Chapter 186 : Annihilation
Chapter 186: Annihilation
Guest Assassination House and Akgang were cities spread out to the left and right with the Tarim Basin between them.
In other words, Akgang was the largest city before crossing the Tarim Basin, and the largest city one encountered after crossing it was Shache.
Considering that the Tarim Basin stretched two thousand five hundred li (approximately 1,000 km) from east to west, the distance between them was enormous.
Naturally, one side had to be visited first.
The place the Cult Leader chose first was Akgang. Considering the distance to the Heavenly Mountains, it was actually the farther location.
There was only one reason.
Akgang had better scenery.
To the west, an endless desert stretched out, and to the east, a sizable river flowed steadily. Beside the Cult Leader, who sat leaning against the mountain slope overlooking that scenery, Yul Han sat down.
“It’s magnificent.”
“This place is called the Boundary Divide. With the desert on the left and the river on the right, it’s a place of exceptional scenery.”
The reason he chose such a place was because the Cult Leader wanted to share a drink with his junior brother while enjoying beautiful scenery.
Sitting there, I poured Monkey Wine and shared it with the Cult Leader.
I felt a bit sorry for the group—including Iron Demon—who swallowed their saliva while watching, but since the Monkey Wine was meant for my senior brother, I deliberately pretended not to notice.
Instead—
-When we return this time, as promised before, I will definitely buy you all a drink. At a pleasure house in Suzhou.
At Yul Han’s Mental Voice Transmission, the faces of Iron Demon, Pageuk, and the others brightened.
Watching them, Yul Han smiled faintly, when the Cult Leader’s voice reached his ears.
“Me too.”
He had heard the Mental Voice Transmission. Well, although he was slightly behind Yul Han, the Cult Leader was also someone standing at the extreme of the Manifestation Realm.
“Of course, I’ll take you along, Senior Brother.”
Perhaps that answer pleased him greatly, as the Cult Leader shared Monkey Wine only with the elder-level masters.
Of course, it was just a level where several people shared a single cup, each only tasting half a sip.
Even so, their expressions were filled with gratitude.
As for the Thirteen Bloods and Lee Tae, who were excluded even from that, they could only watch with envious eyes.
Feeling that they looked pitiful, Yul Han was about to say he would take them along as well, when the Cult Leader’s Mental Voice Transmission came.
-Leave them be. Proper discrimination will serve as stimulation. If your affection bothers you, then say you’ll take those who have reached the Transcendent Realm.
Understanding that this too was meant to motivate them, Yul Han thought for a moment before nodding.
“Since it was meant to celebrate reaching the Manifestation Realm anyway, let’s extend it to the Transcendent Realm. Those in the Transcendent Realm can come as well.”
At those words, those in the Transcendent Realm cheered.
“Yahoo!”
Of course, those who had not reached it showed clear disappointment.
Among them, Lee Tae cautiously raised his hand.
“Do you have something to say?”
“If… in the future, if we reach the Transcendent Realm, will you take us as well?”
At Lee Tae’s question, filled with anticipation, Yul Han smiled.
“I will. In fact, at the end of every year, I’ll take those who reached the Manifestation and Transcendent Realms that year to the pleasure house.”
As soon as those words ended, cheers erupted.
“Yeah!”
Watching them, Yul Han let out a small laugh.
As they laughed and chatted, there was a gaze watching them.
That gaze, which had been quietly observing while leaning against the forest, disappeared—and the moment it did, all those at the Transcendent Realm or higher among Yul Han’s group simultaneously turned their eyes toward the forest.
They had all known, yet pretended not to.
“The aura didn’t feel like those from White Tiger Village—it felt more like Guest Assassination House.”
At Ghost Demon’s words, Iron Demon nodded.
“The aura of Guest Assassination House appearing near White Tiger Village, when they should be holed up in Shache… does that mean they’ve joined forces?”
At Iron Demon’s question, the Cult Leader shrugged.
“If the two have gathered together, all the better. It saves us the trouble of going back and forth.”
At his words, the group burst into laughter.
They had no choice but to be confident.
There were six at the Manifestation Realm, six at the Transcendent Realm, thirteen at the Supreme Peak, and over a hundred at the Peak Realm.
If the Possessed Martial Artists hadn’t been locked in the Closed-Door Training Grounds until they fully mastered the techniques of the Orthodox Faction, that number would have been even higher.
Even so, with these numbers, they had enough power to face not just the Eighteen Demon Sects, but the entire Orthodox Faction without being pushed back.
Their confidence was not unfounded.
With that, they ended their drinking and stood up.
Just that single change in action caused a powerful aura to surge outward, as if it could overturn the entire mountain in an instant.
Carrying that aura, the Bright Cult’s investigative group(?) led by the Cult Leader headed toward Akgang.
Both White Tiger Village and Guest Assassination House were part of the Eighteen Demon Sects. Even their lowest-level martial artists could not fail to recognize the faces of the Bright Cult’s Cult Leader and Vice Cult Leader.
Especially those responsible for intelligence in White Tiger Village.
At the news brought by one of those monitoring the surroundings of Akgang, White Tiger Village was thrown into chaos.
It was because the Cult Leader and Vice Cult Leader were both coming.
Because of that, voices were already rising suggesting that they should abandon their plans and submit.
Amid that chaotic situation, the White Tiger Village Chief and the Guest Assassination House Master sat facing each other.
“I heard White Tiger Village received good fortune—you’ve reached the Manifestation Realm, Village Chief.”
“So that talk of ‘Divine Slayer’ was referring to the Manifestation Realm?”
The two men exchanged smiles and nodded.
If the other side had two in the Manifestation Realm, then this side also had two.
Of course, there were rumors spread by the Orthodox Faction that the Bright Cult had more Manifestation Realm experts—but those were unconfirmed.
Every time the Orthodox Faction was crushed, the Vice Cult Leader—Emperor Salyejin—had been present.
Given the tendency of the Orthodox Faction to exaggerate in order to justify their failures, there was a high chance the current rumors were also false.
If the Bright Cult had truly gained more Manifestation Realm experts, it would have been publicly announced.
The Bright Cult had never hidden the number of its experts. Believing that was more credible.
Based on that judgment, the two sects gathered in White Tiger Village began preparing for battle.
From the beginning, they knew that alone, they could not stand against the Bright Cult.
That was why, as soon as they gained strength, they sought allies—and coincidentally, two sects that had achieved the Manifestation Realm around the same time had joined hands.
That said, they had not formed some absurd plan to destroy the Bright Cult and become overlords of the Demonic Path.
They simply wanted to break free from the Bright Cult’s rule and stand independently.
And to achieve that, both sects were filled with fighting spirit, ready to shed blood.
Thus, in White Tiger Village—fully prepared for battle—for some reason, only the Cult Leader and Vice Cult Leader arrived.
The White Tiger Village Chief and Guest Assassination House Master stood waiting with their experts and greeted the two.
“That’s a strange way to welcome us.”
At the Cult Leader’s reproach, the older of the two—the White Tiger Village Chief—stepped forward and replied.
“This is not a welcome.”
“Not a welcome?”
“Yes.”
“Then what is this supposed to be?”
At the Cult Leader’s question, as he slowly swept his gaze across the lined-up experts, the Village Chief answered.
“A send-off. We are simply asking you to turn back.”
“Turn back?”
“Yes, Cult Leader. We have no intention of tarnishing the Bright Cult’s reputation, nor surpassing it. We merely wish to stand on our own, so we ask that you accept this and return.”
Though polite in tone, it essentially meant: acknowledge our independence and leave.
The Cult Leader looked at him and let out a snort.
“You bastards reach the Manifestation Realm and suddenly think the world’s beneath you. Five Demons, receive my command!”
At his command, a booming voice suddenly rang out from the empty air.
“Give the order!”
Only then did they look up at the sky—and saw figures descending slowly, as if stepping on invisible stairs.
“T-that’s Void-Stepping!”
Turning energy into form to create steps in midair was something barely possible at the Manifestation Realm.
And four of them—Iron Demon, Profound Demon, Ghost Demon, and Pageuk—were demonstrating it.
‘All four of them are Manifestation Realm!’
The White Tiger Village Chief and Guest Assassination House Master’s eyes met in shock.
‘If the rumors are true… this is certain defeat!’
As they belatedly realized reality, the Cult Leader’s savage voice rang out.
“Five Demons, kill them all!”
“We obey!”
Even though he wasn’t originally one of the Five Demons, Pageuk followed the command without hesitation.
He now knew how long the Cult Leader held grudges.
In any case, four Manifestation Realm experts charged straight into the forces of White Tiger Village and Guest Assassination House.
Blood splattered everywhere, and screams erupted—but the two leaders could not move.
They could not leave the Cult Leader and Vice Cult Leader unattended.
In the end, realizing there was no turning back, the two exchanged a glance—and then rushed forward like lightning.
Swaaaaak!
The wind blew—fierce, violent, and terrifyingly fast.
And it carried the form of a half-moon.
Thud!
The Guest Assassination House Master, who had been charging in, was split vertically and collapsed after passing Yul Han.
The White Tiger Village Chief’s blade was deflected, and his throat was seized helplessly.
Both of their attacks had focused on Yul Han.
They judged the Vice Cult Leader to be more dangerous than the Cult Leader and aimed to eliminate him first—a calculated move.
Witnessing that, the Cult Leader’s expression twisted violently.
He felt ignored.
“You damned bastards!”
Before Yul Han could stop him, the Cult Leader snatched the White Tiger Village Chief and began beating him mercilessly with Force Energy.
Yul Han had held his throat, so he couldn’t resist—but the Cult Leader had only grabbed his hair.
Naturally, the Village Chief resisted.
But within just two exchanges, he was overwhelmed and reduced to being brutally beaten.
His face caved in, and every rib in his body shattered.
For a Manifestation Realm expert capable of deploying protective energy to be reduced to that state instantly showed just how destructive the Cult Leader’s blows were.
As the broken ribs pierced his organs, the Cult Leader’s hand sliced through his neck.
Slice.
The head separated far too easily.
Crunch!
The Cult Leader stomped on it and crushed it, his savage voice roaring.
“The Thirteen Bloods and Blood Sword Unit—annihilate White Tiger Village!”
Annihilation.
It meant killing everyone—men, women, children—even dogs and cats.
At that command, a thunderous shout followed, and the Thirteen Bloods and Blood Sword Unit rushed in.
The blood flowing through White Tiger Village increased exponentially.
The Cult Leader was not satisfied with killing the Guest Assassination House experts gathered there.
After annihilating White Tiger Village, he rushed like the wind and completely wiped out Guest Assassination House as well.
Thus, Guest Assassination House—one of the three greatest assassination sects, which had endured for over seven hundred years—vanished in an instant.
<White Tiger Village and Guest Assassination House have been annihilated by the Bright Cult>
The rumor shook the entire lands of Xinjiang and the Cheonghae Region—the territory of the Demonic Path.
The sects belonging to the Eighteen Demon Sects immediately shrank back.
Then, a summons from the Cult Leader arrived.
It ordered all remaining leaders of the Eighteen Demon Sects to come to the Bright Cult.
Fear immediately gripped them.
They did not know why White Tiger Village and Guest Assassination House had been annihilated.
But they could not refuse.
Everyone knew that if the Bright Cult, now filled with killing intent, drew its blade again, it would be effortless.
As a result, the leaders of the Eighteen Demon Sects heading toward the Bright Cult’s Main Fortress felt like cattle being led to slaughter.
Some even went so far as to pass their positions to successors before leaving.
Thus, the leaders of the Eighteen Demon Sects were making their way toward the Bright Cult.