Chapter 302

“Master Gong! I, Go Sangjong of the Danakpaebu, pledge my utmost loyalty from now on! Please accept me as one of your men!”

“Master Gong! Though our Yeodeung Samgeom may lack compared to your followers, if you give us a chance, we will serve you with all our might!”

After the departure of the Overlord Goigalhyeon, an unexpected flood of loyalty pledges poured out from the hill below.

These were the former subordinates of Goijeonggi and Goihanggi, now swearing allegiance to Seolpung.

As soon as the Overlord left, they rushed to Seolpung, dropping to their knees and begging to be accepted.

Their intention was clear: to replace the Go brothers, who had been eliminated as successors, and to make Seolpung their new master, the leading candidate for the throne.

Among them was Hongchu, the White Bone Ghost Demon, once a fierce rival of Jeungchil.

Jeungchil clicked his tongue upon seeing Hongchu kneel before Seolpung and muttered under his breath, “Tsk, tsk. Those who tossed aside their former master like trash now offer loyalty? What are they, some kind of Lu Bu? Do they have three fathers or something?”

Though he muttered quietly, no expert present failed to hear him.

In fact, it seemed he intended for them to hear.

The warriors kneeling before Seolpung coughed awkwardly, clearly uncomfortable.

“Hmm, hmm.”

Among them, Hongchu, Jeungchil’s rival, lifted his head and glared daggers at Jeungchil.

Jeungchil responded with a mocking tone.

“Oh? Giving me the stink eye? And what if I do? You do realize that Seolpung, whom you want as your master, is my sworn brother, right? Wait a minute. If you become his subordinate, doesn’t that make you mine too? Isn’t that right, White Bone?”

Hongchu’s face flushed red.

Though anger boiled within, he dared not reply.

Jeungchil, amused, continued to tease him.

“What’s the matter? Getting mad? Too dirty to handle? Heh heh heh! If it’s too dirty, quit! Give up and be free! Just admit defeat and fight me again, huh?”

Hongchu’s face was now a blazing red, on the verge of exploding.

It looked like he might actually quit at any moment.

Just as Jeungchil, feeling playful, was about to push him further, Seolpung smiled awkwardly and intervened.

“Brother Jeungchil, please stop. Mr. Hong’s patience shows his sincerity. I believe he will be a great help to me going forward.”

Hongchu’s expression instantly shifted from anger to one of deep gratitude.

He bowed so low his head nearly touched the ground and shouted,

“Thank you, Master Gong! At last, I feel I have found my true master! I, Hongchu, will devote myself entirely and serve you with unwavering loyalty!”

Watching this, Jeungchil glanced at the skull necklace hanging around Hongchu’s neck and muttered again.

“‘Devote myself entirely,’ huh? Breaking bones? You mean just the bones on that necklace, right?”

But Hongchu no longer responded, not even turning his head as if he couldn’t hear him.

Jeungchil honestly thought such men shouldn’t be accepted.

Once a traitor, always a traitor, wasn’t that so?

Just as he was about to pick a fight with Hongchu again, a message came from Seolpung.

— Brother, I know you’re displeased, but please bear with it a little longer. Even Jin advised me to accept all sorts of people for now to strengthen our forces. Besides, isn’t the Overlord’s Alliance a place designed to gather and manage the scoundrels anyway?

The youngest brother had advised this?

Hearing that, Jeungchil decided not to stir up trouble anymore.

Following the youngest, Sun Woojin’s advice had become his top priority.

Losing interest, Jeungchil turned his gaze elsewhere.

To the side where the ears of Baek Girang and the Three-Point Divine Spear, Gam Jak-hyung, stood.

They were high-level warriors who, despite their status, refused to kneel before Seolpung, standing aloof on the outskirts with an air of superiority.

Jeungchil thought to himself,

“Such pretentiousness.”

If they had no intention of joining Seolpung’s ranks, they wouldn’t have stayed here this long.

So they must want to join but are making a show of demanding to be approached first, as if to say, “We’re different from the others.”

From Jeungchil’s perspective, it was utterly ridiculous.

Though he had learned this from Sun Woojin’s subtle hints, it was still laughable.

“Look at them. If you’re going to act all high and mighty, at least hold out through the three visits. Why give in so easily? Bah!”

Baek Girang was just finishing a conversation with Sun Woojin, who had approached him earlier.

But soon after, as the talk went well, Sun Woojin looked toward Seolpung, who then approached him.

Baek Girang immediately dropped to his knees and pledged loyalty.

Jeungchil thought it was like some staged opera.

“Not even a setup, and yet so theatrical.”

He shifted his gaze back to Sun Woojin.

His clever younger brother was now approaching Gam Jak-hyung, one of the Thirty-Six Stars of the World.

Jeungchil’s curiosity piqued.

Would this Gam Jak-hyung, who was not even a former subordinate of Goihanggi and ranked among the Thirty-Six Stars, really swear loyalty to Seolpung?

It seemed unlikely.

But then again, if he had no intention, why was he still here?

He could have left long ago.

“Hmm, I’m curious.”

Intrigued, Jeungchil quietly moved closer to eavesdrop.

“Let’s see.”

As he crept nearer, he caught Gam Jak-hyung’s voice.

“I want to settle the unfinished match with the young hero. Now that things have changed, we can have a much fairer fight.”

He wants to fight the youngest?

Jeungchil’s interest surged.

For martial artists, the best spectacle is always a fight.

As he watched intently, he noticed Sun Woojin smile faintly without replying.

Seeing that smile, Jeungchil narrowed his eyes.

“That smile…”

Jeungchil knew that smile well.

It was the sly grin Sun Woojin wore when bluffing.

It seemed the clever youngest brother was planning to trick Gam Jak-hyung.

Jeungchil’s eyes gleamed with renewed interest as he continued to watch.

Sun Woojin shook his head and replied,

“The match is already decided… Sorry, but I think you see it differently. I clearly told you last time I spared your life and urged you to value it. The match was already over then, Master Gam.”

Hearing this, Gam Jak-hyung snapped back angrily,

“That’s just your claim! How can you prove it when I’m still perfectly fine? Let’s fight again! For real this time! Until there’s a clear winner!”

Sun Woojin stared at him for a moment, then shook his head firmly.

“No.”

“What?!”

“There’s no reason to fight someone I’ve already beaten. It’s a hassle. Why should I do that?”

Sun Woojin looked genuinely annoyed.

Gam Jak-hyung, known for his hot temper, flushed red and purple.

“How dare you say it’s a hassle to me?!”

Jeungchil gasped.

“Oh!”

It seemed he was about to lose his temper and take action.

The fight was about to begin.

But contrary to Jeungchil’s expectations, the fight didn’t start.

Sun Woojin smirked and threw out a remark.

“‘How dare you?’ What, do you think you’re some kind of Overlord?”

“What? What?”

At the mention of the Overlord, Gam Jak-hyung startled and instinctively looked around.

The overwhelming power of the Overlord he had witnessed earlier was deeply etched in his mind.

Sun Woojin pressed on without giving him a chance.

“And what meaning would it have if I beat you? You’d just come back and claim you never lost, wouldn’t you?”

“No, I never actually lost…!”

Gam Jak-hyung protested with a look of injustice.

Sun Woojin sighed, clearly annoyed but resigned, and said,

“Fine, then let’s do this.”

Gam Jak-hyung’s eyes widened.

“Huh? What do you mean?”

Sun Woojin crossed his arms and sighed again, looking utterly bothered but resigned.

“I have no reason to fight you, Master Gam. Do you accept that?”

Gam Jak-hyung’s expression faltered slightly.

“Well, I suppose…”

Sun Woojin offered a compromise, as if granting a favor.

“Then let’s create a reason to fight.”

“A reason to fight? You mean make one? How?”

Gam Jak-hyung’s eyes were wide with curiosity.

Jeungchil clicked his tongue in disbelief.

“Tsk, tsk. To think a Thirty-Six Star would be so naive.”

Though Jeungchil wasn’t much different himself, he hadn’t considered that.

Self-reflection was always difficult.

Sun Woojin pondered briefly, then asked Gam Jak-hyung,

“Hmm… If you lose again this time, what will you do for me?”

Gam Jak-hyung answered with a look of grievance.

“No, I never actually lost…”

But Sun Woo-jin wasn’t listening to him.

He cut off Gam Jak-hyung mid-sentence and immediately continued.

“Here’s what we’ll do. If you lose to me again this time, you’ll work for me for a year. How about that?”

Hearing this, Gam Jak-hyung blinked in surprise and asked back.

“Huh? For a whole year?”

“Yes. If there’s no benefit in it, why would I bother challenging you again, Gam Daehyup?”

Gam Jak-hyung fell silent for a moment, lost in thought.

“A year, huh…”

That didn’t sound so bad. Even if he lost, a year wasn’t that long.

What could possibly happen in just one year?

With that in mind, he finally nodded.

“Well, a year’s not too much.”

Just as he nodded, before he could even finish speaking, Sun Woo-jin’s eyes flashed sharply and he grinned, sealing the deal.

“Good. You’re straightforward, just as I thought. Shall we start the duel right away?”

At that, the chill that had briefly crept over Gam Jak-hyung’s face vanished, replaced by a bright smile.

“Now?! Fine! Let’s fight for real this time!”

Zheng Chil shook his head and clicked his tongue at the sight.

“Tsk, tsk. Should’ve asked what he plans to do during that year.”

From what Zheng Chil knew, Sun Woo-jin and Seol Poong intended to settle things with the Blood Sect right after finishing their business at the Sa-wang-ryeon.

So that year for Gam Jak-hyung would almost certainly be spent preparing for that deadly showdown.

A year leading up to a life-or-death battle with the Blood Sect.

It was pitiful to think that he was so casually entrusting his life to Sun Woo-jin, risking death for that one year.

Couldn’t he just beat Sun Woo-jin?

Of course, that was the idea.

But Zheng Chil didn’t think that would ever happen.

Though it wasn’t widely known, Sun Woo-jin—the youngest brother—had defeated Jin Tae-do, the Haenamma Sword, who ranked among the top thirty-six stars of the world.

There was no way Gam Jak-hyung, who ranked near the bottom of those thirty-six stars, could beat such a younger brother.

Suddenly, Zheng Chil pictured Gam Jak-hyung fighting fiercely against the Blood Sect and dying a heroic death.

But after that thought, he shook his head.

“Well, it’s none of my business.”

Now he understood why Sun Woo-jin had said to gather all the bad guys without discrimination.

“The youngest brother’s words are always right.”

Nodding to himself with a gleam of interest, Zheng Chil settled in to watch the duel between Gam Jak-hyung and Sun Woo-jin.

---

Yunnan Province.

Midway up Jeomchang Mountain.

Blood Demon Jeon Mu-gwang stared coldly at the young girl held in his hand.

The girl’s blood vessels were sealed, leaving her unable to move or speak. Her eyes were filled with pure terror, silently pleading for her life.

After a moment, the Blood Demon carelessly plunged his hand into her chest.

Thud!

“!”

In an instant, the light in the child’s wide eyes faded rapidly.

The Blood Demon ripped the heart from her chest and slowly squeezed it.

Squish!

The heart crushed, blood and flesh dripping down onto the naked woman lying on the altar.

He looked at the woman sprawled there.

Despite being smeared with blood and bits of heart, her naked form radiated a seductive beauty.

This was Hae Cheong-yeon, daughter of the Sword Saint, whom the Blood Demon acknowledged as the most beautiful woman in the world.

Gazing at her body, as if sculpted by gods or demons, he swallowed hard.

Gulp.

“Too beautiful.”

Since ascending to the pinnacle of martial arts, the Blood Demon had never lost his composure over a woman.

But when he last lifted her hair and looked into those deep, dark blue eyes, he couldn’t suppress his lust.

He almost violated her.

But in the end, he didn’t.

Or rather, he couldn’t.

What stopped him was Hae Cheong-yeon’s laughter.

Her eyes, watching him as he tried to violate her, held a strange amusement, as if it was for the best.

Seeing that look, the Blood Demon snapped back to his senses.

“No, no.”

Hae Cheong-yeon was a precious ingredient for the Reversed Heaven Blood Demon Overburn ritual.

That was why he had nurtured her, raising her martial arts level with care.

If he gave in to lust and harmed her, the ritual could fail catastrophically.

If the ritual failed because she was violated, the Blood Demon knew he could never forgive himself.

So he stopped.

And now, at last, with the materials gathered by Jeogal Ji-gang, he could perform the ritual.

The Reversed Heaven Blood Demon Soul Return Great Ritual—the very thing he had longed for.

He squeezed the last girl’s heart over the unconscious Hae Cheong-yeon.

Squish!

Then he focused, muttering the incantation.

“Dorak Surao Muko…”

After a moment, as the chant ended, he felt the air around him grow heavy—heavier than when he had revived Gu Yu-sang before.

“No, this is different.”

He looked around, realizing the atmosphere was thick with something alive, writhing beneath the surface.

A vast, malevolent presence filled the air, as if ready to devour everything.

Though the Blood Demon had long forgotten fear, now his eyes scanned the surroundings tensely.

Then—

Bubble, bubble, bubble!

The pool of blood around the altar began to boil and churn.

But this was different from before.

Last time, it felt like molten lava heating up; now, it seemed as if something alive was reaching out from within the blood.

Something trying to escape—or perhaps grasping for something.

The grotesque sight made even the Blood Demon and his men wince.

“Like it’s trying to devour something.”

At that moment, he realized it wasn’t just his imagination.

Whoosh!

“Ugh! Aaaah!”

“W-what is this?! Master!”

The Blood Demon leapt up, pushing away a blood mass that surged toward him with an intangible blade.

He quickly scanned the area.

What he saw was horrifying.

The blood pool seemed alive, extending tendrils of flesh that swarmed his subordinates.

Like sticky, red tongues wrapping around them, the blood masses dragged his men helplessly into the pool.

“Master!”

“Help… aaah!”

Crunch!

Those pulled into the blood were squeezed like prey caught in a giant serpent.

Bones cracked and shattered all around.

Some of his men managed to repel the attack with protective energy.

Among them, Gu Yu-eumma Ji Gi-eum called out in a trembling voice.

“M-master, th-this is…”

The Blood Demon didn’t answer immediately.

He swallowed hard and surveyed the scene.

Those swallowed had already lost all human form.

There was no hope of saving them.

Accepting this, the Blood Demon spoke coldly.

“Seems the Reversed Heaven Blood Demon lacks enough blood. It can’t be helped.”

The survivors watched in horror, keeping their distance from the blood pool as it continued to consume.

Then, the blood began to crawl up the side of the altar.

Unlike last time’s slow, sluggish movement, this was a violent surge—as if a flood was rising to swallow Hae Cheong-yeon on the altar.

Whoosh!

His men cried out in alarm.

“W-what’s that?!”

“Master! It’s going to swallow Lady Hae too!”

The Blood Demon frowned.

He too felt uneasy.

The blood mass’s momentum was dangerously intense.

But despite the fear, the blood that had violently engulfed Hae Cheong-yeon thickened around her, forming a cocoon just like before.

Time passed.

Finally, the cocoon began to move.

It swelled grotesquely, then slowly deflated, pulsing like a beating heart.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

The Blood Demon exhaled in relief.

“Phew…”

So far, the ritual seemed to be progressing well.

He was glad he had performed the ritual on Gu Yu-sang first.

Having done it once, he could now anticipate the process.

Then, suddenly—

The blood surrounding Hae Cheong-yeon collapsed and flowed away like a flood.

Splash!

The diluted blood washed clean, revealing her dazzling naked form.

For some reason, not a drop of blood stained her body.

His men gasped in awe.

“Whoa!”

She was breathtakingly beautiful.

Though the same person, it was as if her entire body radiated light.

The Blood Demon and his men were spellbound, admiring her radiant form.

Then—

Flash!

In an instant, her eyes opened.

Her two eyes, once black and blue, now gleamed with a vivid, almost otherworldly glow—one burning red, the other shimmering blue.