Chapter 230: Midnight Visitor (1)

It was certainly no ordinary event if Baeksa had taken down one of the Righteous Faction’s Six Dragons.

Whether it had been a surprise attack or not didn’t matter.

Still, the fact that such a thing happened right after I made a resolution was quite absurd.

“F-First, let’s hear what happened.”

“Ah, I’ll explain!”

Encouraged by the eldest brother’s performance, Jeoksa raised his hand and volunteered to explain.

“So, um….”

Baeksa hadn’t originally planned to cause such a commotion.

In fact, even if someone tried to provoke him, he had intended to avoid the situation reasonably.

But while they might’ve wanted peace, the same couldn’t be said for others.

Eager to witness the power and true nature of the Heavenly Demon Cult that had resurfaced after decades, not just the younger generation but even the elders were growing restless.

There was a reason Cheon Yura had called the Three Attendant the face of the Heavenly Demon Cult.

Unexpectedly, the first to strike up a conversation with Three Attendant hadn’t been the Righteous Faction, but martial artists from the Evil Path Sect’s.

“Nice to meet you. I am Mukhon of the Evil Path Sect.”

“I’ve heard much about Mukseonggi.”

Baeksa was quite surprised inside, but he maintained a calm expression as much as possible while responding.

They were no longer the ones who had rolled around in the back alleys of Miok Fortress.

No longer were they pushed around like expendables by heirs of mediocre clans.

Baeksa repeated those thoughts to himself relentlessly, desperately trying to stay calm.

Mukseonggi’s direct disciple, Mukhon, scanned Baeksa and let out a curious sound.

“Your presence isn’t bad. Are you one of the Six Demonic Dragons?”

“No, I am not.”

Baeksa shook his head with a firm expression.

They didn’t dare compare themselves to such shining stars.

“…You’re not?”

Yet Mukhon’s expression grew increasingly strange.

“Someone in his early twenties who has already surpassed First-rate… and yet isn’t even one of the Six Demonic Dragons? Are you mocking me?”

The rank of First-rate was symbolic.

To surpass First-rate at such a young age meant one could be recognized as one of the leading future masters of Murim.

Baeksa puffed up his chest and declared.

“I am Baeksa, the left arm of Jin Yeomyung, the leader of the Six Demonic Dragons and the Demonic Heavenly Dragon!”

Pride filled Baeksa’s face as he spoke those words.

But before Mukhon could respond—

“What the hell, not even one of the Six Demonic Dragons, just a lackey showing up here?”

Other voices reacted from a distance, having overheard Baeksa’s proclamation.

They were from the Righteous Faction — more precisely, heirs from the noble families.

Currently, four main groups occupied Namcheon Baekga.

One was the Sect Alliance centered around the old sects. Another was the Noble Clan Alliance focused around the Five Great Families.

The third was the Evil Path Sect, and the last was the Heavenly Demon Cult.

Peng Yunho was one of the Six Dragons of the Righteous Faction and stood at the top of the Five Great Families’ younger generation alongside Namgung Cheong, the Sword Dragon.

“Peng Yunho…”

Mukhon frowned faintly.

Peng Yunho approached smugly with a few followers and scanned Baeksa up and down before snorting in ridicule.

“Your body’s in decent shape, but you reek of cheapness all over. Is that typical of someone from the so-called Demonic Dragon Pavilion?”

“No. My brothers and I are from Thousand-Day Pass.”

At that, mocking sneers curled across the lips of Peng Yunho and the other noble heirs.

“Kek! Kehahaha… What? Thousand-Day Pass?!”

“……”

“Oh my. Pardon my rudeness. Who would’ve thought worthless trash without qualifications would crawl into a place like this.”

Baeksa’s expression hardened, as did the face of San Dojeon who had been watching silently from behind.

San Dojeon was just about to step in—

–“Hold.”

A voice transmission halted his action.

‘…Young Cult Leader?’

The voice belonged to Cheon Yura.

–“If someone claiming to be the left arm of that man falters against trash like them, what good is he?”

‘…That’s—’

–“This is perfect. A chance to prove your worth, rising from a lowly background.”

In truth, Cheon Yura didn’t fully approve of the Three Attendant.

She had only kept silent because Jin Yeomyung liked them.

No matter how cherished they were by Bu Ilhwa, if they were to serve the Heavenly Demon Pavilion’s rightful successor, they should’ve been more thoroughly vetted.

Now, that opportunity for testing had presented itself.

–“I do like that tenacity of yours, enduring my training to the end. Let’s see what you can do.”

San Dojeon nodded.

“Get lost now. Unless you want to taste my blade.”

Peng Yunho tapped Baeksa’s shoulder with his sword’s sheath.

At that moment—

“You’d better not underestimate him.”

An unexpected figure came to Baeksa’s defense.

Peng Yunho frowned and glared toward Baeksa’s side.

“Mukhon, what are you doing?”

Mukseonggi’s disciple, Mukhon, replied indifferently.

“Exactly what I said. This Baeksa fellow is strong enough to stand on equal footing with you.”

“What?!”

Peng Yunho’s entire body emitted a murderous aura at the unthinkable insult.

Was this fool saying someone who wasn’t even one of the Six Demonic Dragons could match him, one of the Six Divine Dragons of the Righteous Faction?

Mukhon shrugged.

“Just speaking the truth.”

“I don’t believe it!”

Furious, Peng Yunho shouted as he glared at Baeksa.

“Draw your sword! I’ll show everyone just how wrong he is!”

Baeksa clicked his tongue inwardly and glanced at Mukhon.

“You’ve got quite the devious streak for someone with such a straightforward face.”

He had seemed friendly at first but clearly had ulterior motives.

‘So this is the Evil Path Sect, after all.’

Then he, too, had to show what the Demonic Path was made of.

“I’ll smash you, and make your so-called master kneel before me!”

They were not ones to tolerate insults to their master.

But even so, there had to be a certain level for them to bother getting angry.

After all, who would get mad at a chick chirping?

“…With that level of skill?”

At that moment, not only Baeksa, but also Jeoksa and Heuksa behind him couldn’t help but break into mocking smiles.

“…$%^%!”

Just then—

Peng Yunho let out an unintelligible shriek and charged forward.

Right before his sword left its sheath, Baeksa’s hand moved.

“…Oh?”

A violent demonic energy surged around Baeksa’s hand.

Mukhon’s eyes gleamed with interest as he witnessed it.

‘He’s mastered a pretty decent demonic cultivation technique.’

Peng Yunho had both underestimated his opponent’s status and lost his composure, ruining the finesse of his sword technique.

On the other hand, Baeksa remained cold and observant of his opponent until the very end.

‘Peng Yunho’s going to suffer!’

Mukhon’s prediction was spot-on.

Even if Peng Clan’s “Five Tiger Saber Arts” were considered supreme, Baeksa’s martial arts seemed just as formidable.

Before Peng Yunho’s saber could even fully arc—

Baeksa thrust out his fist.

Thud!

In that single instant—

Peng Yunho’s jaw was smashed sideways.

Clang!

“…And that’s what happened!”

After hearing Jeoksa’s highly biased retelling of events—

I came to a rather dumbfounded conclusion.

“So it wasn’t even a surprise attack?”

“That’s right!”

Trying to pass off being outsped as a sneak attack—Righteous Faction fools and their boundless pride.

“Ggh! Grrkkk!”

Having taken a direct blow from Baeksa, Peng Yunho staggered, unable to steady himself.

“H-How dare you… strike me, a direct descendant of the Great Peng Clan…!”

Barely managing to hold onto his sword and regain his senses, Peng Yunho roared like a lion.

“I’ll kill you!”

However, his wish would not come true.

“What’s all this commotion?!”

Finally, alerted to the chaos, a swarm of warriors from Namcheon Baekga arrived on the scene.

“It was made clear: no private gatherings or duels are allowed until the Martial Assembly begins! Do you all take the House’s orders so lightly?!”

As the warriors of Namcheon, hosts of this event, chastised them sternly, the spectators began coughing awkwardly and slowly dispersed.

Then, I had a brilliant idea and shouted to the crowd around me.

“Proud warriors of Murim! I, Jin Yeomyung of the Heavenly Demon Cult, the Demonic Heavenly Dragon, have something to say!”

“Huh?”

“What’s this now?”

“W-What is he doing?!”

The warriors of Namcheon tried to rush in to stop me.

But—

“Since it’s come to this, why not hear him out?”

“Y-Young Cult Leader?!”

When Cheon Yura stood in their way, the warriors froze, caught in a dilemma.

Grateful to her in my heart, I raised my voice even louder.

“If we let this matter end like this, ridiculous rumors will spread that my subordinate, the White Demonic Dragon Baeksa, ambushed the Peng Clan’s heir!”

“W-White Demonic Dragon?”

“Was there a young warrior with such a title?”

“M-Master?!”

Baeksa, flustered and embarrassed, didn’t know what to do, but I calmly raised my hand and silenced him.

“So why don’t we do this?”

“What are you proposing?”

One brave soul responded to me.

I grinned and shouted toward him.

“A rematch!”

“……!!”

“Let them face each other again at the Namcheon Martial Tournament! Fair and square! So that no one can raise a single objection!”

“Hmm… that’s…”

Many around wore hesitant expressions.

“I understand your concerns! The tournament is full of variables! Naturally, the match-up lottery plays a huge role in determining the outcome!”

“Then what exactly are you suggesting?”

Smiling slyly inside, I shouted confidently.

“Simple! They’ll face each other one-on-one in the very first round of preliminaries!”

“…?!”

“T-That would be match-fixing…”

“It’s not fixing! We’re announcing it publicly and clearly beforehand! Don’t you all want to see it? The honor of the Six Dragons restored! And the power of our cult displayed!”

And to seal the deal, I declared:

“Furthermore, regardless of the outcome, Baeksa, the White Demonic Dragon, will not compete in any other preliminary matches! He will only fight Radiant Cloud Blade Dragon and forfeit the rest!”

“Whoa!”

With that, no one could complain anymore.

“Y-You bastard!”

Peng Yunho ground his teeth and clenched his fists.

This was a no-win situation — even if he won, he gained nothing!

But he had no choice.

Too many had seen him get smashed to the ground already. If he wanted to restore his honor, he had to go through with it.

Even if Namcheon Baekga were to reject the proposal!

“Y-Young Master! You can’t just disrupt our host’s event like this!”

But just then—

“Pwahaha! Now that’s an interesting proposal!”

A thunderous voice, infused with immense internal energy, echoed in all directions.

“I, Baek Dogyung, Head of Namcheon, accept your proposal!”

“N-Namcheon Sword King?!”

“It’s the Leader of the Justice Alliance!”

No one knew when he had returned, but the Sword King entered the arena, laughing heartily!

And following behind him was Baek Mun-jeol, the Severing Sword, wearing a sour expression like he’d bitten into something rotten.

“What do you say? If you all have no objections, I’d like to host this duel under my name.”

With nothing to lose, Baeksa was the first to respond.

“It would be the highest honor.”

“…I accept.”

Peng Yunho had no choice but to accept it in the end.

Normally, he would have needed to consult with the elders of his clan.

But above all, if he backed out of something involving the Demonic Cult, the entire world would mock the Peng Clan!

“It’s been decided. The glorious opening match of the Southern Martial Tournament.”

At the mention of “opening match,” Peng Yunho’s expression twisted even further.

Once the showdown between the Peng Clan and the Demonic Cult was confirmed as the opening match, public reaction exploded.

For the noble families, it was an unsatisfying and awkward situation, but for the old sects and the Evil Path Sect, it became an event so thrilling they couldn’t tear themselves away — as if they couldn’t even let go of the crackers in their hands.

‘So much for moving quietly. Since things have turned out this way, I might as well blow it up even bigger.’

Back at the lodging, I let out a long sigh and picked up a brush to review my next steps.

And just then—

“You were quite impressive. You seem very practiced in handling the public.”

“…!”

A voice I hadn’t expected at all came from inside the room.

‘He slipped past my senses?’

I slowly lowered my brush and reached toward my sword’s scabbard.

“Relax. I didn’t come here to fight.”

Swish!

Suddenly, space itself stretched open, and from it appeared a man in a black mask.

‘A formation!’

It wasn’t stealth — it was a formation technique.

That explained why I hadn’t sensed him at all.

The masked man who suddenly appeared spoke something completely unexpected.

“I’ve come to deliver the Supreme One’s message to you.”

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