Chapter 167

Lately, the atmosphere within the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult had been perpetually gloomy.
There was only one reason, the Heaven Rebelling Society.

They denied the Divine Cult’s system.
They insulted the Heavenly Demon, its one true god.
And yet they had evaded the blade of judgment.

Then news like rain after a long drought swept through the Cult.

“What? Seventh Young Lord killed one of the Heaven Rebelling Society’s top executives?”
“That’s what I’m telling you. I heard he was a dangerous bastard who used all kinds of dark arts. And as if that wasn’t enough, Seventh Young Lord even found the location of their base! The bases we’d uncovered until now were all minor ones. This one is on an entirely different scale.”
“Khh. As expected. Nothing Seventh Young Lord does is ever ordinary!”

The praise spread from mouth to mouth among the Cult members in no time.
That afternoon, when word came that Soul-Bewildering Forest had been completely secured, the Cult members cheered once again.
The members of the Seven Demonic Houses and the Strategist’s Office who had participated in the operation were praised.

But it did not take long for the mood to change.
At first, it was only the occasional remark slipping into the conversation.

“But wasn’t Seventh Young Lord the one who discovered the base? The Seven Demonic Houses and the Strategist’s Office just piggybacked on his achievement.”
“Now that you mention it, you have a point. What have the Seven Demonic Houses and the Grand Strategist actually done until now?”

More and more was added as time went on.
Voices praising Baek Su-gyeong alone while belittling everyone else grew steadily louder.

It was the same at an inn outside the main base.
A middle-aged Cult member sat alone in one corner, quietly drinking.
He looked so utterly ordinary that anyone who did not deliberately pay attention would overlook him.
His sharp gaze was fixed on one particular spot.

“-That’s why Seventh Young Lord alone is the hope of our Cult! Only a blockhead could refuse to admit it!”
“Exactly! What good are a hundred or a thousand useless husks if none of them can compare to Seventh Young Lord alone?”

A young martial artist was loudly holding court.
Voices of agreement rose from around the inn.

‘That man’s the spy.’

The middle-aged Cult member was certain.
It was not just what the man was saying. The way his gaze swept across the crowd was unusual as well.
Those were not the eyes of someone excited or full of admiration, but of someone judging whether a plan was succeeding.

The middle-aged Cult member snorted softly and addressed him.

“You’re talking without knowing the whole story. It’s true Seventh Young Lord opened the way. But without the strength to support him afterward, the base could never have been secured.”
“Are you accusing me of stirring up discord?”
“When everyone contributed to a success, what else would you call making remarks that deliberately undermine unity?”
“I simply admire Seventh Young Lord-!”

Just as the young man bristled, an elderly voice cut in.

“That’s enough. If we start examining everything one by one, isn’t Seventh Young Lord the suspicious one? How in the world did he meet one of their top executives? And how did he discover the location of their base?”
“Are you questioning Seventh Young Lord right now?”

The middle-aged Cult member, who had just been downplaying Seventh Young Lord’s accomplishments, now came to his defense.

“Questioning him? I’m merely raising a reasonable doubt.”
“Seems you’ve forgotten how the Seven Demonic Houses already made fools of themselves circulating that joint petition.”
“How was that making fools of themselves?”
“The Demon Inquisition Court stepped in and still found nothing, didn’t they? By your logic, I suppose the Court is suspicious too. Sounds to me like you’re eager to get a taste of the Demon Inquisition Court yourself?”
“I-I was only making a point. Who said anything about wanting a taste of the Demon Inquisition Court?”
“If you intend to make an accusation, provide evidence. Trying to tarnish someone who rendered great service with nothing but vague suspicion is disrespectful both to Seventh Young Lord and to every Cult member gathered here.”
“Ahem.”

Having gotten nowhere, the old man pursed his lips but did not speak again.
The surrounding gazes had grown too hostile.

After some time, the murmuring died down.
People began getting up and leaving one by one.
The young martial artist pushed away from his table and rose as well.
He headed toward the inn’s door.

The middle-aged Cult member set down his cup and followed him with his eyes.
The man who had been stoking the fire here was slipping away.

‘…….’

The middle-aged Cult member slowly got up.
He intended to follow the younger man.
The old man had been suspicious too, but he ignored him. He appeared to be affiliated with the Seven Demonic Houses.

‘My mission is to track Heaven Rebelling Society spies.’

“Bah. Ruined the taste of my drink.”

Slurring like a drunk, the middle-aged Cult member slammed the innocent wine bottle onto the table and staggered toward the door.
Unlike his unsteady steps, his eyes were completely sober.

‘Just as Gal So-ye predicted.’

Sitting in the carriage on my way back to Hidden Cloud Pavilion, I clicked my tongue.
Far too many conversations had wormed their way into my ears throughout the day.
My ears had practically been exhausted from sunrise to sunset.
Fortunately, Gal So-ye’s advance measures had blunted the momentum. Otherwise, things could have become troublesome.
Having my reputation rise was a good thing, but in times like these, attracting too much attention was dangerous.
It could invite unnecessary suspicion and give the Seven Demonic Houses an opening to use against me.

“Young Lord, a letter has arrived from the Strategist’s Office.”

The moment I entered Hidden Cloud Pavilion, a maid handed me the letter.
When I opened it, I saw Gal So-ye’s handwriting, which had become quite familiar by now.
The contents were roughly as follows.
Within four hours of Flying Swallow reporting the situation to the Strategist’s Office, an airtight cordon had been established.
Only a small number of Heaven Rebelling Society members left the base. They fought to the death while repeatedly detonating Falling Thunder Powder.
In the end, the base was nearly razed to the ground.
Even so, they had managed to secure several documents amid the chaos and were now analyzing them.
And finally-

‘Still no list of test subjects.’

They probably needed more time to analyze the documents they had recovered.
I would have to wait a little longer before I had anything to tell Im Yeon.

‘Still, they handled it well.’

What made the Heaven Rebelling Society so troublesome was the Falling Thunder Powder.
Gal So-ye knew that too, and apparently prepared accordingly, achieving results without suffering major losses.

I folded the letter and stepped outside.
The Longevity Ten were huddled together in the cramped courtyard, while Ak Mu-jin stood with his arms crossed and his back against the building wall.
His eyes were tightly shut.

“Young Lord.”

The Longevity Ten rose in unison.
I had told them countless times to stop being so stiff and act more comfortably around me, but they still did this.
I asked the one closest to me.

“What’s wrong with Unit Leader Ak?”
“I am not sure. He won’t answer when we ask.”
“Really?”

Come to think of it, he wasn’t wearing his mask.

‘Looks like it hit him hard.’

I would probably have reacted the same way in his place.
He had been pushed back by the strange woman throughout the entire fight.
The Corpse-Body Reinforcement Art he had trusted completely had been pierced, and his arm had been punched through because of it.

“Did it shake you that badly?”

I walked past the Longevity Ten and stopped in front of Ak Mu-jin.
No answer came back.
That itself was an answer.

“You did everything you could, Unit Leader Ak.”

Ak Mu-jin slowly opened his eyes.
His gaze showed no agreement.

“I accomplished nothing.”
“If not for you, we would never have subdued that strange woman.”
“…….”

Ak Mu-jin looked down at his bandaged arm.
The fact that it had been pierced was clearly weighing heavily on him.
He gave a bitter smile.

“The result hardly seems worthy of praise.”
“You didn’t think the Corpse-Body Reinforcement Art was invincible, did you? What happened yesterday was unavoidable.”

I studied Ak Mu-jin for a moment, then continued.

“To be honest, Unit Leader Ak, you’re weak. Technique, martial level, internal energy. None of them can be called top-master caliber. So why do you think you were able to become the Ghost-Face Unit Leader?”
“I…… do not know.”
“Did you rely on a hardened body back then?”
“……!”

Ak Mu-jin’s pupils trembled.
Of course he hadn’t.
That would have been before he learned the Corpse-Body Reinforcement Art.

“Grit, persistence, and the character to bring your men together. I think those were the reasons you became Unit Leader. Don’t you?”

The Ghost-Face Unit’s true strength came not from its leader, but from its members.
The Ghost-Mask Formation they unleashed as one had been an object of terror to outsiders.

“Don’t become obsessed with the Corpse-Body Reinforcement Art.”

It was something I had wanted to tell him for some time.
No one had been happier than me about Ak Mu-jin’s progress with the Corpse-Body Reinforcement Art.
But if he became too fixated on it, I had a responsibility to break him of that mindset.

A hardened body would certainly reduce Ak Mu-jin’s chances of dying by a great deal.
But that alone would never be enough to face the Elder Council Lord.

“So what will you do? Keep brooding over yesterday with that look on your face, or start moving your body?”

Ak Mu-jin clenched his fist.
His gaze had completely changed.

“Good. Starting tomorrow, everyone gather at the new Hidden Cloud Pavilion. I’ll help with your training.”

‘It was about time.’

I had been so busy with my own training that I had barely been able to pay attention to Im Yeon, Ak Mu-jin, and the others.
But I would only need their help more and more from here on, so it seemed best to use this incident as motivation to raise our overall strength.

Everyone agreed.
Only then did I smile in satisfaction.

The next day.
After finishing my training with the Heavenly Demon, I headed straight to the new Hidden Cloud Pavilion.
Until recently, the place had been bustling.
That was because Hidden Cloud Pavilion was being relocated here.
The move was almost complete, but I still couldn’t leave my current residence.

The absolute formation Hwang Seung-jong had installed in my room.
To move it safely, the formation master himself had to handle it.
But wherever the hell he had disappeared to, there was still no sign of him.

‘Just wait until you show your face. I’m going to teach you a lesson.’

Grumbling inwardly, I headed toward the training ground of the new Hidden Cloud Pavilion.
Since the estate had once belonged to the Blood-Siphoning Unit, it was spacious enough to have not only a courtyard but a proper training ground as well.

I soon reached the training ground.
Ak Mu-jin and the Longevity Ten were already standing there drenched in sweat.
After letting them rest for a moment, I lined them up in front of me.

“The core of your group is Unit Leader Ak. When he comes alive, the rest of you come alive with him.”

The Longevity Ten nodded.
Their gazes naturally shifted toward Ak Mu-jin.

“Then whose role is the most important?”
“Ours.”
“Exactly. Every one of you in the Longevity Ten needs to pull more than your own weight. Do you know what you need most urgently?”

They looked at me questioningly.

“You’ll find out soon enough.”

I spoke with a meaningful smile.
The foundation of all martial arts was the body.
I intended to introduce them to the physical training the Heavenly Demon had practically tortured me with.

‘Let’s have them do about half of what I went through. No, a quarter should be enough.’

“All right. Let’s begin training.”

Several days had passed since Ak Mu-jin and the Longevity Ten began their hellish training.
A man appeared before the main gate of the new Hidden Cloud Pavilion.

He looked terrible.
His long robe was torn to rags in several places, while the exposed skin beneath was covered in a mixture of frostbite and lacerations.
His lips were cracked and crusted with dried blood, and the bare arm exposed by one torn sleeve was covered in scars.

The man murmured in admiration.

“So this is the place!”

He had gone to Hidden Cloud Pavilion first.
But he had been told everyone was at the intended relocation site, so he had come here instead.

It felt strange.
To think they had nearly moved the entire residence while he had been away for a few months.

The man, Hwang Seung-jong, discreetly checked inside his robe.
Only after confirming that the carefully wrapped object was still safely in place did he start walking again.

“They don’t even have guards yet.”

Muttering to himself, he went inside.
He headed toward the source of the noise.

In a wide space that looked like a training ground, however, a strange sight was unfolding.
The Longevity Ten had surrounded Ak Mu-jin and were beating the hell out of him!

‘……What’s going on?’

A question formed in his mind.
But it disappeared just as quickly.
There was probably some reason Ak Mu-jin was getting beaten up.

‘If I don’t jump into something fun, I’m not Hwang Seung-jong!’

Hwang Seung-jong broke into a sprint.
Dadadada.

“Yaaat!”

He leaped into the air and kicked Ak Mu-jin in the side.
But then,

Ttaang!

“Ugh.”

Hwang Seung-jong tumbled across the ground with his ankle twisted. That was the result of striking the Corpse-Body Reinforcement Art without any preparation.

“Ow, my foot……!”

Hwang Seung-jong rolled around clutching his foot.
The training stopped.
Dozens of pairs of eyes turned at once toward the beggar rolling on the ground.
An awkward silence descended over the training ground.

“Well, well. Is that Hwang Seung-jong?”

A familiar voice came from behind him.
Still clutching his foot, Hwang Seung-jong turned his head.
Baek Su-gyeong was walking over from one side of the training ground.
With an utterly unimpressed expression.

“Seventh Young Lord! You doing well?”
“What the hell are you doing the moment you get here?”
“Well, everyone was beating up Unit Leader Ak, so I just went with the flow. But what happened to his body? I think I twisted my ankle.”

He looked pathetic as he got up limping.
Baek Su-gyeong silently looked him up and down.

“Tsk, tsk. You came back looking like a complete beggar. Where the hell have you been?”
“Hehe. You’ll probably be shocked when you hear.”
“I’m already holding myself back from giving you a shock of my own, so quit stalling and tell me now.”

Baek Su-gyeong drew his cold-iron dagger from his waist.
Hwang Seung-jong swallowed hard and answered.

“T-the Ice-Soul Demonic Realm.”
“What kind of nonsense is that? Have you lost your mind? Forget it. You need a beating first. Do you have any idea how many days we’ve been stuck waiting because we couldn’t move without you?”

The mood was becoming dangerous.
Hwang Seung-jong quickly shouted,

“Wait!”

Hwang Seung-jong reached inside the torn front of his robe.
He carefully pulled out a bundle wrapped in layer after layer of cloth.

“I brought something valuable for you, Seventh Young Lord.”
“Something valuable?”

Hwang Seung-jong carefully unfolded the cloth.
Inside was a bundle of thin, translucent thread.
It gleamed with a frost-cold light.

“Heaven Silkworm silk……!”

A treasure among treasures, far beyond merely precious.
Baek Su-gyeong blinked.
Watching him, Hwang Seung-jong confidently raised his chin.