Chapter 65
"The competition to select the next junior sect leader will begin soon."
That was not surprising news.
But he couldn't understand why Pae Maseong's expression was so dark because of that.
"They say that the participants in the junior sect leader competition are not just the junior lords."
People called the sect leader's offspring the junior lords.
In the Heavenly Demon Sect, where the law of the jungle ruled, there was no law that said that the Heavenly Demon had to come from among the sect leader's children.
However, there was a limit to competing with the junior lords, who were made with all sorts of good elixirs, bone-cleansing and marrow-washing, and meridian-clearing and blood-purifying from a young age.
Since the junior lords received teachings from the strongest masters in the Heavenly Demon Sect as their martial arts masters, it was inevitable that they would be ahead even after that.
Especially, Dan Mok-san and the Danmu family had been putting all their efforts into education so that the next sect leader would come from among the junior lords.
And when the junior lords had grown to a certain extent, they were in the process of preparing to select a junior sect leader from among them and hand over the position of sect leader to him.
But hearing that the participants in the junior sect leader competition were not just the junior lords, it was understandable that Ya Socheong would tilt his head.
"Then who else is participating?"
"They're going to hold a martial arts tournament for the rising generation, select the five strongest from there, and have them participate in the competition together."
"Really?"
He understood the intention.
One of the most important laws of the Heavenly Demon Sect was the law of the jungle, and it seemed that they were trying to prevent the dissatisfaction of the sect members from accumulating over the hereditary succession of the Heavenly Demon.
"Then if that's the case, why? You don't like it?"
"Regardless of the martial arts tournament, the people who have to participate in it have already been decided, and that's you and me."
"...Huh?"
Only then did he seem to understand why Pae Maseong's expression was like that, and what the sect leader was aiming for.
"The junior lords don't have to worry about the martial arts tournament. Since the other people have to put their efforts into the martial arts tournament and then participate in the junior sect leader competition, the possibility of a junior sect leader coming from there is almost nil. That's all for show. It's to make it easier for the junior lords to act behind the scenes while people's attention is focused on the martial arts tournament."
"To get rid of you and me?"
After saying that, he couldn't help but laugh.
It wasn't a funny story at all, but it was so absurd.
Realizing that the sect leader was mobilizing his children to get rid of the two people who were an eyesore to him, he could only laugh.
"Can't we withdraw?"
"They say we can't."
Seeing the immediate answer, it seemed that Pae Maseong had also asked that first.
"What happens if we lose there? We don't die just because we lose, right?"
"We don't die just because we lose, but it seems that they can kill us from behind to avoid competition. That's also considered part of the competition."
Ya Socheong looked at Pae Maseong seriously.
"What do you want to do?"
"There was a hidden motive from the beginning. The junior lords can attack us, but we can't attack them."
"Really?"
When Ya Socheong asked, Pae Maseong flinched.
"Socheong, the sect leader is not a fair person. This competition is also not to select the strongest person in the Heavenly Demon Sect as the successor. The sect leader will never acknowledge you or me. The junior lords already have their own forces."
That meant that if they tried to attack the junior lords, they would move first.
It meant that they would tie their arms and legs so that the two of them couldn't move at all and would only attack them one-sidedly.
A smile appeared on Ya Socheong's face.
There was something that Ya Socheong had newly realized about himself while fighting with Danli Cheon.
It was the fact that when something like this happened, he would burn up even more rather than feeling a sense of powerlessness or frustration.
"Pae Maseong, you. You definitely don't want to become the junior sect leader, right?"
"I told you that doesn't matter."
"I'm asking for your thoughts."
Pae Maseong looked at Ya Socheong as if he didn't know what meaning there was in answering that now, and then he nodded.
"Then how about we take the junior brothers and leave the sect?"
"Leave the sect?"
"Yes, I don't think we need to take Maling. Maling is a person of the Danli family, and the family head will be able to protect her."
At that time, Pae Maseong also seemed to have understood what Ya Socheong was trying to say.
It must have been that he wanted to fight without any hindrances, without worrying about his own people being taken hostage.
But even if he knew that, it was difficult to answer obediently.
"What are you going to do without us?"
"I'll have to think about that slowly. But it seems that a force can be created on its own even if I don't necessarily want it."
It was a thought he had while looking at the fifth prince.
He had not tried to meet the fifth prince, but a meeting had taken place, and he had won his heart.
Seeing that the sect leader was keeping him in check, it seemed that other people could also discover something in him.
All he had to do was to give them faith.
The fifth prince probably hadn't thought that he would see the children of the Nether Shadow Faction so soon, but Ya Socheong had hurried the matter.
* * *
Pae Maseong thought that Ya Socheong was in too much of a hurry, but if they had been even a little late, the children of the Nether Shadow Faction would not have been able to avoid sacrifice.
The story of Ya Socheong eliminating Danli Cheon and restoring the honor of the Heavenly Demon Sect was gradually being transmitted to the Heavenly Demon Sect.
The sect leader desperately tried to prevent the rumor from spreading widely, but it was unknown how long it could be blocked.
Among the junior lords, there were those who thought that Ya Socheong might be more tricky than they had thought and tried to take action in advance, and among them, the hot-tempered Dan Mok-heukya sent his subordinates to the Nether Shadow Faction.
It was less than half a shichen after Pae Maseong had left with his junior brothers.
While they were in a state of confusion, Ya Socheong, who was sitting on a tree, looked down at them and asked.
"Who are you looking for?"
Dan Mok-heukya's subordinates were surprised and looked up at Ya Socheong.
Although they had heard stories about Ya Socheong, this was the first time they had seen him up close.
They were at a loss for words because they had not expected to see Ya Socheong here.
"If you've come to see me, you can just tell me."
They had not come to see him.
The order they had received was to come to the Nether Shadow Faction, set a fire, cause a commotion, and brutally kill a few people.
Dan Mok-heukya had said that just by doing that, Ya Socheong and Pae Maseong, who were known to cherish their junior brothers deeply, would be greatly broken.
Dan Mok-heukya, the second son of the sect leader, who was impatient and had a bad temper, had intended to make his strategic wisdom stand out in that way, but it seemed that things had gone wrong.
"You've come all this way, so you can't say you've taken the wrong path, and seeing that your weapons are all well-maintained, it seems you were planning to cut off a few people's necks here today. What do you think? Do you have no business with me at all?"
Ya Socheong said with his sword resting on his shoulder.
The people looked at each other.
Now that things had come to this, they had to make a decision.
Seeing their gazes frequently turn to a middle-aged man with an angular face, Ya Socheong came down in front of him.
"Shouldn't you make a decision quickly? These people don't know what to do and are just glancing around."
The middle-aged man had no intention of attacking Ya Socheong, but when he suddenly came down in front of him and spoke, he couldn't think of this or that and raised his sword.
But his sword was not even fully raised.
Sreuk-.
Ya Socheong's sword moved at a frightening speed, and a fountain of blood spurted from the middle-aged man's hand.
"Aack!"
He screamed as he saw his wrist, still holding the sword, fall to the ground.
The people, who had not thought that he would be defeated so quickly, were surprised and stood as if to surround Ya Socheong.
"I'm a little curious about who sent you. Who is your master?"
Although Ya Socheong asked, no one could answer.
The energy felt from Ya Socheong was not ordinary, and it was difficult to even stand with strength in their two legs.
"Well, let's find that out later. The person with the darkest face when I go to the competition will be your master. The most foolish-looking person might be him."
"Don't talk nonsense, you brat! Where do you think you are, you lowly bastard, to be spouting off like that!"
Someone said and raised his sword. Starting with him, everyone swung their swords as if they had made a promise.
Ya Socheong did not try to cut them down right away, but for a moment, he dodged their swords and took in their sword techniques.
But he soon shook his head and said.
"It's a swordsmanship that's not even worth watching and learning."
Ya Socheong swung his sword faster than light and cut their necks, and then, leaving two people, he sheathed his sword.
They looked at Ya Socheong with scared faces.
When they were showing a slight sense of expectation, wondering if he was letting them live, Ya Socheong changed his posture and bent his fingers.
From then on, Danli Cheon's Soul-Chasing and Life-Taking Claw unfolded from him.
It was a more cruel and sharp attack than what Danli Cheon had unfolded.
The body of the person who had fallen to the ground was terrible, as if it had been attacked by a beast.
Ya Socheong thought that it would have been better to use the Soul-Chasing and Life-Taking Claw from the beginning.
Then the people who had seen their comrades die so miserably would have been so scared that they wouldn't have been able to move properly.
Then, another presence was heard in Ya Socheong's ear.
Ya Socheong, counting how many of them there were, held his sword and thought about how many poisonous creatures he had in his bosom.
But they came out openly without hiding themselves.
"Faction Leader Ya, we have come because the family head sent us, so don't think of cutting us down."
He was a man named Chuin who had served the family head in the Baek family.
The people next to him were also people whom Ya Socheong had seen a few times.
"The family head has ordered you to be brought. He said that although your martial prowess is remarkable, with that level of skill, it will be difficult to endure the upcoming competition. I think Faction Leader Ya knows best that we will have to be in the same boat in the future. The sect leader came to the main family a few days ago..."
Then Chuin shook his head.
For some reason, it seemed that something could be drawn.
The sect leader who had come to see Baek Yuhwa, and Baek Yuhwa who had treated him coldly.
It was imaginable that the hearts of the people of the Baek family would have shrunk to the size of a bean as they watched that.
"Please protect our young lady. You must do so."
Then he gave a look to the people around him.
At that, they dealt with the bodies.
Then Chuin recognized the bodies and muttered.
"As expected, the second junior lord was the first to step up."
"If it's the second junior lord, is it Dan Mok-heukya?"
"That's right. He was a person whom the junior lord cherished quite a bit, so he must be very heartbroken that it has come to this."
Then Chuin examined the wounds.
It seemed that he was examining things like how many times the sword had been swung and whether death had come in a single blow.
(End of Chapter)