Translator: FenrirTL
Editor/Quality Checker: Saphartlantis
Murim Term Consultant: Kopke
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Chapter 275: I told you not to choose the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult
Of course, the remark had been made for the Sword Immortal to hear.
Geom Mugeuk stood up from his seat, respectfully clasped his hands in salute toward Lee Hak-shin, and greeted him.
“I didn’t have the chance to greet you formally earlier. It’s an honor to meet you.”
The Sword Immortal examined Geom Mugeuk with a sharp gaze. Just like the first time they met, he was once again impressed by the clarity in Geom Mugeuk's eyes and his presence.
‘Even though he has mastered demonic arts, his eyes remain so clear? Truly astonishing.’
Lee Hak-shin’s gaze shifted toward Gu Cheonpa, who stood behind Geom Mugeuk. He recalled something that the Blood Heaven Blade Demon had said earlier.
—It can change.
Was he referring to this Young Cult Leader when he spoke of someone who had changed their life? 1
In a low but firm voice, Lee Hak-shin asked again.
“Repeat what you said earlier.”
“I expected that you wouldn’t have known. If you had known, you wouldn’t have overlooked it.”
The Sword Immortal had only followed Jin Paecheon, the leader of the Martial Alliance, to protect Jin Hagun. He hadn’t known the reason for their journey, nor did he care until now.
“Are you saying that what you said earlier is true?”
“Yes, it is. That man, Seo Cheong, killed a passerby simply because he wanted to indulge in slaughter. He also killed one of our martial artists from the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult. There are other victims as well. When I came to punish Seo Cheong during my stay in Honam, the Martial Alliance intervened and blocked me from doing so.”
Lee Hak-shin coldly turned his gaze toward Jin Hagun and asked.
“Leader Jin, is what he says true?”
If Jin Hagun confirmed it, the Sword Immortal’s temperament was such that it wouldn’t matter if Jin Paecheon was his grandfather or that it was the will of the leader of the Martial Alliance; he would not be spared his wrath.
Jin Hagun understood Geom Mugeuk’s intention. It was a suggestion to use the Sword Immortal to find a way out of this situation.
“It’s true.”
In that instant, anger flared in Lee Hak-shin.
Jin Hagun quickly added.
“However, there is one fact missing.”
He glanced toward Seo Cheong.
“I was also planning to impose a fitting punishment for Seo Cheong’s crimes.”
Jin Hagun realized that this was the most natural way to sever ties with the Heavenly Flower Sect.
“What kind of punishment?”
“I intended to imprison him in a dungeon. He would remain there for life.”
The Sword Immortal looked at Jin Hagun with suspicious eyes. It was possible that he was merely making excuses because he had decided to step in.
Jin Hagun met Lee Hak-shin’s gaze with confidence. It was true that he could have punished Seo Cheong, or he might have not. But he had decided to trust himself. He believed that in some way or another, he would have punished him.
Finally, the Sword Immortal's expression softened.
“Good, I knew you would handle it that way.”
Lee Hak-shin placed his trust in Jin Hagun, reinforcing him with his confidence. He had watched Jin Hagun grow up from a young age. He knew better than anyone how diligently he had lived and that he was truly a righteous child.
"I believe in you."
“I will work harder so as not to disappoint you.”
Jin Hagun was relieved that things had not progressed to the point where the Martial Alliance absorbed the Heavenly Flower Sect. Looking back now, he realized how utterly blinded by greed he had been.
Of course, that didn’t mean the Sword Immortal’s anger had completely subsided. His target had simply shifted to the true sinner.
Lee Hak-shin’s gaze turned toward Seo Cheong. Given the situation, Seo Cheong should have immediately run over to him, sensing the danger. But instead, he stood frozen in dumb fear.
Seo Baek-jung called out loudly.
“What are you doing just standing there? Get over here!”
The Sword Immortal was already angry. If Seo Cheong made one wrong move, he could lose his life right here and now.
“Hurry up and come here!”
Seo Baek-jung shouted and sent a desperate voice transmission.
—Do as the Sword Immortal says. Come here and beg for forgiveness, as if you're already dead!
—Please spare me, Father! I can’t go to that dungeon! I’ll die if I go!
—Shut up! This is not the time for such childish whining!
Seo Cheong, thoroughly frightened by Seo Baek-jung’s outburst, began walking toward Lee Hak-shin with a terrified expression.
At the same time, Seo Baek-jung sent an urgent voice transmission to Jin Hagun.
—Stop this, please!
—There is nothing I can do now that the Sword Immortal has intervened. As you know, Lee Hak-shin is not only a close friend of the Alliance Leader but also someone who has lived his whole life following the path of righteousness.
—Are you really going to let this happen? Do you think that man will just let this slide?
Seo Baek-jung invoked Jin Hagun’s master in a last-ditch effort.
Indeed, Jin Hagun’s master was the one aspect that weighed most heavily on Jin Hagun’s mind.
But with the Sword Immortal already involved, and after Jin Hagun had made up his mind to sever ties with the Heavenly Flower Sect, he was certain that his master would understand his decision. 2
—Even he wouldn’t go against the will of the Sword Immortal.
Meanwhile, Seo Cheong had finally reached Lee Hak-shin.
The Sword Immortal looked at him with cold eyes and asked,
“What the Young Cult Leader of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult said earlier—was it true?”
Seo Cheong hesitated, unsure of how to respond. His gaze shifted again to Seo Baek-jung.
If he were innocent, he would have immediately denied it and expressed his grievance. The mere fact that he hesitated was tantamount toloudly admitting guilt.
Seo Baek-jung stepped in to respond on his behalf.
“It’s still an ongoing investigation, and the full truth has yet to be uncovered.”
He was desperately trying to escape the situation. Seo Baek-jung hoped Jin Hagun would take pity on him and agree with his words.
But the Sword Immortal turned to Geom Mugeuk, the one he had directed his question to.
"Young Cult Leader, is what this man says true?"
"It is not. All of his sins have already been fully revealed."
At that, Lee Hak-shin shot a cold glare at Seo Baek-jung and scolded him.
"You dare try to lie to me?"
He was displeased even with the idea of sending Seo Cheong to the dungeon. His life had been one of punishing those who killed innocent people, regardless of their rank or status. 3
Seo Baek-jung lowered his head in guilt and sent a voice transmission.
—Get on your knees and beg, now!
Only then did Seo Cheong kneel. He was utterly terrified.
'Anything but the dungeon!'
Seo Cheong pleaded desperately to the Sword Immortal.
"I was drunk and made a mistake. I don't even remember what happened that day. Please, forgive me." 4
Lee Hak-shin's expression turned even colder in an instant. The first thing that came out of Seo Cheong's mouth wasn’t an admission of guilt, but rather an excuse that it had been a mistake—and he even blamed it on alcohol?
As the saying goes, you can tell a lot about someone from just one thing, and the Sword Immortal immediately understood what kind of trash Seo Cheong was.
"A mistake, you say?"
"Yes, it was a mistake."
"Then why did you kill the others?"
"That’s..."
Seo Cheong struggled to find an excuse. He lifted his head and begged once more.
"Please, just forgive me this one time."
"I'm asking why you killed them, not for you to beg for forgiveness."
Lee Hak-shin's stern rebuke caused Seo Cheong's mind to go blank.
Lost in his confusion, a deep emotion began to boil within him—an emotion he had relied on more than anything else in his life: anger.
Seo Cheong became furious. No one had ever pushed him this far before.
In the next moment, he shouted,
"Because I wanted to kill them!"
A heavy silence fell over the room.
"It was exhilarating when I killed them."
Seo Cheong raised his head and looked around, his voice growing louder.
"You all know that feeling, don’t you? You’ve killed far more than I have! So why am I the only one being blamed?" 5
Everyone in the room stared at him with cold eyes.
The first person to react was Seo Baek-jung.
Slap!
Seo Baek-jung mercilessly struck Seo Cheong across the face.
"Shut your mouth!"
"Why are you hitting me? Did I say anything wrong?"
Even though he should have realized that Seo Baek-jung was hitting him to try and save him, Seo Cheong, consumed by anger, couldn’t see anything clearly.
"Why is that old coot trying to punish me? This isn’t even the Martial Alliance’s territory; it’s the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult’s territory! If I’m to be punished, it should be by them, not him!"
Slap! Slap!
Seo Baek-jung struck Seo Cheong again and again, furiously.
Who could he blame? Ultimately, it was his own fault for raising his son like this.
Seo Baek-jung could sense it—the fury within the Sword Immortal had reached its peak. He feared that if things continued like this, Lee Hak-shin might kill Seo Cheong on the spot.
Quickly, he sent a voice transmission to Bih Sa-in.
—We will align ourselves with the Unorthodox Alliance.
Bih Sa-in didn’t respond immediately to Seo Baek-jung’s desperate plea. The situation had shifted in his favor; the control of the situation was now in his hands.
Bih Sa-in admired Geom Mugeuk’s actions. To think he had brought the Sword Immortal into the matter and escalated it to this point. In hindsight, it seemed like an obvious move, but pulling it off was something only someone of great skill could manage.
While Seo Baek-jung was busy sending voice transmissions to try and bring the Unorthodox Alliance into the fold, Seo Cheong acted impulsively once more.
Seo Cheong, enraged at his father, misunderstood Seo Baek-jung’s silence as an attempt to save himself rather than his son. And instead of rescuing him, his father had even struck him.
Since there had never been any true affection or trust between father and son, in this extreme situation, Seo Cheong’s mind turned to extreme thoughts.
So in his anger and fear, Seo Cheong uttered words he should never have spoken. 6
"You killed people too, Father!"
Seo Baek-jung, taken aback, quickly addressed the Sword Immortal.
"Please don't pay attention to his words. He's speaking nonsense out of fear."
Seo Baek-jung glared at Seo Cheong.
—Shut up! Do you want to see your father killed as well?
In his desperation and panic, Seo Baek-jung’s choice of words was quite poor. Seo Cheong misinterpreted the statement as, ‘If you're going to die, then die alone!’ and in a fit of rage, he screamed.
"You poisoned and buried Venom Blade in the bamboo grove behind our house! You also killed the Three Wolves of Honam and the Annihilation Sword!"
An eerie silence descended.
Seo Cheong had mentioned names that should never have been mentioned. While the Three Wolves of Honam and the Annihilation Sword were known figures from the orthodox factions, the Venom Blade was a martial artist from the Unorthodox Alliance.
Seo Baek-jung looked at Bih Sa-in with a terrified expression.
—So, the missing Venom Blade was buried in your back yard?
—It’s a misunderstanding.
—There’s no need to explain. After all, Venom Blade wasn’t one of my people.
—Then, will you join hands with us?
—Unfortunately, that would be difficult. Even we, as unorthodox martial artists, have our pride.
Bih Sa-in couldn’t align with them, knowing that Seo Baek-jung had killed a fellow unorthodox martial artist. Too many people were watching, and pride was important, even for the unorthodox faction. Though Geom Mugeuk had rolled an opportunity right into Bih Sa-in’s hands, it had now slipped away before he could even hold it.
In the end, Seo Baek-jung grasped at the most distant lifeline available.
"We will align ourselves with the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult. Please, accept us!"
Seo Baek-jung didn’t even bother sending another voice transmission. There was no room to coordinate the situation through whispers anymore. It wasn't just his son’s life at stake—his own was now in jeopardy as well. The only entity he could rely on at this point was the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.
Seeing his desperation, Bih Sa-in couldn’t help but let out a sigh, realizing that things had finally come to this. When Geom Mugeuk had initially joked about not choosing the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, Bih Sa-in had suspected that things might turn out this way.
And indeed, it had come to pass.
"I distinctly remember telling you not to choose us, didn’t I? I said not to choose the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult no matter what", Geom Mugeuk said.
"Please, I beg you, accept us," Seo Baek-jung pleaded.
"I said no! Go on, head to your beloved Martial Alliance."
"Please!"
"The Young Leader of the Unorthodox Alliance may look frightening, but he’s a good person. Go to them instead."
"Please, accept us into the Divine Cult! I beg of you!"
Seo Baek-jung clung to Geom Mugeuk's pants, pleading desperately while sobbing.
"This is troublesome," Geom Mugeuk muttered, his expression one of feigned reluctance.
Bih Sa-in’s predictions had been spot on, down to the last detail.
Finally, Geom Mugeuk spoke, pretending to be unable to refuse.
"Fine, but on one condition."
"Name it."
"Your son will go to the dungeon. As long as the Heavenly Flower Sect’s loyalty remains unwavering, we will postpone the execution."
It wasn’t forgiveness. The dungeon of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult was a place of torment far worse than death.
Seo Cheong, upon hearing this, began to panic and throw another tantrum.
"Spare me! Why me? Why should I be punished just for killing a few insignificant people? Father, save me!"
Having lived his whole life as an arrogant tyrant in a little space catered to him, Seo Cheong was now, for the first time, facing the true terror of the real world.
"You hypocrites! You kill so many people, so why can't I do the same?" he shouted in a frenzied rage.
Seo Baek-jung sighed deeply. It was as if his son was shouting exactly what death itself was whispering into his ear.
Seo Cheong’s fury soon turned toward his father.
"What kind of father abandons his son? And you call yourself a leader of a sect? You wretched fool!"
In that moment, the bond between father and son was irreparably severed.
Seo Baek-jung resigned himself to the situation. Perhaps this was the best outcome for the Heavenly Flower Sect. The sect would continue to thrive, and his son, at least, would still be alive. That was enough. 7
With that thought, Seo Baek-jung calmed his heart.
At that moment, the figure who had remained silent until now—Flash of Light—stepped forward. He approached Seo Baek-jung.
"Leader Seo."
Seo Baek-jung, hearing his name, turned toward him without a second thought.
Swiish!
Slash!
The Flash of Light's sword cut through him in an instant. The strike had been so swift that the blade couldn’t even be seen. 8
No one expected him to kill Seo Baek-jung, so everyone was utterly shocked. Seo Cheong, in particular, was overwhelmed by the shock. He turned pale and collapsed on the spot, fearing that he might be next.
The Flash of Light bowed his head to Bih Sa-in and briefly spoke.
"The Venom Blade was my sworn brother. I will gladly accept the punishment for acting without orders." 9
Even Geom Mugeuk hadn’t known this. When the indifferent heavens turn their gaze to the world, there is no escaping such moments.
Lee Hak-shin, observing this scene, sent a telepathic message to the Blood Heaven Blade Demon.
—Did you orchestrate this situation?
Throughout the day, Gu Cheonpa had been sending telepathic messages and setting up plans, or so the Sword Immortal had thought. To his eyes, the Blade Demon had always been such a person.
—I wish that were the case, but it’s not...
Gu Cheonpa was not one to lie about such things.
The Sword Immortal’s gaze shifted towards Geom Mugeuk.
—It seems I need to live longer.
He belatedly realized that he had been acting according to Geom Mugeuk's will the entire time. 10
—If you keep meddling like that, the younger folks won’t have anything good to say about you.
—That’s fine.
Thus, the Heavenly Flower Sect was brought to an end.
With Seo Baek-jung dead and Seo Cheong imprisoned, the new leader of Heavenly Flower Sect would soon be someone utterly loyal to the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.
Naturally, everyone’s eyes focused on Geom Mugeuk.
Today, Geom Mugeuk had accomplished everything. He absorbed the Heavenly Flower Sect and made Seo Cheong pay for his sins, leading his father to pay for his own. Standing there with a faint smile, exuding no tension, he seemed like a completely different person.
If anyone claimed that nine out of ten rumors were usually exaggerated, at least the people present would shake their heads and say, ‘The remaining one is Geom Mugeuk’.
Jin Hagun and Bih Sa-in slowly walked toward Geom Mugeuk, standing face-to-face in a circle.
Just like their first encounter, this was the beginning of the first farewell among the three successors in the history of the martial world. 11
1 : You can ask So Yeonrang for the answer ^^
2 : Losing that innocence will hurt, but better for you to uncover his true nature with the help of others than remaining blind for the rest of your life.
3 : In that he is less hypocritical than 80% of the orthodox sects ^^
4 : One time maybe, but twice ? Thrice ? Naaah, that’s an obvious lie since you don’t have schizophrenia.
5 : Can we kill him now ? He’s wasting precious oxygen that could be used for better purposes.
6 : Nono, continue, let it all out. There should be no secrets between us.
7 : Hehehe, it’s too early to be relieved~~
8 : Oh. I expected him to be punished by Mugeuk later, not for someone else to step up so fast.
9 : Ooooh okay. Must’ve been hard to learn of his fate so brutally. I mean, he must've known he had died when contact was lost, but still. F to you and your brother.
10 : Apart from the obvious ‘I’ve been had’, it can also apply to his entire life. Killing evil without caring about their background or status is the same as Mugeuk's new Demonic Path. It’s already hard enough to cull evil, no need to care about pesky politics.
11 : That sentence is totally badass.