Chapter 246
Chapter 246
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 246
Chapter Title: Cultivator's Mountain (20)
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Kang Si-chan's brow furrowed slightly at the unexpected reply.
Is that all?
No one ignorant of the Nine Great Clans' prestige would dare say such a thing.
And yet, he was haggling over an offer Kang Si-chan himself had personally delivered, treating it like a deal with some roadside merchant.
"You insolent brat..."
"Do you even know who you're speaking to?"
The two Protectors unleashed their auras.
The sand and pebbles on the ground floated into the air, trembling violently.
A clear sign of their exceptional inner energy and martial prowess.
They weren't ordinary warriors; they were elite bodyguards tasked with protecting VIPs.
Any average Arhat would normally shrink back, quivering, under such pressure.
Thud!
As Chiwoo took a single step forward, the floating sand and pebbles settled back to the ground.
He had instantly suppressed their auras.
"..."
Chiwoo said nothing.
He simply dominated the scene in silence.
A glint of interest sparked in Kang Si-chan's eyes.
'Climbing the tower wasn't just luck, then.'
It was the skill worthy of someone who had reached the 73rd floor against the Demon Kangshi.
Even so, these two Protectors were top-tier experts within their clan.
They could easily handle mid-tier Arhats.
Yet he had neutralized—and overpowered—their auras.
More than that, it felt like the presence of a wild beast.
Those eyes, that aura—everything evoked the image of a king among beasts.
"What do you want?"
Kang Si-chan cut straight to the point.
At any rate, it seemed certain that Chiwoo had witnessed the "Demon Kangshi."
Of course, the blame for creating the demonic kangshi had fallen on Anton, but Chiwoo hadn't breathed a word of what he'd seen to anyone.
Moreover, despite hailing from the Secret Realm, he hadn't set foot in the "Sanctuary of Swords," where such talents were expected to go.
In other words...
Didn't that mean he wanted something from the Kangshi Sect?
Perhaps even to join them.
That was why Kang Si-chan had made such an extravagant offer.
A talent surpassing Arisa was worth recruiting.
His Secret Realm origins were a slight concern, but he'd make a fine disposable pawn.
Park Chan-woo responded.
"I don't think it's my place to bring it up."
"You don't want anything specific?"
"Keeping quiet about what I saw in the Mysterious Tower for such a paltry reward."
"Hmm..."
Paltry, he says.
Countless Arhats dreamed of joining the Kangshi Sect.
They'd abandon everything for the chance.
But the real issue was what this guy had seen.
If it was just the "Demon Kangshi," talking wouldn't matter anyway.
With Anton pinned as the culprit, it had nothing to do with the sect.
The problem was the kangshi made into a "Demon Lord."
Had he seen that?
If so, what had he done about it?
The Mysterious Tower had vanished before they could even recover it.
It had evaporated, as they say.
"What did you see inside?"
He probed casually.
He was genuinely curious what the man would claim to have witnessed.
But Park Chan-woo merely smiled enigmatically.
"You'd know better than I would."
"If you're talking about Anton's blunder..."
"If that was all it was, the sect's next-in-line successor wouldn't have come here in person."
Kang Si-chan had stepped in himself because something bigger was at stake.
The reason he'd descended to the Mysterious Tower was undoubtedly the "Creator of the Cradle."
But he didn't mention it outright.
He wanted to gauge the reaction.
"Did Anton commit an even greater mistake?"
"Not a mistake. He left behind a massive footprint."
Park Chan-woo pulled a box from his inventory.
A pristine white "Box of Patience," utterly unadorned.
The reward for clearing the 150th floor of the Mysterious Tower.
"Hm...? What's in that box?"
But Kang Si-chan feigned complete ignorance of it.
He had no choice.
Park Chan-woo himself had never seen this type before, so why would Kang Si-chan?
Pulling it out now was pure bait.
"Anton left a clue to his mistake inside this box."
"Don't tell me... his research journal?"
"It contains everything I witnessed while climbing the tower."
"...Anton made a grave error."
Kang Si-chan's expression hardened.
Park Chan-woo smirked inwardly.
Just as expected.
Why else would Kang Si-chan linger around the vanished Mysterious Tower and seek him out with a recruitment offer?
The Demon Lord kangshi had been destroyed.
Along with the tower.
Yet he'd come recruiting out of unease.
'To recover Anton's research journal, just in case it survived.'
He'd confessed it himself.
To seal lips and uncover any leads on the potential journal.
Park Chan-woo stowed the box back in his inventory.
For a split second, killing intent flashed in Kang Si-chan's eyes.
'Murder and cover-up...'
The simplest way: kill him, silence him, destroy the evidence.
But Park Chan-woo and Chiwoo were under too much scrutiny.
Eyes were watching them even now.
The barrier of qi blocked any leaks, but killing them undetected in this situation would be tricky.
Besides... their strength was unreadable.
He didn't think they were stronger than him, but Chiwoo's power seemed genuine.
A "quiet" kill was impossible.
Especially with Arisa and the Secret Realm folks unlikely to stay idle.
Noise was inevitable, and rumors could twist the truth.
"What do you want in exchange for that journal?"
Kang Si-chan asked after weighing his options.
Park Chan-woo replied instantly.
"I told you already."
"Have me fetch whatever you desire?"
"Glad we understand each other."
"...Hah."
What kind of ridiculous punk was this?
First time in his life being treated like this.
'Secret Realm trash like this.'
Rotten to the core.
Entertaining him from the start had been a mistake.
Should've crushed him like Arisa.
Still time to do it now?
'The Patriarch wants this handled quietly.'
...The problem was the Patriarch.
The clan head.
Defying him was impossible.
He wanted this mess swept under the rug as "Anton's mistake."
If Kang Si-chan acted on his own and caused a scene...
'Excommunication.'
No matter how favored he was as the next successor, he'd be purged.
Turned into a kangshi with his own corpse, probably.
That was the Patriarch.
A cold-blooded monster without blood or tears.
And someone else would eagerly claim his spot.
He hadn't clawed his way here to watch that happen.
"I'll come back tomorrow."
With that, Kang Si-chan turned and left.
The Protectors followed.
Once they were gone, Chiwoo spoke.
"Did you really secure the research journal, sir?"
"As if."
"...You were probing, then."
"Now we know the Kangshi Sect still hasn't found Anton's research journal. Good intel."
"If they do find it by some chance, things could get messy."
"Then we'll find it first."
"Pardon?"
"The journal is Anton's last lifeline. He won't reveal its location unless we force him."
Thanks to Kang Si-chan, they were certain the journal existed.
Anton undoubtedly knew where it was.
That they hadn't found it yet proved his lips were sealed.
In other words...
The journal was out there.
Every detail of creating and modifying the Demon Lord kangshi, meticulously recorded.
Therefore...
"...I'll go retrieve Anton, then."
"That'd be ideal."
Rescuing Anton and securing the journal was the best outcome.
But they didn't know where he was held.
Even if they did, it wouldn't be easy.
"Time to get back to my old trade."
Chiwoo chuckled.
He'd hung up his assassin's mantle for a swordsman's path, but he was still the ultimate killer.
Specialized in silent executions.
He bowed his head.
"Won't take long."
Exactly six hours later.
Bound and broken before Park Chan-woo's eyes was Anton, reduced to a wreck.
Park Chan-woo himself was stunned.
He hadn't dreamed Chiwoo could rescue him in under half a day.
"How'd you find him?"
"Tailed Kang Si-chan. As expected, he headed straight to Anton. Waited for the right moment and snatched him."
Easy to say.
But pulling it off in their ironclad security? In just six hours?
Flawlessly.
'...The world's greatest assassin.'
Park Chan-woo was awestruck.
No assassin from his past memories could compare to Chiwoo.
The surprises didn't end there.
"Oh, and here. The research journal."
"..."
Chiwoo handed it over casually.
Not just Anton—he'd nabbed the journal too.
Meaning he'd extracted it from Anton even faster.
"...How?"
"Used about five interrogation techniques, and he spilled everything."
"Explains his state."
"He'll be out of it for a while. Shall I finish him?"
Back in his element, Chiwoo seemed thrilled.
With the journal secured, Anton was expendable.
Cleaning up was safer, as they say.
Then—
"P-Ple...ase... spare..."
"...Impressive will to live."
"Sp-Spare me... and I'll tell you some... thing huge..."
"Probably nonsense."
Desperate lies for survival.
Park Chan-woo shrugged.
"Let's hear it."
"Th-There's... a Demon King's corpse!"
"...A Demon King's corpse?"
"Y-Yes...! Far beyond any 'Creator of the Cradle'—a Demon King's corpse hidden in the Kangshi Sect!"