Chapter 237 -. The Small Forest Where the Giants Reside, Shaolin Temple (3)

After Cho Yeon-woon's junior disciple, Bang Jin-bo, and Muk Il-gwang withdrew, only Dam Ho and Gwanghae remained in the room.

After hesitating for a while, Gwanghae finally spoke.

"Great… Hero Dam."

"Speak!"

"Truth is, I invited you to Shaolin because there's someone who desperately wants to meet you."

"Who?"

"You'll know when you meet him."

Gwanghae was extremely careful with his words. His attitude was extremely cautious. He looked at Dam Ho with earnest eyes.

Dam Ho rose from his seat.

"Let's go."

There was no reason to hesitate.

"Please follow me."

Gwanghae led the way. Avoiding people's eyes, he guided them deep into the Shaolin Temple grounds, far into the interior.

In the silent land where not even birdsong could be heard, there was an inexplicably sacred atmosphere. It felt like a separate world disconnected from everything else.

Gwanghae spoke while looking back at Dam Ho following him.

"This is Shaolin's Forbidden Ground. It's a place strictly off-limits to anyone except a few who have received permission. Your entry here is top secret – even the head of the temple doesn't know about it. Only I, who guided you, know."

The Forbidden Ground was so secretive that only elder-level monks at Shaolin knew about it. Among them, only a select few had the qualification to enter. The rest, even if they knew of its existence, could never approach this place.

Dam Ho's gaze deepened.

A profound breathing could be felt from within the Forbidden Ground.

The act of exhaling and inhaling is called breathing. The higher the master's level, the greater and wider the interval between exhale and inhale.

Dam Ho had met countless masters before. Among them were those who had stepped into the realm of the absolute. Their breathing was incredibly deep and wide. However, the breathing he sensed from within the Forbidden Ground now surpassed even their level.

The interval between exhale and inhale was so wide it seemed like the breathing of a sea turtle that had lived for hundreds of years. Yet it was stable.

Dam Ho unconsciously clenched his fist.

At that moment.

*Woong!*

Like a droplet falling on a calm water surface, the other's breathing changed. Just as Dam Ho had sensed his presence, He too had become aware of his.

The air changed.

While Gwanghae continued forward unaware, Dam Ho was different.

The air clung sticky to his skin. The humid air pressed and swept across Dam Ho's skin like a living creature.

Instantly, the Dark Soul Heart Technique moved on its own. The moment the internal energy from the Dark Soul Heart Technique circulated through Dam Ho's entire body, it instantly burned away the humid air pressing in from outside.

That's when Gwanghae sensed something strange and looked back. But Dam Ho was still following him with a cold face. So he couldn't even guess what had just happened to Dam Ho.

Though he was a high-level master as a Shaolin elder, he couldn't compare to Dam Ho or the unknown person inside the Forbidden Ground.

Gwanghae tilted his head and continued walking inward. Dam Ho followed. The deeper they went, the more vividly he could feel the other's breathing, almost tangible.

"Here, Great Hero Dam."

Finally, they reached their destination.

Where Gwanghae stopped was a small clearing in the middle of the forest. Inside the clearing was a humble thatched cottage. From within the rickety wooden cottage that looked like it might collapse at any moment, a subtle immortal fragrance wafted out.

Perhaps because of this, small animals like rabbits, deer, and little mountain birds were gathered around the cottage. However, the moment Dam Ho appeared, the animals fled hurriedly into the forest.

Gwanghae approached the cottage and carefully spoke.

"Master! It's Gwanghae. I've brought Great Hero Dam."

"Come in."

With the answer, the door opened by itself. Dam Ho and Gwanghae entered the cottage.

Inside the cottage sat an elderly monk whose age was impossible to guess. His deeply furrowed wrinkles like old tree bark, sagging skin, chest-length white beard, and gray monk's robe worn to tatters, all suggested he had lived here for countless years.

The elderly monk's gaze turned to Dam Ho.

"Heh heh! Finally, we meet."

"Master! This person…"

"I know. We've already spoken, haven't we?"

Between the deep wrinkles, the monk's visible eyes radiated clear light. Like deep spring water, his clear pupils reflected Dam Ho's image.

Dam Ho nodded. The elderly monk smiled brightly.

"See there."

"When?"

Gwanghae looked between the two with an uncomprehending expression. The elderly monk clicked his tongue.

"Tsk tsk! You've always been hard of hearing. Haven't I repeatedly told you to always listen carefully to the ways of the world?"

"Master!"

Gwanghae made a pitiful face at the monk's scolding. But the monk continued regardless.

"That's enough, you may go now."

"Pardon?"

"There's no need for you to be here. I have things to discuss with this child alone, so wait outside."

"Yes, Master."

Gwanghae made a respectful half-bow to the monk before withdrawing.

The monk watched Gwanghae's departing figure with a bright smile. When he had completely disappeared, the monk turned to Dam Ho.

"He's truly a pure-hearted child, isn't he?"

Dam Ho silently nodded. While others might have found it unpleasant, the monk looked at Dam Ho with willing eyes.

His loving gaze and smile were as warm as a grandfather looking at his grown grandson.

"It's good to meet you, child. Do you know who I am?"

Dam Ho shook his head.

"My dharma name is Boundless Divine Monk."

"…"

"I'm twice as senior as Gwanghae. I should have died and become fertilizer long ago, but I'm still alive, needlessly consuming food."

At the monk's explanation, Dam Ho's eyes wavered momentarily.

Being twice Gwanghae's senior meant the monk was at least over a hundred years old. There probably wasn't anyone older in the entire martial arts world.

Boundless Divine Monk – almost no one in the murim knew this name. Most warriors who had been active in his era had either died or retired.

"Ugh!"

Boundless Divine Monk raised his aged body. Dust fell from his shoulders in a shower.

"Shall we walk for a bit?"

Boundless Divine Monk extended his hand to Dam Ho. Unconsciously, Dam Ho took the monk's wrinkled hand. Boundless Divine Monk smiled gently.

"How warm. Heh heh!"

Still holding Dam Ho's hand, he laboriously walked out of the cottage. As if seeing sunlight for the first time in a long while, he briefly furrowed his brow.

"How bright. Let's go over there."

Boundless Divine Monk pointed to the forest behind the cottage. Dam Ho nodded and walked with him.

The hand held by Boundless Divine Monk felt burdensome. But he didn't pull away. Somehow, it felt wrong to do so.

Walking with Boundless Divine Monk, they arrived at a large rock in the forest. The rock, wide like a pedestal, was polished smooth without a single patch of moss.

"I trained here when I was young. I must have troubled it so much that not even moss grows on it. Heh heh!"

"…"

"Ho! May I call you that?"

"Do as you please."

Dam Ho answered for the first time.

Even meeting someone who could be called a legend of the murim, Dam Ho's manner of speech hadn't changed.

Looking at such a Dam Ho, Boundless Divine Monk's eyes held wisdom that seemed to encompass all worldly knowledge, along with an inexplicable sadness.

"Heh heh! You too seem to have walked a truly difficult path. It must have been very hard."

"…"

"Though I've lived to this age, the principles of the world are too profound for me to understand completely. However, I do sense that enduring years of hardship brings appropriate rewards."

Boundless Divine Monk reached out with his wrinkled hand and stroked Dam Ho's head. Like an old grandfather patting his grandson's head, his touch was filled with such warmth.

Having someone touch one's head isn't usually a pleasant experience. But Dam Ho didn't brush away Boundless Divine Monk's hand. This was because Boundless Divine Monk's eyes held both apology and sympathy as he looked at Dam Ho.

"I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"That you, who has weathered such difficult years, won't be able to rest peacefully even in the future… I'm sorry. The world is cruel to everyone, but it seems especially cruel to you."

Boundless Divine Monk held and fidgeted with both of Dam Ho's hands.

"When will the blood scent on these hands disappear? When will the burden on your shoulders be lifted? Feel free to curse this old man who can't help at all and must instead add to your burden."

Boundless Divine Monk's words overflowed with deep emotion. But Dam Ho's gaze no longer wavered.

His cultivation was deep-rooted and solid as bedrock, unmoved by such things.

"What do you want to say?"

"A very old story. I want to tell you an ancient tale of the murim that people no longer remember. Before I die. After hearing it, the choice will be entirely yours."

Boundless Divine Monk closed his eyes as if searching through memories. After a moment, he finally spoke.

"Long ago, there were four heroes in the murim. People called them the Four Divine Emperors."

Dam Ho held his breath at the mention of the Four Divine Emperors.

He had heard this term several times during his murim journey. But no one had ever clearly explained about them.

"People believe the Demonic Cult retreated because the murim united against them. But behind that, without the Four Divine Emperors' sacrifice, we might still be under demon rule. The murim owes them an unforgivable debt."

Blood Light Death God Ho Cheon-san.
Wind Moon Emperor Dan Gong-wol.
Western Queen Mother Yong Hwa-seol.
Iron Blood Martial God Lee Gwan.

"Four absolute warriors were born in the same era, when even one could have dominated the murim. By fate's play, they were connected in various ways. While the murim revered them as the Four Divine Emperors, they considered themselves friends. That's why they could unite so strongly to lead the murim's counterattack in its time of crisis."

Before the Four Divine Emperors' formidable might, the Demonic Cult's masters fell like autumn leaves. The Justice Alliance warriors they led achieved continuous victories and raided the Demonic Cult's headquarters.

"Victory was within reach. If they had pushed just a bit more, the Demonic Cult would have been completely destroyed, never to rise again."

"Something went wrong."

"Yes. At the crucial moment, someone… one of the Four Divine Emperors betrayed them."

"Who?"

"That I don't know. I only know that at the decisive moment, one of them betrayed the others, stabbing them in the back. Because of this, the Demonic Cult was able to retreat while preserving minimal forces needed for revival."

Dam Ho's gaze sank deeply.

It was hard to believe. No one had ever told him about the Four Divine Emperors before. So he had no basis to judge its truth. But he couldn't completely disbelieve Boundless Divine Monk's words either.

His eyes were too clear. Their pure gaze, seemingly incapable of lies, appeared to insist on the truth.

"Afterward, the Four Divine Emperors vanished without a trace, never showing themselves again."

"The probability they're dead?"

"This old man is still alive and well, so they must be too."

"…"

"They will surely appear again. Or perhaps they're already active in secret."

Boundless Divine Monk's eyes sank deep in thought.

Dam Ho asked.

"Why are you telling me this story?"

"I told you, didn't I? Your hardships aren't over yet."

"You think I'll meet them?"

"Absolutely!"

Boundless Divine Monk was certain.

Dam Ho silently looked at Boundless Divine Monk. Boundless Divine Monk calmly embraced Dam Ho's fierce gaze like the ocean.

"I don't know who will be your enemy or ally. What I want from you is to be careful. Be careful, and be careful again. The most frightening thing in the world is people. I'm telling you this because I want you to stay vigilant."

Boundless Divine Monk's story continued long after, and Dam Ho listened silently.

Alliance Leader Taoist Haewol withdrew his laughter and slowly raised his killing intent as he spoke.

“Now, shall I ask one question? Why do you think I’ve kept you alive until now when I know everything?”

Mang Ryo stared at Alliance Leader Taoist Haewol for a while, then laughed “Hehe!” and leaned his body against the broken table beside him as if giving up.

“My body is a bit uncomfortable…”

His prosthetic feet were completely broken, so he couldn’t stand anyway. Mang Ryo, having made himself comfortable, showed his hands with a twisted smile as if asking what he could do.

“Shall I listen respectfully?”

But Alliance Leader Taoist Haewol didn’t explain.

He simply raised his blood-dripping hand and pointed outside.

“Get out.”

Mang Ryo’s face, which had been laughing, hardened.

“Hmm?”

“Go out and rampage to your heart’s content, then die miserably on the road. Meet the death befitting a monster.”

The corners of Alliance Leader Taoist Haewol’s mouth turned up.

“That’s the place I’ve determined for you.”

Mang Ryo’s face became distorted like a demon. However, he couldn’t make excuses, act tough, or do anything. Alliance Leader Taoist Haewol’s killing intent kept rising.

Screech, creak.

Suddenly, ear-grating sounds began coming from somewhere in the room.

Wind arose.

From Alliance Leader Taoist Haewol toward Mang Ryo.

Crash!

The vase placed on the side table was pushed and fell over, breaking. The side table was pressed down, its legs broke, and it collapsed.

Screeeech.

A folding screen standing against one side of the wall crumpled like paper, caught up in the wind and flew toward Mang Ryo. Mang Ryo couldn’t even raise his hands and had to catch the crumpled screen with his head.

Crack!

The screen hit Mang Ryo, broke, and bounced away.

Even the ceiling beams bent downward as if they would break, pouring down old dust.

Crack, crack, crack!

Everything in the walls, pillars, and ceiling shook.

Everything was being pushed away.

From Alliance Leader Taoist Haewol.

Mang Ryo tried to hold onto the table to resist, but the table, no, the entire floor was slowly pushed backward together.

Screech, screech!

The building of the estate itself was collapsing and pushing Mang Ryo away.

Rumble rumble rumble.

Everything in the room was collapsing and falling.

Mang Ryo realized Alliance Leader Taoist Haewol’s intention.

Profanity burst from Mang Ryo’s mouth.

“Damn!”

Alliance Leader Taoist Haewol made a smile full of arrogance on his blood-covered face.

Mang Ryo shouted.

“Let me ask just one thing!”

“I’ll show mercy. Speak.”

“How did you know I was plotting assassination?”

“You wrote letters to the Evil Sect and spread false rumors about the Qingcheng sect, right? And you came out of the Tang family to find Baek Li-jung. You must have also heard that Baek Li-jung was dissatisfied with me. Of course. I made it look that way. Baek Li-jung is quick-witted, so he already guessed my intention. That’s what it meant when he entered closed-door training.”

Mang Ryo laughed with irritation.

“Damn, I don’t understand a word of this nonsense.”

“The arm you sent, I already received it here together with Baek Li-jung.”

But he had deliberately salted and sent back the arm he had already seen to Baek Li-jung?

Only then did Mang Ryo understand.

“Bait?”

“I knew there would be at least one fellow who would try to come between Baek Li-jung and me.”

Whether Mang Ryo intended assassination or not didn’t matter. Alliance Leader Taoist Haewol had planned from the beginning to frame Mang Ryo as an assassin.

If King of Hell Tang Qing was a deceiver, then Alliance Leader Taoist Haewol was an oppressor.

Using superior martial force, he does whatever he wants, however he wants. He doesn’t even ask who ordered it. It means he already has people in mind in his head.

In the world he’s creating, there’s no place for pawns like Mang Ryo to interfere. If one recklessly challenges him, they’ll just be consumed.

His breath was choked.

As his body was pushed backward, his prosthetic feet dragged.

Clatter clatter, clatter clatter!

Half the room was pushed back together with Mang Ryo.

Before such unbelievably massive violence, Mang Ryo could do nothing.

“Hihi hihi. Farewell. We probably won’t meet again. If we do meet again, it would be somewhere in hell.”

Grind.

Mang Ryo didn’t hide his killing intent and glared at Alliance Leader Taoist Haewol while grinding his teeth.

Alliance Leader Taoist Haewol took a deep breath.

Whooooooop.

Without stopping his breath even once, he inhaled until his belly swelled like a tadpole.

Then he uttered a single highly refined sound, exhaling all the breath he had inhaled until then to pronounce it.

“Huum!”

BOOM!

The ceiling above where Alliance Leader Taoist Haewol stood completely collapsed, and the other half of the house was flung outside together with Mang Ryo.

Crash crash crash!

Mang Ryo was wrapped like a ball in wood and stone debris and flew tumbling more than ten zhang away. The wreckage of the house was scattered all around.

Even in the midst of this, Alliance Leader Taoist Haewol’s transmitted voice, laughing as he threw it, reached Mang Ryo’s ears clearly.

“I’ll enjoy the Qingcheng sect well.”

Rumble rumble rumble rumble.

The estate collapsed in an instant. Alliance Leader Taoist Haewol was buried as is.

There was nothing Mang Ryo could do.

Protest that Alliance Leader Taoist Haewol was framing him as an assassin?

That wouldn’t work at all.

However, Mang Ryo hadn’t just been flung away. A small box had fallen on Mang Ryo’s chest, thrown at some point. When he opened the box, a lustrous small pill was visible.

“The calculation is thorough. Telling me not to die quickly?”

Mang Ryo put the pill directly in his mouth and chewed it. Instantly, the internal injuries in his body were relieved and his dantian became warm – it was no ordinary spiritual pill.

Then he saw several figures in black masks dash out like arrows from the collapsed site.

“Well well, black masks in broad daylight, really.”

Mang Ryo chuckled, but there was nothing more obvious in effect for others to see.

Warriors rushed in from all directions shouting.

“Assassins!”

“The Alliance Leader has been attacked!”

Those with advanced lightness techniques and martial artists chased after the masked figures.

“Ugh.”

Mang Ryo removed his completely burst prosthetic feet and stood up using a broken pillar as a staff.

He could see Yi Suk nearby, covered in blood and writhing.

Several warriors stood unable to approach near the melting Yi Suk.

Mang Ryo approached the dying Yi Suk, lowered his body, and spoke in his ear.

“You should have left me alone when I said I wanted to use the toilet. Then someone else would have died instead.”

…The blood-soaked body writhed as the pupils looked at Mang Ryo. Mang Ryo gave Yi Suk a grin and left the spot.

A very ordinary-looking martial artist opened a side gate leading to the back of the estate.

Was this also prepared in advance?

No one blocked Mang Ryo’s way there. No, there were hardly any people to be seen who would block him.

But Mang Ryo knew.

The moment he left the main base of the Martial Alliance, from that moment Mang Ryo would become the primary target for elimination.

Mang Ryo imitated Alliance Leader Taoist Haewol’s laughter.

“Hihi hihi… What you wanted wasn’t to keep the Golden Sword in check, was it?”

At first, he thought he was being recruited to keep Baek Li-jung in check.

But that wasn’t it.

Baek Li-jung had tried to involve the Evil Sect several times but failed. Because of that, he had indeed fallen out of Alliance Leader Taoist Haewol’s favor.

So Baek Li-jung had quickly and wisely entered closed-door training. He knew that when Alliance Leader Taoist Haewol stepped forward directly, one opportunity would come to him. He had trained himself not to miss that opportunity.

The fact that Baek Li-jung was lowering himself and preparing to run from the front meant that Alliance Leader Taoist Haewol wanted to further solidify his own position.

“Greedy old man. How long are you planning to hold the Alliance Leader position? Giggle giggle.”

Mang Ryo could clearly see the thorny path that would unfold before him. It already seemed as if a bleak fog of death was spreading.

However, the result was essentially no different from what Mang Ryo had intended.

Mang Ryo was satisfied with just that.

* * *

Looking at the history of the martial world, it was a common occurrence that had happened several times, but generally it was an almost unimaginable event that occurred.

In the main base of the Martial Alliance, at its very heart, there was an assassination attempt on Alliance Leader Taoist Haewol.

Alliance Leader Taoist Haewol’s condition wasn’t revealed, but rumors spread that he had suffered tremendous injuries.

Moreover, the attack on the martial world’s supreme being, who symbolized the Orthodox martial world itself, was tantamount to an attack on the Orthodox martial world.

The martial world, the rivers and lakes, all of the Central Plains stirred.

The Evil Sect? Was there Evil Sect instigation?

Stories of unknown origin and truth began circulating.

Now the martial world would be swept into the whirlpool of upheaval where not even one step ahead could be predicted.

* * *

“Branch, Branch Leader! Branch Leader!”

Sim Hak rushed into the room frantically with his official hat crumpled and disheveled.

In the room, Baek Li-jung was sitting in meditation posture with his eyes closed.

Sim Hak shouted while sweating.

“The Alliance Leader… the Alliance Leader!”

At that moment, Baek Li-jung opened his eyes.

Flash!

Fire leaked from his tiger eyes. Angry energies poured out from Baek Li-jung’s body.

Slash slash slash! Slash slash slash slash!

The energy extending from Baek Li-jung’s body slashed through the entire room. Walls, ceiling, everything was scratched as if cut by blades.

Screech!

Whether made of wood or stone, hundreds of sword marks were carved without discrimination.

That was the true identity of the scratch marks that had been carved throughout the room.

Sim Hak’s legs gave out and he collapsed.

Then the angry energy that had filled the room was instantly gathered back into Baek Li-jung.

Wood chips from the finely chopped walls and ceiling fluttered and floated in the room.

Baek Li-jung, who had taken a light breath, said.

“Speak.”

Sim Hak muttered in shock with his soul departed.

“They say the Alliance Leader was attacked…”

Baek Li-jung nodded. The corner of Baek Li-jung’s mouth twisted.

“Now it’s time to go kill an old friend.”

* * *

Tang Qing received urgent news.

“Ehihit!”

Tang Qing jumped up and shouted. All the scholars working in the room looked at Tang Qing.

“That crazy bastard finally caused an incident! A really tremendous incident!”

Tang Qing’s round face with his torn mouth reached his ears.

“This crazy bastard! I told him to throw stones I could handle, but he uprooted and threw a whole house. Ehihihit!”

Even the family head Lady Plum Blossoms Tang Gui-ok came to find Tang Qing.

Tang Qing looked at Tang Gui-ok and said.

“The Martial Alliance is a beast of prey. Beasts of prey starve to death without food. But the Martial Alliance has had too few opponents lately. Therefore, the Alliance Leader was looking for a pretext to revive the stagnant Martial Alliance.”

“Chaos would be essential for expanding power, wouldn’t it?”

“Right. But this fellow got completely used? Ehihit!”

“But for us, there’s nothing to lose at all, is there?”

“Right. We have nothing to lose. Rather, it’s an opportunity.”

Tang Qing’s eyes lit up as he laughed.

“That Mang Ryo fellow! He bragged loudly about giving me the world, but it wasn’t just empty words!”

If chaos gave the Martial Alliance opportunities to be active, then the poison spreading in the midst would become even more secretive, hidden in the chaos.