Chapter 37
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 37
Chapter Title: Invitation to the Demon Dragon Academy
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I parted ways with my comrades and followed the man from the Demon Dragon Academy alone.
The place he led me to was the shore of a lake, sparsely populated by people.
There, a ferryboat prettily adorned was moored.
Aboard the ferry were three men and two women, drinking even in broad daylight.
'Partying on a boat and boozing in the middle of the day? Those bastards have really let themselves go.'
The man from the Demon Dragon Academy called out to one of them.
"Ja-cheon, I've brought him."
The one called Ja-cheon, who had been blowing into a liquor bottle, wiped his mouth with his sleeve and spoke.
"So you're Hwang Tae-seong, the one who challenged the Dragon Academy?"
"That's right."
"Hm, you've got a solid build. Do you train external arts separately?"
"Yes."
"As expected of an evil sect training method."
"Why did you want to see me?"
"I heard you beat the son of the Overlord Sect's family head during the Dragon Academy entrance exam. Is that true?"
"There was some mutt barking in the exam hall, so I taught it some manners."
A hush fell for a moment, and then Ja-cheon burst into roaring laughter.
"Wahahahahaha!"
His laughter carried considerable inner power.
"A dog... kekekeke. What a spot-on description. Well, that punk is a son of a bitch, after all."
Judging by how much he liked it, there seemed to be deep bad blood between him, the Overlord Sect, and their clan.
Once he stopped laughing, he tossed the liquor bottle he held toward me.
"Here! Catch."
I caught the bottle lightly and downed the liquor without hesitation.
There were too many eyes at the Blue Moon Pavilion for me to indulge, but here, there was no need to hold back.
Gulp, gulp, gulp—
"Kya~."
As expected of the young masters from wealthy families—the booze they drank was top-shelf.
It wasn't even comparable to the cheap gaoliang liquor I'd swigged back in my Luoyang sub-branch days.
I handed the now-empty bottle back to the guy in a flash.
He shook the empty bottle a few times after taking it, then tossed it behind him.
Then, in a grave tone, he said,
"Come to the Demon Dragon Academy."
"What?"
"I like you. So walk the path of the evil sects starting now."
"......"
It felt like getting confessed to by a guy—not exactly a pleasant sensation.
I stared indifferently at Ja-cheon, who didn't hesitate to say even embarrassing things, then glanced at the man beside him.
A pale-faced man.
Undoubtedly, the fifth disciple of the Heavenly Demon that Sa-ma-ryang had mentioned.
The Heavenly Demon's disciple watched us like we were a play unfolding before him.
Skilled at masking his expressions, he showed no hostility.
'I wonder if he'd keep that face if he knew I'm Master Shadow's disciple.'
Thinking of my master brought Baek Yi-ho to mind.
And with that, the suppressed killing intent I'd buried deep welled up unbidden.
The rational restraints on my thirst for vengeance had snapped open its eyes.
To hide my hostility, I hurriedly circulated the Blood Net Immovable Heart Technique.
It was a Demonic Cult heart method that kept the mind unshaken no matter the circumstance.
A must-learn for Shadow Squad assassins.
With my spirit settled, I looked at his face again and committed it to memory.
The man beside him was said to be the cult leader's grandson.
But his expression didn't look bright—like he was being forcibly detained here.
His face was fairly handsome, though a bit bland.
Ja-cheon pressed me for an answer as I surveyed them.
"What's your answer?"
Of course, my answer was already decided.
"What if I say no?"
"No...? That's completely unexpected."
At my refusal, Ja-cheon's face turned icy cold in an instant, like a mask changing.
"I thought you'd accept. What's the reason?"
I couldn't very well say "I hate the Demonic Cult" in front of Demonic Cultists, so I had nothing particular to say.
So I just pushed forward boldly.
"Why should I?"
"Then maybe I'd have a reason to let you live and think it over?"
At that, I couldn't help but snort with laughter.
"Pfft!"
Watching this snot-nosed brat puff himself up, my laughter escaped despite myself.
At my reaction, Ja-cheon's face grew even colder.
"Did you just laugh at me?"
I ignored his laughable threat and said,
"What if I still won't tell you?"
"Then you're my enemy. No—the enemy of the hundred thousand evil sect warriors."
"Doesn't matter to me."
Well, fate had it we'd end up enemies anyway.
Especially since my target was the Demonic Cult, the heavens of the evil sects.
So there was no need to bow to them.
I just wanted to kill them all right here.
But slaughtering them now would make me the top target for elimination by the evil sects and Demonic Cult.
Even if I'd become a transcendent master in record time with Master's help, this world crawled with experts stronger than me.
Just take Baek Si-ho, the Demon Dragon Academy's chief instructor I'd met earlier—with a head-on clash, I couldn't guarantee victory.
Our inner power might be comparable, but in experience, I'd be no match.
He'd been dominating the martial world before I was even born.
And he was just one of many such figures.
As a lone wolf marked by the Demonic Cult, even I would struggle to survive.
So not now.
With nothing fully honed yet, I had to hold back for the time being.
'Killing them can wait. Plenty of opportunities ahead.'
But even with my generosity, Un Ja-cheon struck first with killing intent.
"Insolent fool! Die!"
He unleashed a ferocious palm strike in an instant.
It was the Rock Shattering Palm, the signature ultimate technique of the Evil Alliance Leader.
As a martial art from the Saheukryeon—hailed as the pinnacle of evil sects—its power rivaled even the famed orthodox schools' techniques.
But I didn't panic.
I had an excellent shield right beside me.
A human shield, to be precise.
The neck of the Demon Dragon Academy man, who had tried to dodge urgently, was suddenly in my grasp.
His eyes bulged out in shock.
"Gasp! When?!"
Unaware of how he'd been subdued, he took Un Ja-cheon's Rock Shattering Palm full-force with his body.
Boooom!
"Kweeeek!"
The shield performed admirably.
I casually tossed aside the bloodied meat shield.
And stared at him impassively.
His ambush attack stirred not a shred of anger in me. Just ridicule.
Un Ja-cheon, son of the Evil Alliance Leader, swallowed his shock inwardly.
He'd expected the guy who beat the Overlord Sect heir to be something special, but he never dreamed he'd subdue Ja-wol with one hand and use him as a human shield.
Ja-wol was one of the top experts at the Demon Dragon Academy, after all.
Handling such a man like a child... Un Ja-cheon could only be astonished.
And those eyes—definitely not the eyes of someone fearing him.
It was a gaze utterly foreign to Un Ja-cheon, who had lived basking in the awe of underlings.
Un Ja-cheon's gaze toward Hwang Tae-seong turned even icier.
'I held back to just show superiority in strength, but now I really want to kill him.'
Un Ja-cheon licked his lips.
The cult leader's grandson, knowing well what that meant, shook his head at him.
The Heavenly Demon's fifth disciple, in contrast, looked faintly excited.
Now, a festival of blood would unfold here.
Whenever Un Ja-cheon licked his lips like that, it always ended that way.
But the scene the Heavenly Demon's disciple anticipated didn't come to pass.
Thanks to an uninvited guest.
"What do you bastards think you're doing?"
Baek Si-ho, chief instructor of the Demon Dragon Academy, appeared.
Un Ja-cheon's face twisted in irritation the moment he saw Baek Si-ho.
A slightly slurred tone slipped from his mouth.
"What brings the chief instructor to this backwater?"
"How could I not come when you lot drag an Imperial Palace Martial Academy cadet to a secluded spot?"
Baek Si-ho's eyes turned to Ja-wol, sprawled on the ground foaming at the mouth.
"Who did that to him? I clearly warned you lot."
As his expression chilled, the very air seemed to cool.
No—a real bone-chilling cold swept in.
To alter the surrounding temperature with his mood alone—his prowess was truly extraordinary.
At his shifted aura, Un Ja-cheon hastily straightened his slouched posture and pointed at Tae-seong.
"That Imperial Palace Martial Academy punk did it!"
Baek Si-ho shook his head at Un Ja-cheon, looking like he had a headache.
Then he examined the unconscious Ja-wol.
"Severe internal injuries. He'll be shitting blood in bed for at least a month."
Recognizing at a glance the technique that left the handprint on Ja-wol's chest, Baek Si-ho glared steadily at Un Ja-cheon.
Un Ja-cheon pretended not to notice.
Baek Si-ho grumbled at him in a complaining tone.
"How is it you don't resemble Alliance Leader even a little?"
The current Evil Alliance Leader, Un Jeong-cheon, was famed in the demonic martial world for his cold composure.
The saying "tiger father, dog son" didn't just apply to the Overlord Sect's Cheon-sim-dan, it seemed.
After scolding Un Ja-cheon, Baek Si-ho turned to Hwang Tae-seong.
"You can go now."
Never had an order to leave felt so welcome.
"Then I'll be off."
Hwang Tae-seong gave him a light fist salute and turned toward the gathering point.
Not forgetting to shoot a murderous glare at the Heavenly Demon's disciple.
The disciple looked at Hwang Tae-seong with the expression of someone beholding a curious creature.
As soon as I appeared at the gathering spot, my anxious comrades swarmed me.
Everyone's faces screamed with mountains of questions.
Yang Cho-gun asked first.
"You alright?"
"Of course."
"What did they say? Did they try anything?"
"Told me to come to the Demon Dragon Academy."
"Who? That Evil Alliance Leader's son?"
"Yeah."
"And what'd you say? You going?"
"Naturally, I refused."
"Refused? For real?"
At my answer, Yang Cho-gun and the others' eyes went wide.
"So they just let you go, no problem?"
"No, he called me insolent and threw a palm strike out of nowhere."
"A—a palm strike?"
"Have you ever seen such a lunatic? Then what? You okay? Not hurt?"
"If I were hurt, I wouldn't be here."
"R-right, yeah. Thank goodness."