Chapter 64

Seol Byeokhwa looked at Yang Suchang once more.

He was frantically searching for the device. Even if it was important, how could he abandon her like this?

Seol Byeokhwa bit her lip until it bled.

The water was up to her neck, but Jeong Charyeon truly trusted Jeok Leegeon.

Jeok Leegeon splashed water as if playing. Charyeon splashed water back at Jeok Leegeon.

Seol Byeokhwa couldn't understand their composure in this situation.

'What are they trusting in?'

On one hand, she felt a strange jealousy. It was even stronger because Yang Suchang had abandoned her.

Jeok Leegeon said to Seol Byeokhwa, "Now, we need to float upwards. Just kick your legs back and forth comfortably."

Relying on the two of them, Seol Byeokhwa kicked her legs. Her heart was pounding as if it would burst, but she didn't sink.

At that moment, Sa Ma-yeong, who was searching for the device, said urgently, "Everyone, hang in there! At this rate, we'll all die!"

Slowly, they were being pushed upwards towards the ceiling.

Everyone was terrified. Some of the women were crying. There was only enough time to count to ten before the water would fill completely.

"Save me!"

Someone's cry was followed by screams from others.

Charyeon said to Jeok Leegeon, "Do something."

Seol Byeokhwa, who was shocked and on the verge of fainting, was dumbfounded by Charyeon's words.

'What is this woman? Does she really trust this talkative man?'

But Charyeon's gaze towards Jeok Leegeon was utterly serious.

Then, Jeok Leegeon looked at Seol Byeokhwa and said, "Do you want to save all these people?"

"What?"

Jeok Leegeon grabbed Seol Byeokhwa's hand and lifted her up. It was a light-emitting object attached to the wall near the ceiling.

"Turn it with all your might!"

Unconsciously, Seol Byeokhwa turned the light-emitting object.

Creak.

At that moment, with a clunk, the opposite wall opened entirely.

Whoosh!

Water began to pour out.

"Uwaaaaa!"

Everyone was swept out as if being flushed away.

Everyone rolled on the floor. Those who had swallowed water were vomiting, but no one was injured.

As everyone regained their senses, Jeok Leegeon shouted, "The person who found the device is Miss Seol!"

Then, everyone gathered around Seol Byeokhwa with joyful faces. The Dragon Phoenix Gathering members rushed to express their gratitude.

With a dazed expression, Seol Byeokhwa looked at Jeok Leegeon. Jeok Leegeon had already taken Charyeon to the back.

Yang Suchang tried to talk to her to reconcile, but Seol Byeokhwa didn't respond. Yang Suchang gritted his teeth. Yang Suchang couldn't understand how Seol Byeokhwa, who couldn't even swim and was pale with fear, had found the Mechanical Device.

Charyeon asked Jeok Leegeon, "When did you know that was the release device?"

"As soon as I entered."

Indeed.

"How did you know it was a device?"

Moreover, there were several such light-emitting objects inside, right?

Then, Jeok Leegeon replied nonchalantly, "Only that one was misaligned."

Charyeon was startled.

There were dozens of light-emitting objects attached to the wall. To notice that one was incorrectly placed as soon as he entered the room was amazing observation.

"A confined space and water are perfect for maximizing a person's fear. It's a fantastic combination that turns smart people into fools. Moreover, the light-emitting objects were arranged regularly. At first glance, you'd intuitively think there must be some device there. But after turning the light-emitting objects one by one and repeatedly failing, people instinctively think, 'It's a trap! There's no way the solution is this easy.' And as expected, no one tried turning the light-emitting object at the top."

This guy might really be a genius. No, he is a genius! He's definitely a genius!

"Mechanical Devices or Array Formations always have a solution. Do you know why?"

Charyeon shook her head.

"Because the person who made them is human."

That was still incomprehensible.

"It means they prepare for when they get caught or when someone close to them falls into it. Because they're human. Humans instinctively hate being in a situation with no solution. They always hope that the worst despair is someone else's problem. The psychology of those who create poison is similar."

"...Because they're human?"

"Yes. Because they're human. If you properly understand that, your chances of dying in Jianghu will be reduced by half."

Where on earth have you been wandering? How did you grow up?

While Charyeon was lost in thought, Jeok Leegeon was gawking with his mouth open at the wet bodies of the women.

Ugh, you can't give him a moment's break.

Thwack.

Charyeon punched Jeok Leegeon in the stomach. Jeok Leegeon rolled around on the floor, pretending to be dying and exaggerating his pain.

The Dragon Phoenix Gathering members looked at the two of them with disdain, wondering if they had to joke around in this situation.

Of course, one of them had a different focus.

With a hateful gaze, Seol Byeokhwa glared at Yang Suchang. Yang Suchang, in turn, was angry at her gaze.

'Damn bitch. I gave her some compliments because she's pretty, and now she's full of herself.'

That feeling was evident in his expression. At that moment, the two of them crossed a point of no return.

Seol Byeokhwa turned away from him. She firmly resolved that she would never see him again after leaving this place. Suddenly, she looked at Yang Suchang and thought, he's worse than that talkative guy.

A large bonfire was lit to one side.

Everyone gathered around the bonfire to dry their clothes while wearing them. The situation just now had been no joke. If Seol Byeokhwa hadn't found the device, they would have all drowned.

A little away from them, Jeok Leegeon and Charyeon were talking.

"It was a pity. If we had waited a little longer, we might have found out who was behind it."

"What do you mean?"

"They passed the first gate safely. That means there was a possibility they would pass the second gate safely as well."

"Because there's someone behind it among them?"

"Those young ones couldn't have planned something this big. Perhaps a relative of the mastermind is among them."

Charyeon nodded in agreement.

If Seol Byeokhwa hadn't been so terrified, Jeok Leegeon would never have turned the device. And he would have watched to see who discovered the device.

On the one hand, she thought he was amazing. Even while suspecting that, he willingly opened the door for the frightened Seol Byeokhwa, with the confidence that he could catch them later. That was something only Jeok Leegeon could do.

"I saved her because she's pretty."

Because she's pretty?

At least I know that's not true for me. It would have been the same for anyone.

Charyeon was smiling to herself when Sa Ma-yeong approached.

Sa Ma-yeong seriously asked Charyeon, "Did you say that the Mechanical Device really activated earlier?"

"I'm sure of it. What's wrong?"

"But there shouldn't be anything wrong, right?"

Charyeon shouted loudly, "Instructor! Instructor!"

"Don't! Calling the instructor means you're disqualified!"

Sa Ma-yeong hurriedly stopped her.

But there was no answer, and no one appeared.

Charyeon turned around and said, "Even now?"

Only then did everyone realize the seriousness of the situation.

Charyeon calmly said, "Someone is definitely trying to kill us."

A heavy silence fell.

Everyone couldn't believe it. The Dragon Phoenix Gathering hosted by the Northern Sky Hegemon Clan was going wrong? Everyone's expression became even more serious when they heard that the entrance they came through was blocked by a powerful Array Formation, making it impossible to return.

Yang Ok-ran cautiously offered her opinion.

"What if we just wait for help?"

It wasn't a bad idea. If they didn't return, hundreds, even thousands, of Martial Artists would immediately storm the island.

"But if someone is intentionally targeting us, we can't say that staying here is safe either."

Yang Suchang agreed with Im Ha-gi's opinion for once.

"I agree. Moreover, passively waiting like this is not something my pride will allow."

The reasons were different, but they agreed that they couldn't stay still.

The others didn't have much different thoughts.

In the end, they decided to keep moving forward.

After taking a short break, the group moved forward again.

How long had they been walking?

Peeing--

A sharp metallic sound was heard. The next moment, a scream erupted.

"Uwaaaaaack!"

Someone fell, letting out a terrible scream.

It was Ga Yang-hui, who had been walking alone.

Blood spurted from her ankle as she fell. Her ankle had been severed. Yang Ok-ran and Min Seol-a, who were nearby, screamed at the gruesome sight.

Ga Yang-hui grabbed her ankle and writhed.

"Everyone, be careful!"

Im Ha-gi shouted.

Mechanical Devices that cut off ankles were buried everywhere. If you stepped on a spot where a device was buried, the device would activate. It was a truly cruel device.

However, no one nearby dared to approach Ga Yang-hui. They were afraid that another device might activate.

The people who approached her were Heuk-hwa and Cheol-sin.

The two of them carefully poked the ground with their swords, taking turns. They approached Ga Yang-hui while checking.

"Stop! It's dangerous!"

Im Ha-gi shouted again, but the two of them didn't listen.

Eventually, the two of them reached the spot where Ga Yang-hui had fallen.

Heuk-hwa quickly pressed on her Blood Point to stop the bleeding from her ankle.

And immediately, he touched Ga Yang-hui's Blood Point.

Jeok Leegeon, who was watching their actions, said, "They're useful."

"They're very good people."

Jeok Leegeon nodded as if agreeing.

"It's not easy to be that calm at such a young age."

That goes for you too.

Suddenly, the other Jianghu that Jeok Leegeon had mentioned came to mind.

Perhaps that kind of friend lived in that other Jianghu. They were of a similar age, but they felt much older than her.

"Everyone, don't move recklessly!"

Im Ha-gi shouted irritably.

He was annoyed at the two people who had disobeyed his orders and gone to save Ga Yang-hui. But even the arrogant himself couldn't openly get angry at them for going to save someone.

"Slowly, everyone gather behind me."

Then, Yang Suchang said with a sneer, "That's ridiculous."

Yang Suchang drew his sword and walked forward, checking the ground. On Se-cheol of the Black Blade Sect and Min Seol-a of the Four Poison Castle followed him.

Im Yang-gu, Jang In-geol, and Jang In-hwa gathered behind Im Ha-gi.

"Brother, let's go by ourselves."

Jang In-geol chimed in at Im Yang-gu's words.

"We only trust Sohyeop Im."

Jang In-geol inwardly hated Im Ha-gi, but he didn't mind being a well-behaved dog on the outside.

Jeok Leegeon clicked his tongue.

"Even the young ones are dividing into factions and fighting like that. Later, hundreds, even thousands, of Martial Artists will die because of those guys' words, right?"

There was some exaggeration, but she thought it wasn't wrong. It was also an extension of the feeling she had when she saw Im Ha-gi on the ship earlier.

Charyeon sighed together and asked, "What about us?"

"What do you mean, what about us? We have to stick with them."

As he said that, he stuck behind Heuk-hwa and Cheol-sin, who had just started clearing the path with their swords.

Oops? If we do this, aren't we dividing into factions as well?

Seol Byeokhwa, who had fallen out with Yang Suchang, chose Jeok Leegeon and Charyeon.

"Let's go together."

Charyeon gladly welcomed her joining. It wasn't just Charyeon, but Seol Byeokhwa's curiosity about Jeok Leegeon also played a part in her choosing the two of them. She was curious about how Jeok Leegeon had figured out the device to open the door earlier.

On the one hand, she was also suspicious.

She suspected that Jeok Leegeon and Charyeon might be behind this. She thought she should monitor them in any case. Anyway, as long as they got out of the island, they could catch everyone behind this. Her father, as well as all the experts of Green Water Villa, would step forward.

In that way, they divided into three groups and cleared the path.

The cautious movement continued. How far had they gone?

Kkiiing!

An unpleasant sound was heard from behind.

Clang, clang, clang.

Three devices popped out from the floor they had passed. It was truly an unexpected variable.

Pee pee pee peeing!

Dozens of Hidden weapons flew in all at once. There were too many to deflect with a sword.

Someone shouted.

"Everyone, lie down!"

The Dragon Phoenix Gathering members reflexively lay down all at once.

Shwingshwing shwing shwing shwing!

The Hidden weapons flew over everyone's heads.

But that place was full of dangerous devices everywhere.

Peeing!

Someone triggered a device.

"Kuaaaack!"

A man from the Sky Way Clan grabbed his neck and rolled on the floor. He had triggered a device that cut off ankles while lying down.

As he rolled on the floor in pain, he triggered another device.

Peeing!

The flying saw blade this time hit On Se-cheol of the Black Blade Sect, who was lying next to him, in the shoulder.

"Kkeuek!"

Blood spurted from his shoulder.

The man from the Sky Way Clan was still rolling on the floor.

"It's dangerous!"

Thwack!

A sword flew and pierced his chest. He trembled all over and died.

The person who stabbed the sword while lying down was Jang In-geol, who was lying next to him. It was an unavoidable choice to protect himself.

The Hidden weapons no longer flew.

Everyone awkwardly got up.

"It was the right choice."

Im Ha-gi took Jang In-geol's side, maintaining a low posture where he could avoid Hidden weapons at any time. The others also couldn't criticize Jang In-geol's choice. They thought they wouldn't have been able to help it either.

Next to the corpse of the dead man from the Sky Way Clan, the woman who had come to the Dragon Phoenix Gathering with him was crying.

"That's too much."

Still lying down, Charyeon turned away from the scene.

No matter how unavoidable it was, to kill him so heartlessly.

But Charyeon also couldn't push Jang In-geol.

"Am I a bad person?"

Jeok Leegeon, who was lying next to her, replied to Charyeon's words.

"Just having that guilty feeling is good enough. That doesn't even exist in this world anymore. It's a world where having such thoughts is foolish."

Charyeon sighed.

At that moment, Charyeon's eyes widened.

Huh? What is this?

Jeok Leegeon's hand was under her chest, which was lying down.

This bastard!

Thwack!

She mercilessly slapped Jeok Leegeon's face. It was more out of embarrassment than dislike.

Charyeon jumped up. Jeok Leegeon got up, making dying noises.

She was about to say something more when she saw something on the ground.

It was a broken device.

"Could it be?"

There was a device on the floor she had avoided, and Jeok Leegeon had blocked it with his hand.

"You?"

Jeok Leegeon smiled. He showed the word 'God' on the palm of his left hand.

Ah, it was the hand with the Wind God.

Charyeon sighed. She felt sorry.

You could have avoided my punch, why do you keep getting hit and making me feel sorry?

The heirs of the Four Hegemons all rushed to treat On Se-cheol's wound. It was a very contrasting action compared to Ga Yang-hui's case earlier. Moreover, no one even cared about the corpse of the man from the Sky Way Clan.

This time, Cheol-sin approached and cleaned up the corpse to one side. Heuk-hwa was taking care of Ga Yang-hui to one side.

"I like them more and more. Those guys."

"Why? Are you going to make them your subordinates and Conquest of the World?"

She said it jokingly, but Jeok Leegeon took it seriously.

"How did you know?"

I can't win. I shouldn't have said anything.

"If that's the case, this Dragon Phoenix Gathering isn't a complete loss. Hahaha."

Look here, our lives are on the line right now!

Only after On Se-cheol's treatment was finished did they start moving.

The heirs of the Four Hegemons were furious. They had grown up without fear in the world. They had never dreamed that someone would target them.

But the ambush just now was truly terrifying.

If someone hadn't shouted to lie down, more people would have died. They didn't know that it was Jeok Leegeon's shout.

After walking for a while, they met another group of Dragon Phoenix Gathering members.

It was the group from the Four Great Clans. They also looked like they had been completely defeated.

Paeng Yeorip had one arm wrapped in cloth, and Namgung Hui-yeon was also being supported because of her injured thigh. They also said that two people had died. Among the Four Great Clans, only Paeng Yeorip had been injured.

Did the external crisis make the internal unite?

The gazes that had been trying to devour each other were now much softer.

Rather, they seemed very happy to have met each other.

First of all, it was a priority to combine forces and get out of this place.

They cleared the path again. Even after walking for a long time, a new gate didn't appear.

How long had they been walking?

"Huh? The floor is strange?"

Jeok Leegeon stomped on the floor with his foot. A metallic sound was heard from the floor.

When they dug up the dirt, they found that the floor was covered with iron plates. At that sight, everyone looked at their feet. The entire floor was covered with iron plates.

"Oh? I have a bad feeling about this?"

That was when it happened.

Clang.

The sound of machinery moving echoed, and the floor felt hollow. The iron plates that had supported the floor were being retracted somewhere at a rapid pace.

Whoosh.

Simultaneously, everyone fell into the ground. Beneath the thinly covered soil was a swamp. Everyone sank up to their waists.

"What is this?"

The startled Dragon Phoenix warriors struggled, but the more they thrashed, the deeper they sank.

Swoosh.

Even trying to summon Inner Force to fly out was useless. This was no ordinary swamp.

Jeok Leegeon said to Jeong Charyeon, "Don't struggle. It's a Hell Swamp mixed with Insulating Sand!"

"Insulating Sand? Hell Swamp?"

"It's called that because it's said to sever connections. The more you move, the more it sucks you in and blocks your Inner Force, so you can't escape with ordinary Inner Force. It's rare to see this in the Central Plains. I only saw it once in Xinjiang, and even then, it was in a really remote place. Whoever did this is remarkable."

"Then what do we do?"

"Someone has to pull us out from the outside."

"And if there's no one to do that?"

"Then we can't get out."

He must be joking, right?

It was then.

Whirrrrr.

A strange sound echoed again. In the current situation, it was an ominous and unpleasant sound.

The ground opened, and something enormous revealed itself from within. Yang Suchang shouted in surprise.

"Look at that!"

Even he, who was usually so composed, was greatly startled this time.

It was a large tree with a massive blade attached to it.

If that fell, their torsos would be cleanly severed. Moreover, they were in a position where they couldn't move at all.

"Aaaaaah! Save me!"

The Dragon Phoenix warriors thrashed madly, but the more they did, the deeper they sank into the swamp.

Whoooooosh!

The blade fell, creating a massive gust of wind.

"Aaaaaah!"

Min Seol-a screamed as if having a seizure near where the blade was falling.