CH 207

Chapter 207 – Conclusion (1)

***

The war was over. 

When Clan Head Peng Ga-hyuk, who was watching the battle between Woon-seong and the Inverted Sky Lord, committed suicide, the Tyrant King Troops lost their will to fight. 

The Buddhist and Sword Stars were barely saved when Woon-seong, who had risen to a Divine Being, stimulated their innate essence qi. 

But there were some things that could not be salvaged. 

One of the Buddhist Star’s fists, which had been reduced to powder, could not be returned, no matter how rich his essence was. 

After all the fighting, King Jinseong ascended the throne as emperor. 

Immediately after, he began to heal the world which had been ravaged by war. 

He called in all of the Beijing Defense Forces and with the help of the Eastern Depot, began filtering out the deeply rooted Cult of the Inverted Sky. 

Murim was no different.

All the factions that had joined the Cult of the Inverted Sky were sealed, while those who had not formed a new system under the Justice Alliance. 

What about Woon-seong?

Woon-seong led the Demonic Army back to the Heavenly Mountains, where the Cult of the Heavenly Demon was founded. 

Of course, that did not mean the Demons were restricted to the Heavenly Mountains like before. 

As had originally been promised, the Demons were able to freely travel to and from Zhongyuan. 

Although the territory was limited to Qinghai, Gansu, and Sichuan, some of the Cult of the Heavenly Demon’s long-standing wishes had been fulfilled. 

In this area, where there were still Orthodox martials, the promises made by Woon-seong and the Justice Alliance were kept. 

The monument of the Cult of the Heavenly Demon was built upon the Martial Alliance’s ruins, engraved with the names of the Demons who had lost their lives in the war. 

Of course, this was not without backlash. 

However, the Cult of the Heavenly Demon was by far the most powerful force in the world. 

King Jinseong, the new emperor, recognized the Cult of the Heavenly Demon as the national religion and appointed Woon-seong as the national historian. 

As this was happening outside, someone slowly climbed to the Peak of the Heavenly Demon’s Majesty. 

It was a peak that had barely been graced by people. 

No, it was a peak that no one was allowed to enter without the Heavenly Demon’s command. 

Who could enter the area was…

It’s been a long time. 

Only one Hyuk Woon-seong, the Heavenly Demon. 

Where Woon-seong stopped was the very peak, before a shrine made of wood. 

As he entered the shrine, two spirit tables could be seen. 

Although he did was unable to recover the body, one was for the Spearmaster Nok Yu-on, and the other was for Woon-seong’s second master, ‘Moon Cleaving Heavenly Demon’ Cheon Hwi. 

Regardless of the practices of the Cult of the Heavenly Demon, this was a shrine that Woon-seong had built only for his two masters. 

In order to construct this shrine, Woon-seong had carefully hand-selected and placed each piece of wood. 

The shrine was named the Temple of the Parted. 

A shrine in honor of a deceased master. 

Only one person was allowed inside: Hyuk Woon-seong. 

Woon-seong entered the shrine and quietly murmured, “It’s really been a long time.”

He closed his eyes. 

“But at last, I was able to avenge you both.”

There was no more Cult of the Inverted Sky. 

When the leader disappeared at the hands of Woon-seong, the Cult of the Inverted Sky was torn into thousands and thousands of pieces. The remnants were still disappearing each day, chased by both the Demonic and the Justice Alliance. 

Considering the venom within Woon-seong, there was no doubt that the chase would continue until every last one disappeared. 

So it was safe to say that there were no more enemies. 

“So…”

After all the vengeance was said and done, he knelt before the spirit tablets. 

“Please rest peacefully there.”

***

There was a war that washed away the entire Murim and Imperial Palace with blood, but time continued on and on. 

With the passage of time, the seasons changed. 

And finally, it was the season of spring, the dawn of a new year. 

“Haha.”

On one peak of the Mount Hua Sect, there was a man standing in the spring wind dressed in white robes. 

It was the Sage of Bright Rock, Myung Am. 

Immediately after the war against the Cult of the Inverted Sky ended, he returned to the Mount Hua Sect and passed on his status of sect leader. 

Then he chose to retire into one of the many peaks in Mount Hua, one which was barely graced by people. 

It was because he was apologetic to Spearmaster Nok Yu-on, who had passed on first. 

Even now, only the disciples of the Mount Hua Sect would seek out his abode and no other martial artists had visited him. 

Myung Am, who stood amidst the light breeze, shook his head. 

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of a tree branch. 

It was the branch of a small plum tree, rooted in a sheer cliff. 

At the ends of the branch were small flower buds. 

“In the meantime, plum blossoms have bloomed.”

He had spent a lifetime in Mount Hua and thought he had a plum blossom in his heart. 

But after laying everything down, he wondered if that was true. 

I couldn’t do it in the end.

If he had truly embraced Mount Hua and its plum blossoms, he would not feel anything different as he looked at the blossoms now. 

After staring at the plum blossoms for a long time, Sage Myung sighed deeply. 

Seeing plum blossoms like this, it reminds me of you again.

Nok Yu-on. 

He had enjoyed plum wine. 

Plum wine…

When he thought about that, he remembered that he had hidden some plum wine in the backyard. Myung Am smiled at the thought. 

As he moved towards where he had buried it, he suddenly stopped. 

— Remember this. You will be held accountable for your sins for the rest of your life and you will have to live with the memories.

A voice seemed to have come from somewhere. Myung Am gave a sharp nod, subconsciously gazing north. 

I will live like that for the rest of my life.

***

“The Divine Lady enters.”

Baek Woon-ji’s voice echoed through the palace. 

Not long after the war, according to the wishes of the previous Cult Leader, Hyuk Woon-seong and Cheon Ah-young held their marriage ceremony. 

Baek Woon-ji hid her face for several years after watching the scene. But a few years after disappearing, she became a part of the Flowers of the Dark Night and reappeared in front of Woon-seong. 

Of course, it was unrequited love in the case of Baek Woon-ji. 

However, through the harsh training for the Flowers of the Dark Night, she had organized her feelings for Woon-seong to some extent. Even though her heart ached, she chose to watch over her love quietly. 

It was unknown whether or not Woon-seong knew her feelings, but he nodded his head at her announcement. 

“Come in.”

When Woon-seong’s words fell, the gates of the palace opened, revealing Cheon Ah-young. 

The Divine Lady of the Cult of the Heavenly Demon was in elegant robes, fit for the wife of the Heavenly Demon. 

“I greet you, Lord.”

Cheon Ah-young greeted him with practiced ease. She had a bright smile on her face. 

However, the expression of Woon-seong receiving that smile was somehow uncomfortable. 

Since he was not used to dealing with women, his married life had not been very comfortable. 

Fortunately, Cheon Ah-young had a unique and cheerful personality. 

Thanks to her attitude, although it was a little shaky at first, Hyuk Woon-seong and Cheon Ah-young were able to continue their marriage smoothly. 

Once she had greeted the Heavenly Demon, Cheon Ah-young slightly raised her head. 

Then, she looked around and tilted her head, commenting, “I don’t see So-san.”

Cheon Ah-young was referring to Kang So-san, who Woon-seong had accepted as a disciple some time back. 

When the Demonic Teacher of Sun and Moon was severely wounded in the war, Kang So-san had returned to the Heavenly Mountains with him. Immediately after the war, he began to formally learn martial arts under Woon-seong’s tutelage. 

Since the war had ended about five years ago, it would be about five years since he started training. 

And for the last five years, Kang So-san had been a tenacious learner. 

He had mastered the spear arts with all of his might, then learned about the internal arts. 

Of course, he was a little lacking in body development and experience. Moreover, it could be a problem that he had started on this path so late. 

But who was Kang So-san’s teacher?

It was not an exaggeration to say that Woon-seong was the most powerful person in the world right now, and at the same time, he was the only person in the Divine Realm. 

Woon-seong neatly solved all potential problems by improving and accelerating Kang So-san’s bone structure. 

Not only that, with great strength, he was able to wash Kang So-san’s marrows of toxins. 

And perhaps it was thanks to this. 

Despite starting later, after only five years of training, Kang So-san was able to reach first-rate in strength.  

The status of Demonic General while slightly younger than twenty. 

Compared to Woon-seong, it was true that this was slow growth.

However, it was not terribly slow compared to Gwan Tae-ryang, who Woon-seong had trained with. 

In addition, Cheon Ah-young, who recently tried to watch over Kang So-san, had a good impression of the disciple and thought about teaching him some sorcery. 

After five years, Cheon Ah-young’s skills were also far better than before. 

Since Cheon Ah-young was originally talented in divine arts, and since her skills had increased, Kang So-san was able to grow at an even faster pace. 

It was then natural for Cheon Ah-young to view Kang So-san in an even better light. 

It was not unusual for her to look for Kang So-san. 

Woon-seong replied to Cheon Ah-young with a short, “I sent him down the mountain.”

“You’re sending him down the mountain?” Cheon Ah-young’s eyes opened wide. “You mean the kid who’s not even twenty yet?”

“Isn’t eighteen old enough? At his age, he needs to experience Murim. When we were sent for real world training in the Cave of Latent Demons, some of us were eighteen.”

“But…”

Cheon Ah-young, who held a teacher’s heart for Kang So-san, couldn’t shake off the feeling that she was throwing a child to the water’s edge. 

Seeing her expression so anxious, Woon-seong sighed. 

“Don’t worry about it, I sent the White Ape Lord with him.” 

The White Ape Lord was referring to Sa Ryong-hui. 

After returning to the Cult, Ah-young had put down her position as the Captain of the White Ape Unit and once again returned to her place as the Divine Maiden, so the captaincy became vacant once more. 

The spot was given to Sa Ryong-hui, who had served as a white-uniformed soldier. 

Hearing that the White Ape Lord had been sent along, Ah-young nodded with a relieved look. “I’m glad that is so.”

Sa Ryong-hui had already been nearing transcendence five years ago. Now that he could use his strength more naturally, few people would be able to harm him in Murim. 

At Cheon Ah-young’s relieved face, Woon-seong added on with a mutter, “Perhaps by now, the two will already be completing their mission.”

Cheon Ah-young’s eyes snapped up. “Mission?”

Instead of answering aloud, Woon-seong only grinned. 

***

“Damn it.”

A shabby man took a swig from a bottle of liquor in his hands. The drink seemed to bubble, dripping from his sleeves. 

He was in a shabby guestroom. 

Around him, there were already five empty jars. 

Nevertheless, he poured alcohol into his mouth, as if he were not satisfied. 

“Damn it!”

At the same time, he lamented, “Why the hell do I have to drink cheap liquor in a shabby room?!”

The man who was drinking was Hong Bin.

It was not just someone with the same name, but that same Hong Bin who once joined hands with the Inverted Sky and climbed to the top of this massive land mass. 

The reason Hong Bin was drinking in this village was because of the incidenta five years ago. 

Five years ago, the Inverted Sky Lord and his allies had fallen overnight to King Jinseong, the Demonic Cult, and the Justice Alliance. 

In that situation, Hong Bin barely escaped with his life.

And he was now hiding in this village, drinking as he avoided the pursuit of the Demonic Cult, Justice Alliance, and Imperial Court. 

“Dammit, if the Cult of the Inverted Sky hadn’t been defeated, I wouldn’t have to live like this!” 

It was then.

Knock-knock.

Someone knocked on the door of the room he was staying in.

The sound made him nervous, so he stopped drinking.

“Who’s there?”

“Sir, it’s me.”

A voice familiar to his ears. 

It was the voice of the owner of this inn. 

Aware of this, Hong Bin opened his eyes and yelled, “I told you not to come unless I called for you!”

“Well, you have visitors…”

“Someone came looking for me?” Hong Bin tilted his head, bottle in hand as he walked over and threw the door open. “Who is it?” 

At that moment, the door slid open and the men standing behind the owner of the inn could be seen. 

Men with scorpions tattooed on their heads and scars all over their bodies. 

The moment he saw them, Hong Bin’s expression shuttered.

“Huack!”

Hong Bin hurriedly tried to close the door. The men, however, familiar with similar situations, slipped their feet in between the crack. 

Tuk-

The door was unable to be shut and the men slid inside, grabbing Hong Bin by the collar. 

“If you borrow someone else’s money, you should work hard to pay it back. Why are you just drinking here?”

These men ran the loan agency nearby. While Hong Bin had some wealth when he left the palace, he had been in too much of a rush to bring enough. He had used it all up over the last five years running here and there.

Eventually, he had no choice but to borrow money, going to the Salt Palace nearby. But he was behind on repayments. 

“Well, that’s…”

Hong Bin slowly stepped back.

But there was nowhere to escape in the shabby room. 

Even more so, Hong Bin was unfamiliar with martial arts. 

Turtub-!

One of the men grabbed Hong Bin by the shoulder. 

Hong Bin shouted, trying to cause a commotion. 

“You bastards! Do you know who I am?!”

However, these screams had no effect on the Black Way men who managed the Salt Palace. The man grabbed him forcefully. 

“Shut up. Prepare to be sold into slavery. If you don’t like it, maybe you could sell some of your limbs.”

Another man next to him chuckled, taking over. 

“That’s all he’s good for. If he was a girl or had a nicer face, we could have done something more comfortable, haha.”

The laughter made Hong Bin’s face pale. 

“Yi, this guy!”