Chapter 211: Venerable Buddha (3)

Back when Jin Yeomyung’s group was still inside Heaven of Sacred Spirits—

“Who are you?”

Baek Sang-ah’s eyes, filled with hostility, were directed at Venerable Buddha.

“What are you talking about, Sang-ah?”

Not only the Sword King but even the Saber King looked puzzled as they turned to Baek Sang-ah.

At that moment, Venerable Buddha, who had remained silent, let out a hearty laugh.

“Hohoho, as expected, you can’t deceive the eyes of someone who has mastered demonic arts.”

“…?!”

“The essence of this monk has always been Myungjeong of Shaolin. That, at least, has never changed.”

“Even if the essence hasn’t changed, the goal might have,” Baek Sang-ah said without lowering her guard or easing her grip on her sword.

“Even when harboring demonic energy, one’s nature doesn’t necessarily have to change. I’m proof of that.”

While her temperament had become somewhat sharper, and she had grown a bit more aggressive—

Baek Sang-ah, who had embraced demonic energy, was still “Baek Sang-ah.”

“But even so, I can’t help but be suspicious. Sudden changes always raise red flags.”

Even if she couldn’t pinpoint the exact truth, Baek Sang-ah knew well enough that the situation unfolding before her was utterly absurd.

Venerable Buddha gazed at her with calm eyes.

“Sword King has left behind quite a successor.”

“…!”

“I won’t deny that my goals have shifted somewhat. However, I can assure you that these goals align with your interests.”

“And by interests, what exactly do you mean?”

“I intend to use the Black Lotus Union to judge evil as a blade forged by the consensus of justice and demons.”

“…A blade, you say?”

The expression of the Southern Heavenly Sword King hardened.

The fact that he included “demons” implied that the blade wasn’t going to be directed at the Demonic Cult.

Then who exactly was its target?

“Senior, who is this blade directed at?”

The Sword King’s question was filled with doubt toward Venerable Buddha.

“Naturally, at those who’ve strayed from the righteous path and fallen into evil.”

“In that case—who exactly are they?!”

Even in the face of the Sword King’s fierce gaze, Venerable Buddha’s expression didn’t change.

“Do you truly not know, Sword King?”

“…”

“You can’t be ignorant of what caused your once peaceful reign to descend into chaos.”

The Sword King remained firm.

“Even so, creating a shadow force to punish them makes us no different from them.”

“Every organization has always had those who bleed behind the scenes to maintain surface-level peace.”

“That’s something for me to judge and decide, as the leader of the righteous alliance.”

“You needn’t decide. The Black Lotus Union has no relation to the Murim Alliance—now or ever.”

“…What did you say?”

“Even with just the Demonic Cult, the North and South Families, Shaolin, and the Jegal Clan here, a sufficient agreement can be reached. In fact, including more would only compromise security.”

‘But where’s the Demonic Cult in all of this…?’

Baek Sang-ah paused mid-thought.

‘Wait, does he mean me?’

While she was momentarily stunned by the realization—

Saber King, who had been reluctantly observing the situation, finally spoke up.

“Brother… to raise the Black Lotus Union to that level would take at least a few decades. By then, not just me, but even you’ll be at the age of entering Nirvana…”

“No need to worry about that.”

Venerable Buddha dismissed the concern with another hearty laugh.

“That’s what the fragment of the Great One is for.”

“…Fragment of the Great One?”

“Originally, that being and I were opposites—naturally, one should have devoured the other. But the moment our goals aligned, under the great flow of the supreme law, coexistence became possible.”

“N-no way…”

“[He] wishes to cleanse this Central Plains of filth. He wants to fulfill the duty he failed to complete a thousand years ago.”

Saaaah—!

A tremendous radiance surged around Venerable Buddha’s entire body.

The sheer potential of that power was beyond imagination, and the Sword King and Saber King’s expressions turned grim.

“Decide now. I’d rather not cross blades with long-time friends like you.”

But his words meant that if necessary for his goal, he would not hesitate to fight them.

Faced with Venerable Buddha’s ultimatum, Saber King hesitated, while the Sword King stood and placed his hand on his sword.

“I’ll ask just one thing, senior.”

“Go ahead.”

“If the ones you refer to are just a part of the whole, what will you do then?”

“Isn’t it only the guilty who should be punished? One cannot blame the whole for the sins of a few.”

“And what if that whole chooses to protect the few?”

Then came the words that the Sword King absolutely did not want to hear.

“In that case, the whole must be burned away in karmic fire.”

“…So that’s how it is.”

The Sword King sighed as he looked up at the ceiling, then drew his sword.

Chang!

“Senior Venerable Buddha. Your ideology will ultimately bring ruin to the righteous Murim.”

“It will be a purification—for a better future.”

“Kah! Just how blinded by vengeance have you become, to fall this far?!”

At the Sword King’s furious cry, Venerable Buddha too let out a deep sigh.

“I didn’t want to raise my hand against the leader of the righteous path…”

But the Sword King wasn’t his only opponent.

“Brother… even I think this is going too far.”

“Hmph… my little brother…”

Saber King, resting his blade on his shoulder, let out a bitter sigh.

“I may be a fool of the martial world, but I know right from wrong. You’ve clearly lost your senses, brother.”

“I’m perfectly sane.”

“What kind of monk so casually speaks of slaughter?”

Venerable Buddha’s eyes narrowed.

“It can’t be helped then. I’ll have to convince you by force…”

At those words, Saber King brightened with anticipation, unleashing his aura.

“Khuhuhu! That’s exactly what I was hoping for! Let’s see if you still got it, old brother!”

Baek Sang-ah, too, fully stirred her demonic energy to support the Sword King.

“Amitabha…”

And so, the four martial masters clashed.

***

“So this is the result.”

Venerable Buddha had emerged without a scratch and was now engaging in a second battle with Gwan Hyun.

The Sword King and the Saber King were nowhere to be seen.

“Where are the two of them?”

“Their internal injuries are severe, so they’re hiding. Eun is treating them. It seems Venerable Buddha didn’t intend to kill them—once they backed off, he immediately lost interest and went off to massacre the disciples of the Wudang Sect…”

The disciples of Wudang scattered nearby must have been his victims.

But right now, Wudang wasn’t the priority.

“…Hah!”

“You mean he overcame a two-on-one… no, three-on-one fight?”

Even I, and Cheon Yura as well, showed slightly surprised expressions.

The Sword King and Saber King stood at the peak of the Five Kings of the Central Plains—experts who had transcended the Flowing State and could wield the Sword of the Mind.

They could stand their ground even against the Sword Demon and Saber Demon in a head-on duel.

‘And yet he not only overwhelmed them but even held back while fighting?’

Having once barely set foot into a similar realm, I could tell.

There shouldn’t be such a wide gap between them by default.

If there was a cause that made this possible, it must be that so-called “Fragment of the Great One” that Venerable Buddha had obtained.

At that moment, Cheon Yura suddenly turned to me and asked,

“Jin Yeomyung.”

“Yes, Lady Cheon?”

“What do you think would happen if we went up against Murder Demon with our current strength?”

Murder Demon, out of nowhere?

I answered without much thought.

“We could slice him up in less than an hour.”

There wouldn’t even be any need for me to step in.

Cheon Yura, as she was now, could probably defeat Murder Demon on her own.

“Exactly. So then, what about going up against Venerable Buddha?”

“…….”

“Regardless of justice or evil, light or darkness. Don’t you want to challenge someone like that at least once?”

She asked with a hint of excitement, eyes fixed on the battle between Gwan Hyun and Venerable Buddha.

Naturally, the fight was heavily one-sided in Venerable Buddha’s favor.

“Aaaagh!”

Unable to release his awakened form in broad daylight, Gwan Hyun was burning up his core energy in desperation.

His Wisdom Sword couldn’t pierce through Venerable Buddha’s Supreme Technique and ended up tearing up the earth in vain.

“Together, you mean?”

“Yeah, together. Even I wouldn’t be reckless enough to charge in alone against that.”

…Though no matter how I looked at her, she seemed exactly the type to charge in alone. But if I said that aloud, she’d definitely get sulky.

I let out a light chuckle and gripped the hilt of my sword.

“Alright. If that’s what you want.”

“‘If that’s what I want,’ huh…”

But then—

Cheon Yura suddenly stepped right up to my face.

“You’ve always given in to my whims, haven’t you?”

“…Lady Cheon?”

“But there’s one favor you’ve never granted me.”

“…….”

“This isn’t some formal setting, is it?”

“Well, that’s…”

I averted my gaze and mumbled awkwardly.

Then—

“Ugh!”

She suddenly cupped my head in her hands and locked eyes with me.

“Even if we’re Young Cult Leader and Cultist, we’re also…”

Cheon Yura, her face close to mine, hesitated for a moment before continuing.

“…fellow disciples who learned from the same master, right?”

In truth, the status gap between me and her wasn’t that vast.

I wasn’t some random third-rate martial artist without any lineage—being a direct descendant of one of the Six Great Demonic Clans meant I had every right to stand beside her.

However—

I still couldn’t forget the Cult Leader’s face from my past life’s final moments.

So similar, and yet different.

That fact alone held back the last thread of my reason.

But then…

As I looked into her fiery, clear eyes—eyes that yearned for something—

“Alright…”

A word slipped out of my mouth before I even realized it.

“Yura.”

“That’s it.”

Thump.

Cheon Yura suddenly bumped her forehead gently against mine.

Her breath and a soft giggle tickled my ear.

“Now it finally feels like you’re mine, just a little.”

“…….”

“I want to fight that man who was once called Venerable Buddha. Will you help me?”

“Alright…”

I felt a subtle heat rise to my cheek as I nodded.

“If it’s my lover’s request, I have no choice but to help.”

“That’s the spirit.”

Cheon Yura smiled brightly.

Now that it had come to this, I decided to firmly assert my opinion.

“But don’t go into it with a life-or-death mindset. Even if Venerable Buddha becomes a god of destruction, it’s not our responsibility to deal with it.”

“Hmm…”

Cheon Yura pouted in clear dissatisfaction.

But—

“Just remember, the only thing that matters most to me right now is your safety.”

At those words, her dissatisfaction melted away completely.

“Fine! In that case, I’ll follow your lead.”

And so, the duel with Venerable Buddha was decided.

Gwan Hyun was still fighting fiercely against him—

But to my eyes, he didn’t have much time left.

Another moment or two, and Gwan Hyun would fall like a lie.

While Cheon Yura and I steadied our breathing and prepared—

Thwack!

I staggered forward slightly from the sudden, forceful kick to my backside.

“La-Lady, Baek ?”

I turned with wide eyes to see Baek Sang-ah, who had just kicked me.

“……”

Baek Sang-ah stood there, fuming with anger, her face flushed with rage.

“Do you enjoy showing off like that in front of people?”

“…Ah.”

Both I and even Cheon Yura seemed to realize our mistake and avoided her gaze.

“S-sorry.”

“M-my apologies…”

“Shut it, both of you.”

Still unable to contain her anger, she glared at us with narrowed eyes.

“I know there’s nothing I can do about a decision that’s already been made… just make sure you come back alive.”

“Lady…”

“Even if I wanted to help, I’m in no condition right now…”

It wasn’t just her appearance that was a mess.

Her internal injuries were also severe.

Considering the state the Sword King and Saber King were in while hiding, the fact that she could still move around like this was honestly a miracle.

“Hmph. You just get some rest.”

Cheon Yura gently patted Baek Sang-ah’s head.

“With me and this guy, at the very least, we’re not going to lose.”

“…I don’t know where that confidence is coming from, but I’ll be cheering you on.”

Leaving Baek Sang-ah behind, we turned to face Venerable Buddha.

‘When I first envisioned the Black Lotus Union, I never imagined things would end up like this.’

Even so—

Now that I had made my decision, I would win.

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