Chapter 69: Reputation (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 69: Reputation (4)
Looking down, the Blood Flame Cult Leader burst into laughter. It didn't stop.
The overflowing ecstasy swelled, soon twisting into a mad cackle.
Tossing his white hair aside, the Blood Flame Cult Leader began to laugh like a man possessed.
Amidst the laughter, Jeong Yeon-shin looked straight at Go Jong-hak. The man's complexion was ghastly.
Standing there awkwardly, he seemed utterly lost.
"You are not obeying my command," Jeong Yeon-shin spoke quietly.
He took a slow step toward Go Jong-hak, blatantly releasing the true qi fluctuations of the Mara Blood-Roaring Art as he approached.
No one could stop him. At this moment—at least within the Blood Flame Cult—Jeong Yeon-shin was cloaked in absolute authority.
The Grand Preceptor who had fulfilled a long-cherished wish.
Only the Cult Leader stood above Jeong Yeon-shin, who had personally manifested a miracle.
The Blood Flame Cult Leader's laughter, echoing through the silence, was proof enough.
Standing face-to-face with Go Jong-hak, Jeong Yeon-shin looked up at him slightly.
"I gave an order."
“……”
"Present your offering."
Go Jong-hak couldn't answer. His hand trembled as it slowly reached for his necklace.
The entire leadership of the cult watched the scene in dead silence.
They were witnessing the son of the Third Apostle—the Blood Master Sword, one of the most prominent figures in the Blood Flame Cult—offering a treasure with his own hands to a lowborn wretch from the Desolate Fortress.
"A precious offering indeed."
Jeong Yeon-shin closed his hand around it.
The smooth texture of the jade against his fingers felt novel. It was said that poison was more terrifying than any master in the world.
He had heard that the value of a Poison-Avoiding Bead was beyond measure. He had just acquired the most valuable object he had ever owned.
"Grand Preceptor!" the Blood Flame Cult Leader shouted, a broad smile plastered across his face. His voice was unnervingly jovial.
It was the first time Jeong Yeon-shin had seen him like this since being captured, and the same seemed true for the other cult experts.
As the cultists struggled to hide their bewilderment, Jeong Yeon-shin's eyes met the Blood Flame Cult Leader's.
The Cult Leader's lips split into a wide, crimson grin.
"Come! I grant you a place by my side!"
Gasps erupted from all around. Even men with deep cultivation in the heretical arts couldn't maintain their composure.
One shock followed another. The modification of the mnemonic that Jeong Yeon-shin had demonstrated possessed that much influence.
"For such a bizarre thing to happen…"
"Indeed. Is it not an absolute marvel?"
The servant who now possessed pitch-black hair like an apostle shared the spotlight with the Grand Preceptor, drawing half of all gazes in the hall.
“……Then.”
As the Grand Preceptor of the Blood Flame Cult, Jeong Yeon-shin ascended the thirty-six steps.
Meanwhile, red-haired servants scurried about, quickly preparing a seat next to the Cult Leader.
The faces of those who stole glances at the Grand Preceptor burned with a feverish desire. They, too, craved black hair.
"Come, quickly!"
Grinning with mad delight, the Blood Flame Cult Leader gestured elegantly before spreading his arms wide.
"Music! Strike up the music!"
The execution ground had transformed into a grand banquet of celebration.
It was said that mind-altering melodies were a highly effective tool of governance.
This held true even for the Blood Flame Cult, which performed no heaven-worshipping rituals, for they did not revere the heavens.
Musicians carrying zithers, flutes, and all manner of instruments filed out.
"Drink."
Smiling, the Blood Flame Cult Leader lifted a jade bottle of Dukang Wine. His movements were remarkably delicate.
It was as if a thread of consideration had been woven into his usual arrogance.
He merely offered a faint smile, even when Jeong Yeon-shin did no more than lightly touch his own cup.
"You must now learn our doctrine. An ordinary teacher will not suffice for the Grand Preceptor. I shall assign an elder to you."
“……”
"But since instilling our ideology into your mind has taken on such profound significance, I wish to impart the first core principle myself. Listen closely. The essence of our doctrine can be summed up in a single phrase."
Though Jeong Yeon-shin remained silent, the Blood Flame Cult Leader continued.
"Our cult burns away the chaos and torment of the mortal realm."
"Anguish."
He looked pleased at Jeong Yeon-shin's murmur. With a smile, the Cult Leader tilted his white-haired head slightly.
"Indeed. The Buddhist monks refer to those two together as 'anguish.' These thirty-six steps hold great significance."
The Blood Flame Cult Leader lightly tapped the step with his foot. There was a certain levity to his actions, unbefitting a supreme master of the Jianghu.
"They were built to transcend the thirty-six anguishes of the mortal world. It means our teachings are no different from the salvation of Maitreya."
"Is death salvation, then?" Jeong Yeon-shin asked bluntly.
The smile on the Blood Flame Cult Leader's lips deepened.
"To discuss its profound meaning, we could watch the dawn rise several times over and still not have enough time. Do you know that the Ming Dynasty was fundamentally flawed from its very inception? The world is already plunged into misery. Surely you, too, are aware of the famine currently spreading across the Central Plains."
The Cult Leader's long fingers traced the rim of his cup, a gesture that seemed to map out the earth.
"Famine brings chaos. The martial world is no realm of immortals; its inhabitants are mere mortals who must eat to survive, so what comes next is obvious. Poor harvests breed famine, and the strong will not tolerate hunger. Next comes plunder. The boundary between the government and the martial world will collapse entirely."
There was a strange, profound wisdom in the words of this Unorthodox leader.
He spoke with an insight befitting the sublime heights of his divine art.
Were all the leaders of the world's greatest sects like this? Jeong Yeon-shin slowly parted his lips.
"The Desolate Fortress will be busy, then."
"Your sect is powerful, yes. But it is small compared to the vastness of the Central Plains. The Great Ming Code? The day will come when the power of the martial artists scattered across the land transforms into absolute, unchecked authority. Martial arts stand above the law. The behavior of the Hwangbo Clan you witnessed has already proven as much."
“……”
"When Emperor Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang and those Brightfolk bastards founded this nation, I saw it with my own eyes. The state of the Central Plains was truly a sight to behold. The fools of the world lament our Blood Art, but even our cult's ultimate techniques cannot match the horrors of the war waged by the Yuan and Ming."
“……So you really have lived as long as the Brightfolk elders of the Nine Sects.”
"I guarantee it. A disaster no less devastating than that era will soon arrive, and there will be no chivalrous heroes in those times. To raise the banner of righteousness when one's stomach is shrinking? Utterly ridiculous."
The Blood Flame Cult Leader drained his cup and declared, "The coexistence of martial arts and righteousness that busybodies clamor for does not exist. Only martial arts will remain. That is why our cult must spread. We will reduce the number of mouths in the world through the Blood Art, and our cultists, empowered by the strength of those holy sacrifices, will rebuild the order of the world."
"Did you not say you burn away chaos and torment?"
"It is our mission to trample over the ignorance of the masses. To eliminate anguish, one must endure anguish."
The breath he exhaled with those words carried a heavy weight.
Jeong Yeon-shin had almost mistaken it for profound insight. But he couldn't. A sinister, demonic nature bled through the words.
He was a man who embodied both the profound wisdom of a supreme master and the sinister malice of an Unorthodox leader. He was akin to chaos itself.
Jeong Yeon-shin understood only a fraction of this conveniently twisted philosophy. Regardless, he had no time to contemplate the coming age of chaos here.
Time's up.
He felt the fading light of the sunset and gauged the timing.
The time allotted by the Lord of the Desolate Fortress had run out. She could appear at any moment.
Just then, a resentful shout rang out.
"Almighty Cult Leader!"
Looking down, he saw Go Jong-hak dragging a boy who looked like a beggar by the scruff of his neck. Jeong Yeon-shin knew instantly.
He was a commoner captured from the outside. He had clearly been beaten severely; there wasn't a single unbruised spot on his swollen face.
"The Grand Preceptor has proven his marvelous talent! The power of his Mara Blood-Roaring Art is truly immense, yet I believe he has not yet demonstrated the subtle art of Star Absorption! This Blood Master Sword wishes to have the honor of presenting an offering to the Grand Preceptor, and I humbly beg for your permission!"
"Hmm."
A flicker of interest appeared on the Blood Flame Cult Leader's face. He turned to look at Jeong Yeon-shin.
"Indeed, that is my understanding as well."
“……”
"Go down and add that boy's meager strength to your own growth. You must already understand the principles of the Star Absorption Technique embedded within the Blood Art. Go and show us. You shall step into a whole new world."
The jovial voice was casually urging murder.
Star Absorption. Absorbing stars. Fanatics always sought to sanctify their atrocities.
The Star Absorption Technique was simply the term the Blood Flame Cultists used for stealing another's true qi.
Jeong Yeon-shin felt that the moment had arrived. An inexplicable sensation allowed him to perceive the gaze of the Lord of the Desolate Fortress.
He slowly stood up and began to descend the thirty-six steps of anguish.
Hum.
He channeled his internal energy.
He wrapped the true qi of the Mara Blood-Roaring Art around the power of his Demon-Quelling Azure Steel Hand. This place was Pandemonium.
The headquarters of the Blood Flame Cult, a place where demons breathed. It was teeming with supreme experts who could instantly see through any ordinary high-level martial arts.
Quite apart from their talent in martial arts, the Blood Flame Cult Leader and the Apostles possessed such keen eyes.
The gaze of the Third Apostle, burning into the back of his head, felt like hellfire.
Unlike those who had been awed by his miracle, the gazes of certain supreme experts who blindly worshipped bloodlines were far from friendly.
This was a den of madmen. He could feel a murderous intent radiating from all directions, as if some were willing to risk the Cult Leader's wrath just to assassinate him.
It's time to go back.
He had accumulated more than enough merit. When it came to calculating achievements, the final tally by the Desolate Fortress Chief Steward's Office was what truly mattered.
He had been away from the main fortress for too long. There were many rewards waiting for him back at the Desolate Fortress, matching the sheer number of consecutive missions he had completed.
Step.
Before long, he stood directly in front of Go Jong-hak. He glanced down at the boy sprawled on the floor, who was staring up with a swollen face.
The boy was strangely extraordinary; there was a fierce spirit in his eyes.
"You loath… loathsome blood ghosts… My father won't forgive…"
The boy mumbled through swollen lips, his slurred words barely intelligible. Yet, the gaze he directed at Jeong Yeon-shin was incredibly fierce.
Go Jong-hak didn't strike him again. He merely smirked, his eyes fixed on Jeong Yeon-shin.
"How is he? I prepared a specimen stuffed full of spirit medicine just for you, Grand Preceptor. If you wish to begin your Star Absorption, I would be more than happy to stand guard."
His face practically sneered, Do you have the stomach for it?
Without a word, Jeong Yeon-shin reached out. The irregular fluctuations unique to the Blood Art rippled from his fingertips.
But his hand did not move toward the boy. It lunged straight for Go Jong-hak's throat.
The bastard smirked, instantly channeling his Blood Art true qi.
A dense shroud of body protection qi flared up around him like a crimson haze. He didn't even try to dodge.
His attitude was that of an adult humoring a child's tantrum.
"Noble men can bend their beliefs for a greater cause. Whether you, Grand Preceptor, are truly noble is another matter entirely— ack! "
But its true nature was the Demon-Quelling Azure Steel Hand. In that split second, Jeong Yeon-shin grasped the true essence of deceiving one's internal energy.
The layered true qi unleashed a power unlike anything before.
Blood Art and Dharma power. These two opposing forces harmonized perfectly through his innate genius. It was devastatingly powerful.
Powerful enough to instantly disperse Go Jong-hak's body protection qi like mist and seize his throat.
Panic flared in the man's eyes as he tried to surge his energy, but Jeong Yeon-shin simply clenched his fist.
Crack.
He felt the vivid sensation of the carotid arteries and neck bones—though reinforced by true qi—crushing together as he snapped them without mercy.
He tossed the body aside like a broken twig. Go Jong-hak’s corpse collapsed to the floor with a dull thud.
The boy, who had been sitting and glaring at Jeong Yeon-shin, stared with wide, disbelieving eyes.
"What madness is this?!"
"How dare you!"
The reaction speed of the Blood Flame Cult experts was lightning-fast. Even in the face of such an abrupt, inexplicable turn of events, they reacted instantly.
They lunged forward, whipping up a storm of energy that formed a cage of suffocating murderous intent.
Jeong Yeon-shin calmly stepped in front of the innocent boy.
I want to rest for a bit.
His journey through the martial world, which had begun with the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering, had been long. How much merit he had accumulated was a secondary concern.
The rewards for this mission would undoubtedly be immense, but that was far from his mind right now.
Was Heonwon Chang safe? Had the expeditionary force, including Ma Jin, suffered any casualties at the hands of the Hwangbo Clan?
His head throbbed with heat. Warmth was flooding his Baihui Point.
In that instant, a sudden surge of sensory perception from his Upper Dantian mapped out the area outside the Dual Flame Blood Spirit Formation.
Hundreds of martial artists lay in ambush, surrounding the perimeter. Their collective aura was formidable.
But the true highlight was the sky directly above the center of the formation.
There, hovering in the air, was the Lord of the Desolate Fortress, the hem of her light-green court dress fluttering in the wind.
She stood suspended in midair, treading upon the wind. She was the very picture of a supreme master.
She was effortlessly executing Void Stepping.
Her long legs shifted. With a ruthless step, she brought her foot down upon the barrier.
BOOM!
Instantly, the very atmosphere trembled.
Let's go home, Jeong Yeon-shin thought.
It was time to return.