Chapter 114. This Pathetic Fool!

“Are you worrying about me again?”

Jin Cheon grinned and received So U-bin’s words.

“Whether the likes of you live or die is none of my business.”

So U-bin dismissed Jin Cheon’s words as if they were not even worth mentioning.

“It’s just surprising that you’re alive.”

“Ah?”

“If you managed not to die and are alive, then get up. Don’t sit there looking unsightly. A guy who is the Seventh Young Master of the Cult shouldn’t be sitting down in front of all his subordinates.”

“My legs won’t move.”

“So you’re going to just keep sitting there?”

“Could you help me up?”

Jin Cheon extended his hand towards So U-bin.

“Sorry, but I don’t have a handkerchief right now, so I can’t.”

So U-bin made a disgusted face and took a slight step back.

‘Honestly.’

Jin Cheon shook his head at So U-bin’s twisted personality and slowly stood up.

“Ugh.”

His leg muscles screamed and cramped.

Well, after running continuously for the past few days, it would be stranger if his two legs were fine.

“My lord, you’ve been through a lot.”

“Indeed.”

Jin Cheon didn’t bother to deny his own hard work.

If Jin Cheon hadn’t stirred up the enemy camp and drawn the attention of the masters of the Diancang Sect and the Righteous Heavenly Alliance, the victory of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult would have been impossible.

“Thinking about that old geezer Jeok Song-ja still makes me dizzy. Phew.”

“Jeok Song-ja… are you referring to Peng King Jin-in?”

“Yes.”

“Did you fight him?”

“I did.”

“Don’t tell me… you won?”

“Over there.”

Jin Cheon pointed to a corpse in the distance that had been split vertically in two.

“G-good heavens.”

Danmok Cheong was startled upon seeing Jeok Song-ja’s corpse.

Danmok Cheong was not the only one who was surprised.

So U-bin, and even the Blood Sword Commander, were just as surprised.

And for a good reason; Jeok Song-ja was an extremely infamous figure in the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.

During the last Righteous-Demonic War, it was known that at least a thousand martial artists of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult had died at Jeok Song-ja’s hands, so he was an object of fear and a sworn enemy.

To have split such a Jeok Song-ja in two meant that Jin Cheon’s martial arts level had reached the point where he would be in the top five within the Cult.

‘He reached the state of Extreme Demon in just a few years? And he’s even using the Heavenly Demon Command? Am I supposed to believe this?’

Even after experiencing Jin Cheon’s abilities firsthand, So U-bin couldn’t easily accept reality.

He couldn’t believe that Jin Cheon, who had seemed like a mere nobody just three years ago, had become one of the top masters in the Cult.

* * *

As soon as he rescued Jin Cheon and the Blood Qilin, So U-bin immediately returned to the Yama Fortress’s base and reorganized his forces once again.

So U-bin’s judgment was extremely correct.

It was no exaggeration to say that there would be no large-scale enemy offensive for the time being, so now was the perfect time to subdue and integrate all the water bandits in the area and build a huge force.

The creation of a navy, unprecedented in the history of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, was about to take place.

And the person who led it was So U-bin, and Jin Cheon, who had made a brilliant contribution, would have no shortage of having their names recorded in the history books of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.

Meanwhile, Jin Cheon rested and received treatment at the Yama Fortress’s base.

If it were up to him, he would have wanted to go to Hunan Province right away to meet the descendants of Kunlun, but because he had pushed himself so hard, he had to rest for at least a few days.

Thanks to that, the eldest son of the Azure Dragon Silver Manor, Hwang Won-pyeong, had to suffer greatly.

In fact, Jin Cheon didn’t particularly bully, beat, or torture Hwang Won-pyeong.

He just kept him by his side and nagged him a few times.

“Did you enjoy it back then?”

“Yes?”

“I’m talking about when you were bullying me. Did it feel good?”

“I-I swear, I never did!”

“Really?”

“I often felt pangs of guilt.”

“Then why didn’t you stop them?”

“Th-that is.”

“I asked why you didn’t stop them.”

“……”

Hwang Won-pyeong just wanted to bite his tongue at Jin Cheon’s constant nagging.

It was already an ordeal just to be near those fearsome masters of the Demonic Cult, who emitted a suffocatingly intense demonic qi, but with the added fear of not knowing when he might die from Jin Cheon’s nagging, he didn’t feel like he was alive even when he was.

“Do you want to live?”

“……Yes.”

“Then you have to pay the price.”

“H-how much will it be?”

“Let’s see.”

Jin Cheon grinned.

“How much should I get? The Azure Dragon Silver Manor will probably pay a hefty sum, right?”

“……”

“Let’s see how much your father values your life.”

After saying so, Jin Cheon gave an order to Danmok Cheong.

“Commander Dan.”

“Yes, my lord.”

“Send a letter to the Azure Dragon Silver Manor.”

“What should I write?”

“Tell the master of the Azure Dragon Silver Manor to come in person if he wants to save this bastard. Say that’s the only way we’ll negotiate.”

“As you command.”

As soon as Jin Cheon’s order was given, Danmok Cheong immediately sent a carrier pigeon with a letter to the Azure Dragon Silver Manor.

“How much do you think your father will pay for your ransom?”

“He’ll pay as much as he can, won’t he? Haha, hahaha…”

Cold sweat trickled down Hwang Won-pyeong’s face.

He couldn’t even guess how much of a ransom Jin Cheon would demand.

But one thing was certain: a pittance would be nowhere near enough.

His opponent was the Seventh Young Master of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, and since they were entangled in a past grudge, it was clear that an unimaginable sum of money would be required to pay the price.

“Well, let’s just wait and see. How much he’ll offer for the life of his only son.”

As Jin Cheon grinned, Hwang Won-pyeong’s face turned pale.

From Jin Cheon’s demonic smile, he had an ominous premonition that the assets of the Azure Dragon Silver Manor might be uprooted.

* * *

“Wh-what is this!”

The master of the Azure Dragon Silver Manor, the Ten Thousand Gold Monk-Trader Hwang Ryung, almost fell over after receiving the letter sent by Jin Cheon.

Well, it would be stranger if he wasn’t surprised that his only son had been captured as a hostage by the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.

“You foolish boy! A merchant should know how to be careful! How could you be loitering in such a dangerous place and get captured by the Demonic Cult bastards!”

Hwang Ryung lamented again and again, but it was spilt milk.

Unless there was a way to turn back time, what could he do about the fact that he had already been captured as a hostage?

Hwang Ryung hurriedly gathered his vassals and the key figures of the Azure Dragon Silver Manor and held a strategy meeting.

However, no one could come up with a particularly good plan.

And for a good reason; the current situation was what it was, so it wasn’t a time when a good plan would work.

With the Diancang Sect, the Righteous Heavenly Alliance, and even the government forces having been defeated by the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult in the battle on the Yangtze River, there seemed to be nothing the Azure Dragon Silver Manor could do.

In the end, Hwang Ryung was at a crossroads.

Either abandon his son Hwang Won-pyeong and reject the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult’s negotiation offer, or risk his life and go to the Yama Fortress’s base to negotiate.

The decision was solely up to Hwang Ryung, Hwang Won-pyeong’s father and the master of the Azure Dragon Silver Manor.

“……Send a reply to the Demonic Cult. Tell them I will go in person.”

“……!”

The top brass of the Azure Dragon Silver Manor were startled by Hwang Ryung’s decision.

But no one could raise an objection to Hwang Ryung’s decision.

Advising him not to negotiate was the same as telling Hwang Ryung to let his son Hwang Won-pyeong die…

‘I can only hope that the Demonic Cult asks for a small ransom.’

Thinking so, Hwang Ryung packed as many bank notes as possible in his bosom and headed to the Yama Fortress’s base.

Hwang Ryung couldn’t bring himself to pretend he didn’t know that his son, who was the apple of his eye, had been captured as a hostage by the Demonic Cult.

“I have come to see the Seventh Young Master of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult. I am Hwang Ryung, the master of the Azure Dragon Silver Manor.”

“If you’ve come, then sit.”

“Thank you.”

Hwang Ryung paid no mind at all to Jin Cheon’s informal speech.

His opponent was the Seventh Young Master of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, and also a master who had split Jeok Song-ja vertically in two.

As he was a figure who was recently gaining notoriety as the Unrivaled New Demon and rising as the next-generation great demon head, discussing age was a meaningless act.

And wasn’t the situation what it was?

“I didn’t expect you to come in person.”

“The Seventh Young Master of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult personally proposed a negotiation. How could I not respond?”

“Is that so?”

“This Hwang family knows that trying to push and pull clumsily will only result in my own loss.”

“Wise. I was planning to cut off your son’s wrist and send it to you if you tried any tricks.”

“……”

“That would have been quite fun too, but it’s a shame.”

At Jin Cheon’s sharp remark, Hwang Ryung’s face turned as white as a sheet of paper.

He shuddered at the thought that he might have seen the severed wrist of his only son, Hwang Won-pyeong.

“Well, since it’s come to this, let’s talk straight. You have to pay the ransom, right?”

“Of course. I will pay the ransom as much as I can.”

Hwang Ryung nodded.

“A pittance won’t do. The ransom isn’t everything.”

“What do you mean by that? The ransom isn’t everything?”

“Hear it for yourself.”

At Jin Cheon’s signal, the members of the Divine Demon Squad brought Hwang Won-pyeong.

“F-father!”

“You brat! Won-pyeong! What on earth were you doing to get caught!”

Jin Cheon gave Hwang Ryung and Hwang Won-pyeong some time to talk.

“What on earth happened?”

“W-well…”

Hwang Won-pyeong told Hwang Ryung the whole story.

“What does the Seventh Young Master mean by the ransom not being everything?”

“Uh. Hmm.”

At Hwang Ryung’s question, Hwang Won-pyeong couldn’t bring himself to open his mouth.

“Did I not ask what he meant!”

“Father, you see. So…”

“You brat! Will you not speak at once!”

“The truth is…”

Hwang Won-pyeong reluctantly told his father Hwang Ryung about his past grudge with Jin Cheon.

The story of how he had hung out with the Seven Prodigies while studying at the Heavenly Martial Academy and bullied Jin Cheon…

“So you’re saying you played a part in bullying and tormenting the Seventh Young Master, is that it?”

“It wasn’t on purpose. As you said, Father, it was to build friendships with the prodigies…”

“You pathetic fool!”

“Ack!”

Hwang Won-pyeong let out a single scream and was sent flying by Hwang Ryung’s kick.

“You call that an excuse! I told you to build friendships with the prodigies, who told you to make an enemy!”

“I-it wasn’t my intention… ack!”

“Shut up, you brat! How dare you speak with that mouth of yours!”

“Aaaargh!”

“The most important thing for a merchant is not to make enemies! No matter how much you tried to build friendships, did you think you would live well after making such an enemy!”

“Aaaaaaaaaargh!”

Hwang Ryung’s anger was truly beyond imagination.

And for a good reason; because of what his son Hwang Won-pyeong had done, the Azure Dragon Silver Manor, which had been run for several generations, was on the verge of collapsing overnight.

The ransom alone was enough to make the Azure Dragon Silver Manor stagger, but with the old debt added to it?

It wouldn’t be strange even if the pillars of the Azure Dragon Silver Manor were uprooted.

Perhaps because of that, Hwang Ryung’s beating of his son Hwang Won-pyeong was nothing short of merciless.

“If I had known this would happen, I would have left you to die!”

“F-father! Aaaargh!”

“Why did I give birth to a brat like you! I should have never given birth to you!”

Hwang Won-pyeong lamented again and again, then looked back at Jin Cheon.

Thump!

Hwang Won-pyeong knelt before Jin Cheon and slammed his head hard.

“Hwang Ryung apologizes to the Seventh Young Master. This is all my fault for not educating my son properly.”

Crimson blood gushed from the head of the apologizing Hwang Won-pyeong.

“Don’t waste your energy on useless things. If you thought you could get away with just smashing your head, you’re gravely mistaken. To be honest, I don’t need your apology. The important thing is how much of a ransom you’ll pay, that’s all.”

“Is there any question? I will pay any price.”

“Is that really so?”

“Of course.”

As Hwang Ryung answered, he prepared himself to lose even half of the Azure Dragon Silver Manor’s assets.

It wasn’t just because of his son Hwang Won-pyeong’s ransom.

If they became enemies with the Demonic Cult, even the Azure Dragon Silver Manor could face the disaster of annihilation overnight, so the old debt had to be settled.

He knew all too well that to ensure the survival of the Azure Dragon Silver Manor, appeasing Jin Cheon’s anger was the top priority.

“Good. Then let me state my demands.”

Jin Cheon grinned.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep