Chapter 39. Who is Jin Yeong-in?

There was a heartbreaking story behind why a member of the Namgung Clan was in the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.

At the end of the First Righteous-Demonic Great War.

An incident occurred where the Righteous Heavenly Alliance used the core forces of the Namgung Clan as bait to draw in the main forces of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.

As a result, the Righteous Heavenly Alliance won a great victory in the battle, but the Namgung Clan suffered a blow close to annihilation.

As the war reached its final stages, the Righteous Heavenly Alliance, which could not help but consider the post-war power structure, had used a despicable scheme to weaken the power of the Namgung Clan.

The Namgung Clan protested strongly, but the Righteous Heavenly Alliance simply dismissed it.

With the core members of the clan all killed in action, the Namgung Clan was powerless, and the Righteous Heavenly Alliance treated them like a third-rate minor sect and completely ignored them.

At this, the head of the Namgung Clan, the Sword King Namgung Byeok, made a truly nation-saving decision.

Predicting that they would suffer the calamity of having their clan annihilated by the Righteous Heavenly Alliance once the First Righteous-Demonic Great War was completely over, he took all the members of his clan and defected to the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.

Since then, the Namgung Clan has maintained its power while taking root in the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, and now they have completely assimilated as members of the Demonic Cult.

The boy, Namgung Sin, was a child of such a Namgung Clan.

‘It’s been a while. You wouldn’t remember me, though.’

Jin Yeong-in recalled the past that had now become a non-existent event from the boy’s youthful face.

It was the 18th year of his imprisonment in the Demonic Prison.

At that time, since the Second Righteous-Demonic Great War was in full swing, new inmates came in every other day, and the Sword Demon Dragon Namgung Sin was also one of them.

Namgung Sin, who was imprisoned in the Demonic Prison, had to suffer exceptionally more than the other inmates.

Perhaps because he was from the traitorous Namgung Clan, he was subjected to even more severe torture.

On top of that, since he showed the spirit of not uttering a single word during the harsh interrogations and questioning, the intensity of the torture had to be even higher.

‘Apply this.’

Unable to watch any longer, Jin Yeong-in took care of Namgung Sin.

‘It’s a wound-healing ointment. It has a pain-relieving effect, so you’ll feel a little better.’

‘How did you get wound-healing ointment here?’

‘They give it to me. Because it would be troublesome if I died.’

‘What do you mean by that?’

‘I’m an indispensable existence to those bastards. Damn it all.’

In this way, Jin Yeong-in and Namgung Sin quickly became close, and,

‘So you too, Brother Jin, were betrayed by those you trusted implicitly.’

‘Trusted implicitly? Even before I ended up like this, I received all kinds of discriminatory treatment.’

‘Seeing that, it seems my grandfather had great foresight. It couldn’t have been easy to defect, but he ultimately made the decision.’

‘It’s not so much foresight. It would be foolish not to defect after being treated like that.’

‘That’s true.’

But that connection did not last long.

A year after that.

Namgung Sin passed away after enduring harsh torture.

‘I’ll avenge you. So you go on ahead and rest. I’ll come find you with the heads of those bastards.’

Jin Yeong-in closed the eyes of the cold, lifeless Namgung Sin and let him go.

That same Namgung Sin was right in front of him.

With a younger face than back then, and with his eyes wide open.

* * *

“How do you…?”

Namgung Sin made a surprised expression.

He seemed quite surprised that a complete stranger knew his identity.

But what was even more surprising was that Jin Yeong-in had accurately executed the famous Arhat Fist.

Originally, the Namgung Clan was founded by a secular disciple of Shaolin, so Namgung Sin also knew the basics of fist and foot techniques.

Was there a saying, ‘All martial arts under heaven come from Shaolin’, for nothing?

“Who are you.”

“Who knows.”

“I asked who you are.”

“Jin Yeong-in.”

Jin Yeong-in introduced himself.

“Who is Jin Yeong-in.”

“Big brother, if it’s Jin Yeong-in…”

At that moment, a Blood Wolf whispered something in Namgung Sin’s ear.

“You’re the defector who came over this time?”

“Yes.”

As Jin Yeong-in nodded, Namgung Sin frowned.

“I didn’t hear any rumors that you were from Shaolin.”

“I stole and learned it.”

“…”

Namgung Sin was at a loss for words at Jin Yeong-in’s answer.

The Arhat Fist, along with the Shaolin Five Fists, was part of Shaolin’s basic techniques, but that didn’t mean it was a martial art that could be stolen and learned.

And what was he so proud of to say such a thing so confidently?

‘Is it just the Arhat Fist? I learned all of Shaolin’s divine ultimate techniques.’

Jin Yeong-in thought of his fellow inmate, Great Monk Gongheo, and gave a bitter smile inwardly.

Strictly speaking, it was no exaggeration to say that Jin Yeong-in was a walking embodiment of the martial arts of the Central Plains.

Jin Yeong-in did not only research demonic arts in the Demonic Prison.

The Righteous Heavenly Alliance had also taught him the divine ultimate techniques of the Orthodox Faction to create methods to counter various demonic arts.

Perhaps Jin Yeong-in had a better understanding of righteous arts than demonic arts.

Since it wasn’t always easy for the Righteous Heavenly Alliance to obtain high-level demonic arts…

“I think we’re done with the introductions, so we should finish this, right?”

Jin Yeong-in drew his sword as if he wouldn’t go easy on him anymore.

“That’s what I was hoping for.”

Namgung Sin also readjusted his stance.

“Shall we make a bet?”

“What kind of bet?”

“The loser will serve under the winner.”

“Sounds good.”

Namgung Sin accepted Jin Yeong-in’s proposal with a confident smile.

“Come at me first.”

“You’ll regret it.”

Namgung Sin swung his sword at Jin Yeong-in.

Pfft, a smile appeared on Jin Yeong-in’s lips.

Namgung Sin’s sword path faithfully followed the form of the Boundless Azure Sky Sword Art.

But that was his fatal mistake.

Because Jin Yeong-in had mastered not only the form of the Boundless Azure Sky Sword Art but also everything from the circulation of true qi to the secret techniques of the latter half.

Clang, Claang, Clang, Clang!

“…!”

A look of bewilderment crossed Namgung Sin’s face.

His confidently executed sword path was completely blocked?

But that was just the beginning.

Jin Yeong-in broke down the forms of the Boundless Azure Sky Sword Art one by one, and then reassembled, applied, and transformed them to pressure Namgung Sin.

Namgung Sin himself didn’t seem to realize that Jin Yeong-in’s sword was the Boundless Azure Sky Sword Art.

He had not yet reached a level where he could recognize the sword path, and Jin Yeong-in had transformed the forms so skillfully.

“I-impossible!”

“What, do you feel a wall?”

“Shut up!”

“Your words are a bit short.”

Jin Yeong-in’s eyes gleamed as if he had had enough.

“I’ll have to establish some discipline.”

Jin Yeong-in’s sword suddenly became fierce.

“Hup!”

Namgung Sin flailed, unable to launch a proper counterattack against Jin Yeong-in’s assault.

In the midst of it, a kick from Jin Yeong-in struck Namgung Sin’s wrist, and his sword flew through the air and stuck into the ground.

“…!”

Just as Namgung Sin was startled.

Pabak, Pababak!

Jin Yeong-in’s fists and feet poured down like a heavy downpour, beating Namgung Sin’s entire body.

Thud!

Namgung Sin was thoroughly beaten and sent flying.

Sreung.

The tip of Jin Yeong-in’s sword touched the tip of Namgung Sin’s nose.

“The loser will serve under the winner. You haven’t forgotten already, have you?”

“…”

“You haven’t forgotten already, have you?”

“…I will serve you as my big brother.”

Namgung Sin admitted his defeat.

“Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!”

A loud cheer erupted from the mouths of the Blood Wolves who were following Jin Yeong-in.

* * *

The Blood Wolves were in an uproar.

“As expected of our big brother!”

“I knew you would win, big brother!”

“See! You bastards! I told you our big brother was superior!”

The Blood Wolves were ecstatic about Jin Yeong-in’s victory as if it were their own.

“Th-this is.”

Jin Yeong-in was so unfamiliar with this kind of reaction that he didn’t know what to do.

This was the first time he had experienced this.

He had received envy, jealousy, threats, and torture, but he had never once been cheered by his comrades.

What was it like when he won the martial arts competition hosted by the Heavenly Martial Academy?

‘Th-the winner of this year’s Ascending Dragon Festival is. Hmm. The Heavenly Divine Dragon… Young Warrior Jin Yeong-in. C-congratulations, Young Warrior Jin. Haha, hahaha…’

‘…’

Jin Yeong-in could still not forget the colder-than-ever atmosphere of that time.

He had defeated all the renowned and formidable later-generation prodigies and won, but an awkward silence filled the venue.

No one clapped for him, nor did anyone cheer.

For Jin Yeong-in, things like enthusiastic cheers and praise were something he couldn’t even dream of.

How dare a guy with no roots defeat the later-generation prodigies from the Nine Sects One Gang and the Five Great Clans and win?

The atmosphere was so hostile that even Dang Cheon-wi, with whom he was so close, couldn’t openly congratulate him and had to watch his surroundings.

Was that why?

“What’s with you guys? Be quiet, it’s noisy. It’s not like anything special happened…”

Jin Yeong-in felt awkward for no reason and stood there fidgeting like a fish out of water.

It was because he had never experienced anything like this before, so he couldn’t get used to it.

In the meantime, the Blood Wolves who had been following Namgung Sin subtly joined Jin Yeong-in’s group.

“Please take care of us, big brother.”

“From now on, you are our big brother.”

Of course, not everyone joined Jin Yeong-in’s group.

“Good luck to you all.”

“I’m not the one who made the promise, so I’ll be on my way.”

About a third of the Blood Wolves scattered and found new groups.

Jin Yeong-in did not stop the departing Blood Wolves.

He already had a headache from the number of Blood Wolves following him, so there was no way he would stop those who wanted to leave.

The problem was that the words uttered by some of the Blood Wolves had gotten on his nerves.

“Tsk. Being from the Orthodox Faction is a bit unsettling.”

“Why would you trust and follow a bat-like guy like that?”

Right, he could have just tolerated that much.

But the words that followed…

“Ptui!”

Someone spat phlegm on the ground and gritted his teeth.

“Where does a filthy Orthodox Faction guy think he is? The world is going to the dogs. To think I’d live to see an Orthodox Faction guy loitering in the middle of Our Cult.”

That Blood Wolf not only disliked Jin Yeong-in but was almost enraged.

“Why would they give a guy like that a chance to become a martial artist of Our Cult?”

“I know, right. They say it was unimaginable in the old days.”

“I have no idea what the higher-ups are thinking. There’s no law that says a guy who betrayed once won’t betray a second ti…”

Just then.

“Stop right there.”

Jin Yeong-in called out to the grumbling Blood Wolves.

“Say that again.”

“W-what?”

“The words you just said, say them again.”

The faces of the Blood Wolves who saw Jin Yeong-in turned pale as if they had seen the grim reaper.

Step, step!

As Jin Yeong-in walked, his eyes spewed a blue will-o’-the-wisp.

Even though he couldn’t use internal energy because he had taken the Qi Dispersing Poison, his momentum was truly terrifying.

“How dare you, in front of me…”

Just as Jin Yeong-in was revealing his killing intent.

“How dare these bastards insult our big brother?”

“Big brother! We’ll take care of it!”

The Blood Wolves following Jin Yeong-in rushed towards those who had insulted him!

“Hmm?”

Before the surprised Jin Yeong-in could even stop them, a brawl broke out.

Strictly speaking, it couldn’t even be called a brawl.

Since there were at least three times more Blood Wolves following Jin Yeong-in than those who had insulted him, a fight couldn’t even be established in the first place.

Thwack, thwack! Thwack! Thwack, thwack! Thwack!

The Blood Wolves following Jin Yeong-in surrounded the guys who had dared to insult their big brother and unleashed a merciless barrage of kicks.

“Die! You bastards!”

“You think our big brother is a pushover, huh?”

The Blood Wolves who had insulted Jin Yeong-in curled up and were beaten one-sidedly.

“Uwaaak!”

“S-stop!”

“Uwaaaaaaaaaak!”

The scene was so pitiful that even Jin Yeong-in, who had intended to step in and perform a sword dance himself, was at a loss for words.

“Big brother, from now on, if anyone insults you, we’ll take care of it at our level.”

“That’s right, big brother. Is there any need for you to step in personally? We won’t forgive anyone who insults you.”

Dae-ho and Go-bong, who had subtly approached, grinned at Jin Yeong-in.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep