Chapter 361: Gathering of the Orthodox Faction (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 361: Gathering of the Orthodox Faction (2)
“What is your relationship with the Yeon Clan?”
The Dark King’s voice was a whisper, so soft I had to strain to hear it, yet it cut sharper than any blade.
The Yeon Clan?
I scrambled to understand his meaning. He had said it clearly: Yeon Clan.
There were a few clans in the world bearing the name Yeon, but only one immediately sprang to mind.
“Are you perhaps referring to the Golden Sky Yeon Clan?”
The great clan that had been wiped out in the calamity following the Blood Demon’s rise. The same clan once led by the regressor, Yeon Il-Cheon, the Zenith.
If that was the clan he meant…
What connection could I possibly have with the Yeon Clan?
No matter how I turned the question over in my mind, it made no sense. Why was he asking me this?
Throughout my silence, the Dark King’s gaze remained locked on me, unnervingly patient.
“I…”
“Are you trying to play ignorant?”
“…!”
His grip on my arm tightened like a vice. I tried to pull free, but his strength was overwhelming. Since when were assassins this powerful?
“I’m not playing ignorant…!”
“You dare lie to me about a curse, of all things?”
“A curse…?”
The pain in my arm was secondary to the shock of his words. As I frowned in confusion, the Dark King shifted his grip. He forced my arm out, exposing the patch of skin where the color had irrevocably changed, now resembling the scale of some reptile.
“Will you persist in your lies, even with this evidence before you?”
So that was it. The Dark King had connected my affliction to the Yeon Clan. I didn’t know how he knew about the change in my skin, but his implication was clear.
Could this transformation really be related to the Yeon Clan?
Even so… I couldn’t just confess everything to him.
“I don’t understand it myself. One day, this just appeared, and—”
Clench.
“Ugh…!”
The world spun as my attempted excuse was cut short. His grip on my arm loosened, only for him to slam me against the wall, his hand closing around my throat.
Holy shit…!
The physical pain was nothing compared to the sheer, cold horror that washed over me. I knew the Dark King was powerful, but to be so utterly overpowered, even with my Fusion Realm strength… I had never imagined this.
“Ugh…”
“Child. Your deceptions may work on others, but they are useless against me. Do you truly have a death wish?”
My entire body locked up under the suffocating weight of his killing intent. A cold sweat trickled down my spine. It was controlled, refined, and denser than any I had ever felt. I hadn’t known killing intent could be wielded with such precision. Was I really learning something in a moment like this?
…Learn something, my ass.
It seemed even my brain had become obsessed with martial arts after reaching the Fusion Realm. What a ridiculous first thought when my life was hanging by a thread.
I could feel it—if I didn’t give him a satisfactory answer, he would snap my neck without a second thought. God dammit, as if my plate wasn’t full enough already.
His grip tightened incrementally. If I asked myself whether I could escape…
It might be possible if I Demonify myself.
Beating him was unthinkable, but breaking free from his grasp… that might be within reach. Yet, I held back, knowing the catastrophic consequences that would follow.
But a more pressing question burned in my mind.
…Why is this madman doing this?
From his accusation, he seemed certain of something. What connection could I possibly have with the Yeon Clan?
…Wait?
Reptilian skin, resembling a snake or a lizard… and the Yeon Clan…
Oh.
My brain chose that exact moment to function with perfect clarity.
The World Tree had told me. The beast within me had awakened because I’d absorbed the marble from the giant snake in the Golden Sky Yeon Clan’s secret vault.
That meant…
“…The secret… vault.”
The moment the words left my lips, the pressure on my throat vanished. He released me, and I dropped from mid-air, managing to land on my feet and avoid complete humiliation.
“Cough… cough…”
As I gasped for air, I felt his intense gaze boring into me. When I finally looked up, I saw that his eyes had changed. The black in his pupils had receded, reverting to the white sclera I’d seen when we first met. It wasn’t the mask; he seemed able to control the transformation at will.
“What did you just say?”
“…Phew…”
“Child, I asked you a question.” He repeated, an overwhelming wave of killing intent radiating from him.
Jeez, I was just trying to breathe. The Dark King’s eyes glowed with an intensity that held no kindness. Whether he knew my grandfather or not was irrelevant now.
It’s cold.
Of all the people I had ever met, he was the coldest, a chilling presence that felt like death incarnate. How could such a person exist?
Should I tell him?
I wasn’t certain the vault incident was the cause, but it was the only lead I had.
…It’s strange, though. Why now?
It had been years since I visited that vault. If this change was going to happen, it should have occurred long ago. I couldn’t fathom why it was manifesting now.
Moreover, he had called it a curse. The Dark King spoke as if he understood everything about this transformation. Just what was happening to me?
“Child.”
His voice cut through my thoughts.
“This is the third time I am asking.”
I felt a sharp pressure against my neck—the tip of his finger. I didn’t need to ask what he was doing. The danger was palpable.
“I do not typically ask the same question twice. I do not enjoy torture.”
“…”
“It is a hassle. Killing is far simpler.”
The flat, emotionless delivery made his words all the more terrifying. I had taken lives, but I was a mere child compared to the man before me. He was death itself, wearing human skin.
“It is unprecedented for me to ask a question three times.”
No need to make such a big deal out of it, was my first thought. Thankfully, I had the sense to keep that to myself. Saying it aloud would have been a death sentence.
“So, speak.”
Whether he sensed my defiance or not, he pressed on.
“There is nothing about that place that I do not know.”
“…”
His fingertip pressed deeper. His patience was clearly at an end.
Should I just fight back? I must have asked myself that question four times in a single moment. Resisting this many times was already out of character for me. But I couldn’t let pride take control. This was not an opponent I could hope to defeat. I had to endure.
Swallowing my pride was painful, but I had too much to protect to throw my life away here.
In the end, I told him everything about what happened in the Golden Sky Yeon Clan’s secret vault.
“…”
After listening, the Dark King fell silent, processing my story.
“…A secret vault, you say.”
When he asked how I found it, I explained that I’d stumbled upon it ‘by accident’ while attending the Tang Clan’s military exhibition. Miracles happen, and so do coincidences. The important details were the vault’s appearance, what I saw inside, and what I took from it.
When he finished his contemplation, his eyes flicked to my arm before fixing on my dantian.
“It is difficult to accuse you of lying. The energy within your body is undeniably real.”
A small wave of relief washed over me. It seemed I wouldn’t be dying here today. For most, killing someone in this situation would be absurd, but the Dark King was not ‘most people.’
“Energy?” I wondered what he meant. Was he referring to the power I’d gained in the vault? But I thought everything I obtained there had long since faded. My qi had increased, but not by a significant margin. Yet, the Dark King sensed a distinct energy within me.
And not only that—he knew about the change in my skin. That was likely the root of his intense reaction.
“Senior.”
He turned his gaze back to me at the sound of my voice.
“…Is this change in my body related to the Yeon Clan?”
The Dark King’s eyes widened slightly at my question. I didn’t think it was that remarkable. Why the reaction?
“I did not expect you to be the one asking questions in this situation.”
Oh, so that was it.
“…I was merely curious. I didn’t expect this, and I wonder why you’re searching for traces of a clan that was wiped out so long ago in the—”
“You are wrong.”
“Huh?”
The Dark King interrupted my stream of questions.
“The Yeon Clan was indeed annihilated. It happened long ago in the past.”
It had been centuries. The event remained shrouded in mystery. In this era, the Four Noble Clans held sway, but the Golden Sky Yeon Clan was once considered the greatest, standing alone at the pinnacle. A powerful clan, home to the Zenith, with deep ties to major mercenary groups across the Central Plains. And yet, they were wiped out in an instant. No one understood how a clan of such influence could be destroyed so completely. People simply accepted the historical record, though details were scarce. I myself had never been one for history.
“Then…”
Just as I was about to ask what he meant, he clarified.
“They were annihilated, but they did not go extinct.”
His words sank in. The Golden Sky Yeon Clan was destroyed, but their bloodline had survived. It was possible; I knew descendants of the Zhuge Clan still lived.
“Huh?”
As the realization dawned, I looked at the Dark King, my eyes widening. His earlier words echoed in my mind.
-There mustn’t be a thing about that place I don’t know.
That was what he had said while threatening me.
And more importantly…
-They didn’t go extinct.
If he was so certain of that…
“Are you, perhaps…” I asked, forcing down my fear. “…A descendant of the Yeon Clan?”
The Dark King remained silent. He simply stared at me. Yet, his silence felt like a confirmation.
A single, chilling thought crept into my mind.
Oh, fuck… I might actually die here…
No matter how I looked at it, this had just become exponentially more dangerous.
* * *
Flutter.
A bird with magnificent plumage landed softly on the windowsill of a mansion overlooking the Liaoning Sea. A letter was tied to its leg. A man, known as the Conqueror of Liaoning, gently untied it.
Rustle.
He unfolded the letter slowly. The first thing visible was a seal—the mark of a direct bloodline of the Moyong Clan. It was a special seal used only for communications to the Clan Lord.
“…”
The man read the first few lines in silence.
“Hmm.”
His eyes initially gleamed with interest, but moments later, they narrowed, his expression darkening with clear displeasure.
Creak.
Swoosh…
A light breeze drifted into the room as the man rose from his chair.
“I sent my precious daughter there… and this is how they treat her.”
His voice was low and serious, carrying a sharp undercurrent of anger. A formidable aura, unique to high-level swordsmen, shimmered around him. As he stepped out of the room, the attendants waiting outside immediately bowed their heads.
“Steward.”
“…Yes, My Lord!”
“We are going to Henan.”
Hearing the Lord of the Moyong Clan’s words, the steward’s shoulders trembled slightly.
“But, My Lord… we have an imminent appointment with the White Flower Merchant Association merchant association—”
“Cancel it.”
“M-My Lord…!”
“Inform them we will provide compensation.”
“But…!”
The steward tried to protest, but the Clan Lord brushed past him without a second glance. Then, he halted abruptly.
“On second thought, it may not matter.”
“Pardon…?” The steward asked, confused as he hurried after his lord.
“They will be in the same situation soon enough.”
“My Lord, what do you mean by that…?”
“No carriages. I will travel faster on my own two feet.”
“Wait…!”
“If anyone comes looking for me, tell them this.”
As the steward rushed to restrain him, the Clan Lord spoke his final words before leaping through the window.
“I am off to meet the bastard who dares lay claim to my precious daughter.”
The steward leaned out the window in horror, but the Lord of the Moyong Clan was already a distant speck vanishing into the horizon.