Chapter 227: A Man Must Have Spirit and a Sense of Responsibility
These days, Qingzhou was like paradise to the warriors of Jungto Sinju. Here, they committed acts they wouldn't dare dream of back home, without a shred of hesitation.
Countless cloud ships streamed endlessly from Jungto Sinju toward Qingzhou, packed to the brim with martial artists.
The demonic sects and clans had all come without exception. Qingzhou was a dream training ground for them.
Here alone, they could unleash their vile demonic arts freely, without glancing over their shoulders at other factions—especially Hogye Meng.
Meanwhile, the rumor from Hogye Meng that Yeop Hyeon and Yeon Man Ri were dead spread like wildfire across all of Qingzhou.
The relative stability Qingzhou had maintained until now was entirely thanks to those two.
With Yeop Hyeon around, the nations around Jiang Kingdom and Jeoguk didn't dare act recklessly. With Yeon Man Ri, the Daeun Empire stayed secure.
In short, those two had been the linchpin holding Qingzhou together.
And now they were dead?
Qingzhou plunged into chaos overnight.
The vassals of the Daeun Empire in particular rose up one after another, proclaiming themselves kings.
With internal strife compounding the nonstop influx of Jungto Sinju warriors, the turmoil only snowballed endlessly.
It was the dawn of living hell.
High above a vast ocean, a single cloud ship sped through the sky. Its deck teemed with disciples of the Hwap Hwan Sect.
Over a hundred strong, by rough count—the sect's absolute elites.
In one cabin aboard the ship, the Hwap Hwan Sect Lord stared silently out the window.
Behind him stood an elder, facing his back.
Suddenly, the sect lord spoke.
"I think it's true. Two True Law Realm powerhouses and hundreds of warriors... There's no way Yeop Hyeon could have survived that. And with the rumor spreading this fast across Jungto Sinju and Qingzhou, the source has to be Hogye Meng. We can trust it."
"Then?"
The elder prompted, and the sect lord replied with a cold laugh.
"The moment we enter Qingzhou, we raid Canglan Academy. Capture the woman, kill every man, and hang their heads before the Imperial City. Let them see exactly what happens to those who cross the Hwap Hwan Sect..."
Just then, a voice rang out from the deck above.
"Yeop Hyeon is dead! Yeop Hyeon is dead! Haha hahaha!"
Soon the ship filled with cheers and laughter.
How much time had passed? In a hazy daze, Yeop Hyeon heard the sound of running water.
His head felt heavy as lead.
As consciousness threatened to slip away again, he clenched his fists and bit his tongue hard. The sharp pain snapped him awake.
His vision cleared bit by bit, shadows flickering before his eyes.
What he saw was a waterfall—a modest one, some thirty feet wide and sixty feet tall. Water cascaded down the cliff into a small pool, spraying mist in all directions.
The droplets settled into gentle ripples that lapped against a pair of jade-like feet.
Their owner was a woman, splashing lightly with her legs in the pool.
Occasional birdsong echoed from the underbrush.
In the serene mountains, she seemed utterly detached from the mortal world.
Tranquility.
Yeop Hyeon's gaze upon her filled with peace.
A moment later, he tried to rise, but his body had no strength at all.
He gave a wry smile.
This damn backlash...
Then the woman by the waterfall turned, her eyes meeting his. In that instant, she looked like a fairy descended to earth.
She pulled her feet from the water and approached slowly, stopping before him. Bowing her head, she met his gaze.
"Awake?"
Yeop Hyeon nodded.
"We're still alive... That's a relief."
Yeon Man Ri brushed her hair behind her ear with her right hand and smiled lightly at his words.
"That treasure of yours was incredible. Killing two True Law Realm experts and hundreds of warriors in one go... What on earth was it? How did it do that?"
Her face fell as she realized.
"Sorry. That's a secret, isn't it?"
Yeop Hyeon chuckled.
"Gyeok Ok Tower. My mother left it to me. There's a space inside where the Heavenly Maiden once resided. She's gone now, though..."
He revealed his secret without reservation, and Yeon Man Ri found herself smiling unwittingly. She even forgot about her severed arm—for reasons she couldn't quite grasp.
She didn't press further. It was enough.
"Yeon xiaozhu, you could have escaped back there just fine, couldn't you?"
"If I fled, wouldn't you have died?"
"If you'd run then, your arm wouldn't have been cut off."
Yeon Man Ri shook her head and sat beside him. Gazing at the sunset, she spoke softly.
"Since Qingzhou fell into chaos, too many chase personal gain over the continent's future. But you stood alone to protect it at the critical moment, asking nothing in return."
Her eyes turned gently to him.
"When you faced the Jungto Sinju experts alone, you looked so dashing. That's when I realized: no matter how powerful, without basic morality and compassion for the world, they're worthless. This king doesn't care for those who chase strength without heart. And a person's true strength isn't just in their martial prowess."
"Then what determines it?"
Yeon Man Ri pondered, then shook her head.
"I don't know exactly. But when you declared before those hundreds, 'This Qingzhou is under my protection,' I felt your strength."
She smiled faintly.
"In this king's view, a man doesn't need to be handsome or rich, but he must have spirit and responsibility."
"So you see me as that kind of man? Ha... Being too perfect is a curse."
"Hmph, how can you be so shameless?"
"Heh heh heh..."
Then Yeon Man Ri pulled a violet pill from her bosom and slipped it into his mouth.
"This king will look after you. Focus on recovering first."
Yeop Hyeon nodded. Tending his wounds was priority. The crisis wasn't over, and everything ahead fell to him.
He calmed his mind and examined his body closely. What he feared wasn't the backlash.
It was some change he couldn't handle after using the Gyeok Ok Tower.
Moments later, confirming no major issues, he exhaled lightly.
Wait!
His expression shifted. He hurriedly checked the Gyeok Ok Tower.
His face hardened as he scanned the first floor, then twisted into a hollow, mad laugh.
All the top-grade spirit stones he'd stockpiled in the tower were gone.
Not just those—even the supreme-grade ones in the vault had vanished. Oddly, the other treasures remained untouched.
No doubt the tower had absorbed them.
Spirit energy!
After deep thought, he realized the tower demanded vast spirit energy per activation.
The problem was how much.
He'd had tens of millions of supreme-grade stones originally, plus millions more in the vault.
All gone.
Small consolation: they'd bought his life.
Then he noticed something strange.
Unlike usual, he couldn't enter the tower—or retrieve anything.
Sealed?
Panicking, he tried again. No luck.
Finally, he confirmed: the Gyeok Ok Tower was completely sealed.
Losing it meant one less trump card!
"Yeon xiaozhu, toss me a spirit stone!"
Yeon Man Ri, kindling a fire at a distance, lobbed one over.
As he caught it, the stone vanished clean away.
Gone?
His face filled with shock.
Soon, conclusions formed. First, the tower was sealed. Second, it needed massive spirit energy to activate. Third, sufficient energy was required to access it again.
The unknown: how much? If just a little, fine. If billions of stones?
A nightmare to imagine.
Plus, those trapped inside might have changed.
Head aching, he shook it off and focused on healing.
The pill she'd given circulated pure spirit energy, slowly mending his flesh.
Night fell, silence blanketing the world.
Under countless stars, Yeop Hyeon and Yeon Man Ri sat facing each other. A roasting rabbit sizzled over their campfire, filling the air with savory aroma.
They'd decided to heal here before heading back to the Daeun Empire.
"Word is, plenty of warriors have already crossed from Jungto Sinju. Not for anything good."
Yeon Man Ri spoke first.
"Then we'll make them regret setting foot here!"
She grinned fiercely.
"Of course!"
Yeop Hyeon lost himself briefly in her smile. Up close, she was stunningly beautiful!
Not a peerless beauty, perhaps, but with an allure that grew on you.
"Staring?"
He startled, nodding hastily.
"Worth looking at?"
"Beautiful."
Her face clouded.
"How, with one arm gone?"
"That's... my fault."
He knew it was all because of him.
"I'm not blaming you."
She flopped back onto the ground, staring at the star-packed sky.
"We leave at dawn tomorrow, so rest well. Once we're back, what's your plan?"
Yeop Hyeon pillowed his head on his arm and murmured.
"Evil demands evil in return, doesn't it?"
Jeoguk.
The morning before dawn. Countless cloud ships converged on the Imperial City.
Leading them: warriors from Hwan So Mun, Hwap Hwan Sect, and Blood Sect.
All three sects shared one thing: bitter enmity with Yeop Hyeon. Hwap Hwan Sect and Hwan So Mun had special reasons to claim Cheok Bal-eon.
In a small pavilion of the Jeoguk palace, Cheok Bal-eon in white robes stood before a spirit tablet. A name was engraved upon it.
'Yeop Hyeon'.
Hearing of his death, she'd built this shrine overnight and spent the night here.
As dawn broke, a voice whispered in her ear.
"Your Highness, countless cloud ships have entered the city. You must flee at once."
Cheok Bal-eon caressed the tablet softly, murmuring.
"In my life, you're the only man for me..."
With a final lingering glance, she turned and left.
Tucked in her sleeve: two Flame Explosion Talismans.
Before the Jeoguk Imperial City.
Three cloud ships descended, spilling nearly three hundred warriors.
From Blood Sect, Hwan So Mun, and Hwap Hwan Sect.
At the fore, Blood Sect Lord Hyeol Wol scanned the palace with greedy eyes.
"Blood..."
His face twisted savagely.
"Kill them all!"