Chapter 8: The Tiger Steps into the Web
The forest was unnaturally silent.
Not a single bird called. Not a single leaf rustled.
It was the kind of silence only predators respected—and the kind prey feared.
Jang Hui walked through it, calm as ever.
His hands were behind his back, his steps measured. He moved not like a man, but a whisper in the dark. His robes didn't sway. His breath didn't fog. Even his spiritual energy was suppressed to the level of a mortal.
But Mu-won saw him coming. Felt him the moment his foot touched the perimeter.
> "He's masking his presence well. If I wasn't tuned into the Blood Resonance state, I'd have missed it completely."
Mu-won crouched high in a tree, his breath slow and shallow. Sweat glistened along his temple—not from fear, but from anticipation.
He'd spent the last two nights weaving the web.
Pressure-sensitive qi traps, poison-imbued threads, talismans that created phantom illusions—all designed not to kill, but to bleed Jang Hui.
And now, the tiger had stepped into the spider's lair.
---
SNAP.
The first thread was tripped.
Instantly, several illusion talismans flared to life, flooding the area with dozens of Mu-won clones—each sprinting in a different direction, their presence faint but sharp enough to confuse a lesser martial artist.
Jang Hui's eyes narrowed. He didn't strike. Instead, he spun once and let out a small wave of qi that dissipated the illusions.
But the real danger wasn't the clones.
It was the trap beneath them.
CRACK—BOOM!
From below, six reinforced iron spikes erupted upward, coated with venom extracted from forest snakes. They launched with unnatural speed, too fast for most eyes.
But Jang Hui flicked his fingers once.
A wall of jade energy spun around him, deflecting the spikes with a metallic clang.
He looked mildly annoyed.
> "Trickery and toys. This reeks of desperation."
---
But Mu-won wasn't watching anymore.
He had already moved. While the traps played their role, he dashed in from the side, palm glowing faint red.
> "Three seconds. That's all I need to land one hit."
His body moved like lightning, the Crimson Pulse surging through his limbs. Blood vessels bulged as raw power flooded his muscles.
Jang Hui turned just in time to see him appear out of thin air.
> Boom!
Mu-won's palm collided with the elder's shoulder—not a direct hit, but enough to push the jade barrier inward. A visible crack formed.
Jang Hui grunted and staggered a step back.
It wasn't much.
But it was the first time anyone below the master rank had ever made him move.
> "Impressive," Jang Hui said, raising his hands now. "You're not some country brat after all."
Mu-won didn't respond. He didn't have time.
The recoil from the strike had torn several tendons in his arm. Blood leaked from his nose. But his grin widened.
> "So the old man bleeds after all."
Jang Hui looked at his shoulder. A faint bruise was forming.
He sighed.
And then the smile faded from his face.
> "I've changed my mind," he said coldly. "You don't have three days anymore."
He drew his sword.
---
To be continued...