Proclamation
"What do you an, remnants of the Demonic Cult? Did I mishear you?"
Baek Il-gang frowned as he asked, seemingly thinking that Jo Gwang was overreacting to yet another wild rumor he'd heard sowhere.
"I'm telling you, they made a public announcent at the Heavenly Martial Hall just now! They posted proclamations on the wall! There's even a rumor that the Murim Alliance made the announcent at the sa ti!"
"The Murim Alliance?"
Only then did Baek Il-gang's face turn sowhat grave.
If there was word that proclamations had been posted, it certainly couldn't be a lie.
And if, in fact, the Murim Alliance and the Heavenly Martial Hall had made a simultaneous announcent, the issue was no small matter.
"Are you saying that the Demonic Cult that vanished fifty years ago has truly revived?"
Baek Il-gang wore a look of complete incredulity. And it was understandable.
Everyone present here was, at best, a young man around twenty.
To them, the Demonic Cult was simply a sinister group that appeared in stories heard occasionally in childhood.
There had been groups who claid to be its descendants from ti to ti, but in most cases, they were just riffraff borrowing the na to bolster their numbers.
But if the Murim Alliance was stepping forward to proclaim the cult's revival, the story was different.
More than that, the fact that a companion they lived alongside had directly faced the Demonic Cult made it an even more surreal tale—difficult to believe for its utter lack of realism.
"Does this have sothing to do with that man who claid to be the Demonic Cult Leader in Yangyang?"
Baek Il-gang asked Jeong-un.
Until now, Baek Il-gang had shown a mostly indifferent attitude to any story he heard, but even he raised his voice a little this ti.
Jeong-un nodded and replied candidly.
"The Divine Thief who appeared at the last bell ceremony was the sa man. Now I believe he really is the leader of the Demonic Cult."
"The cult leader...?!"
Jo Gwang's mouth dropped open in shock. Even Baek Il-gang stared at Jeong-un in disbelief.
"That's too absurd to be true..."
"So, you're saying that man actually inherited the Demonic Cult's secrets? How can you be sure?"
Jeong-un answered in a calm voice.
"I'm not entirely sure."
"...?"
"It's just as I explained before. When he confronted the abbot, he fled right away—evading the abbot's expert strike with a peculiar movent. Then, right at that mont, the abbot said he sensed the presence of the forr Demonic Cult Leader in that man."
"...!"
Jo Gwang beside him was completely frozen, so shocked he seed at a loss for words.
After all, he knew the weight carried by a single word from the abbot.
Jeong-un looked at Jo Gwang and Baek Il-gang, and then spoke slowly.
"I apologize to the both of you. I wasn't trying to deceive anyone. Even if I trust my companions, there's always so hesitation in divulging confidential mission details."
"... It's not that I feel hurt because you withheld anything from us."
At Baek Il-gang's words, Jeong-un gazed quietly at him.
Baek Il-gang typically acted as if everything was too botherso, yet today he was revealing the most emotions Jeong-un had ever seen from him.
Baek Il-gang was different from those who sought to build their reputations in the Heavenly Martial Hall for their own purposes.
Jeong-un had even suspected he might be a disciple from a Taoist sect.
'For him to be this surprised...'
Jeong-un could sense from Baek Il-gang's reaction just how significant this incident was.
The Yu household where he'd grown up was technically a Murim sect, but far removed from the center of the martial world.
Besides, Jeong-un himself had holed up in his room there for over a decade; naturally he would perceive things differently than these two.
While he was lost in these thoughts, Baek Il-gang spoke.
"There's no need for close companions to know every secret aspect of each other's missions. In fact, sharing everything indiscriminately would be even less proper."
"... Thank you for understanding."
Jeong-un replied quietly.
He couldn't help feeling uneasy about hiding his experiences from his colleagues; after all, they were the first aningful relationships he'd ford in the martial world.
But Baek Il-gang seed completely unconcerned about that. In fact, the words he added next made Jeong-un nod in agreent.
"What truly surprises is why that man has appeared before you not once, but twice."
"Honestly, it was a coincidence both tis—each incident happened during a mission."
"... I don't think you're fully grasping this, so let explain."
Baek Il-gang continued in an unusually steady tone.
"To the martial artists of this land, the Demonic Cult isn't simply so unorthodox faction of the past. There's a reason none of us believed this at first when we heard it."
"What do you an?"
Jeong-un asked, looking puzzled.
Hadn't he said what he ant?
A group that rose and disappeared decades ago—at least, that's how Jeong-un saw it.
In fact, before entering the Heavenly Martial Hall, he hadn't even known for sure that the cult had truly existed; it was just a sinister group that popped up a few tis in booklets he'd read as a child.
Baek Il-gang spoke.
"You must know that the reason both the Murim Alliance and the Heavenly Martial Hall were founded was because of them. They were the ones who made the self-centered martial artist factions join hands. Everyone knows the story of how they drew their swords at random and set foot in Beijing—it was when the principle of martial halls being inviolable was shattered."
"......."
"Whether commoner, martial artist, or royalty—these were the kind of people who would slay anyone who stood in their way. And now they've returned. But how..."
Baek Il-gang trailed off as he stared at Jeong-un. Still, it wasn't hard to guess what he left unsaid.
'How did you end up encountering that leader not once, but twice?'
This reaction wasn't new.
Yeom Baek, Zhuge Cheon-woo, even the Abbot and the Chief of Heavenly Martial Hall had all said sothing similar.
But there was nothing Jeong-un could say in response.
All he could do was repeat it had truly been a coincidence; he'd thought over everything that had happened, but nothing made sense.
"... Even for ."
Jeong-un spoke softly.
"I don't have any clear answer. That's all that happened. I have no idea why he wore that ridiculous 'Divine Thief' mask, either."
Co to think of it, the abbot had said he'd look into it—that if Jeong-un ever passed through Mount Song again, he should stop by and ask.
After all, they'd t twice now.
He mused inwardly and continued,
"In any case, isn't our duty clear?"
"Our duty?"
"What else is there for a martial artist but to train and improve his martial arts?"
"......"
Baek Il-gang stared at Jeong-un with wide eyes, then let out a hollow laugh.
His expression stayed as calm as ever.
"That's certainly an easy way to live."
"Picking a direction is easy—the process is tough."
"If even that were easy, it'd be boring."
"Shall we go to the training hall?"
"Let's."
Jo Gwang stared blankly after the two two-striped martial artists as they walked away.
* * *
Jo Gwang's fuss and Baek Il-gang's explanation were not exaggerations.
The Heavenly Martial Hall was thrown into great turmoil, reflecting the general confusion of the martial world.
Wherever two or more people gathered, the Demonic Cult beca the topic of discussion.
However, perhaps because this was an elite group, there was sothing unusual: fewer martial artists showed signs of fear than one might expect.
"It's now clearer than ever what the Heavenly Martial Hall truly is. Wasn't our original mission to seek out and wipe out the Demonic Cult's remnants?"
"If I spot them, I'll behead every last one. Things are different from back then."
"Hold your horses, you two. My grandfather died caught up in the Demonic Cult's rebellion. Now, at last, my martial arts have a clear goal."
Such talk could be heard all over the hall.
While there was so bluster in these words, there was no reason to take it badly.
In fact, that kind of confidence was probably necessary. Strictly speaking, not one thing they said was incorrect.
Thus, a strange mix of tension and excitent filled the building.
Yet, Jeong-un's daily life did not change at all.
If anything, he beca more focused on his training.
With no missions at present, he had nothing particular to do.
He spent all his ti moving between Blue Scale Hall and the pavilions with individual training halls.
Even as he felt people's eyes on him along the way, he ignored them with an indifferent face.
Now and then, Jo Gwang would bring him news.
Usually, it was about how Jeong-un's na was spreading across the martial world.
Even his title, "Heaven-defying Lone Sword," was taking on additional anings now.
Once it ca to light that the opponent he'd faced alone was the Demonic Cult Leader, the nickna seed fitting, given his natural courage and talent were enough to defy the heavens.
'Ridiculous.'
In reality, he'd been powerless in front of that man.
The monk Mu Jung had worried the leader would take an interest in Jeong-un, but Jeong-un knew that if even that slight interest hadn't been there, he likely would have died on the spot.
Knowing this, Jeong-un threw himself into training all the more.
'I need to get stronger. Faster. More certain.'
Like that, several snows fell and lted without incident.
Eventually, the season arrived when the branches—silent in the cold air—began to lift their heads.
At last, it was ti for this year's entrance exam.
The martial artists of the Heavenly Martial Hall were strictly forbidden from stepping outside the compound's boundaries.
Since the exam would be held there, they were to move only between the dormitories, training halls, and the routes needed for missions.
"They say a record number of applicants sward the city for this year's general exam. There's barely space to step anywhere in the city center."
They were all seated together, having a simple al. At Jo Gwang's comnt, Jeong-un recalled his own entrance exam.
The mory of being surprised at the sheer scale of the big city and the crowd was still vivid.
If even more applicants had gathered this ti, then saying there was no space to stand was no exaggeration.
"I'd heard recently they expected the applicant pool to shrink, so this is unexpected."
Baek Il-gang muttered.
"If that man could dodge the Shaolin abbot's strike, his martial arts must be considerable. Yet people still co to the Heavenly Martial Hall after hearing that? There are too many reckless fools in the world."
Tang Yerin said with a laugh,
"For martial artists our age, the Demonic Cult just isn't real to us. Nothing has really changed since the proclamation; if anything, so probably see this as a better opportunity to gain fa."
"That damned fa. What use is it once you're dead."
Baek Il-gang was wearing a sarcastic face when it happened.
A one-striped martial artist approached the table where Jeong-un's group sat.
After carefully gauging Jeong-un and Baek Il-gang's moods, he ca up to Jeong-un, perford a martial salute, and said,
"The corps leader requests your presence."
"?"
With that, Jeong-un quickly excused himself and left the Blue Scale Hall, heading straight for Yeom Baek's office.
"......"
He walked down one of the narrow paths in the hall, followed by whispers clearly intended for him.
Curiosity, fear, even admiration... The look in people's eyes had changed in subtle ways. He paid it no mind and walked on.
At last, he arrived at Yeom Baek's office.
"A mission has co down,"
said Yeom Baek. Jeong-un simply nodded in response. Yeom Baek smirked and continued,
"You seem rather calm these days. You might be surprised when you hear the details."
"What is it?"
Surprised? If Yeom Baek put it like that, this was no ordinary matter.
"It's about those Blood Cult guys you reported on. We've been digging into them ever since, mostly using Black Snake Corps warriors. And at last, we found a place where several of them were gathered. You could call it a small branch. Surprisingly well-organized, considering the filth."
"Is the mission to raid that place?"
Yeom Baek shook his head.
"So of our warriors already wiped it out."
"Then?"
"We found the location of their main headquarters. This ti, we're going to wipe the Blood Cult from this land completely."
"...!"
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