Chapter 134 The First Disciple

Chapter 134: The First Disciple

After settling the Sichuan Gate affairs, I returned to the Hao Gate Yibin Branch. This was where I had entrusted Jie Xiajun and Jie Xiayan, the two younger brothers of Jie Mahai.

“Truly, truly, thank you, Master. I will repay this kindness until the day I die. Thank you so much.”

These were the words Jie Ma Xue uttered, kneeling and sobbing, after I extracted the thorns from Jie Ha Jun and Jie Ha Lian’s bodies.

The master of the Four Heavenly Gates, that man Yisal, was an easier man to deal with than expected.

Though he had only reached the third stage of bone-crushing torture, he wept and sniffled, wailing and screaming that he would cooperate with anything.

‘Kwaaaaah! Stop! Please stop! Anything! I’ll cooperate with anything! Aaaaaah!’

So I smiled brightly and told him that.

‘Oh, come on. You’re lying. The master of the Salmun Gate wouldn’t be this spineless, would he?’

Then, after slowly letting him taste the fourth and fifth stages, I began the conversation.

Then, a flood of diverse information began pouring out.

The types of information were diverse.

It was a medicine that made disciples like Jikmaheuk vomit up the poison they had been fed, and there were also places where his possessions and elixirs were hidden away, and even information about the clients.

He trained his disciples to die without uttering a single scream, yet the example he himself set was utterly disappointing.

It seemed that a greedy man could not easily be strict with himself.

I watched the three siblings, so overcome with emotion they were hugging each other and crying, then suddenly spoke to the man standing beside me.

“You’ll pull out the thorn in ten years. Do you feel wronged?”

Then the man, who had been standing there with a face as expressionless as a rock, looked at me with deep eyes and replied.

“If you keep your promise, it won’t matter if I never pull it out at all.”

He was Gyeonjung, the second-ranked assassin of the Ssangcheon School.

That assassin gave off a far more threatening aura than any peak master, even though he hadn’t yet reached the pinnacle himself.

When I had heard information about the Four Heavenly Swordsmen from Jik Mahyeok beforehand, he had spoken of this man thus:

Lee Sal is a man like a blade. He carries out the assassin’s orders without question, yet shows no emotion whatsoever. Moreover, he performs only what is explicitly commanded. Like an emotionless tool. I never really bonded with him, but I wondered if he had killed his own emotions to endure the assassin life he didn’t want. I saw that one look of pity in his eyes when he saw the children brought in by the Assassins’ Gate.’

That was why I decided not to kill this guard dog.

And he, who had been struck by my sword energy and momentarily lost consciousness, declared his willingness to follow me once he saw that I had already subdued the assassin and seized the drug that delayed his deliberate seizures.

Like a sword that doesn’t care who wields it.

At that moment, I told him that if he worked for me for ten years, I would set him free, and I made him this promise.

‘If you work under me, I’ll make sure you won’t have to seal away your emotions like that. For now, you’ll have no choice but to use your skills as an assassin, but soon, as a warrior in the light, I’ll make sure you can live with pride in yourself.’

The reason I said that was because I had once heard the feelings of Brother Sakmuhun, who had been in the Shadow Corps. I guessed his heart was probably similar to Brother Sak’s.

He gave no reply to my promise.

But in that moment, I thought I saw the first flash of intense emotion in his eyes.

He was indeed a celestial warrior.

A moment later, the three siblings of the enemy, having stopped crying, all decided to follow me.

“Master! Please allow me to follow you! Though my abilities are lacking, I will devote my very being to you, Master, with unwavering dedication!”

“Me too! I want to follow you with my brother!”

“…I beg you as well.”

Honestly, I had expected it, but it still made me feel warm inside.

I concealed my joy and gave them my first order with a solemn expression.

“My first command is!”

Then they looked at me with eyes filled with resolute determination.

Their expressions seemed to say they’d follow me to hell itself if I commanded it.

Smiling inwardly, I continued.

“It is to take the elixir.”

“Yes, Master! The elixir… yes?”

“…Wh-what? Consume the elixir?”

“….”

True to his greedy nature, that bastard Salmunju had amassed an enormous stockpile of the elixir in his own storeroom, yet he rarely gave any to his disciples.

Even Lee Sal Gyeonjung, reputed to be the strongest practitioner at the Sal Gate, hadn’t yet filled his internal energy to the first cycle. Seeing this, I couldn’t help but wonder if they deliberately held back the disciples, preventing them from breaking through to the pinnacle.

“What could I possibly assign them with less than a full cycle of internal energy? From now on, everyone must focus on increasing their internal energy first.”

As they exchanged flustered glances, his younger brother, Jikmagun, cautiously inquired.

“We are deeply grateful for your words. But I’ve heard that suddenly filling one’s internal energy with elixirs carries the risk of demonic possession…”

He answered with a sly grin.

“There’s a way to overcome everything, so don’t worry about that.”

Who’d have thought I’d ever have reason to thank those Blood Oath bastards? Guess I’ll live to see it.

And I took note of that boy, Jikha-gun, who just pointed that out.

As the twin brothers, Jikha Yeon and Jikha Gun were essentially appendages who came along after obtaining the Demon Armor.

Therefore, I hadn’t expected much from them, but it seemed their talents were anything but ordinary.

For mere eighteen-year-olds who’d only undergone assassin training, their instincts and skill seemed remarkably solid.

They were undeniably talents who made one feel the urge to nurture them properly.

They all immediately consumed the elixir and entered the state of qigong.

They did so using the Wu Hua Mind Technique I had just taught them.

The Wuhua Mind Technique was the core method from the Thousand-Year Secret Art I had memorized in the Seonwoo Clan’s library. Though it was a core method of the Assassin Sect, it possessed capabilities far surpassing most advanced core methods…

Useless to me, who had mastered the Hunwon Muguk Gong, but undoubtedly a tremendous boon to these assassins.

I intended to teach them the killing techniques of the Thousand Deaths Sect that I had mastered.

For masters like Gyeonjung or Jeokmaheuk, who had already reached the pinnacle as water-control practitioners, merely mastering it would likely grant them vastly enhanced abilities.

‘And in the long run, I must teach him proper martial arts. So he can make a name for himself as a warrior of the Yangji.’

Perhaps because this was his first direct subordinate in this lifetime, he found himself wanting to do so much for him.

I was already looking forward to seeing how much he would grow.

But that was a distant future concern. For now, I met with Hao Wen, the head of the Yibin branch, again to address the immediate matters at hand.

It was to obtain the information about the Hao Gate in Guiyang City that I had previously requested from the Yeongnam branch manager.

While I was at it, I also wanted to gather some information about the Sunwoo Clan.

He explained the current situation in Gui Zhou Province at length with a solemn expression.

“…So it seemed the internal strife had mostly been resolved by now.”

According to the information they had gathered, the Hao Men members in Guizhou Province had apparently been embroiled in internal strife until recently.

And recently, it had been resolved.

And in the worst possible direction…

“Towards the Blood Sect, you mean?”

“…Yes, that’s correct.”

He let out a deep sigh at his words.

He too couldn’t bring himself to meet my eyes, fidgeting restlessly.

“Ah, but it’s not as if there are no disciples opposing them. I hear that not only the former Hao Sect Master of Guizhou Province, but also the disciples who followed him, have gone into hiding. If we can only make contact with them, we will surely be able to strike down the Blood Sect’s forces.”

“…But even so, I heard the former Lord of Hao Gate was also a member of the Blood Sect.”

“W-well, that’s true, but…”

From what he told me, the situation I grasped was roughly this.

Unlike the demonic forces infiltrated into Guizhou Province by the Blood Demon in the past, the demonic forces from Sichuan Province chose to operate in the shadows and seize control of the Hao Sect rather than establish their own sect.

Thus, the Hao Sect in Guizhou Province developed a centralized structure centered around a single sect leader, unlike other provinces where the Hao Sect generally functioned more as a loose confederation of branches.

That leader of the Hao Sect was none other than the Blood Sect’s demonic leader, whose true identity remained unknown.

But what was strange came next.

For some reason, the Blood Cultists who had recently joined clashed with the existing Hao Gate leadership, who were also Blood Cultists.

And the victors in that conflict were the newly arrived Blood Cult members.

“Thanks for stirring up trouble, but… why am I so annoyed?”

I was speculating that these newly arrived Blood Cultists might be the remnants of the Zhengxie Sect, driven out of Sichuan Province.

But there was a problem with seeing it that way.

‘Considering that the leader in Sichuan Province was the Demon General of Small Noodles, Yuan Yang, the leader in Guizhou Province couldn’t have been a pushover either. He must have been at least a master of the Blood-Thirsty Demon General Ji Guangyu’s caliber. But to say that the newly recruited members defeated such a figure—one who had already established his own power base? What the hell….’

I swallowed hard without realizing it.

It was because he had a premonition that some monstrous creature of unimaginable proportions must be lurking there.

Suddenly, the faces of the Iron-Skin Demon, Chek Kang, and the Nine-Yin Demon, Ji Gi-eum, who had appeared in the Zhengxie Hall, came to mind.

Monsters who had looked down upon the countless masters of Qingcheng and the Tang Sect.

‘Surely such heavyweights wouldn’t have been dispatched to the lowly Hao Gate in Guizhou Province…’

Even so, his unease wouldn’t subside.

‘Suddenly, I’m afraid to return to the Xianwu Clan.’

This time, if he went to the Sunwoo Clan, there was no way he could just pay a quick visit to his father and leave.

The situation at the Sunwoo Clan was just as chaotic as Guijiu City.

Moreover, considering how many members of the Sunwoo Clan had been possessed by the Blood Sect in past lives, I couldn’t guarantee the Sunwoo Clan itself wasn’t within the Blood Sect’s grasp.

Therefore, I anticipated that if we went to the Sunwoo Clan this time, we would inevitably come into contact with the Blood Sect’s followers.

Chief Yibin spoke of the Sunwoo Clan in this manner.

The Seonwoo Clan is like a two-armed scale, balanced by the great hero Seonwoo Jung, the current clan head. No, to be precise, it’s a three-armed scale. It may appear balanced now, but the moment the weight shifts to one side, it will collapse instantly.

I hadn’t known this before, but I heard the Seonwoo Clan nearly collapsed once in the past.

When my father was young, a great conflict erupted, and all the masters of the family were killed.

At that time, my father, thrust into the role of head of the family at such a young age, apparently chose to seek outside assistance to maintain the Guizhou Eight Families’ position.

“At that time, the most threatening force to the Sunwoo Clan was the Ha Clan, which also had its base in Guiyang. So, my father actually protected the Sunwoo Clan by marrying the daughter of the Ha Clan.”

The Ha Clan was one of the Eight Great Families of Gui Zhou and also the maternal family of my second eldest brother, Sunwoo Hyuk.

To only now learn that such circumstances lay behind that marriage struck him as pathetic all over again.

Suddenly, I asked him.

“So it seems the Gaeyang Gate, my eldest brother’s maternal clan, was a force brought in to check the Ha Clan.”

“Yes, that’s my understanding.”

The Gaeyang Sect, the maternal clan of the eldest brother Seonwooseong, was a martial arts sect located in Gaeyang, a region near Gwiang.

It was a mid-tier sect that hadn’t made it into the Guizhou Eight Sects. Though its power was small, I suspect it was brought in to balance things out—using the justification of the first wife and eldest son—to keep the Ha Clan in check.

But it didn’t end there.

The maternal family of the fourth brother, Seonwoo Gi, was the Seogidang of Dogyun, while the maternal family of the fifth and youngest brother, Yeonha, was the Un Clan of Geumsa.

All were sects centered around the Sunwoo Clan, situated in different regions.

“Then what about bringing in the Seogidang and the Yun Clan?”

When I asked that, Chief of Staff Uibin avoided my gaze and spoke with difficulty.

“…Great Hero Seonwoo Jung had a lover he was already seeing. But for the sake of the Seonwoo Clan, he had no choice but to take her as his third wife.”

Third wife.

He was referring to my mother.

And she passed away not long after I was born.

But now, bringing up Mother’s story…

The branch manager cautiously continued.

The relationship between the first and second wives was not good. Both had given birth to sons and both wanted to control the Seonwoo family. But according to rumors circulating at the time… it seemed they were particularly united when it came to dealing with the third wife.

He squeezed his eyes shut.

He understood immediately what she meant.

His father’s original lover, but a mother without background, and the first and second mothers, notorious for their fierce personalities.

The scene seemed to unfold before his eyes.

“The cause of Third Lady’s death was never made public. But in our view, it was probably…”

He trailed off.

But there was no mistaking what he wanted to say.

“Huuu.”

He tried to calm his mind.

Nothing was certain yet.

Whether they really killed my mother, or whether they treated me so harshly out of jealousy toward my mother, who had been my father’s lover.

But a fierce flame was rising within my chest for the first time in ages.

“After that, when the Third Lady passed away, the feud between the First Lady and the Second Lady only grew more intense. So, our theory is…”

“So they dispersed their forces entirely. If it’s a multi-party contest rather than a two-way race, no one will dare make a move.”

“Yes, that’s my assumption.”

He let out a deep sigh.

He had almost no memory of seeing his mother in person.

She had passed away so early that even my good memory couldn’t recall her.

But I could imagine it well enough.

Even as a young child, they treated me so cruelly—how must they have treated my mother?

How exhausting her life must have been, with no background to fall back on.

I could also imagine the weight my father had borne.

My father’s life—enduring the external forces that controlled our family, completely abandoning the individual Seonwoo Jung to live solely as the head of the household…

He murmured suddenly.

“There’s so much to do.”

It seemed inevitable.

When I go to the Seonwoo family this time.

After a long period lost in thought, I spoke again to the solemn-faced Chief of the Yi Bin Branch.

“I have a request.”

“Yes, Master. Speak.”

“Would you deliver two letters for me?”

“Yes, of course. Who should I deliver it to?”

“One letter is for the Sicheondang Gate. And the other one is…”

***

A dark night, the basement of a large inn.

“Aaaaaaargh!”

“Aaaaaah!”

Countless people were dying, bleeding out, all around.

It was a massacre.

Enemies clad in hostility had formed an encircling net, slowly killing people as they tightened the siege.

They laughed leisurely, as if toying with rats trapped in a jar.

Then, from among those trapped at the center of the encirclement, a middle-aged man who appeared to be their leader shouted with a fierce expression.

“What are you doing, Master?! We swore to follow you, didn’t we?!”

As he shouted this, the center of the encircling formation opened slightly, and a young man slowly walked in through the gap.

Despite the gloom, he was a strikingly handsome young man, his face radiating light.

He spoke in a cold voice.

“First, the crime of cooperating with this humble servant, So Nanso, all this time, merely managing the Hao Gate, despite His Majesty entrusting me with a crucial task for the great cause of the Blood Sect’s dominance over the world. Second, the crime of failing to capture this criminal, So Nanso, and instead smuggling him away. Third, the crime of losing trust through all these actions.”

The young man stopped walking and asked with a cold stare.

“Do you need more reason, Gong Daegak?”

At that, Gong Daegak, the first of the Blood Sect’s Demon Lords, Galsamgwi, gritted his teeth and shouted.

“You misunderstand! The Witch planned to seize control of the shadows before stepping into the light—she was never being lazy! Besides, we truly have no idea where the Witch is!”

But the fair youth, Gu Yousang, once called the First Prince of Sichuan, snorted derisively.

“Don’t be ridiculous. You claim she wasn’t being lazy, yet all she did was rescue orphans and vindicate wronged courtesans?”

At that, Gong Daegak desperately shouted.

“We too were orphans! It’s not wrong for us, who were orphans, to help children in the same situation! And by doing so, we can expand the Blood Cult’s influence even further…!”

“Shut your mouth! Do you think His Majesty sent you to waste precious time and manpower on such nonsense?! Enough talk! Pay for your crime with your life!”

As Gu Yu-sang barked coldly, the expressions of Gong Dae-gak and the other Gal-sa Sam-gwi also turned icy.

“Hmph! The Witch said it herself. The Blood Demon ultimately wants to purge us, the remnants of the old era. Just as it dealt with the Small Demon Army, it will do the same to us. The Witch’s insight was spot on! I should have followed her and escaped long ago!”

A powerful aura began radiating from Galsamgwi’s body as he steeled his resolve to fight.

The eldest, Gong Daegak, with over ninety years of cultivation, was formidable, and the presence of his two younger brothers, each with over eighty years of cultivation, was no less daunting.

Gong Daegak shouted.

“You brat! We treated you like a disciple of the Blood Demon, and now you think you’re the real thing?! Do you really believe our Galssamgwi would fall so easily to a lowly creature like you?!”

At that, the two demon generals flanking Gu Yousang opened their mouths with fierce expressions.

“How dare you speak of the Supreme Being in such a manner, Young Master! Leave it to us! This Chukhotak and Nojosong will tear those dogs to shreds!”

“Leave it to us, Young Master!”

The figures flanking Gu Yousang were Chukhotak, the Bloodthirsty Demon of Hell, and Nojosong, the Man-Eating Demon Horse—demons of supreme power, each possessing over ninety years of cultivation.

So even if they were the most formidable of the Galssamgwi, they would have been more than capable of handling it.

But Gu Yousang gave a faint smile, then turned away from them and said.

“May I ask Uncle Hwa for a favor?”

Then, from behind him, a handsome young nobleman emerged, fanning himself and yawning as he walked slowly forward.

“Haaam. If it’s a request from Yoo-sang, of course I’ll do it. But after we deal with those guys, can we go back right away? I spotted some really pretty girls upstairs.”

He was a man who appeared to be in his early thirties at most, with a youthful appearance and dressed in bright, elegant attire that made him seem more like a man of refined taste than a warrior.

But upon seeing him, Chukhotak and Nojosong bowed respectfully and stepped aside, while Galsamgwi could only stammer in astonishment.

“Th-Thamhwasakma Hwasayu?”

Hwasayu, the Lustful Demon.

He was one of the Blood Sect’s Five Demons, alongside Iron-Skin Madman Cheokgang and Nine-Yin Demon Jigieum, and ranked among the world’s Thirty-Six Supreme Masters. That very man had appeared here with Gu Yusang.