Chapter 687: Affiliated Sect is the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult

TL: FoodieMonster007

"They say picking the right line makes life easier."

The woman spoke to Lee Ahn with ease, though her appearance suggested she was the type who would never exchange a single word with a stranger.

Lee Ahn stared silently at the woman.

One would expect to see flaws at this close a distance, but this woman was perfect. She was even dressed impeccably, and her makeup was flawless. It was to the point that Lee Ahn genuinely wanted to learn how to dress and apply makeup from her.

Lee Ahn wondered if this meeting was truly a coincidence. The woman was far too special to be just someone she met while standing in line.

She glanced at the other lines around them. Theirs was still the shortest.

"We don't know if we picked the right line yet," Lee Ahn said, looking toward the front of her queue. "You never know what kind of problem might pop up at the front, right? If you're unlucky, it could get cut off right before your turn."

The woman gave a mysterious smile at Lee Ahn's words.

The gazes of the two women intertwined in midair. Like two supreme masters facing off, their contrasting beauties clashed with a tense energy. Everyone around them held their breath, watching the two of them.

Geom Mugeuk was observing them from the closest vantage point.

The woman's gaze then shifted to Geom Mugeuk. Her captivating look was different when directed at a man versus a woman. She was someone who instinctively knew how to seduce men.

Lee Ahn poked Geom Mugeuk in the side.

"What are you staring at so blankly?"

Only then did Geom Mugeuk laugh awkwardly and reply, "You're just so beautiful. Please excuse my rudeness."

The woman, who didn't seem to mind his words, smiled.

Lee Ahn then repeated what Geom Mugeuk had said in the carriage. "It's frustrating, but I have to admit it."

As she spoke, she sent a telepathic message to Geom Mugeuk.

[Please kill her for me, this woman.]

This was an extension of her joke about killing any woman prettier than her. It meant she found this woman more beautiful than herself.

[Is she really worth killing?]

[You should be looking at me when you say that, not her.]

[Someone was staring at the Smiling Demon just like this in the carriage.]

[Now you understand, don't you? How I felt back then.]

Although she said that, she believed her staring at the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon was different from Geom Mugeuk's case. The Extremely Evil Smiling Demon was someone she knew, and he definitely had a person he loved. But this woman? She was a complete stranger.

Is he really that taken with her?

Lee Ahn had never seen Geom Mugeuk stare so intently at another woman before, so she was inwardly surprised.

Then again, he's a man too.

How could anyone not stare when a woman was that beautiful? Even she, another woman, was in awe. Yes, it was completely understandable.

If Lee Ahn noticed, the woman herself certainly must have. A flicker of confidence appeared in the woman's eyes at Geom Mugeuk's gaze.

Lee Ahn changed the subject. "Did you come here alone?"

"……"

She was clearly a woman who had learned martial arts, but Lee Ahn couldn't accurately gauge her skill. Whether it was because her skills were outstanding or because the martial arts she learned were special, she was very adept at concealing herself.

"It's surprising that someone as beautiful as you travels alone."

"It's because I'm fearless."

The woman introduced herself first. "My name is Cha Yiran."

"I'm Lee Ahn."

Geom Mugeuk introduced himself last. "I am Geom Yeon."

Cha Yiran smiled with her eyes at Geom Mugeuk. "That's a very nice name."

"Thank you. Young Lady Cha's name is also beautiful."

Cha Yiran then asked Geom Mugeuk, "What is the relationship between you two?"

Geom Mugeuk answered her question. "She is the one I serve."

Cha Yiran, who had been staring intently at Geom Mugeuk as if to pierce him with her gaze, tilted her head. "You don't seem like the type to serve anyone."

She then glanced at Lee Ahn. "Where can I find such a wonderful martial artist?"

Look at this woman.

The way she looked at Geom Mugeuk and the words she was saying now, she was openly seducing him.

Lee Ahn glanced at Geom Mugeuk.

Don't you dare look so pleased with yourself!

Lee Ahn told Cha Yiran curtly, "You won't be able to."

"We'll see about that," Cha Yiran replied, looking at Geom Mugeuk. "There's no guarantee he'll protect only one person for his entire life, is there?"

Protect me, not this woman.

Only after saying everything she wanted to did Cha Yiran flash a bright smile at Lee Ahn. "I'm joking."

Lee Ahn didn't get angry. This was a fight she would lose if she did.

"You're right. If he finds someone new he wants to protect, I should let him go at any time."

Now that someone was seriously trying to come between her and the Young Cult Leader, she could finally understand her feelings for Geom Mugeuk.

Until now, she had thought, If the Young Cult Leader found someone he loved, I would sincerely congratulate him and be as happy as if it were my own business. Of course, I should. That was her firm belief.

No matter how many times the Young Cult Leader called her his heart, even though the Cult Leader had permitted her to learn the Soaring Sky Sword Art, even though she had become the adopted daughter of the Fist Demon, and even though she had become the master of the Ghost Shadow Squad, her heart had always remained in the days when she was Geom Mugeuk's bodyguard.

And today, through this woman, she realized she might not be able to congratulate him sincerely.

"If he were to leave, would you really let him go?" Cha Yiran asked.

Lee Ahn shook her head. "No. How could I let someone like him go? If he said he was leaving…"

She looked at Geom Mugeuk.

"I'll kill him."

Geom Mugeuk stared at Lee Ahn with surprised eyes.

Soon after, Lee Ahn looked at Cha Yiran and said with a smile, "I'm joking too."

Although they both claimed to be joking, an inexplicable, tense energy flowed between the two women.

While this was happening, the line gradually shortened, and it was finally Lee Ahn's turn. Geom Mugeuk stepped forward to register for her.

The martial artist taking registrations asked without lifting his head, "Please state the participant's name first."

"Lee Ahn."

The martial artist wrote the name on the document. "Lee Ahn, a martial artist?"

"That's right."

"A martial artist, then what is your affiliated sect or family?"

Then, unimaginable words flowed from Geom Mugeuk's mouth.

"The Heavenly Demon Divine Cult."

The martial artist wrote it down on the document as he heard it. "The Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, and next…"

After writing it all down, the man flinched in surprise. "What did you just say?"

The name came again, spoken clearly. "The Heavenly Demon Divine Cult."

The martial artist's expression hardened as he raised his head, about to give them a stern scolding for playing such a prank.

But he couldn't do it. First, Lee Ahn, even wearing a veil, was too beautiful. He could also instinctively tell that Geom Mugeuk, standing beside her, was no ordinary person.

Geom Mugeuk asked, "I heard that anyone can apply regardless of their origin. Was I mistaken?"

"That's correct. Are you truly from the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult?"

"That's right."

He hadn't expected anyone from the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult to participate, much less so brazenly reveal their identity.

The martial artist asked in a trembling voice, "May I ask your position in the Divine Cult?"

"I can't tell you that much."

"Yes, I understand."

In truth, Lee Ahn was just as surprised. No, she was even more surprised than the martial artist taking the registration. She had expected Geom Mugeuk to hide their identities and give a fake one, especially with that woman listening from behind them.

Surely he didn't do that just to look good in front of that woman, right?

She thought there was no way Geom Mugeuk would do that, but then again, the woman was so beautiful that he might have felt compelled to.

The martial artist at the registration desk handed them a participation ticket. "The preliminaries will be held in three days."

Then he said to the people in that line, "Please wait just a moment."

He left his seat and ran off somewhere.

Lee Ahn turned around. Cha Yiran must have heard the name Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, but she didn't seem particularly surprised.

"You're not surprised."

"I told you I was fearless."

The two women's gazes locked in midair.

"Still, it seems you chose the wrong line today," Cha Yiran said.

After that, Lee Ahn strode away.

As Geom Mugeuk followed, Cha Yiran spoke to him, as if intending for Lee Ahn to hear. "Let's have a meal together sometime."

Geom Mugeuk gave a faint smile and a slight bow before following Lee Ahn out.

When the two of them had left the grand training grounds and exited the Mythical Sect completely, Lee Ahn finally spoke. "A peerless beauty asked you to dinner. Why didn't you make plans?"

"We'll end up eating with her later anyway."

Lee Ahn gave him a questioning gaze.

"That woman will approach us again," Geom Mugeuk explained.

At those words, Lee Ahn's steps halted. Her stiff expression completely softened.

"Right? That's it, isn't it? That woman knew our identities and approached us intentionally, right? You knew, didn't you? That's why you revealed your identity."

When Geom Mugeuk nodded, a wave of relief washed over Lee Ahn's heart. "Ah, I was so nervous. I was worried the Young Cult Leader had fallen for that suspicious woman."

It was a dishonest statement. She should have said a beautiful woman, not a suspicious one.

"But there's another reason I revealed our identities," Geom Mugeuk said.

"What reason is that?"

"Because of you."

"……"

Lee Ahn blinked, her expression uncomprehending.

A truly unexpected reason emerged. "If you become the world's number one beauty under a false identity, it would be meaningless, wouldn't it?"

"!"

"Lee Ahn of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult is the world's number one beauty. That's how it must be known to the world."

Lee Ahn could tell that Geom Mugeuk was sincere.

"And there was one more reason," he continued. "That way, you won't have to deal with annoying things in your life."

If people knew the world's number one beauty was from the Demonic Cult, who would dare bother her? Even if a lecher from the murim wanted to see the world's number one beauty, and even if he was taken with her, would he dare to approach if he knew she was from the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult?

Ah! So you revealed it because of me.

Lee Ahn was deeply moved. To think she had misunderstood the Young Cult Leader who was so considerate of her.

"But how did you know that woman approached us intentionally?"

The reason was simple. It was because he knew her.

She was one of the Twelve Zodiac Kings. The Seventh King of the Twelve Zodiac Kings, the Flower Queen. She was the world's number one beauty during the time the Twelve Zodiac Kings ruled the world. She garnered the attention of martial artists with her stunning beauty, but no one knew her true identity.

All sorts of rumors circulated. There were even claims that she had attained her position among the Twelve Zodiac Kings through her beauty. There was also a rumor that one of the Twelve Zodiac Kings had loved her and placed her in that position. However, that was just nonsense spoken by those who didn't know her.

"She is an assassin."

"!"

Lee Ahn's eyes widened in shock. She had never once imagined that beautiful woman could be an assassin. If Geom Mugeuk hadn't told her, she would not have easily believed it.

A true assassin, unknown to the world.

During the era when the Twelve Zodiac Kings ruled the murim, the most famous assassin known to the world was the Fourth King, the Death King. However, she operated in secret until the very moment of her death. Living with the dishonorable title of 'the Flower of the Twelve Zodiac Kings', it was only after her death that martial artists learned she was a truly outstanding assassin. Why she lived such a life was never known to the world.

She was the most beautiful assassin in the history of the murim, and the one with the most outstanding skills. Even though the Death King held all the fame as an assassin, she did not desire that fame. In that respect, she was truly a blade in the darkness.

The reason Geom Mugeuk had stared at her so intently earlier was first out of surprise, and later because he thought she was approaching him to use a honey trap.

"So she approached with you as her target," Lee Ahn said, tensing up.

An assassin and a bodyguard. An opponent fated to be her polar opposite.

Fortunately, the target was not Geom Mugeuk.

"Her target isn't me."

What if he hadn't chosen the Saintess's Dream from the Murim Vault? What if he hadn't given it to the Thousand Flower Palace Chairwoman? What if he hadn't left the cult to meet the Thousand Flower Palace Chairwoman? He wouldn't be here. His presence here was entirely his own choice and will. However, this competition had been decided upon long before that.

In other words, separate from her approaching him now, her purpose for organizing and participating in this competition was something else entirely.

Geom Mugeuk stopped walking. He looked at a poster for the world's number one beauty competition pasted on a wall.

Only then did Lee Ahn understand. "The target was the Evil Alliance Chairman."

If one became the world's number one beauty, the prize was to attend a banquet with the Evil Alliance Chairman. A woman like her could surely achieve that title.

Geom Mugeuk nodded. If it was an assassination that required her to act personally, the target would likely be the Evil Alliance Chairman. Of course, that might not be the case, or the situation might have changed due to his intervention. Geom Mugeuk intended to prepare for all possibilities.

"The way to stop her is simple."

"You just have to kill her, Young Cult Leader."

"But nothing has been confirmed yet, has it?"

"Ah, right. Then how do we stop her?"

Geom Mugeuk said with a meaningful smile, "You just have to become the world's number one beauty. That way, you can stop that woman from attending the banquet. Lee Ahn, the world's number one beauty, saves the Evil Alliance Chairman!"

"Stop teasing me!"

Could she really beat that woman and be chosen as the world's number one beauty? Lee Ahn recalled the image of the woman walking toward her earlier. Even thinking about it again, she couldn't believe the woman was an assassin.

"It must have been fate that we got entangled. After all, she joined our line right when it was the shortest."

One might think it was fate that they ended up in the same line, but Geom Mugeuk knew that wasn't the case.

The secret assassin organization led by the Flower Queen was the Beautiful Bridges. The assassins of the Beautiful Bridges were all women. And it was said they were all beautiful women.

"I don't think it was a coincidence that our line was the shortest when she joined."

"What do you mean by that? Don't tell me…"

"Yes. The assassins she leads stood in the other lines to manipulate the length, all so she could naturally stand behind us."

"!"

Geom Mugeuk now understood for certain why they had organized a competition to choose the world's number one beauty instead of a duel tournament. Here, bustling with countless women gathered from all over the Central Plains, the assassins of the Beautiful Bridges could blend in naturally without arousing any suspicion.

It was impossible to know how many of them had come, but one thing was certain.

"This street is now filled with beautiful assassins."