Gansu Jinju Branch (1)
I sent the transmission, and Na-rin answered without even looking in my direction.
Seeing her like this, it wasn't that she lacked awareness. She just chose her moments.
The reason I'd spoken through transmission was to preserve Na-rin's authority. It wouldn't look good if it seemed like she was taking orders from me.
"Soo-yeon. Ga-bin. In six days, we will target the Jinju branch in Gansu Province. Deliver that message to the Ji-mil-won and the Council of Elders."
"Understood, Palace Lord."
"It will be done, Palace Lord."
Well, the title didn't really matter. I could just call her by name.
With that settled, I left Falling Moon Manor.
There was no need for me to stay there any longer. After all, I would be traveling with them in secret.
Six days later.
Na-rin left Falling Moon Manor together with the eight women who followed her.
Na-rin, who had reached the Super Peak realm, and eight women at the entry level of the Peak realm.
It was a small but elite force. Enough power to completely annihilate a minor sect.
Of course, none of them had noticed that I was following them.
I'd told Na-rin, but even she couldn't detect my presence trailing behind.
It couldn't be helped. That was simply how martial arts worked.
Three third-rate martial artists could challenge one second-rate, and three second-rate could face one first-rate, but that only applied at those lower levels.
Even three Super Peak experts would struggle against one Peak Realm master. Once you reached the Transformation Realm, the difference became something else entirely.
And beyond that? There was simply no contest.
There had been a time when I found it truly strange that the murim could maintain its structure without collapsing. A Manifestation Realm expert could sneak in anywhere and wipe out an entire faction, so how did everyone live without constant fear?
But when I thought about it, the modern world had been the same. Just because a country possessed nuclear weapons didn't mean they would fire them at the slightest provocation.
So these people simply lived their lives. They grew numb to it.
Anyway, the group of nine including Na-rin moved diligently, and by the time the sun began to set, they arrived in Jinju.
Jinju. A place that had been called Tianshui during the Three Kingdoms period.
And now nine women were storming straight into the Demonic Cult's Jinju branch.
The value of being the surviving blood relative of the Heavenly Demon Divine Lord was far greater than expected.
Moreover, Na-rin was the last remaining woman of the Wi family. On top of that, her beauty was so exceptional that she was called the greatest beauty of the Demonic Path.
There could be no finer trophy than Na-rin.
To the Gal and Cheon factions, she was someone who absolutely had to be captured.
Perhaps because we'd already spread false information beforehand, it seemed every available fighter from nearby branches had gathered here.
Six days. That number had been crucial.
It was enough time for word to travel back and forth between the main headquarters in Xinjiang and this location.
But not enough time for reinforcements to arrive from the main sect, while still allowing sufficient support from surrounding branches.
It was the perfect opportunity to wipe them all out at once.
Furthermore, those who didn't respond to the call could be considered the ones least connected to the Gal and Cheon factions.
We couldn't kill every single member of the Demonic Cult.
If Na-rin became the Heavenly Demon but had no one to support her, that would be a problem.
So we only needed to eliminate the necessary targets—the ones at the Super Peak level swarming this Jinju branch.
The Jinju branch had fallen into complete chaos.
The nine women's attack was surprisingly refined, and the eight aside from Na-rin were unexpectedly skilled at coordinated combat.
Besides, Na-rin was already at Super Peak. Even when I'd first met her, she'd been just below Chae Ji-gyu's level.
Now that her internal energy had increased dramatically, she was far stronger than she had been back then.
Even in the darkness after sunset, her pure white hands were clearly visible.
Those hands swiftly pierced into the chest of a Super Peak level man and withdrew, drenched in blood.
She's fighting well. Is this what it means to be from the Demonic Cult?
Indeed, at the same realm, there was no reason for Na-rin to lose.
Though calling it "the same realm" was rather funny. Martial arts could never truly be at the exact same level.
Anyway, I couldn't just sit back and watch. Even though Na-rin and the eight women were fighting well, the enemy numbers were simply too great.
As expected of the Demonic Cult. There were quite a few Super Peak experts here.
Come to think of it, I'd heard that reaching Super Peak with demonic arts was easier than ascending to the Transformation Realm.
That seemed to be the case.
So I too concealed my presence and began hunting down the Super Peak opponents.
I found one—a man holding a dao, rushing quickly toward where Na-rin was fighting.
I approached swiftly and gathered sword qi in my hand.
Sosu Magong.
I stabbed it into his chest. Just like Na-rin had done moments ago.
The man, struck by the sudden blow, only widened his eyes before collapsing to the ground with a thud, his breath cut short.
This too would be counted as Na-rin's achievement.
There was probably no need to go this far, but it was better to be thorough.
In that manner, I took out several men who were trying to surround Na-rin.
Fortunately, none of them tried to run away.
They already knew that only nine women had come to this place.
So even the lesser warriors charged in desperately, hoping to earn some merit.
Sigh. There are always so many people who lack any sense of self-awareness.
How on earth did they run an organization with people like this underneath them? Good grief.
Seeing that, I really didn't think I could ever lead a large sect. Absolutely not.
The scent of blood spread in all directions, and occasional screams could be heard from various places.
All of them were men's screams. There were no women's screams.
It was a horrifying night.
The Jinju branch, believing they held absolute superiority, had rushed into what they thought was a trap with glee, intending to capture the women. Now their key personnel were dying off one by one.
What was interesting was that the eight women Na-rin had taken in hadn't killed several of the men outright.
They had only severed the tendons in the captured men's arms and legs, forced some unknown medicinal powder into their mouths, and left them there.
From what I could see, they were men with rather decent appearances. And they were at the Peak realm level.
Seeing that, I roughly understood why.
They were probably planning to use cai yang bu yin. That was why they were keeping them alive.
It was a luxury they could afford because I was cutting down the stronger ones in between.
Well, it wasn't a bad method. For those women, that was how they grew stronger.
In a way, these women were currently in fever time. It was a period of explosive leveling with special experience points pouring in.
So I couldn't really say anything about it. That was the martial art they had learned.
The nighttime raid didn't last very long.
No matter how much of a Demonic Cult it was, and no matter how many Super Peak experts they had, their numbers didn't exceed twenty.
Na-rin had already killed six, and I had just taken down the twelfth.
Looking at it this way, tonight might be the beginning of the legend of the Heavenly Demon Wi Na-rin.
If she single-handedly took down eighteen Super Peak experts in one night, that would indeed be the stuff of legends.
Ah. Now it would be nineteen, wouldn't it?
The last Super Peak expert in the Jinju branch was being pushed back by Na-rin.
The man wielded a sword. He swung it quite quickly and powerfully, but Na-rin didn't change her expression in the slightest as she deflected the blade with her pure white hands.
Since she didn't use a weapon, she lacked reach, but her hands allowed her to move that much faster.
Another advantage was that she could target any blind spot as she pleased.
Na-rin's hand shot toward his face.
The Demonic Cult expert hurriedly twisted his body and head to avoid it.
But the hand bent and swiftly changed direction toward his chest. The man turned pale with shock and, realizing he had no choice, hastily blocked with his arm.
However, the hand slightly bypassed his arm and pierced straight into his chest.
Since all her fingers had sunk into his body, there was no way this man could survive.
Thud! Clang!
The sword slipped from his grasp and his body collapsed to the ground, the sounds echoing around them.
The remaining Demonic Cult members who had been watching wore expressions of utter despair.
"This lady commands you! Kneel!"
Her voice rang out powerfully, infused with internal energy.
Upon hearing those words, the men of the Jinju branch dropped their weapons and immediately fell to their knees.
"This lady will cut off the heads of Gal Seong-ho, the leader of the Council of Elders who cowardly poisoned the Heavenly Demon Divine Lord, and Cheon Yeong-bu, the chief of the Ji-mil-won, and offer them before my father's spirit tablet! I will not stop those who wish to leave! However, those who wish to join this lady's cause, remain here! This is my final mercy!"
I sat quietly atop a nearby pavilion, observing the situation below.
The Demonic Cult members of the Jinju branch murmured among themselves. They couldn't tell if her words were sincere, so they watched each other carefully.
Then a few of them suddenly stood up and quickly fled the manor.
When the others saw that Na-rin and her eight women made no move to stop them, they too rushed outside in a hurry.
Nearly half of them. They were probably the ones connected to the Gal and Cheon factions.
Or perhaps those who had family back at the main headquarters.
Na-rin looked at the remaining people with a rather satisfied expression.
There were close to two or three hundred of them. Considering that just a month ago she had been traveling alone without a single subordinate, it wasn't a bad number.
Of course, none of them possessed particularly remarkable martial prowess.
But that didn't matter. All the skilled fighters from the surrounding branches had already come here.
And now that their main force had been eliminated, unless the main headquarters sent out additional personnel, the Cult would have no way to deal with these people.
That was exactly what we'd been aiming for by creating this situation.
Na-rin looked down at the remaining members and began inspecting their numbers.
She acknowledged their original positions and ranks as they were and gave out several instructions.
The ones who had switched sides followed Na-rin's orders immediately, without any shame or servility.
This was why the strong-respected-the-stronger principle was so convenient. It freed you from such complications.
In any case, Na-rin finished taking control of the Jinju branch and strode confidently into the largest pavilion.