Chapter 95: Unexpected Words

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Yeop Hwon and Hyeop Mu-geuk, seated side by side behind Cheol Ryu-heun, put great strength into both hands.

It was because of Divine Wind’s terrifying speed as it dashed, slicing through the wind.

‘No, it seems a bit faster than when we came here…?’

‘Did eating just a few ginseng roots cause new power to manifest?’

The moment the two raised questions in their heads, Cheol Ryu-heun’s voice was heard.

“The power inside its body is naturally rising.”

“Pardon?”

Yeop Hwon and Hyeop Mu-geuk opened their eyes wide.

“The Yang Vital Energy of the Thousand-Year Divine Ginseng was so vast to begin with that it hasn’t all dissolved into its body.”

The two people who heard Cheol Ryu-heun’s brief explanation were inwardly impressed.

‘Ah…!’

That meant the tremendous energy would gradually dissolve with the flow of time, bringing new rising effects.

To think there was room for a horse’s abilities to develop like a martial world master’s realization – at this rate, later on, it might just soar into the sky.

Soon, Yeop Hwon and Hyeop Mu-geuk glanced sideways at the floor rapidly passing by.

‘Indeed…!’

While the power of advancement had increased, the footprints where its hooves landed felt lighter.

It was newly surprising.

The mystical efficacy of the Thousand-Year Divine Ginseng, called “a gift bestowed by immortals.”

Yet.

When a road stretching down along the mountainside appeared before their eyes, one problem suddenly occurred.

Their stomachs were churning.

Due to the horse’s hindquarters rapidly rising and falling at high speed, motion sickness had already invaded.

At that moment, Cheol Ryu-heun said expressionlessly.

“Bear with it. If you filthily vomit, I’ll just abandon you and go. It’s a downhill slope, how convenient. Alright, run to your heart’s content.”

Simultaneously, Divine Wind CRASH! kicked off the ground and leaped high as if vaulting over a large building rooftop.

WHIIIIIIIING-!

The moment Yeop Hwon and Hyeop Mu-geuk, feeling the terrifying sensation of floating in mid-air at tremendous speed, tightly shut their eyes, they cried out identically.

“THIS CRAAAZY HORSE!”

* * *

Deep in the forest.

Only occasional bird calls could be heard; all around was quiet.

Ximen Yue presently stopped his movement, sat by a stream shaded by trees, and FLIP took off his jet-black mask.

‘This should be far enough.’

After rapidly withdrawing from the manor earlier, he had run without rest and arrived here.

Yet his breathing was still stable.

It was a scene that spoke to his personal mighty level of internal cultivation.

‘In the end, I gained nothing.’

Having muttered internally, Ximen Yue’s eyes soon lit up.

No.

It wasn’t nothing at all.

There was something gained.

Namely, through today’s battle, he had learned that Cheol Ryu-heun’s outstanding martial prowess level, his hidden abilities, were far more tremendous than he had expected.

It was regrettable.

That he couldn’t somehow settle things with him, who had stimulated his interest…

The victory would have been his portion anyway, but he had wanted to feel a bit more of the power his opponent possessed.

At the end, when Ghost Whirling Wind Wheel, the form of the Ghost Shadow Sword Technique that Heaven’s Death Sword Ghost Eum Ryun was said to have most favored executing, was displayed – honestly, he’d been quite surprised.

Another thing… The Sword Curtain displayed against Jeo Gyeom was the same.

That transcendent technique Cheol Ryu-heun had executed was an essence that ignored the laws of internal energy techniques.

Keeping a series of sword energy bound to a certain radius while separately sending out only massive sword wind in executing Sword Curtain?

That was akin to a taboo.

Because if one operated sword energy and sword wind like that, the body’s energy meridians would receive tremendous pressure and invite internal injury.

Since the risk burden on the executor was considerably great, setting aside whether one could or couldn’t do it, it was natural to refrain.

Yet Cheol Ryu-heun actually appeared unaffected while pulling out a Sword Curtain combining sword energy and sword wind.

It was said that Evil Emperor Yul Cheon in the past had executed such a Sword Curtain, but the possibility of any connection between him and Cheol Ryu-heun was slim.

However.

The unprecedented sword form that Jeo Gyeom had received and collapsed to at the end posed yet another great question.

Cheol Ryu-heun had unleashed a horizontal sword attack along with a rapid leap, but it had transformed to a vertical sword attack in the blink of an eye and crushed the opponent.

Though it occurred in an instant from a distance, so he wasn’t completely certain…

‘Strange swordsmanship prowess that makes one think of the Evil Emperor’s… Anyway, he’s a fellow who draws interest in many ways.’

He thought that perhaps the body that had felt like no energy at all at first had exercised some kind of secret profound use, but now there was no way to know.

For some reason, this lingering feeling in his chest seemed likely to continue for a while.

Ximen Yue cupped water from the stream with both hands and washed his face, then took off his top.

A body with delicately built muscles was fully revealed.

A perfect sculpture.

Pectorals and abdominals that any man would envy were strikingly defined, showing off a fine figure.

When he dipped his upper garment in the stream and rinsed it, an extremely small amount of blood seemed to faintly spread then disappear.

Following that, he again scooped water with both hands and cleanly wiped the wound on his side where Seop Pyo’s tree branch had scraped him.

In the blink of an eye.

SWOOSH.

A figure appeared nearby behind him with covert lightness technique.

It was a woman wearing a black mask.

Ximen Yue sensed her presence but didn’t bother turning around, continuing to douse his upper body with stream water.

SPLASH-SPLASH…

At that moment, the woman raised her hand and removed her mask.

Long hair like a waterfall SWOOSH cascaded down.

Perhaps about twenty years old?

It was a beautiful face.

Breathtakingly so.

Her forehead seemed carved from pure jade, the two pupils beneath were lustrous like black gems, and her nose bridge and lips also seemed painted by a peerless artist.

On top of that, skin so white one wondered if blood really circulated… Truly features of perfect beauty impossible to describe in words.

The woman who had approached and stood behind Ximen Yue untied the knot of her loose cloak.

Then the curves of the light armor clinging to her body were starkly revealed.

A goddess of temptation, perhaps.

The undulating curves of her body created an almost sensual alluring figure, making that beauty stand out even more.

“Use this to dry off.”

A quiet voice escaping between the woman’s red lips.

Only then did Ximen Yue toss the upper garment to one side and spin around to meet her gaze.

SNATCH.

Having received the cloak as if snatching it, he dried his wet body while calmly opening his mouth.

“Yeom Sang-ah.”

That was the woman’s name.

“Yes, Young Master Ximen.”

“Since when?”

“What do you mean?”

When the beauty called Yeom Sang-ah asked back, one of Ximen Yue’s eyebrows twitched upward.

“I’m not in the mood for word games.”

“…”

“I’m asking. Since when have you been tailing me?”

“It hasn’t been long. Does it matter?”

“It bothers me. It feels like somehow you don’t trust me.”

“I merely moved in accordance with orders from the one at the top.”

“Precisely.”

“…”

“I meant to say it feels like the one standing at the top somehow doesn’t trust me.”

Yeom Sang-ah silently looked at his face for a moment, then gently swept back her sideburns.

“Honestly speaking… In the process of Young Master Ximen handling this matter, some unreliable aspects were discovered.”

“What?”

“Am I wrong?”

A cold smile settled at the corner of Ximen Yue’s mouth in that instant.

“Ha, how amusing. Prior to the mission’s halt, the Ghost Shadow Sword Technique was torn to pieces and destroyed by that fellow you saw earlier. It was an unanticipated variable. However, since I couldn’t go back empty-handed, until the very end, I did my best…”

“Young Master Ximen, you’re taking me too lightly.”

“…”

“You think I don’t know?”

“Know what?”

“After recently securing the decisive clue, what excuse will you make for having taken it easy?”

When Yeom Sang-ah struck the mark, Ximen Yue’s gaze changed completely.

‘Look at this? Then that means she’s been secretly monitoring my movements for at least two weeks…’

However, he maintained composure and spoke calmly.

“I was merely taking time to handle matters carefully. Excuse? Judge as you please.”

At that, Yeom Sang-ah said meaningfully.

“Alright. Then let’s say that’s it. I had no intention of reporting to above anyway.”

Immediately after.

Ximen Yue’s face hardened coldly like ice.

“That remark just now… What exactly do you mean?”

“It means the one at the top doesn’t need to know about that part.”

GRAB-!

Ximen Yue seized Yeom Sang-ah’s neck in one stroke and pushed her hard against an old tree behind.

THUNK…

It was the sound of Yeom Sang-ah’s back striking the tree.

Yet she gazed at Ximen Yue gripping her neck with an expression showing little impact as she opened her mouth.

“Why are you like this? Suspicious of my intentions?”

“Of course. It sounded like you were saying you’d make me watch your reactions instead of reporting to above.”

The moment Ximen Yue explosively emitted a fierce gaze, Yeom Sang-ah indicated below with a light chin gesture.

“You should be careful.”

Sure enough, a sharp sickle-chain could be seen having at some point pressed close against the front of his trousers.

Ximen Yue rather snorted and didn’t release his hand.

“Does someone of your caliber dare to test my power?”

No sooner had he finished speaking than.

RUMBLE…

The surrounding air vibrated slightly, and soon, jet-black haze began rising and flickering from outside his body.

Demonic energy.

It was a demonic energy that seemed to wildly invade with discomfort and rejection on a different track from ghost energy.

An ordinary person would probably have suffocated right away upon encountering that dark and terrifying aura.

Yet.

A peculiar light rose in Yeom Sang-ah’s large eyes.

Not goosebumps prickling before thick demonic energy, but rather as if some emotion akin to elation was welling up…

Ximen Yue read that gaze and found it puzzling.

‘What’s this?’

At that moment, Yeom Sang-ah wore a faint smile.

“Congratulations.”

“…”

“If just a little more time passes like this… You’ll finally be able to reach the realm of final completion.”

Those were words meaning the achievement of the demonic cultivation that Ximen Yue possessed.

“Strange. Is this something for you to be so glad about?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Because on the day Young Master Ximen perfectly achieves mastery of that power, the one at the top will eventually have to give up his position and disappear.”

Ximen Yue was quite surprised.

‘What?’

He was someone who normally didn’t readily reveal chest emotions for ordinary matters, but at this moment alone, he absolutely couldn’t hide the change in his complexion.

That’s how much of a fresh shock Yeom Sang-ah’s utterance had given.

“You are… that person’s one and only daughter.”

“Yes, that’s right. A daughter with not a single drop of shared blood.”

A peculiar hostility dwelled within Yeom Sang-ah’s quiet voice.

As if raising a blade edge and rebelling against the one standing at the top, namely her adoptive father…

Ximen Yue soon stored his demonic energy and gently released the grip holding Yeom Sang-ah’s neck.

“Don’t beat around the bush and get to the point. What do you mean by that?”

“From today onwards, I’ve decided to completely stand on your side.”

“…!”

“So isn’t it natural that I’ll on my own filter out matters that could be held against you and omit them from reports?”

“Join hands with me and deceive Father’s eyes and ears?”

“Yes. Well… It’s been a long time since I stopped thinking of him as a father.”

“How unexpected.”

“I knew early on. That someday, when the time came, you would walk a different path from him.”

“Did you pretend not to know all this time to gain my trust?”

“More than that… It was precisely to avoid Father’s suspicion. From my perspective, I’ve risked my life to reveal my inner thoughts to you.”

“Ha. A lot of interesting things are happening today.”

Having smiled like that, Ximen Yue spoke again.

“But why did you suddenly halt the existing mission? Surely he doesn’t have some suspicion of me…”

“No, he completely trusts you.”

“Then?”

“It’s because recently, a clue was captured regarding something tremendous, something the Ghost Shadow Sword Technique couldn’t even compare to.”

Ximen Yue, having heard Yeom Sang-ah’s words, revealed strong curiosity.

“Oh ho, just what kind of thing is it?”

The answer that came back immediately plunged him into shock.

“The Divine Martial Sword.”