Chapter 200

Chapter 200
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**Chapter 200**
**Chapter Title: Blood Cult’s Infiltration Scheme**

The head of the Zhu Clan Manor could not make any sense of what was happening. Why, of all people, was he the one suffering this torment right now?

*I did not rush in recklessly without a plan. I had everything figured out!*

The Zhu Clan Manor had served as a front organization established by the Blood Cult more than a century earlier, created solely to keep watch over the Baek Clan Manor. In that capacity, they had carried out an exhaustive investigation into every aspect of the Baek Clan. Over the last ten years, as the Baek Clan rose swiftly to prominence, the Blood Cult had even strengthened their own forces in response.

*This is impossible. This cannot be real!*

Take this very moment, for example—what in the world was this searing agony? He remembered every moment of the grueling training he had undergone at headquarters, yet he could not endure this. Worse still, he carried a restriction sealed within him: the instant he revealed any confidential information, his mind would shatter, leaving him nothing more than an empty, soulless shell…

“You believe this is impossible, don’t you?”

He pressed a finger into the man’s brow.

“Gaaahhh!”

A convulsive scream tore from his throat as pure qi was driven straight into the center of his forehead.

“It appears you have some sort of restriction placed upon you. Did you rely on it, thinking it would grant you a painless end before the true torment even began?”

That pitiful little restriction? It had been shattered effortlessly by pure qi, crumbling away in the most satisfying manner.

“Do not look at me like that. Nothing in this world is truly impossible. Your people simply grew careless in your gathering of intelligence… Oh? You still feel wronged, even now?”

“…Very well. I know I am as good as dead, and I know I cannot withstand this pain. I will tell you everything—but in return for my cooperation, grant me one answer before I pass.”

That was a reasonable enough proposal.

“Pass.”

He pressed again.

“Gaaahhh!”

“How dare you expect an easy end? From the stench of blood clinging to you, I would guess you have murdered at least a hundred people.”

A quick, painless death would have been convenient—far too convenient. But this wretch did not deserve to die so easily. For the sake of every soul that had been sacrificed, every last member of the Blood Cult would beg for release while trapped in the most excruciating torment imaginable. And pure qi was the perfect instrument for such justice.

“Now, shall we give your subordinates a taste of this as well?”

He summoned his inner energy, sending ripples of qi spreading out in every direction.

“Gaaahhh!”
“Gaaarghhh!”
“Gaaahhh!”
“Gaaahhh!”

Those ripples alone drew forth a chorus of screams so powerful they seemed capable of shaking the very foundations of the Zhu Clan Manor.

“Ugh—far too loud.”

He snapped his fingers, and the screams fell silent in a single instant. He had not silenced their voices—he had simply nullified the sound itself. As a disciple of the Sound Master, such a feat was no more difficult than a child’s game.

“Very well—let us return to what matters. Why does the Blood Cult take such a keen interest in our Baek Clan Manor?”

“To determine whether the ancestor of the Baek Clan—the World’s Greatest—left behind any legacy for his descendants.”

“If such a legacy existed, we would never have fallen so far as to be called a third-rate martial family.”

“We never ruled out the possibility of something hidden, something that had not yet been discovered. And in truth… you found it.”

What utter nonsense.

“Without it, you could never have risen to become the foremost clan in Gangseo in only ten years. Moreover… your own strength defies all reason.”

“Hmm. I cannot fault you for thinking as much.”

In truth, no such legacy existed. Though if one truly remained hidden somewhere, waiting to be found… that would be intriguing indeed.

“It is impossible for one so young as you to possess such formidable skill. With the forces at our disposal, we could have crushed you entirely. Therefore—the Baek Clan Manor must hold the World’s Greatest’s legacy.”

More empty words.

“I have not even drawn my sword once while bringing you all to heel.”

“…”

Only then did the man’s eyes widen, as understanding finally began to pierce through his pain. Agony truly did muddle one’s thoughts; his mind was so clouded he could not even recall what had happened only moments before.

“You are confused because I am the one inflicting this upon you, but the truth is far simpler: you simply failed to understand us correctly.”

In reality, the Zhu Clan’s forces were far from ordinary. They had simply been utterly outmatched—and blinded by their own arrogance.

“At an age when you can barely be called a young warrior, without even having performed the coming-of-age rites… how… how is this possible?”

“How did I grow so strong? The answer is straightforward.”

Talent. And relentless effort.

“Creatures such as you would never understand, but if one aspires to bear the title of World’s Greatest, this is merely what is expected.”

“…Ah. That look. Your pride is wounded, is it?”

He pressed once more.

“Gaaah! Gaaahhh!”

“Let us continue our conversation productively. What did you mean when you spoke of turning our main household into one of your own?”

Only when the burning pain of pure qi began to fade was the man able to speak again.

“It began with the World’s Greatest, yes—but now his descendants face hardship. They carry precious blood, and we believed they might accept our faith… so we approached you.”

Precious blood, was it? He recalled that the Blood Cult had always been obsessed with lineage—more precisely, with bloodlines. Something stirred in his memory, from his past life: rumors that both the Ming Cult and the Blood Cult were fixated on Jeomchang. He had learned that the Ming Cult had infiltrated Jeomchang, and it seemed the Blood Cult’s obsession had been genuine as well. It was widely known that descendants of the royal line from the Yun-nam Proxy Kingdom resided there, and these villains were utterly captivated by royal blood. That was exactly why the clans of Jeomchang had suffered such devastating losses. That was also why he, Yang-hui, had never had any connection to Jeomchang in his past life—he had never once met a disciple from that place.

“We may have seen better days, but we are still recognized as the leading clan in Gangseo.”

“That meant nothing to us. Our plan was to kill all three of the Baek siblings, then approach the clan head… Gaaahhh! Gaaahhh! Gaaahhh!”

So that was their design. Rage flared within him, and he nearly struck the man down in that instant.

*If they had wiped us out entirely, then claimed the Nine Great Sects or the Five Great Clans had launched a surprise attack… Father would have accepted their word without question.* His father valued integrity above all else, yet his love for his family ran just as deep.

“And so that was why you launched your raid.”

“Y-yes. We intended to extract information through torture. Killing the young master of the Tang Clan would also have severed the close bond between the Baek and Tang Clans.”

“And you used marriage proposals as a pretext. Contemptible.”

“The proposals… were genuinely part of our orders as well.”

“Hmm. Explain yourself.”

He pressed again.

“Gaaahhh! Instructions came from above! We were to gather proposals and send two or three to the tournament! We planned to capture you, fashion human leather masks from your faces, and steal your identities!”

What were these disciples of darkness plotting at the Dragon-Phoenix Assembly, the great gathering of the righteous sects? The leaders of the righteous sects were no fools. Even if one did not reach the final rounds, anyone who placed within the top hundred would face intense scrutiny. At such a youthful age, no one could hope to conceal demonic qi from the revered masters of the most respected clans. A high-ranking demon who had cast aside their mortal form might succeed, yet such a being would draw far too much attention to move unseen.

“Other groups like yours—they received the same orders, did they not?”

He probed further with pure qi, but no more details emerged. As anticipated, prying secrets from a compartmentalized front organization was no simple task. There were methods, of course—apply enough pressure, and even buried thoughts would surface.

“From this moment onward, every touch will bring more truths spilling forth. Do you understand?”

He struck again and again, pressing relentlessly.

“Kaaaaahhh!”

Some fifteen minutes later, he finally unearthed a vital piece of information—something truly significant.

“The Leader! The Cult Leader himself will attend the Dragon-Phoenix Assembly!”

“What? The Blood Cult Leader?”

Yang-hui’s expression turned grave. The Blood Cult Leader—through decades of conflict against the cults in his past life, he had never so much as laid eyes upon the man. A figure of legendary power.

*If he is appearing in person, he will likely use a youthful guise. The Blood Cult has no elderly leaders in any case, so that will not help identify him.* They would use human leather masks to alter their features regardless.

“A disposable pawn such as you would not know matters of such importance. Speak—what else do you know?”

“Gaaahhh! It is only what I guessed! That is all I dared share!”

“On what basis?”

“It was not merely a letter—one of the Bishops came personally to issue the orders!”

“Which Bishop do you serve?”

“I do not know… Gaaahhh! But I can describe her! She was breathtakingly beautiful, with hair as red as flowing blood!”

From what he remembered of his past life, only one Blood Cult Bishop matched that description. A dark, dangerous smile touched Yang-hui’s lips, one laced with cold fury.

*I see. So she was the one in charge here.* The Bloodblood Maiden. She was the very reason the Tang Clan had been destroyed in his past life. So many things that had never made sense now fell into place.

*Even when I was known as the Heaven-Reversing Blood Sword, it seemed absurd that a Bishop would mobilize simply to hunt down one master of the Peak realm.* With the Baek Clan Manor growing in strength and displaying such extraordinary power, the Bloodblood Maiden’s curiosity had clearly been aroused.

*If the Cult Leader is truly coming, that explains everything—it would be the only reason she would intervene personally.* This was far more than he had expected; he had caught the attention of a truly formidable foe. He believed he had learned everything worth knowing. The next question was how to handle the aftermath.

“The Blood Cult will never suspect we are responsible for what happened here tonight.” They might deduce the Baek and Tang Clans were involved, but they would never guess only six people had carried it out—even if these captives lived, they would never imagine the truth.

“Sister Tang. Make certain every last one of them suffers as they deserve until their final breath.”

“Leave it to me.”

Pure qi inflicted excruciating pain upon those bearing demonic qi, but now he needed to think. He folded his arms and began organizing what he had learned.

First: the Blood Cult sought the Baek Clan’s bloodline and any legacy left behind by the World’s Greatest.

Second: they planned to use marriage proposals and stolen identities to infiltrate and manipulate the Baek Clan.

Third: the Blood Cult was active at the Dragon-Phoenix Assembly, and the Cult Leader himself intended to be present.

*Why would he show himself? It must be for the tournament itself. He would have placed highly in my past life as well.* He pictured the top ten rankings from years before: eight whose affiliations were well known, and two who were wandering masters or disciples of obscure schools. One of those two must have been the Blood Cult Leader.

Lost in thought, he was joined by Tang Gun.

“Brother Hui. They are gone, and I have erased all evidence of our presence. We should find somewhere else to rest for the night.”

“Ah… yes. Actually—no. We will not stop to sleep. We will press on through the night.”

“One night without rest will not harm us, but why the rush?”

“Because we have work to do.”

They would find the Blood Cult Leader, hidden amidst the gathering of righteous sects. And they would start searching now.