Ti flew by like an arrow.
Just when it started to feel strange that the Demonic Cult bastards had gone so quiet, three whole days passed without a single incident.
Three days. Already.
WHOOOSH—!!
“Urk!”
The recoil made stagger and drop to one knee. Pain surged up hard and clear.
I tried to force my body to move through the pounding ache, but—
“Too slow.”
A sharp sword was already resting against my throat.
The Sword Emperor’s blade.
“...Ah, damn.”
I let out a low groan of disappointnt. I’d really thought that one might get through, but in the end, it was too much.
Fssshhh—!!!
I drew back the energy that had swelled through my body. Moonbolt’s influence slowly ebbed away.
“Whew.”
Half the energy in my dantian was still there.
Which ant—
With only half my reserves spent, I still couldn’t hold out against the Sword Emperor.
And that was with the Sword Emperor not using inner qi while I had been using mine. Even so, the gap was still this wide?
As I clicked my tongue in disappointnt—
“You’re better than before. At least now you’re starting to move on instinct.”
“...Am I?”
“Yes.”
On instinct.
The Sword Emperor seed to think that counted as praise in his own way, but—
...I don’t know about that.
Could you really call it praise?
Even after all that ti practicing, I still hadn’t reached the point Yoo Cheongil and the Sword Emperor kept talking about.
A body that moved before thought.
I still couldn’t fully understand what they ant by saying I was slow because I was thinking too much before I moved.
Well.
I’d just have to keep at it.
If I kept going, I’d get there sohow.
Thinking that, I flicked my hand loose.
“Oh, sir.”
When I called out, the Sword Emperor looked at .
“I need to go to Liaoning. Are you coming with ?”
Maybe it was because I’d spent so much ti around him now, but I’d started asking him things like that without much thought.
A while ago, I wouldn’t even have dared talk to him first.
At the very least, I trusted by now that he wouldn’t snap at just for saying sothing like this.
“Liaoning?”
“Yes. I’m heading back to the main house.”
“...”
The Sword Emperor looked like he was considering it.
“Go.”
“You’re not coming?”
“I have sothing to do in Henan.”
“...Ah.”
That was a little unexpected. I’d assud he’d follow just for the training if nothing else.
“We’ll pause the training for now.”
“Understood.”
I nodded.
So I was going without the Sword Emperor.
*****
“So that’s how it is. You’re coming with .”
“...What do you an, ‘so that’s how it is’?”
The first person I went to after parting ways with the Sword Emperor was Poison Dragon. The mont he saw , he made a baffled face at what I said.
“What the hell? Where’s that coming from?”
“I’m going to Liaoning, so you’re going too.”
“...?”
“Who else is here?”
“There are plenty of people around.”
“Then who’s driving the carriage?”
“...Why would I be the one doing that?”
That was true enough.
It wasn’t like Poison Dragon had to do it.
Still—
“You need to learn Ten Thousand Flowers Rain, don’t you? If you’re still too incompetent to master it by now, then shouldn’t you at least be doing sothing?”
“...Ghk.”
Ten Thousand Flowers Rain.
He still hadn’t fully learned it.
Honestly, from where I stood, he was about eighty percent there, but the remaining bit was the problem.
Once that was done—
That’ll be the end of it with this idiot too.
Maybe then I could finally end this long, stubborn stretch of putting up with Poison Dragon.
That was what I was thinking.
“So you’re driving the carriage. Got it?”
“...Yessssir.”
“Use your words properly.”
“Understood.”
At that rate he was going to crack a molar.
I let out a faint snort and turned away.
“Oh, right.”
Then I rembered sothing and looked back at him.
“...”
“...”
My eyes t Poison Dragon’s just as he was flipping off.
“What are you doing?”
“...My forehead suddenly got itchy.”
He hurriedly scratched his forehead with the sa finger.
“You think that’ll work?”
I asked flatly.
“No. I suppose not.”
Poison Dragon nodded with humble sincerity.
“Co here.”
At my words, Poison Dragon imdiately spun around and ran.
...That bastard?
“...If I catch you, you’re dead.”
It didn’t even take half a gak before Poison Dragon ended up in my hands.
*****
Under the noble pretense of adding to his training, I beat the dust out of Poison Dragon and then flexed my wrist a few tis as the slight stiffness set in.
“That’s what you get for acting up.”
Ah, that felt better.
I thought back to the way he’d been screaming at the end.
I didn’t feel bad about it in the slightest.
I was practically doing charity work here.
I’d been teaching him Ten Thousand Flowers Rain for what, months now?
By this point, he should’ve gotten it.
Honestly, maybe Poison Dragon just didn’t want to go ho.
Though if he went back now, he’d just have to co again in a few months anyway. Maybe that’s why he can’t leave.
The talks with the Demonic Cult.
What had co out of them.
And the educational institution the Alliance was about to open by gathering the younger generation.
It was close enough now that even if Poison Dragon returned to the Tang Family in Sichuan, he’d only have to co back again soon.
All the real standouts would have to gather.
Every genius known to be exceptional would be called in without exception.
If the Demonic Cult was sending its younger generation—
then our side couldn’t afford to look any weaker.
If we lost ground there too, that would be the end of it, so the nas the Alliance had to summon were obvious.
And among them, Poison Dragon was soone who absolutely couldn’t be left out.
Did he know that?
Even if he doesn’t, the Alliance isn’t going to let him off the hook anyway.
Whether he knew or not wouldn’t change anything.
He wasn’t escaping the Alliance.
Coming with was actually the only way he was getting out at all.
Of course—
...No idea whether he actually wants to leave.
Not that it mattered to .
Poison Dragon never had a choice to begin with.
I’d never handed him one in the first place.
Poison Dragon was attending. End of story.
I needed soone to drive the carriage.
Still—
“You don’t actually have to co. Are you going?”
Yu Yeon was different.
She didn’t really need to go to Liaoning at all.
But strangely enough, Yu Yeon nodded hard with eyes brighter than they had been in a long ti.
It was obvious she wanted to go.
“...Oh. Really?”
She’d already followed this far, and now she wanted to go all the way to Liaoning too.
Not that I was going to stop her.
“Fine, then.”
Leaving her behind by herself didn’t sit right with anyway.
...No matter how closely the Alliance is watching the Demonic Cult bastards.
Yu Yeon was of the Heavenly Demon’s bloodline.
No one knew that, but I did.
And if that ever—
it’d be a problem if the Demonic Cult found out.
The fact that she was the Heaven-Slaying Star couldn’t be exposed either.
So bringing her with wasn’t a bad idea.
For her sake.
The only problem was—
“This should be fun. We’re leaving today?”
“...”
The real issue was the man who always seed to materialize the mont a conversation like that happened.
“...Are you coming too, senior?”
“Why are you making that face like you hate the idea?”
“Because I do. Just stay here at the Alliance.”
“Co on. I can’t do that.”
Yu Yul smiled brightly.
Ah, for fuck’s sake.
He was coming too.
“How’d you even hear about it...? I definitely kept it quiet.”
I’d made all the preparations to leave without Yu Yul noticing, but the answer to that mystery ca straight out of Yu Yul’s mouth.
“Poison Dragon told .”
“That bastard...!”
That damn lunatic couldn’t even keep his mouth shut?
Next ti I saw him, I was going to beat him harder.
I ground my teeth and let out a breath.
“...Are you seriously going?”
“What am I supposed to do here by myself? Pick a fight with the Young Cult Leader? Actually, that sounds kind of fun.”
“...”
Huh.
So leaving this man behind really would’ve caused a disaster.
Then again, what exactly had I been expecting from soone from the Azure Moon Sect?
“You won’t have anything to do in Liaoning.”
“I can look around.”
“There won’t be anything worth looking at.”
“Co on, let’s go.”
“You really don’t listen at all, do you?”
These people were all impossible.
But leaving him behind didn’t feel right either.
“Ah.”
Then sothing occurred to .
“In that case, can I ask a favor while we’re at it?”
“If I say no, you won’t take ?”
“Yes. Probably.”
“Then I’d better agree.”
Yu Yul grinned.
What was with that expression?
He had no idea what I was about to ask.
This wasn’t going to be easy.
Absolutely not.
And that applied even to soone with a personality as bizarre as Yu Yul’s.
I was sure of it.
Because—
compared to that lunatic, our “older brother” was far more insane.
*****
After roughly checking who was going, I headed back to my quarters.
The list had ended up with both the people I wanted and the people I didn’t, but the preparations were more or less done.
The ti...
It was already well past noon.
At this point, I just needed to change out of my sweat-soaked training clothes and go see Thousand-Mile Divine Eye.
That was what I was thinking as I reached my door.
Then—
“...”
Sothing slled off inside.
A foul, stale, disgusting sll.
What the hell was that stink?
Frowning, I opened the door.
“Oh, you’re back.”
There was a guest inside.
Of course, an uninvited one.
For fuck’s sake.
Why did everyone keep barging into my quarters like they owned the place?
And worse, this was soone I couldn’t exactly complain to.
“...My respects, Union Leader.”
Staff Strike Woo Aseok.
The Beggars’ Union Leader was lying there in my room like it was the most natural thing ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) in the world.
“What brings you here...?”
“What do you an, what brings here? We agreed to et in three days.”
“I assud you’d send soone and tell to co to you.”
I definitely hadn’t expected him to show up in person like this.
“I didn’t think the Beggars’ Union Leader would co himself.”
“Hoh hoh hoh. I had so ti to spare. Figured I’d take the chance to see a few old monsters again too.”
Was that supposed to an Thousand-Mile Divine Eye and Divine Spear?
“...And one troubleso bastard besides.”
For a mont, Woo Aseok’s tone shifted, but he quickly returned to normal and pulled several letters from inside his robes, handing them to .
“Brat. This is what you wanted.”
“Ah.”
I took them at once.
“Thank you—”
“Burn them the mont you’re done reading. Do not leave them behind. Not even a scrap.”
“...Understood.”
The warning was so firm I nodded imdiately.
“I organized it as much as I could. I took asures so there shouldn’t be a problem, but you never know. That bastard is absurdly sensitive.”
“So that’s why you’re telling to burn them the mont I read them...?”
“If you understand, then hide them well.”
“Understood.”
Honestly, I had trouble imagining Dark Sovereign noticing sothing even in a situation like this, but ignoring Woo Aseok’s warning would’ve been idiotic.
“Anyway. I’ve delivered what I ca to give, so I’ll be going.”
“Ah, yes. Thank you. And sorry for the trouble.”
As if he’d really co for nothing but that, Woo Aseok vanished while casually picking his nose.
Only the stench he left behind remained in the room.
He really was like the wind, that old man.
“How the hell am I supposed to get this sll out?”
So a human being really could sll like this.
Just leaving the windows open wasn’t going to fix it.
...Thank God.
At least I was leaving the room today.
I didn’t think I could sleep in here anymore.
I let out a relieved breath and turned—
Slide.
“...”
I felt a presence.
Was that Woo Aseok again?
No, wait.
Had he heard what I said?
Actually, he probably had.
Thinking that, I hurriedly started to explain myself.
“Union Leader, that’s not what I—”
FWAAASH—!
“...!”
Sothing lunged at .
“Ugh—!?”
Sothing slamd into my body.
I twisted at once.
Thankfully, it didn’t feel like a real ambush.
It was too weak for that.
“What the—!”
I caught the attacker and shoved them off.
My hand clamped around a slender wrist as I looked up to see who it was.
“...Huh?”
It was soone who felt strangely familiar.
“...You...”
The person glaring at with murderous eyes.
Soft gold-white hair.
Pale blue eyes like the sky.
Those sharp, pretty eyes were drawn up viciously.
“Oh.”
Wait.
Wasn’t this—
“What exactly did you do to ...?”
She spoke in a voice thick with hostility.
Hearing it, I said her na.
“Bow Ghost?”
The person who’d attacked was Bow Ghost.
But for so reason—
“...Why do you look like this?”
Compared to the figure I rembered, she looked at least twenty years younger.
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