Chapter 164: Chapter 164

Damn it, damn it, damn it, damn it.

Curses burst out dozens of times inside me.

I had risked my life to learn the Sword Demon’s martial art, yet Sword Evil, who was supposed to come out, was trembling like a damned dog that had seen a tiger, and the wrong person, Axe Evil, had gotten his head cut off.

Of course, it was not that I disliked the fact that Axe Evil died by my hand.

The bastard was truly a madman who committed murder and arson as a matter of course.

It was a good thing to clean him up, as though I were building virtue in the Jianghu while I was at it.

But.

‘If I had known Axe Evil would come out, I wouldn’t have done that insane thing to learn the Sword Demon’s martial art.’

I had somehow learned the first form of the Three Forms of the White Moon Governing Heaven, but because of that, my body had turned into some kind of wooden puppet.

It was not that my blood channels or qi center had been injured.

Rather, after gaining enlightenment through the Martial Duel with the Sword Demon, my body had changed once again, and the inner arts flowing through my blood channels were unimpeded, like the current of the Yangtze River.

The reason my outward appearance had become like this was purely because my body could not withstand the reckless training.

At this point, I felt like an idiot for worrying that the Black Path bastards would not accept the result of the Martial Duel.

No, now I simply wished they would all attack me.

If I had not been pissed off by those bastards’ atrocious deeds, I would never have done this kind of thing.

“Sword Evil. Are you truly not going to attack? Do you not hold a grudge against me?”

When I called out Sword Evil, the bastard startled with a “Hic,” like a child choking.

“Hic,” of all things…… A grown adult saying “Hic”…….

“Snake Evil! W-We have to run. We have to leave quickly!”

Sword Evil began dragging Snake Evil, whose leg was wrapped in bandages, backward and fleeing.

Snake Evil could not even shake off Sword Evil’s hand and merely stared blankly at me.

“……Mukhyul Gang, is there perhaps anyone who cannot accept the result of the Martial Duel? If so, come up.”

“…….”

The Mukhyul Gang members were only watching one another’s faces and shouting, “You go,” “No, you go.”

I looked at the other members of the Eight Evils standing together with the Black Axe Palace Lord.

“Is there no one among you who will avenge Axe Evil?”

“…….”

They exchanged glances among themselves, but no one stepped forward.

Then Spear Evil asked.

“……The martial art you used…… was that truly the Sword Demon’s martial art?”

“You saw it, so why are you asking?”

“……Are you saying it is real?”

Spear Evil’s face hardened stiffly.

The Black Path members gathered in the Yujang Sect also began to stir and whisper.

“……Then are you saying you became the Sword Demon’s disciple?”

“I am a disciple of the Taeul Sect.”

“Then how are you using that martial art? Are you saying you learned it directly?”

The Sword Demon had said he would break my leg bones if I went around saying that I had learned even a single strand from him.

My memory was absolutely good, and I especially never violated warnings given by people like the Sword Demon.

“No.”

“Then……?”

“I stole it.”

“Huh?”

Spear Evil’s eyes widened roundly.

The murmuring among the Black Path bastards grew even louder.

Since the Sword Demon had told me to say it this way, it was not a lie.

Yes, of course not.

“He says he stole a martial art from the Sword Demon.”

“Fuck, does that make any sense?”

“Maybe it might…… They say he is the joint successor of the Black Path Alliance.”

“Ah! As expected of the Black Path Rising Star!”

Leaving aside the Black Path Rising Star, what kind of bullshit was this joint successor of the Black Path Alliance?

“If your curiosity is satisfied, hurry up and come up!”

I wanted to dispel this filthy mood as quickly as possible.

I wanted to receive a reward for the trouble I had gone through!

Ah, seeing how I thirsted for blood like this, there was definitely something sinister in the Sword Demon’s martial art.

There was no way I, a born Daoist, would feel the desire to beat someone to death.

“……We are beings hired by the Black Axe Palace. To begin with, it is Axe Evil’s fault for stepping forward in the Mukhyul Gang’s matter.”

With that, Spear Evil stepped back and crossed his arms.

The Black Axe Palace Lord glared at Spear Evil with dumbfounded eyes.

Spear Evil, without backing down, returned a gaze that said, “What do you want me to do about it?”

“Then is there no one who will come out?”

“…….”

I spoke while looking at the Black Path crowd.

Using the Black Dragon Sword as a cane, I took a couple of steps forward and spoke once more.

“I asked whether there is no one who will come out.”

Rustle—

The Black Path crowd simultaneously stepped back a couple of steps.

When I took three steps forward again.

Rustle—

The Black Path crowd simultaneously stepped back five steps.

“…….”

No, what am I, some kind of plague?

The “Decisive Martial Duel” ended like that.

On the spot, the representative of the Mukhyul Gang wrote a pledge stating that they would compensate the Yujang Sect for all the damage so far, as well as compensate the bereaved families, and then returned.

The Yujang Sect, which had been packed with people, emptied out in half a day.

In the places where people had left, only the remains of shattered halls, walls, and the main gate were full, adding to the desolate atmosphere.

“Eldest Senior Brother, what on earth happened?”

Eun-ho looked at me with a dumbfounded face.

I spoke while endlessly drinking water.

“Once one enters the stage of Jade Stamen Golden Flower, the Upper Qi Center opens, and mental images can be applied as though they are reality. This means that Mind-Image Training can become the same as actual training.”

“So?”

“The speed of a mental image is much faster than the speed of reality, is it not? It is the best method for becoming stronger in a short period. I will pass it down to you later.”

“……No. I simply want to accumulate failures day by day within the time of reality.”

Eun-ho shuddered as though he had seen something he should not have seen.

Well, it was not a method I particularly wanted to recommend either.

It was only possible for me because I had absolute memory. If ordinary people were to fall into delusion while doing Mind-Image Training, it would lead straight to Qi Deviation.

Thinking about it again made me furious.

What exactly had I risked my life doing that for?

I knew to begin with that the nature of Black Path bastards was to be strong against the weak and weak against the strong, but this was still far too lacking in spirit.

Eun-ho, who had been trembling, looked around and spoke.

“What will happen to the Yujang Sect now?”

They had obtained victory against the Mukhyul Gang and protected the name of their sect, but the mood was not excited at all.

The physician invited from the Tang Clan was examining Jang Sa-gyeong’s condition, but he had said that Jang Sa-gyeong had reached an irreversible state after his Innate Energy broke.

If it had not been a physician from the Tang Clan, Jang Sa-gyeong would have passed away the moment the Martial Duel ended, yet he had been carried along until now.

Because of that, all the disciples of the Yujang Sect had gathered in one place and were having their final conversation with Jang Sa-gyeong.

I looked back at them as they held back their sobs and asked Eun-ho in return.

“What do you think will happen?”

“…….”

Eun-ho fell into thought for a long while before opening his mouth.

“I am not certain, but…… won’t they become stronger from now on?”

In my past life, the Yujang Sect was annihilated as soon as the Great Righteous-Demonic War broke out.

It was because, under Diancang’s orders, every member of the sect had faced the Demonic Cult without any proper information.

And Diancang had not taken any responsibility for it at all.

But the Yujang Sect of this life would move forward in a different form.

I thought of Jang Sa-gyeong, who had created a different future for the Yujang Sect.

“I think so as well.”

A moment later, those who had exchanged their final farewells with Jang Sa-gyeong began to leave the hall one by one.

Most of them were shedding tears, and they lowered their heads to hide their unsightly appearance, but in the end, they could not hide the tears that kept flowing.

Eun-ho tightly closed his mouth as he watched that sight.

I spoke to Eun-ho.

“This is not something that will happen only to the Yujang Sect.”

“……Yes.”

Even saying this much would be enough for Eun-ho to understand.

He was an exceedingly clever child.

“Young Hero Jin.”

The Yujang Sect Hall Master called me with eyes that had turned blood-red.

“Yes.”

“The Sect Leader says he wishes to see you.”

“……Understood.”

I slowly rose from my seat.

On both sides of the room, Jang Sa-gyeong’s martial brothers and Jang Woo-jae were quietly seated.

And at the front, Jang Sa-gyeong was looking at me and smiling with not a trace of vitality left in him.

“Welcome. Young Hero Jin.”

As my inner arts accumulated and the level of my Sensory Perception increased, I had no great difficulty sensing another person’s presence even without trying to pay attention.

But I could feel nothing from the current Jang Sa-gyeong.

It meant that every energy that allowed him to exist had dried up.

If it had not been for the Tang Clan physician, who was still continuously applying needles, using moxibustion, and infusing qi at Jang Sa-gyeong’s side, he would not even have been able to sit and speak like this.

“From what I heard…… you already brought a physician from the Tang Clan two days ago. How did you know I would touch my Innate True Qi?”

Two days ago, I had seen Hong Mun-gi of my past life in Jang Sa-gyeong’s appearance.

He, too, had not hesitated to burn his own body to save his disciples until the very end.

Perhaps I.

Perhaps I had seen in Jang Sa-gyeong the Hong Mun-gi whom I had failed to save in my past life.

“I simply had that feeling.”

Jang Sa-gyeong stared at me, then spoke with a faint smile.

“You seem to have gone through truly arduous experiences despite your young age, Young Hero.”

“……There must have been a wiser way to overcome it. I am sorry for my inadequacy.”

Jang Sa-gyeong slowly shook his head.

“No. I could not have wished for more than this. I will not forget this grace. I have told my children, and the children of my children, not to forget it either.”

At words that sounded like a will, people’s sobs broke out.

“Thank you truly, Young Hero Jin. I do not know what virtue I accumulated in my past life, but thanks to you, Young Hero Jin, I can close my eyes in peace.”

“…….”

Jang Sa-gyeong looked at his son, Jang Woo-jae, and spoke.

“Bring it here.”

“Yes.”

Jang Woo-jae placed what had been behind him in front of his father.

With trembling hands, Jang Sa-gyeong pushed a wooden tray toward me.

On the tray lay a small jewel of blue crystal.

“It is called Wind Spirit.”

“Wind Spirit?”

It was an object not recorded even in my vast library.

“It is a relic left behind by our founder, the Flying Current Divine Sword. It has the effect of Cold-Heat Invulnerability, so it should be a useful object for someone like you, Young Hero Jin, who must race through the Jianghu.”

A relic of their founder?

I was greatly startled and refused.

“I did not do this seeking compensation to begin with. I cannot accept such a precious object.”

Jang Sa-gyeong formed a broad smile on his lips.

“Young Hero Jin, that is precisely why I am giving it to you. What chivalrous hero in the world could risk even his own life without desiring any payment?”

“…….”

“It holds my small wish that your good influence may spread through the world and open the eyes of many.”

I merely moved to erase the nightmares in my memory…….

“You are thinking that you did not move with that intention…… are you not?”

What?

Jang Sa-gyeong laughed as though he found it deeply satisfying.

“As expected, as the end draws near, I seem to see things I could not see before. Young Hero Jin, do not worry. Whatever your intention may have been, we received a grace from you that we cannot repay. If I close my eyes without being able to give this to you, I think I will become a ghost from guilt even after death.”

Jang Sa-gyeong made a dreadful joke.

I bowed my head deeply and clasped my hands in greeting.

“……I will gratefully accept your gift, Sect Leader.”

When I raised my head, Jang Sa-gyeong met my eyes.

“What do you think? Did I do well enough?”

At his question, I nodded.

“You were excellent beyond measure.”

For a moment, we looked into each other’s eyes and smiled.

The Tang Clan physician met my eyes and shook his head.

Now, it truly was time that had to be spent among them alone.

I quietly left the room.

“Why is the moon so bright?”

As I stared blankly at the moon floating above the Yujang Sect, the sound of sobbing began to grow louder from inside the hall.

“On a day like this, it would be nice if it were a little cloudy.”

Soon, the sound of sobbing spread throughout the entire Yujang Sect.