Chapter 85: The Twisting Future (2)

When I arrived at the scene, I saw many government soldiers and constables surrounding a group of people.

Looking closer, it turned out to be a middle-aged woman and five men.

“The criminal who killed Great Master Ji-hyeon, get on your knees! If you surrender quietly, we’ll spare your life!”

Hearing those words, I realized they weren’t members of the Black Killing Sword group—they were Deung Hwaun, the wife of the Self-Revolving Blood Demon.

But something felt off.

Their condition already looked terrible, as if they had been through a bloody battle.

‘There’s no way the government forces could push first-rate experts to this state. Who the hell did this to them?’

Just then, a group of constables arrived, bringing another crowd with them.

Their monastic robes fluttered as they descended from the air.

‘Monks from Shaolin Temple.’

I immediately recognized them from their robes.

“You kept mercy in your hands, yet you’ve already taken the lives of five innocent people. You are truly wicked.”

Deung Hwaun, who had disguised herself as a wealthy middle-aged woman, scoffed at the monk’s words.

“Hahaha! When did you bald monks ever have mercy in your hands that you now act like it’s a virtue? These lives were taken by my own hand, so don’t go throwing around that word ‘mercy’!”

As Deung Hwaun hurled curses without holding back, the Shaolin monks began chanting Buddhist sutras.

There were four monks in total, all middle-aged, and judging by the six rings burned into their foreheads, they seemed to hold quite a rank within Shaolin.

With that, the situation became clear.

Deung Hwaun had disguised herself and tried to enter Strangebright Pass, only to run into Shaolin monks and end up in this mess after a fight.

Thanks to the intervention of the Shaolin elders, I was able to breathe a little easier.

‘If Deung Hwaun hadn’t been captured, I would’ve been constantly on edge, never knowing when I might get ambushed.’

As I briefly pondered this, Deung Hwaun’s eyes locked onto me.

“So you’re that so-called Sword Hero of Heavenly Central Sect?”

It seemed she had already accepted her fate, as she shouted and leapt toward me.

But she was quickly blocked by the Shaolin monk’s staff and forced back to her place.

“You’re the bastard who killed my husband!”

Her shout drew the gaze of everyone present straight to me.

“That’s right. I had no choice. Your husband tried to kill me first, so I had no option but to fight him.”

“Hmph, what kind of trick did you pull that a brat like you could kill my husband?”

“You think I came out of that unscathed?”

The onlookers were astonished as they stared at the young prodigy from Henan known as the Sword Hero of Heavenly Central Sect.

They couldn’t believe this young man had slain the Self-Revolving Blood Demon, the demonic figure who had terrorized Henan.

But then some people who knew I was the young sect master of Heavenly Central Sect spoke up and shared the stories of my recent exploits.

One by one, their eyes on me began to change.

“I would be grateful if the venerable monks could capture these criminals.”

The constables didn’t even dare to try and apprehend Deung Hwaun.

Two of them had already died by her hands.

The lead monk stepped forward and said with a nod, “This humble one will take them down. Please have the government forces step back.”

“Brothers, block the others so none can escape,” the lead monk ordered, and the other three monks formed a perimeter.

“You bald-headed bastards! What the hell are you doing here?”

Sensing death, Deung Hwaun began to curse furiously.

She couldn’t bear the thought of dying with her husband’s killer right in front of her.

‘If what the Demonic Master said to the Blood Demon was true, then Deung Hwaun’s behavior doesn’t make sense. I could understand her wanting revenge out of love, but…’

If she had been sleeping with another man, it would mean she had no love left for the Blood Demon.

Yet here she was, appearing like a grieving widow bent on revenge—a noble woman mourning her beloved husband. It didn’t add up.

From Deung Hwaun’s perspective, she couldn’t accept dying here with me so close.

What kind of life had she lived until now?

‘Marrying that cursed Blood Demon was all for that goal! I can’t die like this, not even able to get close to it!’

She wasn’t trying to avenge her beloved husband.

What Deung Hwaun wanted was the Self-Revolving Demonic Arts Record.

‘Damn it. Who would’ve thought Self-Revolving Blood Demon would die such a meaningless death? If he was going to die to a brat like that, I should’ve taken him out first!’

Glaring at me with murderous eyes, Deung Hwaun pulled out a silk pouch from her robes.

“Lady, don’t do anything foolish,” warned the Shaolin monks.

“Shut the hell up!”

Rip!

As she tore open the pouch, a white powder exploded in all directions.

Her subordinates, already standing close by, used their internal energy to spread the powder further into the air.

The Shaolin monks instantly realized it was poison and shouted, “Hold your breath and get back!”

But many government troops and civilians watching nearby had already inhaled the white powder.

As the powder burst, I shouted to those around me, “Get ten jang away from here!”

I had been wary ever since Deung Hwaun reached into her robes.

Thanks to that, my group was able to avoid the poisonous powder’s effect.

The Shaolin monks, with their strong internal energy, weren’t affected by the poison. However, they still failed to capture Deung Hwaun.

Her subordinates, fighting with suicidal determination, used deadly techniques to strike. Even Shaolin monks couldn’t take them lightly.

In the chaos, Deung Hwaun closed in on me.

In that moment, I swiftly opened the Tong’an Technique.

As I stimulated my Upper Dantian, the soul of the Demonic Master awakened.

Originally, the Tong’an Technique functioned by channeling the Demonic Master’s spirit.

In the past, I had been unfamiliar with opening the Upper Dantian, so the Demonic Master couldn’t speak. But recently, he had even initiated conversation with me at times.

Aside from moments of urgency—like when I faced Seomun Yuwon in a duel—the Demonic Master usually refrained from speaking.

The last time he actively interfered was during the fight with the Blood Demon. Back then, the Demonic Master had sensed a threat to my life and expended all his spirit power.

Now, with my decent martial foundation, I had become strong enough to subdue opponents using just the Tong’an Technique. That was why the Demonic Master hadn’t felt the need to step in.

He avoided speaking unless necessary, as conversation consumed spiritual energy and weakened his power.

Just as I was about to draw my sword to face Deung Hwaun, Mo Biyoung and Namwook suddenly leapt forward and blocked my path.

‘Ah, right. I have guards.’

I had completely forgotten that Mo Biyoung and the Twin Dragon of Fury were assigned as my bodyguards.

“Die, you damned bastards!”

Deung Hwaun let out a shout as she swung her sword at Mo Biyoung and the Twin Dragon of Fury.

The two responded skillfully, defending themselves against Deung Hwaun, a first-rate expert.

‘Their martial arts have certainly come a long way. They’re ready to stand proud anywhere now.’

Mo Biyoung and Namwook’s swordplay had become more refined and powerful, and Deung Hwaun couldn’t break through.

While they held the front line, Jungwook stepped up in front of me, and behind him, Jong Seok took position.

Since Jong Seok’s arm had not yet fully recovered, he remained in the rearguard.

Even if Deung Hwaun managed to get past Mo Biyoung and Namwook, she would have to deal with Jungwook and Jong Seok next.

A sudden realization came over me—how secure I felt.

Having reliable guards by my side gave me peace of mind.

Even Nan Myeonggwak and Jong Munhye didn’t look particularly worried.

They were putting their trust in my protectors.

‘No matter who the enemy is, I feel reassured.’

Just as I smiled warmly at my companions, the tide of the battle suddenly shifted.

The Shaolin monks, having subdued all of Deung Hwaun’s subordinates, began to approach her. Knowing that she would have no chance to escape once they joined in, Deung Hwaun played her last card.

She let out a long whistle, and suddenly, the government soldiers and civilians who had been poisoned by the white powder began to charge at the Shaolin monks and my group like rabid beasts.

A Shaolin monk recognized the technique and shouted,

“It’s Zombie Poison! How dare you spread such wicked poison!”

Zombie Poison, as the name implied, was a poison that could turn normal people into something like zombies for two hours.

It deprived them of reason and made them obey the commands of the one who administered it.

Although it didn’t grant them the physical resilience of actual zombies, it was more than enough to trouble the Shaolin monks.

Since the infected were ordinary civilians and government soldiers, the monks couldn’t use lethal force against them.

They were forced to use acupressure strikes to temporarily disable them, which slowed them down significantly.

My group, too, had to stop fighting Deung Hwaun and started disabling the afflicted people with careful pressure-point strikes.

These strikes didn’t pose any threat to life, but they kept our hands full.

Taking advantage of the distraction, Deung Hwaun slipped away again.

However, the Shaolin monks weren’t so easily fooled.

“Disciples Gak-un and Gak-pung! Go after the enemy!”

Two of the monks continued handling the infected, while the other two turned to pursue Deung Hwaun, who now had her back to them.

Within moments, a dozen attacks had been exchanged in the air.

Though Deung Hwaun was the wife of the Self-Revolving Blood Demon, her martial skills were nowhere near his level. As a result, she lost ground during the airborne skirmish and found her escape route blocked.

The monks, Gak-pung and Gak-un, no longer held back as they pressed the attack.

Realizing even the Zombie Poison had failed her, Deung Hwaun resolved to fight to the death and threw a poisonous powder at the two monks.

But they dodged her blade and countered with their staff techniques.

Clang!

Her sword snapped and flew from her hands, and she fell into the same state—powerless.

Cough!

In the end, Deung Hwaun collapsed, vomiting blood.

She glared at me with eyes full of hatred and resentment, as if she wanted to tear me apart.

Just as Gak-un and Gak-pung were approaching to restrain her, someone flew in from my direction, blasting internal energy at them.

Startled by the sudden appearance of an enemy, the two monks countered by swinging their staffs.

The intruder wore a mask, and his martial arts were so strange that the two monks couldn’t respond properly.

‘Huh? That…!’

Suddenly, I felt the soul of the Demonic Master stir within me.

‘What is it? Do you know him?’

The other monks, having finished subduing the poisoned crowd, joined in to surround the masked intruder.

“Amazing…”

The masked man fought the four Shaolin monks—who had effortlessly taken down Deung Hwaun—and held his own. His martial arts were unpredictable.

He would unleash palm techniques, then suddenly switch to fist arts, and then pull out judge’s brushes for close combat strikes.

He fought fiercely against the four veteran monks. Eventually, perhaps realizing he was being pushed back, he suddenly grabbed Deung Hwaun by the waist and leapt into the air.

“Gak-pung! Block the enemy!”

Gak-pung, who had been guarding the escape path, launched himself at the masked man and swung his staff.

But the masked man had anticipated that and used Thousand-Pound Drop, crashing down below with explosive momentum.

At that moment, the monk who appeared to be the senior disciple among the four soared forward using an invisible movement technique and grabbed the masked man’s shoulder with Vajra Arhat Hand.

Feeling cornered, the masked man used one hand to counter.

But with Deung Hwaun tucked under his left arm, his mobility was limited. After exchanging a few moves, the senior monk tore through the mask with Vajra Arhat Hand.

The mask ripped halfway, revealing the man’s face underneath.

Seeing it, my head throbbed with a sharp pain.

The soul of the Demonic Master had been struck with shock.

‘That bastard! How can it be him…!’

The Demonic Master’s soul trembled violently, and my skull ached in response.

‘What’s going on? Please calm down. My head is killing me here!’

‘How could this be…’

But it seemed the Demonic Master wasn’t even listening to my words.

Then it happened.

The masked man threw yellow powder into the air, and the Shaolin monk recoiled in alarm.

While the monk stepped back, the masked man had already escaped beyond ten jang.

His movement technique exceeded even that of the Shaolin monks.

As he disappeared into the distance, the Demonic Master shouted at me, nearly roaring:

‘Chase him! Now—right now!’

‘Why? Shouldn’t I at least know why I’m chasing him?’

The Demonic Master was silent for a moment before he finally spoke.

‘That man… that’s me. That’s who I was! Demonic Master Seok Jamyung!’

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep