Chapter 117
Chapter 117
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 117
Chapter Title: The Very Place
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Seung Doheung looked around, slightly intimidated.
Byeok Taesan, who had disappeared after telling him to think it over, did not reappear.
Instead, a group of people rushed in, took Seung Doheung and his companions, and led them out of the prison.
From there, they traveled nonstop from Dangyang to Yichang, finally arriving at the Black Iron Workshop.
Upon entering the Black Iron Workshop, Seung Doheung was shocked. The formation he had set up was still active.
He reflexively checked on his companions. They were all struggling under the pressure crushing their bodies.
Seung Doheung was the only one unaffected here.
Seung Doheung was brought to this place, while his companions were taken elsewhere. They had likely been separated.
It was a small room.
There was a table and two chairs. Seung Doheung sat in one of them.
After a short wait, the door opened and someone entered.
It was a man who looked quite old.
"I hear you're a traitor."
Hearing such an abrupt accusation, anger flared in Seung Doheung's eyes.
"Who are you calling a traitor!"
Seung Doheung retorted angrily before falling silent. Then he asked cautiously.
"Are you from the Cult?"
"Well... maybe."
Seung Doheung's expression contorted. But the words that followed made his eyes widen.
"Have you ever heard of the Divine Doctor of the Ages?"
"Then... are you saying you're the Divine Doctor of the Ages, sir?"
The Divine Doctor of the Ages grinned.
"That's right. What do you think? Feeling a bit more respectful now?"
Seung Doheung wore a hesitant expression. He seemed different from what he had heard.
"I heard you were a very... serious person..."
The Divine Doctor of the Ages nodded emphatically.
"Exactly. You're well-informed. There aren't many words that suit me better than 'serious'."
Seung Doheung had a few things to say but held his tongue. Here, he was still the weaker one.
"Anyway, the Heaven-Changing Society... why did you do something so crazy?"
Seung Doheung's face hardened. Crazy? How could he say such a thing?
"Our Heavenly Demonic Cult must change."
"How so?"
"Unfair discrimination is too rampant."
"Unfair discrimination?"
The corners of the Divine Doctor's mouth twisted.
"That's right. The contempt we formation masters face is especially severe."
"Well... it's true that the warriors are treated better."
"That's not all. Do you know how many people are discriminated against even within the Secret Heaven Group?"
"Really? That's news to me."
"It's true. My job in the Heaven-Changing Society was to find and persuade the members of the Secret Heaven Group who were being treated unfairly."
Hearing this, the corners of the Divine Doctor's mouth curled up.
"Is that so? Finding members of the Secret Heaven Group scattered across the land couldn't have been easy, yet you managed it? The Heaven-Changing Society must be more impressive than I thought."
"That's right. The power of formations can be used for a wide variety of tasks. The problem is that the fools who only know of brute force don't understand that."
"Fools who only know of brute force... you're not talking about our Lord, are you?"
Seung Doheung, startled, waved his hands frantically.
"O-Of course not! We merely wished to give the Supreme One an opportunity to understand the usefulness of formations. We were certain that the wise Supreme One would see through to our intentions."
The Divine Doctor of the Ages grinned and waved his hand dismissively.
"Alright, alright. Why are you getting so worked up?"
Seung Doheung fell silent with an embarrassed expression and sheepishly avoided the Divine Doctor's gaze.
"By the way, you still have information on the Secret Heaven Group, don't you?"
Seung Doheung looked at the Divine Doctor, flustered.
The Divine Doctor grinned and held out his hand.
"As it happens, I've been desperately searching for that information. So, hand it over. Serving our Young Master is wearing my old bones to dust."
"I-I can't do that."
"W-What do you mean, you can't? Oh, right. Are all your companions formation masters too?"
"No. There are also recruited members of the Secret Heaven Group mixed in."
The Divine Doctor stared at Seung Doheung in disbelief.
"There are guys who actually fell for that?"
"They are people who understand the greater cause."
"Greater cause, my foot. At least it seems you're not trying to put the Illusionary Demon on the throne, so that's something..."
In the Divine Doctor's eyes, this was a clear lust for power.
While the treatment of formation masters was somewhat inferior, it wasn't as severe as they made it out to be. Besides, they had brought some of it upon themselves.
Seung Doheung asked the Divine Doctor with an anxious look.
"Um... what will happen to me now?"
The Divine Doctor answered calmly.
"If you spill everything you know, you'll probably work under the Young Master. Well, you're not trustworthy, so you'll be placed under a restriction. If you get caught trying to deceive him, he'll just have to deal with you then. For your information, if you fall into the Young Master's hands, you'll shit yourself in your sleep. I've seen it with my own eyes, so you can believe me."
Seung Doheung stared blankly at the Divine Doctor.
Shitting yourself in your sleep. What on earth could be done to a person to make that happen? His face turned pale. He instinctively clenched his sphincter.
"W-What, what on earth is the Young Master's identity?"
The Divine Doctor paused with a very troubled expression.
"I'm not entirely sure about this myself... but for now, I'm thinking he's the Lord's hidden son."
"Whaat?"
Seung Doheung's eyes widened in astonishment, nearly tearing at the corners.
The Divine Doctor grinned and patted Seung Doheung's shoulder.
"See? Now you realize you've hitched your wagon to the right star, don't you? So do a good job. Don't try to be clever and end up shitting yourself. Just honestly spill everything you know. And bow down so low that if the Young Master tells you to die, you'd stab your own heart. If you do that, won't a good day come eventually? I think so, what about you?"
Having talked so much for the first time in a while, the Divine Doctor felt a refreshing sense of relief, as if a weight had been lifted.
He looked at Seung Doheung with a pleasant expression, only to find him looking half-dead.
The Divine Doctor left Seung Doheung like that and stood up.
"Ah, now that I feel better, maybe I should go see my brother?"
***
Byeok Taesan was in his room, listening to Hwaok's report.
"I have requested the cooperation of the Underworld Sect. We will begin surveillance on the identified locations immediately."
Using the information extracted from the captured members of the Heaven-Changing Society, they had created a list of names for the remaining members of both the Secret Heaven Group and the Heaven-Changing Society that they hadn't known about.
"It seems they were cooperative."
Hwaok replied with admiring eyes at Byeok Taesan's words.
"They were surprisingly cooperative."
It made one wonder just what Byeok Taesan had done to them.
"However, it was a bit disappointing that their information was limited. Most of it was confined to the Hubei region."
"Is that so?"
"Yes. When I asked about other regions, it seems the Heaven-Changing Society operates in separate regional divisions. The one overseeing it all was the Illusionary Demon."
The corners of Byeok Taesan's mouth lifted slightly.
"He was quite determined."
Unable to do anything within the Heavenly Demonic Cult, he must have tried to build his own power base outside of it.
The information about the Secret Heaven Group was clearly obtained by the Illusionary Demon from within the Heavenly Demonic Cult and leaked to the Heaven-Changing Society.
Perhaps the leader of the Moon Shadow Division was also in on it.
Since it wasn't an act of rebellion against the Heavenly Demon but an attempt to strengthen their own position within the Cult, it wouldn't have been strange for anyone to be involved.
No, perhaps the situation was far messier than he had thought.
Still, they wouldn't be able to do anything they wanted now.
What could they do while trapped in the Profound Heaven Formation?
"Well... now that the bastards who were trying to pull some dirty tricks are all gone, maybe they'll actually do a better job?"
The corners of Byeok Taesan's mouth lifted slightly.
Regardless of the process, wasn't he the one who had created this situation?
"Should I have killed more of them?"
Hwaok flinched at Byeok Taesan's murmur. She looked at him with a tense expression.
"I wasn't talking to you, so don't be nervous."
After saying that, Byeok Taesan stared quietly at Hwaok.
Who could just stop being nervous on command? Hwaok was already tense, and Byeok Taesan's intense gaze only made it worse.
"You seem to have worked hard."
Only then did Hwaok realize that Byeok Taesan had been assessing her martial arts progress.
"I only followed the Young Master's instructions."
It was true. She had recently undergone intense training using the formation at the Black Iron Workshop, and her skills had improved dramatically.
Of course, it had been indescribably difficult.
"For now, we'll take them over one by one. I need to increase our numbers."
"Understood."
Byeok Taesan decided to deal with the group called Nameless first and worry about the Heavenly Demonic Cult later.
In any case, he didn't have to worry about the Cult for a while because of the Profound Heaven Formation.
"Have you checked the things we took from that Go Jungwang fellow?"
"Yes. Most of it was a record of their past activities, and based on that, we have identified several subordinate organizations currently in Wuhan and Yichang."
"Things like the Fragrant Flower Pavilion?"
"They are a little different from the Fragrant Flower Pavilion."
Go Jungwang and Seo Dogun had built their own subordinate organizations.
These organizations could only be controlled by them.
"They only operate on orders given in code. So, it seems we can use them."
Byeok Taesan nodded lightly.
"Well... go ahead."
"We will now deal with the Fragrant Flower Pavilion. Additionally, we have identified several other organizations that serve a similar role. We will handle them in order as well."
"If you think it's too much to handle, tell me in advance."
"I've already looked into it. We can handle it on our own."
By mobilizing the ronin market led by Yuk Taegu and the underworld forces led by Jang Gagu, they could take over most small organizations with minimal losses.
"Um... and while investigating how Go Jungwang recruited Seung Doheung, I found something strange."
At the mention of something strange, Byeok Taesan looked at Hwaok.
"Go Jungwang was only following orders from above to find Seung Doheung. But the instructions regarding Seung Doheung are too detailed."
"The instructions are detailed?"
"Yes. It started with the fact that Seung Doheung's skills are greater than what is publicly known, and included his current location, his future schedule, and other specific details necessary to recruit him."
Hearing this, Byeok Taesan stroked his chin, lost in thought for a moment.
Then he looked at Hwaok.
Hwaok had learned the Moon Shadow Demonic Arts. Having learned it knowing it was a demonic art, she was aware that Byeok Taesan and the Heavenly Demonic Cult were connected in some way.
Of course, she didn't know the exact nature of the relationship.
She had probably inserted this report now for that reason.
"So, you think there was a traitor within the Heavenly Demonic Cult, is that it?"
"It is merely a guess."
Byeok Taesan nodded. It was a guess, but a very likely one.
But for now, the Heavenly Demonic Cult was isolated.
So, the information must have been passed on before the Profound Heaven Formation was activated.
'That means... there could be others who were captured like Seung Doheung...'
The fact that the Heaven-Changing Society's power was concentrated outside the Heavenly Demonic Cult rather than inside was slightly concerning.
It seemed things were about to get complicated.
***
Wiping the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve, Seung Doheung plopped down on the spot.
There was still plenty of time before sunset. It seemed he could finish everything on time even if he took a short break.
As he sat and looked around, he saw the other formation masters diligently dismantling the formation.
Among those captured by Byeok Taesan this time, eight were formation masters, including Seung Doheung himself.
They were currently dismantling the formation set up in the Black Iron Workshop and collecting the materials used in it.
The formation at the Black Iron Workshop had used many precious materials, some of which were quite difficult to obtain even with money, taking a long time to procure.
Byeok Taesan had ordered Seung Doheung to dismantle the formation at the Black Iron Workshop and set up a similar one elsewhere.
They carried out the order without complaint.
A thick fog of fear had settled in the hearts of Seung Doheung and the other members of the Heaven-Changing Society.
It was because of Go Jungwang. No, it was because of Go Jungwang's screams.
Just as they happened to be near Go Jungwang, Byeok Taesan had paid him a visit.
And they had to listen to his agonizing screams for a full two hours.
It wasn't just screaming; it sounded as if he was trying to pour out his very soul through his shrieks.
Listening to those screams was terrifying. A primal fear consumed their minds. And before they knew it, they were trembling uncontrollably.
Ever since then, they would lower their heads whenever they saw Byeok Taesan. The fear that they might end up like Go Jungwang if they made eye contact and were seen in the wrong light weighed heavily on their minds.
As Seung Doheung sat resting, he saw Byeok Taesan passing by in the distance.
Startled, Seung Doheung shot up from his seat.
And quickly got back to work.
Byeok Taesan stopped walking for a moment and looked at Seung Doheung.
Feeling Byeok Taesan's gaze, Seung Doheung broke out in a cold sweat.
It seemed he shouldn't rest until the job was finished.
Seeing Seung Doheung working hard, Byeok Taesan started walking again.
And left the Black Iron Workshop.
While burning Go Jungwang's soul, Byeok Taesan had discovered an interesting piece of information.
He was now on his way to the place mentioned in that information.
The very place where the one who controlled Go Jungwang resided.