'If they've come this far, it's no wonder that I couldn't sense them from the campsite! Then again, based on the time it would have taken to reach this place, they can't be too far from here!'
He closed his eyes, allowing his energy to expand in an attempt to feel their presence and energetic traces once more.
After some time, he opened his eyes once more, pointing in a specific direction.
"It's there! One warrior can go and let the teachers of the other group know, and the other warrior can go and inform the Princ.i.p.al!"
Kang-hyuk then headed towards the direction of where he had intuited the missing group to be.
"Let's go together!"
"We need to hurry up!"
He gnashed his teeth in anger.
'How dare they go after students of the school that I'm working at! I'll make sure to let those responsible for this to have a thorough experience of why my nickname is the Dragon Lord!'
He began to speed up his pace using Gyeonggong.
He was a little frustrated that he had to take Yun Hseong along with him.
Yun Hseong's accompaniment meant that he had had to slow down his pace.
Yun Hseong however, was oblivious to Kang-hyuk's feelings, and was finding Kang-hyuk's slowed pace hard to keep up with. He was embarra.s.sed at the fact that he was already out of breath.
Ever since he attained a peak level of cultivation, he had never experienced feeling out of breath whilst using Gyeonggong till this day.
He felt that this would be the first and last time that he was going to test his Gyeonggong abilities to go at this electrifying pace.
'But Kang Seonsaeng doesn't look strained in any way! What kind of incredible Qi level must he possess?!'
He felt as though this was a further confirmation to his previous suspicions.
'No wonder, it's the cultivation level of the secret envoy that the Clan Leader himself placed within the Academy!'
What was a further embarra.s.sment to Yun Hseong was that even Kang-hyuk's puppy, Deuk, was able to run at a pace that kept up with Kang-hyuk's.
'As a man, I shouldn't lose to Deuk!'
As a result, Yun Hseong pushed himself further.
But at that moment, a telepathic message entered his head, taking him by surprise.
It was sent by Kang-hyuk.
-Do you see that tall tree we're approaching?
-Ah! I-I see it!
-I can feel Oh Seonsaeng's energy in the area around that tree!
- ...?
A question entered Yun Hseong's mind. He wondered why Kang-hyuk had specified Oh-Tae's energy.
He therefore, asked.
-Are the others with him?
Unfortunately, he received no response to his question.
It was because they had just arrived in front of the tall tree that Kang-hyuk had specified, and in front of the tree lay Oh-Tae, b.l.o.o.d.y and collapsed.
"Oh Seonsaeng! Wake up! Oh Seonsaeng!"
Yun Hseong approached Oh-Tae, crying out his name in an attempt to arouse his consciousness. Oh-Tae slowly opened his eyes in response to the sound.
"Uh…."
He didn't seem to be in good condition.
"Ka, Kang-hyuk Seonsaeng? Yun Hseong Seonsaeng?"
"Yes, it's us!"
Yun Hseong then asked in an urgent manner.
"What on earth happened? And where are the others?"
"Ahh!"
He let out a sorrowful groan.
"It's all my fault! If only I had been more careful…."
Kang-hyuk then walked up, kicking him without hesitation.
*Pok!*
Oh-Tae's body moved backwards, hitting the tree.
"Ouch!"
As Oh-Tae groaned in pain, Yun Hseong cried out in surprise. Kicking an injured man was something that was beyond his comprehension.
"Kkang Seonsaeng! What are you doing! Oh Seonsaeng is injured right now!"
Kang-hyuk simply snorted in response.
"Hah! He won't die from something as minor as this! Whilst he's b.l.o.o.d.y, his only injury is from being slashed by a sword on his arm. His collapsed condition is like that just because he's been drugged!"
Oh-Tae then glared at him.
"Ho, how can you know that for sure!?"
"Even if I hadn't said anything, Yun Seonsaeng, you must have noticed it as well, right?"
Yun Hseong nodded.
"I can feel the energy of a drug on Oh Seonsaeng. And the fact that out of your whole group, no one managed to escape. It's quite unusual."
Kang-hyuk then addressed Oh-Tae, who was still moaning in pain.
"Right now isn't the time to be blaming yourself! You can blame yourself later, but for now, you need to tell us all of the details of the situation. Be clear and concise!"
Kang-hyuk had a point.
Oh-Tae then explained the full details of what happened.
"We had gone into the forest to find the red ribbons, and we had found a ribbon hanging off a tree. But just as soon as someone had almost taken the ribbon off the tree, a hawk swooped down, and s.n.a.t.c.hed it off of their hands!"
"A hawk?"
"The students then chased after the hawk, whilst Dang Eun-ah Seonsaeng and I followed behind the students. But then, it turned out to be a trap!"
"What do you mean? A trap?"
Oh-Tae smashed his fist onto the ground at Yun Hseong's further pressing.
*Bang!*
"The hawk had been sent by them to lure us! We tried to resist, but it was pointless. As Kang Seonsaeng said, they released some sort of drugging substance, causing all of the students to become unconscious."
"Did you and Dang Seonsaeng also immediately become unconscious?"
"No, we remained somewhat conscious, and could move a little bit. So, with the help of Dang Seonsaeng, when they were about to lift us up to carry us away, I escaped so that I could inform you all of what had happened…."
Yun Hseong then looked puzzled.
"But why is there no energetic trace remaining from here to wherever the attackers took the rest of the group?"
Kang-hyuk replied to his query not long after.
"They used a special substance. It's a substance that erases all energetic traces. Furthermore, the type of Gyeonggong they used to move is the Footless Blood Snake Gyeonggong."
He continued, "This particular form of Gyeonggyeong is modeled after the smooth movement of a snake, that doesn't have feet, and is known to leave no traces behind, physically or energetically. And to be able to use this type of Gyeonggong, you have to be a pract.i.tioner of a certain type of martial arts from the beginning."
"A special Gyeongyeong?"
"You have to be practising Dark Cultivation."
"...!"
Yun Hseong's eyes widened.
"Th, then…."
"Indeed! It's the Blood Snake Sect! They're hiding right over there."
Yun Hseong immediately sprang up at his words, and Oh-Tae clenched his jaw.
But there was no one that could be seen at the location Kang-hyuk had pointed towards, no energy could be felt there either.
Yun Hseong looked perplexed, whilst Oh-Tae had an expression saying 'I knew it' all over his face.
"Why are you spouting rubbish at a time like this! You should really look at the situation and then…."
"Just shut up."
"...."
Oh-Tae blinked at Kang-hyuk's sudden commanding roar.
Up until that point, Kang-hyuk hadn't really responded to whatever he had done, perhaps snorting at the very most.
But at that point in time, Kang-hyuk seemed to have taken on a totally different persona.
"So it's the Black Snake Sect, hiding their energy! You're all probably using the Viper Stealth Technique right now, aren't you?!"
Kang-hyuk stared at where he knew the Black Snake Sect's men were hiding.
"If you don't come out by yourselves….."
Kang-hyuk stamped his foot down.
*Bang!*
His movement caused the earth to begin trembling, but its aftereffects didn't stop there.
A powerful energy spread out in a radiating manner, with Kang-hyuk at its centre. The surrounding bushes and gra.s.s were all swept away with its force.
"Ah!"
"...!"
.Five men from the Black Snake Sect immediately appeared from the location where Kang-hyuk had pointed.
They stared at Kang-hyuk with widened eyes, taken aback as Kang-hyuk approached them, and then addressed Oh-Tae.
"Even if Dang Seonsaeng helped you, did you really think you'd be able to successfully escape with the smell of blood trailing off of you?"
"Hmph!"
Oh-Tae groaned once more.
"You were the bait, and the real objective was to catch a larger fish."
This was something that Oh-Tae hadn't considered at all.
'I was bait!'
He looked at Yun Hseong and Kang-hyuk with an anxious gaze.
Kang-hyuk had just demonstrated a G.o.d-like level of force, but Oh-Tae simply dismissed it as mere coincidence.
One of the five warriors of the Black Snake Sect spoke up.
"You're quite sharp."
"Thanks for your praise, but I'm a little busy at the moment!"
"Crazy b.a.s.t.a.r.d! Kill him!"
A warrior then reached into his sleeve, taking something out. He then threw it at Kang-hyuk.
*Pung!*
It was a specially designed drug bottle made of bamboo that exploded, spreading its contents when it was thrown at the designated victim.
The substance within the bottle was well-known to have the effect of making a person unconscious.
The men, having already seen the effects of the substance on the teachers and the students, were under the impression that Kang-hyuk too would soon be collapsing.
However…..
"Why are you playing about when I said I was busy? These b.a.s.t.a.r.ds!"
As he spoke, a blaze of fire appeared, surrounding Kang-hyuk's body.
Kang-hyuk had already been aware that the drug they were using originated from the Dark Medicine Valley and so, he had utilized the Three Seals of Fire Gra.s.s to burn away the effects of the drug.
The weak point of all substances manufactured by the Dark Medicine Valley was fire Qi, which rendered them ineffective.
Kang-hyuk took the attendance book out from his sleeve, swinging it around.
With the next swing, he threw the book in the direction of the Black Snake Sect warriors.
*Popopopopeok!*
With each swing of the book, men's necks were broken, and they died on the spot.
After having dealt with all five warriors in what seemed like the blink of an eye, Kang-hyuk ma.s.saged his shoulders with the attendance book, and then addressed Yun Hseong.
"Yun Seonsaeng."
"Ah! Yes!"
Unconsciously, Yun Hseong had increased the level of formality in his speech.
"We've been a little delayed, but we need to leave at this very moment!"
"Yes!"
He then looked down at Deuk and spoke, "Deuk-ah! You stay here, and guide the other warriors that come to where I'm going, okay?"
*Woof*
"I'll leave it to you."
Deuk nodded his head.
Oh-Tae stood up with difficulty, and said, "I, I too will come!"
"People who won't be helpful can't come."
Oh-Tae dropped down to his knees at Kang-hyuk's icy words.
"Please let me come, so that I can at least uphold my honour!"
"Please cut that bulls.h.i.t out. You can't call what you've been holding onto this whole time honour."
"...."
Oh-Tae was speechless.
*Kung!*
In that moment, Oh-Tae prostrated before Kang-hyuk, smashing his forehead onto the ground.
The pain of doing so was likely to be quite severe, owing to Kang-hyuk's earlier kick, but regardless, Oh-Tae was persistent, and remained in prostration.
*Kung!*
*Kung!*
It was as though he had made his mind up to die on the spot if Kang-hyuk didn't take him with him.
Kang-hyuk sighed.
'I said I was in a rush! Why is he doing that! Tsk tsk!'
He took a small box out of his sleeve, and threw it at Oh-Tae.
*Teuk.*
"If you want to come along, you can do so after eating that! I don't want to have to bring back a corpse after taking someone who's injured along with me!"
Kang-hyuk then moved in the direction where he could feel the energy of the kidnapped group.
Yun Hseong glanced at Oh-Tae, and then followed Kang-hyuk.
Kang-hyuk's pace wasn't easy to follow behind.
"...."
Oh-Tae opened the box that Kang-hyuk had thrown at him. Inside was a medicinal pill.
He momentarily glanced up to see that Kang-hyuk was already far off into the distance. He quickly ate the pill, and became startled.
The very moment the pill had entered his mouth, and dissolved in his throat, all the pain within his body melted away, his injuries had healed, and his Qi levels were restored.
Only then was he able to fully understand Kang-hyuk's words — 'I don't want to have to bring back a corpse after taking someone who's injured along with me.'
He got up and began running, urgently trying to catch up with Kang-hyuk.
***
Goman Mountain was a mountain located just in front of Goseon Mountain, in the outskirts of Nakyang.
The mountain was filled with so many caves, that it was as if the many boulders that made up the mountain resided within the caves.
Amongst those many caves, there was a cave that couldn't be seen from the outside.
That cave was filled with blood and incessant screams.
*Pok!*
"Arrghhhh!"
"This b.i.t.c.h! Speak immediately! That lad, what did he do?"
"I-I don't know."
A bald man wearing black robes was showing off his brawny figure.
There was a tattoo of a black snake on his wrist. It was the tattoo of the Black Snake Sect.
The man that introduced himself as a leading figure of the Black Snake Sect's name was Hae-sak.
He was in the midst of a brawl with Dang Eun-ah.
