Chapter 6: How Do You Know?

The evil deeds of the seven had been famous for a long time.

The reason no one had done anything about them until now was because of their origins.

To touch the seven was the same as making enemies of the Moyong, Hwangbo, Paeng, and Seomoon families, the Beggar’s Gang, the Diancang Sect, and the Azure Dragon Silver Manor that backed them.

Even if a child is disowned, a parent will get angry if they come home beaten up.

The Moyong family was famous for having few heirs, so they would absolutely not stand by; and weren’t the Paeng and Hwangbo families famous among the Five Great Clans for their pride?

The Seomoon family and the Diancang Sect would surely try to capture Jin Yeong-in and inflict castration on him for what he did to the faces of their daughter and female disciple, respectively.

The Beggar’s Gang might seem like a better case, but that would be a mistake.

The Beggar’s Gang, due to their inherent inferiority complex as a group of beggars, had immense pride and was not a sect that would stand idly by.

They would use their immense information network to relentlessly pursue Jin Yeong-in until the day he was caught.

As for the Azure Dragon Silver Manor… if they couldn’t handle him with martial arts, they would surely hire the world’s greatest assassin with an astronomical sum of money.

“I say, Young Master Jin. Do you find this amusing?”

No Dae-yeong asked Jin Yeong-in, dumbfounded.

“The Moyong, Hwangbo, Paeng, and Seomoon families. You’re about to be hunted by four of the Five Great Clans, excluding the Tang Clan. Is that all? You’re also being chased by two sects from the Nine Sects One Gang, Diancang and the Beggar’s Gang. And on top of that, the Azure Dragon Silver Manor, one of the five great merchant guilds of the Central Plains, will also be after you.”

“Uh. Um.”

Jin Yeong-in hesitated.

“I didn’t get to mention it, but there’s also the Demon Extermination Squad.”

“What… did you just say?”

“I said the Demon Extermination Squad.”

“Why would the Demon Extermination Squad be after you, Young Master Jin? You may have caused a major incident, but that is a dispute between individuals, so there should be no room for the Demon Extermination Squad to interfere.”

“Ah, there was a slight misunderstanding about that….”

No Dae-yeong’s mind couldn’t possibly comprehend what kind of slight misunderstanding would warrant the involvement of a fearsome group like the Demon Extermination Squad.

“So, a complaint against you has been filed with the Alliance Leader through the Demon Extermination Squad?”

“Yes.”

“And at such a time, you cut down the seven?”

“It wouldn’t have made much difference, would it?”

“Hm!”

No Dae-yeong nodded as if he understood.

As Jin Yeong-in said, it was true that there wasn’t much difference between being caught by the Demon Extermination Squad and being branded a public enemy of the Murim for cutting down the seven…….

“I don’t know what grudge you have that brings you to me, but please stop disturbing my business and get lost.”

In truth, No Dae-yeong felt Jin Yeong-in was a bit of a waste.

‘Tsk. If only he hadn’t lost his martial arts, I would have at least tried to persuade him to convert to our cult. No, wait, would the disciple of the Azure Heaven Divine Warrior ever join our cult?’

With that thought, No Dae-yeong spoke sternly to Jin Yeong-in.

“I could capture you and hand you over to the Righteous Heavenly Alliance, but out of respect for the late Great Warrior Jang, I will pretend I heard nothing. Use this time to run away quickly.”

“I cannot do that.”

“Ahem! Do you want to ruin my tavern? If we get entangled in your affairs, our Red Moon Pavilion will be reduced to ashes overnight!”

“Please hear me out a little more….”

“Guards! Drag this man out immediately!”

At No Dae-yeong’s shout, the waiting guards came rushing in!

“Will you still tell me to get lost now?”

“Hm?”

When Jin Yeong-in held out something black, No Dae-yeong narrowed his eyes, wondering what it was.

‘A black dragon carved on black jade? Could it be… the Black Dragon Plaque?!’

No Dae-yeong’s eyes widened as if they were about to pop out.

That wasn’t all.

Flinch!

The guards who had rushed in to drag Jin Yeong-in out also trembled.

“H-how do you have that, Young Master Jin?”

No Dae-yeong asked with a trembling voice.

***

The Black Dragon Plaque was a sacred object whose appearance every member of the Demonic Cult was required to know.

The plaque itself was just an expensive decoration with no effect, but the meaning it held was quite heavy.

The Black Dragon Plaque symbolized the command of the cult, so any member of the Demonic Cult who saw it had to immediately show their respect with a full prostration.

Of course, since Jin Yeong-in was not a member of the Demonic Cult, No Dae-yeong and the guards did not shout the cult’s slogans and prostrate themselves.

They were just surprised…….

“Are you willing to help me now?”

“I-I asked how you came to possess that jade plaque!”

“I received it from someone I happened to meet by chance.”

“And you expect me to believe that?”

“It may be hard to believe, but it’s the truth.”

“When did you receive that jade plaque?”

“I received it last night.”

“Last night… don’t tell me.”

No Dae-yeong’s face turned white.

Since there were high-ranking individuals who had left the Red Moon Pavilion just last night, he could guess who had given the jade plaque.

‘Why does the Azure Heaven Divine Warrior’s disciple have that? Was he a spy for our cult that I didn’t know about?’

If that were the case, he would feel a little disappointed.

Although No Dae-yeong was not an orthodox demonic practitioner who had learned demonic arts, his loyalty and abilities were proven.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been entrusted with the important role of being the head of a secret branch.

For such a No Dae-yeong not to know about a spy planted in the Heavenly Martial Academy was definitely a blow to his pride.

‘This is driving me crazy. I can’t even ask him directly.’

No Dae-yeong desperately held back the urge to ask Jin Yeong-in, ‘Were you perhaps a brother of our cult?’.

The lifeblood of a secret branch was, above all, security.

As long as the other party did not reveal their identity, even if they possessed the Black Dragon Plaque, he was not supposed to utter a single word about the Demonic Cult.

“What exactly is this jade plaque?”

“That is none of your business, Young Master Jin.”

Jin Yeong-in was just as frustrated.

‘Huu. I can’t just say I knew everything when I came.’

There was no plausible evidence to suggest he knew the Red Moon Pavilion was a secret branch of the Demonic Cult.

No Dae-yeong and the guards had no demonic qi at all.

It seemed that for security purposes, they had stationed personnel who had not learned demonic arts, so it was ambiguous to even claim he had detected demonic qi.

Not every demonic practitioner in the world was a member of the Demonic Cult.

Still, since he wasn’t entirely without a basis, he decided to ask cautiously.

“Master No, are you not a member of the Demo… no, the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult?”

“You knew?”

Normally, No Dae-yeong would have flatly denied it, but his reaction was due to the words coming from someone holding the Black Dragon Plaque.

“Could it be that Young Master Jin is a spy infiltrated by our cult?”

“That is not the case.”

“Then did the person who gave you the Black Dragon Plaque tell you?”

“That is not it either.”

“Then what is it?”

“I just have a slightly special talent.”

“A slightly special talent…?”

“I am sensitive to demonic qi and can recognize a demonic practitioner at a glance. No matter how much they hide it, they cannot escape my eyes. I simply made that assumption because I felt a powerful demonic qi from the person who gave me the jade plaque.”

“Heo.”

No Dae-yeong clicked his tongue.

“I see. I was worried that our cult’s secrets had been leaked.”

“That is not the case, so you can rest assured. But Master No, you don’t seem to have learned demonic arts….”

“As someone in charge of a secret branch, how could I learn demonic arts? If I let my guard down for even a moment, demonic qi would be leaking all over the place.”

“I understand.”

“Alright, I understand for now. You all may leave for a moment.”

At No Dae-yeong’s command, the guards quietly left the room.

“That aside, how can I help you, Young Master Jin? The Black Dragon Plaque is like a command from our cult, so tell me what you desire.”

“I would like you to take me to a safe place.”

“The destination?”

“The Ten Thousand Great Mountains.”

“……!”

“Jin Yeong-in requests to join the cult.”

Jin Yeong-in offered a clasped-hand greeting.

A decision made before his master’s grave.

It was an expression of his will to walk the demonic path in this life.

*

The news that the seven had been taken to the infirmary spread throughout the academy in the blink of an eye.

“I heard Senior Jin cut down the seven.”

“Is that even possible? Wasn’t Senior Jin suffering from qi deviation for the past year?”

It was a commotion after a long time, so there was much talk back and forth.

“I heard it was true that Jin Yeong-in had learned demonic arts.”

“No way.”

“Someone said they saw it with their own eyes.”

“Really?”

The attention of everyone in the academy was focused on the infirmary, and all sorts of speculations were rampant at that moment.

Crash!

The atmosphere in the Heavenly Martial Academy rapidly cooled down due to those who broke down the main gate and stormed in.

“Th-those people are!”

“Heok!”

The disciples recognized them at a glance and were terrified.

A blue robe with a blade pattern embroidered on it.

A sword with a black tassel.

A blue headband worn on the forehead.

The meaning of that attire was very intuitive.

The Demon Extermination Squad.

One of the armed groups under the Righteous Heavenly Murim Alliance.

Their mission was to track and kill demonic practitioners, and they were sword demons who would stop at nothing to achieve their goals.

They were often known to wield their swords of slaughter without hesitation, backed by the immense authority granted to them by the Righteous Heavenly Alliance, and were often regarded as mere swordsmen rather than warriors.

“The Demon Extermination Squad…!”

“What in the world is happening?”

“Heup!”

At the appearance of the Demon Extermination Squad, the disciples flinched.

The Demon Extermination Squad was infamous even here at the Heavenly Martial Academy.

It had been 50 years since the Heavenly Martial Academy opened this year.

Although there had been countless incidents and accidents, the most serious one was when disciples were caught secretly learning demonic arts.

10 years ago.

The incident where disciples caught learning demonic arts out of curiosity were dismembered in the middle of the academy was still talked about.

And now that the protagonists of that horrifying incident, the Demon Extermination Squad, had appeared in the middle of the academy again, it was a perfectly normal reaction for the disciples to be tense.

Step, step!

The warriors of the Demon Extermination Squad swaggered through the Heavenly Martial Academy as if to make a show of it and proceeded unhindered towards their destination.

Rumble!

The disciples, as if chased by the procession of the Demon Extermination Squad members, parted to the left and right to make way.

Nowhere was safe.

There were even ominous rumors that the Demon Extermination Squad would fabricate crimes and frame people if things didn’t go their way.

What good could come from loitering around those called human butchers?

The Demon Extermination Squad immediately met with the Principal of the Heavenly Martial Academy, the Sun-Shooting Divine Fist Zhongli Cheon, had a brief conversation, and then turned the academy upside down.

“Everyone, open your ears and listen carefully!”

The voice of a Demon Extermination Squad member, filled with inner arts, echoed throughout the academy.

“The disciple Jin Yeong-in not only secretly learned demonic arts but also inflicted fatal injuries upon his fellow students and carved indelible scars on their faces! Therefore, from this moment on, the Righteous Heavenly Murim Alliance declares Jin Yeong-in a public enemy of the Murim! Anyone who hides Jin Yeong-in or aids in his escape will be executed without question! Do you understand!”

At that moment.

Thud.

The basket of medicinal herbs in Dang Cheon-wi’s hand fell to the ground.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep