Chapter 132: Dragons Pool and Tigers Cave (2)
Under the shadow of the white hand, all life holds its breath.
This was a saying that circulated when the past successors of the Pale Hand entered the martial world.
Existences that wandered the martial world as if searching for something, exterminating everyone they touched without distinguishing between the Orthodox, Unorthodox, or Demonic factions.
Because they went around touching all factions almost to the point of fairness, their affiliation was ambiguous to classify, but the alias of the Pale-handed Divine Demon, who displayed martial arts worthy of being evaluated as having reached the limit of Yin-Cold Qi, was classified under the Unorthodox path and became a legend of the Unorthodox path.
A fragment of an old story, like a ghost tale, that was once called the Three Forgotten Legends of Martial World alongside the Black Death God and the Mad Martial Sovereign, who had trodden a similar path.
“The Pale-handed Divine Demon……”
Tang Jo-yang swallowed dry saliva, falling into shock.
Judging by the situation, it seemed she had saved them, but the opponent was the master of the Pale Hand. The stories passed down from the ancient past were too ominous for him to let his guard down completely.
Whether the Sichuan Tang Clan reacted that way or not, the Pale-handed Divine Demon Baek Seol-ah radiated a frost-like aura toward the Black Slaying Squad.
“Are you a single-digit assassin?”
An entity that looked inhuman with her pure white color spoke human words.
For the current Baek Seol-ah, it was the only action that seemed human.
“If…… so?”
“What number?”
“……Number 9.”
A single-digit assassin, Black Slaying Number 9.
Considering the prestige of the Black Slaying Squad, it was a title with a weight that would make anyone tremble with fear.
“Quite decent.”
“Grrit!”
Baek Seol-ah’s assessment was extremely plain.
It was a typical remark a master would make to an inferior.
The sound of teeth grinding came from the mouth of the insulted Black Slaying Number 9.
But he could not move rashly. In his angry breath, a breath so thick that it was visible to the eye could be seen.
This was the aftermath left by just a single palm exchange.
Even though they had merely crossed hands once, even an expert of Black Slaying Number 9’s caliber could not shake off that Yin-Cold Qi.
“You probably have no intention of revealing the mastermind anyway, do you?”
With that, the conversation ended.
Baek Seol-ah’s figure turned blurry.
That appearance, which left an afterimage because it was too fast, was reminiscent of the Shift of Transposition.
It might also be because she stood out more easily due to her entirely pure white color.
Nevertheless, they missed her movements.
Not only the Tang Clan’s expert Tang Jo-yang, who was famous for his good eyesight, but the entire Black Slaying Squad!
Unable to avoid Baek Seol-ah’s attack that struck without warning, the Black Slaying Squad had to take that palm strike head-on.
Crack! Thud!
Not a single person could handle a single strike.
The moment they clashed with the white hand, they turned into black thin ice and shattered, and the person beyond became an ice statue with his head gone.
Having disposed of the Black Slaying Squad experts in an instant, Baek Seol-ah rushed toward the last remaining Black Slaying Number 9.
“Damn it!”
Admitting that there was no chance of victory in a head-on confrontation, Black Slaying Number 9 retreated and shattered a bead hidden at his waist onto the ground.
The violet smoke was a deadly poison by anyone’s standards.
It was a deadly poison that even an elephant could not guarantee its life if it touched the skin or was inhaled.
He tried to gain an advantage by laying a poison mist where Baek Seol-ah was rushing, but it was resolved absurdly simply.
Pushed back by the coldness radiating from Baek Seol-ah’s body, the poison mist froze as it was.
Even Tang Jo-yang, who had deep knowledge of poisons, let out a hollow laugh in disbelief.
Bang! Bang!
At the moment Black Slaying Number 9 clashed with double palms in an unavoidable state.
“Keuup!”
From the groaning mouth of Black Slaying Number 9, a breath as thick as if he were smoking tobacco flowed out.
His face was covered with white frost. White frost settled on his eyebrows, and his lips turned blue.
Papabang!
Nevertheless, Baek Seol-ah’s offensive was relentless.
Crack!
At some point, the sound heard changed.
Along with the sound of porcelain breaking, the shattered remains of the body turned into fragments and scattered on the floor.
Frozen meat, white on the outside but red on the inside, was scattered like broken porcelain.
Black Slaying Number 9’s two hands shattered into pieces and fell.
“I knew that Yin-Cold Qi was scary, but……”
Tang Jo-yang, who was watching, shuddered.
Baek Seol-ah was simply fast and strong.
But the moment the extreme Yin-Cold Qi was loaded, the story changed.
Just by crossing hands, the blood froze, the qi and blood stiffened, and one became unable to operate internal energy.
And when a martial artist who was unable to operate internal energy was exposed to that coldness, the end was obvious.
“I see why the Pale-handed Divine Demon was called one of the Three Forgotten Legends of Martial World as she stirred up the the Martial World.”
“It does not seem to be the time to make relaxed comments, Uncle.”
Tang Sa-yeon got angry and poked the ribs of Tang Jo-yang, who was assessing Baek Seol-ah’s martial arts.
Crack!!
With the following palm strike, Black Slaying Number 9’s head shattered.
Right before his head was shattered, at the final moment, Black Slaying Number 9’s appearance was truly horrific.
His entire body was encroached by the cold qi, and every single joint was completely frozen.
He died with his head smashed in a state where he could not even move.
Having shown such overwhelming power, Baek Seol-ah’s gaze turned toward the Sichuan Tang Clan warriors, including Tang Sa-yeon and Tang Jo-yang.
Toward them who were extremely tense, Baek Seol-ah opened her mouth.
“If you follow instructions, I will not kill you.”
“……I understand.”
Tang Jo-yang raised both hands and showed his palms.
“Snow Shadow, escort them.”
“Yes, Young Lord.”
At Baek Seol-ah’s call, figures like white grim reapers appeared and surrounded the Sichuan Tang Clan warriors.
Having given the instructions, Baek Seol-ah threw herself toward the north.
Watching Baek Seol-ah turn into a white line and recede in an instant, Tang Sa-yeon felt both awe and fear at the same time.
Unintentionally, a proper hierarchy had been established.
***
Having wiped out the Black Slaying Squad that appeared in the west of Samyang County, Baek Seol-ah clicked her tongue as she headed north of the village.
She felt that unusual forces were colliding there.
“The Tang Clan alone is headache enough……”
Most of the ancestors who were called the Pale-handed Divine Demon in the past martial world were not normal.
Unable to control this Yin-Cold Qi, which was like a heavenly punishment to their clan, they suffered from pain day by day and went mad. Even in that state, they wandered the martial world in search of the enemy who made them like this.
In the process, countless grudges and debts of gratitude were entangled.
Although it was a curse-like heavenly punishment, there was no greater blessing when it came to learning martial arts. Therefore, the elders of the clan finally modified the Cold Sky Demonic Manual and sublimated it into a divine art called Clear Jade True Qi. They also found a way to alleviate to some extent the hellish pain of freezing while still alive.
However, since there was no way to resolve the notoriety and grudges of the ancestors who ran wild and mad under the name of the Pale-handed Divine Demon, they chose seclusion. Entering the martial world was only when they found traces of their enemy.
In that sense, revealing her identity to the Tang Clan people was also a major risk for Baek Seol-ah.
Although most of the grudges accumulated during the days when they spread their notoriety in the past had decayed and vanished in the flow of time, it was because she could potentially fall into a difficult situation if the existence of her bloodline was made known.
“But I couldn’t just leave them be either. Since they are all people with a connection to Cheong-un……”
Rather than being pointed at by everyone in the world, she feared Yeon Cheong-un’s disappointment more.
She knew there was a risk, but she had no choice but to bear it.
“And that was also why I tolerated them.”
Another force that had seeped into Samyang County along with Shaolin and the Sichuan Tang Clan.
The Demonic Cult.
The reason she tolerated them was also, after all, because of Yeon Cheong-un.
Perhaps the owner of this power causing a disturbance in the north right now was related to them.
She had to check it for herself.
Baek Seol-ah’s body turned into a white flash and traversed Samyang County.
Soon, the collision of massive power began to appear in Baek Seol-ah’s eyes.
Nine figures radiating golden light and a massive darkness were colliding.
***
“You have not rusted.”
“You as well.”
“I thought you would have rotted away inside Shaolin over the long years.”
“Hmph! Look who’s talking!”
A conversation between connections reunited over long years took place.
Boom! Bang! Boom! Crash!!
However, what passed between them was not just words.
Deafening explosions went off in succession.
The figures of the Divine Monk Gongryo, who unfolded the Nine Grades of Lotus Pedestals and ran wild divided into nine, were not simple afterimages.
The nine figures exerted real power, showing how immense the internal energy moving was.
One unleashed the Arhat Divine Fist, another the Shaolin Three Absolute Hands, and another the Hundred-Step Divine Fist as they ran wild.
The Demonic Cult old man confronting him was a single massive mass.
The old man, who had become a firm Demon God Statue, turned into a giant wielding enormous strength and withstood the ultimate techniques of the Divine Monk Gongryo.
A clash between those who had crossed the human realm and stepped into the realm of gods.
Even in a situation where ultimate techniques that made the Dragon Scale Squad members—who had been behaving audaciously against the Black Slaying Squad—turn pale were exchanged, the conversation between the two continued.
“The Demonic Cult has been running wild lately. Shaolin was invaded, and because of that, the first disciple of Zhongnan died. By any chance, is your presence here related to those events?”
Anger lingered in the voice of the Divine Monk Gongryo as he interrogated him about the recent provocations of the Demonic Cult.
On the other hand, the Demonic Cult old man shut his mouth.
It was because he could not reveal to Gongryo that he had followed the one who inherited the true martial lineage of the Heavenly Demon.
Needing time to organize the situation, the Demonic Cult old man subtly shifted the topic.
“Somehow, I sense personal feelings.”
“My disciple! No, because the fellow who is practically my disciple is here!”
“A disciple?”
“The Young Heavenly Dragon Yeon Cheong-un! This is the place where my disciple lives!”
Crash!!
A powerful strike loaded with emotion.
The fierce strike of the Great Strength Vajra Palm and the mysterious strike of the Arhat Divine Fist were unleashed all at once, striking the old man’s Demon God Statue.
The old man in the form of a massive Demon God Statue took a step back to absorb the impact and frowned.
It was because of the name that came from the mouth of the Divine Monk Gongryo.
Fortunately, he seemed to have found a way to end this useless fight.
The old man, deactivating the Demon God Statue, asserted.
“The matters you spoke of have nothing to do with me.”
“Nothing to do with you?”
“Because I have left the Demonic Cult.”
“Huh? You, of all people, who are ranked third in the Demonic Cult and sit on the seat of the Demonic Sovereign, say that?”
“Let’s just say I grew sick of those methods you speak of. Thus, I came to the Central Plains leading those who follow me. I intended to temporarily entrust myself to Yeon Ja-yeom, as he is said to be a great man who shares friendships without distinguishing between the Orthodox, Unorthodox, or Demonic factions. As you can see.”
The old man spoke as he pointed to the Dragon Scale Squad.
The nine figures that brilliantly filled the surroundings of the elder slithered back into one.
“Seeking asylum, you mean?”
“You could say that.”
The old man replied in a bitter voice.
“Is that true?”
Gongryo glared toward the Dragon Scale Squad.
The Dragon Scale Squad leader, whose face turned pale at the sudden attention of the monsters, burst into an awkward laugh and nodded.
“Do you…… know…… who we are?”
“I know. The loyal dogs of the imperial court.”
“Ahaha……. As expected of someone who has passed a hundred years of age, you know a lot.”
“Just answer what you are asked.”
“……Well, it is true. This gentleman has joined hands with us.”
The Dragon Scale Squad leader felt relieved that the situation seemed to be getting resolved somehow.
However, Gongryo’s alertness did not disappear.
“Then, has the Pale-handed Divine Demon, one of the Three Forgotten Legends of Martial World, also joined hands with the imperial court?”
A frustrated expression settled on the face of the Dragon Scale Squad leader, who was suddenly caught off guard.
Baek Seol-ah, who landed calmly as if she knew nothing of such things, radiated a cold presence.
“Just what kind of place is this Samyang County? An imperial secret organization, the Demonic Cult, and now the Pale-handed Divine Demon, one of the Three Forgotten Legends of Martial World!”
“Ahahaha……”
The laughter of the Dragon Scale Squad leader flowed hollowly.
“……Until not long ago, this was truly a quiet, cushy job.”
***
Having returned in a hurry after learning at the Jungshin Merchant Group that the Black Slaying Squad was targeting Samyang County, I felt relieved upon seeing the quiet village.
“Have they not come yet?”
Fortunately, looking at the state of the village, it did not seem like a place that had been raided.
However, just in case, I rushed back home, and there, people I had never expected were gathered.
‘……What is this insane combination?’
Even leaving Sister Seol-ah aside, why on earth is the Divine Monk, who should be in Shaolin, at our house?
The problem was that even the Demonic Cult old man, who had settled in the neighboring house following Yi Hwa, was in the same place.
And for some unknown reason, Tang Sa-yeon, who was completely terrified, and a middle-aged man who appeared to be of the Tang Clan were looking at me with pitiful eyes from the corner of the room.
From my perspective, it was truly a disastrous combination.
“You have come.”
My grandfather welcomed me warmly (?) as I fell into such confusion.