Chapter 444
Chapter 444
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 444
Chapter Title: The Monk's Atonement
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Demonic Palace, Subjugation Pavilion. Grand conference hall.
All the masters of the Four Shadows Hall were gathered there, with Bu Eun-seol seated at the center.
“What did you say?”
Bu Eun-seol’s eyes widened the moment he sat down and received Yu Un-ryong’s report.
He had just returned to the Demonic Palace, shedding his identity as Seon Woo-jin for the first time in a while.
No matter how perfectly Seo Jin-ha acted as his shadow, he still needed to periodically enter the Demonic Palace.
But before he could even begin his duties, he heard a shocking story from Yu Un-ryong.
“The elder is on a journey of repentance?”
Blood Diamond was the master and benefactor who had laid the foundation of Bu Eun-seol’s internal energy and martial arts.
The Ban-geuk True Energy he had passed down circulated through Bu Eun-seol’s body twenty-four hours a day, serving as both a shield to protect him and a weapon to fight against powerful foes.
And now, Blood Diamond was suddenly on a journey of repentance, risking his life to settle his grudges in the martial world?
“That’s right. Blood… Master Hyeol is walking bare-bodied to Cheon-ryong Temple in Dali, Yunnan, accepting the attacks of all those who hold a grudge against him.”
Yu Un-ryong bit his lip, his expression troubled.
“Fortunately, because this journey of repentance is so unusual, and because he is showing genuine remorse, most people are ending their revenge by simply striking him with a palm or spitting on him.”
Bu Eun-seol’s expression grew heavy.
If it were something that would end so easily, Yu Un-ryong wouldn’t be reporting it with such a grave look.
And just as he suspected, Yu Un-ryong continued, his face serious.
“However… vicious individuals who have heard rumors of Master Hyeol’s repentance are now gathering in Yunnan. They seek to claim the fame of the Blood Diamond, the man who slaughtered countless orthodox martial artists in the past.”
If someone with an unforgivable grudge against Blood Diamond were to appear and deliver a fatal blow, that would be something Blood Diamond would willingly accept.
That was, after all, why he was risking his life on this journey of repentance.
But what if he were killed by those who attacked him falsely, just for fame?
Blood Diamond would not be able to rest in peace even in death.
“Elder…”
Bu Eun-seol clenched his fists.
Considering Blood Diamond’s status and standing, being spat upon and insulted…
It was, in fact, more humiliating than death.
Yet he was willingly repenting as he traveled to Yunnan.
And now, vicious people were flocking to kill him under false pretenses? That was something he could not stand by and watch.
“Assign Master Wi and his troops to protect the elder.”
“I’ve already done so. That’s how we found out.”
Yu Un-ryong looked at Wi Cheon-gyeong and nodded.
Wi Cheon-gyeong then spoke, his expression grave.
“My skills were insufficient to deceive the elder’s eyes and ears. And he said that if we were to assign him an escort one more time… he would take his own life.”
Bu Eun-seol swallowed a groan.
It seemed that despite Wi Cheon-gyeong’s earnest attempts to persuade him, Blood Diamond’s unyielding nature could not be swayed.
If they ignored his warning and assigned an escort anyway? He would truly take his life without hesitation.
“I will go.”
Bu Eun-seol rose from his seat without hesitation.
“I am the elder’s disciple. He will not stop his own student from seeing him off on his final journey.”
“But… you can’t.”
At that, Yu Un-ryong shook his head.
“If you go alone, you could be in danger. It’s the same as going out into the martial world empty-handed again.”
But Bu Eun-seol was resolute.
“If I were to forsake my duty because of danger, how could I ever be your Lord?”
At his words, all the masters of the Four Shadows Hall fell silent.
The reason Bu Eun-seol received the absolute support and adoration of most demonic practitioners…
It was not just because of his superior martial arts and intellect.
Duty.
As a demonic practitioner, as a martial artist, as the successor to the Demonic Palace and a disciple of the Nang-ya-gak…
He had never once forsaken what he was supposed to do, and had carried out his responsibilities to this day.
If he were to turn a blind eye to Blood Diamond’s danger? He could not call himself the Martial Soul Lord who had made his name renowned in the world.
“Do not worry.”
Bu Eun-seol nodded at the masters, as if to reassure them.
“I will just see the elder off and return shortly.”
“Then, travel safe…”
Before all the masters could even rise and cup their hands, Bu Eun-seol immediately left the conference hall.
If he didn’t arrive as quickly as possible, Blood Diamond would be in danger.
“Hmm.”
Watching him leave, the masters of the Four Shadows Hall all groaned and shook their heads.
Bu Eun-seol was the successor to the Demonic Palace who led the Four Shadows Hall, and one of the key figures who held sway over the martial world.
Moreover, despite the mysterious faction known as the Three Realms constantly watching him with avaricious eyes… he was setting out into the martial world alone without hesitation.
“Don’t you all worry too much!”
At that moment, Won Se-mun said with a laugh.
“What kind of person is our Lord? The time to worry about him like a child left by the riverside is long past. Isn’t that right?”
At his words, the other masters nodded and chimed in.
“That’s right, there’s no need to worry about our Lord.”
“Well, it’s not just his martial arts that are strong.”
“And Vice Master So-yo will be there too, though from a distance.”
As the masters laughed and chatted, Yu Un-ryong spoke.
“This concludes the meeting.”
At that, the masters left the conference hall, chatting away as if they had been waiting for this.
Yu Un-ryong stood in place, his gaze deepening as he watched the masters leave.
‘Myo Cheon-woo…’
He watched Myo Cheon-woo exit the conference hall and clenched his jaw.
‘Please, I hope you don’t do anything foolish this time!’
***
The grudges of the martial world are difficult to resolve.
No, for a martial artist who lives by the sword, resolving grudges is an impossible task.
Of course, there is the grand retirement ceremony known as the Gold Basin Hand-Washing.
But that is reserved for the orthodox sects, for those who have only done righteous deeds their entire lives. And even then, only for those who have deep friendships with all sorts of factions.
Or for renowned heroes who still possess immense power even in retirement.
This is because even after decades, the ‘grudges’ knotted in a person’s heart never disappear or dissolve.
No, in fact, the longer they fester, the clearer they become.
That is why many martial artists desire an honorable death over retirement.
And sometimes… there are those who undertake a journey of repentance, hoping to cast off all their grudges and wash away the mistakes of their past.
For when one reaches the end of their life, the regrets of bygone days linger in the heart.
When it is time to depart, not even a single uncomfortable shoe.
Not even a speck of dust in one’s pocket.
It is human nature to not want to leave behind even a single hair’s breadth of anything.
And Blood Diamond was one such person.
Trudge, trudge.
He walked along a forest path in blood-soaked monk’s robes, his body covered in wounds.
Having started his repentance in Sichuan, his body had reached Dali in Yunnan. There was truly not a single part of him left unscathed.
But like a man made of steel, he walked on and on without the slightest waver.
‘I have taken such a long and winding path.’
Even though he had almost reached his destination, Cheon-ryong Temple, his expression was not bright.
It was because he had not yet fully repented.
Even during his journey of repentance, he could not shake off the past.
In fact, the closer he got to Cheon-ryong Temple, the more vividly the past came to mind.
‘Such a long path…’
***
Blood Diamond.
He was originally a martial monk from Cheon-ryong Temple in Dali, Yunnan, with the Buddhist name Gwang-deok.
The title he earned while traveling the martial world was the Iron Diamond.
It was a name given to him because he had cultivated such thick and profound internal energy that not even weapons could pierce his body.
But he, too, faced a great trial.
Due to his outstanding talent and his uncompromising, upright, and strict personality.
He was constantly the target of his martial brothers’ envy and jealousy.
Then, when he mastered Cheon-ryong Temple’s ultimate internal art and was marked as the next abbot.
His martial brothers were finally blinded by jealousy and made a choice they never should have made.
They framed him, who had gained fame through his frequent travels in the martial world, for not only breaking the precept against killing.
But also for colluding with a demonic scoundrel and committing licentious acts.
The rules of Cheon-ryong Temple were strict, and breaking the precept against killing and violating a woman were unforgivable sins for a Buddhist monk.
The Iron Diamond pleaded his innocence, but the evidence and circumstances had already been perfectly fabricated.
In the end, unable to clear his name, his internal energy was crippled.
With the tendons in his four limbs severed, he was excommunicated from Cheon-ryong Temple.
—What in the world did I do wrong!
The Iron Diamond wept tears of blood in his despair.
Marked as the next abbot, he had mastered Cheon-ryong Temple’s greatest internal energy secret.
He had been on the verge of creating the martial world’s greatest internal energy secret by organizing the various cultivation methods stored in the temple.
But to be framed for a crime he didn’t commit, turned into a cripple, and excommunicated?
As his life’s work turned to nothing, he became consumed by a desperate rage.
—I can never forgive them! Never!
As the Iron Diamond despaired in his crippled state, a great demon of the demonic path suddenly approached him.
[I will restore your internal energy.]
He was none other than the Human Demon who made the world tremble, Ak Mu-ryeong.
“Get lost.”
When the Iron Diamond spat out a curse, Ak Mu-ryeong simply laughed heartily and said.
[Are you truly going to abandon the internal energy secret that would have gone down in history, even after completing it?]
The Iron Diamond was so startled he could have jumped.
The scripture pavilion of Cheon-ryong Temple housed not only Buddhist internal cultivation methods but also various secret methods from beyond the borders.
He had studied them for a long time, combining them with the cultivation methods of Cheon-ryong Temple.
He had been on the verge of completing the greatest internal energy secret in the martial world.
He was more resentful about not being able to create that secret art than about becoming a cripple…
How could this great demon possibly know such a thing?
[My pavilion has countless living internal cultivation methods. With them, you should be able to complete your cultivation method without the likes of Cheon-ryong Temple’s secret manuals.]
The Iron Diamond was once again shocked.
One of the reasons the completion of his cultivation method had been delayed until now was that the internal energy secrets of all the world’s schools were expressed only in words.
To create the ultimate internal energy secret, he needed to study the true energy circulation of various masters. But he had struggled because all of it was expressed only through text.
And Ak Mu-ryeong knew even that?
“Don’t tell me, you’re the one who put me in this state?”
Finally realizing something, the Iron Diamond gritted his teeth.
The things Ak Mu-ryeong had said so far were things he could never have said unless he had been watching him.
[Hahaha!]
Ak Mu-ryeong burst into wild laughter.
[Why ask me? Shouldn’t you be asking your martial brothers that question?]
His voice contained a mysterious power that could instantly seize control of another’s mind.
Hearing Ak Mu-ryeong’s voice, an unfamiliar rage, one he had never felt before, surged through the Iron Diamond’s mind.
‘The Art of Illusory Return, so that’s it!’
At last, the Iron Diamond understood the whole situation.
No matter how intense their envy and jealousy had been… for his martial brothers, who had dedicated their bodies to Buddhism, to frame him with such ridiculous accusations of killing and licentiousness.
And to fabricate the evidence so meticulously?
It was too excessive, actions that made no sense at all.
‘My martial brothers were also victims of that man.’
The reason his martial brothers had committed such a bold and evil act.
It was clear they had all been caught in the power of Ak Mu-ryeong’s Art of Illusory Return, causing the darkness in their hearts to manifest in reality.
“Uwaaaah!”
The Iron Diamond roared and lunged at Ak Mu-ryeong.
But with his tendons severed and his internal energy completely destroyed, his movements were…
Nothing more than the pathetic, slow struggles of a crawling insect.
Thud.
In the end, the Iron Diamond collapsed at Ak Mu-ryeong’s feet, unable to even get close to him.
[I thought you were of some use. Were you just a whining child all along?]
“You made me a cripple and got me kicked out of my own sect, and you have the gall to say that!”
Ak Mu-ryeong looked down at the protesting Iron Diamond, who was weeping tears of blood, and scoffed.
[To temper steel, you must strike it, and to achieve a great work, you need trials. Your false accusation was nothing more than part of that process.]
Then, without hesitation, he turned and spat out contemptuous words.
[To blame me for the minds of those Cheon-ryong Temple monks being consumed by darkness… Perhaps you were just worthless scrap iron after all.]
In that moment, the Iron Diamond bit his lip so hard it bled.
His words were not entirely wrong.
If darkness had not already shrouded the minds of his martial brothers? They would never have fallen for something like Ak Mu-ryeong’s Art of Illusory Return.
‘I cannot die as a cripple like this!’
Even if I am to die, I must achieve my great work first.
And I must land a blow on that inhuman monster.
“I’ll do it.”
The Iron Diamond forced himself to his feet.
His tendons were all torn, making it impossible to stand. But even as he trembled violently, he looked straight at Ak Mu-ryeong.
“It won’t be for nothing. State your terms.”
At that, Ak Mu-ryeong, whose eyes flashed with a sharp light, bared his fangs and smiled.
[Come to my pavilion. I will give you everything you need to complete your cultivation method.]
“Is that all?”
[Once the cultivation method is complete, you need only pass it down to a single one of my disciples. After that, you are free. Iron Diamond.]
Riiip!
Despite his torn tendons, the Iron Diamond tore the sleeve of his monk’s robe with all his might.
“I am not the Iron Diamond.”
The Iron Diamond shouted coldly, blood trickling from his mouth.
“From now on, I am the Demonic Monk, Blood Diamond!”
From that day forward, he, now Blood Diamond, entered the Nang-ya-gak.
And thanks to the mysterious Great Demonic Arts and the astonishing efficacy of the Ten-Thousand-Year Earth Core Blood Treasure that Ak Mu-ryeong provided, he was able to fully recover his body.
Having fully recovered, he stayed at Cheol-jang Peak on Mount Geom-mi, receiving all the support he needed to create his internal cultivation method.
The Nang-ya-gak could not be considered a single school, as each disciple had learned different martial arts and cultivation methods.
Thanks to this, he was able to meticulously study the numerous cultivation methods of the demonic path, and even the energy circulation of masters who had cultivated outstanding internal energy.
His only goal was to complete the cultivation method.
Only by completing it…
Could he prove that his efforts had not been in vain and land a blow on that devil-like Ak Mu-ryeong.
“The most important thing in a cultivation method is the tempering of the spirit.”
Cheon-ryong Temple had completed an internal energy secret comparable to the Muscle-Tendon Change Classic, but unfortunately, the part about tempering the spirit had been neglected.
Because of that, his martial brothers, despite being monks who had dedicated themselves to Buddhism, could not even resist the power of Ak Mu-ryeong’s Art of Illusory Return.
“I must reach a state that no one else can achieve.”
Blood Diamond researched endlessly, sleeping for barely two hours a day.
“It’s done!”
And though he finally completed the cultivation method, he was ultimately forced to face despair once again.
He had focused so much on tempering the spirit.
He had aimed for a level unprecedented in the history of the martial world…
Outstanding talent and comprehension, endurance like a camel.
And so, a cultivation method was born that could only be learned by someone whose meridians were free of even the slightest impurity, like a newborn child.
“First, I just need to learn it myself.”
But that, too, was no easy task.
“Ugh, uwaaaah!”
Every time he circulated the new divine art, he felt the pain of being burned in the fires of hell.
It was a cultivation method so difficult and painful to learn that even he, known to possess the world’s greatest talent in the field of internal energy, struggled with it.
“If I cannot master it, to whom can I pass it down!”
Crunch!
In the end, while learning the cultivation method, Blood Diamond began to chew off one of his own fingers.
And when he had chewed off all five fingers,
He finally managed to learn the demonic path’s greatest…
No, the world’s greatest cultivation method with his own body.
Ban-geuk. This Ban-geuk Sim-beop, a fusion of the orthodox path’s internal energy secrets and the demonic path’s…
Transcended the principles of existing internal cultivation methods, allowing one to instantly use the energy of the great outdoors.
Furthermore, it allowed one to handle perfect yin-yang energy, and just by entering the second stage, one’s internal power would increase uncontrollably.
Even though his internal power had been destroyed, once Blood Diamond reached the fifth stage.
He gained over three hundred years’ worth of internal power.
—Now that it’s complete, you must teach it.
Ak Mu-ryeong, having divined the completion of the new art as if by magic, sent his disciples.
But here, Blood Diamond faced despair once again.
‘Is it impossible?’
The outstanding martial talents of the Nang-ya-gak.
Those brilliant and spirited young people… they lost their lives or became cripples without even being able to learn the basics of the Ban-geuk Sim-beop.
If only I could pass it down to just one person.
I could fulfill my promise to Ak Mu-ryeong and leave.
Even martial talents who could easily learn any martial art in the world could not even reach the first stage, slowly crumbling away.
In the end, after countless disciples of the Nang-ya-gak lost their lives or became cripples, Blood Diamond secluded himself on Cheol-jang Peak and did not emerge.
That is, until he saw the boy named Bu Eun-seol.
‘It can’t be…’
This boy, Bu Eun-seol.
He broke through the first gate, something no disciple of the Nang-ya-gak had ever managed to master, in a single breath, and reached the second stage in less than a few months.
This was not only because he possessed outstanding talent and comprehension, but also because he had learned the Muscle-Tendon Change Classic, the ultimate secret art of Shaolin.
Moreover, it was as if he had been born to receive the Ban-geuk Sim-beop.
There was almost no impure energy in his body.
It was as if he had been honing and polishing his body since childhood to cultivate the world’s greatest internal energy.
Blood Diamond was overjoyed.
He had finally found the prodigy who would complete the Ban-geuk Sim-beop.
‘He has a deep sorrow in his heart.’
While teaching him, Blood Diamond could tell.
Bu Eun-seol. This young boy also had a desperate sorrow and goal, just like him.
‘So that was it.’
Only then did Blood Diamond realize that the cultivation method he had created was filled with desperation and sorrow.
And as he watched Bu Eun-seol, who harbored that desperate sorrow, grow stronger by the day.
As he watched him train without wavering.
His own heart was also changing.
‘I have been so foolish until now.’
Blood Diamond had studied countless internal energy secrets of both the orthodox and demonic paths for a long time.
Because of this, his spirit naturally sought deep enlightenment and the path of the heart, like a high-ranking Buddhist monk.
And seeing the once-in-a-millennium prodigy named Bu Eun-seol, seeing that boy who was so much like himself…
He realized that he had been walking a very foolish path all this time.
‘It was all just a fleeting moment.’
Looking back, it was something he could have prevented.
If only he had been a little more open-minded, a little more relaxed…
He would have generously embraced his martial brothers who despaired over their crude talents.
And they could have progressed together.
But back then, he had only looked forward. And he had ignored all the gazes directed at him.
Because of that, his martial brothers were engulfed in despair and darkness, so much so that they couldn’t even detect that they were under the influence of the Art of Illusory Return.
A deep, dark demon had cast its shadow over their spirits.
‘It is not Pavilion Master Ak’s fault either.’
Blood Diamond realized that Ak Mu-ryeong, too, was just a martial artist who had lived for a single goal, just like himself.
No matter if he was a great demon belonging to the Three Demons, no matter if he was a grandmaster of peerless martial arts that shook the world…
He was nothing more than a chess piece that could not escape the grand game of fate.
‘Is this realization too late?’
Before he knew it, even the resentment toward Ak Mu-ryeong had vanished from Blood Diamond’s heart.
Perhaps that image was also one of someone who had sacrificed everything to achieve a great work.
Another version of himself.
‘It is time to leave now.’
Seeing Bu Eun-seol stably mastering the cultivation method, Blood Diamond left the Nang-ya-gak quietly, with a light heart.
Afterward, he wandered the world and began his penance anew.
And he was able to realize one thing.
That his heart still remained with Gwang-deok, the disciple of Cheon-ryong Temple.
That he had started creating the Ban-geuk Sim-beop only because he wanted to be acknowledged by his master.
‘Now, I can finally let everything go.’
Finally looking into his own honest heart, Blood Diamond let out a hearty laugh.
And so, he revealed himself publicly and began his journey of repentance toward Cheon-ryong Temple.
—This humble monk is heading to Cheon-ryong Temple, so let those who bear a grudge come! I will absolutely not resist!
Blood Diamond realized that if he could not repay the blood debts of his past, even if he were to arrive before Cheon-ryong Temple.
He would have no right to enter.
‘I must completely shake off all the evil karma I have accumulated and repent.’
He had not stayed only in the Nang-ya-gak to complete the Ban-geuk Sim-beop.
He had reappeared in the martial world as Blood Diamond, struck down the martial brothers who had destroyed his tendons and framed him.
And he had slaughtered countless masters of the orthodox path who had attacked him for turning to the demonic path, or for the sake of fame.
‘If I die by their hands, that too is my fate. If I can survive even after paying the price for my evil deeds and return alive…’
Blood Diamond gazed at the distant sky.
If that were possible…
He would have the right to break through this long darkness and set foot in Cheon-ryong Temple once more.