Third Elder's Shadow Deal
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Successor: Jongchil 28
The Third Elder was tending to his bonsai trees as usual. With a leisurely expression, he moved leisurely, enjoying his hobby at a leisurely pace.
He could read the world without even trying. It wasn't some mystical sorcery. His eyes and ears were spread across the entire Central Plains.
Shh!
A man in black assassin garb knelt before him. But the Third Elder didn't even turn his head. This was routine, so the assassin spoke up without hesitation.
"The Namgung family's senior elder has come to call."
"Looks like things didn't go his way in the Yongho Contest."
"Shall I send him away?"
"No. I'll meet him myself."
He set down his bonsai shears and rose from his seat. A faint smile played on his lips, making him look like a kindly old village grandfather. But everyone who knew his true nature despised him.
The Third Elder brushed past the motionless assassin, head bowed low.
The lodging he used temporarily while staying in Hanan was a tiled house with a modest manor attached. It had once belonged to some high-ranking official, and it possessed the dignity befitting such a place.
Entering the reception room, he saw Namgung Jigon already waiting. Even without mind-reading eyes, it was clear the man was in a foul mood.
The Third Elder ignored it, keeping his smile firmly in place. He sat down opposite Namgung Jigon.
Orthodox sects and the Demonic Cult.
Two groups running parallel lines, never converging—more mismatched than even the unorthodox sects. The Demonic Cult's logic always pointed in the exact opposite direction of the hypocritical ideals cherished by the orthodox factions.
For a senior elder of the Namgung family—one of the great pillars of the orthodox world—to meet with a Demonic Cult elder, the atmosphere was far too quiet.
Of course, it wasn't cordial. Namgung Jigon's face plainly showed his intent to grill the Third Elder.
"What brings you here?"
Bam!
At the Third Elder's leisurely smile and nonchalant words, Namgung Jigon slammed the table in fury. It was grossly rude, but he didn't care a whit.
"This is a breach of contract!"
"Breach of contract? I have no idea what you're talking about."
"You already know! I'm talking about the Yongho Contest results today! A man like you, gathering every scrap of gossip by day and night like some bird or rat—how could you not know?!"
"Ah. You mean how Young Master Namgung Ho fell to some nameless fist fighter. Oh, wait—not so nameless anymore?"
The Third Elder's voice remained utterly relaxed. And that only grated on Namgung Jigon's nerves.
"Ho definitely used the Sahaedan you gave him! And yet he lost to some rootless fist fighter! If that's not cheating, then what the hell is it?!"
With every outburst of Namgung Jigon's rage, his voice boomed through the reception room like thunder from gathering storm clouds. The servants bringing tea went pale as ghosts.
But the Third Elder, facing that fury head-on, showed not a flicker of change in his expression. The smile on his lips didn't waver in the slightest. It was a glimpse into their respective strengths.
"Looks like the elder pushed him hard. The Sahaedan isn't some miraculous elixir that guarantees victory in a duel. It merely boosts the user's internal energy."
"I'm not here to play word games with you! Who doesn't know the Sahaedan enhances internal energy by half a gajin? What are you trying to say? That Ho lost even after gaining half a gajin of power?"
The Third Elder smiled thinly in response.
"You watched the match yourself. Wouldn't you know better?"
"Damn it...! No matter how skilled this Jongchil bastard is, he couldn't be that good! Are you saying he's already surpassed peak later-stage realm?!"
"Seems the elder's been holed up in the family elders' quarters too long and lost touch with the Central Plains. Ever since the world became a hotbed of opportunity, smashing mortal common sense has been an everyday occurrence. I wouldn't bat an eye if some nameless farmer tilling his fields yesterday became the Martial Alliance Leader tomorrow."
Namgung Jigon felt his arguments growing feeble.
In truth, he'd sensed it instinctively. This Jongchil's skill far outstripped Namgung Ho's. Even with the shortcut of the Sahaedan, Ho couldn't keep up in the race. And that meant...
'Even Hyeok couldn't beat him. No. The grand prize, the Noeryeong Dan, must belong to the Namgung family!'
The current Namgung family was a step removed from its glorious peak. Even its undisputed title as the eldest of the Five Great Families was starting to feel precarious.
The fiercely rising Pang family and the quietly building strength of the Mo Yong family were eyeing the top spot. The highest throne always attracts challengers.
To decisively crush rivals, they needed an absolute powerhouse. And to forge such an absolute being, they needed the Noeryeong Dan. It synergized perfectly with the Namgung family.
'With that, whether Ho or Hyeok, we can surpass the other families. We can't let it slip away!'
He'd sworn it countless times before the Yongho Contest even began.
The Third Elder smiled slyly. Unlike his feigned smiles earlier, this one held genuine amusement. The venomous desire gleaming in Namgung Jigon's eyes looked so out of place on an orthodox sect member.
"There was no issue with the Sahaedan I provided. But it's heartbreaking to watch a business associate in distress. If you need a favor out of righteousness, just say the word. As long as our contract holds, I'll aid the Namgung family."
"Pretty words!"
"Hey, we all help each other out, right? It's a trifle compared to the Noeryeong Divine Step you provided."
Noeryeong Divine Step (雷靈神步)
The Namgung family's supreme movement technique, one of their signature martial arts.
Namgung Jigon had sold the Noeryeong Divine Step to the Demonic Cult. He hadn't told the family. They would have opposed it en masse.
Teaming up with the Namgung family had been his unilateral decision from the start. All for the Noeryeong Dan. And in turn, it was for the family's benefit.
"Jongchil. Eliminate him."
A curt order. Jongchil was the biggest obstacle to the Namgung family's victory in the Yongho Contest.
"Oh ho. Is that all? You must have high hopes for your second son."
"And give me more Sahaedan. This time, I'll test its performance myself."
"As you wish."
The black-clad assassin appeared from thin air, placing a small wooden box on the table.
Namgung Jigon cautiously opened it. Inside lay one black pill and one red pill. The red one was the Sahaedan—he knew it well. But the black one?
As Namgung Jigon wondered, the Third Elder chuckled.
"That's the Heuk Hyeol Dan. A variant of the Sahaedan. It grants a full gajin of internal energy boost in an instant."
A full gajin of internal energy enhancement.
An unbelievable figure. Temporary or not, a full gajin rivaled the Shaolin Temple's Great Return Pill.
"What's the side effect?"
"It exhausts all your primal vital energy."
Namgung Jigon let out a hollow laugh at the Third Elder's words. For a martial artist, exhausting all primal vital energy was tantamount to death. The Heuk Hyeol Dan was a poison that traded life for a gajin's worth of power.
"I don't need something like this."
"It might come in handy. Consider it a small token of goodwill. Toss it if you don't want it."
Namgung Jigon carefully tucked the pill box into his bosom.
"Kill Jongchil for certain."
"Kill him...? That might be worth watching unfold."
"What? Didn't you just say you'd grant my request?!"
"You asked me to eliminate him, not kill him. Sending off a talented prospect so hastily would be a shame, wouldn't it? I'd rather recruit him into our Demonic Cult."
"Hmph... Well, as long as he can't compete in the Yongho Contest."
"Don't worry about that."
With the conversation over, Namgung Jigon rose immediately.
He still didn't trust the Demonic Cult. That's why he said no more than necessary. They were just using each other.
Once Namgung Jigon left, the Third Elder tapped the table with his finger, lost in thought. He had much to ponder. Most importantly, checking Demon Lord Ma Ro.
His top priority was seizing control of the Demonic Cult. For that, his chosen successor had to become the next Cult Leader. Ma Ro wasn't that successor.
"Jongchil, eh. If there's a talent like that, things could get even easier."
Coming to Hanan was yielding quite the haul. The Present Demon Group, and now talent too.
*-*-*
I'd taken down Namgung Ho. The look on Mo Se-young's face as she came to find me went beyond mere shock—it was utter bewilderment.
"Hey! You bastard! You were hiding your strength! Since when?!"
I'd defeated Namgung Ho, the eldest son of the Namgung family. In the current Yongho Contest, I was the hottest thing going. I'd even earned myself a nickname.
"Fuck! You were hiding it even back when you were just a servant at our Fairy Sect?! Ha! Unbelievable. Were you spying to steal our sect's martial arts?!"
"Nothing of the sort. As I said before, I had a stroke of fortune."
"Even a stroke of fortune doesn't explain this! You beat Young Master Namgung Ho! He's no one I can afford to underestimate either!"
"Haha. More importantly, how's this feel?"
Mo Se-young was getting a massage from me. I'd slipped a finger into her anus, hooked it, and was gently scraping the walls.
Not scraping hard—just teasing. The pudendal nerves in her anus heightened her sensations.
"Hngh~♬ Don't change the subject...! Shit! Feels so damn good!"
"Young Hero Jong. Do you know what people are calling you? Thousand Hands and Feet! They say when you unleash your fist and leg techniques, it looks like you have a thousand hands and feet—that's how they named it!"
Yeon Muk was getting massaged right beside Mo Se-young. Her vibe was completely different from when I'd fucked her as the Twin Black Lust Demon. No trace of that viciousness—just pure vibrancy.
'Wasn't Yeon Muk supposed to be a bit arrogant? She doesn't feel that way around me.'
She saw me as special. I'd confirmed it for sure when threatening her as the Twin Black Lust Demon.
Anyway, Thousand Hands and Feet as my nickname? Honestly, not as cool as I'd hoped. But getting a nickname at all was a good sign. It meant my fame was spreading!
I finished massaging Mo Se-young and Yeon Muk, then sent them off with the excuse of solo training. Today was my meetup with Ma Ro. We'd agreed to regular check-ins.
'Gotta keep hustling so Ma Ro can take over the Demonic Cult.'
That way, it'd be mine too.
Ma Ro's immediate foe was the Third Elder. No pushover.