Chapter 164 :

<The Black Flame Dragon Who Quells the Chaos (9)>

Damn it. Damn it. Damn it. Damn it.

I cursed to myself dozens of times.

I'd risked my life to learn the Sword Demon's martial art, but Sword Evil, the one I'd expected to fight, was trembling like a dog that had seen a tiger, while Axe Evil, the wrong one, had his head cut off.

Of course, Axe Evil dying by my hand wasn't a bad thing.

He was a madman who committed murder and arson as a matter of course.

It was a good deed, in its own way, to clean up someone like him and add a little virtue to my name.

But—

'If I'd known Axe Evil would be the one to come out, I wouldn't have gone through that insane ordeal to learn the Sword Demon's martial art.'

I had somehow managed to learn the first form of the Three Forms of the White Moon that Subdues Heaven, but it had left my body like a dried corpse.

My blood vessels and dantian weren't injured.

In fact, the insight I gained from sparring with the Sword Demon had changed my body once again, and the internal energy flowing through my blood vessels now moved as freely as the Yangtze River.

My appearance was simply the result of my body failing to withstand the strain of excessive training.

Now that I thought about it, I'd been an idiot to worry that the heretical faction might refuse to accept the outcome of the match.

No, at this point, I wished they'd all come at me.

If their wicked deeds hadn't made me so furious, I wouldn't have done something this ridiculous.

"Sword Evil. Are you really not going to attack? Don't you have a grudge against me?"

When I called out to Sword Evil, he startled like a child who'd choked on something.

A hiccup? A grown man hiccuping like that...

"Snake Evil! W-we have to run. We have to leave now!"

Sword Evil grabbed Snake Evil, whose leg was wrapped in bandages, and started dragging him away.

Snake Evil couldn't even shake off Sword Evil's hand.

He just stared at me in a daze.

"...Does anyone in the Mukhyul Gang refuse to accept the result of the match? If so, come on up."

"..."

The Mukhyul Gang members looked at each other, each urging someone else to go.

I looked at the other members of the Eight Evils standing beside the Cheukbu Palace Master.

"Does anyone among you want to avenge Axe Evil?"

"..."

They exchanged glances, but no one stepped forward.

At last, Spear Evil asked:

"...Was that martial art you used... really the Sword Demon's?"

"You saw it. Why ask?"

"...You mean it was real?"

Spear Evil's face hardened.

The heretical martial artists gathered at the Yujang Sect began to stir and whisper among themselves.

"...Then does that mean you're the Sword Demon's disciple?"

"I'm a disciple of the Taeul Sect."

"Then how do you know that martial art? Did you learn it from him yourself?"

The Sword Demon had warned me that if I went around claiming I'd learned even a single thing from him, he'd break my legs.

My memory was absolute, and I would never disobey a warning from someone like the Sword Demon.

"No."

"Then...?"

"I stole it."

"Huh?"

Spear Evil's eyes widened.

The whispers among the heretical martial artists grew louder.

"He says he stole the martial art from the Sword Demon."

"Crazy. How could that be possible?"

"Maybe it is... They say he's the common successor of the Heretical Alliance."

"Ah! So he really is the Heretical Saint!"

The Heretical Saint was one thing, but what in the world was a common successor of the Heretical Alliance?

"If you've satisfied your curiosity, come on up already!"

I wanted to get rid of this disgusting feeling as soon as possible.

I wanted some reward for all the suffering I'd endured!

Ah, the way I craved blood proved there had to be something sinister about the Sword Demon's martial art.

I was a born Daoist.

There was no way I'd ever want to beat someone to death.

"...We're hired by the Cheukbu Palace. Axe Evil was the one who got involved in the Mukhyul Gang's affairs in the first place."

With that, Spear Evil stepped back and folded his arms.

The master of the Cheukbu Palace glared at him in disbelief.

Spear Evil returned the look as if to say, "What are you going to do about it?"

"Then is no one else coming up?"

"..."

What am I, some kind of plague?

I looked at the heretical faction's group and spoke.

Using the Blood Dragon Sword as a cane, I took a couple of steps forward and repeated myself.

"Is no one coming up?"

Rustle, rustle.

The heretical martial artists all stepped back a couple of paces at once.

When I took three more steps—

Rustle, rustle.

They all backed away five steps.

That was how the decisive sparring match ended.

The Mukhyul Gang's representative signed a written pledge to compensate the Yujang Sect for its losses and pay reparations to the victims' families, then left.

The Yujang Sect, once packed with people, emptied out in half a day.

The broken halls, walls, and remnants of the main gate were all that remained, making the place feel desolate.

"Eldest Senior Brother, what on earth happened to you?"

Eunho looked at me in disbelief.

I kept drinking water as I replied.

"When you reach the Jade Bud Golden Flower stage, your upper dantian opens, and what you picture in your mind can take shape as if it were real. That means training in your mind can become the same as actual training."

"And?"

"Your mind works faster than reality, doesn't it? It's the best way to get stronger in a short time. I'll teach it to you later."

"...No, thank you. I'd rather spend each day failing in real time."

Eunho shuddered as if he'd seen something he shouldn't have.

Well, I didn't recommend the method much myself.

I could do it because my memory was absolute.

If ordinary people started imagining things while practicing this kind of mental training, they could suffer qi deviation immediately.

Even now, thinking about it made me angry.

Why had I risked my life to put myself through all that?

I knew the heretical faction's ways: they bullied the weak and groveled before the strong.

But hadn't they taken cowardice too far?

After shuddering, Eunho looked around and asked:

"What will happen to the Yujang Sect now?"

They had won against the Mukhyul Gang and protected their sect's name, but no one felt like celebrating.

A physician invited by the Tang Clan was examining Jang Sagyeong.

He had said that Jang Sagyeong's innate vital energy had been shattered, leaving him beyond recovery.

If the physician from the Tang Clan hadn't been there, Jang Sagyeong would have died as soon as the match ended.

The Yujang Sect's disciples had all gathered around him to say their final goodbyes.

I turned from them, trying to hold back their tears, and asked Eunho:

"What do you think will happen?"

"..."

Eunho thought for a long time before answering.

"I'm not sure, but... Won't they become stronger from now on?"

In my previous life, the Yujang Sect had been annihilated as soon as the Righteous-Demonic War began.

Diancang had ordered them to fight the Demonic Cult, and the entire sect had gone into battle without proper information.

Diancang had taken no responsibility for what happened.

But in this life, the Yujang Sect would move forward along a different path.

I thought of Jang Sagyeong, who had created a different future for the Yujang Sect.

"I think so, too."

A little while later, those who had said their final goodbyes to Jang Sagyeong began leaving the hall one by one.

Most were crying.

They lowered their heads to hide their grief, but couldn't stop the tears from flowing.

Eunho pressed his lips together as he watched them.

I spoke to him.

"This won't happen only to the Yujang Sect."

"...Yes."

That was enough.

Eunho was a clever boy; he would understand.

"Young Hero Jin."

The Yujang Sect's hall master called to me, his eyes red.

"Yes?"

"The sect leader would like to see you."

"...All right."

I slowly stood up.

Jang Sagyeong's senior brothers and fellow disciples sat quietly on either side of the room.

Jang Ujae was there, too.

At the front, Jang Sagyeong looked at me and smiled, though he seemed to have no life left in him.

"Welcome, Young Hero Jin."

As my internal energy had grown and my energy sense improved, I could feel another person's presence without even trying.

But I couldn't sense anything from Jang Sagyeong now.

It meant that every trace of energy that made him who he was had dried up.

If the Tang Clan physician hadn't been beside him, continuously applying acupuncture and moxibustion and infusing him with energy, we wouldn't even be able to sit here and talk.

"I heard the physician came from the Tang Clan two days ago... How did you know I'd tamper with my innate true energy...?"

Two days earlier, when I saw Jang Sagyeong, I had remembered Hong Mungi from my previous life.

He, too, had been willing to burn through his own life to save his disciples.

Perhaps I had seen in Jang Sagyeong the Hong Mungi I hadn't been able to save in my previous life.

"I just had a feeling."

Jang Sagyeong looked at me intently, then spoke with a faint smile.

"Young Hero, you must have been through a great many hardships despite your youth."

"...There might have been a wiser way to get through it. I'm sorry I wasn't capable enough."

Jang Sagyeong slowly shook his head.

"No. I couldn't have asked for more than this. I won't forget what you've done for us. I've told my children, and their children, not to forget it either."

His words sounded like a final testament, and the people in the room began to speak up.

"I'm truly grateful, Young Hero Jin. I don't know what good deeds I performed in a past life, but thanks to you, I can close my eyes in peace."

"..."

Jang Sagyeong looked at his son, Jang Ujae.

"Bring it here."

Jang Ujae picked up something from behind him and placed it in front of his father.

With trembling hands, Jang Sagyeong pushed a wooden tray toward me.

A small, blue-green crystal lay on it.

"This is called the Wind Bell."

"The Wind Bell?"

It wasn't recorded even in my vast library.

"It's a keepsake of our founder, the Flying Flow Divine Sword. It keeps out both cold and heat, so it should be useful to someone like you, Young Hero Jin, who has to travel across the murim world."

A keepsake from the founder?

I was startled and declined.

"I didn't do this for a reward. I can't accept something so precious."

Jang Sagyeong smiled broadly.

"Young Hero Jin, that's exactly why I'm giving it to you. What righteous hero in this world would risk even his life without expecting anything in return?"

"It's a small gift carrying my wish that your good influence spread throughout the land and help many people awaken."

I had only acted to erase the nightmares in my memories...

"You're thinking that you didn't act with that intention, aren't you?"

What?

Jang Sagyeong laughed heartily.

"It seems that when the end is near, you start seeing things you couldn't see before. Don't worry, Young Hero Jin. Whatever your intentions were, we've received a debt from you that we can never repay. If I died without giving you this, I think I'd become a ghost, overcome with guilt."

Jang Sagyeong made a grim joke.

I bowed deeply and clasped my hands in a martial salute.

"...I gratefully accept your gift, Sect Leader."

When I raised my head, Jang Sagyeong met my eyes.

"What do you think? Did I do well?"

I nodded at his question.

"You couldn't have done better."

We smiled at each other for a moment.

The Tang Clan physician met my eyes and shook his head.

It was time to leave them to say their goodbyes.

I quietly left the room.

"Why is the moon so bright?"

I stared blankly at the moon above the Yujang Sect.

From inside the hall, the sounds of people speaking grew louder and louder.

"On a night like this, I wish it were a little cloudy."

Soon, their sobs spread throughout the Yujang Sect.