Cut Clean Through
She had cut him.
18
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Shinjiang, Mount Tianshan.
The Heavenly Demon Cult.
The Cult Leader’s Hall.
“Cult Leader. One of the White-Haired Demons has been taken down.”
Hearing the report from the demon standing beside him, the Cult Leader opened his eyes.
“Where?”
“Sichuan.”
“Sichuan, then… the Tang Clan.”
“Yes.”
The Cult Leader nodded as if that made sense.
If it was the Sichuan Tang Clan, then of course they would have moved quickly.
It would have been stranger if they hadn’t been exposed by now.
“What should we do?”
“Leave Sichuan alone for the time being.”
“Yes, sir.”
If the Tang Clan had noticed the existence of the demonic sect, then there was no longer any room to operate in Sichuan.
They were the guardians of Sichuan, and one of the strongest sects in all of Murim.
“It doesn’t matter anyway. Our sect has already taken the heavens into its grasp.”
At the Cult Leader’s words, the demon slammed his forehead to the floor and cried out, “The heavens of our sect!”
The heaven they spoke of was the Heavenly Demon.
The true demon born with the Heavenly Demon body, who could command demonic energy at will and wield demonic arts without sacrificing his lifespan.
A divine being of the Heavenly Demon Cult. An object of worship.
That was why every cult member had to worship the mere mention of that name, no matter the circumstances.
The Cult Leader, too, pressed his forehead to the floor and cried out, “The day our sect’s heaven becomes complete, Murim will become ash!”
“The heavens of our sect!”
The two demons kept bowing toward the same place.
Far beyond the Cult Leader’s Hall.
Toward the white-haired girl in that deepest place.
“The heavens of our sect!!!”
- Thud.
The sound of their heads striking the floor echoed on and on.
As if it would fill the whole world.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Sichuan Province, the Sichuan Tang Clan.
If you asked which sect was the most famous in Sichuan, the answer was, without question, the Tang Clan.
But if you expanded that number to three, then two more sects would be added.
Mount Emei’s Emei Sect.
Mount Qingcheng’s Qingcheng Sect.
Both were major sects representing Buddhist and Daoist lineages, and both were also members of the Nine Great Sects.
No matter how much the Tang Clan might be called Sichuan’s imperial household, it couldn’t simply ignore those two sects.
Yes, that was why they were being received so readily despite showing up with no warning.
“Thank you for receiving us on such short notice, Tang Clan Lord.”
Qingcheng Sect elder, Qingjing Daoist.
Emei Sect elder, Jeonghyeon the bhikkhuni.
The two elders of the sects representing Sichuan.
The fact that the two of them had come together carried heavy meaning.
“...Get to the point.”
Tang Cheon-ak was in a foul mood.
He had a pretty good idea why they were here.
“Amitabha. Please don’t be so angry, Tang Clan Lord. We only came to confirm the facts.”
“If this is about the recent incident, then the letter already contained everything.”
“Now, now… Tang Clan Lord, this makes things difficult. We are also sects of Sichuan, so to ask us to accept the words ‘the work of the demonic sect’ on the strength of a single letter alone… that’s hardly proper.”
“Then…”
In an instant, Tang Cheon-ak’s atmosphere changed.
Suppressive poison qi filled the room in a heartbeat, so thick it was hard to breathe.
Qingjing and Jeonghyeon were both first-rate experts in their own right, but neither could compare to the Tang Clan Lord.
This is Tang Cheon-ak, one of the Three Venerables of the righteous sects—the Dark Venerable!
If he so desired, neither of them would make it out of here alive.
And if the Tang Clan truly set its mind to it, both Emei and Qingcheng would be wiped out.
The only reason that hadn’t happened was because Tang Cheon-ak and the Tang Clan belonged to the Martial Alliance.
That was why neither of them could afford to offend him.
“Calm yourself, Tang Clan Lord. You know we have no choice in this matter.”
“That is no excuse for rudeness.”
“Amitabha. Please forgive our discourtesy, Tang Clan Lord.”
Only after the two men lowered themselves did Tang Cheon-ak finally let some of the pressure ease.
They both breathed in relief.
“We are not doubting the Tang Clan. We simply want proof that we can show on our side as well.”
“Proof?”
“We would like to see the demon’s corpse.”
They wanted the corpse of the demon as proof that the Tang Clan’s suspicions were right.
That much was a reasonable request.
“Is that truly all you want?”
It meant: if there was anything else, say it now.
If they answered yes here, then he would really just show them the corpse and throw them out.
So it was wiser to make their true purpose plain.
The one to speak first was Venerable Jeonghyeon.
“Amitabha. This poor monk and Daoist Qingjing would like to meet the hero who solved this matter.”
“Hero?”
“Why… isn’t Sichuan buzzing with this already? I mean the story about the clan lord’s second daughter.”
At that, Tang Cheon-ak curved his lips into a thin smile.
So that was the real reason.
They dressed it up in roundabout language, but in the end there was only one thing they wanted.
The talent of the Tang Clan young lady who had killed a White-Haired Demon.
They wanted to judge the size of that talent for themselves.
“Seonhyeon.”
“Yes.”
At the Clan Lord’s call, Seonhyeon appeared.
One moment he hadn’t been there; the next, he was in a room that had held only three people until then.
Neither Qingjing nor Jeonghyeon had noticed his presence.
Even though both of them had reached the Transcendent Realm, they hadn’t detected him.
An exceptional stealth expert… or perhaps…
He was a realm above them.
“Since the two of you wish to see this young lady, prepare it.”
“Yes. I’ll have her come to the training ground.”
At the same time, Seonhyeon vanished.
Qingjing and Jeonghyeon couldn’t even follow the disappearance.
It was a blatant display of force.
Looks like the Clan Lord is in a very bad mood.
Qingjing knew full well that their behavior had been rude.
Showing up unannounced and saying, essentially, “Your daughter’s amazing, isn’t she? Let us see her,” was no different from making a scene.
And that was, in fact, exactly what it was.
But even so, this was something they had to do.
The saying that the Clan Lord was blessed with children was famous throughout Sichuan.
The young master was already at the Peak Realm at barely twenty, and the third young lady had also reached first-rate rank at a tender age.
As for the first young lady… well, she was an exception.
And even the famously gifted first young master.
Now, the second young lady, who had never been part of the rumors, had also slain two demons and made a name for herself.
We have to see whether that talent is real.
If she turned out to be too exceptional…
Then, well. They would have to cut her down a little, wouldn’t they?
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
“What is it now? Why do you keep dragging me around?”
“Please don’t be so displeased, Second Young Lady.”
Soyeong was heading to the Tang Clan’s training grounds at Seonhyeon’s summons.
She’d been in the middle of wondering what the hell to do with the demonic energy trapped in her dantian when the call came, so her mood was already bad.
There’s no way to train demonic energy inside the Tang Clan, which is annoying.
No matter how big the Tang Clan was, if even the tiniest trace of demonic energy was felt, Tang Cheon-ak would know at once.
And Tang Cheon-ak wasn’t the only one. Even Seonhyeon, who was wearing such a pleasant face right now, would definitely notice.
“I guess I’ll just have to go outside or something…”
Seonhyeon’s body jerked slightly.
He looked like he was about to say something, but then he shut his mouth.
The Clan Lord picked good subordinates.
Nothing was more precious than a subordinate who didn’t say unnecessary things.
Lost in that trivial thought, she kept walking and soon arrived at the training grounds.
There, besides the Clan Lord, were three others.
One carried the aura of Daoism, another the aura of Buddhism.
So one’s a Qingcheng Daoist and the other an Emei bhikkhuni?
Their presence was anything but ordinary.
Judging by their bearing alone, they were beyond Peak Realm—Transcendent Realm, perhaps.
“Clan Lord. I’ve brought the Second Young Lady.”
“Mm.”
“Oh! So this is the famed Second Young Lady you spoke of? You’re quite a beauty!”
Qingjing was startled by Soyeong’s appearance.
Even though she wasn’t dressed up at all, she was beautiful in the way flowers were beautiful.
Jeonghyeon, standing beside him, also seemed surprised by her looks.
“Amitabha. A pleasure to meet you, Benefactor. This poor monk is Jeonghyeon of Mount Emei.”
“I’m Qingjing, elder of the Qingcheng Sect.”
“...I’m Tang Soyeong.”
It was nothing more than a formal greeting.
And yet her beauty was enough to win over both of them instantly.
The people of the Tang Clan hadn’t realized the full effect of her looks because they already knew how utterly terrible her personality was.
But to strangers seeing her for the first time, Soyeong was nothing more than a delicate flower.
“How is it that such a lovely child never made a sound in Sichuan before?”
“Amitabha. I can understand the Clan Lord’s heart. With beauty this exceptional, it’s only natural to want to keep her hidden.”
The two men began inventing their own explanation for why the Tang Clan had kept Soyeong out of sight.
The truth was that the clan had hidden the rumors because of internal discrimination, indifference, and her own rotten personality, so as not to burden the Tang Clan’s reputation.
Still, was that not better than the alternative?
“Why did you come looking for me?”
It was a question that could easily be called rude.
Soyeong’s words were brutally direct.
But the two men, already favorably inclined toward her, didn’t mind such rudeness at all.
Qingjing laughed heartily.
“This young lady’s achievements have already spread throughout Sichuan. They say you defeated a White-Haired Demon?”
“That’s right.”
“Haha! Bold indeed. But we have our own position to consider.”
“...Your position?”
Soyeong’s expression began to harden.
It was typical righteous-sect nonsense to show up out of nowhere and start blathering about their “position.”
But that was the sort of thing adults did.
What kind of bullshit was this, bringing it in front of a child who was still far younger than they were?
“Amitabha. Please don’t take offense, Second Young Lady.”
“Venerable Jeonghyeon is right. We only want to confirm something.”
“Confirm what?”
“I’d like to verify for myself whether this young lady truly has the skill to bring down a White-Haired Demon… that’s what I mean.”
“Qingjing Daoist!”
Seonhyeon raised his voice.
Not only had they intruded on the Tang Clan with mud on their feet, they’d summoned the Clan Lord’s daughter and now wanted to test her skill directly?
Their rudeness had crossed the line.
“This is a grave insult. Does your sect approve of such behavior?”
“Of course. This elder’s intent is the same as the intent of my sect.”
“...And does the Emei Sect feel the same?”
“Amitabha. Indeed.”
Seonhyeon ground his teeth.
Once a matter was pushed at the level of sects, it became a sect matter.
If it were merely the rudeness of a single man, then even if it wasn’t the Clan Lord, Seonhyeon could cut the throats of the two of them on the spot and nobody would have grounds to complain.
But if this was the intention of their sects, then from the Tang Clan’s perspective, the clan itself had to answer in the name of the Tang Clan.
Of course the Tang Clan would press the matter as far as it could.
And Qingcheng and Emei would not find it easy to withstand the Tang Clan’s wrath.
Only, for the moment, they couldn’t be touched.
That was politics.
“Ah… so that’s it…”
Soyeong’s expression tilted crookedly.
“You want to fight me, then?”
Of course she wasn’t stupid enough not to understand the little stunt they were pulling.
She’d seen righteous bastards being sly more than once or twice.
No matter how you looked at it, now that the Tang Clan seemed to be doing well, they were probably trying to check the rising child by snapping her wrist or breaking her pride or some other petty nonsense.
“Amitabha. Your words are a little too rough, Second Young Lady.”
“Then what, you want to compare notes in a martial debate or something?”
Soyeong shot back at Jeonghyeon without missing a beat.
Jeonghyeon fell silent.
After all, their goal was to suppress her with force, and a martial debate would not allow that.
“Hahaha! This young lady is wonderfully bold! I like it.”
Qingjing stepped forward.
He smiled at Soyeong without even drawing his sword.
“This elder will judge the extent of your skill. I’ll give you ten chances. If even the hem of my robe is touched within that time, it will be your victory…”
At that instant, Soyeong’s figure vanished.
- Fshk!
And what Qingjing felt was the stinging sensation at the left side of his neck.
The unpleasant feeling of something hot running out.
Qingjing knew exactly what that sensation meant.
He had been cut.
Very lightly, along the left side of the neck.
“Tch!”
Qingjing spun around in a hurry.
There, with her sword drawn from her hip at some point, stood Soyeong, looking at him without the slightest concern.
Soyeong raised a finger and pointed at the thin line on Qingjing’s neck.
“I cut you. The neck.”
Wasn’t that enough?
The corner of Soyeong’s mouth lifted into a wicked grin.