Chapter 136
Chapter 136
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 136
Chapter Title: Demonic Cult
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Most of the people around the platform had been crushed by the Great Protector's intimidating presence and couldn't muster any counterarguments.
But this was Tianshan. A place where people with particularly stiff backs, knees, and necks gathered.
A land where fugitives, exiles, and those who refused to bend lived together.
In other words, there were people here who couldn't back down even knowing it meant death.
"What do you think you're doing!"
A middle-aged warrior drew his sword and leaped onto the platform.
The Left Protector responded to his sudden action simply. He kicked the man's chest with a foot infused with inner energy.
Thud. A small but dull crack, followed by the sound of something breaking.
The middle-aged warrior flew nearly five paces through the air before crashing down from the platform, meeting his end without even a scream.
His chest was caved in, bones shattered as if pounded by an iron hammer.
"Show proper respect before the Cult Leader."
Even then, Three-Eyed Monk was still glaring at the Cult Leader's corpse while heaving ragged breaths. No, perhaps it was better to call it the former Cult Leader's corpse now.
Three-Eyed Monk's fierce face twisted even more viciously.
"You dog bastards!"
Three-Eyed Monk launched himself at the Great Protector. But the Great Protector didn't react.
Instead, the Left and Right Protectors blocked him. As fellow transcendent experts, the two managed to hold him off quite steadily.
Three-Eyed Monk shouted.
"If that martial art was hidden beneath the Cult Leader's chambers, it must have been a guardian technique meant to protect the cult! Using a cult-protecting art to murder the Cult Leader! You filthy scum!"
Hearing Three-Eyed Monk's cry, the Left Protector sneered.
"The former Cult Leader old man died, but did the Demonic Cult die?"
"That's nonsense!"
"Why is it nonsense? With a strong Cult Leader at the center, the Demonic Cult will spread its might even wider. Isn't that the true purpose of a guardian technique?"
"Sophistry!"
Three-Eyed Monk yelled at the Right Protector.
"Right Protector! The one who took you in, covered in blood and fleeing, was the Cult Leader! Eight cult members died blocking the pursuers who followed you! Aren't you ashamed before them!"
The Right Protector shrugged and replied.
"Time has passed, circumstances have changed, so thoughts can change too. Getting swept up in personal sentiments even when you know the right path isn't the way of a true man."
Three-Eyed Monk spoke with a hollow expression.
"You... when exactly did you become like this..."
"Who knows. Around last autumn, maybe. No matter how I thought about it, this side felt right."
The two Protectors raised their swords toward Three-Eyed Monk, who glared back at them while breathing heavily.
Unlike other warriors, Three-Eyed Monk was the type who knew to flee without hesitation if the odds were against him. Having stolen his martial arts without a master, he had no obsessions about a warrior's mindset or honor.
As proof, he'd already fled battles twice this year alone.
Just last night against the Great Protector, and not long ago, he'd run without a second thought upon encountering Sword Ghost Namgung Jincheon.
Some pointed fingers at him, calling his behavior cowardly. But that's how Three-Eyed Monk survived, his body covered in scars without perishing.
Practicality over pride, squalid survival over honorable death. That was Three-Eyed Monk's way.
Yet now, he didn't flee.
There were two reasons. Loyalty and favor toward the former Cult Leader, and someone he had to take responsibility for.
"Raaah!"
Three-Eyed Monk charged at the Left and Right Protectors.
The clash of three transcendent experts.
Each time they exchanged techniques, explosive sounds erupted with waves of energy, and the platform beneath their feet shattered into scattering fragments with every movement.
Numerous onlookers were injured by the sharp, jagged debris.
Yet the people around the platform couldn't tear themselves away, watching the fight. Such a battle was one you wouldn't see even in a lifetime.
As the fight dragged on, Three-Eyed Monk focused on the two Protectors while glancing around furtively. As if searching for someone.
Finally, a young man entered Three-Eyed Monk's view. It was Dang Mujin.
Three-Eyed Monk moved his lips, sending a transmission.
-What are you doing standing there dazed! Run now! I don't know how much longer I can hold them!
Only then did Dang Mujin snap out of it. It was a fight that would mesmerize any martial artist, but he at least shouldn't be watching. Three-Eyed Monk whispered again.
-Even if you're caught, don't give up! I'll find a way to get you out no matter what!
Only then did Dang Mujin start moving. The moment Three-Eyed Monk saw it and his lips twitched upward, the Great Protector intervened.
"Stand down."
The Left and Right Protectors immediately sheathed their swords and stepped aside, as the Great Protector approached Three-Eyed Monk with leisurely strides.
His steps carried a pressure that seemed to crush the entire assembly.
It wasn't mere illusion. To support his body, Three-Eyed Monk had to put more strength into his knees than usual.
"What footwork is that?"
"It was written as the Sovereign's Stride, so Supremacy Step should do."
"Learning an arrogant technique has made your tongue arrogant too!"
Three-Eyed Monk tensed every muscle in his body, then shook off the pressure in one burst and charged at the Great Protector.
But the situation was too unfavorable. Not only was there a skill gap, but the Left and Right Protectors maintained a distance where they could draw their swords at any moment, pressuring him.
Fighting an expert while worrying about ambushes from the sides or back was nearly impossible.
In the end, Three-Eyed Monk couldn't hold out long and was subdued.
The Great Protector stomped on his back and pinned him to the ground by thrusting his sword into Three-Eyed Monk's left shoulder blade.
Three-Eyed Monk cried out.
"Kill me!"
"Don't say things without conviction. I know full well few value their life as much as you do."
"I won't beg for my life from a dog that bites its master!"
"I have no intention of wasting valuable manpower like this. Cool your head first, then we'll talk."
Even for the Great Protector, sealing the acupoints of Three-Eyed Monk—with his vast inner energy and tough skin—was no easy task.
Instead, the Great Protector kicked the back of Three-Eyed Monk's head with full force.
It was a strike strong enough to snap a normal person's neck or rip it off, but just right to knock Three-Eyed Monk out.
Even as Three-Eyed Monk went limp, Dang Mujin hadn't fully broken through the crowd.
The fight had ended quicker than expected, and he'd been cautious to slip away without drawing attention.
'I can't get caught.'
His knees tensed. His heart pounded in his temples.
There were over fifty first-rate and peak experts gathered around the platform.
The moment he drew eyes, warriors would swarm and surround him.
And just as he'd almost pushed through the crowd, Dang Mujin bumped into someone craning their neck toward the platform.
Their eyes met. An unfamiliar face, but the aura alone confirmed it was a warrior of higher attainment than Dang Mujin. His heart felt like it stopped.
'Is this how it ends?'
He had no intention of being taken easily. Dang Mujin reached for the sword at his waist, ready for a last desperate struggle.
At that moment, the man frowned slightly and said.
"Young punk, watch where you're going. Eyes forward?"
"Uh...? Y-yes."
It was an unexpected response.
The man turned his attention back to the platform, and Dang Mujin slipped through the crowd, wondering what just happened.
'Anyway, it worked out.'
And the moment he emerged from the crowd, Dang Mujin realized the area around the platform had gone quiet. The sounds of fighting had stopped. A victor had been decided.
He knew who won and who lost without looking. But sometimes, you had to see for yourself.
Sure enough, Three-Eyed Monk lay defeated. The Left Protector had hoisted him over his shoulder, apparently to drag him off somewhere.
And in the next instant, the Left Protector's eyes met Dang Mujin's.
'This time I'm really done for.'
But the Left Protector's gaze shifted elsewhere. As if Dang Mujin held no interest at all.
'...?'
Only after a short time did Dang Mujin understand the situation.
Since arriving at the Demonic Cult, Dang Mujin had spent most of his time holed up in the Poison Blood Cave.
In other words, few knew his face. Even those who did only saw him as "the young physician Three-Eyed Monk dragged in from outside." Which wasn't entirely wrong.
Moreover, Dang Mujin hadn't caused any incident around the platform.
He'd come intending to testify on Three-Eyed Monk's behalf, but the Great Protector had acted before he could speak.
'...The Demonic Cult has no reason to grab me?'
Then why had Three-Eyed Monk so desperately told him to run?
Simple. Their situations were completely different.
Three-Eyed Monk had long been one of the top experts, with a striking appearance that drew eyes wherever he went. A man who inevitably stirred trouble.
But Dang Mujin was different. He wasn't a gray-skinned giant like Three-Eyed Monk, nor did he possess remarkable prowess.
Sure, first-rate was respectable enough, but in a place teeming with transcendent experts and packed with peak ones, it didn't stand out.
'...Yeah. Time to reap some benefits from being first-rate.'
Dang Mujin let out a sigh of relief.
Yet a strange sense of defeat lingered around the back of his head.
Dang Mujin trudged toward the Poison Blood Cave. Crowds were surging belatedly toward the platform out of curiosity about what had happened. But none paid him any mind.
When Dang Mujin returned to the Poison Blood Cave, Mok Wan-ah scurried over and asked.
"Did it go well?"
"No, not really... I don't know..."
As Dang Mujin explained the village events, Mok Wan-ah's eyes widened.
The former Cult Leader's death and the Great Protector seizing the throne was shocking, but Mok Wan-ah had never even seen the former Cult Leader's face. Nor was she close to Three-Eyed Monk.
"Things have gotten complicated."
"Yeah."
Dang Mujin began packing his belongings.
He hadn't brought much to begin with, so no need to bundle them up. Watching him, Mok Wan-ah asked.
"Where are you going?"
"I should prepare to leave soon too. I need to get out of the Demonic Cult before things tangle further."
"When?"
"Right now, if possible."
Mok Wan-ah fidgeted, clasping her hands and wriggling her fingers as if she had something to say. But Dang Mujin was busy packing and didn't notice.
Moments later, footsteps echoed outside the cave.
Mok Wan-ah quietly hid deeper inside the Poison Blood Cave, and Dang Mujin tensed up.
No welcome guests would visit this cave now.
'The Great Protector?'
The door opened, revealing not the Great Protector. It was the man who had been by Dang Mujin's side when he woke from his earlier collapse.
But it wasn't much different. Judging by how this man had left the Poison Blood Cave shortly before and the Great Protector entered, he was likely one of the Great Protector's direct subordinates.
He got straight to the point upon entering.
"I've come with a message from the Cult Leader."
"Uh... what is it?"
"Stay in the Demonic Cult for the time being. Tell me anytime if you need anything for your research."
Unwelcome news.
Not just one or two held grudges against the new Cult Leader. Outsiders living in the cult would especially.
Staying in a Demonic Cult soon to descend into chaos wasn't wise. Even if the outsiders caused no trouble, it was the same. Unlike the moderate former Leader, the new one seemed the type to stir incidents.
Setting all that aside, lingering long in the Demonic Cult was dangerous in itself, even without incidents.
Rumors like "The son of the Tang family physician was a Demonic Cult spy" or "Dang Mujin spent years mingling with cultists in Tianshan before returning" would spell disaster.
Dang Mujin asked cautiously.
"By the way, how long do I have to stay?"
The man just grinned without answering.
The meaning was clear. Until the Cult Leader said he could leave.
Darkness clouded his vision.
Tianshan lacked physicians, and venom arts experts were rare even across the Central Plains.
Thus, the Cult Leader had no reason to let Dang Mujin go. Keeping him around unused was better than releasing him.
The man spoke in a playful tone.
"Hey, you two look about the same age and suit each other. Why not just marry and settle in Tianshan? This place isn't bad. Plenty of poisons around, good for all sorts of research."
Half-joking, half-serious. Dang Mujin's expression grew graver.
But Mok Wan-ah, eavesdropping, fidgeted twice as fast. Only she knew that.
Dang Mujin thought.
'Should I have ditched everything and run instead of returning to the Poison Blood Cave? No. Even if I had, the odds of escaping freely were low.'
Three-Eyed Monk weighed on him too.
Despite being able to escape himself, Three-Eyed Monk had fought to buy Dang Mujin time and got caught.
What would become of Three-Eyed Monk was unknown. But it wouldn't be good.
'If both Three-Eyed Monk and I could escape the Demonic Cult...'
But rescuing others when he couldn't even save himself was absurd. Dang Mujin glanced at the man.
'If escape isn't possible anyway, I should research the messenger bird's poison while biding my time for an opportunity.'
The new Cult Leader had no reason to feed the messenger bird, and it would soon leave the Cult Leader's chambers.
Thus, the window to study its poison was short.
'Right. Since it's come to this, I should do what I can while waiting for a chance...'
At that thought, an idea flashed through Dang Mujin's mind.
He spoke as if resigned.
"Alright, I get it."
Mok Wan-ah paused briefly, then fidgeted three times faster.
Meanwhile, the Cult Leader's subordinate, surprised at Dang Mujin's ready acceptance, raised one eyebrow crookedly.
"Huh? What?"
"Seems I can't leave Tianshan for a while anyway, so I might as well stay comfortably. At least I have work to do."
As Dang Mujin complied smoothly, the man's expression softened.
"Good thinking. Young folks should live positively."
"Anyway, as you said earlier, can you provide what I need for research?"
"What do you need?"
"It'd be great if you could gather as many local poisons and herbs from around Tianshan as possible."
"We've got some prepared already, so no problem. I'll bring them soon."
Dang Mujin made a few more simple requests, and the subordinate soon left.
Sweat slicked his palms.
Dang Mujin wiped his hands on his pants and sighed lightly.
If luck held, not only he, but perhaps Three-Eyed Monk too, could escape the Demonic Cult together.