Heavenly Palace 2
“What the hell are you supposed to be?”
Leaving the thug he’d just sent flying with a sudden strike crumpled behind him, the man who looked strongest among the riffraff glared daggers at Shin Gi-woon.
For all that, he was still just a frog in a well. Gi-woon didn’t flinch.
“You bastards even know what noodles are supposed to taste like? Uneducated trash can’t even tell good food from bad. You like dumplings at least?”
“Is this guy insane?”
“Guess not. There’s never a normal one among people who don’t like dumplings.”
“Cut the crap and get lost. You dare interrupt an official event of the Black Spirit Sect?”
“Black Spirit Sect. Fine. Bring me your branch leader. Looks like he needs an education.”
“…This one’s impossible to talk to. Wreck him.”
At the man’s word, the thugs surrounded Gi-woon. He glanced back at Bi So-hyang for a moment; she showed no sign of intervening.
She was even eating her noodles like she couldn’t care less. Well, that was the normal reaction. This was unorthodox territory anyway—Gi-woon intended to run wild as he pleased.
“I’ll count to three. Get on your knees and beg for your lives, and I’ll let you off.”
“You little shit… Crush him!”
“Tch.”
They ignored even his final warning. From here on, it was self-defense. They’d started it, so he was going to beat them properly.
“Gyaaah!”
First he slammed a chair into the head of the one who charged. The thug foamed at the mouth and blacked out.
No sense of camaraderie whatsoever—another thug rushed Gi-woon at the same time. Gi-woon’s eyes glinted coldly.
“Your buddy’s dying right next to you and you can’t even spare him a glance?”
“Kuaaaagh!”
“M-my leg!!”
He casually slipped the pincer attack and, hands still clasped behind his back, targeted their legs. Wherever Gi-woon’s foot landed, the thugs’ legs snapped like dry stalks of sorghum. Only then did seriousness etch itself into their eyes—they’d finally grasped his strength.
“So you weren’t all talk.”
“Didn’t they teach you? There’s no such thing as ‘all talk.’ Can a dead man run his mouth?”
“I only hope your skill matches that big mouth of yours.”
The thugs’ leader cracked his neck and stepped to the front. The others formed up behind him, waiting for the moment Gi-woon would fall.
They actually trusted this street trash as their boss. If this guy had been a candidate who’d passed the second trial of Jamma Cave, Gi-woon would’ve handled him without much trouble.
“Take this. Great Strength Fi—”
“Shut up.”
Paaang!
The thug leader swung his fist while muttering something. Felt like he was trying to shout a technique name.
Faster than that—before the punch could even fully extend—Gi-woon’s fist smashed into his solar plexus.
He’d used the principles of the Internal Heavy Hand Method. No wound on the outside, but inside he’d be wishing he were dead.
“Uweeeek!”
“Ugh, disgusting.”
The thug leader collapsed, vomiting black blood. Gi-woon grabbed him by the hair and dragged him out of the inn.
The thugs who’d been standing behind their boss were properly terrified; they didn’t even think of attacking and scrambled out of his way.
“Hey. You.”
“Y-yes, sir!”
“No need to get tongue-tied. Guide me to your headquarters. Or else it ends like this—got it?”
“U-understood, Great Hero!!”
Having confirmed Gi-woon’s martial power, the thugs went completely submissive. Their leader, who’d gone down in a single blow, had been strong—strong enough to handle the rest of the thugs alone.
And that man had been knocked out cold by one punch. Young as he was, this had to be an unimaginable expert.
To survive, they had no choice but to sell out their own faction. That was the only way unorthodox men stayed alive.
Hearing the sound transmission, Bi So-hyang nodded. She’d been in a good mood after finally catching a lead on the Heavenly Palace—and these bastards had ruined it completely.
She didn’t know what the Black Spirit Sect was, but today would be their funeral day.
“Have you heard the news?”
“That the Black Spirit Sect vanished overnight? This is the third time I’ve heard it.”
“Isn’t that wonderful! Those parasites who only ever sucked blood are finally gone!”
“Agreed. Whoever did it, if I ever find out who, I’d pour every last coin I have into thanking them.”
Shaanxi was in an uproar. The vicious unorthodox faction that had extorted protection money under the pretext of “protection”—the Black Spirit Sect—had been reduced to nothing but flying ash in a single night. The information had come from the Southern Edge Sect, which had gone to verify the rumor, so it was reliable.
Not even an ant was left, they said. Since neither Mount Hua nor Southern Edge had been involved, the matter naturally fell to the Martial Alliance. Public sentiment was pure satisfaction.
The Black Spirit Sect had committed far too many crimes. The only reason no one had touched them before was the rumor that their backer was some vast organization.
“I hope they figure out soon who pulled it off.”
“This one’s pure rumor, but they say a single young martial artist tore the whole thing apart.”
“Nonsense. If a young martial artist alone could smash a force like that, he’d have to be a disciple of a famous orthodox sect. But the way they’re hiding the name—”
Wherever you went on the streets, talk of the person who’d toppled the Black Spirit Sect was circulating. So where was the subject of all these rumors, and what was he doing?
“Congratulations. Everywhere we go, it’s nothing but talk about you.”
“…Didn’t think it’d spread this fast.”
“Yes, yes, yes. For someone who was supposed to finish the mission and quietly head back, this is a reeeally huge mistake.”
“Come on, they don’t even know it’s me. How are they going to do anything when they don’t know who did it? What can those Martial Alliance bastards even pull?”
“If you actually mean that, I recommend suicide.”
“Haa…”
Shin Gi-woon let out a long sigh. Who would’ve thought the rumor would explode this far overnight.
The speed was too fast. And the fact that it had spread without any exaggeration meant either the Beggars’ Guild or the Hao Clan had gotten involved.
The Hao Clan was the more likely. Beggars’ Guild rumors almost always got inflated.
“So what now? Martial Alliance soldiers are combing the streets looking only for young people.”
“Hell, I’ll just change my face with Reverse Appearance Art and deal with them. Right?”
“You… are you just completely off the rails now?”
“Think about it. Did we come away empty-handed? No. Those Black Spirit Sect bastards or whatever were underlings of the Heavenly Palace.”
“That’s true enough.”
She conceded what needed conceding. While smashing the Black Spirit Sect the day before, Gi-woon had found traces of the Heavenly Palace. Not just traces—an actual Heavenly Palace Token that proved membership.
“Let’s talk business seriously. What do you think?”
“The things happening in the shadows of the martial world aren’t ordinary. I heard from Yul—the Black Killing Ghost Shadow Corps is basically on emergency footing.”
“You met Yul? Wait, more importantly—emergency footing?”
“I was going to tell you once we got back. Looks like this Heavenly Palace force has started operating in the open across the martial world for real.”
Gi-woon listened carefully to Bi So-hyang. Apparently the Black Killing Ghost Shadow Corps was suffering a severe manpower shortage.
They had spent years quietly absorbing assassin sects into the shadows of the martial world. Because they’d gone underground, even the Martial Alliance hadn’t caught on.
But starting a few days ago, contact had been lost with dozens of Death Gate branches. The traces themselves had been completely erased.
“So the Black Killing Ghost Shadow Corps people are tearing the martial world upside down like mad. I ran into Yul on the way here.”
“They operated in the shadows, so the Heavenly Palace cleaned out the shadows first, huh.”
Gi-woon’s gaze grew heavy. The Heavenly Palace—a force that had always seemed half-visible, half-hidden—was slowly rising to the surface.
How far their influence reached. How many spies they had planted inside the Demonic Cult.
He still hadn’t figured it out. And the Martial Alliance was no different. Pure speculation, but the odds that even the Alliance Leader himself was a Heavenly Palace man were extremely high.
Why they were only moving now was still a mystery. But now that a lead had surfaced, even if it meant open war—
They must have revealed themselves because they were confident they could win. A real war might break out soon.
“What’s the Cult’s response going to be?”
“They’re going to form a squad. Now that the force’s name has been confirmed as Heavenly Palace, it shouldn’t take long.”
“That squad. Once we return, I’m taking command of it.”
Once he consumed the Gongcheongseogyu, he would reach the Transcendent Realm. That alone would more than qualify him as squad leader.
And there was one more reason he wanted the position.
He wanted to gather the Jamma Five Stars again—the ones who had each gone their separate ways. How strong would they have become by now?
Bi So-hyang alone had already reached the extreme of Peak. Ma Ra-jin… having entered the Yeol-am-ah-hwang-dae, he might even have hit Transcendent if things went well.
Sama Yul had been running real operations, so her realm might not have risen properly. As for Cheon Se-hwa…
He wasn’t sure they could even be together. Joining the Guangming Guard was practically the same as cutting herself off from the world.
Just as he was lost in those idle thoughts—
A restless presence stirred outside. Martial Alliance warriors had stormed into the inn.
“We’ll need to conduct a brief investigation, so please relax, honored guests.”
“Oh my, Warrior. Are you here because of last night’s incident?”
“Yes. It’ll be over quickly, so please remain calm. Anyone who cooperates sincerely will get a free drink on us.”
The warrior dispatched by the Martial Alliance wore a kindly smile.
But did he know? That nine-tenths of the people inside this inn were demonic cultivators.