Chapter 27
Chapter 27
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 27
Chapter Title: Yuseon Taoist (5)
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The Grand Elder thought to himself. Even if things went wrong, they couldn't possibly go this wrong.
He had always harbored considerable doubts about his subordinates' abilities, but they were still Division Leaders—men who commanded those beneath them and stood as super peak-level experts. Naturally, they should have succeeded at ordinary tasks without much trouble.
Which meant raw late-generation disciples, whose blood hadn't even fully dried on their heads, should have been theirs to kill or capture at will.
There would be quite the gap in experience and cultivation realm, after all.
But look at the results now.
Two Division Leaders dead, and a Valley Lord-level expert whose communications had inexplicably cut off. Either vanished without a trace or dead.
Three missions failed in a row. Missions he'd assumed would succeed without issue. Once is coincidence, twice is fate—three times is a plan.
Something was afoot.
Someone in the shadows he didn't know, scheming to sabotage them. The Grand Elder sat in his chair, glaring at the flickering darkness for a long while.
"This is driving me mad."
But he wasn't some ancient Maitreya Grandmaster who'd pierced all creation with his All-Seeing Heavenly Eye. Glaring at the shadows wouldn't reveal the culprit. It would just make him needlessly irritable...
He had nothing substantial to report to the Cult Leader.
The Cult Leader's grand plan...
Not that it was that grand, but from the Grand Elder's position, knowing the reasonably large-scale scheme, failing these trivial matters three times straight felt both apologetic and humiliating.
Should he just handle it personally this time and smash an entire sect to pieces? Was that the way?
Mulling such thoughts, the Grand Elder soon wearily closed his eyes.
A full-scale war would be a bad idea.
The goal was to shake the Murim Alliance, not plunge into an all-out war where everything was on the line. The Grand Elder knew that.
And the Demonic Cult couldn't let on that they shrank from such a war.
A headache-inducing situation in every way.
Why else target promising young kids—especially the girls? So their sects would fly into an absolute frenzy. Then, they'd vent that rage not just at the Demonic Cult, but at the Murim Alliance for failing to protect the victims properly. That was how they hoped to weaken their unity.
That's why they'd gone after the Three Phoenixes of the Five Dragons and Three Phoenixes.
All failures.
There was no easy way to turn a failure around. If an elder-level heavyweight moved, it wouldn't be a raid anymore—it'd be war.
In the midst of breaths indistinguishable from sighs, the Grand Elder subtly rose from his seat.
And gazed at the single golden-glowing plaque on the table.
Time for the Martial Enlightenment Society, perhaps. When his head ached and irritation mounted, nothing beat chatting with those amusing fellows. There, uniquely, he could cut loose as a mere martial arts enthusiast, not the Demonic Cult's Grand Elder. It was that precious a gathering.
Membership was kept under ironclad secrecy, so it probably included future foes he'd kill or be killed by someday...
But that was an element neither he nor those opponents cared about in the slightest. The Martial Enlightenment Society was about martial arts alone.
"Shadow."
At the Grand Elder's murmur, someone dropped lightly from the ceiling.
"You called?"
"Any remaining schedule?"
"Ah, your remaining schedule is..."
"No, not that. I'm asking if you have any remaining schedule. It's nearly three years under me now, isn't it?"
"Pardon?"
That reaction suggested none. The Grand Elder tucked the golden plaque into his bosom and spoke.
"Come along. Grab two masks."
I left the Seo women at the lodging and stepped out alone to wander the area. "Wander" might be too generous—pacing fit better. At any rate, I was in a clearing in Blazing Flower Valley. The spot we'd agreed on beforehand.
As I waited, Yuseon Taoist arrived.
Lush golden hair swept back behind long ears, vibrant green eyes.
A ridiculously voluptuous figure that shattered every elf image I had...
She was beauty on another level entirely.
Less beautiful, more mystical.
She wore slightly undersized green robes overlaid with pristine white light armor. Spotting me, she approached shyly, her face already faintly flushed.
"H-Hello, sir."
A stiff voice devoid of coquetry, but that hardly mattered. Grins kept creeping up, making it hard to hold my Heavenly General persona.
I sternly offered the prepared mask and cloak in a grave tone.
"Take these."
"...What are these?"
"Supplies for where we're headed."
To enter the Martial Enlightenment Society, one first had to perfectly conceal their presence. Then came the mask, proceeding from there.
Sure, body shape or voice might give someone away if they tried hard enough—but no one would.
Those worthy of the secretive gathering—twelve members plus one companion each, max twenty-four—wouldn't stoop to pettily compromising their honor and pride.
It was a place only lifelong martial arts devotees barely qualified for.
Cheongyeon Taoist had explained entry to me, but it was unnecessary.
I'd already been there in the game. The way in was etched in my mind. I led Yuseon Taoist to a secluded spot devoid of people.
"...Mm."
A flat groan escaped her, laced with faint unease.
"Heavenly General, sir."
Now she was even calling out to me. She trailed slightly diagonally behind, so I had to turn. I asked,
"What's wrong?"
"It feels... a bit too secluded."
Well, the plaque's activation produced light and noise, so the middle of a main street was out. And the spatial transfer spell had an annoyingly long cast time—best avoid crowds. But right now, I was the Heavenly General. I brushed it off curtly.
"It's necessary."
"......"
We pressed on a bit farther, to a spot where no one would possibly wander by. Yuseon Taoist's steps had slowed noticeably. She spoke up.
"Um..."
Her speech had loosened halfway, her anxiety plain as day.
"I... don't know much about heavenly realm customs. You might see this as normal, but..."
"What are you getting at?"
"Sudden physical relations like this—I can't consent as a Huashan Sect Taoist. Even if it's an order. I'm sorry."
What?
"I'm truly grateful for the grace you showed my master and me. I'd do anything else, so please..."
Now she was outright pleading. I hadn't even confessed, yet here was rejection—and where had this misunderstanding come from? Ah.
'Well, she kept seeing those two.'
Not just Seo Yul-hye, now accustomed to physical contact with me, but Seo Miryeo, who'd lately been groping me here and there in blatant temptation.
Having watched them constantly in the cave, she'd formed this pitiful misconception about me.
Especially with my current face screaming "multiple lovers."
She must've thought I took these meetings lightly and might try the same with her.
Cheongyeon Taoist had blatantly tried pairing us, after all. Her coming along suggested she wasn't entirely indifferent... but her Taoist pride must run deep?
At any rate, it was an absurd misunderstanding from my standpoint.
What did she take me for?
"This should suffice."
Tediously explaining it was all a misunderstanding here would be uncool.
It'd clear up soon enough anyway.
I spoke flatly and reached into my bosom. Resignation slowly spread across Yuseon Taoist's pale face. Shaking my head, I pulled out the plaque and tossed it to the ground. I looked at her.
"Prepare yourself. We're going now."
I placed my hand on the plaque and channeled internal energy. Suddenly, the ground nearby warped in bizarre patterns...
Rumble.
A fierce light erupted, accompanied by a roar like an earthquake.
"...Gasp."
Startled, Yuseon Taoist hurriedly donned her mask and cloak. She fully suppressed her presence—precision befitting a fully mature elf.
I pulled on my own mask and cloak, mentally affirming conceal qi, conceal qi. At last, the world flipped.
A whooshing drop, and our bodies arrived elsewhere.
A single stele stood before a rundown inn-like building.
The stele bore an inscription.
武覺會
Martial Enlightenment Society
The name of an inn existing alone atop a gentle plain ringed by endless horizons in every direction—a place unknowable where it lay.