison.

- …And now, Zhengshama, we are everywhere.

These were the words Guo Zhushan had casually mentioned.

The Blood Sect had meticulously infiltrated spies into all major forces over a long period.

They had worked for generations to avoid suspicion and thoroughly carried out their plans.

And finally.

The Blood Sect's leaders had taken root in the eight major forces known as the central forces.

These leaders were the Eight Ling Lords.

'The eight guys in masks.'

Yoo Shin-won recalled the eight figures who had knelt to the Blood Sect leader.

'Now, I don't even know the location of where the Blood Sect leader is. So, I need to focus on them.'

Like the Blood Sect leader, their identities were unknown due to their masks and black robes.

However, there was one person.

'Tai Ling Lord.'

He knew his identity.

Because he was the lord Guo Zhushan followed, he occasionally appeared where Yoo Shin-won was stationed.

Later, he removed his guard, took off his black robe and mask, and revealed his true identity.

And.

The moment he removed his mask, Yoo Shin-won recognized him at first glance.

He could not help it.

'An existence that a martial artist in Zhejiang Province could never fail to know.'

A man who had ruled Zhejiang Province for decades, the leader of an unchallenged powerful evil force, and the master of Hangzhou's night.

The Nine Dragon Gang Lord, Black Heaven Tyrant Blade, Yan Tian-shi!

He was the true identity of the Tai Ling Lord.

It was unbelievable.

Starting from the bottom of the Nine Dragon Gang and finally reaching the position of gang lord.

For over 20 years, Yan Tian-shi had dominated Zhejiang without any challenge.

The Nine Dragon Gang was a far more powerful martial force than the White Cloud Escort Agency.

Even if the White Cloud Escort Agency fought against just one of the nine forces of the Nine Dragon Gang, it would not stand a chance.

When the Martial Alliance established branches in each province, the incident where the Nine Dragon Gang's permission was sought in Zhejiang Province was still talked about.

However, despite the fact that the first opponent he had to face was the biggest figure in his province, Yoo Shin-won did not seem worried at all.

In fact, he was secretly rejoicing.

'Good. I don't have to go far outside the city to deal with him.'

However, he did not plan to kill Yan Tian-shi immediately.

He did not know Yan Tian-shi's realm, and.

He had just managed to slightly reduce the Blood Sect's attention and was in a position of submission. If he were to be caught, the White Cloud Escort Agency would suffer greatly.

Recalling this, Yoo Shin-won's eyes sharpened.

'…Ultimately, not only I but everyone in the White Cloud Escort Agency must become stronger.'

He made a decision.

He would make it happen.

'The agency is not enough. I need to establish a clan.'

A powerful and strong force that could stand up to the Blood Sect and win, not just the Nine Dragon Gang.

'Then, first…'

Just as Yoo Shin-won was about to check his newly acquired powers.

Tap, tap, tap!

'Hmm?'

Yoo Shin-won turned his head at the sudden noise.

The sound of hurried footsteps was echoing outside the Thunder Cloud Hall.

Someone was rushing towards the Thunder Cloud Hall at full speed.

Tap!

As the mysterious person stopped sprinting in front of the door.

Clank!

The Skeleton Knights guarding outside drew their weapons.

"Ah!"

A loud gasp from Wang San echoed outside the door.

'What's going on?'

Yoo Shin-won tilted his head.

It was much earlier than the usual time when Wang San would come to wake him up.

"Do, Do-yeon-nim! You need to cough urgently! Something big has happened!"

Wang San's urgent voice was heard.

Martial Clan, Past Life Ranker