Chapter 97: Chapter 97
Dok-ra-su stepped onto the front line in earnest.
Martial artists of the Tang Clan fight with poison and hidden weapons. Among those, the poison was fundamentally blocked by Dok-ra-su.
Not only that, Dok-ra-su possessed the skill to comfortably handle dozens of Tang Clan martial artists on his own.
Of course, that was under the premise that the opponents were not supreme experts who had reached the Super-Peak realm, but Super-Peak experts were not beings easily found even within the Tang Clan, one of the Five Great Clans.
Thanks to that, the Black Tortoise Squad regained their composure.
Heavenly Tiger Squad Leader and Zhuge Rin, who no longer needed to maintain the wheel formation, truly swept across the battlefield.
‘No. Stay calm.’
Zhuge Rin endlessly reminded herself. The Zhuge Clan rejects a bellicose disposition. Always judging situations calmly and coolly, they consider an unexcessive yet unflawed response a virtue.
But she kept getting excited. Internal energy endlessly coursing through her entire body and the massive great sword feeling light as a feather.
And the martial artists of the Tang Clan collapsing beneath her great sword.
Zhuge Rin was also a martial artist. Before curing her Severed Meridians Disorder, she had not felt such a great desire for martial arts, but seeing how soaringly good and thrilling it felt, she must have simply buried her longing for martial arts deep within her heart.
Thinking so, Zhuge Rin endlessly strove never to become overly excited even while thoroughly enjoying actual combat in this current situation.
On the other hand, Heavenly Tiger Squad Leader was as usual.
He was someone who had already successfully accomplished hundreds of missions without a single mistake.
Just as much as the Martial Alliance placed expectations upon him, Heavenly Tiger Squad Leader also trusted in himself.
He did not kill every martial artist who met his eyes. He merely subdued those lunging forward by inflicting minimal injuries. Of course, minimal injuries meant severe wounds that rendered them incapable of combat.
Even while his sword was dyed red with blood, he did not forget the mission in the slightest. While his sword cut down the martial artists blocking his front, his eyes were always fixed on Tang Bi-cheon.
‘Hurry and make a move. Tang Bi-cheon.’
If, truly if this battle led to their victory thanks to the two supreme experts.
Tang Bi-cheon would certainly flee. The Tang Clan could already no longer protect him. If so, he would have no choice but to seek help from those who plotted the affair with him.
Around the time everyone continued the fight in their respective manners.
“Nephew, that bastard! You must catch that bastard!”
Dok-ra-su pointed somewhere and shouted. Taking advantage of the chaos, Master Won-dang was slipping away from the battlefield.
Of course, Cheon Woo-jin had not missed this either.
However, he hesitated.
The fact that the balance of this battlefield was maintained. That none of the Martial Alliance members had died or been injured. That the Tang Clan martial artists could not unleash their true skills due to fear.
All of it was possible because Cheon Woo-jin was present.
If he pursued Master Won-dang and left this battlefield, he could not be certain what would unfold afterward.
“What are you doing! That bastard’s martial prowess is by no means low. If you hesitate any longer, you will never be able to catch him!”
Dok-ra-su shouted continuously as if frustrated.
Zhuge Rin and Heavenly Tiger Squad Leader also looked at Cheon Woo-jin’s hesitating figure. They also knew. Why Cheon Woo-jin was hesitating so much.
– Junior Cheon, pursue him immediately. We are fine. The number of Tang Clan martial artists has already decreased significantly. If that man is the culprit who seduced Tang Bi-cheon, you must catch him!
– I will stake my life to protect the members of the Black Tortoise Squad. At least until I die, no one will be injured or killed.
The sound transmissions of Zhuge Rin and Heavenly Tiger Squad Leader echoed simultaneously.
Cheon Woo-jin let out a low sigh. He had not yet lost the qi sense of the fleeing man. He could pursue him whenever he set his mind to it.
It was fortunate that Dok-ra-su was here. Of course, under the premise that he would not betray them until the end.
– Senior Dok-ra-su.
At Cheon Woo-jin’s sound transmission, Dok-ra-su’s eyes widened.
Even though he could have answered via sound transmission, he deliberately blurted it out with his voice.
“S-senior? Did you just call me senior?”
Regardless, Cheon Woo-jin continued his sound transmission in his characteristically nonchalant tone.
– If you do not betray us until I return, I will connect you with the Black Overlord Castle.
– Is that true?
Cheon Woo-jin knew what Dok-ra-su worried about.
No master could defeat the flow of time. The fact that he returned to the Tang Clan once again was already proof that he had grown frail.
Dok-ra-su must be terrified. The fact that after the war ended, he would have to wander the martial world alone without anyone’s protection.
‘He probably even thought about throwing himself into the Demonic Cult.’
If he managed to obtain the moniker of Poison Demon, he could at least puff out his chest within the Demonic Cult. Of course, he would not be able to step a single pace into the Central Plains in the future.
The Black Overlord Castle would be better than that. By apprehending the Shadowless Divine Thief, Cheon Woo-jin had earned the right to make a single request of the Young Castle Lord of the Black Overlord Castle.
Of course, that request was not to affiliate Dok-ra-su with the Black Overlord Castle. He merely intended to connect him with the Lord of the Black Overlord Castle.
‘The rest will be Dok-ra-su’s own responsibility.’
Dok-ra-su was deeply touched. Although he had called him nephew, he had not particularly meant it. Yet the one looking out for him more than the Tang Clan bastards with whom he truly shared blood was that boy, after all.
– Very well. Even if my life ends, I will never betray you.
Cheon Woo-jin let out a smirk. He knew Dok-ra-su would flee faster than anyone if his life truly fell into danger. However, as long as Dok-ra-su did not betray them, a crisis of that magnitude would not easily arrive.
In any case, Dok-ra-su was a master who had survived while spreading notoriety even in the previous generation of the martial world, which was the roughest and most dangerous.
In that manner, Cheon Woo-jin lightly scanned the battlefield and vanished.
– Survive.
He did not forget to leave a single sound transmission for Song Yi-yeon either.
* * *
Cheon Woo-jin caught up to Master Won-dang in an instant.
When he dropped down abruptly before him, Master Won-dang came to an abrupt halt even while executing formidable lightness arts.
From that alone, it was evident that he had concealed his martial prowess considerably.
“You ran quite far.”
Cheon Woo-jin was genuinely impressed. It was a place far distant from Chengdu, where the Tang Clan was situated. Having crossed three mountains, they had practically passed through six villages.
Master Won-dang was not flustered. Rather, he was composed as if he had anticipated this situation.
“Why did you pursue me? From the start, the objective of your mission should have been Young Clan Leader Tang Bi-cheon, not me.”
It was a question probing Cheon Woo-jin. Of course, having realized even that intention, Cheon Woo-jin answered thus.
“Because you are a disciple of the Dark Emperor.”
It was merely a fleeting instant, but Master Won-dang’s expression stiffened.
Yet wearing a smile again as if nothing had happened, Master Won-dang asked in a quiet tone.
“What kind of talk is that? The Dark Emperor. My legs tremble just hearing that name.”
It was a lie.
Master Won-dang was not trembling in the slightest. Rather, in his calmly settled pupils, a deep desire for victory merely lingered.
At that sight, Cheon Woo-jin let out a smirk.
“Demon Physician. How long do you intend to keep acting?”
“Why out of all those many disciples did you think I was the Demon Physician?”
Master Won-dang, or rather the Demon Physician, was truly curious.
However, Cheon Woo-jin did not give an answer.
He merely clasped his hands in a respectful salute with a polite posture and demeanor, as if facing an elder he respected.
“Oho, what is the meaning of this?”
Having clasped his hands for a moment, Cheon Woo-jin soon relaxed his posture and gripped the Crescent Moon Staff.
“Neither of us needs useless chatter. We already know each other.”
“…Senior Brother has raised a monster.”
The Demon Physician’s tone changed.
He had given up on acting.
“Do you intend to kill me? Me, the junior martial brother of your master?”
“Everyone says similar things.”
The Shura Demon Lord, the first disciple of the Dark Emperor he killed after stepping into the martial world, said similar words as well.
Of course, it was a meaningless talk. Because the person who told him to smash the skulls and kill every disciple of the Dark Emperor was none other than Black Elder.
Cheon Woo-jin lightly kicked off the ground. Before a single breath even passed, the distance between the two closed enough to touch.
Imbued with Dark Heaven Qi, the Crescent Moon Staff surged forward.
Dark Tail Single Flash.
Just like its name, advancing while tracing a black tail, the Crescent Moon Staff pierced toward the Demon Physician’s heart. But soon, the Demon Physician’s figure scattered in all directions like smoke. The Demon Physician was already three steps away.
The Demon Physician’s hands trembled faintly. At the same time, something flashed from his sleeves. Cheon Woo-jin tilted his head back. A silver needle narrowly grazed past the tip of his chin.
It was an acupuncture needle used when a physician saved lives.
Cheon Woo-jin suddenly asked.
“Have you ever saved a person?”
The Demon Physician grinned. He had not expected him to ask such a thing in this situation. Was it not truly amusing? To have the exact same question as his master.
– Demon Physician, why are you called a physician when you have never even saved a person?
When Black Elder asked indifferently, the Demon Physician had answered with distinct nervousness. The Demon Physician gave the exact same answer from back then to his disciple.
“Well, though I have saved a stray dog with a broken leg or a bird with an injured beak while walking down a road, I have no recollection of saving a human. Ah, I did treat a sick old man once.”
“What happened?”
“Naturally, I completely cured his disease. Where under heaven is an illness I cannot treat? He repeatedly bowed his head, expressing his gratitude. And then I killed him.”
“Why?”
“Expressing gratitude, he said he would butcher the dog he raised to treat me. That could happen. There are those who take pity on dogs, but if so, are cows or pigs not pitiful? Humans are inherently like that. However, you see.”
The Demon Physician narrowed his brow as if reminiscing about that time.
“At least to that dog who always stayed by his side while he lay ill and alone, and who guided me to its master after catching the scent of herbs from me, he should not have done that. When its master rose from the sickbed, to the fellow who wagged its tail so hard it might fall off, not knowing it was about to be slaughtered and eaten, he should not have done that. Is that not so?”
“I see. You killed well. At times, beasts are better than humans.”
Moved that Cheon Woo-jin understood his heart, the Demon Physician continued with an emotional expression.
“So I decided to turn all humans in the world into beasts. Isn’t it beautiful? How enchanting would a world become that was once filled with hideous and hypocritical humans.”
“…Have you lost your mind?”
Cheon Woo-jin was dumbfounded. Just what kind of thoughts did he live with for the conclusion of the story to end like this?
After trying to understand for a moment, Cheon Woo-jin soon shook his head. Originally, almost none among the Dark Emperor’s disciples were sane.
– Woo-jin.
For a moment, Master Black Elder’s voice was heard, but he struggled to ignore it.
Soon, the Demon Physician took out a pill from his robes. It was that very pill Tang Bi-cheon had consumed at the tournament.
“With this very thing.”
“What is that?”
“Are you curious? Right, I should tell you. Since you are the disciple of our Senior Brother Black Elder.”
Having said so, the Demon Physician popped the pill into his mouth.
The effect appeared immediately.
Cheon Woo-jin slightly raised his Crescent Moon Staff. The Demon Physician’s posture and aura had changed in an instant. It seemed different from what Tang Bi-cheon had taken before.
“Haa…”
The Demon Physician’s breathing turned somewhat rough. His steady breaths turned irregular, and the capillaries in his two eyes burst, turning bloodshot.
His waist bent slightly, and the muscles throughout his body swelled faintly.
What was most impressive was that the Demon Physician’s gaze looking at him had become extraordinarily clear and ferocious.
Soon, it seemed the Demon Physician lowered his stance slightly, and then…
Thump!
Powerfully kicking off the ground, he closed the distance in an instant. It was a speed on an entirely different level compared to before. Apparently, that pill drastically enhanced physical capabilities.
Without a shred of hesitation, Cheon Woo-jin swung his Crescent Moon Staff.
Clang!
The Demon Physician took a blow to the head and crashed into the ground. What was astonishing was that his head did not shatter. He even rose immediately and lunged forward once more.
Cheon Woo-jin seized the Demon Physician by the throat.
The Demon Physician firmly grabbed Cheon Woo-jin’s arm with both hands. His ten fingers tightened as if to pierce through Cheon Woo-jin’s forearm.
In fact, if Cheon Woo-jin’s level of external martial arts had been even slightly lower, his arm would have been torn away just like that.
“…Absurd.”
Saying so, Cheon Woo-jin roughly plunged the Crescent Moon Staff he held in his other hand into the ground. He could not use the staff at this distance.
With his left hand still gripping the Demon Physician’s throat, Cheon Woo-jin wrapped his right fist in fist gangqi. Imbued with Dark Heaven Qi, it was gangqi resembling the night sky.
Soon, he swung his fist.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
He endlessly pummeled the Demon Physician’s face. Sounds like striking a lump of iron erupted continuously. What was absurd was that neither bone nor skin was damaged, even though he did not appear to be coated in Body-Protecting Gangqi.
Cheon Woo-jin suddenly stopped punching.
Because the Demon Physician was biting on a small silver needle, whether he had hidden it in his mouth or not. If he had driven his fist as was, his skin would have been pierced.
The Demon Physician did not miss that brief gap.
Shifting the silver needle he had bitten into his hand, he swung it toward Cheon Woo-jin’s right eye. The distance was too close and the speed too fast to dodge.
Without hesitation, Cheon Woo-jin slammed the Demon Physician into the ground.
Kaaaa-boom!
The ground shattered violently as the Demon Physician crashed down. As if giving no leeway, Cheon Woo-jin lifted the planted Crescent Moon Staff and brought it down upon the Demon Physician.
However, the Demon Physician was not in that spot. Retrieving the Crescent Moon Staff that struck empty ground, Cheon Woo-jin turned his head.
The Demon Physician had already charged right into his vicinity.
“…”
It was not particularly a threat. However, it was true that it was astonishing. The Demon Physician’s physical capabilities seemed to have doubled. His skin, muscles, and bones that normally should have been crushed and burst apart were still perfectly intact.
On the other hand, the refinement of his stances had declined.
Only then could Cheon Woo-jin understand what the Demon Physician had spoken of.
The pill he had consumed was truly something that transformed humans into beasts.