As shards and dust filled the sky, two shadows shot into the air.

Yuhwarin and Unwi.

Yuhwarin couldn’t understand what was happening.

He had heard, not long ago, that Seol Unwi had killed Sugwangho of the Martial Alliance—but after all, Unwi was a martial artist, and Yuhwarin was an assassin.

Unwi didn’t understand what it meant for an assassin to reach Harmonization Realm.

Which is exactly why he dared leap into the air like that.

Madman.

He hadn’t intended to kill him, but he hadn’t expected him to be this provoking.

So now, he would shatter every limb.

After half a year in bed, he would surely reflect deeply on the arrogance soaked into his very bones.

Yuhwarin swung his arm.

In an instant, four throwing daggers were drawn and hurled at Unwi.

Murderous intent in harmony with nature dyed the sky.

Four black streaks.

They flew with staggered timing, aimed precisely at each of Unwi’s limbs.

And in that brief moment—

Yuhwarin was sure the fight was over.

Unwi was already thinking about the next move.

Heaven-Snow Pressure.

In the instant Unwi’s vision turned white, the four daggers froze in midair.

“...Huh?”

Yuhwarin muttered dumbly—too late noticing the dagger Unwi had drawn and thrown from his left waist.

Slaaash—!

The blade grazed a long line across Yuhwarin’s right shoulder. He burned with fury.

How dare he.

“You throw a dagger at an assassin?”

With a soft thunk, both men landed «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» almost simultaneously. Unwi gave a faint smirk and tossed aside his sword.

Yuhwarin, frowning, mirrored the motion—drawing a dagger from his rear waist and slashing forward.

CHANG—!

Sparks burst as dagger met sword. In that fleeting moment, Unwi charged.

Yuhwarin did the same.

Their shoulders twitched simultaneously as they passed one another.

Slaaash—!

Slaaash—!

With the sound of flesh being torn, both men sliced past each other.

A long cut formed across Unwi’s shoulder. Another along Yuhwarin’s abdomen.

Turning his head, Yuhwarin stared at Unwi with a look of disbelief.

“...What... is this?”

“What do you think? Ghost Soul Single Dagger Technique.”

“...So how do you know about that...”

Seeing Unwi’s foot come flying, Yuhwarin ducked instinctively—and saw it.

The placement of Unwi’s opposite foot, where his body leaned, where his waist and arm were aimed.

It made no sense.

Everything about that movement was undeniably from Ghost Soul Single Dagger Technique—a technique of Yuhonmun.

He focused.

If Unwi really was using that technique, then the next attack would go for the glabella.

He tilted his head to the side.

Whooosh—!

Unwi’s dagger pierced the space where Yuhwarin’s forehead had just been. Had he not dodged, it would’ve gone clean through.

Yuhwarin’s eyes scanned Unwi’s body.

The angle of his feet and shoulders, the movement of his waist.

He reflexively twisted hard and rolled sideways.

Slaaash—!!

The dagger tore a long gash across the hem of Yuhwarin’s robes.

Landing, Yuhwarin’s eyes shook violently.

He was right.

It really was Ghost Soul Single Dagger Technique.

He immediately leaned back.

Whooosh—!

A dagger grazed his face as it passed.

Rolling backward, Yuhwarin swapped the dagger from his left to his right hand.

In that fleeting moment, he saw it.

The perfect angle to pierce Unwi.

A gap only assassins could see.

He didn’t know how Unwi knew the technique—but it ended here.

No matter what’s said, a fight between an assassin and a martial artist is different. They can’t be the same.

Their battlegrounds differ. Assassins hone lethal strikes to claim lives in a single blow. How could that be the same as martial combat?

A tiny gap.

And into that gap, the perfect strike.

In such close-quarters combat, this was where assassins shone. Yuhwarin was certain of victory.

His wrist drew a subtle arc.

Reverse-Flow Dagger Technique.

As an assassin trained in the secret arts of Yuhonmun, this angle was absolute—no martial artist could dodge it.

That very instant—

Unwi lightly pushed off the ground.

Not backward.

But straight in.

It shattered Yuhwarin’s expectations.

Completely.

Slaaash—!

His right armpit.

A fatal spot—yet Unwi’s one step forward made Yuhwarin’s dagger only graze his shoulder.

The trajectory of the dagger was completely ruined.

‘This... this is impossible.’

This only made sense if the bastard knew the Reverse-Flow Dagger Technique.

Otherwise, this moment could never happen.

CRACK—!!

Unwi’s knee smashed into Yuhwarin’s jaw, and with nearly the same momentum, a dagger plunged downward.

THUNK—!

It pierced straight through Yuhwarin’s right shoulder.

Staggering backward, he reeled from the blow to his jaw—Unwi didn’t miss a beat.

In that brief moment, both men’s eyes landed on the same spot.

Two steps for Unwi. Five for Yuhwarin.

There, where Unwi had tossed his sword earlier.

As if prearranged, both men moved.

Unwi lunged forward and grabbed his sword.

Yuhwarin grabbed the dagger impaled in his right shoulder with his left hand.

The moment Unwi’s palm wrapped around the hilt, Faint Heaven Force flowed into it—instantly converting into Icy Snow Force.

At the same time, Yuhwarin yanked the dagger free.

Blood sprayed.

Through the red mist, Unwi’s sword slashed.

Absolute Ice Returning Void Sword.

Like the frozen wrath of Snow Mountain condensed into a single beam of light—it shot cold and merciless toward Yuhwarin’s neck.

Unwi's movements were clearly faster.

But—

Realm difference couldn’t be ignored.

Yuhwarin’s eyes flared.

He hadn’t intended to kill him—but now, he had no choice.

This bastard—

Had to die.

Seven Slashes Flesh-Dismembering Severance.

His Harmonization Realm power exploded forth.

Nature danced at his will. Seven deadly arcs carved the air, erasing Unwi’s Absolute Ice Returning Void Sword, and then reached for Unwi himself.

Slaash. Slash. Slash-slash—

With chilling sounds, blood sprayed from Unwi’s body.

Both arms, right chest, lower left abdomen, both thighs.

And—

The final arc.

That one was Yuhwarin’s choice.

His dagger was already touching the left side of Unwi’s neck.

He just had to cut.

So he tried.

No—he meant to.

“...Why... won’t... my hand...?”

Wouldn’t move?

Then, belatedly, he heard it.

That crackling sound.

His eyes widened.

Yuhwarin’s entire left arm was frozen solid.

“...How... is this...”

That was the end.

With a wet sound, Unwi’s sword pierced through Yuhwarin’s throat.

Then Unwi spoke.

“Do you know which Ghost Soul technique I value the most?”

“Guh... ghhh...”

“Seven Slashes Flesh-Dismembering Severance. The seven rapid strikes cut through a human’s vital points in order. Depending on how the seventh is chosen, it becomes a killing art.”

As his vision blurred, Yuhwarin finally understood.

He had lost—and was really dying.

And he understood what just happened.

Seven Slashes Flesh-Dismembering Severance.

As Unwi said, it was a simple technique: seven dagger strikes in quick succession.

But which seven was the key.

You had to know what happened to the human body when each point was struck.

“A left-handed execution. From your perspective, you’d go for my right arm and left arm first. Then the heart area during the muscle contraction, next the lower abdomen, and finally both thighs.”

Each cut went down in sequence.

Most people would guess the final target was lower.

They couldn’t help it.

All the body's nerves were already drawing downward.

It wasn’t conscious. It was instinct.

Even if they didn’t want to believe it—their body did.

That’s what the final attack exploited.

“If you’re from Yuhonmun, in that situation, you'd go for the neck. Specifically, the left side of the neck.”

At some point, Unwi’s eyes had turned completely white.

Heaven-Snow Pressure.

That was why Yuhwarin couldn’t finish the slash.

The implication was simple.

Unwi had predicted exactly where Yuhwarin’s final dagger would go.

He had accepted the six slashes—

And prepared to block only the seventh.

With no margin of error.

Unbelievable.

If he’d been even a little off—his head would’ve flown.

And yet—

“...You... predicted that...? Just who... the hell...”

“Sacrificing flesh to cut bone is the foundation of all combat, isn’t it?”

“...What kind of madman applies that principle like this...”

Unwi gave a faint smile.

“I’ll send the rest of your pavilion lords to join you soon, so don’t feel too lonely.”

He pulled out the blade.

Guhk—

As Yuhwarin spat blood, Unwi said calmly:

“Farewell.”

Then slashed.

Slaaash—!

Yuhwarin’s head soared into the air.

***

After briefly stopping the bleeding, I turned my gaze.

Before facing Yuhwarin, I had told Cheonpung—

To subdue the man by the window wearing the black gat.

Where my eyes landed, a rather strange scene unfolded.

Cheonpung, covered in blood with a dagger stuck in his right shoulder, waist, and thigh, was pinning a man beneath him.

“Hehehe... don’t move.”

“Let me go... you bastard... I said let go!”

“Oh dear... Our Branch Lord told me to hold you down. Why’s a grown man squirming like this?”

“You crazy bastard... I won’t run, just let me go already!”

“Hey now, how can I trust you? So just stay put... aagh, it hurts like hell, you goddamn— If not for orders, I’d crack your skull open, you—”

I picked up two daggers from the floor and approached.

Sensing my presence, Cheonpung looked up and grinned.

“Hehe, Branch Lord... This bastard’s one tough son of a bitch.”

I smirked.

“Well done. That’s enough. Move aside.”

“Yes, sir.”

The moment Cheonpung relaxed, the man in the black gat lunged from the ground.

Unfortunately, he didn’t get more than two steps.

Thwack—!

Thwack—!

The two daggers I threw at staggered intervals pierced his right and left thighs.

Honestly, it was impressive he even managed two steps.