Chapter 120
CHAPTER 120
Pick-1
As soon as the Radiant Sword vanished, Tang Yeo-eun spoke first, her face taut with urgency.
“Gongja, we must move quickly. If Mok Woojeon clears this Gate before us, we’ll lose everything.”
Seonu Jin nodded at once.
“You’re right. Let’s move.”
The two of them leapt toward the burning village. Whether they saved the people or pursued the Radiant Sword’s betrayer, they had to reach the village first.
As they ran, Tang Yeo-eun asked anxiously, her voice carried on the wind:
“Catching that man quickly must be the key to passing this trial, right? The Radiant Sword said he was a fool for saving the villagers and letting the traitor escape.”
Seonu Jin frowned, his reply a low murmur.
“Mm…”
Judging from Jeong Myeonggang’s nature and his words, her reasoning seemed correct.
But still, he couldn’t agree. He only muttered heavily:
“…I’m not sure.”
Tang Yeo-eun slowed slightly, startled.
“You don’t mean… you’re going to save the villagers first?”
He gave no answer. He hadn’t yet made up his mind.
Her face tightened with worry.
“Seonu Gongja, I know your compassion. But this time, our lives are at stake. If we fail, it won’t just be our deaths—we’d be handing the Radiant Sword’s inheritance to a monster like Mok Woojeon! We must prioritize the greater danger. And besides… those villagers aren’t even real.”
She was right.
He knew it in his head, but his heart rebelled.
Somewhere deep inside, something felt wrong about abandoning them. Maybe it was his intuition warning him. Or maybe it was simply the refusal of a man who could not ignore suffering.
By the time he was still wavering, they had already entered the burning village.
Screams rose from every direction.
“Fire!”
“Help us!”
“Mother! Please, my mother’s trapped inside!”
“My baby! My baby!”
The place was an inferno of chaos.
Then Tang Yeo-eun suddenly pointed across the village.
“Look! That must be him!”
Following her gaze, Seonu Jin saw him—a man in his thirties. The instant he spotted them, he turned and fled.
A martial artist, swift and sure-footed. His qinggong was at least at the peak realm.
If they didn’t pursue him immediately, they would lose him.
“Gongja!” Tang Yeo-eun called urgently.
Seonu Jin’s eyes swept from the traitor to the burning village, and at last he made his decision.
“Lady Tang, this Gate is called the Gate of Two for a reason. I believe it requires both tasks to be completed. You go after him. I’ll save the villagers, then follow as quickly as I can.”
Even as he said it, he knew.
It was more excuse than reasoning.
But he couldn’t turn away. Not from the cries for help.
Maybe it was intuition. Maybe it was the ideal of the Sword Saint—to create a world where righteousness lived.
Whatever the reason, he had chosen.
“Gongja…”
Her eyes shone with disappointment as she looked at him.
He felt the sting of it.
But at last she gave a reluctant nod.
“…Very well. But come quickly.”
“I will. If you can’t win, just slow him down—I’ll be right behind.”
Tang Yeo-eun turned and darted off in pursuit.
But Seonu Jin froze for an instant, his heart seizing.
No… could it be?
For just a heartbeat, he had seen it—in her eyes.
A faint red gleam.
The same crimson taint he had seen in Mok Woojeon and Ga Yuak’s eyes.
“Ghhk…”
He swallowed hard.
No. It can’t be.
Her eyes had shown a trace of that sinister red.
Just then—
“Please, help us! Someone!”
The desperate cry wrenched him back.
“Ah!”
He clenched his teeth and hurled himself toward the nearest plea.
There was no time to hesitate.
But even as he moved, his heart churned like a storm.
It’s just an illusion. It has to be…
He thought of how soft-hearted she was. How easily she had fallen to Ma Yugyeom’s suggestion technique.
But he shook his head violently.
No. He had to believe her.
He would believe her.
And so, Seonu Jin threw himself into saving the villagers.
He cut through walls of flame with his sword qi, tore open paths of escape, carried the young and the elderly to safety.
But the village was vast, and the cries for help endless.
Even with his unmatched qinggong, he could not save them all.
That was why he had sent Tang Yeo-eun after the enemy instead. Her footwork was not enough to rescue so many.
By the time Seonu Jin had saved all he could, much time had passed.
“We’re alive!”
“Thank you, Hero! Thank you!”
“Uncle, thank you!”
Villagers wept, bowing in gratitude.
But he had no time to respond.
He was already racing away, chasing after Tang Yeo-eun.
‘Lady Tang, please…!’
He prayed as he flew like the wind.
At last, he caught sight of her.
“Lady Tang!”
But the sight before him froze his blood.
Her robes were torn, her hair disheveled, her body backed into a corner.
Her sword lay far out of reach.
And the ferret-faced man loomed over her, sword at her throat, grinning wickedly.
“Heh-heh-heh! Such beauty—I’ve never seen the like.”
He slid his blade downward, slicing through her chest-wrap.
Shrrrip!
Her collar tore apart, the fabric slipping from her shoulders.
“Kyaaah!”
Tang Yeo-eun screamed, clutching her clothes desperately with both arms.
The man’s eyes glittered with vile hunger as he licked his lips.
“Your scream is even sweeter than I imagined…”
Rage exploded in Seonu Jin’s chest.
“You bastard!”
Whshhh!
He shot forward, faster than he had ever moved before.
Lightning itself could not match his speed.
The man turned, startled, raising his guard—
But Seonu Jin was already there.
“Die!”
Kwaaang!
His blade struck like thunder, hurling the man backward.
“Ghhk!”
It was nothing like Seonu Jin’s usual composed swordplay. This was raw fury—speed and power unleashed.
And he did not relent.
Like a shadow, he chased the man and struck again.
“Haaaap!”
Kwaaaang!
“Ughh! Damn you—!”
Once more, his sword fell like a hammer.
Shrrrip!
Three blows in a row, faster than thought.
The man’s eyes sharpened, and at last he whipped his blade to parry.
He thought he had deflected Seonu Jin’s strike—
But in that instant, Seonu Jin’s sword split apart like an illusion.
Thirteenth Form of the Seonu Thirteen Swords.
Illusory Sword Mirage
Shwaaaa—!
In an instant, hundreds of sword shadows surged forth, surrounding the man on every side.
He had never seen or even imagined such a sight.
For a moment he faltered, then snarled through clenched teeth as he swung his blade.
“They’re nothing but phantoms!”
But at that very moment—
The countless illusory blades solidified.
And all at once, they rained down upon him.
Fifteenth Form of the Seonu Thirteen Swords.
Form Is Emptiness.
Shhhhhh! Thp-thp-thp-thp-thp!
“Ghhk—!”
Hundreds of blades pierced straight through his body.
Like a hedgehog skewered from every angle, his figure trembled, blood spraying in fountains.
With unbelieving eyes, he stared at Seonu Jin one last time before collapsing to the ground.
Pffwaahk!
Thud!
His inner strength had been about eighty years’ worth—roughly on par with Seonu Jin’s current level.
Yet such a martial artist had been executed in an instant.
It was an exhilarating result.
But Seonu Jin paid him no further attention.
He rushed straight to Tang Yeo-eun.
“Lady Tang! Are you unharmed?!”
Thankfully, she bore no serious injuries.
But with her torn robes clutched desperately to her chest, her expression was dark, her eyes downcast.
She would not meet his gaze, answering in a low voice:
“I’m fine. Just… you were a little late.”
It was clear she carried a deep wound to her heart.
Seonu Jin didn’t know what to say.
It had been his choice to send her alone, his delay that had allowed her to suffer such humiliation.
And as he looked at her eyes, his heart sank.
There it was.
The faint crimson gleam.
Not an illusion—he saw it clearly now.
The same sinister hue that had stained Mok Woojeon’s and Ga Yuak’s eyes was glowing faintly within Tang Yeo-eun’s as well.
“…Lady Tang…”
Seonu Jin felt utterly lost.
He had to address it, but how could he even begin?
Carefully, he opened his mouth:
“Lady Tang, the Great Heart-Calming Sutra —you must—”
But before he could finish, the world shifted again.
The two of them were back in the forest, where they had first met the Radiant Sword.
And there he stood before them once more, oppressive killing aura flooding the air.
Seonu Jin and Tang Yeo-eun tensed, eyes fixed on him, uncertain what judgment he would pronounce.
Had they passed the Second Gate?
Had they beaten Mok Woojeon?
They held their breath until at last, the Radiant Sword spoke.
“Congratulations. You have passed the Second Gate.”
Relief burst from their lips.
“Hahhh…”
“Whew… we made it.”
It seemed Seonu Jin’s choice had aligned with the Gate’s true solution.
They had been right—at least, so they thought.
Tang Yeo-eun, now calmer, asked quickly:
“Then… we passed before the other two?”
But the Radiant Sword slowly shook his head.
And his next words froze them in place.
“No. They passed long before you did.”
“…What?”
Shock spread across their faces.
The others had passed first?
But hadn’t he said only two could survive?
The Radiant Sword’s voice was calm, but the meaning was merciless.
“They fought one another. Only Mok Woojeon remains. Thus, one of you two must also be eliminated.”
“…What?”
The words barely registered.
Mok Woojeon alone survived?
And now… one of them must fall as well?
Seonu Jin’s sharp mind pieced it together at once.
“It wasn’t… two out of both sides. It was two total. One from each side…”
His thoughts reeled.
And then he remembered the Radiant Sword’s words exactly:
‘Only two will remain. Only two among you will survive.’
Never once had he said “the first two.”
It had been their assumption.
And now the truth was plain.
Only two total. Mok Woojeon was one.
Which meant Seonu Jin and Tang Yeo-eun had to fight to the death for the other place.
Seonu Jin looked at her in despair.
Her eyes shimmered with tears as she looked back at him.
The Radiant Sword was telling him to kill her with his own hands.
That was the true meaning of the “Gate of Two.”
Such cruelty.
Grinding his teeth, Seonu Jin snapped:
“No. Absolutely not. We will never kill each other.”
Better to die himself than murder her.
But the Radiant Sword smirked—dark, wicked.
It was the first time he had smiled since they met, and it was nothing but malicious.
“Is that so? We shall see.”
A snap of his fingers.
And the world changed again.
“Ah…”
Despair filled their eyes.
They stood now on a tiny slab of rock, suspended in the middle of a vast lake of molten lava.
The heat scorched their skin, the air thick with sulfurous stench.
And the rock beneath their feet looked ready to crumble into the lava at any moment.
The Radiant Sword’s voice echoed from the air above:
“With each stick of incense, the ground beneath you will shrink. Before half an incense burns, there will be no footing left. By then, only one of you must remain. Otherwise, both will die.”
And with that, he vanished.
Leaving only Seonu Jin and Tang Yeo-eun, standing on their fragile island of stone.
For a moment, they stared at one another in mute devastation.
Then Tang Yeo-eun made her choice.
Chaaang!
She drew her sword—the crimson-threaded twin to Seonu Jin’s own, the weapon they had used to act as the Twin Blades of Azure and Crimson.
“Gongja,” she cried, her voice breaking, “draw your sword! One of us has to survive!”
Seonu Jin’s eyes were heavy with sorrow as he looked at her.
And there, in her gaze, the crimson taint burned more vividly than ever before.