Chapter 509: Side Story 29 The Twins (7)

In truth, no matter how skilled the Black Evil Phantom was, he couldn’t have escaped capture if the Murim Alliance had truly made up its mind.

After all, the Murim Alliance’s influence in Luoyang was absolute.

But there was a different reason the Black Evil Phantom still hadn’t been caught.

‘Because there’s no real reason to catch him.’

The Black Evil Phantom never touched anyone affiliated with the Murim Alliance.

His main targets were wealthy individuals with deep pockets—ones suspected to be corrupt or shady.

At first, there was much speculation about his identity.

That was because he always disappeared from the scene leaving behind a black mask with the word Black Evil (黑邪) written on it.

At first, some had even cast suspicious glances toward the Murim Alliance.

“No, come on now. It’s been nearly twenty years since the Black Evil Union changed its name. What nonsense is that?”

By now, the name Black Evil Union had become far too much of a relic from the past to bring up again.

Thus, the Black Evil Phantom came to be regarded as a mysterious assailant using that name purely to spite the current Alliance Leader.

‘Still… is it really possible to stay uncaught for this long?’

They say even ten constables can’t stop a single thief, but the Black Evil Phantom’s stealth was on a whole different level.

Even Jegal Eun wondered if perhaps some Flower Realm-level master within the Alliance was playing around.

‘Even if not Flower Realm level, if someone had mastered the Ten Thousand Phase Tai Chi of the Grand Duke, this could be possible below the peak level. But that kind of skill requires innate talent, doesn’t it? Then is it some other martial art?’

As she cooled her head and speculated on the identity of the Black Evil Phantom—

“General Strategist. A letter has arrived from the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.”

“A letter? Out of nowhere?”

Jegal Eun tensed at the sudden news.

Of course, it wasn’t an urgent dispatch. For truly important matters, they’d send an envoy in person…

But every time something came from that side, it was always about something heavy. No news was often good news.

As she nervously opened the letter, her eyes went wide.

“Huh? They’re coming?”

Having decided to head for Luoyang, the group moved slowly southward along the mountain paths.

The cliffside roads of the Ten Thousand Great Mountains were no less treacherous than the infamous paths of Sichuan.

Normally, it would have been natural to sense no other presences aside from their own—but—

“There are hostile gazes coming from various directions. Shall I deal with them?”

The Guardian Lion Jeokryong asked San Dojeon.

There were many fools in the surrounding thickets who couldn’t even completely hide their presence.

“Leave them be.”

“Understood.”

Though not often highlighted due to their troublemaking, the movements of the twins were, in truth, enough to shake the entire Divine Cult.

Since one of the two was destined to become the next Cult Leader, it was only natural.

“Fools who don’t know their place exist in every era. But the truly dangerous ones are those who approach while deceiving even our senses.”

“…That’s true.”

“Mmm. I agree with that sentiment.”

A boy nodded in agreement beside Jeokryong.

“……”

That remark had been a slight jab at him. Did he really not notice?

“By the way, young bandit—I’m starting to get hungry. When can we eat?”

“B-Bandit….”

Jeokryong and the other Guardian Lions flinched and glanced nervously at San Dojeon.

It was obvious why. Even now, San Dojeon looked every bit the stereotypical mountain bandit.

In fact, as he aged and gained more wrinkles, that impression had only grown stronger.

To say “bandit” right in front of San Dojeon was tantamount to shouting “Please kill me now!”

Yet San Dojeon didn’t get angry.

Instead, he smiled gently and reassured the boy.

“We’ll arrive at Hyoneun Fortress soon, the territory of the Black Gold Sa Clan. Bear with it just a little longer.”

Most of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult’s economy was concentrated in the south, but that didn’t mean there weren’t any settlements elsewhere.

Especially Hyoneun Fortress, which had the largest silver mine in the Ten Thousand Great Mountains and thus hosted a considerable population.

“Once we eat, let’s spar again—sparring!”

“Sounds good.”

If there had been one big change after the boy Cheon Yuseong joined them, it was that the twins—who had been losing interest in martial arts—had regained their motivation.

“This time, I’ll land a hit for sure!”

“You’d need to train at least ten years diligently for that.”

Even though his tone had turned old-fashioned like an old man’s, the twins didn’t mind.

They were too busy burning with determination to beat him, even just once.

It had all started from something simple.

While watching the twins practice martial arts—a routine set by Jin Yeomyung—Cheon Yuseong had casually commented:

“You’re not supposed to do it like that.”

“…?”

The twins, who had been training with swords, turned their gaze to the boy.

“Just from the look of it, that seems to be his sword art, but don’t you think the techniques are too aggressive and reckless?”

“…??”

The boy’s blazing eyes turned to Yucheong.

“Tell me! The Ten Heavenly Record Sword was refined to reduce the aggression of the Heavenly Demonic Divine Art and to suit his laid-back personality! So what is that?! What is that overly aggressive swordplay that looks like it’s about to butcher a cow?!”

“E-Even if you say that, I… don’t really know…”

Though Yucheong inherited the Yoo Clan’s sword arts, she had little connection to its historical intricacies.

In truth, the original Ten Heavenly Record Sword—excluding its final technique Heaven-Piercing Annihilation—was indeed a mostly defensive style.

But Jin Yeomyung, understanding the twins’ personalities, had modified it into a more aggressive form suited to them.

Of course, there was no way the boy could’ve known that.

“What? Got a problem with what our dad taught us?”

“Then you should prove it with skill!”

No one their age had ever challenged them this boldly before, so the twins weren’t angry—instead, they were fascinated.

“Alright! I’ll correct your misguided habits myself today!”

And so, the enraged boy and the twins ended up holding an unexpected biwu.

And as expected(?), the result was the twins’ defeat.

Even though they fully demonstrated their inner force and talent beyond their age, they couldn’t surpass the boy’s experience.

The boy didn’t even use Sword Intent or excessive inner force—instead, he thoroughly overwhelmed the twins using only the basic techniques of the Ten Heavenly Record Sword.

“How’s that? This is the true Ten Heavenly Record Sword!”

“Huff! Huff! Y-You’re amazing!”

“Now you’re finally ready to receive proper correction—”

“Let’s go one more round!”

For the twins, who had only ever faced opponents three times their age, the appearance of a peer-level (?) expert was a refreshing shock.

And the boy who had been continually dealing with the twins also came to a realization.

‘They’re not the kind you can change by teaching!’

Instead, he judged that the right answer was to keep facing them, gradually guiding them in the correct direction through repeated encounters.

Of course, that “correct direction” would be one that suppressed the aggression inherent in their Divine Demonic Vessel…

‘It seems the parents who taught them that sword art wanted them to become birds who could fly freely wherever they pleased—but if things go awry, they could turn into omens of calamity that engulf the world.’

That’s what the Divine Demonic Vessel was by nature.

From experience, the boy knew that better than anyone.

That’s why he decided to become the twins’ teacher.

He resolved to guide them in the proper direction as their mentor.

After all, it was surely thanks to those twins that he had awakened not in a state of uncontrollable madness, but with a sound mind.

About a month.

That was how long it took to travel from the northern part of Gansu to Luoyang in Henan Province.

And during that month-long journey, San Dojeon had managed to get a decent read on the boy.

“Ah, so this is what people in today’s Yuzhou eat. Things sure have changed a lot from the old days.”

First off, the boy loved food.

From what he said, the era he used to live in had been so chaotic that food culture had seriously regressed.

He had also personally suffered quite a lot and said he’d never had much of a connection to good food.

‘What was it, the Five Hu and Sixteen Kingdoms era or something?’

San Dojeon didn’t realize that his offhand guess was almost dead accurate.

Whenever the boy saw something unusual, he insisted on trying it, and since the twins were also naturally food-obsessed, the three got along perfectly.

What should’ve taken just two weeks ended up taking a month, mostly because of this.

“The weather is lovely.”

“…It’s raining right now?”

Secondly, the boy really liked looking up at the sky in the middle of the day.

“This is lovely weather. It’s not red, for starters.”

“……”

Whether sunny or cloudy, rain or shine, he would constantly glance at the sky while traveling.

On the other hand, he strongly disliked sunsets—not because he hated evenings, but rather because he seemed to detest the color red itself.

And third—

“Your movement is off. The stiffness near your Gyeonjeong acupoint is caused by your neck jutting forward too much when you initiate the left palm strike.”

The boy loved to interfere.

Especially when it came to martial arts, he would point things out not just to the twins, but even to the Guardian Lions if anything caught his eye.

Frankly, aside from the bits involving the twins’ sword style, his corrections never violated martial logic and were usually accepted with humility.

San Dojeon even wondered if the boy truly was someone from the past—perhaps with plenty of experience raising disciples back in his day.

Lastly, the boy still couldn’t be read.

San Dojeon had clearly confirmed that the boy could use inner force and even skillfully manipulate Sword Intent.

Yet he still couldn’t gauge the boy’s level or limits.

‘Even those who’ve reached the Transcendent Demon Realm couldn’t completely hide their full capacity from me.’

The previous Sword Demon, the current Sword Demon, the former Blade Demon, the current Alliance Leader of Murim, and the current Demonic Faction Lord…

Even when facing experts who had reached—or nearly reached—the Transcendent Demon Realm, he had at least been able to feel the difference in level.

But the boy was still a total mystery.

‘…Don’t tell me… Supreme Demon Realm?’

No, that couldn’t be.

San Dojeon shook his head at the absurd thought that suddenly crossed his mind.

Only two in the current era.

And even in the entire history of Murim—five… no, six at most.

Could it be that the boy before his eyes had reached such a supreme state?

While San Dojeon furrowed his brow, caught in his tangled thoughts—

“Hey there, young bandit.”

“…Yes? Ah, yes.”

“Seems like we’ve finally arrived in Luoyang.”

“Ah…”

As he said, the outer walls of Luoyang were now visible in the distance.

Even before reaching the walls, the bustling outskirts of the outer city welcomed them.

“It’s grown far larger than I remember. Truly fitting for the capital of an empire.”

Modern Luoyang had become so vast that there was hardly any distinction left between outer and inner city.

To the point that if invaders were to attack, it was hard to even imagine how the defense would be managed.

Even at midnight, the boy nodded in satisfaction as he watched government troops patrol the area in perfect formations.

“Security seems good. I like this place already. I’m sure there are problems, but this feels close enough to a golden age of peace… Hm?”

Suddenly—

A commotion broke out in the distance.

“There he is!”

“It’s the Black Evil Phantom! Catch hiiim!”

“He stole the Heavenly Triple Harmony Brew!”

From somewhere near the riverside pleasure district, dozens of martial artists were making a scene.

“A liquor thief?”

“Seems like it.”

The boy tilted his head, and San Dojeon, who wasn’t particularly interested in alcohol, replied automatically.

However, Jeokryong, who had once worked at Macheonru, clicked his tongue quietly.

“Tch! Heavenly Triple Harmony Brew… that stuff is no ordinary drink.”

“How precious are we talking?”

The boy showed interest.

“It’s a medicinal liquor made with Hundred-Year Snow Ginseng as the main ingredient. It must be aged for at least fifty years before it can even be put on the market. Even Macheonru only barely managed to stock two bottles of it.”

At that point, it was hardly a drink—it could be considered an elixir.

“Really?”

“It’s not something money alone can buy. If I remember right, one bottle was offered to the Heavenly Demon Pavilion for His Highness the Grand Duke’s birthday two years ago. The Clan Head of the So Family, who had returned to the Cult briefly, tried to steal it and ended up in huge trouble.”

“Ah, right. That did happen.”

San Dojeon nodded, recalling the past.

He was one of the very few who had witnessed So Cheon get beaten like a dog on a hot summer’s day.

“The wine was meant for a special occasion with the Cult Leader, so our lord was not happy.”

And So Cheon was, well, So Cheon, for daring to try and steal something like that.

“Hm… wine, huh…”

Suddenly, the boy’s eyes sparkled as if he had thought of something.

“Should I go catch him?”

“…Huh?”

“Well, it’s not like I want the wine or anything… but since it’s apparently so rare, I’d like to at least see it.”

“……”

Anyone could tell he definitely wanted it.

San Dojeon glanced sideways at the twins.

They didn’t seem to care much about the wine—rather, their attention had clearly locked onto the phrase Black Evil Phantom.

San Dojeon gave up trying to talk them out of it.

“…Well, do as you please.”

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