Chapter 132 : Human Ghost

Chapter 132: Human Ghost

“It's true. There was no other reason…….”

Yul Han’s words scattered.

Someone had charged in at terrifying speed.

In that instant, Great Master Jeongbeop and the people of Room 32 became busy.

“It’s him! Don’t let him get away this time!”

At Monk Ilyeon’s shout, Great Master Jeongbeop took his stance.

The shadow that flew in collided with Great Master Jeongbeop, exchanged blows in a flash, and then slipped away like the wind.

Before most of the people in Room 32 even understood what had happened, the Cult Leader spoke indifferently.

“That was the Qilian Sword Sect’s sword art. Didn’t that place collapse?”

“It did. That Slaughter Demon Gireon or whatever caused a rampage, so the Martial Alliance declared them a public enemy and wiped them out completely.”

“Then what’s that bastard?”

“Maybe a descendant?”

At Iron Demon’s answer, the Cult Leader tilted his head.

“Judging by a glance, he’s at the Super-Peak Realm, but he looks like the type who thinks he’s in the Transcendent Realm.”

“Did you see him draw out Sword Energy? Heh heh. He doesn’t even realize he’s damaging his own body—he’s forcing it out.”

“I find it more pathetic that that man can’t deal with someone like that. A real Transcendent Realm master getting beaten by someone pretending to be one.”

At the back-and-forth between the Cult Leader and Iron Demon, Great Master Jeongbeop’s expression hardened.

He had instantly realized who the “real Transcendent Realm master” being called pathetic was.

By this point, Yul Han should have stepped in to mediate, yet he remained silent.

Profound Demon looked at him curiously. For some reason, Yul Han wore a slightly startled expression.

“What is it?”

“That one who just came and went…… was not alive.”

Profound Demon understood at once. Yul Han’s eyes had turned blood-red.

If he had seen it with Ghost Eyes, there was no room for doubt.

The problem was that Great Master Jeongbeop, who stood nearby, had also heard. His eyes gleamed with interest as he approached.

“Vice Cult Leader, what makes you think so?”

Before Profound Demon could send a mental voice transmission telling him not to answer, Yul Han spoke first.

“I saw it. A body that breathes, yet is not alive—within it dwelled the soul of the dead.”

The Vice Cult Leader simply stated what he saw through Ghost Eyes. Then again, he was not one to conceal things.

Still, the other party was an untrustworthy orthodox bastard. That troubled Profound Demon.

To his unease, an old man who had been standing behind Great Master Jeongbeop stepped forward.

“That is correct. A human ghost—called a Human Ghost. Vice Cult Leader, have you perhaps mastered a sorcery of the Bright Cult?”

Profound Demon nodded his head fiercely, urging him to say yes. Yet Yul Han simply shook his head.

“No. I merely received the grace of my predecessor. My senior brother—our Cult Leader—told me that the arrangement of the Blood Demon Ancestor has reached me.”

Profound Demon could not understand why he would reveal such things to orthodox bastards no different from enemies.

Unaware—or perhaps aware—of Profound Demon’s dissatisfaction, Yul Han remained calm. The old man looked startled.

“Blood Demon? You mean the second Cult Leader of your Bright Cult?”

“That’s right.”

“Then… could it be Ghost Eyes?”

Hearing the term Ghost Eyes from an old monk—something he had believed only he knew—Profound Demon’s gaze turned icy.

No matter what insults the Vice Cult Leader might hurl at him later, he was ready to strike and silence the man if necessary.

If talk of the Blood Demon and the Blood Cult relationship were to spread in front of the Cult Leader, nothing would be more disastrous.

As if sensing Profound Demon’s intent, Yul Han’s eyes shifted slightly and met his.

‘Do not move.’

Only now did Profound Demon understand what it meant for eyes to speak.

He had clearly read those words in the Vice Cult Leader’s gaze as it brushed over him.

Frozen by a single warning look, he listened as the old man continued.

“I am a monk of Ghost Hermitage, a branch temple of Shaolin. I received my dharma name Ghost Monk after inheriting the duty of guarding ghosts from my master.”

At the old man’s words, Profound Demon’s eyes widened.

“Ghost Monk… then the Ghost-Faced Buddha!”

At Profound Demon’s cry of shock, the old monk turned his gaze toward him.

“So there is someone who remembers me. Yes, I was once called that.”

As the old monk smiled faintly, the Cult Leader suddenly cut in.

“But what’s Ghost-Faced Buddha? Why am I hearing that for the first time?”

“He was not widely known in the Martial World, but within the sorcery circles, he left a significant mark. In other words, he once stood at the pinnacle of the sorcery world.”

“The pinnacle of the sorcery world?”

“One who could command ghosts at will and extract the souls of the living. Ah! Perhaps you would recognize the title Soul Lord.”

At the word Soul Lord, the Cult Leader’s eyes widened.

“Is he really a Soul Lord?”

“Yes. In the two-thousand-year history of the sorcery world, there have only ever been three Soul Lords. He is one of them.”

The Cult Leader’s astonishment was evident at Profound Demon’s answer. Iron Demon asked,

“Is that something worthy of such shock, Cult Leader?”

“Yes. Think of it as the Vice Cult Leader of the sorcery world. That should help you understand.”

“Is he really that remarkable!”

At Iron Demon’s expression of instant understanding, the Cult Leader nodded.

“Yes. He’s that rare of an ability holder.”

Apparently pleased by the Cult Leader’s generous evaluation, the old monk—Ghost Monk—smiled faintly and looked at Yul Han.

“You have obtained a precious ability. Those who do not understand call it ominous, but it is not. How could a power that nullifies all heterodox ghostly sorceries be ominous?”

“Heterodox ghostly sorceries?”

“Heretical arts, demonic arts, ghostly energy, sorcery—none of them will affect you. You will see through truth, and in the end, you will possess the power to suppress all that is impure in this world. Just like the Blood Demon Dharma King, who ultimately obtained that ability.”

“Blood Demon Dharma King?”

“In the Bright Cult he is your Second Cult Leader, but to us, he is the Dharma King. It is recorded that the founding ancestor of Ghost Hermitage received grace and instruction from the Dharma King.”

In other words, the branch temple of Shaolin—called a pillar of the orthodox path—had not only received help but even teachings from the Cult Leader of the Bright Cult, whom they labeled a millennium’s calamity.

Seeing the stunned expressions around him, Ghost Monk continued his explanation.

“According to the records left in our hermitage, the Dharma King’s past was not beautiful. After Ghost Eyes awakened and he began to see through truth, it is said that he personally settled the remnants of his past with his own hands.”

“With his own hands?”

Yul Han instantly grasped what that meant. Ghost Monk nodded.

“What exactly he resolved and how, we do not know. The records state only that much.”

At that answer, Yul Han’s gaze shifted to Profound Demon.

He, too, had understood what Ghost Monk implied. His eyes shook violently.

After all, it meant that the Blood Demon—whom they revered as their founding ancestor—had personally destroyed the Blood Cult as a criminal.

Turning away from Profound Demon, Yul Han asked,

“Then why are you trying to capture that person?”

“Because that which violates causality is not beneficial.”

Ghost Monk’s answer made Yul Han’s eyes grow heavy.

“He has died, therefore he must disappear. Is that truly the only law of causality?”

“The dead should remain in the world of the dead, and the living in the world of the living. That is simply what I believe is right.”

It was an answer that carried a stubborn refusal to discuss anything further. Yul Han stared at him before asking,

“Do you intend to keep blocking us?”

“Ah! No. This humble monk lacks such ability.”

As Ghost Monk stepped back, Great Master Jeongbeop came forward with an awkward expression.

“Do you intend to stay long?”

“At the latest, we will return by tomorrow.”

“Today and tomorrow… two days, then. Very well. We will yield.”

The Cult Leader muttered, ‘Yield, my ass,’ but neither Yul Han—who did not wish to escalate matters—nor Great Master Jeongbeop—who lacked the strength to press the issue—responded.

As the people of Room 32 stepped aside, our group entered the street lined with Pleasure Quarters.

While Iron Demon strode ahead in high spirits, Yul Han asked the Cult Leader,

“You mentioned the Qilian Sword Sect earlier. It sounded as if you knew them. Who was that?”

“Who? That bastard who’s supposedly dead but alive?”

“Yes.”

“I don’t know who he is. I just recognized it when he clashed with that Shaolin bastard.”

“Shaolin?”

“Ah! That Jeongbeop fellow—he’s from Shaolin. I could tell from the smell, and every martial art he used was Shaolin’s.”

“I see.”

As Yul Han nodded, the Cult Leader continued,

“When he collided with that Shaolin bastard, the sword art that burst forth looked familiar. Qilian Sword Sect.”

“Were they a famous sect?”

“They had a decent name. The problem was that someone came along and threw that name into a cesspit.”

“Threw it into a cesspit?”

“There was a man called Slaughter Demon Gireon who killed people however he pleased.”

Apparently finding that explanation insufficient, Ghost Demon, walking beside us, added,

“The Qilian Sword Sect’s martial arts belonged to the orthodox path, yet their killing intent was excessively strong. Because of that, practitioners would occasionally fall into deviation. In the case of Slaughter Demon Gireon, it is unclear whether that was his original nature, or whether he became a Murderous Ghost due to deviation.”

“I believe Iron Demon mentioned they were exterminated.”

“That’s correct. The orthodox path could no longer tolerate Slaughter Demon Gireon’s Slaughter Karma. They declared him a public enemy of the Martial World and wiped the entire sect out.”

“Instead of capturing only Slaughter Demon Gireon, why exterminate the entire Qilian Sword Sect……?”

Ghost Demon replied to Yul Han’s puzzled question.

“The Qilian Sword Sect frequently caused incidents. Every generation—roughly every thirty years—someone would fall into deviation and become a Murderous Ghost.”

“And that justified extermination?”

“The orthodox path was troubled. The damage was not small. The victims’ resentment grew, yet as members of the Martial Alliance, they could not be punished directly. All that anger inevitably turned toward the orthodox factions.”

“To escape criticism, they exterminated an entire sect—including the innocent?”

“In front they preach righteousness and benevolence, but behind they crack seeds. That’s the orthodox bastards’ specialty.”

“Even so, how could they destroy a sect of their own orthodox path……?”

“Well, that’s simple. It’s no longer orthodox if you say it isn’t.”

“Don’t tell me?”

“Your guess is likely correct, Vice Cult Leader.”

At Ghost Demon’s reply, Yul Han asked in disbelief,

“So they branded them as part of the Demonic Path?”

“Worse. At the time, the Martial Alliance labeled the Qilian Sword Sect as part of the Unorthodox Factions. They claimed heretical arts were rampant, accusing them of infiltrating the orthodox path under false pretenses…… That’s why it was even more ruthless.”

“Does that mean they truly practiced heretical arts?”

Ghost Demon shook his head.

“As far as is known, the Qilian Sword Sect never practiced heretical arts. However, it is true that their martial arts had certain peculiar aspects. They were the perfect target to be cornered.”

“No matter how many incidents they caused, that is beyond reason.”

“That’s the orthodox path for you.”

Yul Han nodded, but his expression darkened. The hidden underside of the orthodox path he had trusted and relied upon was too grotesque.

Lost in such turmoil, he suddenly heard the Cult Leader’s voice.

“Oh! It’s that bastard.”

Following the Cult Leader’s gaze, I saw the one who had clashed with Great Master Jeongbeop walking concealed within the crowd.