Chapter 124 Shadow Clan (3)

The name of the sharp-featured young man was Hwan Yun-myeong.

Abandoned by his parents at a young age, he lived in the slums on the outskirts of the Heaven and Earth Society until he was taken in by the Shadow Master at the age of 10 due to a chance encounter.

[Ohoho. Not bad. You’re the first kid to attempt pickpocketing me.]

The Shadow Master, impressed by his brazen boldness, took him in and personally taught him academics and martial arts.

Although the opportunity was by chance, Hwan Yun-myeong’s talent was unexpectedly outstanding.

That was also why the Shadow Master took him in.

However, Hwan Yun-myeong couldn’t become an official disciple.

The reason was,

[Castration?]

[Yes. You have to be castrated to learn the sect’s Ghost Yin Technique.]

[…Is it absolutely necessary?]

Young Hwan Yun-myeong, who didn’t want to train in martial arts at the cost of cutting off his genitals, showed strong rejection.

The Shadow Master didn’t force him to be castrated.

However, since he couldn’t become an official disciple, he called him a quasi-disciple from then on.

Although he couldn’t become an official disciple due to not being castrated, the Shadow Master treated him just as well and gave him teachings.

Therefore, he had no major complaints.

However, in the year Hwan Yun-myeong turned sixteen, he came to regret his choice.

The reason was that although he didn’t know when he was young, if he couldn’t become an official disciple, he couldn’t become the Shadow Master’s successor and learn his proper unique martial arts.

[Let me warn you in advance. If you get castrated, you lose a lot too. For example, you won’t be a real man anymore and won’t be able to have a family.]

Hwan Yun-myeong, who was an orphan, had a wish from a young age.

Perhaps because he didn’t know his parents and was abandoned, he wanted to have a family of his own blood.

That’s why he didn’t choose castration.

However, after learning that he couldn’t become the Shadow Master’s successor, he came to regret his childhood choice.

‘shit!’

It would have been better to be castrated when he hadn’t reached sexual maturity yet.

Then he would have become the Shadow Master’s successor.

But it was already too late.

It was difficult to discard all the internal energy he had cultivated so far, be castrated, and then learn the Ghost Yin Technique. Moreover, he had already reached sexual maturity.

Having grown up wandering the back alleys, he had been frequenting brothels and red-light districts since the young age of 14.

‘No. I can’t.’

That’s why he couldn’t get castrated even more.

If he just got castrated, there were things to gain beyond what he would lose, but he just couldn’t do it.

It was such a simple principle, yet he couldn’t do it.

Troubled by these worries, he wandered for a while, and during those few years, two young junior disciples entered.

Myeong-tak and Yong-su.

They were also orphans.

Meeting them, he knew at a glance that they were children with talent no less than his own.

However, to Hwan Yun-myeong, they were definitely not lovely junior disciples.

‘…These bastards might surpass me at any time.’

Rather, they were competitors.

If they got castrated and became the Shadow Master’s official disciples, he might not even receive proper treatment anymore.

No, that was a foregone conclusion.

‘No. I can’t let that happen.’

With his thoughts reaching this point, Hwan Yun-myeong fell into numerous worries.

And after much deliberation, he came up with a plan.

He treated the junior disciples better than anyone else and paid more attention to them than his teacher, the Shadow Master.

In response to this kindness, the junior disciples also followed him well as their senior brother.

Having gained their favor like this, Hwan Yun-myeong, out of the Shadow Master’s sight, made them reach sexual maturity early and instilled fear of castration in them.

His efforts soon bore fruit.

When given the choice,

[Castration… I can’t do it.]

[I, I can’t do it either.]

The junior disciples gave up on castration with tears in their eyes.

Since it was originally a choice, not forced, the Shadow Master respected their decision.

[If that is your choice, there’s nothing I can do.]

With these words, he looked at Hwan Yun-myeong with somewhat bitter eyes.

What was with those eyes?

Could it be that he knew Hwan Yun-myeong had manipulated them?

When his eyes met the Shadow Master’s, Hwan Yun-myeong became extremely afraid that he might have noticed his scheme.

‘He’ll abandon me. He’ll abandon me. He’ll abandon me.’

However, contrary to his severe worries, the Shadow Master’s attitude didn’t change.

He still treated him like a disciple.

He even asked him to take good care of the junior disciples as their senior brother.

‘Ah. It was needless worry.’

Fortunately.

However, because of this, something occurred to Hwan Yun-myeong that he had never thought of before.

‘What if no one gets castrated?’

Then what would happen?

At first, he just regretted not being able to get castrated.

But when he thought differently, the answer lay elsewhere.

If the Shadow Master never forced castration on the disciples he accepted until the end, he could make everyone refuse like the two junior disciples.

‘If that happens…’

Perhaps he would get a chance too?

The Shadow Master, whom he had watched for a long time, was not someone who went back on his own words.

Then it might be possible.

If no official disciple emerged until the end, he could become the next Shadow Master.

Having such ambition, Hwan Yun-myeong gained new motivation.

He worked harder than before, and his martial arts also improved by leaps and bounds.

And a few years later,

[You’re going to observe the Corpse Blood Valley closing ceremony?]

[Yes. I have business at Corpse Blood Valley anyway, and I heard there’s a good girl there, so I want to take a look.]

[A girl… you say?]

What was this about?

Could it be that he was giving up on castration and trying to accept a girl with innate yin energy as a disciple from the beginning?

At the Shadow Master’s words, Hwan Yun-myeong felt uneasy for the first time in a long while.

He was filled with confidence that he would become the successor since the Shadow Master hadn’t accepted a disciple for a long time.

So he waited with an anxious heart.

And,

“Has Master returned?”

“Ah. Young Master. The Society Leader arrived a little while ago.”

“I see. By any chance… did he come with that girl from Demon Fire Hall?”

“Demon Fire Hall? I don’t think so.”

“No?”

“Yes. It seems he brought a male trainee.”

At those words, Hwan Yun-myeong’s anxiety disappeared as if washed away.

He had been worried that if a girl from Demon Fire Hall entered, his position might be shaken, but it seemed things had turned out well.

However,

“But there seems to be a bit of a problem.”

“A problem?”

“The trainee he brought seems to be a hostage from the righteous faction.”

A hostage from the righteous faction?

What was this about?

Corpse Blood Valley was a place of trials that only talents under the Heaven and Earth Society could enter.

How could a hostage from the righteous faction enter such a place?

To the puzzled Hwan Yun-myeong, Internal Director Cho Yeom-hun explained,

“Young Master, please keep this to yourself. I heard that the Clan Leader personally sent two hostages he brought from the righteous faction to Corpse Blood Valley.”

“The Clan Leader did?”

If that was the case, it would be difficult for anyone to directly express dissatisfaction.

But why would the Society Leader send hostages from the righteous faction to such a place?

No, that didn’t matter.

Why did Master bring such a troublemaker?

Was he pleased enough to bear that level of risk?

‘Righteous faction…’

Among the people of the Heaven and Earth Society, there was no one who liked those from the righteous faction.

No, just hearing about them made everyone hate them.

Hwan Yun-myeong was the same.

‘This won’t do.’

He should probably speak to Master and tell him to reconsider accepting the righteous faction hostage as a disciple.

No matter how he thought about it, the risk was too great.

Thus, he asked the Internal Director and learned that the Shadow Master and the righteous faction hostage he had newly accepted had gone to the Society Leader’s private indoor training room.

So he headed there.

However, when he went there, he found that the junior disciples had arrived before him.

“This can’t be!”

“How could this happen?”

But they were holding the warriors guarding the indoor training room and making a fuss about something.

What were they making a fuss about?

As he approached,

“Senior Brother! It’s a big problem.”

“A big problem?”

In response to that question, the youngest junior disciple, Yong-su, whose chin was particularly prominent, replied with an absurd expression,

“Master accepted the guy he brought from Corpse Blood Valley as an official disciple.”

‘!?’

At those words, Hwan Yun-myeong’s expression hardened.

What was this about?

An official disciple? Could it be?

“Did that guy say he would be castrated?”

At Hwan Yun-myeong’s question, the second junior disciple, Myeong-tak, shook his head and burst out in anger,

“That’s not it. He said he wouldn’t be castrated, but because he has an innate yin constitution, Master said he would accept him as an official disciple.”

“Innate yin constitution?”

At those words, a sigh escaped Hwan Yun-myeong’s mouth.

What kind of bolt from the blue was this?

He had been at ease because Master didn’t bring a girl.

Moreover, since he was a hostage from the righteous faction, he was about to suggest to Master that it would be better to send him away.

But he accepted such a troublemaker as an official disciple?

‘How…’

But that wasn’t the end of it.

The news that shocked him even more was,

“How could Master do this? Not only did he accept him as an official disciple without being castrated, but he even gifted him the Evil Commandment Sword that Senior Brother risked his life to obtain.”

-Gnash!

The moment he heard those words, Hwan Yun-myeong’s face distorted like a demon.

Normally, he would have maintained his dignity in front of the junior disciples, but he couldn’t endure this at all.

Despite the warriors’ dissuasion, Hwan Yun-myeong entered the Shadow Master’s private indoor training room.

-Bang!

In the middle of the room stood a handsome boy reading a scroll.

He seemed to be around the same age as the junior disciples.

However, neither his age nor his outstanding appearance caught Hwan Yun-myeong’s attention.

Rather, his gaze immediately went to the Evil Commandment Sword hanging from the waist of the boy, no, Mok Gyeong-un, the righteous faction hostage.

-Crunch!

It was true.

He had hoped it was false, but Master really gave the Evil Commandment Sword to that bastard.

He had believed that since he had risked his life to obtain it, Master would naturally bestow it upon him, the eldest disciple, once the demonic energy was controlled.

Did that damn righteous faction hostage bastard steal his position and even his sword?

That was his.

‘I’ll kill him.’

He had to get back everything that was his, even if he had to kill that bastard…

“You’re a really interesting person. If you kill me, you can get back what’s yours…”

‘!?’

What?

At the voice ringing in his ears, Hwan Yun-myeong couldn’t hide his bewilderment.

Although he was angry, he didn’t outwardly reveal his true feelings in front of the junior disciples.

But how did he read his thoughts?

As he wondered,

‘Huh?’

Hwan Yun-myeong’s eyes wavered.

At some point, the youngest junior disciple, Yong-su, was holding his broken arm and suffering, and the second junior disciple, Myeong-tak, was looking at him with absurd eyes.

Just what had happened?

‘Why?’

Why was Myeong-tak looking at him with those eyes?

In that fleeting moment of bewilderment, forgotten memories quickly flashed through his mind.

-Whoosh!

[I can’t stand it anymore. Brothers, I’ll take it back right now!]

The youngest junior disciple, Yong-su, who couldn’t hold back his anger and rushed towards the righteous faction hostage.

Contrary to the expectation that he would at least be able to compete to some degree since he was the weakest among them, he was suppressed in an instant and had his neck grabbed.

[You’re risking your life at our first meeting.]

[Kuk… Kuk…]

[You were prepared for this, right?]

[What?]

-Crack!

Without blinking an eye, the bastard broke Yong-su’s right arm.

[Aaaaaargh!]

‘How could this be?’

Seeing that, Hwan Yun-myeong judged that the bastard was no ordinary skilled martial artist.

Even he couldn’t subdue Yong-su, who was at the beginning of the peak stage, with just one move like that.

Becoming cautious, he was contemplating what to do,

[You can’t take your eyes off this sword. Do you want it?]

[What are you talking about…]

[If you can have it, try taking it.]

‘!?’

-Swish!

With those words, Mok Gyeong-un drew the Evil Commandment Sword he was wearing and threw it.

‘what the .... is this bastard?’

-Catch!

In a daze, he caught the sword’s hilt as if snatching it, but from that moment, he couldn’t remember.

Holding his forehead with his left hand, Hwan Yun-myeong staggered and muttered,

“What, what have I done?”

Mok Gyeong-un approached him and said,

“You mumbled your desires with your own mouth.”

“What… did I say?”

“You said that if none of the junior disciples who enter get castrated, there will be no official disciples, so you will become the successor? What a cute idea.”

‘!!!!!!!!!’

At Mok Gyeong-un’s words, Hwan Yun-myeong’s eyes widened as if they would tear.

He said that with his own mouth?

He was concerned about the eyes with which the second junior disciple, Myeong-tak, was looking at him, making it hard to say it was a lie.

But then,

-Drip!

“Kuk!”

At that moment, Hwan Yun-myeong felt a sudden pain and looked at his right hand.

The veins on the back of his hand holding the Evil Commandment Sword were bulging and bursting, and black blood was flowing down.

Then, it was trying to spread to his entire arm.

In a panic, Hwan Yun-myeong hurriedly tried to let go of the Evil Commandment Sword.

However,

“Aaargh!”

As if the sword’s hilt was connected to his palm, it wouldn’t come off.

Rather, it was even more painful.

“What, what the .... is this…”

Hwan Yun-myeong tried to somehow remove the Evil Commandment Sword by raising his internal energy with his other hand.

However, the more he did that, the stronger the pain became, and he couldn’t endure it.

“Uuugh.”

As he struggled, Mok Gyeong-un approached him and said,

“Shall I remove the sword for you?”

At those words, unable to bear the pain, Hwan Yun-myeong nodded his head frantically.

Then, Mok Gyeong-un said something out of the blue,

“You clearly asked me to remove it with your own mouth.”

“What?”

Why was he saying this?

At that moment, Hwan Yun-myeong saw Mok Gyeong-un’s smile filled with malice.

‘Could it be?’

In a panic, he hurriedly said something.

“Wait, hold on…”

-Slash!

Before he could even finish his words,

A sharp blade brushed past and sliced through Hwan Yun-myeong’s right wrist that was holding the sword.