Chapter 509
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 509
Chapter Title: I Don't Know
"Uh, how......"
This time, even Mu-pung couldn't help letting a groan slip out.
He had clearly caught up right behind him just moments ago, yet now the man was waiting up ahead in the blink of an eye.
"I just ran a bit faster."
Ha Mu-baek said it with his usual smiling face.
"Long time no see."
That simple greeting from Ha Mu-baek sounded utterly terrifying to Mu-pung's ears.
Mu-pung ground his teeth.
He drew up every last drop of internal energy left in his body.
Demonic energy began to surge and rise from his form.
Ha Mu-baek's hand moved.
His target was clear.
The throat of this Demonic Cult bastard clad in black robes and a black mask.
Clang!
But the sensation and sound were not what he expected, and Mu-pung pulled back once more.
'It worked.'
He patted his chest in relief and kicked off the ground again.
The demonic energy he had raised was a feint.
He had figured out Ha Mu-baek's habits from their clash in the last war.
When Ha Mu-baek went to capture a Demonic Cult follower, nine times out of ten, he seized them by the throat in one swift motion.
Mu-pung had witnessed it countless times from afar, so he had anticipated the same this time.
He had channeled his internal energy into a feint of demonic qi while focusing his real power on the protective energy around his throat.
Just once.
Just one time to nullify Ha Mu-baek's attack.
No matter how monstrous the man was, in a situation like this, he would move on habit and let his guard down.
It was a gamble.
And the gamble had paid off.
The energy gathered at his throat surged down to his legs, and he shot forward like a streak of light.
Demonic Body Phantom Wind Step.
It was one of the Demonic Cult's Three Great Divine Arts.
Mu-pung's ultimate technique as well.
With this movement art, Mu-pung surpassed even Do Moon-wi's lightness skill.
It was by far the fastest lightness skill in the Demonic Cult.
This time, he poured in every ounce of his life's strength.
Now that he knew Ha Mu-baek was fast, he had to be even faster.
He focused solely on his lightness skill.
As if responding to Mu-pung's desperation, the Demonic Body Phantom Wind Step seemed ready to unveil a new realm beyond anything before.
Just as he took twenty steps to accelerate even further.
Thud!
A heavy blow of agony exploded in his abdomen.
It felt like his organs were tearing apart and his belly splitting open.
"Not bad. That was fun."
Ha Mu-baek looked at Mu-pung with eyes that held a hint of disbelief.
This strike had caught even Ha Mu-baek off guard.
To think the man had read his move, defended like that, and tried to flee again.
'I let my guard down.'
He had always thought he fought without holding back, but that was Ha Mu-baek being too lenient with himself.
This situation proved it.
He had underestimated his opponent, moved on habit, and hadn't put real power into his strike.
That was why he had been blocked by the protective energy.
If he had infused just a bit more force, he would have shattered the barrier and grabbed the throat.
Or if he had scanned the foe with his Infinite Bright Wheel Eye, he would have seen the demonic qi raised as if to charge, while all real power was concentrated in the throat's protective energy.
Everything had combined in that instant, letting the enemy slip away for a moment.
"Thanks."
Ha Mu-baek said to Mu-pung.
He meant it.
The foe had revealed a lapse in vigilance that even Ha Mu-baek himself hadn't noticed.
It was fortunate he realized it now, when he could still correct it.
Far better than ruining everything due to carelessness at a critical moment.
It was excellent training in advance.
Grip.
Ha Mu-baek seized Mu-pung's throat again.
Mu-pung focused all his energy on his protective barrier once more.
He knew it wouldn't work, but it was his final desperate struggle.
Ha Mu-baek's hand tore through the barrier like it was nothing and clamped onto Mu-pung's throat.
"Why are you here?"
Mu-pung couldn't even twitch.
'My mistake.'
Mu-pung berated himself.
After being subdued by Ha Mu-baek, he had tried to take his own life to protect his secrets but failed.
The moment his throat was gripped, all his options were sealed.
It was the result of Ha Mu-baek's energy infiltrating his body.
'I should have killed myself before he grabbed me......'
That first success in slipping away thanks to Ha Mu-baek's lapse had been poison.
That's why he had tried the same trick again, hoping against hope.
Instead of reinforcing his throat's barrier, he should have attempted suicide then.
It would have been possible before being fully subdued.
"Don't even think about dying. I know all your tricks."
Ha Mu-baek said calmly, having read the suicidal intent in Mu-pung's energy.
"So why are you here?"
He asked again.
Ha Mu-baek would ask the same question three times.
One chance remained.
Refuse to answer all three, and death awaited—but Mu-pung's situation was different.
Torture beyond imagination likely lay ahead.
Mu-pung was confident he could endure any torment.
But...
This man before him terrified him.
Ha Mu-baek.
The righteous sects knew him, but the Demonic Cult and Blood Cult feared him far more.
Mad Devil.
That one phrase described him perfectly.
He was righteous, yet not quite—like no righteous man should be.
At least when facing them, Ha Mu-baek became a devil fiercer than any of them.
"I, I, received orders."
Ha Mu-baek grinned.
"As expected of a smart one. That's how you slipped away from me once."
His mind was too sharp; he had foreseen everything and answered accordingly.
He knew no matter what he tried, the outcome would be the same.
"Did Seok Mu-won send you?"
Mu-pung's body trembled.
Seok Mu-won.
Ha Mu-baek had met him once before, making the guess easy.
Only the Cult Leader or Vice Leader could dispatch someone of this caliber.
Mu-pung's reaction answered for him.
"Seok Mu-won it is."
Ha Mu-baek nodded, lost in thought for a moment.
Why would that man send this one?
The Jegal Clan was framing the Demonic Cult while scheming in the martial world through the Sesegwan-eum Church.
The Demonic Cult might probe the Sesegwan-eum Church because of it.
But given their nature, they wouldn't bother.
Why would the Demonic Cult care?
They dreamed of their own dominion over the world; no matter what faction rose in the current martial world, they ignored it.
They were all beneath their feet in the end.
They only cared about the Righteous Heaven Alliance and the Four Evils Alliance they saw as true enemies.
Cults among the common folk merely bowed before the Demon God.
"Hm?"
Ha Mu-baek recalled his meeting with Seok Mu-won.
He thought back to the current Sesegwan-eum Church situation.
And the place where Mu-pung had been.
"Is Seok Mu-won planning to use the Soul Dominion Great Law on a Jegal Clan member?"
His deduction led straight there.
A Jegal Clan figure in a place breeding envoys would be deeply involved in this affair.
Using the Soul Dominion Great Law on him, like with Gwang Hoe-cheon, would hand them a massive force effortlessly.
A commoner cult, sure, but that size would be useful somehow.
"How do you perform the Soul Dominion Great Law?"
Mu-pung squeezed his eyes shut at the question Ha Mu-baek posed after his own deduction.
This, he could not say.
He must not.
He didn't know anyway.
"I don't know."
He spoke the truth.
In that instant.
A sharp energy pierced from Ha Mu-baek's grip through his throat and into his entire body, followed by excruciating agony.
"Guhhhhhhh."
He wanted to scream, but perhaps his mute acupoints were sealed in an instant; only this groan escaped.
His whole body felt shredded, accompanied by an unbearable itch that made him want to tear himself apart.
Then came pain like his bones shattering.
Itch and pain.
Sensations that shouldn't coexist dominated Mu-pung from head to toe.
How much time passed?
Ha Mu-baek's energy receded, and the torment left Mu-pung's body.
"Hah. Hah. Hah. Hah."
Ragged breaths poured from Mu-pung's mouth.
"How's that? Better than bone-marrow extraction for me. Works especially well on Demonic Cult scum."
'W-Wasn't it three times...?'
Torture right after refusing the first question.
"You're smart, so no need to wait for three."
Ha Mu-baek spoke as if he'd read Mu-pung's mind.
"So, how do you perform the Soul Dominion Great Law?"
He asked again with a grin.
The focus vanished from Mu-pung's eyes.
His trembling lips quivered.
"Th-That is......"
"Hm. So the target is the Righteous Heaven Alliance after all?"
That was Heavenly Eye Pavilion Lord Gong Son Dan-gyeong's conclusion after compiling all the information gathered so far, including testimonies from interrogating Jeon Dok-u.
Gong Son Dan-gyeong rose and went to find So Hwi-woong.
Lately, he was immersed in training trance.
He had been like that before heading to the Mountain-Crossing Demonic Forest, but it had intensified since returning.
'What on earth did he go through in the Mountain-Crossing Demonic Forest...?'
He had heard the stories.
Analyzing the events there was Heavenly Eye Pavilion's duty, so he had requested help from Hocheon Corps members like Dam Mu-hyeon and gotten a detailed account.
His conclusion from the report was simple.
Ha Mu-baek had been Ha Mu-baek.
That summed it up.
Gong Son Dan-gyeong had long known the man surpassed even the Alliance Leader in strength.
But this time, his feats seemed beyond human limits.
Witnessing such a sight would make any normal person give up.
Crushed by the wall separating their worlds.
The Alliance Leader had shown faint signs of that before.
After seeing the realm Ha Mu-baek displayed while ending the Martial World Great War.
He vowed to surpass him, yet some subconscious resignation seemed to cause a plateau.
Instead, he had used the name "Ha Mu-baek" to achieve his goals indirectly.
The Dragon Training Pavilion expedition was a prime example.
The change came at his sixtieth birthday.
The sword gifted by the Ten Thousand Alliance.
Dark Gold Divine Sword.
The moment he received it, he seemed to see something and threw himself into training like a man possessed, breaking through to a new realm.
But after this Mountain-Crossing Demonic Forest trip and cleanup,
So Hwi-woong trained like a martial arts maniac.
Gong Son Dan-gyeong knew what happened from the tales, but only the Leader knew how he internalized it.
That's what Gong Son Dan-gyeong murmured uncertainly.
The massive iron door of the underground training chamber in the Alliance Leader's quarters.
He arrived.
Two Hocheon Corps warriors gave slight nods.
"Alliance Leader. It's Heavenly Eye Pavilion Lord Gong Son Dan-gyeong."
After announcing and waiting a bit,
Rumble.
The iron door opened.
"Come in."
Gong Son Dan-gyeong entered the training chamber.
Countless sword scars on one wall showed how intensely So Hwi-woong had trained.
"What is it?"
"The Jegal Clan is plotting something interesting."
"Sesegwan-eum Church?"
"Yes. They planned to buy land on the western main road using it and build a manor. Here."
Gong Son Dan-gyeong pulled out a map of Luoyang from his bosom and spread it.
So Hwi-woong eyed the spot Gong Son Dan-gyeong pointed to.
"Hm. Right in front of our throats, like a blade at the neck."
Gong Son Dan-gyeong nodded.
"If they build a manor there, disguise it as Sesegwan-eum Church, hide warriors inside, and some incident strikes Luoyang..."
"Even so, it's the Righteous Heaven Alliance."
"No law says there are no enemies within."
Jegal Clan.
Five Great Clans.
Nine Great Sects and One Order.
White Path Society.
His thoughts expanded.
"After this incident?"
The Joint Sect was in ruins now due to what happened to the Demon-Sealing Corps in the Mountain-Crossing Demonic Forest.
"That's precisely why the White Path Society might feel threatened. Their power's waning, nearly matching the New Eight Sects. They might seek a way to reverse it all at once."
"Hm."
So Hwi-woong stroked his chin.
"So you're saying it's not the time for me to train leisurely like this?"
"Keep training. Hocheon Corps Leader Ha grabbed the landowner."
"Ha Mu-baek again?"
"Yes. Ha Mu-baek again."
Gong Son Dan-gyeong explained the facts uncovered and progress so far before leaving the chamber.
"That said, no word from those we sent to the Jegal Clan."
Gong Son Dan-gyeong muttered upon arriving at Heavenly Eye Pavilion.