Episode 236: Return of the Demon Instructor
As Seolbaek transformed into a beast, he inadvertently got caught in the Aura Web.
Typically, when one falls into an Aura Web, they are drawn into the depths of the beast’s identity and must fight.
This battle takes place in the realm of the mind.
If you lose, you become prey to the beast.
It’s akin to being drained of all energy, leaving only an empty husk behind.
However, if you win, the rewards are substantial.
You might receive a rare part of the beast’s body, absorb its mana stone, or even its mana.
But Seolbaek wasn’t a beast.
No one knew what kind of dark magic had transformed him to resemble one, but at his core, he was human.
Thus, no one expected an Aura Web to manifest.
Even if he survived the Aura Web, what reward could a human possibly offer?
Yet, an unexpected reward emerged.
The energy that created the Aura Web was formed from three scrolls.
Within it, Sabigang fought against the ‘Lord of Lies’ residing in Seolbaek’s depths.
The enemy in the abyss varies depending on one’s identity, and for Seolbaek, it was the ‘Lord of Lies.’
After a fierce battle, Sabigang subdued the Lord of Lies, and an unforeseen reward was granted.
The reward was Seolbaek’s accumulated inner power!
Though his character was steeped in deceit, the inner power he had cultivated was remarkably pure.
In an instant, the power of five masters flowed into Sabigang.
Sabigang sat cross-legged, using basic techniques to absorb the ambient energy.
Absorbing the full power of five masters was a daunting task.
Even absorbing half would be a significant achievement.
In fact, absorbing the reward took longer than the battle itself.
Once he had nearly absorbed all the inner power in the abyss, the Aura Web finally shattered.
The dark sky of the abyss split open, light pouring in, and Sabigang found himself standing back in reality.
As Sabigang had predicted, Seolbaek did not die peacefully.
He perished in agony, his energy drained by Sabigang.
Sabigang looked down at Seolbaek, now a withered husk, and took a deep breath.
Three masters’ worth.
By killing Seolbaek, he had gained the power of three masters.
Had he been able to absorb it all, it would have been five.
But that was impossible.
Even three was extraordinary.
It’s an amount most martial artists couldn’t achieve in a lifetime of training.
Did the masked ones who did this to Seolbaek foresee this outcome?
Probably not.
Whoever they were.
If they were from the Central Plains, they wouldn’t know about the Aura Web.
And they still wouldn’t.
Sabigang turned his head.
In one corner lay a masked man with a shattered skull, and in another, Churyang lay covered in blood.
Sabigang walked over to Churyang.
The kid who had begged to be his disciple.
The one who had loudly declared he’d follow him, not knowing if it was a path to life or death.
An endearing fool.
Sabigang nudged Churyang’s side with his foot.
As expected, Churyang didn’t move.
Was it attachment to the dead?
Sabigang applied more pressure with his foot.
“Get up, you fool.”
”…”
“Get up before I kick you for real.”
Amazingly, the supposedly dead Churyang opened his eyes, bleary and unfocused.
Sabigang sighed lightly.
“Let’s go.”
”…Is it over?”
Anyone watching would have fallen on their backside in shock.
A corpse speaking!
“Yes, it’s over. You’re something else. You didn’t move at all?”
“Well, it was terrifying! That cocoon-like thing appeared out of nowhere, and I didn’t know what would happen, so I stayed still!”
“Impressive.”
“If it weren’t for the resurrection pill Banjo gave me, I would’ve been beaten to death by Elder Seol.”
Churyang’s survival secret was revealed.
Indeed, the moment he met Seolbaek, Churyang sensed death.
The murderous aura emanating from Seolbaek was overwhelming.
Begging for mercy wouldn’t have helped.
He was beaten senseless.
As he was knocked out, Churyang swallowed the resurrection pill he had kept in his mouth.
He had placed it there while fleeing from Seolbaek.
The pill did its job perfectly.
To anyone, Churyang appeared dead.
Seolbaek, seeing Churyang dead, was disappointed.
He had intended to keep him barely alive to use against Sabigang.
Then he saw a shadow fleeing through the forest.
In a fit of rage, he struck it down, only to find it was Sabigang.
“But Master, your words were too harsh!”
“What did I say?”
“You said even if a pet dog dies, it hurts the heart!”
“So, you don’t care if a dog dies?”
“That’s not it! It’s the comparison! Why compare me to a dog?”
Sabigang furrowed his brow slightly.
He couldn’t understand why it was an issue.
Churyang shook his head and sighed.
“Oh… my body aches. By the way, what is that? Did you win, Master?”
He pointed to the remnants of the Aura Web, now almost dissolved into a milky liquid.
“As you can see. Of course, I won.”
“Then let’s get out of here. I knew you’d come to save me, Master!”
“Well, I wasn’t here to save you, but it worked out. Come on.”
Sabigang led Churyang to the masked man with the shattered head.
“Find out who he is.”
“Hmm.”
This time, Churyang examined the body with an unusually serious expression.
After a thorough inspection, he turned to Sabigang.
“Which direction did they come from?”
“That way.”
“Please heal me first.”
“Here.”
Sabigang tossed him a healing potion from his pocket.
Churyang quickly drank it, circulated his energy to check his condition, and opened his eyes.
Then,
Whoosh!
He traced the masked man’s trail.
The position and angle of one’s steps leave different traces in martial arts.
Reaching the vicinity of the manor, Churyang looked back at Sabigang.
“This is the movement technique used by the Night Bird Squad of the Blood Shadow Alliance.”
“Night Bird Squad?”
“Yes, it’s a group of thirty-one.”
“Which faction do they belong to?”
“The White Tiger Hall.”
Sabigang’s eyes deepened.
“I see. Follow me. Oh, wipe that blood off.”
Sabigang led Churyang towards the manor, a branch of the Hao Clan.
The manor was in disarray.
So-hwa recognized Sabigang and rushed over.
“What happened? Is he one of them?”
She glared at Churyang, referring to the escaped masked man.
Sabigang shook his head.
“He got away.”
Of course, it was a lie.
In uncertain situations, sharing information requires caution.
So-hwa spoke with regret.
“I see. Then who is this…?”
“He’s my disciple.”
“Disciple…?”
So-hwa, knowing Sabigang’s background as an instructor, assumed he meant a student.
But seeing the disciple covered in blood, she looked puzzled.
Noticing her gaze, Sabigang added.
“There was an incident on the way. It’s unrelated to this, so don’t worry.”
“Then why is he…?”
“He’s skilled at tracking and uncovering the truth. I brought him to investigate what happened here.”
“So that’s why you were late.”
So-hwa nodded.
Churyang immediately began his investigation.
Sword marks on the walls, scattered footprints, broken pillars, torn clothing, wounds on the bodies.
All these were clues.
The dead may not speak, but their bodies tell a story.
After a thorough examination, Churyang approached Sabigang.
His expression wasn’t bright.
So-hwa waited anxiously for his report.
“Did you find anything?”
“Well… it’s a bit unclear.”
“Unclear?”
Sabigang asked, and Churyang replied.
“About thirty attackers.”
“That many!”
“All of them were at least at the peak martial level. Some were even higher.”
So-hwa covered her mouth with her delicate hand, speechless.
She couldn’t understand why such powerful martial artists would attack a branch of the Hao Clan.
Sabigang noted her reaction.
‘Perhaps she doesn’t know much.’
Sabigang dismissed the thought and asked.
“What martial arts did they use?”
“That’s the thing… the traces are unfamiliar. I can’t identify the martial arts used.”
“Is there no connection to the Blood Shadow Alliance?”
“No, I don’t see any martial arts from the Blood Shadow Alliance. At least none that I recognize.”
“How about the Justice Alliance?”
Churyang nodded.
Sabigang narrowed his eyes.
So, it was them…
‘The masked ones from before?’
The problem was, he still didn’t know their identity.
Sabigang turned to So-hwa.
“Is the body of the Butterfly Merchant here?”
So-hwa shook her head.
“They’re gone. It seems they took them.”
“What do you know about the goods the Butterfly Merchant sells?”
“That, I don’t know.”
Sabigang gazed at her intently.
Her eyes didn’t seem to be lying.
Well, she was just the owner of Sohwaru.
The Butterfly Merchant likely held a much higher status than her. Perhaps even higher than the leader of the Bunta.
Sabigang tore a piece of fabric from his sleeve and handed it to her.
“We’ll be leaving now. If you have more to discuss with me, tie this to the window of Sohwaru. Someone will come to see you.”
Soha accepted it without a word.
Their business with Haomun was concluded.
Now, it was up to them to make their decision.
They could resort to threats to extract the information they wanted, but then it would be difficult to determine the truth of what they learned.
In this case, gaining cooperation seemed to be the better approach.
“Let’s head back.”
Churyang followed Sabigang as they walked away.
Thud!
A figure landed in the clearing of the forest.
His face was entirely red, like a crimson mask.
He surveyed the area.
”…!”
Frowning, he approached Seolbaek, who lay collapsed like a withered old tree.
The corpse was emaciated, mouth agape.
Considering the ambitious desires he had in life, it was a truly hollow scene of death.
Fallen leaves rolled over and struck his face.
“What… is this?”
Even in death, he expected some transformation, but Seolbaek’s appearance was not much different from when he was alive.
However, the patches where his hair had been torn out suggested some physical mutation had occurred.
Yet…
The crimson-faced man crouched down and touched the damp earth.
Had he arrived a bit earlier, he might have seen the white liquid that had been there, but now it had either seeped into the ground or evaporated, leaving no trace.
The undeniable fact was that Seolbaek was dead.
He couldn’t withstand Sabigang.
There was another corpse with a shattered head in the corner, but it wasn’t worth his attention.
The crimson-faced man reached out toward Seolbaek.
In the next moment,
“Fireball!”
As he spoke, a ball of fire shot forth, striking Seolbaek’s corpse with explosive force.
Boom! Whoosh!
The burning remains of Seolbaek were reflected in the crimson-faced man’s eyes.
The fireball he unleashed was unmistakably like a fireball spell.