Two days earlier.
“Cough!”
Soh Bang stumbled into a small mountain cave and spat out a mouthful of blood.
“Damn it...”
The blood trickling from her lips was extremely murky. She had been driven into a corner so quickly and suffered severe internal injuries after only a few attacks. Worse, she had recklessly circulated her Inner Qi while fleeing, filling her entire body with turbid energy.
The world divided martial arts into orthodox arts and evil or demonic arts, but in broad terms, those categories merely described their respective characteristics. Even practitioners of evil or demonic arts faced grave danger when turbid energy surged throughout their bodies.
Soh Bang hurriedly began circulating her qi. Fortunately, Blood-Drinking evil qi was based primarily on standing and moving exercises. Few martial arts were better suited to remaining alert to one’s surroundings while circulating qi.
HISSSSS!
Gray smoke rose from all over Soh Bang’s body.
She had only just begun circulating her qi, yet enough turbid energy was already escaping to be visible to the naked eye.
This was partly a testament to Soh Bang’s skill, but it also meant that turbid energy had accumulated in every blood point throughout her body. Her condition was quite serious.
Damn it.
Clenching her teeth, Soh Bang took a small pill from her robe.
Do I really have to use this now?
She might not have been acknowledged as the Cult Leader’s child, but even a half-breed carried the blood of a god. She could not possibly be treated the same as the other cultists.
The pill in her hand was proof of that.
If I use this one, I’ll only have a single pill left.
The Carnal Crystal Pill was one of the rare spiritual medicines prized by the Perverse Lust Cult.
Like other spiritual medicines, it was highly effective at increasing and restoring internal force. Its effects became especially potent in those with a greater concentration of evil qi, making it a favored medicine among high-ranking officers.
The problem was the astronomical cost of producing it. The cult would not grant one to anyone who had not rendered extraordinary service, and ordinary cultists below officer rank would never receive one at all.
I may say I’ll still have one left, but that pill is my lifeline. I’ll need it in the final battle. Which means...
Soh Bang’s eyelids trembled.
This is the last one I can spare.
She hesitated.
She had never imagined that she would suffer such critical injuries so soon after arriving in the Central Plains, much less at the hands of opponents weaker than herself fighting together.
Soh Bang’s eyes suddenly turned vicious.
That damned bastard.
She recalled Yeon Hojeong’s words.
He was right. He said you overthink when you panic, which makes you easier to deal with.
You’re not getting out of here.
He was right?
The moment Soh Bang heard those words, she had completely lost what little focus she had managed to maintain during the battle.
Who was “he”? Whom had Yeon Hojeong meant?
No way.
Soh Bang looked far to the east.
“...Yayul Jeok. Was it you?”
She muttered in fury, only to shake her head moments later.
No. That bastard would never betray the cult.
Their relationship might have been poor, but she knew that Yayul Jeok was every bit as loyal as she was. That was precisely why she provoked him whenever they met. Beyond their incompatible personalities, she did not believe he was capable of betrayal.
If she had truly thought he might betray the cult, she would never have provoked him that way. She would have quietly investigated him, then taken his head in a single stroke.
...No.
Soh Bang’s eyes deepened.
He was driven into exile on this continent. They called it a deployment, but a man of his ability was forced to become the disciple of a mere assassin. There’s no way he didn’t resent it.
Yayul Jeok was every bit as proud as he was loyal.
He was simply the only one unaware of it.
But would that really drive him to betray the cult? Would it?
Then Soh Bang remembered the terrifying martial arts wielded by Yeon Hojeong, Commander of the Evil-Smiting Corps.
His abilities themselves had been remarkable, but what had truly astonished her was the way he had perfectly dismantled every path of the Blood-Drinking Palm.
How did he know? He clearly knew the Blood-Drinking Palm!
Soh Bang had never imagined that such a counter to the Blood-Drinking Palm could exist. She had lived her entire life without once considering that it was even possible to dismantle the art.
Yet he had torn it apart piece by piece. She would never have believed it if she had not experienced it herself.
That could never have been a coincidence. He knew the Blood-Drinking Palm inside and out—down to the very roots of its paths!
Even with knowledge of a counter, one could not readily use it against an opponent of comparable strength. Yet Yeon Hojeong had effortlessly dismantled the martial art of an opponent clearly stronger than himself, as if he had done it countless times before.
The world might have no shortage of geniuses and monsters, but that would have been utterly impossible without complete mastery of the Blood-Drinking Palm. Even with such mastery, pressing the attack so effectively in a real battle would have been exceedingly difficult.
How did he know? Could the Blood-Drinking Palm have leaked outside the cult?
That made even less sense.
No—it was simply impossible.
Then what other explanation was there?
“...Someone inside the cult leaked the Blood-Drinking Palm and Blood-Drinking evil qi.”
That was the only possible conclusion.
But who had leaked the Blood-Drinking arts? And why had those arts ended up in the hands of the Martial Alliance?
“Yayul Jeok.”
Shudder!
Soh Bang’s entire body began trembling violently.
“Was it truly you?!”
Blood trickled from her nose.
Her internal injuries were already severe, and her agitation further disrupted her qi circulation. Soh Bang hurriedly steadied her mind and focused all her efforts on expelling the turbid energy from her body.
Her agitation soon subsided, but her thoughts continued racing without pause.
Come to think of it, a man that proud didn’t even try to stop me when I said I would go.
She recalled her conversation with Yayul Jeok.
You do have a point. Even if you fail, we will still learn something about the enemy’s strength.
Very well. I shall leave one of them to you.
Soh Bang’s cheek twitched.
They had been locked in a war of nerves, yet he had abruptly quelled his surging anger and agreed with her proposal. He despised her just as much as she despised him, but he had changed his mind far too readily.
It made no sense. Even when he had still been in the Perverse Lust Cult, he had never behaved that way.
And there’s more.
Soh Bang was confident.
She believed she could defeat Yayul Jeok even in a duel to the death.
That was why she had dared to kill one of his subordinates in plain sight. Even if the situation spiraled to the point of a battle, she had believed herself fully capable of subduing him.
Quite apart from that, Yayul Jeok should ordinarily have attacked her the instant she killed his subordinate. That was the nature of their relationship, and his temper was anything but mild.
Yet he had simply let her leave. He had revealed genuine Killing Intent, but stopped at a warning.
Why? Because he was not confident he could defeat her? He was the sort of man who lost all regard for consequences once enraged.
Was it really you?
FSSSSSS.
A cloud of gray smoke billowed around her body, then dispersed.
CRUMBLE!
A section of the stone wall that had been especially exposed to the cloud of turbid energy crumbled as though hollow inside.
That was how poisonous the turbid energy was.
Did you plan to kill me with another’s blade? Did you truly intend for me to die? Were you really that confident it would work?
HISSSSS!
Crimson energy surged around her body.
Now that she had expelled most of the turbid energy coursing through her, her Blood-Drinking evil qi finally began circulating properly.
At last, she could breathe a little easier.
Soh Bang chewed on her lip as she pondered, then eventually sighed.
“Damn it. I must have lost my mind.”
Yayul Jeok remained suspicious, but she tried to put those suspicions aside.
Right. When I think about it, this really makes no sense.
Even Yayul Jeok would have had difficulty obtaining the secret manual of the Blood-Drinking Palm. It was not entirely impossible, but there had been no reason for him to take such a risk.
Moreover, Yayul Jeok could not have known that she would be deployed here. Interpreting the situation as him conveniently sending her straight into the hands of Yeon Hojeong, who just happened to possess complete mastery of the Blood-Drinking Palm’s counters, was far too contrived.
It must be a coincidence.
The Blood-Drinking Palm had clearly fallen into the hands of the Martial Alliance. But it probably had not reached them through Yayul Jeok.
For now, she had to believe that.
Soh Bang stared at the Carnal Crystal Pill for a moment before returning it to her robe.
“I’ll have to speak with him in person.”
Two hours later.
Once she had recovered enough to wield her martial arts to some degree, she cautiously employed her movement art and headed east.
Then—
...?
Soh Bang’s eyes sharpened as she looked up at the sky.
What are those?
More than ten birds were flying northwest. There was something strangely familiar about them.
Are those the messenger hawks Yayul Jeok uses?
They were only about the size of pigeons, but they were unmistakably hawks. These rare creatures were said to fly three times faster than ordinary messenger pigeons and could slaughter most other birds in an instant.
They were the messenger hawks used by the Dark Bird Band, the intelligence organization under Yayul Jeok’s command. She had seen countless such birds coming and going through his window.
He must be sending information somewhere.
When sending a message by messenger pigeon, it was customary to attach copies of the same document to several birds. If only one or two were sent, there was always a chance that none would reach their destination.
Soh Bang continued walking, intending to ignore them, but then a thought struck her and she stopped.
“......”
Her eyes narrowed.
“...It wouldn’t hurt to check. Just in case.”
BOOM!
She pursued the messenger hawks with all her strength. About half an hour later, she saw one of them begin to lag behind the others.
The distance was short, and the opportunity perfect.
Soh Bang snatched up a pebble and infused it with Blood-Drinking evil qi.
FWEEEEET! SPLAT!
Her body might not have been in proper condition, but striking a bird from twenty zhang away was nothing.
The messenger hawk’s head burst apart. Its body convulsed before plummeting to the ground.
Soh Bang rushed to where the carcass had fallen, untied the message tube from its still-twitching leg, and unrolled the document inside.
A moment later, her eyes became bloodshot.
“How interesting.”
The corners of her mouth curled upward. Filled with distrust, rage, and Killing Intent, her expression was nothing short of demonic.
“How very interesting, Yayul Jeok.”
The message read:
I write to the Martial Alliance. I will help you capture your primary target. Let us join forces, however briefly, and deal with our common enemy first. We have circumstances of our own, so I request a prompt reply.
At the bottom of the message was written:
Eldest Disciple of the Yin God
Band Leader of the Dark Bird Band
The Dark Bird Band was the finest intelligence organization under Yayul Jeok, and its leader was his eldest disciple.
Yayul Jeok and his eldest disciple, Sima Hyeon.
In other words, they were in league with each other. Moreover, Yayul Jeok had reportedly placed Sima Hyeon under the Soul-Seizing Art. Soh Bang knew that as well.
Even if Sima Hyeon had sent this letter, it could therefore be taken as an expression of Yayul Jeok’s will.
“Yayul Jeok.”
The rage surging through her left her mind blank for an instant.
Even then, Soh Bang did not dismiss the last trace of doubt in her mind. It was no longer doubt directed at Yayul Jeok, but the possibility that Sima Hyeon had betrayed him.
Yet no matter how she considered it, that made no sense either.
Sima Hyeon was under Yayul Jeok’s Soul-Seizing Art. The Perverse Lust Cult’s Soul-Seizing Art was entirely different from the heterodox sorcery found in the Central Plains. Without knowing the proper method, breaking it was nearly impossible.
It was therefore reasonable to interpret this as Yayul Jeok’s will. At this moment, concluding that he had sent the message under his eldest disciple’s name as a precaution was hardly an unreasonable assumption.
“So you truly betrayed the cult!”
Rustle.
She took the Carnal Crystal Pill from her robe and swallowed it without hesitation.
Two hours later.
RUMBLE!
The mountain near Yayul Jeok’s residence groaned beneath a violent clash between monstrous masters.
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