Chapter 581: You Haven't Forgotten My Request, Have You?

TL: FoodieMonster007

Darkness surrounded the duel stage. Geom Mugeuk was the one who landed silently upon the stone floor, a surface marred by countless scratches.

Even before he landed, Geom Mugeuk had released his ki in all directions. The countless strands of energy spread out like a spiderweb, searching for anyone hiding nearby.

His search found no one in Yeom Baekyin's unlit office, which he could see from his position. The other windows of the building and the darkness around the stage were also empty. This meant the entrance was very well hidden.

He first stepped onto the duel stage and inspected the floor, but he could not locate the entrance.

He hadn't expected to find the entrance on the duel stage anyway. An intense fight could easily crack or gouge the ground, exposing the passage, so building it there would be unlikely.

But what if the builder was someone who valued symbolic things?

Geom Mugeuk's gaze shifted to the VIP seats in the spectator area. A separate section was reserved for the Principal, Masters, and instructors. The seats for the Masters and instructors were arranged to the left and right of the large, ornate Principal's seat at the center.

Geom Mugeuk examined the Principal's seat first. The large, throne-like chair was fixed firmly to the floor.

It has to be here.

Through his many experiences before regressing, Geom Mugeuk had gained considerable knowledge about mechanisms and devices.

The most crucial mindset for finding a mechanism was to be certain of its existence. A hidden device would strangely never reveal itself to a doubtful mind. One could only find it by searching with the conviction that it was there.

Geom Mugeuk slowly ran his fingers over the chair, meticulously checking every surface, even underneath, for the smallest crack.

After checking the Principal's seat, he moved to the next Master's chair. He checked it thoroughly before moving to the next one.

Then, on the third chair, his fingers brushed against a faint crack. It was a circular crack, so minuscule that he would have missed it if he hadn't believed it had to be there.

Geom Mugeuk gently pressed down on the spot.

He felt it give way slightly, but no entrance appeared.

An ordinary person might have dismissed it as nothing and moved on, but Geom Mugeuk knew better.

It's a door that opens with a dual mechanism. This is the first part.

Geom Mugeuk went back to the Principal's seat.

As he sat in the chair and re-examined it, the yellow dragon ornament on the armrest, which had been immobile before, twisted slightly to the side.

At that very moment!

SHHH, the floor below opened smoothly. He descended while still seated in the chair.

When he stood up, the chair rose back to its original position, and the ceiling door closed, plunging the area into complete darkness.

Geom Mugeuk activated the Divine Eye Technique to survey his surroundings. He pressed a device right next to where he had landed. The ceiling opened again, and the chair descended. After enough time passed for someone to sit, it automatically rose again. It was a top-tier mechanism that operated with incredible precision and smoothness.

Geom Mugeuk looked around once more. It was a small space with a mechanism on one wall that led down to a basement.

Geom Mugeuk cautiously approached the mechanism. He did not dare to get on it recklessly, not knowing the situation below.

Geom Mugeuk peered into the gaps of the device. He planned to jump through any opening he could find to go down. No matter the depth, his martial arts skill would allow him to land without a sound.

However, this mechanism was designed so that one had to ride it to descend. Getting on it would surely alert someone below that a person was coming down.

It was at that moment.

SHHH.

The door above opened again, and the chair descended. The person who came down was, surprisingly, the Sword King. He carried a load of items in both hands, which turned out to be alcohol and meat.

After getting off the chair, he stepped onto the mechanism.

Geom Mugeuk stood within the Spacetime Manipulation Technique, right in the Sword King's line of sight. The moment the ceiling had opened, Geom Mugeuk had vanished.

Geom Mugeuk could see outside, so he was watching the Sword King. The Sword King, however, was just staring into an empty space.

Inside and outside the mechanism, the two men stood facing each other.

Geom Mugeuk's gaze dropped to his feet. He was wearing the shoes that he had gifted him.

Soon, the mechanism carrying the Sword King began to descend.

WHIRRR.

Only after the Sword King had gone down on the mechanism did Geom Mugeuk emerge from the Spacetime Manipulation Technique and reveal himself.

Geom Mugeuk silently gazed down into the endless darkness where the mechanism had disappeared.

What are you searching for down there?

When Geom Mugeuk returned, Yeom Baekjin was waiting in the guest room with Lee Ahn and Seo Jin.

"The entrance was there."

At Geom Mugeuk's words, Yeom Baekjin's expression brightened. His intuition had been correct.

"Given my brother's personality, I thought he would place the entrance somewhere in plain sight."

"You did well to find it."

Yeom Baekjin was pleased that he had personally found a place that would have a great impact on his destiny in the current situation.

"Let's go there together right now. I'll go with you."

Yeom Baekjin wanted to enter the place himself. He needed to see if the ultimate martial arts was truly there.

However, Geom Mugeuk firmly shook his head.

"Even though we know the entrance, we can't enter rashly."

The reason was something Yeom Baekjin had not expected.

"There is a master around your brother whom even I cannot handle carelessly."

Naturally, Yeom Baekjin was shocked. A master that even the Young Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult couldn't handle? Had he ever seen such a person at the martial arts academy?

In that moment, as if by magic, Yeom Baekjin thought of one person.

"Could it be that temporary instructor?"

He didn't know why he thought of him. But the man he had seen in his brother's office kept bothering him. It was the same man who had taught the White Dragon Class members that strange technique.

"That's right. It's him. As long as he's around, killing your brother is impossible. In fact, if you move recklessly, you'll be the one to die first."

"Then why didn't he just order that person to kill me in the first place? He wouldn't have needed to call the White Snake Society."

"Because he's not someone who can be ordered around carelessly. Your brother probably fears him more than the White Snake Society."

Yeom Baekjin felt a wave of frustration. His brother was trying to kill him, and that same brother had a master by his side whom even the Young Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult was wary of.

Lee Ahn asked Geom Mugeuk, "What are you going to do?"

"I'll have to go in when that person isn't there."

So, I must first find out what he is trying to excavate. If possible, I must intercept it first.

This was a separate issue from his personal feelings for the Sword King.

If the Sword King was putting this much effort into it, the object would surely be something very threatening to the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.

On his way back here, Geom Mugeuk had already come up with a plan.

Geom Mugeuk looked at Yeom Baekjin and said, "You'll have to die. Wouldn't it be strange if you didn't die when the number one of the White Snake Society came to kill you?"

Was he finally showing his true colors? To the utterly startled Yeom Baekjin, Geom Mugeuk's incomprehensible actions continued.

Geom Mugeuk asked Lee Ahn and Seo Jin, "Who's better at drawing snakes?"

When Gi Seok awoke and opened his eyes, someone was looking down at him.

It was a man wearing a mask and a bamboo hat pulled down low. Through the gap in his collar, a coiled white snake was visible.

The White Snake Society!

Of course, the man disguised as a member of the White Snake Society was none other than Geom Mugeuk. The person who had drawn the picture on his chest was Lee Ahn. Seo Jin, of course, had helped from the side. "It needs to coil one more time." "The tail should go up higher." When the two women put their heads together, a rather plausible white snake was born.

Gi Seok struggled to remain calm. The man probably hadn't come to kill him. If that was his intention, he wouldn't have even been able to open his eyes.

"What happened with the commission?"

To Gi Seok's question, Geom Mugeuk replied in a low voice, "It's finished."

Geom Mugeuk spoke with his voice deepened and altered.

"But why did you come to see me? I heard the White Snake Society doesn't normally contact its clients."

"This time is an exception."

Geom Mugeuk went and sat on a chair in the corner. Meanwhile, Gi Seok sat up in bed. The man had not moved the sword propped up next to the bed. It was a sign of his confidence in his own skills.

"Yeom Baekjin said something strange before he died."

At those words, Gi Seok's heart sank, but he answered nonchalantly, "When a man is about to die, what won't he say?"

Geom Mugeuk quoted the words of the deceased Fifth White Snake of the White Snake Society.

"Usually, they show a predictable reaction. They threaten, hate, or beg. But Yeom Baekjin said something different."

The words Gi Seok had been praying would not be spoken flowed from Geom Mugeuk's mouth.

"That you people are digging for treasure underground?"

Gi Seok inwardly seethed with anger.

Damn it! He should have just died quietly, but he had to go and run his mouth.

Gi Seok flatly denied it.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Geom Mugeuk said calmly, "It was strange from the beginning. Calling me, the number one of the White Snake Society, to kill the mere brother of a Principal."

Gi Seok was once again surprised.

So the one who came this time was the number one of the White Snake Society.

He knew the Principal had asked the White Snake Society to handle this matter for certain. But even so, they sent their number one?

This was because the head of the White Snake Society had felt an inexplicable sense of foreboding, but Gi Seok misunderstood.

They sent this man to threaten us and extort money.

He must have underestimated them because they were a martial arts academy. They must have smelled money from the reputation of being the top martial arts academy in the Central Plains. He came to extort more money from the naive martial arts academy folks, and Yeom Baekjin must have blurted that out.

What could one expect from people who kill for money? They were people he should never have gotten involved with in the first place.

Just as he expected, the man unleashed a cold killing intent and demanded money.

"Since I made a special trip, I'll need an additional three hundred thousand taels."

At the absurd demand, Gi Seok predicted how this would unfold.

Because of this greed, both the number one and the Principal will all be replaced.

They probably have no idea what an incredible master is on our side.

"This isn't something I can decide. I must first report to the Principal."

Geom Mugeuk delivered the message coldly and turned away.

"Bring three hundred thousand taels to the White Snake Society Headquarters within five days. For every day you're late, I'll add another hundred thousand taels."

Having received an urgent message, the Sword King entered Yeom Baekyin's office.

From Yeom Baekyin's expression alone, he could tell a serious problem had arisen. The Sword King feigned ignorance as he sat in a chair and said, "I drank with the kids yesterday. I think I've had enough rest now, so I'm thinking of resuming the work. I've also roughly selected the members to take underground."

Yeom Baekyin said cautiously, "Before you go, there is one urgent matter I must ask of you."

"Speak."

Yeom Baekyin spoke in the calmest tone he could manage.

"My brother was killed by the White Snake Society."

The Sword King didn't seem surprised at all, as if he had expected this.

Yeom Baekyin had expected him to look at him with a certain gaze.

Wasn't he killed by you, not the White Snake Society? I killed him! Say it proudly!

But the Sword King before him wore a strange, unreadable expression. There was even a smile on his lips. What was clear was that it wasn't a sneer directed at him.

"But a problem has arisen. Before he died, the fool revealed the existence of the underground treasury to the White Snake Society bastard."

It was a matter that could become a huge problem, yet the Sword King remained calm.

"What did they demand?"

"Three hundred thousand taels."

Yeom Baekyin took a thick envelope from his robes and placed it in front of the Sword King.

"Here is three hundred thousand taels."

This wasn't a request to deliver the money to them. It was a request to take this money and deal with them. The bastards' demands wouldn't end at three hundred thousand taels.

"Normally, I would have handled it myself. But in this situation, I don't have the time to find people who can deal with the White Snake Society."

What was more frightening was the possibility of attracting another wolf.

But he couldn't just let it be. The White Snake Society, having caught the scent of money, would not let it go.

"I am ashamed to have to make such a request."

Yeom Baekyin bowed his head.

The Sword King stared at him with an unreadable expression, then smiled.

"When you're handling big affairs, flies are bound to gather. I'll take care of it for you."

Whatever he was thinking, the Sword King readily accepted his request.

Yeom Baekyin, on the other hand, was flustered. He hadn't expected him to accept so easily. He had been prepared for harsh words, even prepared to get on his knees.

But the Sword King instead smiled, tucked the envelope with the three hundred thousand taels into his robes, and rose from his seat.

"When are you planning to leave?"

As he left the office, the Sword King said, "I have to finish my class before I go."

"Today is my last class."

The Sword King had everyone perform the Yellow Dragon Sword Style. Since most hadn't learned it properly, they performed the existing Yellow Dragon Sword Style.

After the members had performed a round of the Yellow Dragon Sword Technique, the Sword King addressed them.

"It seems not many of you listened diligently to my class."

He pointed out a few people. Geom Mugeuk, Lee Ahn, Seo Jin, and also Yoo Gwang and Gyo Seok, who had followed along earnestly.

"Only you five have learned it properly."

The gazes of the other members watching them were not kind. They believed they had followed the ridiculous technique either because they were smitten with the women or because they were trying to curry favor with this temporary instructor.

"You, follow me. I'll show you a new world."

The Sword King turned abruptly and walked away. He didn't offer a farewell to the remaining members.

The five who had been pointed out followed behind him.

The place the Sword King arrived at was the Yellow Dragon Class's graduation test duel stage. Stepping onto the duel stage, the Sword King asked Geom Mugeuk, "Where did everyone else go, and why did only you come?"

The only one who had arrived there was Geom Mugeuk.

"I sent them a telepathy message to run away. By now, Lee Ahn should be taking them to our Cult's safehouse."

Geom Mugeuk also stepped onto the duel stage and stood before him.

"Why all of a sudden?"

The Sword King asked, feigning ignorance, but Geom Mugeuk knew his true intentions.

"Because I realized that you, Instructor, had figured out my plan."

There was only one reason he had come to this specific place, and not just by himself but with all the other members. He intended to take everyone down to the basement.

Such a situation would have been a great burden for Geom Mugeuk.

"One shield can't protect four people, can it?"

The Sword King laughed out loud. He didn't seem the least bit disappointed that the other four hadn't followed. In fact, his face showed that he had somewhat expected this outcome.

"If you had been on our side, we would have already achieved our goal."

He didn't ask what that goal was. Their relationship wasn't at a point where he would be told. He had to save that question. For the one time he could ask it, the question needed to have power.

The Sword King took the envelope from his robes and gave it to Geom Mugeuk.

"What's this?"

"Aren't you the one who asked for it?"

He opened it to find three hundred thousand taels inside.

"You're giving this to me even though you figured out my plan?"

"It's not my money anyway, is it? I get to look good to that man for handling this, and I get to look good to you by giving you the money."

As expected, this man was no ordinary person.

"If I'd known this would happen, I would have asked for a million taels."

"That would have been more of a shame. You'd die before you could spend it all anyway."

Geom Mugeuk laughed as he pocketed the money. It seemed the shoes he had given him were worth three hundred thousand taels.

"But how did you know? That I was the one who orchestrated this?"

"The moment I heard from the Principal that Yeom Baekjin had died, I knew."

It was for this very reason.

"You're not the type of person to let someone you've formed a connection with die so easily, are you? There's no way Yeom Baekjin would have died to the likes of the White Snake Society."

He had grasped his character perfectly.

"You've overestimated me."

"I'm still underestimating you. Since I'm letting you live like this."

And that sentiment was related to the reason he had called Geom Mugeuk here today.

"You haven't forgotten you promised to grant my request, have you?"

"Of course not."

What kind of request was he going to make?

Since they were on the duel stage, he had a feeling it would be a request related to fighting.

However, the Sword King's request was something he had never imagined.

"Let's dig some ground together."