Soul Summoning Sword

Chapter 27: Radiance in the Dark Night (2)

Dawn, the Shadow Moon Unit training hall was silent.

“Huuk!”

Gugwi held his spear and caught his breath. His ribs still ached. The injuries from the Spirit Essence Mine still remained. The soul wound he suffered from Sasaha’s Black Wind Technique doubled the pain in his body.

Although he had treated the deep wounds with the Spirit Flow Core, Jin Mukran’s Soul-Summoning Arts had been far more brutal than expected.

He gritted his teeth.

“No choice. I have to endure.”

His muttering scattered into the darkness.

He slowly spun the Cloud Flow Spear, checking his fundamentals. The spear was nothing more than a stick with metal attached, yet the forms of the Cloud Flow Spear flowed out without difficulty. At that moment—

Swoosh!

Suddenly, a sharp tearing sound pierced his ears.

“Ugh!”

Gugwi jumped back in surprise.

Even though the enemy had approached so close, Un Serim hadn’t given him any warning. This meant the opponent knew how to evade soul surveillance. Either a highly skilled Soul-Summoner—or a martial artist stronger than Un Serim.

Bang!

A deafening blast sounded, as if the very air had been compressed at his fingertips and detonated.

A powerful soundwave struck the stone floor, cracking it white. Stone dust scattered.

“Huhu! Gugwi, moving already? You looked like you were in pain.”

It was Jin Hoon. His taunting voice was sharp. Standing at the entrance of the training hall, he looked down at Gugwi.

Gugwi’s eyes narrowed.

Jin Hoon’s visit was no coincidence. More importantly, that earlier strike had been Nameless Sound Disruption, a martial art created by the Murim Alliance to kill spirits and hunt Soul-Summoners.

Un Serim’s spirit must have been frightened by this martial art and stopped watching.

“What business so early in the morning?”

Gugwi readjusted his grip on the spear. Sweat had formed on his palms at some point.

Jin Hoon’s lips curled upward.

“I heard you did quite well in the Spirit Essence Mine. How did you display such strength? That’s what I’m here to find out. It’s my job to look into anything that goes beyond common sense, isn’t it?”

His voice carried a probing intent.

Gugwi kept his guard up. He must never reveal anything about the Spirit Flow Core.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I told you, I couldn’t even fight properly because of my injuries.”

He deliberately pretended to be weak.

Jin Hoon’s eyes gleamed.

“Injuries? That’s just an excuse. Look at you now—completely fine. Yesterday you looked like you were about to die from pain. Huhu! The secret of how you blocked Sasaha and Jin Mukran, why don’t you show me too?”

“Why are you blaming me for what the Captain of the Shadow Moon Unit did? I only watched from behind.”

Gugwi followed the script Yeon Sohye had prepared for him.

But Jin Hoon’s face showed disbelief. His hands moved again with smooth subtlety.

“That’s for me to decide.”

Swoosh!

Nameless Sound Disruption exploded.

The intense soundwave dug into Gugwi’s ears. For an instant, he felt Un Serim flinch. This martial art targeted not humans, but spirits—weakening their spiritual power into helplessness.

“Urgh!”

Gugwi groaned, twisting his body with the Cloud Flow Step.

His feet slid like clouds. But he intentionally didn’t dodge completely. By barely avoiding, he allowed the strike to land against his shoulder.

Thud!

“Ugh!”

He crashed against the wall with a groan.

Even so, Gugwi’s ears were ringing. His Dantian really quivered. Nameless Sound Disruption didn’t just attack the soul, it attacked the body as well. A terrifying martial art.

“This is too much!”

When Gugwi shouted in anger, Jin Hoon sneered.

“Ei! I can see you’re hiding something. Just what are you keeping secret? Show your claws.”

Swoosh! Swoooosh!

The soundwaves grew stronger.

Jin Hoon was serious this time. His intent was to completely incapacitate Gugwi with this strike.

“I really didn’t do anything!”

Gugwi desperately defended himself with words. But inside, fury boiled.

‘This bastard… if he keeps this up!’

For a fleeting moment, blue light flickered within his Dantian. The Spirit Flow Core threatened to surge forth. Un Serim began to overlap his body, escaping the Realm of the Threshold. At that moment—

Swoosh!

Silver mist poured down like a waterfall. It was Yeon Sohye.

So Ryeonghwa’s Silver Spirit Sword Technique unfolded. Her sword cleaved Jin Hoon’s soundwave, and as mist enveloped the training hall, it instantly concealed the blue light Gugwi had released.

“Jin Hoon, stop!”

Her voice trembled with fury. The sword shot forth like lightning, grazing Jin Hoon’s shoulder. Blood splattered.

“You dare touch my subordinate?”

Yeon Sohye’s killing intent froze the training hall.

Jin Hoon quickly counterattacked with Nameless Sound Disruption.

Baaang!

The soundwave shook and scattered the mist.

When the soundwave struck, Yeon Sohye’s body stiffened momentarily. So Ryeonghwa’s spirit energy weakened for a split second.

Her eyes wavered.

“Well, well, well! Seems things aren’t going your way, huh?”

Nameless Sound Disruption severed the bond between spirit and summoner. A fatal martial art for a Soul-Summoner.

Her Dantian trembled. Her sword slowed without her will, the mist scattered.

Yeon Sohye gritted her teeth.

Jin Hoon glared at her.

“Captain of the Shadow Moon Unit, you dare attack me? Do you know what happens if I change my stance? Don’t cross the line. My tolerance has limits.”

Baaaang!

His soundwave burst again, stronger this time.

“Urgh!”

Blood trickled from Yeon Sohye’s ears.

But she did not retreat. Swinging her Silver Spirit Sword, she realigned the mist.

“If you’re that confident, why don’t you fight without the Murim Alliance name? Isn’t it cowardly to hide behind them?”

Her shout thundered through the hall.

“I’m warning you too. Don’t ever recklessly attack Gugwi again. Next time, I won’t let you go—Murim Alliance inspector or not!”

Flash!

Her eyes burned. Silver energy exploded from her sword.

Jin Hoon staggered back a step.

Yeon Sohye’s rage was stronger than he expected.

“So what you’re saying… should I take it as meaning you’re also a target for surveillance?”

His voice dropped low.

“Should I really send the Blue Blood Unit into the Cold Wolf Sect? Haven’t you been too comfortable? Let’s see how you handle a storm of blood.”

Swoooosh!

Yeon Sohye’s sword grew even faster.

“Bring the Blue Blood Unit or whoever you want!”

Her sword qi pressed down on Jin Hoon. Dozens of sword lights flashed within the mist.

Jin Hoon faltered. He hadn’t expected Yeon Sohye to go this far.

“Crazy… you really mean to oppose the Murim Alliance?”

“Oppose or not, what does it matter! If you touch my people, I’ll fight you to the end!”

Yeon Sohye’s sword grazed Jin Hoon’s neck. If it had gone a hair deeper, his head would have flown off.

Cold sweat dripped down Jin Hoon’s back.

“Tch… this insane….”

He shook his hand and retreated quickly.

“Fine, I’ll end it here today. But remember this. Since you want it so badly, I’ll set the Blue Blood Unit in motion. This is all something you brought upon yourself. I warned you clearly.”

Ssshh!

His shadow melted into the darkness.

“Haa!”

Yeon Sohye exhaled heavily.

Her shoulders trembled.

She had acted strong in front of Jin Hoon, but the aftereffects of Nameless Sound Disruption still lingered.

Gugwi stood up from the wall and approached her.

“Captain, are you all right?”

His voice carried genuine concern.

“I’m fine. What about you?”

“I’m fine too. Always… thank you.”

Gugwi bowed his head sincerely.

“Don’t thank me. Someone like Jin Hoon, you could have handled alone. Just now… you were about to use that, weren’t you? Jin Hoon was testing you. He wanted to confirm whether you had some kind of special power. Huu! We almost got dragged into it.”

Her eyes were firm.

“From now on, you have to be even more careful. The Blue Blood Unit is the Murim Alliance’s assassination squad. If you’re a Soul-Summoner, they’ll execute you on the spot.”

Gugwi nodded.

“It’s not easy to just stand there and take attacks head-on. I understand, Captain. I’ll be more cautious.”

His voice was quiet.

Yeon Sohye rose to her feet.

“Come with me. Let’s go to the secret training hall. This place is too dangerous. From now on, don’t train openly outside.”

She descended the stone steps. Her footsteps echoed into the darkness.

The underground training hall was cold.

Gugwi lifted his spear.

He had to be able to defeat someone like Jin Hoon without using the Spirit Flow Core. Like the Soul-Summoners of the Cold Wolf Sect, if he fused the martial arts of the Spirit Union warriors with his own, he could create new martial arts.

Swoosh!

Gugwi trained in succession with the Cloud Flow Spear’s Celestial Cloud Strike.

The spear writhed like a serpent. This time, he displayed his true strength. The spear tip struck a rock dead center.

Boom!

The rock split cleanly, scattering stone dust.

“At this level… someone like Jin Hoon.”

He poured his anger into the spear arts. Thrusting, spinning, slashing in succession. The rocks shattered one after another.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Explosions echoed unceasingly underground.

Yeon Sohye looked at him in surprise.

“What’s this, you were hiding such skill?”

Gugwi was just as shocked. Even as he unleashed it himself, he was stunned by the sheer power of the spear arts. His mouth fell open.

“What, you didn’t even know?”

Yeon Sohye asked, staring at him.

Gugwi looked down at his spear. Energy still pulsed faintly from his fingertips.

“The spirit energy passed on by the Nameless Martial Artist… it’s turning into my inner power….”

He trailed off, lost in thought. The shocking battle with Jin Mukran, the wounds from Sasaha’s Black Wind Technique.

“This last battle with Jin Mukran must have completely awakened that energy. My body feels as light as if I could fly.”

He lifted his arm.

Unlike usual, it truly felt feather-light. Powerful energy coursed through every muscle fiber.

Yeon Sohye nodded.

“That can happen. When you brush with life-and-death, sometimes the hidden power within awakens.”

She studied his spear techniques again.

“But this level of skill… it’s really incredible.”

Gugwi looked bewildered. He hadn’t known he possessed such strength.

In the darkness, So Taeryeon’s eyes gleamed.

He had been hiding in the corner of the training hall, watching everything from the beginning.

‘As I suspected, something’s there. Gugwi, hiding power like this? Huhu! This must be reported.’

He quickly scribbled onto a messenger slip.

“Gugwi possesses a special power. Investigation required.”

The carrier dove took flight. The darkness swallowed the slender bird whole.

Unaware, Gugwi kept spinning his spear. But suddenly, a voice echoed faintly in his ears.

“Be careful… the enemy is near… hiding in the shadows….”

It wasn’t clear, but it was undeniably a warning. A breath from a spirit within the Realm of the Threshold.

Gugwi froze and looked back.

Only then did he sense movement within the darkness. But it was already too late. So Taeryeon had vanished.

Yeon Sohye tapped his shoulder lightly.

“You all right? What’s wrong all of a sudden?”

“No, it’s just… felt like someone was watching.”

Gugwi shook his head. But unease seeped into his heart.

“Now we really have to be careful.”

“Yes. More than ever.”

Yeon Sohye glanced around too. Even she sensed something strange. Could it be Jin Hoon had infiltrated this deeply?

“If Jin Hoon comes again, can I fight him properly this time?”

“Do you want to be famous?”

“Not really.”

“Then just take a few hits and leave it at that.”

Yeon Sohye said with a wide smile.