Episode 516: Return to the Demon Sect

“It’s a shame we have to part like this.”

Chu Hui-ryong offered a respectful bow.

Sabi-gang responded with a smile.

“We look forward to your continued support for the Demon Palace.”

“Of course. We must defeat the demon clan so our martial world can breathe easier. Just reach out anytime. I’ll help as much as I can.”

“Thank you. We’ll take our leave now.”

“Safe travels.”

Chu Hui-ryong returned the gesture with a fist salute as Sabi-gang and Mae Seol-ran boarded the carriage. He watched as the warriors of the Demon Palace completely exited the Blood Lotus Sect, then turned away with a calm expression.

But as he headed towards the main hall, a sly grin spread across his face.

“Heh heh heh.”

He couldn’t suppress the laughter that escaped his lips.

Just as he had predicted, Sabi-gang had thoroughly searched the Blood Lotus Sect.

But he found nothing.

Chu Hui-ryong was confident that Sabi-gang would never find what he was looking for.

That’s why he hadn’t bothered to place any surveillance.

‘This tiresome second-in-command role will soon be over.’

His eyes gleamed with ambition.

He was a man with grand aspirations.

From the moment he established the Blood Lotus Sect, he had vowed to one day become its leader.

Everything was proceeding according to plan.

But then, an unexpected obstacle appeared.

An instructor from the Justice Alliance.

At first, he hadn’t paid much attention.

There were rumors that the instructor had manipulated the Great Martial War, but what could a mere instructor do?

What could he possibly achieve as a hostage in the Blood Lotus Sect, a place rife with schemes and plots?

But Sabi-gang defied all expectations.

He wasn’t like a fish out of water in the murky waters of the Blood Lotus Sect.

He was more like a loach, stirring up the muddy waters even further.

Even then, Chu Hui-ryong had only observed.

But once Sabi-gang discovered his ambition to seize the leader’s position, he began to offer both persuasion and threats.

In the end, Chu Hui-ryong joined forces with Sabi-gang.

If Sabi-gang was not a loach to be crushed at any moment, but a dragon in the making…

Then perhaps using that dragon to achieve his own ambitions wasn’t such a bad idea.

Everything went according to plan, and Chu Hui-ryong finally became the leader of the Blood Lotus Sect.

In the world of the unorthodox, he had ascended to an unrivaled position of power.

But…

‘I was always second. Always…!’

Chu Hui-ryong ground his teeth.

Even when he established the Blood Lotus Sect, he held the second-highest power.

And now, even as the leader, he had to be mindful of the Alliance Leader and the Demon Palace.

In the end, power wasn’t enough; strength was what truly mattered.

The kind of strength that would make no one dare to challenge him!

When he handed over the demonic artifacts to Sabi-gang, he kept one thing for himself.

A teleportation scroll.

Initially, he had thirty of these teleportation scrolls.

He had crumpled them, torn them, even tried eating them.

Then one day, when he tore a scroll, he found himself transported to the place he had been thinking of.

Nothing happened when he simply tore it!

The distance wasn’t far, only about five steps away.

But it was astonishing.

To teleport just by tearing a piece of paper?

So he tried again.

This time, he focused on a more distant location as he tore the scroll.

And once again, it worked!

‘A teleportation scroll…’

He never imagined such an artifact could exist.

Instinctively, he knew.

This was something he could never reveal to anyone.

As long as he had visited a place once, he could teleport there with ghostly precision just by recalling the exact location.

It was perfect for assassinations or for quickly reaching a treasure-filled vault.

The only regret was that he had used up eleven scrolls just to figure out how to use them.

But he had used them to spirit away Ong Gi-seung.

To transfer the demonic soul implanted in Ong Gi-seung’s body to himself.

If he could control that demonic soul, neither Sabi-gang nor the demon clan would be a threat.

The previous leader of the Blood Lotus Sect, Heo Mu-geuk, and the Demon Cult Leader had both desperately sought that demonic soul.

While the martial world was busy keeping the Demon Cult in check, he had secretly brought in a skilled sorcerer.

Now it was time to reap the rewards.

‘Just wait. I won’t remain second forever. I will rise to the top, with no one above me!’

Chu Hui-ryong entered the main hall and sent a mental message to Ja-gwi.

[Ensure no one approaches the main hall.]

[Understood.]

**

“Sabi-gang is leaving.”

A black knight, exuding dark energy, spoke to Jonya.

Jonya nodded from her perch on a tree branch.

“Let’s wait a little longer.”

“You’re not moving immediately?”

“Sabi-gang is stronger than you think. Underestimating him because he’s human will lead to disaster.”

“Still, he’s just a human…”

“Even Marquis Baritan was wary of him.”

The black-helmeted knight fell silent at Jonya’s interruption.

Jonya sighed softly and looked at the black knights stationed below the tree.

There were ten in total.

They were knights personally sent by Marquis Baritan for her.

In truth, she might have preferred to move alone, but she couldn’t refuse Baritan’s consideration.

Instead, she felt deeply moved by how much he cared for her.

“We’ll move once he’s far enough away. Once he’s far enough…”

“Understood. There must be no mistakes.”

“Of course.”

Jonya nodded.

Her expression was calm as she thought to herself.

‘More than anyone, I want this. I won’t make any mistakes.’

**

“Are you sure it’s okay to leave like this?”

”…”

“Gu Gang-ryong wouldn’t have been mistaken. Could Chu Hui-ryong be uninvolved?”

Despite Mae Seol-ran’s words, Sabi-gang remained silent.

He had been deep in thought ever since they left the Blood Lotus Sect.

The sect had indeed opened all its locations to them.

Even Chu Ryung, the master of tracking, couldn’t find any trace.

There were new buildings and renovations, but nothing stood out.

They had checked all the places where hidden mechanisms might be, but found nothing.

The teleportation scroll was too small to be found anyway.

But Ong Gi-seung was different.

If Chu Hui-ryong was hiding Ong Gi-seung, there would surely be at least one person managing him.

Hiding a person is much harder than hiding an object.

So they had searched every possible place where Ong Gi-seung could be hidden…

“There was nothing. Nowhere.”

Sabi-gang muttered to himself, and Mae Seol-ran leaned back in her seat.

“Then Leader Chu is innocent. That’s why he was so confident.”

“That’s what makes it stranger.”

“What do you mean?”

Sabi-gang narrowed his eyes.

Chu Hui-ryong’s reaction was indeed strange.

He was overly confident.

He had opened up every secret room, almost excessively so.

“It was as if… he was waiting. Like someone who had finished all preparations.”

“We have suspicions but no evidence, so there’s nothing we can do. If we push too hard without proof, it might be difficult to ask for cooperation against the demon clan later.”

She’s right.

Every bit of strength is precious right now.

Depending on how the war unfolds, the Blood Lotus Sect’s cooperation could become crucial.

Mae Seol-ran gazed out the window, murmuring to herself.

“Still, it was meaningful for me.”

“In what way?”

“I got to see the place where you lived for a while.”

Sabi-gang smiled gently.

“What did you think?”

“It was more… like a place where people live than I expected. I thought it would be crawling with monstrous people exuding sinister energy, but it was surprisingly ordinary.”

“That’s right. In the end, they’re all just people. Living… it’s the same everywhere.”

But the demon clan is different.

They are pure evil.

They lack many of the emotions humans feel.

So they must not be treated or dealt with as humans.

Mae Seol-ran turned to Sabi-gang with a bright smile.

“Still, seeing those who exude a bit of sinister energy, I thought, ‘Wow, you really held your own here. You even led the new faction. You’re quite something. To endure in such a place with no way out.’”

“Now you know? That I’m quite something?”

“I’ve known for a while.”

Mae Seol-ran replied with a laugh.

At that moment, Sabi-gang flinched and looked at Mae Seol-ran.

“What did you just say?”

His expression was so serious that Mae Seol-ran didn’t dare joke and answered obediently.

“I said I’ve known for a while.”

“No, before that.”

“That you’re quite something?”

“That’s not it! Damn it! Why didn’t I think of that? It’s so simple!”

“What are you talking about?”

Before Mae Seol-ran could ask further, Sabi-gang shouted out the window.

“Chu Ryung! I’ve figured it out! Turn the carriage around! No, I’ll go ahead!”

Sabi-gang opened the carriage door and started running.

His face was filled with certainty.

‘Ong Gi-seung is definitely within the sect! In a place that needs no exit!’

**

An old man with a face full of liver spots looked uneasy.

His eyes darted around nervously.

Chu Hui-ryong didn’t miss his anxious demeanor.

“Is it still not complete?”

“It… it will take a little more time. I’m sorry!”

“How much longer?”

“A… about two days…”

A low rumble echoed…!

A fierce aura erupted from Chu Hui-ryong, enveloping him like a storm.

His robe billowed dramatically, as if caught in a powerful gust.

The oppressive energy made the old man tremble uncontrollably, and he prostrated himself on the ground.

“I-I’ll hurry as much as I can! Please, forgive me!”

“And why is that?”

“What do you mean…?”

The old man looked up, bewildered, only to be met with Chu Hui-ryong’s cold, mocking smile.

“I already knew. Once that tattoo is fully settled, the time has come. And now, the tattoo on Ong Gi-seung’s body isn’t moving at all. So why claim it’s not time yet?”

“Well, it’s just… it might still be unstable…”

“Or perhaps you never intended to transfer the demon soul to me in the first place. Who is it?”

“I don’t understand what you’re saying…”

“Who else were you planning to give it to? Or were you hoping to keep the demon soul for yourself?”

“N-no, of course not! It’s a misunderstanding!”

But Chu Hui-ryong’s expression was filled with distrust.

“I anticipated this and created this space. Make your choice. Transfer the demon soul to me now, or die by my hand.”

“Master, why are you doing this to me?”

“You know the answer better than anyone. And don’t even think about trying to kill me during the ritual. If I die, you’ll never escape this place.”

Chu Hui-ryong’s lips curled into a sinister grin.