Chapter 761: Youngest, Where Are You?
“The formation seems to have activated!”
The one who shouted was Ji Han.
Geom Mugeuk, the two Demon Supremes, and the master once called Brother Ak disappeared before their eyes in an instant.
Had only they vanished, it would have been the worst possible outcome—but fortunately, the enemies standing before them vanished as well.
It was not all that surprising. In this unbelievable battle where even the dead had been summoned, it was not strange for them to disappear into a formation. Everyone simply assumed that someone had activated a formation.
Ji Han spoke to Tae Soo.
“If we’re going to escape this chamber, now’s the chance.”
If the one who reappeared was not Geom Mugeuk’s group but the Iron-Masked Man, everyone here would die.
“And you?”
Tae Soo asked, and Ji Han replied,
“I’ll wait for the Young Cult Leader.”
It was not because he was merely a subordinate bound to wait. It was a decision filled with the resolve to live and die together with the Young Cult Leader.
—You’re a sword that has fought alone for a long time too, aren’t you?
No one had ever said such words to him in his life. The words Geom Mugeuk had spoken kept echoing in his head.
Tae Soo knew Ji Han’s suggestion came from goodwill, yet he couldn’t help but feel displeased.
“I’ll wait too.”
You’re not going either, so why say that to me? What do you take me for!
He couldn’t bring himself to say it aloud because he felt small.
Up until they arrived here, he had believed himself to be the protagonist, the one holding the Treasure Map. Even if not the main character, he thought at least he was a crucial supporting role.
But he was wrong. The young man carrying the burden turned out to be the Young Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult, and the old man and woman with him were Demon Supremes.
The martial artist who introduced himself as Pung was said to have been sent by the Unorthodox Alliance Leader, and the other man was the head of a family that had tended the tombs of successive Unorthodox Alliance Leaders.
The only one who seemed approachable was Ji Han—but even he had already earned Geom Mugeuk’s trust.
He knew that the higher one’s position, the greater the danger in such a precarious situation, yet he could not help feeling an inexplicable sense of isolation.
Suddenly, he recalled what Geom Mugeuk had once said.
—You, your pride runs deep.
He finally understood why he had said hurtful words to his father.
He had wanted to live a life that stood out—a life where he was the protagonist. A life where no one would tell him to run while there was still time.
And that kind of life could never be achieved while living as a thief.
Ji Han was not the only one who had urged escape. The martial artist Pung from the Unorthodox Alliance had also advised the Patriarch of the Baekchong Family, Danso Jin, to flee.
“Patriarch, you should leave this place now.”
Since the Patriarch was the head of the family that managed the tombs of successive Unorthodox Alliance Leaders, Pung considered him someone he must protect.
But for some reason, Danso Jin did not move.
“I am fine.”
Danso Jin could feel it. This was not a situation he could avoid simply by escaping this moment.
If the one to emerge from the formation was not Geom Mugeuk, then he would die regardless, no matter how far he ran.
The die had already been cast. All he could do was hope that the number he wished for would appear on the die he had thrown, even at the risk of exposing himself.
How much time passed like that?
The die that had been rolling to and fro finally came to a stop.
They appeared as suddenly as they had vanished.
“Ah!”
A cry of joy burst from Ji Han’s lips.
Geom Mugeuk, the Sword King, and the two Demon Supremes had returned unharmed—none of them bore a single injury.
Everyone sighed in relief at the sight.
“You have returned!”
Ji Han greeted Geom Mugeuk with a face filled with emotion. Tae Soo, Pung, and Danso Jin were all overjoyed as well.
Among them, the happiest was Danso Jin. This time, not only his own life but the very survival of his entire family had been at stake.
Blood Heaven Blade Demon spoke to Geom Mugeuk.
“Recover your internal energy first.”
“Yes, Elder.”
Geom Mugeuk immediately sat cross-legged and began circulating his qi. Then, Blood Heaven Blade Demon, One-Slash Sword Supreme, and the Sword King stood guard around him.
It was a sight that truly showed Geom Mugeuk’s status as the Young Cult Leader of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.
The Sword King, Blood Heaven Blade Demon, and One-Slash Sword Supreme recalled the scene they had witnessed inside the Temporal and Spatial Transference Technique. How could anyone forget that battle so easily?
They remembered Geom Mugeuk deftly evading the attacks of all the Zodiac Kings.
Had Tae Soo or Ji Han witnessed it, they might have thought Geom Mugeuk’s evasions looked almost effortless, making his opponents seem insignificant.
But those three knew better. They understood how impossibly difficult each evasion had been. Geom Mugeuk had fought against all of those who unleashed such terrifying attacks.
And then there was that one unforgettable move—
The final strike that annihilated everything. That image would remain with them until the day they died.
When Geom Mugeuk finished circulating his energy, he opened his eyes. Seeing the three standing guard over him, he exclaimed in exaggerated delight.
“If there’s anyone in all the martial world who’s ever had such masters stand guard over them, let them come forth and prove it!”
As Geom Mugeuk stood and began to chatter, Blood Heaven Blade Demon was the first to move.
“Let’s leave this unpleasant place first.”
Though the Iron King was dead, the mechanisms hidden throughout the area were still active. There was no reason to linger here any longer.
They left the chamber and finally emerged from the Sword Tomb. They swam through the vast pond, as large as a lake, that served as the passage they had entered through.
After being trapped underground for so long, stepping outside brought a breath of fresh relief.
Geom Mugeuk shouted cheerfully,
“Now I finally feel alive!”
It wasn’t just a feeling—they had truly survived.
Everyone’s gaze turned toward him. Seeing the relief in their expressions, Geom Mugeuk finally felt that this battle had come to an end.
He lifted his head to the sky.
The Sword King, the two Demon Supremes, and the remaining four followed suit, gazing up at the heavens alongside him.
After staring at the sky for a while, Geom Mugeuk turned first to Tae Soo.
“Are you all right?”
Tae Soo, who had thought himself the most useless person there, felt a surge of emotion at being asked that question first.
“Yes, I’m fine.”
“I can guess what it is you wish to say to me. Do you still feel the same way?”
He had once thought about living as Geom Mugeuk’s subordinate.
“I’m… not sure.”
Tae Soo answered honestly. Geom Mugeuk nodded.
“Meet your father. Think deeply, and decide at your own pace.”
In his life before regression, Geom Mugeuk had shared a bond with Tae Soo’s father, Tae Gon, and owed him a debt of gratitude. That was why he intended to give Tae Soo a chance.
“You may come in a year, or even in ten.”
“Can I really do that?”
His voice trembled as he asked, and Geom Mugeuk nodded again.
“But you must understand this. Letting you enter our cult can be done because of my connection with you—but once you step inside, your life will no longer have anything to do with mine. You might not even get to see my face again. The same goes for Ji Han over there. I can only open the door for you, but it’s up to you to live the new life beyond it. Don’t forget—no matter how much your surroundings change, nothing will change if you yourself do not.”
Tae Soo silently looked at Geom Mugeuk.
“When you are ready to take responsibility for your own life, come find me.”
“Thank you, Young Cult Leader. I must see my father first.”
He felt the need to apologize to his father for the words that had wounded him that day.
After bowing respectfully to Geom Mugeuk and the others, Tae Soo left.
Whether he would one day visit the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, or simply live on, cherishing this day as a memory, no one knew.
Geom Mugeuk thought it would be fine even if he never came. After all, wasn’t it good to have at least one thief in the world who stole only from the wicked to help the poor?
Geom Mugeuk then approached Danso Jin and Pung of the Unorthodox Alliance.
“Martial artist Pung, return directly to the Alliance and report all that has happened.”
His mission had been to oversee the matter concerning the Treasure Map; now, only the report remained to be made.
“And the mechanisms installed within the Sword Tomb—let’s leave those for the Unorthodox Alliance to handle.”
Even if it wasn’t a real tomb, it was still known as the resting place of One-Sword of the Unorthodox, Joo Ga-shin, so Geom Mugeuk thought it right for them to take care of it.
“Yes, we’ll take care of it.”
Pung, who had walked some distance away, turned back toward Geom Mugeuk.
“Thank you. Had it not been for you, Young Cult Leader, none of us would have made it out alive.”
Though Pung himself hadn’t taken direct action, witnessing everything had been its own form of contribution.
“If I hadn’t been there, neither would they. So, if anything, it is I who should apologize to you, Martial Artist Pung. I’m glad you are safe.”
After gazing at Geom Mugeuk for a brief moment, Pung clasped his fists in a formal salute and disappeared.
Now, only Danso Jin remained.
“Thank you for sparing my life.”
He treated Geom Mugeuk with the utmost respect—not simply because his life had been saved, but because he had seen how Geom Mugeuk treated Ji Han and Tae Soo. He was a man deserving of respect.
“I know they were after something inside the tomb. Do you, Young Cult Leader, know what it is?”
“I do.”
Of course, that was not something he could reveal as it was.
“It’s an item useless to anyone else. It holds meaning only for them and for me.”
Judging by the caliber of enemies who had been mobilized this time, Danso Jin could tell that the item was indeed something of great importance.
In truth, he wanted nothing more than to bring Geom Mugeuk along and tell him to take it himself. After all, what Geom Mugeuk had saved was not merely his life but that of his entire family.
“Do you remember that you agreed to grant me one favor if I helped you, Patriarch Dan?”
“I did say I’d do what I could, if it was within my power.”
Danso Jin thought he could guess what the request would be. Naturally, he assumed Geom Mugeuk would ask to enter the tomb. After all, what other request would the Young Cult Leader of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult make in such a situation?
But that was a misjudgment born of not yet understanding the man named Geom Mugeuk.
The favor he asked for was something completely unexpected.
“When the Unorthodox Alliance Leader passes away one day, please see to it that he is properly enshrined.”
“!”
Danso Jin was inwardly astonished.
“That’s… the favor you wish to ask of me?”
“Yes. Please take special care of him.”
The Young Cult Leader of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult worrying about the Unorthodox Alliance Leader’s afterlife?
“Weren’t you the one who wanted to enter the tombs of the past Alliance Leaders?”
“Of course I wanted to.”
“Then why not ask for that?”
Geom Mugeuk had already seen through his resolve.
“You intend to keep the location of the tomb secret, even at the cost of your life, do you not?”
That was indeed Danso Jin’s intention. He had been ready to grant any other request, but not that one.
“That’s right. It’s an old family duty passed down for generations—something I cannot decide on my own.”
“I thought as much. I couldn’t possibly waste such a precious request on someone like you, could I?”
No matter how important obtaining the orb was, pressuring Danso Jin to reveal the location of the tomb was something Geom Mugeuk would never do.
“Instead, I’ll search for the tomb myself. The item is not only important to me—it also concerns the Baekchong Family. If I don’t secure it, those people will never stop hunting for it.”
The five orbs he had obtained before had all come to him through fate, not through greed or force.
“If fate ties it to me, I’ll find it.”
Danso Jin, in truth, wished for Geom Mugeuk to discover the tomb himself.
‘But it won’t be easy to find, Young Cult Leader.’
Even if he managed to locate it, entering would be another matter entirely.
Whether Geom Mugeuk understood that or not, he spoke with his usual carefree tone.
“Ah, and later, please look after my friend Sa In as well. Sa In will probably become the next Unorthodox Alliance Leader, right? When you pass on your position, make sure to tell your heir that I asked you to take good care of him.”
Danso Jin could sense that those words were spoken from the heart.
The Young Cult Leader was not the kind of man he had imagined him to be. Perhaps the dice he had thrown that day bore numbers he had never even considered.
“Meeting you, Young Cult Leader, I’ve come to think you’re like the wind. I hope you continue to live freely, carried by it, just as you are now.”
After bowing respectfully, Danso Jin turned and departed.
Geom Mugeuk turned toward the Sword King and the Demon Supremes.
When his eyes met the Sword King’s, Geom Mugeuk spoke first.
“Don’t even dream of it. This time, you’re coming back to the cult with me. Our Brother Ak—he’s got a woman who’s been waiting endlessly for him!”
Just as the Sword King was hesitating to respond, Blood Heaven Blade Demon suddenly spoke.
“Let’s go together.”
The Sword King looked at him, but Blood Heaven Blade Demon said nothing more.
After watching him in silence for a moment, the Sword King unexpectedly replied with ease,
“Very well, I’ll go.”
Naturally, Geom Mugeuk protested at once.
“What! When I said we should go, you didn’t even answer me!”
“You’re different.”
“No way! You can’t go! Bare feet, horse-tail hair, shabby sword—none of that is allowed inside the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult!”
It was clear that the Sword King had earned great favor with Blood Heaven Blade Demon for having been willing to sacrifice himself.
A thought suddenly crossed Geom Mugeuk’s mind—
The free-spirited Sword King and the book-loving Blood Heaven Blade Demon might actually make a surprisingly fitting pair.
“Sword Supreme,” he called.
“What is it?”
“How about enshrining your uncle here, in Heavenly Eye Mountain?”
Inside Geom Mugeuk’s travel pouch hung from his waist, was a long bag containing the ashes of One-Slash Sword Supreme’s uncle.
The One-Slash Sword Supreme did not ponder long. Since his uncle had wandered the martial world his entire life, it felt right to lay him to rest here in Heavenly Eye Mountain, the place where he had made his final life-and-death stand.
“Let’s do that. It’s a good idea.”
Blood Heaven Blade Demon spoke to Geom Mugeuk.
“You never forget or overlook a single thing, do you?”
Blood Heaven Blade Demon had already forgotten that they had even recovered the uncle’s remains from the Sword Tomb.
“One day, I’ll start forgetting things too.”
Geom Mugeuk looked toward Ji Han.
“When that happens, you’ll have to look after me.”
“Yes, I’ll remember.”
Though Ji Han answered with conviction, inwardly he worried. He was older than the Young Cult Leader—by then, wouldn’t he be the one losing his wits first?
Still, he resolved to live with sharper focus and youthful spirit—for Geom Mugeuk’s sake.
They buried the body on a sunlit hill of Heavenly Eye Mountain and raised a simple tomb.
“You all go ahead. I’ll take a look around before coming down.”
The Sword King asked cautiously,
“Do you believe the Unorthodox Alliance Leader’s tomb is here?”
“Yes. I’m certain it lies somewhere in these mountains. It might take a few days, so please rest easy until then.”
It was likely because the pressure from their pursuers had grown unbearable that Danso Jin had stepped forward personally and sought his aid.
“I’ll head down first,” Blood Heaven Blade Demon said, turning away. One-Slash Sword Supreme and the Sword King followed behind him.
For at least this one day, none of the three felt the urge to guard Geom Mugeuk.
Geom Mugeuk turned to Ji Han.
“Take good care of them.”
“Yes!”
And so, Geom Mugeuk was left alone in Heavenly Eye Mountain.
He looked over the many peaks. Indeed, it would not be easy to find.
But he had things those enemies did not.
He had the Secret Box and within his body, the five energies.
His shout, aimed toward the last remaining energy, echoed through the mountains.
“Youngest, where are you? Your brothers are here.”