Chapter 96

Chapter 96

It had been three years since the great war between the Demonic Cult and the orthodox martial world broke out.

After falling from a cliff with the Martial Alliance Leader, Suhyeok had taken refuge in a remote cave.

That was when he first found them.

She was lying inside the cave, covered in blood.

And beside her was the unconscious Martial Alliance Leader.

Three years passed after that.

As repayment for saving their lives, Suhyeok became the joint disciple of both of them.

Of course, it wasn't simply because he'd saved them.

"...You're doing it again."

Cheon Soyeon sighed.

"My disciple can be remarkably clever, yet sometimes you are unbelievably dull."

"Combining this lady's martial art with that old man's?"

She glared sideways.

"This is all because you filled his head with strange ideas, isn't it?"

"Hahaha. Who knows?"

Namgung Myeong stroked his beard.

"If it's this boy, perhaps he truly can-"

[Trait ‘Heavenly Demon Divine Art (S)’ and Trait ‘Imperial Swordsmanship’ are being synthesized.]

[Synthesis successful.]

[Trait ‘Overlord Demonic Sword (S)’ obtained.]

An unorthodox martial art that allowed one to reach the realm of masters quickly, but ultimately risked qi deviation.

And an orthodox martial art that progressed slowly, building layer by layer toward an even higher realm.

Two forces as incompatible as water and oil.

Suhyeok had combined them into one.

It was absurd.

"...Learning both this lady's martial art and that old man's in only three years was already astonishing."

Cheon Soyeon stared at him.

"And now you've even merged their very natures?"

"A-Amazing."

Namgung Myeong looked genuinely stunned.

"How did you accomplish such a thing...?"

"To think the martial arts of the Demonic Cult and Namgung could be combined."

"This must also be possible because you're a Player."

Their admiration lasted only a moment.

Cheon Soyeon immediately lifted her chin with a blank expression.

"I have no idea what nonsense you're spouting."

"This is obviously because of this lady's exceptional teaching and the divine arts of our Cult."

"Do not misunderstand."

Namgung Myeong snorted.

"Perhaps senility has finally taken you."

"Clearly, it was thanks to the martial arts of Namgung, pillar of the orthodox path, and the instruction of this Sword Emperor."

Cheon Soyeon's eyes narrowed.

"Very well."

"Let us finally settle the duel from three years ago."

"I had been thinking it was time to finish matters anyway."

"Hah!"

Namgung Myeong raised his chin.

"Come whenever you wish."

"I'll accept your challenge anytime."

Suhyeok watched the two of them throw mock punches into the air and sighed.

"...Here they go again."

"Two people old enough to know better, bickering inside a cramped cave."

They talked as though they were about to fight, but it was little more than constant squabbling.

Neither of them was even capable of fighting properly.

Three years earlier, they had inflicted fatal injuries on each other.

Their internal energy had become blocked, leaving them unable to use martial arts properly.

And even if they left the cave...

Their reappearance would only throw the world back into chaos.

The war would continue.

That was one reason they had taken Suhyeok as their disciple.

"Disciple."

Cheon Soyeon spoke grandly.

"Do you know who this lady is?"

"I am the one who once ruled beneath the heavens and made all beings kneel below my feet."

"The Heavenly Demon."

"That is who I am."

Namgung Myeong followed immediately.

"And I am Sword Emperor Namgung Myeong."

"Pillar of every orthodox faction."

"Patriarch of the great Namgung Clan."

"And furthermore, leader of the Martial Alliance."

"That is who I am."

Suhyeok had heard the same lines so many times inside that cave that his ears practically hurt.

Time passed quickly.

Another two years went by.

Fwoooosh.

The mountain burned fiercely.

They were being pursued by hundreds of masters.

Orthodox martial artists and Demonic Cultists had joined forces.

All to kill the two of them.

"Cough...."

Namgung Myeong staggered.

"I don't think I can move any farther."

"This lady is the same."

Cheon Soyeon stopped as well.

"It seems this is where we part."

Suhyeok froze when he saw them stop.

He tried to draw his sword.

Then...

"Disciple."

Namgung Myeong looked at him.

"Who are we?"

Suhyeok couldn't answer.

Because he understood exactly what those words meant.

"...Yes."

Cheon Soyeon smiled faintly.

"No one other than this lady may stand above the heavens."

"That is the Heavenly Demon."

"There is no defeat for this lady."

"It seems it's finally time to finish the battle from five years ago."

Namgung Myeong laughed.

"Hahaha."

"Fighting alongside the leader of the Demonic Cult is a first for me."

"I'm almost looking forward to it."

"Go on ahead."

He smiled at Suhyeok.

"We'll follow soon."

That was the last time Suhyeok ever learned whether the two of them lived or died.

By the time the memory ended, Suhyeok had already reached deep inside Byeokho Mountain.

As expected...

Cheon Soyeon had come to the cave containing the Shadowless Divine Thief's hidden treasury.

...So she really came all the way here.

Thanks to the Anubis Mask, Suhyeok had followed without being detected.

The problem was figuring out why she had come.

At this point in time, Suhyeok should've been the only person who knew where the treasury was.

Even in the future, its discovery had been a complete accident.

After a while, Cheon Soyeon entered the hidden chamber.

Then she came back out and calmly began leaving Byeokho Mountain.

Suhyeok watched her with growing confusion.

She didn't take anything.

So she only came to check it.

She had gone so far as to wear a human-skin mask...

Yet hadn't taken a single item.

That left only two possibilities.

Either she'd already known about the treasury and had been using it like a hidden vault...

Or there was something inside that Suhyeok didn't know about, something important enough to force her to come here secretly.

Step. Step.

He followed from a distance as she walked through the entertainment district, casually looking around.

Then she entered a deserted alley.

Bump.

"Hey, fuck!"

One drunken man snapped after bumping shoulders with her.

"Watch where you're going!"

There were three men in total.

Cheon Soyeon stared at them.

"...Are you speaking to me?"

"Hah."

"Who else would I be talking to?"

"What's a woman doing wandering around alone this late at night?"

The man sneered.

"You here to sell your body like those women over there?"

"Kuhaha!"

One of his companions looked at her human-skin mask and laughed.

"Your face is ugly as hell too."

"You think you'll attract any men like that?"

He leered.

"Well, who knows."

"Maybe what's under those clothes is better."

"Kukuku."

Cheon Soyeon tilted her head.

"Hmm."

"I am often called the greatest beauty under heaven."

"I suppose this appearance is why you're speaking so boldly."

Her tone remained calm.

"Consider yourselves fortunate."

"Normally, I would've exterminated your three generations and torn out both your eyes."

The man flew into a rage and raised his hand to slap her.

Grab.

"What the-"

He froze.

"Who are you?!"

"Let go!"

"AAAAARGH!!"

"W-Wait...!!"

"Please, wait!!"

Suhyeok crushed his wrist in one hand.

The man immediately dropped to his knees in pain.

His companions started forward.

Then Suhyeok released a sliver of killing intent.

They instantly backed down.

"Ugh... p-please spare us...."

Suhyeok released the mangled hand.

Then looked coldly at all three.

"Get lost."

"Unless you want to die."

"Y-Yes!"

They fled.

Only Suhyeok and Cheon Soyeon remained.

An awkward silence settled between them.

She spoke first.

"Hmm."

"Interesting."

"To think someone would help me in such a deserted place."

She looked at him.

"Were you following me?"

"...This isn't a place a woman should walk alone."

"That's why I followed."

She could've handled those men easily without him.

They probably would've died far more brutally.

But this was also part of what Suhyeok needed to do to become her husband.

He had to change her perception of the delinquent eldest young master.

That was why he'd stepped in openly, even removing his disguise to do it.

"Still..."

Cheon Soyeon looked curious.

"How strange."

"How can you use strength like that?"

"I heard the infamous eldest young master never learned martial arts at all."

Her question didn't sound suspicious.

If anything, it was genuinely curious.

Even her tone was strangely gentle.

That was different from the woman Suhyeok remembered.

She had softened somewhat near the end of his previous life...

But she had always been cold and ruthless in everything.

...What's going on?

Is there something different from what I remember?

"More importantly..."

Suhyeok looked at her.

"Are you sure it's fine for those men to see your real appearance?"

"You clearly hid it for a reason."

"...They're nothing more than street thugs."

"It doesn't matter."

"They can't spread any rumor that would actually affect me."

"Hehe."

Cheon Soyeon smiled softly.

"You've become quite an old soul since I last saw you."

"This side of you isn't bad either."

She looked up at the night sky.

Then returned her gaze to him with a gentle smile.

"Thank you."

"Thanks to you, I can continue quietly."

"I was in an especially good mood tonight."

"I wanted to walk beneath the moon."

With only those words, she disappeared.

From her tone...

To the way she'd vanished without trying to conceal her identity...

She didn't seem interested in hiding who she was from him at all.

And more importantly...

What she'd just said.

It sounded like she'd known Heuk Mujin from the beginning.

But even within Heuk Mujin's memories, Suhyeok couldn't find a single memory of her.

"...Must be my imagination."

"I should head back too."

Meanwhile...

Somewhere in a dark alley.

The entire area was soaked in blood.

Severed corpses littered the ground.

At the center stood Cheon Soyeon.

She wiped blood from her face and looked up at the sky.

"The night sky is especially beautiful today."

"Of course."

"Something good happened."

She smiled faintly.

"You saved this lady again."

"Heuk Mujin."

She whispered the final name.

Then disappeared once more.

The next day.

Early in the morning, Suhyeok was summoned to the family head's chamber.

Most likely because of what he'd done to Jeok Seonwoo and the other young masters the previous day.

Ever since Heuk Mujin became a delinquent, the family head had never summoned him even once.

He had effectively abandoned him.

The boy would die from his severed meridians eventually anyway.

There was no point wasting attention on him.

"Family Head, the eldest young master has arrived."

"Let him in."

The doors opened.

Sitting upon the throne was Heuk Yacheol, head of the Black Heaven Family.

His long beard and cold eyes dominated the entire room.

As expected of the First Elder of the Demonic Cult.

Even with my original body, he might've been a difficult opponent.

Suhyeok clasped his fists.

"I greet the Family Head."

The atmosphere grew heavy.

Heuk Yacheol looked down at him with icy eyes.

Then spoke in a deep voice.

"...Explain."

"What possessed you to suddenly cause such a disturbance?"

He was the Demonic Cult's second-in-command.

A strategist sharp enough to make even the orthodox Zhuge Clan wary.

Cheap excuses wouldn't convince someone like him.

Of course...

Suhyeok hadn't come without a plan.

"I intend to participate in the competition for the Young Cult Leader's husband."

"Every great family is required to send someone anyway."

Heuk Yacheol's gaze sharpened.

"You know perfectly well that isn't your concern."

"You are called the disgrace of this family."

"Do you truly believe you possess the qualifications?"

Good.

That was exactly the answer Suhyeok had been waiting for.

"If qualifications are the issue, don't worry."

"I'll prove them in the spar three days from now."

"All I ask is that the Family Head attend."

"That's enough."

"...You're asking me to sit there before everyone and watch you suffer a humiliating defeat?"

"Why should I do that?"

RUMBLE.

The entire room shook.

Heuk Yacheol's expression hardened.

An enormous pressure crashed down on Suhyeok's body.

His clasped arms grew unbearably heavy.

Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.

He swallowed the blood trying to surge up his throat and answered.

"Keugh..."

"The Family Head..."

"No."

"The Black Heaven Family won't suffer any loss."

He lifted his eyes.

"I'll wager my worthless life."

"If you want..."

"I'll even swallow Gu Poison."

If Suhyeok lost, the Gu implanted in his brain would kill him.

Then responsibility for his death would fall on the other families.

Even if he was a delinquent, he was still the eldest young master of the Black Heaven Family.

It's not a bad deal for them either.

They could use my death as justification to extract plenty from the other families.

Naturally, Suhyeok had no intention of dying even if he swallowed the Gu.

The Ring of Mental Immunity would destroy it the moment it entered his body.

"...Very well."

The pressure filling the chamber gradually disappeared.

Heuk Yacheol had accepted.

"I permit it."

"The Gu is unnecessary."

"Prove yourself with your own strength."

His eyes hardened.

"But if you lose..."

"You'll stake your life on the spot as the price for deceiving me."

That wasn't the end.

Suhyeok had already secured permission for the main objective.

Now it was time to obtain additional benefits.

"Of course."

"And since you've already permitted this..."

"I ask for permission to enter the family's hidden treasury."

Heuk Yacheol stared at him for a moment.

"...Granted."

"Take the access token on your way out."

"Now leave."

Done.

Exactly as Cheon Soyeon had told him before his regression.

Heuk Yacheol liked shameless people.

Suhyeok smiled and clasped his fists.

"Yes."

"Then I'll take my leave."

Creeeak.

He left the family head's chamber and immediately headed toward the hidden treasury.

The reason was simple.

In his current condition, he didn't have enough stamina to fight all four opponents.

He'd only been able to deal with Jeok Seonwoo yesterday because he'd used the absolute minimum amount of strength.

Literally the minimum.

That wouldn't be enough against them at full power.

Even if I use mana instead of martial arts, this body can probably endure only thirty seconds.

Elixirs weren't an option either.

He had tried using one the previous night just in case.

The result had been immediate.

[Use of ‘Elixir’ is prohibited on this floor.]

Another restriction.

That made medicinal treasures and a martial art suited to this body even more necessary.

Something that could free him from the restriction of the Nine Yang Severed Meridians.

Then...

A door on the opposite side of the manor opened.

A familiar-looking woman slowly walked through.

Cheon Soyeon.

"...!"

She approached the visibly startled Suhyeok.

Then smiled.

"You look surprised."

"So..."

"Do you recognize this lady?"