Chapter 492
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 492
Chapter Title: I Have to Get Rid of These Bastards
“You lot? Surely you're not talking about the great Cult?”
The lion glared at Ha Mu-baek with savage fury in his eyes.
To dare utter such a mad declaration about destroying the Cult— the bastard deserved to be torn apart on the spot.
“The great Cult?”
Ha Mu-baek let out a scoffing laugh.
It was blatant mockery.
Recognizing it instantly, the lion's face twisted into a hideous scowl.
“From calling it the Heavenly Demon Avalokitesvara Statue, it seems you know what kind of group we're part of.”
“A worm like you has no right to speak its name. Don't you dare utter that sacred title so lightly.”
The lion trembled from head to toe.
“So you do know.”
Ha Mu-baek stated calmly, observing the reaction.
“Shut your mouth! To purify this filthy, corrupt world, it must be destroyed once and for all. We must start anew from pure nothingness to create a truly immaculate world!”
“Is that why you joined the Demonic Cult, which has slaughtered countless innocents?”
“You son of a bitch! How dare you speak of the great Cult like that.”
“Don't you call yourselves the Demonic Cult?”
“We are the World-Purifying Avalokitesvara Cult!”
It was the name of the Cult of Avalokitesvara that washes the world clean.
“Not the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult?”
Ha Mu-baek's sneer deepened.
At the mention of Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, the lion's cheeks quivered with rage.
“Die!!”
He lunged at Ha Mu-baek, striking out with a palm loaded with inner energy.
Ha Mu-baek simply flicked his hand.
Bam!
The lion flew straight into the wall.
“You didn't answer. What about all the innocents who'll die when you create your pure world?”
Ha Mu-baek asked, standing unmoved in place.
“Hmph. Simply drawing breath in this corrupt, filthy world is already a sin. There are no innocents! Cough.”
The lion spat blood after screaming like a madman.
A single blow from Ha Mu-baek had inflicted severe internal injuries.
“What about you lot? You're breathing the same corrupt air. Does that mean you're not sinners?”
“We are true martyrs, born into this filthy world as a sacrifice to build a new one. We cannot die before this world ends.”
Straightening up, the lion glared at Ha Mu-baek with blazing eyes and charged again.
Thud!
Thwack!
Thud!
Ha Mu-baek's fists pummeled him endlessly.
It was excruciating pain, but not enough to kill.
Ha Mu-baek regarded the man called the lion with impassive eyes.
He was genuinely surprised by his own actions.
Of course, his face remained expressionless.
The old him would have killed this bastard in a heartbeat amid boiling killing intent.
Yet here he was, keeping him alive and questioning him step by step!
There’s definitely been a change.
Ha Mu-baek could feel it himself.
What of the inner demon?
It crouched silently but had lifted its head slightly to watch the lion.
Its sharp eyes held not killing intent, but anger and doubt.
“Ugh... You devil spawn... How dare you insult the great Cult for a pure world...”
“Not Heavenly Demon Avalokitesvara— just Heavenly Demon. Using a sacred being like Avalokitesvara this way. I knew you were irredeemable scum, but you're truly beyond saving. Deceiving innocent commoners with your heresies.”
Ha Mu-baek spoke in a cold voice.
“Gaaah!”
The lion let out a frenzied roar, his eyes changing.
Reason vanished, leaving only primal instinct.
“Heavenly Demon Avalokitesvara descends! All things prostrate! World-Purifying Savior!”
With the Heavenly Demon Avalokitesvara manifesting, all creation bows, washing the world to save its people.
Words from Ha Mu-baek's memory.
The meaning hidden in the incantation the bastard muttered under his breath.
He charged desperately, clinging to Ha Mu-baek.
Beating him did nothing; he felt no pain, only seeking contact.
Activating Infinite Bright Wheel Eye, Ha Mu-baek watched as the man seized his left arm.
The moment he gripped it...
The lion's inner energy reversed the flow.
Not forward circulation, but reverse.
A method favored by Demonic Cult martial arts, but this path was unfamiliar.
It flowed backward along the orthodox path.
A circulation unseen even in the last war against the Demonic Cult.
Thud.
Ha Mu-baek's fist struck the lion's dantian.
The heavy impact halted the inner energy flow momentarily.
Seizing the chance, Ha Mu-baek struck his vital and sealed acupoints, subduing him.
His eyes still lacked reason, but the dantian shake had worked.
Thump.
Ha Mu-baek looked down at the sprawled figure.
“These bastards have gotten even sneakier and more vicious.”
Shouldering the lion, he slipped quietly from the place.
Despite the shouts and crashes that should have drawn attention, none of the hired workers noticed.
Thanks to the barrier Ha Mu-baek had set.
He exited Luoyang's outskirts in moments and hid the man in a secret cave he alone knew.
A small grotto in the mountain slopes he frequented for training during his Luoyang days.
Han Seol-bing's formation still held, so no one would find it.
Ha Mu-baek returned to Luoyang.
He headed straight for the Small Traveler's Inn.
After lunch there, he prowled Luoyang's streets discreetly.
Searching for those he'd seen at the manor.
Even without training, he remembered their presences, making it easy to spot them.
They were all ordinary folk.
Hardworking people in their daily labors.
As he wondered why such people fell for the Demonic Cult's nonsense...
Ha Mu-baek gazed at a construction site south of Luoyang.
Checking the laborers who frequented the Small Traveler's Inn.
They too had bowed fervently to the Heavenly Demon Avalokitesvara at dawn.
Then.
“Hey! Jang! How many times do I have to tell you? That's not how you do it! Your shoulders aren't for balance— they're for thinking while you work!”
A young man bellowed at one laborer.
He looked much younger than the laborer, hurling abuse at Jang.
Jang was a day laborer; the youth seemed a craftsman.
Jang bowed repeatedly in apology, but the youth's tirade continued.
Thwack.
“You little shit. Who the hell do you think you are, yelling like that?”
A middle-aged craftsman heading into old age smacked the youth's head.
“Ah, Master Carpenter. Even so, that was...”
“You punk! Talking back now?”
The carpenter raised his hand again; the youth flinched.
“Go finish up over there!”
At the carpenter's gesture, the youth scurried off.
The carpenter then turned to Jang.
“Jang, my man. That's why I keep telling you— stop just doing odd jobs and learn carpentry under me.”
“Thank you, Master Carpenter.”
Jang bowed deeply.
But he said nothing about learning the trade.
Understandably— learning carpentry meant less daily pay at first.
Though far more later on, the immediate drop was tough.
Many couldn't learn due to lack of teachers like this carpenter.
Jang was rejecting a golden opportunity.
“Sigh. Tell me anytime you change your mind. A diligent guy like you is always welcome.”
The carpenter patted his shoulder and walked away.
“Thank you so much.”
Jang murmured softly.
Deep down, he wanted to chase after and learn right then.
But he couldn't.
The day labor pay was too precious now.
With less, he couldn't survive day to day.
Thus, he let the chance slip despite its value.
Jang glanced sideways.
The youth who'd scolded him hammered away diligently.
Jang's eyes turned cold.
“Heavenly Demon Avalokitesvara descends, all things prostrate, World-Purifying Savior. Heavenly Demon Avalokitesvara descends, all things prostrate, World-Purifying Savior...”
He muttered so faintly, no one nearby could hear.
Only Ha Mu-baek caught it clearly.
He'd been watching the laborers and craftsmen closely.
This Jang was the one who always sat in the corner at dawn, ate a bowl of noodles, and left.
Ha Mu-baek frowned at the sight.
“Tch. Yeah. Just because war's gone doesn't make the world good for everyone...”
No— countless people must lament and resent this world.
No need to look far.
Dan Mok Un-roe alone struggled daily, joining the Fierce Dragon Corps— called meat shields— out of desperate need for money.
How many living such harsh lives wished this world would just end?
The Demonic Cult preyed on those desperate cracks in their hearts.
Fooling the masses.
Words he'd thrown at the Cult's lion, but they fit perfectly now.
Ha Mu-baek looked at the other laborers and craftsmen.
Seeing them after Jang, it clicked.
Different circumstances, but all bore the weight of life on their faces.
Unable to bear it, they wished this world gone.
World-Purifying Savior.
They fell for the promise of one to wash it clean.
To them, this world might as well not exist.
Even so.
Weak.
The thought crossed Ha Mu-baek's mind.
Dan Mok Un-roe.
That girl never resented the world despite her hardships.
She tried to overcome with her own strength.
No, is she the strong one?
Spotting the shadows on so many faces made Un-roe seem remarkable.
Then his inner demon lifted its head again, tilting it quizzically.
Ha Mu-baek mirrored the gesture.
He couldn't grasp the demon's reaction.
Ha Mu-baek had forgotten.
His own life had been harsh enough to wish this world gone without shame.
But his resentment never aimed at the world.
It targeted the Demonic Cult and Blood Cult that shattered his peaceful village.
That grudge and hatred birthed his inner demon.
Thus, it tilted its head at his thoughts.
Though born of hatred, revenge, and resentment, it stemmed from resolve to overcome rather than curse the world.
Praising another's will to overcome as strong puzzled it.
Truly strong was Ha Mu-baek himself, who birthed it.
Ha Mu-baek roamed Luoyang thoroughly.
He found all those from dawn.
All hid deep shadows in their faces.
Their wish: for this world to collapse, everyone gone.
Ha Mu-baek was powerless against that.
Each had their stories, their justice.
But it didn't justify destroying the world.
Even if they wished it.
In the end, Ha Mu-baek's resolve was singular.
“Demonic Cult. I have to get rid of these bastards.”
Exploiting tragic tales to sow chaos.
They were the root of evil.
