“…”

Yuk Jin-ryang, the third elder of the Blood Demon Sect, Yuk Seong, was dumbfounded.

‘What was that?’

Yuk Seong blinked his somewhat dry eyes a few times.

He raised his head again and looked at Heo Seong with a polite face and the young man with a fresh smile behind him.

‘Surely… did I mishear?’

No, that couldn’t be.

It was clearly an extremely purely processed internal energy…

And he thought he said it smelled rotten, but all of that felt like a dreamlike afterimage.

It was a strange feeling. No matter how he thought about it, he couldn’t believe that that good-looking young man had said such a thing. He was confused as if he was experiencing a kind of cognitive dissonance.

Yuk Seong opened his eyes wide again and looked at Heo Seong and the young man.

‘The information is wrong. That guy Heo Seong, he’s at the peak. But he’s not good enough to beat Gu Jin-hae. Also… I can feel a quite excellent internal energy, but it wasn’t like what I felt just now.’

He rolled his eyes and looked at the young man who had appeared behind him.

The moment he saw him, Yuk Seong’s face became even more complicated.

He was confused.

‘There’s nothing.’

That was the sum of everything he felt when he saw the young man, that is, Cheon Mubaeck.

He couldn’t feel even a handful of internal energy.

‘He’s just an ordinary commoner who hasn’t learned any martial arts at all. I’m sure of it.’

He wasn’t sure.

50 years.

It had been 50 years since Yuk Seong had wandered the martial world, on the outside as a martial artist of the orthodox sects of the Jincheonmun, and on the inside as the third elder of the Blood Demon Sect. His experience in the martial world was as deep as the age of a long-lived person.

So he was rather confused.

“Who are you, young master?”

“Ah, hello. I am Cheon Mubaeck of the Azure Star Escort Agency. I heard that the renowned Great Hero Yuk Jin-ryang had come, and that you were looking for my escort, Escort Warrior Heo, so I came, risking being rude. Please forgive my rudeness.”

“Young Master Cheon… by any chance, have you set your heart on martial arts?”

Cheon Mubaeck smiled as if he were a little embarrassed.

“Fortunately, it seems that the rumors about me have not spread to Shaanxi, where the Jincheonmun is. I have no talent for martial arts and just like arts and music, so I am a playboy who wanders around gisaeng houses like this, discussing poetry and music.”

At Cheon Mubaeck’s soft voice, Yuk Seong gradually relaxed.

Heo Seong, watching Cheon Mubaeck’s eloquence from the side, was inwardly impressed.

He had skillfully broken down Yuk Seong’s guard.

He had come in without a word and said that it smelled rotten, but his way of speaking was so skillful that it made him think that he had just misheard.

‘No. Was he warning me?’

In an instant, the corners of Heo Seong’s eyes trembled.

The Wansegum Yuk Jin-ryang!

The reason the name of the very small sect called the Jincheonmun was known in the martial world was because of the Wansegum Yuk Jin-ryang.

So how excited had he been when he said he was looking for him?

Moreover, since he said he was also a secular disciple of Mount Hua Sect, he felt a sense of familiarity with the renowned Wansegum.

Was it because of that?

Heo Seong, who had unofficially become Cheon Mubaeck’s escort, had let his guard down.

In an instant, a chill ran down his spine and his hair stood on end.

‘Right, it was a warning.’

The moment Cheon Mubaeck had appeared and uttered strange words.

The face of Yuk Jin-ryang, who had seemed infinitely benevolent, had suddenly changed. To be precise, the atmosphere had changed.

A terrible evil qi.

It was only for a very short time and disappeared immediately, but a nauseatingly foul evil qi emanated. It was a terrible smell like the stench of a corpse that had been left for a long time.

It was by no means an evil qi that was hard to associate with the righteous and just reputation of the orthodox sects. It was like Gu Jin-hae of the Blood Demon Sect, whom he had seen before…

Only then did Heo Seong become fully alert and carefully examine the situation.

‘Did he feel that hidden evil qi from a distance, without even seeing it?’

He thought he knew to some extent now, but the more he knew, the more he couldn’t grasp where Cheon Mubaeck’s true end was.

Moreover, look at him leading the conversation so nonchalantly, as if he had never said such a thing!

Wasn’t he so skillful that even the experienced and cunning Yuk Jin-ryang would think that he was mistaken?

‘Even before, he had the ability to captivate people’s hearts, but now it’s as if he’s using that ability, so natural.’

Originally, Cheon Mubaeck was a person with a strange charm that drew people in.

How could it be otherwise, when even people who saw him for the first time felt favorable towards him?

But the recent Cheon Mubaeck was more than the past.

It seemed as if he knew his innate charm and was using it. The way he was handling Yuk Jin-ryang now, and even Neung-heo, who was always bickering with him and being scolded almost every day, secretly liked Cheon Mubaeck, didn’t he?

Even though he was the one who had broken his right hand.

Come to think of it, wasn’t Heo Seong himself thinking of dedicating his life to Cheon Mubaeck from a certain point?

When his thoughts reached that point, his body trembled once.

Whether this was intentional or not, he felt a sense of awe and fear towards Cheon Mubaeck.

“I see. Yes. It’s a really wonderful story. To be by his side when the Azure Sky Sword God was fighting the Demonic Cult!”

“Hoho. Young Master Cheon is gilding my face. I was just a young disciple of Mount Hua Sect at that time, and all I did was watch the overwhelming martial prowess from a distance.”

“You are too humble.”

Yuk Seong smiled with satisfaction without even realizing it.

Seeing Cheon Mubaeck nodding his head with a slightly excited face, he felt as if he were his grandson.

‘I must have seen and heard wrong.’

Seeing that face, his guard melted away like snow.

It was a surprising thing. The guard of Yuk Seong, who was second to none in the Blood Demon Sect for being cunning, had been broken down in an instant.

‘He’s useful.’

But at that moment, Cheon Mubaeck’s eyes shone.

People often thought that Cheon Mubaeck’s charm was a strange innate thing, but Cheon Mubaeck was different.

‘It’s one of the effects of the upper dantian.’

One of the characteristics of the upper dantian was that it was innate in using external qi.

In other words, it was not just that he could handle the internal energy accumulated in his body.

The more the upper dantian was developed, the more closely he could be involved in the flow of external qi.

This was it.

Cheon Mubaeck, whose upper dantian was innately open, had unknowingly moved the external qi according to his emotions and had subtly influenced the people around him.

So people who didn’t know were just surprised, saying that he had a strange disposition that drew people in.

‘It’s quite successful. Even though he’s at the top level of the peak, it works well.’

Cheon Mubaeck had already noticed that the Yuk Seong in front of him was not a person of the orthodox sects but a person of the Blood Demon Sect.

No, to be precise, from the time he entered the Lotus Pavilion.

He had felt a sticky internal energy that felt unpleasantly unpleasant.

It was the same feeling as Gu Jin-hae before. It was one of the characteristics of the internal energy accumulated by using the Soul Sucking Demonic Art.

For Cheon Mubaeck, who was sensitive to his five senses and sensitive to external qi due to the opening of his upper dantian, it was natural that he would notice it right away.

No matter how much Yuk Seong tried to hide it, Cheon Mubaeck had smelled that terrible stench.

But the reason he hadn’t used his sword right away was a kind of test.

‘His experience in the martial world must be considerable, he has a strong cunning feeling, and his ability to gather his energy is also good. He’s more skilled than Gu Jin-hae.’

But it worked.

He had succeeded in breaking down the opponent’s guard by controlling the flow of external qi as intended.

Moreover, even though Cheon Mubaeck had said strange things at the very beginning, it was to the point that he had forgotten it, or rather, to the point that he had made himself think that he was mistaken.

‘Of course, it won’t work easily on those who have surpassed the peak.’

At first glance, it seemed to be the best martial art in the world, but it was highly likely that this was the limit.

The deeper the internal energy, the more a master transcends his emotions.

Moreover, since they are sensitive to the flow of external qi, the moment Cheon Mubaeck interfered with the external qi, they would feel something amiss and be on their guard.

‘If I make and develop this systematically, it might be more effective.’

Cheon Mubaeck’s eyes flashed.

But that was not the urgent matter now. He decided to create a martial art later, and Cheon Mubaeck decided to deal with the Yuk Seong in front of him first.

‘Even though I subtly mentioned the Demonic Cult, there was no sign of a restriction at all.’

The reason he had played along and matched his words was partly a test, but there was also a scheme to subtly dig out information.

Among them, Cheon Mubaeck had deliberately mentioned the Demonic Cult.

If the bastards behind the Blood Demon Sect were the Demonic Cult, there should have been a sign of the restriction being activated.

But it wasn’t.

‘Well, the Demonic Cult guys also worship the Heavenly Demon as a god, so why would they support the fanatical bastards who worship snakes as a god?’

Cheon Mubaeck’s brow narrowed slightly.

One of the most likely predictions had been eliminated.

‘Then, it might be a place I don’t know.’

Things were getting more complicated than he thought.

At first, he thought it would be enough to just deal with the Blood Demon Sect that had revealed itself…

‘Well, when has the martial world ever gone as planned?’

Cheon Mubaeck smiled bitterly.

In any case, in order to sharpen the tip of his sword, he had to throw himself into all the storms of the martial world with a single sword.

He had thought that that would be a matter for a little later, but Cheon Mubaeck instinctively felt it.

‘I was already throwing myself into the storm.’

There was nothing to be afraid of or to back down from.

The moment Cheon Mubaeck’s smile disappeared, the atmosphere in the room cooled rapidly.

He stared blankly at Yuk Seong without a word.

Only then did a ripple appear on the face of Yuk Seong, who had instinctively realized that the atmosphere had become strange.

“Let’s take off the boring masks and talk. Why did you come to die again from the Blood Demon Sect?”

“…!”

* * *

Yuk Seong’s pupils vibrated violently.

“Young… Master?”

Cheon Mubaeck picked his ear with an annoyed look.

“You’ve lived long enough, and you’ve wandered the martial world enough, but you still can’t get a clue?”

“What is this attitude!”

“Do you think Heo Seong killed Gu Jin-hae?”

The moment the name Gu Jin-hae came out.

Papat!

Yuk Seong immediately extended his left hand.

Cheon Mubaeck was subtly a beat faster.

He immediately overturned the table with a simple flick of his wrist.

Puk-puk!

Yuk Seong’s left hand was stuck in the table as he aimed for Cheon Mubaeck’s neck.

Before that, Cheon Mubaeck’s right hand had surprisingly aimed for Yuk Seong’s waist.

It was too late to withdraw his already extended left hand. Yuk Seong inevitably raised his right hand and just honestly took a defensive posture and blocked it.

“Keuk!”

At that moment, Cheon Mubaeck’s fingers shone brightly.

In an instant, his internal energy was concentrated at the tip of his finger.

Although the amount was small, there was no need to mention its purity.

Yuk Seong’s two eyes widened.

‘This was it! This was the internal energy! Right, it was this bastard!’

A completely opposite energy to the internal energy accumulated with the Soul Sucking Demonic Art.

‘Is it Wudang? Or the disappeared Quanzhen? No, could it be Shaolin?’

It was truly the energy of subduing demons.

The internal energy accumulated with the Heaven-Shaking Soul Art, which had been changed into an almost new internal energy cultivation method based on the enlightenment Cheon Mubaeck had gained before.

It was a truly heavenly cultivation method created by gathering the core of Wudang, Quanzhen, and even Shaolin.

Since the internal energy was accumulated in that way, its purity was greater than the previous Heaven-Shaking Soul Art, and it was more suitable for the upper dantian than anything else. And since it had a terribly strong energy of subduing demons…

“Kkeuaaak!”

Yuk Seong’s eyes, which were trying to defend, rolled back.

It felt as if all the demonic energy accumulated with the Soul Sucking Demonic Art was burning away. It felt as if all the blood in his body was drying up and his dantian was being squeezed.

Cheon Mubaeck’s finger flicking technique, as if by a lie, pierced the area around Yuk Seong’s navel.

It was the dantian.

Jjeojeojeojeong!

The moment the dantian was broken.

Yuk Seong vomited blood and shouted.

“You, you bastard! How dare you, how dare you know who I am!”

Who had ever ignored him?

In the orthodox sects, if he was called the Wansegum, even the elders of Mount Hua Sect would come out and show respect, and even in the Blood Demon Sect, wasn’t he one of the top in terms of rank?

At that, Cheon Mubaeck’s expression contorted fiercely.

“Damn it! How can these bastards be the same for hundreds of years. Huh?”

“Wh-What?”

“Before you spout such nonsense, please, introduce yourself! Shit, how would I know! If you’re pissed, you introduce yourself!”

Kwang!

The tip of Cheon Mubaeck’s finger tore through his dantian.

(End of Chapter)

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep