Chapter 235: United Front (1)

“Ah….”

Cheon Yura let out a soft moan.

In truth, she never cared much about a man’s appearance.

What mattered was a sincere heart, and above all, passion and talent for martial arts.

If it was someone like Jin Yeomyung, a man willing to dedicate everything for her…

She would have given him her love, whether he was a hunchback or looked like an old man.

But—

Thump! Thump!

For the first time, Cheon Yura realized that just looking at someone could make her heart race violently.

—Hey, get a grip.

Twitch!

—He really looks like a different person. If only he dressed like that normally.

—Ahem! Not bad to look at, honestly.

Only after hearing Baek Sang-ah’s grumbling did Cheon Yura cough and snap back to her senses.

But the moment she regained her composure and looked at the arena again…

“Uuuuugh!”

“……”

She failed to notice even Baek Sang-ah’s bitter expression beside her, too captivated by Jin Yeomyung in his black long robe.

“She’s seriously gone off the deep end…”

A click of the tongue echoed from behind Baek Sang-ah’s mask.

“Waaaaah!”

“That’s the Heavenly Demon Cult’s noble?!”

With cheers erupting around me, I could feel the surprised gazes from the high seats.

‘The reaction’s not bad at all.’

I smiled to myself in satisfaction.

Unlike the character Jin Myeong, the ‘Demonic Heaven Dragon’ Jin Yeomyung was portrayed as a classic, arrogant cultist looking down upon the world.

To bring that character to life, the first thing I had to get right was the appearance.

My usual plain attire would never convey that kind of arrogance.

“I am Ja Cheongun, one of the Seven Plum Blossom Dragons of Mount Hua! It is an honor to witness the renowned prowess of the Heavenly Demon Cult’s Six Great Clans!”

One of Mount Hua’s Seven Plum Blossom Dragons shouted respectfully while offering a martial greeting.

I held back a groan at his demeanor.

‘Ugh, I actually feel a little guilty.’

That level of self-introduction was fairly polite and measured.

‘If only he had Peng Unyeong’s kind of personality, I could beat him up without guilt…’

But there was no helping it.

I cleared my throat and shouted arrogantly.

“A mongrel of Mount Hua dares to stand before me? The world must be truly upside down.”

“W-What did you say?!”

“Someone like you isn’t even worth drawing my sword for. Come—I’ll humor you a little.”

Crack! Craaack!

Ja Cheongun gritted his teeth and drew his sword violently.

“Just as expected from a demonic cultist! Your arrogance knows no bounds! Are all the great clans of the cult as arrogant as you?!”

…I mean, I’d like to deny that, but…

It’s sadly not far from the truth, so I can’t even argue.

After all, I based this behavior on how my younger brother Jin Yeowoon acted in his past life.

“I’ll fix that arrogant attitude of yours!”

Fwoooosh!

A soft pink sword qi flared brilliantly on his blade.

It was clearly one of the later techniques from the famed Twenty-Four Plum Blossom Sword Art of Mount Hua, where the plum blossom buds begin to bloom in earnest.

With a loud shout, Ja Cheongun charged forward.

“Hrrraaaah! Falling Plum Blossoms like Rain!”

From his sword burst over ten bundles of plum blossom-colored sword qi.

Gasps of admiration erupted from the crowd immediately.

“Ahhh, that’s a technique worthy of one of the Six Divine Dragons!”

“At this level, he’s almost at the master level!”

For direct disciples of the Nine Great Sects, the amount of internal energy was on another level, even within the same martial rank.

Even at first-rate level, they could unleash sword qi in bundles like that!

Boom!

The flurry of sword qi, filled with the hue of plum blossoms, swept across the field.

A section of the arena shattered instantly, dust billowing into the air.

Though it lasted only a moment, his martial prowess clearly surpassed that of Peng Unyeong, who was also one of the Six Divine Dragons.

“You now understand the might of Mount Hua’s martial arts, you—huh?”

Ja Cheongun, who had shouted triumphantly after giving his all in that attack, froze.

“W-What the…?”

Seeing me still standing right where I was, Ja Cheongun faltered, visibly confused.

Clicking my tongue, I dusted off the cloak.

“Black clothes really make dust show up easily, huh.”

White martial attire really is the best, seriously.

“Y-You! What kind of sorcery did you use?!”

His voice trembled with panic.

He must have expected me to dodge, block, or at least counterattack.

He never imagined I’d do nothing at all.

‘Well, technically, it wasn’t nothing.’

Since not even a speck of dust landed on my clothes, it was easy for him to misunderstand.

“If it wasn’t sorcery… d-don’t tell me… Body Protection Qi? Did you block my sword qi with that?!”

Body Protection Qi—something only those at the master level could use.

But even that shouldn’t be able to block the sword qi of a first-rate martial artist.

There was only one way that could happen.

“E-Extreme Demon? No, no way. That kind of unrealistic thing can’t be possible!”

Ja Cheongun, seemingly catching on to part of the truth, screamed in near panic.

‘Well, he’s right.’

The technique I used was a light application of Shura Body.

Of course, to Ja Cheongun, whether it was Body Protection Qi or Shura Body, it didn’t matter once his ultimate attack was blocked.

“Your eye for detail is commendable… but is that really all the Plum Blossom Sword Art of Mount Hua can offer?”

Flinch!

I expected him to get angry, but Ja Cheongun only trembled and took a step back.

I gave him a solemn warning.

“If you’ve got nothing else to show, get lost. I don’t have time to waste on children.”

‘…Sorry.’

Thud!

“W-What in the world…!”

A sigh finally burst out from the high seat.

With just one sentence from me, Ja Cheongun slumped down and lowered his head!

“……”

“……”

“V-Victor: Demonic Heaven Dragon Jin Yeomyung!”

A single second of confrontation.

I had claimed victory over one of the Six Divine Dragons without making a single move.

Even I hadn’t expected the audience to go this silent over such an absurd result.

I gave a slight shiver as I recalled Ja Cheongun’s lifeless eyes.

If he had been as mediocre as Peng Unyeong, he might have flailed in resistance. But Ja Cheongun had just enough talent to glimpse the heavens, and that made him break faster.

‘Tch! Looks like his spirit really snapped. I hope he can recover… He is a candidate for Mount Hua’s next sect leader, after all.’

I wasn’t someone who extended mercy to enemies.

But I wasn’t as devoid of guilt as some of my fellow cultists, either.

Since I had to act like a textbook demonic cultist, I just behaved and spoke accordingly.

The problem was… maybe I’d played the part too well. It ended up warping someone’s entire life.

‘Eh! If he can’t overcome it, that’s his fate. They don’t call the martial world heartless for nothing.’

I quickly brushed away the guilt.

‘Two matches from now, it’s First Strategist Black Thunder’s turn. Wearing a mask this time should make things easier.’

I let out a soft sigh and turned to return to the waiting room when—

‘Hm?’

I sensed someone’s presence from the corridor.

“You’re at least capable of running your mouth in front of me, I see.”

“…You.”

A familiar but unwelcome presence.

The future King of Northern Sword Fortress, Ak Cheon-ho.

For now, he was still known as Baek Cheon-ho.

“What do you want? Aren’t you supposed to go last?”

Leaning casually against the wall, Baek Cheon-ho stepped toward me.

“I was in a foul mood, but I just happened to see something entertaining. That crimson aura that flared around you for a moment—must be one of the Heavenly Demon Cult’s secret techniques, right?”

As expected of someone with the Heavenly Martial Body, he seemed to have analyzed the Shura Body technique’s activation process.

“I’m not obligated to answer that.”

Not in the mood to entertain him, I tried to pass by.

That is, until he said—

“Oh, right. About that ugly girl they call the Young Cult Leader.”

“……”

Screw plans—should I just kill him right here?

I seriously considered whether or not to draw my sword.

“I think I saw someone like her in a brothel somewhere. Ugly as sin.”

What the hell did he just say?

“I heard she was a beauty, so I rushed in thinking I’d bed her. But the moment I saw her face, I just lost all interest.”

Slowly, I turned and locked eyes with Baek Cheon-ho.

If I showed even the slightest emotional reaction now, I’d be playing right into his hands.

“What’s your game?”

“Who knows? What do you think it is?”

Sneer!

He bared his teeth in a grin.

Though he had bizarre tastes—only liking busty women with sleepy eyes—he wasn’t dumb enough to spout things like this without a reason.

Then he opened his mouth again.

“Political power struggles are such a pain, aren’t they?”

“……?”

“Well, you see, he’s both my sponsor and foster father. If he dies too easily, that puts me in a bind, too.”

Sponsor and foster father.

Death and circumstances.

“Is Baek Mun-jeol in some kind of trouble?”

“Eh, figure that out yourself.”

Baek Cheon-ho dodged the question with a shrug.

“Aren’t you curious? About where I saw that woman?”

I kept my tone as calm as possible and replied.

“Namgung Clan, obviously.”

“What, you’ve already figured that out?”

Baek Cheon-ho gave a deflated shrug.

But only for a moment.

His eyes narrowed sharply as he stared at me.

“But you don’t know where in the Namgung Clan, do you?”

Twitch!

“It’s only a matter of time.”

“If it were me, I’d make sure that ‘matter of time’ turned into a real problem.”

“So what? What are you trying to say?”

“……”

“……”

Baek Cheon-ho and I stood there, silently staring each other down.

We’d both shown a bit of our hands.

My instincts were screaming at me.

If I gave ground here, I’d never find Sa Biyeon again.

The silent battle of wills continued until—

“Tch.”

Baek Cheon-ho clicked his tongue and backed off.

“You don’t let anyone win, huh? Are all cult bastards like that?”

“……”

“What I want is simple. In exchange for information about the kidnapped hostage, I want your cooperation.”

“Cooperation?”

“I can assure you it’s not something that would be a loss for you.”

A twisted smile formed at the corner of Baek Cheon-ho’s mouth.

“I need help assassinating some of the opposition faction leaders within the main branch. All bigwigs.”

What? Assassination?

That’s exactly what I’ve been planning myself right now.

“If I don’t want my tracks exposed, I’ll need traces of demonic arts left behind. And since your goal is just to rescue the hostage… it shouldn’t matter to you, right?”

So, in short, he was offering to give me the exact location of Cheon Yujeong and Sa Biyeon in exchange for us taking the fall?

If I could form an alliance with Baek Cheon-ho here, the difficulty of my current plan would decrease significantly.

However—

I scoffed and sneered at Baek Cheon-ho.

“Ridiculous. Are you telling us to commit suicide?”

“……”

“If you’re going to make a proposal, at least make it a realistic one. If we did something like that, we’d have to break through righteous sects coming at us from thousands of li away. Do you actually think that’s possible?”

The plan I had in motion was only viable because of the Sword King’s cooperation.

If it weren’t for that, I wouldn’t have even dreamed of coming this far.

“Alright, then let’s change the conditions.”

Apparently realizing the first suggestion was unreasonable, he immediately altered the terms.

“I’ll limit the targets to just a few elders of the Namgung Clan. That alone should give enough breathing room, don’t you think?”

‘Is this his real offer now?’

Maybe he was getting desperate—his information was starting to come out more specific.

“Some rats from the Namgung Clan have violated the accord and abandoned their sponsor, Ninth Heavenly Lord, to side with Fourth Heavenly Lord. Because of that, Lord Ninth Heavenly Lord is furious right now.”

‘Fourth Heavenly Lord!’

The very person my master had warned me about!

Someone ranked higher than even Gwan Hyun—that meant his strength must be overwhelming.

“Assassination, huh? Now that’s an interesting conversation.”

“…!”

“…!!”

Baek Cheon-ho and I both snapped our heads around at the same time.

As for Baek Cheon-ho, fine. But for someone to approach so close without even triggering my senses—this was no trivial matter.

‘Who is it? Don’t tell me… one of the Ten Heavenly Lords?!’

Then, stepping out from the shroud of shadows—

Was a young girl with a bizarre aura, puffing on a long smoking pipe.

“May I join this conversation as well?”

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