Chapter 188
Translator: penny
Chapter: 188
Chapter Title: Audience with the Sa Sect Lord
The next day, Peng Deokjo headed off alone to the Shandong Peng Clan, just as he had said he would.
Before leaving, he came to see me and heard about what happened at the Sa Sect, but it wasn't particularly helpful information, so he just frowned.
After sending Peng Deokjo on his way, I was finally able to enjoy some leisure time after a long while.
After leaving the Murim Alliance, I'd visited brothels and seduced Baek Li Jieun, but staying here at the Sa Sect felt completely different.
'Back then, there was always something to do.'
I'd enjoyed myself plenty at the time, but I'd also been constantly on the move.
I'd been flying around with lightness skills every single day without fail, so it had taken a serious toll on my mental energy.
In contrast, here I could truly live like a wastrel.
Thanks to the Sa Sect Lord's consideration, no one except Sa Hye-rin sought me out.
After spending four days lounging about like that, the moment I'd been waiting for finally arrived.
"Young Master Mok, the Sect Lord wishes to see you."
Was it because we'd spent the past few days more passionately than any lovers? Sa Hye-rin's voice calling for me was exceptionally soft.
I smiled warmly at her and replied in kind.
"Has the Sa Squad finally been completed?"
Did I sound too pleased? Sa Hye-rin's gaze turned sullen.
"Are you that happy to leave the Sa Sect?"
"Nah, I was just curious. Anyway, let's hurry."
I naturally wrapped my arm around Sa Hye-rin's waist.
But she slipped out of my grasp with a sigh, looking apologetic.
"The Sect Lord wants you to come alone."
"Just me?"
"Yes. It seemed like she had something to say to you."
Her answer left me puzzled.
If she wanted a private talk, she could have done it anytime before.
So what could she possibly want to say now?
'Maybe a final farewell.'
Truth be told, it didn't matter what it was.
As long as it wasn't nonsense about reneging on the promised Sa Squad.
I exchanged a light kiss with Sa Hye-rin by way of goodbye, then headed alone to see the Sa Sect Lord.
Having been to the sect lord's hall before, I had no trouble finding it.
As I opened the door and entered, the same scene as before unfolded.
A single elderly woman sat languidly on a massive jade throne.
The posture didn't suit her at all, but the aura she exuded far surpassed the throne's grandeur, filling the entire room.
"What are you doing standing there? Come in."
"I was checking to see if there were any other doors."
The Sa Sect Lord chuckled at my shameless response.
"There aren't any on that side, so get over here."
As I approached the Sa Sect Lord, I noticed two ornate wooden boxes placed on the armrests of the jade throne.
They were the same kind of wooden boxes I'd seen once before.
'The Sadans! And two of them!'
When did unorthodox folk ever keep their word more than once or twice?
Sa Hye-rin had assured me through intermediaries that I'd get two, but seeing them with my own eyes made me quite pleased.
Noticing my gaze, the Sa Sect Lord grinned.
"What if I said I wasn't going to give them to you?"
"Pardon? What do you...?"
At my reflexive retort to her out-of-nowhere nonsense, she continued as if she'd been waiting.
"Now that I've made them, I find myself reluctant. Why should I give them to you?"
"..."
This old lady must be bored again.
Why were there so many playful elders teasing me after my regression?
'The Shadow Gate Sect Lord did the same before. Tsk.'
It was a hassle, but maybe I'd play along a bit.
Of course, in a way that would entertain her.
"Wouldn't it be better to offer them willingly than have a junior take them by force?"
Unlike before, I didn't just emit pure aura—I lightly stomped my foot.
At the same time, a formless energy filled the room.
Formless Aura Technique.
Chu Mun-rak's unique unorthodox martial art, the Formless Aura Skill, was now being demonstrated in the Sa Sect's lord's hall.
Recognizing the technique, the Sa Sect Lord's white eyebrows twitched.
"Isn't this Elder Chu Mun-rak's martial art from the Four Black Alliance?"
As expected, it was utterly useless against a transcendent realm master.
But I hadn't expected this petty trick to hold back a late transcendent realm absolute expert anyway.
It was just a conversation starter to mildly entertain the bored old lady.
"I killed him and took it."
As expected, interest filled the Sa Sect Lord's eyes upon hearing my words.
"Ho, I heard Chu Mun-rak had vanished, but it was you?"
"Yes. He was a disagreeable fellow, so I cut off his head."
"Haha, he certainly was disagreeable. Strutting around as an elder of the Four Black Alliance without knowing his place."
The petite Sa Sect Lord let out a hearty laugh that belied her size.
After laughing for a good while, she looked back at me.
"But isn't this a bit lacking? To take these by force, that is."
The Sa Sect Lord's finger tapped lightly on one of the small wooden boxes.
It was a signal to make things more entertaining...
"Eh, forget it. If I cause a scene here, what excuse would I have to see Little Sa again?"
I chose to simply step back.
Actually fighting wasn't an option anyway.
"Giving me a pass because of Hye-rin?"
The Sa Sect Lord stared at my face, trying to gauge my true intentions.
Her intense gaze irritated me a little, but I met it without showing it.
However, the old lady's insight was quicker than expected.
"Your feelings seem genuine, at least, regardless of your skill. Your annoyed expression says it all."
The Sa Sect Lord had pierced right through my annoyance.
She chuckled and rose from her seat.
"Besides the Formless Aura Skill you just showed and that peculiar Harmonizing Arts, what other martial arts have you learned?"
Of course she knew about my Blissful Creation Art as if it were natural.
It wasn't anything new, really.
'I didn't ask Little Sa to keep it a secret.'
It wouldn't have stayed secret anyway.
The Sa Sect Lord was a master perceptive enough to notice something amiss just from seeing Sa Hye-rin.
"Oh, this and that."
"Ho, so are those arts superior to our Sa Sect's martial techniques?"
I paused briefly at that smooth question.
'Superior to the Sa Sect's martial arts?'
I had several divine arts I knew of, and plenty outdid them in power.
In fact, during the past four days fooling around with Sa Hye-rin, I'd confirmed it—the Sa Sect's techniques weren't particularly strong to begin with.
Still, there was a slight issue: the Sa Sect's martial arts weren't specialized for killing.
Unlike typical martial arts, they felt somewhat heterogeneous.
"Before that, what does the Sa Sect pursue?"
Pleased by my question, the Sa Sect Lord smiled faintly.
"What do you think it is?"
"Hm... The Spirit Comforting Rite?"
"Ho, anything else?"
"No idea. But it felt more upright than most orthodox sect arts."
When I'd witnessed the Shandong Peng Clan fighting the Sa Sect before, I hadn't sided with the Sa Sect for no reason.
Their martial arts lacked any unorthodox flavor, infused instead with the purity and profundity of prestigious orthodox sects.
Satisfied with my answer, she nodded.
Then she picked up one of the wooden boxes beside her and tossed it to me.
"This one?"
"One for now."
She seemed intent on giving me one Sadan each time she was satisfied.
'Well, this is easy enough.'
As I tucked the wooden box I'd just received into my bosom, the Sa Sect Lord suddenly asked a question.
"Do you know about the Fengshan Ritual?"
"Fengshan?"
Wasn't that the ritual said to have been performed by the First Emperor?
'After ascending the throne, proclaiming it to heaven and earth.'
The reason I knew about it was simple.
My second sister, who carried the Mount Tai Sect's lineage, used a technique called the Fengshan Sword.
As I pondered if there was a connection, the Sa Sect Lord began speaking on her own.
"Fengshan is a ritual offered to heaven and earth. In the past, after unifying the realm, the First Emperor performed it to inform the gods of the mountains and rivers."
"And?"
I gave a half-hearted response since I had zero interest.
But the Sa Sect Lord noticed and twitched her eyebrows.
"That expression says you have no idea why I'm telling you this."
"Well, yeah..."
I didn't know much about ancient history, nor did I particularly care to.
The Sa Sect Lord let out a deep sigh.
"Sigh, these young folks nowadays... Tsk tsk."
After clicking her tongue briefly, she got to the main point.
"Earlier, you asked what our Sa Sect's martial arts pursue. What if I said it was this Fengshan? Does that pique your interest?"
"Huh? Fengshan?"
My response was the same as my first one, but the meaning was entirely different.
'Isn't that the Mount Tai Sect's Fengshan Sword?'
But having seen it with my own eyes, the Sa Sect's arts and my second sister's were completely different.
Especially my second sister's—its power was worthy of being called a divine art without question...
'Aren't the Sa Sect's arts a bit lacking?'
The gap between the two was so vast it felt unfair to even compare them.
As I harbored these doubts, the Sa Sect Lord spouted something else outrageous.
"The Mount Tai Sect, which was destroyed in the Orthodox-Unorthodox Great War of the past. We, the Sa Sect, are the ones who carry its lineage."
The Sa Sect Lord's expression was utterly confident as she said this nonsense.