Chapter 345

Chapter 345
## Chapter 345. Revenge (1)

—

Covered from head to toe in crimson gore, Cheol-sun-jik found himself completely unable to halt his body’s violent shaking.

‘To think we actually managed to fight our way through.’

Despite the grim reality of stepping onto the soil of the Demonic Realm—a territory synonymous with a death sentence within the Muk-rim—the suffocating stress suddenly evaporated from his frame, and a long breath of relief escaped his lips. The moment they crossed the threshold into the Demonic Realm exactly as Jin-so-un had anticipated, the relentless pursuit of their adversaries ground to an absolute halt.

A vast number of their comrades had fallen on the grueling trek to this point, forever separated from the group. Yet, not a single individual muttered a bitter grievance or lashed out in rage. The reason was simple: the young man guiding them had sustained his position at the absolute vanguard, absorbing the brunt of every lethal threat himself. The skeptics who had once sneered, questioning if he merely wanted to play the grand hero in the face of doom, went completely silent upon witnessing the sheer volume of blood he spilled. Those who had bitterly complained that he was indifferent to their suffering bowed their heads in shame when they saw his mangled, desperate state. He had thrown himself into the meat grinder just as he promised, giving every ounce of his soul.

‘He actually made good on the wild declarations he made.’

It was undeniably a hopeless plight. A predicament where finding a shred of optimism was next to impossible. A dark abyss where one would naturally fall into despondency, uselessly dwelling on bygone days and wallowing in bitter self-pity…… The kind of catastrophic scenario where even the strongest could only cling to hollow illusions. Yet, in the midst of that very despair, Jin-so-un had accomplished the unthinkable and guided the masses forward. He demanded no tribute, nor did he seek any accolades. He desired only a single thing.

Control.

The command that rightfully belonged to him from the start. In the end, the crushing weight of the duty he bore vastly eclipsed the mere authority he had claimed. He gambled his very existence to honor his word. Cheol-sun-jik was witnessing it for the first time in his life—a lone human anchoring such a monumental burden. He had never observed such a sight within the ranks of the Juk-hyeon-bang, nor among the masters of Jong-nam, nor anywhere else under heaven. Though the youth was currently weaving and faltering on his feet, his silhouette appeared extraordinarily immense. His stature, which Cheol-sun-jik once assumed was roughly on par with his own, now seemed to tower at an unreachable height.

It was a bewildering sensation. He had never once perceived Nam-hwa-seong—a man who stood a full two heads taller than himself—as physically imposing, yet merely gazing at Jin-so-un made his neck ache as if he were looking up at a distant mountain peak. Seriously, what kind of monster is this person……

“Uh, uhh?!”

Right then, Il-hwi, a martial artist from the 3rd Squad, lunged forward with explosive speed as he noticed Jin-so-un’s form beginning to pitch forward.

*Thud.*

Il-hwi barely managed to intercept Jin-so-un, who was collapsing toward the earth like a marionette whose cords had been abruptly severed. And then……

“Huh?”

The space surrounding Il-hwi was instantly crowded with warriors who had instinctively sprinted toward the falling youth, completely oblivious to whether they belonged to the Orthodox Society, the White Faction, or the 12 Peaks Stars.

“……”
“ Poles apart, yet standing shoulder to shoulder.”

A heavy, self-conscious quiet descended upon the gathering. Among the people assembled there, not a single soul possessed a warm history or amicable ties with Jin-so-un. If anything, the crowd was comprised of individuals who had spent their time harboring jealousy and trying to suppress his rise.

“……Is—is he alright? He isn’t grievously wounded, is he?”

“Eh? Well, he seems to be breathing fine. Priest Il-hwi, what is his condition?”

“Ah…… ahem, his pulse is sluggish, but there is no immediate danger. He has simply pushed his physical limits to the absolute brink.”

Yet now, they were openly voicing deep, unfeigned anxiety.

“Is that the case? Good heavens, what are we supposed to do if our Leader breaks down like this……”

“It appears the Leader’s vital energy is severely depleted…… I carry an ancestral elixir from our school; would it be wise to administer it to him?”

Promptly, the surrounding warriors began to frantically reach into their robes to produce their hidden stores. It was an extraordinary spectacle, one that Cheol-sun-jik had never encountered in all his days. For any practitioner of the martial arts, hoarding a secret elixir or a life-saving medicine was second nature, a precaution they wouldn’t easily abandon even for a brother of the same banner or sect.

“……”

Cheol-sun-jik had unlocked the core philosophy of the martial world at a very young age. He knew that as long as the gargantuan entity known as the Murim Alliance held sway over the Central Plains, the bloody friction between rival factions would remain eternal. He knew that even if the Murim Alliance vanished into dust, the Orthodox Society, the White Faction, and the 12 Peaks Stars would still plot against one another, driven by a desire to slaughter their neighbors that far exceeded their hatred for any common foe.

‘What under heaven am I looking at……’

Without a single command being issued, they were digging into their own satchels to offer up their treasures. And it wasn’t restricted to Jin-so-un either. Disciples of the Orthodox Society were actively binding the wounds of White Faction fighters, while White Faction swordsmen were looking after the well-being of the 12 Peaks Stars. Shattering the barriers of their respective schools and lineages, the crowd was behaving precisely like a single, unified family.

Cheol-sun-jik turned his eyes toward the solitary figure who had catalyzed this impossible transformation.

‘Is he truly a Dragon (**Yong**)?’

The title of Dragon was never bestowed upon a student of some insignificant, bottom-tier sect. The terms Dragon and Phoenix (**鳳**) carried an incredibly profound, prawie sacred weight. Who could dare to carry a moniker that signified an existence destined to reshape the very landscape of the world upon their arrival? Because of this, he had always dismissed Jin-so-un’s grand title as nothing more than a mocking jeer and a petty insult. After all, the individual who had coined the name was none other than Cha-seok-du of the Sa-hwang-bong.

‘We were the blind fools all along……’

It seemed the champion of the dark paths had discerned the youth’s true nature before anyone else. A genuine Dragon forced to bide its time within the dim corners of the righteous sects. Cheol-sun-jik could not shake the humbling realization of just how insignificant a creature he truly was on this day.

The precise instant I understood that I had passed out was the moment my consciousness snapped back into reality. I found myself slung across the broad back of Geum-pyo, a warrior from the 5th Squad. Had his shoulders always been this expansive? Children truly shoot up like weeds.

“How much time have I lost?”

Geum-pyo offered his response without bothering to glance back.

“Barely any time at all. Please close your eyes and rest further.”

For some reason, his tone was uncharacteristically somber. Had some disaster struck while I was out?

“The rest of the camp……”

“Everyone is holding the line. So please, just remain still.”

“I need to get down……”

In that exact moment, a pair of clumsy fingers struck my anesthetic meridian from the side. When I rolled my eyes over to investigate, my gaze landed on Eun-ho.

“You need to stay exactly where you are, **Dae-sa-hyeong**.”

Does this brat honestly believe I lack the capability to dissolve a basic meridian block?

“……The Sa-hwal-dan is maintaining our advance, and aside from the local corrupted beasts, those miserable bastards haven’t shown themselves.”

Eun-ho’s tone was equally strained. Why on earth were these kids refusing to look me in the eye? Did something catastrophic happen?

“Speak to me. Who didn’t make it?”

“……No one has fallen.”

“Then why are you avoiding my gaze?”

Only then did Eun-ho abruptly wrench his head around. Contrast to his usually aggressive features, his eyes were swimming with unshed tears. Wearing a face that hovered precariously between explosive fury and a torrent of grief, he glared directly at me.

“**Dae-sa-hyeong**…… you were on the verge of death!”

Hearing his choked words, I swallowed the retort that had risen to my tongue.

“Right now, the captains of the 1st and 2nd Squads are clearing the path ahead. So…… please, just rest a little longer, **Dae-sa-hyeong**!”

After effortlessly shattering the meridian seal Eun-ho had poorly placed, I began to shift my body to slide off Geum-pyo’s back, only for another meridian strike to hit me. This one carried a bit more weight.

“Who else is trying to—”

“If you refuse to remain still……”

A voice more freezing than a winter gale slicing through a barren valley cut through my thoughts.

“Next time, I will bind you securely with thick cords.”

Sa-ryeon’s words were dripping with an icy finality. These brats, when did they acquire such teeth? Her execution of the pressure point strike was far more refined than Eun-ho’s, yet her mastery of the Tae-eul True Scripture was still a long way from perfection. It took me only a brief moment to dissolve the seal, and I finally planted my boots onto the dirt, leaving Geum-pyo’s back behind.

*Stumble.*

“**Dae-sa-hyeong**……!”

The sensation of the earth beneath my feet felt disorienting. A brief wave of vertigo washed over me, but after drawing a couple of deep breaths, the cloudiness swiftly cleared.

“I am perfectly fine.”

“When your physical frame is practically held together by threads……”

I prepared to take a step forward, but Sa-ryeon’s hand clamped down tightly on my shoulder.

“Why…… must you push yourself to this extreme?”

Why must I go to such lengths? I cast my gaze up into the empty air for a brief moment. I am utterly exhausted from watching people perish before my eyes. Because those horrific images ultimately etch themselves permanently into my mind. Turning my head back, I locked eyes with each of my junior disciples one after the other.

“I wish to stop accumulating miserable regrets.”

There was likely not a single student from the institute who possessed a greater reservoir of inner qi than myself. Furthermore, outside of those tied to the Tae-eul Sect, none of them would have mastered an advanced breathing technique. In these dire hours where there isn’t a single spare second to sit and circulate one’s energy, having me anchor the front line is the most effective strategy to keep death at bay. I turned to Yang-ja-pyeong, who was studying me with a complicated expression, and raised a question.

“Young Master Yang, how long has it been since we breached this perimeter?”

“Would it not be wiser to recuperate a bit longer?”

“Young Master Yang.”

Yang-ja-pyeong rubbed his temples and let loose a weary, protracted sigh.

“……Roughly three hours have slipped by.”

That much time had already evaporated?

“And the pursuers have not struck?”

“Not once. Furthermore, as the academy students are rapidly adapting to combating the corrupted beasts, our casualty rate has taken a sharp dive. ……So, won’t you please rest a bit more?”

It made no sense. For our enemies to completely vanish for a span of three hours was highly irregular. No matter how aggressively the corrupted beasts might attack demons on sight, wouldn’t it be far more characteristic of those demonic zealots to absorb the losses and strike us anyway, rather than risk letting us slip through their fingers? They are fanatics who don’t care about casualties to begin with.

“Young Master Yang, if we choose not to cleave straight through the Demonic Realm and instead loop around toward the Western boundary exit, what is the variance in our trek?”

“Well. I haven’t calculated the geography down to the foot…… and it would largely depend on the capabilities of the runners.”

“Assume the standard of first-class martial artists. Moving at a rapid pace that doesn’t completely drain their reserves.”

“……It would likely cost us an additional day’s journey.”

“Which leaves us completely vulnerable to an encirclement.”

“……”

We had chosen a path that ran diametrically opposed to everything our pursuers would have calculated. Naturally, their defensive nets in this sector would be poorly organized. What rational creature on this earth would charge headlong into a legendary valley of death simply to evade an ambush? Even though we had completely shattered their expectations, it had still cost us an immense toll in lives just to break their grip. Because of that, I couldn’t afford to relax for a second. I had no way of calculating the sheer volume of forces they had deployed throughout the Muk-rim. If our momentum faltered for even a brief interval, we could find ourselves boxed in without warning. Getting trapped within the Demonic Realm would trigger a catastrophe far more horrifying than being cornered in the Muk-rim. Our absolute best option was to tear through the Demonic Realm and exit the Muk-rim entirely before their main host could intercept us.

“Who is currently charting our course at the front?”

“Masters from my own sect are rotating the scouting duties, so there is no need for you to fret—”

“How many have we lost?”

Yang-ja-pyeong’s gaze flickered with emotion, and his jaw clamped shut tightly.

“This is no time to be lying around.”

“This arrangement was a collective choice made by our sect.”

“Throwing lives away is considered a choice?”

Following a tense beat of silence, Yang-ja-pyeong locked his eyes with mine, his gaze unyielding.

“Because if our Commander falls…… not a single soul among us will make it out of here alive.”

Commander…… I had never even asked for the mantle of leadership.

“Furthermore, even if you insist on reassuming the vanguard, no one here will permit it.”

They wouldn’t permit it. Setting aside Yang-ja-pyeong’s baffling remark, along with the fretful protests of my juniors, I began to forge my way toward the front of the column.

“Oh? You’re on your feet already?”

“Did I not assure you? The sacred pill of our Kunlun Sect has no equal when it comes to mending internal trauma.”

I passed by these bizarre characters who were watching me with the doting eyes of parents who had just successfully fed a stubborn child. With every step I took, phrases and chatter whose true meaning eluded me echoed through the ranks. However, the marching grid had completely transformed from before. I began to spot countenances that had absolutely no business being anywhere near the danger zone.

“Aren’t you assigned to the 8th Squad? What is your purpose here?”

“Please do not fault us. The Commander’s decrees are law, but the vanguard had simply grown too depleted.”

The 1st and 2nd Squads had suffered devastating casualties, and as their operational strength dissolved, the warriors of the 3rd and 4th Squads had moved up to bridge the chasms. Meanwhile, it appeared those originally stationed at the rear had stepped up to fortify the left and right flanks where dangerous openings had formed. While I lay unconscious, all of these adjustments had been executed entirely of their own volition. Driven by their own conscious choice to walk into the line of fire.

“Is that so. You have done well.”

“Receiving praise from you makes me rather self-conscious……”

“Maintain your focus.”

Leaving those words behind, I attempted to press further toward the very front, causing the vanguard warriors to twist around to stare at me in shock.

“No, when did you regain consciousness?”

“I explicitly gave instructions to seal his meridians the moment he stirred! Who was responsible? The incompetent fool who clearly hasn’t mastered pressure point strikes properly……”

“Do you honestly think this is a matter of pressure point technique? It’s bound to be a question of raw inner power. By what sorcery could you expect to render a man unconscious who literally suppressed a senior instructor with pure qi?”

What under heaven were these idiots blathering about?

“Perhaps I should simply put him under utilizing my clan’s venom instead?”

Hearing the casual remark that followed from the 7th Squad Leader, Dang-gi-han, I was left completely speechless. What kind of unmitigated nonsense was this?

“Commander. Pray, rest a bit longer. You expended far too much of yourself to bring us this far.”

“He speaks the truth, Commander. You do not possess a physique of divine iron; you must at least allow your flesh to mend.”

“Are you blind to the proper conduct of a general? The true leader is supposed to orchestrate from the rear lines.”

Observing these fools who were speaking in perfect harmony as if they were a single entity, irrespective of their original factions, I began to question if I had fallen into a deep delusion. How had they managed to align themselves so flawlessly? But these ungrateful brats. They used the formal title of Commander-Nim, yet…… their speech lacked any proper respect? Well, for the time being, should I just overlook it and move on? While I was weighing whether to be gratified that a level of solidarity I had never witnessed in my previous existence had finally been achieved, or to be furious over what amounted to open insubordination—the forward momentum of the entire column ground to a sudden, jarring halt.

“Wh—what is happening?”

“Hold! Halt the line!”

A wave of panicked shouting erupted from the vanguard. To think we were freezing our advance, which had driven forward relentlessly until this very second?

“Clear the way.”

I shoved my way through the gathered academy students and forced my path to the front. They must have perceived that something was profoundly wrong, as not a single hand tried to arrest my progress. The moment I breached the absolute front line, I discovered Il-gak and Nam-hwa-seong frozen like statues, their eyes locked onto the path ahead.

‘Could it be an ambush from the Demonic Cult?’

If it were the cultists blocking our path in this territory, our only option was to refuse to halt and smash straight through them. Our best tactical advantage lay in engaging those zealots in an area crawling with as many corrupted beasts as possible.

“What is the obstruction?”

I reached out and gripped Nam-hwa-seong’s shoulder, but his head didn’t move an inch. Il-gak, who stood rigidly beside him, was entirely unresponsive.

*Tremble, tremble.*

Moreover, Il-gak—a monk whose serene composure had never wavered even when staring down the blades of demons—was vibrating with sheer terror from head to toe.

“Ji—Jin Dan-ju……”

“What is it?”

“The exact scenario that Jin Dan-ju warned us about has come to pass.”

“What?”

Il-gak managed to squeeze out the words through chattering teeth.

“That…… utterly ‘vile’ scenario.”

What was he rambling about? Why was this bald monk suddenly spouting foul language he had never uttered before……

“Over there.”

As I tracked the direction of Il-gak’s trembling finger—

“Grrrr……”

Deep within a clearing in the thicket, a mountain of dark fur roughly the dimensions of an entire estate was baring a row of lethal fangs, emitting a low, vibrating growl. It projected a wave of absolute malice from eyes that reeked of thick musk.

“Dammit……”

I didn’t even need to focus my senses to feel the violent disruption in the spiritual energy of the land. Corrupted beast or not, an entity of this magnitude was completely absurd. It was the exact type of nightmare creature I had sworn I never wanted to cross paths with again after our desperate hunt for the Great Sun Monkey (**Tae-yang-hu**).

“There was a damn good reason those bastards didn’t even bother to pursue us.”

One of the legendary Four Great Spirits of the Muk-rim was sitting squarely in our path, waiting for us.