An Arrow Unleashed
—Whoaaaaaa!
—The Sword Flower! Incredible!!
The duel had ended in a single exchange. A deafening roar from the crowd swept over the arena. Yet, amidst the electric atmosphere, one man stood frozen to the spot. That man was none other than her half-brother and the eldest son of the Yeon Family, Yeon Gang-rang.
"W-what in the world...?"
He had known she was called the Sword Flower and had built up a decent amount of skill. But he had never expected anything of this caliber.
To defeat a fellow Peak Realm master in a single clash...?!
Worse, he hadn't even been able to track the trajectory of Yeon So-o's leaping strike. That beggar brat, Gyeon To, had been laid low in the blink of an eye. Gang-rang couldn't help but wonder: if he had been the one standing on that stage, could he have dodged it?
...Impossible. Even I wouldn't have been able to block or dodge that. I wouldn't have survived it.
The martial arts of the Yeon Family were characterized by their balance, designed to shine brighter the longer a battle dragged on. As the fight progressed, the swordplay grew increasingly potent. Thus, the Yeon Family's strategy was to fight defensively at first, gradually shifting to an aggressive offense. In that regard, the Jeomchang Sect's sword techniques, which decided matches in mere moments, were the worst possible matchup for them.
"..."
Gang-rang cast a furtive glance from the waiting room toward where his father sat. Unsurprisingly, the Yeon Family Head's expression was utterly grim, clearly displeased that his runaway daughter was performing so spectacularly. He stroked his chin, radiating an aura of intense discomfort.
Seeing this, Gang-rang was seized by a paralyzing dread. As the eldest son, he had always carried the crushing weight of immense expectations, subjected to countless instances of abuse under the guise of "discipline." Though he was now slightly past twenty and no longer suffered physical beatings, the absolute submission drilled into him since childhood still held a vice-like grip on his mind.
If I lose to Yeon So-o...
Gang-rang panted heavily, swallowed by sheer terror. Looking at it objectively, he had absolutely no way of defeating her. And if he lost, his father's disappointment would be catastrophic. The anxiety was suffocating.
"Pant, pant."
Before he knew it, his breathing had grown ragged. Seeking a moment to catch his breath, he slipped out of the waiting room. Having already won his first match, his name wouldn't be called again for some time, leaving him with a brief window to rest.
Stepping outside, he gasped violently for air.
"Pant, pant... I have to... I have to impress Father..."
He racked his brain for any way to block or evade Yeon So-o's sword, but nothing came to mind. None of the Yeon Family techniques he had mastered were suited to stopping her explosive, leaping assault.
"What do I do? What on earth am I supposed to..."
As Gang-rang muttered to himself in the shadows of a dim alleyway, a figure slowly approached. A man clad in black robes, his face obscured by a deeply pulled-down bamboo hat, revealed himself. But Gang-rang was too deeply shaken to notice the approach.
Once the black-robed man closed the distance, he spoke first.
"Yeon Gang-rang, the eldest son of the Yeon Family."
"Who the hell are you?" Gang-rang demanded, his voice laced with panic.
Yet, the black-robed man remained completely unfazed by his hostile reception.
"You have no need to know who I am. What matters is that I can help you."
"Help me?"
Gang-rang stared at him with deep suspicion, but the man merely reached into his robes and pulled out a small wooden box.
"Surely, the proud eldest son of the Yeon Family cannot afford to lose to a runaway daughter."
"What do you know..."
"Does that matter? What matters is that I can give you exactly what you need right now."
He opened the box, revealing a pitch-black pill.
"That is..."
"With this, you can achieve your desires in an instant."
Gang-rang had never seen such a dark, ominous pill before, and a natural wariness flared within him.
"So, what is it?"
"Not interested? Then I shall take my leave."
The black-robed man snapped the box shut and turned to walk away. Panicking, Gang-rang hurriedly called out to him.
"W-wait! Hold on!"
The black-robed man glanced back slightly.
"Can that really... can it really make me defeat Yeon So-o?"
The man simply stared at him in silence. The silence only heightened Gang-rang's desperation. Finally, he stepped closer, practically begging.
"Fine, alright! I don't care what it is, just give it to me!"
Gang-rang snatched the box from the man's hand. Under normal circumstances, he wouldn't have spared a second glance at such a suspicious item. But the overwhelming anxiety and terror had paralyzed his reason, driving him to this reckless decision.
Leaving the desperate young man behind, the black-robed figure let out a low chuckle.
"You will need to spend at least half a day circulating your energy. It would be wise to consume it immediately."
With those parting words, the man slipped quietly out of the alley.
Gang-rang stood frozen in the shadows for a long time, staring intently at the black pill.
And all of this was being watched.
"My, my. What an entertaining turn of events."
A man in pristine white robes, Lee Hak, smiled behind his folding fan. He summoned his loyal, obedient servants—his jiangshis—and gave a quiet command.
"Three of you, tail that black-robed fellow. The other two, keep a close eye on Yeon Gang-rang."
The jiangshis moved instantly upon receiving the order. Melting seamlessly into the shadows, three of them stalked the black-robed man who had delivered the pill, while the remaining two kept their gaze fixed on Gang-rang from the darkness.
Watching this unfold, Biwol spoke in her usual deadpan voice.
"Wouldn't it be simpler to capture that black-robed man now and torture him?"
"That is certainly an option, but rats who scurry in the dark like him usually have special spiritual seals placed upon them. For instance, a curse that ends their life the moment they try to betray their comrades. It is far better to tail him quietly and locate their stronghold."
"Mmh. That makes sense. We used similar methods, after all."
Indeed, within the Blood Heaven Sect, any attempt to leak information or indirectly reveal their location triggered a curse that boiled the traitor's brain with intense heat. The excruciating agony of one's brain slowly cooking inside their skull served as the ultimate punishment for apostasy. With their optic nerves fried and ruptured, blood would stream from their eyes and ears—a sight so horrific it would leave even onlookers paralyzed with dread.
Knowing this better than anyone, Biwol found Lee Hak's reasoning highly persuasive.
When the black-robed man suddenly masked his presence and made a swift exit, the jiangshis followed him with silent, lethal speed. Judging by his movements, he hadn't noticed a thing. But that was only natural. Lee Hak's jiangshis were masters of stealth, virtually indistinguishable from ghosts. Even a master of sensory detection would fail to spot them unless they actively focused their energy to search the surroundings.
Lee Hak smiled faintly, then closed his eyes to share his jiangshis' vision.
"I shall observe through their eyes for a moment. Please guard my side."
"This seems like the perfect opportunity to finally kill you. You have always been quite irritating."
At Biwol's chillingly sharp response, a cold sweat broke out on Lee Hak's brow.
"Please, spare me such jokes. With a voice like yours, Biwol-nim, you really have no talent for humor."
"Did that sound like a joke to you?"
"Er... well, um..."
"It was indeed a joke. Did you truly take it so seriously?"
"Yes."
"Mmh. Ahem."
"You should either learn how to tell a proper joke or simply refrain from making them altogether, as you always have."
Feeling a bit awkward herself, Biwol cleared her throat and stood guard as requested.
Peering through his jiangshis' eyes, Lee Hak's lips curled into a twisted, amused smile as he murmured softly.
"It seems our black-robed friend belongs to the Demonic Cult."
"The Demonic Cult? Those wretched fanatics have infiltrated the Dragon and Phoenix Gathering?"
"Well, they spout nonsense about conquering the Central Plains every single day. There is nothing they wouldn't do."
It might have seemed hypocritical for Lee Hak—who harbored his own grand designs of painting the Central Plains in blood—to dismiss them so lightly. However, since they had already summoned the Blood God into the mortal realm, their own plans were far from mere delusion. Though the Demonic Cult possessed an absolute powerhouse in the Heavenly Demon, the scale of their threat paled in comparison to the Blood God, who possessed infinite life and could not be slain by any conventional means. No matter how strong the Heavenly Demon was, he was ultimately just a human. He had but a single life, which would eventually wither with the passage of time. That was the fundamental difference between him and Unwol. How could a mere mortal compare to an immortal, ageless god? To Lee Hak and Biwol, who served such a transcendent being, the Demonic Cult's ambitions were nothing short of laughable.
Lee Hak's twisted smile widened as he stared at the pitch-black pill in Gang-rang's hand.
"It is a Black Demon Pill. A medicine that rapidly grants a massive amount of demonic qi. The catch is that if an ordinary martial artist consumes it, their original internal energy will soon be corrupted and converted into demonic qi, turning them into a mindless demon within days. Though, looking at him, he does not seem to possess enough sanity left to care."
Indeed, to Gang-rang, the prospect of future physical ruin was far less terrifying than the thought of disappointing his father. Though fully grown physically, his mind remained stunted by the suffocating, abusive upbringing of his household. Drenched in cold sweat, he threw his head back and swallowed the Black Demon Pill.
"Oh dear. He went and did it."
Lee Hak snickered, watching the scene unfold. Biwol, hearing the report, spoke with quiet disdain.
"A fool incapable of basic judgment. In any case, he will soon face Yeon So-o, the martial artist Lord Unwol has taken an interest in. Shall we dispose of him now?"
Lee Hak shook his head in response.
"Whatever do you mean? This is the most perfect trial we could ask for. Lord Unwol clearly wishes to bring Yeon So-o to our side. To do that, she must become like us at her very core."
"You mean to turn that Jeomchang Sect disciple into a Blood Ghoul? She will resist fiercely."
"Everything depends on the circumstances. And the perfect stage is being set right before our eyes."
Watching Gang-rang slowly succumb to the encroaching demonic qi, Lee Hak spoke softly.
"Let us wait and see. A golden opportunity to turn that Jeomchang woman into a Blood Ghoul just like us has practically fallen into our laps."