Chapter 108. Don’t Worry About That.

While Jin Cheon was baffled by his new title.

“It’s the Unrivaled New Demon! Everyone, be careful!”

“Surround them! Quickly!”

The Righteous Heavenly Alliance martial artists surrounded Jin Cheon and the Blood Qilin.

By a rough estimate, there were nearly a hundred of them, but they were still flocking, so it would be no exaggeration to say that they were facing several hundred.

“Are you ready?”

“I told you. I’m a man who’s always ready.”

To Jin Cheon’s question, the Blood Qilin answered with a grin.

“Well then, see you later.”

“Alright.”

At the same time, Jin Cheon and the Blood Qilin leaped away.

‘I’ll kill them all.’

With that resolve, Jin Cheon swung his sword wide from left to right.

Chwaaaaaaaaaaa!

Heavenly Demon Sword Art, Third Form, Heaven Sundering.

A sword strike that cut down everything in sight spread out in a wide area, sweeping through the enemies on the battlefield.

“……!”

The Righteous Heavenly Alliance martial artists who were watching the scene couldn’t help but doubt their eyes.

“I-impossible!”

“How many did he kill at once…?”

The number of people who died from Jin Cheon’s single sword strike seemed to be around thirty.

In effect, everyone who had blocked Jin Cheon’s path had been cut in two.

Meanwhile, the Blood Qilin also showed off a considerable amount of killing power, proving why he was the Sixth Young Master of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.

“Aaargh!”

“Kraaaaaaaargh!”

The Blood Qilin tore apart and killed every enemy he saw, performing the feat of turning the Righteous Heavenly Alliance branch into a sea of blood.

Moreover, the time it took to tear a single person apart was no more than the blink of an eye.

“M-monsters! They’re monsters!”

“Demons! Demons have appeared!”

The Righteous Heavenly Alliance martial artists, seized by confusion, began to flee, each trying to get ahead of the other.

They had lost their will to fight in the face of Jin Cheon and the Blood Qilin’s overwhelming power and had run away.

Nevertheless, Jin Cheon and the Blood Qilin did not stop the slaughter.

“I’m going in!”

“I’m first!”

Jin Cheon and the Blood Qilin dashed towards the main gate.

“I should take down the plaque.”

Jin Cheon’s gaze turned to the plaque of the Righteous Heavenly Alliance branch.

Chwaa!

He swung his sword, and the plaque split in two and tumbled to the ground.

‘Good.’

A smile appeared on Jin Cheon’s lips.

Of course, it was just one of the many branches in Yunnan Province, but it had a rather special meaning for Jin Cheon.

The plaque he just broke was only the beginning.

Jin Cheon’s ultimate goal was to erase the Righteous Heavenly Alliance from the world.

Until the day he smashed the plaque of the Righteous Heavenly Alliance headquarters, Jin Cheon intended to smash and smash again every plaque bearing the name of the Righteous Heavenly Alliance.

The plaque he broke today was no exaggeration to say that it was the beginning of that long journey.

* * *

Just a moment.

That was the time it took for Jin Cheon and the Blood Qilin to lay waste to a Righteous Heavenly Alliance branch.

As a result of this incident, the Righteous Heavenly Alliance lost nearly two hundred martial artists, its plaque was shattered, and it suffered the humiliation of having the head of the branch master, who was from the Diancang Sect, displayed.

No matter how small the branch was, it was needless to say that this incident would greatly tarnish the reputation of the Righteous Heavenly Alliance.

Meanwhile, Jin Cheon and the Blood Qilin, who had accomplished the feat of laying waste to a Righteous Heavenly Alliance branch by themselves, immediately left the scene and chose to flee.

That was an extremely wise decision.

No matter how strong Jin Cheon and the Blood Qilin were, it would be an excessively shameless thought to hope to be safe after causing a major incident like smashing a Righteous Heavenly Alliance branch.

If they lingered nearby, they would obviously be surrounded and hunted by the elites of the Righteous Heavenly Alliance, so there was no reason to stick around saying, ‘Come kill me.’

“Huhu. This should be enough to draw attention, right?”

“Of course it is.”

Jin Cheon said as if it were a silly question.

“By now, they’ll be hell-bent on catching us.”

“What can those bastards do if they’re seeing red.”

The Blood Qilin shrugged his shoulders.

“It will be troublesome if you let your guard down. This is probably as far as we can run wild.”

“I know, I know. Stop nagging. I feel like I’m looking at my senior sister.”

The Blood Qilin pouted and mentioned Cheol Yu-ra.

Jin Cheon’s repeated warnings seemed to overlap with the nagging Cheol Yu-ra in his mind.

“For now, let’s go. Oh, before we go, do something about the bloodstains. How can a person be covered in blood every time they fight?”

“What can I do if the martial art I learned is like that?”

“I get it, so turn around for a moment.”

“Why…?”

“We need to wipe off some of the blood so we don’t leave any traces. You’re dripping blood all over the place.”

“Is that so? Hehehe.”

The Blood Qilin laughed like an immature child.

‘Good grief. When will he ever grow up.’

Jin Cheon felt his insides burn at the Blood Qilin’s immature behavior, but he didn’t scold him or anything.

To see a mature Blood Qilin, the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult would have to be destroyed first.

“Now, let’s go for now.”

“Where are we going?”

“From now on, it’s guerrilla warfare.”

Guerrilla warfare.

A tactic of ambushing enemies based on mobility.

Since Jin Cheon had decided to risk danger anyway, he planned to stir up the enemy camp and draw as much attention as possible.

Why?

The more Jin Cheon and the Blood Qilin dragged the enemies around, the more time So U-bin, or more accurately, the Yama Fortress, would have.

* * *

While the Righteous Heavenly Alliance was distracted by Jin Cheon and the Blood Qilin, So U-bin gathered the scattered water bandits and quickly reorganized the Yama Fortress.

Of course, even that was not easy.

In the process of reorganizing the Yama Fortress, So U-bin had to fight several large and small battles and overcome one crisis after another.

‘Is it thanks to those guys buying time?’

So U-bin felt that the enemy’s offensive was less than expected and thought of Jin Cheon and the Blood Qilin.

Jin Cheon’s words that he would risk his life to draw the attention of the Righteous Heavenly Alliance were by no means an empty boast.

It was fortunate that Jin Cheon had bought him time; otherwise, it would have been impossible to reorganize the Yama Fortress so quickly.

“Fifth Young Master.”

Danmok Cheong said to So U-bin, who was lost in thought for a moment while looking at the flowing waves of the Yangtze River.

“Danmok Cheong, the Commander of the Seventh Divine Demon Squad, requests to disembark.”

“Disembark?”

“Two days have already passed. It seems our role is slowly coming to an end, so we intend to go to our lord now.”

“No.”

So U-bin dismissed Danmok Cheong’s request.

“It’s not over here yet, so just stay quietly in a corner.”

“We cannot do that.”

Danmok Cheong did not back down.

It had already been two days since he received Jin Cheon’s order and helped So U-bin.

Now that the reorganization of the Yama Fortress was somewhat complete, Danmok Cheong and the Seventh Divine Demon Squad were anxious to go and help Jin Cheon.

With their lord Jin Cheon stirring up the enemy camp with the Blood Qilin without his guards, Danmok Cheong and the Seventh Divine Demon Squad, as his direct subordinates, could not just stand by.

“Is this insubordination?”

So U-bin sneered at Danmok Cheong.

“That’s not it…”

“Tsk. The youngest has got himself some bad subordinates. To have such guys as his trusted men.”

So U-bin clicked his tongue.

“What do you mean by that?”

“It seems you guys have already forgotten the order your lord gave you?”

“Th-that is.”

“Surely you don’t distrust your lord? You so-called direct subordinates?”

Danmok Cheong couldn’t refute So U-bin’s words.

The Heavenly Demon Divine Cult was a place that operated under a strict top-down command structure under the law of the jungle, so for a subordinate, the lord’s order was like the law itself.

“Are you trying to make him an incompetent lord who isn’t trusted by his subordinates? If so, that would be truly pathetic.”

“……”

“With your skills, you would only be a hindrance to him. In the first place, for the mission he is currently carrying out, the fewer people, the better, right? Am I wrong?”

“That is… correct.”

“If you understand, then shut up and stay put. Don’t act out of line.”

In the end, Danmok Cheong and the Seventh Divine Demon Squad had to retreat without achieving their goal.

Although So U-bin spoke harshly, when you think about it, he wasn’t wrong.

They didn’t even know where Jin Cheon and the Blood Qilin were right now, so disembarking the ship blindly would be a reckless act.

Although he hated to admit it, now was the time to trust Jin Cheon and wait.

“Look.”

So U-bin said to Danmok Cheong, who was turning away.

“Do you still think your role is over?”

“Th-that is.”

Danmok Cheong’s face hardened as he looked in the direction So U-bin was pointing.

Nearly ten warships were approaching at high speed.

Even though they had overcome several crises, the enemy’s offensive against the Yama Fortress was still ongoing.

“If you want to go save your lord, then say so after we overcome this crisis. If we survive this time as well, then I will send you off without another word.”

After saying so, So U-bin began to command the Yama Fortress in preparation for the upcoming battle.

* * *

While So U-bin was reorganizing the Yama Fortress, Jin Cheon and the Blood Qilin waged guerrilla warfare, appearing and disappearing like ghosts, and succeeded in firmly holding back the Righteous Heavenly Alliance.

But even that had its limits.

After fighting, fleeing, and hiding for two whole days, it was impossible for even Jin Cheon and the Blood Qilin not to be exhausted.

It was a great stroke of luck that they managed to shake off their pursuers and catch their breath in an abandoned official shrine.

“This is too much. I think we need to start thinking about how to get out of the encirclement.”

“Agreed.”

The Blood Qilin agreed with Jin Cheon’s opinion.

“I really feel like I’m going to die. Does it make sense not to sleep a wink for two whole days?”

“In the Blood Wolf Corps, we endured for five days.”

When Jin Cheon mentioned the Blood Wolf Corps’ unique training program of not sleeping for five days, the Blood Qilin’s face contorted as if he was disgusted.

The harsh, hellish training of the Blood Wolf Corps didn’t seem to be a very good memory even for the Blood Qilin.

“Don’t even talk about it. We only endured it because we were young back then.”

“Wasn’t it bearable? I actually found it quite fun.”

“That’s because you’re a pervert.”

“……?”

“How can the Blood Wolf Corps be fun unless you’re a pervert? Ah, playing the role of a drill instructor is fun, though. If I’m bored, I can just pick anyone and treat them like a dog. Hehehe.”

Just as the Blood Qilin was laughing foolishly, reminiscing about his days disguised as a Blood Wolf Corps drill instructor.

“Hoho. So you were here.”

An elderly man in a white Taoist robe approached the official shrine.

“I’ve been looking for a while, and I’ve finally found you. How long are you going to make this old man suffer? Now, come on out.”

“……!”

Jin Cheon and the Blood Qilin shot out like lightning and faced the old man.

‘A master!’

Jin Cheon instinctively recognized that the old man was a master.

The old man was a master on a different level from the enemies he had fought so far.

He could tell just by looking at him standing there.

Just standing there in front of the official shrine with his hands behind his back was enough to make his chest feel tight.

“Huh?”

The Blood Qilin’s impression was not much different from what Jin Cheon felt, and he frowned.

‘So it has come.’

Jin Cheon thought so as he looked at the old man who had come for him.

That old man was what Jin Cheon thought of as the true strength of the Nine Sects One Gang, of the Righteous Heavenly Alliance.

A master who usually stays cooped up in seclusion in deep mountains and secluded valleys, but pops out whenever the world gets a little noisy.

“This Taoist is called Jeok Song-ja.”

“Aah.”

Jin Cheon nodded as if he understood upon hearing the Taoist name.

“What, you know that old geezer?”

“We don’t know each other, but I’ve heard of him.”

Jin Cheon answered the Blood Qilin’s question.

“You might not know him by the name Jeok Song-ja. Then, do you know Peng King Jin-in?”

“I’ve heard of that. He was said to be a master who was quite something during the Righteous-Demonic War. So, that old geezer is Peng King Jin-in?”

“Yes, the master of the Diancang Divine Sword who died at the hands of So Senior Brother is that old man.”

“That’s a bit…”

The Blood Qilin made a face as if he had stepped in crap.

“The one who killed that old geezer’s disciple wasn’t us, but that So Senior Brother guy, and we have to pay the price? That’s too unfair. That old geezer must be seriously pissed off.”

At the Blood Qilin’s words, Jeok Song-ja smiled faintly and said.

“Don’t worry about that. This Taoist plans to treat you and the one who killed my disciple the same.”

“What’s that supposed to mean. Treat us the same.”

“What else could it be.”

Instead of answering, Jeok Song-ja slowly drew his sword, which was engraved with the Eagle Eye Emblem.

“When you’re dead, you’re all the same.”

Between his wrinkled eyes, Jeok Song-ja’s gaze was filled with a chilling killing intent.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep