Life Is One Big Bet
Yi Yeok entered the room and sat in silence, waiting. Sama Sa-cheol was no utter fool. A response would come soon enough.
A short while later Gwan Gyeom eased the door open and stepped inside. He bore a wooden box in both hands, his manner scrupulously respectful.
"The Hall Master bade me present this to you."
Yi Yeok reached out at his leisure and lifted the lid. Fifty spirit stones lay inside, arranged in neat rows.
"Generous of him."
At the sight of that smile, Gwan Gyeom knew he had not blundered.
"If you mean to cultivate, then of course we ought to be of help. I'll withdraw so as not to disturb you. Should you need anything at all, you have only to say the word."
Yi Yeok kept back the three stones he would use for cultivation and swept the rest into his Qiankun Ring. Gwan Gyeom's brow twitched, but he said nothing. He bowed his head and withdrew.
He had recognized the ring. In the celestial realm, no one who possessed a treasure that rare was ever an ordinary man.
When he returned, he reported what he had seen. Sama Sa-cheol's face grew graver still.
"He may truly be the direct disciple of some great figure. Or the man's own son."
"Hall Master, what if we made one grand wager?"
Sama Sa-cheol's brows lifted.
"What do you mean?"
"If he really stands high in the Sacred Hall, fifty stones won't leave so much as a mark on him. Better to offer every spirit stone we have. Then we'll be carved deep into his memory."
Sama Sa-cheol was silent. Even fifty had felt like drawing his own blood to give away. All of them?
Gwan Gyeom pressed on.
"Hall Master, if you mean to take the tiger, you must be ready to lose the cub. You were already prepared to offer him concubines. What are spirit stones beside that? Stones can be gathered again. An opportunity vanishes in an instant."
Sama Sa-cheol sank into thought.
"And there's the Seven-Colored Ginseng besides. If he comes by it through us, then even a high lord of the Sacred Hall will not forget the debt."
To the upper ranks of the Sacred Hall, Black Phoenix Hall was a speck too small to remember by name. Everything came down to opportunity — a chance to brand that name into the Sacred Hall itself. Miss it, and they would remain where they were forever.
Sama Sa-cheol made his decision.
"Very well. How many do we have left?"
"Three hundred and eighty-three."
"Three hundred... No. Bring all three hundred and eighty-three! A man is born, and if something worth walking toward finally appears, he stakes everything he has!"
Early that morning Yi Yeok set out with Sama Sa-cheol, Gwan Gyeom, and the rest of Black Phoenix Hall.
His mood was excellent. He had never imagined the hall would go so far to "please" him. At first light they had presented him with more than three hundred spirit stones all over again.
Watching that grin, Sama Sa-cheol felt a private satisfaction. Seal the bond with the Seven-Colored Ginseng, then send the concubines, and it would be perfect. Before long, Black Phoenix Hall would advance into the Sacred Hall.
Yi Yeok had no interest whatsoever in those calculations. He was already turning over how he would slip away once the ginseng was in his hands. Killing Sama Sa-cheol had been the original aim, but he had already profited handsomely. There was no need to go that far.
When the sun stood at its zenith, Gwan Gyeom pointed ahead.
"That, there — that is Sangbi Mountain."
The peak in the distance was like a colossal elephant stretching its trunk down the valley to drink. Shift the angle, and the likeness vanished at once.
"Let's go. Pick up the pace!"
Excitement was rising in him. The Seven-Colored Ginseng was a treasure among treasures, an ingredient for precious elixirs. Sold as it was, it would still fetch a staggering sum in silver. Several dozen experts of Black Phoenix Hall followed at his back.
An hour later, the party reached their destination at last.
At the center of the valley a stone stalagmite rose some two hundred feet into the air, still and unyielding, as if it had weathered ages of wind and rain.
"Spread out! Encircle it in a fan!"
Sama Sa-cheol gave the order. Powerful demonic beasts often kept watch around extraordinary spirit treasures, lying in wait to devour them the instant they reached full maturity. If a beast was lurking, it had to be found and dealt with first. Otherwise a strike from the dark could become a mortal threat.
Yi Yeok could not have cared less.
"Just find the Seven-Colored Ginseng. Quickly."
Gwan Gyeom stepped forward and spoke with care.
"We've come this far. It would be wiser to move with a little more caution. We ought to be ready for whatever might happen, shouldn't we?"
Yi Yeok considered a moment, then nodded. There was no need to rush.
"The rest of you, go on ahead."
Sama Sa-cheol barked the command. Every one of them was an elite of Black Phoenix Hall, and four were of elder rank. The hall was nothing like the immortal sects. Those sects, modeled on the structure of the Seongdo Immortal Sect, were built of offices and ranks in abundance, while the organizations under the Demonic Cult kept a structure that was simpler, and more practical.
As his men advanced, Sama Sa-cheol turned to Yi Yeok with a fawning air.
"There's no need for you to step in yourself. They're nothing but petty demonic beasts. We'll handle them. Please, simply watch at your ease. We will see you satisfied."
"They are all brothers of our Sacred Hall. See that none of them are hurt."
For an instant Sama Sa-cheol looked moved. He nodded.
"That you would show such concern — we will move with all the more care."
Then, as if testing the water, he asked,
"Your Excellency, the truth is I have never once set foot in the Sacred Hall. Might there be an opportunity?"
Yi Yeok smiled.
"When I return this time, I'll put in a good word with my father. Black Phoenix Hall may not have won any great renown within the Sacred Hall, but this journey has shown me your loyalty is genuine."
Sama Sa-cheol bowed, overcome with joy.
"You have my deepest thanks. I place myself entirely in Your Excellency's hands."
Yi Yeok went on, his tone weighted with meaning.
"In the days ahead, I will need loyal hounds to attend me within the Sacred Hall."
Sama Sa-cheol faltered, then grasped what he meant. The man's backing was far greater than he had imagined. He knew well enough that the Sacred Hall ran so thick with struggles for power that the blood never dried. Serve as one of those loyal hounds, and the reward would be beyond anything he could presently conceive.
Excitement low in his voice, he said,
"My ability may fall short, but in loyalty I yield to no one."
"That much I have already confirmed. How long it will last, however, I cannot yet be sure."
Sama Sa-cheol nodded again and again.
"I understand. Today I will prove it without fail."
He wanted to throw back his head and roar. His own strength was by no means lacking. He had simply collided with So Cheong-ha's Nokhyeon Sect and so had never managed a proper achievement. An unforeseen chance had come at last. He could finally climb.
Boom!
The earth shuddered, and something enormous surged up. A sticky tongue lashed around three men and swallowed them in a single gulp.
The Black Phoenix Hall fighters nearby went white and scattered in a panic, then hurled their attacks at the monster as one.
It was a gray toad the size of a house. Great venom sacs bulged all over its body, and its hide was hard as armor. Even a blade did not bite easily.
"Aaaagh!"
A wretched scream tore out. Venom sprayed from a sac and struck a man full in the face. In an instant his flesh melted away and the bone showed through.
"Interesting. So that's a demonic beast."
Yi Yeok watched with open curiosity. It was the first time he had seen one with his own eyes.
Sama Sa-cheol shouted.
"Spread out! Attack in turns!"
At the order the fighters broke apart and ringed the gray toad. One elder darted in, swung his sword, and withdrew at once. The moment the toad turned, another charged and struck. The method worked. The huge creature was slow of body and could only suffer the assault.
Its eyes flashed, thick with killing intent, and it leapt.
Boom!
The impact was like a mountain coming down. The ground heaved as if in an earthquake, and in the same instant the venom sacs burst, spraying a rain of poison in every direction. Several of the hall's men failed to dodge and were swallowed by the toxic downpour. Their screams grew ever more wretched.
Without pause the toad lashed out its tongue, coiled another man, and swallowed him.
Sama Sa-cheol roared low and began to sheathe his whole body in blood spirit. He shaped it into an enormous hammer, charged the toad, and brought it crashing down. As Hall Master of Black Phoenix Hall his skill was anything but ordinary — and with a high lord of the Sacred Hall watching, he had no choice but to spend every ounce of his strength.
Borne up by their Hall Master's fury, Black Phoenix Hall fought a desperate battle. Yet not one of them noticed that Yi Yeok had already vanished without a trace.