Chapter 181

Chapter 181
## Chapter 181: It’s No Ploy (3)

“Does this imply I’ve met the requirements?”

“Hold your tongue! Snatching the challenge token doesn’t grant you any legitimate claim to it.”

“Is that how it works? Truly a pity.”

Even as he spoke, the youth showed no hint of remorse. He ignited the Samadhi True Fire, reducing the challenge token to a handful of cinders in his palm.

“In that case, let’s test your prowess, independent of any formal contest. Surely you won’t retreat? Not the legendary Sword Empress.”

Neung Sohwa recognized the blatant baiting for what it was, yet she unsheathed her blade without pausing.

The moment he had forced the elder of the Twin Swords Reaching Heaven to his grave just to grab that token, a clash became unavoidable. To ignore such a stain on the honor of the Sword Phantom Villa would make her title of Sword Empress a mockery.

However, before Neung Sohwa could lunge, Sima Geon had already unleashed a piercing wave of sword intent toward the young man.

“Young Master Sima!”

Neung Sohwa knit her brows, her expression darkening with irritation.

“Black Wolf is bleeding out. Cheol Woo took a hit as well. My apologies, but I cannot step aside for this one.”

“Who exactly took a hit…”

“You, be quiet.”

Cheol Woo’s protest was cut short as So Surin shoved the blood-soaked bandage she’d been using on Black Wolf’s injury directly into his mouth.

“I suppose it can’t be helped. Since you’ve made your entrance, the original scheme has already fallen apart.”

The youth adjusted his stance to face Sima Geon and spoke.

“A scheme? That token was merely a pretext. Your true objective is the assassination of the Sword Empress.”

“Interpret it however you wish.”

“It isn’t a matter of interpretation—it’s a fact. From the perspective of the Blood Cult, the Sword Empress is a target that must be erased.”

At the explicit mention of the Blood Cult, the youth’s mask of indifferent calm finally fractured.

“How could you possibly…”

The spectators were paralyzed with shock as his reaction confirmed the existence of the Blood Cult. Neung Sohwa, in particular, remembered the master she lost to their conspiracies; a freezing aura, sharper than a winter gale, began to radiate from her.

“How could I miss it, when you travel with those creatures in tow?”

Sima Geon gave a mocking grin, gesturing toward the figures lurking behind the youth.

“I’ve encountered their sort before—once in the vicinity of the Heavenly Demon Cult, and once near the Shaolin Temple. They are monsters stripped of every human sentiment. But it’s you who truly fascinates me.”

Sima Geon locked his sharp eyes onto the youth and threw out a sudden inquiry.

“Have you achieved the state of Return to Youth?”

The youth’s jaw dropped in genuine astonishment.

He appeared far more rattled by this than by the revelation of the Blood Cult.

“Ha! Just how did you…”

“I thought so. Things didn’t add up from the start. You possess a level of power that contradicts your youth, a specific lethality found only in those who have spent lifetimes on the front lines, and the aura of decades that someone your age shouldn’t have. Most telling, though, is your manner of speaking. You’re pretending to be a boy, but your phrasing is that of a patriarch. Everyone else was too distracted to catch it, but you actually called yourself ‘this old man’ just moments ago.”

“Ah, did I? Curse it. I tried so hard to play the part, but I suppose I was just being clumsy.”

The youth stopped hiding his true nature, letting his heavy presence flood the area.

The confirmation of Return to Youth sent a fresh wave of murmurs through the crowd. It was a legendary phenomenon, a miracle of cultivation usually reserved for myths.

But the revelations weren’t finished.

“Are you the Sovereign of the Blood Cult?”

Sima Geon asked another question.

He wasn’t necessarily looking for a confession. Judging by the suffocating pressure coming from the man, he simply guessed he was a high-ranking official. However, the youth didn’t bother with secrecy.

“Correct. I am the leader of the Blood Cult.”

The crowd reeled as if struck by a physical blow.

—

In the lower regions of Wolf Fang Mountain within central North Hebei lay the estate of the North Hebei Paeng Clan.

Though their prestige had wavered slightly compared to other major houses in recent times, they remained the undisputed masters of the North Hebei region.

Inside the primary office of the patriarch, situated within a complex designed around the principles of the five elements and eight trigrams, Patriarch Paeng Ik sat in isolation, venting his stress through heavy sighs.

“Good grief! This is maddening.”

Losing his patience, Paeng Ik crushed the parchment in his grip and threw it across the room in a fit of pique.

The crumpled ball bounced off the boot of a person entering the room at that exact moment.

“Oh, Father!”

Paeng Ik stood up abruptly, bowing his head in shame.

Paeng Man Ho, the previous patriarch who had passed the mantle to Paeng Ik three years prior, leaned down to retrieve the discarded letter.

“What has caused you such agitation?”

“No, it’s nothing of importance.”

“Allow me to judge that.”

Paeng Man Ho straightened the paper and read the contents. Behind him, Elder Paeng Wan entered, casting a sharp, judging look at Paeng Ik.

Under his uncle’s heavy stare, Paeng Ik felt the urge to vanish into the floorboards.

“Tsk, what a disaster. How long has the seat of the alliance leader been empty, and they still haven’t reached a consensus?”

Paeng Wan let out a derisive snort after reading over his brother’s shoulder.

“Hmph! The fools who supported that spineless Left Wing Immortal as our leader clearly haven’t learned their lesson.”

Paeng Wan directed his bitterness toward the Wudang and Huashan factions, who continued to block every potential candidate for the leadership role.

“To be fair, their hesitation isn’t entirely misplaced. I would likely oppose them as well.”

“Brother!”

“Consider the names on the list. They are all uninspired. With the world of martial arts becoming so chaotic, putting such mediocre men in charge would be a death sentence. The alliance’s standing is already scraping the bottom.”

“Perhaps, but we can’t leave the position vacant indefinitely, can we?”

As Paeng Wan complained, Paeng Man Ho let out a sigh of his own.

“Even so, that Left Wing Immortal was a respectable man in his own fashion.”

“How can a man with no resolve be ‘respectable’? He bears the blame for the alliance’s current decay.”

“He couldn’t outrun his failures, but he did try. When he saw it was a lost cause, he stepped down. Imagine the level of despair he must have felt.”

Unlike Paeng Wan, who blamed Left Wing Immortal for leaving the alliance in shambles, Paeng Man Ho—having steered the clan through his own storms—offered a bit of empathy.

“I can grant him that, but joining the Justice Heaven Alliance? That is beyond my understanding. The Justice Heaven Alliance, of all groups! Is there no sense of duty or honor left?”

“True, but did the Justice Heaven Alliance not show incredible persistence? Ten visits of entreaty. Who could truly turn away that level of commitment?”

At the mention of the legendary ten visits of entreaty, even the fuming Paeng Wan went quiet. He couldn’t deny the sheer effort the Justice Heaven Alliance had put into securing Left Wing Immortal.

“Regardless, a leader must be chosen soon. I am uneasy. The north is already on edge, and with the alliance falling apart…”

Paeng Ik’s observation caused both Paeng Man Ho and Paeng Wan to look grim.

“That is the reason for our visit. Is the border truly that unstable?”

“It is. The movements of foreign powers beyond the mountain passes are highly suspicious. The North Sea Ice Palace, in particular, is acting in a way that is far from ordinary.”

The atmosphere in the room turned cold at the mention of the North Sea Ice Palace. While they didn’t carry the dark infamy of the Heavenly Demon Cult, their name carried a staggering weight.

Sensing the mood had become too dark, Paeng Ik tried to force a lighter tone.

“Still, nothing will happen immediately, so please don’t be overly burdened. I’m merely worried they might take advantage of the Heavenly Demon Cult’s recent activity to make a move.”

“Do not dismiss this lightly. We cannot turn a blind eye to the North Sea Ice Palace.”

“We require every scrap of information we can get, Patriarch.”

Paeng Ik bowed respectfully to the elders.

“I understand. I have already dispatched every available scout to keep them under surveillance.”

Just then, frantic shouts echoed from the courtyard, followed by the sound of a violent struggle outside the doors.

“What is happening?”

Paeng Ik demanded, his brow furrowing.

The doors were flung open, and a disciple stumbled in, his complexion white with terror.

“P-Patriarch!”

“Control yourself! What is the meaning of this noise?”

“We are under siege. The N-North Sea Ice Palace is launching an all-out assault on the main gates.”

For a heartbeat, the three leaders stood paralyzed in total silence.

—

“Mm.”

With a muffled grunt, Sima Geon recoiled, his face etched with disbelief.

While the onlookers were stunned that Sima Geon—whom they considered unrivaled—had been forced back in the initial clash, Sima Geon was reeling for an entirely different reason.

‘What am I looking at…’

Sima Geon fixed his gaze on the youth—the Sovereign of the Blood Cult—who stood calmly with his blade lowered, looking entirely at ease.

‘How is this man using the techniques of the Blood Sea Demon Lord?’

The martial arts the youth displayed were undeniably those of the Blood Sea Demon Lord. However, they were altered. Crucially, they were a superior version to the ones Sima Geon had mastered.

“You have studied the arts of the Third Demon Venerable?”

Sima Geon remained silent, but the leader took it as a ‘yes.’

“Just as I suspected. I doubted the reports at first, but you truly have acquired the techniques of the Third Demon Venerable—or rather, the Blood Sea Demon Lord.”

A disdainful smirk played on the leader’s face.

“However, what you possess is a stagnant relic of the past. My techniques have been polished by the brightest minds of the Blood Cult, tempered in blood and sacrifice. You cannot fathom the decades of effort and the genius of those who refined this art over the ages.”

“How did you come to possess the martial arts of the Blood Sea Demon Lord?”

The leader looked at Sima Geon as if he had asked a ridiculous question.

“How? Ha! Is it not the natural order for the skills of an ancestor to be inherited by his kin?”

Sima Geon’s eyes widened in realization, and then he let out a sharp, cynical laugh.

“I see it now. The Blood Cult was established by the descendants of the Blood Sea Demon Lord. What a tragedy. He fought so desperately to best the Heavenly Demon, yet his children couldn’t break the cycle. Forming the Blood Cult out of a lingering fear of the Demon Cult proves you are still trapped in his shadow.”

“Keep your mouth shut. What could a brat like you possibly know?”

Offended that his legacy was being belittled, the leader’s anger flared.

“It is true that our forefather, the Blood Sea Demon Lord, failed to surpass the Heavenly Demon. But that era is over. As I told you, our clan’s greatest minds have spent generations evolving his techniques. This is the pinnacle. I would go as far as to say the martial arts of our cult have already eclipsed those of the Heavenly Demon.”

He spoke with a face glowing with arrogance.

“The Blood Sea Demon Lord wasted his life. He didn’t need to worry, seeing how hard his children have worked.”

At Sima Geon’s biting sarcasm, a murderous glint filled the leader’s eyes.

“You have no idea how I truly obtained the Third Demon Venerable’s legacy, do you?”

“I have no interest in the details.”

“You will learn them whether you wish to or not.”

Levelling the Heavenly Demon Sword at his opponent, Sima Geon continued.

“It was quite something, for a second. I’ll admit it’s far more advanced than the version of the Blood Sea Demon Lord’s arts that I know.”

The titanic energy of the Three Venerables One Heart Art began to churn in his core, flooding through his meridians like a tidal wave.

“Tell me, how much do you actually know about the martial arts of the Heavenly Demon?”

“What?”

“You’re clueless. You don’t know what the true arts of the Heavenly Demon look like.”

Thinking back to the secret techniques he had seen within the Heavenly Demon Ring, Sima Geon shook his head slowly.

“Nor do you understand just how hard your forefather—the Third Demon Venerable—struggled to match them.”

A violent, explosive pressure began to radiate from Sima Geon’s body.

“I’ll give you a demonstration now.”