Chapter 204: Investigating the Power Behind (1)

“Did you say the Heavenly Demon Sect?”

Yong Hwarin was appalled at the name he hadn’t even considered.

And it was understandable. The Heavenly Demon Sect was a faction known for pursuing an era of the Demonic Path, one that had only arisen three times in the history of Murim. So even those outside of Murim had heard of it.

Along with the Demonic Castle of the Muyang Era and the Ironblood Beehive of the Muwun Era, the Heavenly Demon Sect of the Muhang Era was a name that constantly came up when discussing the history of the Demonic Path.

Hearing that name caused Yong Hwarin to be shaken.

“Long ago, I happened to acquire a martial arts secret manual, and it contained techniques of the Heavenly Demon Sect. Most of the book was damaged, so I couldn’t master the martial arts, but I did remember a few techniques. Then I noticed those techniques in the martial arts of that bastard’s subordinates. Of course, I didn’t show any sign that I recognized it.”

Yong Hwarin spoke with a serious expression.

“Shouldn’t we inform the Three Central Alliances about this matter?”

The Three Central Alliances referred to the Bukjeong Alliance, Samu Alliance, and Namung Alliance.

He thought that the Heavenly Demon Sect’s resurgence should be reported to these three Murim alliances so they could respond.

“But the bigger problem is that they’ve already transformed into another faction and settled within Murim. However, I haven’t yet identified which faction that is.”

As Yong Hwarin listened to the Demonic Master, a question arose.

“But, Elder, even though you’re from the Demonic Path, you don’t seem pleased about the resurgence of the Heavenly Demon Sect.”

The Demonic Master gave a bitter smile.

“Not all people of the Demonic Path are the same. The Heavenly Demon Sect consists of those who wish to rule the world as demons. That is not the Way of Tyranny, but the Way of Atrocity. It would be a world of their own, not a world for all demonic practitioners. Forcing a single martial art or school of thought to dominate others, regardless of orthodox or unorthodox affiliation, is something that should never be done.”

Yong Hwarin unknowingly nodded in agreement.

It was a thought truly befitting someone known as a Demonic Master within Murim.

“As you said, Elder, if they’ve transformed into a faction within Murim and are active now, then that alone is certainly threatening.”

“The danger lies in the high possibility that other sects may sympathize with them. Moreover, based on what I’ve observed so far, their faction might be one that everyone already knows.”

“Is that true?”

“If it were a newly-formed sect, they wouldn’t be capable of orchestrating everything that has happened until now. They not only have numerous experts but even those at the Master Level. Such a faction cannot be a new one. On top of that, they possess highly detailed intelligence. A small or medium sect could never have such capabilities. Considering they’re keeping track of Murim affairs across the entire continent, they are no ordinary force.”

“Now that I hear it, this truly is a serious matter. We must inform the Three Central Alliances as soon as possible.”

However, the Demonic Master shook his head.

“Do you really think the Three Central Alliances don’t already know this? I’ve pondered this matter for a long time, and I don’t believe they’re unaware.”

That response sent chills down his spine.

One particular thought surfaced, raising all the hairs on his body with its implications.

‘Could it be that the Namgung Clan is securing and expanding their stock of Jiangshi in preparation for a war the Heavenly Demon Sect might wage against Murim? Namgung Yoo did say they deal with higher-level intelligence than any other place. If they had known about this beforehand, then naturally they’d want to strengthen their forces. Otherwise, a prestigious clan like that wouldn’t suddenly start purchasing Jiangshi. And now they’re looking to buy even more.’

He began to suspect that the Three Central Alliances might be secretly preparing for war rather than informing Murim.

‘If what the Demonic Master says is true, then going around carelessly spreading news about the Heavenly Demon Sect would just be alerting the snake with a beat of the grass.’

Since Yong Hwarin resided in the Upper World, he was more informed about the affairs of Murim. Fifteen years from now, the Great Martial Battle of Moon and Orthodoxy would occur. It wouldn’t be a large-scale war, but rather a series of skirmishes between the orthodox and demonic factions.

Though it was grandly titled the Great Martial Battle of Moon and Orthodoxy, the actual scale wasn’t very large, so many ordinary people didn’t even know a war had taken place among Murim.

And that battle ended in less than two years, with the orthodox and demonic factions reaching a settlement, quickly calming the world of Murim.

The leadership of the Three Central Alliances had been replaced and stabilized.

In fact, that period was a golden age for me.

When Murim sects went to war, the demand for supplies skyrocketed exponentially. For the trading companies, a Murim war was as good as a golden age.

At that time, the Demonic Master served as a bridge between the orthodox and the demonic factions. But once negotiations between them ended, he was cast aside. I, who had made a fortune during that war, was ambushed and chased by an unknown force as soon as the war ended.

As I pieced together fragments of my past life’s memories, the outlines became clearer.

I realized that the Three Central Alliances had known about the rise of the Heavenly Demon Sect but did nothing to stop it, and because of that, the Great Martial Battle of Moon and Orthodoxy broke out fifteen years later.

‘It’s been a hundred years since the Heavenly Demon Sect reemerged. As a result, each sect has stored up more power than they can contain. A hundred years is more than enough time to cultivate powerful masters. They’re now eager to unleash that power. That’s what Murim is.’

From my past life, I knew that the world didn’t always operate on rationality.

Wars could start over absurd reasons, and entire sects could be wiped out for ridiculous causes. That was the world of Murim.

It occurred to me that perhaps the Three Central Alliances, unable to suppress the internal divisions of the orthodox factions, sought to balance power through a war with the Heavenly Demon Sect.

Considering the Great Martial Battle of Moon and Orthodoxy did happen, it was a plausible conclusion.

The leaders of sects were the type who enjoyed believing that they controlled the fate of Murim.

Very few had truly transcended worldly fame and gain.

‘The current peace in Murim may just be a preparation for war.’

That thought sent chills down my spine.

‘Now that I think about it, it was strange that the Blood Demon Castle came all the way to Jeongju, where the Shangguan Clan resides, and flexed their strength. Afterwards, the Three Central Alliances came and investigated, but no news ever came out of it. They should have taken some kind of action, but they didn’t. Instead, they looked as if they had been hoping something would happen.’

My thoughts continued without end.

‘If the many Peak and Supreme Peak successors of the clan had died in the Bamboo Forest due to the Blood Demon Castle, then Murim would have had a justification to go to war with them. But I stopped that. Perhaps that was not what they wanted. Jaegal Yohye had fumed that the Blood Demon Castle’s movement had been reported too late. In truth, it was no different than not reporting it at all. If we had failed to repel the Blood Demon Castle, we might have been sacrificed to create a justification for war.’

Thinking that way, every little detail seemed to have a reason.

‘Come to think of it, even the sudden emergence of Ihwa Palace, said to be one of the Three Great Hidden Sects of Murim, fits the pattern. They must have received some kind of signal before making a move. For recluses to reveal themselves after decades is no small matter. And the kidnapping of Seok Unjeong under the pretext of learning the Invincible Martial Art known as Moonlight Divine Art may have been part of an effort to bolster power before reentering Murim. If it’s the Heavenly Demon Sect, they could have moved even Ihwa Palace. A hundred years ago, they claimed to be the sovereign of the Demonic Path and united the demonic cults under the name Evil Demon Sect rather than Heavenly Demon Sect. Since the Heavenly Demon Sect inherited the line of the Ironblood Beehive, they were called the Evil Demon Sect.’

Thinking that some sinister force was moving beneath the surface unknown to me made my body go cold.

If this were something I had experienced in my past life, I might have a countermeasure. But it wasn’t, so I had no plan to act upon.

‘Perhaps the Namgung Clan is the wise one. Now is the time to store power. Be it Jiangshi or poison, if it becomes strength, hoarding it could reduce casualties.’

Once I had sorted my thoughts, I realized that even Cheonyangmun needed to start accumulating strength.

While I remained deep in thought, the Demonic Master silently woke Seok Unjeong.

As expected, Seok Unjeong stared blankly into space, eyes unfocused.

Then she smiled at me.

“Hehe, Orabeoni.”

Her voice snapped me out of my thoughts.

Looking at her blank, childlike face pained me.

The Demonic Master spoke with a firm tone.

“I will try to pull out that bastard’s consciousness and examine the Soul Reaping Art he used on my daughter. Until then, keep her from interfering with me.”

I replied while sitting down next to Seok Unjeong.

“Understood.”

This was a method the Demonic Master often used at the Upper Dantian. Since all his arts were of the advanced level, I believed he could enter Eum Sajeok’s mind and uncover a way to break the art.

However, the moment the Demonic Master placed his hand on the Celestial Opening and began injecting qi, Eum Sajeok rolled his eyes back and trembled.

“Aaaaaaaagh!”

The Demonic Master frowned and pulled his hand back.

“What’s wrong?”

“This bastard imposed a Forbidden Restriction on himself to prevent others from intruding upon his consciousness. The restriction is so strong that one of the two must die for the intrusion to succeed.”

Looking troubled, the Demonic Master stared at Eum Sajeok.

Hearing this, I felt disappointed.

If it had worked, we could have broken the Soul Reaping Art on Seok Unjeong and interrogated him about the whereabouts and history of the White Tiger Demon-Subduing Sword and the Blue Dragon Three Marbles he had taken.

“With this, we won’t even be able to find out where Deung Hwaun is.”

Since she was poisoned by the Yin-Yang Twin Parasites, we absolutely had to find Deung Hwaun.

Determining and securing her location was a critical issue.

“In this case, we’ll have no choice but to torture him.”

As soon as those words left my mouth, Eum Sajeok’s eyes darted about two or three times faster than before.

The Demonic Master released one of his pressure points.

“Aaaargh!”

Frustrated from being unable to speak, Eum Sajeok relaxed his throat the moment his point was released.

“Not being able to speak was driving me insane!”

Seeing him joke around despite being captured made the Demonic Master nearly lose control of his murderous intent.

The Demonic Master was neither a benevolent figure of the orthodox faction nor someone known for mercy. For him to show such patience, it was entirely for the sake of his daughter.

“The only way for you to die peacefully is to answer what I ask without hesitation! A pampered bastard like you has probably never experienced a technique like Bone-Splitting and Tendon-Severing.”

At the mention of Bone-Splitting and Tendon-Severing, Eum Sajeok flinched.

“You’ll gain nothing through such crude methods.”

“No, with someone like you, crude methods are best.”

“Bone-Splitting and Tendon-Severing isn’t about sealing acupoints. It’s done by manually pulling out each joint and then breaking the bones one by one. You’ve probably only seen the acupoint-based version, so you don’t know how horrifying the real thing is.”

How could Eum Sajeok not know of Bone-Splitting and Tendon-Severing?

Among his fellow disciples, there were more than a few who had suffered from the very method the Demonic Master described.

Those who tried to flee because the training was too harsh were captured, subjected to Bone-Splitting and Tendon-Severing, foamed at the mouth, convulsed multiple times, and died in agony.

After witnessing that, Eum Sajeok gave up any thought of running from his masters.

As the Demonic Master approached, Eum Sajeok cried out toward me.

“Wait, Young Master Yong! I’ll tell you a secret, just make him promise not to use Bone-Splitting and Tendon-Severing!”

Seeing him sweat profusely from his forehead as he spoke made it clear he was very familiar with the method.

I nodded toward him.

When the Demonic Master saw me nod, he stepped back.

He was acknowledging that I now held the lead.

“Speak.”

“There’s a reason we lured you—no, Young Master Yong—to this place.”

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