Chapter 170: Byeok Cheon-un (1)
Murder Demon So Mun-yak.
An ambitious figure who ambushed and imprisoned Jin Yeomyung and attempted to expand the influence of the Hidden Shadow So Clan.
“Negotiation, is it.”
Murder Demon looked at the Cult Leader with hollow eyes.
“Should I take that to mean you’re willing to spare our clan?”
Murder Demon wasn’t a fool.
This situation had clearly gone far beyond a mere power struggle between the Six Great Demonic Clans.
No, at its core, it was a situation where he had taken a hit from the Cult Leader before he could even make a move.
“I’m aware that you’ve been cooperating with the Illusion Clan for years, raising a specialized force.”
“……”
“But I also understand that, unlike the Illusion Clan’s rebellion, yours stems from a desire to revive your clan.”
“What is it that you want?”
Murder Demon asked calmly, and the Cult Leader let out a quiet sigh.
“…Indeed, that wretched old man opened a path for you. Had you been part of the House of Slaughter…”
Countless things might have gone wrong, and many sacrifices would have been made.
The Cult Leader mulled those words over in his mind.
There was only one thing he needed to say to Murder Demon now.
“If the youngest of the Jin Clan wins, seal your clan’s gates for three years.”
“……”
After a brief silence, Murder Demon asked,
“What if that brat dies instead?”
“Well, I’m not quite sure what would happen then.”
A slight smirk curled at the corner of the Cult Leader’s lips.
Though he didn’t say it, his intent to never leave the Hidden Shadow So Clan alone was clear.
“Very well. In that case, aside from sealing our gates, what do I and my clan gain?”
“……!”
The heads of the other Six Clans and the elders of the Cheon Clan were startled by Murder Demon’s boldness.
But the Cult Leader nodded, as if he understood his stance.
“In a few years, a new ‘Five Great Merchant Group’ will rise. I’ll grant your clan its management rights. Maybe not all of it, but a substantial portion.”
“Cult Leader!”
Many around them were horrified.
At present, the only Five Great Merchant Group associated with the Heavenly Demon Cult was the Cash Merchant Group managed by the Black Gold Sa Clan.
If another one were to be established, and the So Clan were to hold the largest stake in it, the balance of power among the Six Clans could collapse.
Even the Sword Demon furrowed his brows at that.
“Not a bad offer.”
Naturally, from Murder Demon’s perspective, there was no reason to refuse.
Though it wasn’t martial power but financial power that was being offered, the profits promised by the name of a Five Great Merchant Group were beyond imagination.
Wasn’t it thanks to financial backing that Thunder Essence Fiend Sa Myeongrin managed to push out Jin Gun-ak and claim third place in the Elder Council?
“You seem rather composed. Did you anticipate this outcome?”
“Of course not. But I did expect that brat to bring something decent to the table.”
Murder Demon’s eyes stared steadily at the Cult Leader.
“I just didn’t expect you to mention it on his behalf and take the credit.”
“Hah… Hahaha…”
The Cult Leader, struck right in the heart of the matter, turned his head away in feigned distraction.
“Ahem! So, is it safe to say you’ve made some preparations just in case?”
Murder Demon gave a small nod.
“That woman and I only made a deal because our interests aligned. Once that purpose is served… we’ll go our separate ways.”
It was a chilling statement, devoid of any attachment.
However, beneath those words lay Murder Demon’s hidden intent.
“So, the contract comes to an end…”
“Rather, I’d like to ask you—can I kill her at my discretion?”
“I don’t care.”
The Cult Leader shook his head coldly.
“Her only request was that her younger sister be given a single chance.”
It had been a full twenty years since that promise was made.
The Cult Leader believed he had given her more than enough chances.
If she still foolishly dreamt of revenge, then there was no longer any reason to tolerate her.
***
Over a decade ago, in a snowfield on the outskirts of the House of Slaughter’s territory.
“Find those damned brats!”
“If we kill them, we can leave this place!”
“Search the whole area!”
“……”
In the middle of the snowfield, blanketed in white snow.
So Soryu lay in hiding beneath the snow, waiting for the perfect opportunity.
“Damn it! Where the hell did they go?! In this weather, there’s no way they didn’t leave tracks!”
One of the disciples from the Qingling Sect in Sichuan, kidnapped by the So Clan, cursed under his breath.
“They were definitely around here! No matter how messed up those cult bastards are, they don’t lie during missions like this!”
“Spread out! They’ll be hiding near a big tree or behind some rocks!”
The mission given by the House of Slaughter was simple.
Survive.
So Soryu’s group, the Blue Worms (Cheongchung), had been placed in a scenario where they were retreating after assassinating a master-level expert from the Orthodox Faction.
That master had been protected by five first-rate martial artists.
Surviving for a day against them meant success.
Failure… naturally meant death.
In truth, So Soryu had been rather fortunate in this mission.
The rudimentary Stealth Technique she had learned managed to deceive their eyes.
Because the setting was restricted to the surrounding snowfield, it normally wouldn’t have worked.
However, the ever-changing snowstorms in this harsh environment turned the impossible into something feasible.
As a direct descendant of the Hidden Shadow So Clan and a rising star in the House of Slaughter, she had no intention of enduring the full day in such a snowstorm.
Her Stealth Technique was only at a beginner level.
In these conditions, it could barely last one or two hours at most.
If she remained in hiding until morning, she would be found frozen to death by the instructors.
Knowing that, So Soryu made her move.
“Damn cult bastards… Even their brats are so nasty it’s impossible to deal wi—huh?!”
One of the martial artists, grumbling to stave off the cold, spotted So Soryu as she moved.
“Found one! Here—guh!”
His words were cut short.
So Soryu had darted forward like lightning and plunged the dagger she held straight into his throat.
“Grrk! Kkgh!”
Even for a first-rate martial artist, one unfamiliar with such extreme conditions was bound to show an opening.
So Soryu pulled the dagger from the man's neck and immediately delivered the finishing blow to his heart.
Thud!
“Haa, haa!”
She quickly rummaged through the fallen martial artist’s body.
What made House of Slaughter’s training only close to real combat was the presence of “spoils” from such corpses—something not found in true battlefields.
“…Found it.”
Inside the man’s clothes, there was a hand warmer made of charcoal.
While ordinary people might not last, a martial artist could survive with something like this—a lifeline.
This would be enough to endure until she found her next prey.
So Soryu took the hand warmer and also grabbed the dead man's outer robe, preparing to leave the spot.
But—
“One of the House of Slaughter brats killed Yeonjuk!”
“Everyone, gather! We’ve found one!”
Unfortunately, the dead man’s companion had found the scene far too quickly.
So Soryu immediately attempted to flee.
Fighting would be suicide.
In a head-on confrontation, not even one of them could be handled.
However, even in this blizzard, the light footwork of first-rate martial artists never lost their target once locked on.
Thwack!
The martial artist who had first spotted her dashed in and kicked her side.
“…Kugh!”
With a numbing pain in her liver, So Soryu coughed up blood.
She had barely managed to circulate her qi, so her organs hadn’t ruptured—but if she took another hit, she wouldn’t last.
As she writhed on the ground, four martial artists quickly surrounded her.
“Phew, what a pain.”
“Is this the last one?”
The one who seemed to be the leader shook his head.
“No, there are two left. A big guy and a girl.”
“Damn, if this little one’s this vicious, the rest must be monsters.”
“Let’s kill her quick and go after the others.”
At that moment, So Soryu felt death approach.
Though three were placed into one team, there was no such thing as “cooperation” in the House of Slaughter.
It was pure survival of the fittest.
Even if it meant throwing your own teammate to the wolves—or rather, especially if you threw your teammate as bait—only then could you survive in the House of Slaughter.
But then—
Thud!
“…Huh?”
Thump!
Suddenly, the leader of the group collapsed forward.
“What the—?!”
The martial artists weren’t careless.
They had already lost one of their own to an ambush and were extremely vigilant.
And yet… he died.
So Soryu recognized the technique used to kill the leader.
‘Silver Shadow Dagger… Silent Sound Dagger.’
A high-level assassination skill only someone at the instructor level could perform.
While it didn’t completely eliminate sound, in a blizzard like this, it could be used to almost perfectly muffle noise.
Among the current “larvae” of the House of Slaughter, there was only one who could use the Silent Sound Dagger.
‘Oppa…’
So Soryu realized her idol had come to save her.
But—
“He’s to the south! Focus your guard in that direction!”
“There’s only one of them. If there were two, he wouldn’t strike like this!”
The remaining three martial artists carefully prepared for the next ambush.
‘Why… Why would you take such a risk… for someone like me…?’
A killing move like the Silent Sound Dagger was meant to be used when the enemy was distant.
Using it in close quarters like this was reckless—it risked exposing one’s own position.
So Soryu realized Byeok Cheon-un had overextended himself to save her.
“There! Get him!”
The remaining martial artists ignored her and sprinted off in another direction.
Not long after—
“Are you alright, junior sister?”
Covered in blood from head to toe, Byeok Cheon-un smiled as he lifted So Soryu onto his back.
“O… Oppa.”
“Yes. I’m here now. Don’t worry anymore.”
Though he was smiling, So Soryu couldn’t bring herself to smile back.
Even in this extreme cold, the overwhelming stench of blood meant Byeok Cheon-un had been through a brutal battle.
***
So Soryu had always loved how Byeok Cheon-un threw himself into danger for her sake.
To her, all the other House of Slaughter larvae were nothing but literal insects.
That’s why she had been overjoyed when she learned that Byeok Cheon-un was to be her fiancé.
And that’s why she had been furious when he refused the engagement and was instead sold off to the Demonic Ghost Slaughter Unit.
Before he left the clan, So Soryu confronted him, asking what he didn’t like about her.
—“I like women with big chests.”
It was clearly a poor excuse made up on the spot, but So Soryu had taken it seriously.
At the time, she was rather petite compared to her peers.
Not just her chest—her overall development was behind.
So she turned to every possible method to grow.
After graduating at high speed from the House of Slaughter’s Black Worm rank, she enjoyed tremendous power as a direct descendant of the Hidden Shadow So Clan and heir apparent.
Though it took some time to find a solution, she eventually did.
That solution was none other than the body modification techniques of the Illusion Clan.
Five years ago, when the technicians from the Illusion Clan came to the So Clan to develop the Demonic Soul Soldiers, So Soryu had shamelessly used their skills to satisfy her personal desires.
Thus was born the current voluptuous beauty, So Soryu.
“Now then, Oppa. It’s time for us to become one.”
“So… Soryu…”
Deep within the House of Slaughter’s inner sanctum, in a hidden underground chamber—
There sat Byeok Cheon-un, tied to a chair and drugged with a marriage poison.
“You tried to escape from here? That’s no good, no good at all.”
Of course, So Soryu had seen through his intentions immediately.
She had spent her whole life watching just this one man—there was no way she wouldn’t notice something so transparent.
First, she neutralized his attempt to flee by threatening him with the Yin-Yang Peach Blossom Manuscript.
Then, she drugged him with all sorts of medicines to keep him from moving.
“I’m sorry, but it was part of my deal with the Murder Demon. As long as I keep you tied here, he said he’d recognize our relationship.”
Of course, this meant she would lose her position as the next head of the Hidden Shadow So Clan.
But to So Soryu, that kind of power meant nothing.
All she wanted was a future filled with sweet love with the man she adored.
She tilted her head as she picked up a drug case lying nearby.
“Hmm, it’s my first time using an aphrodisiac… I wonder if it’ll work?”
By “work,” she meant both for him and for herself.
“His resistance is probably too high… Well, whatever. I’ll just use ten times the normal dose.”
Enough to be fatal for an ordinary person.
But for trained assassins like them, it would only be mildly dangerous.
“Come on now, Oppa. Say ah.”
So Soryu, imagining with joy how Byeok Cheon-un would soon become a beast, leaned in to pour the aphrodisiac into his mouth—
“Oi. Hands where I can see them.”
…Until a terrifying murderous aura surged from behind.