Chapter 151
Chapter 151
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 151
Chapter Title: The Familiar Stranger
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"They're coming."
The sound of waves lapping gently against the shore filled the air without end at the harbor. On ordinary days, it was a place where failures unaccustomed to life in the Black Forest sat lost in dreams of escape. But today, the harbor teemed with numerous Holy Disciples radiating an extraordinary aura, as if putting on a show of force.
They were Upper Holy Disciples of Fifth Star rank or higher. They rarely ventured this far out except when returning to the mainland, but today they had come to the harbor for a different reason entirely.
"Let's not get greedy with each other. No matter how much we court them, what matters is whether the Heavenly Academy masters take a liking to us."
A strikingly handsome man whose looks drew involuntary admiration let out a hearty laugh. He leisurely fanned himself with his fully unfurled paper fan while scanning the Holy Disciples who were openly hostile and on guard against him.
"Or do you want to go around saying that the unorthodox younger generation are like rabid dogs that bite each other without regard for time or place?"
"I wouldn't know who you're calling a rabid dog. Aren't you the one wagging your tail without a care for time or place? No, even calling you a dog might be too kind. You're a son of a bitch."
At the sarcastic jab, the Jade Qilin flashed a sly smile. He folded his fan and turned his head.
"You're calling me a rabid dog when your own moniker is Mad Dog?"
"Consider yourself lucky. If that ship had hit rough seas and not arrived today, I'd have ripped your head off right here."
"You're talking big for something you couldn't pull off. Aren't you ashamed?"
Mad Dog Gu Jeok-sa's lips curled upward. He gripped the hilt of the greatsword plunged into the ground and glared at the Jade Qilin. The Jade Qilin clicked his tongue and shook his head.
"You're awfully bold. Trying to defy his words right in front of the Black Demon King... What are you waiting for? Planning to just hold the hilt forever? Come on, draw it and swing."
"You son of a bitch...!"
"Even Mad Dog fears the Black Demon King, it seems. Your little brother must be disappointed, thinking if only you'd acted a bit more like a fool, and so on. If you had, you could've used the Black Demon King's hand to kill your sworn brother."
Gu Jeok-sa ground his teeth.
Crunch.
He whipped his head around to look at his younger brother seated not far away.
Earth Ghost Yang Jeon.
Not related by blood, but bound by sworn brotherhood through shared wine mixed with blood. He wasn't even glancing this way, his eyes fixed on the approaching ship.
"It is a shame."
Yang Jeon spoke up. Gu Jeok-sa's eyes widened at the words. But Yang Jeon continued without turning to look at him.
"If the ship had hit rough seas and not come today... Would I be the only one regretting it?"
"Everyone would."
Zhuge Yi-hyun chuckled from atop a large boulder. He shot a glare at the back of Black Dragon Sangwan Hu standing a short distance away. It was rare for so many Upper Holy Disciples to gather in one place. They usually stayed in the central residential area of the Black Forest where fighting was forbidden.
"Cut it out."
Sangwan Hu muttered in a low voice. He tilted his head slightly and stared at Yang Jeon.
"Still haven't figured out your place and keep flapping your mouth?"
"Shut up."
"I never understood why you're even here to begin with. Oh, right. You only got to come because of the Black Heaven Young Master's mercy."
Sangwan Hu smirked. Yang Jeon bit his lower lip hard without responding.
"What generosity. Sparing your life and even your star. Hey, Yang Jeon. Just to be sure, you do admit that you kept your star and your neck thanks to the Black Heaven Young Master's mercy, right?"
"I told you to shut up...!"
Killing intent laced Yang Jeon's voice, thick and dreadful. Sangwan Hu chuckled audibly and shook his head.
"The Young Master doesn't care at all?"
Zhuge Yi-hyun turned and asked.
The Black Heaven Young Master.
He stood clad in a pitch-black robe. His eyes held no emotion as he watched the approaching ship.
"Heavenly Person and Sword Seal."
The Black Heaven Young Master spoke.
"My master said those two are the best in the Heavenly Academy. So I do want to meet them once."
"No thoughts of forming an alliance?"
"If they want it."
"Heavenly Person and Sword Seal. Tempting, aren't they? Especially Sword Seal—she's supposed to be stunningly beautiful."
The Jade Qilin licked his lower lip and murmured.
"The Black Demon King only said not to kill the Heavenly Academy masters. He didn't say anything about laying hands on their bodies."
"That's disgusting. Makes me want to wash my ears out."
Ha Ji-eun spat. The Jade Qilin met her icy gaze and laughed ha-ha.
"Oh dear, don't be so upset. If the chance comes, I'll make sure to pleasure you thoroughly. Or even right now? I swear, I'll give Lady Ha an ecstasy that'll last a lifetime."
Ha Ji-eun turned her head without a reply. By now, the ship was nearly upon them. That shut even the Jade Qilin up.
The other Upper Holy Disciples who hadn't made Black Tyrant rank reined in their auras and waited for the ship to fully dock.
The first to leap off the anchored ship was the Black Demon King.
"We greet the Alliance Lord!"
All the Holy Disciples bowed in unison to welcome the Black Evil Alliance Lord. Among them, the first to raise her head and rush forward was Black Swan Baek Ri-hyang, the Black Demon King's daughter.
"Father!"
She stopped before him with a bright smile. But the Black Demon King merely glanced at her once and said nothing more.
Undeterred by his cold response, Baek Ri-hyang reached out toward him.
"Was the sea voyage too taxing? There was no need for you to come all this way yourself..."
"I told you not to call me that."
Her affectionate words met a reply starkly cold in contrast. The smile on Baek Ri-hyang's face stiffened.
"...Ah, yes. Of course, Alliance Lord."
"Step back."
The Black Demon King ignored the desperate look in Baek Ri-hyang's eyes. He waved her away as if shooing a bug.
"Do you intend to embarrass me in front of guests who've come from afar?"
"I didn't... mean..."
"Well, if you had the wisdom to realize that, you wouldn't be out here in the first place."
At those icy words laced with contempt, turmoil flashed in Baek Ri-hyang's eyes. In the end, she flinched and retreated.
The gangplank lowered, and students from the Heavenly Academy began disembarking. The eyes of the Upper Holy Disciples at the harbor gleamed. They took in the students' appearances and the auras they had restrained.
"Alliance... Lord. I..."
"Do you want to annoy me?"
The Black Demon King cut off his hesitant daughter's words.
"I told you, if you want my acknowledgment, prove your worth. Use any means necessary if you're lacking."
"...Yes."
Baek Ri-hyang finally closed her mouth.
* * *
From here on, it was no longer the Black Demon King's concern. Whom to ally with. How to survive in the Black Forest. That was entirely up to the students from the Heavenly Academy. Wi Sung-cheon glanced around.
The harbor served purely as a harbor, with no other facilities nearby. A short walk away lay a white sand beach, beyond which a dense forest loomed.
One-Star Holy Disciples could roam up to the shoreline. To enter the forest required promotion to Two-Star rank, and venturing deeper still demanded stars anew.
'Fishing's become routine anyway.'
Frankly, even staying on the beach wouldn't be much inconvenience. Wi Sung-cheon turned his head with such thoughts, only to lock eyes with those watching him.
Zhuge Yi-hyun and Ha Ji-eun.
They stared openly at Wi Sung-cheon. Nor were they the only ones.
Quite a few Holy Disciples. Even Black Dragon Sangwan Hu directed his gaze at Wi Sung-cheon. Their impression stemmed not from the Hidden Dragon moniker he'd earned last year, but from Wi Sung-cheon as he was 'now.'
"Well then, you're on your own from here."
With those words, the Black Demon King departed into the forest beyond, accompanied by the Green Forest Demon Emperor and his subordinates. Only then did the real overtures begin.
Unlike the Heavenly Academy students still assessing the situation, the Holy Disciples—who had long heard of alliances and made up their minds—moved aggressively.
The largest crowds gathered around Mu Yeon-jun and Woo Ha-yeon, naturally. Several Holy Disciples, including Zhuge Yi-hyun and Ha Ji-eun, approached Wi Sung-cheon as well. But Wi Sung-cheon couldn't spare them a thought.
'...What is it?'
Unfamiliar.
Yet not unfamiliar.
An indescribable, eerie sense of déjà vu prickled at his chest like a stab. Wi Sung-cheon scanned his surroundings.
This was his first time on the island. Strangely, though... it didn't feel like the first time. Soon after, Wi Sung-cheon realized the déjà vu wasn't limited to the 'island' itself.
He sensed it clearly.
When his eyes met the Black Heaven Young Master's.
As other Holy Disciples attempted contact with the students, the Black Heaven Young Master simply stood there, gazing impassively at those who had disembarked.
He seemed utterly detached, as if uninterested in this exchange. The Black Heaven Young Master's eyes weren't fixed on Wi Sung-cheon in particular.
He was merely looking this way, at the many students including Wi Sung-cheon.
"Young hero?"
"What's wrong?"
Ha Ji-eun and Zhuge Yi-hyun, approaching, called out to Wi Sung-cheon, who stood there dazed as if entranced. But Wi Sung-cheon couldn't respond to the voices directed at him.
He stared at the Black Heaven Young Master as if hypnotized. Even under that blatant gaze, the Black Heaven Young Master didn't focus on Wi Sung-cheon.
But Wi Sung-cheon.
Felt a jolt like a thunderbolt.
He kicked off the ground and leaped. Startled cries rose from the Holy Disciples near Wi Sung-cheon at the sudden move. He ignored them.
Wi Sung-cheon crossed the distance in one bound and landed before the Black Heaven Young Master.
The Black Heaven Young Master showed no surprise. He slowly shifted his gaze to Wi Sung-cheon standing right before him. Wi Sung-cheon swallowed, unable to compose his shock.
"...Brother?"
It was strange.
The Black Heaven Young Master's face bore no resemblance to his brother Wi Sung-yeol anywhere. Yet Wi Sung-cheon felt an intense déjà vu from that unfamiliar face.
Features, expression, aura—everything differed from Wi Sung-yeol, who had vanished four years ago. Still, Wi Sung-cheon's instincts convinced him the man before him was his brother Wi Sung-yeol.
"...Must have the wrong person?"
The Black Heaven Young Master spoke. Even the voice differed from memory. But Wi Sung-cheon grew all the more certain.
He thrust out his hand to grab him but failed. The Black Heaven Young Master had slipped backward like an eel.
"Not happening."
The Black Heaven Young Master slowly shook his head and murmured. In that instant, Wi Sung-cheon clearly saw it—a faint scar behind his ear. Wi Sung-cheon's body trembled uncontrollably.
"Bro... Brother. How...?"
"Forgot for a moment."
The Black Heaven Young Master murmured.
Crunch, crack!
Before Wi Sung-cheon's eyes, the Black Heaven Young Master's face twisted. The unfamiliar features shifted into the face Wi Sung-cheon knew.
Reverse Body Transformation. A sinister art that forcibly warped bone and muscle to alter physique and face.
"You always had good instincts."
Stroking his now-transformed face, the Black Heaven Young Master murmured lowly.
"Truth is, I hadn't forgotten. Was I foolish, or too greedy?"
The Black Heaven Young Master let out a long sigh and gazed at Wi Sung-cheon.
"Wanted to at least watch from afar, but it ended up like this."
Wi Sung-cheon stared at him wordlessly. His mind blank, thoughts fled.
"You've grown a lot."
Wi Sung-yeol said with a wry smile.