Rescue the Eldest Senior Brother! (4)
“I can’t believe it!”
Ga Jinuk cried out in shock.
Not only had he slaughtered the Blood River Corps in an instant, but he had also effortlessly crushed Jeongwon, their leader and one of the Blood Dragon Room’s three pillars, the Mad Blood Berserker. Ga Jinuk could scarcely trust his own eyes.
Now, he harbored no more doubts about Hyeon Yucheon.
He had realized the truth: this young man was truly the final disciple of the Demon Sword Ghost Elder.
‘Could it be… that he’s reached the Entering Divinity realm, just like Master?’
Considering that Hyeon Yucheon was on the verge of turning seventeen, this was a feat almost impossible to accept, even with his own eyes.
“Did you see that, senior brother? Our Demon Sword Sect is no longer weak.”
Eum Ji-myeong, who had watched the scene unfold, smiled with deep satisfaction.
And it didn’t end there.
“Do you doubt the judgment of us Black Wolf Three Swords?”
“It was a stroke of foresight.”
“The current sect leader is the one man who might surpass even the Demon Sword Ghost Elder Cheon Baeksang.”
Cheonu, Cheonjung, and Cheonjwa spoke in unison, heaping praise without restraint.
These were no empty words—they were heartfelt truths.
Watching Hyeon Yucheon’s martial prowess in action made their hearts race with the conviction that he would eclipse even the Demon Sword Ghost Elder and achieve unprecedented heights.
“The Mad Blood Berserker Jeongwon, one of the Blood Dragon Room’s three pillars, should have the keys to the underground prison’s inner chambers.”
It was right then.
As the situation wrapped up, Gu Jinak, who had been silently observing, stepped forward.
The top priority now was rescuing the Flash Demon Sword Squad imprisoned in the deepest level of the underground prison.
“Young hero Gu is right. By now, the current Blood Dragon Room Lord must have realized there are intruders outside.”
Hyeon Yucheon nodded in agreement.
Everyone concurred, and Gu Jinak rummaged through Jeongwon’s robes, who had fallen into qi deviation’s early stages from the shock of his defeat. Sure enough—
Clink!
They found a massive bundle of keys.
Worthy of one of the Blood Dragon Room’s three pillars, he possessed keys to every level of the underground prison.
“We must hurry. We need to rescue the Flash Demon Sword Squad before facing the full might of the Blood Dragon Room.”
Gu Jinak urged them with a tense voice.
He was spot on.
If they clashed with the Blood Dragon Room before freeing the squad, even the Demon Sword Prince Hyeon Yucheon might falter, turning a short path into a long detour.
“Sect Leader, don’t worry.”
Before heading down to rescue the Flash Demon Sword Squad, Ga Jinuk flashed a grin.
He no longer saw Hyeon Yucheon as an outsider.
“They were formed solely for the Demon Sword Sect Lord. And… with your current power, Sect Leader, you can surely earn their loyalty.”
“What? The steward Gong Jinwol fired a signal flare indicating an emergency? And in response, the Blood River Corps Leader took the Blood River Corps with him…?”
The current Blood Dragon Room Lord, the Heaven’s Evil Blood Ghost Cha Gyunak, lounged in a steaming hot spring, half-naked beauties pressed against him, half-listening to his subordinates’ reports amid their intimate play.
“Yes, but something’s off. They went all the way down to the base of the cliff… and there’s still no word.”
“Hmmm.”
Cha Gyunak had been idly caressing the women’s bodies throughout the report.
But at the mention of “base of the cliff,” he reacted.
‘The base of the cliff… isn’t that toward the underground prison?’
And there, imprisoned, were none other than the Brilliant Light Demon Sword Ga Jinuk and the Flash Demon Sword Squad he coveted so dearly.
Cha Gyunak hadn’t used poison to bend their wills, nor had he aggressively seized the underground prison despite half-forcing them into it.
He had simply locked them away there, hoping time would coax their allegiance.
“What could go wrong? And Gong, the steward… he’s always so meticulous and sharp. No issue there.”
Cha Gyunak dismissed it.
As he said, Gong Jinwol had a reputation for fussiness that sparked countless big and small incidents, yet he’d never once botched a job.
There was another reason for his ease.
‘Even if someone came sniffing after the Flash Demon Sword Squad, no worries.’
Because the squad served no master lightly.
These elite of the Demon Sword Sect had been assembled solely for the Demon Sword Ghost Elder Cheon Baeksang. After his disappearance, they had temporarily lent their strength to his eldest disciple, Ga Jinuk.
Thus, unless it was Ga Jinuk himself, not even the Murim Alliance Leader or the Heaven’s Five Venerables would sway them.
“Still, better check it out properly. Send the Vice Room Lord, the Blood Flame Seal Cho Gyun, and the Blood Dragon Twin Freaks, the Left brothers.”
Burning with greed and desire, that was Cha Gyunak.
The reason he’d usurped the Blood Dragon Room Lord’s seat lay in such decisive responses.
His proactive handling of even the slightest possibilities always paved his road to success.
“Understood!”
Cha Gyunak stared intently at his subordinates’ retreating backs as they moved to obey.
“Room Lord, what are you staring at so fixedly?”
The lovely attendants attending him asked coyly.
“Nothing, nothing.”
He shook his head vigorously.
He’d briefly debated going himself but decided against it.
“How could I leave such lovely ladies behind and go alone?”
Soon, Cha Gyunak dove back into the beauties’ embrace, indulging in revelry reminiscent of wine pools and meat forests.
And he would regret that judgment forever.
“…And that’s how it happened.”
As Cha Gyunak made the worst choice of his life, Hyeon Yucheon finally met the Flash Demon Sword Squad. He revealed everything in detail—his own prowess, and the final moments of his master, the Demon Sword Ghost Elder Cheon Baeksang.
“…”
Though the squad was an elite group that might have erupted in outrage or clamor, they maintained their composure to the end.
Then, all eyes turned to one man.
He was none other than the squad’s captain and a super peak realm master once counted among the Demon Sword Sect’s top five: the Flying Spirit Sword Guest Dohyeonbo.
Dohyeonbo was younger than the Demon Sword Ghost Elder’s eldest disciple Ga Jinuk but older than the third, the Jade-Faced Sword Lord Cho Jeong-ryong.
A master in his late thirties, he was terse and coldly rational.
Deeply suspicious by nature, he followed no one unless they were as proven as Cheon Baeksang or Ga Jinuk.
“It’s… hard to believe so readily.”
Dohyeonbo said.
Moreover, having not witnessed Hyeon Yucheon’s astonishing prowess firsthand, they were reluctant to follow him.
‘Ugh, this is frustrating.’
Ga Jinuk clutched his chest in exasperation but understood to some degree, knowing Dohyeonbo’s temperament well.
He himself hadn’t fully trusted Hyeon Yucheon until seeing his full power unleashed.
Of course, Dohyeonbo went further—even the Black Ironwood Sword Tablet left him unimpressed.
Because—
“What matters is not some mere splinter of divine wood, but the character and virtue of the one who wields it.”
Dohyeonbo and the Flash Demon Sword Squad, remembering those words better than anyone, refrained from rash action.
“We Black Wolf Three Swords vouch for him, don’t we?”
“And there are even greater witnesses here.”
Meanwhile, the Black Wolf Three Swords were at their wits’ end.
They too were originally vice captains of the Flash Demon Sword Squad, their seniors in a sense. It drove them mad that their juniors wouldn’t trust their word.
Rumble!
As the squad’s lukewarm response dragged on, Cha Gyunak’s reinforcements finally arrived.
Behind three leaders stood dozens of peak realm experts arrayed in formation.
Vice Room Lord Blood Flame Seal Cho Gyun was cautious by nature, so he had rallied the Blood Dragon Room’s peak warriors before charging in.
‘Fewer in number than the Blood River Corps… but each one a hundred-man slayer.’
Hyeon Yucheon instantly sensed a far tougher obstacle ahead.
“Gu Jinak, and Ga Jinuk… I see. So it’s come to this.”
Cho Gyun spoke calmly.
The reason hot-tempered, greedy Cha Gyunak maintained his authority was this man: Vice Room Lord Cho Gyun.
He was a prime example of someone wary of the Flash Demon Sword Squad and Ga Jinuk.
‘I warned the Room Lord so many times not to keep Gu Jinak and Ga Jinuk close…’
In the end, disaster struck, and the Blood Dragon Room’s top young talent had gone rogue.
At their sudden appearance, even the composed Flash Demon Sword Squad and Dohyeonbo finally reacted.
Murmurs!
“They’ve come…”
The reason even they wavered—beyond Cho Gyun—was the two old freaks of the Blood Dragon Room behind him.
The Blood Dragon Twin Freaks, Left brothers, ranked upper-tier even among super peak experts.
Over seventy years old, most at that age became elders or faded into obscurity—but not them.
The reason they hadn’t retired with golden elixirs was simple.
“Keh heh heh.”
“About time we smelled some blood.”
Typical villains within the Blood Dragon Room, near-demonic in nature, half-mad for the scent of blood—they couldn’t quit the hunt even at that age.
It was an open secret that Cha Gyunak had sicced them on the previous lord Lee Jinseong, promising all the blood they could crave.
“Cho Gyun, and now the Blood Dragon Twin Freaks…”
Dohyeonbo’s face darkened.
Without them, he might have managed somehow with the Black Wolf Three Swords and Ga Jinuk.
But behind them stood twenty peak experts.
Enough to erase a mid-tier sect without a trace.
The rumor that the Blood Dragon Room was the true power among current unorthodox factions was no lie.
“Perfect timing.”
Facing them, Gu Jinak showed no fear or panic. Instead, he turned to Dohyeonbo and the Flash Demon Sword Squad, who had been stalled in deadlock.
“The Demon Sword Sect Lord must demonstrate his prowess against them.”
Gu Jinak was wise.
When the squad refused to believe Hyeon Yucheon’s words, he called for a show of strength.
And one more thing.
“Vice Room Lord Cho Gyun follows the current Blood Dragon Room Lord, but he owes great debts to the previous lord, Great Hero Lee Jinseong. He has room to waver.”
“If Sect Leader slaughters the Blood Dragon Twin Freaks, displays overwhelming might, and shows himself leading the Flash Demon Sword Squad… Vice Room Lord Cho Gyun will likely surrender and aid us.”
In truth, Cho Gyun’s eyes were already flickering with doubt.
His passionate heart yearned for Gu Jinak, the previous lord Lee Jinseong, and even his sole blood heir, Ga Jinuk—the true successor.
But his rational mind clung to duty: the current lord was Cha Gyunak, and as a Blood Dragon Room member, he must obey any order.
“Perfect timing indeed.”
Hyeon Yucheon nodded at Gu Jinak’s transmission.
He’d already felt unsatisfied, having not fully unleashed the Formless Flash Quick Sword against the Mad Blood Berserker Jeongwon.
Whoooong, whoooong!
Was it because of that?
Hyeon Yucheon stepped forward and instantly formed a formless sword gang, letting it ring with the sword’s cry—the sword wail.
Sword wail echoes—formless blade manifests in an instant.
Then, in a gentle voice, he spoke.
“Surrender peaceably and help return the Blood Dragon Room to its rightful owner, and I shall spare you.”
His sword fierce, his tongue sweet—the quintessential murim adage, perfectly embodied.