Chapter 239
Chapter 239
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 239
Chapter Title: The Palace Lord's Choice
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The library fell into utter silence at Hyeok Mulin's words.
Yeon Jeha's face drained of all color, his gaze turning icy cold as he stared at Hyeok Mulin.
Then, slowly, he parted his lips.
"Do you even know what this palace's ritual entails before saying such things?"
"Of course. I know exactly what you're trying to unfold here on Blood Lord Mountain."
Ever since stepping foot on Blood Lord Mountain, he'd heard the word 'ritual' frequently from Yeon Jeokhwa and the other palace servants.
The ritual currently being performed by the palace lord.
And so, Hyeok Mulin had asked Yeon Jeokhwa what it was.
—I can't reveal that to an outsider.
She had brushed it off lightly, never giving a proper answer to the end.
But Hyeok Mulin didn't stop there.
He sought out Jeok Mugun and ordered him to investigate the ritual performed in the Blood Heaven Divine Palace.
And as expected from a warrior of the Divine Demon Blood Death Squad with top-tier mission capabilities, Jeok Mugun reported back faster than anticipated.
"The Blood Formation Array. You're using it to amplify the blood energy of this land, aren't you?"
The ritual personally conducted by Yeon Jeha, lord of the Blood Heaven Divine Palace.
Its purpose was to envelop the entire Blood Lord Mountain in a massive Blood Formation Array.
This stirred immense blood energy from the earth, enhancing the power of blood arts wielded by warriors standing on this soil.
A defensive formation, but its effects are undeniable.
Executing blood arts on Blood Lord Mountain boosted their performance. Here, the home base of the Blood Heaven Divine Palace, warriors versed in blood arts saw their prowess rise a full level.
It was a Blood Formation Array of vast scale and potency, covering not just a small area but the entire mountain.
However.
With performance like that, the price must be equally immense.
The only one capable of performing the ritual was Yeon Jeha, the palace lord with profound insight into blood arts within the Blood Heaven Divine Palace.
And what was required to conduct that ritual?
'Human blood.'
The fresh blood of hundreds—no, thousands.
When he first heard Jeok Mugun's report, Hyeok Mulin had his doubts.
How had they supplied that much blood for a ritual held regularly up to now?
The answer turned out to be surprisingly simple.
'The palace servants volunteered their blood.'
The day before the ritual, all palace servants of the Blood Heaven Divine Palace gathered and offered their fresh blood in turn.
Each gave just enough that it wouldn't strain their bodies, dedicating it to the ritual.
"Curiously, the ritual and the Crimson River Heavenly Vitality Divine Art require the exact same thing. So, if you abandon the ritual, couldn't you obtain the latter?"
Yeon Jeha's face hardened at Hyeok Mulin's words, but he soon shook his head.
"Abandoning the ritual would put the Blood Palace in immediate peril. Ghost Lord City isn't exactly free of righteous sects and evil factions at its flanks. The reason they haven't eyed Blood Lord Mountain is precisely this ritual."
Yeon Jeha continued with a troubled expression.
"But if we forgo the ritual, do you think they'd sit idly by? This place would be engulfed in righteous flames overnight."
From Yeon Jeha's position, he could never abandon the ritual.
No matter how much power the Blood Heaven Divine Palace held in the martial world, objectively, it couldn't compare to the Murim Alliance or the Four Black Alliances.
Yet the simple reason they hadn't devoured the Blood Heaven Divine Palace was this.
'Reclaiming the home base is far too difficult.'
Thanks to the Blood Formation Array blanketing the entire Blood Lord Mountain, the palace servants standing on this land had their prowess greatly enhanced.
Of course, if they went all out, they might eventually win, but there was no reason to wage war against the Blood Heaven Divine Palace at the cost of massive losses, so they refrained from interfering.
'But what if that sturdy shield of a Blood Formation Array vanished overnight?'
It would be like tossing a man stripped of his armor before a tiger.
Yeon Jeha couldn't accept such an obvious future.
However.
"They won't move."
Hyeok Mulin flatly denied his prediction.
Yeon Jeha furrowed one brow, his voice laced with doubt.
"What makes you so certain?"
Thud.
At those words, Hyeok Mulin's finger touched the martial arts manual.
"Once you master this divine art, the blood arts you've cultivated so far will seem like child's play."
The Blood Formation Array enhanced the blood arts of palace servants within Blood Lord Mountain.
But the Crimson River Heavenly Vitality Divine Art was different.
It intrinsically strengthened the blood arts of anyone who cultivated it, regardless of time or place.
Yeon Jeha couldn't help but ask about the confidence Hyeok Mulin exuded.
"Just how powerful is that divine art?"
"Its power..."
Meeting his gaze head-on, Hyeok Mulin slowly parted his lips.
"It will let you scale peaks that even the Blood River Union Divine Art couldn't."
"...!"
In truth, Yeon Jeha had no major complaints about the Blood River Union Divine Art.
It hadn't been long since acquiring it at the auction house, and it was the Blood Palace's supreme divine art.
Yet to hear that it would allow him to reach realms beyond even that...
Unbelievable words. But despite not witnessing it himself, Yeon Jeha didn't sense any falsehood in the man's eyes.
"The choice is yours now."
To hunker down, content with ruling Ghost Lord City, or risk it all and rise toward the martial world at large.
Yeon Jeha fell silent at Hyeok Mulin's words.
Soon after, he looked up and spoke.
"Give me time to think."
He well knew the weight his decision as palace lord carried.
This choice would shape the Blood Heaven Divine Palace's future.
Thus, he couldn't decide lightly here and now.
"Understood. But I can't wait forever—decide within three days."
"Very well."
Yeon Jeha nodded and turned, leaving the library with a complicated expression.
Left alone, Hyeok Mulin tidied the manual and suddenly spoke.
"You can come out now."
At his words, Yeon Jeokhwa emerged from behind the door.
Caught eavesdropping, she scratched her cheek awkwardly.
"It wasn't on purpose. I rushed over hearing you'd finished interpreting the manual, but you were already in talks with the palace lord..."
"Never mind that."
Cutting her off curtly, Hyeok Mulin asked,
"What do you think of this matter?"
Yeon Jeokhwa hesitated at his question.
His gaze felt like it was testing her.
"I..."
After a moment's thought, she decided to be honest.
"I think you're right."
"Abandon the Blood Formation Array and learn the new divine art?"
"If its power is as you say."
"I see."
Hyeok Mulin smirked at her straightforwardness.
Staring at him, Yeon Jeokhwa soon expressed her gratitude.
"Anyway, thank you. Truth be told, I didn't really expect you'd succeed in interpreting it when I brought you here."
To think he'd actually pull it off.
Even now, Yeon Jeokhwa could hardly believe it.
Showing the manual to an outsider like Hyeok Mulin was a massive gamble, but she'd gone through with it, and he'd succeeded.
With Hyeok Mulin having interpreted the Crimson River Heavenly Vitality Divine Art, the essence of blood arts, her position would solidify unlike before.
She could firmly secure her role as vice palace lord.
'Which is why I feel a bit guilty.'
The Crimson River Heavenly Vitality Divine Art was the Blood Palace's secret technique.
It couldn't leak outside, so regardless of whether the palace lord accepted Hyeok Mulin's proposal, they couldn't let him leave Blood Lord Mountain now that he knew its contents.
He'd have to spend the rest of his life within the Blood Heaven Divine Palace.
Having bolstered her position and the palace immensely, yet now chaining his ankle in return—Yeon Jeokhwa felt both gratitude and guilt.
'So at least, I'll make sure he lives without want here.'
A tender affection bloomed in Yeon Jeokhwa's eyes as she gazed at Hyeok Mulin.
Time flew by, and three days had passed, the deadline Hyeok Mulin set drawing near.
Yet since their library talk, Yeon Jeha hadn't shown himself at all.
Growing anxious, Yeon Jeokhwa sought the palace lord but was turned away without even seeing his face.
As the sun set and the moon rose, Yeon Jeokhwa gazed out the window and cautiously spoke.
"It seems the palace lord is deeply troubled. How about giving a bit more time...?"
"Today is the last."
But Hyeok Mulin's resolve was firm.
Truth be told, three days was generous.
If it were him, he'd have chosen the divine art on the spot.
Yet his indecision suggested something else was weighing on him beyond the ritual.
But he couldn't wait indefinitely.
Hyeok Mulin had given the Blood Heaven Divine Palace its chance; whether they seized it was their choice.
As a shadow fell over Yeon Jeokhwa's face at his words,
Thud, thud.
She turned sharply at the footsteps and presence.
"...!"
Her eyes widened, and she rushed to the entrance, flinging the door open.
Yeon Jeha stepped inside.
He had come personally to Yeon Jeokhwa's quarters.
Meeting eyes briefly with Hyeok Mulin inside, he turned to her.
"Step out for a moment."
"Yes."
Bowing her head, Yeon Jeokhwa withdrew.
Outside, she closed the door and pressed her ear against it, straining to listen.
But.
'Why can't I hear anything!'
No matter how long she waited, not a sound came from within.
Swish.
Right after she left, Hyeok Mulin had spread a barrier of qi around the interior.
"Not this time."
Glancing between the barrier and the door, Yeon Jeha read Hyeok Mulin's intent and said nothing.
Now alone in the quarters, the two men faced each other, and Hyeok Mulin spoke first.
"You've made your decision, then."
"Indeed."
"What will it be?"
This palace lord's choice would ripple from Ghost Lord City to the entire Central Plains.
Hyeok Mulin asked calmly.
Yeon Jeha then replied,
"First, one question."
His gaze sharper than before fixed on Hyeok Mulin.
Parting his lips, he spoke clearly.
"Are you... the Heavenly Demon?"