Chapter 127
Chapter 127
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 36
>Chapter Title: Dark Sect (3)
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The young man with the sharp features was named Hwan Yun-myeong.
Abandoned by his parents as a child, he had lived in the slums on the outskirts of the Heaven and Earth Society until, at the age of ten, he was taken in by the Dark Sect Lord due to a chance encounter.
[Oh ho ho. Not bad. You're the first kid who's ever tried to pickpocket me.]
The Dark Sect Lord took a liking to his bold audacity and adopted him, personally teaching him literacy and martial arts.
Though the opportunity had been mere coincidence, Hwan Yun-myeong proved to have remarkable talent.
That was precisely why the Dark Sect Lord had taken him in.
However, Hwan Yun-myeong could not become a formal disciple.
The reason was,
[You'll have to be castrated?]
[Yes. Only then can you learn the sect's core Ghostly Yin Art.]
[......Do I really have to?]
The young Hwan Yun-myeong strongly resisted the idea of castrating himself just to practice martial arts.
The Dark Sect Lord did not force him.
However, since he could not become a formal disciple, she began referring to him as a semi-disciple from that point on.
Though he had not been castrated and thus could not become a formal disciple, the Dark Sect Lord treated him no differently and continued to instruct him.
So, he had no major complaints.
But in the year Hwan Yun-myeong turned sixteen, he came to regret his choice.
The reason was that, though he hadn't realized it as a child, he now knew that without becoming a formal disciple, he could never be the Dark Sect Lord's successor or learn her true unique martial arts.
[I'll warn you in advance. If you get castrated, you'll lose a great deal. For instance, you won't be a real man anymore and won't be able to have a family.]
As an orphan, Hwan Yun-myeong had always harbored a wish since childhood.
Not knowing his parents and having been abandoned, he yearned to have a family of his own blood.
That was why he had rejected castration.
But once he learned he could never become the Dark Sect Lord's successor, he regretted his childhood decision.
'Damn it!'
He should have done it before he ever awakened to lust.
Then he could have become the successor.
But it was too late now.
Discarding all the internal energy he had built up and starting over with castration to learn the Ghostly Yin Art would be difficult, and he had already awakened to sexual desire.
Having grown up wandering the back alleys, he had frequented brothels and red-light districts since the tender age of fourteen.
'No. I can't.'
That made it even harder for him to castrate himself.
Castration would bring gains outweighing the losses, but he simply couldn't bring himself to do it.
It was such a simple principle, yet he couldn't follow through.
Lost in such turmoil, he wandered aimlessly for a time, and during those few years, two young junior disciples arrived.
Myeong Tak and Yong Su.
They were orphans as well.
He could tell at a glance—they had talent rivaling his own.
But to Hwan Yun-myeong, they were anything but lovable juniors.
'......I don't know when these bastards will try to surpass me.'
They were rivals.
If they underwent castration and became formal disciples of the Dark Sect Lord, he might not even receive proper treatment anymore.
No, it was a foregone conclusion.
'No. That can't happen.'
Realizing this, Hwan Yun-myeong agonized endlessly.
And after much deliberation, he devised a plan.
He treated his junior disciples better than anyone, even more attentively than their master, the Dark Sect Lord.
In response to his kindness, the juniors followed him devotedly as their senior brother.
Having won their favor, Hwan Yun-myeong awakened their lust early in places beyond the Dark Sect Lord's watchful eyes and instilled in them a fear of castration.
His efforts soon bore fruit.
When the moment of choice arrived,
[Castration...... I can't do it.]
[I, I can't either.]
The juniors teared up and gave up on castration.
Since it had never been forced but offered as a choice, the Dark Sect Lord respected their decision.
[If that's your choice, there's nothing to be done.]
With those words, she glanced at Hwan Yun-myeong with a somewhat bitter look.
What was that gaze?
Had she known he had manipulated them?
As their eyes met, Hwan Yun-myeong felt extreme terror, fearing she had seen through his scheme.
'I'll be abandoned. I'll be abandoned. I'll be abandoned.'
Yet contrary to his dire worries, the Dark Sect Lord's attitude did not change.
She continued treating him like a disciple.
She even asked him to look after the juniors well as the eldest senior brother.
'Ah. It was needless worry.'
What a relief.
But this sparked a new thought in Hwan Yun-myeong that he had never considered before.
'What if no one undergoes castration?'
What then?
At first, he had merely regretted his own failure to castrate.
But rethinking it, the answer lay elsewhere.
If the Dark Sect Lord never forced castration on her prospective disciples, he could make them all refuse, just like these two.
'If that happens......'
Perhaps an opportunity would come for him too?
Having observed her for so long, Hwan Yun-myeong knew the Dark Sect Lord was not one to break her own words.
It might just work.
If no formal disciple ever emerged, he could become the next Dark Sect Lord.
With ambition ignited, Hwan Yun-myeong renewed his vigor.
He trained harder than ever, and his martial arts progressed by leaps and bounds.
Then, years later,
[You're going to attend the Crimson Blood Valley initiation ceremony?]
[Yes. It happens I have business there anyway, and I heard there's a promising girl, so I wanted to see for myself.]
[A girl...... you say?]
What was this about?
Had she given up on castration and decided to take a girl with innate yin energy as a disciple from the start?
Hwan Yun-myeong felt unease for the first time in ages at the Dark Sect Lord's words.
He had been confident of succession after she took no disciples for so long.
Anxious, he waited.
And then,
"Has Master returned?"
"Ah, Eldest Young Master. The Lord arrived just moments ago."
"I see. Did she...... bring that girl from Peach Blossom House?"
"Peach Blossom House? Doesn't seem so."
"She didn't?"
"Yes. She brought a male initiate."
At those words, Hwan Yun-myeong's lingering anxiety vanished like mist.
He had fretted that a girl from Peach Blossom House might shake his position, but things had worked out well.
However,
"But there seems to be a bit of a problem."
"A problem?"
"The initiate she brought is apparently a hostage from the orthodox factions."
"A hostage from the orthodox factions?"
What was this now?
Crimson Blood Valley was a testing ground accessible only to the Heaven and Earth Society's elite talents.
How could an orthodox faction hostage enter such a place?
The puzzled inner steward Jo Yeom-hun explained.
"Keep this to yourself, Young Master. Word is, the Society Lord personally brought two hostages from the orthodox factions and sent them into Crimson Blood Valley."
"The Society Lord did?"
If so, no one could openly complain.
But why would the Society Lord send orthodox hostages to such a place?
No, that was irrelevant.
Why had Master brought such a problematic figure?
Was it worth the risk?
'Orthodox factions......'
No one in the Heaven and Earth Society liked orthodox faction members.
No, they hated them just hearing the name.
Hwan Yun-myeong was no different.
'This won't do.'
He would have to speak to Master and suggest reconsidering taking an orthodox hostage as a disciple.
The risk was far too great, no matter how he thought about it.
He asked the inner steward, learning that the Dark Sect Lord and the new orthodox hostage had gone to the Lord's private training chamber.
He headed there.
But upon arrival, he found his junior disciples already there ahead of him.
"This is outrageous!"
"How could she do this?"
They were angrily confronting the guards in front of the private training chamber.
What was going on?
As he approached,
"Eldest Senior Brother! This is bad."
"Bad how?"
At his question, the youngest junior, Yong Su—with his prominent jaw—replied with a look of disbelief.
"Master has accepted the one she brought from Crimson Blood Valley as a formal disciple."
'!?'
Hwan Yun-myeong's expression hardened.
What was this?
A formal disciple? No way?
"Did that bastard say he'd get castrated?"
At Hwan Yun-myeong's question, the second junior, Myeong Tak, shook his head in fury.
"No. He said he won't castrate, but because he has an innate yin energy constitution, she's taking him as a formal disciple."
"Innate yin energy constitution?"
A sigh escaped Hwan Yun-myeong's lips.
What kind of bolt from the blue was this?
He had been relieved there was no girl.
Moreover, being an orthodox hostage, he had planned to persuade Master to send him away.
Yet she had accepted such a headache as a formal disciple?
'How......'
But that wasn't the end.
The news that shocked him even more was,
"How could Master do this? Not only did she accept him as a formal disciple without castration, but she even gifted him the Instant Demon Sword that you risked your life to obtain, Eldest Senior Brother."
-Grind!
At those words, Hwan Yun-myeong's face twisted like a vengeful ghost.
He usually maintained decorum before his juniors, but he couldn't hold back now.
Ignoring the guards' attempts to stop him, Hwan Yun-myeong burst into the Dark Sect Lord's private training chamber.
-Bam!
In the center stood a strikingly handsome boy, reading a scroll alone.
He appeared around the same age as the juniors.
But his age and exceptional looks didn't register.
Instead, Hwan Yun-myeong's gaze locked onto the Instant Demon Sword hanging at the waist of the boy—no, the orthodox hostage Mok Kyung-un.
-Crack!
It was real.
He had hoped it was a lie, but she had truly given the Instant Demon Sword to that bastard.
He had risked his life to obtain it, believing that once its demonic energy was controlled, it would naturally go to him, the top disciple.
That damned orthodox hostage was stealing his position and his sword?
That sword was his.
'I'll kill him.'
He had to kill that bastard and take back everything that was his......
"You're quite the amusing one. You think killing me will get your things back......"
'!?'
What?
Hwan Yun-myeong couldn't hide his bewilderment at the voice ringing in his ears.
Though enraged, he hadn't shown his true feelings before the juniors.
How had he read his thoughts?
Puzzled,
'Huh?'
Hwan Yun-myeong's eyes wavered.
Somehow, the youngest junior Yong Su was clutching his broken arm in agony, while the second junior Myeong Tak stared at him with utter disbelief.
What had happened?
'Why?'
Why was Myeong Tak looking at him like that?
In that puzzled instant, long-forgotten memories flashed through his mind.
-Swoosh!
[I can't stand this anymore. Senior Brothers, I'll take it back right now!]
Yong Su, unable to contain his rage, charged at the orthodox hostage.
Though the weakest among them, contrary to expectations of a fight, he was instantly subdued, his throat gripped.
[Betting your life on a first meeting, eh?]
[Guh...... guh......]
[You must have been prepared, right?]
[What?]
-Crack!
Without batting an eye, the bastard snapped Yong Su's right arm.
[Kuaaaagh!]
'No way?'
Seeing this, Hwan Yun-myeong judged the bastard no ordinary fighter.
Even he couldn't have subdued Yong Su—who was at the peak's entry—in a single move.
Now cautious, he pondered his next step when,
[You've been eyeing this sword since earlier. Want it?]
[What are you......]
[If you can take it, try.]
'!?'
-Swish!
With that, Mok Kyung-un drew the Instant Demon Sword from his waist and tossed it at him.
'What the hell?'
-Thud!
Reflexively catching the hilt, his memory blacked out from there.
Clutching his forehead with his left hand, Hwan Yun-myeong staggered and muttered.
"Wh-what did I do?"
Mok Kyung-un approached and said,
"You babbled on about your desires yourself."
"What...... did I say?"
"That if none of the incoming disciples get castrated, there'll be no formal disciple, so you'll become the successor, right? Such a cute idea."
'!!!!!!!!!'
Hwan Yun-myeong's eyes widened as if to tear.
He had said that out loud?
The second junior Myeong Tak's gaze made it hard to dismiss as a lie.
Then,
-Drip!
"Ugh!"
Sudden pain drew Hwan Yun-myeong's eyes to his right hand.
Veins bulged on the back of the hand gripping the Instant Demon Sword, bursting as black blood oozed out.
It was spreading up his entire arm.
Panicking, Hwan Yun-myeong tried to release the sword.
But,
"Aaagh!"
The hilt clung to his palm as if fused.
The pain only intensified.
"Wh-what is this......"
Using internal energy with his other hand, he tried to pry off the Instant Demon Sword.
But the more he did, the worse the pain, unbearable.
"Ughhhh."
As he endured, Mok Kyung-un approached and said,
"Shall I help you let go of the sword?"
Unable to bear the agony, Hwan Yun-myeong nodded frantically.
Then Mok Kyung-un said something out of left field.
"You clearly asked me to make you let go with your own mouth."
"What?"
Why say it like that?
In that instant, Hwan Yun-myeong saw Mok Kyung-un's smile, brimming with malice.
'No way?'
Flustered, he hurriedly blurted,
"W-wait......"
-Slash!
Before he could finish,
A sharp blade edge grazed the wrist of Hwan Yun-myeong's sword-holding right arm.
[End of Chapter 36: Dark Sect (3)]