Chapter 8
“If that is true, what is the problem? If my legitimate heir dares to sleep with some random bastard and the Palace-Guarding Sand disappears, then it is only natural that I can punish her!”
The Cult Leader said this, thinking that Cheon Ha-seong would be intimidated if he spoke to that extent.
“The Young Supreme One is not your property, Cult Leader, so how can you harm her over that? If the wrong she committed was damaging the Cult Leader's honor and authority, then please allow me to take her into my care. Please allow me to leave with the Young Supreme One.”
The Cult Leader was dumbfounded and enraged.
“There is no one who can dare to damage my honor and authority! Who the hell do you think you are, you bastard, to say such a thing!”
As the Cult Leader raged, a colossal energy was released from his body and billowed out. It soon grew so fierce it seemed as if it would tear the very atmosphere to shreds.
Though it wasn't intentional, the energy momentarily released from him reached a level where it could knock down people within a radius of ten-odd zhang*.
[N: 1 Zhang = 3.33m approx.]
In fact, those guarding outside the door collapsed one by one, coughing up blood according to their level of martial arts. Thinking they could lose their lives if they remained in that spot, they scattered in all directions.
Since their duty was to guard the Cult Leader's office, they couldn't go very far, but they moved far enough to preserve their lives for the time being.
They had always been told to do so, as they first had to save their own lives before they could protect the Cult Leader. In any case, this wasn't the Cult Leader being attacked but rather him releasing his energy, so there was no reason to worry about him.
While such a commotion was unfolding outside, the Cult Leader gradually realized the reality of the situation. At first, it had clearly been unintentional. Then, seeing the things around him shake, he realized his energy had been released. At that level, it would have been right for blood to burst from Cheon Ha-seong's nose and ears before he lost control of his body and collapsed. However, Cheon Ha-seong stood his ground, completely unscathed.
‘…?’
It was strange, but thinking it was just a fluke, he continued to emit his energy.
It was then that Cheon Ha-seong opened his mouth.
“Cult Leader, if I can receive three of your moves, please allow me to leave with the Young Supreme One.”
“…!”
The Cult Leader was so angry that he wondered if he had ever been this furious in his entire life.
“What did you just say, you bastard?”
“Exactly what I said, Cult Leader.”
The Cult Leader grew even angrier at his words, which implied that he hadn't asked because he couldn't hear.
Various thoughts ran through his mind. If not for what his daughter had said earlier, he would have cut off Cheon Ha-seong's head right then and there with a single gesture.
Decades ago, he had cut off the heads of hundreds of people with a single gesture.
Even now, if he just made up his mind, it would not be a difficult task for him in the slightest.
He couldn't kill Cheon Ha-seong. If he did, his daughter would not let him be. Yet, he couldn't just let him be either, and it felt like his insides were turning over.
‘Should I spare his life, but make him understand that he is no match for me?’
In the end, deciding that would be for the best, he gestured with his eyes for Cheon Ha-seong to follow.
Seeing him leave, Cheon Ha-seong also followed the Cult Leader.
The Cult Leader spoke to Cheon Ha-seong, who was following behind.
“Do you truly think you can withstand three of my moves, you bastard, that you say such a thing?”
What he had expected was a reply along the lines of, 'Probably not, but I have to try something.' However, the answer that came back completely caught him off guard.
“If it's three moves, I think it might be possible.”
The Cult Leader was so dumbfounded that he stopped dead in his tracks, then slowly turned to look at Cheon Ha-seong.
“You bastard. What did you just say?”
The moment he heard those words, the Cult Leader could no longer even remember what his daughter had said. He was a father, but he was also a martial artist. As a martial artist, what Cheon Ha-seong had said was something he absolutely could not let slide.
‘Yes. In any case, this is the first time Hyo-eun has known a man. Since it's the first time, she might have just been captivated by this bastard, and he might seem like the greatest man in the world to her. However, the world is so wide, how could this be the only bastard who captures Hyo-eun's heart? I will cut off your head on this very spot, you bastard. Then Hyo-eun will be able to meet a man better than you, so it might actually be a good thing.’
From then on, the Cult Leader strode forward without another word.
Cheon Ha-seong also realized that the Cult Leader had firmly made up his mind.
Cheon Ha-seong was not familiar with the geography of this place. Having spent most of his time only at the Martial Arts Academy, he did not know the layout of the place where the Cult Leader lived.
At first, he thought they were heading to a training ground, but the Cult Leader passed several training grounds and kept walking.
As they walked, the number of people coming and going gradually decreased. At first, there were warriors following the Cult Leader, but at some point, even their presence completely vanished. It seemed the Cult Leader had made them stop following.
After walking for a good while longer, a considerably high wall appeared. The Cult Leader didn't even head for the gate; he kicked off the ground right where he was and leaped. Then, he placed one hand on the wall and lightly jumped down.
Cheon Ha-seong, not to be left behind, followed closely and went over the wall.
The wall was much higher on the outside than on the inside, a fact Cheon Ha-seong only realized after he had crossed it.
What had been only about four zhang high from the inside seemed to be at least eight zhang from the outside. Since he hadn't anticipated that at all, he couldn't help but feel like he was falling.
The Cult Leader had not intended that. He only realized the fact as he landed on the ground.
He thought Cheon Ha-seong might fail to land properly and roll on the ground. It wasn't what he had intended, so he didn't feel good about it. He had plenty of ways to crush Cheon Ha-seong from now on, and he didn't want to trample him with such a cheap method.
Wondering if he should wait a moment if Cheon Ha-seong was injured, he turned back, only to see Cheon Ha-seong standing there completely unfazed.
What was even stranger was that when Cheon Ha-seong landed on the ground, he made no sound at all.
Even the Cult Leader, whose internal energy was profound, made a light sound when he landed. But when Cheon Ha-seong landed, there wasn't even a sound.
However, the Cult Leader did not think deeply about it.
‘It must be because I wasn't concentrating, as I was thinking that bastard might get hurt.’
When the Cult Leader glanced over, Cheon Ha-seong was looking around at his surroundings.
He hadn't thought there would be such a vast, empty plain here.
After looking at the place, which seemed to be five or six times the size of the Great Training Ground at the Martial Arts Academy, Cheon Ha-seong fixed his gaze on the Cult Leader.
At that moment, a piercing light shone from Cheon Ha-seong's eyes. A dagger had come flying before him.
The Cult Leader had thrown the dagger to give him a little warning, as he didn't like the sight of Cheon Ha-seong calmly looking around without an ounce of fear.
However, Cheon Ha-seong simply dodged the dagger by moving his upper body slightly, then raised his hand and caught it.
The dagger he caught flew back towards the Cult Leader, then flew past him and embedded itself in a tree.
The dagger penetrated through the large, thick tree, and the tree struck by the dagger shuddered. The Cult Leader thought that even if a dagger penetrated it, a long-rooted tree would not fall, but his prediction was wrong this time as well.
Suddenly, the tree exploded, and innumerable fragments scattered towards him like sharp hidden weapons.
It meant that he hadn't just thrown the dagger and lodged it in the tree, but had already forcefully injected his inner power into it.
It was impossible to gauge just how much inner power had been injected to display that level of might.
It was surprising that Cheon Ha-seong was someone capable of using that much inner power, but the fact that he had injected it in a mere instant was even more surprising.
The Cult Leader waved his hand towards the fragments flying at him.
At that, the fiercely flying objects turned to dust on the spot and disappeared.
‘As expected of the Cult Leader,’ Cheon Ha-seong thought.
The current Cult Leader was known to have personally created numerous martial arts and achieved complete mastery of them, and the followers of the Divine Cult took pride in such a leader.
The Cult Leader's creation and training of many martial arts was, in the end, all part of his effort to master the Heaven-Shattering Will Art in the Martial Arts Academy.
Looking at Cheon Ha-seong, the Cult Leader felt a competitive spirit for the first time in a long while.
He couldn't believe the fact that he was feeling a competitive spirit towards a greenhorn like this, who wasn't even a top-ranking leader of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.
However, along with the thought of when he had last felt this way towards another person, it felt like his chest was boiling with excitement.
Cheon Ha-seong saw the Cult Leader's figure appear before him in an instant. But before he could react to him, the figure vanished. The Cult Leader who had thus vanished reappeared behind Cheon Ha-seong's back.
The Cult Leader, thinking he could now finally teach Cheon Ha-seong a harsh lesson, sent a palm strike flying towards him.
However, he felt no sensation of impact at all. He realized Cheon Ha-seong's figure had disappeared almost at the same time he felt his hand touch nothing.
Because such bizarre things kept happening one after another, it seemed his senses couldn't keep up with the speed.
The Cult Leader suddenly felt a chill down his spine and leaped away. And from the spot where he had been just a moment ago, he saw Cheon Ha-seong shoot up.
Cheon Ha-seong had drawn his sword at some point, and its tip rose up from the ground.
‘He went into the ground? Is that bastard trying to skewer me?’
As furious as he was, he was simply dumbfounded by the fact that he could actually attempt such a thing.
Seeing that the Cult Leader had dodged, Cheon Ha-seong looked at him with an expression of disappointment.
Looking at that expression, it seemed he truly thought it was a waste that his attack had come to nothing.
‘Is he really determined to kill me?’
The Cult Leader, deciding he could no longer go easy on him, swung his hand. With a single gesture, the surface of the ground peeled off and shot into the air. In an instant, an earth wall was formed, blocking Cheon Ha-seong's view.
However, without any sign of fear, Cheon Ha-seong closed his eyes completely. As if he didn't rely much on his eyes anyway, from that moment on, he extended his Qi Sense to its utmost limit.
Before long, the Cult Leader was in front of Cheon Ha-seong and grabbed his wrist firmly, intending to break it.
‘Caught him!’
A look of ecstasy boiled over on the Cult Leader's face. He was reacting like that just from succeeding in grabbing Cheon Ha-seong's wrist. Seeing that alone, one could tell what a bizarre bastard Cheon Ha-seong was.
But at that moment, Cheon Ha-seong stomped his foot on the ground, and both of them were simultaneously sucked into the floor. The Cult Leader had no choice but to let go of Cheon Ha-seong's wrist, and using that opening, Cheon Ha-seong shot upwards first.
‘How is it possible for his combat sense to be this good?’