Chapter 427 – Breaking Through the Death Line… (2)

Living in the world, sometimes you occasionally feel an inexplicable uneasiness or unknown identity, a subtly misaligned flow.

Most people pass by without recognizing such changes in flow or feelings of uneasiness, but martial artists with trained insight and intuition like No Gun-sang never miss them.

No Gun-sang had long been sensing a single undercurrent flowing within the Divine Cult. And he had been tracking it. Because of this, he couldn't participate in events within the Divine Cult or external activities.

It wasn't only he who was feeling uneasiness. Cult Leader Cheok Gwan-hyeol had also been feeling such misaligned flow for a very long time, so he ordered No Gun-sang to track the undercurrent.

'They hid secretly and instigated conflict between our cult and the Martial Alliance.'

They were thoroughly disguised like lizards and hiding deadly fangs like poisonous snakes. Because of this, No Gun-sang had no choice but to struggle in tracking them.

No Gun-sang instinctively thought Gu Ui-jin was related to them.

'So they had also planted feet in the Martial Alliance.'

Terrifying killing intent exploded from his entire body.

The highest banner for No Gun-sang was the Divine Cult. Others might curse and shun it as a Demon Cult, but for him the Divine Cult was everything in life. Everything that threatened the Divine Cult was his enemy.

Whooom!

A storm of terrifying killing intent struck toward Gu Ui-jin.

"Gasp!"

Gu Ui-jin's complexion changed completely. Because No Gun-sang's momentum was fiercer than he had expected. No Gun-sang's abilities were much more excellent than what he had grasped.

'Was it too much?'

He realized things had become more complicated than expected.

To escape this place, he too had to do his best.

"Cha-aht!"

Terrifying momentum also rose from Gu Ui-jin's entire body and clashed with No Gun-sang.

Boom boom bang!

A storm of gang-qi swirled around them as the center.

***

"Grrk!"

Nam Hak bit his lips until they bled.

His entire body was stained with blood, resembling a blood person. He didn't know how many people he had killed and defeated. In that process, he too had received more than ten large and small wounds.

He didn't know how much blood he had shed. His head was dizzy to the point where he couldn't think normally. Still, Nam Hak endured with firm mental strength.

Behind him, twenty suicide squad martial artists were following. There were disciples from the Joint Cave Sect, and disciples from other sects too. Their appearance was no different from Nam Hak's.

With their entire bodies stained with blood from fierce fighting and breathing roughly, they were the very picture of defeated soldiers. On their faces, the light of anger and despair coexisted.

Though they had killed countless enemies and desperately fled, countless enemies were once again blocking their path. It was like falling into an ant lion trap and circling in place.

The previous generation suicide squad martial artist who had been leading them had long been separated during the chaotic battle. Because of this, Nam Hak was standing in front in his place, carving out a path of life.

"Huff! Huff!"

In Nam Hak's eyes breathing roughly, subtle anger was contained. Others were too busy fighting the enemies before them to grasp the situation, but Nam Hak was different.

He had noticed that the previous generation suicide squad martial artist had abandoned them and escaped. Those who had told them to trust and follow them alone had abandoned them and fled. But he couldn't tell this fact to others.

Morale was already at its worst, and if they learned they had been abandoned by the previous generation martial artists, even the remaining fighting spirit would be broken.

'What exactly is going on?'

Nam Hak raised his head.

From all over the Demon Cult, explosive sounds mixed with people's shouts could be heard. And once again, countless Demon Cult martial artists were surging toward them like a tidal wave.

Nam Hak gripped his sword and shouted:

"Everyone, gather strength and break through. Don't fall behind and stick close behind me."

"Yes!"

"Understood."

The talents responded desperately.

Only malice and venom remained for them now. They too knew. That if they fell behind Nam Hak, only death remained.

Nam Hak charged at the front thinking:

'Somehow I must join up with others.'

Most of the suicide squad had scattered during the chaotic battle. Only by finding and joining them could their chances of survival improve even a little.

"Hiya-aah!"

Nam Hak shouted a battle cry and swung his sword toward the enemy before his eyes.

Countless people were dying everywhere.

The suicide squad martial artists fought hard, but it was a fight they couldn't match from the beginning. This was enemy territory, and to make matters worse, the enemies were waiting for them in perfect condition.

Groups with reliable people like Nam Hak or Hae So-wol had many survivors, but groups without such people were completely annihilated.

The Demon Cult masters hunted the survivors with blazing eyes.

"We cannot forgive those who dared defile our main base."

"Track down and kill every last one."

They were blinded by anger.

The resentment they had suppressed for long years amplified their anger. They cruelly hunted the suicide squad martial artists.

"Sob! Please spare me!"

"Ahhh!"

Eventually, even suicide squad martial artists appeared who shed tears in terror.

Until entering this place, they had only thought about achieving great merit and raising their reputation in the martial world. It seemed like a silk road would open before them at any moment. But the reality they faced was too different from what they had dreamed of.

Blood splattered before their eyes and flesh was torn. And their comrades lost their lives. Seeing friends who until yesterday had been laughing and talking while dreaming of a rosy future die gave them great shock.

Terror paralyzed their reason and everything went white before their eyes. So they couldn't display proper skills and became scattered and defeated.

Sang Han-cheon watched all this spectacle with cold eyes.

'A good opportunity. The Venerable One is surely looking after our cult.'

It took more than several decades for the Divine Cult to establish itself again in the Central Plains. During that long time, the Divine Cult's martial artists had been nurturing venom and had the obsession to definitely establish a main base in the Central Plains.

It was resentment that had been fermenting and amplifying for decades. Countless Divine Cult martial artists had run toward that unified goal for decades. And thus they had established this splendid main base in the Central Plains.

The problem began from then. Once the main base was established in the Central Plains, people who became complacent appeared. They no longer wanted to fight fiercely.

Instead of rapidly expanding their power, they wanted to take time and slowly expand their territory. Their opinion was still only a very small minority, but if left alone, it would surely spread throughout the entire Divine Cult.

It was best to cut off the seeds of discord in advance. And by the suicide squad's invasion, such an opportunity came unexpectedly quickly.

The anger of the Demon Cult members whose territory in the Central Plains, established with great effort, was violated was frightening. Their anger was directed at the suicide squad and the Martial Alliance.

"Can't they even allow us this small space?"

"What exactly did we do so wrong?"

Their cries and shouts echoed in the empty air. And Sang Han-cheon watched all this spectacle with a smile.

A unified Divine Cult.

That possibility was unfolding before his eyes.

Sang Han-cheon had absolutely no intention of missing this opportunity.

He gave orders to his adjutants:

"As soon as we finish hunting all the suicide squad members, attack the Martial Alliance. Ready all of our cult's forces."

"By your command!"

The adjutants scattered in all directions with vigorous answers.

Left alone, Sang Han-cheon spoke to the empty air:

"Demon Emperor."

Instantly the air opened and someone appeared like a ghost.

It was an old man whose face was completely covered with wrinkles so deep his age couldn't be determined. His pupils were full of jaundice as if pus would drip down at any moment.

He looked at Sang Han-cheon and opened his mouth:

"Did you call? Military Advisor."

"I apologize for the trouble of calling you."

"Not at all! Didn't the Cult Leader give you authority to command us? Then naturally I must respond."

"Thank you, Demon Emperor."

Sang Han-cheon bowed his head and showed extreme courtesy to the old man.

On the surface he looked like an insignificant old man just waiting to die, but actually his true identity was the director of the Cult Protection Division, called the Divine Cult's last bastion.

Phantom Demon Emperor Wi Gang-hwi.

That was the old man's true identity.

A loyal subject of the Divine Cult who only listened to Cheok Gwan-hyeol's orders, and a witness to history. No matter how much omnipotent authority Sang Han-cheon possessed, he couldn't treat him carelessly.

How much must it have been for him to summon him borrowing the Cult Leader's authority?

"What do you wish to command? Military Advisor."

"Please ready the Cult Protection Division."

"So we're finally moving?"

"When the wind blows, you spread the sails wide. Only then can you ride the momentum and move forward vigorously."

"I see you judge now is the time to spread sails. Understood! If the Military Advisor's judgment is so, I must trust it."

Wi Gang-hwi nodded readily. At this, Sang Han-cheon's smile deepened.

"Thank you, Demon Emperor."

"Not at all! I'll prepare the old monsters of the Cult Protection Division. Please call when needed."

Wi Gang-hwi suddenly disappeared just as he had appeared.

His lightness technique of seeming to cross space was an object of awe even to Sang Han-cheon. He had never seen anyone who fit the epithet 'phantom' so well.

What was important was that such a monster-like old monster now listened to his commands.

The old monsters led by Wi Gang-hwi would be great strength to him.

"There's no time to stay like this. I need to quickly organize the rest too."

His gaze turned to the battlefield again.

The battlefield was now reaching its final stage.

Most of the suicide squad members were dead or fallen, and those remaining were extremely few.

Those still alive were resisting fiercely, but he wasn't particularly worried. The net he had laid was too perfect and tight for there to be any gaps to escape through. Now he just had to sit and wait to pull up the net.

But things in the world don't always proceed as planned. Variables arose from unexpected places.

"Military Advisor!"

One subordinate was running urgently while carrying someone on his back.

"What's wrong?"

"Swift Wind Divine Fist is…"

"You mean Yi Seon-chang?"

"Yes! Swift Wind Divine Fist is now…"

The subordinate hurriedly put down the man he had been carrying on his back. The moment he confirmed his face, Sang Han-cheon's face hardened stiffly. Because it was Yi Seon-chang, one of the Seven Great Demons.

"Wh-what is this?"

"Mi-Military Advisor?"

"What happened?"

Sang Han-cheon hurriedly embraced Yi Seon-chang and lifted him up.

"I… was defeated by brats."

"Brats?"

Yi Seon-chang wiped the blood flowing from his mouth with the back of his hand and gnashed his teeth.

"Grr! I was defeated by the combined attack of Drunken Cloud Dragon and Flower in the Sea."

"Drunken Cloud Dragon?"

Sang Han-cheon's eyes opened wide. Conversely, Yi Seon-chang's face reddened with shame.

Until Cho Yeon-woon joined Hae So-wol, he hadn't worried much. Though Cho Yeon-woon was said to be famous in the martial world, he thought he wouldn't escape the category of late-stage rising talent. So he didn't take their combined attack seriously. But it didn't take long for him to realize how arrogant that thinking was.

Cho Yeon-woon had already escaped the framework of late-stage rising talent. His martial arts level wasn't greatly inferior to Yi Seon-chang's. Especially his leg techniques using steel prosthetic legs as weapons greatly exceeded common sense and were sufficient to confuse him. With Hae So-wol joining as well, even Yi Seon-chang found it hard to endure.

Eventually he suffered great internal injuries from the two greatest late-stage rising talents of the martial world. His subordinate had carried him and fled here.

For Yi Seon-chang, it was a hard-to-wash humiliation.

"Then where are they?"

"…"

To Sang Han-cheon's question, Yi Seon-chang couldn't answer. But his shameful expression alone served as an answer.

Sang Han-cheon hurriedly ran to Sacred Heart Hall with his subordinates.

Sacred Heart Hall where the three had fought was in ruins, and where the well had been, a large cavity was gaping open.

The moment he saw the cavity, Sang Han-cheon's eyelids trembled.

"Could it be?"

"It's a secret passage. They escaped through here."

At his subordinate's answer, Sang Han-cheon's face turned red hot. It was a rare intense emotional change he showed.

"How many escaped?"

"Well…"

"Not a single one must escape. Hurry and send a pursuit team."

"B-by your command!"

The subordinate answered and hurriedly organized a pursuit team to begin tracking, but Sang Han-cheon's expression didn't brighten at all.

"Just how many escaped?"

Crack!

Sang Han-cheon gnashed his teeth until they might break. ​

Jin Ja-gang looked at Mang Ryo quietly without exerting more force.

Mang Ryo was ready.

Ready to see Jin Ja-gang agonizing.

Ready to feel ecstasy at that sight.

“But like you said, we’re not that kind of relationship, are we? Huh? Just kill me. Destroy your entire future with your own hands. Huh?”

For a moment, Mang Ryo’s voice was even desperate.

Thread-like blood flowed from the blood lines all over his body. It hurt as if his whole body had been thinly sliced with a knife, but such things didn’t matter at all.

Mang Ryo screamed.

“Hurry up and kill me and destroy yourself, you stupid fool!”

Jin Ja-gang…

Suddenly had an expression as if he couldn’t contain his laughter.

It was just his eyes.

But Mang Ryo felt like he knew what Jin Ja-gang was thinking.

That damned bastard was speaking with his eyes.

“What? That was all it was about?*”

As if Mang Ryo’s prediction was correct, the Asura Sutra threads wrapped around Mang Ryo’s body were released.

WHIR!

“…What?”

Mang Ryo was dazed. Bewildered.

Suddenly his bonds were released and he became free.

But that was the opposite of what Mang Ryo expected. His expectations crumbled to pieces, and his body that had been ready to feel ecstasy grew cold.

“What. What… are you doing?”

Jin Ja-gang asked back.

“Do you want to see?”

Mang Ryo doubted his own ears.

“What?”

“Do you want to see what I’ll do? I’m going to destroy the salt fleet from now on.”

“You? You alone will do what even Haewol couldn’t?”

“Let’s see if I can or can’t. I think I can.”

Mang Ryo wanted to refute Jin Ja-gang’s bluff.

However, words didn’t come easily.

Just a moment ago, even though Mang Ryo had drawn upon all the power of Red Shadow Pills and Mad Blood Heaven Art, he couldn’t even touch Jin Ja-gang.

Jin Ja-gang had become a tremendous master. Moreover, he was originally a meticulous person.

When he came out this confidently, there was a reason.

Could it be?

Was he already prepared?

If Master Haewol had spoken so confidently!

Jin Ja-gang saw the doubt in Mang Ryo’s eyes and said.

“Why? Are you afraid I might be able to do it? That things won’t go according to your intentions?”

GRIND, Mang Ryo ground his teeth.

“Can you handle the aftermath!”

“I’ll take care of it myself, so don’t worry about it.”

Blood vessels bulged on Mang Ryo’s jaw and forehead.

“Fine. Then go ahead and try. You’ll end up struggling alone and dying like a dog. Haewol died like that too. Lonely and desolate. Die bearing infamy and covered in notoriety. That’s the death that suits you.”

Then.

A sound came from the main gate of the Tang Family Main House.

“No. That won’t happen. Poison Dragon won’t fight a lonely battle.”

It was Taoist Master Bok-cheon’s voice.

Not only Taoist Master Bok-cheon, but behind him, all of Jin Ja-gang’s acquaintances who had been at the Tang Family Main House appeared one by one.

Bian Bu came out limping on crutches and spat.

“Damn, some crazy bastard was shouting that he killed Master Haewol, so I wondered what was going on, and it was that Mang Ryo fellow?”

Sword Empress Im Yi-yeon said.

“To think such a person is called a great hero. Martial world rumors can’t be trusted.”

Woon-jeong also added a word.

“Poison Dragon friend is not alone! Right?”

Taoist Master Bok-cheon patted the embarrassed Woon-jeong’s head and said.

“That’s right. This isn’t just your affair. It’s the duty of everyone living in the martial world.”

Even Son Bi and So-so, who couldn’t speak, clenched their fists behind them showing they shared the same feelings.

Bian Bh frowned and looked at Mang Ryo as he spoke.

“No need to deal with such a person any longer. Cut him down in one stroke and let’s go together to those salt ships or whatever. Word came by carrier pigeon just now. Emei Sect and the Poison Sect Four Cliques will join too. Funeral Parlour has also turned around.”

What?

Mang Ryo’s lips twisted.

They’re all going to trust this guy and go die?

Mang Ryo mocked them with his mouth where teeth were broken and blood was oozing.

“Hahaha! Hahahaha! Of all people to trust! How can you trust such a guy and entrust your lives to him!”

But no one was swayed by Mang Ryo’s words.

Mang Ryo looked at Jin Ja-gang in disbelief.

In Jin Ja-gang’s eyes was an emotion he had never seen before. The same trust that was in their eyes.

Will.

Mang Ryo’s eyes wavered.

“What… what is all that now? Why does a guy who was like a wandering wolf have such gentle eyes? Are you joking around now?”

Jin Ja-gang answered without even glancing at Mang Ryo.

“My mother who worried about me until the moment of death. My grandfather who cared for me without regard for his own life. Deputy Sect Leader Yong Myeong and the disciples of Medicine King Valley who died in my place. The elderly of Medicine King Valley who gave up food for the young people and died when trapped in the mine tunnels. Foreman Jang and his family who taught me the preciousness of daily life at the Poison Valley construction site.”

“What?”

“All the people I’ve met so far made me who I am now. I didn’t come this far alone.”

Mang Ryo opened his mouth wide and sneered.

“Ridiculous. And what? Daily life? Where do you have anything like daily life! For guys like us, the bloody hell where we can’t survive without biting someone even for a day is what suits us!”

“Mang Ryo.”

Jin Ja-gang called Mang Ryo.

“Even if I kill you, nothing will change. Do you understand?”

“Stop talking nonsense! That can’t be!”

Mang Ryo mocked with a twisted face.

“You’re making fun of me now, aren’t you? Ah yes, that’s right. Otherwise it wouldn’t make sense. You couldn’t possibly have such a carefree expression when everything you’ve built up is about to fly away.”

Isn’t it human nature to lose sleep at night worrying about thieves when you’ve piled up a fortune of ten thousand gold in your warehouse?

But now Jin Ja-gang didn’t even respond.

Mang Ryo raged.

“I taught you an easy and comfortable method! I said you could protect it if you just submitted to me!”

Jin Ja-gang smiled slightly.

That was the expression of Jin Ja-gang that Mang Ryo least wanted to see.

Mang Ryo felt like he had been hit in the head.

No?

This isn’t what I was thinking?

Of course, Jin Ja-gang wasn’t looking at Mang Ryo and smiling.

Mang Ryo turned his eyes following Jin Ja-gang’s gaze.

Tang Ha-ran was standing there holding her swollen belly.

Jin Ja-gang was saying with his smile.

Do you see? This is why I no longer waver in killing you.

Mang Ryo became anguished.

Seeing Jin Ja-gang’s unbroken appearance pained Mang Ryo more than physical pain.

If he wasn’t going to succeed in the end, what had he been waiting ten years for all this time!

In this harsh and tiresome world.

I’m alone.

Why is this guy so happy?

Mang Ryo cried out.

Happiness…!

Don’t be happy, you bastard!

Feel despair, not happiness!

Look at me with those eyes and burn with hatred!

“AAAAAH!”

Mang Ryo was unbearably anguished.

He realized why Jin Ja-gang had spared him.

To show him that sight!

To really destroy the salt fleet and prove that Mang Ryo was nothing!

Suddenly Mang Ryo used his remaining strength to roll on the ground.

He picked up a dagger that had fallen on the ground and distanced himself from Jin Ja-gang.

Then he put the dagger to his own heart.

“Didn’t you ask me if I wanted to see? Whether you could do it or not?”

Mang Ryo looked at Jin Ja-gang and laughed while emitting killing intent like a madman.

Then he stopped laughing abruptly and spoke while grinding his teeth.

“I won’t watch, you bastard.”

Jin Ja-gang would be happy while he died unhappy.

But Jin Ja-gang wouldn’t have a chance to prove his words.

Because he wouldn’t watch.

Mang Ryo grinned ear to ear and stabbed the dagger into his own heart.

“Only hell awaits you!”

STAB, the moment the dagger pierced through his ribs and below his solar plexus about an inch.

One of Jin Ja-gang’s hands pointed toward Mang Ryo.

FLASH!

Asura Sutra shot out faster than light rays and became five straight lines piercing through Mang Ryo’s body.

“…”

Mang Ryo’s body stiffened. Asura Sutra’s thin threads had become skewers penetrating Mang Ryo’s body. His fingers and wrists, forearms and elbows, torso were all bundled and skewered so he couldn’t move.

“Urgh!”

Mang Ryo tried somehow to move and escape, but the Asura Sutra that had penetrated his arms and body had also pierced into the ground and was firmly fixed, so he couldn’t move.

Mang Ryo rolled his eyes to look at Jin Ja-gang.

GRIND! GRIND GRIND!

All his broken or half-pulled teeth were ground up and flowed out with blood.

“AAAAH!”

Mang Ryo twisted his body with all his might. His muscles tore and bones twisted on the penetrating Asura Sutra threads. But he didn’t care and tried to drive the dagger into his heart.

Jin Ja-gang’s other arm moved.

PING!

Simultaneously, Mang Ryo’s right hand holding the dagger flew away. Mang Ryo grabbed his severed right hand with his left hand. And tried to commit suicide in that state.

PING!

A curved line also sent his left hand flying. Mang Ryo bit the dagger with his mouth.

Jin Ja-gang cut the dagger with Asura Sutra. SLICE! The dagger itself was cut into pieces.

CRACK! Mang Ryo ended up biting empty air instead of the dagger. He bit so hard that his jaw dislocated and his broken teeth embedded in the opposite gums.

Mang Ryo cried out with his upper and lower jaws crushed together.

“UUHEEEEE!”

And finally, Jin Ja-gang’s Asura Sutra bisected space.

Jin Ja-gang made no words or battle cry.

He just frowned and clenched his molars as he flicked the Asura Sutra.

Mang Ryo’s head floated into the air spinning round and round.

Jin Ja-gang caught and lifted Mang Ryo’s head.

Mang Ryo had a very miserable and anguished expression. He had died with such an expression.

It was a face that bore all the sufferings of the mortal world to an indescribable degree.

Jin Ja-gang looked at that face for a moment while holding Mang Ryo’s head.

He had finally killed Mang Ryo.

Complex emotions also showed on Jin Ja-gang’s face.

How could Jin Ja-gang not have feelings about it?

But he hadn’t wanted to show them in front of Mang Ryo. From the moment Mang Ryo appeared at the Tang Family Main House shouting that he had killed Master Haewol, he knew what he wanted.

Tang Ha-ran approached with So-so’s support.

Tang Ha-ran unhesitatingly took Mang Ryo’s head from Jin Ja-gang.

Then she met Jin Ja-gang’s eyes.

Jin Ja-gang nodded.

Jin Ja-gang bowed toward the direction where Yunnan’s Hundred Flowers Valley had been.

Distant worship.

When Jin Ja-gang finished bowing, Tang Ha-ran placed Mang Ryo’s head facing north.

Bian Bu rushed over and placed the wine bottle from his waist in front of Mang Ryo’s head.

So-so held Tang Ha-ran from the side.

Jin Ja-gang and Tang Ha-ran bowed simultaneously.

Deep bow twice, respectful bow four times.

Jin Ja-gang’s shoulders trembled lightly with his head bowed to the ground.