Chapter 370
Chapter 370
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 370
Chapter Title: The Blood Emperor
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“Young Master Namgung. What happened?”
Mak Gwaeng rushed over, greatly alarmed at the sight of Namgung Un’s wretched state.
*Gush.*
When Namgung Un opened his mouth, crimson blood flowed out in thick clots.
“From the Demonic Cult… with the intent to assassinate the Alliance Leader.”
Namgung Un trembled as he pointed at Hae Pung.
Mak Gwaeng’s eyes widened in disbelief.
“What are you suddenly talking about?”
“That man colluded with a spy from the Demonic Cult…”
But before he could finish, Namgung Un passed out.
“Young Master Namgung!”
Flustered, Mak Gwaeng placed a hand on Namgung Un’s back and infused him with internal energy.
‘This is…’
He found that Namgung Un’s body was not only covered in marks from the Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms, the ultimate art of the Beggars’ Alliance.
But also from the Jade-Shattering Fist, Golden Mountain Hand… traces of countless ultimate arts of the Alliance.
‘I can’t be sure about the others, but the Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms is a technique that can only be used after mastering the Sojo Heart Method.’
Mak Gwaeng turned his head and looked at Hae Pung.
He didn't know the details, but it was clear that the one who attacked Namgung Un was a master deeply versed in the martial arts of the Beggars’ Alliance.
“Vice-Leader!”
Mak Gwaeng roared.
“What is the meaning of this? Did you truly conspire with members of the Demonic Cult?”
Hae Pung felt like he was about to go mad.
He had only promised not to lay a trap here and pursue Bu Eun-seol.
How could a blood relative of the Namgung family suddenly appear and start blabbering about a secret pact with the Demonic Cult?
‘This has gone wrong.’
Hae Pung grit his teeth.
What if it was revealed that he had once again made a secret pact with the successor of the Demonic Cult?
Even if he seized control of the Alliance, he would lose the support of the disciples.
The bigger problem was the matter of the artificial internal elixirs.
If that came to light, the Beggars’ Alliance would have to take down its sign today.
“Elder Mak! You are conspiring with an outside force to frame this Vice-Leader!”
Hae Pung struck first, his voice solemn.
“Detain Elder Mak and escort him to the main headquarters!”
His enemies were only Mak Gwaeng and a member of the Namgung family.
In the end, Hae Pung chose the easiest way to silence them.
“Just as expected from the rebel who harmed our Alliance’s Grand Elder.”
Mak Gwaeng shouted loudly, as if he had expected this.
“Disciples of the Eight Paths, listen! We will deal with the traitor, Hae Pung, and restore the integrity of our Alliance!”
‘What?’
Just as Hae Pung was starting in shock,
*Rumble, rumble, rumble.*
From the base of the mountain slope, the sound of tremendous footsteps echoed as over two thousand troops ascended.
He, too, had taken Namgung Un’s advice and brought his entire division.
“There is no need for long words! Strike immediately!”
At Mak Gwaeng’s command, the disciples of the Eight Paths immediately drew their long staves.
The core forces of Hae Pung and Mak Gwaeng had finally clashed at the foot of the Cheonhwa Mountain Villa.
—Waaaaah!
The battle began with a roar.
The Beggars’ Alliance, often swayed by the opinions of its leadership, had suffered through divisions and turmoil for generations.
But never before had its members engaged in such a bloody battle amongst themselves.
—The survival of our Alliance will be decided in this fight.
The same thought crossed the minds of both Hae Pung and Mak Gwaeng.
From Hae Pung’s perspective, if he failed to stop Mak Gwaeng now, all his corruption would be exposed.
If that happened, forget becoming the Alliance Leader; he would be in a situation where he’d have to take his own life.
Mak Gwaeng, too, would be silenced through murder if he couldn't fend off Hae Pung's attack.
Not only that, but he had to defeat Hae Pung to prevent the Alliance’s corruption from spreading throughout the entire martial world.
In the end, the two factions began a fight they could not back down from, with their lives on the line.
***
On the cliff of the mountain opposite, overlooking Cheonhwa Mountain Villa.
A figure in black stood there, arms crossed, looking down at the battle between the two factions. It was Bu Eun-seol.
“They’ll destroy themselves.”
A smirk played on Bu Eun-seol’s lips.
The Beggars’ Alliance was already divided from the start.
Moreover, having committed an irreversible evil, their fate was already sealed.
Bu Eun-seol and Namgung Un had merely hastened the hour of their destruction.
*Rustle.*
Just then, Namgung Un, who had feigned unconsciousness, secretly slipped away from the battlefield and returned to where Bu Eun-seol was.
“The Beggars’ Alliance is finished now.”
Looking down at the battle unfolding at the foot of the mountain, Namgung Un shook his head.
“These men represent the greatest strength the Alliance headquarters had. But now they are destroying each other… It will take decades for the Beggars’ Alliance to recover its strength.”
“Is that a pity?”
Namgung Un shook his head at Bu Eun-seol’s question.
“Perhaps I would have thought so in the past. But not now.”
He said firmly.
“They are only reaping what they have sown.”
Namgung Un’s perspective was changing.
He no longer believed that only the Righteous Faction was correct or acted righteously. He had realized that what mattered was the heart of the person performing the act.
“I don’t know why the martial world is divided into the Righteous Faction and the Demonic Path. That path lies within a person’s heart to begin with.”
‘He’s different from Tan Wang.’
Tan Wang had immense pride in the Righteous Faction and believed in it blindly.
But Namgung Un, while proud of the Righteous Faction, did not blindly believe in it and held no prejudice against the Demonic Path.
Moreover, after this experience with Bu Eun-seol, even the concept of right and wrong was becoming faint to him.
“Where there is a beginning, there is an end. Where there is the righteous, there is also the antithesis.”
Bu Eun-seol sighed deeply and shook his head.
“Perhaps humans are beings who must choose one of two paths from the moment they are born.”
Namgung Un felt dizzy.
Concepts he had never considered before were swirling in his mind.
“It seems I will not be able to walk the path of a great master like you, Brother Bu.”
Then he smiled and said.
“I have no desire to delve into matters of righteousness or demonic nature, or even life and death.”
If Bu Eun-seol was a sage with superhuman insight and wisdom, observing and understanding all phenomena outside himself,
Namgung Un was an extraordinary individual who understood not the external world, but his own capabilities.
He knew he lacked Bu Eun-seol’s abilities and had decided to think only about what he could comprehend.
“That is also a good way.”
Bu Eun-seol smiled.
In truth, not every human needed to contemplate various phenomena and principles as he did.
Simply by wisely judging what they saw and felt, they could realize various truths and gain insight.
“Shall we go, then?”
Namgung Un’s eyes had deepened, as if he had gained another layer of enlightenment.
Bu Eun-seol nodded and executed his movement technique.
In the deepest part of Cheonhwa Mountain Villa.
There stood a pavilion, open on all four sides.
In front of the pavilion, a figure stood with his hands clasped behind his back, gazing at the scenery.
He wore clean, ornate clothes, and his long, silver-streaked hair was tied in a topknot.
His eyes, looking at the distant sky with his hands behind his back, were deeply sunken.
It was the current leader of the Beggars’ Alliance, No Bong.
“Hmph.”
He let out a low groan.
*Swoosh.*
Just then, two black shadows appeared before the pavilion where he stood.
One man was dressed in black with a black sword strapped to his back, and the other wore blue robes with a thin longsword at his waist.
It was Bu Eun-seol and Namgung Un.
“So, it has come to this.”
No Bong showed little surprise at the appearance of Bu Eun-seol and Namgung Un.
“I should never have fed elixirs to children destined to become assassins.”
It was strange.
No Bong seemed to have guessed that the secret of the artificial internal elixirs had been revealed because of the children Bu Eun-seol had rescued from Sahyang.
This was proof that he had not been cooped up in Cheonhwa Mountain Villa, but had been observing the state of the martial world from here as if reading the palm of his hand.
“And of all places, it had to fall into the hands of the Nangya Pavilion.”
No Bong slowly turned around.
Known to have been bedridden for a long time, No Bong’s back was straight, and his entire body overflowed with vitality.
Moreover, unfitting for his status as the leader of the Beggars’ Alliance, he was dressed in fine, ornate clothes like a wealthy merchant from Gaebong.
He was not bedridden; he had been manipulating the Beggars’ Alliance with a perfectly healthy body all along… and had cast aside his duties as the Alliance Leader.
“It seems even a spy can become an Alliance Leader.”
Bu Eun-seol immediately surmised that No Bong was a spy who had infiltrated the Beggars’ Alliance.
The energy flowing through his body.
It was neither the martial arts of the Beggars’ Alliance nor that of the Righteous Faction.
Furthermore, between his brows, wasn't there a glimpse of the spiritual light of primordial essence, visible only in masters who had opened their upper dantian?
The fact that he, the leader of the Beggars’ Alliance, had practiced a foreign internal art was clear evidence that he had mastered a superior martial art before even becoming a disciple of the Alliance.
“On the contrary. I became the Alliance Leader because I was a spy.”
At Bu Eun-seol’s sneer, a faint smile formed on No Bong’s lips.
“Otherwise, how could I have adapted to this filthy and useless system and gained the support of those utterly worthless, foolish elders?”
Watching this, Namgung Un breathed an inward sigh of relief.
The Beggars’ Alliance had not fallen.
This had only happened because that cunning spy had become its leader and seized control.
But No Bong’s next words shattered Namgung Un’s hopes.
“For a long time, the Beggars’ Alliance has been run by old men full of avarice. That's why it wasn't difficult to manipulate the former leader, Alliance Leader Sang Gwan, and the elders.”
A triumphant smile graced No Bong’s lips.
“I simply fed them a taste of sweetness, and not a single one refused.”
*Shing.*
Bu Eun-seol, who had been listening silently, drew the black sword from his back.
No Bong blinked, a look of surprise on his face.
“You’re not going to ask anything?”
“…”
“Like why I did this. Or what figures and what faction stand above this Alliance Leader.”
Bu Eun-seol said coldly.
“If you were the type to blurt out such things, you would never have risen to the position of Alliance Leader.”
No Bong smiled faintly.
“You are all fated to die anyway. The mouths of the dead do not open… so couldn't I tell you any secret?”
“A mere spy who became the head of the Beggars’ Alliance would likely spew information meant to cause confusion even as he dies.”
*Click.*
Bu Eun-seol, aiming his black sword at No Bong’s neck, scoffed and said.
“Trying to land a fatal blow on the enemy until the very end.”
“Hahaha. You know a lot about spies.”
No Bong laughed heartily.
“You are correct. One who spews information to confuse the enemy even in death can be called a true spy.”
No Bong stopped talking abruptly, and a venomous aura began to flow from his body.
Simultaneously, a fishy smell permeated the air.
“Blood Emperor.”
Bu Eun-seol finally realized No Bong’s identity.
He was a descendant of the Blood Emperor, one of the Eight Sovereigns and Three Stars.
“So that’s how you were able to take control of the Beggars’ Alliance.”
It was said that those struck by the Blood Emperor’s martial arts would gradually lose their blood, eventually dying as if their entire body had been drained.
The problem was that the Blood Emperor himself would lose blood when using his techniques, requiring him to replenish it afterward.
In that case, the Beggars’ Alliance, overflowing with so many disciples that they couldn't even recognize each other, would be the best source of supply.
“So the story that you can replenish blood with that of beasts was a lie.”
“Hehehe.”
At Bu Eun-seol’s words, No Bong smirked.
“You’re as smart as the rumors say.”
Then he nodded his head and admitted it readily.
“That’s right. To use the Yin Convergence Art and the Eternal Vortex Lightning, one must drink human blood.”
“So, does this mean that all of the Eight Sovereigns and Three Stars, except for the Martial Emperor, were corrupt?”
“Corrupt?”
At Bu Eun-seol’s murmur, a deep, malevolent energy flowed from No Bong’s eyes.
“You know nothing.”
No Bong said with a meaningful expression.
“Well, there’s no need to explain.”
*Snap.*
He snapped his fingers, and the surroundings suddenly darkened.
At the same time, young martial artists with blood-red glints in their eyes formed a human wall around the pavilion.
Their numbers easily exceeded a hundred.
They all emanated powerful energy, as if they had consumed Demonic Cores, but their eyes were vacant and dull.
They were the Soul-Lost people Bu Eun-seol had fought in the past.
“This should be enough to take care of the kid from the Namgung family.”
It was surprising.
Despite having grasped the entire situation beforehand, No Bong had only prepared enough Soul-Lost to deal with Namgung Un.
“You mean you waited to fight me.”
As Bu Eun-seol grasped the situation and spoke, No Bong chuckled.
“‘Fight’ is a bit of a strange word. Crushing a brat like you is nothing to me.”
He scanned Bu Eun-seol from head to toe, the corner of his mouth lifting.
“I was curious. Just how great you were to survive while interfering with the affairs of Our World time and time again.”
Shockingly, No Bong had been waiting all this time to kill Bu Eun-seol himself.
“Our World?”
When Bu Eun-seol repeated the question, No Bong only smiled.
It was a strange smile that made it impossible to discern truth from falsehood.
No Bong was a spy who had controlled the Beggars’ Alliance for a long time. Everything he said could be a lie. Or he could make the truth feel like a lie.
In short, his words could not be trusted and were likely meant only to cause confusion.
“Alliance Leader No.”
At that moment, Namgung Un, unable to listen any longer, stepped forward.
“In any case, you have held the position of the Beggars’ Alliance Leader for a long time, haven't you? How can you sacrifice the innocent disciples of the Alliance who follow you?”
No Bong had infiltrated as a spy from the very beginning; such an appeal would not work.
Moreover, if he became the Alliance Leader to drink their blood, he would think of the disciples’ lives as no more than flies.
Nevertheless, Namgung Un addressed him as Alliance Leader and asked him to think of the Alliance one more time.
Just in case, on the off chance.
If he had a change of heart, the sacrifice of the Beggars’ Alliance disciples could be prevented.
“It seems the Namgung family will prosper for another two hundred years.”
It was a high compliment to Namgung Un’s character as a noble hero.
“They are destined to have their heads cut off to make internal elixirs anyway. You can’t call it a sacrifice.”
No Bong intended to have these young men killed at Namgung Un’s hands to obtain more internal elixirs.
“Even if you have no lingering attachment to the Beggars’ Alliance, can’t you still distinguish between right and wrong?”
“Distinguishing between right and wrong is only possible in small matters.”
No Bong, in turn, looked at Namgung Un and let out a strange sigh.
“In great matters, you cannot distinguish between right and wrong. You will understand someday when you become the head of the Namgung family.”
Then, as if he had said all he needed to, he snapped his fingers.
*Taaak.*
At that, the hundred Soul-Lost warriors aimed their bizarrely shaped blades at Namgung Un.
“Now, you must make a decision.”
No Bong said with a grin.
“These are the Soul-Lost, who have ingested Demonic Cores after their souls were extracted, and now unconditionally obey the command to kill. Whether killing them… is truly the right thing to do.”
For a moment, Namgung Un’s eyes wavered.
It was a verbal blow to his spirit. Just as Tan Wang’s entire value system of right and wrong had been shaken.
No Bong. With his masterful rhetoric, he was shaking Namgung Un’s very soul.
“You talk too much.”
As Bu Eun-seol immediately stepped forward to attack, No Bong said in a leisurely voice.
“Then let’s get to the main point.”
“The main point?”
“You are a man too valuable to simply kill.”
No Bong said in a low voice.
“Join Our World. If you do, I will grant you a status and power far beyond that of the successor to the Demonic Cult.”
‘So that “World” he mentioned wasn’t a lie.’
As Bu Eun-seol’s eyes glinted, No Bong scoffed.
“Don’t entertain the naive thought of joining to uncover our internal affairs. There are various procedures and tests to join Our World.”
He continued.
“I will tell you the first test. If you wish to join, kill that child from the Namgung family.”
No Bong said it as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
“Nothing will change just because the successor of the Demonic Cult kills one son of the Namgung family.”
“You’ve learned to negotiate the wrong way. Or perhaps you haven’t done your research on me.”
“Surely there’s something you desire as well?”
No Bong smiled as he looked at Bu Eun-seol, who was staring down at him with a sharp gaze.
“If you join Our World, you can find out all the information you wish to know.”
“Information I wish to know, you say.”
“Indeed.”
A confident smile graced No Bong’s lips.
“Haven’t you been searching for the whereabouts of the Seven-Branched Demonic Sword all this time?”
“He’s alive?”
“Don’t try to sound me out.”
At Bu Eun-seol’s words, No Bong maintained his relaxed smile.
“The fact that I’ve told you that you can obtain all the information you want if you join Our World is already an exceptional offer.”
“That is true.”
Nodding in agreement, Bu Eun-seol gripped his black sword.
“Let’s begin.”
There was no way he would throw himself into an unknown faction to obtain information, nor would he ever kill Namgung Un.
“A pity.”
No Bong shook his head.
Then, with a genuinely regretful expression, he spoke.
“That you must bury your bones in such a desolate mountain villa.”
*Flash!*
In that instant, a blinding light erupted from the bizarre blades of the hundred Soul-Lost warriors surrounding them.
In the midst of it, No Bong slowly turned and vanished somewhere.
*Swish-swish-swish-swish!*
As sword energy rained down like a storm, Namgung Un raised his Golden Needle Sword.
*Woooong!*
Simultaneously, an immense pressure poured out, slamming the sword energies into the ground.
He had once again unleashed the first three forms of the Imperial Sword Form.
“Brother Bu. I will handle these men.”
Bu Eun-seol hesitated for a moment.
Namgung Un’s skill was just entering the transcendent realm. Moreover, this was not the full number of the Soul-Lost.
“It’s alright. Go quickly and cut down that senile old man.”
*Woooong!*
Namgung Un once again unleashed the Imperial Sword Form, destroying the weapons of the Soul-Lost.
‘I can probably hold out for about a quarter of an hour.’
What if he couldn't deal with No Bong within that time? Namgung Un would lose his life.
But if he let No Bong escape now, all their efforts up to this point would be for naught.
After a moment of deliberation, Bu Eun-seol nodded.
“I will return as quickly as possible.”
Leaving those words behind, Bu Eun-seol swiftly executed his movement technique, breaking through the wall of the Soul-Lost.