Chapter 439 – One's Own Sect's Safety Takes Priority Over the World (2)

Cho Yeon-woon's eyes widened. His bloodshot pupils, burst with capillaries, shook as if an earthquake had occurred. ​

Squeeze! ​

He clenched his fist so tightly that blood drained from it and fresh blood flowed between his bent fingers. ​

"Brother." ​

Eun So-cheong beside him called with a worried expression, but he couldn't even react. ​

His face looked as if he'd witnessed something he absolutely shouldn't have seen. ​

His expression, which never lost composure in any situation, had disappeared long ago. Since this was Cho Yeon-woon's first time showing such an appearance, Eun So-cheong was even more flustered. ​

It wasn't just Cho Yeon-woon. All surviving suicide squad martial artists wore similar expressions. ​

What they were feeling now was extreme helplessness and despair. ​

The emotion people feel when hitting an insurmountable wall no matter what effort they make. ​

After Dam Ho, Cho Yeon-woon was feeling that emotion again, one he thought he'd never feel twice. ​

How should one describe the scene unfolding before their eyes? ​

A hellish tableau. ​

A sight too horrible to witness. ​

No, they'd seen that much countless times. ​

Just that much couldn't silence and despair these people. ​

For those living in a mountain of blades and forest of swords, such scenery was too familiar. ​

Only one man had been added. ​

Just that, yet the scenery changed. ​

An alien landscape and aura as if not of this world silenced them. ​

Crackle! ​

The white light flickering from his body disappeared like a lie, but its afterimage still lingered vividly in their eyes. ​

Like a massive mountain standing alone on a plain, he stood there. And one man knelt before him on one knee, looking up. ​

"Yul… cheon!" ​

From the kneeling man's mouth flowed a rough voice like a wounded lion's groan. ​

His face was stained with humiliation and rage. ​

His appearance biting his lips tightly as if unable to accept his defeat was even tragic. ​

He was precisely Jeong Cheon-ak. ​

His appearance was utterly miserable. His right arm had vanished without trace from the shoulder, and a large hole gaped blackly charred through his abdomen. ​

He barely kept his upper body from collapsing with his half-broken Heaven Sky Saber, but even that looked precarious. Yet he desperately endured and looked up at the mountain-like man before him. ​

"Kuuk! Yul-cheon!" ​

The large man looking down at him was precisely Geom Yul-cheon. ​

Jeong Cheon-ak's eyes looking up at Geom Yul-cheon were filled with rage and disbelief. He couldn't believe his defeat. ​

"How could you have such martial arts……" ​

"Didn't I say I had a fortuitous encounter?" ​

"Kuuk! A fortuitous encounter. Kuhahahaha!" ​

Suddenly Jeong Cheon-ak burst into wild laughter. ​

Clearly his and Geom Yul-cheon's martial arts had been equal. Both sides' martial power maintained an exquisite balance. Therefore it was impossible for either to subdue the other without any damage. ​

Yet that impossible thing had happened. Jeong Cheon-ak was miserably destroyed, nearly dying, but Geom Yul-cheon looked fine. ​

Of course that didn't mean he was completely uninjured, but at least his injuries were incomparably minor compared to Jeong Cheon-ak's. ​

Having considered Geom Yul-cheon a rival for so long, Jeong Cheon-ak found accepting such complete defeat even harder. ​

Drip! ​

Suddenly red blood flowed down Jeong Cheon-ak's cheek. Blood flowing from his torn eyes mixed with bitter tears to become bloody tears. ​

Bloody tears shed by a man who considered himself a great hero. Even Geom Yul-cheon, who had maintained a long rival relationship, couldn't help but feel solemn. ​

"Cheon-ak. I'm sorry." ​

"Kuhuh! What's there to be sorry about? The weak die and the strong live, that's the martial world's law. Don't insult me further, Yul-cheon." ​

"……" ​

"I am a martial… artist. I don't regret my life……" ​

Jeong Cheon-ak's voice gradually faded and his head dropped. ​

That was the end of Jeong Cheon-ak, leader of the Ten Soldiers. ​

"Cheon-ak!" ​

Instantly Seomun Ha-gyeong's desperate voice echoed. ​

Her appearance was no less miserable than Jeong Cheon-ak's. She had suffered great wounds fighting Shin Mu-wol. After defeating her, Shin Mu-wol was now facing Ji Su-hyeon. ​

Seomun Ha-gyeong glared at Eum Yu-kyung and Geom Yul-cheon with eyes filled with venomous poison. ​

"You all killed Cheon-ak……" ​

To her, Jeong Cheon-ak was more than just the Ten Soldiers' leader. ​

His death dealt a great blow to Seomun Ha-gyeong's heart veins. Already gravely wounded by Shin Mu-wol with failing breath, Seomun Ha-gyeong's breath ceased from that shock. ​

Geom Yul-cheon closed his eyes. ​

Though they'd parted because their ideals and paths differed, they were once friends who shared the same place and ate the same food. The fact that he'd killed such people with his own hands devastated him. ​

Eum Yu-kyung approached Geom Yul-cheon's side. ​

"Yul-cheon." ​

"I'm fine." ​

When Geom Yul-cheon reopened his eyes, no trace of regret or remorse remained. ​

Geom Yul-cheon suddenly looked down at his fist. ​

A fist not much different from before. ​

But it had changed. A tingling sensation like lightning flowing through his body and a distant exhilaration. ​

Definitely sensations and feelings he couldn't feel before. ​

Changes that occurred after learning the Divine Cult's protective martial arts. Only Eum Yu-kyung, Shin Mu-wol, and Myeong-cheon knew that fact. ​

"Chyaat!" ​

Shin Mu-wol finished the fight by delivering the final strike. Myeong-cheon's subordinates were also overwhelming the subordinates the Ten Soldiers had brought. ​

A great victory. But no one smiled. ​

Those they'd defeated were once their comrades, family-like existences. They couldn't allow themselves to be intoxicated by victory or smile after defeating them. ​

Geom Yul-cheon suddenly raised his head to look somewhere. Where Cho Yeon-woon and the suicide squad martial artists were. ​

'They didn't leave.' ​

Like it or not, the Ten Soldiers were brothers from the same root. He hadn't wanted to show outsiders their fraternal battle. So he'd hoped they would leave on their own, but unexpectedly they still remained. ​

His gaze suddenly turned toward Cho Yeon-woon. The two men's gazes collided in midair. ​

'Drunken Cloud Dragon.' ​

He naturally knew Cho Yeon-woon. ​

Anyone with even slight interest in the current martial world couldn't not know Cho Yeon-woon. Especially martial artists belonging to the Divine Cult. ​

When the Divine Cult invaded Mount Hua Sect three years ago, the one who stood out most was precisely Cho Yeon-woon. Though there was also Dam Ho, he was treated as an exception everywhere. ​

Cho Yeon-woon appeared to be grinding his teeth. His pupils no longer wavered. Eyes that had been colored with shock were now filled with fighting spirit. ​

Though he'd clearly witnessed his martial prowess, that man was burning with fighting spirit. That sight was deeply engraved in Geom Yul-cheon's mind. ​

Geom Yul-cheon walked toward Cho Yeon-woon. The still-surviving suicide squad martial artists flinched. But no one avoided or averted their gaze. ​

They glared at Geom Yul-cheon while grinding their teeth. ​

Though not one truly knew Geom Yul-cheon's identity, they too felt it. That their opponent was no ordinary figure. ​

Shudder! ​

As Geom Yul-cheon approached closer, the trembling they felt intensified. But no one retreated and endured. Cho Yeon-woon was at that center. Because he stood and endured, everyone endured as one. ​

Thud! ​

Finally Geom Yul-cheon stood before Cho Yeon-woon. ​

Geom Yul-cheon was so massively built that even Cho Yeon-woon had to look up. That build alone overwhelmed the suicide squad. ​

"Why didn't you leave?" ​

Geom Yul-cheon asked. ​

Though he merely posed a question, tremendous pressure seemed to press down on Cho Yeon-woon's shoulders. But Cho Yeon-woon endured the pressure on his body and answered bluntly. ​

"Because I had to confirm with my own eyes." ​

"Confirm?" ​

"Your forces' strength." ​

"Why?" ​

"Because we'll someday be enemies." ​

Cho Yeon-woon's answer seemed unexpected as Geom Yul-cheon momentarily lost words. ​

"I didn't know the righteous faction had martial artists like you besides Dam Ho." ​

"You know him?" ​

"I consider him a friend." ​

"A friend, you say." ​

"We share a common enemy. That's why we could become friends." ​

"If the common enemy disappears? Could you remain friends to the end even then?" ​

"……" ​

Cho Yeon-woon's question seemed to catch him off guard as Geom Yul-cheon couldn't easily answer. After a moment he spoke with difficulty. ​

"Your tongue is truly sharp." ​

"I hear that sometimes." ​

A cold atmosphere hung between the two men. ​

One was the righteous faction's greatest young prodigy, the other the demonic path's greatest weapon. The two instinctively guarded against each other. ​

Especially the sense of crisis Cho Yeon-woon felt was tremendous. ​

The Geom Yul-cheon he saw was absolutely not someone who would remain under others. He was someone who would definitely reach the peak no matter how long it took. ​

Geom Yul-cheon's very existence was a great threat to the Martial Alliance and righteous martial world. And he had a premonition that his presence would grow over time. ​

After looking at Cho Yeon-woon briefly, Geom Yul-cheon stepped aside. ​

"Since you've confirmed, now return to the Martial Alliance. There will be no more pursuers after you." ​

Cho Yeon-woon gazed at Geom Yul-cheon for a moment. As if engraving his face in memory. ​

After a moment he cupped his fists to Geom Yul-cheon. ​

"Thank you for saving my life. I will definitely repay this debt." ​

"No need to worry. I didn't particularly step forward to save you." ​

"But the fact remains that thanks to you, my life was saved. I too will save your life once." ​

"I'll remember." ​

"Then……" ​

Cho Yeon-woon passed by Geom Yul-cheon. The suicide squad martial artists followed behind. ​

Those following Geom Yul-cheon opened a path for Cho Yeon-woon and the suicide squad to pass. ​

Eum Yu-kyung also stepped aside and watched the passing suicide squad martial artists. Her gaze stopped on the small girl following Cho Yeon-woon at the very end. ​

"So-mae." ​

"Sister!" ​

The one answering with a gentle smile was precisely Eun So-cheong. ​

Eum Yu-kyung had once hidden in the carriage Eun So-cheong rode to shake off the Five Elements Demon Squad's pursuit. Both remembered that connection. ​

"I'm glad you're safe." ​

"Thank you. Thanks to you, I survived." ​

"I've barely repaid my debt. I hope you return safely." ​

"Thank you, sister. I want to talk more but……" ​

"I understand So-mae's heart. So don't worry." ​

"Yes!" ​

"And……" ​

Eum Yu-kyung's voice briefly cut off. She looked at Geom Yul-cheon and Myeong-cheon for a moment, then whispered in Eun So-cheong's ear. ​

"If possible, don't go to the Martial Alliance." ​

"What?" ​

"While you and Great Hero Cho were being pursued, the Divine Cult began advancing toward the Martial Alliance. There will soon be a major offensive." ​

"That's……" ​

"Rather, hide somewhere else safe." ​

"Understood. Thank you, sister." ​

"Not at all! You would have found out anyway. Anyway, please take care." ​

"You too. I'll be going now." ​

After thanking Eum Yu-kyung, Eun So-cheong ran to where Cho Yeon-woon and the suicide squad were. ​

Eum Yu-kyung couldn't take her eyes off Eun So-cheong's small figure until it disappeared from view. And Geom Yul-cheon was watching such Eum Yu-kyung's back. ​

Then Myeong-cheon approached Geom Yul-cheon's side. ​

"Is it alright?" ​

"What?" ​

"Letting them go like this. If they return safely, they'll definitely grow to become pillars of the righteous martial world." ​

"That's right." ​

Geom Yul-cheon nodded. ​

A martial artist's growth isn't achieved only through good martial arts and diligent training. ​

Experience like this time, risking life and battling numerous masters, would make them grow dramatically. Considering their position and talent in the current martial world, they would definitely become top-level masters. ​

Especially Cho Yeon-woon's growth was beyond imagination. ​

Though Geom Yul-cheon and others opposed the Divine Cult due to the Heavenly Evil Cult, they always had thoughts of the Divine Cult in their hearts. ​

For the Divine Cult's sake, it would be better to kill them now and eliminate future troubles. Myeong-cheon was telling Geom Yul-cheon precisely that point. ​

Geom Yul-cheon said indifferently. ​

"He is Dam Ho's friend. That reason alone is enough qualification for him to return alive." ​

"But……" ​

"We may someday fight them. No, it will definitely happen. But that's a matter for that time. I don't want to become a coward who kills those with bright futures because I fear future threats." ​

"I'm sorry, brother. For saying unnecessary things." ​

"It's fine. You can naturally say such things. Because that's the most efficient method. But trust me. I'm not that weak." ​

The leisure of one who'd obtained world-dominating power. ​

The Poison Sect’s Three Cliques began taking the evil faction and Demon Cult warriors prisoner. Interrogating them to extract information was also their job.

However, Jin Ja-gang could not stay to watch that.

“Clean things up appropriately and we’ll rush to the Tang family as well.”

The leaders of the Poison Sect’s Three Cliques had just heard that there was trouble at Emei Sect. They couldn’t help but know the ominous signs.

Jin Ja-gang nodded his head as his answer.

When Jin Ja-gang returned to the Tang Family Compound using lightness technique, Yeong-gwi and Son-bi followed behind him.

The leaders of the Poison Sect’s Three Cliques showed slight anxiety as they watched Jin Ja-gang’s retreating figure.

“Please let nothing happen.”

Yuk Ha-seon’s words were picked up by Coal Mining Group’s Tap Tak-yeon.

“There shouldn’t be anything.”

Tap Tak-yeon’s words were picked up by the old official Bok-cheon beside him.

“If the martial world doesn’t want to meet the worst great slaughter.”

The leaders of the Poison Sect’s Three Cliques shook their heads as if the very thought was horrifying.

***

It was clear from a distance that something had gone wrong at the Tang Family Compound. The sounds of weapons clashing could be heard and smoke was rising.

Jin Ja-gang approached the closed gate of the Tang Family Compound. It was a thick main gate made by embedding iron nails and placing iron plates.

The gate had been the first thing seized and was firmly barricaded shut.

The rebels who saw Jin Ja-gang return shouted in surprise.

“It’s Poison Dragon!”

“Poison Dragon has returned!”

Jin Ja-gang quietly murmured.

“Open the gate.”

The rebels blocked the gate with their bodies from behind.

“Hold out! Until reinforcements come!”

“Damn, the time for reinforcements has already passed!”

Jin Ja-gang let out streams of killing intent.

“I won’t say it twice.”

The warriors inside shivered. They felt chills from the killing intent Jin Ja-gang was emitting.

But naturally, the gate wouldn’t open. From inside, the gatekeeper and Tang family’s direct descendant heroine Tang Hwa shouted.

“Go back, Poison Dragon! You are an outsider. This is no longer a place for you!”

Jin Ja-gang said no more. He raised his left arm high and struck the gate with his fist.

BANG! Instantly, Asura Scripture shot out from the ring on his wrist. Five strands of Asura Scripture penetrated through the gate and extended straight to the back. The warriors behind the gate were instantly skewered like kebabs on the Asura Scripture threads.

Piercing skulls, stabbing eyes, penetrating mouths.

The threads were so thin that there was almost no sensation when pierced. However, immediately after, the pierced parts became severely itchy and the itchiness soon turned to pain.

“Huh?”

The pierced holes swelled and pus bubbled up.

“Ugh… AAAAHHH!”

Those with pierced heads grabbed their heads, and those with pierced eyes rolled on the ground spewing pus from their eyes.

Then the Asura Scripture began wildly thrashing about and slashing.

The door bar was cut away and the gate split as well.

RIIIIP!

Rumble.

The thick gate was shredded by the Asura Scripture and collapsed.

Jin Ja-gang, with an expression heated like a demon, stepped over the collapsed pieces and entered.

Gatekeeper Tang Hwa saw Jin Ja-gang’s right arm hanging limply. Jin Ja-gang’s condition was unexpectedly poor!

“Die!”

Tang Hwa swung her long crescent blade and charged at Jin Ja-gang in a surprise attack.

Tang Hwa’s crescent blade split Jin Ja-gang’s body in two. The afterimage scattered and Jin Ja-gang appeared above Tang Hwa’s head.

As Jin Ja-gang leaped down, Tang Hwa was instead pulled upward. In that brief moment, he hooked Asura Scripture to the upper beam and wrapped it around Tang Hwa’s neck.

“Guk! Kuk!”

Tang Hwa struggled in the air, grabbing the Asura Scripture choking her neck.

Jin Ja-gang gritted his teeth and said.

“Where are you going? This is my home.”

Jin Ja-gang pulled his left arm without hesitation. Tang Hwa’s body separated from her neck and fell.

Several survivors among the rebels guarding the gate cowered in fear.

“W-we were just following orders…”

“Please spare us, Great Hero!”

Jin Ja-gang wouldn’t tolerate them either.

“Didn’t you know that following orders could get you killed if you fail?”

The warriors looked around nervously and shouted.

“W-we didn’t know!”

Jin Ja-gang raised his left hand.

“Now you know as you leave.”

Death cast shadows over the warriors’ faces. As the Asura Scripture was unleashed, the warriors’ bodies were shredded and scattered.

Yeong-gwi and Son-bi, who were following behind, silently watched Jin Ja-gang’s actions.

***

The inner paths of the Tang Family Compound, connected like narrow corridors, bore traces of fierce battle everywhere. Sword scratches, traces of hidden weapons embedded in walls and fallen on floors, bloodstains, and corpses.

Jin Ja-gang continued inward without rest.

The main gate and outer courtyard were chaotic regardless of enemy or ally. Even the household warriors were divided in two, creating a confused situation.

However, most knelt the moment they saw Jin Ja-gang. No, they had to kneel. Jin Ja-gang mercilessly split apart anyone who didn’t kneel.

On the path Jin Ja-gang passed, only one of two types remained.

Those who submitted and survived, those scattered in pieces.

***

The inner courtyard was different from the outer courtyard.

The rebellion had been almost completely suppressed. Most of those who had rebelled were either dead or captured.

A familiar elder greeted Jin Ja-gang. The elder was covering one side of his blood-soaked face without proper treatment.

“Where is my wife?”

“She’s in King of Hell’s quarters.”

Jin Ja-gang paused briefly then immediately moved forward.

King of Hell Tang Qing’s quarters were sealed off by Tang family warriors. They opened the way for Jin Ja-gang without question, but blocked Yeong-gwi and Son-bi behind him.

“It’s dangerous.”

The poisonous energy wafting from inside explained the reason.

Yeong-gwi and Son-bi agreed and stopped outside. Their eyes briefly met.

The two showed subtle emotions and turned their heads away.

***

Jin Ja-gang entered the room filled with poisonous energy.

Tang Ha-ran was waiting for Jin Ja-gang while holding the child.

She was different from a typical new mother just after childbirth. Tang Ha-ran appeared as if asking when she had given birth, having completely arranged her attire. Her hair was styled without a strand out of place and she had changed into splendid new clothes.

It was hard to imagine how difficult it must have been to give birth while fighting this poisonous energy during a rebellion. But that’s precisely why enduring the pain to dress up held meaning.

Inside this room that no one but Jin Ja-gang could enter freely.

This appearance was prepared to be seen only by Jin Ja-gang alone.

Jin Ja-gang’s emotions surged.

“I’ve returned.”

To Jin Ja-gang’s greeting, Tang Ha-ran answered proudly.

“You worked hard.”

Again, the words they exchanged could hardly be seen as conversation between an ordinary new mother and husband.

But these words also held meaning for the two of them.

Jin Ja-gang had kept his promise to return alive, and Tang Ha-ran had fulfilled her promise to Jin Ja-gang to protect the child no matter what.

The only place Jin Ja-gang could return to.

Tang Ha-ran had protected the home Jin Ja-gang could come back to.

Jin Ja-gang knelt before Tang Ha-ran. Tang Ha-ran handed the child to Jin Ja-gang.

“She’s sleeping.”

The child’s face, with the umbilical cord still coiled round, was wrinkled. Having been born not long ago, she resembled neither Tang Ha-ran nor Jin Ja-gang. But she was definitely their child.

Tang Ha-ran said.

“It’s a daughter.”

Jin Ja-gang very gently stroked the child’s face with his fingertip. She was soft. Fine down brushed against his finger.

There was a warm, milky scent that remained only in very old memories.

He could also clearly feel the poisonous energy of Asura Blood that made him recognize this was Jin Ja-gang’s flesh and blood.

Jin Ja-gang kissed the child’s forehead and cheek.

A single tear fell.

Drop.

Jin Ja-gang’s tear fell on the child’s cheek and the child woke up.

“Waaah! Waaah!”

A smile appeared on Jin Ja-gang’s lips.

In a life journey where he couldn’t see even one step ahead, Jin Ja-gang had finally achieved the life he so desperately wanted.

Jin Ja-gang’s own family.

***

King of Hell Tang Qing looked at the Tang Family Compound from a place far from the compound with his subordinates.

The smoke rising from the Tang Family Compound was gradually subsiding. Seeing the firefighting work, it seemed the rebellion had been completely suppressed.

The gaunt-faced Tang Qing opened his mouth in soliloquy.

“I nearly killed the Tang family, but you saved me and also saved the Tang family. However, you will also learn in the future that protecting is harder than conquering.”

Tang Qing realized he could no longer return to the Tang family. His era had passed. He had already become a nonexistent person, and if he remained at the Tang family, it would prevent new order from taking hold and actually create more chaos.

And more than anything else, he couldn’t tolerate this as it was.

“Ghost King… dare you toy with me? This price will definitely be paid. I’ll show you how terrifying King of Hell becomes when not bound by family.”

Ehihihihi! Eh-hihihihi!

***

Even aside from the rebellion, the murder of Tang Gwi-ok, the head of the Tang family, was enough to plunge the family into great shock.

Several of the leaders who had masterminded this incident fled, while the rest were captured and imprisoned.

The problem was that there was no one to command not only decisions about their custody but also the cleanup afterward.

That said, no one rashly stepped forward to become acting family head. The burden of having to stand above Jin Ja-gang was daunting. Jin Ja-gang’s presence was too overwhelming.

Fortunately, Jin Ja-gang absorbed the poisonous energy and emerged after three days with Tang Ha-ran and the child, so the matter of acting family head gained momentum.

However, while Jin Ja-gang was the Tang family’s son-in-law, he had a strong character as an outsider and didn’t know the Tang family’s internal affairs well. He wasn’t really suited to handling Tang family business.

Since one reason for the rebellion was precisely Jin Ja-gang, Jin Ja-gang himself firmly declined the position of family head.

Therefore, despite the presence of numerous elders, the acting family head proposed as an alternative was… Tang Ha-ran.

She was the only person who could keep Poison Dragon Jin Ja-gang at the Tang family and also the link connecting the Tang family to Jin Ja-gang.

Tang Ha-ran did not refuse.

She had already made some mental preparations. After several years when her abilities were recognized, she might truly become the real family head rather than just acting head. King of Hell Tang Qing’s forward-looking words had come true exactly.

The number of those who attended the urgently convened leadership meeting was less than half the usual. They unanimously agreed to Tang Ha-ran becoming acting family head.

Tang Ha-ran sat confidently at the head seat, nursing her child even in front of the elders. The leaders admired her appearance of prioritizing family affairs over personal shame.

It suited Tang Ha-ran as if that seat had been hers from the beginning. Natural dignity flowed from her. Tang Ha-ran had been prepared to sit in this position since she was very young.

Her only shortcoming was insufficient capacity, but meeting Jin Ja-gang and experiencing various hardships had filled that capacity.

The leaders looked at each other and nodded.

“Now that we’ve passed the biggest agenda, we must immediately discuss the next problem. We need to decide how to handle those who rebelled.”

Everyone’s faces darkened.

That was the most difficult matter.

When all was said and done, they were all of the same bloodline, relatives and family…