The Regressed Sword Demon Changes the Future

"Uh, uh uh?"

"It's Abbess Yeonho of Emei! The Demon-Subduing Azure Sword, Abbess Yeonho!"

"And that person is Tang Munhwa of the Tang Clan, the White-Blooded Poison Flower!"

The nun in typical nun's robes with a sword at her waist was the renowned Demon-Subduing Azure Sword, Abbess Yeonho, among the disciples of Emei. And appearing with Abbess Yeonho was the eldest daughter of the current Tang Clan's Sect Leader, the White-Blooded Poison Flower, Tang Munhwa.

At the appearance of the two women, Jeongpung's face turned pale.

He had shouted such arrogant words loudly when the parties concerned were not present, but now that they were here, he had become a mute who had eaten honey.

He knew it too.

'I'm screwed, that's what.'

It was true that Qingcheng had great influence in Sichuan, but it was by no means overwhelming. The power map of Sichuan had always repeated a pattern where if one side took the lead, the remaining two sects would join forces to check them.

As a result, the power structure of the three parties did not easily collapse, and it was the same in the current generation.

Of course, they had to be sensitive to each other's words and actions, but…

'Moreover, I was caught in front of many people while a mere third-generation disciple was spouting such nonsense…'

In addition, the opponents he was caught by were not good either.

The Demon-Subduing Azure Sword, Abbess Yeonho, and the White-Blooded Poison Flower, Tang Munhwa!

Both were rare beauties, but if Abbess Yeonho was a person of gentle character who valued looking after the difficulties of the common people and punishing the evil people of the unorthodox faction, the White-Blooded Poison Flower, Tang Munhwa, was famous for her cold and ruthless nature and her merciless and unrestrained hand towards the enemies of the Tang Clan.

'But they have something in common.'

That is, they are strong!

In the first place, that was what the Geumjo Merchant Guild had requested from each sect. To send the real skilled practitioners of the sect. That was why Cheongmu and Cheong Yeonah had come as representatives from Mysterious Profound Sect in the first place.

And Emei and the Tang Clan had also sent the real skilled practitioners of their sects as requested!

"Benefactor, no matter how young you are, there are words in the martial world that can be let go and words that cannot."

"Cut the crap. You're not the one who came as a representative, are you? I want to talk to someone who can represent Qingcheng."

Jeongpung and Jeongho's eyes were shaking like crazy. No, not just their eyes, but their legs were also trembling visibly.

That was because both the Demon-Subduing Azure Sword and the White-Blooded Poison Flower were of a much higher generation than Jeongpung.

The Demon-Subduing Azure Sword was a first-generation disciple of Emei, and the White-Blooded Poison Flower was the eldest daughter of the Tang Clan's Sect Leader!

Normally, the difference in their status was so great that he wouldn't even dare to speak to them.

As Jeongpung was stuttering and unable to say anything, a group of people hurriedly approached the dueling stage.

"Master!"

"M-Master!"

The ones who appeared were a middle-aged man in the same Qingcheng martial robes as Jeongpung and Jeongho, and young martial artists in the same martial robes.

And following them were…

"Baekseo! Yuhan!"

"Wow~ what's all this commotion again?"

It was Cheongmu and Cheong Yeonah, who had come to look for their disciples after handing over the sixtieth birthday gift to Geum Gadong on behalf of Mysterious Profound Sect.

The two masters who had arrived quickly grasped the situation after hearing the story from their disciples.

Bang!

After hearing the whole story, Cheongmu, filled with righteous indignation, stomped his foot and made a large mark on the dueling stage. He had stomped his foot so hard that the hundreds of pounds of bluestones laid on the dueling stage all floated up about an inch into the air for a moment.

"…How can a disciple of Qingcheng, which is called a prestigious sect, do such an unrighteous thing!!"

His anger was so enormous that a tangible wave of qi was radiating out in streams. The fragments of bluestone that had been broken by his stomp floated up into the air on their own due to that energy, and then crumbled powerlessly. The momentum was truly fierce.

At this, the faces of Jeongpung, Jeongho, and their master contorted, and they let out a groan. The Demon-Subduing Azure Sword and the White-Blooded Poison Flower let out a small gasp of surprise.

They had heard that a transcendent master had emerged from the small to medium-sized sect Mysterious Profound Sect, located in Gangjeong County, for the first time in decades.

But they had not expected him to be a skilled practitioner of this level.

Moreover, the fact that his level was the best among the four skilled practitioners present here had a greater meaning than they had thought.

Of course, that did not mean that Cheongmu was the strongest in Sichuan, stronger than all the masters in Qingcheng, Emei, and the Tang Clan.

Mysterious Profound Sect had obediently sent their strongest in the sect, Cheongmu, at the request of the Geumjo Merchant Guild, but Qingcheng, Emei, and the Tang Clan, which belonged to the Nine Great Sects and the Seven Great Families, had only sent someone who was skilled in their sect, and by no means had they sent the best skilled practitioner in their sect.

'Seeing that the Tang Clan didn't send Tang Chuyeong, it's obvious that they just picked a suitable person.'

The Poison Star, Tang Chuyeong, who had led the blood relatives of the annihilated Tang Clan in the world before his regression, was also famous as the top master of the Tang Clan in this era.

Even so, what was amazing was amazing!

"I am Gwang Oh of Qingcheng. In the martial world, I am called by the undeserved title of the Swift Sword of the Capital. On behalf of Qingcheng, I apologize for the rudeness of my disciples."

The dueling stage, which had been silent for a moment due to the shock of Cheongmu's martial prowess, was quickly brought under control by Grandmaster Gwang Oh, who moved to resolve the situation.

Just from what he had heard, it was a situation where the Qingcheng Sect could already suffer a loss.

There was nothing to be gained by dragging out the story.

But there was no reason for the experienced figures of the martial world to just let go of such a good opportunity.

"Benefactor, a fight between children may be ended with just an apology, but this incident, from the moment that child named Jeongpung interfered, is no longer a matter to be dismissed as a fight between children. This is a case of a disciple of Qingcheng persecuting a sect belonging to the Emei branch, and this is something that can by no means be overlooked."

From the perspective of the Emei Sect, this incident was by no means something that could be easily overlooked. What was the cause of this dispute in the first place?

It was because that child named Jeongho had criticized the disciple of Mysterious Profound Sect to his face as a traitor for Mysterious Profound Sect leaving the Qingcheng branch and moving to the Emei branch.

If a sect that had moved from the Qingcheng branch, trusting the Emei branch, was insulted like that, and the people of Emei just condoned it and let it go, what sects of the Qingcheng branch would be able to trust Emei and move over in the future?

Also, how could those who belonged to the Emei branch trust Emei and truly follow them?

"Since when did Qingcheng become so dominant in Sichuan? They may not have said it, but it seems Qingcheng already saw the Tang Clan and the Emei Sect as beneath them. If the entire sect didn't think that way, how could a mere third-generation disciple have spouted such outrageous remarks so confidently?"

On the other hand, what the Tang Clan was clinging to was Jeongpung's rash words and actions. Recently, Qingcheng had been rapidly expanding its power by actively opening its doors to the secular world. The expansion of Qingcheng, which had all but abandoned its limits and lines as a Daoist sect by opening its doors, was threatening, and the Tang Clan was on high alert.

In the midst of that, such an opportunity had come up, so from Tang Munhwa's perspective, she couldn't help but be delighted.

A good pretext to check them had arisen.

Of course, Grandmaster Gwang Oh also knew this fact.

But the situation was too bad. Since everyone around had seen and heard the disgraceful behavior of his disciples, Jeongpung and Jeongho, there was no room for him to make any excuses.

Grandmaster Gwang Oh could only apologize repeatedly, and Cheongmu, Abbess Yeonho, and Tang Munhwa notified him that they would officially protest this matter to Qingcheng, and thus the situation was roughly concluded.

***

"…"

"Doesn't it hurt?"

Jang Baekseo asked as he applied ointment to Yuhan's swollen face.

"I'm fine."

"Nonsense. Seeing how swollen it is, it hurts me just to look at it."

"…Yuhan, your master failed to look after you properly, so you went through a rough time…"

Jang Baekseo and Cheongmu looked at Yuhan with sad eyes, but Yuhan's expression did not change, and he was still calm.

"Senior Brother… doesn't it hurt?"

Next to him, Sohyun also looked at Yuhan's swollen cheek with worry and kept checking his face.

"I'm fine, Sohyun… ugh."

Since Sohyun was so worried, Yuhan tried to force a smile, but it had the opposite effect. He frowned as he felt pain trying to make a smiling expression.

"Tsk! The spirit of Qingcheng has fallen to the ground. How can an inner disciple, not even a secular one, do such a low-class thing?"

Cheong Yeonah also seemed to find this incident absurd and sat a little away, clicking her tongue.

"I heard from those around that both that guy named Jeongpung and that guy named Jeongho are kids sent from the Qingcheon Sect. Senior Brother, this is not something to be let go."

At Cheong Yeonah's continuing words, Cheongmu also nodded his head.

If this was the case, it could no longer be dismissed as just a children's fight. When they returned to the sect, they had to discuss it with Emei and then officially protest to Qingcheng and the Qingcheon Sect.

As Jang Baekseo and his junior brothers were chatting and Cheongmu and Cheong Yeonah were discussing their future response, a servant of the Geumjo Merchant Guild came to the room where they were staying.

"The master of the merchant guild wishes to see the Mystic Heaven Sword Great Hero."

A question appeared on Cheongmu's face. If there was something to say, he could have said it when he was handing over the gift. Why was he calling him so secretly in the middle of the night?

The meaning of this was simple. The master of the Geumjo Merchant Guild, Geum Gadong, had something he wanted to discuss in secret.

Before following the servant, Cheongmu asked him one thing.

"Can I bring a companion?"

At Cheongmu's request, the servant seemed to think for a moment and then nodded his head.

"If it's a trustworthy person, it should be fine."

Here, a trustworthy person meant, in a word, a person with a tight lip.

At those words, Cheongmu nodded his head, and the servant said, 'If that's the case…' and allowed the companion.

"Senior Brother~ I'm going to bed now, okay? Don't you know that insomnia is the enemy of a woman's skin~?"

Cheong Yeonah did not hide her annoyance and showed it. Cheongmu sighed deeply at his junior sister's appearance and said.

"I'm not trying to take you. Baekseo, let's go together."

"Yes? Me?"

When Jang Baekseo asked back in surprise at Cheongmu's words, Cheongmu nodded his head firmly.

"Aren't you the senior brother of the third generation of our Mysterious Profound Sect? In time, these are all things you will have to take on. It wouldn't be bad to experience it in advance, would it?"

'So that was the meaning.'

Jang Baekseo, who understood Cheongmu's thoughts, nodded his head, and soon the waiting servant guided them to a deep place inside the Geumjo Merchant Guild.

Cheongmu quickly noticed that the place the servant was guiding them to was not the master's room. It was too secret a place to be guiding them to the room where the master of a merchant guild resided.

The place they soon arrived at was a secret place in a fairly deep part of the merchant guild.

When they opened the door and entered, besides the master of the Geumjo Merchant Guild, Geum Gadong, a group of people had already arrived.

'Look at this? They're all transcendent-level masters, aren't they?'

That's right. Gathered in the room were the transcendent masters of each sect who had been invited to the party, including Grandmaster Gwang Oh of Qingcheng, Abbess Yeonho of Emei, and Tang Munhwa of the Tang Clan, whom they had met in the morning.

'So this is why he asked for skilled practitioners to be sent…'

At the same time, Jang Baekseo became curious. For what reason had he gathered the renowned transcendent masters of Sichuan…

And soon, his eyes went to the bed in the deep part of the room. A silk screen was covering the inside, but everyone here was a transcendent being who had reached the transcendent realm. They could clearly hear the labored breathing coming from beyond the screen.

When all the summoned people had gathered, Geum Gadong looked around the room with a gloomy face.

"I am truly grateful that all the famous figures of the martial world have gathered at the call of a mere merchant like myself."

Of course, Geum Gadong was not a person who could be called a mere merchant, but since the atmosphere was what it was, no one brought it up.

"The reason I held my sixtieth birthday party and requested that each sect send a representative with high martial arts skills was to ask for a favor from the famous martial artists of the martial world…"

Saying so, Geum Gadong pulled back the silk screen that was drawn on the bed.

What was revealed was the figure of a slender girl sleeping.

A silver-haired girl with a pale complexion, breathing heavily…

Even though the weather was not that hot, the girl, who was sweating from her whole body, was clearly not in a normal state.

"My only daughter. Her name is Geum Hyeonah… she was a healthy child until a few years ago… But one day, her health suddenly started to deteriorate, and her hair turned white…"

The story that Geum Gadong began was, in summary, as follows.

Geum Gadong's daughter, Geum Hyeonah, was not in good health from birth, but using the financial power of the Geumjo Merchant Guild, she gradually regained her health by eating good medicinal herbs or elixirs every quarter without fail.

In fact, a few years ago, he had luckily obtained the Seonyang Pill, an elixir said to be comparable to the Small Rejuvenation Pill, and he had fed it to his daughter without sparing it, taking great care of her health.

However, his daughter's health began to deteriorate rapidly three years ago, around the age of eleven.

After that, he had gathered all sorts of medicinal herbs and renowned physicians and had taken care of his daughter with utmost devotion, but there was no improvement in her illness, and as time went on, the situation worsened, and recently, she was unable to even walk properly. The renowned physician who had last examined Geum Hyeonah, who was in despair, said that he could not do anything, but that the child's illness was surely related to the energy in her body, and that since martial artists were knowledgeable in this field, he recommended that he try to get help from the masters of the martial world.

Geum Gadong, who accepted this, had used his sixtieth birthday party as an excuse to summon the skilled martial artists of Sichuan.

After explaining the whole situation, Geum Gadong knelt down and bowed his head to the ground.

"Please!! Please save my daughter!! If you save my daughter, I will give that person the greatest reward that the Geumjo Merchant Guild can offer, and I will treat them as a benefactor until the Geumjo Merchant Guild continues!!"

Drops of water fell on the marble floor where Geum Gadong was bowing his head.

Geum Gadong was crying.

At that sight, the masters of each sect were greatly shocked and tried to raise Geum Gadong.

"Lord Geum, raise your head! This is too much!"

"Hoo, as a parent myself, how can I not know the heart of the merchant guild master! Please raise your head."

Some of them truly felt pity for Geum Gadong's appearance and showed sympathy, but some of them had a different look in their eyes and were busy calculating in their heads.

What kind of merchant guild was the Geumjo Merchant Guild?

It was the best merchant guild in Sichuan, which would always occupy the very front if the merchant guilds in Sichuan were ranked and lined up.

The greatest reward and treatment as a benefactor from such a Geumjo Merchant Guild.

It was a proposal that would make one's mouth water. Moreover, wasn't the condition just to save a young girl?

Of course, martial artists were those who practiced martial arts, not those who treated people. But didn't they say that extremes meet? As much as they practiced martial arts that harmed people, they also had knowledge about saving people. Moreover, if this child's illness was due to the internal energy, it was clear that martial artists could provide a more proper treatment than most physicians.

Thus, one by one, they stepped forward to examine Geum Hyeonah, who was lying on the bed… and soon, everyone in the room had taken Geum Hyeonah's pulse once.

"Ha… what is this…"

"Ugh… I have no idea…"

But no one could explain Geum Hyeonah's condition clearly.

All they had found out by taking her pulse and flowing their internal energy into her was that the flow of qi in her body was unusually weak and unstable.

As things turned out this way, the masters gathered in the room gathered in groups of three or five and discussed their opinions.

And taking advantage of the chaotic atmosphere, Jang Baekseo, with a face as if he knew nothing, approached Geum Hyeonah, who was still lying with a pale face.

Geum Gadong, who was watching the masters who were standing near the bed and talking with anxious faces, saw Jang Baekseo and spoke to him.

"You are… the disciple of the Mystic Heaven Sword Great Hero. As the host of the party, I also have a responsibility for not managing the incident this morning properly, so I would like to apologize."

"No, not at all. It was a dispute between guests who came to the party. How can that be the fault of the host of the party? It is the fault of the guests who came to a good place and got into a dispute. Rather, I should be the one to apologize."

At Jang Baekseo's polite answer, Geum Gadong received the impression that he was quite experienced, even though he was still a young boy.

And he turned his head and looked at his pale-faced daughter.

"If my daughter's condition had been good, you could have been good friends with her…"

The politeness and experience that did not match his age seemed like he was looking at his own daughter, and Geum Gadong looked at Jang Baekseo with longing eyes.

"May I take your daughter's pulse for a moment?"

"You?"

Even when the renowned masters of Sichuan had gathered and could not do anything, there was no way that Jang Baekseo, who showed a polite and experienced appearance for his age, could do anything.

And Jang Baekseo, who had read Geum Gadong's thoughts in advance, added.

"Of course, I'm not saying I can cure your daughter. I just want to infuse my internal energy into her body to supplement her energy a little, in the hope of her speedy recovery."

Geum Gadong nodded his head at Jang Baekseo's explanation, and Jang Baekseo, who had received permission, carefully took Geum Hyeonah's pulse.

Then, Geum Hyeonah's eyes, which had been thought to be asleep until now, slowly opened, and she looked at Jang Baekseo's eyes with trembling pupils.

Although she did not speak, Jang Baekseo knew the meaning in those eyes.

No, he couldn't help but know.

The gaze he had seen several times before his regression…

The same eyes as Sohyun, who was suffering from an unknown serious illness, had looked at him with!

'Help me.'

Jang Baekseo carefully infused his energy into Geum Hyeonah's body.

Jang Baekseo even closed his eyes and concentrated. And after a moment…

Flash!

Jang Baekseo's eyes flashed open.

(End of Chapter)