Chapter 151

Chapter 151

“Kwaaaaagh!”

Complex emotions such as despair, rage, and desperation could be felt within the scream.

An enormous and incredibly dense Deathly Energy began to flow out from Wolharin’s body.

“Sword Exalted! Sword Exalted! That dog who should’ve had his guts ripped out while still alive and turned into a Jiangshi!”

Crack! Grind!

Wolharin ground her teeth so hard it seemed they might shatter.

“So what happened?”

At that moment, Pungwol, who had been handling work beside Wolharin, spoke in an emotionless tone.

“What happened to the Sacred Relic of the Wudang Sect? Did you kill the Sword Exalted?”

The eerily calm words that came from Pungwol’s mouth forced Wolharin to recount her own disgrace.

Her soul had been cut. And yet he was trying to hear the report the moment he arrived….

Wolharin laughed like a madwoman.

“Heh heh heh!”

Seeing Wolharin’s clearly unusual behavior, Pungwol frowned.

“Shamaness, did something strange happen?”

“I don’t know either.”

“…What?”

“It means I cannot give you the certainty you love so much.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“I think Biyeong will bring the Sacred Relic of the Wudang Sect. But Biyeong was also seriously injured and might have been captured by the Murim Alliance soldiers nearby.”

Only then did Pungwol understand Wolharin’s reaction, and he jerked his chin as if telling her to continue.

“And I don’t know whether the Sword Exalted is alive or dead.”

“What did you say?”

Pungwol twisted his face without any intention of hiding his displeasure.

“I clearly told you to make sure the Sword Exalted died.”

“With hastily assembled forces, it was bound to be difficult. If you wanted him dead with certainty, you should have sent at least thirty more Absolute-Level Demonic Practitioners.”

“I recall there being more than fifty experts of the Transformation Realm. Am I mistaken?”

“Yes. Among them, not even a quarter were truly Absolute-Level Experts. From the start, they were merely mass-produced experts created through human body modification. They’re on a completely different level from genuine Transformation Realm experts.”

“They can use Hardened Force, so that flaw can be compensated.”

“You brat.”

For an instant, Pungwol felt a disgusting sensation as though ants were crawling all over his body. Then he remembered.

Wolharin used to call him a brat every time he made a wrong judgment.

“…It has already been forty years since you stopped calling me a brat.”

“Really? How unfortunate. Because the current you has returned to the you of forty years ago.”

Those were not words that could simply be ignored. Wolharin had been the Shamaness who protected the Divine Cult alongside the Cult Leader even before the present Heavenly Demon existed.

“…What is it that I am overlooking?”

“Yes. I have lived several times longer than you, and because of that I have experienced many things.”

“…What are you trying to say?”

“Do not underestimate the Sword Exalted. That man will someday become the sword that pierces through His heart.”

Kwooooooooom—!

Terrifying Demonic Energy began to burst out from Pungwol’s body. The violently surging Killing Intent flowing from him made Wolharin’s entire body tingle.

“How dare you utter such nonsense…!”

“That is the problem.”

“…What?”

Normally Wolharin would have stepped back at this level of rage, but this time she instead stepped forward.

“Do you know why I always called that bastard Cheon Sangmu ‘Heavenly Demon~’ or ‘Him’?”

“Shut up!”

KWAANG—!

With that fierce Lion’s Roar, cracks spread across the walls of Pungwol’s office. If Pungwol released his aura just once more, the entire pavilion might collapse.

“Certainly, the Cult Leader is indeed the god of the Sun–Moon Divine Cult. And the previous Cult Leaders accepted the responsibilities of that divine position.”

“My god is none other than Him.”

“I do not think of that man as a god. Even after obtaining the seat of Cult Leader, he threw every duty that a god should perform onto you. Do you truly think that is a god?”

Crack! Creak!

With that statement alone, Wolharin could be considered a heretic. Normally she would have been killed immediately.

The reason Pungwol was sitting there restraining his anger was because he had personally seen and heard how greatly Wolharin had helped the Divine Cult.

“If you continue speaking such blasphemy…!”

“If you want to kill me, then kill me. If you want to exile me from the Divine Cult, then exile me. I can’t live alongside you people any longer.”

Wolharin slowly rose to her feet and belatedly realized that her body was far from normal.

Her soul had been injured, after all.

‘Looks like I won’t be able to ascend for a while.’

Wolharin smiled bitterly and looked at Pungwol with emotionless eyes.

“In my opinion, Cheon Sangmu is just a brat who wants to wield his overflowing power. And one more piece of advice—Cheon Sangmu called the Sword Exalted his rival. No matter how deep your faith is, you should acknowledge at least that much.”

That the Sword Exalted could become an expert equal to the Heavenly Demon.

Wolharin almost spoke those final words, but stopped herself. If she said even that much, Pungwol would truly try to kill her this time.

“I’ll be leaving now. I was going to ascend soon anyway, so you won’t need my help in the war. And.”

Wolharin almost turned around but instead kept her gaze forward.

“Live well, Moon.”

Calling Pungwol by the nickname he had decades ago, Wolharin suddenly vanished like smoke.

For a moment, Pungwol stared blankly at the spot where Wolharin had last stood. Then he picked up his brush and resumed his work.

‘Nothing changes.’

Faith? The nickname Demon Brain? If he had to abandon them, he could discard them without hesitation.

‘I only need to serve Him.’

Inside the office Wolharin had left, Pungwol simply continued moving his brush as though carrying out his duties.

***

Youngho forced his heavy eyelids open.

“…Not bad.”

“You’ve awakened?”

Hyeon-gang spoke toward Youngho with a gaunt face.

“How much better are you?”

“Thanks to you, my Internal Injury has recovered quite a bit.”

“Then why on earth did you use Innate True Qi, seriously!”

When Hyeon-gang snapped irritably, Youngho chuckled.

“Good thing you managed to make the Heavenly Poison Pill.”

“If the Tang Clan finds out about this, they might try to kill me.”

“I’m not sure the Tang Clan could even handle the Unorthodox Alliance.”

“This is the first time Young Master has actually acted as my shield.”

“You should be grateful.”

“Grateful, my foot! Do you know how hard I worked to make that?! It’s not something meant to be used as some strange medicine! I barely managed to produce two pills, and you just swallowed one Spirit Pill like that!”

Hyeon-gang grumbled.

“Fortunately, even though the others only consumed part of the Heavenly Poison Pill, their internal injuries recovered significantly. Among the squad members, the one who recovered best can already display about seventy percent of his original ability.”

“That’s good to hear.”

“I found a stream nearby, so go wash up later.”

“Does the blood smell that bad?”

“That’s not it! I’m telling you to wash because it interferes with the treatment!”

Wooooong—!

At that moment, from far away came the sensation of something screaming.

Youngho was not the only one who felt it. The Asura Squad Members resting nearby sharpened their senses and all looked in the same direction.

When Youngho sharpened his senses, he could feel many people gathered over there.

And when the heavy Resonance Sound faded, Youngho instinctively realized it.

“Looks like the Jiangshi bastards finally came outside.”

The moment Youngho finished speaking, the shouts of Murim Alliance soldiers rang out along with a dizzying explosion.

Youngho slowly rose to his feet.

“Hyeon-gang.”

“Yes, Young Master.”

“Where’s that stream?”

“Jongpal knows where it is too, so go with him. That guy needs to wash as well.”

“Alright.”

As if the Jiangshi meant nothing to him, Youngho took Jongpal and headed toward the nearby stream.

Soon after, one of the Murim Alliance members hurried toward the place where the Asura Squad was gathered.

“We need the help of the Sword Exalted! Where is the Sword Exalted!?”

At those words, everyone there spoke in unison.

“He went to wash.”

And Horyeung added with a chuckle.

“Come back later.”

Faced with that blatant dismissal, the Murim Alliance member’s face turned pale.

However, since he knew that Youngho’s condition looked severe even on the outside, he could not hide his slumped shoulders as he headed back toward Gojeong.

Pussh!

Gojeong’s spear thrust repeatedly at terrifying speed. Within a fleeting instant, the heads of dozens of Jiangshi burst apart.

The incomparably swift and clean spear strikes were enough to send chills down the spines of those watching.

Thrust, withdraw, thrust again. As this sequence repeated, the Jiangshi were slaughtered without resistance.

“Hall Master!”

At that moment, a Murim Alliance member called out to Gojeong. Gojeong responded with a hand signal, and the member continued.

“The Sword Exalted cannot come!”

Gojeong replied with another hand signal and thought.

‘Did something happen?’

That was likely the case. Each Jiangshi had weakened to the point that even a Second Rate Martial Artist could defeat one.

Clearly, it was a variable caused by the absence of someone controlling the Jiangshi.

And the Youngho he knew was not the type of man who would fail to realize that the Jiangshi had weakened so much.

Even if he couldn’t help directly, he would at least show his face out of courtesy.

Yet Youngho did not come.

‘Come to think of it… he was quite badly injured.’

Perhaps he truly could not come because of his injuries. But every time Gojeong struck with his spear, the expression Youngho had shown earlier kept surfacing in his mind.

‘…….’

Cold.

Heavy.

And frightening.

Gojeong could only hope that Youngho would not go on a rampage. With the Demonic Cult right before them, there was no worse situation than internal conflict erupting.

Before long, the thousands of Jiangshi were completely subjugated by the Mid-Sized and Small Sects and the Murim Alliance forces who had come to support them.

Gojeong wiped the sweat from his forehead and asked the member standing beside him.

“Hasn’t the Alliance’s reinforcements arrived yet?”

“No. The Jiangshi turned out to be far weaker than expected, so we succeeded in subjugating them before the reinforcements arrived.”

“We should express our gratitude to the sects that came to support us.”

“Hall Master, you have other matters to attend to. The Captains are already giving thanks, so please go meet the Sword Exalted first.”

“Yes, I should. I need to learn the full circumstances.”

He had already heard a rough explanation from the Wudang Sect and Shaolin, but they were not the only ones present at the scene.

Just as Gojeong slung his spear over his back and began heading toward where Youngho was—

“…!”

Sensing a sudden presence, Gojeong slowly turned around and gripped his spear again.

‘They are not from the Murim Alliance.’

Not only were they coming from a different direction, but the aura they emitted was unusual.

“What? Isn’t that the little brat Flowing Wind Spear?”

At that moment, hearing the familiar voice from behind him, Gojeong loosened his grip on the spear.

“So the Divine Physician has come. What brings you here?”

At Gojeong’s words, Hwa Ryeong frowned.

“What else would a physician come for? To treat patients. Did you think I came to play? Soon the physicians from the Medical Pavilion of Hwa Ryeong will arrive. More importantly, where is Hyeon-gang?”

“By Hyeon-gang, do you mean the Divine Physician of Ten Thousand Hands?”

“Yes. Where did that brat go— no, never mind. I can sense him. I’ll head that way.”

With those words, Hwa Ryeong led several physicians of the pavilion toward where the Asura Squad was.

‘Good thing the Divine Physician came personally.’

The Medical Pavilion of Hwa Ryeong did not belong to either the Orthodox Sect or the Unorthodox Faction. Their purpose was simply to treat patients.

If the relationship between the Orthodox and Unorthodox sides became strained, Hwa Ryeong might be able to mediate.

The war with the Demonic Cult was right around the corner. If internal conflict erupted between the Orthodox and Unorthodox factions, it would cause countless complications.

More than anything—

Gojeong still remembered Youngho’s eyes.

Eyes filled with deep rage and killing intent suppressed to its very limit.

Gojeong rested, praying that no incident would occur.