Chapter 51
Chapter 51
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 51
Chapter Title: Reorganization (1)
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“Any last words?”
At Gwak Un-pae's question, Cheol Geum-san let out a long, regretful sigh.
He had been too gravely wounded by the sword's cry just moments ago.
A shadow fell over his vision.
Faced with a skill he couldn't possibly react to, all he could do was marvel.
‘If it weren’t for that bastard, Ouyang Jue.’
Starting with the Golden Ring Merchant Guild, everything would have gone smoothly.
Since when?
Since that disciple, Ouyang Jue, stepped forward and ruined everything.
‘Was it when I failed to deal with Jin-ak quietly?’
Cheol Geum-san’s expression hardened stubbornly.
“If I say I have none, will you pry them out of me?”
“Of course.”
“I see.”
Muttering those words, Cheol Geum-san briefly lowered his head.
‘I thought everything would work out.’
In that instant, a corner of his vision went dark.
Cheol Geum-san’s lips parted slightly.
“That bastard Duanxian must be pleased.”
Gwak Un-pae frowned at his words.
“Do not speak the name of the Sect Leader so lightly.”
“Why, just why, did our Grandmaster place a man like Duanxian in the Sect Leader's seat?”
Unable to understand, Cheol Geum-san muttered again.
The darkness that had obscured a corner of his vision now shrouded the entire sky.
The Asura Demonic Arts.
A remnant martial art of the old Demonic Cult, which was once located in the Hundred Thousand Mountains.
Seeing it, Gwak Un-pae let out an involuntary cry of shock.
“Good heavens.”
“Can you understand?”
Cheol Geum-san’s voice twisted grotesquely.
The demonic energy invading his entire body, the sinister power twisting his blood and qi, had corrupted his very nature.
“How Bai Duanxian, the weakest among us, was chosen as the Sect Leader! And why they took my disciple, Jin-ak, from me!”
“……”
Gwak Un-pae fell silent for a moment.
He recalled how Cheol Geum-san had repeatedly opposed giving the Small Purple Spirit Elixir to Bai Duanxian.
Had this long-held grudge turned his senior brother into this?
Gwak Un-pae’s lips twisted bitterly.
‘He was always a man with an exceptional lust for power.’
But the fact remained that Cheol Geum-san had learned demonic arts.
Moreover, they were the martial arts of the old Demonic Cult, which their Grandmaster's generation had fought countless wars against.
So now, he was nothing more than a monster who had learned demonic arts.
Gwak Un-pae’s sword swung, drawing a long arc.
The first form of the Lightning Severing Sword was unleashed.
*Screee… clang!*
A sudden gust of hot wind pressed down on Cheol Geum-san’s upper body. The Lightning Severing Sword was that relentless, that fast.
It even struck at exquisite angles impossible to follow with the naked eye.
But the demonic energy forged by the Asura Demonic Arts was just as formidable.
Although he was using his non-dominant left hand for the sword, the demonic energy bestowed by the Asura Demonic Arts was more formidable than imagined.
“Is this all you’ve got!”
Ha, hahaha!
Cheol Geum-san laughed, excessively loud.
He shouted so forcefully that bloody foam frothed in his throat.
But he himself didn't feel it.
He was simply drunk on the power he now possessed, on the satisfaction the demonic energy gave him.
Gwak Un-pae let out a shallow breath.
“Hup.”
At that moment, Cheol Geum-san's eyes widened. A strike he hadn't noticed before, the sword's cry, was unfolding.
“...Ah.”
He could see it, he could feel it, yet why could he only stare blankly?
Cheol Geum-san unknowingly glanced down at his severed right arm.
‘A pity.’
If his right arm hadn't been taken in the first ambush, he might have been able to counter that attack.
If so, couldn't he have found a clue to reach a higher level?
Cheol Geum-san cast aside his regret and summoned his demonic energy with all his might.
But he couldn't hide the emptiness in his voice.
“Who would have thought my junior brother was such a pot-bellied old man.”
Veins like a spider's web bulged across Gwak Un-pae’s right hand.
But the technique unleashed by that hand was even more astonishing.
The enemy's eight directions.
Reaching every angle, including front, back, left, right, and the diagonals, the sword energy he poured out became a veritable wail, completely ensnaring Cheol Geum-san.
Gwak Un-pae murmured.
“Plum Blossoms Mingle with Heaven.”
The plum blossoms mingle with the sky.
For some reason, Cheol Geum-san thought the name of the technique suited the move perfectly.
*Sshhhhaaa!*
A fountain of blood erupted from his body.
* * *
“Thankfully, it ended quietly.”
Arriving late, Ouyang Jue let out a sigh of relief.
He had heard the details from Gwak Un-pae via a mental message as soon as he reached Mount Hua.
Cheol Geum-san's first and second-generation disciples had tried to leave the mountain, and Ik Hyeon and Liu Zhangming had stopped them.
But he couldn't quite understand.
-Cheol Geum-san alone would have been a difficult opponent for you, Senior Brother. How did the two of them handle all the first-generation disciples?
-The Three Pure Ones must have helped.
Gwak Un-pae didn't seem to know the reason either.
Even if he wanted to ask, most of the second-generation disciples were dead, and Liu Zhangming himself had only answered that he had just poured out all his strength.
But… there was one thing that bothered him.
‘A sense of longing felt during his enlightenment.’
It was strange in the first place that he couldn't remember anything from when he ascended to the level of a peak master.
But this time, he said he felt a sense of longing during his enlightenment.
How should he interpret this?
It was illogical from the start.
‘It's not like he carries enlightenment around in his pocket.’
To conveniently have an epiphany during a life-or-death battle and unleash a technique perfectly suited for the situation.
This wasn't something that could be explained away with a simple phrase like 'the will of the Three Pure Ones'.
What mattered was ‘what’ Liu Zhangming had encountered during his enlightenment.
Ouyang Jue let out a heavy sigh and spoke.
“I can only say it’s truly fortunate.”
“By the way, Jue.”
“Yes.”
Gwak Un-pae glanced sideways at Song Muk and Bai Duanxian behind him.
“I heard you went to contact the Zhongnan Sect... Could you explain the details of what happened?”
“I will tell you now.”
Ouyang Jue explained everything except for the fact that he had obtained the Heavenly Escape Sword Arts.
He said the Black Dragon Gang had also infiltrated the Zhongnan Sect, and using that as leverage, he had secured their full cooperation.
He also mentioned that the Beggars' Sect branch leader in Shaanxi had been involved and that he had taken care of the matter.
“I’ve only heard fragmented reports… but it seems the senior brother was abducted by someone before that happened.”
“Abducted? A branch leader of the Beggars' Sect?”
At those words, Gwak Un-pae felt the gravity of the situation.
The Beggars' Sect had always grown by specializing in classifying and utilizing information from the martial world.
The one who had made the most of this was the Sect Leader from two generations ago, the Thousand Eccentric Beggar.
Using information as a weapon, the Thousand Eccentric Beggar had formed tacit alliances with nine of the most prominent martial sects.
He didn't even hesitate to join hands with unorthodox martial artists, earning him the titles Ten Thousand Eccentrics and Shadow of a Tree, for once he hid, no one could find him.
Since then, no one had ever dared to persecute the Beggars' Sect.
“This couldn't have been the work of the Black Dragon Gang alone.”
“I would assume so.”
Then, Ouyang Jue suddenly asked.
“But I heard Cheol Geum-san used demonic arts. What were they?”
The answer came from another voice.
“The Asura Demonic Arts.”
“……”
Gwak Un-pae bowed his head slightly toward the speaker and took a step back.
Ouyang Jue turned his head to look at Bai Duanxian. As usual, his face was set in a hard expression.
As he was swept up in the storm of change, the vitality in Bai Duanxian's face had gradually faded.
This was surely not a problem exclusive to Mount Hua.
As far as Ouyang Jue knew, the Nangong Clan and the Diancang Sect had also started experiencing difficulties around this time.
There was no way the leader of a sect, especially the head of the Mount Hua Sect, would be unaware of such information.
He was likely just enduring it silently to spare his disciples from worry.
‘Also, it must have something to do with the man called the Plum Blossom Cave Dweller.’
Ouyang Jue unconsciously licked his lips.
His interest was slightly piqued.
But he quickly suppressed it. Too many masters were positioned nearby to reveal such a thing.
Besides, hadn't he sworn to live this life as a Daoist of Mount Hua?
If it became necessary, Bai Duanxian would reveal it someday.
Furthermore, the mysterious man had said it before.
That he came to find out what kind of person Ouyang Jue was.
‘Since he said that, he'll eventually try to contact me directly.’
Seeking out someone who would come eventually was not a good choice.
Especially an opponent whose martial skill was on a completely different level.
He might not be able to win even with the level of mastery he had achieved at the end of his previous life.
For such an opponent to have settled in one place and not be moving, there must be a grave reason.
Ouyang Jue organized his thoughts and asked Bai Duanxian.
“What are the Asura Demonic Arts?”
At his words, Bai Duanxian smirked.
“Is there anything you don't know?”
“And you weren't staying quiet just to test me?”
When Ouyang Jue gave him a strange smile, Bai Duanxian cleared his throat once and changed the subject.
“Anyway, to think of cooperating with Zhongnan… I thought you were the type to solve everything by yourself.”
Ouyang Jue replied concisely, as if to say he would never do such a thing.
“In the martial world, there's a limit to what a single junior can do.”
“My, my, at times like this, you speak like an experienced man.”
Though he said it as if chiding him, he was in fact praising Ouyang Jue’s wisdom.
Bai Duanxian gazed forlornly at the blood-soaked path.
“So much blood has been spilled today.”
“……”
His wrinkles seemed especially deep today. Sorrow had settled within them.
“To think a sect elder would orchestrate such a thing.”
Ouyang Jue cut him off coolly.
“It is because he was an elder that he could act so boldly.”
Bai Duanxian let out a long sigh.
“...Haaah.”
Once an elder of the same generation as the current Sect Leader had resolved to leave, how could he be stopped?
No matter how wary they had become after the last incident, they would never have thought an elder was the enemy.
Neither would the Daoists guarding the main gate.
Bai Duanxian frowned, his gaze sweeping over everything from the Ojeong Gate to the path.
“It will take a long time to clean this up.”
Ouyang Jue nodded lightly at his words.
Bai Duanxian was beginning to see him not just as a promising junior, but as a suitable advisor.
And now that the internal enemy, Cheol Geum-san, was gone.
The Mount Hua Sect's ascent could begin.
Nothing could stand in Mount Hua's way anymore.
Ouyang Jue declared seriously.
“Yes. We cannot keep taking hits.”
It was time to bid farewell to the somewhat deficient and weak Mount Hua of the past.
Bai Duanxian decided to make the best choice.
“You said Master Simwon is at the foot of the mountain?”
When Ouyang Jue affirmed it, Bai Duanxian clasped his hands behind his back and called for Song Muk and Gwak Un-pae.
“Master of the Disciplinary Hall, and Master of the Reception Hall.”
“Yes, Sect Leader.”
“Go and respectfully escort the Daoists from the Zhongnan Sect up the mountain. Also…”
Bai Duanxian bit his lower lip for a moment.
“Do not forget what happened today.”
Bai Duanxian's final words seeped into the hearts of the Daoists who were collecting the bodies.
Bai Duanxian's lips moved.
-We must start by unifying the Daoist sects of Shaanxi.
Ouyang Jue felt the great currents of the future shifting.