Chapter 152: It’s All Because of You
Chapter 152: It’s All Because of You
“What you said turned out to be true.”
Those were the first words the Master of Villain Valley uttered to Yang Cheo-gi as he entered the main hall.
The Master of Villain Valley had dispatched scouts to gather information regarding the situation. They discovered that a young man and a masked figure had indeed met at the Yellow River Inn that day. Yang Cheo-gi’s words were factual.
“Why would I lie to you, Valley Master? I told you nothing but the truth.”
“Then it means Geom Mu-geuk’s martial arts were truly enough to handle the Strange Demon.”
“It was.”
“Even if he is of the Heavenly Demon’s bloodline, it is hard to believe.”
“I felt the same. I never imagined Geom Mu-geuk would be such a master.”
Yang Cheo-gi’s expression hardened as he recalled that day. He appeared sincere, but the Master of Villain Valley still harbored deep suspicions.
There was a distinct possibility that Yang Cheo-gi had assisted Geom Mu-geuk in killing all his subordinates. In fact, that seemed more plausible than the idea of Geom Mu-geuk killing the Strange Demon alone.
What if this was a conspiracy by the Demonic Cult to seize control of Villain Valley?
What if they were using Yang Cheo-gi to sever his hands and feet? What if even the Heavenly Mandate Society was a creation of the Demonic Cult?
It was natural for him to have such doubts, having lost men as strong as himself all at once. Of course, there were parts that didn't quite add up.
The Demonic Cult has never shown any interest in Villain Valley until now. Why would they suddenly target us?
Villain Valley was, at most, a nuisance to the Murim Alliance. Therefore, the Demonic Cult had no reason to attack it. Furthermore, if the Demonic Cult were to run Villain Valley directly, they would face fierce protests and backlash from both the Murim Alliance and the Unorthodox Path Alliance. Why go through the trouble of creating such a problem? Especially when villains were unlikely to offer them any true loyalty. Why bother?
Lacking trust in Yang Cheo-gi, the Master of Villain Valley entertained all sorts of hypotheses. Regardless, one thing was certain: just looking at Yang Cheo-gi irritated him.
If you have some other sinister motive, you will never leave Villain Valley alive.
It was then that a subordinate rushed in, reporting urgently.
“We have intruders! Gwa-pyo’s gang was wiped out at the village entrance.”
The Master of Villain Valley felt as though the inevitable had finally arrived.
Yang Cheo-gi, standing beside him, asked quickly, “How many intruders are there?”
“I am told there are five.”
Yang Cheo-gi tilted his head in confusion. “If it’s Geom Mu-geuk’s group, there should be three at most.”
“Why are you so sure there are only three? Couldn't Geom Mu-geuk have brought more demonic practitioners with him?”
“I suppose that’s possible.”
The Master of Villain Valley was inwardly puzzled by Yang Cheo-gi’s reaction.
Are they really not on the same side? Or is he just feigning ignorance?
Based on his reaction alone, it didn't seem like they were in league with each other. Just then, another subordinate rushed in frantically.
“Cheon-ga’s gang has also been defeated by the intruders!”
“Already?”
Cheon-ga’s gang consisted of individuals with high-level martial arts and excellent combined attack techniques. To think they had been defeated so quickly?
Immediately after, another subordinate came running in.
“The bugs are all dead.”
This time, the shock was even greater. The "bugs" referred to Yang-su’s gang who lived in the forest. Hiding in the woods and launching hidden weapons, they were incredibly difficult to deal with.
Yang Cheo-gi and the Master of Villain Valley locked eyes. Yang Cheo-gi nodded and spoke.
“It’s definitely them.”
If Geom Mu-geuk and the Extreme Evil Smiling Demon alone could kill who they did, what would happen now that there were five of them?
Before the shock could even fade, the Master of Villain Valley spoke first as he saw yet another subordinate rushing in.
“Who was it this time?”
“The Yellow River Water Ghosts were defeated at the Seon-ak Bridge.”
“What? The Water Ghosts?”
The Master of Villain Valley was stunned. While they weren't the absolute strongest, the Water Ghosts were unrivaled when it came to fighting in the water.
Yes, they could be killed. But the problem was the speed at which the defenses were being breached. Their current pace was as if they were simply plucking flowers along the road while taking a stroll.
Then, the Master of Villain Valley saw it. Yang Cheo-gi’s eyes were trembling; he was afraid.
“If you want to run, run now.”
His intention was to pin all the blame on Yang Cheo-gi if he fled and find a way to survive himself.
“What about you, Valley Master?”
“I cannot leave this place anyway. The moment I flee, I give those eyeing my position a justification to kill me.”
His reliable subordinates were already dead.
Yang Cheo-gi was conflicted. He truly hadn't expected Geom Mu-geuk to invade this far. Nor did he expect Villain Valley’s defenses to be breached so easily. If one didn't know the way, they should have been wandering around the entrance for days.
But if he fled now, the Master of Villain Valley would never accept him again. Their relationship was already at its worst.
To take the position of the Master of Villain Valley, I must stop Geom Mu-geuk’s group today. Only then will the villains here recognize me as the Master.
It would be even better if the current Master died in the process.
While they were both lost in their own schemes, another subordinate entered.
“The Five Evils of Chongqing are all dead.”
Now, the Master of Villain Valley wasn't even surprised. Unless his subordinates were playing a prank to startle him, this was a disaster flying toward them at a terrifying speed.
A surge of hatred for Yang Cheo-gi rose within him.
This is all because of you.
If he hadn't provoked the Extreme Evil Smiling Demon in the first place under the guise of revenge, none of this would have happened.
I will make sure to kill you, no matter what it takes.
The Master of Villain Valley knew well that harboring such deep resentment toward someone would ultimately do him no good. But he simply could not tolerate Yang Cheo-gi. Even if he were to regret this decision later, he vowed to kill the man.
The Master of Villain Valley said to his subordinate, “Tell Elder Seok to exhaust their internal energy as much as possible.”
“Yes, sir!” The subordinate ran out.
“Elder Seok is our last line of defense. If he is breached, it’s just you and me.”
“Let’s hope he drains their strength as much as possible.”
If Elder Seok did his part, there might still be a way.
*
The courtyard was empty.
I looked around and said, “It feels a bit eerie, doesn't it?”
As it turned out, my intuition was correct. The moment we stepped across the courtyard toward the building housing the main hall—
Sssssss.
The surroundings shifted.
Before we knew it, we were standing in a new space, surrounded by hundreds of stone statues. They were statues of martial artists holding swords, blades, and spears.
“It’s an illusion!”
At my shout, the Demon Lords tensed up. If you didn't know the counter-method, nothing was more troublesome than this. This was also why the Murim Alliance feared the Soul-Seizing Demon Lord the most.
“Everyone, be careful.”
At the Blood Heaven Blade Demon’s warning, we stood back-to-back in a circle.
The statues began to move. One might expect stone statues to be sluggish, but these were surprisingly fast. The sight of something that should be slow rushing at us with such speed was bizarre and terrifying.
Boom!
The battle began as the Extreme Evil Smiling Demon’s Demon Extreme Wild Rage Palm shattered an incoming statue.
The One Flower Sword Venerable’s sword qi sliced through the statues. He couldn't afford to strike the stone directly with his sword to conserve internal energy. While his sword was a masterpiece and could handle a few statues, fighting this many would surely damage the blade. Thus, he had no choice but to use sword qi.
The Blood Heaven Blade Demon was in a similar situation. Being a great blade, it was better suited for this than a sword, but he still couldn't bring himself to batter stone statues with the precious Heaven Extermination Great Blade. In the end, he also used blade qi and blade wind to destroy them.
The Extreme Evil Smiling Demon was the same. His Blood Calamity Finger only left holes in the statues, which kept moving, so he had to use the more energy-consuming Demon Extreme Wild Rage Palm to smash them to pieces.
The Drunken Demon couldn't strike them with his Blood Tear either, so he used palm techniques to deal with them.
They were opponents that consumed an enormous amount of internal energy, and they kept coming relentlessly. Knowing we couldn't just keep draining our energy like this, I dodged the statues' attacks and scanned the surroundings. With the Blood Eye Purifying Water and the New Eye Technique, I was sure I could see the counter-method.
However, I couldn't see the bluish light indicating the flaw anywhere in this space.
It’s here. It’s definitely here.
An illusion without a counter-method simply did not exist. I began to weave through the statues using Dark Shadow Step and Blink Step, searching for the flaw.
Then, at some point while wandering among the statues—
Found it!
A bluish light was glowing on the back of a statue toward the rear. Since it was hidden among hundreds of attacking statues, it was an illusion with a very well-concealed flaw.
Slaaaaash!
Without hesitation, I used the Black Demonic Sword to tear through the bluish light, splitting it in half. Beyond that light, an old man stood in shock and horror.
Thuck!
The moment my sword pierced the old man’s heart, the illusion he had cast shattered.
Freed from the illusion, we were back in the courtyard we had entered earlier. Seeing the old man pierced by my sword collapse, the Demon Lords realized I had found the flaw in the illusion.
The Drunken Demon made a fuss, calling me the best, while the One Flower Sword Venerable looked greatly surprised. On the other hand, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon wasn't that surprised, knowing I had killed the Soul-Seizing Demon Lord.
Finally, the Extreme Evil Smiling Demon looked at me with a meaningful smile and said, “Second Young Master, you have reached the realm of being impervious to evil arts.”
He didn't mention the Soul-Seizing Demon Lord because the other Demon Lords were present, but if it had been just the two of us, he would have said: Shameless Second Young Master, are you still going to claim you didn't kill the Soul-Seizing Demon Lord?
I strode toward the building.
“Now, let’s go in.”
I smashed the doors of the main hall and entered with the Demon Lords.
*
CRASH!
Watching the group smash through the doors of the main hall, the Master of Villain Valley thought the Heavenly Demon himself had invaded.
Otherwise, how could Elder Seok’s illusion be breached so quickly? Even he would have had to endure until Elder Seok’s internal energy ran out to escape that illusion.
But the intruder was not the Heavenly Demon. As if proving Yang Cheo-gi’s words true, the young man, Geom Mu-geuk, walked in at the lead.
Geom Mu-geuk looked at Yang Cheo-gi and spoke.
“In your current situation, the only place you could safely hide would be the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult. Ah, but that won't work. Since you've crossed us.”
Yang Cheo-gi did not respond. Geom Mu-geuk’s gaze turned toward the Master of Villain Valley.
“Are you the Master of Villain Valley?”
“I am. I am the Master of Villain Valley.”
“I am Geom Mu-geuk, the Second Young Master of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.”
“I have heard much of your reputation.”
The Master of Villain Valley tried his best to appear calm, but his insides were burning from the pressure of a grim reaper walking toward him step by step. The Master’s gaze shifted to the four Demon Lords standing behind Geom Mu-geuk.
“Distinguished members of the Divine Cult have arrived. Welcome.”
The Master of Villain Valley greeted them with a fist salute, acting as if he were welcoming invited guests. However, the four Demon Lords only stared at him coldly.
The Master of Villain Valley spoke softly to Geom Mu-geuk again.
“I hear the madmen of this valley have been very rude to the Second Young Master?”
“They tried to drain my internal energy and crush my head with iron chains. If you call that 'rude,' then I suppose I’ll have to be a bit 'rude' myself today.”
“You are one who will become the supreme master of the Murim; please do not act like the pathetic wretches of this valley.”
The Master of Villain Valley scrambled to get on Geom Mu-geuk’s good side. With Geom Mu-geuk and the Demon Lords lined up before him, he didn't even have the will to fight. If the Strange Demon, the Iron Chain Master, the Blood Path Trio, the Blood Wolf Blade, the Paradise Demoness, and the Yama Divine Lord were all here, it might be different, but it was impossible for him and Yang Cheo-gi to face these five alone.
Geom Mu-geuk stared at the Master of Villain Valley and asked, “Why did you do it?”
Then, as if it had never been his intention, the Master of Villain Valley looked at Yang Cheo-gi and asked the same thing.
“Why did you do it?”
Yang Cheo-gi looked at him with an incredulous expression. “What do you think you're doing right now?”
“It was your doing, so you should be the one to explain.”
The Master of Villain Valley’s struggle for survival began by distancing himself from Yang Cheo-gi. When Geom Mu-geuk’s group entered, Yang Cheo-gi’s reaction made it clear he wasn't in league with them. In that case, the Master had only one choice. He had to abandon Yang Cheo-gi. They had come to kill Yang Cheo-gi, after all.
Yang Cheo-gi scoffed. “Do you really think they’ll let you live just because you play such tricks?”
To Yang Cheo-gi’s remark, Geom Mu-geuk replied, “We will let him live. I know this whole affair was entirely Yang Cheo-gi’s doing. As long as the Valley Master cooperates in capturing the Heavenly Mandate Society Leader, we have no intention of harming him.”
The Master of Villain Valley’s heart pounded with the hope of survival.
They really weren't on the same side!
Seeing the Master waver, Yang Cheo-gi shouted, “Don't believe him! It’s a trick to divide us!”
In contrast to the frantic Yang Cheo-gi, Geom Mu-geuk remained calm.
“Why would I bother dividing you when I can kill you both? Four of our Eight Demon Lords have come in person. Does this look like a joke to you?”
The Master of Villain Valley did not hesitate.
“I will help. I know a clue that can lead us to the Heavenly Mandate Society Leader!”
If cooperation meant survival, what was there to deliberate? Yang Cheo-gi realized the Master’s heart had already turned, and his own heart sank coldly. He realized that the moment the Master of Villain Valley turned his back, he would never leave this place alive.
“You pathetic, foolish bastard! That’s why you can never escape this filthy place!”
“Shut up! This all happened because of you. I don't want to hear your excuses, so just go to hell quietly!”
You idiot. Yang Cheo-gi let out a cold sigh. Even if he were to offer information about the Heavenly Mandate Society Leader, it was unlikely he would survive after trying to kill Geom Mu-geuk and the Extreme Evil Smiling Demon.
In the end, I have to use this.
Yang Cheo-gi drew up his internal energy for his final secret technique—one he had never used, one he could never have used until now.
Seeing a red aura swirling in his eyes, the Extreme Evil Smiling Demon warned, “Everyone, be careful! It’s the forbidden secret technique of his sect, a mutual destruction technique!”
Just as the Smiling Demon said, the martial art Yang Cheo-gi was about to use was the Heavenly Light Instant Kill Art, a mutual destruction technique designed to take the opponent down with him. It was a final secret technique that guaranteed the death of at least one person.
“If your internal energy is less than his, you can never block it!”
Yang Cheo-gi, whose internal energy was second to none, scanned every single person in the room.
Whom should he kill before he died? The Extreme Evil Smiling Demon, the root of this whole mess? The Blood Heaven Blade Demon, who appeared late that day and ruined everything? Geom Mu-geuk, who caused his revenge to fail in the first place? Or that pathetic Master of Villain Valley?
Truly, if he could, he wanted to take all four of them with him. But the Heavenly Light Instant Kill Art could only be used on one person.
Yang Cheo-gi’s eyes turned a blood-red so deep they looked ready to burst as he roared, “Who will come with me?!”
In that moment of heavy silence—
Geom Mu-geuk raised his hand high.
“Me!”