Chapter 136: "I Thought I Met the Heavenly Demon"
A young man with two short spears strapped crosswise on his back walked leisurely with his hands clasped behind him.
His gaze was fixed on White Flower House, a tall structure standing in the distance.
"That’s the Hao Clan, right?"
The answer came from behind him.
"Yes, that is correct. That’s the main headquarters of the Hao Clan."
The responder was clad entirely in black, even wearing a mask that hid their face. It gave the impression that a shadow itself was speaking.
"Still… things feel like they’re dragging on, don’t you think?"
"I will relay your orders to expedite things."
"No, don’t bother. There’s no need to rush unnecessarily. If hurrying causes bigger losses, it’s not worth it."
The man muttered to himself and slowed his pace slightly. What he wanted was for everything to be neatly wrapped up by the time he arrived.
"By the way, since this is a courtesan house, there must be plenty of pretty women, right?"
"I’ve made it clear that the women are not to be harmed."
"If that’s the reason things are taking longer, I understand completely. I’ve heard countless times that the women of the Hao Clan are exceptional. I’m looking forward to it."
At his words, the masked figure behind him spoke cautiously.
"It is my duty to report everything to our lord without deception."
"I know. You make it sound as if I’m planning to do something improper. Don’t worry; I’ll set aside the five best ones, so there’s no need for concern."
The masked figure bowed apologetically.
"There’s no need to apologize. Our lord is a vessel of desire, so what can we do? Though, I suppose his subordinates take after him."
A deep desire gleamed in the man’s eyes.
"What about the Murim Alliance and the Black Lotus?"
"They’re too preoccupied with the Zhuge Clan and the Namgoong Clan to turn their attention this way."
"It’s fortunate we can handle the Hao Clan without much trouble. Honestly, these guys have become unexpectedly sharp lately, which has been troublesome."
"Still, losing an organization we spent over ten years cultivating is painful."
As he walked, the man ran a hand over his forehead and shook his head.
"Just thinking about it makes my blood boil. Who would have thought we’d get exposed? I have to admit, the Hao Clan is impressive. That’s why..."
"The risk is too great."
"I haven’t even finished speaking yet."
"You’re planning to take over the Hao Clan. But the Hao Clan cannot be subdued by force. Even the Demonic Cult gave up on taking the Hao Clan by force."
"That’s not giving up. They just didn’t need to. Honestly, if the Demonic Cult wanted to, do you think the Hao Clan could stand against them?"
The masked man made a conflicted expression but eventually nodded.
"Then go ahead and try. But if anything feels off, you must clear everything without hesitation."
The man grinned.
"Consider it a promise."
As he said this, his gaze shifted back to White Flower House, which was drawing closer.
Behind him, hundreds of warriors followed in complete silence and perfect formation.
He didn’t plan to end his night’s work by just taking over the Hao Clan.
After striking here, he intended to move immediately to the Medicine King, then deal a significant blow to the Golden Wall Merchants before retreating.
That was today’s plan.
The rest would proceed after a few days of careful preparation.
"We’ve made sure to deal with the Hao Clan scouts we identified in advance, haven’t we?"
Their group wasn’t just targeting White Flower House; they were also striking at Hao Clan members operating covertly across Wuhan.
"We didn’t have enough time to fully gauge their strength. There’s a chance for unexpected complications."
"This is such a headache. So, do you think we’ll fail?"
"There’s no chance of failure, only casualties."
The man waved his hand dismissively, as if annoyed.
The masked figure closed his mouth and lowered their head slightly.
At that moment, the man suddenly felt a chill run down his spine, causing him to stop walking instinctively.
He reflexively scanned his surroundings.
He wasn’t the only one who felt it. The masked figure and the warriors following behind also came to a simultaneous halt.
"This… what is this?"
"We should prepare ourselves."
At the masked man’s suggestion, the man turned his gaze toward White Flower House and listened carefully.
The sounds of fighting continued unabated. Nothing seemed to have changed on that front. If things proceeded as planned, they would achieve the desired outcome.
The problem lay here.
"It seems… the complication is on our side."
Hearing this, the masked man drew his sword. It was dark, coated to prevent even the moonlight from reflecting off it.
The hundreds of warriors behind him simultaneously drew their weapons, identical to the masked man’s.
"I knew it. I had a bad feeling. Aren’t you glad I brought everyone along?"
"Your insight is truly impressive, Lord So."
Meanwhile, the warriors subtly adjusted their positions, forming a battle formation designed for facing powerful opponents.
The sword formation was divided into two types: one for fighting against many and another for dealing with a few. For now, it had only been prepared to be adaptable to either situation.
The real battle would begin after the enemy made their appearance.
"Now, let’s see who’s the brilliant mind that introduced this variable, shall we?"
The man’s eyes glinted sharply. He didn’t entertain even the slightest thought that this variable might ruin his plans.
"Block them!"
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The clash of steel echoed from all directions. Sparks flew amidst the harsh sounds of weapons colliding.
Blood splattered everywhere, and the screams and cries of battle filled the White Flower House.
The Owner of White Flower House and Hwaryeong were gritting their teeth as they fought off the enemies.
It was clear that Hwaryeong was more skilled than the Owner of White Flower House.
Hwaryeong had mastered the Moon Spirit Martial Arts and had undergone several rounds of hellish training under Byeok Taesan.
The White Flower House was filled with courtesans affiliated with the Hao Clan, but their expertise lay more in gathering and organizing information than in martial arts.
The Hao Clan’s male subordinates were putting up a valiant effort, but the enemies were too numerous and far too skilled.
There were also a few men sent by Yuk Taegu and Jang Gakwoo, along with some unorthodox warriors and wanderers. However, their numbers were too small.
After all, the places they needed to defend were not limited to this single location.
Recently, some Heaven Guard Corps members had been recruited, but they did not reside in the White Flower House.
Hwaryeong gritted her teeth and swung her sword fiercely.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The opponents Hwaryeong was fighting were the strongest among the enemies.
There were five of them, making it impossible for her to quickly take control of the situation.
The Owner of White Flower House was similarly surrounded by three enemies.
Her senses were at their peak today, a lingering effect of having her soul cleansed by Byeok Taesan.
If not for that, she might have already been defeated.
"So, you’re from the Black Axe group!"
At her exclamation, the attacking men sneered.
"Figured it out now? We thought you knew from the start. Well, you’re holding up better than expected. Looks like we can’t subdue you without causing injuries."
The man paused and looked around at the ongoing chaos.
The Owner of White Flower House caught her breath and circulated her internal energy.
She seemed close to collapsing. Glancing at Hwaryeong, she saw that even while fighting five opponents, Hwaryeong was not giving an inch.
In fact, if things continued this way, Hwaryeong might even emerge victorious.
However, at that moment, a group of hostile men stormed up from the lower floor.
"What’s this? You’re still not done here?"
"We’ve killed all the men and captured most of the women! Let’s finish this and leave!"
The man who had been resting scowled.
"Then why don’t you do it? Let’s see if you can finish quickly! The intel was wrong! The Hao Clan’s master is here, and who is this woman? If our plan had been tighter, we’d be in big trouble!"
He shouted in frustration before speaking grimly.
"You didn’t touch the women, did you? Don’t even think about sneaking something—if you’re caught, there’ll be nothing left of you."
"Stop worrying. We didn’t touch them. They’ll be handed over when we’re done. Why risk it? Let’s just finish and move on—we’re not done yet!"
"Fine. Shut up, then."
The man turned to face the Owner of White Flower House.
"Well, given the situation, don’t hold too much of a grudge. In the end, we’ll all have to get along. It’ll make things easier for our Hao Clan leader."
With a sinister and brutal smile, he approached her.
Five more men stepped forward, joining the fray.
The Owner of White Flower House’s expression hardened. Five additional enemies were also approaching Hwaryeong.
From her experience, these enemies became far more difficult to deal with as their numbers grew.
It was clear they had trained extensively in fighting against single opponents in groups.
Just as despair began to creep in, a chilling sensation ran down everyone’s spines.
Everyone froze momentarily in shock.
Then, an overwhelming energy surged upward from below, as if piercing through the ground.
BOOM!
A massive hole was blasted into the floor, and the ceiling was obliterated.
The Owner of White Flower House and Hwaryeong stared blankly at the scene.
They gulped nervously and cautiously approached the hole to look down.
There stood Byeok Taesan.
The tension drained from her body, and she collapsed to the ground.
Turning her head, she looked at Hwaryeong. She had expected Hwaryeong to wear a similar expression, but to her surprise, Hwaryeong remained calm.
"The situation hasn’t been fully resolved yet. I’ll head down and take care of things."
The men she had been fighting and the ones who had come upstairs had vanished without a trace.
However, not all enemies had disappeared. There were still comrades who needed help.
Hwaryeong descended to the lower floor, leaving the Owner of White Flower House to compose herself.
Forcing herself to her feet, the Owner of White Flower House followed her down.
She was the leader of the Hao Clan. Sitting idly in a place like this would be disgraceful.
Byeok Taesan had obliterated the central part of the White Flower House and left the scene.
He had killed every intruder.
Blowing up the central structure had been more of an outlet for his frustration. He could have dealt with the intruders without causing such destruction, but he had chosen to demolish everything on purpose.
After that, his mood slightly improved.
"Maybe I should’ve kept a few of them alive?"
He figured there might have been information to extract through interrogation.
However, Byeok Taesan didn’t dwell on it. There were plenty of enemies left. He could just capture a couple of them from the group over there.
Byeok Taesan walked slowly, letting his aura flow as if unraveling threads from a spool.
There were hundreds of enemies on the other side, and the ones at the forefront appeared to be of considerable skill.
One among them radiated an atmosphere similar to that of Hyeok Ryeon Bigwang, someone he had encountered in the past.
As he walked, Byeok Taesan checked the Soul Augmenting Demonic Art embedded in the gold.
It needed to be fully charged with the art’s energy for proper resonance.
After completing the inspection, he slowly initiated the resonance.
Around that time, the enemies spotted Byeok Taesan.
A man with crossed spears strapped to his back stepped forward and glared at Byeok Taesan, tilting his head in confusion.
"Strange. It felt incredibly dangerous just a moment ago…."
The man scrutinized Byeok Taesan closely.
"But no matter how I look at him, he seems insignificant. What do you think?"
He asked the masked man in black standing behind him.
"I think so too."
"Have you said your final words?"
As Byeok Taesan said this, he extended his hand.
The amplified energy of the Soul Augmenting Demonic Art burst forth, becoming a massive storm.
Boom!
The sound wasn’t particularly loud. Instead, it brought a chilling terror to everyone present.
And just like that, the hundreds of martial artists vanished without a trace.
"I need a bit more practice."
Byeok Taesan muttered as he turned his gaze toward the man with spears and the masked figure.
Initially, he hadn’t planned to touch the two of them. However, his incomplete control over the amplified power slightly grazed them.
The man with the spears lost his right arm, and one of the two spears he carried disappeared.
As for the masked figure, both of his legs had completely dissolved.
Despite losing his arm, the man with the spears didn’t seem to notice. He stared at Byeok Taesan with eyes full of terror.
"How… how is this possible…?"
Byeok Taesan smirked.
"Do you have any final words left?"
He didn’t intend to kill them immediately. He needed to interrogate these two to uncover their backers.
The man collapsed to his knees. Next to him, the legless masked figure writhed on the ground.
"Lord So, you must escape,"
The man with the spears chuckled bitterly.
"It’s useless. You saw it just now. I thought I was facing the Heavenly Demon."
Byeok Taesan’s eyes gleamed at the mention of the Heavenly Demon.
"So, you seem to know quite a bit about the Heavenly Demon."
The man sneered.
"And what if I do? Planning to get an introduction?"
"It’s not just that, you’ve actually seen the Heavenly Demon wield his power properly, haven’t you?"
The man’s expression hardened. He began to sense that something was amiss.
When the man suddenly clamped his mouth shut, Byeok Taesan chuckled softly.
"It seems I’ll have to draw it out."
Hearing this, the man’s expression shifted to one of panic. He exchanged a brief glance with the masked figure.
In that moment, the energy core of both individuals began spinning wildly.
The instant Byeok Taesan realized this and moved to intervene, both of their bodies exploded.
Kwaaaaang!
Chunks of flesh and blood, imbued with a strong energy, scattered violently in all directions.
Naturally, the area where Byeok Taesan stood was also swept by the explosion.
Thud! Thud!
A rain of blood fell.
Amidst it all, Byeok Taesan stood.
Not a single drop of blood or piece of flesh touched him; it was as though the rain deliberately avoided him.
Byeok Taesan muttered quietly.
"These people… their identity grows even more intriguing."