Three Years Until the Rise of the World's Greatest Lover…!
It was at that very moment.
"Heh heh… I wondered where that disgusting stench of the Reverse Blood Demon Art was coming from, and it turns out it was you lot."
Before I knew it, a giant of a man, well over two meters tall, had appeared beside me. His hair was bleached snow-white, and his unique aura reminded me of a Daoist sage untainted by the secular world.
'Oh, fuck? Is this...?'
Goosebumps broke out across my skin. Even with my senses amplified by the Four Gods Body after reaching the First-Class realm, I hadn't sensed him at all. His presence screamed that he was a master, yet the energy he emitted felt like that of an ordinary person, not a martial artist.
'Is this... protagonist plot armor?'
At the giant's appearance, the middle-aged man silently raised his hand and fired something into the air. A moment later, two men in blood-red robes and several figures in black emerged from the shadows behind him. The situation was on the verge of exploding into violence.
The giant spoke first.
"Whether in the past or now, you bastards never know your place."
The moment the giant finished his sentence, the middle-aged freak gestured, and the black-clad figures and the three men in blood-red robes lunged forward. In that instant, the giant flicked his hand, and the heads of the first few black-clad men and one of the red-robed men simply exploded.
'W-what the...'
I was stunned by his god-like, overwhelming martial prowess. The red-robed bastard who had been acting so high and mighty had been killed in the blink of an eye! It was insane. He was undoubtedly the absolute master who appears whenever a protagonist is in a crisis.
It seemed I wasn't the only one shocked by the sight, as one of the men in black screamed.
"This is impossible! There is no way a Death Blood Star could be defeated so easily!"
Perhaps because they were witnessing a reality they didn't want to believe, the black-clad men shrieked and charged forward.
"Heh heh… Call them Death Blood Stars or whatever you want, it makes no difference to me, you little brats!"
The black-clad man's mournful cry actually made me feel better, and I used the information he provided to grasp the situation.
'Death Blood Star? Why are those bastards here already...? Didn't they only appear in the middle of the novel? And they were supposed to appear wearing ghost masks and black robes... Is the blood-red robe their original attire?'
The Death Blood Star was the Blood Sect's elite assassin group, considered one of the worst in the Central Plains alongside the Black Moon Sect and the Flying Blade Sect. They consisted of 44 members in total, and each Death Blood Star had five or six direct subordinates. They were notorious for charging into battle without fear of death, which had made them quite a nuisance for the protagonist in the novel.
Even though they became nothing more than power-scaling tools for the protagonist by the middle of the story, seeing them appear this early—no, before the story had even begun—made them seem impossibly strong.
Every time the giant swung his hand, the scent of blood thickened. Realizing the situation was taking a strange turn, the middle-aged freak urgently manipulated the jade orb.
"Block him! Stop that old man!"
"Damn it, if it's come to this, I'll at least take his soul!"
With the middle-aged freak's muttering, a sinister purple energy erupted from the purple jade orb.
Pishuuung—!
That energy was clearly aimed at me.
"Fuck! What is that?!"
I leaped backward, trying desperately to dodge, but the purple energy pursued me relentlessly as if it were alive. It was even faster than its ominous aura suggested!
'It’s obvious that if that hits, I’m going to the afterlife.'
I struggled to evade, but it was too late. I was definitely going to get hit! Before I could even react, Sohye stepped in front of me.
"Oh, oh! Sohye, what are you doing! No!!"
"Gihu, I love—."
Pajijijik—!
It happened in a split second. The image of Sohye, who had taken that sinister purple energy in my stead, was seared into my mind, never to leave, even though it had been a mere fraction of a second. Sohye collapsed into my body slowly, like a doll with its strings cut.
"Fuck..."
I could feel her breathing faintly, but the sinister beam of light that had been aimed at me would surely have dire consequences.
"...This isn't right."
After closing Sohye's unfocused eyes, I couldn't stop the deep sorrow rising from within my heart. I had thought the tears had all dried up when my family died, but like water pouring from a collapsed dam, I could feel the emotion of sorrow leaking out.
I never knew I could be this sentimental. It was clearly the influence of this body. The emotions of that weakling Son Gihu must have been flowing into me. If not, how could I possibly feel this sad?
'You pathetic loser... Are you really crying over something like this?'
Even though it had been a short time, perhaps I had already given her a significant piece of my heart.
"Y-you sons of bitches!"
Fury—. At first, I was angry at the idiots who did this to Sohye, and second, I was angry at myself for failing to protect her in such a situation. Had I been thinking too naively? Even a child would know that in any place where people live, even in an alternate world, unreasonable things happen. From the moment I realized I was in a novel, shouldn't I have been searching for hidden opportunities and medicinal herbs to raise my cultivation realm as quickly as possible?
What a complete idiot. You really are a piece of trash.
While I was losing my mind, unable to control my rage, the giant, who had already finished off the middle-aged freak, looked over at me and said:
"Why is a man so disheartened? Is she your wife?"
My brain knew that he could kill a First-Class nobody like me with a single finger, but I didn't have the energy to answer.
'Sohye...'
"Hmm, this kid? His bone structure is quite something...? I haven't seen many like this in my lifetime. His comprehension seems to be lacking, but more than that, I like the look in his eyes."
As I remained silent, the giant, who was fiddling with the jade orb in his hand, continued.
"You were hit by a Soul-Sealing Bead. To think such an artifact still existed... It is regrettable, but it would be better to just let your wife go."
'Let... her... go?'
That was impossible. It wasn't that I was obsessed with the woman named Sohye, but I was the type of person who couldn't stand to lose what was mine. At the giant's words, my mind snapped back to reality, and I began to think coldly, re-evaluating the current situation. He was a mysterious Daoist, but he was the only person I could trust right now. As soon as that thought crossed my mind, my body moved swiftly, and I slammed my head against the ground repeatedly, shouting at the giant.
"Elder, is there truly no way? Please, enlighten this foolish child."
The giant looked at me intently and slowly opened his mouth.
"Of course, it is not that there is no way... but can you do it? I cannot help you with the task itself. I can only tell you the method."
I answered quickly.
"Yes, if you only tell me, I will do anything."
"Good. I will tell you how to break the Soul-Sealing Bead."
As the giant gave his permission, I felt a surge of hope and looked up at him.
"My name is Son Gihu. It is late, but thank you for your help. May I ask for your name, Elder?"
I could feel the giant Daoist observing me, examining me slowly. After a brief moment, he spoke.
"...I am the Sun and Moon Heavenly Venerable, Jin Taeyoung."
Sun and Moon Heavenly Venerable, Jin Taeyoung.
My mind went blank at those words. Who was he? He was a hidden master of the Murim who had been active several generations ago, a genius among geniuses who was said to have reached the point of Ascension when his lifespan reached its limit, even after achieving Rejuvenation. His movements were so mysterious that there were no accurate records of him, but rumors had it that he had fought and defeated countless masters of both the Righteous and Demonic sects, and had even fought the Heavenly Demon of the Demonic Sect to a draw. He was undoubtedly an absolute master.
In the original novel, he had tried hard to take the protagonist, Jin Sechan—who possessed the Heavenly Martial Body—as his disciple, but was ultimately rejected and simply ascended. The Sun and Moon Heavenly Venerable was appearing already? Why was he here? No, forget such trivial things; this was an opportunity. An opportunity to crush those Blood Sect bastards who only gathered orphans.
The Sun and Moon Heavenly Venerable's unique martial arts were not detailed in the novel. If I could learn his martial arts by any means necessary, no one would ever be hurt so helplessly again. Once I mastered his martial arts, the bloody revenge would begin.
As I was lost in thought, the Sun and Moon Heavenly Venerable spoke first.
"Before I tell you how to break the Soul-Sealing Bead... there is one condition."
"Yes, I was prepared for that. Please, speak."
Even if it was a slim hope, if there was a way, I would see it through. I was prepared to grit my teeth and endure even if he demanded something altruistic in the worst-case scenario. Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet. I steeled myself and waited for his next words.
"I have traveled the world for a long time... but I have never taken a disciple. However, as the end of my lifespan approaches, I am reminded of the promise I made to my master."
I was startled to hear that. He was bringing it up like this? Such a good thing was happening? 'Fuck? Is this flow...?'
This flow was the typical cliché of a hidden master taking the protagonist as his disciple.
"I will take you as my disciple. If you have the heart to serve me as your master, perform the Nine Bows of Respect."
Three years until the rise of the world's greatest lover…!