Chapter 19. Gratitude and Grudge Are One and the Same.

“Hmph.”

The young man let out a snort.

He had a rather slim build for a warrior, but he was tall and handsome.

His attire was nothing short of extravagant.

Multiple rings, bracelets, necklaces, earrings, and other flamboyant accessories adorned him.

His hair, which looked as if it were wet, was messily pushed back, appearing untidy, but at the same time, it looked neat.

It was a flamboyant style that was hard to find in the Central Plains, so his appearance might have felt out of place, but on the other hand, it also looked like a style that was ahead of its time.

His handsome features created a cynical and sharp atmosphere, and his expression seemed to mock the very world.

Arrogance was not just ingrained in his body; his demeanor was such that it seemed he was born that way.

The Evil Flower Young Master, So U-bin.

Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, the Third Young Master.

He was the second son of the Goeroe So Clan, one of the Seven Demonic Families, and the third of the Iron-Blooded Demonic God’s six disciples.

“She approved the defection of a righteous faction bastard? A passing dog would laugh.”

So U-bin sneered, but his subordinate Jeok Ji-ho’s expression was unwavering.

“I understand that it is hard for you to believe, but it is true. It is a matter I have confirmed myself.”

“Are you telling me to believe that kind of bullshit?”

So U-bin’s eyes briefly turned green.

As his mood soured, his demonic qi was naturally released.

“Th-that is.”

Jeok Ji-ho was in pain, but So U-bin did not retract his demonic qi.

Even though he, as the third disciple of the Iron-Blooded Demonic God, could control the release of demonic qi according to his emotions, it seemed So U-bin had no intention of doing so.

“The disciple of the Divine Hero of the Azure Sky, Jang Guk-pyeong? The one who was called a Great Hero even though he barely reached the peak level?”

“Yes, Third Young Master.”

“Hmm.”

So U-bin’s eyes narrowed.

“If he’s the disciple of the Divine Hero of the Azure Sky…… then it might not be an impossible story. It’s a fact that his reputation on our side is better than those trash-like righteous faction bastards.”

“I think so too.”

“Think?”

A sneer appeared on So U-bin’s lips.

“Who said I wanted to hear the thoughts of a lowly bastard like you?”

“……!”

“I never gave you permission to think. Why? Because your personal opinions are not needed in the work you do.”

“Jeok Ji-ho apologizes to the Third Young Master.”

Jeok Ji-ho knelt.

“There is nothing more useless than an apology made only with the mouth.”

So U-bin said, tossing a dagger in front of Jeok Ji-ho’s knee.

“Cut one off. Whichever one you like.”

“Yes, Third Young Master.”

Jeok Ji-ho picked up the dagger without a moment’s hesitation and cut off the fourth finger of his left hand.

Then he skillfully pressed the acupoints to stop the bleeding and bowed his head towards So U-bin.

Jeok Ji-ho was missing one ear.

It was likely proof that the same thing had happened before.

“I’ll say it again. You don’t need to think. When you report to me, just say what you saw and heard as it is. Don’t include your pathetic personal opinions. If you feel like thinking, look at the finger you just cut off. Then your thoughts will disappear completely.”

“I will keep that in mind.”

“Still, I like you. Among the bastards who have worked under me, none have had their limbs as intact as you.”

At the praise that was not praise, Jeok Ji-ho quietly bowed his head.

“So, the ones who were indebted to the Divine Hero of the Azure Sky are leaving gifts at that bastard’s house?”

“Yes, Third Young Master.”

“What a good life. You live and you learn. A bastard who defected from the righteous faction is being welcomed in our cult?”

So U-bin’s eyes held a dangerous light.

“He’ll soon find out that our cult is not just a flower garden. How can there only be people who welcome him when gratitude and grudge are one and the same.”

“……”

Jeok Ji-ho quietly listened to So U-bin’s words.

“That disciple of the Divine Hero of the Azure Sky is frequenting the Body-Fortifying Prescription?”

“Yes, Third Young Master.”

“There must be quite a few in our cult who grind their teeth at the name of the Divine Hero of the Azure Sky. What if they knew where the disciple of the Divine Hero of the Azure Sky is? They’d be thrilled, I think.”

Jeok Ji-ho did not answer.

He had just learned a lesson at a high price, so he could not repeat the same mistake.

Instead, Jeok Ji-ho silently made a cupped fist salute and then quietly retreated from So U-bin’s presence.

***

After deciding to enter the Blood Wolf Corps, Jin Yeong-in increased the intensity of his training.

His physical condition had started to improve rapidly after scattering all the internal energy of the Clear Mind Heart Art anyway, so it was a suitable time to increase the intensity of his training.

The change came quickly.

The first step was for his twisted limbs, muscles, and veins to find their proper place.

Jin Yeong-in focused on the Body-Stretching Technique he learned in the Body-Fortifying Prescription.

The Body-Stretching Technique was a form of gymnastics that loosened and stretched knotted and twisted muscles, an outer arts training method that focused on the body’s flexibility.

“Ugh.”

“Endure it and stretch more. Breathe out long.”

“Yes, big brother. Hoo, hoo.”

The Manual of Formulas of the Body-Fortifying Prescription were also well-versed in the Body-Stretching Technique and generously gave their teachings to Jin Yeong-in.

Through the Hellish Chuna Technique and the Body-Stretching Technique, Jin Yeong-in was able to quickly rehabilitate his limping leg, and by the time a month had passed, he was able to walk and run like others.

Thanks to this, Jin Yeong-in also ran on the mountain trails in the morning and evening to train his cardiopulmonary endurance.

But that was only the beginning.

Jin Yeong-in’s body grew abnormally stronger with each passing day.

The cause did not seem to be because he had scattered the internal energy of the Clear Mind Heart Art.

‘Is the spiritual energy of Sky Mountain strengthening my body?’

The towering Sky Mountain in the distance.

Jin Yeong-in was certain that the sacred energy of Sky Mountain was strengthening him.

Otherwise, there was no way to explain why his body was getting stronger so quickly.

And the strange, inexplicable feeling.

‘Is this also a characteristic of the Heavenly Demon’s Physique? The first Heavenly Demon was said to have the same constitution as me, so it’s possible. This is the headquarters of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, after all.’

Whatever the reason, it was a welcome development for Jin Yeong-in.

What reason was there to refuse becoming stronger just by breathing?

Thus, he spent his days dedicated to rehabilitation and building his basic physical strength to pass the Blood Wolf Corps.

“……Hmm?”

Jin Yeong-in was engrossed in the Squat exercise, a fitness method aimed at strengthening the lower body and full-body coordination, when the Body-Fortifying Prescription suddenly became noisy.

“Get lost, you rats.”

“Move it, you bastard.”

A group of warriors.

Several men, reeking of demonic qi, were causing a commotion in the Body-Fortifying Prescription.

Their faces were covered in countless scars, and they did not look young either.

They were clearly grizzled veterans who had been active as warriors of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult for a long time.

“You’re not getting lost? You bastards? The Ghost Soldier Corps is taking over this Body-Fortifying Prescription today.”

“What are you looking at? Lower your eyes.”

Faced with the warriors’ rampage, the Manual of Formulas of the Body-Fortifying Prescription could not even utter a sound and were busy slinking away.

The unnecessarily large muscles and physique of the Manual of Formulas were useless in front of real warriors.

“They are the Ghost Soldier Corps bastards. They are famous for not seeing anything in their way, so if you get involved with them, you’ll only see a terrible end.”

A Manual of Formulas whispered in Jin Yeong-in’s ear.

“The Ghost Soldier Corps……”

“Good heavens, man. Even if you were on a mission in the Central Plains, you don’t know the Ghost Soldier Corps?”

The Manual of Formulas who had given him the tip chided Jin Yeong-in.

The Manual of Formulas of the Body-Fortifying Prescription thought of Jin Yeong-in as a low-level informant belonging to the Bat Squad who was on a mission in the Central Plains.

This was because Danmok Cheong, worried that it would get noisy unnecessarily, had told the Manual of Formulas Jin Yeong-in’s identity as such.

Jin Yeong-in also did not want to reveal his identity unnecessarily.

“The Ghost Soldier Corps is one of the military forces of our cult. Although it is only a lower-ranking unit, they are all rough bastards, so they are no different from mad dogs.”

“I see.”

“Perhaps because they have strong pride in their affiliation, there are no bigger blockheads than them. It’s so bad that they are the ones who cause the most incidents and accidents among the military forces of our cult.”

“As you said, big brother, it would be tiring to get involved with them.”

“That one is the Seventh Squad Leader of the Ghost Soldier Corps, the One-Eyed Blood Ghost, Jang In-geol.”

The Body-Fortifying Prescription Manual of Formulas whispered, pointing to the one-eyed man who had led the Ghost Soldier Corps members.

Jang In-geol’s remaining left eye was scanning the Body-Fortifying Prescription like a hawk’s.

“I hear he has experience participating in the past Righteous-Demonic Great War, and his handiwork is so cruel…………”

Just then.

“There’s a rotten smell somewhere. Is there a bastard from the righteous faction here?”

The One-Eyed Blood Ghost, Jang In-geol, jeered as if for everyone to hear.

“Righteous faction? What’s this all of a sudden?”

“Why is he suddenly talking about the righteous faction?”

Just as the Manual of Formulas of the Body-Fortifying Prescription were tilting their heads.

“I heard that a bastard who defected from the righteous faction frequents this Body-Fortifying Prescription!”

“……!”

At Jang In-geol’s statement, the Manual of Formulas of the Body-Fortifying Prescription shuddered.

They had never even imagined that there would be a person who had defected from the righteous faction among them.

“There must be a bastard who started frequenting this Body-Fortifying Prescription about a month ago? His name was…… Jin Yeong-in, was it?”

The gazes of the Body-Fortifying Prescription Manual of Formulas all turned to Jin Yeong-in at once.

***

“Haha, hahaha……”

Jin Yeong-in, whose identity had suddenly been revealed, made a flustered expression.

“Y-you. Is it true that you are someone who defected from the righteous faction?”

“No wonder you were dark about the cult’s affairs. Good heavens.”

“To think I would live to see someone who defected from the righteous faction.”

The Manual of Formulas who learned of Jin Yeong-in’s identity were startled.

The fact that the young man they had been training in the body-strengthening cultivation technique with for the past month was a defector from the righteous faction was a great shock to them.

It was an extremely natural reaction.

It was known that not a single person had officially defected after the Righteous-Demonic Great War.

Currently, seeing someone from the righteous faction within the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult was as difficult as plucking a star from the sky.

“Looks like we found him.”

Jang In-geol’s remaining eye flashed as he gave a sinister smile.

“Are you that Jin Yeong-in? I hear you were called by the grand alias of Heavenly Soaring Divine Dragon in the Central Plains?”

“Heavenly Soaring Divine Dragon…… yes, there was a time I was called that. A long, long time ago.”

Jin Yeong-in replied with a bitter smile.

This was because the past when he was called the Heavenly Soaring Divine Dragon now felt so distant.

Even though he had returned to the past, the memory of being imprisoned in the Demonic Prison for 20 years was closer…….

“Huuu! I thought I’d never be able to repay it in my lifetime, but I can finally repay the old debt!”

“Old debt?”

“It was 30 years ago, so what would you call it if not an old debt?”

“30 years ago, I wasn’t even born, so how could I have incurred a debt to you?”

Jin Yeong-in retorted as if asking what kind of bullshit that was.

Now that he had returned to the past, wasn’t Jin Yeong-in’s age just over twenty, at twenty-three?

“Huuu! You know one thing but not the other. 30 years ago. Although you were not born, your master was busy accumulating karma.”

“Master? Karma?”

“This eye.”

Jang In-geol pointed to his now non-existent right eye, which was covered by a black eyepatch.

“It’s the work of Jang Guk-pyeong, your master.”

“Ah.”

“30 years ago. The Battle of Mount Huabai in Gansu Province between our cult and the Righteous Heavenly Alliance. At that time, I lost one eye to your master. So, I must collect that debt from you, his disciple. Isn’t it the duty of a disciple to repay their master’s debt?”

Jang In-geol approached Jin Yeong-in with a sinister smile.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep