Chapter 324. To the Sichuan Tang Clan (1)

In a hall filled with darkness.

Three figures wearing extraordinary-looking masks entered.

The three figures naturally strode forward and knelt on one knee in front of a platform shrouded in shadows, paying their respects.

As they knelt, a voice rang out from the platform.

“Only Destruction Emperor^[13] and Ghost Blade haven’t come?”

At that question, the slender masked man on the far right spoke:

“As far as I know, Destruction Emperor is on an important mission assigned by Mok-gan. Ghost Blade’s whereabouts have been unknown since those orders were given. Perhaps you, sir…”

-Swish!

Before he could finish speaking, the person right next to him stretched out his hand, stopping him from continuing.

The slender masked man couldn’t hide his bewilderment.

Then, the one in the middle spoke:

“Chunchu^[14]. You should stay out of Ghost Blade’s affairs.”

At his words, which sounded like an order, the slender masked man replied, sounding displeased:

“…Ghost Blade has been missing for over half a year. I was just asking because one of our kind has disappeared, but Gangnyeom^[15], do you find that so objectionable?”

“Have you forgotten that Mok-gan told us not to get involved with Ghost Blade and that person?”

“But this time is different. Ghost Blade has been missing for over half a year. The last place he was seen was the Sichuan Tang…”

“Enough.”

At that moment, a majestic voice echoed from the platform.

The two people, who had been growling at each other, hurriedly lowered their heads.

As they fell silent, the voice from the platform continued:

“Let me get straight to the point. Lee Gwang is dead.”

“What?”

“What happened to Lee Gwang?”

At those words, all three of them couldn’t hide their surprise, though they didn’t raise their heads.

Among them, the one in the middle named Gangnyeom spoke in bewilderment:

“Didn’t Mok-gan bestow upon Lee Gwang an artifact made from the scales of the Dragon Demon King? If he used that, even formidable masters…”

“At the moment of Lee Gwang’s death, I felt ‘him’.”

‘!!!!’

At those words, all three of them simultaneously raised their heads.

Among them, the masked man on the far left, who had been silently keeping his mouth shut, spoke:

“…That can’t be possible.”

“What can’t be possible?”

“It was said that ‘he’ had completely lost his power. Even if he managed to survive by luck, he should only be able to maintain his form at best, so how…”

“Are you saying I was mistaken?”

“…”

The masked man promptly fell silent.

It was difficult to deny, as Mok-gan had barely moved from this place, as if taking root, and had solely devoted himself to sensing ‘his’ energy.

When everyone was convinced of ‘his’ complete annihilation, only Mok-gan had denied it.

If Mok-gan had felt it, then it was certain.

‘Is this why he summoned everyone?’

If ‘he’ had truly been revived, the time had come for all the forces of the organization to mobilize.

***

Outside the dark hall, two masked individuals emerged first.

-Pak!

One of them, with a slender build, removed his mask as if feeling stifled.

As the mask was removed, the face was revealed—a beautiful woman with a mysterious aura, her hair a mix of white and black.

The woman, her face now exposed, glared at the much larger masked man beside her with an irritated expression and said:

“There’s definitely something in the Sichuan Tang Clan. But why are we told not to touch that place? Could it be that he’s afraid of mere poison experts?”

At the woman’s question, the masked man, no, Gangnyeom, muttered as if fed up:

“You’re really something.”

“It’s not just something. Ghost Blade also disappeared after being last seen there, and even Mok-gan knows that the old hag Holy Fire Priestess is definitely connected to the Sichuan Tang Clan, so why is he telling us not to touch that place…”

“Hey, Chunchu.”

“What?”

“You’ve been imprisoned for a long time, so you may not know, but there are always reasons why we’re told not to touch certain things.”

“So what’s the reason?”

The man in the mask sighed at her irritated attitude and then whispered:

“There is a hidden power protecting the Tang Clan.”

“A hidden power? What is it?”

“I don’t know exactly either. I only know that this power has existed for quite a long time and is extremely dangerous.”

“Ha! No matter what, they’re just mere humans…”

“Watch your mouth. Even that Dragon Demon King, who had regained his power, was defeated by a mere human. No, calling him a mere human would be an understatement. He’s a monster that even the Six Demons couldn’t easily approach.”

At his words, Chunchu furrowed her brow.

The Six Demons were kings of spiritual beasts, said to be infinitely close to supreme beasts.

They were transcendent beings that even they themselves couldn’t control.

If there was a human that such beings couldn’t easily approach…

“…Could you be talking about the one who is said to have surpassed the wall of realms?”

“Yes. If ‘he’ had been there, Mok-gan wouldn’t have been able to paint the picture he wanted on the day of the great calamity.”

“You think there could be another exceptional case like that?”

“Who knows? That’s why Mok-gan wants to make sure of it. If you want to fulfill his will, stop arguing and follow his orders.”

“…Hmph.”

Chunchu let out a small snort.

Then, without hiding her dissatisfaction, she disappeared on the spot.

Sensing her lingering resentment, Gangnyeom showed eyes filled with concern.

Although not as much as Ghost Blade, she was the most emotional and uncontrollable among the deputy leaders of the First Realm.

So he was worried that she might ignore his warning and take action.

“Phew.”

Heaving a long sigh, he soon moved his feet.

To carry out Mok-gan’s new orders.

***

Heaven and Earth Society Inner Palace Main Building, Abandoned Room.

-Creak!

The tightly closed door of the abandoned room slowly opened, revealing someone’s figure.

It was a handsome man with chiseled features, his body covered in solid muscles despite his tattered clothes.

One peculiar thing was that he wore a leather eyepatch over his right eye. As soon as he opened the door and came out, someone called out in a bright voice as if they had been waiting:

“Young Master!”

The one who called him was a man in his early thirties with a small build.

As soon as he saw the man with a voice that sounded like he hadn’t gone through puberty yet, the handsome man spoke:

“Moyak.”

The identity of the handsome man was none other than Na Yul-ryang, the chief disciple of the Heaven and Earth Society Leader.

Moyak, who remembered Na Yul-ryang’s appearance before he entered seclusion with severe injuries, spoke as if overwhelmed with emotion:

“You are truly amazing. Not only have you recovered…”

His energy seemed to have become much more refined than before.

He hadn’t been in seclusion for very long, so could it be that he had gained high enlightenment?

Curious about this, he was about to ask…

-Swish!

Na Yul-ryang looked to the side and spoke first:

“Who is that person?”

He couldn’t identify the person’s identity because their face was covered with a mask.

But what was even more irksome was…

“You. You’re no ordinary fellow.”

-Swish!

Na Yul-ryang’s figure disappeared as if dispersing, then reappeared behind the unknown masked person.

Na Yul-ryang reached out his hand toward the right side of the person’s head.

At that moment, the masked figure tilted his head to the side, lightly dodging it, and then…

-Tak!

He grabbed Na Yul-ryang’s wrist.

Na Yul-ryang’s right eyebrow shot up.

Although he hadn’t used his full power, he thought it would be difficult to sense his presence after using the high-speed movement technique of the exclusive Myeonghyeon Suweol-bo.

But not only did this person accurately discern his location, he even caught his attack.

‘Look at this guy.’

-Tremble tremble tremble!

The hand grabbing Na Yul-ryang’s wrist began to tremble.

At the same time, cracks appeared on the ground where the two were standing.

-Crunch!

Realizing that a confrontation of martial power had begun, Moyak hurriedly shouted:

“Young Master, please stop! That person has come to help you.”

“What?”

At his words, Na Yul-ryang lowered the martial power he had been raising.

The masked figure also withdrew his martial power accordingly.

As they both retracted their martial power, the masked figure cupped his hands in salute to Na Yul-ryang and greeted him:

“It’s amazing. I have heard much about Young Master’s reputation, but it seems that your martial power after completing your seclusion is not inferior to the Eight Stars, who can be considered the top masters of the martial world.”

At his polite attitude, Na Yul-ryang spoke with an expressionless face:

“Who are you?”

“I am a messenger sent by the Elder Hall I belong to.”

“Elder Hall?”

At those words, Na Yul-ryang couldn’t hide his bewilderment.

The Elder Hall was where retired executives of the Heaven and Earth Society resided, so it could be considered a hidden power.

But he had never expected that among those old men, there would be a supreme master with this level of skill.

Staring intently at the masked man who said he was from the Elder Hall, Na Yul-ryang spoke:

“Then remove your mask.”

At his order, the masked man promptly lowered his head and said:

“I apologize, but my face is utterly hideous due to burns, so I am embarrassed to show it.”

“It doesn’t matter. Show me.”

“If you insist, I have no choice.”

The masked man carefully lifted the mask he was wearing.

A face covered in burn scars, gruesome to the point of being pitiful, was revealed.

Seeing this, Na Yul-ryang’s sole eye narrowed.

He had no particular thoughts about the hideous appearance of the burn scars, but perhaps because of the burns, the man had no eyes.

‘He caught my attack just by sensing my presence despite having no eyes?’

Na Yul-ryang’s eyes sparkled with interest.

He prided himself on the fact that no one could match him except for his master, the Heaven and Earth Society Leader, no, the Great Monk called the Six Heavens, and those who had reached their realm after gaining great enlightenment in seclusion.

But he had a strange feeling that he wouldn’t be able to defeat this person easily.

Seized by a strong desire to test his skills, a fierce competitive spirit welled up within him.

“You…”

-Swish!

Before Na Yul-ryang could say anything, the man with the burned face stretched out his hand.

Then, something like a wooden box floated up from a short distance away, as if lifted by an invisible force, and landed in his hands.

Seeing this, Na Yul-ryang asked in bewilderment:

“What is that?”

The size of the wooden box was quite small.

But the surface of the box was densely covered with red inscriptions.

It looked like incantations or spells.

The man with the face full of burn scars revealed his yellowish teeth and said:

“I heard you injured your eye.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Na Yul-ryang’s left eye turned sharp.

Only three people knew that he had injured his eye, and none of them would have divulged this information.

No, the only person who might have revealed it had already been beheaded.

So how did this person from the Elder Hall know about his eye injury?

But then…

“Young Master, please let go of your guard. If you want to properly gather the group now, you will have many things to do. Do you need to waste your energy on such a trivial matter?”

“Deciding whether to waste my energy or not is not up to the likes of you. I cannot tolerate anyone from the Elder Hall trying to act above me.”

-Click!

At his words, the scarred man silently opened the lid of the wooden box.

-Whoosh!

-Flinch!

At that moment, Moyak, who had been peering from behind to see what was inside, involuntarily took a step back, feeling something eerie.

As Moyak opened his mouth, cold breath flowed out.

Frost had filled the surroundings without him noticing.

‘what the .... is this?’

As he wondered, Na Yul-ryang approached the wooden box that the scarred man had opened.

As soon as the box was opened, an eerie energy was revealed along with a chilling cold.

The identity of that eerie energy was none other than…

‘An eye?’

It was an eyeball.

The moment he saw this eyeball, which was close to a golden color with a pupil as small as a dot, he felt the ferocity of a fierce beast.

This was clearly not a human eye.

To Na Yul-ryang, who couldn’t take his sole eye off it, the scarred man spoke with the corners of his mouth lifted:

“This will become Young Master’s new eye.”

***

Near a cliff with treacherous terrain, not far from Zaoyang in the north of Hubei Province.

Numerous swordsmen lay there, bleeding, and the flag of a renowned martial arts family was broken and stuck in the ground.

[Namgoong]

It was the flag of the Namgoong Clan.

Among them, a middle-aged man leaning on a cracked sword like a cane stared at someone with an unbelieving gaze.

‘Just what kind of monster is he?’

He had defeated the ultimate masters of the Emperor Sword Style with a mere simple routine.

No, it wasn’t just a simple routine.

It was because he had performed the routine in a way that was impossible with ordinary muscles and joints.

‘How is that possible?’

He couldn’t understand it at all.

Unable to withstand the shock, he finally couldn’t hold back and coughed up blood.

“Kuak.”

-Thud!

The middle-aged man, who had coughed up a mouthful of blood, knelt on one knee on the ground.

In front of him, someone shrouded in shadows approached with an arrogant face, hands clasped behind his back.

Feeling humiliated by this sight, the middle-aged man gritted his teeth.

He prided himself on being one of the Eight Stars, considered the strongest in the world except for the Six Heavens, so how could he be defeated by an unknown young man like this?

His identity was none other than Namgoong Jin, known as the Azure Heavens Sword Emperor, one of the Eight Stars.

“Cough, cough…”

The man with his hands clasped behind his back approached him as he coughed up blood and spoke:

“The title of Emperor is not something to be casually attached to swords.”

“Haa… haa…”

“Only the blade can be called Emperor, no, supreme-ruler”

“Arrogance… beyond… conceit…”

“Whether it’s conceit or arrogance, everything stems from strength. Swordsman of the Namgoong Clan.”

“Cough, cough.”

It was frustrating, but he had lost, so he had nothing to say.

To the humiliated man, the man with his hands clasped behind his back asked:

“More importantly, have you really never heard of it?”

At this question, Namgoong Jin struggled to raise his head and answered:

“Haa… haa… I have never heard of such a title, no, even the name.”

“Are you certain?”

“I told you I haven’t. Cough, cough… I have roamed the martial arts world for fifty years, but Cheonma…”

-Swish!

Before he could finish speaking…

Blood spurted from his neck as Namgoong Jin’s head was severed and fell forward, rolling on the ground.

-Tak!

The man lightly stepped on his head and muttered:

“Is it still too soon?”

-Squish!