Chapter 393: The Seeds of War are Sown
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 393: The Seeds of War are Sown
"Is there not a single lie in those words?"
"None! I want revenge! I want him to suffer!"
Ja So-ryeong raised her voice, her words laced with venomous spite.
"Then I shall ask you this," the man said, his tone turning grave. "Can you turn your back on the Orthodox Faction?"
"..."
Hearing his question, Ja So-ryeong clamped her mouth shut. It was a completely unexpected inquiry.
To turn her back on the Orthodox Faction? The Orthodox Faction was her very foundation, her identity. How could he ask her to abandon it?
"Are you... from the Demonic Cult?" she asked, her voice trembling.
"I am," the man replied flatly. "To get your revenge on Lee Jae-won, you must be prepared to forsake the Orthodox Faction. Can you do it?"
"...I... I can!"
Ja So-ryeong glared at the man, her eyes burning with malice. At this moment, the Orthodox Faction meant nothing to her. When she was at her lowest, it wasn't the "righteous" path that had reached out to her. It was this man.
As long as she could have her revenge, she didn't care if it was the Orthodox Faction or the Demonic Cult.
The man stared silently into her spiteful eyes.
"A fine look in your eyes."
A satisfied smile played on his lips as he met her gaze. With that level of resolve, he felt certain she wouldn't be a liability.
"Do not forget that mindset."
He nodded, his smile widening slightly. Then, he shrugged off his outer cloak and tossed it to her.
"Follow me."
Having thrown the cloak, he spoke indifferently.
"Wait! Please, untie these first!"
"Untie what? You are already free."
"What?"
Ja So-ryeong looked bewildered. She tentatively applied strength to her bound arms.
Crackle.
The shackles binding her wrists instantly crumbled into dust. She tried to pull her legs.
Crackle.
The shackles on her ankles turned to powder just the same.
"Ah... Ah..."
Staring at the surreal sight, she looked down at her limbs with a dazed expression.
"Ugh... Haaa... Sob..."
Soon, tears began to stream down her face. The realization that the things binding her had vanished in an instant filled her with overwhelming joy and emotion.
"We have no time to dally."
The indifferent voice cut through her sobbing.
"Thank you... Thank you... Truly... thank you."
The woman thanked him incessantly. She had long since given up hope of being rescued. This was the heart of the Cheonmu Alliance, where Lee Jae-won’s word was law. No one could defy him. Even if someone had discovered she was being sexually abused, they would have looked the other way. No one existed who could oppose Lee Jae-won.
"Save your gratitude. I didn't save you for free, anyway," the man said coldly.
"Anything... if you just give me a task... I will do anything..." Ja So-ryeong managed through her tears.
"Follow me for now. If we stay here, Lee Jae-won will catch us."
The man spoke without emotion and turned around.
"Ye-Yes!"
Ja So-ryeong hurriedly threw on the cloak and began to follow closely behind him.
"Um... what is your name?" she asked, her curiosity getting the better of her. She wanted to know the name of the bold demon who dared to defy Lee Jae-won and infiltrate the heart of the Cheonmu Alliance.
"I have no name," the man replied calmly. "I am merely a single blade."
"..."
Ja So-ryeong fell silent.
I suppose he doesn't want to reveal his real name.
She assumed he was reluctant to share his identity. Guessing his thoughts, she didn't press him further. She had no desire to go looking for trouble.
The middle-aged man and Ja So-ryeong began to make their way out of the basement. After some time had passed...
"Ah, I almost forgot."
Suddenly, as if remembering something, the man turned back and headed toward the basement again.
What?
Startled by his sudden movement, Ja So-ryeong watched his retreating back with a blank stare. A moment later, the man emerged from the basement and resumed his pace.
"...Why did you go back?"
"I forgot a gift."
The man grinned. Ja So-ryeong looked at him, unable to understand. What on earth did that mean?
*
"Tie the shells together~ hang them on her neck~ pull them nice and tight~ and strangle her to death~"
Lee Jae-won hummed a twisted version of a famous song as he walked. He had had a long, exhausting day, worn down by work and the nagging of his wives. He felt he needed some "healing."
A private kind of healing where he could trample, fuck, and beat someone to his heart's content to release his stress.
"Shall we go see our So-ryeong?"
A cruel smile spread across Lee Jae-won's face. Though she had lost her mind, her body and face were exactly to his taste. He was certain he would have a wonderful time today.
He walked with a light step. Before long, he reached the basement door and swung it open.
"Hey, you sow~ Master is here~"
He entered with a bright, innocent smile. But his expression instantly contorted. The basement was empty. Ja So-ryeong, who should have been firmly shackled by her limbs, was nowhere to be seen.
"What the—?!"
Panicked, Lee Jae-won scanned the room. But Ja So-ryeong was gone.
"What the fuck is this?!"
Lee Jae-won let out a piercing scream. He couldn't understand it. The location of this basement was a secret among secrets, hidden so no one could find it. He had even killed the laborers and the architect who built it to ensure total secrecy.
And yet, an intruder had broken in. An intruder so stealthy that even he, a master of the Profound Realm, hadn't sensed a thing. As his plans crumbled, an uncontrollable rage surged within him.
"Where did you go! You worthless rag!"
He was agitated—extremely so.
Thump, thump, thump, thump.
His heart began to race frantically. He gnawed at his lips, which were turning dry. A massive wave of anxiety washed over him.
She couldn't be allowed to live. She was a living witness to the countless female martial artists he had kidnapped, raped, and murdered. What if she revealed the truth to the world?
His hidden shame could be exposed. Of course, many wouldn't believe her, but it would be enough to plant a seed of doubt. And if that seed sprouted, his entire hypocritical life would be laid bare. The reputation he had built so solidly over twenty years could collapse in an instant.
"Dammit!"
BOOM!
Losing his temper, Lee Jae-won swung his arm. The wall crumbled instantly.
"That bitch! That bitch! That bitch!"
He flailed his arms wildly, causing the room to collapse and shatter around him. Though the basement was built sturdily, it couldn't withstand the fury of a man in the Profound Realm.
He vented his rage until the basement was half-destroyed before finally stopping.
I have to find her! I have to find her! I have to find her! I have to find her! I have to find her! I have to find her! I have to find her! I have to find her! I have to find her! I have to find her! I have to find her! I have to find her! I have to find her! I have to find her! I have to find her! I have to find her! I have to find her! I have to find her! I have to find her! I have to find her! I have to find her! I have to find her! I have to find her! I have to find her! I have to find her! I have to find her! I have to find her! I have to find her! I have to find her! I have to find her!
His eyes bloodshot, he muttered the words like a mantra. He had to find her.
Just as he was about to turn around, he noticed a square box placed neatly where she had been.
What's this?
Whirrr.
Using Remote Grasping, Lee Jae-won pulled the box toward him. He slowly opened it. Inside, there was a single letter.
[魔 - Demonic]
The letter bore only that single character. Upon seeing it, Lee Jae-won's face turned a deep, angry red.
"KRAAAAAAAAGH!!!!!!!!"
He let out a monstrous roar. He had realized the identity of the culprit who had broken into his basement and kidnapped Ja So-ryeong.
The King of Demons.
The heaven-defying being who transcended life and death.
The devil who held the power of immortality.
The Heavenly Demon.
"HEAVENLY DEMOOOOOON!"
Lee Jae-won screamed, his eyes bloodshot. An unbearable, titanic rage surged within him. Even when the Tang Clan had been half-destroyed, he hadn't felt such a great sense of crisis. He had thought it was merely the remnants of the cult rising up.
But now that he had suffered a direct hit, a sense of crisis accompanied his uncontrollable fury.
He had been resurrected. The Heavenly Demon. The monster he had turned into a handful of bloody mist during the Great War of Righteousness and Demons.
I have to kill him!
He thought to himself. He had to kill that monster bastard. His worst weakness, hidden for twenty years, had been seized by his mortal enemy.
He had to eliminate her—Ja So-ryeong, the evidence they had taken.
"Fuck, I should have killed her sooner!"
Lee Jae-won shouted in regret. If he had just killed her earlier, this troublesome situation wouldn't have happened.
"That piece of shit dares to touch me?"
Lee Jae-won grimaced. If possible, he had wanted to avoid a full-scale war with the Demonic Cult. He was currently profiting quite well from policies that exploited the fear of the cult. As long as they stayed quiet, he had no intention of provoking them. He felt they were serving their role as a necessary evil perfectly.
But infiltrating his inner sanctum and kidnapping Ja So-ryeong was crossing the line. It crossed the line of his patience.
Who was he? He was the Alliance Leader of the Cheonmu Alliance, the strongest power in the Murim and the world's greatest martial artist. The Heavenly Demon had sneaked into the very place where he resided and stolen his plaything. How could he tolerate such a thing?
Once becomes twice, and twice becomes thrice. If he let this slide and settled it half-heartedly, they would do it again, and in the worst-case scenario, his hypocrisy would be exposed.
Uproot the evil. He had to eliminate them down to the very roots. He had to exterminate the dogs who dared to oppose him.
It's war!
A bloody light began to shimmer in Lee Jae-won's eyes.
*
A horrific murder occurred within the Cheonmu Alliance.
A man was found with his limbs severed and his genitals crushed. The victim was the Blue Water Sword Hero Gal Mu-ryang, the Vice Hall Master of the White Tiger Hall, who was widely respected for his high virtue.
The conclusion was reached that the culprit was Ja So-ryeong, a member of the Phoenix Hall who had vanished a few days prior, having seduced and brutally murdered him.
The news left many in shock. Who was the Blue Water Sword Hero Gal Mu-ryang? Though he hadn't performed any flashy feats, he was a young hero who had warmed everyone's hearts with his constant chivalry and righteous words. How could such a man be murdered so brutally?
Many questioned his death. No matter how off-guard he was, how could Gal Mu-ryang, who held the position of Vice Hall Master of the White Tiger Hall, fall to a mere Phoenix Hall member like Ja So-ryeong?
As these doubts lingered, another rumor began to circulate. It was said that Ja So-ryeong, who murdered Gal Mu-ryang, was actually a spy for the Demonic Cult. This was because a massive amount of Demonic Energy had been discovered in the murdered Gal Mu-ryang's body.
The public was horrified. They believed the demons of the Demonic Cult had launched a direct challenge against the Cheonmu Alliance. Until now, the Demonic Cult had only passively pressured the Orthodox sects by picking them off one by one. But now, they had infiltrated the heart of the Cheonmu Alliance and killed a key figure like Gal Mu-ryang.
It was a provocation—a provocation so severe that it wouldn't be strange if war broke out immediately.
At first, people doubted the truth of the rumors. They thought that even the Demonic Cult wouldn't be so reckless as to directly provoke the Cheonmu Alliance. However, after seeing the actions of the Cheonmu Alliance Leader, Lee Jae-won, they realized the rumors were true.
Lee Jae-won had sent simultaneous official notices to every Orthodox sect in the Murim. The notice declared Ja So-ryeong, the murderer of the Blue Water Sword Hero Gal Mu-ryang, a Public Enemy of the Murim. The reason given was that, as a spy for the Demonic Cult, she had stolen numerous secret documents and security files from the Cheonmu Alliance and brutally murdered the respected Blue Water Sword Hero Gal Mu-ryang.
The sects that received the notice informed their disciples, and soon the truth about Ja So-ryeong spread far and wide across the Murim. She was instantly branded the worst villainess in the history of the Murim, and her family was exterminated by Lee Jae-won's hand. The charge was collusion with the Demonic Cult.
Following this incident, the martial artists of the Cheonmu Alliance developed a massive backlash against the Demonic Cult, which eventually escalated into pure hatred.
Lee Jae-won watched the martial artists of the Cheonmu Alliance, soothing them while smiling inwardly. He believed everything was proceeding exactly according to plan.