Prologue (Part 3)

He shook his head as he cut his train of memories...

'It seems they have already caught up...'

Hundreds of footsteps echo in the distance as Jo Do-Yoon glanced towards the side. He saw hundreds of other martial artists encircling him hundreds of meters away, looking at him with absolute fear. After they saw that even the strongest amongst them, the elders, was minced into countless pieces of human meat, their legs immediately shook as all of them realized that the man they were about to face was way beyond the scope of their imagination. Every single one of them, no matter how strong they are, were hesitant to face him.

Seeing this, Jo Do-Yoon smirked.

"Come on, that can't be it, right? You are all renowned martial artists and you people are the ones who ambushed me in the first place! Is this how the Justice Faction operates nowadays? What a joke!" he laughed boisterously as he insulted them all.

The martial artists heard this and their eyes turned bloodshot. The amount of anger and humiliation inside them is enough to drown a whole city. They knew that they could not just take insults like this, but the huge difference in strength rendered them hopeless even with huge numbers.

"A-Anyone... Could anyone else step forward and stop him...?"

"D-Divine Thief Jo Do-Yoon, you will not get away with this..."

"Y-Yu Liang! You are the man with the fastest kick in all of Central Plains! Go face him, you're our only hope!"

"Shut up, you snake-like bastard! Are you telling me to go die!?"

"What!? Don't y..."

"How..."

"..."

"..."

In the end, not a single one dares to step forward to face him. Seeing this, Jo Do-Yoon laughed boisterously.

At this large battlefield filled with corpses and rivers of blood, he stood victoriously amongst them all. Despite there being hundreds of martial artists surrounding him, he is still like an unbreakable wall that cannot be scratched no matter what they do. He is simply having fun toying around with them.

'Yes, good! Fear me! Give up this meaningless ambush and get the hell away from me forever!' he mocked in his heart.

But then, a voice came from the crowd.

"So you are the Divine Thief..."

'HMM?!!'

His senses immediately flared up as a sign of danger that he had long forgotten started to resurface. Jo Do-Yoon quickly turned around toward the direction of the ominous voice. The owner of the voice didn't seem to have shouted at all, yet his voice reverberated through the battlefield. It almost sounded mystical...

In the middle of those cowardly martial artists, he quickly found the owner of the voice.

He saw a young man who looked to be in his twenties. Long white hair cascaded down to his waist like a waterfall and his blue eyes were sharp and filled with an eerie calmness. Cladded in simple white robes, his build was neither muscular nor lean, it was... perfect. In simple words, the young man was the embodiment of perfection, not a single flaw can be seen in his appearance.

'T-This... Who in the world!? I can't sense him at all! I can't measure his strength!!' Jo Do-Yoon screamed mentally. This appearance of this mysteriously powerful young man on the battlefield was completely out of his prediction, no... He hasn't even heard of someone like him in the first place!

In this world, there are only ten people who could rival him in terms of strength and three figures who could completely overpower him. They were the ten kings and three sages who were legendary figures known all over the world for their martial skills. Every single one of them took the highest position within their clans and sects, although some preferred to live in seclusion to dedicate themselves to martial arts. Jo Do-Yoon has made sure to remember every single one of them in an attempt to avoid them and not bring too much trouble into his hands. Nevertheless, people of their strength should have been known by the world no matter how reclusive they were. Yet, no matter how much he recalled, there was no information about this mysterious young man at all!

Beads of sweat started to drip down his forehead as he became anxious for the first time in many years. He slowly changed his posture into a serious battle stance as he started to realize that this young man was definitely beyond his level. Things are going to get messy...

The young man smiles,

"I have heard that you managed to take down many different sects alone by relying on your own strength. Now that I looked at you, I can understand why..."

He continued to approach him with a stoic and mysterious demeanor. After reaching a certain point, he stopped and drew a long sword from his waist,

VOOOM!!

Then, the man's figure disappeared into many afterimages as he dashed toward Jo Do-Yoon like a meteor!

The speed was so fast that the mysterious young man's figure only flashed like a blinding light. Even Jo Do-Yoon whose eyes could catch even the tiniest of movements could not catch up to his speed even one bit and could only assume the man had teleported.

At this time, the young man casually swings his sword downward toward Jo Do-Yoon!

Jo Do-Yoon's eyes widened as he immediately knew his next move. He noticed the attack didn't even contain any Qi, yet it was many times more powerful than his ultimate technique!

'Argh, not good!! This attack is...!'

Jo Do-Yoon immediately clutched his blade as he decided to block this attack with all his might. With the speed the young man dashed with, it was simply impossible for him to dodge or escape. He poured all of his Qi from every part of his body into a single point as his blade started to glow with a blinding light.

Absolute Blade Technique, 5th Move, Demon Blade Spirit!

An enormous shadow of a blade god immediately materialized behind him as Jo Do-Yoon got into a strange posture. He stood on one leg with his blade raised toward the heavens. Any martial artist who has a lot of experience would assume this stance as the stupidest move he could make, but this technique goes way deeper than that. It involves the user taking on the most extreme posture to exert the most extreme amount of power imaginable, completely breaking through the human body's limit.

After a bit, his eyes shone with a red light. The moment his other leg descended to the ground, his figure immediately disappeared into countless afterimages as he dashed forward with a speed equaling that of the mysterious young man.

At that moment, both attacks connected and destruction broke out,

BOOM!!!

A terrifying explosion that destroyed everything within a radius of a hundred meters occurred, followed by an earthquake. Trees and boulders were blown into smithereens and the other onlookers that were encircling Jo Do-Yoon were no exception. Many people lost their lives immediately as their bodies were wrecked into countless pieces.

Through the clouds of dust from the explosion, one can see two figures amidst the smoke. One was the young man in a simple slashing posture and the other was Jo Do-Yoon, flung away by hundreds of meters until he fell powerlessly to the ground.

After the dust dissipated, the world came back to light as the result revealed itself.

The young man casually sheathed his sword back to his waist as he strode casually toward Jo Do-Yoon. Jo Do-Yoon however, was shaken to his very core as he barely managed to make his body stand on his knees. A massive fissure was present on his upper body that extended from his shoulder to his upper stomach. His right hand was missing as blood poured unceasingly forming a pool on the ground, while the other hand that was clutching his blade was severely fractured.

With a single attack, Jo Do-Yoon was rendered crippled without any resistance.

"URGHH!!!"

He spouted a mouthful of blood as he dropped to his knees...

'What in the world just happened...? How did I get reduced to this state after just a single exchange of moves!? That was my strongest attack!!'

Questions upon questions appeared in his head as he continued to lie in that state. This turn of events was way too quick and shocking. Even he did not have any time to react. But the biggest question is, who in the world is this young man!? How did he defeat him, one of the strongest martial artists so easily!?

However, his thoughts were interrupted as the young man had now arrived before him.

*Clap clap clap...

"Interesting, very interesting! You actually managed to defend my attack!" The young man cheered in a mocking tone toward him who was completely defeated.

'Fuck you!' Jo Do-Yoon scowled internally.

"Truly worthy of the Divine Thief, your reputation was well deserved. In this world, the number of people who could stand my attack could be counted with a single hand and you were one of them! But that blade technique..." he exclaimed before staring into the depths of Jo-Do-Yoon's soul. It seemed as if he recalled something or someone from the Absolute Blade technique that he had displayed and Jo Do-Yoon was completely confused. But after a while, the young man quickly shook his head as he put away his thoughts, "Never mind... Ah yes, before I get carried away, let me get straight to business..." 

At that moment, he crouched until he was face-to-face with Jo Do-Yoon,

"Hand me over the Divine Pearl and only then I shall let you go freely! You see, it seems the Murim Alliance was really pissed at you and I am tasked to return that pearl back to them. But to be honest, I don't really find their offers appealing at all. Instead, I need that pearl for something else..."

"..."

The young man's smile was bright and cheerful, but Jo Do-Yoon wouldn't be tricked by his appearance. He could see that deep inside his eyes hid some cunningness and malice. He has seen those kinds of eyes in many high-ranking people of the Evil Faction throughout his journey. The Hao Sect's leader was one of them and he would never forget the likes of these people...

"Come on, why are you simply staring at me just like that? You want to live, don't you? Then just simply hand it to me, no need to waste any more time." he continued with an indifferent tone.

Jo Do-Yoon could only clutch his hand mentally as he endured this humiliation. He is not the most patient person in the world, but he could definitely endure something like this. All he has to do is keep silent... or not.

'This fucker... does he think I will fall for such a petty trick...? He will definitely kill me the moment I show him the Divine Pearl. Hmph, even so, I will struggle till the end! I might die this time around, but I will not let you have your way with this... I'll see how you will take the pearl away from me!' Jo Do-Yoon screamed in his mind. He struggled to stand up and attack him, but his injuries were so severe that he fell back to his knees the next moment.

"AHAHAHAHA! Don't even try to think about it! You wouldn't be able to defeat me with that puny strength of yours!"

"URRGHH!! DAMN YOU...!!"

"...

"I didn't give you permission to talk back to me, did I?" he asked with an ominous tone as his smile instantly disappeared from his face.

CRACK!

Suddenly, he smashed his fist into Jo Do-Yoon's foot on the ground, instantly breaking it. His tempered bones didn't even manage to resist for a bit as it was cracked from top to bottom!

AAARGHHHH!!!

Jo Do-Yoon screamed from the top of his lungs. The amount of pain he was experiencing was simply unbearable and the pressuring aura of the man before him didn't help either. Little by little his vision started to blur, but he continued to persevere through with the fire of hate in his eyes.

"Oh? It seems that you are still fired up... That is fine, you can stare at me like that however you want until you give me that pearl. Don't blame me for this, I have given you a choice to make this easy, but you chose the hard way instead..."

CRACK!

"UGH!"

The man proceeded to smash Jo Do-Yoon's leg once again. This time it was much more painful with a bit of a burning sensation on it. This was straight-up a torture show, with some surviving martial artists in the back watching in disbelief. The great Divine Thief was rendered powerless by a mysterious young man.

As time passes, the more brutal the torture gets. It went from simply breaking his legs to skinning him alive, slashing his limbs bit by bit, and other painful procedures, all in the middle of the battlefield. At this point, even Jo Do-Yoon's mental capacity was starting to get overwhelmed.

After what feels like hours of torture, he finally admits his defeat...

"ALRIGHT, I GIVE UP!! I GIVE UP!!"

Even though he was strong it doesn't mean that he had a great amount of willpower. Let alone, there was really no point in resisting the young man anymore now that he was rendered powerless. In the end, he could probably just kill Jo Do-Yoon and forcefully take the Divine Pearl from him anyway. It was time for him to give up, no need for him to suffer unnecessarily.

'Sigh, whatever. Although since the beginning I expected my end to be like this, I didn't think would be this early! To think my life would shine like a shooting star and fall like one as well...'

He decided to look around and see the world for one last time before his impending death. The surrounding terrains were completely destroyed and were full of craters and destruction mostly caused by his power. Not a single life was present around him, all greeneries and animals died in the clashes of his battles for the past few hours, with the exception of a few onlookers on the back. In the end, everything he did only caused destruction and nothing more.

'Sigh... hm?'

But then at this time, he noticed something as he slightly glanced toward his back. Behind him lies a massive ravine that was extremely large beyond imagination. The ravine was so deep that even his trained eyes could not see what lay in its depth. The inside was only filled with an endless abyss as if the bright light above could not pierce through it at all.

Seeing this breathtaking sight, his brain worked like an engine before he smiled internally.

'Well, would you look at that? Hehe, It seems I'll have to change my plan a bit...'

A sinister light of brilliance flashed in Jo Do-Yoon's eyes before it quickly reverted back to normal...

He quickly turned back toward the young man and deceivingly let out a scorn. Jo Do-Yoon proceeded to unfurl his torn-up sleeves before showing the 'Divine Pearl' to the young man. The pearl was golden in color and was carved with hundreds of carvings on its surface. It shone slightly as it reflected the bright sun above and it looked exactly like an imperial treasure.

"Here's the Divine Pearl. But before that, who are you...?" Jo Do-Yoon asked in a hateful tone. His voice had become weak and quiet due to his deteriorating condition, along with the torture and blood loss in the past few hours. But the young man ignored him and instead set his shining eyes on the Divine Pearl.

The pearl's majestic appearance left the young man captivated by its sight. He unconsciously smiled as he took the Divine Pearl in his shaking hands. The young man quietly pocketed the pearl under his robe and chuckled slightly. But now that the pearl was in his hands, he had no more need for Jo Do-Yoon.

Instead of answering his question, he proceeded to glance at Jo Do-Yoon with an extreme killing intent. Joy and laughter ever-present in his face,

"Haha~ no. There's no need for you to know such things when you are at the edge of death anyway..." he exclaimed indifferently.

Despite the amount of killing intent he was exuding, he turned around and left quietly after taking one last look at him. The young man got what he needed and there was no need to bother staining his hands with any more blood. As he slowly left the battlefield, he uttered one last thing...

"My name is Gong Ma, does that satisfy your curiosity? ..." As the voice grew distant, his figure started to disappear into the horizon, and everything had finally turned quiet.

Jo Do-Yoon was now left alone.

The battlefield now felt empty and barren as the afternoon caressed Jo Do-Yoon's pale face. The long battle has finally ended and the surviving martial artists are now nowhere to be seen. Seeing that no one came over to confirm his death, he was quite positive that the young man, Gong Ma, had killed them all to erase all evidence related to him and continue to hide himself from the world. He did somewhat reveal his identity and kept the Divine Pearl for himself, after all.

Jo Do-Yoon didn't get why he didn't want to do so, but right now he was not in the position to question someone like him.

He simply lay there motionless as his eyes started to turn gray and blurry. He has now laid there for hours and has lost too much blood. The bright sun has started to descend onto the horizon and his death is now impending. But despite that, he smiled.

"Hehe, what a dumbass..." he chuckled under his rugged breath.

He then slowly opened his mouth as his throat muscles started to shift around. From the depth of his mouth came a small object that let out a radiant light. It was the real Divine Pearl!

'To think that the young man didn't notice the lack of aura on the pearl, it was truly a lucky turn of events. It took everything out of me to hide this pearl's mystical aura with my own, but at least it paid off in the end! Had he known that the real Divine Pearl was silver-colored instead of golden, my head would have fallen on the spot and my plan to trick him would have been ruined. I'm glad he wasn't actually from the Murim Alliance!' he sighed internally.

"But regardless, it seems like it's about time for me to die..."

It was getting harder for him to breathe and his heart pulse had been getting weaker and weaker by the minute. He needs to do this fast!

He swallowed the pearl back into his stomach and locked his eyes on the huge ravine beside him. Without further ado, he started to use his left hand to slowly crawl towards it. Trails of blood were formed as he slowly dragged himself toward the edge and the rough terrain didn't make his efforts any easier. Nevertheless, he finally arrived at the edge...

'That Gong Ma guy will probably rush back here the moment he notices something off about the fake pearl that I gave him. In that case, then have fun searching around! And even if you found it, then have fun getting to the bottom of this endless ravine! HAHAHAHAHA!'

Jo Do-Yoon then pulled as strong as he could with his remaining strength and lunged himself into the massive ravine!

His body descended like a meteor into the deep abyss as the darkness engulfed his body along with the Divine Pearl. But at that moment, the Divine Pearl started to shine with a bright light. However, Jo Do-Yoon was too weak and tired to give a damn about it as his eyes lost their light and his heart finally stopped.

Jo Do-Yoon, the Divine Thief, has finally died at the age of forty-one. His fearsome legacy has turned into countless stories that were passed down throughout the whole of Jianghu. Everything including his powerful martial arts, countless amount of stolen treasures, and the Divine Pearl since then has been lost, forever buried in the sands of time...