Chapter 445: The Jade Flower Divine Art Is Invincible.
The Lust Demon, who had been pacing around the room with his hands clasped behind his back, listened to a sound coming from somewhere. Then he sat cross-legged on the bed and focused on it.
After listening for a long while, the Lust Demon realized it was the sound of two people participating in the Alliance Leader martial contest crossing blades.
They should have been fighting with wooden swords, so how was such a sound ringing out? Every time someone stamped a foot, the small ornament beside the bed trembled faintly.
They probably were not the masters who had fought him.
Still, it would not be strange if the favorites to win had clashed.
With a crack, a wooden sword broke, yet the fight continued, and the floor trembled faintly.
‘Who could it be?’
The Lust Demon thought they were masters far above Baengnihan or Kang Mokcheon, whom he had defeated.
It was not particularly strange.
After all, this was a martial contest to decide the Murim Alliance Leader in name and truth.
The Lust Demon focused on the sounds of the fight, then looked toward the entrance. A moment later, Jangsan’s voice came from outside.
“Young Master Mong, it is Jangsan. May I come in?”
“Come in.”
“Yes.”
As soon as the Lust Demon saw Jangsan, he put a finger to his own ear. At the signal that he was listening closely, Jangsan nodded, then waited with his hands clasped.
The Lust Demon listened to the sounds of the match together with Jangsan, then quietly asked.
“Warrior Jang, may I know who is fighting?”
Jangsan answered.
“It is the Kunlun Sword Saint and Senior First Unit Leader.”
“Surely not that old senior?”
“No. He is the successor, and it seems he inherited even the epithet.”
The fight dragged on so long that it was impossible to tell when it would end.
The Lust Demon said.
“Would it be fair to call this the finals?”
“Well. If Senior First Unit Leader is defeated, then the next Alliance Leader will likely be someone invited from outside. Among the participants from within the Alliance, he is the last.”
“What about the Chief Strategist?”
“He lost to the Kunlun Sword Saint yesterday. I only know the result, so I do not know how they fought.”
“Does it feel very different for someone from outside to become Alliance Leader compared to someone from within?”
Jangsan answered.
“May I speak honestly? It is quite different.”
“In what way?”
“To begin with, we cannot know what kind of person he is. He is strong in martial arts. Beyond that, we know nothing. But as Alliance Leader Im believes, the position of Alliance Leader must be held by the stronger person no matter what. I cannot speak for other positions, but the Alliance Leader must certainly be that way. So whether the person came from outside or not, we will accept it.”
The Lust Demon folded his arms and smiled slightly.
“Then there must have been a few members of the Murim Alliance who hoped the Hao Sect Leader would come to the Alliance Leader martial contest this time.”
Jangsan smiled as well.
“How did you know? That is true.”
“Are you disappointed?”
“Not really. Somehow, I feel he would not have come even if he had been invited.”
The Lust Demon stopped speaking for a moment. It seemed the match had ended while they had been talking.
“Who won, I wonder.”
Jangsan asked.
“Shall I go and check? In any case, there is a high chance he will be your next opponent, Young Master Mong. I am curious as well.”
“I am curious, so let me know.”
“Yes.”
The Lust Demon watched Jangsan’s back, then changed his mind.
“Warrior Jang.”
“Yes.”
“Do not tell me. It would not be fair. If things proceed as scheduled, the next match should be mine, yes?”
“Most likely.”
“Then come find me again when it is time for the match. I will skip dinner, and see you then.”
Jangsan stared at the Lust Demon for a moment, then nodded.
“Understood.”
When Jangsan closed the door, the Lust Demon also closed his eyes.
Win or lose, tomorrow would likely be his final fight at the Murim Alliance. He had never had any grand ambition to become Alliance Leader in the first place, but he hated losing in a fight more than anything.
He could not even remember since when.
He simply hated losing.
Looking back, that mindset of refusing to lose had erased even his fear of the Cult Leader. The fear of death had not been greater than the wound to his pride that defeat would bring. From the days he fought in alleyways to the fights he had waged in the jianghu, it all flashed past him like a revolving lantern. In his memory, the presence of the Cult Leader, which had remained like a mountain, was still as firm as one.
One by one, he erased his idle thoughts.
Then he entered the breathing circulation of the Jade Flower Divine Art.
Because he had trained for so long, the circulation of energy and regulation of breath now continued as naturally as breathing, so the flow of his thoughts was not cut off either. When he sensed that something had happened, something he could not tell was born from the will of the Lust Demon’s heart or from dreams mingling together.
The Lust Demon stepped onto a snowfield where everything around him had turned white.
It was also a place he had visited several times while in a state of selflessness. Each time he stepped on the snow, a familiar sound reached his ears. Usually, whenever he had such a dream, he would suffer from bitter cold and wake at dawn, but today, unlike before, it was not cold.
It was not cold, but.
As before, he could not tell where he should go, nor where the end of the snowfield lay.
If he mastered the Jade Flower Ice Art, would there be no opponent who could match him?
He could not know that. It was a statement the Lust Demon had made up to reassure Yoran. But if no one else believed it, then he had no choice but to believe it first himself…
When he had been walking for a long while across the snowfield with no exit.
Someone took the Lust Demon’s hand and walked with him.
The hand was warm, so he was not cold.
He could not see an exit or a destination, but he thought it was fortunate that he was not cold.
For a long while, they walked together long enough, and broke through the snowfield.
When the surroundings had grown warm enough that the crunching sound of footsteps began to fade, the Lust Demon squeezed the hand he was holding once, then let it go.
He sat down where the snow had melted and continued circulating his energy and regulating his breath.
Like layers upon layers of piled snow, he repeated the circulation throughout the night. Firmly, coldly. Coldly and firmly, he condensed his inner energy so it would accumulate. After concentrating on his breathing circulation for a long while, the Lust Demon looked around.
With himself at the center, the snow that had piled on the earth had melted in the shape of a large circle.
“……”
In that case, he realized the exit or destination of the snowfield was not to head somewhere or find an entrance, but to melt the entire snowfield.
So this was a new realm.
When the Lust Demon quietly opened his eyes on the bed, a night had already passed, and everything around him was bright.
As he had the day before, he listened closely, then looked at the door Jangsan had closed behind him. A moment later, a familiar voice came from in front of the door.
“Mongrang.”
The Lust Demon answered.
“Yes, Alliance Leader.”
“Let’s go.”
“Understood.”
The Lust Demon gathered up White Dragon from the table and went outside.
Im Sobaek looked him up and down and asked,
“According to Jangsan, you didn’t eat dinner.”
“I’m fine.”
“Breakfast?”
“I’ll skip it.”
“Why?”
The Lust Demon glared at Im Sobaek.
“When I’m nervous, I get diarrhea often.”
Im Sobaek nodded.
“Impressive. Let’s go.”
“Yes.”
He could not tell what exactly was supposed to be impressive. As they walked together, his curiosity got the better of him, and he had no choice but to ask.
“Alliance Leader, what did you mean was impressive?”
“If it’s that bad, doesn’t that mean you suffered internal injuries around your intestines?”
“Yes.”
“For a fellow like that to be participating in the Alliance Leader martial contest is fairly admirable.”
“I see. How are you, Alliance Leader?”
“Me? Once a day.”
“Splendid.”
He wondered whether that was truly something splendid, but Im Sobaek merely nodded. The Lust Demon asked,
“Is there a reason you came to fetch me yourself?”
“There is.”
The Lust Demon crossed through the Alliance Leader’s Hall with Im Sobaek. Inwardly, the Lust Demon worried pointlessly that the people who had fought yesterday might have injured each other gravely, both ending up badly wounded. Would he become the Alliance Leader just like that? While such useless thoughts occupied him, they arrived at the rear garden behind the Alliance Leader’s Hall.
“This place is……”
Im Sobaek looked at the Lust Demon.
“My training ground.”
“Yes.”
The moment he answered, the Lust Demon realized this was the final bout.
Was Im Sobaek personally bringing him here because it was a place forbidden to all but the Alliance Leader?
As Im Sobaek headed back out, he said,
“I’ll bring your opponent as well.”
“You are moving in person like this?”
“Not every time. But it’s for someone who will be taking charge of the Alliance, so I should do at least this much. Get yourself accustomed.”
Im Sobaek moved as though the current Alliance Leader were escorting the next Alliance Leader. The Lust Demon watched Im Sobaek’s busy back, then, left alone, looked around the rear garden.
‘So this is the Alliance Leader’s training ground.’
There was nothing particularly special about it.
But there had been many guards on the way here. If the Alliance Leader had been in the middle of training, perhaps no one would have been able to approach. The Lust Demon paced in circles around the Alliance Leader’s rear garden, murmuring the same words over and over.
He did not care who was coming.
According to reputation, the Kunlun Sword Saint would come; if that reputation was nothing more than reputation, then the First Unit Leader would come. The sounds of the bout he had heard last night had belonged to a fight where it would not be strange for either of them to appear.
As he concentrated before the fight, he felt better than ever. For the first time in a while, he felt alive.
Whether he was in the Martial Alliance or in Ilyang County.
The Lust Demon liked living in the jianghu. Where else could one feel such a thrill? As he walked through the rear garden where Im Sobaek had trained for so long, the Lust Demon kept murmuring the same words.
Before long, he heard Im Sobaek and his opponent’s footsteps, and he stopped his stroll and waited.
The Lust Demon looked toward the entrance and muttered,
“The Okhwa Divine Art is invincible. The Okhwa Divine Art is invincible. Once I master the Okhwa Divine Art, I will have no equal.”
At the entrance, Im Sobaek appeared with a member of the Martial Alliance whom the Lust Demon had never seen before. The Martial Alliance member had an air about him so similar that it was as if one were looking at Im Sobaek’s youngest brother, and he was younger than expected. If judged young, he seemed to be in his mid-thirties; if judged older, somewhere in his late thirties.
Before Im Sobaek could introduce him, the Lust Demon first held White Dragon upside down and offered a respectful greeting.
“This junior greets the First Unit Leader.”
The Martial Alliance’s First Unit Leader returned the courtesy.
“Young Master Mong, I am the First Unit Leader, Shen Hui. I was fortunate enough to make it this far, so I ask for your consideration.”
“Yes.”
After the two exchanged greetings, they looked at Im Sobaek. Im Sobaek looked at both of them, then spoke.
“This bout.”
“Yes.”
“You will not use wooden swords. Fight with all your strength. If it reaches a point that is too dangerous, I will intervene. Do you both understand?”
“Understood.”
Im Sobaek retreated almost to the entrance, then stopped with an air as though he could draw his sword at any moment and looked at the two of them.
“Begin.”
Come to think of it, Im Sobaek was the only observer for the bout.
First Unit Leader Shen Hui looked at the Lust Demon.
“Will you use a sword?”
The Lust Demon looked at White Dragon, then at the long sword at Shen Hui’s waist.
“Unit Leader.”
“Speak.”
“I will begin like this. Once you draw your sword, Unit Leader, I will consider the duel begun. And out of concern, allow me to say one thing.”
“I will listen.”
The Lust Demon spoke with a serious expression.
“I am one who has cultivated an invincible divine art, so please do your utmost from the very beginning.”
“Mm.”
Slightly flustered, Shen Hui looked at Im Sobaek. Im Sobaek nodded and said,
“Unit Leader Shen, do not let your guard down. Use your full strength from the start.”
“Understood.”
First Unit Leader Shen Hui and the Lust Demon finished their greetings, then widened the distance between them further. As the Lust Demon had announced, the bout would begin the moment Shen Hui drew his sword. After steadying his breath, Shen Hui casually drew his sword, and the Lust Demon narrowed his brow.
‘You should have attacked with the draw.’
Im Sobaek frowned, then warned Shen Hui.
“Unit Leader Shen, with all your strength.”
“Yes.”
If he said any more, it would be interfering with the bout, so Im Sobaek also closed his mouth.
Shen Hui lowered his long sword to his lower right and said,
“I’m ready.”
The atmosphere around the Lust Demon, who still had not drawn his sword, suddenly changed, and with his brow narrowed, he murmured,
“……The Okhwa Divine Art is invincible. The Okhwa Divine Art is invincible.”
Shen Hui replied,
“What did you say?”
“I said the Okhwa Divine Art is invincible.”
Shen Hui looked at the Lust Demon, who was muttering like a drunk man, then smiled faintly.
“Hoo.”
In that instant, the Lust Demon charged like a gale. It was close to the full speed he could wring out of himself. Just as it seemed he had closed the distance in nearly a single breath, he drew White Dragon in a sword-draw strike.
With a shrng—, sword qi like white lightning being drawn from its sheath whirled around the blade. A white chill stretched toward First Unit Leader Sim Hwi. Experienced as he was, Sim Hwi immediately put forth his full strength, concentrating all his inner power into his longsword and wrapping it in sword aura.
This was a battle decided in an instant.
The Lecherous Demon, who had been charging from the start, had not slowed at all. Before the sword qi and sword aura could even collide, his figure soared into the air, spun once, and, with his head toward the ground, unleashed Moonlight Flash.
From the Lecherous Demon’s entire body, white cold qi shot out in every direction like light.
First Unit Leader Sim Hwi, who had broken the Lecherous Demon’s sword qi with his sword aura without much difficulty, swung his longsword toward the cold qi pouring down from above, then froze with his sword still extended into the air.
The Lecherous Demon landed behind First Unit Leader Sim Hwi, reached out with his right hand, and lightly tapped Sim Hwi’s back with the Jade Flower Ice Art.
Startled as though he had been frozen solid, Sim Hwi turned his head slightly and looked at the Lecherous Demon’s arm. He could feel nothing, yet the Lecherous Demon’s fingertips were especially cold.
“……”
Sim Hwi stared blankly at Im Sobaek. Around the entrance where Im Sobaek stood, white cold qi clung to everything. Only the place where Im Sobaek himself stood was untouched, because he had already struck away the cold qi with a sword draw.
As First Unit Leader Sim Hwi stood there unable to collect himself, Mongrang’s voice rang out.
“Do you admit defeat?”
First Unit Leader Sim Hwi forced down the sword he had been holding up toward the sky and said,
“I lost.”
“I told you the Jade Flower Ice Art is invincible. You let your guard down too much.”
It was just as the Lecherous Demon said. Had they crossed swords in a proper, orthodox duel, the match would not have ended this quickly. But there was no such thing as orthodoxy in fights of the jianghu. Moreover, even Alliance Leader Im Sobaek had anticipated something and warned the First Unit Leader, so this was a defeat for which no excuse would serve.
The Lecherous Demon appeared before First Unit Leader Sim Hwi, who was still stiff, lowered his sword again, and showed him proper courtesy.
“Senior, this may have been a duel that feels somewhat unfair to you. Let us cross hands again another time.”
First Unit Leader Sim Hwi released a wave of qi from his whole body, shaking off the cold qi clinging to him, then nodded.
“Let us.”
The Lecherous Demon looked at Im Sobaek.
“Alliance Leader?”
Im Sobaek, who had watched the duel from beginning to end, nodded and said in an even tone,
“There was nothing wrong with the duel.”
Only then did the Lecherous Demon take a deep breath, raise his head, and gaze at the sky for a moment. The reason the Jade Flower Ice Art was invincible was because his mother had taught it to him.
Looking around, everything had turned white, as though he were seeing the snowy field he had once walked with his mother. Now, with his realm a level deeper than it had been during the Mount Hua Sword Conference, the Lecherous Demon looked over the snowfield and murmured,
“The Jade Flower Divine Art is invincible.”
The only thing lacking was himself, who had yet to attain great completion.