novelraw Chapter 418 : Three Great Secret Sects
Chapter 418 : Three Great Secret Sects
Chapter 418: Three Great Secret Sects
Outside the medical building, a new phase was unfolding.
The masked man who had suddenly appeared was now engaging Second Young Master in place of Elder Masa and Deung Hwaun, while Jong Seok, who had been fighting Third Young Master alone, was now attacking in tandem with Deung Hwaun.
Here’s what had happened.
Elder Masa and Deung Hwaun had charged toward Second Young Master, prepared to die in mutual destruction. However, as time passed, they were once again pushed into a defensive position.
Amid that struggle, Second Young Master exploited an opening in Deung Hwaun's guard, and Elder Masa took the blow in her place, sustaining an injury.
It wasn’t a critical wound, but it worsened the already unfavorable situation.
That was when the masked man appeared—the same one now facing Second Young Master alone.
He had suddenly appeared and took on Second Young Master, who had been cornering both Elder Masa and Deung Hwaun.
Using that window, Elder Masa retreated into the formation to treat her internal injuries, and Deung Hwaun joined forces with Jong Seok to assault Third Young Master.
Elder Masa, watching the masked man's swordsmanship, felt a sense of familiarity, as though she had seen it many times before.
Though the man had completely covered his face, something about his eyes seemed familiar.
‘Who is he?’
While Elder Masa drifted in thought, the battle between Third Young Master and Jong Seok neared its climax.
“Die!”
Third Young Master roared in rage, frustrated that he couldn’t shake off Deung Hwaun and Jong Seok as easily as he expected.
When he threw his chakram, Jong Seok quickly moved in front of Deung Hwaun and infused qi into both his hands.
Third Young Master had used a chakram, and his weapon was made of an uncommon material that didn’t get scratched even by blades.
Sensing that Third Young Master was attempting to end the battle with a signature ultimate technique, Jong Seok mustered all his inner strength.
Second Young Master glanced at his younger brother, then turned away.
He didn’t believe that Deung Hwaun or Jong Seok could withstand his younger brother’s ultimate technique.
‘My little brother’s technique is One Wheel, Three Kills. I’ve yet to see anyone survive it.’
It was so exquisitely executed that even if one saw it coming, they couldn’t dodge it. Many masters had lost their heads and limbs to it.
Jong Seok felt the chakram flying at him blur and flicker like a flash of light.
At that moment, he realized there wasn’t just one chakram being thrown by Third Young Master.
‘So they split into two.’
That was the secret of One Wheel, Three Kills. People assumed there was only one chakram and failed to notice the second.
Fwoosh!
As the chakram screamed through the air, Jong Seok, who had just entered the Time-Space Realm, could now sense the two separate discs.
‘Let’s see whether his chakram is stronger or my Black Death God Light Poison Technique.’
Jong Seok's fighting spirit surged. Now that his technique had passed Eight Stars and was approaching mastery, he felt an ambition stir within him.
Upon reaching the mastery stage, he could envelop his hands in Protective Qi, a peak-level technique of the Black Death God Light Poison Technique, known as Layered Poison Palm.
Once this technique was formed, even quality swords could be broken by the palm's force, and even treasured blades couldn’t scratch the hands.
That was because all the protective qi he could wrap around his body was now concentrated and strengthened into his palms.
Clang!
As he blocked both chakrams with his dual palms imbued with layered poison, Third Young Master stared in shock.
He hadn't expected Jong Seok to deflect his chakrams.
At that moment, Second Young Master shouted.
“Little brother! Stop that girl!”
Hong Ayul had just come out of the medical building with her younger sibling and was running toward Deung Hwaun.
She was heading that way to avoid Elder Masa’s formation that was set up near Deung Hwaun’s location.
Deung Hwaun and Jong Seok moved toward Hong Ayul at the same time.
One of Third Young Master's chakrams was also flying toward her.
Fwoosh!
Luckily, the two reached behind Hong Ayul just in time and focused their qi toward the oncoming chakram.
Ziiiiiing!
But Deung Hwaun saw something strange—what was supposed to be two chakrams had become three.
‘Three?’
Jong Seok flinched in surprise as well.
Two were already a challenge, but the third emitted an overwhelming aura.
‘Could it be… a chakram forged with Nascent Qi?’
As soon as Deung Hwaun realized it, the thought struck her—it mustn’t be met head-on.
But if she dodged, Hong Ayul, who was behind her, would not survive.
To lighten Jong Seok’s burden, Deung Hwaun swung her whip at one of the chakrams, attempting to pull it away.
Whoosh!
But the chakram only faltered in the air for a moment—then coiled around Deung Hwaun’s whip instead.
Third Young Master's chakram was so densely imbued with qi that even Deung Hwaun's couldn't stop it.
Still, Deung Hwaun wasn’t one to back down.
“Haaah!”
She poured all her qi into the whip and pulled with all her might.
Even if she could only take out one of the chakrams, that would relieve Jong Seok of some pressure, so she gave it her all.
At last, the chakram was pulled aside.
But the direction became the problem.
Swish!
Thud!
She succeeded in pulling the chakram, but without suppressing its qi, it changed course—and plunged straight into Deung Hwaun’s chest.
She had wrapped the chakram with her whip to lessen its force, but it still pierced an inch into Deung Hwaun’s chest.
“Ugh!”
With one chakram gone, Jong Seok felt somewhat relieved.
Even so, he knew full well that dealing with the remaining two was still too much.
Jong Seok gritted his teeth.
‘Give up the bone to take the flesh!’
He never thought such a cliché adage would surface in his mind in a crisis like this.
He caught the chakram, formed by Nascent Qi, with both hands like clapping them together.
Crash!
At that moment, the pain seared through his palms like they were being torn apart, and his whole body trembled.
Thud!
He tried to avoid the remaining chakram but failed—it embedded itself in his shoulder.
Fortunately, since Third Young Master had created the chakrams using Nascent Qi, the remaining two were imbued with less qi, or else Jong Seok and Deung Hwaun would’ve been cleanly severed.
Jong Seok stumbled as if he would collapse but stomped his foot firmly.
He knew he wouldn’t get another chance to counterattack.
Third Young Master, having unleashed the One Wheel, Three Kills, was momentarily drained of qi, and saw Jong Seok charging in.
He tried to deflect Jong Seok’s right hand and retreat, but then saw Jong Seok’s left fist bury into his abdomen.
Pain immediately followed.
Thud!
“Urgh!”
A burning sensation like his skin was being peeled off made him glance down at his abdomen.
There, a red seal had been clearly imprinted. It soon turned blue and then vanished.
Third Young Master tensed at the change in color, but since he felt no abnormalities in his body, he mocked Jong Seok.
“So that’s supposed to be the Black Death God Light Poison Technique? Disappointing.”
Normally, if struck by poisonous palms or palm force, a person’s inner qi would react immediately.
If it didn’t, it either meant the opponent’s qi or poison was too weak and had dispersed.
Third Young Master believed Jong Seok's cultivation level was too low, so he hadn’t fully mastered that so-called ultimate martial art.
Jong Seok chuckled inwardly at his words but didn’t show it. He had intended something entirely different.
Once the Black Death God Light Poison Technique reached the mastery level, one could not only wield the Layered Poison Palm, but also gain one more ability.
Its true power lay in the Explosive Phosphorus Palm,which could control the timing of a person’s explosion from within.
He could control the delay using the amount of qi infused.
Rather than explode Third Young Master immediately, Jong Seok had adjusted the qi amount so that his body would explode two hours later.
‘When you get close to your comrade, the Explosive Phosphorus Palm will detonate.’
Jong Seok quickly took Deung Hwaun into the formation area.
Laying her inside the formation, he spoke to Elder Masa, who was circulating her qi.
“Elder, you must treat Lady Deung immediately.”
Elder Masa was still healing her own internal injuries, and it pained her that she hadn’t been able to help before Deung Hwaun got hurt.
So now she put everything she had into the treatment.
Third Young Master had approached the formation to kill them but withdrew when a stronger force repelled him than expected.
He judged that rather than breaking the formation alone, it would be better to join forces with First Young Master and Second Young Master to kill the enemies and dismantle it together.
Elder Masa reached out to treat Deung Hwaun but suddenly hesitated.
Her wound was located exactly between her two breasts, so she couldn’t be treated without undressing her.
Seeing this, Hong Ayul stepped forward.
“I’ll do it.”
“Please do.”
Elder Masa looked at Deung Hwaun’s face with a worried expression.
Jong Seok kept all his focus on the battlefield.
He was waiting for the Explosive Phosphorus Palm to detonate.
‘Once Third Young Master explodes, I must charge forward and attack immediately.’
Seeing that he was moving toward Second Young Master, it seemed he intended to assist him in fighting the masked woman.
The masked fighter currently battling Second Young Master appeared to be a woman, and considering how Second Young Master hadn’t gained the upper hand, she had to be formidable.
Elder Masa muttered to herself.
“Ah! I thought that sword style looked familiar—it’s the Soaring Dragon Emperor Sword.”
At those words, Jong Seok’s eyes widened.
He too had felt that the masked woman’s swordplay seemed familiar, but hadn’t pinpointed it—until Elder Masa spoke.
“You’re right! It is the Soaring Dragon Emperor Sword! But how does that masked woman know it?”
As Jong Seok murmured, Hong Ayul snapped at him.
“That’s not what’s important right now. Tend to your wound, Young Master.”
She had sealed the acupoints, but the wound was still deep, and blood continued to flow from it.
However, Hong Ayul’s hand froze as she opened Deung Hwaun’s clothing to apply a hemostatic powder.
She saw a tattoo clearly drawn beneath her chest.
It was a tattoo of a butterfly perched atop the characters for “Jade Orb”. According to Hong Ayul, only one person bore this tattoo.
‘No way…’
Now that she looked closely—since she hadn’t carefully examined Deung Hwaun’s face before—it resembled the face she had yearned for as a child.
‘So that’s why I felt strangely close to her when we were together…’
Just seeing the tattoo, Hong Ayul could now understand her own circumstances.
‘Now I understand why First Master treated me so unusually well… and why Ok Girin tried to discard me when he couldn’t claim me.’
Though Hong Ayul felt shaken by this realization, she didn’t stop treating Deung Hwaun. Her thoughts, however, continued endlessly.
‘When I was young, Mother mentioned this tattoo while bathing with me. She said she had it inked to honor the one she loved. The word “Jade” stood for First Master Ok Ilhwa, and the butterfly symbolized herself.’
Hong Ayul also knew that Ok Ilhwa had been frequenting Ihwa Palace twenty years ago.
Now, seeing the tattoo below Deung Hwaun’s chest, all her previous doubts were suddenly answered.
She now understood the tender gaze Deung Hwaun had always given her.
‘If my child were still alive, she’d be about the same age as Miss Hong.’
She had thought Deung Hwaun was simply a woman mourning her lost child…
A single tear fell onto the white bandage wrapping the wound.
‘I thought she was just being kind, stepping up when I said I was going to find my younger sibling… I was so naïve. Like a fool…’
After finishing Deung Hwaun’s treatment, Hong Ayul snapped out of it.
Jong Seok’s condition wasn’t something to be taken lightly either.
His shoulder bone was nearly exposed, and it was amazing he was still standing.
‘So this man is the sworn brother of Young Master Yong… His endurance is inhuman. Everyone around him is a monster.’
Hong Ayul gently wiped Deung Hwaun one more time and then approached Jong Seok to treat him.
But just then, Jong Seok shot up and dashed out of the formation.
“Wait—!”
Before she could say anything, Jong Seok was already soaring through the air to assist the masked woman.