Chapter 330 – The Tree Wants to Stand Still but the Wind Never Stops Shaking (2)

The Martial Alliance had been Yueyang's great pride.

It was proof that Yueyang was the center of the martial world and the source of their pride. But overnight, the Martial Alliance collapsed, and the Demon Cult took its place.

Countless people died, and many buildings were consumed in the great fire. The once magnificent Martial Alliance had become ashes, and the streets overflowed with countless corpses and the smell of blood.

Yueyang, which had been called the martial artists' paradise, had transformed into hell in a single night. People trembled in fear and refrained from going out.

Those who occupied the place where the Martial Alliance had burned were precisely the Demon Cult's martial artists. The Demon Cult that occupied the Martial Alliance was unrestrained. They began building structures on the site where the Martial Alliance had stood.

"This place will become the center of the martial world ruled by the Divine Cult."

Demon Cult's Military Advisor Sang Han-cheon muttered while watching the pavilions being built at rapid speed. Beside him gathered Lim Hak, one of the Four Great Corps Leaders, and the Demon Cult's leadership.

The faces of the leadership showed clear emotion.

It was the very place where the Martial Alliance had stood. The fact that the Demon Cult's main branch was being established in such a place was enough to move them deeply.

Lim Hak approached Sang Han-cheon's side.

"You've worked hard, Military Advisor."

"How could this be only my effort? Everyone worked hard."

"With this, our cult has established a main branch in the Central Plains."

Lim Hak looked at the newly built pavilion complex with deeply moved eyes.

It had been years of enduring hardship and tasting bitterness.

They had hidden in darkness and built strength. Years of humiliation where they couldn't even proudly say they were Divine Cult martial artists. This small piece of land obtained after enduring such harsh times couldn't be more precious.

"This is only the beginning. The main branch established here will become the center of the martial world and our cult. Then cult members who have been holding their breath will also start their activities again."

"Just thinking about it makes my heart swell."

"Until then, we must never let our guard down. Originally, maintaining what's built is harder than building it. By establishing the main branch here, we've been exposed to the light. We can no longer utilize any of the advantages we've enjoyed until now."

"What is there to fear? We have the Military Advisor, and we have the Black and White Lions. And we have the Cult Leader, the supreme being of all the martial world."

"Still, we mustn't be complacent."

"Of course. This Yueyang will become our cult's sacred ground. And it will become an impregnable fortress. This Lim Hak will make it so."

"Haha! I'll trust only you."

Sang Han-cheon let out a big laugh after a long time. But that was only brief, and soon he regained his usual coldness.

"Still, we mustn't be complacent. We haven't yet pacified the martial world. The martial world is vast and exceptional people are as numerous as grains of sand."

"But none will be our match."

"The Fist Demon."

"What?"

"Be careful of the Fist Demon."

"What do you mean?"

"Elder Cheon of Sword Stream fell to him."

"That can't be…"

Instantly Lim Hak's eyes widened. His face was full of disbelief. The other leaders were the same.

Sword Stream was one of the Thirteen Branches and tacitly called the strongest. Cheon Oh-gyeong, the former inheritor of Sword Stream, was a supreme master with almost no match not only in the Thirteen Branches but in the entire Demon Cult.

"Is it true? Did the Elder fall to the Fist Demon?"

"I didn't mention it until now for fear it would affect morale, but it's true. Because of the Fist Demon alone, the Elder died and all our foundation in Sichuan was completely destroyed."

"Mm!"

At Sang Han-cheon's words, Lim Hak let out a groan.

He too had eyes and ears, so he knew well how much effort Sang Han-cheon had put into the alliance with the Tang Clan.

The Tang Clan's poison and hidden weapons were a great burden even to the Demon Cult. Therefore, Sang Han-cheon had eliminated in advance the threat that would face them by drawing in the Tang Clan. But such efforts were reduced to nothing by Dam Ho alone.

"Now I understand. The Fist Demon is our nemesis sent by heaven."

"That much?"

"Doesn't his record until now prove it? Even the Demon Mother is recovering after suffering great wounds from him."

"Mm!"

"The Fist Demon is the strongest enemy. If we don't acknowledge that fact, we'll continue to suffer frustration from him."

Sang Han-cheon's voice was very calm. It wasn't the appearance he had shown openly displaying hostility toward Dam Ho until now. That made it feel even more frightening. At least to Lim Hak.

"Military Advisor."

"For now, let's take our minds off the Fist Demon. Anyway, there's nothing he can do right now. We just need to rebuild the main branch here and prepare to welcome the Cult Leader."

"Welcome the Cult Leader? Then the Cult Leader is finally ending his closed-door training?"

"That's right."

Sang Han-cheon smiled broadly. At that, Lim Hak and all the leaders were stirred.

"Oh! Finally…"

"The Cult Leader is coming out into the world?"

Emotion appeared on their faces.

Cult Leader Cheok Gwan-hyeol had long been invisible to them, devoted only to closed-door training. Even before entering closed-door training, Cheok Gwan-hyeol had been strong enough to have no match in the world.

Though he had been attacked by Wind Moon Emperor Dan Gong-wol midway, he hadn't broken his closed-door training. The fact that he was so obsessed with closed-door training meant the clue to enlightenment was that significant.

They couldn't even imagine how much stronger Cheok Gwan-hyeol had become through closed-door training.

"We must definitely complete the main branch before the Cult Leader arrives."

"Of course. I'll urge my subordinates to move up the schedule."

"Mm!"

It was when Sang Han-cheon nodded.

"Military Advisor."

Two people approached him.

The moment he confirmed their faces, a smile bloomed broadly on Sang Han-cheon's face.

"Vice Leader, Seol-hwa."

"Outer Garden Vice Leader Lim Oh-yeon greets the Military Advisor."

"This girl Seol-hwa greets the Military Advisor."

Those cupping their fists to Sang Han-cheon were precisely Lim Oh-yeon and Won Seol-hwa. Sang Han-cheon greeted them with a smile.

"You both worked hard. Thanks to you two, we could easily seize the Martial Alliance."

"It was what we naturally had to do. I'm overwhelmed by such praise."

"Without the Chenghuo Merchant Group's dedication, how could our cult's today exist? The Cult Leader is also very grateful for the Leader and Vice Leader's dedication."

"Oh!"

A light of emotion appeared on Lim Oh-yeon's face. Just the fact that the Cult Leader acknowledged his achievements made him feel as if strength he didn't have was welling up again.

Won Seol-hwa's expression was similar to Lim Oh-yeon's. She trembled finely while savoring the joy.

Sang Han-cheon said to the two:

"We'll desperately need the Chenghuo Merchant Group's support going forward."

"Of course. The Chenghuo Merchant Group was created to support our cult. The Merchant Group Leader is prepared to dedicate the merchant group at any time."

"That's fine. A merchant group should be operated by those who know it best. Just support us well when needed."

"Don't worry. The Merchant Group Leader has already prepared several million taels in gold."

"Just hearing it makes me feel reassured."

Sang Han-cheon nodded.

The Demon Cult's military power was combined with the Chenghuo Merchant Group's financial power.

There was nothing to fear, nothing to worry about.

A chill had appeared in Sang Han-cheon's eyes.

'Fist Demon! Enjoy your current prestige to your heart's content. Your end isn't far away.'

He had never for a single moment forgotten or neglected Dam Ho. He was just waiting patiently because now wasn't the time.

***

Dam Ho raised his head.

The sun hung over the western mountains, and before he knew it, the surroundings were growing dim. There was no point in driving Black Ghost any further.

Dam Ho found a suitable place and prepared to camp out.

By the time he gathered branches, darkness had arrived in an instant. But Dam Ho didn't panic and lit the wood with Samadhi True Fire.

Crackle! Crackle!

As the branches burned, the area became brightly lit. Dam Ho sat facing the campfire. The firelight cast deep shadows on his face.

The flickering firelight made Dam Ho think many thoughts. He recalled his master Master Hyeon-so and other acquaintances. Among them were Jong Ri-yeon and Bang Jin-bo.

Just the fact that he had a place to return to in this wide world and people waiting for him made his heart feel abundant. That's why he wasn't lonely.

It was when Dam Ho was spending time alone like this.

"It's that way. I see firelight."

"Let's go quickly."

Suddenly commotion arose from beyond the darkness.

As noisy voices cut through the darkness, soon numerous footsteps and the sound of cart wheels rolling dug into Dam Ho's ears.

Dam Ho raised his head with an indifferent expression. Instantly, a group of dozens appeared from the darkness. Dust piled on people's shoulders as if they'd come a long way, carts loaded with cargo, and a large flag fluttering on the carts caught his eye.

On the flag, four characters reading "Azure Sky Escort Agency" were written in golden embroidery.

Azure Sky Escort Agency was one of the largest escort agencies counted in the world. If ranking the ten great escort agencies of the Central Plains, it was large enough to definitely be included. Even forest bandits would give way if it was Azure Sky Escort Agency, so many merchant groups dealt with them because their military power was also formidable.

Then a middle-aged man walked out from among the Azure Sky Escort Agency escorts. He had a square jaw, tightly pressed lips, and sharp eyes that shone in the firelight.

He approached Dam Ho and cupped his fists.

"This one is called Nam woo-saeng, the head escort of Azure Sky Escort Agency. Time was unexpectedly delayed so we have no choice but to camp out. Would you share your spot and fire with us? We'll pay for it."

"Do as you please."

"Thank you. You heard. Quickly build campfires and prepare to camp out."

As soon as Dam Ho's permission fell, the escorts and porters moved busily. The escorts were very accustomed to such camping, gathering cargo carts in one place then tending to the horses. Meanwhile, the porters prepared to camp.

They obtained fire from Dam Ho's campfire to light fires and prepared meals. The series of processes was accomplished in an instant. The clearing that had been desolate quickly became warm with people's presence, filled with the fragrant smell of food.

Dam Ho watched such people silently. Though people were moving busily right before his nose, it had nothing to do with him.

"Hey, set up watch over there."

"Porters, check the cargo one more time."

Head escort Nam Woo-saeng directed his party without rest for a moment. Under his direction, Azure Sky Escort Agency finished preparing to camp.

"Phew!"

Only then could Nam Woo-saeng breathe a sigh of relief.

If they hadn't found their way by seeing Dam Ho's firelight, they would be wandering in the middle of the wilderness right now. Though they were very accustomed to camping, establishing camp without even a spark wasn't easy at all. So he was grateful to Dam Ho who had set up camp first.

He approached Dam Ho once more.

Despite the noisy surroundings, Dam Ho sat in place without moving an inch. But he felt a strange sense of incongruity. Though Dam Ho was clearly warming himself by the campfire, he felt as if the firelight was being distorted around Dam Ho.

It was as if the firelight was rejecting Dam Ho.

'What?'

Nam Woo-saeng's eyes widened. Because it was an impossible occurrence.

"Mm!"

A groan naturally flowed from his mouth. Only then did he realize Dam Ho wasn't an ordinary person.

'Come to think of it, in this age of chaos, if he's someone who wanders the wilderness alone, he couldn't be ordinary.'

After organizing his thoughts, he once more expressed his gratitude politely to Dam Ho.

"I thank you for your help, great hero. I'd like to repay you, so could you tell me your esteemed name?"

"……"

"Great hero!"

When Dam Ho didn't answer, Nam Woo-saeng called politely once more. Only then did Dam Ho raise his head to look up at Nam U-saeng.

The moment their eyes met, Nam Woo-saeng's body trembled involuntarily.

'Wh-what eyes…?'

The moment he saw Dam Ho's eyes flickering darkly in the firelight, his heart felt like it was dropping.

Nam Woo-saeng had spent his whole life weathering hardships in the escort agency. Accordingly, he had experienced all sorts of things and met countless people. Among them were many masters whose names echoed throughout the martial world. But none had eyes that evoked as chilling a fear as Dam Ho's.

His palms became soaked with sweat without him knowing. His body felt fear and reacted before his mind.

At that moment Dam Ho opened his mouth.

"I don't need gratitude, so go back."

"Ah, understood. Then…"

Nam Woo-saeng hurriedly returned to the Azure Sky Escort Agency group with his answer. His complexion was pallid.

"Head escort, are you alright?"

"Your complexion isn't good. Did something happen?"

"Did that fellow offend the head escort? I'll go to that fellow…"

When one hot-tempered escort rolled up his sleeves as if to rush at Dam Ho, Nam Woo-saeng hurriedly stopped him.

"No. Stop it."

"But head escort!"

"Didn't you hear me? Didn't I say it's nothing? Before my permission falls, no one is to loiter near that person. Tell the porters my words firmly too. Understand?"

"Ah, understood."

The goosebumps that had risen on his shoulders still hadn't subsided.

Nam Woo-saeng looked at Dam Ho with fear-filled eyes.

Woon-jeong shouted.

“Poison Dragon!”

Beom-mong’s words weren’t empty boasting.

This was the internal energy raised with full power by one of Shaolin Temple’s former Twelve Diamond Warriors. If this large ship was already shaking this much, there would be an attack afterward that could almost completely destroy the ship.

They had to escape before that. For Jin Ja-gang, who couldn’t swim, if he got swept away and lost consciousness, it would be the end.

Beom-mong let out a battle cry with tremendous force.

“Ooooooh!”

Beom-mong pulled his right hand far back.

The skin of his entire body tightened, the muscles of his chest and abdomen were pulled taut, and bulging tendons extended from his shoulder to his right hand.

Splash splash splash! Water droplets bounced more roughly than before from the whirling water surface under Beom-mong’s feet. They were almost exploding as if boiling.

Jin Ja-gang hastily threw Soul Seizing Thread up through the hole above. Woon-jeong caught the loop of Soul Seizing Thread.

“Hurry!”

Woon-jeong grabbed Soul Seizing Thread and pulled Jin Ja-gang up. Jin Ja-gang also wound Soul Seizing Thread and quickly climbed upward.

Yeong Hyeon-sa let out a great roar and bent backward.

“You cannot escape!”

Yeong Hyeon-sa, whose lower body had been submerged in water, kicked the water several times while standing to leap above the water surface, then ran across the water toward Jin Ja-gang. No, Jin Ja-gang wasn’t his target.

As Yeong Hyeon-sa ran, he scratched the ceiling with his fingers – precisely with his protruding finger bones. Five green streaks drew long arcs, tearing apart the deck ceiling. Woon-jeong’s eyes opened wide. His own soles were in danger of being torn along with it. Yeong Hyeon-sa’s corpse poison wasn’t at a level Woon-jeong could endure!

Simultaneously, Yeong Hyeon-sa also attacked Beom-mong. He scraped upward from below with his opposite hand.

Whoooosh! Cutting through the current, green poison energy flew like sword energy.

Beom-mong had no choice but to use Hundred Step Divine Fist to block it.

If Woon-jeong let go of Jin Ja-gang, Jin Ja-gang would fall and take a direct hit from Hundred Step Divine Fist, but if he didn’t let go, Woon-jeong would suffer.

It was truly an exquisite move.

So Woon-jeong agonized, but Beom-mong didn’t agonize.

“Iyeop!”

Beom-mong’s right arm swung.

Crash!

A massive waterway opened in front of Beom-mong.

The water that had been filled up to waist height split left and right, pushed to the walls, and through the center swept a house-sized mass of fist wind.

Woon-jeong pulled Soul Seizing Thread up with all his might, almost crying.

“Ahhhhh!”

The fist wind of Hundred Step Divine Fist barely passed Jin Ja-gang.

But not only the poison energy sent toward Beom-mong, but also the poison energy flying toward Woon-jeong on the deck was instantly swept away by the fist wind. There was a reason Beom-mong didn’t agonize!

The mass of fist wind was so enormous that as it passed, all the wooden pegs embedded between the planks were blown out.

Pop pop pop!

Even the deck planks forming the ceiling of the cargo hold all split along the grain and pieces flew off with cracks.

Even Yeong Hyeon-sa seemed not to have anticipated Hundred Step Divine Fist’s power to this extent.

Yeong Hyeon-sa was instantly swept up by Hundred Step Divine Fist.

Bang! Crash! Bang bang bang!

As Yeong Hyeon-sa was blown away, all the cargo and bulkheads stacked behind were completely shattered.

Breaking through one bulkhead to the back, and again to the back.

In a brief moment, traces of destruction like a large circular cave appeared. The traces formed in a spiral mountain shape. Hundred Step Divine Fist had crushed and twisted everything that was in the way. Yeong Hyeon-sa was embedded in debris that had been pushed almost to the stern and couldn’t even be seen.

Splash splash splash.

The waters that had split left and right found their places again, and river water poured through the planks whose joints were all twisted.

Woon-jeong was so shocked he sat back and gasped for breath.

“Huff huff huff!”

Even Jin Ja-gang, who had climbed onto the deck, couldn’t close his mouth at such a sight. Shaolin Temple had eleven, or perhaps even more, such former Diamond Warriors.

“Poison Dragon! Let’s run quickly!”

Woon-jeong urged. But Jin Ja-gang, looking down below, couldn’t readily lift his feet.

“Wait just a moment.”

In the dark cabin’s cargo hold below deck, Beom-mong could be glimpsed still not relaxing his posture.

Beom-mong was pulling back even his left hand. Ready to use fist wind at any time.

Yeong Hyeon-sa was alive even after taking that Hundred Step Divine Fist?

Splash splash – the poured waters rose to the legs of Beom-mong standing on the cargo.

Beom-mong glared at the underwater with fierce eyes. And soon he saw pale green light twinkling underwater.

Yeong Hyeon-sa was swimming underwater like a shark, approaching Beom-mong.

As if he’d been waiting, Beom-mong pulled back his left hand then swung it forcefully like throwing. No, he tried to swing it.

“…!”

Beom-mong’s eyes opened wide.

A blade was embedded in Beom-mong’s foot submerged underwater.

Bulgi slowly raised his head above the water surface. His disheveled hair and blood-red eyes remained the same.

“I… told you not to mess with me…”

Bulgi had consumed a lot of corpse poison underwater and his entire body had turned black. He could die at any moment. Yet he had ultimately harmed Beom-mong to the end.

Moreover, what he held in his hand was the broken Taiyi Earth Sword.

Beom-mong, who had been looking at Bulgi with an incredulous face for a moment, laughed.

“Keke keke!”

“Laughing? Ah, that’s possible. That’s possible. But I’m in a very bad mood!”

Bulgi twisted the blade embedded in Beom-mong’s foot sideways and tore at it. It couldn’t not hurt. Beom-mong’s head turned bright red and blood vessels bulged. Blood was spurting and staining the water.

But Beom-mong didn’t stop laughing.

“Truly pitiful. You originally didn’t come targeting Poison Dragon either.”

Bulgi, overcome with rage, but he too laughed as if insane and shouted.

“Don’t forget even in hell. Me, Bulgi!”

Anyway, Bulgi couldn’t hear since his ears were deaf, so words didn’t get through.

Beom-mong slowly erased his smile.

“Even if you’re deaf, you’ll remember what this old monk said.”

Killing intent circled his eyes.

“This old monk already said I hate those who show off their strength in front of me!”

Whoooosh!

Yeong Hyeon-sa, who had somehow approached closely, burst out of the water and covered Beom-mong from above like a shadow. Yeong Hyeon-sa’s body was almost naked. His clothes were all torn to shreds and his skin was also torn as if clawed.

But he had endured Hundred Step Divine Fist once.

Even in the midst of this, Bulgi pulled out the blade and stabbed and stabbed again at Beom-mong’s exposed ribs.

“Die! Die!”

His ribs were gouged to the point of being tattered and blood spurted.

Yeong Hyeon-sa struck Beom-mong with his finger bones. Beom-mong, whose face had become extremely contorted, used Iron Head technique to ram Yeong Hyeon-sa’s hand.

Clang clang clang clang!

The finger bones and Iron Head technique collided, creating bizarre noise and friction. The finger bones pushed back the scalp and gradually penetrated Beom-mong’s head bit by bit.

Dark red blood vessels that formed from the stabbed spot gradually darkened and began covering Beom-mong’s head like a spider web.

Blood vessels bulged in Beom-mong’s jaw and neck. The eye sockets that had been circled with yellow golden light were also gradually stained with blood. Bulgi continued grasping Beom-mong’s pants and gouging his ribs.

The number of Red Extinction Flowers on his upper body increased with tremendous momentum.

Beom-mong swung his left arm with his last strength.

Yeong Hyeon-sa noticed Hundred Step Divine Fist and blocked Beom-mong’s left arm with his opposite hand.

Thunk!

Yeong Hyeon-sa’s finger bones embedded in Beom-mong’s left fist.

Tremble tremble, Beom-mong’s left shoulder and Yeong Hyeon-sa’s right arm shook in a contest of strength.

Crack, crack. Joint rupture sounds that couldn’t be identified as coming from whose body were heard.

Yeong Hyeon-sa was also using all his strength. He couldn’t take Hundred Step Divine Fist again right in front of his face.

Beom-mong’s eyes flashed open even wider.

“Iyeo- eo- eop!”

Beom-mong’s Hundred Step Divine Fist exploded from top to bottom.

Both Yeong Hyeon-sa’s right arm and Bulgi who had been clinging to Beom-mong were swept away at once.

“Everyone, farewell!”

Rumble… Like a volcano just before spewing lava, a heavy low sound condensed. The ship vibrated finely.

Jin Ja-gang and Woon-jeong on the deck looked at each other.

Dangerous!

Both ran toward the stern.

Simultaneously, from the cargo hold at the ship’s bow where the three masters had been fighting, a tremendous water column dozens of zhang high shot up.

Crash!

“Wahhhhhh!”

Then the entire ship also rose up.

Jin Ja-gang was also blown and sent flying through the air. He flipped his body to get into position and looked down to see the cracked ship floating in midair and below it the Yangtze River with a huge cavity formed on the water surface.

Even fish were flopping in midair.

Whooooom.

The cavity closed creating fierce whirlpools, and the ship with its bow broken off was falling toward it.

Before he could even admire the tremendous power, he had to grab onto something and hold on. If the ship fell onto the whirlpool like this, it would be smashed to pieces.

Jin Ja-gang hastily extended Soul Seizing Thread to tie the mast and pulled to move. He quickly turned his head to look for Woon-jeong but couldn’t see him.

Jin Ja-gang had no choice but to tie his body to the mast with Soul Seizing Thread.

The ship crashed.

Crash!

Jin Ja-gang hit the water surface with his ribs, feeling like he had rammed into a stone floor. Even though he had tied his body to the mast, he swayed greatly while receiving the shock of being pulled downward and simultaneously being bounced upward.

Crash!

The ship, whose durability had already weakened to the limit, was mercilessly destroyed.

The amount of water that poured upward after the ship fell was so tremendous that there was enough shock to be swept away once more. The mast also broke in half and spun around.

Jin Ja-gang was on the broken side of the mast, but thanks to being fixed with Soul Seizing Thread, he could barely hold on while half-submerged in water.

“Taoist Woon-jeong!”

Jin Ja-gang shouted to call Woon-jeong. His ribs ached. The part hit by Beom-mong seemed to have broken again from the renewed shock.

“He, here! Cough cough.”

Fortunately, Woon-jeong’s voice was heard.

When Jin Ja-gang wiped away the water flowing into his eyes and looked up, he saw all sorts of debris and the half-destroyed stern floating on the river. Woon-jeong was by the overturned stern.

Jin Ja-gang released Soul Seizing Thread and climbed onto the broken mast to leap to the stern where Woon-jeong was.

But then, didn’t a pitch-black shadow and bright will-o’-the-wisps glowing with phosphorus emerge from behind Woon-jeong!

“Behind you!”

Woon-jeong hastily turned around. Yeong Hyeon-sa had climbed up toward the stern.

Yeong Hyeon-sa’s right arm was so twisted that it had turned around to his shoulder blade, and below his right elbow was not just twisted but torn and fallen off. Broken wood pieces were embedded throughout his body and flesh was torn exposing muscles.

Anyone could see it was a serious condition. But his eyes alone remained eerie.

“Ah…, uhh…”

Woon-jeong was so surprised he couldn’t continue speaking and hastily searched his belongings trying to take out his ritual bell and double tablets. But they were gone, perhaps lost in the chaos. Only the life-lock Beom-mong had given him came out in his hand.

“There’s a blade next to you!”

Next to where Woon-jeong was sitting, a broken blade was embedded. Woon-jeong barely got up and pulled out the blade. However, the blade tip trembled.

Yeong Hyeon-sa struck away the blade with his left hand as if brushing away something bothersome. Woon-jeong helplessly lost grip of the blade. The blade flew far away and splashed into the river.

“Die.”

At Yeong Hyeon-sa’s words, Woon-jeong was frightened and fell on his bottom.

Yeong Hyeon-sa was right in front of Woon-jeong, and Jin Ja-gang was at the end of the overturned stern. It was more than ten steps away.

Yeong Hyeon-sa raised his hand, revealing finger bones emitting green light toward Woon-jeong.

“Hand over the life-lock!”

At Yeong Hyeon-sa’s shout, Woon-jeong clutched it tightly to his chest, not wanting to lose it. Jin Ja-gang and Qingcheng Sect’s fates hung on the life-lock.

“I, I’m done for. I’m sorry. Sorry… wahhh. But I won’t give this up.”

Woon-jeong cried.

“No. Don’t cry. Just stay as you are.”

Jin Ja-gang took a long deep breath and took out a needle.