Chapter 361
Chapter 361
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 361
>Chapter Title: Truth (1)
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Il-mok's mutterings made Seo Wan-pyeong jolt in surprise as he asked,
“What do you mean by the Martial World Extermination Plan?”
In response to his question, Il-mok laid out his reasoning.
“The imperial court's goal in trying to seize control of both our Divine Cult and the Martial Alliance at the same time wasn't to absorb them from the start. On the contrary, their scheme was to make the two sides destroy each other.”
Even from Il-mok's rough explanation, Seo Wan-pyeong could grasp the meaning.
“…Now it makes sense. Neither we nor the hypocrites of the Central Plains could ever become the emperor's dogs, so they planned to let us tear each other apart and wipe us out.”
“Exactly. After all, our side and the righteous factions of the Central Plains are natural enemies, aren't we? It's only because Master prioritized stability within the cult over war that no conflict has broken out.”
The one who had revived the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult after decades of darkness in the previous Heavenly Demon's absence was none other than Hyeok-ryeon Il-hwi.
Thanks to his efforts in suppressing war and stabilizing the interior for over fifty years, the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult was currently enjoying a golden age that rivaled any other time.
Separate from the various systems Il-mok had introduced, this was especially true when looking at it from the perspective of 'martial prowess.'
Even as a single faction, they had nearly ten absolute experts who had reached the Profound Realm.
This was even after limiting the numbers, including the former Elder Council Leader and the three who had died targeting Il-mok.
Had an exceptional Heavenly Demon like Hyeok-ryeon Il-hwi not been born, the Divine Cult would have been laid to waste by the endless struggles for the cult leader position.
And had a belligerent Heavenly Demon arisen, countless talents would have perished in the war to reclaim the Central Plains before they could even bloom.
As the former Silver Shadow Pavilion Lord had once told Hyeok-ryeon Il-hwi, the previous Heavenly Demon was the man who had created a vast, fertile land where Il-mok could plant many seeds.
“The righteous bastards were avoiding war for the same reason—they had nothing to gain from a clash of new experts—but if both leaders had wanted war at the same time, it surely would have happened.”
“That's right, senior brother. The imperial court's aim was precisely that. They sought to use the barbarians to control the barbarians, let both sides suffer devastating losses, and reap the fisherman's profit.”
Convinced by Il-mok's certainty, Seo Wan-pyeong nodded gravely with a serious expression.
“This isn't the time to sit around. We must hurry and report this to Eldest Senior Brother.”
As Seo Wan-pyeong moved to rise urgently, Il-mok grabbed hold of him.
“Sending a letter via someone else will suffice. For now, focus on recovering.”
“But…”
“Senior brother, no one can accomplish great tasks alone. You have to learn to entrust work to others. And our Divine Cult has countless reliable people.”
Seo Wan-pyeong looked at Il-mok with an anxious expression.
Even as his face seemed to plead to be let go right away, Il-mok simply gazed at him steadily.
“Sip. Hoo.”
After taking a deep breath in and out, Seo Wan-pyeong nodded with a much clearer expression.
“You're right, junior brother. Better to focus on recovery than overexert myself and become a hindrance to the cult.”
“You've made the wise choice, senior brother.”
While Il-mok instructed the maidservants to fetch paper and brush, then wrote the letter to send to headquarters.
Seo Wan-pyeong sat cross-legged on the bed and entered a meditative state of qi circulation to heal his internal injuries.
Countless thoughts flitted through his mind as he sank into deep meditation.
His memories, blurred by the single-minded sense of duty to deliver the secured letter to the cult, began to resurface one by one.
The memory of being chased by that eunuch whose leg had been pierced.
The memory of shaking off the pursuing colleagues who had taken over after that eunuch gave up due to his leg.
Going even further back, the battle with that colleague who had possessed the Alliance Leader Cheok Pae-myeong's letter.
“…Why am I so incompetent?”
As the memory of his pathetic performance in that fight resurfaced, a shadow fell over Seo Wan-pyeong's face.
‘Because of me, the Shadow Pavilion Lord…’
The inner demon he had suppressed with his sense of duty reared its head once more.
If only he had kept his wits about him a little better, the Shadow Pavilion Lord wouldn't have died so pointlessly—gloomy thoughts like these gripped him.
Seo Wan-pyeong had always thought of himself as having three masters.
The Heavenly Demon Hyeok-ryeon Il-hwi, who had taught him martial arts, doctrine, and various knowledge.
His youngest junior brother Il-mok, who had bolstered his self-esteem and confidence.
Finally, the Shadow Pavilion Lord, who had taught him the workings of the Shadow Pavilion and the wisdoms of life.
He had never spoken it aloud, as one couldn't serve multiple masters, but inwardly, Seo Wan-pyeong regarded all three as his masters and benefactors.
Yet one of them, the Shadow Pavilion Lord, had lost her life due to his incompetence.
As that grief threatened to plunge Seo Wan-pyeong deep into self-loathing.
- Cast aside distracting thoughts and think only of the greater cause for the Divine Cult! If I can die for the cult, my life is not too precious!
The Shadow Pavilion Lord's final sound transmission to him before her death pulled his mind back.
Suddenly, Seo Wan-pyeong had a realization.
The Shadow Pavilion Lord was not someone to blame for death.
- Thank you, Vice Pavilion Lord.
She would probably praise him for succeeding in his mission ahead of him.
But even if the Shadow Pavilion Lord forgave him, it didn't erase his own sin.
‘If only I were like Master, or Eldest Senior Brother, or junior brother Il-mok…’
Perhaps because he thought of Il-mok, the words Il-mok had said to him just moments ago naturally surfaced amid his thoughts.
- Senior brother, no one can accomplish great tasks alone.
Il-mok's advice had been about entrusting work to others, but Seo Wan-pyeong interpreted it in a slightly different way.
Even the most brilliant junior brother couldn't handle everything alone.
In that case, wouldn't it be enough for him to assist in the things Il-mok couldn't do by himself?
There was no need for everyone to be like Master, or Il-mok, or Eldest Senior Brother.
‘Ahh. Is that how it is…’
From the time Il-mok had first become his junior brother, he had told him.
No matter what tricks Il-mok pulled, he could never move as stealthily as Seo Wan-pyeong himself.
He might not be as perfect as Master.
He might lack Eldest Senior Brother's power to command and lead people.
He might not possess the youngest's dazzling brilliance.
But Seo Wan-pyeong realized he had his own uses and talents.
‘I'm just meant to do my part. There's no need to blame myself for being inferior to others.’
As the self-loathing and anxiety that had always weighed him down vanished, the countless thoughts surrounding him melted away like snow.
And the thoughts that remained around him were purely about himself.
Thoughts about the talents he possessed. Ways to make the most of those talents.
The moment Seo Wan-pyeong sank deeply into that contemplation, a change occurred in his body.
Unbeknownst to him as he delved into the depths of his mental world, his body twisted and realigned into the most ideal form, and the accumulated waste throughout his body was pushed out through his acupoints by the energy of the Shadowless Fourteen Hands.
At the end of the long meditation, the moment Seo Wan-pyeong opened his eyes.
Flash.
The first thing he saw was the face of his youngest junior brother, smiling pleasantly.
“Congratulations on surpassing the wall, senior brother.”
Only then did Seo Wan-pyeong realize. He had entered the Transcending Demon realm and succeeded in shedding his mortal form.
“Hahaha. It's thanks to you.”
As Il-mok made a face asking 'What are you talking about?', Seo Wan-pyeong spoke again.
“Youngest.”
“Yes, senior brother.”
“Didn't you just say that one must be able to entrust work to others?”
Il-mok smiled awkwardly in response.
“Yes, senior brother.”
Seo Wan-pyeong couldn't remember, but that conversation had taken place a full half-day earlier.
“Entrust me with whatever you like, and order others to do whatever you like—but there's just one thing. There's something this senior brother wants to handle personally.”
“What is that?”
To Il-mok's question, Seo Wan-pyeong answered with a solemn expression.
“Killing that eunuch colleague who murdered the Shadow Pavilion Lord—that much is this senior brother's to claim.”
* * *
A few days earlier.
While Seo Wan-pyeong was shaking off his pursuing colleagues and heading toward Lanzhou in Gansu Province.
The one called the eunuch was bowing deeply to an elderly man deep within the imperial palace.
The wound on his thigh, not yet healed, had reopened, staining the cloth wrapped around it red.
Though the agony should have twisted his face, the eunuch known as such lay prostrate on the floor without the slightest movement.
It was because his fear of the old man before him outweighed the pain in his thigh.
And it wasn't simply because that old man was the head of all eunuchs.
Even a eunuch who had reached the Profound Realm couldn't last three exchanges against him.
“So. During the process of receiving the Upright One's letter, you were ambushed, is that it?”
“Yes. We were ambushed by the Shadow Pavilion Lord of the Demonic Cult and Seo Wan-pyeong, the third disciple of the previous Heavenly Demon. We succeeded in killing the Shadow Pavilion Lord, but while she drew on all her innate qi to hinder me, Seo Wan-pyeong snatched the letter and escaped.”
Looking down at the eunuch steadily, the old man said,
“Hmm. Even if the Shadow Pavilion Lord used her innate qi, it doesn't seem like it should have mangled your leg that badly?”
The eunuch known as Chief Eunuch Bingpil—the head of the Eastern Depot—swallowed dryly and, enduring the pain in his thigh, begged for punishment.
“Lord Supreme Eunuch, please execute me!”
The Supreme Eunuch, who had been gazing at him for a moment, clicked his tongue and replied.
“Tsk. How could I kill you, a servant of the emperor, on my own whim?”
Chief Eunuch Bingpil inwardly sighed in relief.
The Supreme Eunuch was seen as holding a position above all but one. Though he invoked the emperor's name, it wasn't an exaggeration to say that the life and death of eunuchs lay in the Supreme Eunuch's hands.
“However, this makes twice now. Whether His Majesty will forgive you a third time… tsk.”
In other words, he was saying he'd turn a blind eye this time.
“I am grateful for His Majesty's mercy! Long live the emperor! Long live! Long, long live!”
As Chief Eunuch Bingpil bowed to the Supreme Eunuch and professed his loyalty to the emperor, he ground his teeth inwardly.
‘Not a single one of those Shadow Pavilion bastards from the Demonic Cult will escape my blade!!’
The Supreme Eunuch, fully aware of Chief Eunuch Bingpil's inner thoughts, gazed at him briefly before turning to look at a massive table.
There lay a map depicting the Central Plains and the outer regions bordering it.
Gazing at the map, the Supreme Eunuch fell into thought.
‘The Upright One went out of his way to send a letter in this current situation.’
It was obviously a letter requesting some kind of assistance.
So what aid had the Upright One been seeking?
Compiling the various reports from the Eastern Depot and Embroidered Uniform Guard, and comprehensively considering the current state of the Central Plains, the Supreme Eunuch continued his deductions.
‘Neither the Upright One nor his aide Upright Two are fools, so they wouldn't expect us to step in directly to crush the Maitreya Cult.’
They could move secretly, like the massacre disguised as the Blood Cult, but the circumstances were different.
Those killed disguised as the Blood Cult had been ordinary commoners and ragtag warriors from minor sects.
In contrast, the Maitreya Cult was a substantial force, making it nearly impossible to completely hide their involvement.
So what could they handle while concealing their identity?
Soon, a piece of information surfaced in the Supreme Eunuch's mind.
The recent report that the Martial Alliance had sent spies north to dig into the Maitreya Cult but gained nothing.
‘I need to send someone north.’
His thoughts reaching that point, the Supreme Eunuch turned to look at Chief Eunuch Bingpil, still kneeling prostrate on the floor.
Chief Eunuch Bingpil had botched the job twice, shattering trust, and with his leg injured, he was unlikely to handle matters properly.
But the Supreme Eunuch wasn't too worried.
After all, there were still plenty of pawns left to replace Chief Eunuch Bingpil.