Chapter 64: The Tomb of the Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden (1)

San Dojeon was an orphan.

He hardly remembered anything from his childhood.

Up until his early to mid-teens, San Dojeon had lived a life barely distinguishable from that of a wild animal.

What turned such a San Dojeon into a human being was the San family, who survived by running a small bandit gang on the outskirts of the Ten Thousand Mountains.

“Whoa? What the—? There’s a person caught in the trap we set for wild boars?”

“Never seen this one around before, huh? Wait, on closer look—it’s a kid!”

“Kid or not, he’s acting like a damn beast!”

San Dojeon, who had lived on his own, joined the San family from that point on.

San Dojeon. The fact that his nickname was “Mountain Bandit” wasn’t just a coincidence.

“Hey, kid. You really do look like a mountain bandit!”

“How about we just name him San Dojeok? Since our family name is San anyway.”

“C’mon now, you can’t name a kid that.”

“Hmm, then how about San Dojeon instead?”

“…Yeah, that’s better.”

The San family’s leader, San Ryung, gave the nearly savage San Dojeon a name and taught him the basics of living like a civilized human.

Of course, the process was anything but smooth.

They had to subdue the wild San Dojeon again and again.

During that time, the San family suffered broken bones—again and again.

Still, thanks to the San family’s blood-soaked efforts, after about ten years, San Dojeon had gained enough intelligence and knowledge to be called a civilized person.

“Big Brother, I’ve returned from the hunt.”

“Are you crazy?! What kind of hunt ends with you bringing back a bear by yourself!?”

“I told you to stick to regular work!”

Despite not learning any internal cultivation techniques, San Dojeon became the San family’s greatest strength thanks to his naturally gifted physical power.

The fact that they managed to finish reforming him before he became too much to handle was nothing short of a miracle for the San family.

Though he still occasionally caused a ruckus by doing things that even San Ryung found terrifying—

The San family and San Dojeon thought they could go on living a peaceful life.

Until they met the Seventh Elder, Yin-Yang Fist Demon, who had come snooping around for ‘organizational’ matters.

“Oh ho, not bad. With a setup like this, I could get something going without drawing the Cult Leader’s attention.”

“Who are you?!”

The San family quickly drew their weapons as an unknown old man suddenly appeared at their mountain hideout.

“Ahh! Run for your lives! He’s from the Ghost Cave!”

Only San Ryung realized how dangerous the Yin-Yang Fist Demon was and immediately ordered everyone to flee.

“Hohoho, I’m sorry, but no one here can be allowed to survive today.”

The Yin-Yang Fist Demon appeared in front of San Ryung and lightly threw a punch.

Even if it was a light blow, a strike from a supreme master who had reached the extreme peak of martial arts was not something a mere bandit leader like San Ryung could endure.

If San Dojeon hadn’t jumped in and taken the blow in his place, San Ryung’s head would’ve exploded on the spot.

“Guaaaah!”

“Huh? Who the hell is this brat?”

The Yin-Yang Fist Demon gave a hollow laugh at the young pup who dared to butt in, ready to die together.

But the amusement didn’t last long.

“Huh? He’s still alive?”

The Yin-Yang Fist Demon was noticeably surprised.

Both of San Dojeon’s arms were broken, but somehow, he had survived.

“Did I hold back too much?”

He shook his head, rejecting the thought.

No, the brute standing before him was simply born with a body meant for external martial arts.

“Hoho, to think I’d run into someone like this on a casual stroll.”

The Yin-Yang Fist Demon found San Dojeon interesting.

Normally, it would have been too late to train him in internal techniques, as all his blood vessels and meridians would’ve already hardened. But if he was naturally gifted in external martial arts, things were different.

“If only I’d found him ten years… no, five years earlier, I would’ve made him my successor. What a shame.”

Still, it would be wasteful to just discard such a fine specimen.

“You there, become mine.”

Refusal wasn’t an option.

Everyone knew that refusing meant death for all.

Thus, due to this sudden calamity, the peaceful life of the San family came to an abrupt end.

All of the San family, except San Dojeon, were taken away somewhere by the Yin-Yang Fist Demon’s subordinates.

From that point on, San Dojeon was put through five years of forced martial arts training, tasting hell itself, with the safety of the San family used as bait.

Once his martial arts reached a certain level—

Coinciding with the induction of Second Order Han Muyeon into the Thousand-Day Pass, San Dojeon was appointed as the oldest-ever trainee of the institution under the pretext of assisting him.

He had no real complaints about anything he was ordered to do. After all, he had already let go of everything.

From the moment his family was taken hostage, freedom had ceased to exist for him.

‘Big Brother… what am I supposed to do?’

No matter how close he was to Baek Sang-ah, the San family was his blood. They could never be compared.

The problem was how often such things might happen again in the future.

If he couldn’t find a fundamental solution, he would remain their slave for life.

***

“The entrance to the ruins leading to the Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden’s Tomb is somewhere in an old cemetery north of Eastern Sea Fortress.”

“That’s quite close.”

“In truth, the Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden’s Tomb has many odd aspects.”

“You mean, no one knows when or how it was built?”

“Exactly right, Lady Sa.”

Eastern Sea Fortress was a rather densely populated area.

Whether it was a cemetery or anything else, if some large-scale construction had taken place inside the fortress, the locals would’ve immediately noticed.

“Especially for underground work, you’d need to move a massive amount of materials early on, which would make it all the more conspicuous.”

Yet, until Bang Manhu uncovered the ruins’ map, no one inside Eastern Sea Fortress had any clue about the Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden’s Tomb.

“Sect Leader Bang speculated that the construction might’ve originally started outside of Eastern Sea Fortress.”

“Hmm, sounds plausible.”

Just as they were discussing the ruins, a masked figure appeared before them.

“Urgent report, Young Master Jin.”

It was a member of the Hidden Soul Unit—a private intelligence corps lent by the Pavilion Master of the Thousand-Day Pass for this mission.

“A massive gate presumed to be the entrance to the ruins has appeared at the designated surveillance site. Around thirty people have reportedly passed through that gate.”

“Already?”

I tilted my head slightly.

No matter how you looked at it, it seemed reckless to charge in without knowing what was inside.

“And immediately afterward, a major riot broke out around the cemetery.”

Flinch!

“What kind of disturbance are you referring to?”

“An armed conflict. Around a hundred martial artists, presumed to be from the Orthodox faction, approached the cemetery and were ambushed by numerous assassins.”

“…!”

If they were Orthodox martial artists, then they were surely affiliated with the Kunlun clan branches.

And those people clashed with assassins near the cemetery?

“They ignored our warning and let their greed take over.”

Cheon Yura sneered coldly.

“They must have ears and eyes within the fortress too. I suppose their desire to monopolize what comes out of the ruins was too strong.”

Separate from the interests surrounding Eastern Sea Fortress, there had been no formal agreement regarding the Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden’s Tomb.

This outcome had been predictable from that point on, but to ignore the warning so soon?

“If it was assassins, then they must be the same ones who raided Teahouse before.”

“So, unintentionally, we’ve used barbarians to control barbarians?”

I asked the Hidden Soul Unit member.

“What was the result?”

“Most of the assassins were wiped out. However, since they fought with the intent to die, the Orthodox side also suffered heavy casualties and was forced to retreat.”

That was when—

“We have a problem, Young Master Jin.”

Another member of the Hidden Soul Unit arrived, and I frowned.

“What is it now?”

“Over a hundred members from the main force of the Evil Overlords of Heaven have set out and are approaching Eastern Sea Fortress.”

Not only me, but everyone nearby stiffened at those words.

“Leading them is Demonic Emperor Lord Geum Jeoksan, and the standard of the Yaksha Heaven Slayer Unit—directly under the Evil Overlords of Heaven’s Lord—was confirmed among them.”

“Don’t tell me… Demonic Emperor Lord broke the agreement?”

I quickly shook my head.

“We can’t be sure yet. More than anything, their force is too excessive if their goal is just to capture us.”

The Yaksha Heaven Slayer Unit was the elite of the elite within the Evil Overlords of Heaven’s forces.

Unless Cheon Yura’s identity had been exposed, it didn’t make sense for them to mobilize such a force just to deal with us or Eastern Sea Fortress.

‘If they really wanted to, they’d just send a few top-level experts in secret…’

If that wasn’t the case, then there had to be another reason.

‘The Young Cult Leader’s identity hasn’t been exposed. Not even someone like Geum Jeoksan could’ve found that out.’

Even I hadn’t even realized she was in Eastern Sea Fortress until she showed her face.

I could admit Geum Jeoksan had strong intelligence networks within the cult, but this would be beyond plausible deduction.

“For now, we’ll have to prepare to retreat at any moment and observe the situation carefully.”

Not long after, a messenger from the Evil Overlords of Heaven arrived with a letter.

“What does it say?”

Sa Biyeon asked curiously.

“Looks like Geum Jeoksan has drawn his sword.”

The message declared that Cheong Museong, the youngest disciple of the Evil Overlords’ leader, had been revealed as a spy for another force, and Geum Jeoksan had mobilized to execute him personally.

It also clearly stated that, as originally promised, they had no interest in the artifacts or treasures from the tomb.

‘Impressive. Geum Jeoksan figured out Cheong Museong was a spy at this timing?’

Mobilizing such a force would have been impossible without permission from the King of Ten Thousand Evils himself.

Which meant Geum Jeoksan had provided solid evidence to the King of Ten Thousand Evils.

In the original timeline, there was never any funding or activity around Eastern Sea Fortress.

For someone as sharp as Geum Jeoksan, it wouldn’t be strange if he had grasped something important through this situation.

Cheon Yura turned to me and asked,

“What will you do? It seems like we no longer have a role to play.”

“Yeah… that’s what it looks like.”

If the Evil Overlords of Heaven were taking action directly, there was nothing left for us to do.

Unless a top-tier super master intervened, both Han Muyeon and Cheong Museong were as good as dead.

‘The real problem is that San Dojeon would be dead too.’

My thoughts grew tangled.

If I tried to save just San Dojeon and got involved, I could end up getting swept away by the Evil Overlords myself.

Then it happened.

“Y-Young Master. We just received an urgent report from the team near the cemetery.”

“What is it?”

“Just now, a large number of demonic cultivators suddenly appeared near the cemetery…”

Demonic cultivators?!

“The one leading them… is believed to be Elder Yin-Yang Fist Demon of our very own cult…”

“…!!”

The Yin-Yang Fist Demon appeared personally?

And at such a cunningly timed moment?

Cheon Yura folded her arms and frowned.

“How could one of our cult’s elders come out to a place like this?”

“That’s not even the real problem right now.”

If the Yin-Yang Fist Demon had really shown up, things could spiral out of control.

‘What is this? Is there a secret in the Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden’s tomb that I don’t know about? Something worth the Yin-Yang Fist Demon coming personally?’

Now that I thought about it, I’d never heard from the future Bang Manhu what kind of martial arts the Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden had.

But I shook my head.

‘It’s not about martial arts. And it’s definitely not about saving Han Muyeon either.’

The Yin-Yang Fist Demon had already transcended human limits with the Sun-Moon Heaven Breaking Demonic Art.

He wasn’t the type to go around coveting others’ martial techniques at this point.

‘If it’s not that or this…’

There must be something else—something even future Bang Manhu hadn’t discovered—hidden in the tomb!

“This is just absurd.”

Cheon Yura’s eyes shimmered with a quiet killing intent.

“The Yin-Yang Fist Demon… Don’t tell me, one of our cult’s elders was a spy for another faction? That’s absolutely outrageous.”

“Lady Cheon.”

“I know. In this situation, helping the Evil Overlords of Heaven is the right thing to do.”

I muttered to myself.

Even if it’s dangerous, we have to act.

If we help the Evil Overlords of Heaven capture the Yin-Yang Fist Demon here, we might not just cut off the tail—we could sever the whole body.

“Biyeon.”

“Yes, Young Cult Leader.”

“Send an immediate message to the cult.”

Cheon Yura took out a command token from her robes.

“By the authority of the Heavenly Demon Command, I order the arrest of Elder Yin-Yang Fist Demon and all those with him. Deliver this message to the Cult Leader.”

The Heavenly Demon Command was the absolute command authority only the Cult Leader and Young Cult Leader could exercise.

Of course, it required the Cult Leader’s approval to take full effect—but this move showed Cheon Yura’s resolve.

“I-I will obey.”

“Jin Yeomyung.”

“Yes, speak.”

“I want to catch that bastard. Do you have a plan?”

“Of course. Things are different now than they were back then.”

I slowly brought my hands together and declared.

This enemy was in a completely different league than the one from Hidden Trace Manor.

But we had a decent hand to play this time.

“Well then, shall we try capturing a super master of the Demonic Faction?”

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