Chapter 46: Real Combat (1)

The Jade Green Heavenly Net Divine Sword.

Alongside Shaolin’s Jade Green Buddha Palm, it was one of the two most famous green-colored divine weapons.

If that really was the Jade Green Heavenly Net Divine Sword, then it made sense why they were so desperate to kill Baek Sang-ah.

And also…

‘No wonder the Sword King was so easily dethroned in my past life after losing that divine object.’

Who would ever follow a Lord who had lost such a sacred item?

Even if people were ultimately more important than sacred weapons, this was an issue of trust before anything else.

‘I never imagined something that important would be circulating inside the cult at this point in time!’

Well, even so…

“Why did the Orthodox Alliance Lord entrust that sword to you?”

“As I’ve already told you, my grandfather is in a dire situation right now.”

“Even so, what kind of Lord would smuggle out a divine weapon to the Demonic Cult?”

Baek Sang-ah let out a self-mocking chuckle and lowered her head.

“Because right now, the Demonic Cult might actually be the better option.”

She continued.

“According to my grandfather, more than half of the Orthodox Alliance has been overtaken by an unknown group. What’s worse is that it’s not just the Orthodox Alliance—this situation stretches across the entire Nine Great Sects.”

“……!”

“My grandfather believes the root of it lies in the Wudang Sect… and that there is a movement to crown the current Wudang Sect Leader, the Tai Chi Sword Sovereign Gwan Hyun-jin, as the new Alliance Lord.”

In that instant—

My mind felt as though it had gone completely cold.

Sword Supreme Sage Gwan Hyun-jin. Or rather, is he being called the Tai Chi Sword Sovereign currently?

He was set to become the first man in the Orthodox Faction’s history to be hailed as a great hero for eradicating the Demonic Path.

And…

He was the one who had driven his sword into the heart of Heartless Demonic Empress, Cheon Yura.

‘Don’t tell me… him too?’

From the brief conversation I overheard between him and Han Mubaek back then, there hadn’t seemed to be any connection. But I couldn’t conclude anything from just a couple of exchanges.

Especially considering that the ones presumed to be part of the Heaven-Defying Society were backing Gwan Hyun-jin, the suspicion only deepened.

The mere thought of it sent rage surging to the top of my head. My hands and feet trembled.

“Y-Young Master?”

Baek Sang-ah looked at me in alarm.

“Huu!”

Regaining my composure, I shut my eyes and let out a long breath.

“Just one question. Please answer me honestly.”

“P-please go ahead.”

“Is the Southern Sword King simply trying to create a pretext to drag our cult into the Orthodox Faction’s internal power struggles?”

On the surface, this looked like nothing more than a power play between factions of the Orthodox side.

Even if someone in the Namcheon Baek Clan had gone mad and involved Evil Overlords of Heaven, that could be explained away.

“You might be right, Young Master. However…”

Instead of being flustered, Baek Sang-ah calmly met my gaze.

“If this really were just an internal conflict within the Orthodox Faction, as you say, would they go so far as to send assassins after someone like me, hiding deep in the heart of Ten Thousand Mountain?”

At her words, the Pavilion Master of the Thousand-Day Pass, who had remained silent until now, slowly nodded his head.

Her argument gained more weight.

“This isn’t merely an Orthodox matter. Forces from the Unorthodox side are involved too. And perhaps even someone from the Heavenly Demon Cult may be tied into this.”

Baek Sang-ah brought the tips of her index fingers and thumbs together to form a triangle.

“And there must be some person, or some force, that connects all three of these factions.”

Even I, who knew the name Heaven-Defying Society, wasn’t fully convinced yet—but Baek Sang-ah’s eyes shone with unwavering certainty.

“We haven’t even grasped the tail, let alone the thread, but they do exist. I’m sure of it.”

The Pavilion Master added his voice.

“I believe one of the Six Great Demonic Clans is among them.”

“…….”

I knew.

I knew exactly who the traitor among the Six was.

But I couldn’t say it so easily.

Not only had their betrayal not been confirmed yet, they were still operating in the shadows. If I made a reckless move, it’d only stir up unnecessary panic and potentially invite a devastating backlash upon the cult.

‘And thinking that those Six are the whole of it would be a grave mistake. More importantly…’

The question was whether I could trust the Pavilion Master in front of me.

If he turned out to be a double agent for the Heaven-Defying Society, then everything would be over before it even began.

‘Even if I wanted to believe in him, I can’t let my guard down in a place where mass extermination is a real possibility. Unless I have a solid reason to trust him, I can’t share any information with the Pavilion Master.’

If there was one trustworthy element here, it was the fact that the Cult Leader, the Heavenly Demon himself, Cheon Taejong, had trusted the Pavilion Master enough to reveal Baek Sang-ah’s existence to him.

‘Though honestly, that man too…’

Sure, he was the Heavenly Demon, so he could be trusted to an extent—but the Heavenly Thunder Corps he had established had made a mess of the cult’s internal affairs, so I couldn’t help but question his judgment.

“If there is a traitor within our cult, there are very few people I’d truly be able to trust.”

“And I’m one of them?”

“That’s right. As a proud disciple of the Heavenly Demon Cult, I firmly believe you won’t turn your back on us in this crisis.”

I tilted my head slightly and asked,

“What if I do turn my back?”

“…….”

“…….”

Apparently not expecting me to say that, both Baek Sang-ah and the Pavilion Master blinked in surprise.

Then, just as a flush of anger rose to the Pavilion Master’s face—

“Hahaha, of course I’m joking. If there really is a traitor in our cult, shouldn’t we be the first to root them out?”

“R-right.”

Barely managing to calm himself, the Pavilion Master forced a smile.

“But I can tell you for certain—the Clan Leader will not make a move, traitor or not.”

The Pavilion Master’s expression hardened.

“Hrmm!”

“Well, if there were irrefutable proof and the traitor’s identity among the Six Clans was made public, then he might personally step forward to sever their heads. But otherwise, you’d best abandon any hope of cooperation from the Demonic Heaven’s Jin Clan.”

I followed up with the critical blow.

“There’s no profit in it.”

Jin Gun-ak was filled with ambition to make the Demonic Heaven’s Jin Clan the strongest of the Six Clans.

If he involved himself in something like this, all he’d gain would be honor—and in reality, it would only deplete his clan’s power.

And besides, there was another reason I deliberately mentioned “profit” in front of my father.

‘Give me something in return, too.’

No matter what, I wasn’t going to do this for free.

No matter how much people tried to throw around words like justice or righteousness, I was fundamentally Demonic. And the Demonic never followed the path of chivalry.

The Heaven-Defying Society, the bastards who ruined my life and Cheon Yura’s, were already on my list to deal with. But this time, the incident involved none other than the granddaughter of the Murim Alliance Lord.

The Pavilion Master of the Thousand-Day Pass asked,

“What is it that you want?”

“What I want, you ask. Is that question coming from you as the Pavilion Master, the Iron-Blooded Demonic Warlord, or as Cheon Jin-sang, a member of the Cheon Clan?”

The Pavilion Master took a moment to chew over those words, then answered without hesitation.

“Both.”

“Both, huh.”

Grin!

“Well then, I want a lot.”

“Y-you?”

“Shall we begin the negotiations?”

“Y-Young Master?”

Even if I was the eldest son of the Demonic Heaven’s Jin Clan, all my power and authority stemmed from my father, Jin Gun-ak.

Sure, right now he fully believed in me and supported me unconditionally. But if the situation turned sour, he could cut me off at any moment.

Which meant—

‘I need to stash away a side pocket of my own.’

If it were just the penniless Pavilion Master, there wouldn’t be much to gain.

But the golden daughter of the Namcheon Baek Clan, and Cheon Jin-sang of the Cheon Clan? That was a different story.

There was plenty I could squeeze out of them.

***

About two hours passed.

With a contract tucked securely in my robes, I nodded in satisfaction.

“That was a good negotiation.”

Before me, an old man and a girl stood gazing blankly up at the sky as if their souls had left their bodies.

“I wasn’t dealing with a merchant, so how did it end up like this…”

“I’m sorry… I’m sorry, Grandfather.”

You fools. I used to be the Inner Administrator of the Heavenly Demon Cult.

What’s the Inner Administrator, you ask? It’s the one who oversees the cult’s finances—a steward.

Which meant that being the Inner Administrator was the same as being one of the top merchants in all of the Central Plains.

It was a position where a lack of talent in numbers or foresight would bring ruin to the entire cult.

“Ugh! You figured out the full extent of my authority… How in the world did you know?”

Well, there was nothing I could extract right now from Baek Sang-ah, who had come to the cult alone (well, sort of), but Cheon Jin-sang, the Pavilion Master, was different.

The moment I learned of his hidden identity, I could afford to place some trust in him.

And I’d extracted from him everything I could under that identity—down to the very limits of his authority.

Even though he was retired, his influence was still enormous.

Heheheh!

“Well, since I’ve received my fair share, I’ll do my part. I’ll even try to persuade the Clan Leader while I’m at it.”

“The Money Demon… The Money Demon is right here…”

The Pavilion Master, still somewhat dazed, muttered nonsense under his breath.

“So then, what happens now?”

“You say it.”

The Pavilion Master passed the baton to Baek Sang-ah.

Somewhat more collected than the Pavilion Master, Baek Sang-ah stepped in front of me with a sour expression.

“Now that the attempt on my life has failed, I don’t think the Heavenly Demon Cult will see another attempt anytime soon.”

“Of course not. After what happened last time, a storm is bound to sweep through the cult.”

The attempted assassination of the Young Cult Leader at the Hidden Trace Manor. And now the attempted assassination at the Thousand-Day Pass.

Two separate assassination attempts already.

If anything more were to happen, someone would have to be ready to rip everything out by the roots.

“So I plan to leave the cult for a while.”

“Leave the cult?”

“Yes. Once this current Sword Formation training ends, I was scheduled to be dispatched to the Qinghai region anyway, wasn’t I?”

“Wasn’t that only for our cohort?”

She’s in a cohort two levels above us, and she’s already been out on a mission once before.

At my words, Baek Sang-ah turned her gaze toward the Pavilion Master.

He nodded.

“I’m the one in charge, so why not send her twice?”

“As expected of the Pavilion Master!”

I was at a loss for words. I instantly realized what kind of stunt Baek Sang-ah was planning.

Before me stood a woman more insane than anyone else I’d ever met.

No, Cheon Yura was the true madwoman—this one was just plain deranged.

“An assassin did come after me, but we still don’t know who ordered it. And while I’m within the Thousand-Day Pass, no one else will come for me.”

“So you’re saying, you’re going to intentionally act as bait to go fishing for the big catch?”

“Yes, exactly.”

“And you want me to help with that plan?”

“Yes!”

“…….”

For a moment, I wanted to spit out everything I’d just taken from them and run away.

Clap!

Just then, the Pavilion Master gripped my shoulder and grinned.

“No refunds, dear customer.”

“I mean, do you even know what’s going to pop out?”

Even within the cult it was this dangerous—what if we left its walls?

It wouldn’t be strange if the Lord of Evil Overlords of Heaven jumped out himself and shouted, “I’m with the Heaven-Defying Society!”

“The core of this mission is still to flush out the mole hiding within the Thousand-Day Pass. We’re not going after external enemies.”

“A mole inside the Pass, huh.”

“If external forces interfere too much, the cult will provide backup. At the very least, this operation has received approval from the Cult Leader himself.”

If that was true, then there was hope.

The worst-case scenario in an external operation would be if a supreme-level expert suddenly appeared to take Baek Sang-ah, or if one of the Heaven-Defying Society’s armed factions went berserk and attacked.

‘But if the cult can prevent that kind of interference?’

Then this really might be the chance to catch a big one.

“I have… one idea. Will you hear me out?”

“What is it?”

At the Pavilion Master’s question, I took a deep breath.

Knowledge only I possessed.

Information only I knew.

It was time to turn speculation into certainty.

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