Chapter 382
Chapter 382
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 382
Chapter Title: The Phantom Killer's Identity
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“Ah.”
Shim Wol and Jin Seol let out a short gasp upon spotting Bu Eun-seol.
“Lord.”
As the two stood and clasped their hands, Bu Eun-seol did the same.
“What a coincidence.”
“Indeed.”
Jin Seol calmly clasped her hands.
“We were just about to leave. I hope you have a pleasant time.”
But contrary to her words, the dishes on her table, freshly served, were still steaming hot.
It seemed Jin Seol felt uncomfortable around Bu Eun-seol and was trying to move to another table.
In that instant, anger flared in Shim Wol's eyes.
‘Is she afraid her heart will waver, so now she avoids even crossing paths with him?’
And to move tables without a word of consultation? Wasn't this a blatant disregard for him?
“There's no need for that. We will go elsewhere.”
At that, Won Se-mun, who was behind them, spoke with a disappointed expression.
“Lord. We came all this way… Mmph!”
Just then, Jo Nam-cheon and Wi Cheon-gyeong approached Won Se-mun, covered his mouth, and dragged him outside.
“Then, enjoy your time.”
As Bu Eun-seol clasped his hands, Shim Wol smiled and said.
“Lord. It's rare for us to meet like this. Why don't you join us for a drink?”
He stepped closer, a friendly smile on his face.
“We’re all one family, are we not?”
Then he turned to Jin Seol.
“Once you are married, you will have to quit your duties as Sanghwa, so wouldn't it be good to meet with people and say your farewells without regrets?”
For a moment, Jin Seol’s brow furrowed.
He had no intention of leaving the Demonic Palace just because he was marrying Shim Wol.
How could he say such a thing to Bu Eun-seol without any discussion?
‘He’s scolding me for getting up from my seat so abruptly.’
Guessing the reason for Shim Wol’s anger, Jin Seol kept her mouth shut.
“Just have one drink before you go, Lord.”
At Shim Wol’s repeated invitation, Bu Eun-seol spoke to Yu Un-ryong.
“Go to another tavern first. I will be there shortly.”
“R-Right.”
Yu Un-ryong nodded and led the squad leaders out of the Jin Hwan Restaurant.
“Then.”
As Bu Eun-seol sat down and picked up a cup, Shim Wol poured him a drink with both hands.
“Sitting across from you like this reminds me of when you first came to the Demonic Palace, Lord.”
*Trickle.*
As the cup filled with clear liquor, Shim Wol’s eyes crinkled as he spoke.
“Although your station has risen, Lord, surely you haven't forgotten those days?”
“Of course not.”
“You seem to have had too much to drink.”
Sensing the arrogance in Shim Wol's tone, Jin Seol gave him a warning look.
But he paid her no mind and continued.
“Didn't you know? When the Lord was one of the Ten Demonic Disciples, it was I who guided him into the Main Palace.”
Jin Seol forced a smile and nodded.
“I know that.”
‘He, who is always so gentle and kind, is unable to control his emotions.’
She found it hard to swallow the bitter feeling.
‘Does he not trust me? Why is he being so hostile toward the Martial Soul Lord?’
Jin Seol may have had feelings for Bu Eun-seol, but that was in the past.
When she had run into Bu Eun-seol in front of the Dokmyeong Pavilion, she had once again shaken off her feelings and put them to rest.
But wasn't Shim Wol, consumed by jealousy, now acting in a way he shouldn't?
“You are correct.”
Just then, Bu Eun-seol raised his cup and spoke to Shim Wol.
“Back then, I was nothing more than a country bumpkin who knew nothing of the Main Palace’s situation. Had you not helped me, I would have faced considerable trouble.”
*Gulp.*
Bu Eun-seol and Shim Wol looked at each other and drank with both hands.
Considering his status as a successor of the Demonic Palace, it was a very respectful gesture. In front of Jin Seol, he was trying to greatly preserve Shim Wol’s dignity.
“Well then, I will be taking my leave.”
As Bu Eun-seol rose from his seat, Jin Seol stood with him and bowed her head.
But once again, Shim Wol spouted nonsense.
“Lord. Why not stay a little longer?”
He then smiled at Jin Seol.
“You won't be able to see each other often after the wedding, you know.”
This behavior from Shim Wol had gone far beyond the pale.
In that instant, a flash glinted in Bu Eun-seol's eyes.
Normally, he would never have tolerated such disrespect.
But Bu Eun-seol remained silent. It was because of Jin Seol.
It is a man's nature to want to appear strong in front of the woman he loves.
Bu Eun-seol had no desire to diminish Shim Wol's prestige in the slightest.
“There will be another good opportunity in the future.”
He then turned away calmly.
“Farewell.”
After Bu Eun-seol left, a silence fell over the room.
Jin Seol hung her head in embarrassment, and only then did Shim Wol come to his senses.
‘I don't know why I acted like that. Could it be… because of that inner core?’
Biting his lip, he recalled the face of the man he had met a few months ago… the one who had given him the inner core and completely changed his life.
He was a high-ranking member of the Demonic Palace, someone unthinkable to be in league with outside forces.
And in an unexpected place, he had made an unexpected offer to Shim Wol.
—The time it takes for this inner core to assimilate varies depending on one's aptitude. For you, it won't be long before you gain unimaginable power.
Looking at the inner core, Shim Wol couldn't hide his surprise.
This was for two reasons.
First, that a man who had long earned the trust of all the Demonic Palace's leaders was colluding with an external power.
And second, because he realized it was true that simply consuming this red inner core could immensely increase one's internal energy.
After all, the man's martial prowess had increased severalfold compared to the past.
‘Just by eating it, my energy will rise, and if I assimilate it completely, I'll gain incredible power?’
Shim Wol found this dreamlike story hard to believe.
However, consuming something like an inner core would only benefit the body, not harm it, so he accepted it without hesitation.
And upon consuming it, he immediately felt his internal energy surge.
Not only that, but as he trained his martial arts, didn't the energy of the inner core merge with his own true ki?
‘At this rate, my martial arts will grow infinitely stronger.’
Shim Wol was lost in ecstasy.
How could such a miraculous item exist in the world?
With this, he could instantly break through the seemingly impenetrable wall of the Transcendent Realm.
—However, be warned that this inner core may have side effects.
It wasn't long before Shim Wol understood what he meant by side effects.
His once calm spirit was suddenly filled with uncontrollable rage and killing intent.
‘So this was it.’
Shim Wol was originally a clear-headed and patient individual.
But as the power flowing from the inner core merged with his true ki, his internal energy increased.
And with every increase in energy, his killing intent grew just as much.
Eventually, the formidable killing intent overflowed to the point where he could no longer control it, making it impossible for him to lead a normal, peaceful life.
‘I have no choice.’
Unable to control his overflowing power and killing intent, Shim Wol made a choice.
‘I'll have to go out and kill some martial artists.’
The Demonic Palace was a place where what you see is not all there is.
If he couldn't control his killing intent, there were plenty of masters who would see through it.
And what if he ended up being investigated? They would find out he had taken an artificial inner core, and he would be thrown into the dungeons along with the person colluding with the outside force.
‘My internal energy has increased anyway, so it should be fine.’
When one obtains a sharp sword, one wants to swing it; when one learns a new martial art, one wants to try it out. Such is human nature.
In the end, to quell his overflowing energy and killing intent, Shim Wol created another identity.
The Phantom Killer.
The identity of the murderer who had been terrorizing the Huguang region was none other than Shim Wol, who was assimilating the inner core.
“You.”
Just then, Jin Seol spoke.
“You weren't yourself today.”
Only then did Shim Wol awaken from his deep thoughts.
“Was I?”
Suppressing the surging killing intent, Shim Wol forced the gentlest smile he could manage.
“My apologies. I think I had too much to drink today.”
At that, Jin Seol’s expression turned cold and pained.
‘That look in her eyes.’
Shim Wol clenched his fists again.
Jin Seol always had a look in her eyes like a raging blizzard.
But there were times when that coldness shattered, like right now, when she faced Bu Eun-seol.
‘I will kill him. I will definitely kill him.’
His eyes turned red with erupting fury. His blood naturally quickened, and his body tensed.
Just then, Jin Seol rose and said.
“I'm tired, so I'll be heading back first.”
“I'll see you out.”
“It’s alright. I have a carriage waiting in front of the inn.”
“I see.”
As she turned away, a blood-red killing intent flooded Shim Wol's eyes.
He wanted to strike Jin Seol down with a palm strike right now, to chase after that detestable Bu Eun-seol and tear his face to shreds.
But he had to endure. If he revealed his true colors now, it would all be for nothing.
*Drip, drip, drip.*
Blood trickled from the fist of Shim Wol, who was suppressing his killing intent.
He had clenched his fist so tightly that his nails had dug into his palm.
‘This won't do.’
A cruel light glinted in Shim Wol’s eyes as he licked the blood from his hand.
To cool his feverish blood.
He intended to become the Phantom Killer once more and slaughter people.
***
The Hall of Myriad Knowledge was a place where one could grasp all the various intelligence flowing into the Demonic Palace and the situation in the martial world at a glance.
Shim Wol was a disciple of that Hall and had earned the trust of its master, giving him the authority to view much of its information.
In other words, even if he rampaged through the Huguang region as the Phantom Killer, he could use the Hall's intelligence to easily conceal his tracks and identity.
*Swoosh.*
Leaving the Demonic Palace, he instantly used his movement arts, passing through Changsha and reaching Hengyang.
According to the Demonic Palace's intelligence network, there were no active information organizations or prominent orthodox masters in the vicinity of Hengyang.
It was a suitable place to indulge in slaughter as he pleased.
‘Slaughtering martial artists is getting a bit boring.’
At first, he had enjoyed killing martial artists who resisted and fought back.
But after committing mass slaughter, he found it more enjoyable to massacre commoners who couldn't even resist.
If martial artists were balls moving here and there, commoners were balls lying still.
And he found it more fun to gather the stationary balls all at once and make them explode than to chase the moving ones.
‘It would be best to annihilate an entire village.’
Carelessly meddling with commoners leaves evidence.
But if he wiped out an entire village, it would be easy to destroy the evidence and confuse any pursuers.
‘It’s not often that a single person annihilates a village, after all.’
Shim Wol closed his eyes, feeling the killing intent that was heating his body.
To think that he, who had always used his intellect and carried out plans in secret, would become a blood-soaked great demon.
‘But I must do it. If only to further increase my martial prowess.’
The more he exerted his power, the more the inner core dormant within him assimilated.
The more he slaughtered like this, the stronger and stronger he would become.
*Thud.*
Having arrived at the foot of a mountain overlooking a village, Shim Wol wore an ecstatic expression.
‘I will melt you down. Completely.’
As Shim Wol leaped into the air, a killing intent powerful enough to rip the sky apart erupted from his body.
***
*Chirp, chirp, chirp.*
The dark sky gradually brightened again.
Bu Eun-seol, who had returned from the inn last night, had been sitting in his office all day, lost in thought.
‘The feeling is certain.’
The reason Bu Eun-seol hadn't immediately left the tavern yesterday wasn't just to save Shim Wol's face.
It was also because he wanted to observe him more closely.
Shim Wol had, unlike his usual self, made mistakes and committed acts of rudeness.
And he was certain that it was due to the ferocious energy of the artificial inner core.
The Shim Wol he knew was not a man who lacked so much self-control.
‘Which means…’
As Bu Eun-seol was deep in thought,
—Uooh! Hah!
Loud, vigorous shouts echoed from outside.
Just from the sound, Bu Eun-seol could tell that Won Se-mun and the members of the First Squad were sparring.
‘He must have been humiliated.’
Won Se-mun had once been beaten to a pulp by So Ok-rim.
Since then, he had been training his martial arts even more fervently.
Of course, he couldn't overcome that vast gap in an instant. But by training diligently every day, he was steadily closing the distance.
‘Looking back, it seems to have been a good stimulus.’
A smile on his lips, Bu Eun-seol stepped outside.
By then, the training seemed to have ended, as Won Se-mun and the squad members were panting and sprawled out in the training yard.
Bu Eun-seol watched them from a distance, careful not to disturb their rest.
“Instructor So did one good thing before she left.”
Just then, Yu Un-ryong approached Bu Eun-seol and spoke.
“She made Won Se-mun, who used to do nothing but drink all day, diligent again.”
The Fourth Shadow Brigade had constantly been engaged in large-scale battles, but recently, their deployments had become infrequent.
Perhaps because of that, Won Se-mun and the First Squad members had been slacking a bit in their training.
—Is there anyone in the world as strong as the Lord?
But So Ok-rim's appearance had shocked Won Se-mun, and he had begun to train diligently once more.
A place where you cannot survive if you are not strong.
That was the martial world.
“She'll be back soon enough.”
Bu Eun-seol recalled So Ok-rim’s face, smiling with her sharp canines showing.
Was it because he hadn't seen her in a long time?
He suddenly found himself missing So Ok-rim’s round cheeks and her unreasonable shouting.
“Stronger than before.”
“Hmm. That's a scary thought in its own way.”
“In its own way? Did something happen?”
“You haven't heard yet.”
Yu Un-ryong sighed and said.
“Last night, the Phantom Killer appeared again. This time, he completely wiped out an entire village.”
“A village?”
“Yes. It was a large-scale massacre of commoners, so even the authorities got involved, but they said they still can't find any traces.”
A strange thought occurred to Bu Eun-seol.
The Phantom Killer was being watched not only by the Martial Alliance but also by various intelligence organizations. Yet he had boldly broken through their cordon to slaughter commoners.
‘That level of intelligence…’
Deep in thought, Bu Eun-seol spoke to Yu Un-ryong.
“Yu Un-ryong.”
“Hmm?”
“From this moment on, investigate the situation of the Hall of Myriad Knowledge and the movements of all its disciples.”
“The Hall of Myriad Knowledge?”
“That's right. Every single one of them.”
Yu Un-ryong blinked, but realizing the seriousness of Bu Eun-seol’s expression, he nodded.
“Understood.”
That evening.
Yu Un-ryong went to Bu Eun-seol’s office and reported in detail what he had investigated.
“The Hall Master, Baek Jeon-cheon, is out of the province. His subordinates are busy with the administration of the Main Palace.”
Yu Un-ryong said calmly.
“And when I went to the Hall of Myriad Knowledge, that man greeted me. So I stayed and talked with him for a while.”
“Shim Wol… you mean him.”
“Yes. Because he has the Hall Master's great trust, and the influence of the Elder is subtly at work… it seems he actually holds all the command authority corresponding to the vacant Vice-Hall Master position.”
“Is that so.”
That was an unexpected fact.
To think that Shim Wol, who had always acted as a mere disciple of the Hall, was in reality its second-in-command.
“Don't tell me you're trying to look into Shim Wol.”
Just then, Yu Un-ryong said with a smile.
“Is it because you can't bear to see him and Jin Sanghwa getting along?”
It was a joke he could make not as Bu Eun-seol's subordinate, but as his friend.
But Bu Eun-seol nodded with an incredibly serious expression.
“That’s right.”
“Huh?”
“It seems he is not a good match for Jin Sanghwa.”
Yu Un-ryong’s eyes widened.
Having assisted Bu Eun-seol for so long, he could now tell what he was thinking just by looking at his eyes.
‘He’s not joking.’
Yu Un-ryong swallowed hard.
He could even feel an unprecedented killing intent in Bu Eun-seol’s eyes. Only then did he reach an unbelievable conclusion.
“No way.”
Yu Un-ryong said with an utterly serious expression.
“Are you saying that Shim Wol… is the Phantom Killer?”
“Probably.”
“That can't be.”
Yu Un-ryong shook his head.
The crazed murderer who had recently appeared was Shim Wol, the prodigy of the Hall of Myriad Knowledge and the disciple of the Third Demon?
Shim Wol's rank was only that of a disciple, but he could be considered a key figure in the Demonic Palace.
For such a person to hide his identity and senselessly slaughter martial artists and commoners?
“If something like that gets exposed, he’ll lose everything. Isn't that too risky a gamble?”
“It seems he too has consumed an artificial inner core or a demonic fetus.”
At Bu Eun-seol's words, Yu Un-ryong’s eyes widened.
He had only heard stories about artificial inner cores and demonic fetuses; he had never seen them.
But according to Bu Eun-seol, didn't they not only infinitely increase the consumer's internal energy but also change their very spirit?
But that, too, was something he couldn't understand.
‘As the disciple of Jeokbung, what more could he want….’
Thinking deeply, he shook his head.
‘No, he would want more.’
Only then did Yu Un-ryong begin to understand Shim Wol's heart to some extent.
In the past, Shim Wol too must have had the ambition to reach the pinnacle of the demonic path.
But faced with a formidable rival like Bu Eun-seol, he must have felt endless despair and agony.
It had been the same for the Yu Un-ryong of the past.
Now, he had decided not to aim for the pinnacle of the demonic path, but to stand by the side of Bu Eun-seol, who would stand at that pinnacle, so it was no longer painful…
But Shim Wol, like his former self, must still be in agony.
“Then, I will thoroughly investigate his movements, matching them with the times the Phantom Killer appeared.”
“The Main Palace's intelligence network will be useless. As a disciple of the Hall of Myriad Knowledge, he would have anticipated and blocked the flow of our intelligence organizations.”
Bu Eun-seol said gravely.
“Work with Mu-heun, the leader of the Soul Annihilation Brigade, to find him. As the one who inherited everything from the Nine Kills Brigade Leader, he will surely be able to find Shim Wol's tracks.”
“Understood.”
Yu Un-ryong took a deep breath.
At last, a new mission had been assigned to the secret brigade founded by Bu Eun-seol.
They had to use those outstanding secret brigade members to uncover Shim Wol's secret movements.