Chapter 164
Chapter 164
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 164
Chapter Title: Essence of the Death Decree (4)
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The Demon Horn Seal was precisely the Horse's Hoof Seal.
In theater, the term "horse's hoof" refers to the moment when the true identity of a performer wearing an animal mask—specifically the person handling the legs—is revealed. As they move while disguised, the performer's true form slips through, and that's called exposing the horse's hoof. It's the unveiling of the real self.
Yet the seal on the Death Decree likewise concealed the truth.
It hid the essence of the Death Decree, ensuring it never surfaced in the world.
But why use the term "Demon Horn" instead of "Horse's Hoof"?
This concealed the intent of the one who had sealed the Death Decree. In other words, it revealed the true reason for partially sealing it.
The horn of a demon!
A horn bursts forth from the earth first.
If left unchecked, the demon soon reveals its true form. And once it does, there's no containing it.
The demon's horn must be addressed the instant it emerges.
That is the Demon Horn Seal.
There was no special reason for altering the terminology. It stemmed from a profound disgust toward the facts of the seal itself—viewing those sealed elements as the horns of demons.
The mechanisms employed by the Heavenly Annihilation Division, their tools, temperatures unsuitable for slaughter rather than killing techniques... everything detrimental to the Division or unfit for assassins had been sealed away.
The one who placed the Demon Horn Seal on the Death Decree was someone aligned with the Heavenly Annihilation Division. Even if not formally affiliated, they undoubtedly supported it.
Who had tampered with the Death Decree?
The Death Decree was a one-to-one secret art, passed solely from master to disciple, limited to a single heir.
Only one person could alter it: the master's death herald.
Yet this made no sense. The master would never touch the Death Decree, and moreover, he was imprisoned by the Heavenly Annihilation Division.
The master had always been wary of killing intent.
He feared that escorting the dying to the afterlife might serve as a pretext for murder.
Cautious, cautious, cautious... To guide even one soul to the next world required dozens of self-reconciliations to confirm it was truly just.
It was hard to imagine such a man applying the Demon Horn Seal.
'Those who could access the Death Decree... the master and me... and no one else.'
Four Thousand Four spent the long night pondering nothing but the Demon Horn Seal—and who had ordered it.
Night passed, and dawn arrived. Daybreak came.
The time the old man had mentioned had fully elapsed. Leisurely hours gave way to urgent ones.
The old man remained serene.
Having reached the pinnacle of temperature control, even faint chills wouldn't disrupt his breathing. He knew full well an attack might come, yet he maintained his tranquility.
Cock-a-doodle-doo!
A rooster's crow rang out powerfully from afar.
Thud!
Four Thousand Four felt another jolt.
As intense as when the word "temperature" had flashed in his dreamlike haze, a shock swept through his mind.
The old man was dead.
No intruder. No attacker. Nor had he taken his own life.
The old man's lifespan had simply ended.
He had known precisely when his life would conclude. He had foreseen his death.
This was astonishing, yet not incomprehensible.
Martial artists were acutely sensitive to energy senses. Through circulation training, they naturally observed the flow of their meridians.
As death neared, anomalies appeared in those flows.
Circulation training expels deathly and stagnant qi while invigorating vital energy... but eventually, this cycle falters. Deathly and stagnant qi are pushed out, yet vital energy fails to regenerate.
Those at the peak of martial prowess could detect such irregularities half a year before death—thus foreseeing their end that far in advance.
One who monitors their energy sense foresees death.
What shocked Four Thousand Four—what struck him—was that the old man, facing death within a day, showed not the slightest fear or terror.
This was the source of his shock.
Anyone on the brink of death feels dread. As life ends and the steadfast self dissolves, who wouldn't fear it?
Yet the old man betrayed no such dread.
Before the very inheritor of the Death Decree—the one most sensitive to deathly qi—he revealed none.
The old man had masked his deathly qi with temperature.
To the end, he remained peaceful. Gentle.
The notions of intruders or attacks were Four Thousand Four's alone. The old man had given a day's time, and sensing no deathly aura from him, Four Thousand Four could only anticipate external threats.
"Truly... remarkable."
Four Thousand Four murmured as he gazed at the old man, who had passed in serene repose as if merely asleep.
The old man had nullified the duties of the Death Decree's inheritor.
Before his death, there was nothing for the inheritor to do. No aiding the passing, no emanating warmth to soothe the mind.
The old man had concluded everything alone.
His corpse exuded profound peace. Stillness. Vibrancy, as if alive.
Four Thousand Four pressed his palms together toward the old man.
"The funeral rites last ten days."
"Is that so?"
"The Elder asked that you tend the incense for those ten days."
"Me?"
"No need for mourning garb, but please watch over the incense."
"Such talk during the mourning period is awkward, but what of Vanguard and Hanbi...?"
"You'll see them after ten days. The Elder left a small gift."
Four Thousand Four nodded.
Vanguard and Hanbi seemed to be undergoing some training. What heights they could reach in just over ten days was uncertain... but if it was the Elder's parting gift, it wouldn't be trivial.
For them, it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
"I'll ensure the incense doesn't go out."
Then the middle-aged man who had spoken to Four Thousand Four handed him a slim booklet.
"To ward off boredom while tending the flame."
Four Thousand Four's eyes widened.
- Death Decree
The booklet clearly bore the characters for Death Decree.
"The Elder has passed."
"...?"
North Name looked up in surprise.
"It's confirmed. Word from Pure Heart Pavilion."
"The Elder... dead?"
"This dawn, during the Chou hour."
"Hahaha! Hahahaha!"
North Name burst into wild laughter.
"Elder, Elder, Elder, Elder..."
His laughter subsided into mutters.
"They say this world has its North Names and South Fates... but neither measures up to the Elder. Hahaha! What a solid blow. Hahahaha!"
"The funeral will be quiet, at Pure Heart Pavilion."
"Four Thousand Four's there?"
"Yes. He is."
"The Angel of Death receives the Elder's end. Heh heh heh heh! Elder... destined to die, yet you stepped down from your post. Elder, do you even exploit your own death? Hahaha! Clever play. A brilliant move foreseeing your demise."
"Shall I retrieve Four Thousand Four?"
"When one steps down and stakes their life, we can't act for seven days. That's the code."
"I know the code, but leaving Four Thousand Four like that..."
"He knew and did it anyway. The Elder knew and acted. Only a fool falls for such a ploy."
"Then Four Thousand Four?"
"Just watch him."
"Understood!"
The subordinate withdrew quietly.
North Name Bukmyeong slumped his head. His shoulders sagged, legs stretched out.
When Four Thousand Four left the assassins' hideout and headed for the Heavenly Annihilation Division... precisely then, the Elder discarded his supreme seat among the Ten Thrones.
In exchange, he proposed an absurd condition.
If Four Thousand Four entered the Division unharmed, he'd serve for exactly one day.
No one—not even North Name—knew the hidden intent behind the Elder's proposal.
One thing was guessed, however.
Don't touch Four Thousand Four!
A Throne stepping down could propose one condition, and as long as it posed no threat to the Division, it was customarily accepted.
The Thrones interpreted the Elder's request as mere protection for Four Thousand Four.
How could the bastard even enter the Division? Preposterous.
Thus, it meant no one but the target should intervene if attacked.
Even if he entered, he'd only preserve his life for a day.
What was so hard about that?
The Thrones granted the request. No one else would interfere with the target.
Yet the bastard infiltrated the Outer Court.
Incredibly... through an emergency exit unknown to the martial world.
Of course, per agreement, only the Outer Court Lord could fight Four Thousand Four. Others stayed out.
Even here, the Thrones underestimated it.
As if the Outer Court Lord couldn't handle Four Thousand Four. He had the invincible Twenty-Four Elders' Sword Formation, master Chaseo, the White Mountain Demon, and Blood Demon.
But then the Outer Court Lord was assassinated.
Four Thousand Four entered via an underground passage... and for some reason, the mechanisms there malfunctioned. Nearly all ceased functioning.
The Elder's doing.
Here... someone unbound by the Thrones' agreement emerged.
The Poisoner, and his phantom clones. The Poisoner was also the Outer Court Lord's senior brother.
Sword Sage and Dao Sage intervened not as North Name's left and right guards, but under the pretext of aiding the Poisoner. They could control his phantom clones.
Yet absurdly, Sword Sage and Dao Sage fell too.
Only after their deaths did North Name realize one layer of his ironclad armor had peeled away.
No one could harm him before. But if someone resolved to, they'd pass Sword Sage and Dao Sage first. And that shield had been effortlessly stripped.
North Name Bukmyeong now entered the assassins' crosshairs.
An assassin... unknown sender, but if one came, he'd face it himself.
No issue there. His own martial arts were impeccable.
But unlike before, he could no longer focus solely on the martial world's grand currents.
The Elder declared: You can die too.
North Name endured even that. The Elder's resignation would clear everything up neatly. The nagging shadow hobbling the Division would vanish. And after a day, Four Thousand Four would become Heavenly Commander's target.
Then the Elder played another hand.
His own death!
No one foresaw it—not North Name, not Heavenly Commander, not Little Executioner Lord, no one.
When a Throne dies, the funeral spans ten days.
During that time, all their possessions freeze. Enmities freeze too.
Judgment on Four Thousand Four defers to after ten days.
What a stroke of genius. Four Thousand Four had already entered the Division, untouchable for the next ten days.
This was the scheme of the Elder, who had only chuckled vacantly all along.
North Name's concerns didn't end there.
The Elder had ties to Zhuge Soso. Among the Plum Three Families backing her, he'd secretly contacted Plum Yi Family. And now, Plum Yi had vanished so completely its existence was unverifiable.
The Heavenly Annihilation Division could crumble in one fell swoop.
'Heh heh heh! Things are getting interesting. Yes, a game must be this tangled to savor. Heh heh!'
North Name smirked.