The Regressed Sword Demon Changes the Future

On a dim night when even the moonlight was hidden by clouds.

A single boat was continuing its smooth voyage along the waterway towards Nanning, the capital of Guangxi.

As they had continued their long, long escape, Jang Baekseo's party had fallen into a honey-like sleep in the rooms below the deck.

After nearly a fortnight on the boat, their tension had loosened.

At that moment.

Chwaak-!

Whirrrrr!

Thud.

From below the surface of the river, where nothing seemed to be, a grappling hook shot up and caught on the boat.

About a dozen grappling hooks caught on the boat at the same time, and a dozen figures quickly climbed up the boat, riding the connected ropes.

Their movements were so stealthy that not a single one of the sailors, who were busy working with torches lit to steer the boat even at night, noticed them.

They split into three groups and infiltrated the inside of the boat, stopping in front of the doors of the rooms where the guests were staying.

Swish, swish!

The moment the group of men in black, who had exchanged hand signals, were about to invade the room!

Swish!

The sword strike that unfolded from inside the door without a sound cut through the wooden door and the wall as if it were cutting tofu, and it also cut the necks of the men in black.

The boy, Jang Baekseo, who had dealt with the entire group of men in black with a single sword strike, opened the door and came out.

"…Damn it!"

As soon as he came out of the door, Jang Baekseo ran to the other party, or to be precise, to the room where Madam Ma was staying.

Since the guest rooms on the boat were divided into several sections for men and women, Jang Baekseo's party had no choice but to be scattered.

Leaving behind a few other guests who were looking out, wondering what was going on, Jang Baekseo traversed the narrow and complicated interior of the boat with ghost-like movements.

Jang Baekseo, who had reached Madam Ma's room in an instant, widened his eyes at the unexpected sight.

"…Gangho."

"Oh? You're here, brat. But you're one step too late~"

He was certainly one step too late.

That was because the men in black who had been aiming for Madam Ma were already lying on the floor with holes in their chests.

Moreover, the condition of the corpses was strange. The part where the hole was in the chest was burnt, as if it had been seared with fire, with the hole as the center.

'As expected, this guy is…'

Kwaang!

As if to blow away Jang Baekseo's thoughts, Jang Yuran, who had drawn her spear, came out, shattering the door of the women's guest room.

"What? You've already dealt with them?"

And behind her, Madam Ma came out with an anxious face, having drawn her sword.

"B-Baekseo? And Mr. Gangho?"

Madam Ma's voice was bewildered at the appearance of the completely unexpected people.

And at that moment…

"Madam Ma!! …It seems the situation is already over…"

Hwa Mokyeon, who had been running in a hurry, saw the surrounding situation and understood that the situation was already over.

He, who had shaken off the blood on his sword, put his sword back into its scabbard, and a silence fell among the party for a moment. To be precise, it was difficult to exchange stories because Gangho was there.

Whether he knew the situation or not, Gangho was still grinning and throwing amorous glances at Madam Ma, but he soon put on a serious expression and spoke.

"At this point, I can't be called an outsider, can I? Won't you explain the situation? Why are the young heroes of the Orthodox Faction, who have outstanding talent…"

Saying so, Gangho stared at Madam Ma with serious eyes.

"The Cold Heaven Ice Yin Art… why are you being chased with a woman related to the Cold Demon of the Demonic Cult?"

At those words, the faces of the party hardened.

Come to think of it, it might have been a matter of course from the beginning.

If it were a master of the transcendent realm, they might not have noticed Madam Ma's martial arts, who had learned the Cold Heaven Ice Yin Art clumsily. But they could not deceive the eyes of a transcendent master who had reached the Unrestrained realm.

Moreover, if the opponent was Gang Mujeong, the current successor of the Flame Soul Sect, who had reached the extreme of the Extreme Yang Qi Art, and the man who would be called the Flame Star in the future, even more so…

'I never thought I would meet this guy here…'

One of the three who had taken his life in his life before his regression. At the young appearance of the Flame Star, Gang Mujeong, Jang Baekseo felt an indescribable emotion.

'When I fought him before my regression, Gang Mujeong's age was clearly around sixty… so is the current Gangho, no, Gang Mujeong, in his thirties? He reached the Unrestrained realm quickly.'

The party had cleaned up the traces of the men in black who had been dealt with on the boat and had thrown the bodies into the river.

After that, they had explained that it was a matter of the martial world to the people who had gathered, feeling both curiosity and fear at the sudden situation, and had asked for their understanding. They were now out on the deck.

Jang Baekseo decided to tell them their situation without adding or subtracting anything, since it had come to this.

"So… there is a mysterious group called the Hundred River Association that is chasing the records left by Madam Ma and Madam Ma's late husband, and you guys are going to the Chivalrous Alliance while protecting such a Madam Ma… is that what you're saying?"

Jang Baekseo nodded his head without a word with a tense face.

"Hah… Hundred Rivers Association… Hundred Rivers Association."

"Do you perhaps know anything about the Hundred Rivers Association?"

"I'm sorry to get your hopes up, but I don't know anything about the Hundred Rivers Association…"

"Is that so?"

Certainly, even before his regression, Gang Mujeong was a person who had no connection with the Hundred Rivers Association. Since his personality was upright and fiery, he was a person who could not get along with a secret power like the Hundred Rivers Association, so it was a matter of course if it was natural.

"Great Hero Gangho! Can you perhaps help us?"

Hwa Mokyeon asked Gang Mujeong with anticipation if he could help.

Although he did not say it, of course, Jang Baekseo also had such an expectation implicitly.

Flame Star, Gang Mujeong!

After the Righteous-Demonic War had broken out, countless heroes and villains had appeared and disappeared like stars. But among those countless stars, the eighteen first-magnitude stars that shone the brightest at the highest place were called by the people with awe and respect.

The Eighteen Anti-Demon Stars.

And the one who proudly occupied a corner of those Eighteen Anti-Demon Stars was the Flame Star, Gang Mujeong.

As the current Sect Leader of the Flame Soul Sect, which was located in Guangxi, he was the one who had appeared like the wind in the early stages of the Righteous-Demonic War and had made a great contribution to blocking the advance of the Demonic Cult.

If he were to accompany them, there would be no need to move secretly, avoiding the eyes of the Hundred Rivers Association, as before. In vulgar terms, if Gang Mujeong were to accompany them, they could just say 'screw you' to the Hundred Rivers Association and the Righteous Heaven Alliance and go to the Chivalrous Alliance in Henan, breaking through Hunan and Hubei right now.

Of course, there would be Unrestrained masters in the Hundred Rivers Association, but no matter how strong a secret power was, it was impossible to use all of its power.

If it were a master who had reached the Unrestrained realm, they would of course be a person belonging to the core of the Righteous Heaven Alliance, and if such a person moved, they could not help but attract attention.

But…

"I'm sorry… I want to help you guys too, but…"

Saying so, Gang Mujeong looked at Madam Ma. His eyes were filled with various emotions that could not be described.

"But as the Sect Leader of the Flame Soul Sect, I don't think that will be possible…"

"That's…! Great Hero Gang, why…!"

"Stop it, Young Master Hwa."

Since it was something he had already expected, Jang Baekseo stopped Hwa Mokyeon.

'Well, it's a natural result…'

Guangxi was a land where various races and ethnic groups had lived together since ancient times. Since it was even adjacent to Vietnam, it had a similar aspect to the Demonic Cult in some ways.

But unlike the Demonic Cult, which was united and in harmony with the Heavenly Demon and the Twelve Demon Palace Masters as its axis, the disputes between races and ethnic groups in Guangxi were endless.

And the Flame Soul Sect was founded to break this chain of violence and hatred.

Since the very reason for the founding of the sect was the mediation and peace of Guangxi, Gang Mujeong, the Sect Leader, could not easily leave Guangxi.

'Unless it's a big deal like the Righteous-Demonic War…'

Moreover…

'He can't help a blood relative of the Cold Demon, of all people, as the successor of the Flame Soul Sect…'

The Righteous-Demonic War in which Jang Baekseo had participated before his regression had advanced quickly, but it had eventually been tied down in Sichuan. But in the previous Righteous-Demonic War, which had been fought several hundred years ago, the advance of the Demonic Cult had reached Guangxi, and in the process, the Cold Demon of that time and the Sect Leader of the Flame Soul Sect had clashed.

As a result, the Cold Demon had suffered a fatal internal injury but had survived, and the Sect Leader of the Flame Soul Sect had eventually died.

Although it could be said that it was a grudge from several hundred years ago, since there was no time or place for the grudges of the martial world, it would never disappear as long as the names of those who had exchanged those grudges continued.

It was a common thing in the martial world for people who had never even seen each other's faces to fight to the death, saying that they were the descendants of their great-grandfather's enemy.

Rather, it was a strange situation that Gang Mujeong was not attacking Madam Ma even though they were facing each other like this.

"It's not much, but as a substitute…"

Saying so, Gang Mujeong took out a piece of paper and wrote something.

"If you give this to the Vice-Leader of the Chivalrous Alliance, Hyeongong, he will not treat you poorly."

"Hyeongong!?"

Divine Monk, Hyeongong!

Although he had not been included in the Eighteen Anti-Demon Stars because Shaolin had not participated in the Righteous-Demonic War and had declared the closing of its doors, he was a Unrestrained master of Shaolin whose skills were evaluated as not being inferior to those of the Eighteen Anti-Demon Stars.

"Divine Monk, Hyeongong! How do you know him, Great Hero Gang…"

Hwa Mokyeon, who also knew Hyeongong, asked Gang Mujeong about his relationship with him.

"Well, it's nothing much. When that guy was full of vigor, he came to my master, that is, the previous Flame Soul Sect Leader, and challenged him to a fight, saying, 'Let's have a taste of your fire fist!!'…"

"I-indeed, a divine monk!"

Unlike his somewhat noble-sounding title, 'Divine Monk', Hwa Mokyeon's mouth dropped open at the rather violent past of Hyeongong in his youth.

Jang Yuran, who had received the letter of introduction, took out a few pieces of paper from her bosom for some reason and handed them to Gang Mujeong.

"Huh? Why are you doing that?"

"Just in case, please write a few more."

At that action, Hwa Mokyeon tilted his head with a question mark, and as if she had expected his reaction, Jang Yuran opened her mouth.

"After this… I don't know who will arrive at the Chivalrous Alliance alive… so at least each person should have one."

At those words, Hwa Mokyeon was about to say something, but he soon shut his mouth.

Of course, unlike her serious and resolute words, he was fed up with Jang Yuran's appearance of having him write nearly a dozen letters of introduction, far exceeding the number of people…

Jang Yuran, who had received a number of letters of introduction that far exceeded the number of people, frowned, as if she were worried about the future.

"…The people who attacked us must have climbed up using these grappling hooks…"

"Water ghosts. They seem to be water bandits who are good at swimming."

"…It seems the information leaked from that Signboard guy…"

Jang Baekseo, who had frowned, looked in the direction the boat was heading.

Since they had grasped their whereabouts, there was a high probability that the enemies were already waiting at the port where they would dock.

But to get off the boat now and go to land, the water ghost guys who might still be hiding in the water were a problem.

Above all, it was difficult to ask Madam Ma, who was pregnant, to swim.

As Jang Baekseo was worrying, Gang Mujeong stepped forward.

(End of Chapter)