Chapter 104
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 104
Chapter Title: It Might Not Be
Deep into the night.
Ha Mu-baek climbed onto the roof of the lodging and gazed off into the distance.
Somewhere, most likely around Lake Dongting.
"Why are you like that?"
Wi Ji-gun, who had approached without a sound, asked the question while staring in the same direction as Ha Mu-baek.
"Is it thoughts of Cheong-ran?"
He had watched Dan Mok Un-hye's meeting with Gung So-yu earlier that day, so he suspected it might have stirred up old memories.
"No."
"Then?"
"It just feels like there's something unpleasant yet familiar out there beyond the horizon."
"Did your senses pick it up?"
Ha Mu-baek shook his head.
"No. Just a hunch? Intuition? Something like that."
Wi Ji-gun stared silently into the distance after hearing the reply.
"I don't know exactly where you're looking, but I sense nothing at all."
"That's to be expected. It's probably just because I ran into those Demonic Cult scum today."
Wi Ji-gun paused for a moment at Ha Mu-baek's words before speaking up.
"It might not be."
"Pardon?"
"Perhaps you've crossed a small wall that was blocking your path."
"Pardon?"
Ha Mu-baek could only blink in surprise and ask again.
A wall.
He hadn't felt anything like that recently.
He simply trained diligently every day, pressing forward bit by bit.
"You've now set foot in a place even I haven't reached."
Wi Ji-gun looked at Ha Mu-baek with an expression of pride.
Ha Mu-baek's current level of martial prowess was now nearly equal to Wi Ji-gun's.
There might still be some immaturity stemming from a lack of experience, but their realms were almost identical.
As for experience, Ha Mu-baek might even have the edge in actual combat.
However, this was the irreplaceable gap forged by the passage of time itself—something no human effort could bridge.
And yet, his disciple Ha Mu-baek had crossed that wall first.
Like a shoot of blue surpassing the green grove.
Wi Ji-gun gazed at him with heartfelt joy.
"It doesn't feel real."
Ha Mu-baek spoke in a dazed tone.
It couldn't be helped.
The idea that he, drenched in blood through two brutal wars, had broken through a wall?
He had never even imagined such a thing.
"In the process of washing away the stench of blood, it seems you sensed something without realizing it yourself. Today's events served as the trigger. But since it was only a small wall, even you couldn't grasp it clearly. You must continue refining it to truly make it your own."
Wi Ji-gun spoke with a kind, benevolent smile.
"Today's events..."
Those Demonic Cult vermin—staring at the four of them had nearly driven him to explosive rage, on the verge of drenching himself in blood once more in savage cruelty?
If his master hadn't appeared at that moment, and he'd acted on his initial impulses...
"It was heavenly fortune. Neither you nor I realized you were at such a crossroads. Had you failed to rein in that fleeting surge of fury and let it consume you, you might have fallen into qi deviation."
It was mere hindsight.
Neither of them had noticed the warning signs.
"Thank you, Master."
Ha Mu-baek bowed deeply at the waist.
"It was simply the will of heaven. As I said, neither you nor I knew."
"Yes."
"This incident makes it clear. You still need to purge more of that blood stench. Quite a bit lingers."
"Yes."
Ha Mu-baek simply accepted his master's advice without protest.
"Even when facing Demonic Cult or Blood Cult scum, you must not lose yourself. The moment you do, qi deviation could claim you."
"I'll keep it firmly in mind."
As the masked man gazed toward Wuchang from an unnamed pavilion on Lake Dongting, his master and disciple conversed atop one of the Dragon Training Pavilion's roofs, staring in the direction of the lake where he waited.
His eyes were deeply sunken.
Blood vessels riddled his eyes.
In just the past few days, he'd lost at least ten geun—over thirteen kilograms.
His face had grown gaunt as well.
Lately, everyone who saw him offered words of concern.
Yet Gung Do-hyuk's condition only worsened.
Gung Mu-hyuk had been born with a frail constitution. Perhaps that was why he was such an eccentric.
Because his body was weak, he had formed a marriage alliance with Seon Yu Valley. Though it wasn't purely a calculated union for gain.
His weakness limited his options, turning him into an obsessive oddball fixated on what little he could pursue.
And yet, he was a genius.
A once-in-a-century prodigy.
That was how he had become alliance leader despite his fragile health.
Even so, he focused more on his personal pursuits than alliance affairs.
A frail leader who shunned his duties.
Naturally, Vice Alliance Leader Gung Do-hyuk had no choice but to shoulder them all.
Vice leader in name, but leader in truth.
Gung Do-hyuk had been content with that reality.
Until they arrived.
Now, everything had changed.
He had come to believe that he should be the alliance leader.
With Gung Mu-hyuk and Gung So-yu still recovering, it felt as though the position that rightfully belonged to him was being stolen away.
Gaining it, only to lose it.
That sense of loss tormented him.
In truth, he'd never possessed it, nor had it ever been his to claim.
Yet the tiny seed they had planted had grown into a mighty tree, twisting his thoughts in that direction.
For days on end, he agonized and suffered.
At last, Gung Do-hyuk made his decision.
His eyes burned red.
Not mere bloodshot veins.
A sinister, cruel hunger gleamed within.
He hung the flag they had given him at the designated spot.
It blended seamlessly among the countless banners, as if it had always hung there.
Gung Do-hyuk watched it for a moment before heading into the deep woods of the rear garden.
"Three days, was it?"
They had said the flag would draw them here within three days at the latest.
Gung Do-hyuk sat cross-legged.
He closed his eyes and sank into meditation.
He had already declared three days of secluded training—no visitors, and the rear garden off-limits.
All he had to do was wait here.
The promised three days passed.
Deep into the night.
Toward the end of the third day.
A sudden gust brushed Gung Do-hyuk's face.
"Hoo. So you've made your decision."
A familiar voice followed.
Gung Do-hyuk opened his eyes.
Night travel garb caked in dirt everywhere.
He looked like he'd rushed back from somewhere in a hurry.
"You seem busy."
Gung Do-hyuk's voice remained even.
The masked man stared straight into his eyes.
The whites had turned a vivid crimson.
"Hoo. You've steeled your resolve, I see."
The masked man spoke with evident interest.
Gung Do-hyuk gave a small nod.
"I was heading to Wuchang anyway to verify something. No one else worth checking near there... and then you summoned us, so I rushed back in a frenzy."
The Myriad Things Alliance was located on Cheonjung Mountain, east of Yeonam County in Henan Province.
Rich in valuable ores, it was prime territory for the alliance.
Quality minerals were more precious than gold to blacksmiths.
It lay roughly nine hundred li from Wuchang—not too distant.
Even so, it wasn't a trip one could make and return in three days unscathed, explaining his ragged state.
Factoring in the time to receive the message, he'd made the return in nearly two days flat.
"What will you do?"
The masked man dropped his playful tone, asking with grave seriousness.
"I will become the alliance leader. My brother and niece... we exclude them."
"How exactly..."
"They must cease to exist in this world."
His voice was flat, devoid of even a shred of warmth.
The masked man nodded vigorously, clearly pleased with the response.
"Excellent. Very good."
Had something shifted during those three days of meditation?
Gung Do-hyuk regarded him impassively.
"Hoo. You've changed. Made some progress?"
The masked man remarked, intrigued.
After all, not long ago, Gung Do-hyuk had been seething with barely contained fury.
"If I've resolved to become an asura, change is inevitable."
The masked man grinned beneath his mask.
"Perfect. You're one of us now, closer than ever. From here on, address you as Third Leader."
The masked man—no, the Third Leader—cupped his fists in salute.
"Then, to what extent will you intervene?"
The next question followed.
"Are there options?"
"Of course. Will you handle it personally? Or lend aid while we take action?"
"Aid you first. If that fails, I'll step in directly."
"That's more than enough."
"So, what now?"
Gung Do-hyuk eyed the Third Leader.
"Hand over the Ten Thousand Golden Chain Thunderbolt."
A calm reply.
But its implications were anything but mild.
For the first time, Gung Do-hyuk failed to maintain his detachment, furrowing his brow.
"You know full well what that weapon is."
"Naturally. It's the very reason for all this trouble."
"If you're thinking of dismantling it for study, forget it. It self-destructs the instant you try."
"Perish the thought. We intend to use it. We truly need it."
Gung Do-hyuk scowled once more.
He knew its devastating power all too well—trusting their word wasn't easy.
"Ah, but one Ten Thousand Golden Chain Thunderbolt won't suffice. Since that's the only one you can procure anyway... you'll need to get us about ten Ten Thousand Blood Thunders as well."
Gung Do-hyuk shook his head, his expression one of utter disbelief.
"Are you planning to erase an entire sect?"
An exaggeration, perhaps, but combining ten Blood Thunders with one Golden Chain Thunderbolt would unleash cataclysmic destruction on that scale.
There was only one Golden Chain Thunderbolt he could access, the protective gift from his brother as vice leader.
Any others required the alliance leader's authority.
"You even know the limit of what I can acquire, so you must grasp its significance. This isn't mere aid—it's tantamount to demanding I handle it myself."
The Third Leader shook his head faintly at the question.
"The world is full of master hidden weapons experts. Besides, that particular item is meant for elsewhere. Not the leader or young lady."
The Third Leader continued spouting cryptic nonsense.
"You're starting to frustrate me. Explain it plainly and in detail—no more riddles."
A hint of irritation crept into his voice.
"Do you know of Ha Mu-baek?"
The Third Leader's question.
He knew the name.
As vice leader handling the leader's duties, it was inevitable.
"Most in the Righteous Heaven Alliance know of Ha Mu-baek, but they have no idea what a monster he truly is. Even those who think they know his true nature are clueless."
"And?"
"But we know him intimately. That's why we also know the minimum force required to oppose him."
"Which is?"
"As I said: ten Ten Thousand Blood Thunders, one Ten Thousand Golden Chain Thunderbolt."
Gung Do-hyuk's composure shattered at the nonchalant response, raw emotion spilling onto his face.
"You expect me to swallow that madness?! Dump everything on a single person!!!"
The Third Leader had anticipated the outburst and remained utterly unfazed.
"Even that might not be enough to take him down."
Gung Do-hyuk's features twisted savagely at the reply.
"Third Leader. If I take your words at face value... that man transcends even the term 'monster'... and you're saying we must make an enemy of him?"
"He's in Wuchang right now. And we've confirmed he's staying close to the leader and young lady. Excluding them means clashing with him inevitably."
Come to think of it, the escort team's report mentioned an instructor named Ha Mu-baek from the Dragon Training Pavilion who had visited and stayed for several days.
Who could have guessed it was that Ha Mu-baek.
"Hmm..."
He had resolved to become an asura, yet an immense obstacle loomed from the very start.
Who would have thought such a monster stood at his brother and niece's side?
No amount of deliberation could change the outcome.
"Ten Thousand Blood Thunders aren't easy to obtain either. I'll gather them and hand everything over together when ready."
"Understood. Until then."
With that, the Third Leader vanished. Gung Do-hyuk slowly made his way back to his quarters.