Chapter 513
Chapter 513
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 513
Chapter Title: The Sword Tomb's Eight Rules
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And yet, she was sending Bu Eun-seol.
It probably meant that Gongson Dan-gyeong had a reason why she absolutely had to investigate the Celestial Being Cult.
‘Simply because they might disrupt the martial world?’
Bu Eun-seol inwardly shook his head.
Even if the Celestial Being Cult was a heretical group, even if they created a fake Sword Tomb to lure martial artists.
That alone wasn't grounds for the Martial Alliance to forcibly investigate or impose sanctions.
“There are over a few hundred.”
Gongson Dan-gyeong continued, as if she had seen through Bu Eun-seol’s question.
“We haven’t found evidence, but the number of martial artists who went there to obtain a sword and went missing is in the hundreds… no, it’s likely more than that.”
“That many, you say?”
It was incomprehensible.
How could it be that hundreds of martial artists had gone missing, yet the matter hadn't become public knowledge?
“Because most of them are second-rate martial artists.”
At her words, Bu Eun-seol fell silent.
She had euphemistically called them second-rate, but they were likely bottom-tier martial artists, or even lower.
The martial world was filled with countless martial artists, but people only remembered the powerful masters who had gained great renown.
Those with mediocre skills lived miserable lives, often worrying about their next meal.
The more skilled among them became wanderers and sold their martial arts, but for those who couldn't even do that…
They would do anything for money, sometimes becoming bandits or third-rate assassins.
The sorrow of a third-rate martial artist.
Even if they died…
No one in the world would pay them any mind or mourn their passing.
“I see.”
Bu Eun-seol nodded grimly.
From the perspective of the martial world, a master of the Transcendent Realm and a third-rate swordsman could not be treated as equals.
But from the standpoint of Bu Eun-seol, who didn't consider himself a martial artist…
Whether a master of the Transcendent Realm or a third-rate swordsman, the weight of a life was the same.
“So, they weren’t forcibly recruited, they signed waivers, and the dead were nobodies, which is why the rumors didn't spread.”
“That’s right.”
“The agents you dispatched must have been skilled, yet they went missing… which means the Sword Tomb created by the Celestial Being Cult is probably not just an empty rumor.”
“Exactly.”
Seeing that he had accurately grasped why she needed to investigate the Celestial Being Cult, Gongson Dan-gyeong nodded and asked.
“Will you take the job?”
“Can I refuse?”
“Of course.”
“Why is that?”
“Because it's a mission where you'll die, nine times out of ten.”
The martial artists of the Martial Alliance would carry out any dangerous mission without hesitation.
Moreover, one could not refuse a mission from the Commander herself.
And yet, she was giving Bu Eun-seol a choice.
‘She’s trying to gauge my character once more.’
A faint light lingered in her eyes.
By offering him a choice.
Her intention was to understand why Bu Eun-seol had come from the merchant world to the martial world, and what his thoughts were on being in the Martial Alliance.
“I’ll take it.”
“Why?”
“Because it's a good mission to test my limits.”
Bu Eun-seol said with a deep breath.
“The reason I left the merchant guild is that I had everything from the moment I was born.”
“…”
“Whether my abilities were lacking or outstanding, it made no difference to the running of the guild.”
The man known as Seon Wu-jin was like a dragon hidden in the clouds.
His intellect and talents were both genius-level, and the merchant world was too small for him to fully display his abilities.
That was why he had come to the Martial Alliance.
It was perhaps only natural for him to constantly challenge missions that were next to impossible.
‘Is that why the All-Seeing Eye didn't work?’
Seon Wu-jin was a man who focused all his energy on developing his abilities, not letting his eyes wander elsewhere.
And such a mindset was very similar to the spiritual state of a high monk training to cast off worldly desires and attain enlightenment.
“Good.”
Gongson Dan-gyeong nodded.
“Then, Division Head Seon, please take on this task.”
Her eyes, which always sparkled mysteriously, suddenly lost their light and became calm.
Bu Eun-seol could finally sense it.
The doubt she had held in her heart toward him had completely vanished.
‘She trusts me completely now.’
From her perspective, it must have been quite difficult to fully trust someone on whom her All-Seeing Eye did not work.
And as long as that suspicion was not perfectly resolved, Bu Eun-seol could never become her confidant.
But with this, she had cast aside all her doubts.
And if he completed the Sword Tomb mission, he would have a chance to rise through the ranks a little faster.
However, there was something Bu Eun-seol did not expect at all…
That this incident at the Celestial Being Cult’s branch would completely change his goals within the Martial Alliance.
And that his relationship with Gongson Dan-gyeong would also change dramatically.
***
Mount Taepyeong.
It was the location of the Celestial Being Cult’s Taepyeong branch, which was based in the Yellow River region.
But for the past few years, something large had been under construction on the mountainside where the Taepyeong branch was located.
And what was finally completed was a massive building that looked as though it had been carved out of an entire mountain.
The Celestial Being Cult claimed that within this building lay the legendary Sword Tomb.
Hearing this story, people scoffed.
They thought the Celestial Being Cult had likely created some plausible-looking contraption to deceive martial artists.
But then a rumor spread that Jo Chung, a third-rate swordsman, had entered the Celestial Being Cult and emerged as a formidable master after obtaining a divine sword and a secret manual.
At that, martial artists with mediocre skills flocked to the Sword Tomb created by the Celestial Being Cult.
—There are rules for entering the Sword Tomb.
However, the Celestial Being Cult did not let just anyone into the Sword Tomb, making them follow a set of rules.
The rules, named the Eight Rules of the Sword Tomb, were as follows.
First.
Only martial artists under the age of thirty may enter the Sword Tomb.
Second.
To enter the Sword Tomb, one must leave all weapons and belongings behind.
Third.
The gate to the Sword Tomb can be opened each time one hundred applicants have gathered, and they must pass through three gates in total.
Fourth.
To prevent the use of internal energy while passing through the gates, one’s dantian must be pressure-pointed.
Fifth.
Once one has entered the mechanism, one cannot give up midway.
Sixth.
From the moment one enters the gate, one’s life cannot be guaranteed.
Seventh.
And if any of these rules are broken, one will lose one's life.
Eighth.
One cannot enter the Sword Tomb without signing a waiver agreeing to these terms.
The martial artists were taken aback.
They could die if they broke the rules or entered the gates, and they had to sign a waiver absolving the cult of all responsibility?
When the contents of the Eight Rules of the Sword Tomb spread, ordinary commoners scoffed.
—Who would go if they set such rules?
But that was a mistaken thought.
Martial artists were people who would risk their lives for swords and secret manuals.
If they could pass through all the gates and be chosen by a sword in the Sword Tomb, they would obtain a divine sword and a secret manual that could let them look down upon the martial world.
For martial artists who had not yet made a name for themselves, and for those whose wings had been clipped for one reason or another…
It was truly a dream-like opportunity.
A low murmur.
As if to prove this, a long line of countless martial artists had formed in front of Mount Taepyeong again today.
Most were third-rate martial artists in their late twenties.
They had come to the martial world with lofty dreams, but had found neither a fateful encounter nor a great master. Thus, they considered this their last chance.
“More than a hundred have gathered!”
Someone shouted at that moment.
According to the Eight Rules of the Sword Tomb, at least one hundred applicants had to gather to open the gate leading into the tomb.
The problem was that although there had been countless applicants so far, all of them had entered the Sword Tomb and never returned.
Nevertheless, the martial artists gathered, undeterred.
Wasn't the martial world a place where people lived with their lives on the line, at the edge of a blade?
And soon, there were a hundred.
No, due to a coincidental influx of martial artists arriving at the same time, nearly two hundred people had gathered.
“More than a hundred have gathered, so open the gate!”
The gathered martial artists shouted in loud voices.
Their faces were all filled with hope.
If they could just enter the Sword Tomb.
They believed they would surely be chosen by a sword and become a master who could look down upon the martial world.
As if to represent their desperate situation, most of the martial artists gathered at the entrance of the Sword Tomb on Mount Taepyeong were shabbily dressed.
Most of them were martial artists who had come risking their lives, thinking of this as their last chance in life.
However, there were also a few martial artists dressed in splendid, well-made clothes.
They wore masks or veils over their faces, as if to conceal their identities.
Bu Eun-seol had the face of Seon Wu-jin, but he had applied a salve and smeared soot on it. At a glance, he looked just like a third-rate martial artist.
‘There are many.’
Bu Eun-seol narrowed his eyes as he looked at the people crowding the entrance to the Sword Tomb.
He had come here to investigate the Sword Tomb on Gongson Dan-gyeong's orders.
But the members of the Celestial Being Cult guarding the Sword Tomb paid them no mind.
They didn't even care whether they belonged to the Orthodox Faction or the Demonic Path, whether they were men or women.
They were only checking to see if they were over thirty or not.
*Rumble.*
Finally, the gate of the Sword Tomb opened, and a man wearing an intricately crafted, blood-red ghost mask emerged.
It was a Ghost-Faced Emissary of the Celestial Being Cult.
—He's strong.
The martial artists who saw the Ghost-Faced Emissary widened their eyes.
An invisible energy, one that only skilled swordsmen could manifest, was faintly emanating from the Ghost-Faced Emissary's body.
The Celestial Being Cult couldn't have recruited such a skilled martial artist. He must have been a martial artist who obtained a sword from the Sword Tomb.
“Before you enter, confirm the rules once more.”
The man in the ghost mask spoke in a low voice.
“Once you enter, you cannot come back out, and you must sign a pledge stating that you are responsible for your own death should you die while passing through the gates.”
The voice of the man in the ghost mask was very low and resonant, as if he were speaking with a large jar over his head.
“I'll say it again. Anyone over thirty who enters the Sword Tomb will die. Anyone who does not follow the internal rules will also die.”
He looked at the martial artists and said.
“Inside, there is a place to sign the waiver. There are brushes, ink, and paper there, along with instructions on how to write it. Follow them.”
He then added one more thing.
“You don't need to state your affiliation or name. But you must copy the contents in your own handwriting.”
—They're telling us to sign a waiver saying we are responsible for our own deaths?
When he really told them to sign the waiver, a few martial artists protested.
At that, the Ghost-Faced Emissary shouted in a voice laced with internal energy.
“If you don't like it, you can go back now. No one is forcing you.”
Bu Eun-seol, who was listening silently from the back, nodded.
He didn't know if the Celestial Being Cult had created a fake Sword Tomb, but the Eight Rules of the Sword Tomb they had established made the lines of responsibility clear.
Even if martial artists died here, and even if evidence was found, the Martial Alliance couldn't rashly impose sanctions.
A low murmur.
Bu Eun-seol followed the line, entered, and wrote the waiver with a brush.
They didn't seem to check the waivers closely before collecting them.
It seemed they didn't consider the identities of the entering martial artists to be very important.
‘That man.’
Bu Eun-seol spotted a familiar figure among the martial artists writing waivers on the opposite side.
Although he couldn't see his face due to the veil, he could tell his identity just by looking at his sharp, irritable eyes.
‘Cheon Hwa-in.’
It was Cheon Hwa-in, a Great Master of Justice from the Mount Hua Sect and the man who had competed with Bu Eun-seol for the position of Division Head of the Apex Division.
‘Why is a ruined man here?’
Cheon Hwa-in had conspired with the former elder of the Martial Alliance and used various tricks to seize the position of Division Head of the Apex Division.
But when all of that failed, it led to a great decline in his internal energy, and he became a ruined man.
But it seemed he was trying to make a comeback, having come here after hearing the rumors of the Sword Tomb.
‘He must have left the Mount Hua Sect.’
If he still held the status of a Mount Hua Sect disciple, he would never be able to visit a cult like the Celestial Being Cult.
In other words, he had already left the Mount Hua Sect.
‘It certainly makes sense.’
Cheon Hwa-in was a former Great Master of Justice who had already stepped into the realm of the Transcendent, a promising figure.
But his poor character had been exposed, and his standing had narrowed.
He had tried to turn things around by becoming a Martial Alliance Division Head, but instead, his internal energy had greatly diminished, and he had become a ruined man.
If he had stayed in the Mount Hua Sect in that state, he wouldn't have been able to reclaim his past glory. Instead, he would have been met with disdain and contempt.
He had left the Mount Hua Sect and was trying to make a comeback once again.
If he could obtain a divine sword and its secret manual from the Sword Tomb, he would be able to fill the void of his greatly diminished internal energy.
‘It means he’s that desperate.’
Cheon Hwa-in had given up everything to stand tall in the martial world once again.
As if to prove his situation, a madness flowed in the eyes of the masked Cheon Hwa-in.
“We will now move to the first gate. Before that, I will seal your dantians.”
Once all the martial artists had signed their waivers, the Ghost-Faced Emissary stood tall in the passage leading to the gate.
And as people entered the passage, he sealed their dantians with a sharp technique.
‘He’s making it so we can't use internal energy… huh.’
If there was anyone who had entered this place with a different intention than entering the Sword Tomb, they would have been greatly flustered.
But Bu Eun-seol had the secret art of creating an inner core to hide his internal energy.
Before he even came in, he had already lowered his cultivation to two hundred years' worth and dispersed the rest of his internal energy into an inner core.
Even if they sealed his dantian or fed him energy-scattering powder, his internal energy would never be suppressed.
However, since he had no intention of hiding his identity as Seon Wu-jin, he didn't lower his internal energy any further.
“Hmm.”
The man in the ghost mask’s eyes glinted as he sealed the acupoint of Bu Eun-seol’s dantian.
He seemed quite surprised, having likely detected about two hundred years' worth of internal energy from the counterforce.
Finally, once all the martial artists' dantians were sealed, the gate leading to the other side opened.
“I warn you one last time.”
The Ghost-Faced Emissary spoke again in a solemn voice.
“Once you enter the gate, you can no longer leave, and anyone who breaks the rules will be killed immediately.”
Despite his chilling cry, the martial artists did not stir at all.
This was the Celestial Being Cult, already rumored to be a heretical group.
From the moment they decided to enter this place, they had come with their lives on the line.
“…”
When no one left, the man in the ghost mask took out an iron key from his bosom and turned it in a lock on the wall.
With a click, the door opened, and the martial artists entered.
The first gate was a wide cave with countless branching paths.
“If you survive in here for one day, you will have passed the first gate.”
The martial artists looked at each other with puzzled expressions.
Even if they couldn't use internal energy, a gate that only required them to survive in a cave for a day?
Wasn't this so easy that it couldn't even be called a gate?
“In one day, the door will open again.”
*Grind.*
The Ghost-Faced Emissary opened the door and immediately went outside.
Once he left, the martial artists seemed to feel a sense of liberation, each starting to laugh and talk.
“They made it sound like some grand gate, but it’s just surviving for a day?”
“This cave is quite spacious and comfortable. It could easily hold three hundred people, let alone one hundred.”
People gathered in small groups, chatting amongst themselves.
*Thump.*
But just then, a strange vibration echoed.
Simultaneously, the light that had been illuminating the various parts of the cave instantly vanished, and the interior turned pitch black.
“What is this?”
Since all the martial artists had their internal energy suppressed, they couldn't see through the darkness.
*Hiss.*
At the same time, a pungent smell, along with the metallic scent of blood, spread out from somewhere in all directions.
The martial artists, who had been scrambling in the darkness, stopped moving and sniffed at the bloody scent.
“It's the Soul-Severing Demonic Incense!”
Someone shouted at that moment.
Soul-Severing Demonic Incense.
It was a fragrant poison from the Soul-Severing Sect, which had already been branded a public enemy of the martial world and disappeared. It had the ability to make one's killing intent explode.
Even though there was a similar Demonic Spirit Pill in the Demonic Path, the reason the Soul-Severing Sect was driven out as a public enemy of the martial world and even annihilated was…
It was because this Soul-Severing Demonic Incense induced a murderous frenzy, causing extreme killing intent.
“Ughhh!”
Those poisoned by the Soul-Severing Demonic Incense let out pained groans or sinister laughs.
And in less than a moment, countless martial artists, in a state of hallucination, were attacking people at random.
“Aargh!”
“Kaaack!”
The dark cave was filled with screams.
Even without being able to use internal energy, martial artists fundamentally have sharp senses and trained bodies.
With such people turning into madmen, fighting and attacking like beasts, the dark cave had become a living hell.
*Rustle, rustle.*
But the cave wasn't only filled with those fighting like mad.
*Thud, thud, thud.*
There were also those who had sensed something was wrong when the smoke began to rise and had run into the cave's branching paths.
When the fighting started, they ran through the maze-like paths, avoiding the conflict.
‘Not a good method.’
However, such a method greatly exhausted one's stamina and, because of the noise, actually drew attention.
Bu Eun-seol thought for a moment, then stealthily approached the place where the fighting was happening.
Due to the bloody storm that had already swept through, the corpses of the dead were scattered everywhere.
Bu Eun-seol approached the corpses, quietly lay down among them, and suppressed his presence.
Even for a martial artist with great courage, lying among gruesomely dead bodies was not an easy thing to do.
But Bu Eun-seol had worked as a mortician since he was young, so he felt no particular aversion to lying among corpses.
‘A simple method, but highly effective.’
Playing dead on the battlefield to survive was a survival secret that had been passed down since ancient times.
However, when a fierce battle broke out in a dark and narrow space like this, most people lost their reason.
That was why it wasn't easy to even think of such a simple method.
‘If they burn this much incense all day, people will suffocate and die. They will surely stop burning it once they think they have thinned out the numbers enough.’
Just as Bu Eun-seol predicted, the smoke from the Soul-Severing Demonic Incense was gradually subsiding.
But people didn't seem to notice, continuing to bite and tear at each other in a life-or-death struggle.
‘They say they will give us swords from the Sword Tomb, so why are they trying to thin out the martial artists with the Soul-Severing Demonic Incense?’
Were they trying to select individuals with strong enough mental fortitude to withstand the Soul-Severing Demonic Incense?
Or did they want individuals with outstanding combat senses and immense killing intent, who could survive and kill countless enemies even while frenzied by the incense?
If so, why?
‘Whatever it is, I need to survive first.’
If they wanted someone with immense killing intent, he could just show a frenzied appearance, covered in blood.
Or if they were looking for someone with outstanding mental fortitude, he could just show clear eyes despite being soaked in blood.
‘Hmm.’
But something was strange.
Lying on the ground, he felt a strange sense of unevenness on his back.
When he touched it with his hand, he felt a depression deep enough to fit a finger.
Due to the large number of people who had died, the depression was filled with blood.
“Hahaha!”
Just then, a figure caught Bu Eun-seol's eye.
It was a man who was attacking people like a madman, letting out a wild laugh like a wolf.
It was Cheon Hwa-in.
‘He, on the other hand, has regained his vigor thanks to the Soul-Severing Demonic Incense.’
Poisoned by the Soul-Severing Demonic Incense, he was overflowing with vitality, biting and clawing at the people around him.
The image of him as a ruined man with diminished internal energy was gone, and he seemed to have become a beast craving blood and slaughter.
‘He was never sect leader material for the Mount Hua Sect in the first place.’
Cheon Hwa-in had a narrow-minded personality and a strong killing intent.
If he had become the sect leader, the Mount Hua Sect would have walked a path of decline.
‘That’s why the Orthodox Faction members assess their successors from various angles.’
In the Demonic Path, as long as one had power and ability, personality or character didn't matter much.
But in the Orthodox Faction, which values justice and justification, choosing the wrong leader could lead to irreversible consequences.
That was why, unlike the Demonic Path, they spent a considerable amount of time and effort in choosing their leader.
Not to mention the Nine Sects One Alliance, even the Martial Alliance, despite having selected seven division heads whose abilities were proven, made them compete for so long, verifying them over and over again.
‘What’s truly strange is the Celestial Being Cult.’
Just looking at the scale of the gate built for entering the Sword Tomb, it was too large to believe it was built by a branch.
Then could it be the Three Realms?
The probability was low.
The Three Realms always manipulated some individual or force like a puppet to achieve what they wanted.
But summoning third-rate martial artists with divine swords and secret manuals to make them self-destruct…
From their perspective, there was nothing to be gained from orchestrating such an event.
*Thud, thud.*
Just then, Cheon Hwa-in, who had struck down numerous people, walked straight toward where Bu Eun-seol was lying.
“There's a rat-like bastard here.”
Amazingly, he had accurately detected Bu Eun-seol's presence, breathing steadily amidst the pile of corpses.