Chapter 506: When the Enemy is Smart, It's to Our Advantage

TL: FoodieMonster007

"Are you saying that I'm deceiving you?"

Saying that my father knew the answer was certainly misleading. It sounded as if he knew the inner workings but chose not to tell me.

"No, sir. That's not what I meant."

"Then what did you mean by saying I know the answer?"

After a brief pause, I spoke to my father.

"I mean that a clue to this incident likely lies somewhere in your past, Father."

There was a clear reason for thinking so.

"They are clearly people who have a grudge or some history with Elder Blade Demon. You can tell just by how Elder Blade Demon obediently follows them."

Father nodded with an expression of agreement.

"But is that all there is to it?"

"What do you mean?"

"If they held a grudge against Elder Blade Demon, they would have killed him one way or another. By using poison, setting a trap, or some other method. Instead, they brutally annihilated orthodox sects and framed him for the crime. There could be no greater stain on our Cult's name."

Father's gaze sharpened. He had been thinking that this was simply an extension of the Blade Demon's affairs, but in that moment, the scope of it expanded.

"That's not all. They tried to kill Director Seo and the head of the Demon Slaying Brigade to incite a war with our Cult. They're escalating things far too much for it to be simply about settling a grudge with Elder Blade Demon."

Father slowly nodded again, as if he thought the same.

"It's not just a grudge against Elder Blade Demon…"

This was the emotion my instincts had detected.

"I can feel a grudge directed at our Cult."

"!"

"A deep-seated grudge that wants to ruin not only Elder Blade Demon, but our Cult as well."

I could feel my father's surprise. From his reaction, I could tell. He hadn't considered it to that extent.

"That's why I said it. Somewhere in Elder Blade Demon's past, somewhere in your past, Father, is the person who orchestrated this. Even if you don't remember them now."

Silence fell. Wondering if I had spoken with too much certainty about something so unsure, I added, "Just take it as a reference. It's only a feeling, a hunch."

"That hunch, how often is it right?"

I answered with an awkward smile.

"It's right almost every time."

Father rose from his seat and slowly walked to the window. He gazed outside and murmured softly.

"Then the situation is even worse."

It meant that a new enemy had appeared, separate from the masterminds we had been dealing with.

And I saw this situation in a positive light.

"No, it might actually be a good thing."

Father's gaze, which had been fixed outside the window, turned back to me. In his eyes was the question of why.

"Because now, with the original masterminds having lost some of their momentum, is our chance to deal with this new enemy."

The original masterminds would have been more cautious, waiting for an opportunity. They wouldn't have committed an act like blockading Chongqing while my father and I were passing through. They would know how foolish it is to face us both at once.

Herein lies another reason I felt it was a personal grudge.

However, these people are different. I can feel the emotion in their actions.

"It feels like they're saying this to us."

I conveyed that feeling to my father exactly as I felt it.

"We're back!"

In that moment, I saw an emotion flash across my father's face. It was clearly a cold sneer.

"If they wanted to say that, they should have done it while kicking open the doors to the Heavenly Demon Hall."

Because my father certainly would have. Framing someone, exploiting their weakness. These were the cowardly acts my father truly despised.

Father, I don't know who it is or for what reason.

"Let's send them back where they came from, together."

When I left my father's quarters, Seo Daeryong was pacing in the safehouse courtyard.

"You must be tired. Why aren't you resting?"

It was probably because he was worried about the Blood Heaven Blade Demon. I knew better than anyone how fond he had grown of him while learning martial arts.

"I lay down to get some sleep, but I just can't."

"When you were learning the Heaven Destroying Demonic Blade Technique, did he ever mention anything? Like someone else knowing it."

"No, he said the Heaven Destroying Demonic Blade Technique is passed down only to the successor of the Blade Demon. It's a martial art that should never be leaked to the outside."

Then who in the world could have used the Heaven Destroying Demonic Blade Technique?

The previous Blade Demon? He's known to be dead already.

Or did Elder Blade Demon have another Senior Brother? If so, there's no way my father wouldn't know.

"Young Cult Leader."

Seo Daeryong said with a more serious face than ever before.

"If you need me, please tell me anytime. I don't care if the task is dangerous."

Learning high-level martial arts doesn't automatically make one a martial artist willing to sacrifice for others. It was because Seo Daeryong had hoped for change in the Divine Cult for the sake of his unjustly killed Senior that his gaze had always burned so intensely.

"Elder Blade Demon would be pleased if he heard you say that."

"Later, Young Cult Leader, please make sure to take the credit for me."

Just as we were facing each other and smiling, a safehouse martial artist came, handed me a thick stack of documents, and left. The All-Knowing Hall had been sending information to the safehouse several times a day.

"What's this?"

"It's data on the orthodox sects in Chongqing. I requested it from the All-Knowing Hall. I'm trying to figure out their next target."

Seo Daeryong stared at me with a surprised expression.

"You think they'll annihilate another sect?"

"Because they failed to kill you and the head of the Demon Slaying Brigade. Yes, I think they'll do it again. Not just once, but twice, three times, until they get what they want. Even if they don't, making thorough preparations isn't a bad choice."

Seo Daeryong's expression darkened slightly. He was likely blaming himself, thinking that his survival would lead to someone else's death. This was why I liked him.

"A rather clever person on their side is orchestrating this. That point is to our advantage."

"The enemy is smart, so why is that to our advantage?"

"Because we also have a smart person who can figure out what they're thinking."

"Who?"

"You."

I handed the documents to Seo Daeryong.

"Smart people have a way of understanding each other. Find out what their next target is."

"Then you should look at them, Young Cult Leader."

I'm not a smart person like Strategist Sama, Go Wol, or Seo Daeryong. If people consider me smart, it's only because of the insight gained from my regression. I couldn't have entered the Sanzu River Hall at the top of my class.

"What if I choose wrong?"

"If you choose wrong, I would have chosen wrong too. Daeryong, trust in your intelligence."

Strength entered Seo Daeryong's eyes. His Master's life was on the line in this matter, as were the lives of many innocent people. In the past, he might have run from such pressure, but…

"Yes, I'll try."

Seo Daeryong began to spread the documents out on the ground. The empty safehouse courtyard was better for examining all the materials at once than a room or a desk.

And so, documents on dozens of Chongqing's sects were spread across the safehouse courtyard.

Seo Daeryong became frighteningly immersed. He read quickly, moving unnecessary documents to the side. He went back and forth, here and there. He'd read one, then rush over to read another.

I watched him quietly, not wanting to disturb him. I thought that my mere presence would give Seo Daeryong strength. The thought that I was watching would make him concentrate even harder.

Fortunately, Seo Daeryong didn't know. That my father was looking down on us from the window.

Otherwise, instead of the fearsome concentration he was showing now, he would have been so nervous and flustered that he'd have stumbled a few times.

Hang in there, Daeryong! Let's get the Elder and return to our Cult.

A man sat before the old fortune teller.

The person staring silently at the old man with a great blade resting on his lap was none other than the Blood Heaven Blade Demon.

The old man was completely unfazed, as if he had known the Blood Heaven Blade Demon would come.

Was it because of his stubborn gaze? Even though the Blood Heaven Blade Demon was just sitting there without revealing any aura, he exerted immense pressure on the other man.

"Where?"

"Even if I am a fortune teller, how am I supposed to know if you just ask me like that out of the blue?"

"I won't ask a second time."

Despite the clear threat, the old man was not afraid. And he knew exactly what the Blood Heaven Blade Demon was asking.

"Were you always like this? The Blood Heaven Blade Demon I know is someone who doesn't care one bit whether members of the orthodox sects live or die."

The Blood Heaven Blade Demon quietly placed a hand on the Heaven Destroying Dao resting on his lap. He still didn't reveal even a hint of aura, let alone killing intent, but the simple act of touching his blade magnified the pressure several times over.

"Can you cut me down?"

To the old man's bravado, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon replied in a languid tone.

"It's what I do best."

A strange smile formed on the old man's lips, and he soon picked up his fortune-telling cylinder.

"Even if I'm to die, let's read a fortune first. Let's see why our Demon Supreme is so intent on saving members of the orthodox sects."

Even in a situation where the Heaven Destroying Dao could fly out and sever his head in a single strike, the old man calmly picked a bamboo stick from the cylinder.

[A new bond overcomes an old bond.]

The old man looked down at the words written on the fortune and said, "So it was because of the Young Cult Leader after all."

The Blood Heaven Blade Demon gripped the hilt of the Heaven Destroying Dao. He didn't reveal any killing intent, but the old man could tell. He was truly about to cut him down.

This time, the old man held out the cylinder to the Blood Heaven Blade Demon.

"Pick one."

As the Blood Heaven Blade Demon, who had been staring at the old man, looked at the cylinder, one of the sticks was drawn out by telekinesis.

[one who ties a knot must untie it themselves .]

"You've chosen a good fortune. That's right, a knot must be untied by the ones who tied it."

The old man said to the Blood Heaven Blade Demon.

"Three days from now, go to the Mount Phoenix Sword Sect."

The Blood Heaven Blade Demon could tell. The old man wasn't telling him this because of the fortune. He didn't know how, but this fortune, too, must have been one the old man intended.

Perhaps it was his will.

As the Blood Heaven Blade Demon was about to rise from his seat, the old man shook the fortune cylinder.

"Shall I see my own fortune?"

The old man drew a stick.

[Those who are to live will surely live, and those who are to die will surely die.]

After glancing at the fortune, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon rose from his seat without a word.

"Why don't you ask? Which one I think I am."

The Blood Heaven Blade Demon answered as he walked away.

"I already know which one I am."

"I've narrowed it down to two places."

There were two sects left on the ground.

The Cloud River Sect.

The Mount Phoenix Sword Sect.

This was the result Seo Daeryong had produced after agonizing over it. The documents of the eliminated sects were piled up to the side.

"Among the representative orthodox sects of Chongqing, both have Sect Leaders with good reputations, making them likely targets. If it becomes known that they too were attacked by our Cult, the orthodox sects won't just stand by."

Geom Mugeuk examined the documents for the two sects.

"I'm sure it's one of the two, but I just can't seem to choose."

And for good reason. The lives of countless people depended on this one choice.

"This is my limit. We need Strategist Sama or Strategist Go."

Just then, Geom Mugeuk said something surprising.

"I think I know which one it is."

Seo Daeryong stared at Geom Mugeuk with wide eyes.

"You know? How?"

Seo Daeryong flinched in surprise and took a step back.

"It turns out the mastermind behind all of this is none other than!"

Geom Mugeuk looked at Seo Daeryong with a mischievous glint in his eye.

"Have you finally figured out my secret?"

Seo Daeryong, who had been staring blankly at Geom Mugeuk, shook his head and sighed.

"I don't even want to joke about something like this. The Young Cult Leader is the enemy? That's the end of the murim, isn't it?"

"By my standards, it's the unification of the murim."

"Aish, I told you to stop!"

Seo Daeryong came up beside Geom Mugeuk and asked.

"Which sect is it?"

Geom Mugeuk picked up one of the two documents lying on the ground.

The Mount Phoenix Sword Sect.

"How on earth did you know?"

Geom Mugeuk's reason for choosing the Mount Phoenix Sword Sect was something Seo Daeryong had never considered.

"I chose the one that has a bad relationship with the previously annihilated Anonymous Manor and the Great Justice Sect."

The other final candidate, the Cloud River Sect, was very close with the head of the Great Justice Sect. They were also acquainted with the Anonymous Manor. On the other hand, the Mount Phoenix Sword Sect was in a competitive and confrontational relationship with them, even among the orthodox sects.

"Why?"

Seo Daeryong couldn't understand at all. Then, an unexpected answer came from Geom Mugeuk.

"That way, the maximum number of orthodox sects will get pissed off."

"!"

Even within the same orthodox sects, there are friendships and factions. Naturally, the deeper the friendship, the greater the anger would be. The intention was to stir up the anger of a different faction.

"Ah! That makes sense!"

Seo Daeryong's voice trembled involuntarily.

Just then, new information arrived from the All-Knowing Hall. Geom Mugeuk checked the messenger pigeon brought by a safehouse martial artist.

"It's confirmed to be that place."

The message in the pigeon said that in three days, the leaders of various Chongqing sects would gather for a meeting at the Mount Phoenix Sword Sect.

"That's the day."

Seo Daeryong raised a question in response to Geom Mugeuk's certainty.

"Isn't it the opposite? In the current climate, if the sect leaders are on the move, they'll bring many of their top experts with them… Ah!"

In that moment, Seo Daeryong recalled a certain fact.

When they attacked the Murim Alliance Chongqing Branch to kill him, the Branch was bustling with martial artists who had come as reinforcements from nearby Branches and chapters.

Was that all? These were people who would try to kill the head of the Demon Slaying Brigade and the entire Demon Slaying Brigade. These people had no limits.

"Right, they won't miss the opportunity of several sects gathering together."

Geom Mugeuk patted Seo Daeryong's shoulder.

"Good work. You're the one who found it."

For Seo Daeryong, worry and fear outweighed his joy.

"Will Master be there that day, too?"

"I don't know about that. One thing's for sure, someone who can use the Heaven Destroying Demonic Blade Technique will be there."

Seo Daeryong could feel it. Because he had learned the Heaven Destroying Demonic Blade Technique, he too was standing on this line of fate. The day he drunkenly clung to his master's pant leg, he had stepped onto that line for the first time.

And thinking back, he had been walking on it all along.

One step when his master made him his successor, another when he gifted him the great blade he used in his youth, another when he taught him martial arts, another when he scolded him, and another when he smiled at him.

So, he would have to walk it this time, too.

"If Master comes too, then there will be three people gathered who can use it."

"I want to help, too!"