Chronicles of the Heavenly Demon

“Properly explain everything that has happened up to now. Tell me everything about the Imperial Court and the Cult of the Inverted Sky. Leave nothing out.”

What Woon-seong needed most was information. Everything he knew was way too fragmented. 

He needed the bigger picture and the details to get back at his enemies. 

Not just the end of Jwa Do-gyul, but everything behind him as well. 

The Sage nodded softly. “I will. I rightfully should. But are you really okay?”

“…?”

“I did lose an arm, but I am one of the people that cornered the Spearmaster to his death. Are you sure you want to let me live?”

The loss of an arm meant nothing more than being unable to grasp a word with both hands.

Perhaps it was correct that the Sage’s skills had diminished, since his power and balance would all be different.

But that was not the reason Woon-seong had spared him. 

Woon-seong snorted. “You’re misunderstanding something.”

“…?”

This time, it was the Sage who was confused.

Woon-seong loosened his arms and grabbed the White Night Spear again. 

Once more, he aimed the spear at the Sage’s neck. 

The Sage could clearly feel the cold metal against his skin. 

Seeing that, Lim Soo-yeon could not help but say some words. 

“Hey! Enough already! I don’t know what conflict there is between you two, but this person is still— Ah!”

She didn’t finish her words.

It was because she was met with an icy glare and blazing gold eyes. 

What is that glare?

The young man’s eyes glittered with gold, but were frostier than the winds of the North Sea. 

“Hup!” Lim Soo-yeon choked on her words. 

She had been briefly exposed to Woon-seong’s Intimidation Qi.

An aura that stimulated fear. 

It was not wrong for Lim Soo-yeon to believe it was because of Woon-seong’s glare, but the cold sweat was more accurately caused by the stimulation of her fundamental fears. 

Having incapacitated her, Woon-seong glanced back at the Sage. 

“I didn’t let you live. I’m keeping you alive. I will get back to you after I’m finished with my revenge.”

Myung Am nodded. “I see.”

To his answer, Woon-seong moved the spear away from his neck, slinging it back over his shoulder and walking away. 

As he did so, Myung Am had a sad look in his eyes. 

Ah… Such a thick aura of bloodlust and killing intent. If things go wrong, Murim might end up in great carnage. 

Of course, that may have just been the musings of an old, dying man. 

“You wanted me to tell you about everything that happened until now, correct?”

“Yes.”

The Sage pulled out a knife, on which the seventh piece of jade was colored black. “Then show me your Fifth Jade Knife first.”

Woon-seong grabbed the knife from his belt and threw it.

Light filtered through the air, illuminating the knife. 

The symbol of the Justice Blood Sect was clearly visible. 

“It truly is the Fifth Jade Knife. How did you obtain this?”

“Why is that important?” Woon-seong was blunt, but still told him about the location. “I found it in the safehouse of the Spear Master Sect. I also learned about the Justice Blood Sect there.”

The man nodded. I was wondering where this knife went. Nok Yu-on… So that’s where you hid it. 

He must’ve planned it so that his apprentice would find it if he escaped. 

The Sage looked away from Woon-seong and turned towards the sky. 

Although his apprentice wasn’t the one who found it, it looks like it still fell in the hands of the Spear Master Sect. My friend… 

As if answering the man’s words, one of the stars floating in the sky flashed for a moment. 

Of course, it might have been a hallucination, but it was nice to see. 

It felt like a sign. 

“Since it’s clear that you’re the master of the Fifth Jade Knife, there’s no need for me to hide anything.”

“…”

“However, I’m not the one who will tell you everything.”

“What do you mean?”

“I was only asked to bring you. The person who will tell you everything is the master of the First Jade Knife.”

There was an irritated look on Woon-seong’s face. 

I’ve already gone through tedious steps to meet with the Justice Blood Sect, and now another master?

But soon, he shook his head. 

No. This is just another step for my revenge. I’ve even withstood the ten years in the Cave of Latent Demons. Compared to that, this extra step is nothing.

“So then, where is the master of the First Jade Knife?”

***

Mount Wolong, or Mount Fulong. 

People used to call it that after its scenery, which resembled a dragon crouching in a dense forest. 

However, it now went by a different name.

Longzhong Mountain. 

“The Crouching Dragon and the Young Phoenix. If you can get either of them, you’ll be able to pacify the empire.” [1]

It was a well known fact that out of the two, the ‘Crouching Dragon’ Zhuge Liang used to live as a hermit in this mountain. 

Naturally, it was the place the Jegal Family Clan was located. 

The Jegal Family Clan was a clan of martial artists, but were also known to be scholars, producing talented military strategists for generations. 

As such, the people of the Jegal family were all known to be cunning and intelligent. 

If there was a Brain of the Heavenly Demon, then there was a Jegal sitting as the strategist of the Martial Alliance. 

Even if there were no prodigies to appear for the past few years, the Jegal family would never be in jeopardy. With their generations of history, their name would still be praised to the Heavens. 

With them there, other sects and families, especially those of the Black Way, were reluctant to settle in the area. 

Mount Wolong and its surrounding area was clearly the realm of the Jegal Family Clan. 

But the master of the First Jade Knife is there?

The Sage of the Bright Rock had clearly said that the only one who could tell Woon-seong the truth was the First Master. 

And he had to go to Mount Wolong to meet said master. 

Mount Wolong…

Woon-seong glanced up. 

A few steps ahead of him was the Sage, who had lost an arm. 

I can’t believe the First Master is in Mount Wolong. What the hell kind of organization is this Justice Blood Sect?

Out of the Seven Masters, one of them was Spearmaster Nok Yu-on. Another was the leader of the Mount Hua Sect. 

Then it wouldn’t be a surprise if the leader of the Justice Blood Sect was the head of the Jegal Clan, or even the previous head of the Jegal Clan…

The Jegal Clan, also known as the masters of machinery. 

Is he really from that family?

Woon-seong thought some more. 

For some reason, about ten years ago, the previous head of the Jegal Clan abandoned his position as strategist of the Martial Alliance and retired. 

It was around the time Jwa Do-gyul became the master of the Alliance. 

Maybe the previous clan head released Jwa Do-gyul’s identity and made such a decision…

It’s just speculation, but it was plausible. 

Well, I’ll know for sure when I reach Mount Wolong. 

At that point, Woon-seong stopped thinking. 

It was then that a group of children ran past, boisterously teasing each other. 

“Stop there!”

“Wait up!”

“Slow down! You’ll trip!”

“Haha! Catch me if you can!”

A group of young children, dressed in tattered clothing, rushed towards Woon-seong and the Sage of the Bright Rock. 

All of a sudden, the chattering of noisy children filled the air. 

Most of the children saw the two men and avoided them. 

Not all of them though. 

“Agh!”

One child smacked into Myung Am and fell backwards. 

He seemed to be the oldest of the children running around. 

The boy rolled onto the floor and Myung Am reached his remaining hand out to help him up. 

“Are you okay?”

Neither of the two forgot to smile. 

Seeing that, the child grabbed the Sage’s hand and hoisted himself off the ground, dusting the back of his pants. With courage, he said, “I’m fine. Thank you, grandpa.”

“Haha. What an energetic little kid.”

Myung Am laughed at the child, who bowed his head in thanks and tried to scootch away. 

But…

“Wait a moment.”

The Sage walked up to the child, waving something in his hand. “Don’t you need to take this?”

“Ah, ah?” 

Seeing what was in his hands, the child’s eyes widened in shock. 

It was a pouch filled with coins.

To be specific, it was the Sage’s coin pouch. 

Flustered, the boy patted his own pockets. “I thought I…”

The Sage laughed kindly. “You need this, right?”

In fact, the boy was a pickpocket. Just now, in the midst of all the confusion, the boy had tried to steal the Sage’s money. 

How could he have known the target was a martial artist? The Sage had stolen the pouch right back. 

The boy looked at the pouch, the face of the Sage, then glanced towards the alley with an embarrassed look on his face. 

At the corner of the alley were the other children, hiding in the shadows. 

The kids weren’t stupid, so they knew they’d gotten caught. 

The Sage reached out and gently grasped the wrist of the young boy before him, before glancing towards the other children. 

“Haha. It’s okay. Come here.”

The other children stumbled out of the shadows. 

Once again, the Sage kindly called out to them. 

“I won’t scold you. So you children come here too.”

Was it because of his kind tone, or because he was still holding onto the young boy?

The other children came running over. 

“One, two, three, four, five. There are five of you.”

The Sage counted the number of children gathered. 

In the beginning, the number of children who ran past them was four. Including the boy caught by the Sage, there were a total of five. 

Everyone stood in a line in front of the Sage. 

Woon-seong glanced at what the Sage was doing with an interested look. Is he trying to lecture them?

Given that the Sage of the Bright Rock was an old teacher, it was possible. 

Just as he thought that, the Sage turned to ask,  “Would you mind waiting for a moment?”

“…?”

“It won’t take long. Thirty minutes should be enough.”

Woon-seong nodded at the request. “Thirty minutes.”

“That’s enough.”

[1] The ‘Crouching Dragon’ refers to Zhuge Liang and the ‘Young Phoenix’ refers to Pang Tong, brilliant military strategists