The Mount Hua Sect.
Not long ago, there was a story which shook the Main Sect.
“Huhu, a secret branch has been established near the Main Sect. They said it couldn’t be found, but when we look at it like this, it feels like the words of old time aren’t wrong.”
The Demon Lord chuckled at this.
“So?”
The Third Disciple asked.
“So what? I sent my men quickly to get it all cleared.”
The Second Disciple smiled and licked his lips.
“Those fucking leaders, the higher ups managed to make their way out so we couldn’t catch all of them ah, and the Fourth Disciple’s men also helped with this.”
“Our youngest’s?”
Shhh
At those words, not just the Third but even the First Disciple looked at him and the Earth Demon politely bowed his head.
“Yes, they did a lot of work.”
“Ha. Look here. You have such decent kids on your side?”
“We…”
The Earth Demon’s expression went stiff at the question of the First Disciple which was full of sarcasm.
But before anything could be said, the Second Disciple took the lead.
“Great sahyung, you know the Seven Messengers right? Among the men under the Fourth Disciple, there are quite a lot of warriors.”
“Ah, it was the one of the Seven Messengers?”
As if the Third Disciple knew, she nodded her head.
The person from the Seven Messengers was someone the disciples seemed to know of. Of course, one person didn’t matter.
“Huh. What kind of mission do these people who cannot even protect themselves carry out?”
The First Disciple continued with sarcasm. And Earth Demon just accepted it.
“You are right. It is because the captain of the Seven Messengers is not so shameless. Am I wrong? Great sahyung?”
Rather than being angry, he had a bright face.
“…Huh.”
Thanks to this, the First Disciple’s brow furrowed more.
It was like saying “Yeah, yeah everything you say is right.”
This couldn’t be dragged on anymore as the situation was ambiguous.
If he decided to argue right now, it would be like cornering him without a reason.
“And you know. The reason why the Mount Hua Sect had settled around here…”
The Earth Demon turned to the Second Disciple and said,
“Actually, there were talks of negotiations with a specific person within our Sect.”
“Negotiations! Right, right. I did hear that there was a connection with a high ranking person in the Sect.”
The Second Disciple smiled.
“Is that so? Who is it?”
Third Disciple questioned.
“Who are you talking about…? Think about it, Fourth Disciple. How can you believe what those fucking Taoists say? Am I wrong?”
“I didn’t believe it. No matter what they said.”
“That…”
The Earth Demon intervened.
“It was great sahyung.”
Shh
Came the sound.
The atmosphere which began to heat up now turned cold as ice in an instant.
Silence fell. One single word was all it took to make the three disciples go ice cold. And the Earth Demon continued.
“My subordinate was the same. The opponent is Mount Hua which is holding hands with none other than the First Disciple of the Sect.”
“You…”
Naturally, the First Disciple glared at him.
“This…”
“Ugh.”
The Second Disciple and Third Disciple looked bewildered at this.
They roughly understood this whole thing.
However, they were only trying to aggravate the First Disciple by messing around with indirect comments.
So they couldn’t believe the Earth Demon was just throwing the bomb right in front of them all.
“This brat. Now, will you take responsibility for what you said?”
The First Disciple’s expression had crumbled. He seemed very frightened of what he would do now. But the Earth Demon didn’t back down.
“No, I surely said that I didn’t believe it at all. How can great sahyung who will be the next Sect Leader do such a thing?”
“…”
“They are just the words told to us by the group of people of Mount Hua who were captured and interrogated. Since Mount Hua isn’t even the best sword sect in the world, they must have been trying to rise up with the help of our sect. When our sect went to inflict damage on small and medium sects around, would this so-called symbiotic relationship not have helped them when they aimed for a few of our men to gain fame? They said that it was being used like this.”
The glare strengthened, but the Earth Demon didn’t avoid it.
Rather he spoke more slowly now.
“Aren’t the words of someone who got captured quite boring? Anyway, we will do our share of research to find out the truth. If we check the traces of the recent movements of troops in the Main Sect who went out to the central plains and who gave orders to them, the so-called treasonous act with Mount Hua will…”
Chak!
The Earth Demon stopped speaking at the terrible energy.
The Earth Demon could feel the current pass through his body, and the Second Disciple immediately moved.
Shhhh!
Except for the spot where he was looking, the rest of the chair collapsed.
“How dare you play around. Who is the one committing treason with Mount Hua?
The First Disciple finally lost all reasoning, and he was now cornering the Earth Demon.
Shhh!
The oppressive invisible energy squeezed around the body of the Earth Demon.
The blood vessels in his body began to suffocate, and he began to feel pain.
Despite the fact that his face flushed red, the Earth Demon didn’t struggle.
He was letting himself be suffocated by the energy.
Blink
And then his eyes turned green.
Chak!
At that moment, a bloody intent began to flow around his body.
Ddddud!
The pebbles on the floor bounced, and the water in the pond began to soar high into the air.
Of course, the fish too began to move a great deal.
That is the Void Movement!
Seeing this, the Third Disciple was shocked.
Among the realm of demons, this technique can only be unleashed when one is close to being at the absolute peak.
From what she knew, the Earth Demon had to be around a first rate warrior or maybe a little higher. He shouldn’t be able to do it.
I was sure but…
In front of her, the Earth Demon was counter attacking by using the Void Movement.
It was surprising to be cornered by great sahyung like that, but to have enough energy to break it down was ridiculous.
And this made the Third Disciple terrified.
No way… the forbidden skill?
Heavenly Killing Star.
The true potential behind the Earth Demon which everyone knew of but didn’t care about. The suicidal skill.
So she had a feeling that the Earth Demon wouldn’t use it.
Because no one wants to die.
T-this is insane! So fucking insane.
If he actually decided to unleash it right now… no one will survive.
It doesn’t matter what or who they are.
It is said that once this is unsealed, no one can stop it except for the Sect Leader
This was a living disaster on the loose. Even more so for a kid who had the power sealed since the age of 13.
Then the Earth Demon…
He is now 20.
It meant that it was the vicious energy within which had been collected for up to 10 years!
And if he did break it out, then the potential damage from such a disaster was something which no one could predict.
Jjjkkkk!
The pressure on the Earth Demon began to disappear. On the contrary, the whirlwind began to put pressure on the First Disciple
The aggressor had been switched.
“…!”
It was then that the First Disciple noticed that things had taken a turn.
The power to die when used.
He never thought that he would be the one setting fire to that wick.
Dudud
The veins on the face of the Earth Demon began to look more prominent with his eyes turning darker by the second.
Crack!
And then came the air which began to shake.
The Void Movement. A technique which couldn’t be unleashed unless one was at the peak.
Wobble
The Earth Demon held a dangerous power around him.
Step
His body had vessels popping out, and his eyes which were green had now turned to black. The First Disciple was confused at this being which no longer looked human.
Why all of a sudden? Wasn’t this the usual amount?
It was then that he realized he had crossed a line.
The Fourth Disciple was always silent at their words and bowed while being submissive. That was why he despised the man, but even the worms we trample on squirm under our feet.
And when he became a disciple of the Heavenly Demon, he didn’t seem like a worm but an Imoogi.
“Great sahyung.”
Step
The Earth Demon moved closer to the First Disciple until their noses could touch and said,
“You should know that I was born with a body no one can touch. It is a cursed body. However.”
His eyes were ferocious.
According to tradition, he was a living disaster.
He could see those were not words that were simply exaggerated.
“I can turn a person who has the potential to become the Sect Leader into nothing.”
Let’s die together.
With his body he might not rise to the best position in the world, but…
“You…”
It was possible to bring someone down with them.
This force had stopped the invisible energy around him, and now instead there was a green glow.
“The moment the seal on my body is lifted, great sahyung will die by my hands. This is a fact, not just a warning. But then, who will benefit the most from such a thing? Well, it has to be second sahyung,”
“…Ugh.”
“Is that what great sahyung wants? Are you such a person?”
“…”
The First Disciple didn’t respond to this man who might explode at any moment.
No, this man is a ticking time bomb, and if the seal was undone both would die.
So now he had to step down but… that is too shameful.
I… to this bastard!
To step back means to surrender.
His pride which was as high as the sky couldn’t let it happen. The others might not know that, but it didn’t matter.
To the First Disciple that was his highest priority. He didn’t want to die, but didn’t want to bow down either.
So he couldn’t do this.
Jjjkkk
A huge energy charged through the air and flew between the two, and in an instant when both didn’t back down…
Chng
“…!”
“…!”
Something else came in and intervened, pushing the two back. An old man short in stature stood there.
“Excuse me. I apologize for the intervention; however, my lord has earnestly asked you to withdraw your energies right now.”
Shh
He first bowed to the First Disciple and then to the Earth Demon.
“Fourth Disciple, this old man requests of you, please pull back your energy…”
“Hyang Gae…”
The First Disciple cried out.
He was a vassal who followed him, and he is a Supreme Demon warrior, ranked 10th.
This person served the First Disciple and was known to be able to control that attitude of his.
But he was a person who was generally quiet and never did anything out of character.
Shh…
When the two men recalled their energy, the place went silent, and it was a silence that most would find disagreeable.
“Thank you. I will surely repay the favor shown to me.”
Hyang Gae once again bowed to the Earth Demon.
“…It was nothing.”
“My lord will think about what happened. Can we head back?”
It was a good thing to say this.
“…”
These words were something the First Disciple could never say. In addition, confronting the Fourth Disciple was not something he would like to do at the moment.
It was the same for the Earth Demon.
“Sure.”
“Thank you.”
After saying that, he slowly turned around and approached the First Disciple and said something.
“I understand.”
The First Disciple gave a short answer and nodded his head as he stared at the Earth Demon who was a little farther.
Bang!
He turned around and vanished.
“Wow… fuck. I thought I would die from heart failure.”
At the atmosphere which had finally died down, the Second Disciple looked pale.
But there was a faint smile on his lips. This was a situation where he had nothing to lose, so he seemed rather happy.
“My sajae let’s meet next time,”
“Right. Do not be so angry! I was so shocked!”
Both the Second and Third Disciple vanished, leaving him alone.
“The first time…”
The first time he expressed his emotions. He forcibly put up with their words as he clasped his hands in fear of the First Disciple.
He thought he would die for sure this time.
He
“Earth Demon!”
Cheon Kwang was running.
As the other disciples left, he came running.
“Right.”
The Earth Demon looked at him and smiled.
“Cough!”
He coughed up blood at the pain of his organs twisting within.
“Lord!”
“…Right. This is the limit.”
The Earth Demon began to stagger to get up.
Even if it was just one brief moment, the curse was terrible.
He felt the pain of everything within being twisted but…
“No more, no more groveling before them.”
He spoke these words as if they were an oath to his escort who was worried.
His body was clearly in pain, but his mind was completely stable to the point where he thought dying like this would be fine.
No more being treated rudely.
“Hahaha…”
Earth Demon had laughed genuinely after a very long time.
“Are you saying you will attack the troops of the First Disciple?”
Seol-Hwi questioned the plan of the Earth Demon.
In the current situation he wants to go against the First Disciple and not the Third Disciple?
It made no sense considering how high the risk was.
“Why?”
“That is because we can get the strength of the Third Disciple.”
“…?”
Seol-Hwi tilted his head.
To beat the First Disciple he can get troops from the Third Disciple? What was this?
But the trainer looked at Seol-Hwi.
It was as if he was figuring out his thoughts.
“…My eyes are not bright enough to read the situation. Could you explain?”
“The captain here is still too young.”
The trainer had a bit of a regretful look and he spoke,
“As I said before, the core strength of the Third Disciple are recluses. I think they are helping the Third Disciple under the command of the Heavenly Demon.”
“So?”
“In other words, they do not have absolute loyalty to her. Because of her role, they just cooperate. That is, if another disciple could actually take over her role…?”
“…!”
Goosebumps rose on Seol-Hwi’s body and his eyes went wide.
“The core power of the Third Disciple will come to us.”
The man continued.
The Fourth Disciple, the Earth Demon. He is fearful and weak to everyone.
However, he wasn’t well known to people, and he was the one who had been made to crouch down and handle the tantrums of the First Disciple. What if people came to know he was standing face to face with the First Disciple?
The recluse warriors will show interest, and maybe even the Sect Leader might change his opinion as well.
Time changes things.
The passive figure began to look into the eyes of danger and aim for the future.
He had the determination to take action when the time came. Above all, it was possible to deal a major blow to the First Disciple who was the chosen one.
People are always like this, sticking close to walls, ready at a moment’s notice.
Those who can no longer make progress, those who cannot rise to a higher level, and those who are not interested in more power.
What they have in common is that they are talented people who want to enter closed training to refine their martial arts.
Among them, there are warriors who went beyond common sense.
Chun Mi-ryeo, used by Seol-Hwi as an excuse, is one of them. So, they wouldn’t be motivated to change their side that way.
In the end, the situation looked fine.
If a person who was considered to be useless wanted to stand up, then it would be refreshing.
“Everyone will be cheering. Even the old ones will have their blood boil.”
“It is said that the effect is greater because they are considered weak.”
As Seol-Hwi mumbled, the trainer nodded.
“Right. The Earth Demon is planning to use a large number of warriors like that to subdue the First Disciple.”
“Then can we get something out of it? The First Disciple will not be that easy.”
“Of course. But the First Disciple will not be able to use their core power. If that happens, there will be a power gap and the Second Disciple will not stand for it.”
The reason why the battle hadn’t been fierce until now was because of the strange relationship between the First and Second Disciple.
The power the First Disciple had was rated a four, and the power of the Second Disciple was rated a three along with the Third Disciple being rated a two.
Here, if only the Fourth Disciple attacks the First Disciple, then the First Disciple couldn’t fight back with his full power. All because of the Second Disciple.
“Rather than fight back, we can hold hands. And if you add four to one, it becomes five.”
“Hmm.”
A sword sharp enough to threaten the enemy and be a reassuring ally. The Earth Demon was looked down on because he wasn’t a threat, and he constantly lowered himself.
“If they show their worth, they tend to bury the enemies by holding hands. So, after taking in the recluse warriors under us, the Fourth Disciple who had just one point in power…”
The trainer raised three fingers.
“Will have three.”
Triadic system.
The power balance turns stable with Third Disciple being caught by her ankles.
And that stabilization happens only if they can get the old men under them, and that means they need to show that the Fourth Disciple is a more stable source of power than the Third Disciple.
This was the big picture.
“Then who will I be dealing with?”
This was the main point of importance to Seol-Hwi.
“Of the five pavilions, two.”
And he continued,
“Remove the Supreme Pavilion Lord and the Wu Tian Pavilion Lord, both of them.”
