Chapter 333
Chapter 333
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 333
Chapter Title: A Reluctant Alliance
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It was a truly shocking story.
To think that all the brutal bloodbaths in the history of the martial world were their doing?
How could such a thing be possible?
So Ok-rim, who had been looking back and forth between Bu Eun-seol and Seo Jin-ha, spoke again in a solemn voice.
“Those bastards are hiding in the shadows, scheming as if they were gods.”
“Proof?”
“No need to look far for past evidence. Just think about the current state of the martial world.”
She spoke gravely.
“Wiping out a clan in an instant, or perfectly rebuilding one that was destroyed. Do you think ordinary factions can do that?”
Bu Eun-seol found himself nodding.
They had colluded with government officials to cultivate Inhwa and had instantly rebuilt annihilated clans to use as their pawns.
In short, they were capable of silently wiping out a perfectly fine clan or secretly eliminating it to suit their tastes.
Even a glance at such deeds showed that this was not something an ordinary martial arts faction could accomplish.
“I have one question.”
Seo Jin-ha asked.
“Does that mean in the four hundred years that have passed, you are the only one to have perfected the Sage Emperor’s martial arts?”
“That’s right.”
So Ok-rim licked her lips and said.
“It’s a martial art I learned through several near-death experiences. It’s powerful, but just as difficult to master.”
“Then how in the world do you plan to find the descendants of these Eight Emperors and Three Sages?”
The fact that this truth had not been revealed to the martial world until now meant their roots ran deep.
So how on earth did So Ok-rim intend to find them?
“That’s why I sought out Shinsanja as soon as I perfected the martial arts.”
So Ok-rim shrugged nonchalantly.
“That fortune-telling old man, known as the greatest sage in the martial world, would know the situation well.”
“So, what did he say?”
As Seo Jin-ha fired off another question, So Ok-rim shouted in annoyance.
“Are you interrogating me? Why are you only asking me questions?”
But Seo Jin-ha replied confidently.
“Are not the things you’ve said too shocking to accept calmly? I must ask to confirm whether they are true or not.”
Seo Jin-ha glanced at Bu Eun-seol, winked, and then spoke politely once more.
“In return, once all the questions are over, he will honestly tell you what he knows. I give you my word.”
In truth, Seo Jin-ha was asking questions on behalf of Bu Eun-seol.
If the stiff-toned Bu Eun-seol were to question her as if interrogating her, she would surely have a fit.
In exchange, he had secured a promise from Bu Eun-seol to speak honestly with her.
“Hmph.”
As she crossed her arms again as if she had no choice, Seo Jin-ha continued his questions.
“So. Did you find the descendants?”
“Only one place where they are suspected to be hiding.”
“Why did you find only one?”
“Because I only have one Coin of Repayment.”
Shinsanja, the greatest sage and fortune-teller in the martial world.
For the past thirty years, he would only answer a question if one brought him the Coin of Repayment that he himself had distributed.
Therefore, if one did not bring the coin, one could not get an answer, even if they found him and held a blade to his throat.
“So the Coin of Repayment really exists.”
Seo Jin-ha, too, had only heard of it in rumors.
“But how did you obtain a Coin of Repayment?”
So Ok-rim said nonchalantly.
“Twenty years ago, Shinsanja wandered the martial world and found all the descendants of the Eight Emperors and Three Sages. And he gave each of them a Coin of Repayment.”
“Shinsanja did? But why?”
Seo Jin-ha couldn't understand.
Why would the man known as the greatest sage in the martial world seek out all the descendants of the Eight Emperors and Three Sages?
And why would he give them the Coins of Repayment that could be used to get answers?
“Why would Shinsanja personally visit the descendants of the Eight Emperors and Three Sages to give them Coins of Repayment?”
“I don’t know that either.”
As So Ok-rim replied casually, Seo Jin-ha asked again.
“Very well. Then where is this place you found out about through the Coin of Repayment, where a descendant of the Eight Emperors and Three Sages is hiding?”
“That… I cannot say.”
“A clan outside the Central Plains.”
Bu Eun-seol, who had been listening silently, realized something and nodded.
“You heard Shinsanja and came to the Western Regions to find the clan where the descendant of the Eight Emperors and Three Sages is.”
Stroking his chin, he gave a faint nod.
“He probably didn’t tell you the exact clan, but rather described certain features. That’s why you insisted on following us here. To confirm it.”
“What nonsense is this?”
As So Ok-rim scoffed, Bu Eun-seol said calmly.
“Did you not just say it yourself? That as soon as you perfected your martial arts, you sought out Shinsanja to find the descendants of the Eight Emperors and Three Sages.”
“That’s.”
“You wouldn’t have come all the way to the Western Regions just to meet some fated partner. If Shinsanja really said something like that, it would have been a secondary detail.”
At Bu Eun-seol’s deduction, So Ok-rim snorted.
To infer so many facts from just a few words? Indeed, the reputation of the Spirit Lord of the Martial Soul, which made the world tremble, was not an empty one.
“You’re just spinning a tale out of thin air.”
So Ok-rim thoroughly denied Bu Eun-seol’s words and feigned ignorance.
Having someone see through her inner thoughts was something her personality could not tolerate.
“Hmph.”
A spark flashed in the eyes of Bu Eun-seol, who was deep in thought.
“The Unhae Byeokryeong Palace… I see, so that’s it.”
“What is?”
When Seo Jin-ha asked, Bu Eun-seol’s lips curled up as he looked at So Ok-rim.
“Shinsanja probably said this. That the clan is outside the Central Plains, and that it is surrounded by ice on all sides.”
So Ok-rim’s eyebrows twitched, and Bu Eun-seol grinned, revealing his white teeth.
“The next place to check must be the North Sea Ice Palace.”
“Hey! Fine! You’re so smart!”
As Bu Eun-seol laid out the story as if he had entered her mind, So Ok-rim yelled.
“From now on, you answer! I’ve told you everything.”
“Before that, let me ask one thing.”
“What, again?”
“The North Sea Ice Palace is a clan that doesn't let in any outsiders. How do you plan to investigate it?”
“Why is that your business?”
“Because I need to know that to be able to help you.”
A faint smile touched Bu Eun-seol’s lips.
“If you had only intended to ask why I became the Martial Emperor’s successor, you wouldn’t have said this much.”
“…”
“From the moment you started talking, you provided information about the Eight Emperors and Three Sages without even being asked. From your perspective, that should be information you must hide.”
Bu Eun-seol spoke with a look of conviction.
“Doesn’t that mean you were thinking of asking for some help in finding these descendants of the Eight Emperors and Three Sages?”
“Oh my. Looks like the martial world has another Shinsanja.”
A thick vein popped on So Ok-rim’s forehead as she glared at Bu Eun-seol with bloodshot eyes.
“I’m quite familiar with the Palace Lord and the main family, so I’m not worried. The help I was going to ask for was for the problem after the North Sea Ice Palace. Happy now? Are you?”
Then she said, panting with frustration.
“Now, answer. How did you inherit the Martial Emperor’s legacy?”
“Fine.”
Bu Eun-seol nodded and answered without hesitation.
“I happened to encounter Tan-wang and discovered the Martial Emperor’s secret archive. And…”
After hearing the detailed story, So Ok-rim spoke with a suspicious look.
“That doesn’t make sense.”
“What doesn’t?”
“If that’s true, why would you bother learning the Martial Emperor’s arts? To become the leader of the Demonic Cult, you should never learn the internal arts of the Orthodox Faction, right?”
To reach the pinnacle of demonic martial arts, one must never master the internal arts of the Orthodox Faction.
Because there was a very high probability that the demonic arts one had painstakingly cultivated would regress.
“Besides, it looked like you’ve been practicing it diligently for a very long time.”
So Ok-rim had even guessed at a glance that he had by no means been lazy in his practice of the Thirteen Nocturnes.
“I can answer that.”
Seo Jin-ha, having grasped the whole situation, shrugged.
“The only reason he sought to become the heir of the Demonic Cult was to operate its intelligence network. He never had any ambition to become the master of the Demonic Cult in the first place.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“He became the heir of the Demonic Cult solely to command its powerful intelligence network.”
“Intelligence network?”
“That’s right.”
Seo Jin-ha smiled faintly.
“He has no interest in status. He is only searching for the information he desires.”
“What information is that?”
“Seo Jin-ha.”
As Bu Eun-seol spoke in a low voice, Seo Jin-ha shrugged.
“I cannot tell you that much. It is a personal matter, after all.”
“Hmph.”
So Ok-rim looked at Bu Eun-seol with eyes full of suspicion.
Any demonic martial artist would naturally dream of the opportunity to stand at the pinnacle of the demonic path.
But truly, there was no ambition or desire to be seen in Bu Eun-seol’s eyes.
“Well, fine. Let’s say it’s all true.”
So Ok-rim massaged her temples and said.
“Then from now on, you’ll have to help me find the descendants of the Eight Emperors and Three Sages. What I want from you is also the power of your intelligence network.”
“Why should I do that?”
“What do you mean, why? You’re a successor of the Martial Emperor too.”
The reason So Ok-rim had revealed all her hidden secrets to Bu Eun-seol was because he was a successor of the Martial Emperor.
The Martial Emperor, unlike others, was a man who had dedicated his life to the stability of the martial world.
His successor, who had mastered the essence of his martial arts, could not possibly be a wicked person and would surely try to protect the martial world.
“Are you saying that as a successor of the Martial Emperor, I must help you?”
“Is that even a question? The Martial Emperor was unjustly framed because of those bastards and had to leave the martial world on his own, didn't he? Don’t you think he deserves revenge?”
“I only happened to learn his martial arts by chance. I cannot be called his successor.”
“What?”
So Ok-rim’s mouth fell open at the unexpected reply.
The successor of a great, peerless master is chosen by heaven.
But this cold-blooded, unlucky bastard was the successor of the Martial Emperor?
“Hey, then did I just spill my guts to you for nothing?”
So Ok-rim, expressing the fact that she had revealed everything she knew in the crudest way possible, bared her gums.
“Or are you trying to hear this life-or-death information for free and just brush it off?”
“…”
“I’m telling you, those bastards are manipulating the history of the martial world as they please and creating strange things!”
But Bu Eun-seol remained unmoved.
Perhaps feeling it was unfair to have told him everything, So Ok-rim tried to persuade Bu Eun-seol again.
“You must have seen it too, right? I’m telling you, those bastards kidnap children and commit deeds that anger both heaven and man! And they kill and bury people without a second thought.”
“Hmph.”
Bu Eun-seol grunted.
He had no intention of tolerating other things, but kidnapping orphans for experiments or turning them into assassins was unacceptable.
However, he had to deal with finding his grandfather’s murderer first. In fact, that alone was already a daunting task.
He had no time to pour his efforts into finding some shadowy masterminds of the martial world out of the blue.
“I will help you once.”
“Once?”
“Yes. I will help you with all my might up to the point of investigating the North Sea Ice Palace. I will mobilize all the power I have.”
“Didn’t you hear me earlier? I don’t need that. I told you I’m familiar with the Palace Lord.”
“If being familiar with the Palace Lord was enough, you would have gone on your way without caring whether I was the heir of the Demonic Cult or the successor of the Martial Emperor.”
At Bu Eun-seol’s sharp point, So Ok-rim let out a deep sigh.
“Petty, so petty! For a man to be this petty!”
“I have many things to do. Isn’t the North Sea Ice Palace the most powerful clan outside the Central Plains? A single instance of help should not be so disappointing.”
Bu Eun-seol said calmly.
“As soon as I return to the Demonic Cult, I will mobilize the intelligence network to track them. As a top priority.”
“Grr…”
In the end, So Ok-rim bared her pink gums and grit her teeth.
“Oh, thank you ever so much.”
Then she hunched her back, puckered her lips, and bowed obsequiously in front of Bu Eun-seol.
“This humble one knows not what to do in the face of your ocean-deep grace. Pfft!”
Although she didn't actually spit on the floor, Bu Eun-seol grimaced and waved his hand.
“Disgusting.”
“Oh, is that so? Does the great one not think that spitting is disgusting, but being petty is not?”
Seo Jin-ha almost burst out laughing at the sight.
To think there was someone who would get in the face of Bu Eun-seol, the heir of the Demonic Cult with a lethally cold personality, and tease him?
‘How can a young lady from a prestigious family who has mastered a powerful martial art be more crass than a bearded bandit?’
Although there were many eccentrics in the martial world, he had never even heard a joke about a rascal like her.
“Be that as it may.”
Seo Jin-ha, barely swallowing his laughter, nodded and said.
“If what the young lady says is true, then we must first find the descendant of the Eight Emperors and Three Sages who is suspected to be the leader of the shadow organization.”
At those words, So Ok-rim nodded.
“Right.”
“Are there any clues?”
“The Seven-Branched Demonic Blade.”
So Ok-rim, gazing at the distant sky, said something shocking.
“He said that the one who possesses the great blade of the mysteriously vanished Seven-Branched Demonic Blade is highly likely to be the leader of the shadow organization.”
Bu Eun-seol’s eyes widened.
Bu Eun-seol possessed the hilt of the Seven-Branched Demonic Blade, Yeo-ro. But a descendant of the Eight Emperors and Three Sages had its great blade?
“Who said such a thing?”
At Bu Eun-seol’s words, So Ok-rim scratched her cheek and said.
“That old man, Shinsanja.”
“The Seven-Branched Demonic Blade was a former Vice-Leader of this cult who went missing some thirty years ago, a person whose life or death has not been confirmed. How could a descendant of the Eight Emperors and Three Sages possess his blade?”
“For a master like the Seven-Branched Demonic Blade to vanish in an instant, it was probably of his own will. In that case, he would have hidden his unique weapon in a secret place as well.”
So Ok-rim said nonchalantly.
“If there was a power that could sway the martial world, they might have been able to find that hidden weapon with ease, don’t you think?”
Her reasoning was plausible.
In fact, Bu Eun-seol himself had obtained the prized weapon of the Seven-Branched Demonic Blade, Yeo-ro, through a similar process.
“How did Shinsanja obtain such information?”
“I don’t know that either.”
Unlike So Ok-rim’s relaxed reply, Bu Eun-seol’s gaze grew sharper.
“What is the basis for thinking that the one who possesses the weapon of the Seven-Branched Demonic Blade might be the leader of the shadow organization?”
“Because that old man Shinsanja said so.”
Bu Eun-seol bit his lip.
In the end, wasn't every story concluding with ‘because Shinsanja said so’?
At that moment, Seo Jin-ha, who had been listening intently, said to So Ok-rim.
“To possess the blade of the Seven-Branched Demonic Blade could mean that the descendant of the Blade Emperor, said to be the most mysterious among the Eight Emperors and Three Sages, might be the leader.”
“Well, that could be.”
Bu Eun-seol, who was deep in thought with his arms crossed, asked again.
“Then where is Shinsanja?”
“I don’t know. It took me two years to barely find him that one time.”
So Ok-rim stretched her lips into a thin line and said.
“Well, Shinsanja said that my finding him was also fate. That even if I had the Coin of Repayment, I wouldn’t have been able to meet him if the time wasn’t right.”
Bu Eun-seol grunted.
Eccentrics like Shinsanja not only do not show themselves in the martial world but also have the ability to easily evade pursuit.
If Shinsanja had met So Ok-rim, it was likely because he had wanted it.
‘Does this mean I either have to obtain a Coin of Repayment or find him myself?’
The fact that Shinsanja mentioned the weapon of Bu Jan-yang of the Seven-Branched Demonic Blade.
That meant he probably knew about the whereabouts or secrets of Bu Jan-yang that Bu Eun-seol did not.
If information or traces of the Seven-Branched Demonic Blade were to run dry, leaving him at a dead end… finding Shinsanja could be an option.
“I will cooperate.”
Bu Eun-seol nodded.
“In finding the descendants of the Eight Emperors and Three Sages, the shadowy masterminds of this martial faction.”
“Hmm.”
So Ok-rim saw that Bu Eun-seol’s eyes were shining much more brightly than before and nodded.
“What’s this? Looks like something has piqued your interest.”
Her intuition was devilishly sharp.
As soon as she realized that Bu Eun-seol’s cooperation had become voluntary and was something he desperately needed, her attitude changed in an instant.
“But I have a condition too.”
“A condition?”
“You’re going to handle things after returning to the Demonic Cult anyway, right?”
“That is correct.”
“You’ll have a lot of subordinates at the Demonic Cult, won’t you?”
“A few.”
So Ok-rim nodded as if she had expected as much.
“As you just said, we’re partners, right? Then we should be equals. Don’t you think?”
“Get to the point.”
“Give me a position where I won’t be bossed around by your subordinates. That way I can move around freely in the Demonic Cult, don’t you think?”
“Hmph.”
Bu Eun-seol, thinking deeply about something, stroked his chin for a moment.
If he were to officially grant her a position, he would have to make a request to the Chong-gyo-ryeong.
“Are you asking for a formal appointment process?”
“Formal? What for? I’ll only be there for a short while anyway.”
So Ok-rim waved her hand dismissively and said.
“Let’s not do that. Let’s just keep it simple.”
Then she said in a low voice.
“Still, since you’re the heir, you can give out a temporary position, can’t you? For example, a temporary instructor or something…”
Listening to her, Bu Eun-seol’s eyes sparkled.
A martial arts instructor temporarily invited to enhance the might of Sa-yeong Hall?
No one in the Demonic Cult could object to that.
‘She’s smarter than she looks.’
So Ok-rim’s manner of speaking and attitude might seem simple, but her mind was by no means dull.
As expected, her seemingly simple and aggressive demeanor was clearly a disguise.
Which means…
Perhaps even the question-and-answer session just now was a result she had intentionally guided in the direction she wanted.
‘It doesn’t matter.’
It didn’t matter if So Ok-rim was smart or what schemes she had.
Bu Eun-seol just had to help her and obtain the information he could get.
“Very well. I will do so.”
As Bu Eun-seol nodded, So Ok-rim smiled and said.
“Great.”
Then she grinned widely, revealing her white teeth.
“I look forward to working with you.”