Extra 8 |
Fwoom.
The flames soared in an instant.
A fire spread across the entire Black Tooth Gate, devouring it in bright red flights.
Fwoom.
Whoosh, kuakua-duang.
The signboard of the Black Tooth Gate, as well as the pillars of the main hall, turned to ashes. The front door collapsed with a loud noise.
The fire spread at an unbelievably fast speed.
That was only normal.
Because it was not an ordinary fire devouring the Black Tooth Gate, but the Divine Flame, symbol of the Heavenly Demon.
At that moment, the flames eating away at the Black Tooth Gate parted.
A path through which people could walk through appeared, and two people walked out.
A man about six feet tall and in his mid-twenties.
A girl about ten years old beside him.
Naturally, the two were Woon-seong and Yu-seol.
Woon-seong used the Divine Flame to burn down the Black Tooth Gate, then opened a path and led them outside.
Hwak.
As she and Woon-seong walked out, Yu-seol blinked her eyes. She then turned to Woon-seong, holding his hand. “Why did you do that?”
“Do you think it was overboard?”
“…?”
At Woon-seong’s question, Yu-seol lifted her head to meet his eyes.
“There was no need to kill, no need to burn the sect to the ground. Do you think this way?”
Yu-seol pondered for a moment, then shook her head. “No.”
Unlike her lively expressions from before, Yu-seol responded in a serious voice, making it hard to believe that she was still just a child: “Because the man was impersonating someone from the Cult of the Heavenly Demon.”
“……”
Yu-seol continued: “Even though he was not using the entire Cult, a Demonic Master is one of the most important people in the Cult after the Leader.”
The Ten Demonic Masters were the highest ranking members of the Cult, just below the Cult Leader in the Cult of the Heavenly Demon. Of course, there were certain people who were exceptions to that.
In fact, Ah-young, the Divine Lady and wife of Woon-seong, held the same position as the Demonic Masters.
“To use such people is basically no different from insulting the entire Cult of the Heavenly Demon.”
Yu-seol concluded, “They got what they deserved.”
When Yu-seol finished her thoughts, the corners of Woon-seong’s mouth curved into a smile.
Ah-young did a good job teaching her.
It was Ah-young who had given Yu-seol an overall lesson about the Cult of the Heavenly Demon.
Even though he was the head of the Cult, Woon-seong allowed Ah-young to do it because he thought that she would do a better job. Technically, he could be considered an outsider.
The result was better than expected.
Woon-seong reached out and ruffled Yu-seol’s hair.
After that, Woon-seong and Yu-seol’s journey through Murim went smoothly.
After leaving Xinjiang, they occasionally met bandits from the Green Forest while crossing the mountains, but they were no match for Woon-seong.
No, don’t talk about being an opponent for Woon-seong, they weren’t even able to even match Yu-seol.
However, it was enough for Yu-seol to gain first hand experience of Murim.
In this way, as expected, Yu-seol began to steadily accumulate experience without problems.
A fortnight after that, the two passed through the Jade Gate and walked towards the city of Hezuo.
*
Beyond the Jade Gate was the province of Gansu.
Hezuo was one of the numerous cities located inside Gansu Province. It was located not far from Lanzhou, which was the capital city of Gansu Province, and was thus visited by many people coming to Gansu from the Sichuan or Qinghai provinces.
That was Hezuo.
But for Woon-seong, Hezuo had a completely different meaning.
The Spear Master Sect’s secret vault is here.
That was why he was here today.
The last place on their Murim journey was to be Hezuo, since he needed to stop by the Spear Master Sect’s secret vault, which could be done concurrently with Yu-seol’s trip through Murim.
Click-
When he closed the door of the guest house and walked out, he could feel a cool breeze blowing.
In the wind, Woon-seong looked up at the sky.
In the dark night, the stars shone brightly as they floated in the sky.
The sky of Hezuo…
It had been ten years since his last visit here.
It was said that ten years was enough time for even rivers and mountains to change.
The last time I came, I was able to find some traces of the past.
Another decade later, the appearance of the city of Hezuo was completely different from when Woon-seong had visited with his master in the past.
I can’t help that the world is changing.
That did not mean he felt regret.
Nor did the change in Hezuo mean that the memories he had with his master would change or fade.
Woon-seong, who collected his thoughts, took hurried steps.
As he rushed across the rooftops, Woon-seong flew through the night like a bird.
Yu-seol was left to rest in the inn.
It couldn’t be helped.
The place Woon-seong was heading towards now was the secret vault of the Spear Master Sect.
Cheon Yu-seol was to inherit the Cult of the Heavenly Demon, not the Spear Master Sect.
Of course, that did not mean no one would learn the techniques Woon-seong had created. Kang So-san would be the inheritor of the Spear Master Sect.
Hwaak-
Woon-seong’s pace seemed slow, but he covered dozens of meters with just one step.
Then, in an instant, he was outside of Hezuo.
His footsteps slowed to a stop in front of the dilapidated shrine to Lord Guan Yu on the outskirts of the city.
Shrine to Lord Guan Yu.
A place where Lord Guan Yu, the Martial God of Loyalty and Righteousness, was enshrined.
Right here was the secret vault of the Spear Master Sect.
With practiced ease, Woon-seong approached the status of Guan Yu located inside the shrine. He then lightly tapped something on the outstretched hands of the statue.
Light and regulated tapping.
Click, click, click.
A few subtle sounds were heard from inside of the shrine. A cog seemed to have turned and the first step to entering the vault had been completed.
And…
Kwa-rung-
When he stretched out a hand and pushed the statue, the gigantic statue was pushed to the side, revealing a passage behind which a person could barely fit.
That was the second.
Woon-seong flew inside without hesitation, and soon after…
Rumble-
As if recognising that someone had entered, the statue of Guan Yu made a loud rumble and returned to its original position.
**
The statue of Lord Guan was only the first gateway to enter the secret vault of the Spear Master Sect.
After that, two more gateways welcomed Woon-seong.
An iron gate, the Nine Hundred Bamboos Illusion, and other sophisticated machinery.
Same as ten years ago, Woon-seong naturally passed through them all.
He then reached the inside of the vault.
Rumble-
When he opened the door to the vault, the smell of old books wafted from the inside.
It was not comparable to the vaults of the Shaolin Temple or the Demonic Cult, but it contained all of the martial knowledge of the Spear Master Sect.
The legacy of the Spear Master Sect…
Woon-seong approached one of the bookshelves there.
He then took a few things from his sleeves and put them on top.
The first was a bejeweled jade knife.
The fifth piece of jade on the knife was black in color.
The seat as owner of the Fifth Jade Knife and Fifth Master of the Justice Alliance, as well the position of leader of the Spear Master Sect, would be passed on to Kang So-san, who would one day arrive here.
It was not a suitable position for me.
Even if Woon-seong had no intention to lose his humanity, he also had no intention of becoming some chivalrous hero. Thus, he was not suited to being the master of the Fifth Jade Knife of the Justice Blood Sect, which was said to protect the righteous spirit of Murim.
Thinking about it now, it brought laughter to his heart.
Woon-seong grinned and placed down the next item.
This time, oddly enough, he placed it at the very bottom of the bookshelf.
Kuung—
There was a dull ringing and the entire wall and floor on which the bookshelves had been lined up seemed to sink slightly.
What Woon-seong had placed down was the heaviest iron ring he had worn in the past.
Of course, he did not put down all four of them. Woon-seong had only brought one with him.
Nevertheless, it had been worn by Woon-seong in the Semi-Divine Realm, before he ascended into the Divine Realm. The weight was quite something.
Woon-seong, who placed down the iron ring like that, smiled bitterly this time. How stubborn and headstrong I was then.
It was true that physical training was important, even for masters who had reached the highest level.
In Murim, just because you had a lot of internal qi did not mean that you could be the best in the world. If someone’s martial arts revolved around a divine sword, then his body must be molded in order to handle that sword.
Even if two people were wielding identical swords, the one with more skill was bound to win.
Nevertheless, the existence of the iron rings had been the result of Woon-seong’s stubborn and selfish wishes.
Master…
They were the physical manifestation of his tenacity to avenge his masters. A weight representing his sense of guilt that he had done nothing at the time, even though his master had died and his enemies were still alive.
All of these were expressed through the iron rings.
Of course, I didn’t know that at the time.
It was only after all of the revenge had ended that he realized this truth.
Master...
Woon-seong, who placed down the iron ring, turned his head.
Then, he stood facing the bookshelf used by his teacher, not his own.
Perhaps, he was still speaking to himself though.
“I will leave all my foolishness, stubbornness, and ego here.”
Now that he had finished his revenge, he would throw away all the emotions he had at that time.
And the third and final item.
His martial techniques.
One Thousand Absolute Routes.
The technique that Woon-seong had created and the very secret of martial arts that had allowed him to enter the Divine Realm, the completion of the Heaven-Breaking Martial Ultimate.
Kang So-san, who would one day arrive here, would find this secret.
And you will learn the true One Thousand Absolute Routes.
Thinking about that, Woon-seong smiled brightly.
That was all he had to do in the secret vault, so Woon-seong turned around and walked towards the exit.
But a moment later…
Chuck-
As he was about to leave, Woon-seong stopped.
He then turned his head once more and looked at the secret vault of the Spear Master Sect.
Although traces of his predecessors remained everywhere, the most powerful of them was the one left by his master, Nok Yu-on.
Master…
It was he who took Woon-seong in as a disciple, saving him from death as an orphan on the street.
It was he who taught Woon-seong martial arts and who made it possible for Woon-seong to grow into a man of Murim.
The same could be said of the Moon Cleaving Heavenly Demon, but Woon-seong wouldn’t be here today without Nok Yu-on.
So, Woon-seong bowed to him once again.
Towards the remnants of his master, left in this secret vault.
Once. Twice. Three times…
A total of nine times.
A disciple’s courtesy to his master.
The ceremony of Nine Bows.
Once that had been performed, he repeated once again:
“I am going to leave it all here.”
Like leaving the iron ring.
Vengeance, venom and hatred…
He was going to leave all those things behind.
Woon-seong offered a full kowtow and declared:
“Now that I’ve finished everything, I’m going to live my life.”
As Hyuk Woon-seong.
As the leader of the Cult of the Heavenly Demon.
As the husband of a woman.
As the father of a child.
After finishing his thoughts and setting down his weights, Woon-seong turned around and exited the vault.
In the stillness of the vault, from which Woon-seong had walked out, only his last words were left behind.
“In the meantime, thank you for everything.”
— END —
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