Chapter 120
Chapter 120
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 120
Chapter Title: The Request
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Mi-wol, the Sun and Moon Divine Maiden, thought back to the day Seol Ha-ryeong first came to her.
‘Ha-ryeong… I suspected she had some story, but to think it was something like this.’
Seol Ha-ryeong had first come to the Sacred Fire Palace about three years ago.
The Cult Leader's fourth disciple and a master of the Divine Cult known as the Ice Demon, Yeon Ah-ryeong. She had fought a war in Hubei Province about twenty years ago.
It was said that she had a conflict with the masters of the Zhuge Family.
At the time, the Ice Demon had engaged in several small-scale battles with the masters of the Zhuge Family. Then one day, a man claiming to be the person in charge from the Zhuge Family came to see her.
He was an exceptional soul-stealing arts practitioner, and the Ice Demon said she had nearly fallen victim to his technique.
However, having detected the soul-stealing attempt, the Ice Demon had fortified her mind, including her eyes, nose, and mouth, with powerful yin energy. As a result, his soul-stealing arts failed, and he admitted his defeat, making a proposition.
He proposed to the Ice Demon that they end the war, as it was fruitless for both sides. He added that if she agreed to stop, he would meet some of her demands.
The Ice Demon, pleased by their attitude and being of a practical nature, agreed to negotiate.
And so, the battle ended.
On her way back to the Divine Cult, feeling satisfied, the Ice Demon reportedly found a young girl crying alone in an abandoned village.
To use the Ice Demon's own words…
"She was a girl who, at a glance, clearly had a talent for ice arts. Her yin energy was dense."
"What was more interesting was that while the child's mind was clear, she couldn't remember anything. She didn't know her own name, her hometown, her age, or even the names of the parents who raised her."
"She must have suffered terribly at the hands of bandits. It was bad luck for her. On the other hand, I considered myself lucky. Thanks to them, I'd picked up a child who was talented in ice arts and didn't even need to be trained into obedience."
For that same Ice Demon to suddenly entrust Seol Ha-ryeong to her had been a simple whim. No, thinking back now, perhaps it was fate.
The Ice Demon had said that at some point, watching the girl's ice arts made her inexplicably angry. It was likely because Seol Ha-ryeong had acted strangely during a war with the forces of the Orthodox Sects.
After some time had passed, the Ice Demon finally left Seol Ha-ryeong with Mi-wol. Perhaps she had grown fond of the girl, as she told Mi-wol she could do anything she wanted with her, as long as she didn't kill her.
That was about three years ago.
As the Sun and Moon Divine Maiden, Mi-wol had looked into Seol Ha-ryeong's eyes and guessed that something was hidden there, but because the girl was so wounded, she didn't press the matter.
“But to think that secret could be a soul-stealing prohibition…”
Mi-wol began to write a reply to the letter.
The letter requested an investigation into the soul-stealing prohibition that Seol Ha-ryeong might be under.
It also added that all authority regarding its handling was being delegated to Mu-heun.
“Dragon Demon, I pray that you handle the curse on that child with the same wisdom and prudence you have shown thus far.”
Mi-wol tied the letter to a carrier pigeon's leg and sent it flying to Mu-heun.
* * *
Meanwhile, the Cult Leader's other disciples felt a sense of crisis upon hearing the news about Mu-heun.
The Sword Demon, while acknowledging Mu-heun's achievements, felt a sense of rivalry. Considering Mu-heun's age, his growth was truly unbelievable, proof that anyone in the Divine Cult could be overtaken.
The Mad Demon thought he seemed like an interesting fellow and wanted to fight him soon. In contrast, the Killing Demon paid him little mind.
The Ice Demon and the Flame Demon, unlike their other martial siblings, felt threatened by Mu-heun's existence and began to take action to eliminate that threat.
To expedite their conspiracy, the Ice Demon and the Flame Demon visited Turpan, located in the Xinjiang region.
The village of Tianshan Road, spread across the vast Turpan Basin south of Bogda Peak, at the eastern end of the Tianshan Mountains.
The Ice Demon and the Flame Demon entered the Red Moon Pavilion, the largest brothel in the village.
Inside the room they entered, renowned masters of the Unorthodox Sects, whose names alone were known by all, were seated.
The worst of the worst, said to make even the infamous Demonic Cult of the Central Plains yield. A place where such villains gathered to avoid the Orthodox Martial Alliance. The Valley of Villains, located in the Qaidam Basin of Qinghai Province.
These were the famous figures of the Valley of Villains.
There were two groups.
First, the Three Supreme Blades of the World, a trio whose individual martial prowess had each reached the pinnacle of the Transcendent Realm, and who boasted that together they could even strike down the Martial Alliance.
Second, the Seven Melodies of Asura, a group of seven whose martial skills were said to be at least at the Divine Realm, and who were rumored to be capable of killing even the Martial Alliance Leader if they gathered.
These renowned figures from the Unorthodox Sects had gathered in one place, and the Ice Demon and the Flame Demon intended to commission them to kill Mu-heun.
However, these were not easy opponents to deal with.
Rare artifacts, divine weapons, or vast fortunes of gold and silver were things that could be easily obtained with their level of power, so they would not suffice as payment for the request.
Therefore, the Ice Demon and the Flame Demon decided to offer them what they truly desired: the countless demonic arts slumbering in the archives of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.
To be precise, the secret manuals for those demonic arts.
The martial prowess of the Three Supreme Blades and the Seven Melodies of Asura already placed them among the top masters in the martial world.
However, their subordinates were all a disorderly mob of trash. The reason was that they had never learned any systematic martial arts.
Unlike the Orthodox Sects, which had established schools and passed down secret martial arts manuals since their founding, the Unorthodox Sects had neither schools nor inherited manuals.
It was simply a world where the innately strong somehow awakened their martial abilities and grew powerful, while those who could not were killed.
It was a world of survival of the fittest, like that of animals, so even if a strong individual appeared, it didn't mean their subordinates would also become strong.
No matter how powerful the Three Supreme Blades and the Seven Melodies of Asura were, they were like beasts who had grown strong by killing, stealing, and fighting.
Thus, even these supremely powerful individuals couldn't explain why they were strong, and with an unexplainable strength, they couldn't take on disciples and teach them.
It wasn't that they hadn't sought a solution.
They began to use their strength to attack the schools of the righteous path, annihilating them and seizing their secret martial arts manuals.
They then distributed these stolen manuals to their disciples to strengthen their organizations and had them train…
The result was a failure.
There was a reason why the Unorthodox Sects were the way they were.
How could those who had spent their lives stealing from others and living despicably possibly endure the solitary task of calmly tempering their minds and bodies day after day, even if they obtained the martial arts manuals of the Orthodox Sects?
In the end, both the Three Supreme Blades and the Seven Melodies of Asura were strong themselves, but they had no way of making their subordinates strong.
Just then.
A brilliant idea popped into their heads.
It was demonic arts.
Arts that were easier to learn than the Orthodox martial arts based on pure internal energy, and once learned, allowed for rapid growth in strength! That was what they considered demonic arts to be.
Demonic arts certainly had their drawbacks: if not learned properly, one could fall into qi deviation, be consumed by inner demons and lose their sanity, or in severe cases, even die. But to them, such things didn't matter at all.
A subordinate who fell into qi deviation could simply be killed.
A subordinate consumed by inner demons and running rampant could also just be killed.
If they died, they could just find new subordinates, so it didn't matter.
As long as they could make their subordinates burn brightly during major clashes with the Orthodox Martial World, that was enough.
Paehyeolgok, the First of the Seven Melodies of Asura, spoke to the Ice Demon and the Flame Demon.
“As high-ranking members of the Demonic Cult, you should understand. We only need the secret manuals. Just give us ten volumes each of high, intermediate, and low-grade manuals… That is all we require.”
He was the leader of the Seven Melodies of Asura and a master who had reached the pinnacle of the Transcendent Realm, so even the Flame Demon and the Ice Demon could not look down on him.
The Flame Demon replied with a smile.
“But of course. Since you great sirs are cooperating with us, we must also show our sincerity. For now, we have prepared three demonic arts manuals of each grade.”
The Ice Demon also smiled and spoke.
“If you handle this matter well, we will give you the remaining manuals as well.”
At that, the man known as the Second Blade of the Three Supreme Blades sneered and said.
“Kekekekeke, the Orthodox Sect bastards also used to come to us with requests to kill or save one of their own. Seems the Demonic Cult isn't so different, is it? It's all just internal power struggles, kekeke.”
The one who spoke these mocking words to the Flame Demon and the Ice Demon was Danri Ak, the Second Blade of the Three Supreme Blades.
At his words, everyone from the Three Supreme Blades and the Seven Melodies of Asura laughed loudly and said.
“Exactly! Wouldn't it be better if you were just honest like us? Hahahahahaha!”
The Ice Demon and the Flame Demon swallowed their anger at the mockery, completed the request, and left the Red Moon Pavilion.
On the way back, the Flame Demon gritted his teeth and said.
“Once the succession ceremony is over, let's kill them first.”
The Ice Demon merely replied with a frigid expression.
“Isn't that obvious?”
* * *
Back in the Red Moon Pavilion, the remaining members of the Three Supreme Blades and the Seven Melodies of Asura fell into an awkward silence.
Although these two groups, the Three Supreme Blades and the Seven Melodies of Asura, had gathered with the grand ambition of unifying the Central Plains' martial world…
…this was the first time they had met directly to discuss their intentions, so a desolate silence filled the room.
The leaders of the two factions had met a few times before coming here, but this was the first time they had met with all their key members present.
And for good reason. Each of their key members had such a hot-tempered and fierce disposition that a single misstep could easily lead to a war before an alliance could even be formed.
The reason they were suppressing their tempers and cooperating like this was to achieve a greater goal.
These men, who confidently called themselves the leaders of the Unorthodox Sects, were in fact heretics among them.
The Unorthodox Blood Alliance, Sadoryeon, which could be considered the counterpart to the Orthodox Martial Alliance. While they were not of the Orthodox path, they were people who lived by their own set of rules.
They walked the path of darkness, but they were those who had realized they wouldn't last long by indulging in merciless slaughter alone. Such individuals gathered one by one, gradually expanding their power until they grew strong enough to rival the Orthodox Martial Alliance.
However, the Three Supreme Blades and the Seven Melodies of Asura did not belong to the Sadoryeon.
They were men who couldn't understand why one should exercise restraint despite possessing power, and they believed that one day they would wipe out both the Unorthodox Blood Alliance, Sadoryeon, and the Orthodox Martial Alliance to become the rulers of the Central Plains' martial world.
With such a goal in mind, the leaders of the Three Supreme Blades and the Seven Melodies of Asura had instructed their brothers before this meeting to absolutely not speak thoughtlessly or act before they spoke…
…and this silence was the result.
Just then, Ma Gon-jeok, the man who held the title of First Blade of the Three Supreme Blades, spoke up.
“Alright then, let's find out where that bastard is and strike when his guard is down!”
In response, Paehyeolgok, the leader of the Seven Melodies of Asura, replied.
“Let's do that. We'll find out his current location as well as his destination. Then we'll set a trap in advance and ambush him.”
“Kukukukuku, the traditional way! I like it!”
“Excellent! Hahahahahaha!”
After a round of hearty laughter, the members of the Three Supreme Blades and the Seven Melodies of Asura rose from their seats without ceasing their laughter and left the Red Moon Pavilion.