Chapter 411: Chapter 411

In the early morning, as the majority of the personnel, including Namgung Cheon, were sent to the Heavenly Path Society, the annex was filled only with a dead silence.

The only ones remaining were three young children, along with Mae-hyang, Dan Woo-hyun, Sa Do-hak, and Mu Cheonpung.

Since the usually bustling sound couldn’t be heard, they couldn’t get used to it for some reason, and this silence was somewhat uncomfortable.

In such a situation, there was someone creating even more silence.

It was Dan Woo-hyun, sitting quietly in one corner.

Whether he was looking at the scenery or just staring at the sky, he looked like he was meditating or sitting vacantly.

It was too different from Dan Woo-hyun’s usual appearance.

Sa Do-hak looked at it and asked.

“Is something wrong with that guy?”

“W…… well, I’m not sure. Since it’s my first time seeing him like that……”

Even Jang Sam-tae shrugged his shoulders.

It was Jang Sam-tae who had spent a lot of time with Dan Woo-hyun. However, since it was his first time seeing such an appearance, a needless sense of anxiety washed over him.

He wondered if some trouble might happen at this rate.

Sa Do-hak gave him a look.

Realizing its meaning, Jang Sam-tae frowned, but perhaps unable to refuse, he stealthily approached Dan Woo-hyun.

“Uh…… Patriarch.”

“Yeah, what’s the matter?”

“Do you have any worries?”

Dan Woo-hyun’s gaze, which hadn’t shown any reaction until now, turned.

His expression looking at Jang Sam-tae was somehow soft, or perhaps it was an interested look.

“Are you worried?”

“Yes? No, not exactly that…… but the atmosphere is strange.”

“Haha, it’s nothing much. I just feel awful having to let go of an old friend.”

“Are you talking about Elder Namgung? Shall I go and bring him back?”

Jang Sam-tae’s eyes sparkled as he clenched his two fists and looked outside.

It felt like if Dan Woo-hyun just gave the order, he would run right away and drag back Namgung Cheon, who was about to join the Heavenly Path Society.

Dan Woo-hyun chuckled.

“No, no. Rather, where did the children go?”

“Since they have to leave Sichuan tomorrow, they seem to have gone to see the street market for the last time. When I went to clean, they even locked their door and went out.”

“Is that so?”

Dan Woo-hyun stood up from his seat.

The place he was heading to was the children’s empty room.

For what reason was he heading there?

Jang Sam-tae watched with a puzzled expression, but he couldn’t get a clear answer.

When he casually glanced at Sa Do-hak and Mu Cheonpung, the two shrugged their shoulders. They too had no idea what Dan Woo-hyun was agonizing over or why he was acting like that.

“It seems like something happened. Since he’s an unpredictable person, I don’t know what he’s thinking.”

Mu Cheonpung shook his head side to side.

It hadn’t been long since they met, but since the atmosphere was unusual, he ended up unnecessarily walking on eggshells. He even wondered if it was because Geumwangsu’s treasure wasn’t found.

“That guy is human too. There must be times when he’s in a bad mood.”

However, Sa Do-hak soon brushed it off as if it was no big deal.

Although they called him a thousand-year-old Jiangshi, a rotten guy, or a Martial God, no matter how high his realm was and how many people revered him, it was a certainty that he was human.

There would be times when he was in a bad mood, times when he was happy, and times when he was sad.

“Rather than a human…… isn’t our Patriarch just a monster? One without blood or tears?”

“You’re earning a beating because you talk like that.”

“Eck……? Kkuwek!”

Jang Sam-tae, who was making a dumbfounded expression, was unexpectedly struck in the abdomen by something flying at him and flew away.

Kung!

Sprawled on the floor, Jang Sam-tae had already lost consciousness, with even his eyes rolled back.

Sa Do-hak and Mu Cheonpung clicked their tongues.

Earning a beating was also an ability.

* * *

“I didn’t think you’d come looking for me.”

The moment he entered Dan So-mi’s room, a slender voice was heard. At the end of his turned gaze, there was a woman with a pure white palace dress trailing long.

An existence that would steal anyone’s gaze the moment they looked at her.

Even the great Namgung So-hye would be nothing more than a small firefly in front of this woman.

Every action she made was somehow imbued with elegance, and the words she spoke tickled people’s ears like jade beads rolling.

Also, the gaze she gave was so beautiful, as if jewels were embedded in it.

Because her injuries hadn’t fully healed yet, paleness could be seen on her face, but it seemed to make the woman’s beauty shine even more.

However, even facing a woman with looks that men couldn’t help but fall for, Dan Woo-hyun was giving an unwavering gaze.

“What happened to Tae Gong-jin?”

“So that’s what you came to ask.”

The woman sat demurely on the bed.

Then she looked at Dan Woo-hyun with a captivating gaze. It looked as if she was seducing the opponent, but the woman knew. Even if she did this, Dan Woo-hyun was not a person who would waver.

“When I was being chased by Cheon Mugwang, the one who blocked him was Immortal Tae.”

“…….”

From one to ten, the woman spoke of everything she had seen with her own eyes.

Although it was from a distance, she definitely saw it clearly.

It was a match that wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say there was only a paper-thin difference, but the one who overturned the board was Cheon Mugwang.

Knowing that the longer it dragged on the more disadvantaged he would be, he had to settle the match in a short time.

The energy Cheon Mugwang possessed suddenly changed and swallowed Tae Gong-jin. Could that truly be called a martial art?

Tae Gong-jin, who had turned into a rag in an instant, collapsed, and the moment he was about to deliver the final blow, he realized Nam Ju-ryeon’s energy was approaching.

Cheon Mugwang urgently changed his face and cleared away the fallen Tae Gong-jin.

“While Immortal Nam and Cheon Mugwang were talking, I secretly brought Immortal Tae away. He probably noticed my presence, but he probably couldn’t recklessly reveal his power against Immortal Nam, so I think he just let me go.”

“……I see.”

“I tried my best to save him. But even if I wanted to heal his internal injuries, it was already in a state beyond help……. But there was something… strange…”

“That is enough……. Did you bury him well?”

The woman nodded.

Because the situation was urgent, she couldn’t make a proper grave, but she had definitely buried his body and prepared it, so she hoped he went to a good place.

Of course, since he was an immortal who had transcended, there couldn’t be a good place.

An immortal refers to one who has shed the shell of their physical body and ascended.

In the end, since their origin is the soul, the moment they die, they no longer exist in this world.

Since his soul died and disappeared, even if reincarnation existed, it was a story that didn’t apply to Tae Gong-jin.

Dan Woo-hyun made a bitter expression.

“You know how to make such an expression too.”

“I am human too. How could it not hurt.”

“It’s hard to believe those are the words of someone who has cut down countless people and taken their lives.”

Dan Woo-hyun smiled bitterly.

He felt like he had heard a similar remark just a moment ago anyway.

In fact, he too couldn’t help but be surprised.

It was because he hadn’t thought that such emotions would remain in him either.

“And…… Immortal Tae…… passed away with a smile.”

“Yeah…… that’s just like him.”

Tae Gong-jin’s face was drawn in his mind.

Because he was a guy absorbed in the Dao, the boundary between life and death had been vague to him since long ago.

“If you die, you die, and if you live, you live, right? The principles of the world are all like that, so I live without minding it.”

How many people could easily accept their own death? There are many people, and there might be those who possess courage towards death, but when it actually comes right before their eyes, it’s natural to shudder and think that they want to live no matter what.

Yet he went with a smile?

Dan Woo-hyun found it both amusing and bitter.

“Yeah, did the children treat you well?”

“I’m treated like a toy.”

The woman shrugged her shoulders.

A Nine-Tailed Fox with nine tails.

Having discovered such a thing, it was natural for the children to be curious.

Since she was heavily injured and couldn’t hide her tails because she was exhausted, it was partly her responsibility, so she had no choice but to accept it as it was.

“They are good children. I think I also understand why you keep that child with you.”

Dan Woo-hyun nodded silently.

He also had the same thought.

It wasn’t just Dan So-mi.

Hong Jinrang and Ju Jiyak were also children who had pure souls just like Dan So-mi.

That was why he kept them close, and that was why he had a strong desire to protect them.

“It would be good if she doesn’t hold you back……”

“Haha.”

Dan Woo-hyun also knew very well what the woman was worried about. The timing was bad. The banner of Blood Heaven was still fluttering, and it was still a mystery what the Heavenly Martial Emperor was thinking.

Actually, if such people started to attack with Dan Woo-hyun as their target, there was a high possibility that their top priority target would be Dan So-mi.

Because it was more efficient to eliminate his surroundings first rather than directly touching the Martial God.

Considering the cruelty of the Heavenly Martial Emperor, the probability of that happening was nine out of ten.

The woman glanced at Dan Woo-hyun’s expression.

What she worried about most was how Dan Woo-hyun would change by losing Dan So-mi.

Because she knew very well that if his hands started getting dyed in blood again, no one in this land of the Central Plains would be able to stop him.

“I’ll ask just a few things.”

“If it’s something I know……”

“About the Martial God’s Dao Scripture.”

The woman let out a short exclamation of ‘Aha!’. Not only Dan Woo-hyun but many people didn’t know much about the Martial God’s Dao Scripture properly.

But this woman was different.

As a Nine-Tailed Fox who had once been the Heavenly Martial Emperor’s subordinate, he thought she might have grasped the Heavenly Martial Emperor’s thoughts to some extent.

“I will only tell you what I know. Since I don’t know the details either.”

“Yeah.”

“I think it might be a kind of experiment.”

“Experiment?”

“Yes, what would happen if absolute martial arts that cannot coexist were made to coexist? If successful……”

“A newer, stronger martial art could be created?”

“Yes, there are many outstanding people in the Central Plains. Those who could solve what the Heavenly Martial Emperor hasn’t been able to solve so far. That’s why I think the Martial God’s Dao Scripture is being scattered……”

That can’t be the answer.

Dan Woo-hyun thought so.

However, although it was nothing more than a guess, it was also a statement he could understand to some extent.

If the Heavenly One Harmonious Art and the Blood Demon Divine Art could be combined, a fierce martial art would definitely be born.

Based on that, the Heavenly Martial Emperor would create a martial art to reach an even higher realm.

It was reasonable to deduce that the scattering of the Martial God’s Dao Scripture was for that reason as well.

Of course, there were still several uncomfortable things remaining, but he could read the Heavenly Martial Emperor’s thoughts to some extent.

“As you know, the Heavenly Martial Emperor tried to create a new martial art for a long time. Whenever that happened, he picked a fight with you and lost every time.”

“…….”

“What if, including even that, it was all an experiment?”

Dan Woo-hyun’s eyes changed.

The moment that face came to mind.

“And what if it succeeded? Wouldn’t the Heavenly Martial Emperor be the greatest person of all time, surpassing the Martial God?”

Dan Woo-hyun smiled.

It was the composure of an absolute being sent towards a challenger.

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