Chapter 483

Chapter 483 – Staking Everything on a War Without Retreat (2)

Rumors that Blue Sky Alliance and the Demon Cult had clashed spread throughout the world in an instant.

Whenever two or more people gathered, they were busy talking about the battle between Blue Sky Alliance and the Demon Cult.

It was a battle where the martial world's fate changed depending on who won. If Blue Sky Alliance won, the existing order would be maintained to some degree, but if the Demon Cult won, an era dominated by a new order would open.

Because of this situation, even those unrelated to the martial world focused all their attention on their battle. No, there couldn't be people unrelated to the martial world. Because the Demon Cult operated a missionary organization called Middle Heaven and countless believers were created.

Those who believed in the Demon Cult tried to proselytize even to those unrelated to the martial world, and conflicts arose everywhere because of that. Due to that, the world fell even deeper into the abyss of chaos.

Public sentiment became unsettled, and people stopped trusting others. A world filled only with distrust was no different from hell itself. Thus the world gradually became hell and went mad.

Xixia was the same. Xixia was a small city near where Shaanxi Province, Hubei Province, and Henan Province met. It was close, only a few hundred li away from Xunyang where Blue Sky Alliance and the Demon Cult were fiercely battling.

Xixia was also divided into people supporting Blue Sky Alliance and people supporting the Demon Cult, suffering greatly. Though they didn't fight wielding weapons like the two forces, emotions were hurt as much as possible due to wasteful emotional battles and verbal abuse poured toward each other.

Because of that, Xixia's atmosphere was extremely deadly. Strangers had to receive surveillance looks the moment they set foot in Xixia.

Into such a Xixia came a particularly eye-catching one man and one horse.

A man wearing a pitch-black blood cloak riding a pitch-black horse without a single stray hair. He drew many people's gazes from his appearance. But few actually looked at him directly.

'What kind of eyes are those…'

'Huk!'

Just seeing his eyes made their entire bodies tremble like aspen trees. Whether people taking Blue Sky Alliance's side or people who'd fallen to the Demon Cult, it didn't matter. The moment they saw his eyes, they experienced the mysterious feeling of their hearts shrinking.

Even people who normally would have glared with provocative emotions pretended to focus on their livelihoods without giving him attention. But all their nerves were focused on him.

He was precisely Dam Ho. He had appeared in Xixia near Xunyang where Blue Sky Alliance and the Demon Cult were fiercely clashing.

Dam Ho entered Cheongli Inn, Xixia's largest inn.

"Welcome…"

The waiter stopped mid-greeting and froze like a stone statue. Dam Ho's eyes were that deadly. Though the waiter prided himself on having lived here long and seen all kinds of people, this was his first time seeing someone with eyes like Dam Ho's.

Just seeing his eyes made his heart race madly and his breathing quicken. His mind went blank so he couldn't think anything.

When the waiter came to his senses again, Dam Ho had already sat in a window seat. He hurriedly ran to Dam Ho and bowed his head. He didn't dare meet his eyes.

"I'm, I'm sorry, customer. What meal may I bring you?"

"Bring dinner and prepare a room."

"Will, will you be staying overnight?"

"Yes."

"Understood. I'll prepare it right away."

"Bring a bottle of alcohol too."

"Yes!"

The waiter answered in a trembling voice then ran to the kitchen.

Left alone, Dam Ho looked out the window with his usual indifferent face.

From Taigu in Shanxi Province to Xixia in Henan Province, he had run without resting even a single day. Except for brief rests, he spent most of his time on Black Ghost's back.

An ordinary horse would have collapsed from exhaustion before reaching here, but Black Ghost wasn't an ordinary horse. It was one of the finest horses in the world and was in its prime equivalent to a young adult human.

Thanks to its tireless stamina and endurance, it could run continuously with just a little rest. Thanks to that, he could arrive at this Xixia, a full two thousand li away, in just two days after leaving Taigu.

During that time, he saw a world that had become hell.

Hell wasn't only when many people had to die. A world where humans couldn't trust each other was hell.

Xixia was the same. Here too, an atmosphere of distrust was rampant. People going about the streets looked at each other with wary eyes. It was far from an ordinary scene.

When Dam Ho was silently watching the street, the waiter approached carefully holding a tray with alcohol and simple snacks.

"H-here's the alcohol and snacks. I'll bring dinner while you're having these. Then…"

"I heard there's a famous academy here. Is that right?"

"Huh? For a famous academy, there's Myeongil Academy. It's definitely the first choice since it has produced many famous scholars."

"Myeongil Academy?"

"Yes! But why are you looking for Myeongil Academy?"

"You don't need to know."

"Huh? Understood. Then…"

The waiter hurriedly retreated.

Left alone, Dam Ho filled his cup with alcohol. A deep alcohol fragrance stimulated his sense of smell.

Dam Ho brought the cup to his lips.

With just one sip, his tongue and esophagus tingled as if burning. It was that strong a liquor.

Dam Ho silently drank the strong liquor repeatedly. Yet he seemed perfectly fine as if no intoxication was rising.

After finishing even his meal, Dam Ho went up to his room. Whether because they feared Dam Ho or not, the assigned room was located in the inn's most remote location. Still, whether it was well maintained, the interior was quite clean.

Dam Ho lay on the bed and sought sleep. Perhaps because he'd had some alcohol, Dam Ho quickly fell into deep sleep.

In the quiet room, only Dam Ho's deep and steady breathing echoed. And quite some time passed.

Creak!

With a quiet sound, the door of Dam Ho's room opened. Following that, three or four people entered the room without footsteps.

They were men wearing scholarly robes. They carefully conversed while looking at the soundly sleeping Dam Ho.

"Are you sure it's Fist Demon?"

"That's right. I confirmed his features."

"Why is Fist Demon here?"

"Is that important? What's important is that he's drunk on Thousand Day Intoxication."

"True…"

They nodded their heads.

The alcohol the waiter had given Dam Ho was a famous liquor called Thousand Day Intoxication. As the name suggested of being intoxicated for a thousand days once drunk, it was extremely potent, and drinking one bottle would make even someone with profound internal energy collapse for a full day. Above all, since it wasn't poison, even immunity to all poisons was helpless against it. That was why the men could talk freely in Dam Ho's sleeping room.

"At this level, we could handle it without informing the Academy Master."

"That's right. They made such a fuss about Fist Demon so I was nervous, but it'll be resolved more easily than expected."

Shhk!

The men drew swords they'd hidden inside their clothes.

Holding their swords, they carefully walked toward the bed where Dam Ho lay. Joy shone on their faces.

Thinking they were ending the life of Fist Demon, notorious throughout the world, with their own hands made their fingertips tingle and their hearts naturally beat faster.

Their swords were just about to touch Dam Ho's chest and neck.

Pop!

Suddenly the head of the man in front exploded.

"Uwaak!"

"What?"

The men who'd been dazed and suddenly showered with a fountain of blood sat down in place from shock. It was that horrific a scene and an unexpected accident.

At that moment, Dam Ho, who'd been lying as if dead until now, sat up. Blood was dripping from his fist.

Only then did the men realize their companion's head had exploded because Dam Ho had struck.

"That can't be! He was definitely drunk on Thousand Day Intoxication. How?"

By their common sense, this was something that absolutely couldn't happen. The common sense that someone drunk on Thousand Day Intoxication could never wake up midway.

"If I was drunk, that would have been the case."

Dam Ho said as he stood up.

Drip!

Water flowed from Dam Ho's fingertips and thick alcohol fragrance filled the room.

The men who witnessed that scene turned ashen. Though they couldn't know the details, they could at least guess that Dam Ho was pushing out the Thousand Day Intoxication with internal energy.

As they guessed, Dam Ho was wrapping the Thousand Day Intoxication that had entered his body with internal energy, pushing it to one side of his stomach, then discharging it outside through his fingertips.

Dark Soul Cultivation Method, the demonic cultivation method of the solitary path lineage, was created by taking only the strong points of Mount Hua Sect, the orthodox pinnacle, and the Demon Cult, the peak of the demonic path. To such Dark Soul Cultivation Method, the alcohol poison of Thousand Day Intoxication wasn't a problem.

At Dam Ho's perfectly fine appearance, the men looked at each other's faces.

They had witnessed a companion's head flying off in an instant. They might not know if they hadn't seen it, but once witnessed, they couldn't forget. The hands holding swords trembled like aspen trees.

They shouted to shake off their fear.

"Why did you kill innocent people? Fist Demon!"

"D-do you think you'll be safe after killing Myeongil Academy people?"

At their voices filled with internal energy, the furniture in the room vibrated with a 'woong woong' sound. Their internal energy was that profound. But their voices contained fear they couldn't hide.

Dam Ho approached them.

Why did you ambush me?

What's your identity?

He should ask even one question, but Dam Ho had none of that.

He was looking at them with eyes as if he knew everything. That appearance made them even more terrified.

Only then did they understand why martial artists called Dam Ho so frightening.

The worst opponent with whom no conversation or compromise worked.

Bang!

As if to prove that fact, the man in front became a bloody mess from Dam Ho's strike and flew outside.

No scream.

They didn't even see how Dam Ho moved.

When they recognized the explosion, their companion had already flown through the wall.

"Uuu!"

Groaning sounds flowed from their mouths involuntarily. Their teeth chattered and their minds went blank.

"Don't come."

"I'll kill you."

They raised their swords to threaten Dam Ho.

At that moment, 'bang', another explosion echoed and another life disappeared. The man left alone in an instant showed deep fear in his eyes.

Clang!

He dropped the sword he was holding and raised his hands high.

"Sp-spare me. I only did as I was told."

"…"

"My-Myeongil Academy. We're from Myeongil Academy…"

Bang!

At that moment, another explosion burst forth and the head of the man continuing to speak disappeared from his shoulders. The body that lost its head moved its hands for quite a while not realizing that fact, then fell backward.

Dam Ho stepped over the fallen man's corpse and spoke.

"I know."

He already knew this situation would come from when he mentioned Myeongil Academy to the waiter.

With their attack, everything became certain.

Dam Ho went outside. Then he saw numerous scholars surrounding the inn.

At their center was an elderly scholar with a clean impression.

He had a stylishly grown white beard and neatly tied up hair, and an upright spirit was felt from his appearance.

Before the elderly scholar lay a corpse that had flown through the inn's wall. The corpse crushed beyond recognition was no different from a lump of meat. The blood flowing from the lump of meat was dyeing the elderly scholar's shoes red.

The lump of meat rolling at the elderly scholar's feet was his disciple. When alive, he possessed quite a clever mind and received the elderly scholar's favor. But the elderly scholar's face looking at his disciple who'd become a lump of meat showed no particular emotion.

The elderly scholar's gaze turned toward Dam Ho.

"How did you know?"

It was a question containing much meaning. Dam Ho's answer to it was simple.

"Jo Gwan-il."

"I see!"

With that one phrase, the elderly scholar understood the entire situation.

The elderly scholar's name was Ji Cheon-hwi.

As Myeongil Academy's master, he was a respected celebrity in Xixia. He had raised numerous disciples, and many of them rose to important official positions or gained fame as poets and writers.

Thanks to that, many talented people from throughout the world came all the way to Xixia wanting to become his disciples. Ji Cheon-hwi selected particularly outstanding ones among such talented people and accepted them as disciples.

All of Xixia's people respected Myeongil Academy. And they admired Ji Cheon-hwi, Myeongil Academy's master.

Ji Cheon-hwi was an existence no different from Xixia's symbol. But he rarely appeared outside Myeongil Academy. Like an immortal in the clouds, he stayed secluded in Myeongil Academy only putting effort into nurturing disciples.

Such a man unexpectedly revealed himself at the inn where Dam Ho was staying. And with numerous scholars.

The energy the scholars were now emitting was so sharp it couldn't be considered from scholars who'd only read books. The same was true for Ji Cheon-hwi.

Ji Cheon-hwi's eyes were sharp yet imposing to the extent they couldn't be considered a scholar's eyes.

Ji Cheon-hwi muttered.

"Jo Gwan-il, I knew he had a loose mouth but didn't think he'd reveal my identity. I'll definitely make him pay the price later."

"No need."

"What?"

"He's already dead."

At Dam Ho's indifferent answer, Ji Cheon-hwi opened his mouth for a moment but soon recovered his usual expression.

"Of course. You never let anyone live. I said something truly foolish. After playing scholar for so long, even my mind has stiffened. Tsk!"

Suddenly Ji Cheon-hwi's aura changed.

A mountain-like momentum flowed from his entire body. Such an appearance of his absolutely couldn't be considered a scholar. And Dam Ho knew his true identity.

He was once called by the alias Flame Heaven King.

Flame Heaven King Ji Cheon-hwi.

One of the Five Great Heroes who was active during the First Orthodox-Demon War.

He was famous for his fiery personality and Heat Yang Skill befitting it. Especially the Heat Yang Skill he mastered was the pinnacle of yang-strong martial arts, and once deployed, it was said the entire area turned into a scorching hell.

If it became known that Ji Cheon-hwi was playing academy master in Xixia, the martial world would be turned upside down. But an even more surprising truth remained.

Ji Cheon-hwi was precisely one of Heavenly Evil Cult's Five Evils.

Five pillars supporting Heavenly Evil Cult. Ji Cheon-hwi was one of them. Along with Thousand Soldier King Oh Geuk, Ji Cheon-hwi was a super-strong martial artist competing for the lead even among the Five Evils.

"Seeing you came here, you must know I'm one of the Five Evils."

"…"

"Of course. Jo Gwan-il must have blabbed. But you came to the wrong place. You shouldn't have come. Do you know why? Because unlike Jo Gwan-il, I'm not ashamed of belonging to Heavenly Evil Cult."

Jo Gwan-il thoroughly hid the fact that he was Heavenly Evil Cult's True Demon Envoy even from his child. But unlike him, Ji Cheon-hwi transmitted Heavenly Evil Cult's martial arts to specially talented ones among Myeongil Academy's talented people and raised them.

They already knew Ji Cheon-hwi was a Heavenly Evil Cult member and felt no resistance at all to following their master's path themselves.

Dam Ho stared at Ji Cheon-hwi.

"Where is the Cult Leader?"

"Ha! You have time to search for the Cult Leader. When Blue Sky Alliance, where your friend is Alliance Leader, and the Demon Cult are clashing. Aren't you worried about your friend? You truly are a cold-blooded person with no trace of affection as I've heard. Cho Yeon-woon who believes in you is just pitiful."

Bang!

At that moment an explosion burst forth and Ji Cheon-hwi's body slid backward. Deep furrows had formed where he stepped.

Dam Ho had already launched Shattering Star Fist. But Ji Cheon-hwi too was an expert who'd reached the absolute realm long ago. Knowing Dam Ho's aggressive nature, he was fully prepared even while provoking. Thanks to that, he could detect Dam Ho's attack in advance and defend. But his expression wasn't very bright. The palm that blocked Dam Ho's attack was tingling.

It was proof that Dam Ho's destructive power far exceeded his expectations. The blood throughout his body cooled.

"You bastard!"

He glared at Dam Ho with anger-filled eyes. Dam Ho was walking toward such a him.

"He's not a man light enough to be mocked by you."

Because he existed, Dam Ho could walk this path.

If it was Cho Yeon-woon, he would definitely stop the Demon Cult.

Dam Ho believed that.

His friend.

His will.