Chapter 414: War Between the North and South (4)
Pa Yeongyeong, successor of the House of Extreme Saber.
There was no doubt about her talent, destined to inherit the vast organization known as the House of Extreme Saber.
‘Three with a single strike, huh.’
If it weren’t for Ma Chulsoo having inherited the unparalleled Heaven-Slaying Physique, she would have far surpassed him in terms of talent alone.
She approached me, having retrieved her Saber.
“Will you be alright? I thought maybe capturing one wouldn’t hurt.”
“We wouldn’t have gotten much useful information from them anyway.”
Though they were difficult for even Peak Masters to handle, those things were, in truth, the lowest of the low.
Even compared to ones like Mad Muscle or Evil Tiger we dealt with at the Cheon Clan, they were far inferior.
“Really? Well, in any case, it counts as an accomplishment, right?”
Pa Yeongyeong looked at me with a gaze that was almost burdensome.
Recognizing its meaning, I gave a wry smile.
“Very well. I’ll pass on to you the ‘Radiant Saber of Containment’.”
“Yes!”
Pa Yeongyeong leapt in joy.
The Radiant Saber of Containment was one of the ancient arts of the Pa Clan, passed down to me by Senior Brother Pa Gooncheong. It hadn’t been inherited in practice, let alone passed down.
That’s why it was convenient to offer it as a reward, without getting entangled in the complex politics of the clans.
“By the way, where did you even get this information?”
“There’s someone who relays internal intel from the Southern Murim Alliance.”
“What? Really? Who?!”
“It’s difficult to reveal that for now.”
The one who handed me information about the Southern Murim Alliance—more precisely, the Heaven-Defying Society—was none other than Han Mubaek of the First Order.
‘I still have no idea what that bastard’s real goal is….’
He seemed to cooperate with Cheon Juchun, and yet played the part of a bat by feeding me information like this. Why?
He spoke to me of ‘true freedom’, but that alone didn’t justify such actions.
‘Still, the intel itself is quite useful.’
Of course, I didn’t trust Han Mubaek’s information blindly.
I only moved after thorough investigation and when certainty was reached.
I approached the devastated disciples of the Qingcheng Sect.
“You’re the top disciples of Qingcheng, yes?”
“Th-that’s right.”
“As you just experienced, the Southern Murim Alliance has abandoned you. More than anything, this incident couldn’t have occurred without Qingcheng’s approval.”
“……”
“……”
“You have two choices: join the Northern Murim Alliance or return to the Southern Murim Alliance or Qingcheng.”
“If you choose the latter…”
“You’ll die for sure.”
Hwang Yong declared flatly.
“You saw it too, didn’t you? Those damned horrifying monsters. It’s clear now that those monstrosities disturbing the world also stem from the Southern Murim Alliance!”
Although Hwang Yong’s words strayed slightly from the truth, they held persuasive power.
Since they had all undergone the same ordeal, it was only natural their conclusion would align.
However—
“We will return to Qingcheng.”
“…Are you serious?”
“Of course, the safer choice would be to quietly join the Northern Murim Alliance.”
Hwang Yong gave a bitter smile.
“But not all of Qingcheng has dipped its feet into evil. We will return, reveal the truth, and ensure the elders of our sect pay for their sins.”
“……”
Though it was an unrealistic plan, it was also a declaration born of their pride as members of an orthodox sect.
“I can’t say I understand, but… I’ll respect your choice.”
A strange sense of déjà vu hit me.
I felt like I had experienced something very similar before.
The other top disciples also agreed with Hwang Yong’s decision.
They still looked like death-wishing fools to me….
But I suppose that’s why even in decay, the orthodoxy is still the orthodoxy.
“There’s just one thing I’d like to ask.”
For some reason, Hwang Yong’s tone became respectful.
“Speak.”
“Is the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult’s goal still the conquest of the Central Plains?”
“That bastard looking to die right now…”
From behind, Ma Chulsoo, who had been silent, flared up and prepared to charge forward.
We had just saved him, and now he said such a thing—anyone would get angry.
‘We did recently declare our invasion of the Central Plains several times and even carried it out…’
So it wasn’t strange for such a question to be asked.
“Do you think our Cult would walk the path of self-destruction in a world where heresy runs rampant?”
“I’m sorry. It’s just…”
Then came something completely unexpected from Hwang Yong’s mouth.
“Before we were deployed here, we happened to overhear a meeting of our sect’s elders…”
“What did you overhear?”
“They said an internal revolt would soon break out within the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, the regime would be replaced, and they would invade the Northern Murim Alliance.”
“…What?”
It wasn’t just me—Pa Yeongyeong and Ma Chulsoo’s expressions also froze.
“Hey, explain that in more detail.”
Pa Yeongyeong approached Hwang Yong, exuding killing intent.
“There’s nothing more to explain. That’s all I heard. The Southern Murim Alliance was able to declare war even though it was clearly inferior to the Northern Murim Alliance in terms of overall power because they were certain there’d be movement in the Ten Thousand Mountain.”
“……”
“……”
I couldn’t make sense of those words.
Even if Saber Demon was absent, it was still too much for the Cheon Clan to act alone.
Not unless there was an asymmetrical force capable of keeping Cheon Yura occupied in a one-on-one battle!
‘Even if they mobilized Cheon Jumun, Master is on standby, so it should be fine. Just how do they plan to pull this off?’
The more I thought about it, the deeper my mind sank into a swamp.
The Ten Thousand Mountain was vast.
From the central part of Gansu Province to the edges near Seonyeong, it stretched more than a thousand ri in a straight line—no exaggeration.
Such a rugged terrain had countless places where even a hundred people could hide without leaving a trace.
Especially during the twilight hours, when the sun set and night approached.
“All afternoon training has concluded, Vice-Captain.”
“Good work.”
Myeong-oh was recording in a logbook deep inside a neatly maintained cave.
“How are the kids responding?”
The deputy gave a bitter smile.
“They’re doing their best. No one wants to get dragged back to the Jin Clan again.”
“That’s true.”
A terrible memory surfaced, and Myeong-oh’s shoulders trembled slightly.
Suppressing emotion, suppressing killing intent, forging only sharpness to its utmost—those were the assassins.
Even such assassins, once taken to the Demonic Heaven’s Jin Clan, had difficulty maintaining their sanity.
Compared to that, being hung at the main gate of the House of Slaughter was nothing.
“Thanks to that, we’re confident we won’t be pushed back even in direct confrontations with most units.”
“That’s not enough. You need to be able to stand your ground even against the Thirty-Four Demon Squads, even if you’re ranked at the bottom.”
“……”
For an assassination group, that was a goal so distant it was almost absurd.
Because the moment an assassination failed, even an assassin ranked in the top ten across the Central Plains would struggle to survive against a Peak Master.
“I’m not saying you must engage in direct combat. Just don’t get wiped out meaninglessly.”
“Hmm…”
There had been a time when these children, raised over nearly ten years, had been completely wiped out—by nothing more than side-branch disciples of the Kunlun Sect.
“I’ll never let you die in vain.”
Myeong-oh pledged with a determined voice.
Though no longer a captain, these children were the very reason she kept living.
But then—
“Vice-Captain, intruders.”
“…!”
“The seventh squad that was handling perimeter security has been completely annihilated.”
“What?”
Myeong-oh and her deputy’s faces hardened.
Though they were labeled as guards, the Underworld King Unit had been trained to retreat without engaging upon spotting an intruder.
Which meant—those assassins hadn’t even had the chance to run. They were captured and killed in an instant.
“How many intruders?!”
“A-at last report… only two.”
“O-only two?”
That left only one possibility.
The intruders were both of the Extreme Demon Realm!
Myeong-oh made her decision swiftly.
“Seal the hideout. Inform So Soryu as well. Tell her we’ve come under attack and to hide quickly.”
“Sorry, but you’re too late.”
“…!!”
Emerging from the shadows outside was—
A burly martial artist with dimmed pupils and a scholar whose face was suffused with malevolent qi.
“So this is where you were hiding. No wonder you were hard to find.”
Myeong-oh’s eyes were fixed not on the speaking scholar, but on the martial artist beside him.
“Ch-Cheon Jumun?!”
“Oh, you recognize me? Ah, right. You’re from the Demonic Ghost Execution Squad, aren’t you?”
Cheon Juchun murmured, “Fate is truly mysterious,” as he stepped toward Myeong-oh.
She quickly activated the mechanism array inside the cave.
Then—
Ding ding ding ding ding!
The sound of a bell rang out noisily across the entire vicinity.
Break.
It was the sound designated for the worst-case scenario, used solely for escape.
Cheon Juchun clicked his tongue slightly at the movement of presences starting up all around.
“I don’t care about the small fry. You’re the one I have business with.”
“…Me?”
“There hasn’t been a successful specimen as naturally complete as you until now.”
Cheon Jumun drew his sword and stepped forward.
“Keh keh keh… It was hard pretending I wasn’t interested in you all this time. Just one wrong word could have heightened the security and made things troublesome.”
As he said, Myeong-oh had been strictly protected until now under Jin Yeomyung’s orders.
Only after Jin Yeomyung and Gu Chil had departed for the Central Plains could a gap like this be found.
“I’d rather not harm such a valuable success. Won’t you come quietly?”
Myeong-oh backed away, cold sweat pouring down her face.
“I don’t understand. Why go after a small fry like me?”
“To be fair, you are trash.”
Cheon Juchun didn’t deny it.
Myeong-oh’s martial prowess was, at best, Peak Master Level.
She wasn’t even comparable to the A-class Awakened Beings he had created in the past.
“What’s important is that you succeeded without my intervention.”
“How is that important?”
Myeong-oh threw out meaningless questions to buy as much time as possible.
But Cheon Juchun, seemingly unable to suppress his amusement, answered every question diligently.
“Souls are extremely sensitive. Even a little stimulation causes them to deteriorate.”
“…?”
“You Awakened Beings didn’t just receive fragments of power. You absorbed shattered fragments of their souls.”
“What does that even mean?”
“Without regulation, they don’t harmonize properly. Most—no, all Awakened Beings so far required periodic artificial adjustments. Without that, they would soon lose their minds and go berserk.”
That was something Myeong-oh could sympathize with.
When she joined the Heaven-Defying Society to survive, countless comrades lost their sanity to the infusion and became monsters.
Those who, after repeated adjustments, grew closer to a perfected state were called Commanded.
“But you’re different. You survived purely, without any adjustment. If I dissect and study you, I feel I might reach what a true completed form is.”
“Completed form?”
“All the Awakened Beings created so far were made for the sake of a single completed form.”
The Ten Heavenly Lords were no exception.
Though they showed slightly higher synchrony rates than others, even the Ten Heavenly Lords were far from being complete.
“So then, what exactly is this completed form…?”
“What we call the completed form is the fusion of the Divine Demonic Physique and the soul of the Grand Heavenly Lord—a true Transcendent Being that surpasses the very laws of this world.”