Chapter 200
Chapter 200
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 200
Chapter Title: Blood Cult's Infiltration Scheme
The lord of the Zhu Clan Manor couldn't make sense of the situation at all.
Why, just why was he the one being tortured right now?
'I didn't try to take them down recklessly. I'd grasped everything!'
The Zhu Clan Manor was a front organization created by the Blood Cult over a hundred years ago to investigate the Baek Clan Manor.
As such, they had conducted a thorough investigation into the Baek Clan Manor.
In fact, over the past ten years, with the Baek Clan's rapid rise, they had even bolstered their own forces accordingly.
'Impossible. This can't be happening!'
Take right now, for instance. What in the world was this pain?
His memories of the rigorous training at headquarters were crystal clear, yet he couldn't endure it.
And to top it off, he had a restriction implanted in him—the moment he leaked any information, his mind would shatter, leaving him a soulless husk...!
"You think this is impossible, don't you?"
Poke.
"Gaaahhh!"
A convulsive scream erupted as he jabbed pure qi straight into the man's brow.
"Looks like you've got some kind of restriction on you. Were you counting on it to let you die painlessly before the real torture began?"
That pathetic little restriction? His pure qi had deliciously shattered it.
"Don't make that face. Nothing's impossible in this world. You idiots just slacked on your intel gathering... Oh? Still feeling wronged, even now?"
"......Anyway, I'm as good as dead. And I realize I can't endure the pain you're inflicting. I'll tell you everything—so as a reward for cooperating, answer one question before I go."
Oh, that's a nice proposal.
"Nah, pass."
Poke.
"Gaaahhh!"
"Where do you get off thinking you can go easy? From the blood smell, I'd say you've already offed at least a hundred."
Going quick and painless would be nice and convenient.
But this bastard didn't deserve an easy death.
For the sake of all those sacrificed souls, every last Blood Cult scum would beg for death amid the worst agony imaginable.
And in that regard, pure qi was the perfect tool.
"Now, time to give your underlings a taste too, right?"
He drew out his inner energy, radiating qi waves in all directions.
"Gaaahhh!"
"Gaaarghhh!"
"Gaaahhh!"
"Gaaahhh!"
Just the qi waves alone sent a barrage of screams powerful enough to shake the entire Zhu Clan Manor.
"Ugh, so noisy."
With a snap of his fingers, the screams vanished in an instant.
He hadn't shut their mouths—he'd simply nullified the sound itself.
As a disciple of the Sound Master, this was child's play.
"Alright, back to the main topic. Why is the Blood Cult so interested in our Baek Clan Manor?"
"To determine if the ancestor of the Baek Clan—the World's Greatest—left any legacy for his descendants."
"If there was, we wouldn't have fallen far enough to be called a third-rate martial family."
"We didn't dismiss the possibility of an undiscovered legacy. And in fact, you found one."
What was this nonsense?
"Without it, you couldn't have become the top clan in Gangseo in just ten years. And... your own power defies belief."
"Hm. Can't say I blame you for thinking that."
In truth, no such legacy existed.
Though if one was hidden somewhere undiscovered, that'd be interesting.
"It's impossible for a mere youth like you to possess such prowess. With our forces, we could've crushed you all. So yes, the Baek Clan Manor must house the World's Greatest's legacy."
More bullshit.
"I haven't even swung my sword once while taking you down."
"......!"
Only then did the man's eyes widen in realization.
Torture really messes with the mind.
His brain was so fried he couldn't even remember what happened moments ago.
"You're getting confused because I'm the one torturing you, but the truth is, you just failed to grasp us properly."
In reality, the Zhu Clan's forces weren't ordinary by any means.
They were just vastly outclassed—and realistically, confident enough to be cocky.
"At an age where you're barely called a junior, without even offering sacrifices... how...?"
"How'd I get this strong? Simple answer."
Talent. And effort.
"Criminals like you wouldn't understand, but if you want to claim the title of World's Greatest, this is just par for the course."
"......"
"......Oh, that look. Ego bruised?"
Poke.
"Gaaah! Gaaahhh!"
"Let's have another productive chat. What did you mean by planning to turn our main house into one of your own?"
Only after the pain from the pure qi subsided could the man speak.
"It started with the World's Greatest, but now his descendants are in dire straits. They carry valuable blood, and might accept our faith—so we approached."
Valuable blood, huh. Come to think of it, the Blood Cult was obsessed with status.
More precisely, bloodlines.
There was something like this in his past life. He'd dismissed it as rumor, but what was it again?
'Rumors that the Ming Cult and Blood Cult were suspiciously fixated on Jeomchang.'
He'd learned the Ming Cult had infiltrated Jeomchang, and the Blood Cult's obsession was probably true too.
It was an open secret that Jeomchang housed descendants of the royal family of Yun-nam Proxy Kingdom, and these bastards loved royal blood.
That's why Jeomchang's clans had taken a massive hit.
That was also why his past-life self, Yang-hui, had no ties to Jeomchang and never even saw a disciple from there.
"We're not what we were, but we're still called the top clan in Gangseo."
"Didn't matter. The plan was to kill all three Baek siblings and approach the clan head... Gaaahhh! Gaaahhh! Gaaahhh!"
So that's what they had in mind? He almost killed the bastard cleanly in a flash of rage.
'If they'd wiped us out and approached with false info about an ambush by the Nine Great Sects or Five Great Clans... Father would've taken their hand without question.'
His father valued righteousness above all, but his love for family was equally profound.
"So that's why you launched the raid."
"Y-yes. We planned to extract info through torture. Killing the young lord of the Tang Clan would shatter the close ties between Baek and Tang too."
"And you used the marriage proposal as an excuse. Pathetic."
"The marriage proposal... was something we needed too."
"Hm? Elaborate."
Poke!
"Gaaahhh! Orders came down! Collect marriage proposals and send two or three to the tournament! We planned to capture you, make human leather masks from your faces, and steal your identities!"
What were these Demonic Cult bastards planning at the Dragon-Phoenix Assembly, the righteous sects' festival?
The leaders of the righteous sects weren't fools.
Even if not in the finals, anyone cracking the top hundred would face intense scrutiny.
At an age called junior, no one could hide demonic qi from the old masters of prestigious righteous sects.
A high-level demon who shed their mortal shell might manage, but they'd be too prominent for infiltration.
"From the looks of it, other front organizations like yours got similar orders, right?"
A few pokes with pure qi, but no more info came.
As expected, prying secrets from a cell-structured front group was tough.
Of course, there were ways. Squeeze until even subconscious details spilled.
"From now on, every poke makes you spill fun stories. Got it?"
Stab-stab-stab! Poke-poke-poke!
"Kaaaaahhh!"
About fifteen minutes later, he hooked a solid piece of intel.
A real whopper, like landing the big one.
"The Leader! The Cult Leader will attend the Dragon-Phoenix Assembly!"
"What? The Blood Cult Leader?"
Yang-hui's expression turned grave.
The Blood Cult Leader. In his past life, amid decades of war with the cults, he'd never even glimpsed the man—let alone crossed paths. A true heavyweight.
'Showing up personally means a junior-looking face. No old fogeys in the Blood Cult anyway, so not much help there.'
They'd use human leather masks to disguise anyway.
"No way a disposable pawn like you knows top-tier intel. Poke. Poke. Poke."
"Gaaahhh! It's just my guess! That's why I held back!"
"Basis for your guess!"
"It wasn't a mere letter—the Bishop came in person and issued the orders!"
"Which Bishop do you serve?"
"I don't know... Gaaahhh! Appearance! I'll describe her! Utterly beautiful, with hair red as blood!"
From past-life memories, only one Blood Cult Bishop matched that description.
Yang-hui's expression darkened again.
To be precise, it was a smile rippling with killing intent and fury.
'Oh ho. So that one was in charge here?'
The Bloodblood Maiden. The primary reason the Tang Clan met its end in his past life.
This explained something that never made sense before.
'No matter how much they called me the Heaven-Reversing Blood Sword, it never sat right that a Bishop would mobilize just to catch a single Peak expert.'
With the Baek Clan Manor as backdrop and transcendent power on display, it must've piqued the Bloodblood Maiden's interest.
'The Cult Leader bit is credible. Hell, it's the only reason the Bloodblood Maiden would step up personally.'
Jackpot. Big fish on the line.
Think he'd gotten everything worth knowing.
Next order: how to clean up neatly.
'For starters, the Blood Cult won't peg us as the culprits behind the Zhu Clan massacre.'
Precisely, they could figure Baek and Tang did it, but not that just six pulled it off—even in death, they wouldn't guess.
"Tang sis. Make these bastards suffer hellish agony till they drop dead."
"Leave it to me."
Pure qi inflicted max pain on demonic qi bearers, but he needed to think now.
Arms crossed, he sorted the intel.
One. Blood Cult interested in Baek bloodline and possible World's Greatest legacy.
Two. Raid for marriage proposals, face skins, and swaying the Baek Clan.
Three. At least Blood Cult among the Three Great Demonic Cults plotting at Dragon-Phoenix Assembly, with Leader attending.
'Who could it be? A Cult Leader stepping out means it was for fun. Definitely placed high in the past life's tournament.'
Top ten placers flashed by: eight with clear affiliations, two ronin or single-master sect disciples.
Who? One had to be the Blood Cult Leader.
As he pondered, Tang Gun approached.
"Hui bro. Tortured 'em till death, hid the traces too. Better crash somewhere else tonight."
"Ah. Yeah. Wait—no. How about we skip sleep and keep moving tonight?"
"One night won't kill us, but reason?"
"Yeah. Got work to do."
Find the Blood Cult Leader hidden at the righteous sects' festival. Starting now.