Chapter 16

Chapter 16

“Kwaaaaah!!”

Hong Gakjeong let out a pain-filled scream and began stumbling backward, one step, then another.

Thud.

Soon after, both of Hong Gakjeong’s arms, still gripping her sword, fell to the ground.

“My arm! My arm!!”

“Be quiet.”

“Keuhk!”

In that instant, Cheonung moved so fast that no one could even perceive it, appearing before Hong Gakjeong and grabbing her by the throat, lifting her straight up.

With both arms gone, Hong Gakjeong was unable to resist in any way, and she grew even more confused by a situation she could not possibly comprehend.

‘Why is Master here?!’

Master never interfered in fights where fellow disciples killed one another. Then why, exactly, was he here?

As if he had read Hong Gakjeong’s thoughts, Cheonung spoke with a faint smile.

“There’s no need for you to understand. It’s nothing more than a whim of mine.”

A whim? Just a whim? Cheonung saw the hatred-filled glare in Hong Gakjeong’s eyes, but merely smiled softly before turning his gaze toward Youngho.

“Did you know I would come?”

“More precisely, I knew you were here.”

“You sensed my presence?”

“I read your gaze. And you’re not very skilled at hiding.”

At those words, Cheonung’s eyes widened, and then he burst into loud laughter.

Cheonung instinctively realized that Youngho had noticed his presence long ago. Still, he had not expected to hear that he was bad at hiding.

Who would ever dare say that the Lord of the Unorthodox Alliance lacked skill?

No matter how clumsily he made rice cakes, no matter how poorly he brewed tea, he was always a man who excelled at everything.

Because there was no one who could tell him to his face that he was bad at something.

And yet—what? Not skilled at hiding?

Belittling oneself was unpleasant. But being forcibly exalted was even more unpleasant.

Strangely enough, however, rather than feeling offended by Youngho’s words, Cheonung felt a deep sense of curiosity and amusement.

“You’re the first one who’s ever said that to me since I became Alliance Lord.”

“Why do you think no one ever said it before?”

“Are you asking because you don’t know?”

“Of course not.”

Interesting. It was far too amusing. Still, now was the time to rein in his capricious nature, at least a little.

“Wait a moment. I’ll deal with this woman first.”

“Yes.”

At that moment, a dark and terrifying aura began to pour out from Cheonung’s entire body. Just from that aura alone, Youngho felt every muscle in his body tense without him realizing it.

To make someone like him—who had passed through countless battlefields—feel tense with nothing but presence alone…… the current Unorthodox Faction truly was strong.

No, to be precise, Cheonung was strong. The present Jianghu might not know it, but Youngho, who knew the future, could say it with confidence.

Perhaps Cheonung was the one closest to being the strongest under heaven, excluding the Heavenly Demon.

Cheonung looked at Hong Gakjeong with eyes devoid of any emotion. The moment she met his gaze, a chill crawled up from her toes, and her body began to tremble uncontrollably.

Those eyes—so empty and void—were exactly the same as the eyes Youngho had just shown earlier.

‘What in the world is this……?’

Cold sweat began to pour out from every pore in her body.

“What a pity, Gakjeong.”

Though his gaze was hollow, his voice sounded as if he truly could not contain his regret.

“Do you know why I took you in as my disciple when I first saw you?”

“…….”

Even though Hong Gakjeong could not say a word, Cheonung continued speaking.

“It was because I saw that venomous determination to climb upward. You were a beggar, weren’t you? Normally, a beggar’s goal isn’t to rise—it’s simply to survive. But you were different.”

“M-Master…….”

“With nothing but that obsession to rise, you became the Fourth Young Miss. And even then, you didn’t settle for where you were—you kept striving to climb higher.”

Cheonung let out a regretful sigh and continued.

“But that venom to climb upward was too strong. In the end, you crossed a line you should never have crossed. For the crime of killing one senior physician, and killing or injuring the junior physicians, I will execute you.”

“Mas…ter!”

“Whether you go to hell or heaven, I’ll leave that to the life you’ve lived so far. Farewell.”

“No……!!”

Crunch!

Cheonung snapped Hong Gakjeong’s neck with the hand that held her.

Her body went limp, drooping like a puppet with its strings cut. It looked unbearably futile. All the obsession and venom she had clung to in order to climb upward could no longer remain in a corpse.

Cheonung slowly lowered Hong Gakjeong’s body to the ground and asked Youngho,

“Do you not need your wounds treated?”

“It’s not urgent.”

“I see. Still, it’s strange. If I hadn’t intervened, you would have died. Everything you’ve shown so far seemed calculated…….”

“I trusted you, Master.”

“If that were the case, it looked more like you trusted that fellow Horyeung.”

“It was a precaution, just in case.”

“He certainly is strong. With just a bit more effort, he’ll break through that wall…… what a pity. Such a pity. These days, the ones in the Unorthodox Alliance are gradually getting weaker.”

“That can’t be true.”

“I was just saying it.”

Jin Woohyeon and Horyeung blinked as they watched the exchange between the two.

‘What is this?’

‘Aren’t they way too calm?’

Hong Gakjeong, the Fourth Young Miss, was dead.

Cheonung did seem regretful, yet Youngho looked far too composed—almost as if he had known from the start that this would happen.

Seeing the two standing there foolishly, Cheonung muttered to himself as if pondering something.

“Should I kill that one too…….”

At those words, Jin Woohyeon felt a chill race from his toes to the top of his head. It felt as though icy death was about to come for him at any moment.

Hong Gakjeong had been the Fourth Young Miss and Cheonung’s disciple, so she had been granted a clean death. But he would be different. It might even make him think that death would be preferable.

The Cheonung he knew was an old monster more than capable of that.

As Jin Woohyeon resigned himself to his fate in despair, Youngho smiled inwardly and spoke.

“Master, please spare this man.”

Cheonung looked at Youngho as if he were surprised.

“You wish to spare someone who tried to kill you?”

“He didn’t lay a hand on me.”

“He intended to.”

“But in the end, Horyeung stopped him.”

“You’re kinder than I expected.”

“Only because he seems useful am I sparing him.”

“Hmm?”

Cheonung found Youngho’s words interesting, but since he knew Youngho would not explain himself any further, he let it pass.

“Fine. I’ll spare him. But punishment is still necessary.”

At Youngho’s excessively lenient decision, Jin Woohyeon unconsciously looked at him with a strange expression.

“Five years confined in the Wall-Reflection Cave should be enough.”

“That seems appropriate.”

“Good. Jin Woohyeon. Go to the Wall-Reflection Cave immediately. If you fail to complete the five years, I’ll take it as you wanting to die.”

“Thank you for the Alliance Lord’s magnanimous mercy. And Fifth Young Master, someday I will repay this grace.”

“Go.”

“Yes.”

With that, Jin Woohyeon headed toward the Wall-Reflection Cave within the Unorthodox Alliance.

Horyeung naturally moved to Youngho’s side and asked him,

“Are you all right?”

“It’s nothing more than superficial wounds. I sealed the pressure points and stopped the bleeding.”

“Impressive.”

“What is?”

“You already know.”

“At this level, you won’t survive otherwise.”

Watching Youngho chat casually with Horyeung, Cheonung curled the corner of his lips and said,

“You seem to like him more than your own master?”

“How could that be? We were just having an ordinary conversation.”

“Hm…… well, I’ll let that slide. You entertained me, so I should return the favor.”

Return the favor? Youngho looked at Cheonung with a puzzled expression. He had no idea what kind of reward he meant.

No—he understood the reason. With Youngho’s existence, the succession structure had become far more entertaining than expected.

‘But is there really something he can give as a return gift?’

No matter that it was the Unorthodox Alliance, it was impossible to receive divine weapons or miraculous medicines as a mere token of thanks.

Then what in the world was Cheonung going to give him?

“Here. Take this, it’s a Summoning Pill.”

At those words, both Horyeung and Youngho’s eyes widened. Horyeung gaped in disbelief, and Youngho let out an involuntary sigh.

‘He’s insane.’

That was the only thought that came to mind.

‘Then again, he’s been insane from the start, so maybe it’s not that strange?’

Cheonung was capricious. He hated war, yet enjoyed battles where life and death were decided. He found disciples troublesome, yet cherished them just as much.

Was there anyone else under heaven as capricious as him? Even if there were, would they possess martial might equal to Cheonung’s?

On that point, Youngho was still skeptical.

“You’re giving me a Summoning Pill?”

“Yes. It’s my gift.”

It was excessive—far too excessive. Still, Youngho did not refuse. More than anything, he had begun to feel the limits of his internal energy.

This time as well, if his internal energy had been even slightly lower, he would have been decisively defeated. No matter how efficiently one used highly refined internal energy, there was always a limit.

“Thank you for your consideration, Master.”

“Good. Take it and then come to my training ground.”

“Understood.”

“You’re not asking why?”

“Your words are the words of heaven.”

“Stop pretending. I’ll tell you the reason anyway. That way, your anticipation will grow.”

“I’m listening.”

“Do you remember when I said my sword art consists of four forms and one ultimate principle?”

“Yes.”

“Once you take the Summoning Pill, you’ll gain a decent amount of internal energy. It’s about time I taught you the ultimate principle.”

Youngho’s eyes immediately sparkled. The ultimate principle of this martial art had limitless applications. Although he had already mastered it before his regression, being able to use it properly again—how could he not be pleased?

“The ultimate principle consumes far more internal energy than you’d expect, so I couldn’t teach it back then. If mishandled, it can become a double-edged sword.”

“It sounds extremely dangerous.”

“Which is exactly why it’s such an extraordinary technique. Then I’ll be off.”

As if he had finished everything he needed to say, Cheonung waved his hand once and vanished abruptly. Thinking about how Cheonung had completely slipped beyond his senses, Youngho made a weary expression.

‘Still a long way to go. To fail to keep up with even this level of speed.’

Letting out a deep sigh, Youngho turned to Horyeung.

“I’ll take the Summoning Pill right now, so stand guard for me.”

“Understood. But did the Alliance Lord really give it as a simple reward?”

“He must have been very entertained.”

Even if he had enjoyed watching disciples fight among themselves, giving away a Summoning Pill was an overly generous reward.

Sensing Horyeung’s growing thoughts, Youngho put on an indifferent expression.

“That’s just how he is. Enough—just stand guard. Since it’s a Shaolin Summoning Pill, it’ll take some time to fully consolidate the medicinal effects.”

“Understood.”

“And let’s call Sopyung after disposing of that woman’s corpse. She’ll be startled.”

“Understood.”

With that, Youngho immediately consumed the Summoning Pill and began circulating his qi.