Chapter 86

The ones most surprised by the current situation were, of course, the leader and the guards of Mingjin Escort Agency who had been called out.

'What on earth is this about?'

'The cargo was stolen?'

They were simply bewildered.

After all, they had been executing their best strategy at that very moment.

They had watched the Huangluo Escort Agency sweep through the Qinghua Escort Agency and then attack the Baoyun Escort Agency, and in response, they had firmly locked their doors and focused on defense.

-At the moment Baoyun Escort Agency falls, we will attack the Xinguan Escort Agency. Then we can aim for at least second place!

They had cunningly aimed to profit from the chaos.

They had conceded the first place to the overwhelmingly powerful Huangluo Escort Agency and planned to take second place after bringing down the Xinguan Escort Agency.

Everything had been going smoothly, but suddenly, what was this official babbling about?

At that moment, the leader of Mingjin Escort Agency burst out in anger.

"Hey! Who said the cargo was stolen...!"

But as he turned to look at the tent where the cargo was stored, his eyes widened to the point of nearly popping out. The words he was about to say were swallowed back into his mouth.

'What, what is this?'

The door of the tent, which had been clearly closed, was now wide open.

And.

"Y-You?"

A man with a familiar face stood boldly in front of the tent.

None other than the leader of Baoyun Escort Agency, Youshin Yun.

The official's words were not a lie.

Indeed, that rascal had successfully infiltrated their ranks.

'When did he infiltrate?'

The leader of Mingjin Escort Agency tried to find an answer amidst the chaos in his mind.

But no matter how much he thought, nothing made sense.

'...This is absurd! He was clearly in the middle of their camp when the exam started. If he had escaped from that thoroughly sealed formation, he would have been seen by everyone.'

Just as he was overwhelmed by the shock.

'Wait, that's it!'

Something caught the leader's eye.

Dozens of paper scraps were fluttering in the wind, stuck between Youshin Yun's fingers.

Realizing the nature of the paper, the guards of Mingjin Escort Agency began to frantically check their backs, their faces filled with confusion.

"What? My, my name tag!"

"It's impossible!"

Indeed, what Youshin Yun held in his hand were their name tags.

Their backs were completely empty.

Looking at the dumbfounded faces of the guards of Mingjin Escort Agency.

"You didn't do anything, did you?"

At that moment, Youshin Yun delivered a scathing remark.

With that, the calm of Mingjin Escort Agency was shattered, and they were at a loss for what to do.

Then, the official, who had been watching, shouted in a loud voice.

"Any escort agency that has had their cargo stolen and is eliminated must immediately withdraw all their troops from the exam area!"

In response to the cold and stern words of the official, the leader of Mingjin Escort Agency began to protest.

"This is a, foul play! What kind of trick did this guy use? I can't accept it!"

However, the look in Youshin Yun's eyes as he looked at the leader of Mingjin Escort Agency was one of utter disdain, as if he were looking at a bug.

"Yeah, keep whining like a child until the end."

With that, Youshin Yun turned away as if he had finished his business.

"Where are you going!"

The leader of Mingjin Escort Agency, in a panic, reached out to grab Youshin Yun's shoulder, but...

Swoosh.

"Ah!"

...he only grasped at thin air.

An unbelievable scene unfolded.

"It, it disappeared!"

Right before everyone's eyes, Youshin Yun vanished without a trace.

Seeing this, the guards of Xinguan Escort Agency, who were the next target, began to shout loudly.

"It's the Concealment Technique! The leader of Baoyun Escort Agency is using the Concealment Technique!"

"Everyone, expand your senses and thoroughly check your surroundings!"

The Concealment Technique, one of the martial arts techniques, was a skill that used special internal energy to completely hide one's appearance.

However, even though the guards of Xinguan Escort Agency had identified the nature of the power Youshin Yun was using, they could not hide their astonishment.

'No, to disappear like a mist in front of everyone...'

'Swallow! If this level of Concealment Technique... '

'...is the highest level I've only heard about.'

The level of Concealment Technique Youshin Yun was using was unbelievably advanced.

A typical Concealment Technique, even when mastered, could only hide one's body in the darkness of a deep night.

But to disappear in broad daylight, right in front of everyone...

Such an unbelievable level of Concealment Technique was only possible for legendary thieves like Wu Ying Shen Tou (Invisible Divine Thief) in the martial arts world.

"Ah! Your name tag!"

"Damn! He's already infiltrated! Protect each other's name tags!"

Once again, cries of alarm echoed among the guards of Xinguan Escort Agency.

Far away, in the exotic land of the West, Youshin Yun was sweeping through the name tags of the guards like a chameleon, blending into the surroundings.

However, contrary to everyone's expectations, Youshin Yun had never learned the Concealment Technique. He possessed a similar ability but with even more advanced effects.

It was called 'Shadow Concealment.'

[Shadow Concealment]

Level: S+

Proficiency: 6.1%

Visible but unseen.

Reduce your presence to the extreme, becoming one with the shadows.

-While the skill is active, you become invisible to others, and your movement speed greatly increases.

-If you are attacked or attack, the concealment state is canceled.

Originally, Shadow Concealment was a highly useful but difficult skill to use.

This was because the concealment state was forcibly canceled when attacked, and even the slightest touch was considered an attack.

'Easy, easy.'

But Youshin Yun, moving at incredible speed through the dense crowd of guards, did not allow any contact.

As Youshin Yun's actions threw the Xinguan Escort Agency into chaos, Dou Achil's face showed unmistakable anxiety and restlessness.

'Damn it!'

That scoundrel had taken the cargo of Mingjin Escort Agency.

It was completely unexpected.

'Following external skills, now the Concealment Technique. He must have learned all kinds of miscellaneous skills!'

Dou Achil focused his internal energy in his eyes, trying to spot Youshin Yun, but he was like a ghost, completely invisible.

Thump! Thump!

Suddenly, his heart began to race.

Why?

An inexplicable sense of unease was rising in his mind.

'No! Who am I, Dou Achil, to be afraid of anyone!'

But Dou Achil, trying to deny this, shouted fiercely at his subordinates, who were trembling in fear.

"You idiots! Destroy them now!"

As Dou Achil emitted a killing aura, his subordinates broke out in cold sweat.

'Damn it, let me try.'

'What do you want us to do when we can't even see him!'

But they were in a dire situation. No matter how they fought, there was no solution.

First, the vanguard of the Huangluo Escort Agency, who were fighting on the front lines, was being completely overwhelmed.

Boom! Bang!

With a huge explosion, An Hui, the leader of the Huangluo Escort Agency, knelt on one knee.

"Ugh!"

His body was trembling like a leaf.

'Just a few months ago, I was clearly at a higher level...'

An Hui's eyes saw the figure who had knocked him down in less than ten seconds.

"To touch the cargo, you must first cut off my head."

A tiger's roar, with fire in his eyes.

Whenever Dao Jinwu, who had reached the peak of mastery, unleashed the Fengpa Shiba Jian, screams echoed loudly from the camp of the Huangluo Escort Agency.

The Huangluo Escort Agency, though vastly outnumbering the Baoyun Escort Agency, had only a top-level expert. The supreme experts were from the invited Jiulong Hall and Huangshan Sect.

Dou Achil was paying the price for dismissing the claim that Dao Jinwu was a supreme expert.

Although Dou Achil had belatedly gathered all the peak experts to face Dao Jinwu, the efforts of Zhutai and Tang Hailin, who were providing cover, made it difficult.

'This won't do! If this continues, we might as well...'

"Deal with the experts later and sweep through the regular guards first!"

Dou Achil quickly changed his plan.

After all, removing the name tags of regular guards would give the same points.

As soon as Dou Achil finished speaking, the peak experts of the Huangluo Escort Agency, who were facing Dao Jinwu, left a minimal number of people and rushed to the formation of the regular guards.

"Die!"

A man, spotting a weakness, leaped and fiercely struck down with his sword.

Just as the new guard was filled with fear.

Clang!

Instead of the sound of a cut, a huge metallic sound echoed.

The moment the sword was about to strike, something large suddenly blocked it, nullifying the attack.

"Ugh!"

The man, staggering back, massaged his aching hand.

"Thank you."

To the new guard, whose face had turned pale, a low voice spoke.

"Fall back."

It was none other than Zhutai.

In his hand was a round shield.

-Your claim that a one-armed person can fight equally with a two-armed opponent is all a lie. ...But if you are willing to change your 'way,' I can teach you an invincible martial art.

'This must be the invincible martial art you spoke of.'

Zhutai recalled Youshin Yun's words.

What Youshin Yun had taught Zhutai was the supreme martial art Tianfang Gantou, obtained from Xuewu Valley.

Tianfang Gantou was a unique martial art that used a shield.

Since it was specialized in perfect defense, Zhutai, despite being one-armed, could achieve the same level of success without any difficulty.

However, Zhutai was not the only one from the Zhengyun Pavilion who was protecting the regular guards and performing well.

Clank! Clank!

"What, what is this?"

"I, I can't move!"

Suddenly, the ground and the ankles of the guards of the Huangluo Escort Agency froze.

Ding! Thud! Clang!

Suddenly, a mournful sound of a pipa began to echo in the arena.

As those trying to free their frozen feet struggled, their pupils gradually became blurry due to the pipa sound.

"Aaaah!"

"Save me! Please save me!"

Eventually, they were thrown into chaos, screaming.

Inside the formation of the Baoyun Escort Agency, Ma Le was touching the ground with both hands, and Hong Lian was playing the pipa.

Swoosh!

Thud! Thud!

With the sound of air being torn, arrows began to pierce the necks of the Huangluo Escort Agency guards, whose movements were sealed.

"Ugh!"

"Ugh!"

They all spat blood from their mouths and died standing up.

Ma Le used the Bing Bai Gui Yin Gong, which had been transformed into a righteous technique by Youshin Yun, to freeze the guards' feet.

Hong Lian used the sound technique of Gui Ming Gongzi to amplify the chaos.

Huang Lao aimed for the vital points and pulled the bowstring.

Their nearly perfect coordinated attack prevented the Huangluo Escort Agency from breaking through the formation of the Baoyun Escort Agency.

And a moment later.

"The Baoyun Escort Agency has stolen the cargo of the Xinguan Escort Agency!"

The official announced that Youshin Yun had subdued the second escort agency.

Youshin Yun, reappearing, dusted off his hands and turned his head toward the Baoyun