"Are you all better?"
"Well, I have no trouble moving."
"Then let's go."
"Are we finally going ho now?"
"No, Chongqing."
Neung-heo's expression crumpled. His gaze turned to Gwak Cheon-hu, who was next to him. A sharp voice ca out.
"It's you, isn't it? You're the one who enticed him to go to Chongqing, right?"
Gwak Cheon-hu pointed at Cheon Mubaeck as if he were dumbfounded.
"Is this person soone who would go just because I enticed him?"
"That's true. My lord, why Chongqing?"
"A connection with the Blood Ghost Valley has been found."
"Don't tell those strange guys who annihilated a sect by themselves are that Blood Ghost Valley..."
"There's a high probability that they're related."
"Damn it. Are those guys spread all over the Central Plains?"
"They might be."
Looking at Cheon Mubaeck, who answered calmly, Neung-heo felt a creeping sense of foreboding crawl up his skin.
'These Blood Ghost Valley bastards...'
Following Henan, Shaanxi, and then Anhui and Chongqing.
Looking at the map of the Central Plains, their range of activity was extrely wide.
"Are these guys a single force?"
At Neung-heo's question, Cheon Mubaeck opened his eyes wide as if he were surprised.
"Neung-heo. For the first ti, I don't regret bringing you along."
"Shit. You can see it at a glance. Huh? Even the Nine Great Sects and the Five Great Families only have influence in the province where they are located. But to be active across provinces like this..."
"If it's a single force, it's an absurd level."
"If so, does that an it's enormous?"
"Right."
Cheon Mubaeck looked down at the map of the Central Plains.
Traces and connections of the Blood Ghost Valley had been found in as many as four provinces.
For a single organization to cause incidents across four provinces was not an easy thing, considering the vast Central Plains.
Of course, it was not entirely impossible.
Because in the martial world, nurous groups that had wielded influence over the entire Central Plains like this had appeared from ti to ti.
"It makes sense if it's a cell organization."
"A cell organization..."
Cheon Mubaeck pointed to the provinces where traces of the Blood Ghost Valley had been found one by one.
"They're all unrelated."
The guys who had attacked Shaolin in Henan, and the incidents that had caused a bloodbath in Anhui and Chongqing.
They were not closely related incidents. To the point where they would look like separate incidents if one did not know about the Blood Ghost Valley.
"There's a high probability that it's this. If they're divided into cell organizations to the point where even the mbers of the sa organization might not know each other, except for a few high-ranking officials, then they can be active over a wide area."
"Eum."
"If so, it won't be easy for us to track them either."
"...Then these guys called the Blood Ghost Valley. What's their purpose?"
Gwak Cheon-hu narrowed his brow and interrupted.
Cheon Mubaeck flinched for a mont and then shook his head.
"I don't know."
"..."
Cheon Mubaeck narrowed his eyes as if he didn't like it.
"There's no consistency. The fact that they spread the plague using the Blood Demon Sect. The fact that they annihilated the sects in Chongqing and Anhui. The fact that they attacked Shaolin. The fact that they stole Shaolin's offerings... Eum?"
In an instant, Cheon Mubaeck stopped talking.
He had discovered an unexpected point in the thought that had flashed through his mind.
How much ti had passed?
Cheon Mubaeck, who had been lost in thought for a long ti, smirked and got up from his seat.
"Get ready."
"Did you find sothing out?"
"I'll have to check first. But still, the guys who caused the incident in Chongqing. There's a high probability that they're the guys from the Blood Ghost Valley."
Neung-heo tilted his head.
Because it was a voice that was almost full of conviction.
Although he did not know what blind spot he had discovered, if Cheon Mubaeck's expression was that confident, it was practically a sure thing.
When Cheon Mubaeck got up from his seat, Neung-heo was startled and asked.
"What is it? Are you going already?"
"No. I have sothing to do."
"Sothing to do?"
"I'll be back from Zhongnan."
"...What other trouble are you going to cause?"
"Trouble, I'm just going to have a little talk."
Cheon Mubaeck turned and went out.
Neung-heo, for so reason, sighed, thinking that sothing was going to happen again.
'Shit. I'll have to run away to Chongqing quickly.'
* * *
'It was beautiful.'
Jeon-hyeon sat cross-legged and was lost in thought.
In his mind, a single mory was constantly replaying.
'The Heavenly Dragon Sword Hero.'
The duel with Cheon Mubaeck at the duel stage a few days ago.
All the process, movent, and result of that ti.
It did not disappear from his mind. On the contrary, the more ti passed, the more the mory beca clearer.
At first, it was just painful.
'It was a brutal defeat.'
It was the most humiliating and terrible defeat in his entire life.
Although he had joined hands with the Plum Blossom One Sword, Gukbo, and had even launched a joint attack, the result was disastrous.
A complete defeat.
The rumor had already spread throughout the Shaanxi martial world.
-The Heavenly Dragon Sword Hero has defeated the Zhongnan Wind Sword and the Plum Blossom One Sword!
-Even though they joined hands, they could not defeat the Heavenly Dragon Sword Hero!
A large crowd had gathered for the duel that day. The rumor had spread in an instant.
Even without that, the reputation of the Heavenly Dragon Sword Hero had been soaring.
On top of that, when the result of the duel was delivered, the Heavenly Dragon Sword Hero had stood tall as the most famous person in Shaanxi.
Would it be just Shaanxi?
The rumor was spreading to the nearby provinces.
Already, the Nine Great Sects and the Five Great Families were talking about the na Cheon Mubaeck.
Because the appearance of a master they had not expected at all was truly shocking.
Moreover, there were even talks of whether he was worthy of being listed among the hundred great masters.
'The hundred great masters...'
Jeon-hyeon let out a hollow laugh without even realizing it.
The hundred great masters.
A na he had not been able to obtain even while being an elder of Zhongnan.
Of course, the hundred great masters was not an exact ranking. But the fact that there were talks of whether his na was on it or not was enough to confirm Cheon Mubaeck's reputation in the Central Plains.
And when he recalled that his age was not even twenty.
So he was frustrated.
The afterimage that beca clearer the more he tried to shake it off from his mind.
The red fla that poured from Cheon Mubaeck's sword and the cruelly beautiful plum blossoms.
The sword that flashed in the midst of it, every ti he recalled it, Jeon-hyeon's body trembled.
But as ti passed, the more he replayed it, Jeon-hyeon felt a sense of wonder rather than fear and frustration.
'How can a sword be so beautiful?'
A sword should be powerful and hegemonic.
It should draw out the maximum power it can exert.
'A sword is a ans.'
It is a ans to beco strong.
He had learned that way, he had felt that way, and he had wielded his sword that way.
The hegemonic path.
He had thought that was the only secret for Zhongnan to surpass Mount Hua in Shaanxi and to stand tall.
But Cheon Mubaeck's sword...
'It was beautiful. Truly.'
It was stuck in his mind like a fire seal.
The movent, the gait, the hand gestures, the sword path of that ti.
All of it, beca clear in his mind.
Jeon-hyeon's blank gaze turned from the sky to the front.
'I also, want to draw a beautiful sword.'
A pure desire stirred.
It was not the original desire to stand on top of people by standing tall with a sword.
Just a simple desire to imitate the beautiful sword he had seen, even a little.
The focus returned to his blurry eyes.
'Cheon Mubaeck...'
He was walking. A strong light burned in his focused pupils.
* * *
"What, you want to have a match?"
As soon as he reached the pavilion where Zhongnan was staying, Jeon-hyeon blocked his path.
But Cheon Mubaeck tilted his head at Jeon-hyeon's pupils.
'Look at this.'
Cheon Mubaeck knew those kinds of eyes well.
'Did he realize sothing in the anti?'
It was the eyes of when one was on the verge of enlightennt. It was also the most dangerous mont, and it was also a mont to advance one step further if one overca it.
'He'll be one step ahead of Gukbo.'
Although Gukbo had also learned sothing from this duel, it was not a dramatic enlightennt.
On the contrary, his montum had been completely crushed, as if he had felt a sense of frustration.
On the other hand, Jeon-hyeon's eyes were completely different.
'Is it an innate desire?'
A disposition that pursues the hegemonic path.
If that desire is expressed in a good way, it can also bring about such a rapid developnt.
"What brings you here, young hero?"
Jeon-hyeon's tone was quite polite, unlike before.
Cheon Mubaeck turned his head slightly and looked at the pavilion.
"Is the great elder here?"
"My master is in his quarters."
"Yes, I ca to see that person."
"..."
Jeon-hyeon looked at Cheon Mubaeck for a mont and then said.
"Young hero."
"What."
"Be careful of Elder Dan-hu."
"..."
"My master and Elder Dan-hu... have not given up on the Primordial Root Scripture. I heard that you will be leaving Mount Hua soon. Be careful at that ti."
Cheon Mubaeck stared at Jeon-hyeon.
"Why are you telling that?"
"...I don't know. Just, I feel like I should."
"Are you betraying the will of your sect?"
It was a sight that could not be imagined from the Jeon-hyeon who had been backed by the prestige of the Zhongnan Sect just a few days ago.
Jeon-hyeon shook his head with a bitter face.
"To achieve a result, one does not choose the ans. Although that was the will of Zhongnan, I feel that it is wrong now."
"Is that all?"
Cheon Mubaeck grinned.
Jeon-hyeon flinched for a mont. The mont he t Cheon Mubaeck's nonchalant gaze, he felt as if he were standing in front of him, completely naked.
That's how much Cheon Mubaeck's gaze seed to see through him.
"Isn't it that you're trying to put in your debt?"
"Such..."
Cheon Mubaeck smirked.
"Although Mount Hua is also secular, Zhongnan is more suitable for a secular sect than a Taoist sect. They're calculating in whatever they do. Aren't you trying to put in your debt and then ask for sothing later?"
Jeon-hyeon could not answer.
A sense of sha washed over him. His face turned red.
Complete goodwill? Where would there be such a thing? Of course, it was true that he had so goodwill. But he could not deny Cheon Mubaeck's words.
Soon, Jeon-hyeon shook off his sha and said calmly.
"That's right. My master and Elder Dan-hu are thinking wrong. Even if the Primordial Root Scripture is important, is it more important than the relationship with you?"
Jeon-hyeon's eyes sparkled.
Jeon-hyeon, who dread of becoming a great elder after being an elder, and then the future sect leader.
His judgnt was sharp.
'At an age not even twenty, this much martial prowess. A genius who will beco the number one in the world in ten, twenty years.'
Jeon-hyeon had abandoned his jealousy.
No, he had no choice but to abandon it. Jealousy and envy arise only when there is a certain difference.
Jeon-hyeon had keenly felt it with his body. The gap that he could not win even if he cooperated with Gukbo.
That was not just a simple gap, but it was as if there were a wall between them.
The Primordial Root Scripture?
'It's important. But.'
Is it important enough to make an enemy of the future number one master in the world?
Jeon-hyeon had his doubts.
His master was also a great person. Although his likes and dislikes were divided, he was undoubtedly a great martial artist. Even if Elder Dan-hu was venting his anger at Cheon Mubaeck, who had ruined his disciple, it was hard to understand why Zhong Li-hong was doing so.
'It ans the Primordial Root Scripture is that important.'
But Jeon-hyeon shook his head.
The master is the older generation.
On the other hand, he is the next generation.
In other words, it ant that he was the generation that would walk the martial world in the generation when Cheon Mubaeck would beco the number one master in the world.
When he beca the sect leader of Zhongnan, what if he t Cheon Mubaeck as an enemy?
'What a terrible thing.'
So Jeon-hyeon had personally sought to improve his relationship with Cheon Mubaeck.
Cheon Mubaeck had also read such thoughts of Jeon-hyeon.
'Good judgnt.'
Although his desire was still stirring, if it was expressed in a good way.
'Whether it's the Blood Ghost Valley or not, it will be helpful at any ti.'
Cheon Mubae-ck just smiled at such intentions of Jeon-hyeon.
"I'll take the advice gratefully."
"You must be careful. Elder Dan-hu is a master of martial arts as strong as Cheonghyeonjin. Even you..."
"So I ca now."
At Cheon Mubaeck's nonchalant answer, Jeon-hyeon flinched for a mont.
And soon his gaze turned to Cheon Mubaeck's waist.
A real sword with a flashy decoration.
"Before you get hit, you have to strike first."
Cheon Mubaeck smiled eerily.
(End of Chapter)
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