Chapter 385: Worth and Value (2)
Peng house.
They were considered to be among the three famous households of the Jianghu.
Along with his half-brother, they turned into one of the top five strongest groups in Jianghu.
Although he was a member of the Forces of Justice, he had ambitions, unlike his docile father.
He didn’t have as much talent in martial arts as his younger brother had, but he wanted to be in a 3rd leader’s position, where he gets called the backbone of martial arts.
And to get to that position, it took a lot of work.
‘Blade G.o.d Six Martial clan is too risky.’
They lacked the information and the Blade G.o.d Six Martial clan was too strong for the Peng house to face off against.
Meanwhile, an opportunity arose.
The absurd thing of the empire’s Religion being changed.
There were two reasons for it.
The new Lord of the Demonic Cult, Chun Yeowun, who entered the imperial palace, and Elder Cheong-su who went to the palace as an envoy to renew the non-aggression treaty.
‘Elder Cheong-su is the 12th leader. Since he stepped down, the existing leaders will get promoted one by one. But that won’t be enough.’
And as he aimed for the 3rd leader, he would have to climb more and faster.
He never thought of an opportunity to come.
If he could rectify what Elder Cheong-su had done, he could get a high position.
But there was one thing he overlooked.
Before stepping down, Elder Cheong-su had mentioned several times that the Lord of the Demonic Cult was a monster.
Yet, not a single person believed him.
‘This makes no sense. He reached the Divine Master level? Phut! He should at least make excuses along the lines of not feeling well that day.’
Peng-gyu didn’t pay much attention to the Elder’s words.
It was impossible to believe that a person who was in the Superior Master level a few months back went beyond numerous stages and reached Divine Master level.
‘But there is nothing wrong with being careful, just in case.’
Both Elder Cheong-su and the eunuch, even the emperor, seemed afraid of the Lord of Demonic Cult.
Perhaps the Lord was skilled and versatile enough, or in the worst case scenario, the end of Superior level.
If that was the case, it would be difficult for Peng-gyu, who would be lower than Chun Yeowun, to take him down.
Bang!
Peng-gyu entered the gate of the temple at once by using energy, and quickly looked for an opponent he could face.
On the stairs, in front of the temple, stood a tall, muscular man, and a young man in a blue hood.
The moment he saw them, Peng-gyu recognized them as Superior Masters.
“That guy! That guy must be the lord!”
The man with the big beard looked almost the same age as him.
But the man with the blue hood seemed like a young man.
In addition, a foreign energy was subtly oozing out of him.
‘Then my opponent has to be that muscular man.’
He could deal with the hooded man immediately, but before he went for the lord, he needed to spill blood of the Demonic Cult to boost his men’s morale.
Even people of the demonic cult had emotions, even their morale would drop if they saw one of their own die.
‘That guy!’
In the meantime, Peng-gyu saw a young man standing in the courtyard.
Unlike the other members of the Demonic cult, he was wearing a luxurious black robe and his energy seemed very ordinary.
‘It could be a teacher or a regular middle ranked member.’
Peng-gyu was looking for a victim.
Though he seemed weak, this man could also be an important figure as he looked like a teacher, so he rushed to the man.
“Huh! How dare you aim for our brothers and sisters! You Cultists!”
He tried to cut down the young man’s head with one swing.
The moment he beheads this young man, Yeon Buso and other warriors of the family will enter the temple immediately.
“Ugh?”
That was when Peng-gyu’s plan went awry.
Slas.h.!.+
The young man’s head definitely should‘ve been cut off, but it moved away with an afterimage.
Peng-gyu’s eyes widened.
“Ho-how?”
He too was able to move at a fast speed, but never had he seen someone move at a speed where afterimages were left behind.
‘Where?’
Phat!
As he tried to find him, someone grabbed his right wrist.
The young man disappeared and moved to his right.
“d.a.m.n it!”
The moment Peng-gyu was about to move and wield his blade, he felt something creepy.
‘Av-avoid it, I need to avoid it!’
Tak!
Peng-gyu, who caught onto an ominous feeling, wielded his sword with all his might, and tried to widen the distance.
However, he was caught, and his body wasn’t moving.
‘Ugh! Wh-what kind of power?’
There was one surprise after another.
The young man’s hand was aiming to hit Peng-gyu’s right shoulder.
Peng-gyu could see a blue light s.h.i.+ne in the young man’s hand.
“Do-don’t!”
Slas.h.!.+
“Ahhhhh!”
A scream erupted from Peng-gyu’s mouth as the sharp energy cut through his flesh and bones.
It was his first time feeling such pain.
It hurt so much that it felt like tears would flow out of his body, but the young man who was holding his severed hand and spoke with a cold voice.
“Kneel!”
Kuk! Bang!
Apart from the loss of balance in his body due to his arm, some invisible force pushed down on him.
It was clear to Peng-gyu that he wouldn’t be able to stand at all.
It felt like his entire body was incapacitated.
‘Kuek! Th-this makes no sense, he is a monster. How can he do this in the palace… no, no! It can’t be!’
Peng-gyu blinked his eyes.
The words of Elder Cheong-su flowed back into his mind when he was down on his knees.
[He is a monster, no, he is the Demon G.o.d himself.]
Peng-gyu raised his head with trembling eyes and looked at the young man in front of him.
The white face and strong eyes.
The feeling of intimidation was no joke, but no matter how much he looked, it made no sense.
A Superior Master getting overpowered by something with normal internal energy!
[Th-this means he is a Divine Master!]
“Is-is that really true?”
Peng-gyu could feel how foolish he had acted.
Out of all the people present in the temple, why did he have to choose the Lord of the Demonic Cult?
‘Wh-what have I done?’
Peng-gyu was at a loss for words.
Just then, Yeon Buso, the eldest son of the Great Leader of Forces of Justice, and the other warriors of the Peng house entered the temple.
Chun Yeowun ruffled his long hair to the back and spoke.
“Huhu, there is so much arguing… there seem to be a lot of people getting their arms cut off today.”
Yeon Buso’s trembling eyes looked at Chun Yeowun.
He never imagined that Peng-gyu, a member of the Forces of Justice, would get taken down so fast.
“No!”
Looking to the right, he saw the monks of the Hangsan clan kneeling, and in front of them was Monk Sathi.
“Monk Sathi!”
He was shocked at what he saw.
The great warrior and swordsman Monk Sathi, being on her knees, shocked them.
Her blood points were hit and she couldn’t move her blood drenched body, but she tried to say something to them.
‘Don’t! don’t try to touch that man!’
She was unable to move her tongue and mouth.
If they didn’t want to turn into her, she wanted to warn them to run away, but she was stuck.
All of a sudden, members of the Demonic cult blocked the entrance, and at the centre was a person wearing a unique mask.
‘The Dark King!’
The notorious nickname.
He was known as a master who was among the top three of the Demonic Cult.
Their actions said that people were supposed to come in, but weren’t allowed to go out.
‘Leader Yeon!’
Monk Sathi looked at Yeon Buso, the eldest son of the Forces of Justice, with worried eyes.
Her only hope was him, but things didn’t look good.
‘Is he trying to fight the Lord of the Demonic cult?’
Unlike the other warriors of Peng, Yeon Buso’s warriors were only staring at Chun Yeowun.
It clearly said that he was planning something.
‘It is him. No doubt.’
Yeon Buso confirmed who the Lord of Demonic Cult was in a single glance.
There was only one person whom he couldn’t recognize as a beginner of the Supreme Master level.
Regardless of the age, the young man held dignity that gave off the vibe of someone who’s the one and only winner that gets to choose everything.
He couldn’t explain it, but he just knew who the Lord of Demonic Cult was.
Tremble!
Yeon Buso’s body trembled.
When he saw the Lord, Chun Yeowun, who he thought of as someone like a rival, a s.h.i.+ver ran through his body.
He would have been disappointed if he was less than expected, but this feeling was too great.
‘He has strength that even I can’t fathom. He truly is my soulmate!’
Fate finally bound him to his mate.
To meet such a great match outside the Yulin. He was deeply moved.
It was a happy thing to have a strong opponent who made one feel nervous enough to risk their life for.
Clench!
Strength entered his hand which was holding the sword.
He wanted to draw the sword completely, but Yeon Buso wasn’t stupid.
Yeon Buso put his hands together and shouted.
“It is an honor to meet the Lord of the Demonic Cult. I am Yeon Buso, the eldest son of the Forces of Justice Great Leader and the leader of North Justice Blade.”
North Justice Blade.
There were four armed groups in the Forces of Justice, which had immense power.
One of them was North Justice Blade, a group made up of only the best of the best warriors within the Forces of Justice. They were an elite group of distinguished warriors who even killed numerous cultists when war broke out in the past.
“Yeon Buso!”
Ko w.a.n.ghur was shocked when he heard the name.
Even though it was shocking that he was the son of the North Justice Blade’s leader, Yeon Buso was called a part of the next generation’s Five strongest warriors not just in Jianghu but in the entirety of Wulin.
‘The Yulin must be shaken up quite a bit to send this man here.’
The State Religion, which hadn’t changed for two hundred years, was taken away without a warning.
Chun Yeowun, who thought that the Forces of Justice would react, returned right after he was done with his work in the Ten Thousand Mountains and it seemed like the right decision.
‘The son of Yulin’s North Justice Blade…‘
During his days as a student, Chun Yeowun was compared a lot to this guy by the elders.
He heard that there was a genius or monster in Jianghu.
‘But it doesn’t matter.’
Pak!
Chun Yeowun threw the severed arm of Peng-gyu to the floor and stepped forward.
He only took a couple steps forward, but the warriors of Peng stepped back unconsciously.
‘What energy!’
It wasn’t because they came to know that he is the Lord of Demonic Cult, but from the moment they entered the temple, something just didn’t feel right.
In a calmer voice, Chun Yeowun spoke to Yeon Buso.
“This is good. Then you must be the representative of the Forces of Justice.”
“Umm. That… for now, I think it’s okay to call me that.”
Yeon Buso glanced at the leaders.
Including the two leaders, he was nowhere near their ranks.
Both were seriously wounded and in enemy hands.
“We were prepared for the attack.”
‘Ah!’
At the cold voice of Chun Yeowun, Peng-gyu came back to his senses.
They were the ones who tried to subdue the Lord of Demonic Cult to persuade the emperor and acknowledge the Yulin arts.
But it was decided as such, thinking that Chun Yeowun was weaker than Yeon Buso.
‘Yeon… Leader Yeon can’t face him.’
Even if he was being considered as one of the five strongest of the next generation’s warriors, and was being called a monster, the two of them were on completely different levels.
The lord of the Demonic Cult was someone where even all of the five strongest warriors together will have a hard time taking him down.
[Leader Yeon! Don’t’! it is better for us to give up on this matter of Religion!]
It was Peng-gyu who sent the message to Yeon Buso.
He tried to deter Yeon Buso from fighting the Lord of Demonic Cult.
Looking at him, Yeon Buso shook his head.
[Lord Yeon! It is foolish to fight…]
Before Peng-gyu finished, Yeon Buso took a step towards Chun Yeowun.
Pak!
He bowed his head and spoke.
“Lord. First of all, I would like to apologize for attacking your temple.”
Peng-gyu was shocked at what Yeon Buso said.
Contrary to what he was worried about, Yeon Buso unexpectedly bowed his head and apologized.
Even Chun Yeowun was taken aback with the unexpected action.
‘Stepping back?’
It was completely different from the constant glare he was giving from the moment he stepped into the temple.
Yeon Buso spoke very softly.
“From our point of view, the temples in the empire had been established from the beginning of the founding, and suddenly, it was changed. We were only here to meet with the emperor and ask him to reconsider, we didn’t want to choose this method by any means.”
Yeon Buso seemed to be speaking the truth, a man of political influence.
There was no reason why he would try to deceive the Lord of the Demonic Cult, as everything he spoke about was something the Demonic Cult knew.
When Chun Yeowun, who was exuding vicious energy, quietly focused on his words, Yeon Buso brought in the main topic.
“In that sense, I think that this has happened because of some contribution from your cult too.”
“Contribution?”
Chun Yeowun’s eyes rose.
Not caring, Yeon Buso continued.
“Didn’t the Forces of Justice and your cult form an alliance to take down a common enemy? I don’t think that the Lord of the Demonic Cult would want the alliance to break down because of this.”
‘Ah!’
At the words of Yeon Buso, Monk Sathi and Peng-gyu sighed in relief.
They thought that he bowed his head to overcome the situation, but Yeon Buso seemed to have used his mind.
He proved that he wasn’t just skilled in martial arts.
“I will take a step back for the sake of the alliance. So, with a little courtesy, I hope the two leaders and their disciples will be released.”
‘A good move, leader.’
Monk Sathi praised the man in her mind.
After all, the emperor would only change his heart when the Lord of the Demonic Cult gets subjugated.
However, it was impossible to do it in the palace, where all his forces were gathered, so it was better to focus on preserving their already existing power.
‘He said that he would give up on the State Religion, so it is an offer that the Lord of the Demonic Cult can’t refuse.’
In order to face the common enemy, Blade G.o.d Six Martial clan, the Lord of the Demonic Cult will try to avoid breaking the alliance.
“I beseech you.”
Yeon Buso politely bowed again.
The son of the Great Leader, who is supposed to lead the clan and the Forces of Justice in the future, came this far for a reason. He was taught in the most eloquent way possible, even though he knew that the Lord of Demonic Cult had no other option.
At least, that was what he thought.
“You are misunderstanding something.”
“!?”
They thought that he had no choice but to accept it, but Chun Yeowun’s reaction was different.
Chun Yeowun walked slowly towards Yeon Buso, one step at a time.
“The State Religion lies in the emperor’s hand, whether you concede or not doesn’t matter to anyone. Since that matter can’t be overturned, aren’t you just trying to do anything you can?”
“Th-that…”
Yeon Buso was speechless at what Chun Yeowun said.
“And it is disappointing to think that you don’t want the alliance to be broken by doing nothing and playing word games with me.”
Srrrrng!
Chun Yeowun, who approached Yeon Buso, was ten steps away from him when he drew the White Dragon Blade.
“Lord of Demonic Cult. I mean it, the alliance will brea…”
“Stop speaking nonsense. I’ll take your arm or you do so in return.”
“Arm?”
Wooong!
A horrifying energy released all around.
Each cell in Yeon Buso was telling him to face the person he wanted to meet.
‘There is nothing I can do.’
He failed to make sure that the leaders were released without any harm done to them.
It seemed that the Lord of the Demonic Cult wasn’t an easy one to face.
In the end, it seemed like he ended up in a situation that he wanted from the very beginning.
The two leaders looked at Yeon Buso in an apologetic manner.
‘The leaders must be feeling bad. The Lord is stronger than me so I tried to avoid any more bloodshed, but it seems like he and I are destined to compete.’
Judging from it, their fate was tied too strongly for anything to come between that.
Sighing, Yeon Buso slowly pulled out his blade from his waist.
Srrrng!
Aiming his sword at Chun Yeowun, who was walking close to him, he spoke.
“I think you too must be aware. I mean, this kind of existence is called family rivalry. When you were in school, you must have been called a genius too, just like I d…”
Clang!
“!?”
Before he could finish his words, cold energy pa.s.sed through his right arm.
Because of the speed at which things happened, Yeon Buso wasn’t able to even know what happened.
Drip! Thud!
His right arm, which was holding onto the blade, fell to the stone floor.
“Kuakkk!”
Chun Yeowun’s low voice entered his ears as he screamed in pain.
“What am I supposed to do if you are a genius?”
“Kuuk!”
Phat!
The cut was too painful, but Yeon Buso widened the distance between them.
Naturally, he did expect to get pushed back because of the difference in their powers, but he never thought that he would lose his arm.
‘I couldn’t even see him! What an unbelievable amount of energy!’
It was obviously cut from the front, which meant Yeon Buso reacted too late.
What would one call it? When one gets hurt, knowing that it would happen?
Chun Yeowun stepped on the fallen right hand and asked.
“I got paid. Do you still want to continue?”
Even Yeon Buso, who was always calm and never showed any significant emotional changes, spoke in anger.
“How dare you insult me?!”
Tatatak!
With the help of his blood points, he managed to stop the blood flow.
‘I should avoid fighting up close.’
He managed to create some distance between the two. Biting down on his lips, he gently moved his left hand.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Apart from the blade which fell on the floor, two blades were tied to his back, but he controlled all three swords at the same time.
It was the same technique that he had shown in front of the emperor.
“Hha… haha… I was careless before, but this time, it will be different!”
As Yeon Buso waved his left hand, the three blades quickly moved in the mid-air, blurring the vision and rushed towards Chun Yeowun.
Swoos.h.!.+ Swoos.h.!.+ Swoos.h.!.+
He was proud when showing the technique that he had learnt from his father Yi Mok.
Even if he was the Lord of Demonic Cult, Yeon Buso thought that it would prove difficult to prevent getting hit by it.
However, something unexpected happened.
Swoos.h.!.+
Chun Yeowun extended his hands to the side where the three blades were flying towards him.
The Air Sword stopped right in front of Chun Yeowun.
“H-how?”
Fl.u.s.tered, Yeon Buso tried to raise the sword force even more, but the three blades had already stopped.
They literally didn’t move.
Even his father couldn’t stop Air Swords.
“W-wait a moment, Lord of Demonic Cult, this is…”
“You should have quit it when your arm was cut off.”
Wheeing!
When Chun Yeowun slightly moved his hand, the three blades turned back and it felt like they were aiming for the owner of the blades.
Papaht!
“Kuak!”
The blades struck both his thighs, and the opposite shoulder and they roared.
Blood gushed out of his mouth.
“Cough!”
Yeon Buso was dumbfounded looking at his blades stuck to his body.
Such strength was unfair.
‘Kuuuuk… isn’t he too strong? Is he really at Divine Master level?’
Yeon Buso had just a.s.sumed that Chun Yeowun must have been at the end of Supreme Master level.
He never thought that he would see someone who reached Divine Master level in his life, he never even heard of any Divine Master level existing among them.
‘He is a real monster.’
Only after being hit was Yeon Buso able to face the reality like the other leaders.
‘… this person is different from me.’
He was never Yeon Buso’s rival.
Chun Yeowun approached Yeon Buso, who was vomiting blood on the floor.
It seemed like his end was near.
This was a natural procedure in battles.
“Kuak… what do you plan… on doing? Kill me? But this… will make… the Forces of Justice… your enemy…”
“What bulls.h.i.+t are you spouting?”
“!?”
“Why would I kill you?”
“What do you mean?”
Chun Yeowun looked down at him with a cynical look, and spoke.
“You are a good hostage that I can use at any point and time.”
‘This… he is really…’
Chun Yeowun always left the other person speechless.