Chapter 1814 – 1814. The Ascent To Light
I followed Hong Gang-hu for now. Using my Heavenly Eye, I couldn’t track down Baek-ran and Hong Je-yu. They had vanished during the time it took to kill Yoon Gong-seok.
I didn’t just walk silently. I took this opportunity to ask him about the Yoo Woon Merchant Guild.
“What kind of people are the Yoo Woon Merchant Guild?”
“They’re bandits disguised as merchants.”
“Don’t talk nonsense. Simple bandits wouldn’t move like this.”
“They are merchants too. They trade in elixirs, magical artifacts, martial arts, and so on. However, their trading partners aren’t wanderers like you. They deal with big shots. In this city, the Yoon family is their trading partner.”
“What about the wanderers? Were they lured in to be robbed?”
“That’s right. They pretend to trade, then they either poison them or use force to take their belongings. In the end, the Yoo Woon Merchant Guild doesn’t lose anything. It’s just that things went wrong because of you and Baek-ran, who are quick-witted.”
“Bullshit. If they were just going to do that, why would they need to bring me and her here? Why take the risk?”
“Wealth and power are proportional. The wealthier you are, the stronger you are, and the stronger you are, the wealthier you are. And… I don’t know the exact reason, but the Guild Master wants strong people. He wants them captured alive if possible, and if not, he wants their corpses.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know. We’re just subcontractors who get paid for our work. Would they give proper information to a subcontractor? We’re just told to capture strong martial artists and lead them to the market. That’s one of our jobs.”
“And to kill the wanderers who enter the market?”
“That’s right. In your and Baek-ran’s case, we were told to cripple you.”
“Why didn’t you step forward yourselves?”
“You and Baek-ran felt strangely unsettling, so we took a step back. The Guild Master didn’t seem to care and had his subordinates carry out the task… and it went wrong.”
The Guild Master brought in the Yoon family to ensure the job was done. And that went wrong too, because of Hong Gang-hu’s son.
“What was that explosion? Did you use a Thunderclap Bomb?”
“……”
“Tell me what you know. Surely you know what your own son did?”
Hong Gang-hu sighed deeply.
“He used a magical artifact called a Light Force Pack. It’s an artifact I gave to Je-yu.”
“That was the power of just a magical artifact?”
My left arm was blown off, and Yoon Gong-seok was fatally injured. A master of the Fifth Realm was reduced to that state, and you’re saying it was just the power of a magical artifact? It was hard to believe. No matter how powerful a magical artifact is, could it really have that much power? If magical artifacts were that strong, why would there be martial artists? Everyone would just be running around with magical artifacts.
“The Light Force Pack is a special magical artifact that is charged with spiritual energy. Its power varies depending on the amount of spiritual energy charged. It can be charged with Heavenly Jade, or by consuming useless magical artifacts. Elixirs full of spiritual energy can also be used.”
“You’re using that precious spiritual energy on a magical artifact?”
I asked back, dumbfounded. Spiritual energy had many uses. Even if it was difficult to extract and use the spiritual energy from Heavenly Jade or magical artifacts directly, it could be used to create new magical artifacts or for martial arts training. Not to mention the spiritual energy of elixirs. Elixirs were the hope of all martial artists.
“It’s because it’s such precious spiritual energy that it can unleash that kind of power.”
“Conversely, if it doesn’t have that precious spiritual energy, it’s just a useless artifact.”
Hong Gang-hu nodded.
“You called it a Light Force Pack? What are its limits?”
“Limits?”
“You said it consumes spiritual energy. What’s the limit when it’s filled to the brim with spiritual energy?”
“I don’t know. It’s too precious to fill it to the brim…”
“What about that explosion earlier? How much spiritual energy did it use? In terms of Heavenly Jade, I mean.”
“Probably about 10.”
Ten.
The power to kill a master of the Fifth Realm if hit directly, with just 10 Heavenly Jade.
What if it could hold 100 Heavenly Jade? What if its limit wasn’t just 100?
Greed reared its head.
‘Light Force Pack. I have to get my hands on it.’
I hid my surging greed. I couldn’t show my emotions as they were, because Hong Gang-hu was watching. He might realize that I was planning to betray him.
‘Maybe he already knows.’
If that were the case, when would I betray him? If I betrayed him after everything was over, it would be too late. My own betrayal could backfire. But if I betrayed him too quickly, I wouldn’t be able to use him.
“Where are we going?”
“We’re heading to the center of the market. The Guild Master should be there. The Yoo Woon Merchant Guild revolves around the Guild Master. He’s the beginning, the center, and the end. If we kill the Guild Master, the Yoo Woon Merchant Guild will disappear as if it never existed.”
“You don’t have to worry about any repercussions?”
“The Yoo Woon Merchant Guild is basically a wanderer’s guild. It doesn’t really have any bases. They’ve temporarily joined hands with the Yoon family, but they’re not that close.”
“The head of the Yoon family is dead. The Yoon family won’t just stand by.”
“If the Guild Master dies, they’ll think they killed each other. I’ll take care of the aftermath, so don’t worry. It’s not like I haven’t done this before.”
“……”
That’s why I couldn’t trust him. Taking care of the aftermath meant he could manipulate things.
I quietly shut my mouth. I was going to betray him and kill him, so there was no reason to argue with him. The back of Hong Gang-hu’s head, walking ahead of me, looked very tempting.
We arrived at the center of the market. A place I had been to with Baek-ran before. Baek-ran and Hong Je-yu were there.
Hong Gang-hu’s eyebrows twitched when he saw his son. Hong Je-yu, seeing his father, swallowed hard and lowered his trembling eyes.
Hong Gang-hu didn’t scold his son loudly. Instead, he spoke in a tired voice.
“Why are you here instead of running away? I told you how to escape this barrier last time.”
“Th-that’s, Father…”
Hong Je-yu glanced at Baek-ran. I understood what had happened. It seemed Baek-ran had coaxed Hong Je-yu. As a top-level imperial guard, Baek-ran would want to understand the situation.
Hong Gang-hu’s gaze turned to Baek-ran.
“What are you trying to do, using my son?”
“Shouldn’t you be asking that question to your son? The cause of this situation lies with you.”
“…Haa. I apologize for my son’s actions. It might be for the best. If you help me, we can definitely kill the Guild Master.”
“I will help. I want to see this through to the end as well.”
Baek-ran said with a smile. Hong Je-yu was dazed, staring blankly at her smile. Hong Gang-hu’s sigh grew heavier at the sight of his pathetic son.
“Step back for now. There’s a barrier ahead. Only the Guild Master can enter and dispel it. The Guild Master is definitely inside.”
“How are we going to dispel the barrier?”
I asked Hong Gang-hu. He drew his sword.
“I don’t know how to dispel it. But I know how to destroy it.”
His raised sword began to hum.
A trembling sword.
That trembling was the core of the martial art Hong Gang-hu had mastered. I knew it instinctively.
I looked at Baek-ran. She was looking at me too. We exchanged glances. I could feel that she would respect my decision, whatever it was. Why she was pushing me so much was another matter….
‘Should I betray him now? If I swing my sword now, he won’t be able to block it or dodge it. I can definitely kill him.’
The Guild Master was the problem. There was definitely something the Guild Master had hidden here. So, let’s use Hong Gang-hu a little more. Having made my decision, I quietly watched.
The sword was enveloped in qi that vibrated. By vibrating the qi, he maximized its cutting power. It was like a kind of chainsaw.
‘Is that kind of method helpful in combat?’
Extreme cutting power. It was definitely a great power. But in terms of combat, it was a bit ambiguous.
‘Kill before getting hit.’
That was the direction I was pursuing.
‘Well, everyone pursues different things…. For now, if I fight Hong Gang-hu, I should focus on evading rather than blocking.’
Hong Gang-hu swung his sword. The qi flew forward and collided with the barrier. The vibration of the qi spread throughout the barrier. The barrier shook violently and then disappeared.
“That’s an interesting swordsmanship.”
“As expected of Father…”
Ignoring Baek-ran and Hong Je-yu’s reactions, Hong Gang-hu and I stared at the revealed building.
Creak.
The door opened, and the Guild Master appeared. The Guild Master’s empty eyes, with a healthy face, scanned us.
“You fools. You should have run away.”
His cracked voice lacked vitality.
The atmosphere became strange. It seemed I wasn’t the only one who felt it. Hong Gang-hu narrowed his brows, and Hong Je-yu slowly retreated. The smile disappeared from Baek-ran’s face as she placed her hand on her sword hilt.
The Guild Master held a dagger. A black dagger with a dark hue. The unknown characters engraved on its surface writhed as if they were alive. Without any hesitation, the Guild Master plunged the dagger into his own chest.
“That crazy bastard…!”
With a small curse, Baek-ran moved quickly. She approached like a flash and swung her sword with a clean motion that would impress anyone. Her target was the Guild Master’s head. However, a massive surge of energy that exploded from the Guild Master’s chest pushed Baek-ran away.
“Agh, aaaaaaaah!”
The Guild Master screamed as if in ecstasy.
Baek-ran managed to regain her balance by dragging her sword on the ground just before falling and stood up abruptly.
“What are you all doing?! Kill him now! Before the Underworld Being! Before the Underworld Being descends using his body!”
Baek-ran’s urgent voice. And the warning from her instincts.
Hong Gang-hu and I charged at the Guild Master at the same time.
Thunder Sky Style Flying Tiger.
I moved like a tiger, and Hong Gang-hu moved like an eagle. But it was useless. The black energy surrounding the Guild Master’s body blocked our attacks. His protective qi blocked our qi. It wasn’t completely ineffective. Our qi was penetrating little by little.
The Guild Master took a stance. The energy that exploded sent me and Hong Gang-hu flying backward.
Unlike me, who regained my balance, Hong Gang-hu rolled on the ground and coughed up blood.
‘The shockwave shouldn’t have been enough to make him cough up blood? Was he not in a normal state from the beginning?’
The damage from the explosion his son had caused had accumulated in his body.
The energy that seemed to be pouring out endlessly from the Guild Master’s body suddenly stopped. The energy was absorbed back into the Guild Master’s body. Golden light flashed in the Guild Master’s eyes.
“Hehehehe.”
He began to laugh. Five snakes emerged from his back, writhing.
“Sa-bok…!”
The golden light turned to Baek-ran. Sa-bok tilted his head.
“There’s a woman who knows my name. How do you know me?”
Baek-ran kept her mouth shut. Instead, hatred and murderous intent emanated from her, engulfing the surroundings. My spine tingled involuntarily. I subtly moved away from her.
‘Why is her murderous intent so intense?’
It was the kind of murderous intent that seemed like she had killed at least hundreds of thousands of people.
“Not only do you know my name… you’re not an ordinary woman! I’ll tear your soul apart and devour it! Hehehe!”
Despite his chilling words, Sa-bok didn’t move immediately. He was gathering his strength. He hadn’t fully manifested yet.
-Can you hear me?
Baek-ran’s telepathic message pierced my eardrums. Although she was constantly emitting murderous intent, the voice in her telepathic message was infinitely calm.
-I have a proposal for you. A kind of contract.
I could also use telepathy.
-Speak.
-I will help you become a Heavenly Demon.
-…What’s the price?
-Help me. There are a few people I want to kill.
-Are you talking about the guy in front of us?
-I want to kill those who are not in front of us as well. Chun Yu-woon.
-The Little Heavenly Demon? …Was investigating the Yoo Woon Merchant Guild also because of Chun Yu-woon?
-That’s part of it.
-Making this proposal is the same as asking me to betray Chun Yu-woon.
-You’re not Yeom Gu-seok, are you? For some reason, you’re deceiving Chun Yu-woon.
-…….
[Using Moment. Remaining stacks: 5]
I thought in the slowed time.
Baek-ran wanted to kill the Little Heavenly Demon, Chun Yu-woon. Why? Was it the Emperor’s will? It couldn’t be. The Emperor could easily kill a Heavenly Demon. But the Little Heavenly Demon, Chun Yu-woon? It definitely wasn’t the Emperor’s will.
‘Is it a personal grudge? Why that grudge? Chun Yu-woon hasn’t left the Heavenly Demon Cult much. There’s no reason for him to have ties with the Imperial Family… and he’s not the type to move openly, so he manages his grudges thoroughly….’
Bang.
The impact of a hammer hitting my head spread through my brain.
Baek-ran knew at a glance that I wasn’t Yeom Gu-seok. But did she immediately recognize my true identity? No, she didn’t. She just knew that I wasn’t the real Yeom Gu-seok. In other words, she knew the real Yeom Gu-seok.
‘A grudge against Chun Yu-woon, knowing and hating the Underworld Being in front of us. But that guy looks like he’s seeing Baek-ran for the first time.’
Baek-ran knew him unilaterally.
It was understandable that she knew the identity of the Underworld Being. Baek-ran was a top-level imperial guard. She might have the authority to access top-secret information.
But Yeom Gu-seok?
Yeom Gu-seok wasn’t a great being like Sa-bok. Would the Imperial Family bother investigating a human from a small village called Nando? No way. Even the Imperial Family wouldn’t be that free.
Let’s think more flexibly. Let’s open up all possibilities. I mustn’t forget that I know information that the people of this world don’t know. This world is a mix of six worlds.
‘…There’s only one answer.’
Baek-ran has hatred for Chun Yu-woon and Sa-bok, whom she hasn’t even met. And she knows the information and face of the real Yeom Gu-seok. And it’s all one-sided.
‘Baek-ran has seen Yeom Gu-seok in person.’
When?
Probably in a timeline I don’t know about.
‘Baek-ran is a regressor, the protagonist of the Heavenly Demon Revenge War.’
Then everything made sense.
Her strength, which didn’t match her young age, her hostility towards Sa-bok and Chun Yu-woon, and the reason she knew Yeom Gu-seok’s identity.
Everything pointed to her being a regressor. If it were a normal person, they would deny it, saying regression was impossible… but I knew the truth about this world. Rather, I was late in realizing it.
‘To think the regressor would be a woman. The protagonist of the Heavenly Demon Revenge War is supposed to be a man?’
Error. Contradiction.
A man pretending to be a woman? No. Baek-ran was born a woman. My gut was telling me that.
‘…Did the settings change?’
Come to think of it, it wasn’t impossible. I, for one, had taken the protagonist’s place. Moreover, the Heavenly Star System had even attached itself to me.
‘If King of Martial Arts Online is mixed with the Heavenly Demon Revenge War… it makes sense. The Heavenly Demon in King of Martial Arts Online could be a woman.’
Just like me, she was also a result of mixed settings.
Having reached a conclusion, I twisted the corners of my mouth.
-Okay. I accept.
A sinister possessor and a beautiful regressor who knew the future. Choosing the latter was obvious.
