Chapter 190: Demonic Sword Flower (2)

Namcheon Sword King, Baek Dogyung.

One of the highest peaks among the hundreds of thousands of martial artists in the Central Plains, a peerless swordsman who had never suffered defeat in a duel with the sword.

Recognized for his skills and achievements, he was appointed as the Leader of the Justice Faction Alliance, a position he had held for twenty years.

“Hoho, why on earth has this brat suddenly appeared?”

The Namcheon Sword King sighed as he looked at the carrier hawk that had flown to him.

‘Has something happened in the Demonic Cult? Or is there danger to Sang-ah?’

This black carrier hawk was one he had arranged to only be dispatched from the Heavenly Demon Cult when it concerned his granddaughter, Baek Sang-ah.

For this bird to appear during such turbulent times was certainly not a good sign.

Namcheon Sword King slowly opened the confidential letter.

And before long, he tilted his head in confusion.

“…Hmm?”

He had thought the message would concern his granddaughter’s safety or perhaps the stance of the Demonic Cult.

But the letter contained an entirely different message.

“They say they’ll make the situation in Luoyang look good and to come retrieve it in ten days?”

The sender of this letter wasn’t the Cult Leader nor the Heavenly Thunder Corps Commander, but someone entirely unexpected—Jin Yeomyung.

‘Jin Yeomyung, Jin Yeomyung…’

He definitely remembered that name.

And not in a good way.

‘Isn’t that the bastard who turned my precious granddaughter—whom I wouldn’t trade for the world—into a demonic being?’

Of course, his granddaughter had sent a letter saying she had brought it upon herself, but to the Sword King, that excuse didn’t quite sit right.

However—

‘I heard he left on a journey with my granddaughter, didn’t I?’

Instead of coming obediently to the Orthodox Alliance, what on earth was he scheming in Luoyang?

“Hmph…”

The Namcheon Sword King continued reading the letter to the end.

After fully grasping the plan written within, he let out a quiet sigh.

“A scheme of the demonic path, indeed.”

It was a strategy entirely focused on safeguarding himself and those around him.

A method commonly used by those who operated in the shadows, utterly ignoring the great cause the righteous factions pursued.

‘Still, it’s not a bad one. Sang-ah is such a kind-hearted girl that she can’t even bring herself to utter a curse properly…’

Baek Sang-ah was destined to succeed Namcheon.

But because she was so gentle by nature, she was not accustomed to the use of underhanded methods.

If there was a tactician capable of devising such plans by her side, the future of Namcheon would feel much more secure.

‘I suppose I’ll need to see this Jin Yeomyung fellow for myself.’

The Sword King had been discreetly searching high and low for a way to reverse his granddaughter’s reversed internal energy flow.

But even after half a year, all the responses he received had been pessimistic.

To be honest, even he couldn’t quite comprehend how such a thing had been possible.

‘I don’t like it, but for Sang-ah’s future, I must seriously consider a political marriage. Besides, the successor to the Demonic Heaven’s Jin Clan has already been chosen as the second son…’

The possibility of him becoming a son-in-law wasn’t out of the question.

Resolving his mind, the Sword King turned his gaze somewhere.

“Gongjin.”

“Yes, Lord.”

A middle-aged martial artist, stationed a few seats away from the Alliance Leader, answered.

“Prepare the Heavenly Sword Squad.”

“What will be the destination?”

“Luoyang.”

“As you command.”

Baek Gongjin—Heavenly Night Divine Sword, Chief of the Golden Dragon Heavenly Sword Squad under direct command of the Murim Alliance Leader.

He was also Baek Sang-ah’s uncle, and he bowed without hesitation.

***

It had already been four full days since the group from the Great Clans arrived in Luoyang.

As time passed, the number of demonic cultivators swarming into Luoyang began to skyrocket.

“You still haven’t found him?!”

“M-My apologies, Sect Leader.”

Even after several days, they had gained little, and Gwan Hyun’s expression was slowly darkening with fury.

“Already, more than three thousand demonic cultivators have gathered in Luoyang. If there’s still no movement, it means someone’s controlling them from behind! And yet still…!”

“S-Sect Leader! An emergency!”

Someone burst in, cutting off Gwan Hyun mid-sentence.

“Jeon-yang? How dare you be so rude before the Sect Leader?!”

Jeon Seok roared at the man named Jeon-yang.

But the words that came next made him cry out in shock.

“Jeon-gok and the second disciples under him were ambushed by demonic bastards!”

“W-What?!”

“This wasn’t some mere quarrel. The disciples were ambushed in a thoroughly premeditated attack!”

“…!”

“And them? Where are those bastards?!”

Gwan Hyun’s immediate question was not about the safety of the disciples, but the enemy’s location—something that caused discomfort among the first disciples attending him.

“I’m sorry, but we lost them… What’s strange is that the demonic cultivators didn’t cause any harm to civilians and disappeared after targeting only our sect’s disciples.”

“Grrrrk!”

At those words, not just Gwan Hyun but all the first disciples revealed their fury.

At that moment, Jeon-mu, a first disciple with a cold and severe expression, opened his mouth.

“This is no small matter.”

“Senior Brother Jeon-mu, what do you mean?”

“Jeon-gok is a master beyond the Master Level. The other second disciples are not pushovers either. And you’re telling me someone beat them without killing them and just disappeared?”

“Mmm!”

“Even if hundreds of low-level demonic rats gathered, that wouldn’t be possible.”

If that were possible, it meant there had to have been several Master Level cultivators among those who picked the fight.

“In other words, the demonic cultivators currently in Luoyang are under someone’s control. In short, a central figure has emerged.”

“Could it be Soul-Corrupting Lust Fiend is finally making his move?”

“No. That guy alone wouldn’t be enough. A much higher-level master would need to appear.”

At Jeon-mu’s firm declaration, all the first disciples fell into a grim silence.

“It’s unfortunate what happened to Jeon-gok, but this situation may not be so bad. Whoever the central figure is, there’s no way the Sect Leader won’t be able to handle them.”

“Senior Brother is right!”

The first disciples all voiced their agreement at once, but Gwan Hyun didn’t show much of a reaction.

He simply looked at Jeon-mu, as if expecting something.

“Do you have a method?”

“First, we stop our disciples from patrolling and set a trap.”

“A trap, you say?”

Jeon-mu, after glancing around cautiously, lowered his voice.

“We use the younger generation disciples of the Great Clans, who are assisting us, as bait.”

“Se-Senior Brother?!”

“What are you saying?!”

The disciples were shocked, but Gwan Hyun raised his hand to stop them.

“Enough. Continue.”

With the Sect Leader’s permission, Jeon-mu resumed.

“We assign only the first disciples to secretly monitor them. If they are ambushed by enemies beyond their ability to handle, that’s when our disciples strike and subdue the attackers.”

“B-But they’re fellow righteous faction members…”

“Didn’t we just say the demonic bastards injured Jeon-gok’s group without killing them? Their lives won’t be in danger.”

Setting aside the pangs of conscience, Jeon-mu’s idea was surprisingly reasonable.

“We capture a capable demonic cultivator and start tracking from there.”

Gwan Hyun nodded.

“A solid idea.”

“……”

“Everyone but Jeon-mu, leave us.”

“Yes, Sect Leader…”

The first disciples of Mount Hua couldn’t shake off the feeling of “Is this really okay?” as they exited the Sect Leader’s quarters.

Thus, the Mount Hua operation began.

Because Luoyang was so vast, the younger generation disciples of the Great Clans didn’t find it strange that Mount Hua disciples weren’t around.

However, for those of us with higher sensitivity to qi, we sensed something was off.

‘They used their heads, I’ll give them that.’

Detecting the hidden Mount Hua disciples scattered throughout the area, I chuckled quietly.

“Jin Yeomyung, can you feel it?”

“Yes, they’ve made us the bait.”

Cheon Yura’s tone carried clear displeasure.

“Arrogant bastards. How do you plan to respond?”

“Let’s wait and see.”

It wasn’t unexpected.

If Mount Hua were truly as noble and upright as its reputation claimed, maybe not—but as I suspected, they would likely try to manipulate us in some way.

‘Still, it’s annoying how quickly they acted.’

I stopped patrolling and approached a vendor with a fruit stall.

“Welcome! What can I get you?”

“How sweet are Luoyang’s peaches these days?”

“So sweet, you wouldn’t even notice if your friend died while eating them!”

With a slick grin, the vendor responded confidently, and I picked up a peach as I spoke.

“Hmm, but this peach seems a little dirty on the bottom (下).”

In that fleeting instant, the vendor’s eyes flashed sharply.

“…Oops! Looks like I yawned by mistake. That doesn’t happen often…”

“Tsk tsk. How can I trust buying from you like this?”

“My apologies, sir. I’ll give you a special discount.”

“Twenty mun for five nyang sounds about right. Bring them to me.”

“I won’t forget, sir.”

Ending the conversation, I rejoined the group.

Cheon Yura asked curiously.

“What was that just now?”

“It was a secret code from the Hao Sect.”

I whispered so no one else could hear.

“Hao Sect?”

“One of the reasons Soul-Corrupting Lust Fiend hasn’t been caught by Mount Hua yet. Apparently, he has a connection with them.”

Strictly speaking, it’s more of a transactional relationship than affiliation…

“So? What did you receive?”

“There’ll be an ambush soon. Both of you, do not use your full strength. Just pretend to be overwhelmed.”

“Got it.”

“Understood.”

The two women nodded in unison.

About a moment later—

With lines straight out of a cliché villain’s mouth, a gang of twenty-five demonic lackeys appeared in front of us.

“Hehehe, aren’t you the noble young masters of the Great Clans?”

Namgung Cheong, who stood at the front of our group, gave a small laugh and drew his sword.

“Unbelievable. How dare rabble like you block the path of the Namgung Clan?”

At the lead of the group was a one-eyed, shaggy brute who let out a guttural laugh.

“Oho, Namgung Clan! We’ve heard your name till our ears bled! But I wonder if a brat like you can handle us—the Five Ghosts of Luoyang!”

Namgung Cheong’s smirk deepened.

“Ha! The Five Ghosts of Luoyang? So even gutter trash like you are giving yourselves fancy nicknames these days?”

Fwoosh!

In an instant, Namgung Cheong’s sword gleamed with a layer of blue sword qi.

Proof that he had reached a refined first-rate level.

“I’ll handle them all. You all take it easy.”

Namgung Cheong’s gaze briefly swept over Baek Sang-ah.

And with a sly wink—

‘Ah, he wants to show off, huh?’

Well, Namgung Cheong did have the looks for it.

If these guys really were just low-level demonic goons, he could make quite the heroic impression not only on Baek Sang-ah but on everyone nearby…

Hmm…

Uh…

Suddenly, I started feeling sorry for him. Even if he brought this on himself…

“I am Namgung Cheong, Azure Sky Sword Dragon of the Righteous Six Dragons.”

“Hehe, and I’m Bae Joong-son, first of the Five Ghosts of Luoyang.”

Bae Joong-son, carrying a cheap butcher blade on his shoulder, stepped forward.

His dark skin and wild, overgrown body hair hinted at some southern blood, and he had the unmistakable look of a gang boss from some mountain stronghold.

Just then, Peng Yunho furrowed his brows and muttered quietly.

“…Bae Joong-son? I swear I’ve heard that name before…”

“Haaah!”

Namgung Cheong lunged forward, swinging his sword.

From its tip surged the Namgung Clan’s proud technique—Azure Sky Limitless Sword Art—bursting with sword qi.

“Oooh!”

“A-Amazing!”

The townspeople gasped at Namgung Cheong’s light, dazzling swordplay.

But Cheon Yura, Baek Sang-ah, and I all frowned at the same time.

‘His basics are lacking.’

And then…

“Take this!”

Clang-clang-clang!

Namgung Cheong’s Azure Sky Limitless Sword Art—sword qi and all—was completely blocked by Bae Joong-son’s crude, unenhanced blade technique.

“…Huh?”

When his sword couldn’t pierce through Bae Joong-son’s saber, Namgung Cheong’s mouth parted slightly in disbelief.

“H-How can you block sword qi… with a plain blade…?”

“Yikes! What a flashy, spoiled little noble you turned out to be.”

The moment Bae Joong-son twisted his lips into a mocking grin—

Namgung Cheong realized that his opponent was no mere thug.

“N-No way, a Master Level—?!”

Thwack!

“Gugh-urk!”

Bae Joong-son’s foot slammed straight into Namgung Cheong’s lower abdomen.

Clang!

Namgung Cheong’s eyes rolled back as he dropped his sword and collapsed.

‘Hmm…’

Watching that scene, I couldn’t help but feel a strange sense of déjà vu, tilting my head slightly.

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