Chapter 235: Return to the Demonic Sect
On the edge of a sheer cliff, a man with a face flushed red stood gazing down into the abyss below. For a long while, he remained silent, then lifted his head to peer into the distant west.
Soon, he sensed someone approaching from behind. It was an old woman, her back hunched and hair streaked with gray. Her face was tinged yellow, making it hard to discern her true features.
“So, here you are.”
“You’ve come?”
The man with the red face spoke without turning around. The woman with the yellow face stepped closer to him.
“The Master is pleased. You’ve done well this time.”
“The journey is far from over.”
“Heh, you could afford to be a little kinder to yourself.”
“Funny, hearing that from you.”
“Living as long as I have, I’ve learned that being too hard on oneself can ruin one’s character.”
“I’d rather lose a bit of character and succeed than fail with a good one.”
The old woman glanced at the man beside her, then cast her gaze into the distance.
“Did the grand plan succeed?”
”…”
He didn’t answer, but that was answer enough. The old woman clicked her tongue.
“You’re a cruel one.”
“Heh, isn’t this world inherently cruel?”
The man laughed coldly, looking down at her. She shook her head slowly.
“What happened to that bright-eyed child?”
“That child died long ago. Didn’t you kill him?”
“You wretched thing.”
They fell into silence. Sometimes, silence can be more eloquent than words. Though no words were spoken, their hearts were noisier than ever.
The old woman broke the silence first.
“How long can you hold out?”
“At most, half an hour if I’m lucky.”
“Do you think it’ll work?”
“I don’t know. I can only hope.”
“Take it easy. You’ve done well enough already.”
With that, the old woman turned and walked away. Left alone on the cliff, the man looked down into the abyss once more.
Whoooosh!
The wind tugged at his hair, and for a moment, he felt the urge to fly. But not yet. Not until his great work was complete. Until then, he must bide his time, gathering strength for the day he would soar higher than ever.
He murmured to himself, “I’ll keep going until it works. Until it works…”
His eyes burned as fiercely as his face.
Crash!
Sabikang was thrown violently against a tree, shattering it as he fell.
“Ugh!”
As he struggled to his feet, a shocking sight unfolded before him.
Crack, crackle!
Sabikang frowned deeply.
“Seolbaek…?”
But Seolbaek seemed oblivious to Sabikang’s voice.
“Ughhh!”
Drool dripped from his mouth as he groaned, his mouth stretched wide. His shoulders rose unnaturally high, and his back arched like a bow. His hands swelled grotesquely, and his feet twisted into unnatural shapes. Black horns sprouted from his head.
It seemed as if his aura and inner energy were clashing within him, causing his chest and stomach to swell and emit explosive sounds.
Boom! Boom!
“Raaaargh!”
Seolbaek arched his back and roared, sending a hot gust of wind in all directions. A yellowish aura began to seep from his body, and the internal explosions ceased.
‘What is that?’
Two protruding horns, massive hands and feet, claws sharp and long as blades, eyes elongated vertically, and golden stripes etched across his body! He resembled a beast from the demon realm.
Yet, the core was unmistakably Seolbaek. If this were the demon realm, one might call him a “chimera.”
‘Is this the grand plan?’
The transformation hadn’t happened instantly. It took about a quarter of an hour, manifesting in fits and starts. Yet, he remained adept at both attack and defense.
It seemed like a complex interplay of the martial arts of the central plains and the barriers of the demon realm.
‘Those masked figures, no doubt.’
Seolbaek couldn’t have wanted this transformation. It was clear the masked figures had done something suspicious while he was unconscious.
Meanwhile, Seolbaek, now grotesquely transformed, looked at his hands with a blissful smile.
“Ahh, this feels… amazing.”
Despite his monstrous hands and feet, he didn’t care. The euphoria he felt was too overwhelming to worry about such things.
He spotted Sabikang standing at a distance.
In an instant,
Whoosh!
Seolbaek appeared before Sabikang.
Grinning,
Smash!
A massive hand came down on Sabikang.
“Ugh!”
Sabikang blocked with his sword, Berthas. Despite the clash of sword and hand, the sound was metallic.
Crack!
As the grip tightened, the long, blade-like claws dug into Sabikang’s shoulder.
“Ugh…!”
In a flash, Sabikang kicked off the ground, casting a spell.
“Stone Wall!”
Rumble!
A stone wall erupted from the ground, sending Seolbaek flying back.
“You little rat!”
Seolbaek shouted in a hoarse voice, charging at the wall to smash it.
He was like a wild beast.
Sabikang’s eyes turned cold. The sudden transformation had surprised him, but he had faced many such beasts in the demon realm.
For some reason, Seolbaek’s behavior mirrored that of a demon realm beast.
“Sorry to ruin your fun!”
Sabikang launched himself forward, meeting Seolbaek head-on.
“Raaaargh!”
Seolbaek leaped into the air with an unintelligible roar.
With a shout,
Sabikang leaped up as well.
“Haah!”
With a battle cry, Sabikang thrust Berthas forward.
Whoosh!
Aura gathered like a force, enveloping Berthas.
Slash!
Berthas pierced through Seolbaek’s chest.
“Raaaargh!”
Seolbaek screamed, his mouth wide open.
Then, a strange phenomenon occurred.
Crack, crackle!
Seolbaek’s skin began to crack, and from the fissures,
Shwaaah!
White beams of light burst forth from his body.
These weren’t mere beams of light. They were organic, woven from aura.
‘Aura Web…!’
Sabikang recoiled in surprise.
But the Aura Web moved with the speed of light.
Shwaaah!
Thousands, no, tens of thousands of threads wrapped around Sabikang.
Like a spider ensnaring its prey.
In an instant, Sabikang was caught in the white Aura Web.
‘Damn, am I too late?’
But he didn’t despair. He had been trapped in Aura Webs many times in the demon realm.
When hunting beasts in dungeons, the boss monsters often unleashed Aura Webs.
Usually, being caught meant death or reward.
But what could he gain from being caught in the Aura Web of a transformed martial artist from the central plains?
‘This is getting boring!’
With that thought, the white Aura Web enveloped Sabikang completely, hardening like a cocoon.
“So you just let him go?”
“Yes.”
Ryu Yeo-jung’s response left Dok Go-jin gaping in disbelief. He shook his head, frowning deeply.
“Are you saying you let him go without any conditions?”
“As I said, I scattered the tracking powder.”
“Ah, of course you did! But shouldn’t you at least know where he’s headed?”
Dok Go-jin’s voice rose in frustration.
Unbelievable.
To release someone they held as a hostage so carelessly.
Fine, let’s say he wasn’t a hostage but an instructor. Even so, shouldn’t they keep him close, like a hostage?
Who knows what he might do once he’s out of sight?
Even with the tracking powder, they couldn’t know if he was plotting something right now!
Dok Go-jin voiced his dissatisfaction openly.
“Still, how could you not assign someone to watch him?”
“I gave my word.”
“Hah! Since when do we care about keeping promises?”
“If we assigned someone, he’d find them and kill them.”
Ryu Yeo-jung sighed lightly. It was almost amusing to say such things.
It seemed as if they were afraid of his threats, which wasn’t the case.
In truth, there was no need.
If Sabikang intended to attack their branch, there was no point in assigning a watcher. Reports would come in naturally.
If it was truly personal business, assigning a watcher would only give him an excuse.
And Ryu Yeo-jung believed that Sabikang…
‘He’d likely find any watcher.’
It was better to be satisfied with the tracking powder, which could be found at any time.
No matter the situation, they could always track down Sabi Kang’s whereabouts.
Dukgo Jin suddenly asked, “So, how long is it supposed to take?”
“They said they’d be back within a fortnight.”
“Halfway there, then. Just seven days left. Unbelievable.”
“Let’s wait and see. If they’re late, we can always send out the Golden Bluebirds, can’t we?”
“Well, there’s not much else we can do now.”
Dukgo Jin clamped his mouth shut, clearly displeased.
He couldn’t understand why people were so indecisive.
Seol Seorin, who once vowed to kill Sabi Kang, now claimed she wanted to marry him.
Did she want him dead or alive?
And then there was the Northern Pavilion Master, singing Sabi Kang’s praises to everyone.
Considering the master’s influence, this was no trivial matter.
But he couldn’t just storm in and demand they stop.
“Doesn’t sit right with me. Not one bit…”
Dukgo Jin let out a long, frustrated sigh, his lips pressed tightly together.
**
Three full hours passed.
The cocoon that had tightly enveloped Seol Baek and Sabi Kang remained stubbornly intact.
A breeze swept through, sending fallen leaves skittering against the massive cocoon.
Was it the impact of the leaves?
Crack… crack…!
The cocoon began to split, and a brilliant light burst forth from the fissure.
It was far more intense than the dawn breaking in the east.
Finally,
Craaaack!
The cocoon, as hard as an egg, split in half, revealing two figures inside.
Seol Baek, utterly drained and emaciated, and Sabi Kang, emanating a mysterious aura from every pore.
Whoosh!
In an instant, the swirling energies around them were rapidly absorbed into Sabi Kang’s body.
At last, Sabi Kang opened his eyes.
“Whooo!”
As he exhaled deeply, the frail Seol Baek collapsed, unable to move again.
A slight smile played on Sabi Kang’s lips.
“The reward was more satisfying than I expected.”