Chapter 45. How Did You Know?!

As for Jin Yeong-in, he couldn’t know exactly what had happened at that time.

Not only was he not the one who experienced the incident, but he had only heard the story in passing.

However, one thing was certain: the Demonic Devil Cult would attack the Blood Wolf Corps.

‘They are definitely coming.’

Through experience, Jin Yeong-in was convinced that the attack by the Demonic Devil Cult was an imminent event.

“Big brother, Big brother?”

“Ah.”

“Are you alright?”

“No, it’s nothing. I was just thinking for a moment.”

“Is something troubling you?”

In Namgung Sin’s eyes, Jin Yeong-in, who was staring blankly into the air, must have looked like a man who had half lost his mind.

“It’s nothing like that, so you don’t have to worry.”

“Well, that’s a relief.”

“…….”

Although he said that, Jin Yeong-in’s mind was already in a state of utter complexity.

‘What should I do?’

He knew that the Demonic Devil Cult’s attack was imminent, but the problem was that he had no suitable way to inform others.

It wasn’t as if he could just randomly shout that the Demonic Devil Cult was about to attack.

Besides, Jin Yeong-in also did not know when or at what time they would attack.

‘According to him, the Demonic Devil Cult must have deployed a considerable force. He said that fewer than ten survivors remained.’

With that much force, there was no guarantee that even Jin Yeong-in would be safe.

‘Let’s think of a way, a way.’

Jin Yeong-in wracked his brain to come up with a way to prepare for the Demonic Devil Cult’s attack, but no good solution came to mind.

If he were a high-ranking official, he might have been able to do something about it, but as a mere Lead Blood Wolf who was not yet an official martial artist, preparing for the Demonic Devil Cult’s attack was practically impossible.

* * *

After that day.

Jin Yeong-in volunteered for guard duty under the pretext of letting the Blood Wolves who followed him rest.

Guard duty was originally done in rotation once every three or four days, so standing guard every day was a very tiring task.

Nevertheless, the reason Jin Yeong-in went on guard duty every day was because of the Demonic Devil Cult’s attack.

Since Jin Yeong-in did not know when the attack would be, he had no choice but to volunteer for guard duty, grasping at straws.

“As expected of Big brother.”

“Big brother, will you be alright?”

The Blood Wolves, completely unaware of the underlying circumstances, simply thought that Jin Yeong-in was making a sacrifice as a Lead Blood Wolf…….

‘If their numbers are large, I might be able to sense them in advance.’

In the end, the only thing he could rely on was his intuition as someone with the Heavenly Demon’s Physique.

The Heavenly Demon’s Physique exhibited a sensitivity in detecting demonic qi that was second to none, so perhaps he might be able to know of the Demonic Devil Cult’s approach in advance.

Even when he practiced orthodox arts, he was extremely sensitive to demonic qi; now that he practiced demonic arts, he might even be able to show a precognitive level of detection ability.

As he stood guard with his senses heightened, an instructor approached and spoke to him.

The way he walked made it clear that he was the very same instructor who had been relentlessly tormenting Jin Yeong-in.

“Are the guards standing watch properly?”

“Sir.”

“You weren’t slacking off just because no one was watching, were you?”

“No, sir.”

“Really?”

“Sir.”

“It doesn’t seem so to my eyes.”

The instructor sneered, as if he were about to start finding fault.

“You there, you.”

“Sir.”

“You may go inside. I will stand guard.”

“But…….”

The Blood Wolf who was pointed out by the instructor glanced at Jin Yeong-in.

“I’m fine, so you can go.”

“Is that alright? Big brother?”

“It’s the instructor’s order.”

“Ah, I understand.”

That Blood Wolf, despite being relieved from guard duty, seemed uneasy and vacated his spot with an awkward gait.

“Hehe!”

Then, a chilling laugh escaped the instructor’s mouth.

Although his expression was hidden by a hood and a mask, it was certain that he was wearing a vile smile.

“Now that the nuisance is gone, shall we have some quality time together?”

“C-Cut it out.”

Jin Yeong-in retorted bluntly.

“What? Cut it out? Are you talking back to your instructor now?”

“What instructor.”

Jin Yeong-in snorted.

“I am speaking to the Sixth Young Master, not a Blood Wolf Corps instructor. What on earth are you doing here?”

“…….”

“Please say something.”

“How did you know?!”

The instructor, no, the Blood Qilin, said as he took off his mask.

Gradually, the Blood Qilin’s true form was revealed.

It seemed that he, like Jin Yeong-in, could use the Disguise Art to hide his original appearance.

“You can use the Disguise Art too?”

“I’m from the Sacred Blood Clan, so of course I know how to use the Disguise Art. But, I’m asking how you knew? I even altered my voice and changed my way of speaking?”

“I have my ways of knowing.”

“Did Danmok Cheong, that bastard, tell you?”

“No, sir.”

“Then how do you know?”

“I told you, sir. I have my ways of knowing.”

Jin Yeong-in had realized the Blood Qilin’s presence since the day after he took the Soma Pill.

He felt the same demonic qi as the Blood Qilin’s from the instructor who was tormenting him by finding fault, so he couldn’t help but notice.

The same was true for Danmok Cheong.

The instructor who would occasionally appear and help when the Blood Qilin, disguised as an instructor, was tormenting Jin Yeong-in was Danmok Cheong.

‘I can understand Brother Dan, but why this guy?’

Danmok Cheong was Jin Yeong-in’s guard, but he was also tasked with watching him in case he was a spy, so he let it be.

But there was no reason for the Blood Qilin to be disguised as an instructor.

It was impossible for a high-ranking person like the Blood Qilin to be tasked with watching a mere defector.

And it was even more unlikely that such an important mission would be entrusted to the Blood Qilin, the epitome of a troublemaker.

“What is the reason for following me all the way here and tormenting me?”

“Hey~ who said I was tormenting you~”

“Isn’t it torment if the person on the receiving end feels tormented?”

“Ah~ the weather is nice~”

“…….”

Jin Yeong-in was at a loss for words seeing the Blood Qilin trying to change the subject.

‘I can’t just punch him.’

As he was the Sixth Young Master, it was difficult to commit an act of insubordination, and the current Blood Qilin was overwhelmingly stronger than Jin Yeong-in.

As befitting a disciple of the Iron-Blooded Demonic God, the current Heavenly Demon and Cult Leader, the Blood Qilin’s level of martial arts seemed to surpass that of an elder of the Nine Sects One Gang.

“It’s all fine, but please tone down the tormenting. It’s annoying as hell.”

“Was I too harsh? Hehe.”

“How did you get into the Blood Wolf Corps?”

“How else. I put some pressure on the Blood Wolf Corps Commander.”

“Hoo.”

Jin Yeong-in sighed with a “that figures” expression on his face.

“Do you have too much time on your hands?”

“Yeah. No one gives me any missions. Hoot.”

What kind of person was he, and what was he thinking…….

He thought he could understand why Yeom Bi had described the Blood Qilin as a mysterious phenomenon or a natural disaster.

“If you don’t have any missions, how about you do some martial arts training instead of following me around and tormenting me?”

“That’s boring, so I don’t want to.”

“Aren’t you a candidate for the Young Cult Leader?”

“I’m not interested in the Cult Leader position………….”

Jin Yeong-in couldn’t hear the Blood Qilin’s words.

‘Something is coming.’

Jin Yeong-in sensed the approach of beings with intense demonic qi from beyond the hill far away and his face hardened.

* * *

‘One, two, three…… counting this is meaningless. It’s at least over a hundred.’

Jin Yeong-in glanced at the Blood Qilin.

“What’s so great about the Cult Leader position? It’s just busy………….”

The Blood Qilin, engrossed in his own talk, seemed to not have sensed the demonic qi at all.

“Do you happen to know the source of the demonic qi felt over there?”

“Huh? Demonic qi?”

When Jin Yeong-in pointed beyond the hill and spoke, the Blood Qilin tilted his head as if he didn’t understand.

“What demonic qi? I don’t feel anything at all.”

“I’m a bit sensitive to demonic qi.”

“Hmm. Is that why your achievement is so fast? Well, anyway, don’t worry about it. What’s the big deal about feeling demonic qi in the Divine Land? Did you forget? This is the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult. In the Central Plains, it would be something to be on high alert about, but here it’s a daily occurrence. So don’t worry about it. Maybe a high-level martial arts group is training or something. For example, the Asura Blood Sword Unit or the Rakshasa Troupe?”

Hearing it, it was a plausible argument, but since he knew that the Demonic Devil Cult would attack, he could not just let it pass.

‘It’s sticky and unpleasant. It even feels like there’s a stench. Like rotten blood.’

Moreover, the demonic qi felt from beyond the hill was so different in nature from what ordinary demonic practitioners exuded that he could not just ignore it.

“I think I need to check it out myself.”

“Do you have to? I told you not to worry about it.”

“I have a bad feeling, so I need to check it out myself.”

“Goodness gracious. What’s the big deal about feeling demonic qi in our cult that you would go through such trouble? Phew! You really are a handful, aren’t you?”

The Blood Qilin grumbled but followed Jin Yeong-in trottingly.

The place where the demonic qi was felt was farther than he had thought.

‘This is why no one noticed.’

However, as the distance closed, the concentration of the demonic qi gradually thickened, to the point where even the Blood Qilin could feel it.

“It certainly is strange.”

“Can you feel it now?”

“Yeah, I feel it. I’ve never felt anything like this before.”

“It’s the same for me.”

The reason Jin Yeong-in and the Blood Qilin’s opinions matched was that the demonic qi felt was on a different level from that of a normal demonic arts practitioner.

Around the time they had moved for about an hour.

‘My goodness.’

Jin Yeong-in’s face froze like frost.

The distance was about twenty jang.

There, over a hundred figures exuding a terrifying demonic qi were lined up in ranks and files.

Their skin, illuminated by the moonlight, was dark and bluish, just like that of a corpse.

The smell was also so foul; the pungent stench mixed with the smell of various medicinal herbs was enough to give him a headache.

Moreover, a piece of strange yellow paper with red writing was attached to their foreheads, giving a good indication of their identity.

“Isn’t that…… the Stiff Corpse I’ve only heard about in stories?”

“Probably.”

“Probably?”

“As if I would have ever seen a Stiff Corpse. It’s been a long time since the creation of Stiff Corpse was banned in our cult. One of the things she did as soon as she came to power was to ban the creation of Stiff Corpse.”

“Ah.”

“Stiff Corpse. In the world today, there’s only one group of people who would make such things. The Demonic Devil Cult.”

“The Demonic Devil Cult?”

“It’s a long story.”

Seeing the usually talkative Blood Qilin being sparing with his words, it seemed he had fully grasped the seriousness of the situation.

“Sixth Young Master, over there.”

Jin Yeong-in pointed to the figures who were talking behind the Stiff Corpse far away.

However, since the distance was so great, it was not easy to eavesdrop on their conversation.

“It seems that those are the ones who brought the Stiff Corpse.”

“I’d like to hear what they’re talking about.”

“If we get too close and get discovered, neither you nor I, Sixth Young Master, will be in a good situation.”

“That’s true.”

“Do you happen to have an antidote for the Qi Dispersing Poison?”

“I have one, why?”

“If you give it to me, I will eavesdrop on their conversation.”

“Can you do it? Even I can’t hear their conversation from this distance.”

“It’s possible.”

“Alright, I understand.”

Given the circumstances, the Blood Qilin handed over the antidote for the Qi Dispersing Poison to Jin Yeong-in without a word.

As soon as Jin Yeong-in felt the effects of the antidote take hold, he raised his true qi.

“I can hear them now.”

“You can hear that?”

“Have you heard of Favorable Wind Ears?”

“The one that is one of the Seventy-Two Supreme Arts of Shaolin?”

“Yes.”

“You know how to do that? Even though you’re not from Shaolin?”

“I had a connection with a high-ranking monk from Shaolin, and I learned it from him back then.”

In fact, all the Shaolin supreme arts Jin Yeong-in knew were learned from Great Monk Gongheo, who was one of the prisoners in the Demonic Prison.

“What’s with that? Teaching all Seventy-Two Supreme Arts? Aren’t those bald monks the type to cut off your limbs and destroy your qi center even if you just steal a glance at one of their martial arts forms?”

“Yes, well. I’ve heard that too. The person who taught me must have had his own circumstances.”

“I see.”

“I’ll try to concentrate for a moment.”

Jin Yeong-in asked the Blood Qilin for his understanding and then listened intently to the conversation of those who had brought the Stiff Corpse.

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