—The elder went there.
Geom Mugeuk thought of the Blood Heaven Blade Demon. Of the sight of him walking alone with a great saber on his back.
He had believed he could deal with Jagyeong well enough and had gone to settle matters there.
—Master may be in danger.
Worry bloomed across Seo Daeryong’s face.
—How do we find out where that place is?
At Seo Daeryong’s question, Geom Mugeuk’s gaze naturally turned toward Jagyeong.
Jagyeong, too, glanced over while speaking with Bang Cheongmun, the master of the Bongsan Sword Sect.
Jagyeong smiled affably. In that expression, Geom Mugeuk could tell his hunch had been right. Jagyeong considered this situation a success.
Geom Mugeuk also gave him a broad smile. The moment Seo Daeryong saw that smile, he knew. Geom Mugeuk had begun opening the gates of hell.
Geom Mugeuk asked Jagyeong,
“There is something I would like to ask our Divine Hero.”
“Speak.”
The orthodox martial artists nearby held their breath and listened to the two men’s conversation.
Geom Mugeuk asked without preamble,
“Where?”
A faint smile brushed Jagyeong’s lips. He knew what Geom Mugeuk was asking.
Of course, since everyone was watching, Jagyeong flatly feigned ignorance.
“What do you mean?”
Geom Mugeuk’s eyes sank coldly.
“There is something you don’t know about me.”
When Geom Mugeuk’s attitude toward Jagyeong changed, all the orthodox martial artists around them grew tense.
Geom Mugeuk paid them no mind and continued, looking only at Jagyeong.
“The reason you’re alive right now isn’t because of the orthodox people here. Nor is it because of the power behind you.”
Each word from Geom Mugeuk was low, yet colder than anything.
“The reason you’re alive is because of the Blood Heaven Blade Demon. Because I don’t know exactly how he is entangled with you people. So I’ll ask. Where is Elder Blade Demon right now?”
Jagyeong looked straight into Geom Mugeuk’s eyes and answered,
“I have no idea what you are talking about.”
In this situation, surrounded by orthodox martial artists, he was certain Geom Mugeuk would never be able to attack him. His eyes said as much.
—So? With so many orthodox experts here, you intend to attack me? Then this affair will be confirmed as something you people did.
“What is the meaning of this?”
Geom Mugeuk could tell. This was not an opponent who would obediently answer just because he was asked, and he was highly skilled at acting innocent. Then again, if he were not such a man, how could he have concealed his identity as a demonic practitioner and lived so flawlessly as a wandering hero?
Geom Mugeuk said to Bang Cheongmun,
“Please step back for a moment with the others present.”
Bang Cheongmun was flustered by Geom Mugeuk’s sudden action. Judging from what he had just said to Jagyeong, it was certain that the Young Cult Leader and the Lord of the Yellow Springs Pavilion truly considered the Azure Cloud Divine Hero the culprit.
“What are you planning to do?”
“I will determine who the culprit is in front of you all.”
Jagyeong shouted to Bang Cheongmun,
“Do not fall for the Demon Cult’s scheme. Please help me.”
Even if the Azure Cloud Divine Hero had not asked for help, this was not a situation in which they could simply withdraw.
Just as Bang Cheongmun was about to answer that they could not do so—
Plash.
Bang Cheongmun flinched in shock. Before he knew it, he was floating in the sky.
‘What in the world?’
But when he looked again, it was not the sky. He was standing on water, and the water was so clear that it reflected the sky perfectly, making him mistake it for the heavens.
The moment he realized that,
Splash.
Bang Cheongmun sank into the water. He struggled and resisted, but it was no use.
The surface of the water drifted farther and farther away.
His breath gradually choked off. When the terror of suffocation was joined by the pitch-black darkness of the abyss, Bang Cheongmun could not endure it.
‘…I’m going to die like this!’
At that very moment, everything vanished.
Geom Mugeuk was looking at him in silence.
Bang Cheongmun understood. What he had just felt was Geom Mugeuk’s aura.
Gasps flowed from those around them. It seemed everyone had felt the same aura.
But each person had felt something different. The stronger their martial arts, the greater the fear they felt.
That beautiful sky, water, and abyss.
Could a person possess such an aura? And could he incapacitate someone with nothing but his aura?
Bang Cheongmun could not believe it. He had heard rumors that the Young Cult Leader of the Demon Cult was powerful, but he had not known he was this powerful.
‘If he decides to, we will… be annihilated.’
Bang Cheongmun stared at Geom Mugeuk in fear.
His eyes remained clear and deep.
Perhaps he was the same kind of person as the aura he had just shown. A deep abyss hidden within those clear eyes.
Unlike that terrifying aura, Geom Mugeuk spoke calmly.
“I promise on the name of the Young Cult Leader of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult. If I have judged wrongly, I will take responsibility.”
What if this was a treacherous scheme of the Demon Cult? To kill that Azure Cloud Divine Hero…
At that moment, Bang Cheongmun realized it. A man this powerful would not go this far to harm a mere wandering hero, not the leader of the Martial Alliance or the captain of the Demon Extermination Squad. He would not do this while staking even his own name.
Bang Cheongmun said to the leaders around him,
“Since the Young Cult Leader of the Divine Cult has gone this far in his words, let us withdraw for a moment.”
The leaders of the invited sects looked at one another and exchanged glances.
Some thought they should step forward. But after the overwhelming aura Geom Mugeuk had just shown, they did not dare.
Even if problems arose later… Bang Cheongmun, who had made this decision, would have to take responsibility.
After making them step back, Geom Mugeuk turned to Jagyeong.
“You were trying to corner the Lord of the Yellow Springs Pavilion and force him to use the Heaven-Destroying Demonic Blade Form, weren’t you?”
Jagyeong denied it to the end.
“Is this how you people do things? Do you frame and eliminate anyone who gets in your way?”
“Yes, this is how we do things. You and I. Our way.”
“I, the Azure Cloud Divine Hero, will never yield even to the Demon Cult’s threats! Come at me, Young Cult Leader!”
Those words were not meant to provoke Geom Mugeuk, but to provoke the orthodox martial artists.
Then Geom Mugeuk said something unexpected.
“I am not the one who will face you.”
Geom Mugeuk said to Seo Daeryong,
“Lord of the Yellow Springs Pavilion.”
“Yes, Young Cult Leader.”
“Face this man.”
Seo Daeryong was inwardly startled, for he had not imagined Geom Mugeuk would make him fight.
But what startled him even more was the next sound transmission.
—Kill him with the Heaven-Destroying Demonic Blade Form! Use the Heaven-Destroying Demonic Blade Form from the start.
Seo Daeryong was shocked.
‘You really want me to kill him?’
Whether he could kill him or not was uncertain, but what worried him even more was this.
‘If I kill him, how will we find out where Master is?’
But Seo Daeryong immediately shook off his worry. If Geom Mugeuk told him to kill, then he would kill. There had to be a reason he was doing this.
“I will face him.”
Seo Daeryong stepped forward.
“You intend to make me exhaust my inner energy, then have the Young Cult Leader step in at the end.”
He blocked Geom Mugeuk from stepping forward, and Geom Mugeuk played along with his intentions.
“Even if the Lord of the Yellow Springs Pavilion loses, I will not step forward. I promise this, too, on the name of the Young Cult Leader.”
When Geom Mugeuk acted this way, Jagyeong no longer provoked the orthodox martial artists. If not, he would have done whatever it took to incite them into stepping forward. He knew well how to stir the pride and honor of the orthodox faction.
But if it was that Lord of the Yellow Springs Pavilion? He could kill him. He knew his martial skill well.
‘I’ll kill you with my own hands.’
Thus, the two men faced one another.
—Did I not tell you? In this world, destined opponents exist.
At Jagyeong’s sound transmission, Seo Daeryong replied. Seeing that Geom Mugeuk had put him forward instead of killing Jagyeong himself—
—It seems that destined opponent really is me.
With that sound transmission, the two clashed.
From the very first move, Seo Daeryong immediately unleashed the Heaven-Destroying Demonic Blade Form.
Shwaaaaaak!
An attack of tremendous power flew in.
Heaven-Destroying Demonic Blade Form, First Form:
Annihilating Blade Single Strike.
If it had been Seo Daeryong from a few days ago, Jagyeong might have been able to block the attack with the orthodox martial arts the Azure Cloud Divine Hero used.
But Seo Daeryong had greatly increased his inner energy by taking the Blue Jade Divine Pill, and he had also received Geom Mugeuk’s teachings through real combat sparring.
It was not an attack that could be blocked with ease.
Kwaaaang!
Two bursts of force collided in midair.
Jagyeong was shocked and flustered. Seo Daeryong was far stronger than he had thought.
‘He’s this strong?’
The problem was that the attack was so fast and powerful that he had no choice but to use the Heaven-Destroying Demonic Blade Form to block it. Otherwise, his arm would have been blown away.
The orthodox martial artists watching could not hide their astonishment at that unexpected power.
Because the exchange had happened in an instant, they had not yet clearly realized that the Azure Cloud Divine Hero had used the same martial art.
Only Bang Cheongmun, the most skilled in martial arts among them, tilted his head slightly.
Heaven-Destroying Demonic Blade Form, Second Form.
Annihilating Blade Wave.
Blade qi stretched out like waves. He had blocked even the First Form with all his might; how could he block the Second Form?
This time as well, Jagyeong met it with Annihilating Blade Wave.
Kwaaaaang!
With an earsplitting explosion, a rough blade wind spread in all directions, forcing those watching to stagger backward.
At the second clash, Bang Cheongmun’s eyes flew wide open, and the other leaders also wore expressions that said something was strange.
And when the Third Form of the Heaven-Destroying Demonic Blade Form, Annihilating Blade Blood Wind, collided with its counterpart, everyone understood.
“It’s the same martial art!”
“The Divine Hero has learned the Heaven-Destroying Demonic Blade Form!”
Everyone was horrified by the fact that Jagyeong had learned the Heaven-Destroying Demonic Blade Form.
Only now did Seo Daeryong understand Geom Mugeuk’s intention. Only if he displayed the Heaven-Destroying Demonic Blade Form would everyone recognize that the martial art Jagyeong used was the Heaven-Destroying Demonic Blade Form as well.
It was possible because Geom Mugeuk had seen through both his and Jagyeong’s abilities with precision.
As a result, Seo Daeryong had done what Jagyeong had intended to do.
If you want to live, you’ll have to use the Heaven-Destroying Demonic Blade Form!
Having been exposed as someone who had learned the Heaven-Destroying Demonic Blade Form, Jagyeong openly exuded demonic energy and charged at Seo Daeryong.
Seo Daeryong also swung his saber and faced him.
Kwaang!
The two great sabers collided with a thunderous roar. The impact traveled into both their hands.
Surprisingly, what Seo Daeryong felt was this.
‘I can endure it!’
If he could not, he would have dropped his saber.
Though he had begun learning martial arts in earnest late, he had trained harder than anyone.
—I have too little time to train.
In response to his complaint, Geom Mugeuk had once told him this.
—That’s why your martial arts will be even stronger.
—Pardon?
—Because the experience of living your life diligently during the day can sometimes surpass training where all you do is swing a saber from morning to night. Believe in yourself! Believe in your experience, and believe in your clever mind!
Originally, Jagyeong certainly possessed superior skill.
But he, too, had an unexpected weakness.
The fact that he had used orthodox martial arts for a long time instead of demonic arts was holding him back.
Seo Daeryong, on the other hand, was honed to a razor edge.
That was why the two fought a neck-and-neck battle.
Chwaaaaak! Ttaeng! Ttaeaeng!
Lethal attacks flew in one after another.
Each time the sabers that came down as if cleaving the sky clashed against each other, sparks flew.
The ground was carved deep, and the rocks that had decorated the garden shattered and scattered.
Seo Daeryong was in a trance.
He did not even know that he was fighting a battle that was making the orthodox martial artists watching gape in astonishment. The training he had done by carving out time and cutting down on sleep was guiding him.
And at the decisive moment, his body moved in the way Geom Mugeuk had taught him.
He used his footwork, twisted his body, and lightly brought his saber down as if throwing it.
Shwaaaaaak!
Puaaak!
For an instant, both men’s movements stopped.
The one who spat a bowlful of blood from his mouth was Jagyeong.
Seo Daeryong’s saber had passed through his shoulder and embedded itself deep in his torso.
Seo Daeryong’s hand trembled. It was the first time he had fought a master of equal skill and killed his opponent.
When he had learned it, he had only thought, So there are techniques like this too, but in actual combat, that single move was truly a supreme technique that decided victory and defeat.
‘You taught me such an incredible technique so casually?’
Jagyeong looked up at Seo Daeryong and spoke with a vicious expression.
“You… you bastard.”
His face showed that he could not believe he had lost to Seo Daeryong. Not to the Young Cult Leader, but to this scrawny bastard?
Thinking that even getting angry was shameful, he forced a smile at Seo Daeryong.
“…If you kill me, you will never find where the Blood Heaven Blade Demon is.”
The moment Seo Daeryong heard him call him the Blood Heaven Blade Demon, he felt relieved.
‘This man is not Master’s disciple!’
Jagyeong had tried to survive by bringing out Hyeolcheon Doma if nothing else, but it did not work on Seo Daeryong.
“Since you told me to kill him, I’m sure you know what you’re doing.”
The moment those words ended, Seo Daeryong brought his great blade straight down.
Schwick!
Swhaaaack!
Jagyeong’s body split in half and spilled to either side.
The smell of blood wafted up thickly, and all the orthodox martial artists watched with shocked faces.
They did not even enter Seo Daeryong’s eyes.
The person he sought was Geom Mugeuk. Geom Mugeuk was looking at him with a smile.
—Impressive, my right arm.
At those words, Seo Daeryong’s chest welled up with emotion. He was so moved that he felt he could brag about this fight all night long—no, for the rest of his life whenever he drank. Seo Daeryong, whose list of bragging rights kept growing, had grown once more today.
Bang Cheongmun spoke to Geom Mugeuk.
“What the Young Cult Leader said was correct. The culprit was that man.”
He was convinced that the culprit was Jagyeong.
That a man renowned as a righteous hero of the orthodox faction was versed in the Myeolcheon Madosik? It was something that could never be unless he was one plotting a grand conspiracy.
Through today’s events, the truth would become known to the orthodox murim. That this matter was a conspiracy planned to drive a wedge between the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult and the orthodox faction.
Geom Mugeuk bade farewell to Bang Cheongmun and the orthodox martial artists.
“Thank you for believing me.”
In truth, they had believed him only because his overwhelming strength left them no other choice, but they were grateful that he said so.
“If you need help, speak anytime. We shall assist as well.”
“I shall. Then we shall take our leave for today.”
Geom Mugeuk and Seo Daeryong hurriedly left that place.
“You have some idea where Master might be, don’t you?”
“No.”
Seo Daeryong was startled by Geom Mugeuk’s answer.
“Then why did you tell me to kill him?”
“He was not someone who would have talked anyway. He would have only wasted time.”
Seo Daeryong agreed on that point.
“I still have a long way to go. Seeing how restless I am. You aren’t worried at all, Young Cult Leader?”
He had thought the Young Cult Leader was so relaxed because he believed in Hyeolcheon Doma.
“If you mean the Elder, I am worried. With that stubborn temperament of his, trying not to cause trouble for others—how could I not be worried?”
Then Seo Daeryong revealed his true feelings as well.
“Right? I feel like I’m going to die from worry. But why are you so relaxed?”
Because he had something he believed in.
“Even if I don’t believe in your master, I believe in my father.”
Geom Mugeuk believed in his father, and he believed in the relationship between his father and Hyeolcheon Doma.
When he had first met Hyeolcheon Doma after his regression, Hyeolcheon Doma had possessed the conviction that even if he killed the Young Cult Leader, his father would forgive him. Geom Mugeuk believed in the relationship between those two.
“Since this matter is related to the past between you two, Father will not simply stand by. He is not a man who would ever leave your affairs to another.”
* * *
Hyeolcheon Doma opened the main gate and entered.
The training ground, which would normally have been bustling with people, was completely empty.
Hyeolcheon Doma crossed the desolate training ground and entered the main hall.
A person was sitting in the main seat. Hyeolcheon Doma slowly walked toward him.
The person sitting in the main seat opened his mouth.
“Why do you not ask? Whether I have killed everyone who was here?”
His voice echoed through the main hall, hoarse as boiling phlegm, deep and desolate as the cracked, dry land of the frontier. Yet that voice clawed at people’s hearts like a hook, fierce and relentless.
“Because I know you have not killed them yet.”
Hyeolcheon Doma’s tone was calm yet respectful.
“Why is that?”
“This matter’s purpose was never to kill them, was it? From the beginning, the purpose was to draw me and the Cult Leader in.”
Hyeolcheon Doma, having arrived below the main seat, looked up.
An old man sat upon the main seat atop the stairs.
The dense wrinkles made it impossible to even guess his age. But the light radiating from his two eyes was as powerful as facing the sun.
Hyeolcheon Doma’s eyes trembled as he gazed at the old man.
“It has been a long time, Master.”