Chapter 49 Wall (2)

Chapter 49 Wall (2)

* * *

“Is he here?”

At those words, the beggar acting as gatekeeper glanced at the Immortal of the Deep Standing behind Gu Yangji.

His movements were like a dog whimpering.

Gu Yangji frowned and tapped his shoulder.

“Move aside.”

No sooner had he twisted his body than—

Crash! Bang!

Gu Yangji’s kick smashed through the inn’s main gate.

Through the splintered wood, two men appeared, their expressions clearly stunned and flustered.

It seemed to perfectly describe the current situation.

“Stubborn dog.”

At the words casually tossed by the Immortal of the Heart, the red-nosed mongrel flinched.

“I believe you can answer my question. Might you spare me some time?”

“……I have a guest.”

No sooner had the words left his mouth than the man seated opposite leapt to his feet.

Clang!

In doing so, he sent the chair he had been sitting on flying backward.

A perfect balance of strength and inner power.

Seeing this, Gu Yangjeok’s lips twitched.

‘Not bad for a lackey.’

But that was all.

A flicker of yellow light danced in Gu Yangjeok’s pupils for an instant, then the Zhenhui Eye activated.

The Zhenhui Eye granted the right to see first.

It was so formidable it could be called a demonic eye, requiring an extremely grueling and bizarre cultivation process to forge a separate path for its internal energy.

But Gu Yangjeok had mastered it perfectly during his early training in the hermitage.

There was no way such a man would miss someone who was merely a lackey.

Click.

His teeth clenched together, making a sound.

The heightened energy contained within it momentarily stiffened the man’s entire body.

“…Guh!”

Gu Yangjeok’s eyes gleamed at the sight of the man struggling and resisting.

‘Should I draw my sword and cut off his foot?’

But he quickly changed his mind.

With the Zhongnan Sect right behind him, he needed to restrain his actions somewhat.

Gu Yangjeok’s lips parted slightly.

“I will subdue that man. Senior, please handle the guard dog.”

“Understood.”

Even as he spoke, Gu Yangjeok’s gaze remained fixed on the man.

He simply planted his foot forward, gathered all his strength, and lunged forward in a single stride.

“……?!”

The man who saw this gasped sharply.

It was fast. Even though he’d leaped into the air, it felt like he was sprinting across level ground.

‘Was Master Gu Yang that powerful?’

The man felt relieved he hadn’t voiced his thoughts aloud.

The shock was too great.

It was also utterly unexpected that a cultivator who should have been with the Huashan Sect was here.

He’d never even heard any news about it.

‘Damn it, I’ve never heard anything like this before!’

Just as the man was replaying his thoughts, Gu Yangji spoke.

“I wondered why your disciples seemed unusually young.”

“……Kuh!”

The man let out a faint groan and thrust out his left palm.

Seeing this, Gu Yangji’s eyes narrowed.

The Xian Palm.

The most renowned palm technique of the Huashan Sect.

The enemy had decided not to hide himself.

Gu Yangji glanced briefly over his shoulder.

‘Does he intend to do this in full view of the Zhongnan Sect?’

Perhaps he had already completed all preparations.

‘This doesn’t feel good.’

Gu Yangji’s hand swung decisively.

Xuanxue Zhang met Xuanxue Zhang.

But within that strike lay the power to kill the man in a single blow.

Whoosh-!

Gu Yang-jeok’s swinging hand violently pushed back the wind.

The sudden wind pressure made the man stagger, his shoulders jerking as if dizzy.

“…Hah!”

Gu Yang-jeok didn’t miss that opening.

-Is the Elder well?

The sudden telepathic voice made the man’s face flush with embarrassment and shame.

He must know. How deeply he’d been dragged into this dog-like affair.

Seeing even the Zhongnan Sect step forward, even a child could understand.

A cold aura crystallized at the tip of Gu Yangji’s fingers.

Pang!

The collision of force and force sent shockwaves that repelled them both.

As the distance widened, the man’s lips curved into a smile.

‘If I can just bounce off the wall…! I can escape this spot!’

Knowing he couldn’t flee unless he did it now, while the Zhongnan Sect subdued the guard dog, the man’s expression grew even more frantic.

Just as he tried to break free, a mysterious technique shot out from the Vajra Fist Armor.

‘Nioh Seizing the Evil One!’

As if the Nioh seized the villain.

The internal energy flowing down his back penetrated the Vajra Fist Armor, transforming into a fiery aura.

Yet here, the true power of the Zha Hajin Qi manifested.

It embraced the fiery aura, which could easily be mistaken for Shaolin martial arts.

If the True Spirit was Gu Yang-jeok’s outward weapon, the Vajra Fist Armor was a hidden trump card used only when necessary.

Especially the incantation inscribed within the armor, the Benevolent King Fist Sutra, would prove invaluable when the True Spirit couldn’t be used.

‘I didn’t know the enemy was a demon cultivator, or a lackey of Huashan.’

Gu Yangjie twisted his lips in a fleeting, bitter expression.

Yet the momentum behind his attack did not waver. On the contrary, it accelerated his body with fierce intensity.

Subdue him before he can react.

For now, the best course was to subdue him first, before he could pass through the hands of the Zhongnan Sect, and then escort him to Huashan.

Gu Yangjie’s lips twitched.

-If he’s a disciple of Huashan, it’d be best if he at least let me take him.

Swish!

At that telepathic command, the man spun mid-air and drew his sword.

Clang! The fist guard and sword clashed, sending sparks flying.

‘So he doesn’t like that.’

Suddenly, Gu Yangjeok’s lips curved into a deep smile.

“How fortunate.”

“……?”

“I have my own preferred method.”

Gu Yangjeok’s gaze shifted momentarily to the guard dog.

“I have quite a few bone-crushing techniques I’ve developed but never had the chance to use.”

Shiver!

The man broke out in a cold sweat at the hostility and utter detachment in those words.

“……What the hell are you—”

“Where is Elder Cheol?”

When the man hesitated to answer, Gu Yangjeok barked again.

“Answer me!”

Simultaneously, a jet of fire shot from the tip of Gu Yangjeok’s finger.

* * *

“Will you follow?”

At those words, Yi-hyeon followed his master down from the volcano.

Master and disciple are one; how could a disciple refuse his master’s will?

Strangely, however, no other cultivators emerged from the Guest Hall, making the descent eerily quiet.

Moreover, all the first-generation disciples of the Iron Gold Mountain sect, including his master, and their second-generation disciples were gathered there.

Yet, it remained silent.

‘…What is this?’

Even the sharp, pointed path through the volcanic mountains, usually gleaming with a piercing light, felt eerily quiet today.

Except for the faint, rising scent of blood.

A look of hesitation flashed across Ik-hyeon’s face.

“Master, this…”

“Say no more.”

“……”

Ik-hyeon obeyed.

It was the will of the master who had taken him in since childhood.

There was no way he could refuse.

Instead, he directed his gaze toward the figure before his master.

There stood the elder famed by the pseudonym Mokseok Cheolhyeon.

A faint spark ignited within Ik-hyeon’s heart.

“Are we running away right now?”

……Click.

At those words, the descending footsteps halted.

The faint scent of blood seemed to grow thicker.

Indeed, someone drew a sword.

It was a cultivator belonging to the disciples of Moksuk Cheolhyeon, the Iron Gold Mountain. Ik-hyeon had occasionally exchanged words with him before.

Though their conversations always ended with Ik-hyeon being scolded for his shortcomings, he had considered him somewhat friendly.

Yet, with the situation turning like this, even Ik-hyeon, whose virtue was low and wisdom lacking, began to suspect.

The scent of blood that had begun to rise just moments ago, the sharp cry of the sword drawn by the cultivator.

Ik-hyeon thought.

He recalled that Gu Yang-jeok had once been curious about the disciples of Cheolgimsan.

‘Perhaps… no, surely not…’

His head snapped around.

The second-generation disciples standing across the way looked utterly bewildered, but the direct disciples of Cheolgimsan seemed to have something on their minds.

‘For such a late hour, it’s far too…’

…quiet.

Ik-hyeon recalled the corruption within the Geumhwan Trading Company that had occurred before.

Even if the Grand Master sat at the highest seat, merely approving matters, the Golden Ring Society couldn’t have committed the fraud alone.

Could it be that someone of Elder-level status or higher had aided them?

Then there was the subsequent unconsciousness of the senior brother and the subtle currents flowing within the Huashan Sect.

Ik-hyeon unconsciously covered his mouth with both hands.

But he quickly removed them, his expression hardening.

Because there was something he absolutely had to ask.

“Um…”

To grasp the precise reality, the truth he didn’t want to witness, Ik-hyeon painfully parted his lips.

“Were we… the faction that brought Hwasan to this?”

The moment those words ended, a shout erupted.

It was like a rod subduing the cries of the weak.

“Can’t you watch your tongue in the presence of the Grandmaster?!”

At those words, Ik-hyeon flinched, his shoulders jerking.

A hollow laugh seeped through his entire body in an instant, erupting loudly.

“Ha, hahahahaha!”

Ik-hyeon’s laughter erupted, flowing through the trees lining the narrow path.

Those words were tantamount to the Cheolgum Mountain disciples admitting their involvement in the events that had unfolded thus far.

Consequently, several disciples’ faces flushed red.

But those were the second-generation disciples.

The first-generation disciples were quietly steeled in their resolve.

They might have known from the start.

That someday, a great calamity like this would befall the Hwasan Sect.

Then, Cheolgimsan spoke.

“Strike down without mercy those you cannot trust.”

“Yes!”

The moment the words left his mouth, drawn swords were swung with a frenzy of madness.

Thud, thud, thud!

They cut down the second-generation disciples they had taught for years without the slightest hesitation.

Blood splattered profusely across the narrow path.

Eyes filled with betrayal turned to look behind them, but the situation did not change.

It was their master.

They were filled with sorrow, wondering how they could possibly cut down the master who had taught them.

Like Ik-hyeon, those slain were disciples taken in from childhood.

“……”

Instead, the eyes of the senior disciples who had sided with Cheolgum Mountain only grew deeper and colder.

Ik-hyeon belatedly drew his sword and swung it.

It was a technique honed with even greater determination after clashing with fellow late-stage cultivators.

But.

Clang!

As the sun sank and the sky gradually darkened, the clash of the two swords produced a clear, ringing sound.

Simultaneously, Ik-hyeon felt a sharp sting. Sparks flew before his eyes.

Yet, the sting seemed not solely from the sparks.

A familiar face appeared.

“……Mo-yeon Dogo.”

“Don’t call me that.”

Yeong Mo-yeon answered haughtily, then readjusted her stance.

The slightest lapse in concentration would see that posture shift into a deadly strike.

Ik-hyeon tensed, sweat beading in his palms.

How long could he hold out?

‘Not long, surely.’

Just when he thought he’d finally seen the light.

Gulp.

Despair seeped into his mind. He wanted to pour his resentment into the heavens, asking why it had to be like this.

Yeong Mo-yeon’s gaze, watching such Ik-hyeon, grew distinctly bitter.

“I’m sorry, hyung.”

“Who says I’m your senior?”

Ik-hyeon coldly shook off any affection.

Even as they spoke, blood welling up beside him trickled down his cheek.

Warmth cooled so quickly like that.

Was the bond formed by studying swordsmanship under the same master so easily severed?

He didn’t know.

He only vaguely sensed something before.

‘The disciples of the Chief of the Law Enforcement Hall were particularly young. And the senior brother under our master also gained disciples quickly.’

This was a rumor that circulated frequently.

The rumor that Cheolgimsan cherished talent, taking disciples quickly at a young age and binding them to follow only him.

Of course, the latter rumor was erased by Cheolgimsan’s disciples. ‘Forcibly erased’ was the accurate expression.

Even Ik-hyeon himself was overwhelmed with ‘gratitude’.

‘But this is the treatment we actually receive.’

Ik-hyeon parried Yeongmo-yeon’s opening move while assessing the battle situation.

The second-generation disciples, who had belatedly grasped Cheolgumsan and the first-generation disciple’s intentions, launched a counterattack, but it was utterly insignificant.

After all, it was the First Generation Disciple who had taught them.

Ik-hyeon’s lips clenched tightly.

‘How could Second Generation Disciples like us possibly win?’

Moreover, prodigies like Yeong Mo-yeon seemed to have aligned with the First Generation Disciple long ago.

At that moment, Yeong Mo-yeon cautiously asked.

“Senior Brother… it’s not too late, even now.”

“Shut up.”

A thick aura of killing intent seeped from Ik-hyeon’s entire body.

“No matter what anyone says, no matter how lacking my martial arts may be, I, Ik-hyeon, am a cultivator of the Huashan Sect. This fact will not change.”

“…I suppose there’s no choice.”

Just as Yeong Mo-yeon raised his sword, and Cheol Geum-san, who had been observing from behind, was about to join the slaughter.

A figure descended the narrow path.

“Cheol Geum-san, from this moment, you are no longer a disciple of Huashan. Henceforth, you are forbidden to use your Taoist name, and indeed, even the secular name bestowed upon you by Huashan.”

“…You.”

Before Cheolgeumsan could utter a word, Yoo Jang-myeong answered.

“Therefore, I, Yoo Jang-myeong, acting on behalf of the sect’s leader, Baek Dan-hyeon, and the senior master, Ha Jin-ak, shall punish this nameless bandit.”