Chapter 168: Seolyoung, Is Not Okay

Lee Jaseung entered the training ground reserved for the Leader of the Alliance.

The place was vast enough that the word “expansive” barely did it justice.

He liked this practice hall.

At his current level, what he needed most for his training was a wide, open space.

Each of his strikes carried immense power.

Even the strongest walls would be sliced apart by his Sword Qi or sword force. What he needed was not walls but space so broad it seemed endless, a place where he could freely train his martial arts.

Did Jang Wonso ever properly train in this fine ground? Most likely, the man had been too busy counting money to bother.

Lee Jaseung had cleared the area of everyone. With Ma Young-gi in charge of the Guard Hall, there was no worry about his martial arts training leaking outside.

Standing in the center of the training ground, he closed his eyes and calmed his mind.

No matter how busy he became, he always stretched or practiced before sleep. The key to progress in training was continuity without a single day’s break. Miss one day, and it took two to recover what was lost.

He began loosening up using the Yama’s Dagger Art. Who would have imagined that the technique he had once used to slay the former leader of the Black Way Alliance would become his warm-up exercise?

Then he began practicing the Ten Heavenly Secret Arts in earnest. He was now nearly as comfortable with the ten dagger forms as he was with the Yama’s Dagger Art itself.

Today, he brought a sword.

He intended to test the swordsmanship learned from the new iron chest. Of course, he had no intention of mastering it.

Lee Jaseung had always believed that perfecting one technique was better than learning many. He had only begun practicing the Ten Heavenly Secret Arts because he felt he had fully mastered the Yama’s Dagger Art.

Learning a new technique before perfecting the last was never a wise choice.

Besides, as someone used to daggers and unarmed combat, practicing a long-sword style was bothersome and not to his liking.

Swoosh! Swish! Swoosh!

The sword moved in his hands as if it had been familiar for years. The mental cultivation method behind the sword art was nearly identical to one he already practiced.

He could tell that the Ten Heavenly Secret Arts and this sword technique shared the same root.

After finishing a full sequence, he tilted his head. He had only tried it out on a whim, thinking it would be rude to ignore the fate that brought the technique to him, yet he had sensed something.

Surprisingly, what he realized was not about sword art at all. It was a new understanding of his own Ten Heavenly Secret Arts.

The two martial arts were clearly separate, not complementary.

Yet his immense mastery allowed him to find a point of convergence between them, one that could refine his Ten Heavenly Secret Arts even further.

It was something only someone at the second sublevel of the Transcendent Peak Realm could achieve.

Lee Jaseung realized something then.

He could no longer take anything for granted. His level had risen to a point even he could not fully measure.

Judge only after acting.

It was advice usually meant for beginners, but now even he found himself repeating it. Coincidentally, Baek Seolyoung was having the same thought at that very moment, though the meaning each attached to it was entirely different.

Footwork, close-combat technique, sword art.

Three types of martial arts appeared before him.

And all of them were linked to the Heavenly Demon Sect. The arts themselves were not demonic, so what was the connection between them and the sect?

If he could meet the Wind and Wave Wanderer, he might learn more.

But according to the information gathered from the Three Eyed Pavilion, the man’s whereabouts were completely unknown. The conclusion was that he had either vanished from the martial world or died.

Just then, Dan Woobin arrived at the training hall.

“It’s begun.”

His face was bright with excitement.

“The Asura Demon Sect has started to move in earnest. They’ve already kidnapped one of the key masters of the opposing faction.”

“Good.”

“But there’s a problem.”

Dan Woobin’s tone turned serious.

“Cheon Myeongin has joined hands with the Elder Demon Lord.”

“Was that part of your plan?”

“No. Cheon Myeongin chose it himself. Thanks to that, it’s actually made my job easier.”

He had started attacking the rival faction without needing any provocation from them.

Lee Jaseung thought briefly of Yim Sayeon. He planned to leave Cheon Myeongin as much as he could, but if he really joined hands with the Demonic Cult?

“There’s no helping it then.”

When he had risen from his sickbed, Yim Sayeon must have known this would happen. She had known her son would embark on dangerous paths, and that danger would follow.

Lee Jaseung knew exactly what Dan Woobin needed to hear right now. If he dwelled on Lee Jaseung’s relationship with Yim Sayeon, the operation would falter.

“Use him actively and proceed with the plan.”

* * *

It was easy to see why Heukseok had been named “Black Stone.” His skin was dark, his body compact and solid, like an actual go stone.

Seo was his opposite. With his refined features and the fan he waved lightly in hand, he looked every bit a cultured scholar.

Despite their contrasting appearances, the two shared one trait: pride in their own ability.

That pride had alienated them from others and, eventually, from Mountain’s favor. They were unaware that Mountain regarded them with such distrust.

The two entered a manor.

Their organization had mobilized completely to locate the site, and as a result, they had found it not long after the abduction.

As they crossed the empty courtyard, both stopped at once.

The door opened as if on cue, and Cheon Myeongin stepped out.

Both pairs of eyes immediately went to his hand. Dragged by it was the man they had come to rescue, Earth.

The captive was drenched in blood, his body broken and mutilated.

Earth weakly lifted his head.

The words he managed to force out told them everything about what he had endured.

“…Kill me.”

Even if he hadn’t asked, he was already as good as dead.

Looking down at him, Cheon Myeongin spoke coldly.

“That much, I can grant.”

Crack.

He crushed the man’s skull underfoot. It burst like a watermelon.

Heukseok and Seo both frowned.

“Brutal. He was once your subordinate.”

“That’s why his subordinates abandoned him.”

“Mountain spared your life, though.”

“How different the two of you are.”

Their taunts were deliberate, but they felt sure that together, they could destroy anything in their path.

Cheon Myeongin let out a scornful laugh.

“For someone so great, all he did was poison me and steal my position. What kind of comparison are you trying to make?”

Neither man could answer. On that point, they had no defense.

Cheon Myeongin added,

“Still, even so, I’m better than garbage like you. That much I admit.”

Their faces hardened.

“Doing this won’t change anything.”

“You’re nothing but a defeated man.”

As the two released killing intent and advanced, a man stepped forward from behind Cheon Myeongin.

It was the Vice Leader of the Demonic Cult, the Elder Demon Lord.

Rustle, rustle.

At the same time, a group of black-clad men dropped down around Heukseok and Seo. Cold Demonic Qi radiated from their eyes above their masks.

Rustle, rustle, rustle.

More black-clad figures landed behind them. Each one was a master. They were the warriors of the Mad Demon Army, the elite force led by the Elder Demon Lord.

There were other groups in the world that bore the character for madness. The Berserk Dragon Army, which Lee Jaseung had formed by uniting external forces, and the Raging Dragons, the core of the Northern Sky Clan’s Seven Divisions.

But none suited the name “madness” better than the Mad Demon Army. Just their presence sent chills down the spine, their aura steeped in insanity.

Heukseok and Seo’s faces stiffened. They could tell at a glance these men were no ordinary fighters. What shocked them more was that their opponents were Demonic Humans.

“Demons? Damn it! You’ve allied with the Demonic Cult?”

Heukseok shouted, while Seo’s eyes darted around in fear. If it had been only the surrounding soldiers, they might have found a way for one of them to escape, but the true problem stood right before them. The Elder Demon Lord himself.

He stepped forward, his words as chilling as his overwhelming presence.

“It has been a while since I handled something personally.”

His eyes gleamed coldly, and the faces of Heukseok and Seo turned ashen.

* * *

Baek Seolyoung had taken back the command of the Northern Sky Clan’s Four Dragons that she had once entrusted to Lee Jaseung. Now that he was the Alliance Leader, it was only natural. The Leader of the Murim Alliance could not remain the head of a private organization.

The Northern Sky Clan’s Four Dragons and the Raging Dragons were already under her. Now even the Flying Tigers from her clan were being summoned to the Alliance. In sheer strength, they were the Northern Sky Clan’s core.

This time too, she did not call her guard, Chu Sang-gi. She knew he would feel hurt, but someone trustworthy had to protect the clan. More honestly, she simply didn’t know how to make him understand the current situation.

“Will you be all right?”

At Lee Jaseung’s question, Baek Seolyoung nodded.

Bringing her clan’s forces under the Alliance was as much as declaring she would walk the same path as him.

“When the Flying Tigers arrive, I’ll retrain and sharpen them all anew.”

It wasn’t for her own sake or for Lee Jaseung’s. It was for theirs.

“I asked if you are okay.”

She sighed softly.

“No, I’m not.”

Since she couldn’t yet tell them that she had married the Black Way Alliance Leader, that truth would remain a burden she’d carry for life. One day, someone would point at her and curse her name.

But she was ready to bear it.

Lee Jaseung put his arm around her shoulders. Her admission that she wasn’t fine actually made him feel relieved. When solving problems, forcing oneself to smile wasn’t always the answer.

He wished she would shout it out when she hurt.

“Yes, it’s understandable that you aren’t.”

“You’re right. I’m not okay.”

They said it almost at the same time and looked at each other with a quiet laugh.

Lee Jaseung knew well how difficult her path was. That was why he had not wanted her to take it.

But she had endured far better than he had expected.

He was grateful for that. Grateful for her strength, for the way she kept moving forward. Step by step, she had walked far, and with every step, she had grown stronger.

Just then, Dan Woobin came running again, and reported with a bright face.

“The hunt has begun. The Demonic Cult’s forces are on the move.”

Lee Jaseung smiled with satisfaction.

“Clear the streets so they can hunt more easily.”

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