Seo-jun swiftly subdued the last man, kicking him as he discovered something hidden in the man’s robes.

“What’s this…”

“That’s… that’s right! Great Hero, I’ll offer you that martial art technique! So please…!” the man stammered desperately.

“You’re offering it to me? But I already have it in my hands,” Seo-jun replied, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

“But…!”

“Shut it.”

Seo-jun kicked the man’s head, rendering him unconscious rather than killing him. He decided to inspect the martial arts manual while waiting for Hwan Bae-ho to arrive. The cover bore the name of the technique in large letters: “Youngmyeong Sword Technique.” He had never heard of it.

As he flipped through the manual, he skimmed over a lengthy preface filled with the creator’s grumbling before reaching the main content: the first sword technique. The illustrations were rough, and the explanations were difficult to decipher at a glance.

However, Seo-jun, a peak martial artist, quickly matched the descriptions with his own martial arts experience and grasped the essence of the techniques without much trouble.

“Hmm.”

The manual contained thirteen sword forms in total. There was no mention of any specific cultivation methods, but the technique itself was intricate enough to indicate that it was quite an advanced martial art.

Then again, did he really need it?

He already had the Huangyun Divine Sword technique. He was familiar with several other sword techniques, and learning a new one seemed unnecessary. Even Namgung Jincheon had acknowledged the Huangyun Divine Sword as the best in the land, though he wasn’t sure if he’d ever fully master it.

Seo-jun closed the manual just as Hwan Bae-ho arrived.

“Master!”

“How did it go?”

“I’ve informed the sect leader, and he said he would alert the other sects as well, but…” Hwan Bae-ho trailed off, hesitant.

“He’s not sure if they can hold them off?”

“Yes. Honestly, I’m not confident either.”

Seo-jun chuckled and started walking.

“Is it because there are too many of them?”

“Exactly… Although your skills are remarkable, the sheer number of monsters is overwhelming. Your internal energy might not last.”

“I doubt it.”

“Hmm…”

Hwan Bae-ho seemed deeply troubled, but there wasn’t much he could do about it now. Seo-jun continued moving in the direction from which the monsters would be coming.

It didn’t take long to reach the city’s border, which had a sturdy wooden fence—though that was all. Even a second-rate martial artist could break through it with a punch.

“It would’ve been nice if there was a stone wall,” Seo-jun commented.

“Stone walls are rare outside of places like Beijing, as they’re not very effective,” Hwan Bae-ho explained.

That made sense. Even a peak martial artist could leap over a stone wall a few times without much effort. In a world where martial artists roamed, the effort wasn’t worth the payoff.

“Though with monster numbers increasing, some places might reconsider building walls,” Hwan Bae-ho added.

Seo-jun noticed a tall wooden watchtower, likely meant for sentries. He leapt up and perched at the top, surveying the distant monster horde.

“They really are numerous,” he mused.

And there were so many different types of monsters, all moving together without fighting. That alone was unusual.

A few groups of martial artists appeared nearby. Hwan Bae-ho recognized one of them and leaned over to Seo-jun.

“That’s the Blue Thunder Sect Leader. They’re the largest sect around here.”

“Oh.”

Seo-jun jumped down and landed in front of the leader.

“You… are you with the Namgung family?” the leader asked.

“I suppose that’s right.”

“What would you have us do?”

“I’ll hold them off here. You can either help or just watch. Up to you.”

“Yes…”

The leader nodded uncomfortably and quickly gave orders to his disciples, who began arranging themselves in formation.

The martial artists formed a large battle formation, and other sects joined in, each preparing to fend off the monster horde in their own way.

Despite these preparations, Seo-jun noticed that they were also securing a retreat path. It was a prudent move, and none of them seemed particularly frightened, though most looked prepared to withdraw if needed.

“Smart,” Seo-jun remarked.

If they couldn’t hold the line, they could retreat and return later. The city would be devastated, but they’d save lives.

The Blue Thunder Sect Leader approached Seo-jun after setting up his defenses.

“Young Hero.”

“Yes?”

“We plan to hold the monsters off until the civilians evacuate. You should retreat with us when the time comes.”

“It’s fine. Worst case, I’ll call for help from my father-in-law.”

“Father-in-law?”

“The Namgung family head.”

The leader’s eyes widened.

“Y-you mean the Azure Sky Sword Master would come here?!”

Azure Sky Sword Master? What a grand title. Seo-jun laughed to himself. Why didn’t he have a cool title like that?

He turned to Hwan Bae-ho. “Did you notify the Namgung family?”

“I sent a message by carrier pigeon, but I can’t guarantee the family head will come…”

The leader’s excitement waned. “I see… It’s unlikely he’ll show up. He rarely reveals himself publicly. In that case, you should retreat with us.”

“Is that so?”

“If anything were to happen to you, we would be held responsible.”

“That would be a problem.”

Seo-jun grabbed the unconscious man he had left in the corner. The monster horde was now close enough to see from the ground.

“So we’re just supposed to hold them off for a while, right? I’ll handle it.”

He casually waved his hand and inspected the wooden fence. It was more of a hindrance than a help.

Boom!

With a swipe of his hand, he cleared a large gap in the fence, big enough for several people to pass through.

“Let’s see…”

There were a lot of monsters. But he wasn’t worried about running out of energy. Even if it came to that, he could always replenish his qi through the Absorbing Soul Technique.

Seo-jun kneed the unconscious man in the abdomen, destroying his dantian.

“Argh…!”

The man coughed up blood and awoke, his face contorting as he realized his qi was dissipating.

“N-no… Nooo!”

Annoyed, Seo-jun knocked him out again and quickly harnessed the dissipating qi. He merged it with his own energy, splitting it into yin and yang, and stabilized it within the man’s body.

The ground trembled as the horde of monsters approached, kicking up a massive cloud of dust. Seo-jun twisted his waist.

“Time to do some community service…”

With a powerful spin, he hurled the man like a projectile into the monster horde.

Using a physical vessel to contain the qi meant it wouldn’t dissipate easily, even at a distance. The man, now a living bomb packed with Seo-jun’s qi, landed amidst the monsters and exploded.

The blast scattered monster fragments everywhere. Seo-jun had taken down nearly a hundred with that one move.

“What the…!”

“How is that even possible?!”

The surrounding martial artists were shocked, but Seo-jun paid them no mind. Using a person as a bomb was of little concern to martial artists like him.

“Young Master, are you alright? Your internal energy…” Hwan Bae-ho asked, worried.

“I told you, I’m fine,” Seo-jun replied with a grin, stepping toward the monsters.

The wind blew through his black robes as he wrapped fresh qi around his hands and launched himself forward.

“Young Hero!” the Blue Thunder Sect Leader called out, but Seo-jun ignored him.

Before him stood thousands of monsters, all focusing their murderous intent on him.

“Haha…!”

His body heated up, the thrill of the approaching danger sending a shiver down his spine. Seo-jun clapped his hands together.

Smack!

He formed the Honwon Ilwol technique, an inverted Taiji sphere, between his palms. The monster horde closed in, and a wild smile spread across his face.

Boom!

The massive explosion left a wide clearing in the monster horde, with Seo-jun standing in the center, hands raised.

“That’s what I’m talking about.”

A brilliant red plum blossom bloomed behind him, spreading like fire. Its petals twisted and monstrous eyes sprouted across them, glaring in all directions.

Seo-jun gripped the heads of two nearby monsters, activating the Absorbing Soul Technique at full power.

“Krrg…”

“Grrrr…”

The monsters shriveled, their life force draining away until they perished. Seo-jun held the stolen energy in his hands, turning it into more plum blossoms.

He relished the feeling. “Ah, yes. I am the god of one-sided massacres.”

Crack!

The waves of plum blossoms tore through the monster horde.

The monsters stopped, their eyes fixed solely on Seo-jun, gazing with something like reverence.

“Come on.”

With those words, the monsters charged at him with everything they had.