Chapter 678

It was a relief that the Southern Heaven Demon Empress was nowhere in sight. But there were two Supreme Peak masters here.

Damn it. I don’t know.

Was I lucky, or was I screwed?

Whoosh—KWA-BOOM!

I dodged a black Fist Force by a hair as it shot toward me like a beam of light. I steadied myself and sighed.

“Ah, the code of the martial world lies in ruins. Whatever happened to the noble custom of yielding three forms to a junior?”

“What?”

The squat old man with disheveled hair blinked at me.

What I’d said must have struck him as so absurd that the fist he’d been about to throw after his opening attack lowered instead.

“The code of the martial world? Yielding three forms to a junior?”

I dropped my voice.

“Indeed.”

“Why are you suddenly talking like an old-fashioned gentleman and spouting nonsense? A moment ago, you told one of us bastards to stay out of it while you fought the other.”

“‘Bastards’? Did I say that?”

“Now you’re being polite again. Either talk like you did at first or stick to that formal way of speaking. I can’t keep up.”

“Forgive me. I’m a junior from a much later generation. I failed to recognize my Seniors and was terribly rude.”

I straightened up and even gave them a clasped-fist salute. Confusion filled the disheveled old man’s eyes.

“Now you’re confusing me. Aren’t you Blazing Flame Divine Dragon Jin Taekyung, the Fire King’s heir?”

“I am.”

“Then that means you’re one of those orthodox-faction types. Hearing you go on about juniors is enough to make me sick.”

“What a hurtful thing to say. Aren’t all those who dwell in the martial world fellow martial artists and members of one family? Besides, the Fire Gate Clan has always been a faction between the orthodox and unorthodox sides. We don’t discriminate between the orthodox, demonic, or anything else. We all get along.”

“And yet you’re a pavilion master in the Murim Alliance?”

His eyes had already gone completely off the rails, but at least his brain still seemed to possess a minimum level of function.

A true master, however, kept his composure in any situation. I answered his sharp question without a change of expression.

“I’m actually a double agent.”

“A double agent?”

“Yes.”

“Bullshit.”

“Woof.”

“This is driving me insane.”

“I understand how you feel. But I swear to heaven, every word is true.”

“You little…”

“Did you call for me, Senior?”

The disheveled old man stared blankly at my polite demeanor before opening his mouth with a look of admiration.

“You put your heart into every stitch of that nonsense. In all my years, I’ve never met an orthodox-faction brat like you.”

I scratched the back of my head sheepishly.

“You fucking bastard. Then at least pretend to fall for it out of respect for the effort.”

“You deranged child. I might, if any of it were believable.”

“I’m embarrassed enough already. Shut up, you idiot.”

“……That tongue of yours got awfully rude, awfully fast. I could’ve sworn I was ‘Senior’ just a moment ago.”

“Going senile, old man? You’re a piece of demonic, heterodox trash who should’ve died in the Great Faction War. Who the hell do you think you are, asking to be called Senior?”

The disheveled old man stared at me for a moment as the insults poured out, then chuckled.

“You really are insane. A Disciple worthy of the Fire King.”

“Funny how everyone I meet says that when none of them have ever even seen the Fire King’s face.”

He paused, then let out a short laugh.

“How amusing. Truly amusing. You’ve barely passed twenty, and you dare talk about those days?”

“I don’t think I need to have lived through them to know.”

I shrugged.

“If a bastard like you had met him, you’d be dead. In other words, you were lucky enough to survive by avoiding the Fire King.”

“……!”

“But I think your luck runs out today.”

Swish.

I raised White Flame and pointed it at him—no, at both of them. Heat shimmered above the pure-white spearhead, filled with Scorching Yang Qi.

“The Western Yao Estate. Was that your doing?”

Crack.

The smile vanished from the disheveled old man’s face. He clenched his fist and stepped forward.

“Yes. This old man did it.”

“I thought so. Only a lunatic would kill people that way. What about Heugung and Yohi?”

“We’ve kept them safe for now. Once Her Majesty the Demon Empress returns, though, those two won’t have long to live.”

Relief washed over me. He’d confirmed two things himself.

“Thanks for the fucking useful intel. So the Southern Heaven Demon Empress—that fucking bitch—isn’t here. And those two are still in one piece.”

Only then did he realize he’d said more than he needed to. His face stiffened.

“……That changes nothing. Even if Her Majesty the Demon Empress is absent, you will die by this old man’s hand.”

“Then why did you both come? Afraid a kid might kick your ass, so you brought your hyung¹?”

“You fucking brat…”

Step.

He couldn’t contain his anger and took a step forward. It wouldn’t have meant much to anyone watching, but that single step was exactly what I needed.

Now.

In the next instant, though, I had to stop the spear I’d been about to swing with all my strength.

Thud.

A long, withered hand as thin as a branch had caught the disheveled old man’s shoulder just as he stepped forward.

“It’s a provocation tactic. Don’t let that bastard’s three-inch tongue fool you.”

So he finally stepped in.

A cold voice. A cold expression.

Baeksang was about as chilly as a man could get, but the slender old man who’d remained silent until now was something else. No—their temperaments might be similar, but the depth was different.

His composure was as hard and cold as a glacier. So was the martial power within him.

I can’t see an opening.

My instincts were telling me something clear: he was at least my equal, perhaps stronger.

Though I’d been talking to the disheveled old man, my attention had been on this one from the start.

And it seemed my opponent felt the same way.

“Impressive. No, that hardly does you justice.”

The slender old man stepped forward, his admiration difficult to read.

“You unsettled your opponent with a few words, then looked for an opening to exploit. Now I understand why Her Majesty the Demon Empress warned us about you. You have martial prowess beyond your years and a calculating mind besides. You’ll become a great obstacle in time.”

“Am I taking a compliment the wrong way? Because it sounds like you’re saying you’ll kill me.”

“You understood both the compliment and my intention correctly.”

“Since you’ve already complimented me, why not let me pass? Do you really need to pull up a stone?”

“A stone lodged in the middle of the road must be removed if the path ahead is to be smooth.”

“And are the two of you really skilled enough to do that?”

“You bastard! Shut your mouth!”

The disheveled old man’s face twisted at the casual taunt. The slender one answered calmly.

“We’ll have to do our best.”

Damn it.

I suddenly had a feeling—no, the certainty—that this would be an extremely difficult fight.

When a mad dog runs wild, you can beat it down with a club. But an enemy who stays calm in any situation and doesn’t underestimate you is another matter.

Even more so if that enemy possessed martial prowess that was in no way inferior to my own.

One-on-one, in a life-and-death duel, I’d have even odds against him. But he won’t fight me one-on-one.

When the slightest difference can decide who lives and who dies, even a cat’s paw helps. And from what I could tell, the disheveled old man was stronger than Baeksang.

Can I do this? Can I?

The instinctive doubt had barely crossed my mind when—

“Grrrr…”

Muyaho bared his teeth and growled warily. He crouched low, ready to spring at any moment, without the slightest sign of backing away.

Yeah, fuck it. If an animal that can’t even talk is willing to fight, how can I back down?

Only one thing troubled me. I had a feeling I might not be able to protect him this time.

I’m sorry.

“Grrr.”

I couldn’t tell whether the clever White Tiger had read my eyes or understood that I wanted him, at least, to run far away.

But I was certain of one thing.

Either I would die here, or I would kill them.

Whatever happened, I wouldn’t back down.

Step.

“I’ve never heard your names, so go peel those dicks of yours that don’t even get hard anymore and eat them. Then spit out your sobriquets.”

With White Flame lowered at my side, I faced them. The disheveled old man smiled with killing intent.

“Black Hand Fist Demon.”

“Right, Black Hand. Never heard that one before. Guess you really are a nobody.”

“I had my reasons for staying unknown. But now the whole world will hear it—the sobriquet of the man who killed the Blazing Flame Divine Dragon.”

“They’ll hear it without you doing that. Everyone who dies by my hand gets famous.”

I answered calmly, ignored Black Hand Fist Demon as he started to flare up, and turned to the other old man.

But contrary to my wishes, the slender old man met my eyes and gave a small shake of his head.

“An enemy whose sobriquet is known is easy to assess. Isn’t that right, Blazing Flame Divine Dragon Jin Taekyung?”

“……!”

“I know you, and you know nothing of me. One of us will fall here. Come when you’re ready.”

Damn it. This really won’t be easy.

But the die was cast. It was time to see how it landed.

I awakened the fire dragon curled in my lower dantian.

Rumble-rumble-rumble—!

An aura erupted from my entire body like a volcano exploding, shaking the area in every direction. Blue-white flames layered themselves over the transparent spearhead made of Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron, completely enveloping the spear.

Fwoosh. Sizzle-sizzle-sizzle!

The terrible heat burned away poison and evaporated moisture.

As my aura surged, Black Hand Fist Demon’s drunken, unfocused gaze sharpened. A strange light flashed in the other old man’s eyes, which had been frozen like eternal snow.

“Indeed…!”

Swish.

An edged weapon slid from beneath his loose sleeve, gleaming blue. Then—

SHWAAAAAAK!

The twin wheels flew from the old man’s hand, tearing through the air.

Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh!

They ran without stopping.

Three tigers had become two, and five people had become four. Still, they ran. If anything, they had to move faster.

They had come too far to turn back. Doing so now would make his choice and sacrifice meaningless.

And perhaps thanks to him—no, thanks to Jin Taekyung—nothing stood in their way.

The tigers carried the four of them north, then farther north, before the messenger pigeon sent from the Nanman Beast Palace could arrive. The warriors of each tribe were too busy pursuing Jin Taekyung to stop them.

Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh!

They crossed the plains, climbed over mountains, and passed through swamps and rivers.

And at last, the first goal of this short yet urgent journey began to appear.

“There!”

Namho’s shout was directed below the hill.

Far ahead, several hundred Nanman warriors followed one another toward the northern border.

They had finally caught up with the reconnaissance squad. Relief hit them—and with it came the thought of one man.

Jin Taekyung.

Their Pavilion Master, though they had no idea where he was or what he might be doing now.