Chapter 509: Kill the Fake, Kill the Onlookers
Chapter 509: Kill the Fake, Kill the Onlookers
Seo Dae-ryong’s instincts screamed at him.
It’s him.
But at the same time, a flicker of doubt crossed his mind.
He’s this young?
It wasn’t just his youth; it was his radiance. The man was handsome, and a friendly, easygoing smile suited him perfectly. Could this man really be the culprit?
If you asked ten random passersby, not one of them would take this man for the murderer who had annihilated the Daejeong Sect or a practitioner of demonic arts. Seo Dae-ryong would have thought the same if he were the one being asked.
Am I wrong?
While these thoughts flashed through his mind, the man walked right up to him. Seo Dae-ryong discreetly circulated his internal energy, preparing to counter an attack at any moment.
The tall man looked down at Seo Dae-ryong, still wearing that genial eye-smile.
“You’ve got guts. Carrying a great blade like that these days is a surefire way to be misunderstood.”
Even his voice was calm and soft, making him seem like a kind, decent person.
Seo Dae-ryong’s gaze shifted to the great blade strapped to the man’s back.
“You’re carrying one too, knowing full well what it implies.”
The man looked at Seo Dae-ryong and gave a cryptic smile.
What was that look supposed to mean? ‘I’m strong enough to carry it’? Or ‘I’m the one who came here to kill everyone’?
If this man was the culprit...
He had thought the rumors about the culprit being a young man were spread to frame him, but was the culprit actually young?
Seo Dae-ryong grew tense. He had to stall for time until Geom Mu-geuk returned.
Should he handle this himself? Seo Dae-ryong hadn’t fostered that kind of reckless overconfidence. Though he was full of confidence thanks to his increased internal energy and his practical sparring sessions with Geom Mu-geuk, he remained cautious—extremely cautious.
He wasn't foolish enough to let his guard down against someone who approached him with a smile.
“Which sect are you from?”
Seo Dae-ryong knew the man didn't belong to any of the sects invited today, but he asked anyway, feigning ignorance.
“Peerless.”
“Are you saying you’re from a ‘Peerless Sect’?”
There was no such sect in Chongqing.
“No, I mean the word written on your blade.”
The blade the Blood Heaven Blade Demon used in his youth had the word Peerless engraved on its body. The man, having approached from behind, must have seen it.
“It’s a fine blade.”
“My master gave it to me.”
How would he react to the mention of a master? Seo Dae-ryong watched his reaction closely.
The man showed no particular response. Maintaining that same easygoing smile, he instead asked about the master.
“What kind of person is your master?”
He was asking about the master. Seo Dae-ryong could feel it instinctively. The man had gone out of his way to read the engraving on the blade and then ask about the master.
He knows who my master is, and yet he’s asking.
Furthermore, he wasn't even trying to hide the fact that he had approached with that knowledge. Seo Dae-ryong’s conviction that this man was an enemy grew stronger.
“He is exactly as the word on the blade describes. A man who has no equal in this Murim.”
At that, the man contradicted him.
“There is no one in this world without an equal. Everyone has an adversary. The only difference is whether you meet them in your lifetime or die before you do.”
The word adversary struck Seo Dae-ryong with significant weight.
Who are you thinking of when you say that? Me? Master? Or the Young Cult Leader?
This time, Seo Dae-ryong asked about the adversary.
“Are adversaries destined to fight each other?”
“Naturally. They are fated to kill one another.”
“How can you tell if someone is your adversary?”
“You can tell just by looking.”
As he spoke, he stared intently at Seo Dae-ryong. A taut tension naturally coiled between the two men.
This man... he considers me his adversary!
It was an instinctive judgment. He felt a certain entanglement of fate with the man before him. While he felt a sense of dread, he also felt a strange sense of pride.
Seo Dae-ryong still thought back to his gloomy days as an investigator. He believed that no matter how strong he became, his identity would always be rooted there. That was the only way to keep himself from becoming arrogant.
To have someone consider him a fated enemy? It was frightening, yet it made him happy. And then, a thought even further than that occurred to him.
Fine. Target me instead of Master or the Young Cult Leader! I’ll be the one to face you.
The man’s gaze shifted toward the main hall in the distance, where today’s meeting was being held. Warriors who had followed the leaders of each sect stood before the hall; judging by their numbers, it seemed almost everyone invited had gathered.
The man asked Seo Dae-ryong, “Do you know the purpose of today’s meeting?”
“I’m not entirely sure.”
“The purpose is to unite against us.”
“Us?”
At Seo Dae-ryong’s question, the man nodded.
“That’s right. Us.”
“Do you and I have enough in common to be called ‘us’? Are you saying this meeting is to oppose those who use blades?”
The man answered without hesitation.
“We’re both demonic cultists, aren't we?”
“!”
Seo Dae-ryong was startled. The man spoke so nonchalantly that he thought he had misheard. As he had suspected, this man was one of those who had orchestrated this entire affair.
He’s revealing his identity just like that? Then why did he approach me?
“It’s a meeting hostile to us.”
Then, he said something even more shocking.
“What do you think? Why don’t the two of us go in there and wipe them all out?”
The man’s eyes and tone were both serious, as if he truly meant it.
Seo Dae-ryong laughed.
“Why are you laughing?”
“I was so tense that the laugh just came out on its own.”
At Seo Dae-ryong’s honest answer, the man laughed as well. He was certainly more relaxed than Seo Dae-ryong. It was clear that this man was the one controlling the atmosphere.
“Are you afraid?”
“How could I not be? The first person I meet asks me to commit suicide with him.”
“Why do you think we would lose? With your martial arts and mine, couldn't we wipe out those pathetic Orthodox bastards?”
Instead of answering whether he would fight or not, Seo Dae-ryong subtly brought up his own story. He had no desire to share his past with this man, but he needed to stall for time until Geom Mu-geuk returned. Even if it was only for a few more sentences, he had to drag this out as long as possible.
“During my gloomier days, I also had moments where I wanted to just wipe the whole world away.”
Those were sincere words. Before meeting Geom Mu-geuk, when the senior from the Huangquan Pavilion who had cared for him died an unjust death, his depression had reached its peak. If he could have, he really would have wiped everything out.
“Why were you gloomy?”
The man must have noticed he was stalling, yet he was playing along with everything Seo Dae-ryong said. Seo Dae-ryong felt an inexplicable sense of unease, but this was his best option for now.
“As you can see, I’m short and my build is small...”
“Did you learn a martial art that uses a great blade because of that inferiority complex?”
Seo Dae-ryong could feel it. The man had used the term inferiority complex to intentionally provoke him.
If it had been the old him, he would have flared up. But he was different now.
Look who I have by my side. Look who I learned from.
Seo Dae-ryong had grown by watching Geom Mu-geuk face the Heavenly Demon and the Demon Lords. He wasn't someone who would fall for such a provocation.
“The fact that I was learning a martial art using a great blade made my heart feel like it would burst with joy. Thinking back, perhaps I did have such an inferiority complex, just as you said.”
Instead, Seo Dae-ryong turned the question back on him.
“Have you never felt such an inferiority complex in your life?”
The man laughed again, as if the question was absurd. As they conversed at close range and he watched the man laugh, Seo Dae-ryong finally realized something. This man laughed habitually, and that friendly, easygoing smile wasn't due to his personality, but simply because of his features.
His handsome face merely made him look genial, but an unmistakable arrogance flickered in his eyes. He could see now what he hadn't been able to see before.
“There’s someone I’d like to introduce you to. Someone I truly respect. The person who changed my life.”
At that, the man provoked Seo Dae-ryong again.
“I have no desire to let someone else change my life. Wouldn't that be a rather pathetic existence?”
Seo Dae-ryong stared straight at him and said, “Isn't it natural for people to be changed by others? By reading books, listening to what others say, and seeing how others live. Seeing as you consider such things pathetic, you must be truly extraordinary.”
Whether he took it as sarcasm or not, the smile vanished from the man’s face for the first time. That reaction actually relieved Seo Dae-ryong.
Right, if you’re a villain, you should have eyes like that. If a villain has such a kind-looking gaze, how is anyone supposed to know and face them?
A villain who showed his true colors like this was actually less terrifying. The truly terrifying villains were those who showed no sign at all.
However, the man soon returned to his genial expression.
“Come to think of it, we haven't even introduced ourselves. I am Seo Dae-ryong. My apologies for the late greeting.”
The man then introduced himself.
“I am called Ja Gyeong.”
Ja Gyeong. Are you my adversary?
“You mentioned being a demonic cultist earlier. What is your affiliation?”
What identity would he claim for himself? To Seo Dae-ryong’s curiosity, Ja Gyeong replied with something shocking.
“I am a disciple of the Blade Demon of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.”
“!”
Then, he had the audacity to ask Seo Dae-ryong, “And what is your affiliation?”
Seo Dae-ryong stared at him with a stunned expression.
He knew the man had mastered the Heaven Extermination Demonic Blade Form, but a disciple of the Blade Demon? Which Blade Demon? Surely not his master’s disciple? Could he be a disciple taken in the past? Seo Dae-ryong’s mind became a tangled mess.
“I am also a disciple of Lord Blade Demon.”
Seo Dae-ryong answered honestly. There was no point in lying to someone who had clearly come looking for him.
Ja Gyeong spoke with a strange smile.
“I never heard that there was a disciple like you.”
“The feeling is mutual.”
Shhh.
The great blade strapped to Ja Gyeong’s back moved on its own and flew into his hand.
“Then one of us must be a fake.”
Seo Dae-ryong felt overwhelmed by the sheer pressure of the man’s draw. He himself couldn't draw his weapon so elegantly using Telekinesis.
Instead of drawing his blade, Seo Dae-ryong spoke quickly.
“Wouldn't we be able to distinguish the real from the fake once we see Master?”
He was certain that, at the very least, the man wasn't trying to kill him right now. If he were, he would have attacked from the start. But as if to prove that thought a massive delusion—
Swoooosh!
A sharp streak of Blade Qi flew toward Seo Dae-ryong.
Seo Dae-ryong threw himself aside, dodging the energy.
If I hadn't dodged that, I’d be dead.
By the time Seo Dae-ryong rolled across the ground and stood up, his great blade was already in his hand.
Is he insane?
They had been talking and laughing, and then he suddenly started a fight. Furthermore, that killing intent was genuine.
He wants to fight here? Everyone will come swarming out if a fight breaks out!
He was an opponent whose thoughts were impossible to grasp. If he had wanted to kill him, it would have been better to assassinate him in secret from the beginning.
“If the two of us fight here, everyone will gather!”
“I’ll kill the fake, and I’ll kill the onlookers too.”
Swoooosh!
Once again, Ja Gyeong’s Blade Qi came swirling in.
This time, Seo Dae-ryong didn't dodge; he unleashed his own Blade Qi. Since the opponent hadn't used the Heaven Extermination Demonic Blade Form, Seo Dae-ryong simply emitted Blade Qi to meet the attack.
The two streaks of Blade Qi collided in mid-air.
Boom!
Seo Dae-ryong was at least not pushed back in terms of internal energy. As the two of them clashed, warriors began to gather at the scene. At the news that a fight had broken out, even the sect leaders who had been waiting in the main hall came rushing out.
“You two, stop this fight at once!”
When they appeared, Ja Gyeong stopped his attack. Based on his momentum earlier, it had seemed like he was about to launch a full-scale assault on everyone gathered there.
Ja Gyeong now wore a peaceful expression, as if nothing had happened.
Didn't you say you’d kill the fake and the onlookers?
Then, something Seo Dae-ryong could never have imagined happened. Ja Gyeong spoke to the crowd.
“The one who committed the bloodbath at the Daejeong Sect is this man right here.”
Everyone’s gaze turned toward Seo Dae-ryong, whom Ja Gyeong was pointing at.
“This man is Seo Dae-ryong, the disciple of the Blood Heaven Blade Demon.”
Seo Dae-ryong stared at Ja Gyeong in shock. He truly hadn't expected the man to reveal his identity to the Orthodox members while framing him.
What the hell are you doing?
Did he really think this would work? Eventually, when the truth was sorted out, his own practice of demonic arts would be revealed as well.
In the meantime, Ja Gyeong’s exposure continued.
“That man’s blade is the cherished weapon used by the Blood Heaven Blade Demon in his youth. The word Peerless on the blade proves it.”
The experts in the vicinity simultaneously drew their weapons and surrounded Seo Dae-ryong.
“He said he came here today to kill every single expert present!”
Seo Dae-ryong was flabbergasted. The man was crediting him with the very words he himself had spoken.
Seo Dae-ryong shouted to everyone, “It’s a lie! This man is the culprit! He is the one who committed the massacre at the Daejeong Sect! He’s the one who said he would eliminate all of you today!”
Then, an elderly expert stepped forward from the surrounding crowd. He was the Manor Lord of the Flying Sword Manor, who was attending today’s meeting.
“Are you truly the disciple of the Blood Heaven Blade Demon?”
Seo Dae-ryong had already been imprisoned in the Chongqing Branch and then released. He couldn't hide his identity.
“I am. But the claim that I annihilated the Daejeong Sect is a lie. The one who did that is this man. He even said he would kill all of you today.”
At that, the people standing around simultaneously broke into sneers. Some shook their heads, while others emitted direct killing intent toward Seo Dae-ryong.
What? Why are they acting like this?
The Flying Sword Manor Lord looked at Seo Dae-ryong on behalf of everyone, wearing an expression of disbelief.
“Do you even know who you’re talking about?”
The Manor Lord’s next words were shocking.
“This young hero is the Blue Cloud New Hero.”
Seo Dae-ryong stared at Ja Gyeong with a stunned face.
The Blue Cloud New Hero. Even he had heard of him. He was a young hero who had recently risen to prominence in the Orthodox Murim—a rising star who had killed many villains and saved countless lives through various acts of chivalry. Ah, come to think of it, he had heard that the hero was also a master of the blade.
This man has been posing as a hero!
Seo Dae-ryong realized it then. This entire affair involving his master was a conspiracy that had been prepared for a very long time. And today’s gathering was clearly a trap designed to ensnare him.
I wasn't the one stalling for time!
Ja Gyeong had been stalling, waiting until as many experts as possible had gathered for the meeting. Furthermore, the reason he had told Seo Dae-ryong he would kill them all earlier was so that he could reveal it here.
The Blue Cloud New Hero intended to massacre the Orthodox experts? The Blue Cloud New Hero was a demonic cultist who practiced demonic arts? The moment he uttered words that no one would believe, his credibility had already crumbled.
Ja Gyeong shouted to the crowd, “Let us all attack together and eliminate this demonic cultist!”
Simultaneously, he sent a Voice Transmission to Seo Dae-ryong.
— If you want to survive this place, you’ll have to use the Heaven Extermination Demonic Blade Form!