Chapter 217: A New Phase (2)

It wasn’t like the Namgung Clan or the Namcheon Baek Clan were particularly pleasant or attractive.

But still, if they were annihilated like in my previous life, the righteous sects would lose far too much strength.

‘Ideally, I should keep them alive and use them as vanguards against those bastards.’

However—

‘It’s unfortunate I can’t act right away.’

I had already stirred up too many things near Luoyang to devise a scheme to make use of them now.

Besides, cleaning up this current mess was going to eat up a lot of time.

I forcibly calmed my growing impatience.

‘No, it’s only a matter of time anyway. In a situation like this, a card like the Black Lotus Union will create the perfect variable.’

With the way things had developed, I had to ensure the Black Lotus Union survived so I could take full advantage of them.

‘Well, I’ll think more on that later.’

Right now, I needed to focus on something else.

I spoke to Cheon Yura, who was resting quietly beside me with her shoulder leaning against mine.

“You okay?”

“Honestly… it’s hard.”

For someone who was always confident and composed, it was rare to hear such vulnerable words from her.

“Hmm, really?”

“Since I began training in martial arts, I don’t think I’ve ever poured out everything like this.”

Though her energy was depleted, she managed a faint, satisfied smile.

“More than anything… our synchronization is still incomplete.”

“……That’s true.”

“We can still go further.”

The Heavenly Demon Resonance—Great Eradication Catastrophe.

A technique that drove the Venerable Buddha, who had briefly transcended to the realm beyond the Profound State, into a near-death state.

It had shown such power when we were still only at the Extreme Demon realm. So what would happen if both of us reached the Transcendent Demon realm and used it?

No—what if we reached the Supreme Demon realm?

‘We might literally be able to kill even a god…’

Even I, who had once held divine power, could not fathom the true limits of this technique’s potential.

Just then, Cheon Yura murmured weakly.

“I want to rest a little.”

“Yeah?”

At that moment, a mischievous thought flashed through my mind.

Now that my stamina had somewhat recovered, I stretched out one leg and twisted my body slightly, removing the support she was leaning on.

“Ah!”

Slide—

Naturally, her body slipped down helplessly, and her head landed right onto my thigh.

I looked down at her face with a playful grin.

“If you’re going to rest, this position’s more comfortable, right?”

“……”

She didn’t respond and turned her head quietly to the side.

Her long hair covered her face.

A clear sign that she was embarrassed!

‘Hehe, long live the body of the Demonic Heaven’s Jin Clan.’

Unlike me, who was regaining strength, Cheon Yura likely wouldn’t be able to move for at least another half-cycle.

Just how many chances would I get to ‘attack’ a weakened Cheon Yura like this?

Might as well fill this moment with selfish indulgence!

As I silently celebrated in my head—

“…I’ll remember this for later.”

Hic!

Her voice was quiet, yet struck like a bolt of lightning from a clear sky.

Still looking out toward the scenery, she made a firm declaration.

“The shame you’ve caused me today… I will make you pay for it very soon.”

“L-Lady Yura? Young Lady Yura?”

“……”

“Young Cult Leader?”

“……”

The wind blew gently, but a cold bead of sweat trickled down my forehead despite the breeze.

Heh heh…

I thought I heard a faint laugh riding the wind, but…

That had to be my imagination, right?

After that.

Cheon Yura and I were transported directly to the Black Lotus Union’s inner sanctuary, where we received intensive treatment.

Actually, we weren’t the only ones who were transferred.

“To think that I, the Alliance Leader, would end up in a place like this…”

The Sword King, the leader of the Murim Alliance, stared up at the ceiling with a sour expression.

Beside him, his granddaughter Baek Sang-ah was glaring fiercely while tending to his wounds.

“You need absolute rest for a while. Right now, Grandfather, you should even be prepared for a decline in your cultivation level.”

The Sword King and the Saber King had sustained massive injuries in their clash with the Venerable Buddha, a master from the realm beyond the heavens.

They needed at least a year of recuperation.

“Ugh… this loss is immense. There’s no way the old geezers in the Alliance won’t notice my current state…”

The Sword King groaned.

“At this rate, I’ll have no choice but to give up my position as Alliance Leader.”

He had extended his political life by using the Demonic Cult as an excuse, but now that very cult had put him on the verge of losing his title.

Even in the righteous sects, it was hard to trust a weakened Alliance Leader in a time of war.

I spoke up, feeling a bit guilty toward him for stepping up to help us.

“I’ve wrapped up the negotiations with Gwan Hyun properly. He also sustained considerable injuries equivalent to yours, Alliance Leader, so he won’t be eyeing the ‘Alliance Leader’ seat for some time.”

Truthfully, in terms of injuries alone, Gwan Hyun’s were far more severe than the Sword King’s.

Had it not been for his bloodline, he might’ve already died rather than become a cripple.

The Sword King shook his head with a painful grimace.

“Ugh, Gwan Hyun is just the most prominent one. He’s far from the only one aiming for the Alliance Leader’s seat.”

“Who else is there?”

The Sword King paused for a moment.

It was somewhat taboo to leak internal political matters of the Murim Alliance to outsiders.

But that hesitation didn’t last long.

“After Gwan Hyun, the most dangerous one is definitely the Plum Blossom White Sword.”

Jo Gongmyeong, the Plum Blossom White Sword. A supreme swordsman who rivaled Gwan Hyun as a chief of the Eight Armies.

“Baek Songdo of Azure Star Sect is also greedily eyeing the Alliance Leader’s seat. Namgung San of the Namgung Clan, despite the rivalry with my clan, is another strong contender. Though it seems Namgung San has lost interest in the position lately.”

“I see.”

“Besides that, you can assume that all the elders in the Alliance who oppose me are aiming for the Alliance Leader’s seat.”

“It’s honestly surprising that the Murim Alliance hasn’t split apart yet.”

Public opinion of the Sword King’s political skill was nearly the worst, but in truth, that evaluation wasn’t entirely fair.

At that moment, Baek Sang-ah spoke with a worried expression.

“…Grandfather, can’t you just throw away the Alliance Leader position and return to the clan? You’re in this condition. There’s no need to cling to the title, is there?”

The Sword King let out a bitter smile at his granddaughter’s words.

“I’d like that too.”

He gently stroked her head and let out a sigh.

“It’s not that I arrogantly believe I’m the only one who can save the righteous Murim. Honestly, don’t you think I’d prefer to abandon the Alliance and focus on clan matters?”

While the clan leader Sword King had focused on Alliance matters, his original clan, the Namcheon Baek Clan, had become so divided that they’d even drawn in foreign powers.

“But we still don’t know how many spies are embedded within the Alliance. If the Alliance Leader seat falls into their hands carelessly, it’ll bring an unimaginable disaster to the entire Central Plains…”

“……”

There wasn’t even a hint of greed in the Sword King’s eyes.

He was holding onto the Alliance Leader’s seat out of a sense of duty alone.

I looked at the Sword King for a moment, then opened my mouth.

“Alliance Leader.”

“Speak.”

“If… we could root out all the spies within the Alliance and reform the righteous sects, could you let go of the Alliance Leader position without hesitation?”

“Of course. Naturally.”

“……”

I had promised to make Gwan Hyun the leader of the Murim Alliance.

Also, in order to prevent the collapse of the Southern Front, the Sword King would need to actively intervene and improve relations with the Namgung Clan.

“In that case, I have a proposal.”

As I spoke, I pulled out the ledger of sins from the Colorful Flower Lord and shouted toward the door.

“You may come in now.”

Click—

The door opened, and there appeared Gwan Hyun, wrapped entirely in bandages.

“…I thought I sensed the presence of a supreme master—it was you after all?”

“…Alliance Leader.”

The two stared at each other with complex expressions.

The Sword King had originally come to clean up Gwan Hyun’s mess.

And Gwan Hyun, for his part, couldn’t view the Sword King as anything other than a political rival.

I stepped between them and spoke to mediate.

“Alright then… allow me to explain the general outline.”

“Outline of what?”

I was determined to persuade the Sword King as I continued speaking slowly.

“A plan to establish the United Murim Alliance of Righteous and Demonic Sects, with the Heaven-Defying Society as our main enemy.”

A week passed after that.

If I had to describe the atmosphere in Luoyang during that time in a single phrase, it would be a maelstrom of chaos.

The battle between us and the Venerable Buddha that erupted near Luoyang—

The aftermath was nothing short of a natural disaster, and the citizens and officials of Luoyang all cowered in their homes in fear.

Of course, that only lasted a few days.

About five days later, the people began to forget the strange occurrences and slowly returned to their daily lives.

However—

“Lord of Luoyang, you cowardly bastard!”

“…Please calm down, young lady.”

“No matter how many times I told him there wouldn’t be another fight, he wouldn’t listen! He even said that if we needed anything, we should have Yeonju enter the inner city unarmed by herself—what kind of bullshit is that?!”

Baek Sang-ah and Jegal Eun were tearing into the Lord of Luoyang with unified fury.

“The city lord seems to have been thoroughly traumatized.”

At my words, Baek Sang-ah sighed.

“That’s the toned-down version. Up until just yesterday, I heard he’d locked himself in his room and wouldn’t come out at all.”

Jegal Eun added with concern.

“At this rate, the opening of the Black Lotus Union faction might be delayed. I’m really worried.”

“Hmm…”

Hearing Jegal Eun’s concern, I looked at her with a curious gaze.

While I, known as the First Strategist “Black Thunder,” rarely made public appearances, she, as the Second Strategist, was quite different.

She actively showed herself around Luoyang and even started reaching out to both the Evil Overlords of Heaven and the Evil Sect itself under the name of Black Lotus Strategist.

…And just yesterday, she had received responses from the Evil Overlord Gu Yomyeong of the Evil Overlords of Heaven, and from the Tyrant Gam Unbi of the Evil Sect.

With that, Sama Eun, the Black Lotus Strategist, had made a grand name for herself in the demonic world.

It was both ironic and slightly unsettling that this girl, who not long ago was criticizing us, had now become one of the most influential figures in the demonic factions.

As I sorted through my complicated feelings—

Baek Sang-ah looked around and asked.

“Come to think of it, where’s Lady Cheon?”

“Oh, Yura?”

“…Yuuuraaaa?”

For some reason, Baek Sang-ah narrowed her eyes and called out my tone.

Sensing unexplained danger to my life, I quickly corrected my speech.

“Ahem! As for Lady Cheon… she seems to be avoiding me these days.”

“Avoiding you?”

“She wanders around outside, but she doesn’t tell me where exactly she goes. She comes back like clockwork before sunset, so there’s not much I can say about it.”

Truth be told, I hadn’t been paying her much attention lately due to negotiations with the Sword King.

At that moment, Jegal Eun raised her hand.

“Oh, I know about that.”

“Huh? You do?”

“Yes. She’s the Young Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult—there’s no way we should take our eyes off her.”

Jegal Eun grinned slyly and gave me a knowing look.

“Lady Cheon… seems to be frequenting a pleasure house these days.”

“…What?”

“A pleasure house?”

“Yes. A brothel called the House of Pleasure!”

“……”

“……”

While Baek Sang-ah and I were left speechless, Jegal Eun raised one corner of her mouth and pressed on.

“The kids said she grabbed the brothel manager by the collar and was threatening him? Or pressuring him about something.”

“……”

“……”

“Maybe she’s unhappy with her lover? Otherwise, there’s no reason she’d go to a place like that and cause a scene!”

Jegal Eun scanned me up and down with a wicked smile.

“Our First Strategist—is everything functioning properly down there?”

I immediately replied with a straight face.

“…I don’t know what kind of misunderstanding you’re having, but my functions are in perfect working order.”

“Hmm…”

Despite my sincere denial, Jegal Eun still looked unconvinced for some reason.

…This wicked little brat, seriously.

As I glared at her with a frown—

Baek Sang-ah also scowled and spoke.

“Young MasterJin.”

“Yes, Young Lady?”

“You’d better avoid Lady Cheon for a while.”

“……”

“No matter how I think about it, nothing good is going to happen to you.”

Ugh!

Uuuugh!

Her words from a week ago—“I’ll make you pay for this”—echoed through my mind again.

Seriously… I couldn’t help but dread whatever it was she was planning to do to me.

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