Chapter 330 : Shadow (5)
Chapter 330: Shadow (5)
After aggressively scribbling down a long list of tasks that needed to be completed the moment the reinforcements arrived, Il-mok finally stood up and stepped outside the grand building.
About a month had passed since taking control of the Potala Palace, and the atmosphere of the Potala Palace had changed in many ways.
Above all, the biggest difference was that the traces of that aphrodisiac incense that had enveloped all of the Potala Palace had completely disappeared. The bloody scent that had permeated all of the Potala Palace had also completely vanished. The blood that had splattered on the floors and buildings everywhere had all been cleaned away, creating a tranquil atmosphere now.
Throughout that ancient temple, women could be seen walking around here and there.
As Il-mok slowly walked past them with his mask securely fastened over his face, the women stopped and bowed respectfully.
"We greet the Incarnation of Maitreya."
Those women were all those rescued from the Potala Palace.
Perhaps it was because they had all lived together in peace for an entire month now, the crippling terror that used to fill their eyes whenever they looked at Il-mok had significantly faded away.
"Please hold on just a little bit longer. The moment our reinforcements arrive, I promise to safely escort all of you back to your hometowns." Il-mok smiled gently and added those words.
It was a promise he had already clearly communicated to them the very first day he rescued them.
Because his strike team that raided the Potala Palace had only consisted of twelve people, attempting to safely escort over a hundred vulnerable women back to their respective hometowns was the same as courting disaster.
Especially now, with dangerous remnants of the Potala Palace still roaming freely throughout Tibet, blindly sending these women out on the road by themselves was practically begging for another tragedy to occur.
The women responded with gentle smiles. "We're just grateful you rescued us."
They had already confirmed with their own eyes why they couldn't be sent back to their hometowns immediately.
Over the past month, groups of monks who had previously left the palace to abduct more women had unknowingly returned to the base on three separate occasions.
Naturally, those returning monks immediately lost their lives to Il-mok and his subordinates, and the fresh batch of young women they had dragged along were integrated into the sanctuary to live alongside the rest.
'The reinforcements need to hurry up and arrive so I can finally sweep away the rest of the surviving remnants.'
Il-mok was well aware that there were still active remnants roaming about.
Not only had he gathered intelligence from the rescued women regarding missing monks, but it had also been exactly half a month since the last group of monks had foolishly tried to return to the Potala Palace.
It was highly likely that rumors of the Potala Palace's destruction had finally begun to spread throughout the Tibetan region.
The real problem was that it was painfully obvious what kind of horrific atrocities those surviving esoteric monks would be committing across Tibet now that they knew they had no home to return to.
Just then, a sharp sound of cutting through the air rang out from far away.
Il-mok moved his steps toward where the sound came from.
In a corner of the Potala Palace, at a training ground where people rarely came and went, a woman stood holding a massive bow.
When Jeong Hyeon drew and released the bowstring again, the arrow that left her hand flew while creating a sound of cutting through the air.
Tracking the terrifying velocity of the soaring arrow, Il-mok nodded his head with an incredibly satisfied expression.
'Miss Jeong might also escape Extremity soon.'
Just then, Jeong Hyeon, who had been completely engrossed in her archery practice, seemed to suddenly sense a presence; she hastily lowered her bow and whipped her head in Il-mok's direction.
Upon spotting the masked figure of Il-mok standing there, Jeong Hyeon jumped in surprise and bowed her head.
"I-I greet the Young Master!"
Even with her head bowed low, it was obvious that Jeong Hyeon's entire face had instantly flushed a violent shade of crimson red.
It had already been an entire month since she began cautiously reading the 'special' books Jin Hayeon had gifted her.
And she still hadn't recovered from that shock.
* * *
A few days later, a group of eagerly awaited guests finally arrived at the Potala Palace.
It was the reinforcements dispatched from Gansu Province.
The majority of them were those who would handle doctrine education and missionary work, and there were only about ten martial artists at most.
Il-mok looked at those martial artists and swallowed a sigh inwardly.
'It can't be helped.'
Knowing that the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult was currently suffering from a severe manpower shortage across the board, receiving even ten extra martial artists was something he should be deeply grateful for.
Since he had also explicitly requested additional combat personnel directly from the main headquarters, more reinforcements would likely arrive in a few days.
Even then, he fully expected that second batch of fighters to cap out at around ten to twenty people at best.
However, just because there were few people didn't mean cleaning could be postponed.
"From this moment forward, you will form specialized strike teams with the martial artists already stationed here. You will sweep through the entirety of the Tibetan region and execute any surviving remnants of the Potala Palace."
It was time to clean up the trash he had been forced to leave unattended.
After roughly distributing personnel, Il-mok gave instructions to the newly joined martial artists and those who had been there before.
"Young Master, I have something to say."
In an incredibly rare occurrence, Jin Hayeon actively stepped forward to oppose Il-mok's direct orders.
"Rather than grouping all the maids into one team, it would be better to divide them into several teams."
As the undisputed head maid, she knew the truth better than anyone else.
She knew exactly what kind of disaster her subordinates became whenever Il-mok wasn't physically present to watch them.
'If I keep them all together, it'll be like smearing mud on the Young Master's face. As his loyal retainer, I simply cannot allow such a disgrace to happen.'
The problem was that Il-mok didn't know thcompletely oblivious to this fact.
"Is there a reason to separate them when they've been coordinating for a long time?"
When Il-mok asked with a puzzled expression, Jin Hayeon answered readily.
"Do they not already possess valuable first-hand experience operating here in Tibet?"
Maybe it was because she had started to reach for Transcendence. Or maybe it was because the master she had served for so long was the notoriously lazy and excuse-ready Il-mok.
"Therefore, I believe it would be more efficient to mix the maids and Hyeokryeon Family's martial artists with the newly joined people."
She could spout complete bullshit that she made up on the spot with a blank face.
* * *
A few days later.
After traveling through the harsh Tibetan land for several days with four Heavenly Demon Divine Cult martial artists, Jeong Hyeon arrived at a county called Namling.
That place had a somewhat tense atmosphere.
Having experienced this exact same heavy atmosphere on multiple occasions while traveling alongside Il-mok, Jeong Hyeon cautiously spoke up.
"Th-there seems to be s-something here."
Though Jeong Hyeon was extremely reluctant to step forward, she gathered her courage.
'Wh-while we're wasting time, w-women might suffer greater harm.'
If there were Potala Palace remnants here, they needed to be executed as quickly as possible.
She took the lead and began to guide the party.
Thanks to using Ghostly Spirit Divine Bow to analyze countless traces inside the village and even eavesdropping on residents' whispered conversations, she could find the target without difficulty.
At the specific location Jeong Hyeon ultimately led her squad to, a rather large pavilion sat quietly in the center of the village.
The moment they approached the pavilion, the sickeningly sweet scent of aphrodisiac incense seeping out of it violently assaulted her nose.
Filled with certainty, she turned her head back to address her squad.
"I-it's there."
The four martial artists who came with her nodded with admiring expressions.
"As expected of the Eighth Young Master. The maid of a genius is also a genius.”
"Excellent skill."
Completely overwhelmed with embarrassment and not knowing how to handle their high praise, Jeong Hyeon deeply bowed her head to hide her face and quickly spoke.
"W-we must enter q-quickly."
Knowing all too well what kind of horrific acts might currently be taking place inside, the martial artists immediately wiped the smiles off their faces and adopted solemn expressions as they cautiously approached the pavilion.
After carefully approaching the wall, they made eye contact with each other, nodded, and simultaneously leaped over the wall.
"Do you fools have any idea whose territory you are trespassing on!?"
As the furious, arrogant shout of a monk erupted from within, screams and the clashing of metal echoed.
Whoosh!
Jeong Hyeon stationed herself on the roof of the opposite building and fired an arrow toward a monk.
The single spear-like arrow she shot was imbued with qi.
CRUNCH!
The esoteric monk desperately raised his vajra in a futile attempt to block the projectile, but the massive arrow violently shattered the metal weapon and instantly blew his head apart.
It was the result of training Il-mok had advised.
* * *
When those practicing Demonic Arts successfully escaped Extremity, the practitioners could reach a level similar to what the Central Plains dubbed the Supreme Peak Realm.
And in the Central Plains, the universal standard used to determine if a martial artist had officially reached the Supreme Peak Realm was the ability to manifest Force Qi.
However, that standard was strictly only applicable to martial artists who relied on bare-handed combat or close-quarters melee weapons like swords, sabers, and spears.
After all, the sheer difficulty of wrapping dense Force Qi around a sword physically held in your hand, compared to maintaining that same Force Qi around an arrow flying dozens of meters through the air were two entirely different realms of difficulty.
If that was the case, how were martial artists who exclusively practiced archery supposed to officially prove they had reached the Supreme Peak Realm?
Then how should those who learned archery discuss the realm called transcendent?
Furthermore, how could they possibly surpass the Supreme Peak Realm to eventually reach the legendary Realm of Truth?
Drawing upon his own vast martial comprehension and the unique fighting style of Dam Bin, Il-mok was able to deduce his own unique answer to this problem.
Dam Bin was also a master who had escaped Extremity, but she didn't handle solid Force Qi. Because her martial art specialized in utilizing threads, manifesting solid Force Qi was actually a waste of her internal energy.
Instead of 'condensing' her Force Qi, she evolved her martial arts by focusing entirely on manipulating her Force Qi down to microscopic precision.
So Il-mok advised Jeong Hyeon.
—Every time you shoot an arrow, try coating the arrow with Qi.
—By utilizing the exceptionally enhanced senses granted by your Ghostly Spirit Divine Bow, practice maintaining your connection to that Qi so it doesn't naturally scatter into the wind after the arrow leaves the bowstring.
—Once you reach the point where you can perfectly maintain that Qi without it scattering even at the arrow's maximum effective range, try to physically alter the arrow's trajectory mid-flight by manipulating the Qi wrapped around it.
When Il-mok laid out his three-step training method to her, Jeong Hyeon, who had already reached Extremity, succeeded in passing the first stage without difficulty.
In the second stage, she also succeeded by about half.
For a long time, the Qi she carefully wrapped around the arrow would inevitably slowly scatter back into the air the farther the arrow flew.
However, fast-forwarding to the present moment, she was finally able to flawlessly maintain the tightly packed Qi wrapped around her arrow from the very second it left her bowstring until the moment it struck its target.
* * *
Even at this moment, Jeong Hyeon was shooting arrows while recalling that day's advice.
CRUNCH!
Every time she shot a single arrow imbued with Qi, monks fell like autumn leaves.
With the additional terrifying performance of the four elite Cult martial artists added to the mix, the esoteric monks were rapidly being massacred.
Perhaps finally realizing the grim reality that they would be completely wiped out at this rate, a senior monk appeared from inside the building with a shout.
"Stop your attacks immediately!"
"The moment you move even a fingertip, I'll kill this bitch!"
The high monk aggressively pressed the sharp edge of his metal vajra directly against the throat of a terrified woman.
While the Cult's martial artists hesitated about what to do, Jeong Hyeon was already preparing her arrow and aimed at that monk.
'This is my only chance, right now while my presence is still perfectly hidden from him.'
One of the advantages of the baby arrow was that its small size and immense speed made it perfectly specialized for stealthy sniping and assassination.
Right now, with the high monk's entire focus locked onto the four martial artists on the ground, this was the perfect opportunity to assassinate the bastard.
'There's only one chance.'
If she made even the slightest mistake, the arrow might lodge in the woman the senior monk had captured.
Operating her Ghostly Spirit Divine Bow to the maximum limit, Jeong Hyeon's concentration reached an inhuman degree. It became so incredibly sharp that she could physically feel the minute flow of the wind vividly brushing against her skin.
The very second the high monk's screaming voice began to unnaturally stretch and slow down, the natural flow of time felt bizarrely distorted in her mind.
Thwack.
The tiny arrow coated with Ghostly Spirit Divine Bow's Qi left her hand and headed toward the senior monk.
Swish.
The piercing sound of tearing air, physically traveling much slower than the arrow itself, only belatedly vomited out a terrifying screech.
"!!!"
The startled senior monk's hurried turn of his head entered Jeong Hyeon's vision.
'No!!'
The arrow she had just fired hadn't even reached the immediate vicinity of the high monk yet.
Perhaps the high monk's martial arts prowess was simply far more outstanding than she had initially anticipated. The bastard was already violently twisting his body and forcefully yanking the paralyzed hostage directly into the arrow's flight path.
Jeong Hyeon could see the reflection of her arrow rapidly expanding second by second within the terrified hostage's wide pupils.
'If the Young Master had been here, this wouldn't have happened...'
Jeong Hyeon regretted her actions.
Regretted the fact that she had foolishly underestimated the high monk's martial prowess and so hastily released the bowstring.
Did she notice her life hung by a thread?
Even though the arrow was flying at a terrifying velocity that ordinary people wouldn't even be able to track with their eyes, a distinct change slowly occurred across the hostage's face.
Thanks to operating the Ghostly Spirit Divine Bow to its limit, Jeong Hyeon could vividly read the exact emotions contained in that slow and subtle change.
Despair. Sorrow. And faint relief.
Reading the emotions in that expression, Jeong Hyeon realized.
Now wasn't the time to be regretting.
She tried to realize the last advice Il-mok had given.
—Once you reach the point where you can perfectly maintain that Qi without it scattering even at the arrow's maximum effective range, try to physically alter the arrow's trajectory mid-flight by manipulating the Qi wrapped around it.
It was advice she had practiced countless times but never once succeeded at.
'Please!!'
She desperately prayed toward the arrow she had shot.
'Bend! I said bend!!'
Despite her desperate scream, the arrow reflected in the woman's pupils only continued to grow in size, and the emotions on the woman's face only deepened.
'I'm begging you, please just bend!!'
And right at the exact moment Jeong Hyeon's desperate desire reached its absolute limit. A transcendental sensation washed over her, making it feel as if the entire world had completely stopped moving.
The arrow that had escaped her hand felt as if it were still caught in her hand.
Tap.
The very second she mentally applied the slightest pressure to gently nudge the tethered arrow in her mind, an agonizing pain that felt like her brain was on fire violently washed over her.
But even in that pain, Jeong Hyeon drew a bright smile on her lips.
Because within that frozen world, the path of the arrow she fired was twisted, however slightly.
The moment her concentration broke, the world returned to its original speed.
CRUNCH!!
Accompanied by the gruesome sound of flesh being pierced, Jeong Hyeon collapsed like a broken puppet with its string cut off.