Chapter 194
The Black Plaque Star's main headquarters.
Three people were sitting around a temporarily placed tea table. The already vast hall looked even more desolate.
Cheon Woojin occasionally looked at the painting of a single wolf that filled the wall. He didn't know which artist had painted it, but it was so full of life that he had the illusion that it was looking at him.
The texture of the glossy blackish-gray fur was vivid, and the swollen muscles looked as if they would burst through the wall at any moment. In particular, the yellow and brilliant eyes clearly showed the spirit of a beast that had never been afraid in its life.
As Cheon Woojin was observing the painting for a long time, Ha Inseong's satisfied voice was suddenly heard.
"Isn't it amazing? I painted it."
"Don't lie."
Ha Inseong's expression crumpled.
Seeing that attitude of disbelief without a moment's hesitation, he somehow felt annoyed.
"I'm telling you the truth."
"I don't know much about painting, but I know that it requires great concentration."
"Do I look that distracted?"
Nod.
Cheon Woojin immediately admitted it. Among the people he had met since coming down from the mountain, the two who were most known for being distracted were Song Yiyeon and Ha Inseong.
"Kids usually grow up scribbling here and there, don't they? I was like that when I was young too. But I had a talent for it. In fact, I had a lot of talent in most fields. Among them, the most outstanding were martial arts and painting."
Ha Inseong, who had said so, picked up the teacup in front of him. It was a white, plain teacup, but when he used his internal energy and brought the tip of his finger to it, it began to be gently carved.
"Here, look."
Ha Inseong showed the teacup. Although he had not moved his hand much, a plausible picture was engraved on it. It was a portrait of Cheon Woojin's face. His unique blunt and cool personality was expressed in great detail.
"It's a gift for you since you've come a long way."
Cheon Woojin looked at the teacup for a moment. He had thought it was a joke, but the Young Star Lord of the Black Plaque Star seemed to be a very talented person.
Small letters were written under the picture.
Lotus flower, a palm-sized flower that grows in a pond.
"What's this?"
"It's my pen name as an artist. Of course, there are almost no people in the world who know that the artist named Lotus is me. So you should know that it's an honor."
"Why did you choose Lotus? It sounds a bit like a woman's name."
At that question, Ha Inseong looked at his father, Ha Yulcheon, for a moment and then calmly spoke.
"A dozen years ago. When I officially became the Young Star Lord, I led a private armed organization for the first time, and in the first real battle I fought at that time, I lost one subordinate. She was a pretty girl whose dream was to be an artist."
"Was her name Lotus?"
Ha Inseong stared into the air for a moment as if recalling the old days. Although it was a very old story, his eyes were clear as if the memory was still vivid.
"Yes, she was a child who didn't have to die. At that time, I was too immature and made a foolish mistake. I learned to paint properly to honor her, and since then, I have been using the pen name Lotus."
Cheon Woojin nodded.
He felt a new feeling at the fact that Ha Inseong, who had always seemed light, could make such an expression.
It was the Black Plaque Star Lord who broke the silence that had continued for a while.
"So, Woojin, what brings you all this way? Do you need my help by any chance?"
It was an attitude as if he would step in as soon as he said the word.
He thought of the Black Master as a real brother. Naturally, Cheon Woojin, the disciple of the Black Master, was like a real nephew to him.
Cheon Woojin thought for a moment.
He had originally come here to get help if a clash with the Demonic Cult broke out again. But perhaps because he had glimpsed the pain of losing a subordinate on Ha Inseong's face a little while ago. He could not bring himself to ask him to send his subordinates to the battlefield.
"I just came."
"Really?"
The Black Plaque Star Lord looked at Cheon Woojin with a suspicious eye. Since his face rarely showed any emotion, it was difficult to judge whether he was lying.
"Well, if you say so, then it must be so. Yes, welcome. The gates of the Black Plaque Star are always open to you."
The Black Plaque Star Lord, who had said so, filled Cheon Woojin's teacup.
Although it was the Unorthodox Path's way to serve liquor even when guests came, Ha Inseong, who had been to the Martial Alliance, had made a fuss, saying that the Orthodox Path guys served tea elegantly.
Therefore, he had deliberately prepared tea.
In any case, Cheon Woojin was still a martial artist of the Orthodox Path.
"How is the war between the righteous and the demonic?"
"We are winning."
"That's a matter of course. Those guys who started a war without a cult leader are foolish. What I'm asking is not about victory or defeat, but your feelings."
Cheon Woojin tilted his head.
What should he feel while fighting a war?
In fact, he had no particular thoughts. It was just that there were many things to pay attention to, so it was troublesome and tiring.
"You must have killed the most people in your life recently."
"Yes."
"Just as the Black Master, senior, did, you must have crushed the opponent's head, broken their bones, and crushed their entire body. While doing so, did you not feel any pleasure? Or after killing them all, did you feel an urge to kill more?"
"Am I a madman?"
"The Black Master, senior, was like that in his lifetime."
"...I take it back."
Cheon Woojin's eyebrows drooped rarely. To think that he had uttered such a foolish remark as 'madman' to his master, who was like the heavens. What a parricide of the world.
By the time Cheon Woojin was blaming himself, the Black Plaque Star Lord's hearty laughter continued for a long time.
"Hahahaha!"
It was a laugh that was exactly like his son, Ha Inseong's. A laugh that made the listener feel refreshed and at the same time a little hateful.
The Black Plaque Star Lord, who had been laughing for a long time, filled Cheon Woojin's teacup again and said.
"It was when the Black Master, senior, was young. He couldn't control the energy flowing in his body and often suffered from impulses. It was really scary at that time. Even I was very nervous when I met the senior in those days. Of course, it didn't even take three years for him to completely control the impulse. Since he had experienced the symptoms of demonic possession himself, he must have been worried that you, who had inherited his martial arts, would also be like that."
Only then did Cheon Woojin, who had realized the intention of the previous question, nod his head. It was certainly a symptom to be worried about.
"I also went through that process."
"What?"
The Black Plaque Star Lord's expression became serious anew.
He had heard from the Black Master, senior, that the symptoms of demonic possession would manifest when the level of the dark heavenly ki became so deep and dense that it could not rise any further as time passed and the realm rose.
In other words, it was something that could only be experienced by reaching the extreme of ki arts.
'The senior experienced this when he was forty, but that time has already come at the age of just over twenty?'
It was certain that this child was a heavenly martial body.
The Black Plaque Star Lord felt a sense of responsibility.
As a person who thought of the Black Master as a real brother, and as a person who had watched him fall into and escape from demonic possession, he thought that he should help Cheon Woojin.
Of course, it was a big misunderstanding.
"Was it around fifteen?"
"What?"
"There was a time when I wanted to break everything. I would get angry for no reason, and my feelings would be hurt by trivial things. But it got better in less than half a year."
Cheon Woojin, who had said so, recalled the conversation with his masters.
- Black Master, isn't Woojin strange these days? It seems that something called puberty has come. Well, he's at that age. Today, I told him to go get some medicinal herbs, and he subjugated a mountain fortress for no reason.
- It's not puberty.
- Then?
- The realm of the evil heart. It's a phenomenon that appears when the dark heavenly ki reaches its extreme. Even among my junior brothers, there were few who had experienced it, but to think that this would happen already...
The solution was simple.
The White Master, senior, had increased the teaching of the theory of heroism, which had been one hour a day, to five hours. It started after breakfast and continued until the sun set.
- What is a hero? First of all, it means a good person. Then what is good? This is a concept that gets really interesting from here...
The explanation did not stop even when Cheon Woojin's ears became deaf. Even when the Black Master stepped in and said, 'This kid will go deaf, you bastard!', he did not stop.
Cheon Woojin was more afraid of the White Master's five-hour theory of heroism than the Black Master's hellish training.
And so, Cheon Woojin was forcibly made good again.
.
.
.
"Heh, the White Flower Sword Immortal is also amazing in many ways."
The Black Plaque Star Lord, who had heard the explanation, nodded his head. The White Flower Sword Immortal in his lifetime was a crazy person who would subtly bring up the theory of heroism whenever he had a chance.
The Black Plaque Star Lord, who had been nodding his head and thinking deeply about something, soon said.
"So, you're saying that the current you has surpassed the forty-year-old Black Master, senior?"
Cheon Woojin did not bother to answer.
But the Black Plaque Star Lord, who thought that silence was an affirmation, had a deep fighting spirit in his eyes.
Suddenly, Ha Inseong said.
"Woojin, didn't you actually come to get help from the Black Plaque Star in the war? You're not a person who would come to play for no reason."
"Yes. But I've changed my mind."
"Why?"
"Because the Young Star Lord is a person who does not forget the name Lotus."
He could not ask the Black Plaque Star's martial artists to shed blood instead to reduce the blood shed by the Alliance members.
The Black Plaque Star Lord, who had been listening to the two's conversation, slapped his knee as if he had a good idea and said.
"I'll help."
"You don't have to."
"I don't mean to send the martial artists of the Black Plaque Star. I will personally participate in the war with my son. I am also stepping in out of a personal liking for the Black Master, senior, and you, so I have no intention of moving my subordinates."
A hint of interest appeared in Cheon Woojin's eyes.
If so, the story would change.
The Black Plaque Star Lord was a person who would surely be included if one were to pick the top five masters of the current generation. The help of such a master would have a greater effect than dozens of ordinary armed units.
"But there's a condition."
"What is it?"
"Let's have a match. This time, really with all our strength."
"All our strength."
Cheon Woojin thought for a moment.
Since coming down from the mountain, he had almost never shown his full strength.
At most, it was when he had tested the limits of the Crescent Moon Staff while facing the Beast Palace Lord, and when he had killed the Ice Palace Lord.
The Black Plaque Star Lord had already shot up from his seat. An undeniable fighting spirit was seeping out from his entire body.
With a sticky smile, his two pupils shining with a deep, dark light, he looked like a single wolf.
The wolf on the wall, which had seemed as if it would jump out at any moment, looked rather plain in front of the Black Plaque Star Lord.
Cheon Woojin, who had been looking at this for a moment, nodded.
"Yes, I understand."
"Follow me."
The Black Plaque Star Lord's figure suddenly disappeared.
When Cheon Woojin expanded his ki sense, he could feel the Black Plaque Star Lord, who had already left the Black Plaque Star and was running. It seemed that he was going to have a duel in a distant place.
Well, no matter how wide the training ground of the Black Plaque Star was, if the two fought with all their strength, the entire estate would collapse.
Soon, Cheon Woojin also flew his body.
Only Ha Inseong was left in the hall.
"No, you should at least tell me where you're going."
He grumbled and hurriedly expanded his ki sense.
He was also a master who had few rivals in one province.
Naturally, he thought that if he spread his ki sense, he would be able to catch the two's ki.
It should have been so...
"They're gone."
Ha Inseong smacked his lips.
The two had already moved so far away that they could not be felt at all in Ha Inseong's wide ki sense. He could not even imagine how fast their movement techniques were.
* * *
Cheon Woojin and the Black Plaque Star Lord faced each other.
Under their feet, the blue waves were swaying in the wind. The place where they were standing was none other than Dongting Lake, which was located on the border of Hunan and Hubei.
Dongting Lake was one of the largest lakes in the Central Plains. It was so wide that if one did not know it was a lake, they would mistake it for the sea, and the horizon could be seen in all directions.
The two, who seemed to be floating in the vast sea, looked at each other without a word. At their level, conversation was not very necessary.
The Black Plaque Star Lord drew his straight saber. The blade had a brilliant black color as if it were made of obsidian.
Soon, ripples formed around his feet.
His internal energy was so profound that the round waves that were pushed back one after another seemed to cover this entire huge lake, but its influence did not reach under Cheon Woojin's feet.
"..."
On the other hand, Cheon Woojin was just quiet.
Unlike the Black Plaque Star Lord's ki, which was creating huge waves, the waves under Cheon Woojin's feet, which had been naturally created by the wind, had rather calmed down.
A presence that crushed everything.
Even nature could not escape its influence.
That unique, static presence was maximized when Cheon Woojin drew his Crescent Moon Staff.
A suffocating silence fell.
The chirping of the birds stopped, and the flow of the entire lake also stopped. Even the flowing clouds stayed in place, and soon, the whole world began to be colored with a dark ki.
The Dark Heavenly Son's unique ultimate technique, the Dark Heavenly World.
A thin stream of blood flowed from the corner of Cheon Woojin's mouth as he performed it. It felt as if it were not a martial art that a human was meant to perform.
If the Black Plaque Star Lord's influence dominated the entire huge Dongting Lake, Cheon Woojin dominated the whole world.
The Black Plaque Star Lord's expression hardened slightly.
But the light in his two eyes still had not lost its spirit.
Soon, the two rushed towards each other as if they had made a promise.
There was no need for many moves to be exchanged.
Just one move.
That was more than enough for them to understand each other.
(End of Chapter)