After a bath, the Bloody Death Hall Leader entered his office in simple clothes.
Flutter
“Phew…”
He felt a little drowsy. After savoring the smooth pleasure which came from his fatigue going away, he moved to the table.
Step
There was a new report. While examining that, he clicked his tongue.
Casualties: 33
-Fifteen who fainted and broke away. Twelve suffered power loss due to their arms or legs being cut off. A total of six died.
-The losses are considered to be severe and seemed to have occurred in training. Please give us orders.
“This, now… such temper.”
The displeasure he felt was too much. The members of the Blood Strong Troops were the ones taught and raised by them.
No matter how much he foresaw this, it was not a nice feeling to hear about the death of his own men.
Swish
He opened the next page.
<Process.>
Most of the Blood Strong Troops who died were attacked by the Second Disciple’s person, Ghost Incarnate. He had no hesitation to kill and it is understood that he has his own unique martial arts. He is estimated to be around Peak Demon, or at the end of Peak Demon.
Note: There is an unconfirmed story that he was raised away from humans. It is considered that his nature is typically far from a normal person’s fighting spirit and leans much more into madness.
“…Then, it makes sense. The most poisonous one.”
Fox huh.
One of the truly wrong things happening in the Demonic Sect was the kidnapping of beggars, orphans, and innocent kids who seemed to look good. Then they would put hundreds of people into a cave with no exit and made them kill one another. This came from the Wudang’s ideology of creating poison.
There will be just one survivor.
It was an attempt to create the strongest human weapon that would not hesitate to kill, even in the face of death, and would be the most goal oriented mind, but after years of doing that, people came to a conclusion that it was not right.
“How can such a demon be like a human? Tsk…”
Those who were verified for their nature similar to that, often ended up losing control in the stages of discipline. Just a light touch or small words are enough to rile them up.
And that caused failure on important missions, so even the Demonic Sect leader, who did not care about people’s lives, thought it would not work.
There was a proper way to handle your weapons. Even an extremely sharp knife would fail if it was not handled properly, and it might even cut the hand of the holder.
In other words, even Demonic Sect’s usage of such a person would harm their own interests.
“…It must have been around 10 years ago that this experiment was halted.”
The Warlord shook his head at this information.
There was a high chance that Ghost Incarnate was the last living experiment or maybe a new one secretly made under the orders of the Second Disciple.
“I can see why the Second Disciple was that confident.”
People from the experiment were not suitable for living around other people. Their upbringing was definitely one of their strengths, but their instincts were limited only to survival.
But once they survive and move to higher stages, there would not be many like him
Shh.
He thought again and turned to the next page on the report.
Blood Rider
Yoo Su-gwang
Ju Seorin
Seol-Hwi
…
…
…
Ghost Incarnate
“Hmm?”
The Bloody Death Warlord checked the name again and tilted his head. And when he was peeking at the next section—
“Warlord, are you here?”
Came a shout from the outside.
“Come in.”
Tak
The Bloody Death Warlord closed the report and looked up. An old man with gray hair came in and bowed.
It was So Cheon-gwi, the leader of the academy.
“Did you get the report?”
“Yes, I was just reading through it.”
“Ah, sorry. Warlord I didn’t…”
“No, it is fine. Please sit.”
The Bloody Death Warlord led him in, and soon they sat facing each other.
“What did… you decide?”
So Cheon-gwi asked as soon as he sat down.
“About what?”
“In this training… There is a guy who intentionally committed killing. Even if it was prohibited, shouldn’t they be punished more than just having their points deducted?”
The eyes of So Cheon-gwi were on fire.
There were over 30 or so wounded with 13 crippled and 6 dead.
In the group session which started as a simple course to teach others, then came the ones who were crazy for the taste of blood. Of course, as the head of the academy, he could not let it pass.
“Hmmm…”
The Warlord just made a sound which made the eyes of the academy head widen.
Every member that was dead or injured was supposed to be the strength of the blood troops. So of course, he thought there would be an order to do something about this.
“But… are you in the position to say they should be punished for doing that intentionally?”
The Warlord looked up and then looked down.
“Of course.”
“But, wouldn’t that be a valid strategy?”
“Uh…?”
“Think about it. Did they do it knowing they would have their points deducted? It isn’t just a means to reduce the competitors. It is a warning to be prepared to die at any time, and we collided with them.”
The Warlord thought differently about the disciples.
Face us and you die. In that way, he intended to imprint himself and the training onto the other members of his.
He might get a lot of deductions, but from now, the others will see Ghost Incarnate as a cold blooded killer. And when they come into such situations, they will be passive.
As a plan, it worked well.
“But Warlord, the fact that the members we have trained so hard with so much effort died like…”
“That isn’t the problem. Among the trainees, there is one who found out about the Blood Killing Secret Troops.”
“…!”
The eyes of the academy head widened.
This was not expected at akk. The most elite troops of their hall. Were they not something which could not be known unless they were from the same troops?
“Who found out?”
So Cheon-gwi asked cautiously and the Warlord nodded at the report, which he quickly took and opened it. And then he checked the last of its contents.
“Seol-Hwi…?”
“Yes. The member under the Fourth Disciple.”
“Huh.”
The expression of the old man changed.
This academy was a collective one which had everyone participate. And the people who were carefully selected and sent by the disciples were sent to recruit their warlord.
Of course, it would not be an ordinary disciple, so they thought using their Blood Strong Troops would be the correct decision, so they proposed this idea.
But just ten—
The elites were carefully chosen. However, someone noticed their existence regardless.
“Fortunately, the man called Seol-Hwi said he would keep quiet.”
“Is he someone who can be trusted?”
“We don’t know. But, knowing how to make a deal means we can move according to our thoughts.”
“I apologize. I will work hard…”
“No. Rather, I think we are lucky. The uncontrollable fire held no handle.”
“What…?”
His words couldn’t be understood at all and the warlord laughed.
“Ghost Incarnate. The problem kid who continued to kill. Then what do you think is the reason he came in last after killing so clearly.”
“…Well.”
“If I am thinking through it correctly… it has to be this Seol-Hwi guy.”
Drrr
The Warlord poured tea into his tea cup. And after a slow sip, he continued to talk,
“You will realize once you see it. The third training.”
Kirkik
There was a well at the back of the place. A man with blood all over his body pulled the bucket from it and poured the water over his head.
Splash
The blood was washed away by the water which ran down his body. The blood mixed with water, seemed closer to blood than water.
The expression on his face looked distorted.
He was someone I never experienced before.
Shiver
The dried up blood was washed away, and now only diluted blood flowed down.
Ghost Incarnate thought back about the face of the man.
Seol-Hwi.
He could not understand the opponent.
He had great martial arts, but there was no happiness, anger, or sadness in his eyes.
And that was rude. The moment when Ghost Incarnate was on the border between life and death was rushing in, the opponent did the same.
Fear or anxiousness—
But this time, it was different. He was overpowered in an instantm and he tried his best only to be defeated.
The most upsetting thing was that he did not get killed.
I didn’t matter?
It was something he could not understand. If this was ignored, he would surely fight back. Then why keep him alive? How arrogant was that man?
Chak! Swish!
“It isn’t nice to be so stuck up.”
“…”
When did someone come? Halfway up a tree cut down with an axe was a woman.
“If you run in like a wild animal, you will die. Especially those who are alive right now, they aren’t weaker than you.”
“…”
Ghost Incarnate turned his head away.
Ju Seorin—
He had heard the name before.
She was the right hand of the Third Disciple, and she was a person who used her brain.
“Is it alright for a girl to run wild then?”
“Ehh, it isn’t that, and I never did that. I just checked the rules.”
Ju Seorin smiled.
“My plan is to get the highest score and take the warlord. You too, right?”
“…”
Ghost Incarnate did not respond back to her words.
Now was a short break before the next session. The training would be more severe than before. And they had to prioritize recovering their energy as much as possible and prepare themselves…
“The guy called Seol-Hwi. You want to kill him?”
“…!”
The gaze of the Ghost Incarnate turned, and soon he walked away,
“Shall I tell you one of his weaknesses?”
Tuk
The feet of Ghost Incarnate stopped.
The question seemed to have affected him. That was why he did not even look at Ju Seorin.
“That guy. He is the one sent by the Earth Demon. From the looks of it, it looks like he isn’t even an official warrior.”
“…”
“There is no way he will be the Fourth Disciple’s subordinate if he was smart. So why is he still there? What could it be?”
“…Get straight to the point.”
Ghost Incarnate turned his head.
Although it was covered by hair, he looked at Ju Seorin now.
“Kindness would be why, maybe.”
Ju Seorin smiled and said,
“The reason for being under the Fourth Disciple. There wouldn’t be any sane one around that man.”
“…Kindness?”
“Right, kindness or companionship, or the feeling of waiting for someone. At least, those human feelings must be the reason.”
Ju Seorin’s eyes turned sharp.
“Now I am using my men to find the right spot. The Supreme Pavilion, his movements, and how he will act in the future.”
“After all that, that means nothing is known.”
“…”
Shhh
Ghost Incarnate passed, and he did not care anymore. But watching him go far away,
“If I find it, I will be the first to let you know…”
Ju Seorin grinned.
“We can see both of them struggling.”
