Those Who Must Be Heard (3)
「……」
“What did you just say?”
Bu Seon’s face was pure shock.
“The third disciple?”
“That’s right.”
“……”
“And we suspect that the one who did this to him was the eldest disciple.”
Baek Seo studied her with clear, penetrating eyes.
Bu Seon’s face was filled with shock. There was no pretense, no falsehood in her expression.
“I know that the second young lady has been targeting the eldest disciple. And that the attempt nearly succeeded.”
“……”
“Did you capture him?”
Bu Seon shook her head.
“We couldn’t catch him.”
“Did he move alone?”
“……No.”
Bu Seon recited the list of people who had reached out to her.
Baek Seo clicked his tongue.
“Have you still heard nothing from them?”
“No.”
“Then there are two possibilities. Either they swore false loyalty to the second young lady, or they’re all dead by now.”
“……!”
“No matter how I think about it, the first option doesn’t seem likely.”
“W-wait a moment!”
Bu Seon spoke in a flustered tone.
“Yeop Seong was on the verge of death. His right arm was severed, and his left arm was dislocated. He suffered countless bruises, fractures, and even severe internal injuries. The fact that he didn’t die was already a miracle.”
“Is that so?”
“That’s why we didn’t bother chasing him directly. We thought he was already caught prey.”
Baek Seo shook his head.
“Whether that was fortunate or unfortunate, I cannot say.”
“……?!”
“In any case, after checking the personnel currently absent from headquarters, aside from the combat units dispatched on missions and a few high-level experts, the only ones missing are the eldest disciple and the core members the second young lady mentioned.”
“That’s……”
Bu Seon couldn’t comprehend how the situation had spiraled this far.
“Even so, why would Yeop Seong return to the department just to kill the third disciple?! And does he even have the ability to——!”
“He does.”
“Pardon?”
“The third disciple died after having all the vitality and inner energy in his body drained.”
“……!!”
“The bizarre and sinister art the third disciple cultivated, Goeammu, is a supreme divine technique. However, before he learned the true qi of Goeammu, he first cultivated the Blood Lion Qi. Only four people in the Black Dragon Department have ever cultivated the Blood Lion Qi. No matter how insane the eldest disciple may be, he would never dare target the department head or the perfectly healthy second young lady.”
“W-wait a second!”
Bu Seon’s face was stained with horror.
“Are you saying… that Yeop Seong has learned the Death Absorption Art?!”
Baek Seo turned away.
“Go to the Black Dragon Hall immediately and explain the situation to the department head.”
“This is insane.”
Kang Liang roughly tousled his hair.
“Why did something like this have to happen right after I met with him……”
“There’s no point dwelling on that now.”
Yeon Hojeong frowned.
“The important thing is that we have to catch that bastard Yeop Seong first.”
“By the way, even though I heard the explanation earlier, I still don’t understand. Just what exactly is the Death Absorption Art?”
“You heard everything. What’s there not to understand?”
“You skipped all the detailed explanations!”
Yeon Hojeong let out a sigh.
“The Death Absorption Art is a type of Absorption Great Technique, but it operates on a completely different principle. It can be seen as a fusion of an originally supreme and bizarre cultivation method with select phrases from the Absorption Great Technique.”
“Supreme and bizarre cultivation method……”
“The Absorption Great Technique is a demonic art that suffers from an extremely obvious and fundamental flaw—true qi conflict. However, the Death Absorption Art is different. Its origin is, without question, a divine art. It was created by melting in portions of the Absorption Great Technique.”
“From what I heard earlier, it can only be used when one’s internal energy is completely depleted, right?”
“That’s exactly why the Death Absorption Art is so terrifying. No matter how high one’s attainment in the art may be, it can never be activated if the practitioner’s body is in a healthy state. It is a technique bound by extreme restrictions.”
“And then?”
“But if one’s dantian is on the verge of collapse, or if their primordial origin energy—the source of life—drops below a certain threshold, only then can the Death Absorption Art be performed.”
Srrrng! Clack!
Yeon Hojeong inspected the blades of his Black and White Twin Dragon Axes before sliding them back into their holsters.
“The Death Absorption Art is a demonic technique that completely drains another person’s inner energy and life force, making it one’s own. It is a demonic art, yet because its foundation lies in a divine technique, it does not shatter the mind or body.”
“In other words, it has none of the side effects that plague the Absorption Great Technique.”
“It varies from person to person and depending on the level of attainment. It is said to have no side effects, but in reality, the probability of side effects manifesting is around twenty to thirty percent. Even that is an enormous figure.”
Kang Liang’s eyes gleamed.
“So you’re saying that after getting beaten by you, then beaten again by the second young lady, Yeop Seong fled, entered the Black Dragon Department through a secret passage, ambushed Jeon Hong, drained everything from him, and escaped?”
“That is currently our working theory.”
“What do you think, brother?”
“I think the same.”
“Your intuition is frighteningly accurate. But even your intuition needs some basis in information to work from, doesn’t it? Right now, we have no evidence whatsoever that Yeop Seong has trained in the Death Absorption Art.”
“You’re right.”
“Yet you still believe Yeop Seong is the culprit?”
“I do.”
“Why?”
After checking his clothes and weapons, Yeon Hojeong suddenly recalled the past.
Not the past after his regression, but the past from his days as the Black Dark Emperor, the Black Dao Emperor who had shrouded the southern Central Plains in darkness.
“Do you know where the Death Absorption Art first appeared in history?”
“How would I know that?”
“It was in Tibet.”
“……Tibet? You mean the foreign land of Tibet? The one with the Potala Palace?”
“It’s not just the Potala Palace. There is also the even more sinister Lesser Thunder Sound Temple, which is more perverse than any of the orthodox or unorthodox factions of the Central Plains, as well as the Greater Thunder Sound Temple, which carries on the Buddhist lineage of the original Thunder Sound Temple.”
“Hmm.”
“The fusion of divine and demonic arts. There are many people in this world. Even without dividing the world between the Central Plains and the foreign lands, anyone could come up with such an idea. However, there is one place that is particularly familiar with such combinations.”
“Tibet?”
Yeon Hojeong’s eyes gave off an eerie glow.
“Yes. Tibet. The Death Absorption Art that flowed out from Tibet eventually took root in the Central Plains. Of course, only an extremely small number of people know about it or have ever cultivated it. Especially among the righteous factions—there is practically no one who knows of the Death Absorption Art.”
Kang Liang’s eyes wavered.
“Are you saying Yeop Seong is from Tibet?”
“No. I don’t know where Yeop Seong is from. The important point is that ‘someone’ deliberately spread the Death Absorption Art across the Central Plains in order to stabilize it.”
A shadow fell over Yeon Hojeong’s face.
Damn it. It was so long ago that I had forgotten.
It was an old memory, and one that hadn’t left a particularly strong impression. The situation at the time had simply been too urgent.
He recalled a conversation he once had with Muk Bi during the era of the Five Great Divine Generals.
‘It’s coming soon. The day of the final battle.’
‘I see.’
‘The Moyong Alliance Leader will be joining us as well?’
‘Yes.’
‘The Moyong Alliance Leader is a rare genius. But he is also a cunning schemer.’
‘You’re quite talkative today. You usually don’t say much.’
‘……I simply wanted to tell you not to trust him too much.’
‘Don’t worry. He isn’t small-minded enough to betray us when facing a common enemy.’
‘Understood.’
‘Go and sleep. By the time you wake up tomorrow, I’ll already be gone.’
‘I wish you great fortune in battle.’
‘Take good care of the kids.’
‘Ah, and I heard that quite a few of the defectors have learned the Death Absorption Art. Most of them died before they could even use it, though.’
‘Foolish bastards. They don’t even realize they’re being used.’
‘I’ll look into that separately.’
‘Do as you see fit. Right now, I don’t have the bandwidth to worry about that.’
‘I understand.’
It had been far too long ago. He could only remember the general context; recalling the exact words of the conversation was difficult.
“I don’t know exactly where the main base of the Three Sects is located. But I do know that it spans across Qinghai and Tibet. It may even be larger than that.”
“……?!”
“Whether the Potala Palace or the Lesser Thunder Sound Temple are part of the same faction is still unknown. However… it is highly likely that the Death Absorption Art entered the Central Plains under the direction of the Three Sects.”
“Hmm.”
Kang Liang frowned deeply.
“The Three Sects again? Those bastards really are a headache.”
“They are the kind of people who want to achieve total victory while preserving as much of their strength as possible. It’s only natural that they would have laid extensive groundwork in advance.”
“Let’s assume the Death Absorption Art originated from the Three Sects. The important question is, while it is a demonic art, it has almost no side effects, doesn’t it? Why would they release such a technique into the Central Plains? Why not use it themselves?”
“Because it isn’t perfect.”
“Pardon?”
“It has almost no side effects, but that doesn’t mean it has none at all.”
“Are you saying they were experimenting on the martial artists of the Central Plains?”
“The probability is high. Just look at the Shinwha Sect. They cultivate something called Fire Essence. As long as the injury isn’t fatal—such as decapitation, extreme blood loss, or the complete melting of the five viscera and six bowels—they can recover somehow.”
Rumble.
Yeon Hojeong and Kang Liang opened the cave wall and stepped outside.
“It probably wasn’t the Shinwha Sect. They’ve already completed their Fire Essence. It must have been one or both of the other two sects that released it.”
“If Yeop Seong has truly learned the Death Absorption Art… then he won’t be the only one, will he?”
“Correct.”
Yeon Hojeong ground his teeth.
He recalled the list of defectors from the past. He couldn’t remember them all, but most of them had been around the same age as he had been during his time as the Black Dark Emperor.
“The successors… were they targeting the successors?”
Releasing the Death Absorption Art to the heirs of prestigious martial families for the sake of experimentation?
That alone wasn’t enough. There was no way they would release something as dangerous as the Death Absorption Art into enemy territory for such a simple reason.
“Experimentation is just experimentation. If the Three Sects released it, they would have undoubtedly planted a fatal flaw within it. Only then would it make sense.”
“By the way, where are we headed now?”
“We follow the scent of blood, of course.”
The two men who had left the Black Dragon Department scoured the area where Bu Seon had fought.
Yeon Hojeong’s eyes sparkled.
“If he fled from here and entered the secret passage, the chances are high that he came back out on this side.”
“It’s been a while, sister.”
“You’re here.”
“Yes.”
Dang Yang-seon, whom she hadn’t seen in a long time, had become shockingly composed.
Dang Yang-seon bowed his head.
“I heard you’ve been through a lot in the Alliance. As the eldest son of the family, I have caused you nothing but trouble. I am truly ashamed.”
Dang Sang-ah’s eyes trembled.
How surprising.
Dang Yang-seon had hated her. No, he had gone beyond hatred and into pure loathing.
For someone like that to show such impeccable courtesy? Could a person really change this much in just a few years?
“Not at all. You must have had your hands full with family matters as well. You’ve worked hard.”
“Compared to Father and you, it’s nothing.”
Dang Yang-seon smiled gently.
It wasn’t a bright smile, but it didn’t feel particularly false either.
Though she could sense some kind of hidden desire within it, it didn’t seem particularly strange.
“Where is Father?”
“He’s in a meeting.”
“Ah, I see.”
Dang Yang-seon shook his head.
“I heard the Central Plains have become quite chaotic. If only I could lend a hand.”
Dang Sang-ah smiled.
“Your martial arts have grown to a level that cannot even be compared to before. You will surely be a great help.”
“I hope so. In truth, I want to throw myself into a mission right away.”
The corners of Dang Yang-seon’s mouth curled upward.
“A mission so important that I might even die.”
“Let’s discuss that with Father later.”
Dang Sang-ah turned around.
“Come. Let’s go to your quarters. It’s not far.”
“Yes, let’s do that.”
The moment Dang Sang-ah turned her back, Dang Yang-seon’s face went completely expressionless.
It was a chilling expression.