Chapter 205: Hae Cheong-yeon's Faith
Chapter 205: Hae Cheong-yeon's Faith
"What?! What happened?!"
Jegal Ji-gang couldn't hold back and shouted back.
Because he absolutely couldn't believe what he had just heard.
Then the Black Dragon Daeju and Black Wolf Daeju, their complexions a complete mess, trembled as they spoke again.
"Th-there was a m-monster there."
"I-it was a spirit. That old man danced fluttering like a spirit, and no one survived."
"I-it's clearly the Sword Saint come back! The Sword Saint has become a vengeful spirit to punish us! Waaaaah!"
"I-it didn't seem to be the Sword Saint. He looked more like a spirit than a vengeful ghost."
"Shut up! You crazy bastards!"
Jegal Ji-gang ground his teeth.
What on earth had they experienced? The Black Wolf Daeju from the Dark Shadow Squad, a veteran of countless battles, was completely terrified and out of his mind.
The Black Dragon Daeju seemed somewhat more clear-headed, but even so, talking about a spirit was nonsense.
Anyway, whether it was a monster or a spirit, that wasn't what mattered.
The important thing was that the Black Tiger Unit had been annihilated, and the Black Dragon and Black Wolf Units had returned with only half surviving.
The elite warriors who had numbered as many as three hundred returned with barely a hundred remaining.
"What in the..."
Jegal Ji-gang suddenly realized that his own hand was trembling.
His ambition to reorganize his forces after enduring hardships at the front, to reconsolidate and challenge for the alliance leader's seat again, was fading away.
"Urgh!"
Gritting his molars hard, Jegal Ji-gang first composed himself and decided to dismiss the Black Dragon Daeju and Black Wolf Daeju in front of him.
Because in their current state, they wouldn't be of any help anyway.
"For now, go back and reorganize."
When Jegal Ji-gang ordered them to withdraw, they left the office still trembling.
Their retreating figures couldn't have looked more pathetic.
A moment later, in the now-empty office, Jegal Ji-gang finally exploded with the anger he had been holding back.
"Arrgh!"
Kwaaang!
Jegal Ji-gang's fist slammed down hard on the desk.
But the sturdy desk made of North Sea ironwood didn't break even under his punch.
That was fortunate.
But looking at that intact desk, Jegal Ji-gang let out a hollow laugh.
"Heh, hehe."
It was as if fate itself was mocking him.
Saying, how ridiculous it was for someone who couldn't even muster the strength to break a single desk to covet the position of Murim Alliance Leader.
"Urgh!"
Jegal Ji-gang clutched his chest at the sudden pain.
A sharp pain was shooting through his heart.
***
Some time later, Jegal Ji-gang learned through Flying Dragon Commander Gwan Gu-bung that the person with the Flying Dragon Thirteen Squads was Yang Mun-heon, the White Crane Old Sword, one of the Thirty-Six Stars of the World.
"The White Crane Old Sword... Yang Mun-heon?"
It was shocking and devastating.
To the fact that someone who wasn't even one of the Fifteen Absolute Masters could rout an elite force of over three hundred, and that he, Jegal Ji-gang, had sent his own full force to a place where one of the Thirty-Six Stars was without any preparation whatsoever.
Jegal Ji-gang murmured weakly.
"Why, of all places, was he there...?"
Then Gwan Gu-bung, knowing nothing, smiled brightly and shared what he knew.
"I heard that the White Crane Old Sword, Elder Yang, recently took Dang Yeo-eun, the squad leader of the Flying Dragon Thirteen Squads' Third Squad, as his honorary granddaughter. So he came all the way to the frontlines here to look after Lady Dang. Now that the Sword Saint is no longer with us, isn't this a great fortune for us frontline warriors? Hahaha!"
Letting the laughter go in one ear and out the other, Jegal Ji-gang felt his mind going blank.
This was his own mistake.
If he had only done a little checking, he could have easily learned that Yang Mun-heon was there, but in his arrogance, thinking that a force of three hundred could easily wipe out the Flying Dragon Thirteen Squads, he had proceeded with the plan without any prior investigation.
And now, as the price for that arrogance, Jegal Ji-gang had lost most of the forces he had.
Though about a hundred warriors still remained, the difference between three hundred and a hundred was as vast as heaven and earth.
With that level of force, he could do nothing.
"Ah, now that I think of it, a report came in just last night. The night before last, a horde of Blood Cult demons swarmed and attacked the Thirteen Squads, can you believe it? They say there were an incredible number of them, but thanks to Elder Yang's presence, they were completely wiped out without any casualties. If this isn't a blessing of yours, Advisor Jegal, what else could it be? Wahahahaha!"
Jegal Ji-gang wanted to beat the man laughing cheerfully in front of him to death on the spot.
But he couldn't.
Barely managing his expression, Jegal Ji-gang opened his mouth with difficulty to speak to him.
"Commander Gwan, I'm not feeling well today, so let's discuss the rest next time."
"What? Oh, yes! No wonder your color seemed off. Understood. Rest well, Advisor!"
After sending Gwan Gu-bung outside, Jegal Ji-gang clutched his throbbing forehead and fell into thought for a moment.
Coldly speaking, in this state, rising again by his own power alone was nearly impossible.
And even if it were possible, there was no telling how long it would take.
So something else was needed.
After a long while with his eyes closed, Jegal Ji-gang finally opened his eyes with a flash.
His bloodshot eyes were stained red.
Jegal Ji-gang decided to use his last resort.
Now it seemed there was no other way.
He muttered through gritted teeth.
"The Blood Cult... I have no choice but to use them."
They weren't a force he could reveal openly, but being able to use them was undeniably his own great advantage.
Moreover, didn't he still have items left to trade with the Blood Cult?
Crrk!
With bloodshot eyes and grinding teeth, Jegal Ji-gang sprang to his feet.
It was time to move again.
Any thought that colluding with the Blood Demon was wrong had completely vanished from his mind.
Because for him, the option of abandoning his ambition did not exist at all.
***
Mount Jeomchang, Yunnan Province.
Hyeolma Jeon Mu-gwang read the letter from Jegal Ji-gang and smiled slightly as he spoke.
"Jegal Ji-gang wants to meet."
Then Guyueumma Ji Gi-eum, who was hidden nearby, replied.
"That's a bit strange. He should be terrified of the Supreme One. Could it be that he's overcome his fear of you, my lord?"
In response to his question, Jeon Mu-gwang flicked his finger, burned the letter with the True Fire of Samadhi, and answered.
Hwareureuk!
"That won't be the case. If he had overcome 'fear,' he would have probably overcome 'ambition' as well. But... if he had overcome 'ambition,' there would be no reason for him to come meet me. He must be quite desperate. Desperate enough to borrow my power despite his fear."
At his words, Ji Gi-eum sneered and replied.
"Hmph, that hypocrite of the orthodox faction has really gone all the way."
Then the Blood Demon chuckled and said.
"Isn't that a good thing for us? We haven't even received payment for dealing with the Sword Saint yet. If he's desperate, we might be able to raise the price a bit this time. I'll try requesting some materials along with the secret manuals."
What the Blood Demon had agreed to receive from Jegal Ji-gang in exchange for dealing with the Sword Saint were the Blood Cult's old secret manuals that the Murim Alliance had been keeping.
The Blood Cult's secret manuals that the Murim Alliance had confiscated but not burned—Jegal Ji-gang had agreed to secretly smuggle them out and return them to the Blood Demon.
And though Jegal Ji-gang didn't know, inside those manuals was a secret method that could possess the soul of a dead person into another body.
The secret method that could possess Hae Cheong-yeon with the Reverse Heaven Blood Demon Gwayeom, and the secret method that could settle the dead soul of his beloved disciple Gu Yu-sang back into a body turned into a Blood Demon.
The Blood Demon suddenly murmured in a soft, mournful tone.
"The day I'll see Yu-sang again isn't far off now."
At his longing-filled voice, Guyueumma Ji Gi-eum could say nothing.
He just quietly tried not to disturb his lord's longing.
A moment later, the Blood Demon, as if suddenly remembering, opened his mouth and asked Ji Gi-eum.
"Ma Yu-gyeom, have you still not found that bastard's whereabouts?"
"...No, we estimate he has completely left the frontline area."
At Ji Gi-eum's answer, the Blood Demon sneered lowly.
"A bastard with nowhere to run from the frontlines... giving us trouble. As expected of his bloodline, there's not a single thing I like about him. Is Hee-geum still in that state?"
Then Ji Gi-eum answered in an apologetic tone.
"Yes, the young lady is still..."
Jeon Hee-geum, daughter of Hyeolma Jeon Mu-gwang whom they had barely reunited with, had been shutting herself in her room for several months now as Ma Yu-gyeom's disappearance prolonged, refusing to come out.
Even when the Blood Demon personally went to see her, she wouldn't meet him, and they couldn't talk.
Though she didn't say it directly, one could guess she was resentful toward her father, the Blood Demon.
Perhaps she even thought that her father, the Blood Demon, had killed her son Ma Yu-gyeom.
After a moment of silence thinking of his daughter, the Blood Demon, having regained his composure, spoke again a little later.
"And her, how is Lady Hae doing?"
Then Ji Gi-eum answered in a voice tinged with amusement.
"She was doing quite well. Seeing that a few nearby pests have already died, it seems she recently broke through a wall."
At his reply, the Blood Demon wore a bloody smile.
Her having killed a few people meant she had absorbed their internal energy using the Blood Cult's Essence Absorption technique.
That she was learning the Blood Cult's martial arts to raise her martial prowess, and that she was consumed by enough madness to kill people and absorb their internal energy — none of it could be anything but a most welcome development.
The Mad Demon suddenly let out a regretful sigh and said,
"I am very curious about what the Sword Saint would say if he saw this scene. Watching his daughter, who was once the greatest hyeopgaek of the orthodox faction, learn the Blood Cult's martial arts and become a demon head, that is."
But as soon as he finished speaking, a cruel smile rose to his face.
"Isn't it quite amusing just to imagine? If I had known it would come to this, I might have tried to keep him alive somehow. Keuheuheuheu!"
The laughter the Blood Demon displayed just then was a wicked laugh that looked more demonic than anyone else's.
"Keuheuheu, keuhahahahaha!"
The Blood Demon, who had been laughing in sheer delight as if he couldn't possibly hold it in, suddenly stopped his laughter and spoke to Ji Gi-eum.
"I think I shall have to go see her, since it's been a long while. I must confirm it with my own eyes."
At his words, Ji Gi-eum revealed himself and knelt to answer.
"As the Supreme One wills."
And by the time he raised his head again, the Blood Demon's form had already vanished from the office without a trace.
***
Shaaak!
Kwajik!
As a flash of azure sword qi burst like lightning, an armful-wide tree split vertically.
It was the result of Hae Cheong-yeon's sword strike.
She stared vacantly at the cross-section of the tree, split by her own sword, her face expressionless.
It was then.
Clap! Clap! Clap!
Suddenly, the sound of applause came from behind.
"How impressive, my lady. To think you could wield the Blood Thunder Sword Technique to that degree, when you have barely been learning it for any time at all."
The Blood Thunder Sword Technique was the Blood Cult's supreme sword art, which Gu Yu-sang had previously used against Seonwoo Jin.
And the cross-section of the tree split by that sword art was, indeed, not sliced straight and clean as if by a blade, but rather violently split as if struck by lightning, its surface scorched black.
Barely a month after beginning to learn the Blood Thunder Sword Technique, Hae Cheong-yeon had already succeeded in emitting the thunder energy, its most crucial element.
She turned around with an expressionless face, looked at the Blood Demon, and said,
"Thank you for the compliment. It is an excellent sword technique. Though I suppose that is only natural, since it originally belonged to the Namgung clan."
Her words were clearly a criticism of the Blood Cult for stealing and modifying the martial arts of other sects.
But the Blood Demon smiled, unbothered, and answered.
"It has become much easier to learn than the original Emperor Sword Technique, and I can confidently say its power has also improved. Did Lady Hae not find herself able to learn it already?"
That the martial arts of the Blood Cult were easy to learn was an undeniable fact.
That was precisely why so many people, even knowing that learning the Blood Cult's arts would lead to madness, still knelt before its temptation.
Hae Cheong-yeon asked him with an expressionless face.
"It has been a while since you came. Did you come to bring me more good news again?"
At her question, the Blood Demon suddenly recalled what he had said to her the last time.
He had clearly promised her back then that if he got good news, he would come deliver it to her again.
It was a promise he had forgotten so completely he hadn't even given it a thought, but the Blood Demon smiled pleasantly and answered as if it were nothing.
"I am not quite sure if this qualifies as good news. Seol Pung and Seonwoo Jin's whereabouts have vanished. What's more, word is that not only they, but even the members of the Flying Dragon Thirteen Squads' Seventh Squad who never came to Aenoesan Mountain have all disappeared from the frontline."
At those words, Hae Cheong-yeon's face hardened for the first time.
"...Vanished?"
Observing her expression carefully, the Blood Demon slowly continued.
"That is so. It is clear that they returned safely from Aenoesan Mountain, but after that, they did not appear in the Flying Dragon Thirteen Squads, and instead, the people who were there have disappeared, claiming they were going to avenge their comrades. Is that not intriguing?"
Hae Cheong-yeon was lost in thought for a moment, then asked again.
But that question was not the one the Blood Demon had been expecting.
"By any chance, is Jegal Ji-gang the current commander at the frontline?"
At the question whose intent he could not discern, the Blood Demon slowly studied her expression and answered.
"...That is so."
At that, Hae Cheong-yeon's expression relaxed back into ease.
Then, as if she had figured something out, she nodded and said,
"I see."
In that brief moment, Jeon Mu-gwang was just barely able to grasp what she had been thinking.
She had probably judged that Jegal Ji-gang had come to the frontline, and that they had deliberately slipped away from the front, concluding that Jegal Ji-gang, who had already showed his hand regarding his relationship with the Blood Demon himself, would kill her acquaintances. She had also compounded that with the fact that the demons would disappear now that the production facilities on Aenoesan Mountain had collapsed.
It was, once again, truly a remarkable capacity for reasoning.
The Blood Demon was feeling a renewed admiration for her brilliance when she suddenly asked another question.
"Was it only the Seventh Squad members who vanished?"
At that question, the Blood Demon shook his head and answered.
"That is not so. I heard that Sa Gun-il, the Jeomchang Sword Dragon of the Second Squad, also disappeared with them."
"The Jeomchang Sword Dragon.... That means there is no one else besides them?"
The Blood Demon could sense that she was employing her mind on something that she was not telling him about.
But he could not tell what that thing was.
Though he was intensely curious, he did not commit the blunder of asking her outright.
Hae Cheong-yeon had actually wanted to ask if Dang Yeo-eun had not also disappeared along with Seonwoo Jin.
But she could not let the Blood Demon glimpse so deep into her thoughts. Hae Cheong-yeon decided to be satisfied with the fact that Dang Yeo-eun had not disappeared alongside them and nodded expressionlessly.
"It is good news for me this time as well. Thank you."
Listening to her words of thanks, her expression entirely unreadable, the Blood Demon suddenly felt a sense of frustration.
For the first time, he felt the urge to lift up her hair and look at her face properly.
Not to see her face that was said to be so beautiful, but because he wanted to confirm the madness of the Blood Cult's martial arts swirling in her two eyes.
But just as Hae Cheong-yeon had held back, the Blood Demon also suppressed the impulse.
For the sake of the ritual that he would soon be conducting, there was no need to let his relationship with her cool now.
Feeling a deep sense of regret, the Blood Demon threw out one more remark to her.
"Ah, I heard that you broke through a wall. Congratulations."
On the surface, it was just a congratulatory remark, but the underlying message was that he knew Hae Cheong-yeon had sacrificed others using the Blood Cult's Essence Absorption technique and absorbed their internal energy.
He said it to probe her reaction.
But even though the Blood Demon observed her expression closely, Hae Cheong-yeon simply gave a short answer, her face expressionless as always.
"Thank you."
In the end, the Blood Demon was forced to return with no gains, having failed to confirm her state.
And left alone, Hae Cheong-yeon went into her room, settled into meditation, and took a deep breath.
It was time to train in her mental technique.
"Huuuuu!"
The reason Hae Cheong-yeon had decided to learn the Blood Cult's martial arts even knowing about the madness it caused was absolutely not out of self-abandonment or because she was willing to risk danger.
Rather, it was because she had enough confidence to overcome it.
She knew full well why the Blood Demon was supplying her with the Blood Cult's martial arts so generously.
'He hopes that I will fall into madness. That would make me easier to handle, and easier to make into a vessel for the Reverse Heaven Blood Demon. But... I'm sorry to say, things won't go the way he thinks.'
Her two eyes, hidden beneath her hair, flashed as she once more steeled her resolve.
In her childhood, Hae Cheong-yeon had once grown increasingly arrogant in her disposition due to her excessively brilliant intellect.
She had come to look down on not only others but even her own older sisters, and her temperament had grown progressively crueler.
Unable to stand by and watch her like that any longer, the Sword Saint had searched for a secret technique that could help his daughter compose her mind.
And soon, he was able to receive a certain mental technique from a Shaolin monk he was acquainted with.
That mental technique had changed Hae Cheong-yeon completely.
The Sword Saint's devotion had borne fruit.
As Hae Cheong-yeon suddenly recalled the Sword Saint, a pang shot through her chest.
'Father....'
In truth, Hae Cheong-yeon had not become a different person simply because she had learned that technique.
It had only forced her to squarely face the fact that the many emotions guiding her at the time — arrogance, contempt, hatred — were not her true feelings.
And so, afterward, Hae Cheong-yeon was able to grow into someone who was outstanding but not arrogant, and unusual but able to understand others.
Looking back, it had all been thanks to that mental technique.
'After that, I forgot about it for a long time....'
At that time, once she had composed her mind, Hae Cheong-yeon had stopped training in that mental technique.
Since it didn't particularly have any other function, she hadn't felt much need to continue learning it.
But once she made up her mind to learn the Blood Cult's martial arts, the very first thing that rose in her head was that mental technique.
Because she thought that with that mental technique, she would be able to sufficiently overcome even the madness of the Blood Cult's arts.
The name of the mental technique she had once learned was none other than the 'Great Calm Mind Technique'.