Chapter 216: For Your Grave

When the life-or-death spar threw the public hearing hall into utter chaos, Yang Seonu concealed his presence and quietly slipped out with the gallery.

“When I checked, he was already gone before the Skybreaker Gate sect leader died. Almost as if he knew how the life-or-death spar would end.”

Even Kim Muhyuk, preoccupied with worry for his master, had failed to notice him in that moment. Yang Seonu vanished as though he had been waiting for the chance, erasing every trace of himself.

After that, it was as if he had evaporated. They could not find even the faintest clue as to where he had gone.

“He deceived my master for ten years. Did you think he would be anything less than meticulous?”

After neatly straightening his bedding, Choi Geon leisurely slipped on his outer coat.

Even after the special-audit results were announced, he was still staying at the hotel.

Kim Muhyuk glanced around the room before speaking in a coaxing voice.

“Master, why don’t you come stay at our place now? That fine was pretty steep, so money must be tight...”

“Hehehe. Not a chance, you brat. Besides, the Martial Alliance Leader agreed to pay the fine for me.”

The two left the room together and continued talking as they boarded the elevator.

They were on their way to sever an ill-fated bond that had entangled them for many years, yet both looked as calm as ever.

“Still, you found him sooner than I expected. It could not have been easy...”

“I set traps in a few places.”

Kim Muhyuk answered with a meaningful smile.

He and Blue Wolves had used every means at their disposal to track Yang Seonu, but several days of searching had yielded nothing.

So Kim changed his approach.

If they could not find their target, then they only had to make him come to them.

“Fortunately, we got lucky. He walked into the hardest trap of all to escape.”

Choi did not ask what the trap was.

He merely told his disciple that he had done well and gave his shoulder a light pat.

“Well done. Now we must go and bring this stubborn bond to an end.”

After they stepped out of the elevator and headed toward the underground parking garage, Kim walked beside his master, stealing glances at him before cautiously asking,

“...Master. Do you remember what I asked while you were trapped in your Inner Demon?”

Kim had visited the hospital room constantly and talked to him about many things, but Choi immediately knew which question his disciple meant.

—Master... may I kill the disciple you cherished like a son in your place?

Given that they were now on their way to capture Yang Seonu, there could be no other reason to bring it up.

“Of course I remember. But was that not something you asked in case I never woke up?”

At the time, no one knew when Choi would escape his Inner Demon, and Kim had asked permission because he was prepared to avenge his master in his place.

Yet now that Choi had awakened, the reason Kim was bringing it up again had to be...

Seeing his disciple quietly smacking his lips, Choi stared at him in disbelief.

“You want to fight Yang Seonu, do you not?”

“It’s not an opportunity that comes along often.”

Kim did not deny it. He nodded.

Choi studied the fierce competitive light in his eyes. After a moment of thought, he nodded as well.

“...Very well. I shall leave his end to you. But I will be watching from nearby.”

Choi reached out and gripped his disciple’s shoulder, warning him repeatedly.

“You must be careful. Yang Seonu inherited every technique and every bit of experience I possessed. Which means...”

“He’s an expert who could rival you as you were until recently.”

A supreme-master swordsman with assassination skills nearly on par with a special-grade assassin.

It would be no exaggeration to say that the opponent Kim Muhyuk was about to face was Choi Geon before he became a peerless master.

But Kim had no intention of staking his life against a beast he did not even recognize as a martial artist.

“Don’t worry. The moment things look dangerous, I’ll run away and hide behind you.”

Choi burst out laughing at his disciple’s ever-growing shamelessness.

“Hehehe! Good. If it begins to look dangerous, flee to me at once.”

“I can fight to my heart’s content first, then come over when I feel like taking a break, right?”

“Of course you can!”

After finishing their little conspiracy, master and disciple headed into the parking garage, where the Blue Wolves crew members were waiting inside a van.

“Sir! Over here!”

Han Jaechun lowered the driver’s-side window and called out to them from behind the wheel. Hwang Suksu sat in the passenger seat, speaking to someone on the phone.

“Teacher! Hurry up!”

Shin Kangheon and Kim Bokja were sitting in the back of the van, eating popcorn. Between them was Apricot, whom they had not seen in some time.

Peep!

“Hmm. With everyone gathered like this, it feels as though we are going on an outing.”

At Choi’s joke, the crew members looked at one another and smiled awkwardly.

Hwang Suksu ended his call and turned toward Choi.

“The target just started moving. Shall we head out too?”

“You brat. Why are you so excited?”

“Of course I’m excited. We’re heroic swordsmen on our way to catch a villain!”

Choi gave a faint smile at Hwang’s glib answer, then comfortably leaned back against the rear seat.

“Hehehe. Let us go with the lighthearted spirit of people out for a stroll.”

If he could, Choi wanted to show Yang Seonu this sight.

He wanted to show him that he had found a new family.

And he wanted to smile as he said,

The Inner Demon I gained after being betrayed by you, the disciple I raised like a son, was healed completely by these people. So now...

He wanted to tell Yang that he could gladly smile as he watched the evil that was him die.

“Yes, sir! Then we’re off!”

“By the way, Teacher, couldn’t you explain how you created a Transcendence-Level Ultimate Technique?”

“Shin Kangheon, you’re asking someone to hand over a secret technique that easily?”

“Wow, are we strangers now? That really hurts!”

“Hehehe. I suppose there is no reason I cannot. Shall I let you experience it firsthand?”

“No, that might be a little...”

The van carrying the crew left the parking garage and soon merged onto the highway.

They laughed and chatted about one trivial thing after another, and before they knew it, they had reached the coast.

*****

ROOOOAR—

The boat plowed through the midnight waters. Yang Seonu looked up at the pitch-black sky and ground his teeth.

He had remembered Choi Geon’s Transcendence-Level Ultimate Technique swallowing martial artists in an instant. Thinking of his master as a peerless master now, he was seized by belated, bitter regret.

“Twenty years ago... I should have found a way to kill him back then.”

He had betrayed the master who had raised him like a son for ten years, and he had abandoned without hesitation the sect to which he had belonged for twenty.

He felt no guilt or lingering attachment.

He was simply furious that everything he possessed had been taken from him.

“...Junior Brother. You beat me this time. I admit it.”

Yang murmured as he pictured Kim Muhyuk’s face, certain that Kim was the cause of everything that had happened.

“I don’t know when it will be, but when I come back, I’ll repay you for each and every thing. I’ll start with what you treasure most.”

He had considered finding Kim’s family and killing them immediately.

But the Sword Demon’s existence frightened him too much to act.

What if Choi was hiding somewhere nearby, waiting for him?

What if that terrifying darkness swallowed him whole...?

In the end, Yang decided to abandon everything he had built and leave Korea.

—Elder. It seems remaining in Korea will be difficult now.

On the day the Skybreaker Gate sect leader died at Choi Geon’s hands, Black Swallow of the Heavenly Demon Cult had called him again.

—At this rate, will it not soon come to light that you secretly poisoned the vice sect leader?

—...Your call is remarkably well timed. I assume you did not contact me merely to mock me?

—Of course not. I called to inform you that the Cult is merciful enough to offer even an incompetent loser another chance.

—You mean you will take me in?

—If you can make it here.

Black Swallow told him how to establish contact with the Heavenly Demon Cult once he made it abroad.

Yang did not hesitate for long. The Heavenly Demon Cult was the only place he could seek shelter without fearing pursuit by the Sword Demon.

—...I will come to you soon.

He would have to enter under Black Swallow and start again from the very bottom, but Yang was confident that he could endure that degree of humiliation.

—The sea would be your best route out. Shall I recommend one?

—That will not be necessary. I can handle that much myself.

Yang did not completely trust Black Swallow. He could not rule out the possibility that it was a trap.

So he separately searched for a sea route that could take him out of the country. Through contacts he had dealt with for years, he arranged a new identity and a smuggling vessel that would take him as far as Japan.

—You secured passage through the Blood Tiger Gang?

—The Blood Tiger Gang has a firm grip on the smuggling routes these days. But given the timing, the cost has risen far too high...

He had been forced to pay the Blood Tiger Gang most of the assets he had liquidated in haste, but he did not begrudge the expense as long as his safety was guaranteed.

Money can always be earned again.

But...

As time passed, something began to feel wrong.

A martial artist’s intuition sent a chill down his spine.

Yang found the captain of the smuggling vessel and questioned him.

“I believe our course is slightly off. Are we headed the right way?”

“What are you talking about? We’re going straight where we’re supposed to. Don’t complain when you don’t know anything.”

The captain responded irritably, but the sharp senses of a supreme master did not miss the faint tremor in the man’s eyes.

“...Ha.”

A hollow laugh escaped Yang.

He had finally realized what was happening to him.

Several hours later, the smuggling vessel—now far from its original destination—slowly reduced speed and stopped in front of a deserted island.

The captain came out with an awkward look, scratching the back of his head.

“Th-there seems to be a problem with the boat. We’ll need to stop here for repairs. And it might take a while...”

“...”

Yang stared at the captain without saying a word.

The captain flinched beneath that tranquil gaze.

But then Yang smiled and nodded.

“That is fine. Take your time repairing it. What else can I do in the middle of the open sea?”

“Ahem. Thank you for understanding, sir. You might as well get some sleep. I’ll have it fixed in no—”

A crafty light flashed through the captain’s greedy eyes.

SHRAAAK!

His fleshy face split in two, and blood erupted like a fountain.

Several crewmen trained in martial arts immediately rushed Yang, only to meet the same fate as their captain.

“...Scum.”

Yang wiped the blood from his cheek, searched the captain’s clothes, and pulled out his phone.

He checked it just in case, but as expected, it was useless.

There was no signal and no other way to contact the outside world.

BWOOOOOO—

Then, far in the distance, a ship appeared, cutting through the darkness as it approached.

“Seonu.”

It was the low voice that had tormented him in his dreams for the past several days.

Yang’s face stiffened when he saw the old man standing at the bow.

“Master...”

“After all that running, this is the island you ended up on?”

With a merciless smile, Choi Geon looked upon the evildoer he had once called his disciple.

“This island is far too large for your grave.”