Chapter 242: Omen (3)

As my sudden action filled the arena with cheers—

The respected figures of the orthodox sects all stood up in unison and pointed their fingers at me.

“What, what is the meaning of this?!”

“You dare turn this glorious martial tournament into a clown show!”

“A clown show? What nonsense is that?”

I spread my arms wide toward the crowd and shouted.

“The sparring tournament is merely a part of the Namcheon Martial Arts Festival! And what is a martial arts festival supposed to be? Isn’t it obviously a festival for martial artists?!”

“That’s right!”

“Well said!”

“If you invite an audience and ignore their voices, then that’s no martial arts festival at all—just a self-serving show for the few! Am I wrong, fellow martial artists?!”

“He’s got a point!”

“Demonic Heaven Dragon is making a lot of sense!”

The spectators enthusiastically cheered in agreement.

Until now, guests at the martial arts festival were nothing more than extras used to bolster the host’s prestige.

No one had ever drawn them into the event this actively before.

“Hohoho, that young brother of mine is doing something rather amusing.”

At the highest seat, the Sword King chuckled heartily while stroking his beard.

“Alliance Leader! Are you really going to let that demonic cultist run wild?!”

“You must put a stop to this in Namcheon! Our glorious tournament is turning into a circus!”

Their complaints had a point.

For the so-called prestigious sects, nothing was more important than dignity.

And that demonic cultist in the ring was clearly, and deliberately, undermining that dignity.

However—

“He’s not entirely wrong, is he?”

“…What?”

At the Sword King’s indifferent comment, the faces of those nearby turned dumbfounded.

“As long as the audience is enjoying it, it’s fine. The more they’re entertained, the more positively the Namcheon tournament will be remembered.”

“B-but still!”

“What do you think, Jeol?”

The Sword King casually asked Baek Mun-jeol.

The respected figures expected Baek Mun-jeol, who often opposed the Sword King, to push back sharply… but—

“Your words are completely correct, Clan Leader.”

“B-Baek Elder?!”

“W-what in the world is going on…”

Baek Mun-jeol answered politely and quietly, showing not a hint of discontent.

“…”

“…”

The respected elders were appalled at Baek Mun-jeol’s behavior—like a dog with its tail between its legs.

Some “insiders” even questioned him through sound transmission, trying to find out what had happened.

But Baek Mun-jeol didn’t respond to any stares or inquiries.

As they stood speechless, the audience’s cheers only grew louder.

“Three seconds!”

“Come on, he’s from the Tang Clan, at least give it five!”

“One second!”

“We want the One-Second Finger Strike!”

Many shouted different things, but overwhelmingly, the crowd clamored for the One-Second Finger Strike.

I raised my index finger and shouted.

“As expected, many of you wish for the One-Second move. Then this sparring match will end in one second!”

“Ooooooh!”

“Demonic Heaven Dragon! Demonic Heaven Dragon!”

The surrounding cheers reached their peak—

“How ridiculous.”

My opponent for this match, Tang Cheon-ak of the Sichuan Tang Clan, glared at me.

“Just because you defeated the Six Divine Dragons, you think you can treat me, Tang Cheon-ak of the Hundred Poison Hands, as a joke?”

I nodded and replied.

“I do.”

“You bastard!”

Pak!

With a venomous shout, Tang Cheon-ak waved his hand, and a greenish smoke burst out around me.

Within the haze, I spoke calmly.

“So that’s it. You kept quiet all this time to secretly scatter poison?”

At my words, Tang Cheon-ak burst into mad laughter.

“Hahaha! That’s right! It’s hard to use fatal poisons due to the rules, but paralysis powder and airborne toxins are fair game!”

He was so excited that the blood vessels in his eyes were visible.

“One-Second Finger Strike? Try it! I’ll admit your skills far surpass mine, but I’ll make sure you pay dearly for your arrogance in even mentioning that move!”

“I see.”

He was quite the cunning fellow.

He clearly understood the gap in our skills and came with the resolve to give it his all through poison.

‘It’d be better to kill him to avoid future trouble…’

But no matter how much I thought that, it was wiser not to do anything that might turn the crowd against me.

“Take this!”

Tang Cheon-ak flung his wide sleeves, and hundreds of shining needles flew out.

If my inner power had been sealed, I would’ve been in trouble.

But—

Papapapap!

I didn’t even need to enter extreme time dilation. A mere flurry of needles like this—I could catch them all just with my vision alone.

“…Huh?”

Papapapapap!

With the sound of air popping, a bunch of the needles he threw were suddenly caught in my hand.

I clicked my tongue at Tang Cheon-ak.

“Your hidden weapon technique lacks finesse. Your needles are scattering in all the wrong directions.”

If he’d been even a bit more precise, I would’ve caught every last one.

“Y-you, your internal energy?!”

Looking at the shocked Tang Cheon-ak, I replied wryly.

“I take poison preparation very seriously.”

It wasn’t me who had suffered, but someone close to me had been hurt badly.

“Now then, let’s finish this.”

Thwack!

With a lightning-fast kick, I struck him square in the abdomen.

“Guh-eek!”

The shock that his poison had failed rendered Tang Cheon-ak completely unable to respond, and he was flung straight out of the sparring arena without resistance.

“Waaaah!”

“One-Second Finger Strike!”

“It really was the One-Second Finger Strike!”

I waved my hand toward the cheering spectators in acknowledgment.

In response, the chanting of my name grew even louder.

Scanning across the entrance area, I shouted,

“Other late-stage Second-rate Martial Artists should be able to do it too! Try asking the ones you support nicely!”

“Ooooooh!”

“This is going to be fun!”

Immediately, I could sense disbelief rising from within the waiting room.

The second round of the sparring tournament—

Demonic Heaven Dragon, Jin Yeomyung, had just poisoned the martial arts festival.

“You’re making quite the flashy mess, aren’t you?”

In the topmost office of Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion, Hao Sect Leader, the White-Faced Scholar, said to me.

“Thanks to you, the public perception of Demonic Heaven Dragon is very favorable. If you can keep drawing the support of the crowd, it could significantly aid your ‘escape’.”

“…You knew?”

“I’m more surprised, honestly. I was moving quite discreetly, but you figured it out just by instinct.”

The White-Faced Scholar pulled out several letters from his robes and laid them out before me.

Each letter had a peculiar feature—they all included numbers.

“The Namgung Clan. From Hefei in Anhui Province, a force of 800 martial artists has departed.”

Hefei, aside from Nanchang where their main house was located, was home to the Namgung Clan’s largest concentration of power.

“Well, up to this point, it could be seen as a reinforcement move by the Namgung Clan after the ambush they suffered…”

Rustle—

His hand moved to the next letter.

“The Pang Clan in Hebei. From their Nanjing branch, around 500 martial artists are mobilizing.”

Rustle, rustle—

Letters flipped busily.

“The Jegal Clan likewise has a similar-sized force leaving Wuhuan. The Hwangbo Clan, Byeok Clan, Bukgung Clan, and Gon Clan strongholds are reportedly doing the same.”

Tch.

“And finally…”

The White-Faced Scholar handed over three letters, their handwriting slightly rushed.

“Zhongnan, Mount Hua, and the Gongdong Sect are each mobilizing over a thousand troops from both their main sects and branch houses.”

Impressive.

“If you add all that up, we’re looking at a military force easily exceeding ten thousand.”

These aren’t just thugs. Over ten thousand elite martial artists.

Ten prestigious sects whose names alone command respect. And if smaller nearby sects rally to them, it wouldn’t be impossible for tens of thousands to gather in no time.

“Effectively, we’re surrounded on all sides except the south.”

“That’s right.”

I calmly mapped out the enemy positions in my mind.

“Huh? You don’t look too flustered.”

“They won’t all arrive at once anyway.”

More importantly, assuming those forces coordinate well would be too pessimistic.

‘If that many are mobilized, the Cult will respond.’

Even if they’re burdened with the Heavenly Reverence Hwan Clan issue, if the Young Cult Leader Cheon Yura is in danger, they’ll dispatch forces without hesitation.

‘So if there’s a route for escape, it’s through Sichuan.’

Heading straight for Luoyang, where the Black Lotus main sect is located, might seem wise—but after that, I’d have to push through Mount Hua and Zhongnan, who control Shaanxi.

I ran my finger across the map on the table, thinking.

‘If we can make use of the treacherous terrain of Bashu, we can cross into Gansu in one sweep.’

The problem was, the enemy was likely aware of that route too.

‘Just one more—if I can secure one more allied force…’

At that moment, the White-Faced Scholar asked with a grin,

“So how do you plan to escape?”

“I’ll need to rely on the Hao Sect’s help as much as possible.”

“That alone won’t be nearly enough. You know that, don’t you?”

I accepted that point without protest.

“You’re right. If only I had another useful card to play, but things don’t always go the way you want.”

The White-Faced Scholar widened his eyes.

“…You’re revealing your hand far too easily. Isn’t it risky to sound so vulnerable to an ally who could betray you at any time?”

I lightly tapped the mask on his face and chuckled.

“If you didn’t have a solution already, you wouldn’t be saying this.”

“……”

After a brief silence, he sighed and shrugged his shoulders.

“Man, I can’t keep up with you.”

From his robe, he pulled out a new, neatly folded letter.

“This just came in from the Wudang Sect.”

The unsettling stirrings across the Central Plains, as expected, had quickly been detected by the Heavenly Demon Cult’s information network.

“Nanchang, huh… Looks like they’re really out to pick a fight.”

***

Heavenly Demon Hall, the main council chamber.

Within the chamber, where Elders and other high-ranking members of the Five Great Halls and Nine Demon Halls were gathered, the Iron-Blooded Demonic Warlord, Pa Uryang, scowled and ground his teeth.

He turned toward the Cult Leader seated in the honored seat.

“Hey, Cult Leader. I know internal management is important and all, but you can’t just sit back and let this go, right?”

Some frowned at the Iron-Blooded Warlord’s rude tone, but no one stopped him.

There weren’t many people present who outranked him anyway.

And everyone agreed with what he’d said.

“Hmph, you’re right.”

From the curtained seat of honor, the Cult Leader responded.

Gone was the heavy, mature tone from before.

Instead, a youthful voice, like that of a young man, echoed through the Heavenly Demon Hall.

The Cult Leader called someone by name.

“Sword Demon.”

“I’m listening.”

The Elder responded—Sword Demon, Ma Seong-hwan.

“I’ll grant you five of the Thirty-Four Demon Squads. How far can you go with that?”

If he combined those five squads with the Blood Dragon Demonic Clan forces under his command…

The Sword Demon responded in a gruff voice.

“That’s excessive force. Should I just annihilate Mount Hua and Zhongnan?”

“……”

No one objected or said it was impossible.

The Cult Leader let out a hearty laugh.

“Hahaha, that wouldn’t be a bad option either, but they probably won’t head that way. More importantly, there’s no need to provoke the orthodox sects and stir up vigilance right now.”

“Then where?”

“Send them to the Jinryeong Mountains. If I know that young brother of mine, he’ll definitely aim for that route.”

The Cult Leader, astonishingly, had read Jin Yeomyung’s thoughts almost perfectly.

“Kill anyone who comes swarming into that area.”

At those words, the Sword Demon’s lips curled into a smirk.

“That sounds good to me.”

“I’ll assign two more elders to you. Will Blood Flow Spear and Hell Crossing Blade suffice?”

A spear user and a blade user.

The Sword Demon clicked his tongue briefly at that thought.

“If we had a swordsman, I’d bring him too, but none of the elders are really proficient with a sword… Still, I’ll gladly accept.”

“…Sword-obsessed bastard.”

The Iron-Blooded Demonic Warlord, envious of the Sword Demon’s expedition, tried to throw a jab, but was promptly blocked by the Great Elder Cheon Yeongha.

“Watch your tongue. At your age, act like it.”

“Tch!”

The Iron-Blooded Warlord turned his head away in silence.

And the Cult Leader issued his final command.

“Eliminate anyone who gets in the way and bring back the Young Cult Leader.”

“By your command.”

The Sword Demon and the two elders named with him received the order in unison.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep