No One Asks How the Fire Started
"Once the flames of chaos spread wildly, no one will wonder what caused the fire in the first place. In my opinion, it is only the Hyeong-eo Gang. Once they fall, things will remain quiet for a while."
Though Jekyeong had shown rare enthusiasm, Han Cheongyu replied in a calm voice that dealing with the Hyeong-eo Gang alone would be enough. He explained that once the gang's leader died and the organization collapsed, Jaseong Island would soon return to its former state.
Indeed, thinking about it, it was only natural. What kind of decent faction would come all the way to a place like this to make a fresh start? One only had to look at the leader of the Hyeong-eo Gang to see the truth. Even if he possessed some degree of capability, he was ultimately nothing more than a wretched rogue cultivator who had taken over someone else's business just a few years ago.
While such a man was running rampant, trying to climb over their heads, the so-called cultivation factions of Jaseong Island couldn't even punish him properly and were merely pacing in anxiety...
‘A worthless place filled with nothing but hollow husks.’
Truly capable, ambitious men gathered in better lands. They would rather compete fiercely there than try to play king in a worthless place that no one spared a glance for.
"Stay quiet tonight."
"Are you moving immediately?"
"Yes. There is no need to drag this out."
Jekyeong savored the subtle aroma of the spirit wine as he took in the night view of the city.
"I will say it again: there will be no compromise."
"But, Leader..."
"Keep this in mind. If you do not rise, you will only fall. Momentum is something you must seize when it comes. Once you take a step back, you will never be able to stand in this position again."
The Hyeong-eo Gang leader, So Gyesan, sighed inwardly as he looked at his bowing subordinates. A raging fire burned in his chest, and his head throbbed with heat.
‘Fools, utter fools. They cannot see an inch in front of their faces! How can I plan any great undertaking with such idiots!’
Did these fools not realize they had already crossed a point of no return? Wounds on the flesh heal with time, but grudges in the heart only fester more maliciously as time passes. Moreover, putting aside their ignorance of such principles, could they not comprehend that if I am exhausted, the enemy must be exhausted as well? How long has it even been since we began fighting in earnest for hegemony over Jaseong Island, and they are already worn out?
"Enough. Just hurry and recruit the demon hunters."
"Leader, we are already doing our best. If we push them any harder, it might trigger a backlash."
"Do you think I don't know that?!"
Unable to contain himself, So Gyesan finally roared in anger. As the oppressive aura of a Foundation Establishment Middle Stage cultivator weighed down on the grand hall, the senior members of the Hyeong-eo Gang—who had all seemed to have plenty to say just moments ago—simultaneously lowered their heads and avoided his gaze.
"Have I not told you time and again! If you whip them with one hand, you must soothe them with the other! First, show them your authority with strength, and then coax them with gentle words and tangible benefits. How could they possibly refuse?"
Hearing the leader's roar reverberate through the hall, the senior members of the Hyeong-eo Gang wanted nothing more than to raise their heads and argue back. They wanted to say that things in the world did not work so easily, and that if they tried to recruit the demon hunters, the other factions wouldn't just sit idly by and watch.
But there was no one in this room who dared to shout such things. What if they stiffened their necks before an enraged Foundation Establishment Middle Stage cultivator, only to have them snapped on the spot?
"We shall obey your command."
In the end, they had no choice but to repeat the words they had already spoken countless times.
"Dismissed!"
After venting his anger for a while, So Gyesan massaged his temples in the now-empty hall, sinking into deep thought.
‘The situation is certainly not good. Yes, it was my mistake. I underestimated them too much.’
He had expected them to unite, but they had banded together far more quickly than he had anticipated. Whether it was out of cowardice or quick wits, it had thrown a wrench into his plans.
Actually, this was no big deal. How could there not be minor ups and downs when striving for greatness? However, he had overlooked another factor besides his enemies—namely, his own subordinates. He had never realized that the so-called senior members of the Hyeong-eo Gang were such pathetic fools.
Looking back now, the fault was partly his own. Ever since he had nominally succeeded his master as the leader of the gang, the Hyeong-eo Gang had met with nothing but success under his guidance. Although he had always tried not to grow arrogant, he could not deny that he had occasionally been intoxicated by the sweet taste of victory.
That was why. Because he had never experienced failure, he had never thought to look for problems. Consequently, he had assumed that even if his subordinates were slightly lacking, they were still decent enough at carrying out his orders. It was a complete misjudgment. Now that they had hit their first real obstacle, So Gyesan could finally see his subordinates for what they truly were.
‘I lack talented people.’
He didn't even expect them to be capable of lightening his load. It would have been enough if they simply weren't a burden.
"You certainly are working hard."
Just as So Gyesan's expression was growing increasingly dark, a low voice echoed through the silent hall.
"Who is there?!"
So Gyesan barked sharply and waved his hand. A small bead shot out from his sleeve like a beam of light, flying straight toward the direction of the unfamiliar voice.
It was no ordinary bead. Named the Mountain-Destroying Bead, it was a mid-grade Dharma treasure inherited from his nominal master, the former leader of the Hyeong-eo Gang.
So Gyesan had defeated the foolish enemies who opposed him with this single bead for the past several years. Today, in the eyes of the world, this Mountain-Destroying Bead was regarded as if it were his Lifebound Dharma Treasure.
Though it looked unremarkable on the outside, the Mountain-Destroying Bead was unmistakably a mid-grade Dharma treasure. While its power could not literally crumble mountains as its name suggested, it was potent enough to shatter a small hill in a single blow.
‘Who is it?!’
So Gyesan had launched the Mountain-Destroying Bead reflexively, but he did not expect this single strike to kill his opponent. The intruder was no easy opponent. Anyone capable of bypassing his Divine Sense to slip into the grand hall could not possibly be ordinary.
What he wanted was to buy time—time to gauge the opponent and allow his subordinates outside to come to his aid. To that end, he had thrown the Mountain-Destroying Bead with all his might. He did not doubt that even if this strike failed to kill the intruder, it would at least cause them some trouble.
However.
Thud!
There was no expected explosion. A hand emerging from the darkness simply snatched the fist-sized, brilliantly glowing bead out of the air.
"Quick reflexes."
The moment those pale, slender fingers tightly gripped the bead, So Gyesan felt his spiritual connection to the Mountain-Destroying Bead violently destabilize. As he tried to desperately recall the bead in sheer shock, the intruder finally revealed himself. Stepping out of the darkness, the figure was already right in front of him.
‘So fast!’
Though struck with panic, So Gyesan reacted instinctively. He mobilized his Dharma Power to sweep the area ahead while pulling out a Dharma treasure that resembled a large sheet of cloth to block the opponent's vision. At the same time, he retreated backward while pouring all his effort into recalling the Mountain-Destroying Bead.
Boom!
But before he could even catch his breath, a fist tore through the cloth. It was a fist enveloped in a faint crimson glow. Before that fist, So Gyesan felt as if his skin were shriveling and his blood was running dry.
A strike that severs the opponent's vital energy and dries up their life force.
So Gyesan took the heat-radiating fist and crashed powerlessly into the corner of the hall. No, perhaps "took" was not the right word. He had simply been struck and managed not to die.
"A Body Cultivator?!" So Gyesan cried out in a trembling voice, barely raising his head.
"..." Jekyeong shook his hand in silence. When his fist had collided with the cloth-like Dharma treasure just now, he had felt an odd sensation. It was as if something sticky had clung to his fist, dampening his power.
‘An unusual Dharma treasure.’ It piqued his interest slightly, but that was all. While it had its unique qualities, its actual defensive power was not very strong. At best, it was a low-grade treasure, and a subpar one at that.
"Just how did you get in here? Did you have an accomplice inside?"
"..." Jekyeong guessed So Gyesan's intentions as he watched the man's eyes dart around frantically. This fellow didn't actually care if he was a Body Cultivator or how he had slipped into the heavily guarded depths of the Hyeong-eo Gang. He was merely trying to buy time by any means necessary, searching for a single path to survival.
‘He is certainly quite a character.’ Even a cultivator was ultimately just a living being. As such, it was difficult to maintain composure in the face of death. In other words, the mere fact that this fellow So Gyesan could remain calm in this situation proved that he surpassed the vast majority of the Human Race—indeed, the vast majority of cultivators.
"Who are you? There is no way someone like you exists on Jaseong Island!"
Faced with a life-or-death crisis, So Gyesan unleashed all his abilities without holding back. He deployed everything from powerful and bizarre spells to mysterious talismans and poisons—truly utilizing every trick in his arsenal. Yet, all of it scattered and vanished with a single, casual wave of Jekyeong's hand.
His face turning deathly pale, So Gyesan gritted his teeth and forced his collapsing body to stand. His eyes still shone brightly, his spirit unbroken.
Jekyeong couldn't help but admire So Gyesan. He refused to give up even though he knew it was futile. This was neither foolishness nor a mere desperate struggle to avoid death. Looking at So Gyesan's eyes, which were gradually becoming consumed by madness, Jekyeong felt a powerful, intense obsession.
Suddenly, he grew curious about what that obsession held, but he did not stay his hand. He doubted the man would tell him even if he asked, and more importantly, he had sensed something unusual. The man was going to die anyway, so why did he feel such curiosity at this moment?
Jekyeong thought this felt like foreshadowing, an attempt to forcibly twist a predetermined ending. Ordinary people wouldn't have noticed such strangeness, but Jekyeong, who had experienced something similar before, was highly sensitive to the slight unnaturalness that had sprouted in his mind and recognized it immediately.
‘Is it his aura? Is it trying to play tricks on me again?’
Focusing his attention, he could feel a different aura beginning to emanate from the cornered So Gyesan. It might have been because Jekyeong was concentrating, or perhaps because the fellow's Presence-Concealing Technique had faltered.
‘I see.’ Come to think of it, it wasn't surprising. In a place like Jaseong Island, he had made a name for himself in just a few years, striking fear into various factions. If Jekyeong hadn't intervened, So Gyesan might have truly become the master of Jaseong Island. He was certainly worthy of being called a Qi-destined Child.
Of course, compared to Myeong-ha, his aura was lacking in both scale and quality in many ways. But just as not all cultivators were equal, Qi-destined Children probably weren't all of the same caliber either...
‘Does it want to stop me?’ Unlike his previous world, this world possessed a heaven and its will. Putting everything else aside, wasn't this obvious just from things like the Transformation Tribulation and the Heavenly Tribulation? In the end, weren't all of those punishments and trials sent by the heavens to cultivators who sought to defy the heavenly laws?
The heavens—that is, the Heavenly Dao—truly existed, and its will was cast over every corner of the world. And according to the legends of the cultivation world, Qi-destined Children were those who bore great destinies and received the favor of the heavens. The favor of the heavens... Just hearing the phrase made it sound grand, didn't it?