CRS Chapter 52

“Really? You’re sure the Evil Hegemon Alliance Lord said exactly that?”

A bright, radiant smile bloomed on the face of Sa Man-gak, the leader of the Black Bear Gang.

As expected of the Evil Hegemon Alliance Lord!

Now it’s time to smash those arrogant Hwiyeong Manor bastards to pieces.

Sa Man-gak immediately led the Black Bear Gang to the Hwiyeong Manor.

They should at least clean things up a bit before the Evil Hegemon Alliance Lord arrives, shouldn’t they?

He had no idea that this would turn out to be the biggest mistake of his life.

Arriving at the Hwiyeong Manor with his subordinates, Sa Man-gak encountered a middle-aged man standing in front of the gate.

They say no one comes to take the five-stage test anymore, so has this guy come to beat a dead horse?

Suddenly, the middle-aged man looked in their direction and approached, asking,

“Are you folks also part of this household?”

There was a faint disappointment in his eyes.

Sa Man-gak bristled and glared at the middle-aged man.

“What nonsense! We are the Black Bear Gang under the great Evil Hegemon Alliance. We’ve come to destroy this place today.”

He said proudly, pointing at the Hwiyeong Manor.

The middle-aged man’s eyes widened at this tremendous display of bravado.

“Destroy? Did I hear that right? You guys are going to destroy this place?”

Veins popped on Sa Man-gak’s forehead.

Who does this bastard think he is, talking as if he’s looking down on them?

Right now, Sa Man-gak was savoring the feeling of being an elite of Evil Hegemon Alliance.

No one can stand in his way!

“Who the hell are you, bastard?”

He looked ready to throw a punch at any moment.

“In the Central Plains, they call me ‘the utterly vicious bastard.’ Though I have a fancier title like Heavenly Demon.”

A laugh involuntarily escaped Sa Man-gak’s mouth.

“Huh? Just a madman?”

Sa Man-gak took a step towards the middle-aged man with his fist clenched.

At the same time, ten black-clad figures dropped from the air and pointed their swords at Sa Man-gak’s neck.

“W-what is this…”

Sa Man-gak flinched in great surprise, but he felt that if he moved even a little, the sharp swords would pierce his neck.

“Enough.”

Heavenly Demon Bae Hwi-yang slightly raised his hand, restraining the Demon Cult’s elites.

If he hadn’t stopped them, Sa Man-gak’s body would have been torn to shreds like paper.

The Black Bear Gang martial artists stood still, unable to move.

Like mice facing a cat.

Whether this middle-aged man was the Heavenly Demon or not didn’t matter.

What was certain was that he was a master far beyond their league.

That’s when it happened.

“You bastards! What do you think you’re doing!”

A giant man exuding an enormous presence approached them with rough steps.

The faces of the Black Bear Gang martial artists lit up when they saw him.

“Lord!”

Their savior had appeared in style.

It was the Evil Hegemon Alliance Lord, the overlord of the black path in the back alleys, and one of the Twenty-four Martial Arts Masters, Death King Cheol Mu-seong.

“Our Lord will chop you into…”

“Get lost!”

Death King, who had approached with steady steps, roughly pushed aside the Black Bear Gang martial artist.

The gazes of Death King Cheol Mu-seong and Heavenly Demon Bae Hwi-yang met in the air.

Great expectations were written on the faces of the Black Bear Gang martial artists.

However, their expectations lasted only for a moment.

“…!”

Death King bowed his head respectfully.

Then he spoke in the most courteous manner possible.

“It’s all my fault for not properly educating these fools. I’ll resolve this well, so could you please forgive us just this once?”

“Oh, that young sprout has grown so splendidly. Are you also after the Bloody Heavens Renewing Sword, Death King?”

Death King’s eyes widened at his words.

“W-what are you talking about!”

“I hear they were going to destroy this place today?”

When the Sect Leader pointed at the Black Bear Gang martial artists, Death King’s gaze naturally turned towards them as well.

The Black Bear Gang martial artists who met Death King’s eyes swallowed hard.

They were martial artists who had rolled around enough in the back alleys.

They knew that the killing intent in those eyes was directed at them.

Soon, Death King looked at the Sect Leader and shook his head.

“That can’t be. We don’t want to be involved with the Bloody Heavens Renewing Sword at all.”

“Haha, hearing you say that makes me even more curious about this Bloody Heavens Renewing Sword fellow.”

The Sect Leader wore a satisfied expression.

“It wouldn’t be polite to spill blood in front of someone else’s house. Withdraw.”

As soon as his order fell, the Demon Cult’s elites who hadn’t moved an inch disappeared.

Of course, taking Sa Man-gak with them.

However, Death King didn’t care about such things.

What did Sa Man-gak or whoever matter now?

He had come to beat them to death himself anyway.

They dared to touch the Bloody Heavens Renewing Sword, used Evil Hegemon Alliance’s name, and even tried to challenge the Heavenly Demon?

Death King clenched his fist tightly.

“Let me ask one thing. Did you come here of your own will, or is it the will of the Heavenly Demon Sect?”

The implication of Death King’s words was clear.

The Heavenly Demon Sect is stirring!

The Sect Leader laughed heartily at Death King, who was visibly tense.

“Hahaha! My boy. Isn’t my will the will of the Heavenly Demon Sect?”

Death King’s expression hardened.

‘Is it a war between the righteous and demonic factions…?’

“But today I just came out to enjoy some entertainment, so don’t be too scared.”

Only then did Death King let out a sigh of relief.

“I understand. Then I’ll take my leave now. I apologize for the many discourtesies.”

He carefully observed the Sect Leader’s mood as he led the Black Bear Gang martial artists away.

Of course, that night.

It wasn’t the Hwiyeong Manor that disappeared from the world, but the Black Bear Gang.

***

Hwa-yeon looked at the returned secret manual with lowered eyes.

‘The cause of all this…’

Although she had managed to protect it somehow, she had lost all her household.

She couldn’t help feeling bitter as she looked at the secret manual.

“Can I take a look?”

Hwa-yeon hesitated for a moment, then handed the secret manual to Eunho.

It would be an absurd idea for anyone else, but there was no reason not to show it to Eunho.

Eunho received the secret manual and started reading through it.

Soon, Eunho’s expression became a bit serious.

“Hmm…”

This is more impressive than I thought?

He had expected it to be a method of ascension based on Hwa-yeon’s body condition, but this was beyond that.

It was to the extent that even the internal energy cultivation methods of major sects couldn’t match it.

He could understand why the Blood Cult had been so desperate to get their hands on it.

If Blood Demon had obtained this, he would have become much more stable and stronger.

He was a bit curious how much stronger he would have become.

Thinking this, he returned the secret manual to Hwa-yeon.

“You need to keep this safe. The principle of balance is so profound that it’s perfect for vicious fellows like the Blood Cult to drool over.”

Hwa-yeon nodded as she put away the secret manual.

“Yes, I need to protect it well from now on.”

“Now that we’ve finished our business, we should head back, right? But where did Yi-ryang go?”

“He said he wanted to look around Shaolin for a bit, wondering when he’d get another chance to visit.”

Eunho clicked his tongue.

As always, Yi-ryang’s curiosity knew no bounds.

***

Sutra Repository Hall^[1].

It was the hall where Shaolin’s sutras and various secret manuals were collected in one place.

In a corner of that place, an old monk let out a deep sigh.

“It’s all my fault…”

He was spending every day trapped in guilt and suffering due to the endless afflictions that kept coming.

It was because he had formed some kind of relationship with the Blood Cult, unable to overcome a moment of temptation.

The fortunate thing amidst the misfortune was that the Blood Cult had been wiped out.

If he just did well from now on, wouldn’t everything pass without incident?

“To think someone killed that Blood Demon.”

He felt a renewed sense of awe and fear towards the person called the Bloody Heavens Renewing Sword.

He felt this even more because he had directly faced Blood Demon before.

At that moment, someone opened the door of the Sutra Repository Hall and entered.

“Ah, Master of the Sutra Repository, you were here.”

It was a young monk warrior.

Myeong Seon[명선]], the Master of the Sutra Repository, who was startled, cleared his throat.

“Ahem, what’s the matter?”

“The Abbot is looking for you. He’s chatting with the Alliance Leader and wants you to join them for tea.”

“Ah, I see. I’ll go right away.”

After the young monk warrior left, Myeong Seon, left alone, slowly exhaled.

Ever since that incident, he felt uncomfortable whenever he faced the Abbot and the Alliance Leader.

“Right, nothing will happen. The Blood Cult has already been wiped out.”

Saying this, Myeong Seon took weak steps forward.

***

Yi-ryang was having the most enjoyable conversation he had ever had.

The Abbot, the Martial Righteous Alliance Leader, the Master of the Sutra Repository, and even the leader of the Eighteen Arhats, Beon Woon.

How could a conversation with those of deep learning and cultivation not be enjoyable?

Abbot Myeong Hye exclaimed in admiration as he looked at Yi-ryang.

“Oh, so you came from the Dao Forest^[2]?”

However, the Alliance Leader tilted his head.

“Dao Forest?”

“Ah, you might not know about it, Alliance Leader. Our Dao Forest is a union of sorcerers who mainly performed exorcisms since before the yokai realm and human realm were separated. The union of martial artists is Murim! The union of sorcerers is Dao Forest! Haha, simple, isn’t it?”

Yi-ryang was excited that they recognized the Dao Forest.

Myeong Hye added one more thing.

“They gather the sorcerers with the highest talent and capabilities to teach exorcism.”

“Oh, you know well. I’m that exorcism specialist!”

Yi-ryang’s shoulders rose imperceptibly.

Beon Woon, who had been listening quietly, also nodded.

“That’s truly admirable.”

Inwardly, he thought that there were quite a lot of good people around this person called Eunho.

Beon Woon was also the youngest among the Eighteen Arhats at an age not yet forty, but hadn’t Eunho reached an incredible realm at an even younger age?

Although the person himself seemed a bit arrogant, his abilities couldn’t be denied.

Martial Righteous Alliance Leader Namgoong Jin nodded.

“I’ve certainly heard that there was such an era in the past, but are those demons still around?”

As Yi-ryang was about to answer with a rather serious expression to his question.

“So everyone was here.”

Eunho and Hwa-yeon entered the hall.

Namgoong Jin greeted the two, especially Eunho, enthusiastically.

“Oh, who do we have here. Isn’t it our Hidden Sword Hall Master!”

“What’s this Hidden Sword Hall Master now?”

“It means the hidden sword of the Martial Righteous Alliance, hahaha.”

Namgoong Jin seemed more excited than ever.

Although he might be harassed by the Chief Military Officer when he thought about it, he had at least succeeded in keeping Eunho in the Martial Righteous Alliance.

Of course, he said he needed the Emperor’s permission, but there was no reason for His Majesty to object, no matter how he thought about it.

Myeong Hye also smiled knowingly.

“You’ve thought well. Our Alliance Leader will take very good care of you.”

However, Eunho approached the round table with an indifferent expression.

Then he used air manipulation to swiftly pull two chairs placed in a corner.

While this was a familiar sight to Hwa-yeon and Yi-ryang, it wasn’t for the others.

Namgoong Jin let out a hollow laugh.

“Does the Hidden Sword Hall Master have too much internal energy to spare?”

“Yes, I have quite a bit to spare.”

Eunho breathes in natural energy with his inhalation and expels turbid energy with his exhalation.

This much was nothing to him.

“Sit down.”

Eunho casually placed a chair in front of Hwa-yeon and sat down in the remaining chair.

The heart of the Master of the Sutra Repository, watching this scene, trembled.

‘So this is the Bloody Heavens Renewing Sword…’

Seeing him in person, his aura was even more tremendous.

Suddenly, Eunho’s gaze turned towards the Master of the Sutra Repository, and he flinched greatly.

At that moment, Beon Woon stepped forward to introduce him.

“This is Master Myeong Seon, who manages Shaolin’s Sutra Repository.”

There was pride in Beon Woon’s expression.

Although his martial prowess was significantly lower compared to others of the Ming generation.

But Master of the Sutra Repository was the most compassionate and diligent person.

Many monk warriors respected him, and Beon Woon was no exception.

Myeong Seon greeted Eunho with an awkward smile.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Myeong Seon, the Master of the Sutra Repository.”

However, Eunho just silently stared at Myeong Seon.

Because Eunho’s reaction was a bit strange, everyone looked at the two with puzzled expressions.

Myeong Seon felt like his tongue was drying up.

Eunho soon smiled strangely.

“I see. Nice to meet you. I’m Ha Eunho, the young master of Cheonha Merchant Guild.”

Myeong Seon finally let out a sigh of relief.

That is, until Eunho’s next words followed.

“But what’s your relationship with Blood Demon?”

“W-what do you mean…”

Myeong Seon trailed off, greatly flustered, and everyone else wore stunned expressions.

Why is Blood Demon being mentioned here?

Especially Beon Woon, who respected the Master of the Sutra Repository, couldn’t hold back and burst out in anger.

“How dare you! What kind of rudeness is this? Even if you are a benefactor of the righteous martial arts world, isn’t this going too far?”

However, Eunho’s firm gaze remained unchanged.

Eunho glanced at Beon Woon.

“Did I ask you? Stay quiet.”

Saying this, he stared intently at the Master of the Sutra Repository again.

“Answer me. What is your relationship with Blood Demon?”

Eunho was subtly raising his aura.