Chapter 589: Now You Finally Look Like the Young Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult

TL: FoodieMonster007

Yeom Baekyin looked down at Gi Seok's corpse in silence.

When he first received the report of his death, Yeom Baekyin had not believed it. He had immediately roared, demanding to know what kind of nonsense it was. He simply refused to believe it, even though he knew his subordinate would never dare to spout such things in front of him.

The report also stated that Gi Seok had been walking down the street before he suddenly collapsed and died. It was a truly absurd end for a man whose skills were far beyond those of ordinary Masters.

The physician who examined Gi Seok's body entered the room. He was the most skilled physician in the region.

"How did he die?"

Yeom Baekyin skipped any formal greetings and asked directly for the cause of death. The physician answered with caution.

"Upon examining the inside, I found that his internal organs were completely destroyed."

Yeom Baekyin thought that made sense.

"Was he poisoned?"

"No. It was caused by a powerful external impact."

Yeom Baekyin's gaze returned to Gi Seok's corpse. There were no signs of impact anywhere on the body, not even a single bruise.

"It seems the impact was delivered internally using powerful inner qi strength control. But I've never seen a case with absolutely no external marks like this."

Furthermore, witnesses claimed that no one had directly struck him.

Did this mean someone had thrown a punch from a distance to achieve this? The level of skill required was truly unbelievable.

As Yeom Baekyin wondered who the culprit could be, two people came to his mind.

The first person he thought of was the husband from the couple who had visited his office. The man's large fists must have sprung to mind because the death was from an external blow and not a weapon. He had been a very memorable opponent.

But what reason would he have to kill Gi Seok?

The next person he considered was the man in the basement.

Could it be his doing?

Did he release the official because he anticipated something like this? Was he trying to use this incident as an excuse to abandon me? Or was he genuinely angry that I tried to kill the people he had freed?

Regardless of the motive, that man was the only one nearby who could kill Gi Seok with such astonishing skill. Even if he did not do it himself, he was the most likely person to have sent a master capable of it.

Still, to kill my right-hand man like this!

This death felt like a warning directed at him. It was a warning that he would be next.

Anger surged through him, following the initial fear.

This is my martial arts academy. My land and my people.

Leaving the room, Yeom Baekyin headed straight for the duel stage.

He had to find out for sure if it was his doing. If it was, he would have to appease the man's anger, even if it meant getting on his knees and begging for forgiveness. He was, after all, a man who had even killed his own brother.

When he arrived at the duel stage, a man stopped him from going down into the basement. It was the mechanisms expert who had once been a subordinate of the Sword King.

"You cannot go down."

"Move. I must see him."

He was determined to go down, even if he had to use force. Just then, the mechanisms expert looked to the side. Yeom Baekyin's gaze naturally followed, and he turned his head in the same direction.

A man was sitting in the stands far away. Had he been there from the beginning? How could he have failed to notice someone there, no matter how rushed he was?

The man sat on a chair with his arms resting on his knees and his head bowed. Was he wearing something on his hands? All Yeom Baekyin could see was something white reflecting the sunlight.

"Please go back now."

The moment he turned his head back to the mechanisms expert to tell him that was impossible!

An unknown presence made Yeom Baekyin turn his head again.

The man who had been sitting far away was now standing right next to him. He had not sensed his approach at all. It was as if the man had teleported, or rather, as if he had been standing there from the very beginning.

One usually looks at a person's face first, but with this man, his eyes went to his body.

He had long arms and long legs, a truly well-built physique. Yeom Baekyin had never seen someone with such magnificent muscles. He felt that if the phrase 'not a single unnecessary muscle on the body' existed, this man should be its owner.

The man's fists were wrapped tightly in bandages. It was impossible to tell if he was injured or trying to protect his hands.

After taking in his body, he finally looked at his face. In truth, he should have looked at the face first. If he had, he would not have been leisurely scanning the man's body.

The moment he saw the man's seemingly vacant eyes, Yeom Baekyin felt his entire body freeze. It was not because his opponent was releasing his aura.

Though they held no emotion, they were the eyes of a man who had killed a great many people. Behind this man, he could see a vision of hell, with people screaming in a pit of fire.

When he came to his senses, Yeom Baekyin was scrambling back the way he came. He must have been so terrified after meeting the man's eyes that his memory had briefly blacked out. He could not remember how he had turned around.

When he looked back from a distance, the man was nowhere to be seen.

Geom Mugeuk and the Sword King walked down the dark passage together.

What kind of trial awaited them this time? If it was stronger than the last one, it would not be easy to pass.

The walls of this passage were also covered in all sorts of unrecognizable letters, patterns, and drawings.

"That symbol is here, too."

The symbol they had seen before was drawn in various places again. Could it be the crest of the family that designed this trial? Or did it have some other meaning?

"You know what this symbol is, don't you?"

"What makes you think I do?"

"It's just a feeling. You don't seem like the type to do things you don't understand."

"I appreciate you thinking so highly of me, but I'm not that great of a person."

"You're even humble."

"I'm telling you, I'm not!"

Though they conversed naturally, the two men sharply surveyed their surroundings as they cautiously advanced. Once again, the trial began when they reached the middle of the passage.

SHHHHH.

The formations activated, and their surroundings changed.

A desolate wasteland appeared. Hot air rising from the ground shimmered on the distant horizon, and the wind carried dust up into the sky.

"I like these formations!"

The reason Geom Mugeuk was pleased was that the Sword King was there with him.

"It seems to be a trial we must break through by joining forces. It's nice not to be lonely, isn't it? Look over here."

Where Geom Mugeuk pointed, a single sign was posted.

[You cannot leave unless you kill everyone.]

"Seeing as they're even giving us a warning beforehand, it looks like we'll have to see a lot of blood."

The Sword King nodded at Geom Mugeuk's words.

In the distance, enemies were rushing toward them, kicking up clouds of dust. Their footsteps shook the ground, and their war cries echoed from all directions.

"I see why they placed the miracle herbs room before this."

The number of charging enemies was immense. They swarmed in like a colony of ants.

"You seem to be enjoying this, don't you?"

"It's been a while since I've seen so many enemies. I'm getting a little excited, you know?"

Of course, he was not excited out of fear. It was the joy of being able to display his skills to his heart's content. They were not real people but creations of the formations, so they were enemies he could cut down without hesitation.

"Seeing you get excited at the thought of bloodshed, you finally seem like the Young Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult."

"It was tough hiding it."

Geom Mugeuk drew his sword.

"I'll take this side. Ah, do you know what's good about fighting together? It's that we can fight with our backs to a wall."

It meant he trusted the person behind him that much.

"What will you do if that wall collapses on you?"

"It'll be as soft as a cotton blanket."

As soon as he finished speaking, a stream of sword qi flew from the Black Demon Sword.

SHWIIIIIIK.

The ones running in front threw their bodies aside to dodge the sword qi. However, those behind them could not evade in time and were swept away by it.

By watching how his opponents dodged the sword qi, Geom Mugeuk gauged the level of their martial arts.

With this one move, Geom Mugeuk was certain.

"This is the first stage. Conserve your inner arts as you face them."

He was sure that no matter how numerous they were, this was not all of them.

Geom Mugeuk charged toward them. The Black Demon Sword cut them down. Everywhere he passed, enemies with pierced hearts collapsed in rows.

Simply not using sword qi to conserve inner arts was not a wise choice. It would be followed by just as much physical exhaustion.

SHWAAAAACK!

They could not dodge the sword qi fired at close range. Dozens of them were swept away and killed by the sword qi at once.

However, the bastards swarmed endlessly over the fallen corpses. The sight alone was enough to be overwhelming.

In the middle of the fight, Geom Mugeuk glanced over at the Sword King.

The moment the Sword King's sword flashed, a dozen enemies fell at once. Even though he was not emitting sword qi, enemies at a distance his sword could not reach were still decapitated.

Formless sword qi!

Geom Mugeuk recognized the Sword King's divine skill at once. It was that very formless sword qi that had elevated the name of the Sword King, who had become the world number one before his regression.

Because the sword qi was invisible, dodging it was several times more difficult than dodging normal sword qi.

Was it confidence? The Sword King was openly displaying his use of formless sword qi in this fight where he knew he was being watched.

No matter how many enemies swarmed them, on this side, there was Geom Mugeuk and the Sword King, who even used formless sword qi.

In an instant, all of those numerous enemies had fallen.

SHHHHHH.

All the piled-up corpses disappeared.

Without giving them a moment to rest, enemies were once again kicking up dust clouds and charging from the distance. They were running faster than the first time.

"I've never seen formless sword qi before."

"Think you can dodge it?"

"I think I'll need to strategize a bit more."

"What kind of strategy?"

"The kind that will make you hesitate at the last moment, Master."

At that, the Sword King gave an inscrutable smile.

"In that case, you're falling for my strategy."

"What do you mean?"

"I'll act like I'm going to hesitate, and then I'll cut you down without hesitating."

"And you're telling me this."

"To confuse you."

The fight with this man would take place after they entered the final room.

He had clearly brought him along because he needed him. It was not just to pass through these trials. There was definitely another reason.

Geom Mugeuk was as curious about that reason as he was about what lay in the room he was trying to reach.

So you must survive and enter that room with me.

While they spoke, the second wave of enemies rushed in, hundreds of blades flashing. Their numbers were smaller than before, but their momentum was even sharper.

The two men calmly faced them. Geom Mugeuk did not use the Nine Calamities Demonic Art, and the Sword King, likewise, only used formless sword qi and not his own unique martial arts.

For ordinary masters, it would have been an overwhelming situation.

The swarming numbers were great, and their skills were formidable. The biggest problem was that they knew no fear.

Furthermore, no matter how well one dealt with them, the problem was inner arts. A decent master would have run out of inner arts before finishing off this second wave.

However, Geom Mugeuk was overflowing with inner arts. Surprisingly, the fighting so far had shown no sign that he had even used any.

The Sword King was also full of vigor. The level of the first and second waves of enemies was clearly different, but the second wave of enemies fell just like the first.

Before the martial arts of Geom Mugeugeuk and the Sword King, the difference in skill was meaningless. Judged coolly by a relative standard, the first enemies were weaklings, and the second ones were too.

The two men once again finished them all off.

This time, too, the piled-up corpses all disappeared.

Once again, enemies were swarming in. This time, they came more slowly than before. It was as if they were slowly approaching to grant them death.

"I think this is the last one."

No matter how powerful the formations, they had their limits. The attacks up to this point must have cost these formations an immense amount of money, inner arts, and mental energy.

"You sound disappointed that it's the last one."

"Honestly, I am. It's so much fun fighting alongside you, Master. I wish there were ten more stages starting from now."

"It's because you want to steal a peek at my martial arts, isn't it?"

"You always see right through my intentions. It just shows how perceptive you are, Master."

The Sword King, who had been staring silently at Geom Mugeuk, brought up the outside world.

"Aren't you worried about what's happening outside? The shield is here, but the one you need to protect is out there, isn't she?"

"Should I be worried?"

After a brief pause, the Sword King said. His slight hesitation on whether to speak was apparent.

"Someone else has probably arrived by now."

Geom Mugeuk could tell. The 'someone else' he mentioned meant another of the Twelve Zodiac Kings.

"They might come down here, or they might try to hold your people captive."

It meant that even he did not know how they would move. From these words, one thing became certain. The Twelve Zodiac Kings were heading toward a single goal, but they also acted quite independently. He already knew they sometimes had disagreements, and today that became even clearer.

"I'm telling you they might capture your person, so why are you smiling?"

"Because I'm happy. You're telling me this because you're worried about me, right?"

With an expression that seemed to ask if this was the time for such leisure, the Sword King mentioned Lee Ahn.

"Didn't you say she was like your heart?"

It meant she could be in danger. This time, Geom Mugeuk spoke honestly.

"It's fine. Another shield has arrived."

The Sword King asked in surprise.

"The Demon Supremes are here?"

"I called for them the very day I first met you, Master."

He had called them because he knew the man would later become one of the Twelve Zodiac Kings, but to the Sword King right now, it must have sounded as if he had called them because he held him in high regard.

While they spoke, the third wave of enemies attacked. This time, the enemies emitted sword qi. They were more skilled than the previous ones.

SHWIK SHWIK SHWIK SHWIK SHWIK SHWIK SHWIK SHWIK SHWIK!

Dozens of strands of sword qi flew in from all directions, tearing through the air. The powerful killing intent carried in their sword qi chilled the surrounding air.

Geom Mugeuk and the Sword King moved through the air between the strands of sword qi that crisscrossed like a spider's web. No matter how dense a net of sword qi they wove, it could not catch the two men.

Between the sword qi they created, other sword qi flew as if to say, 'This is what real sword qi is'.

Every time a sword flashed, the net of sword qi was torn apart. The large net became smaller, and then smaller still.

Two swords simultaneously pierced the last enemy who was firing sword qi, one from the front and one from the back. Geom Mugeuk stabbed from the front, and the Sword King stabbed from behind.

The blades that passed through the body were aimed at each other.

SHHHHHHHH.

Along with the fallen corpses, the last enemy pierced by the swords also vanished.

And so, the two men were left in a posture of aiming their swords at each other. After staring at one another in silence, Geom Mugeuk was the first to smile and withdraw his sword.

"You've worked hard."

"You too."

As if to prove the formations were indeed over, no more enemies swarmed in.

However, although all the corpses had disappeared, the wasteland surrounding the two men remained. The formations had not been cleared.

Geom Mugeuk looked around. He checked to see if there were any enemies he had not killed.

However, the corpses were already gone, and there was no one else in the vast wasteland. No new enemies appeared either.

The only thing remaining there was the sign they had first seen.

[You cannot leave unless you kill everyone.]