Episode 20: Crisis
The Tamrang Tribe possessed a strange ability.
They could transform into beasts.
Werewolves.
Their bodies grew larger and faster, and their ferocity was enough to tear a bear apart.
On top of that, they could wield Divine Miracle, making them one of the most feared among all the beast tribes.
KWA-WA-WA-WANG!
A Tamrang tribesman, running on all fours like a wolf, swung his forepaw at a stone pillar blocking his path with uncanny speed.
Slice!
The thick stone pillar was cut cleanly, as if by a blade, and crashed to the ground.
BOOM!
The pillar shattered into sharp fragments that scattered in all directions.
But the werewolf’s speed as he soared through the air was far greater than the flying debris.
Charging through the darkness at a terrifying pace, the werewolf bared his massive jaws as Soso appeared before him.
He swung his huge forepaw at Soso’s head, aiming to sink his filthy fangs into her body.
CHWAT!
Anyone else would have been paralyzed by the werewolf’s savagery, but not Soso.
Drawing her Spirit Sword from her waist, Soso twisted her willow-like body and shifted positions seven times in an instant.
She lashed out with her slender sword, painting the werewolf’s entire body with blood.
THUD!
The tip of her sword flashed, and one of the werewolf’s eyes burst, spraying black fluid like ink.
KWA-WANG!
Enraged, the werewolf lunged and snapped his pointed fangs at Soso’s pale neck.
But it wasn’t real.
POP.
What burst like a bubble was only Soso’s afterimage.
FWEET!
In that moment, Soso’s sword slashed a cross-shaped wound across the werewolf’s face.
GRRRRRR.
The ferocious werewolf stepped back.
But it wasn’t a retreat.
KRAAANG!
Swelling his body even larger with his demonic power, the werewolf charged at Soso with the force of a bear’s paw, swinging at her head.
Just as Soso tried to dodge—
FLASH!
Razor-sharp claws, glowing with Red Light, shot out and slashed viciously at Soso’s entire body.
WHOOSH.
Her body vanished like a mirage and reappeared on the opposite side.
But there, the werewolf’s massive fangs were already waiting.
CHOMP!
The werewolf bit down on Soso’s head and shook her violently.
But again, it was only an afterimage.
As Soso’s illusion burst like a bubble, a gush of red blood spilled out.
It was blood from the werewolf’s own heart.
GRRRR.
Even staggering, the werewolf’s killing intent didn’t waver.
His eyes glowed with Red Light as he advanced on Soso, step by step.
Jang So-cheon was also being attacked by a werewolf.
Without a moment to look around, he immediately unleashed a Thunderclap Talisman.
FLASH!
CRACKLE CRACKLE.
The Thunderclap Talisman released a surge of lightning.
Its power was enough to paralyze most monsters.
But it didn’t work on the werewolf.
As the talisman flew toward him, the werewolf countered with a spell, sending a shadow of his claws slicing through the air.
When the Thunderclap Talisman and the claw shadow collided, lightning crackled and Red Light flashed in the air.
But neither Jang So-cheon nor the werewolf flinched; they clashed sword and claw midair.
One of the werewolf’s arms, struck by the Primordial Divine Sword, was severed and flew through the air.
But Jang So-cheon wasn’t unscathed either.
The werewolf’s overwhelming strength sent a powerful shock to his chest, forcing him several steps back.
Just one exchange.
Blood trickled from Jang So-cheon’s lips.
Gulp.
Swallowing the blood, Jang So-cheon resolved to avoid head-on clashes as much as possible.
CHWAT!
Even with one arm lost, the werewolf didn’t hesitate.
He became even more vicious, lunging at Jang So-cheon.
KWA-WANG!
As the werewolf snapped at his waist with massive jaws, Jang So-cheon activated the full power of his Cloud Step Shoes.
He darted like a bolt of lightning, slashing a deep wound in the werewolf’s belly with the Primordial Divine Sword.
Leaping into the air, he carved a cross-shaped wound on the werewolf’s face, then shifted to the other side and struck a fatal blow to the beast’s neck.
GURGLE.
Even as blood poured from his neck, the werewolf didn’t slow his assault.
With eyes blazing Red Light, he glared at Jang So-cheon and suddenly attacked from both sides as if teleporting.
Before he knew it, the shadow of the werewolf’s claws was already digging into Jang So-cheon’s throat.
CLANG!
At that moment, his Special Ability activated.
The claw shadow slowed.
Jang So-cheon barely managed to deflect it with the Primordial Divine Sword, almost losing his grip from the sheer Divine Power contained in the attack.
Shaking off the lingering force from his sword, Jang So-cheon gasped as the werewolf’s jaws snapped right in front of him.
Even with his Special Ability, he’d momentarily lost track of the beast’s movement.
That’s how fast the werewolf was.
CHWAT!
Flattening himself against the ground, Jang So-cheon pushed off with his toes.
He flung a Thunderclap Talisman straight into the werewolf’s gaping maw.
FLASH!
CRACKLE CRACKLE.
The werewolf tried to counter with another claw shadow, but he was too late.
The Thunderclap Talisman exploded inside his mouth, releasing a surge of lightning—
KRAAAAGH!
The werewolf screamed and froze in place.
A perfect opening.
Jang So-cheon, who had been leaning back, surged forward.
CHWAT!
He dashed ahead and severed the werewolf’s neck with the Primordial Divine Sword.
SLASH.
The moment the head was cut off—
SPLURT!
The werewolf sprayed bright red blood all over Jang So-cheon.
Then, staggering, he slowly collapsed to the ground.
Having barely taken down one werewolf, Jang So-cheon looked around. The situation was far from hopeful.
Eun Dan-bi was locked in battle with a massive Silver Wolf and couldn’t help anyone else, while the Herb Gathering Hall’s One Group members were fighting for their lives against three more werewolves.
Fortunately, they had their newly acquired magic tools, so they weren’t being overwhelmed.
The real problem was the fear that even more werewolf trackers might show up.
TAAH!
Jang So-cheon launched a surprise attack on the werewolf fighting Soso, hurling another Thunderclap Talisman at the beast, whose body was already ablaze.
Rolling across the ground, he severed one of the werewolf’s ankles with the Primordial Divine Sword.
THUD!
Soso’s Spirit Sword pierced the staggering werewolf’s heart.
Yet the beast still didn’t die.
Even as his body burned from a direct hit by a Flame Talisman, struck by lightning, and his heart pierced, the werewolf still reached out with both hands, trying to grab Soso’s face.
At that moment—
SLASH!
Jang So-cheon’s Primordial Divine Sword cut off the werewolf’s head from behind.
THUD!
Only then did the beast finally stop moving.
As the werewolf collapsed, Soso let out a long, exhausted breath.
Then, together with Jang So-cheon, she rushed to Eun Dan-bi’s side.
The Silver Wolf fighting Eun Dan-bi was massive—at least twice the size of the gray wolves Jang So-cheon had faced.
He wielded a long, silver spear, and his spear technique was so refined that even the renowned Eun Dan-bi was struggling.
WHOOSH. WHOOSH. WHOOSH.
The Silver Wolf’s strength was overwhelming.
When he struck the ground with his spear shaft, the earth flipped over for several yards, and the red energy streaming from Eun Dan-bi’s Spirit Sword was shredded to light by a mere flick of the spear tip.
Even a graze would be a serious wound.
Still, Jang So-cheon and Soso used their specialties to constantly distract the Silver Wolf’s focus.
Enraged, the Silver Wolf hurled a Silver Spear Shadow at Jang So-cheon, who was firing Thunderclap Talismans.
Tense, Jang So-cheon leapt and twisted his body twice in midair.
Even so, he couldn’t completely dodge the spear shadow and had to deflect the remaining force with the Primordial Divine Sword.
In the end—
He escaped the spear shadow, but bloodied, he staggered back seven steps.
They were completely outmatched.
“Ugh!”
Coughing up black blood, Jang So-cheon tapped his Heaven and Earth Pouch and pulled out a Blood Explosion Pill.
After a moment’s hesitation…
He popped the pill into his mouth and swallowed.
In that instant—
A wild surge of energy erupted from his Four Limbs and Hundred Seas, racing through all his meridians.
His cultivation, which had been at the late fourth stage, shot up to the verge of the sixth, and his Special Ability advanced as well, allowing him to clearly see the red tassels fluttering at the tip of the Silver Wolf’s spear.
CHWAT!
Jang So-cheon leapt between the Silver Wolf’s spear shadows, thrusting his Primordial Divine Sword to seize the spear’s path.
Like a fish swimming upstream, he unleashed a sharp aura, cutting off the flow of the incoming spear and even dampening its momentum.
Startled, the Silver Wolf spun his spear, shaking off Jang So-cheon’s sword.
He whirled, swinging his elbow at Jang So-cheon’s head, but Jang So-cheon was already gone.
Suddenly—
A sharp pain flared at his waist.
Cunning bastard.
The Silver Wolf had lowered his stance and slashed at Jang So-cheon’s waist.
Matching Jang So-cheon’s reflexes, the Silver Wolf ducked and unleashed a flurry of Silver Spear Shadows.
Just then—
Red peach blossom petals began to flutter down from the sky.
Peach blossoms, in the cold, dark Ice Cave…
The Silver Wolf’s eyes began to tremble violently.
Peach Blossom Ten Thousand Miles—the secret Divine Miracle of the Red Fox Tribe.
With Eun Dan-bi’s current cultivation, it should have been impossible for her to use such a technique.
And yet…
No one could deny that the deathly petals descending from above were indeed Peach Blossom Ten Thousand Miles.
SWIRL.
A petal, drifting on the wind, landed softly on the Silver Wolf’s clothes.
The petal was impossibly light.
Yet it melted through his clothes without resistance, releasing a thick peach blossom fragrance as it burrowed deep into his skin.
KRAAAAGH!
A screaming Silver Wolf had a petal land on his forehead.
Panicked, he reversed his spear and gouged out the petal—and a chunk of flesh—from his forehead.
Then he turned and fled the way he’d come.
As the Silver Wolf retreated, the gray wolves fighting the Herb Gathering Hall’s One Group members also turned tail and ran.
Staggering, Eun Dan-bi—who had overexerted herself to unleash her tribe’s secret Divine Miracle—approached Jang So-cheon, who had collapsed to the ground, her face pale.
Twitch.
But Jang So-cheon, who had fallen, stirred and forced himself to his feet.
He swallowed an Elixir Pill.
“Can you walk?”
“Of course.”
Jang So-cheon frowned as he replied.
His body felt hollow, as if completely emptied.
Even walking was a struggle.
Fortunately, the Qi Spirit Pill was slowly spreading its power through his Four Limbs and Hundred Seas.
The Herb Gathering Hall’s One Group members weren’t in great shape either.
All bore wounds, some serious—Sanggwan Cheonse, in particular, had a long scar marring his handsome face.
It looked deep enough to leave a permanent mark.
Eun Dan-bi pointed with her Spirit Sword.
“You all go that way. If you exit through the Ancient Tree, you’ll see a white peak. That’s the direction of the Guardian Fortress.”
“Understood. You take care as well, Seonja. Socheon!”
“Yes, Captain.”
“We’ll use these herbs well. Once we’re done, return straight to the Extreme Heaven Sect!”
Gwak Mu-jin, holding up the Heaven and Earth Pouch Jang So-cheon had given him, looked at his junior with concern.
Jang So-cheon answered with a bright smile, just like before.
“Don’t worry. We’ll see each other again soon. Take care, everyone.”
After exchanging farewells and waves, the One Group members dashed off down the path Eun Dan-bi had shown them.
They all knew.
There was no time to hesitate here.
Once the humans were gone, Soso began erasing any trace of their passage.
Then, supporting Eun Dan-bi, she led the group down another path.
AWWWOOOO!
They hadn’t gone far when a wolf’s howl echoed from behind.
“This won’t do. Let’s go this way.”
Growing anxious, Eun Dan-bi led them deeper underground.
“Huff! Huff!”
Thanks to the Qi Spirit Pill, Jang So-cheon could now manage a light jog, but he thought the side effects of the Blood Explosion Pill were worse than expected.
If they met another enemy, he’d be helpless.
Wait!
As he matched Eun Dan-bi’s pace, Jang So-cheon suddenly noticed the air was thick with ghostly energy.
A chill wind began to blow.
Scanning the eerie surroundings, Jang So-cheon spotted a faint green glow flickering in the distance.
A glow completely different from the ghostly energy.
It was a Spirit Herb.