Chapter 154: Awakening
I never thought he'd still be unconscious.
I couldn't help sighing.
It had already been a week since I severed the impurity from Dokgo Jinak's body.
During that time, Yeom Yuhwa checked his pulse and breathing several times every single day without fail.
Both were steady and stable.
She also said the injuries remaining on his body were healing quickly.
There was only one problem.
Dokgo Jinak still hadn't regained consciousness.
Why the hell won't he wake up?
There were more than a few things I personally wanted to ask and confirm with him.
But unless Dokgo Jinak himself woke up, there was no way to get those answers.
So in the end, I remained in the Heavenly Demon Palace and kept waiting for him to regain consciousness.
Hmm....
I was sitting in the quarters prepared for me inside the palace, sorting through my thoughts, when—
“Are you inside?”
A familiar voice came from beyond the door.
It was Overlord Saber Ghost Demon Muk Jincheol.
“Come in.”
The instant I finished speaking, the door opened and Muk Jincheol stepped inside.
It was my first time seeing him since the day the Sacred Flame was restored.
According to Yeom Yuhwa, Muk Jincheol had been busy calming the unrest among the upper ranks of the Divine Cult after the Sacred Flame returned and the Cult Leader fell unconscious.
Seeing him again after some time, he looked far better than before.
The injuries he'd suffered from Dokgo Jinak seemed to have healed considerably.
Muk Jincheol dropped heavily into the seat across the table from me.
“How's your body?”
“Fortunately, there doesn't seem to be any major problem.”
Muk Jincheol clicked his tongue in amazement.
“Hah. The Cult Leader beat you that badly, and you've already recovered in a week.”
He shook his head.
“You're a real monster.”
I smiled faintly.
“You look fairly healthy yourself, Overlord Saber Ghost Demon.”
“Only on the outside.”
Muk Jincheol rolled one shoulder and grumbled.
“My insides still ache.”
Then he clicked his tongue.
“That woman Yeom Yuhwa still refused to treat me. Coldhearted wench.”
I laughed.
“Didn't she say the Flame Attendant's medical skills are meant only for the Sacred Flame and the Heavenly Demon?”
“That's exactly why I'm annoyed.”
Muk Jincheol grunted.
“I was injured protecting the Cult Leader too.”
He complained...
but he didn't actually sound deeply upset.
If anything, there was a strange sense of pride in his voice.
The fact that he'd thrown his body into danger for the Cult Leader itself seemed to be a source of honor for him.
I looked at him.
“So what brings you here?”
A grin appeared on Muk Jincheol's face.
“I looked into that matter you asked me about before.”
The matter I'd asked him about?
Don't tell me....
“The situation outside?”
“That's right.”
Muk Jincheol nodded.
“The current state of the martial world you were so curious about.”
His expression sharpened.
“I found out as much as I could.”
I immediately stood up.
That had been one of the things bothering me most while I remained inside the Demonic Cult.
What had happened to Kunlun after I disappeared?
Which direction was the martial world moving in now?
I'd wanted to know all of it desperately.
“Please tell me.”
Muk Jincheol didn't answer immediately.
The playfulness on his face disappeared.
Then he slowly spoke.
“The situation in the martial world is strange these days.”
I frowned.
“Strange? What do you mean?”
Muk Jincheol's eyes turned cold.
“The Righteous Alliance.”
His voice carried open hostility.
“Those damned bastards are having the time of their lives.”
The Righteous Alliance?
What the hell had happened?
I immediately asked,
“The Righteous Alliance?”
“Yeah.”
Muk Jincheol spoke with irritation.
“They've set up checkpoints and inspection networks across the martial world.”
He leaned back.
“They're tracking where martial artists travel, which merchant groups are doing business with whom...”
His expression twisted.
“They're even checking the guest lists of inns.”
I narrowed my eyes.
“What's their justification for going that far?”
Muk Jincheol snorted.
“Justification?”
His tone turned openly disgusted.
“They're claiming they're rooting out Divine Cult forces hiding throughout the martial world.”
He spat the words out.
“What complete bullshit.”
As I listened...
one past scene surfaced in my mind.
The Lee Munjeong incident during the Dragon-Phoenix Awakening Tournament.
Lee Munjeong had suddenly gone berserk and slaughtered Righteous Alliance martial artists before ultimately being killed by Moyong Seong.
Later, the Righteous Alliance investigation revealed that the martial art he'd cultivated was the Demonic Cult's Evil Soul Severing Life Sword.
Using that incident as justification, Alliance Leader Moyong Cheonhwi had tried to secure broad inspection authority over the entire martial world.
But the attempt had quickly failed.
Great figures such as Master Baekheo of Shaolin and Namgung Changmin of the Namgung Family had fiercely opposed it.
And yet—
That plan became reality now?
It didn't make sense.
“Strengthening the Righteous Alliance's authority should weaken the Nine Great Sects.”
I looked at Muk Jincheol.
“They accepted that without resistance?”
Muk Jincheol didn't answer right away.
He stared at my face for a moment.
There was something odd about his gaze.
Still, I ignored it.
“Do you know how the Righteous Alliance managed to gain authority over the entire martial world?”
Muk Jincheol finally spoke.
“Apparently, they gained a justification powerful enough to suppress the opposition of the Nine Great Sects.”
I frowned.
“What justification?”
His voice became flat.
“The death of a martial artist.”
I tilted my head.
“A martial artist's death?”
Who the hell had died for the Righteous Alliance to gain that much authority?
Did one of the Sect Leaders of the Nine Great Sects get killed by the Demonic Cult or something?
But I immediately rejected the thought.
The Heavenly Demon Divine Cult I'd seen was far too busy dealing with its own internal crisis to interfere with the outside world.
Hell, these people don't even seem interested in the martial world.
They didn't even have a proper intelligence organization monitoring current affairs.
I asked carefully,
“Who was the martial artist that died?”
Muk Jincheol stared at me again.
“The dead man...”
He paused.
“is someone you absolutely know.”
A chill settled in my chest.
An ominous feeling.
Could it be Sect Leader Cheon Gwangcheon?
Or...
Master Jin Gwangung?
“Tell me.”
My voice hardened.
“Who died?”
Then Muk Jincheol said a name I never expected.
“Kunlun's Young Hero.”
My mind went blank.
Muk Jincheol continued.
“A Taoist of Kunlun named Han Mujin.”
His gaze settled directly on me.
“You.”
"..."
For a long time...
I couldn't say anything.
Because of my death...
the Righteous Alliance was exercising inspection authority over the entire martial world?
My mind was too numb to even know how to react.
Muk Jincheol quietly watched me.
On the day the Sacred Flame was restored, I'd revealed my real name and my Kunlun identity in front of Dokgo Jinak.
Muk Jincheol and Yeom Yuhwa had both been there.
So they already knew exactly who I was.
Which meant...
from Muk Jincheol's perspective, the supposedly dead Han Mujin was sitting alive right in front of him.
“Apparently, the martial world believes you were attacked by our Divine Cult at Falling Death Valley...”
Muk Jincheol continued.
“fell from the valley...”
His brows rose.
“and died.”
Then he gave me a curious look.
“And I only found this out recently, but your reputation in the martial world is apparently pretty impressive.”
"..."
“The one who inherited the martial path of True Immortal Cheongun after two hundred years.”
He began counting off the stories.
“A rising star who reached the final four of the Dragon-Phoenix Awakening Tournament.”
“The man who gave instruction to Mount Hua.”
Muk Jincheol chuckled.
“Every story I heard was rather glamorous.”
He continued,
“Once word spread that someone like you had been killed by our Divine Cult, the righteous factions went into an uproar.”
His expression darkened.
“Fear and hostility toward the Divine Cult exploded at the same time.”
“The Righteous Alliance took advantage of that atmosphere and forced through expanded inspection authority under the pretext of hunting Demonic Cult members.”
Hmm.
My death really had that much impact on the martial world?
I was angry that the Righteous Alliance was using it.
But at the same time...
for just a brief moment, some small part of me felt strangely pleased that the martial world had recognized me that much.
Khmm.
That's not the important part right now. Get a grip.
