Chapter 42
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 42
Chapter Title: Mount Hua Makes Its Move (1)
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Neung Byeokmun, the Demonic Shadow Brigade Leader, was utterly exhausted.
It hadn't been a particularly difficult mission, but there had been too many things to worry about.
Especially getting the willful young members of the cult to cooperate; that was no easy task.
“Or did you think that just because your precious Brigade Leader ignores us, a nobody like you can ignore me too?”
An irritated voice reached his ears as he moved to check on the tasks he had assigned to his subordinates.
‘What’s with this guy all of a sudden…?’
Neung Byeokmun had no trouble recognizing the voice as Jinmyeong’s.
Hadn’t Jinmyeong been completely compliant until now?
‘Then again, just because he followed orders doesn’t mean he has a docile personality.’
He recalled how Jinmyeong had constantly taunted Mok Jagyeong.
Besides, even if he had lost his memories, hadn’t his personality before been utterly foul?
If not for his status as a disciple of the Heavenly Demon, he would have been dead already.
He hadn't died, but he also didn't have a single person left by his side.
“Young Master Jin. What are you doing right now?”
The Brigade Leader saw Jinmyeong, holding a treasure in his hand and looking annoyed.
“I was just curious why our Master wanted us to bring these things.”
“We have no need to question the reason. The Lord wished for it, so we need only carry out his will without a second thought.”
Jinmyeong smirked and shook his head.
“Erasing one’s thoughts is a job for the Demonic Shadow Brigade alone.”
“……”
And unlike the smiling Jinmyeong, the Brigade Leader’s face hardened even more rapidly.
“Young Master Jin. I think you’ve gone too far.”
“How you follow the Master’s orders is for you to decide, Brigade Leader, but don’t force that on me.”
Jinmyeong looked at the Brigade Leader, still smiling.
“Force that only upon your subordinates, the Demonic Shadow Brigade. I’m not your subordinate, am I?”
Jinmyeong slowly approached him.
“Or do you truly think of me—or more precisely, my fellow disciples—as your subordinates?”
The atmosphere between the two men grew heavy.
The onlooking Brigade members couldn't help but wear tense expressions, as if the two were about to draw their swords and strike at any moment.
“…No.”
“I thought so. The Brigade Leader and we are in different positions, after all.”
It was a statement that wounded the Brigade Leader’s pride.
But it was also a statement he had to acknowledge.
The Brigade Leader only had to execute the Cult Leader’s orders, but one of the Heavenly Demon’s disciples would eventually become the Cult Leader and rule the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.
To empty one’s mind and blindly follow orders was no different from being a member of the Demonic Shadow Brigade.
“It’s not like I was going to steal this treasure. I was simply curious about the reason…”
Jinmyeong spoke while looking down at the object in his hand.
“But everyone’s treating me like a thief, so I’m not feeling particularly pleased.”
“…That’s not it.”
Knowing he had exaggerated, Jinmyeong let out a soft laugh.
“I’m joking. Here, take it. I was just seeing if there was anything truly special about it.”
Jinmyeong handed the treasure he was holding to the Brigade Leader.
Then, as if he had no more business there, he began to walk away.
“……”
The Brigade Leader stared silently at Jinmyeong’s retreating back, then let out a sigh and handed the object to one of his men.
“Continue. Let’s make sure we can depart quickly.”
“Yes, sir.”
The Brigade Leader watched his men resume their busy work before turning his head in the direction Jinmyeong had disappeared.
“Hoo.”
Even while feeling the Brigade Leader’s gaze, Jinmyeong walked calmly toward the pavilion in front of him.
After circling behind the building, Jinmyeong immediately picked up an object lying on the ground.
‘I didn’t expect him to show up so suddenly.’
Of all times, the Brigade Leader had appeared just as he was about to move the cup using the principles of the Sword Control Arts.
‘Still, thanks to that, I managed to draw everyone else’s attention.’
That was why he had deliberately picked a fight with the Brigade Leader.
In the tense atmosphere where it seemed the two might fight at any moment, the Brigade members could neither intervene nor look away, forced to watch the two men closely.
If the two were to fight, they would have to stop them somehow, so they couldn't let their guard down.
And Jinmyeong hadn't missed that opportunity, using the gap to move the treasure he was after behind the pavilion.
‘To think I’d get this here.’
Jinmyeong flinched as he quietly examined the cup.
The energy of the Divine Arts of Heavenly Flame, which had been dormant in his dantian, had stirred.
*Woong!*
In response, the carving shaped like a blazing flame inside the cup began to glow.
‘What is this?’
His surprise was brief.
When Jinmyeong withdrew his internal energy, the light quickly faded.
‘Still, seeing something like this, it must really be a treasure.’
There was no such scene in the novel, but this confirmed that the cup was no ordinary object.
‘I finally have it. The key I needed most.’
The reason Jinmyeong had tried so hard to obtain this treasure.
It was because this treasure was the key to obtaining the most powerful sword art in the novel.
‘Even with this key, it’s not a place I can go to right away.’
It was a place only the Cult Leader could enter, so it was nearly impossible for Jinmyeong to go there now.
But without the key, going to that place would be pointless.
‘I was lucky.’
He didn't know how Shin Yehyang had obtained this key, but in the end, it had fallen into Jinmyeong’s hands.
Jinmyeong hurried back to his room and hid the key deep within his luggage.
He was trying his best not to show it, but a smile refused to leave his lips.
A few days after Jinmyeong obtained the treasure that was the key.
The preparations to finally leave the Swift Cloud Escort Agency were complete.
To avoid any clashes with the Mount Hua Sect, everyone had remained secluded within the agency, focusing solely on their departure preparations.
“We will depart now.”
The treasures, diligently divided by the Brigade members, were now stored in each cultist's personal luggage.
Their baggage was now larger and heavier, but no one complained about the burden.
‘Moving at night again.’
The moon hanging in the dark night sky illuminated the world.
They had likely chosen the dead of night to avoid clashing with the Mount Hua Sect while leaving Shaanxi.
The cultists of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult moved under the cover of darkness to escape Shaanxi.
“Where are you all rushing off to in the middle of the night?”
But they couldn't leave Shaanxi.
There were people blocking the road to Gansu.
“The Mount Hua Sect…”
The Mount Hua Sect was a school famous for its swordsmanship, even among the Nine Sects, One Alliance.
But among the Nine Sects, One Alliance, there was the Wudang Sect, and among the Five Great Clans, there was the Namgung Clan.
Although Mount Hua had a renowned reputation for the sword, they were always overshadowed by Wudang and Namgung.
‘We will abandon the Way and survive solely as a sect.’
In the end, Mount Hua chose to be a martial arts sect.
They returned to the secular world, cast off their Daoist titles, and focused solely on honing the sword.
Their sword style grew increasingly fierce and sharp, to the point where it could no longer be called the sword of a Daoist school.
Despite this, the Mount Hua Sect never managed to surpass the Wudang Sect to claim the title of the top sword sect of the Nine Sects, One Alliance.
“We have no quarrel with Mount Hua. Why are you blocking our path?”
“Do you truly believe you have no quarrel with us?”
A middle-aged man with sharp features emerged from the darkness.
Seeing him, the face of Neung Byeokmun, the Demonic Shadow Brigade Leader, began to stiffen.
“The Divine Sword of the Violet Mist!”
The Divine Sword of the Violet Mist, Mae Jinpung.
The Sect Leader of the Mount Hua Sect.
Though he was not counted among the Three Revered Ones and Ten Kings, his skill with the sword was such that he ranked among the top ten in the world.
‘Of all people, why did he have to come here?’
Neung Byeokmun glared at the Divine Sword of the Violet Mist, who was dressed in a pristine white martial arts uniform embroidered with violet thread.
This was not like the Twin Elders of Kongtong, who could only contend with one of the Ten Kings when they fought together.
The Divine Sword of the Violet Mist, while not one of the Ten Kings, was a master strong enough to face them.
“Sect Leader of Mount Hua, what brings you all the way here?”
“Ho ho. It seems I heard the people of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult were up to something interesting.”
“Something interesting?”
While conversing with the Divine Sword, Neung Byeokmun quickly surveyed their surroundings, comparing their forces.
‘Their numbers aren’t large.’
Unlike the Kunlun or Kongtong, the Mount Hua Sect moved with a small contingent.
“Since your numbers are few, we too have moved with a small force.”
The Divine Sword remarked, having noticed Neung Byeokmun’s thoughts.
‘Are those Mount Hua’s elite disciples?’
Though their numbers were small, this wasn't a situation where he could order a breakthrough like with the Kongtong and Kunlun Sects.
Not only were these the elites of Mount Hua, but the biggest problem was the Divine Sword himself.
Breaking through past him would likely be no easy feat.
‘Do we have to fight, prepared for annihilation?’
An opponent like the Divine Sword was someone the elders of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult should have come for.
If they fought with the resolve to be wiped out, could a few of them survive?
Of course, they wouldn't be able to kill the Divine Sword.
‘No, that's not right. With the Divine Sword here, we will all die.’
Still, he wondered if they could at least take the Divine Sword’s right arm if they all charged at once.
“Don’t be so on guard.”
The Divine Sword did not move.
He simply stood there arrogantly, his sword planted in the ground.
“You don’t intend to fight?”
“I am still considering it.”
The Divine Sword didn't seem to have any immediate intention of fighting.
“In that case, would you mind letting us pass?”
“Still, it’s fate that we’ve met like this. Wouldn’t it be a shame to part so soon?”
But it seemed he had every intention of stopping the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult’s party from passing through to Gansu.
“An escort agency with deep ties to Mount Hua was attacked during a mission.”
“Is that so?”
The Divine Sword believed it was the work of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.
But Neung Byeokmun feigned ignorance.
There was no clear evidence, after all.
“Disciples of Mount Hua were also on that escort mission. They were all killed.”
“Hah. How truly unfortunate. But why are you telling us this?”
Despite having committed the act himself, Neung Byeokmun spoke as if he genuinely knew nothing.
Did it seem incredibly insincere?
The Mount Hua disciples standing beside the Divine Sword were fidgeting, their faces contorted.
They were surely restraining themselves from demanding to know if the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult was responsible.
“Indeed. In fact, there are rumors that you people were the ones who committed the act.”
“We did no such thing. Have we not been in Shaanxi this whole time?”
“That is true. I think so as well. How could I not trust the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult? However, unlike myself, there are some who do not believe it.”
The Divine Sword nodded and looked over the cultists.
“There are even those who claim to have witnessed you all secretly leaving Shaanxi and then returning.”
“Who said that?”
“Well now. I can’t quite recall who it was. Ah, don’t you worry. I gave them a stern lecture, telling them it was absurd.”
“Then, how about you let us go?”
At the Brigade Leader’s words, the Divine Sword shook his head.
“I cannot do that. No matter how much I tell them, they refuse to believe me.”
The Divine Sword was blaming others while he himself didn't believe them.
Faced with the actions of an absolute master like the Divine Sword, Neung Byeokmun’s head began to ache.
He started to think that the time they were surrounded by the Kongtong and Kunlun Sects had been much simpler.
“So, it seems I’ll have to check your luggage. Would you be willing to cooperate? If there’s nothing there, I will simply withdraw.”
And then, the Divine Sword made an offer that was incredibly difficult to refuse.
Of course, no one there took it as a mere offer.