Chapter 265
Chapter 265
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Translator: penny
Chapter Title: Leaving the Hall (2)
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Nangong Yun-ho collapsed in a ragged state, and silence fell over the training hall.
"I was just about to get a proper feel for it, but I held back."
"Instructor? How did you do that?"
Jegal Tan, who had the weakest understanding of swordsmanship, couldn't figure out how the instructor had turned Nangong Yun-ho into a rag doll.
"It's nothing special. When a sword's variations reach their peak, eventually the forms themselves lose all meaning. You don't truly get it until you've experienced it firsthand."
"Instructor. Isn't that the realm of Ten Thousand Streams Return to the Source?"
Ten Thousand Streams Return to the Source.
- All ten thousand paths of study converge into one origin, so to the one who grasps that origin, first-rate martial arts and third-rate ones feel no different.
The supreme realm said to be attained only by legendary masters of the martial world.
It was only possible by ascending to the divine calculation realm that reigns at the pinnacle of martial arts and pierces through all things.
"Ten Thousand Streams? Even for you, Instructor..."
"Shut your trap, you little shit. Don't spout fancy words in front of me."
His response to their shock was a barrage of curses.
"In conclusion, it doesn't matter what martial art you learn. The key is to eat everything—hot or cold—until you reach mastery, without discrimination."
"...Ugh."
"Whether it's Imperial Swordsmanship or whatever, learn it all. From third-rate arts to advanced ones, absorb as much as possible. Chew it over, discard what's useless, and eventually, another realm will reveal itself."
"...Learn it, then discard it."
"Class dismissed."
Thwack!
Nangong Yun-ho, who had been twitching on the floor, lost consciousness from a kick.
Gulp.
The three students fell silent at the instructor's unusually savage display today.
But today's instructor showed no sign of stopping there.
"While we're at it, how about we check everyone's skills?"
Crack.
The instructor said, cracking his knuckles.
"It's been a while since class. Give it your all. Or else."
- You might not see tomorrow's sun.
The three trembled in fear.
***
"Hum~ hum!"
As he walked along humming a tune, a sound transmission reached him.
[My lord. Are you enjoying yourself?]
[The young ones have grown quite a bit.]
At first, the kids had floundered even at simple strikes, but now they could even counterattack decently.
It was an unbelievable leap in just a year.
As an instructor, he felt a surge of emotion.
[Anyway, what's up?]
[Word from Wind Guest.]
[Wind Guest?]
[He says he can no longer delay the operation.]
[Sounds like he's really cornered.]
Wind Guest had vowed to prevent the Blood Cult from erecting the Altar of Myriad Heavenly Demise at any cost.
'But even Wind Guest can't defy Gu Il-so forever.'
According to him, the current cult leader Gu Il-so had mastered every demonic art of the Blood Cult.
'Including some I myself gave up on.'
Especially noteworthy was the Ultimate Demonic Blood Divine Art.
Rumor had it that upon great accomplishment, the body twists and reconstructs into the optimal form for unleashing all demonic arts.
However, it was so difficult and dangerous that even he had abandoned it.
'Even with the Golden Bell's protective power, it's no simple matter.'
Enduring the agony of the body shattering and reforming countless times meant Gu Il-so was no longer the man he once knew.
'Most likely, he's grown beyond even Wind Guest's ability to handle.'
A madman who had cultivated the impossible demonic art—what a troublesome foe.
[It's about time we moved too.]
With Wind Guest at his limit, time was on Gu Il-so's side.
[Any other news?]
[A reply from the Sword Demon just recently.]
Chu Un-hwi's lip twitched.
And understandably so.
- Shura Sword Demon Wi Ji-geuk.
If the Demonic Cult had four great elders to support their leader, the Blood Cult had six great protectors to check theirs.
A swordsmanship master renowned even in the Blood Cult as a boneless genius for wielding his blade like a ghost.
'Also, the third Dark Soul Black Wind Killer.'
The very first obstacle to target when assaulting the Blood Cult.
[Will it really be alright? His loyalty to you matches his devotion to the cult.]
True enough.
Above all, he was the one who had pinned the greatest hopes on him, and thus opposed his abdication the most fiercely.
Chu Un-hwi recalled Wi Ji-geuk's face on the day he left the cult.
***
"Leader. Why are you leaving?"
Wi Ji-geuk shed bloody tears as he watched him pack and exit the Blood God Hall.
"You've shown us all dreams and hopes, so why abandon us now?!"
He wailed as if the great hall itself were crumbling.
"At least... at least! Don't show us dreams! Don't give us hope..."
His lifeless face, pleading desperately, soon filled with venom.
"You're no longer my lord! The next time we meet, I will surely..."
In just one night after announcing his departure, the iron-blooded sword master with snow-white hair wept.
"Become your enemy."
***
'What was it he said?'
If memory served, something about treating him as the cult's enemy and fighting him upon their next meeting.
[He's renowned, so he'll be helpful. But his resentment toward you lingers.]
Probably.
[That's exactly why we meet him first.]
[......]
[Send word to him.]
Chu Un-hwi said firmly.
[An old connection has words for him.]
***
There wasn't much to prepare.
Just some clothes, simple rations, and a few items hidden under the bed.
As he finally grabbed Dark Soul and stepped out, the instructors swarmed in front of the dorm.
"Wow, what a send-off crowd. See? This is why you live kindly. Gotta build that personal virtue."
Yeo Mae-hong poked his side at his jest.
"Instructor Chu, I don't think it's your virtue."
"Friend, were you from the same hometown as Great Hero Duggo?"
"Mercy. The academy's notorious instructor from the same village as Great Hero Duggo."
Nangbong Un and Geum Jeong-do widened their eyes at the unexpected fact.
"You're really going with Great Hero Duggo?"
"Seems so."
Standing on tiptoes, he spotted Duggo Yul with his sullen face, exchanging greetings beyond the instructors.
His mouth set in a firm line, sternly surveying the surroundings with his one good eye—it seemed his usual demeanor.
'Yul's excited for once.'
Chu Un-hwi, who knew him from long acquaintance, read the tail-wagging puppy vibe beneath the stoic expression.
"Traveling with Great Hero Duggo..."
"Getting acquainted with a giant like that is rare enough, let alone traveling together? You're so lucky."
Bronze Hall Squad Leader Yang Dae-cheol and Instructor Jo Hyeon couldn't hide their envy either.
Unlike the purely surprised ones, some approached with hidden motives.
"I have no plans this winter. Mind if I join?"
"Great Hero Duggo, if you need company to stave off boredom..."
"You're heading north? Taiyuan is my hometown. If you'll allow, I'll escort you comfortably to Shanxi Province."
Duggo Yul, the hottest rising star in righteous martial arts.
With ties to him guaranteeing a key position in the Murim Alliance later, quite a few clung on.
'He's pissed. Really pissed.'
His face openly screamed he wanted to tear apart these annoying pests blocking his departure.
'Hold it in, Duggo Yul.'
Bloodshed from the start wouldn't be good.
Perhaps thanks to the encouragement, Duggo Yul maintained his dignity to the end.
"It's not just hometown ties. He has a connection, so Master will be pleased too."
'Uncle Sima.'
The last great master of Kunlun Sect, Wang Wu.
Mentioning his memorial silenced the crowd.
Of course, not without petty jealousy erupting here and there from narrow-minded folks.
"After Great Master Wang Wu, now Great Hero Duggo too?"
"How lucky is that guy to rub shoulders with all these big shots?"
"I'm so jealous, it's driving me mad."
Though their glares bored holes into the back of his head, Chu Un-hwi shut his ears.
'Uncle Sima. Let's return to the cult.'
Right now, that single thought filled his heart.
***
Whiiiiiing.
The peaks of the Ten Thousand Great Mountains looked precarious, as if swords had been thrust upside down into them.
Whiiiiiing.
Amid countless summits numbering over a hundred thousand, sheer cliffs were carved out.
Year-round, razor winds howled between those cliffs.
Whiiiiiing.
The sound resembled ghosts wailing, hence the name Ghost Valley Winds.
"......"
Ignoring the winds clawing at his ears, Wind Guest gazed at the massive fortress sprawling below the mountain.
A colossal fortress hidden in rugged peaks.
Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.
The Blood Cult's Blood God Hall was impressive, but the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult's grandeur, claiming dominion over the demonic path, was on another level.
"It's suffocating."
That was his assessment after scouting the perimeter for days.
The accumulated formations and mechanical traps over the ages wouldn't even let a single bird through.
"Force won't work."
Even the number of cultists guarding the outer walls was in the tens of thousands.
Breaking through those called the Ten Thousand Demons was daunting enough; the path to the inner fortress was layered with perils.
The east, west, south, and north gates to the inner fortress were guarded by Dragon Soaring Demon Slayer Corps, Shura Mad Demon Corps, Flame King Myriad Demon Corps, and Crimson Brow Slaughter Corps, respectively.
Each elite force of peak masters brimmed with murderous intent to tear any martial world expert apart.
And that was just the beginning.
Even breaching the gates, worse monstrosities awaited inside.
The Black Heaven Death Demon Corps, formed of a hundred super-elites.
The One Voice Heaven Extinguishing Corps, three hundred madmen strong.
And the Heavenly Demon Black Wind Corps, loyal only to the cult leader.
That was just what he'd confirmed.
In the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, where the unknown outnumbered the known, gauging their full might was terrifying.
"Can't even fathom the elders or hidden masters, the true power of the Demonic Cult."
Even Heavenly Demon Divine Lord Gal Jung-hyeok.
The demonic aura of the era's supreme being was palpable even from outside the walls.
"No gaps to infiltrate at all."
Kidnapping the Demonic Path Flower Maiden inside was impossible.
That was Wind Guest's conclusion after long-term surveillance.
"What to do..."
As he pondered, shadows rose behind him in droves.
Surveillants from the Shura Blood Cult.
"Wind Guest, you planning to waste time like this?"
A man in black garb with a black saber at his waist stepped forward from the shadows.
"Demon Division Leader."
'His presence here means the Heaven Slaughter Blood Demon Division has mobilized directly.'
Wind Guest feigned ignorance in his reply.
"Don't misunderstand. I'm devising a plan."
"The Blood Demon wants the Demonic Path Flower Maiden now. Better quit any nonsense."
He growled as if ready to draw his blade any second.
Though his heart sank, Wind Guest responded leisurely.
"Three months is a long time. But targeting the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult? Three years wouldn't suffice, let alone three months."
"The Blood Demon's patience is wearing thin. Keep spouting drivel, and you'll die by our hands before the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult."
"You call this impenetrable fortress drivel? Perfect. Let's test your skills while we're at it. If I'm dying anyway, I'd rather watch you lot brawl than jump into that hellhole right now."
"...Ten days. Exactly ten more days."
In the end, Heaven Slaughter Blood Demon Division Leader Ma Baek yielded first.
"Fail to secure her in that time, and you'll face the Blood Demon's wrath yourself."
Wind Guest sighed as Ma Baek turned and vanished abruptly.
"Ten days. Managed to buy some time. Will Dark Lord hear of this?"
Gaining an extension was fortunate, but the situation hadn't improved.
The ironclad fortress gates showed no sign of opening.
'Hope nothing goes wrong.'
For days, he waited for a chance.
Did his prayers reach the heavens?
Grrrrrind!
For the first time, the firmly shut gates creaked open, and a group emerged from the inner fortress.
A garishly ornate carriage adorned with gold.
And atop the carriage, four black flowers.
'Heaven aids me.'
It was the long-awaited appearance of the Demonic Path Flower Maiden.
Whoosh-.
Wind Guest's body leaped atop the cliff, then rode the winds forward.