The Gap Between Novel and Reality
Seo Joo-cheon felt a chill run down his spine.
Why did things seem to be going too smoothly? I thought I’d gotten a windfall by fighting the Undying Demon without even engaging him properly and obtaining the elixir. So this was the source of the anxiety I felt!
The Blood Heaven Unit still had more than half its forces remaining. There was no reason for the Undying Demon to flee at all.
With that much power, they could have slaughtered every martial artist in the inn and still have plenty left.
And with the unit commander Mak Goeng present, the Undying Demon had even less reason to retreat.
If the unit commander could hold his own against the Mount Hua Swordswomen, then...
I overlooked the Blood Heaven Unit.
It was a fatal mistake to assume the Blood Heaven Unit would act independently.
This deviation from the novel’s plot development is creating these loopholes.
Seo Joo-cheon was taken aback by how different the expected and realistic developments were.
The Mount Hua Swordswoman shouted:
“Everyone, gather around us!”
But Jang Hyeon-nam had a different thought.
“Those remaining in the inn are at a disadvantage. Let’s go outside!”
The Mount Hua Swordswoman and the Wudang Sect chose to stay in the inn to fight, while Jang Hyeon-nam opted to fight outside.
The reason was the fear that staying inside could lead to a pincer attack from both the Undying Demon and the Blood Heaven Unit, resulting in a chaotic melee and total annihilation.
The Mount Hua Swordswoman judged that fighting multiple enemies in a confined space was advantageous.
Seo Joo-cheon naturally wanted to follow the protagonist outside the inn, but he couldn’t leave Dokgo Ho-in behind.
But I must protect the protagonist.
The karma mission to protect Jang Hyeon-nam was not yet complete.
The condition was to wait until Jang Hyeon-nam arrived at the Jang Family Clan Estate.
Seo Joo-cheon had no choice but to send the experts with Jang Hyeon-nam.
“Dang Sojeo. You too, follow Jang So-hyeop outside. We’ll handle this place!”
When Dang Seol-yong tried to fight inside the inn, he shouted.
Dang Seol-yong had experienced working with Seo Joo-cheon and seeing his judgment as superior, so without hesitation, she joined Jang Hyeon-nam.
Now, she had to trust her instincts and the judgment of the person who had impressed her.
“Senior Sang, go outside and fight to disperse the enemies. If a chaotic battle breaks out here, we’ll be the ones who die.”
The experts from Mount Hua or Wudang might benefit from a chaotic battle, as they could easily exploit weaknesses in the midst of combat.
But lower-level martial artists would be the first sacrifices in a chaotic fight.
Sang Ryo, thinking along the same lines as Seo Joo-cheon, nodded.
“I understand. I’ll fight outside. But it won’t be easy to break through the Blood Heaven Unit and exit!”
Concerned about Sang Ryo’s worries, Seo Joo-cheon shook his head.
“Dang Sojeo will clear the path. With poison and hidden weapons, the Blood Heaven Unit will have no choice but to open a way.”
Before the words finished, the Blood Heaven Unit martial artists who had entered the inn fell from Dang Seol-yong’s poison.
“Ahh! Poison! Run!”
This created a hole in the offensive formation surrounding them.
“Go quickly!”
Anticipating this, Seo Joo-cheon had attached Dang Seol-yong to Jang Hyeon-nam, and Sang Ryo said with inner admiration.
“Be careful.”
In response, Seo Joo-cheon replied.
“Be careful too, Senior Sang. And if things look bad, take Jang So-hyeop and leave this place.”
Sang Ryo did not answer but turned.
“Let’s see if we can survive.”
The meaning was that there would be no retreat.
As Jang Hyeon-nam, Sang Ryo, and Dang Seol-yong exited the inn, without anyone saying anything, Go Jin, the Daoist, led the Qingcheng Sect disciples out.
After all, Go Jin, the Daoist, feared the Undying Demon more than the Blood Heaven Unit martial artists.
The Black-Faced Fluttering Saber and White Flame Saber had conflicted expressions for a moment.
Then, after some thought, the Black-Faced Fluttering Saber chose to stay in the inn.
“Brother Po, let’s fight together!”
“First, Sojeo, go up to the third floor. There are also the third and Baekseol Sojeo there. Move with them.”
When Seo Joo-cheon spoke, Do Ok-myeong gave the Black-Faced Fluttering Saber a glance and went up to the third floor.
The Black-Faced Fluttering Saber did not stop his daughter, thinking that going up there was best for now.
If they lost this fight, it would be the same as losing his daughter’s life anyway.
He knew that they had to fight desperately here to defeat the Blood Heaven Unit.
Kang Chu-mi was about to reprimand him for suggesting to fight now after fleeing, but the Blood Heaven Unit martial artists were already close.
“Hyung-nam, let’s open the era of chivalry again with just the three of us!”
Baek I-jin seemed to be enjoying the situation.
Ham Cheon-yeong smiled faintly and replied boisterously.
“Good. The era of chivalry. What a wonderful phrase!”
Seo Joo-cheon refrained from stopping Ham Cheon-yeong from joining them after the three started fighting.
Fighting as a trio would have much greater destructive power.
“Chumi-ya, we’ll take the stairs leading up to the third floor!”
To prevent the Blood Heaven Unit martial artists from climbing up.
“Shall we die today?”
“Yeah. Let’s die.”
Before the words fell, Kang Chu-mi’s whip tore through the air with curses.
“Come! You bastards!”
A mix of various screams and clashing weapons sounds began, and the inn started boiling like a cauldron.
After one fierce clash, the ordinary martial artists in the inn were severely injured and retreated.
This made it easy to determine the outcome of the fight.
Excluding the Wudang Sect martial artists, the martial artists gathered in the inn could not match the Blood Heaven Unit.
He had expected it, but he hadn’t realized the gap in levels would be this wide.
“Blood Heaven Unit, retreat!”
The sudden shout from the Undying Demon made the Blood Heaven Unit move in perfect unison.
Mak Goeng, who had clashed with the Mount Hua Swordswoman, also retreated.
Despite the command, the sight of absolute obedience to orders sent a chill down one’s spine.
“I, the Lord, am giving you one last chance! If you hand over the elixir, I’ll quietly withdraw. I know there’s a Black-Faced Fluttering Saber here. If you don’t bring the elixir, everyone will die!”
At this, Baek I-jin shouted.
“I’d rather die than give strength to the demon!”
She had warned Baek I-jin in advance, fearing that the elixir might be handed over to the Undying Demon.
Baek I-jin trusted the martial artists outside fighting fiercely with Jang Hyeon-nam.
They would suppress the Blood Heaven Unit martial artists and join.
No, she wanted to believe that.
That was the last hope.
So, handing over the elixir now would make it meaningless even if Jang Hyeon-nam and the martial artists won, so she strongly objected.
The Undying Demon saw Do Ok-myeong going up to the third floor and was certain there was a Black-Faced Fluttering Saber in this inn.
Seo Joo-cheon had thought the Undying Demon wouldn’t see Do Ok-myeong, but the Undying Demon had been monitoring the inn situation more carefully than anyone.
The reason the Undying Demon attacked the inn was to obtain the Gongcheong Seokyu.
If it was just to fight, he didn’t need to intervene himself.
Thinking it was a chance for the Black-Faced Fluttering Saber to hand over fake Gongcheong Seokyu, he looked at Seo Joo-cheon.
But Seo Joo-cheon shook his head at the Undying Demon’s gaze.
“Isn’t this a good time to hand over the fake?”
The Undying Demon’s voice transmission pierced his ear.
It was possible only with one Gapja of internal energy.
But Seo Joo-cheon didn’t have enough internal energy to send the transmission.
So he had no choice but to shake his head repeatedly.
“Can’t you send a transmission?”
The Undying Demon thought even if Seo Joo-cheon couldn’t, he could at least send a transmission.
Given his lightness skill and the traces of a first-rate expert.
This time, Seo Joo-cheon nodded.
The Undying Demon frowned slightly and sent another transmission.
“You mean don’t hand it over now but later?”
Seeing Seo Joo-cheon’s head nodding, he swallowed the transmission.
Is there another plan? But if the Undying Demon attacks again, there won’t be a chance to hand over the fake.
Seo Joo-cheon knew that even if he handed over the fake Gongcheong Seokyu now, it would arouse the Undying Demon’s suspicion.
Although he had made it look real, once suspicion started, things could go awry.
If he had negotiated before fighting the Blood Heaven Unit, he would have handed over the fake, but after one collision, the attack stopped.
This is to fully display the Blood Heaven Unit’s power and instill fear. If you don’t listen, everyone will be killed. Would he easily agree if I hand over the fake now?
Seo Joo-cheon thought he understood the Undying Demon’s psychology better than anyone.
When holding Do Ok-myeong hostage and demanding the elixir, only then would the Undying Demon truly believe it’s real. And then I can counterattack.
But it wouldn’t be easy for the Undying Demon to capture Do Ok-myeong.
First, the Black-Faced Fluttering Saber and White Flame Saber would block, and he and Kang Chu-mi would also block.
Moreover, the Undying Demon, who already knew there was a Black-Faced Fluttering Saber here, wouldn’t feel the need to take his daughter hostage.
Since they had completely surrounded the inn and she couldn’t escape.
He wanted to take Do Ok-myeong and hand it over himself.
That way, he could exploit the Undying Demon’s weakness.
“It can’t be helped. Unit Commander Mak, go up to the third floor and capture the hidden girl. There’s the Black-Faced Fluttering Saber’s daughter on the third floor.”
“Understood!”
Just as Mak Goeng was about to move his subordinates, the Undying Demon said.
“Wait a moment.”
When Mak Goeng stopped, the Undying Demon looked up and directed his gaze to the inn’s main gate.
He looked like he was receiving a transmission and thinking deeply.
“Good. Bring them in!”
At his words, a group of Blood Heaven Unit martial artists entered one after another.
Seeing them, Seo Joo-cheon’s expression darkened.
“Hm!”
Sighs came from all sides.
The martial artists who had been fighting outside were all suppressed and bound with iron chains.
Baek I-jin bit her lip while looking at one of them.
The last hope had been shattered.
“Jang So-hyeop.”
Jang Hyeon-nam was covered in wounds and bound with iron chains, and Dang Seol-yong was wrapped in an iron net.
They had completely sealed off poison and hidden weapons.
Her appearance was beyond words.
One of the two bodyguards was missing, so it seemed she had died in the fierce battle.
“Senior Sang.”
Sang Ryo was also bleeding and wrapped in an iron net.
“You bastards, do you know who I am!”
Despite the shout, the Daoist Gojin, rolling his eyes in fear, was bound with iron chains, limping.
Three living Qingcheng Sect disciples didn’t even need binding; they were dragged in half-dead.
The rest were lying suppressed outside the inn.
Seo Joo-cheon let out a sigh.
He hadn’t expected the Blood Heaven Unit to prepare an iron net.
The iron net was an effective attack method against experts.
I didn’t set up any attack methods in advance.
If he had known about the iron net, when Jang Hyeon-nam suggested going outside, he would have actively tried to stop him.
Then, a chilling thought crossed his mind.
Wait, the Mount Hua Swordswoman fought the Blood Heaven Unit led by Mak Goeng because of the elixir. Why didn’t she warn about the iron net?
Even in the midst of fighting the Undying Demon, she could have given that warning.
But these people didn’t utter a single word about iron chains or iron nets.
Actually, most of the martial artists gathered in this inn are from the Unorthodox or Demonic paths. Was it because we didn’t say anything to deal with them?
A sufficiently thoughtful guess.
But now is the time when we need their strength.
While thinking this, the Undying Demon’s shout brought him back.
“Kneel!”
At the Undying Demon’s words, the Blood Heaven Unit martial artists made them kneel on the floor.
Jang Hyeon-nam struggled to avoid bending his knees and was forced down after a few hits.
“Guk!”
The one who knelt the fastest was the Daoist Gojin.
Before the words finished, a thud sounded, and the Undying Demon sneered.
As expected, things aren’t going according to my plan.
Seo Joo-cheon was at a loss.
If Jang Hyeon-nam went wrong, he didn’t know what would become of this world.
He didn’t know if it would end with just receiving the penalty for mission failure.
“Alright! Let’s do business again. I’ll spare these lives if you hand over the elixir!”
There was a reason the Undying Demon was doing this.
Because he couldn’t accurately identify who the Black-Faced Fluttering Saber was, he was going through these troubles.
He couldn’t be sure if the Mount Hua Swordswoman had recovered the elixir or if the Undying Demon still had it or someone else did, so he was playing this board.
And this was a very effective threat.
Again, the Undying Demon glanced at Seo Joo-cheon.
Seo Joo-cheon nodded.
“It’s with me!”
The Undying Demon stepped forward and said.
