Chapter 403

Chapter 403 – Those Who Protect, Those Who Take… (3)

"Amitabha! Amitabha!"

Gwang-hae, who had been devoted to chanting sutras for a while, closed the Buddhist scripture and stood up from his seat. It was because his heart was so disturbed that he couldn't bear it.

Gwang-hae stood up and opened the window. Then a somewhat cold wind blew in and cooled the sweat flowing on his face.

The panoramic view of Shaolin Temple and the Martial Alliance engulfed in darkness entered his vision. Lights were lit everywhere making it seem like a city that never sleeps, but somehow Gwang-hae felt that sight was strange.

He had been suffering from heart demons for some time. The fact that he, who had learned Buddhist martial arts and had a stronger mental foundation than anyone, was suffering from heart demons was itself an unfamiliar experience. He had never been like this since residing at Shaolin Temple, making it all the more bewildering.

Gwang-hae closed his eyes tightly.

Many people didn't know the reason for their heart demons and were troubled, but he knew the reason.

"Amitabha! Heavenly Sword King…"

His heart demons began precisely after Heavenly Sword King Jeok Gyeong-cheon appeared. To be exact, it was after he saw Jeok Gyeong-cheon in person.

Since then, Gwang-hae had been tormented by inexplicable heart demons. But he couldn't tell anyone about this fact.

Not only Martial Alliance Leader Nam Cheon-san, but also Shaolin Abbot Gwang-cheon and the main leadership all believed in and relied on Jeok Gyeong-cheon's existence.

The epithet Heavenly Sword King contained such weight and trust. Enough to make even the Abbot of Shaolin Temple believe and follow him. That's why he couldn't raise questions about his heart demons.

The heart demons grew larger day by day and were gradually eating away at his mind. He had endured and held out until now, but even that had reached its limit.

"Amitabha! Amitabha! If Patron Dam were here at a time like this, I would have believed and relied on him. It's just regrettable that he's not here."

Gwang-hae recalled Dam Ho who had left this place not long ago.

Dam Ho had oppressed everyone at Shaolin Temple and the Martial Alliance with his pure presence. At the time it felt somewhat suffocating, but looking back, his heart had been at ease then.

Dam Ho was truly someone worthy of trust and reliance, especially in turbulent times like now when one couldn't see even one step ahead. But now he didn't exist here. That made it all the more regrettable.

Gwang-hae hung the prayer beads he had been holding in his hands around his neck. A resolute light appeared on his face.

"Nothing will be solved by thinking alone like this. If I have doubts, confirming with my own eyes is the surest method. Yes, now is not the time to think but to act."

Gwang-hae went outside wearing his gray monk's robes without even putting on his red kesa. Leaving Shaolin Temple's mountain gate, the place he headed to was precisely the Martial Alliance.

Gwang-hae was an elder of Shaolin Temple. Therefore, he could enter the Martial Alliance without any inspection or identity verification.

Arriving at the Martial Alliance, the place he headed to was precisely Jeok Gyeong-cheon's quarters. Considering Jeok Gyeong-cheon's status as a previous generation master, he was assigned a separate annex building.

The path to the annex was quieter than expected. This was because a considerable number of martial artists, including the death squad, had left the Martial Alliance. Thanks to this, Gwang-hae was able to arrive near Jeok Gyeong-cheon's quarters without anyone's interference.

Gwang-hae was catching his breath for a moment and thinking about what to do when it happened.

Creak!

The annex door opened and someone revealed themselves. It was precisely Jeok Gyeong-cheon. Instantly, Gwang-hae unconsciously hid behind a nearby wall.

He didn't know why he did that. His body just moved first at that moment. Gwang-hae hid behind the wall and watched Jeok Gyeong-cheon.

After looking around briefly, Jeok Gyeong-cheon soon began walking toward a certain direction. His appearance of occasionally looking around and being on guard looked quite suspicious, so Gwang-hae held his breath and secretly followed him.

'What am I doing?'

The fact that he, an elder of Shaolin Temple, was following senior master Jeok Gyeong-cheon felt somehow ridiculous. But it was too ridiculous to stop now.

As soon as Jeok Gyeong-cheon left Shaolin Temple, he deployed his lightness skill toward the opposite side of Shaoshi Peak.

'Is he going to Taishi Peak?'

Taishi Peak was a large peak on the opposite side of Shaoshi Peak where Shaolin Temple was located. At first glance it looked gentle, but inside it was full of precipitous cliffs and strange rocks, making it extremely dangerous.

Therefore, even in broad daylight, one had to be careful when hiking there. It wasn't a place to go secretly at night like now. Even the monks of Shaolin Temple who were familiar with Mount Song didn't enter Taishi Peak after sunset.

A questioning light appeared in Gwang-hae's eyes. Though he had many curiosities, he decided to suppress them for now and follow Jeok Gyeong-cheon to the end.

Swoosh!

Jeok Gyeong-cheon's lightness skill was remarkable.

He disappeared to Taishi Peak in an instant as if cutting through the wind. Gwang-hae deployed his lightness skill with all his might, not wanting to fall behind.

Gwang-hae was also a renowned master at Shaolin Temple. He was confident that his lightness skill was second to none, but even with such ability, following behind Jeok Gyeong-cheon was not easy.

Eventually, he lost track of Jeok Gyeong-cheon halfway up Taishi Peak. Finding traces of Jeok Gyeong-cheon in the pitch-black darkness was not an easy task. But Gwang-hae didn't give up and persistently tracked Jeok Gyeong-cheon's traces.

'Where on earth did he disappear to?'

Gwang-hae's face was full of questioning light. An unknown anxiety was ringing alarm bells in his heart again.

His mind to return since he had come this far conflicted with his mind to see it through since he had started following.

It was when Gwang-hae was experiencing such conflict deep in his heart.

"How did it go?"

Someone's quiet voice came from beyond the dark thicket. It was precisely Jeok Gyeong-cheon's voice. Instantly, Gwang-hae held his breath and hid his presence as much as possible. Then he carefully approached the direction from which the voice came.

After advancing about ten zhang like that, he saw two people facing each other beyond the thicket.

One person was indeed Jeok Gyeong-cheon whom he had followed. But the person standing opposite him was completely unidentifiable. This was because he appeared vaguely as if his entire body was wrapped in white mist.

His body also looked blurry, and his face was smudged so that his original appearance couldn't even be guessed.

"It's proceeding as expected."

His voice in response contained no highs or lows, and no emotion whatsoever. Since it was his first time hearing such a voice, Gwang-hae was even more surprised.

'Who on earth is that person?'

A being that previous generation master Jeok Gyeong-cheon secretly met after leaving the Martial Alliance in the middle of the night. Naturally, he couldn't help but be curious.

Gwang-hae tried to remember if there was such a being in his memory. But at least in his memory, such a being didn't exist.

Jeok Gyeong-cheon showed no particular emotion even while looking at the being with a blurry form. As if he had met with him countless times.

"What about the Cult Leader?"

"He has headed to the Central Plains."

"Already?"

"It's said he moved earlier than scheduled."

"Hmm! Then this side must hurry as well."

Jeok Gyeong-cheon nodded his head.

'Cult Leader?'

Instantly, Gwang-hae was so shocked he felt like he would choke. He never expected Jeok Gyeong-cheon to mention the word Cult Leader.

Rustle!

He was so shocked that he ended up stepping on nearby tree branches while moving his body.

"Who's there?"

Jeok Gyeong-cheon glared in the direction from which the sound came with an angry voice. When he raised his eyesight, he could clearly see Gwang-hae hiding behind the thicket.

A bewildered light appeared on Jeok Gyeong-cheon's face.

"Oh no! It's Gwang-hae."

Realizing his identity was exposed, Gwang-hae stood up and came out from behind the thicket.

"What brings you to this place at night?"

"What brings senior to this place? And who is that person?"

"Tsk!"

Seeing Gwang-hae express doubt, Jeok Gyeong-cheon clicked his tongue. He never dreamed that Gwang-hae would follow him.

"Your curiosity will kill you."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Sometimes knowing how to endure even when curious is the secret to living long. To think you don't even know such a simple fact."

"Are you saying you'll kill me now?"

"That's right!"

Jeok Gyeong-cheon nodded without hesitation. At such appearance from Jeok Gyeong-cheon, Gwang-hae frowned even more. A subtle demonic energy was flowing from Jeok Gyeong-cheon.

The demonic energy he was emitting was completely incompatible with the epithet Heavenly Sword King. Only then could Gwang-hae understand the identity of the heart demons he had been experiencing. He must have unconsciously sensed Jeok Gyeong-cheon's secret demonic energy without even realizing it himself.

Though he no longer existed, he had once received teachings from Immeasurable Divine Monk, who had been Shaolin's highest-ranking member. Because of this, his Buddhist mind had deepened further. Originally, those with deep Buddhist minds were more sensitive to evil energies.

'So that's what it was?'

Gwang-hae thought he should return to Shaolin Temple as quickly as possible to inform Gwang-cheon of this fact. But the actions of the one who had contacted Jeok Gyeong-cheon were faster than his actions.

Swish!

A sinister force flew without sound or presence.

"Huh!"

Only when the force almost reached right in front of his nose did Gwang-hae realize this fact and hastily deployed Hundred Step Divine Fist.

Crash!

The sinister force and Hundred Step Divine Fist collided, producing an explosion.

"Ugh!"

Gwang-hae's body shook and blood traces appeared at the corners of his mouth. He had suffered internal injuries from just one clash.

As soon as he realized the disadvantage, Gwang-hae flew away without hesitation.

When the one who had made contact tried to chase Gwang-hae, Jeok Gyeong-cheon raised his hand to stop him.

"No need to pursue."

"But…"

"There's someone else to deal with him."

"Perhaps?"

"Yes! Shouldn't we test him with this opportunity?"

"Hmm!"

The being who had contacted Jeok Gyeong-cheon let out a groan. The 'him' that Jeok Gyeong-cheon mentioned was such a remarkable being. To the extent that he thought he could never survive in his hands either.

"This will be the end of Gwang-hae's fate."

Jeok Gyeong-cheon's indifferent gaze turned toward where Gwang-hae had disappeared.

"Huff huff!"

Gwang-hae let out rough breaths.

His gray monk's robes were torn in places, exposing bare skin.

His internal injuries were serious. Still, he couldn't stop.

"I must inform the Abbot of this fact quickly."

He recalled the suicide squad created under Jeok Gyeong-cheon's leadership. The suicide squad included a large number of young talents representing the current martial world. If they suffered great harm due to Jeok Gyeong-cheon's conspiracy, the martial world's spirit would be greatly broken.

It wasn't too late even now. He had to prevent such a worst-case scenario.

It was when Gwang-hae tried to gather strength again to deploy his lightness skill.

Swoosh!

Suddenly, with tremendous air-cutting sound, something huge fell from the sky.

The black and massive thing stood tall in front of Gwang-hae with a loud crash.

"Get out of the way!"

Gwang-hae hastily deployed Prajna Palm without even having time to gauge his identity. Then tremendous energy surged out like a tsunami and struck the being that stood blocking Gwang-hae's path.

Crash!

With a roar, tremendous aftershock swept all around.

It was Prajna Palm that could turn even house-sized boulders into fine powder. But Gwang-hae, who had deployed Prajna Palm, was clutching his wrist with a distorted face.

This was because the wrist that deployed Prajna Palm was dislocated.

What blocked his path was definitely a person. Though he wore a mask on his face so his original face couldn't be recognized, he definitely had human form. Yet the fact that the hand that deployed Prajna Palm was dislocated meant his hardness transcended imagination.

"Amitabha!"

Gwang-hae's pupils shook.

Thump!

He approached Gwang-hae with heavy footsteps. Instantly, Gwang-hae felt as if a massive mountain was moving.

"What is this?"

Though he had only taken one step, Gwang-hae felt tremendous pressure he had never imagined before.

"Wh-who are you?"

The opponent didn't answer Gwang-hae's question. A storm was raging in the pupils visible through the mask.

At the ferocious gaze that seemed to destroy everything in the world, Gwang-hae unconsciously stopped breathing. Just by meeting his gaze, he felt burning pain as if his head was turning completely white.

"Hah!"

Gwang-hae drew up all his spiritual power and deployed Tathagata Thousand Hand Palm. It was Tathagata Thousand Hand Palm that concentrated all his spiritual power.

He deployed it with all his might without thinking of the consequences. All his spiritual power flowed out like an ebb tide with this one move. That's how desperate Gwang-hae was.

Crash crash crash!

The opponent didn't dodge his attack.

Palm force that could pierce through iron plates three feet thick continuously struck his chest. But only his clothes and mask were torn, and he didn't retreat even one step or get injured.

His true appearance was revealed through the torn mask. The moment he confirmed his face, Gwang-hae's eyes opened wide as if they would tear.

"H-how are you here?"

That person absolutely shouldn't be here.

He was…

At that moment, he extended his massive hand and grabbed Gwang-hae's entire head. Then he pulled it out completely.

Crack!

Neck bones came out attached, and muscle fibers were helplessly torn away. As if pulling out a radish, he pulled out Gwang-hae's head too easily.

Gwang-hae's head in his hand blinked, not recognizing death. At that moment, he applied force to his hand.

Crack!

Like a watermelon bursting, Gwang-hae's head exploded.

He stood tall and stared endlessly at headless Gwang-hae.