Chapter 192
The Second Young Master of the Demonic Cult, Jin Somyeong.
His face turned red as he sat down in front of Cheon Woojin.
It was true that he was overwhelmed by the opponent's enormous presence. After exchanging blows directly, it was also true that he was an opponent he could never win against.
However, even so, he did not want to prolong his life by receiving sympathy from his opponent.
"You want me to be the cult leader?"
How could that be?
He had been defeated in front of everyone.
That too, very completely.
"As the Second Young Master of the Demonic Cult, I fought with an Orthodox Path member, staking my honor. I was defeated, and all that is left is death."
"I didn't particularly stake my honor."
"...Kill me!"
The Second Young Master, who had pretended not to hear Cheon Woojin's rebuttal, closed his eyes and shouted loudly. He really wanted his opponent to kill him.
Regardless, Cheon Woojin asked indifferently.
"Is defeat death to a Demonic Cult member?"
"It is."
"If you win against a subordinate in a fight, do you cut them down and kill them?"
"..."
The Second Young Master opened his eyes with an expression as if to say, what kind of nonsense is this? But his opponent's face was still serious.
Soon, he answered with a sigh-mixed voice.
"How can a spar and a life-and-death duel be the same?"
"How are they different?"
"Are you really asking because you don't know? A spar is to compare each other's martial arts with consent, and a life-and-death duel is to fight with all one's might with the intention of killing each other."
"Then what was our fight, a spar or a life-and-death duel?"
The Second Young Master frowned. Nevertheless, he obediently recalled the fight from a little while ago.
He had really used all his strength. Thanks to the young masters who had died before, he had realized how strong the Emotionless Guest was. If he was going to die anyway, he wanted to pour out everything he had achieved in his life.
Soon, the Second Young Master realized.
He had just thought that he would die without regrets, but he had not had the slightest intention of killing his opponent.
The Emotionless Guest also had no killing intent.
He had not killed the Lust Demon Sect Leader before, and he was also sparing him now.
Even though he could have easily torn them all to shreds at any time with his martial prowess.
"...It was a spar."
The definition of a spar that he had said with his own mouth and the fight they had just had matched exactly. To compare and feel each other's martial arts without the intention of killing each other.
"Then get up now. The death you have chosen is just another name for running away."
"What does that mean?"
The Second Young Master's eyebrows twitched in anger.
But he could not get up because the strength in his legs had not yet returned. Since that was somewhat embarrassing, he deliberately put on a more serious expression.
"If you die, the Fifth Young Master will become the cult leader. The demonic paths of the young masters I have heard are all different. Your demonic path and the Fifth Young Master's demonic path will also be different."
Jin Somyeong nodded.
The demonic paths of the other young masters were also terrible, but the Fifth Young Master's demonic path was truly the worst.
If the other young masters were close to demons, the Fifth Young Master was a person who was close to pure evil.
"If he becomes the cult leader, a chaos that cannot be compared to what has happened so far will occur in the entire martial world."
"You knew that and yet you tried to run away with death? Second Young Master, do you intend to perform your demonic path again in the afterlife?"
"..."
Jin Somyeong could not finish his words.
There was no information that the Emotionless Guest was so good at talking.
But there was nothing wrong with his words.
If he died and the Fifth Young Master became the cult leader, a great chaos that could not be found in the history of the Demonic Cult would begin.
Jin Somyeong finally got up from his seat.
It was only now that the strength had returned to his legs, and the timing was truly coincidental.
It was a situation as if his will to fight properly with the Fifth Young Master's demonic path had been expressed.
The elites of the Jin family and the Lust Demon Sect Leader, who had come to their senses, were also looking at Jin Somyeong with a rather grim face.
"Emotionless Guest."
Jin Somyeong, who had repeated the nickname, shook his head.
The name 'Emotionless', which meant to have no warm feelings, suited him and yet was strangely heterogeneous.
Although he looked more emotionless than anyone on the outside, his inside seemed to be unimaginably deep.
Soon, Jin Somyeong corrected his words.
"Cheon Woojin."
"What is it?"
"I can't tell you the location of the Fifth Young Master. I don't know it either."
Cheon Woojin just nodded.
Since he said he didn't know, there was no other way to ask.
Soon, Jin Somyeong's words continued.
"But if I return to the Demonic Cult, I will compete with the Fifth Young Master for my life. Since we both have the forces we have built up so far, the Demonic Cult will probably be divided in two and a lot of blood will be shed."
"Are you confident you can win?"
Cheon Woojin was actually not confident in the Second Young Master.
Although his heart was as hard as bamboo, a fight was not something that was done with such belief or integrity.
Jin Somyeong also shook his head.
"I might lose. But even if I win against the Fifth Young Master with your help, Cheon Woojin, who would acknowledge me as the cult leader when I haven't even fought properly once?"
It was the right thing to say.
In any case, the Demonic Cult was a group maintained by faith.
There was no way the Demonic Cult members would follow a person who had taken the throne of the cult leader by hiding in the shadow of an Orthodox Path member.
"Give me one chance. If I am defeated, I will risk my life to let you meet the Fifth Young Master."
Respect was in Jin Somyeong's tone.
Cheon Woojin was no longer his enemy.
"Hmm."
Cheon Woojin thought for a moment.
If the Second Young Master died or could not become the cult leader, and he also killed the Fifth Young Master, who would take that position?
- You can do it.
In an instant, Cheon Woojin doubted his ears.
It was because it was the voice of the White Master, not the Black Master. Usually, such radical and nonsensical thoughts would come to him in the voice of the Black Master.
Cheon Woojin, who had managed to shake off the thought, soon said to Jin Somyeong.
"First, stop the war. Then I will wait for the fight between the Second and Fifth Young Masters."
"I will do so. I also do not wish for war."
Jin Somyeong nodded. When he had his subordinate convey his will to the battlefield, the battle soon stopped.
The Vice-Cult Leader and the three young masters were dead.
Since only two young masters were left, the Second Young Master's influence was more than enough to affect the entire Demonic Cult.
Soon, the forces of the Demonic Cult began to retreat in a rush.
The exhausted Martial Alliance members did not chase after them.
And so, in an instant, the war between the righteous and the demonic entered a truce.
Jin Somyeong, the Lust Demon Sect Leader, and the elites of the Jin family also prepared to return to the Demonic Cult.
Jin Somyeong ordered his subordinates to retrieve the bodies of his dead senior and junior brothers and the Seven Demon Sect Leaders, but since they had been scattered without a trace by the whirlwind, they could not.
Soon, Jin Somyeong, who had let out a dry cough, suddenly said to Cheon Woojin.
"Alliance Member Cheon, be careful of the Fifth Young Master. He is a man who is more vicious and malicious than you can imagine. If I die and the Fifth Young Master takes power, he will aim for you next. Because the one who is most feared in the current Demonic Cult is not the Alliance Leader, the Sword King, or the Poison King, but you."
The Lust Demon Sect Leader next to him also nodded in agreement.
She would rather have a match with the Alliance Leader or the Sword King, but she did not want to fight with the Emotionless Guest again.
'He doesn't even look handsome anymore.'
Just looking at his face made her body tremble. The fear and helplessness she had felt while fighting with Cheon Woojin were that great.
Even at the Second Young Master's concern, Cheon Woojin was indifferent.
"It doesn't matter."
At that, the Second Young Master's eyes narrowed. The Emotionless Guest was looking at the Fifth Young Master too easily. He was a person who really had something different from the other young masters.
"If the Fifth Young Master can't kill you, he will persistently aim for your weaknesses. It will be a method that may be very childish or cheap, or cruel or heartless."
"I'll keep that in mind."
Cheon Woojin nodded.
The Second Young Master and the Lust Demon Sect Leader, who had been looking at him with worried eyes, soon left.
.
.
.
Cheon Woojin watched for a moment as the Second Young Master and the Demonic Cult members left like a receding tide.
Namgung Jin and Tang Soyeon were next to him with rather awkward expressions. They wanted to say something, but the martial prowess that Cheon Woojin had shown before was so overwhelming that it was not easy.
Soon, when the Demonic Cult members were so far away that they could not be seen, Cheon Woojin looked at the two.
"How is the enlightenment?"
At the dry question, Namgung Jin and Tang Soyeon answered at the same time.
"I feel like my field of vision has doubled."
"I think I can fight with a peak master now, right?"
Both of them were full of confidence.
Well, the wall they had crossed was so big and thick that they must have achieved a huge growth at once.
Cheon Woojin, who was looking at the two intently, suddenly extended his hand into the air. At that, a single iron sword that was rolling on the ground flew and was wrapped in his hand.
He lightly swung the sword without any warning.
The sword ki that was drawn out like a thread from the trajectory of the sword instantly grew in size.
It suddenly became as large as the huge sword ki that the Fourth Young Master had poured out with fire ki.
The greatly surprised Namgung Jin and Tang Soyeon each grabbed their sword and dagger.
Although they wondered what this situation was, they had no intention of being hit by that sword ki and dying.
The two were momentarily immersed in the situation.
A tremendous concentration was exerted with the thought that they could really die.
Then, the same strange phenomenon as before occurred.
The phenomenon where the sword ki, which should have been one large lump, was seen divided into hundreds of streams of grains.
Just before being covered by the sword ki.
Namgung Jin and Tang Soyeon swung their sword and dagger at the same time.
The two's strikes accurately cut through the grains of the sword ki.
The sword ki, which had been gently torn in half, flew to the left and right of the two and was stuck.
"Heok, heok..."
Namgung Jin and Tang Soyeon caught their breath roughly.
They felt completely exhausted after concentrating so much in a state where their bodies had not yet fully recovered.
At that sight, Cheon Woojin nodded as if satisfied.
"You have certainly digested the enlightenment."
With this, the four members of the Hidden Dragon Unit had finished preparing to reach the peak realm. Considering their age, it was a truly surprising thing.
Of course, even if they had finished preparing, they did not know if it would take a year or a hundred years to reach that realm.
Perhaps it would never come.
But just by reaching the end of the peak realm, it meant that they had become as strong as most of the Martial Alliance's unit commanders and hall masters.
Namgung Jin asked at Cheon Woojin's bloody confirmation method.
"What would you have done if we hadn't been able to block it?"
"Of course, Young Master Cheon must have had a plan. Young Master Namgung, do you still not trust Young Master Cheon?"
"No, it's not that..."
When Tang Soyeon rebuked him, Namgung Jin scratched his head.
In the meantime, Cheon Woojin said indifferently.
"I haven't thought about that yet."
"..."
Namgung Jin and Tang Soyeon stopped and looked at each other.
If they hadn't been able to block it, they would have really died.
The two who had realized let out a deep sigh of relief.
* * *
The battles on all fronts had stopped.
The Second Young Master, Jin Somyeong, had officially issued a truce order, and with the leaders all dead, there was no one to argue with his words.
Thanks to that, all the Alliance members also returned to the Martial Alliance.
For the first time in a long time, the Martial Alliance was crowded with people.
Some mourned the death of their comrades, and some were happy to have returned alive.
"So that's what happened."
The Alliance Leader and the Chief Strategist, who had heard the situation report from Cheon Woojin, were lost in thought. Both of them knew the characteristics of the Demonic Cult's young masters quite well.
In particular, Sima Hui had been constantly observing the every move of the Demonic Cult's young masters through the Intelligence Unit.
It was not just that he had been reported on who was bad and who was good.
What they had said, and what actions they had taken.
What beliefs they held, and what they had experienced in the past.
Who their surrounding figures were, and who among them could influence the young masters, etc...
He had tried to grasp everything that was visible and see through the personalities and essences of the young masters.
There were quite a few achievements.
In fact, the appearances that each young master had shown on the battlefield matched surprisingly well with the personalities that the Chief Strategist had predicted.
"If the Second Young Master becomes the cult leader, the war will really stop. It will be a period of peace that is hard to find in history."
The Second Young Master was more of a pacifist than anyone in the Orthodox Path.
When the Chief Strategist affirmed this, the Alliance Leader also nodded. Since there was no one in the Orthodox Path who could catch up with the Chief Strategist in matters of the head.
"Moreover, since he owes a debt to Woojin, he will be quite controllable even after he becomes the cult leader. Perhaps we can even start an exchange. It will become a Demonic Cult where common sense works."
The Chief Strategist hoped that the Second Young Master would become the cult leader.
Of course, he had no intention of just watching the fight between the Second and Fifth Young Masters. Since that would be a disqualification as a Martial Alliance strategist.
"Alliance Leader, please send the Demon Brain back to the Demonic Cult."
"Hmm?"
The Alliance Leader tilted his head.
The Demon Brain had surrendered, asking him to kill the Vice-Cult Leader. How could he send such a person back to the Demonic Cult?
"The Demonic Cult is probably also getting tired of the war due to the continued defeats. The pro-truce faction, led by the Second Young Master, and the pro-war faction, led by the Fifth Young Master, will clash."
"Are you saying that the Demon Brain will help the Second Young Master?"
The Chief Strategist nodded with confidence.
"Yes, with all due respect, most strategists enjoy war. It's natural since they have studied war their whole lives. But the current Demon Brain will not."
"Why is that?"
The Chief Strategist suddenly pointed at Cheon Woojin.
The Beili Tian Alliance Leader, who saw this, understood at once.
No matter what brilliant strategy he came up with, if a certain person appeared, it would all be broken, shattered, killed, and defeated.
Such a thing had been repeated.
There was nothing that made a strategist more miserable and helpless than a repeated, overwhelming defeat.
The Chief Strategist and the Alliance Leader exchanged glances.
'If it were you, Alliance Leader, would you have the will to fight?'
'No. I would probably get sick and die.'
'Yes, that is the Demon Brain's heart right now.'
In the meantime, Cheon Woojin, who did not know the reason, was just standing there blankly.
(End of Chapter)