The Shadow of the Shadow God (8)
“Commander.”
“……”
“Dark Eight is dead.”
The eyes of Sama Hyeon, the Shadow God’s first disciple, turned ice-cold.
“By whose hand?”
“By an acquaintance of Lord Yaju.”
“……”
“……”
“And Lord Yaju had no particular comment?”
“None.”
“Then it is settled. Focus on the mission you have been given.”
“As you command.”
Swish.
Dark Four melted away like smoke.
For a long while Sama Hyeon stared out the window before closing his eyes. Go on ahead first. In his heart he offered a prayer for Dark Eight’s peaceful passage into the Pure Land.
If he followed his desires, he would storm Yaju’s quarters this very moment. He wanted to knock the man unconscious, seal his dantian, then torture him so brutally for three months and ten days that even fainting would be impossible.
Of course, it was not solely for Dark Eight’s sake. Because of a single existence like yours, so many people have suffered.
It had been a full three years since Sama Hyeon had broken free of his master’s soul-stealing technique.
Even he himself did not fully understand how it had been possible. One day he had simply begun to hate his master. The man had started to feel like a stranger. Then, at some point, he realized there were holes in his own memories.
The more he struggled to recall what was missing, the more the soul-stealing technique unraveled. He could only guess that the bizarre interplay between the yin-fire, yin-cold, and yang-sect true qi had created the opening.
None of that mattered.
What mattered was that the master he had trusted and followed for so long was in truth his mortal enemy, and that this master and enemy had to die. There will be no trivial revenge.
Yayul Jeok most likely had no idea. He could not know how much preparation Sama Hyeon had made over the past three years—how much information he had gathered, how many people he had won over, how many assassins he had brought to his side.
And now, at last.
Sama Hyeon drew a small document from his robes. The opportunity has come.
The Martial Alliance’s roaming army had entered Guangdong Province. If the roaming army was here, the intelligence organization meant to support them would have slipped in as well. He had not confirmed which organization or from which direction they were coming, but their arrival was certain. The Beggar Sect is the most likely candidate.
Sama Hyeon spoke.
“Dark General.”
“You called, Commander?”
A masked man appeared as suddenly as Dark Four had and knelt at Sama Hyeon’s side.
Sama Hyeon handed him the document.
“Spread eyes across every corner of Guangdong Province. If you become certain that someone is an intelligence agent of the Martial Alliance, deliver this document to them.”
The Dark General’s eyes flashed with cold light.
“Is it beginning?”
“Yes. It begins now.”
Sama Hyeon closed his eyes.
“If the Martial Alliance will not help, then I will take Hong Gwan’s head without regard for my own life.”
“Young Master Yeon!”
In her urgency Muk Bi even forgot to use his proper title.
She hurried over with a face full of worry.
“Are you all right?”
“I’m fine.”
“You just collapsed! How serious is the internal injury?!”
“There is no internal injury.”
“……”
“What?”
Yeon Hojeong slowly rotated his left shoulder.
“I know the Blood Yin Palm far too well. It is certainly a frightening art, but once you understand the invasion route, blocking the dark energy is as easy as splitting firewood. In that sense, it can be considered close to a foundational technique of the Yin Emperor’s martial arts.”
Muk Bi stared at him with an expression that said she could not believe her ears. Ok Cheong and Yeo Guk wore nearly identical looks.
“Are you joking right now?”
“I am not.”
“If you’re not joking, then why did you let the enemy go? She’s a high-ranking expert of the Saeum Sect!”
Yeon Hojeong shook his head.
“Catching one fox would only relieve a bit of anger. The venomous snake hiding in its burrow will simply become more cautious.”
“……?”
“I’ve scattered the seeds. If things flow as I expect, their camp will soon become quite colorful as well.”
The Saeum Sect would not have sent one of its absolute strongest experts to serve as the Shadow God. That much was obvious. As far as Yeon Hojeong knew, the supreme experts of the Three Sects possessed tremendous pride. Many of them were conservatives who scoffed at the very idea of coveting the lowly lands of the Central Plains.
Therefore, the current Shadow God was overwhelmingly likely to be an expert from the lower ranks.
No, it was certain. The Shadow God Yeon Hojeong had met during his days as the Black Dark Emperor had no connection to the Saeum Sect. This one had most likely seized the position by eliminating his own master in some unknown incident.
If the opponent had been one of the Three Sects’ finest elites, even a genius would have found it nearly impossible to surpass his master. Besides, Yayul Jeok has outwardly transformed himself into Hong Gwan, disciple of Yang Cheon. A half-step divine-level expert would never have introduced himself as Yang Cheon’s disciple even out of pride.
Yang Cheon knew a great deal about Yayul Jeok, yet he did not know exactly how strong the man was or what position he held inside the Saeum Sect. The martial arts that damned woman displayed just now could rival Beon Jak. Beon Jak is a half-step divine expert who has not yet pierced the Limitless realm—an absolute peak expert at the very limit. That means her prowess is not inferior to the Shadow God’s.
When it came to the Blood Yin Palm and Blood Yin Demonic Energy, Yeon Hojeong was more knowledgeable than the Saeum Sect itself. Naturally he also knew the methods to counter them. Many of the Black Dark Emperor’s elite had died at the hands of half-bloods carrying the Saeum Sect Leader’s blood, so he had ground his teeth and dissected the techniques thoroughly.
Now all that remained was discord.
A vice-commander of a Martial Alliance unit could not possibly be so well-versed in the Saeum Sect’s arts. Correct?
Inside his mind, Yeon Hojeong spoke to So Bang. Then who taught him the counter-method? The probability is high that it was done by someone close to you—an insider.
He spoke to her with desperate urgency. Say it is so. Please.
He spoke to her with sorrow. To So Bang, who could no longer be seen, with a voice that could never reach her. If you cannot create that discord, I will come to despise myself for releasing you today. Please do not make me miserable.
Muk Bi opened her mouth.
“If you have some kind of plan, you should tell us in advance next time—”
She suddenly fell silent.
A thin line of blood trickled from the corner of Yeon Hojeong’s lips. He had been unconsciously biting it. He had bitten so hard that the bleeding only grew worse. Yet Yeon Hojeong seemed completely unaware of it.
Muk Bi met his eyes with a trembling gaze. ……
She felt the world spin. She was not the only one. Ok Cheong and Yeo Guk also sensed the abnormal atmosphere and lost their words at the terrifying light in his eyes.
Yeon Hojeong was speaking with his eyes. He expressed himself with them, contained everything within them.
Every emotion a human could feel was gathered there. Astonishingly, joy, love, and amusement could also be glimpsed.
Yet an immeasurably vast malice surrounded those positive emotions.
Therefore, in his eyes, there was nothing at all.
Burn fiercely.
The emotions that surged wildly gradually converged into one, showing Yeon Hojeong a colossal vision. Burn and burn again until every last one of you writhes in the hellfire that reaches the heavens.
He had met a true enemy.
He had never met that woman before, yet the mere fact that she belonged to the Saeum Sect made her an enemy he would gladly tear apart a thousand times over.
The Shinhwa Sect? The Mad Blood Cult? Of course they were enemies too. They planned to turn the Central Plains into a sea of fire and had already begun to act, so he had to exterminate them for the sake of his family. Only then would there be no future threats.
But the Saeum Sect was different.
How many subordinates had died horribly at their hands? The remnants of the Saeum Sect had taken away the subordinates who had once again given trust and love to a man who had lost his family and whose humanity had been worn away. They were mortal enemies he could not forgive even if he lived a million lifetimes.
The Black Yang he had seen in the old Mukryong-bu? Of course that man had been from the Saeum Sect as well.
But he had been nothing but a bug. A bug sent by the Saeum Sect. No different from the poisonous insects that lived in the southwest.
The woman who had just fled was different.
He had come face to face with the real Saeum Sect. After returning to the past, how many years had it been since he last confronted such an enemy?
He had sent away with his own hands the very enemy he had hated so fiercely and longed to meet.
Crack.
The sound of grinding teeth pierced through the roar of raging flames and echoed in every direction.
Blood vessels rose thicker and thicker in Yeon Hojeong’s eyes. You must not ruin the reason I spared you, my mercy and my scheme. If by some chance discord does not arise, I will at least make sure you can neither live nor die.
It was a terrifying curse.
A curse carrying a single man’s pure hatred could be conveyed without ever being spoken aloud. Muk Bi, Ok Cheong, and Yeo Guk felt their skin crawl as Yeon Hojeong’s fury deepened.
How much time passed?
“……Huu.”
He exhaled a light breath, pouring all the boiling emotion into it.
Yeon Hojeong closed his eyes. Jinin. He recalled Seunghyeon Jinin, who had taught him in the Martial Alliance’s training grounds.
That benevolent expression, the worried voice, and those incomparably kind eyes.
Those who possess power cannot be free from the responsibility that power carries. The moment they forget that responsibility, the world will fall into ruin. Some may doubt whether one man’s madness could truly cause such a thing, but it can. That is the nature of the murim, and of the world itself.
I do not know what kind of slaughter will dye your future red, but I wish to plant at least a single ray of warmth in your weary heart. That is all.
Before he realized it, Yeon Hojeong was murmuring in a small voice.
It was the realization Seunghyeon Jinin had given him. It was not about shaving away and suppressing human emotions, but a scholarly yet easily understood teaching about the fundamental reason the world was beautiful and how people should live within it.
As he recited the realization Seunghyeon Jinin had passed on, the heart that even the Yeon Family Divine Elixir and the Four Gods energy could not calm gradually began to stabilize.
It was not simply because the Dharma words were profound. Yeon Hojeong was a man who had set aside personal vengeance to prioritize his mission, and who had now reached the stage of contemplating what true righteousness was beyond mere duty.
That will to change used Seunghyeon Jinin’s teaching as a channel, widening and clearing Yeon Hojeong’s vision.
Without the will to change, even a sage’s teaching was no more than kindling.
At some point, Yeon Hojeong had become that kind of person. He was growing further and further from the Black Dark Emperor he had been before death.
Flash!
Yeon Hojeong opened his eyes.
“Sorry. I was lost in thought for a moment.”
His calmed voice reassured the three of them. It was not an act; they could see he had truly collected his mind.
“If my prediction is correct, the enemy camp will soon fall into great chaos. Considering that woman’s personality and position, it is even possible that the Shadow God’s command center will be paralyzed for a time.”
“Then what do we do next?”
“What else? We created an opening. Now we stab without mercy.”
Clink, clink, clink!
With the Flood Dragon Chain wrapped around his upper body and the Mad Dragon Axe held high, Yeon Hojeong spoke in a cold voice.
“Contact the Beggar Sect. Tell them it is time to move. Before we strike the main body, we must sweep away the fallen leaves.”
Yeon Hojeong had not come merely to capture the Shadow God.
On a small scale he would root out the Saeum Sect’s spies, but on a larger scale he had come to collapse the world of assassins, restore vitality to the weakened southern murim, and even bring stability to Guangdong Province.
Beyond killing the organization and its leader, he would also seek to correct the livelihood of the region.
The strongest vanguard, the Wall Mountain Tiger General Yeon Hojeong.
In this operation he had to become more than a vanguard; he had to become a ruler who would set right the lives of an entire region.
Even if only for a very short time.