Zhengxie Sect - 5
At that moment.
Something glowing blue flew toward Sa Won-yang's back as he lunged at Hwa Yeongbin.
Shuuaak!
"!"
Startled, Sa Won-yang halted his attack on Yeongbin and was forced to defend.
Kwoooaaang!
When his hand struck it, a massive explosion erupted.
It was a Ganghwan.
The same kind of attack Sa Won-yang himself had unleashed earlier….
Blocking the Ganghwan, Sa Won-yang snarled with a twisted face.
"Who dares?!"
A voice answered.
"Well, if it isn't Sa Won-yang himself. So, the Little Masked Demon Lord was hiding here all along!"
On the wall of Zhenghyupbang stood a middle-aged Taoist in blue robes, his face calm and refined.
Seeing him, Hwa Yeongbin shouted in shock.
"Headmaster?!"
Huh? Headmaster?
Then—could it be Qingming Zhenren, the head of the Cheongseong Sect?
Sa Won-yang also grimaced and spoke his name.
"Qingming, you—"
"To dare cross north of the frontlines… this is your end, Little Masked Demon Lord."
At his words, more men in blue robes appeared one after another on the wall.
They were masters of the Cheongseong Sect.
Yeongbin muttered in confusion.
"How is the Headmaster here?"
According to what Yeongbin had told me, this man was from the pro-Murim Alliance faction. After participating in the Great Blood Battle, he had used the alliance's backing to become the Cheongseong Sect's head.
That was why Yeongbin believed he would oppose any attack on Zhenghyupbang.
So for him to descend here personally was utterly bewildering to Yeongbin.
But I could guess the truth.
I sent him a secret transmission.
—Looks like the Murim Alliance sent a summons. Same as with Emei Sect. That's why he could arrive so quickly.
Sa Won-yang, eyes bloodshot, burst out in wild laughter.
"Kuahahaha! Do you think Sa Won-yang would fall to the likes of Cheongseong? I'll drag you all down to the underworld with me!"
Then another voice rang from behind.
"If Cheongseong isn't enough, how about us?!"
Looking back, I saw more figures appear on the opposite wall.
This time, they wore green robes.
Yeongbin muttered again, stunned.
"Tang Clan too?"
The Tang Clan. So these were the masters of the Sichuan Tang Clan.
Come to think of it, Emei, Cheongseong, and Tang had all participated in the Great Blood Battle.
It seemed the Murim Alliance's influence had reached all three sects.
Either way—it was fortunate.
Thanks to this, our lives were spared.
Seizing the chance while Sa Won-yang's focus was elsewhere, I darted away.
Paaang!
I grabbed Yeongbin and carried him toward the Cheongseong side, whispering to him.
"Heaven doesn't seem ready to welcome you just yet, Great Hero Hwa."
It was what I had wanted to say to him earlier, when he seemed almost relieved at the thought of dying.
He looked at me blankly for a moment, then gave a faint smile.
"…Is that so?"
Even as he watched us retreat, Sa Won-yang did not move.
Under the combined pressure of Cheongseong and Tang masters, he dared not act.
A leader of the Tang Clan shouted:
"Sa Won-yang! Resistance is useless! Surrender quietly!"
But Sa Won-yang, as if burning his last strength, unleashed crimson energy from his hands and roared:
"Don't make me laugh! Orthodox scum! Do you think I would ever be captured by the likes of you?!"
The Tang Clan leader glanced at Qingming Zhenren, then said:
"If you truly seek punishment, so be it. We'll grant your wish!"
He leapt forward, positioning himself around Sa Won-yang.
Tatak!
The other Tang and Cheongseong masters followed suit, moving with agile footwork to encircle him.
Altogether, about a hundred men.
And even at a glance, several of them were clearly transcendent masters equal to Sa Won-yang.
A dead end.
Escape was now impossible.
But shockingly, the situation was not yet over.
"Sa! Won! Yang!"
With a voice that thundered across the land, someone descended from the night sky like a falling star.
He was a massive man, so huge he reminded me of Bae Jong-gwan.
But no—this kind of overwhelming presence could never be him.
And I realized I had heard this voice before—on the frontlines.
Could it be…?!
He shot down like a meteor, bellowing as he struck toward Sa Won-yang.
"To betray the Supreme One—you are unforgiven!"
His colossal body itself looked like a crimson meteor.
A massive, red, circular barrier surrounded his entire frame.
"That's…"
If my eyes weren't deceiving me, it was the same protective gangqi that Sa Won-yang had only barely managed to use earlier—yet this man had cloaked his whole body in it.
Unconsciously, I whispered:
"My god…"
Sa Won-yang's eyes widened in shock as he stared at the incoming meteor.
In a panic, he swung his giant crimson hand to strike it aside, roaring:
"What?!"
But the giant, covered head-to-toe in protective gangqi, smashed down without pause, unleashing a fist.
It was like divine punishment itself.
Doom.
The overwhelming blow struck Sa Won-yang and the earth beneath him.
The next moment, an enormous explosion erupted.
Kwoooooooaaaaaang!
Our eardrums felt as though they would burst. The ground overturned, the earth shook like an earthquake, and a storm-like blast wave swept over us, forcing us to crouch low to endure.
"Ugh!"
"This… this much power?!"
After some time, we lowered our hands shielding our faces and looked.
Once again, we could only whisper:
"My god…"
Where Sa Won-yang and the giant had clashed, a massive crater yawned as though a meteor had struck.
And at its center stood only the giant, arms folded in calm composure.
There was no trace of Sa Won-yang.
But instinct told us what had become of him.
The bloodstain and scraps of flesh crushed beneath the giant's feet were all that remained of Sa Won-yang.
No words came.
The one we thought an insurmountable wall, who no strategy could topple, had been obliterated in a single strike….
So shocking, it felt not just unbelievable, but absurd.
At that moment, Qingming Zhenren, headmaster of the Cheongseong Sect, swallowed hard and muttered as he looked at the man.
"Iron God Mad Demon… Cheok Gang?"
Yes.
He was none other than the Blood Cult's demonic general, Iron God Mad Demon Cheok Gang, the one who had nearly crushed the entire Flying Dragon Battalion at the Zhenghyul Conference with nothing but his aura.
He was one of the Five Demon Lords of the Blood Cult, and a monster ranked among the Thirty-Six Stars of the World, just beneath the fifteen Absolutes.
And now, he had crossed the frontlines to appear here.
The Tang Clan's leader—a middle-aged man with a jade-like face, his expression grim—shouted:
"Cheok Gang! For even you to appear here—so the Blood Cult finally reveals its true face!"
According to Hwa Yeongbin, this was none other than Tang Clan's master, the Venom Sovereign Tang Jeonghu.
Yet at his words, Cheok Gang only looked down on him with arrogant eyes.
As if to say, And what will you do about it?
Then, another voice answered.
It was not Cheok Gang's.
"You misunderstand. This is merely a… dispatch, you could say, to capture our Blood Cult's traitors."
As that voice rang out, a masked figure in black slowly rose from Cheok Gang's shadow.
Even I was shocked at his appearance.
Until now, I had at least sensed the presences of others—Cheongseong, Tang, even Cheok Gang himself.
But this one? Not at all.
Even as I stared at him, it felt like I was looking at an illusion.
Like a ghost—no presence, no weight.
Swallowing nervously, I whispered:
"Who in the world is that…?"
Before Hwa Yeongbin could answer, Tang Jeonghu cried out in horror, shouting his name.
"Ghost-Shadow Demon Ji Gi-eum?!"
Ghost-Shadow Demon Ji Gi-eum?!
Heavens…
Ji Gi-eum was also one of the Blood Cult's Five Demon Lords.
And one of the Three Great Assassins under Heaven.
Now, two of the Thirty-Six Stars belonging to the Blood Cult had appeared here.
Tang Jeonghu shouted furiously:
"Cheok Gang and Ji Gi-eum both! Does the Blood Cult truly seek another Great Blood Battle?!"
But Ji Gi-eum bowed politely and replied:
"As I just said, no. The Supreme One has received word from the Murim Alliance's strategist, Jegal Jigang, that our traitors had crossed the frontlines to stir chaos in the martial world. Thus, the Supreme One was furious and ordered us to handle this matter personally. This has already been agreed upon with Strategist Jegal Jigang—confirm it if you wish."
"…What?"
At the mention of an agreement with Jegal Jigang, the Cheongseong and Tang masters exchanged troubled looks.
"With Strategist Jegal?"
"With those monsters, he parleyed?"
So it seemed Jegal Jigang did indeed maintain secret channels to communicate with the Blood Cult.
But something about this felt strange.
They just say this so openly? In front of so many people?
As the martial artists murmured, Ji Gi-eum once again bowed politely and addressed the assembly.
"The Blood Demon commanded that the traitor's leader, Sa Won-yang, must be executed. As for the rest, we were to act only with the righteous sects' approval. Thus, we intend to erase this Zhenghyupbang—but what say you? Will you allow us to deal with this place and all within it?"
I couldn't help but be impressed.
Not just because he spoke of wiping out Zhenghyupbang as casually as if tidying his own courtyard.
Cheok Gang's killing of Sa Won-yang would inevitably be seen as the Blood Demon cutting loose a tail. Which, in truth, it was.
But now, by offering this "choice" to the orthodox sects, Ji Gi-eum was subtly framing it as if they had simply punished a traitor—rather than severing a liability.
Of course, he only dared such a maneuver because he was confident no one could trace anything back to them.
Tang Jeonghu glared at him with venomous eyes and spat his reply.
"There's no need. We of Sichuan's martial world will handle the rest ourselves."
Ji Gi-eum bowed respectfully again.
"Very well. Then we shall take our leave."
He turned to Cheok Gang, who was glaring at the orthodox sects with open dissatisfaction, and said:
"I trust you've not forgotten the Supreme One's command. Let us go."
At the mention of the Blood Demon, Cheok Gang flinched faintly, then nodded. With a slight bow, he shot into the night sky.
Puuung!
Just as he had appeared, he became a crimson meteor once more, streaking into the heavens.
As everyone's eyes were briefly stolen by his blazing leap, Ji Gi-eum was already gone—vanished like a ghost.
Truly, there was no better word for him.
Once they were gone, Tang Jeonghu turned to Qingming Zhenren.
"You've had a long journey, Qingming Zhenren. Since our Tang Clan has a branch nearby, why not rest there before we continue our discussion?"
Qingming Zhenren smiled kindly, as if waiting for the invitation.
"Hahaha, how could the head of Cheongseong rest when his disciples have endured so much for the sake of Sichuan's safety? No, I am fine."
At that, he turned his gaze to Hwa Yeongbin.
So, by "Cheongseong's disciple," he clearly meant Yeongbin.
Tang Jeonghu gave a sly smile.
"Strange. It's widely rumored in Sichuan that Young Hero Hwa and you, Qingming Zhenren, are not so well aligned. Yet here you suddenly stress your position as sect head. Unexpected, I must say."
"Hahaha! When has the martial world ever been free of rumors? We may disagree, but surely our hearts beat the same for Cheongseong."
Though they laughed, the atmosphere between them was fierce.
It took me a moment to realize the hidden meanings in their words.
So Tang's 'long journey' comment was really a claim that Zhenghyupbang lies within their territory, and thus theirs to claim. While Qingming Zhenren's mention of Yeongbin implied that, since a Cheongseong disciple exposed Zhenghyupbang's ties to the Blood Cult, priority belongs to them instead.
In other words, the moment Cheok Gang and Ji Gi-eum departed, both sides revealed their greed over Zhenghyupbang's territory.
Jegal Jigang's dealings with the Blood Cult, the slain disciples of Emei, the kidnapped women—none of that mattered to them now.
A heavy suffocation pressed on my chest.
I glanced over at the Cheongseong and Tang warriors.
They had brought perhaps a hundred men, with at least thirty on each side being masters of the highest level.
Even more startling—their leaders, along with two or three others on each side, radiated a presence not unlike that of Sa Won-yang himself.
Truly, they were forces worthy of being pillars among the Nine Great Sects and Five Great Clans.
And yet…
I recalled the moment Cheok Gang appeared.
Alone, he had stood above them all, his presence weighing down even these elite masters.
Even if brief, the emotion written on their faces then had been clear—fear.
A hollow laugh escaped me.
"Ha… haha."
I once believed that if I reached the realm of transcendence, I could mount a meaningful offensive against the Blood Cult.
But with each passing moment, I realized how foolish that thought had been.
The world I saw from the level of a mere first-class martial artist, compared to what I saw now at the transcendent stage—was utterly different.
And I asked myself:
Can I truly change the future?
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