Chapter 36: Secret Envoy of the Heretical Sect (1)
However, there was one thing that left me dissatisfied.
I couldn’t understand why Mo Biyoung always challenged me to a sparring match whenever we met.
And it wasn’t just an ordinary spar—it was fierce to the extreme.
Even Jong Seok, a hardened man of iron and blood, had more than once felt a chill run down his spine at the deadly resolve with which she came at me.
"Young Master Jong."
Whenever Mo Biyoung stood in front of me and simply called my name without saying anything else, it gave me goosebumps.
"Um, about today..."
I tried to make an excuse to decline the sparring, but Mo Biyoung cut me off and turned around.
"I’ll wait for you over there."
"Hm."
"Hehehehehe."
The reactions of the three were all over the place.
Jong Munhye burst out laughing, not even trying to cover her mouth, as it was the first time she had ever seen her brother Jong Seok so helpless in front of a woman.
*
Yong Hwarin was writing something on the ground.
Weiji Clan, Lee Woongjang, Bell Spirit Sect, Elder Bang of Haeweol Temple, Gangsun Taoist Pavilion.
No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t figure out any link between these people. It must’ve been something I didn’t know yet, but in the future, Ha Cheolryeong must have visited them while searching for something.
Without that, the Tai Chi Profound Heavenly Sutra would be useless. Yet, there was no way I could ask the current Ha Cheolryeong, who was still just a boy, what thoughts had led him to visit these places.
‘If I can’t figure out what Ha Cheolryeong had thought and discovered, then it’s as if I’ve wasted my past life. If I can’t even manage that, I have no right or qualification to protect my clan.’
Resolving myself, I stared at the names again and tried various combinations.
I racked my brain trying to uncover any connections through the origin of their sects or their current leaders.
Even after half an hour of deep thought, I couldn't catch even a single clue and let out a long sigh.
‘I guess the only choice is to visit the Weiji Clan myself and search for a lead.’
As I thought that, Mo Biyoung and the Two Wook Sword Demons approached, having finished their sparring.
"Young Master, we should be arriving in Zhengzhou by tomorrow. Do you have any plans once we’re there?"
So far, they had followed Yong Hwarin without question, not knowing where he would lead them.
"In Zhengzhou, there’s someone I need to meet. I’ll lead the way, so don’t worry. Also, thanks to sparring with my junior, I’ve realized some flaws in our clan’s martial arts. I’d like you all to help me verify it."
"Really? What is it?"
The Two Wook Sword Demons leaned in closely, showing keen interest.
In truth, they too were top-class experts and had felt something lacking while practicing the martial arts of the Heavenly Central Sect. The higher their cultivation reached, the more something vague and heavy lingered around their hearts.
At first, they thought it was due to their own lack of talent, but after reaching the peak of first-rate martial arts, they realized the problem lay in the martial art itself, not in their abilities.
After that realization, they had stopped training further. They had come to feel that trying to perfect something incomplete would only make the deficiency worse.
But now, hearing that Yong Hwarin had grasped that truth, their hearts began to race.
"I realized that the sword techniques and internal art of our clan’s style are out of sync. That’s what I sensed while learning our martial arts."
Mo Biyoung and the Two Wook Sword Demons looked at each other with shocked expressions. It had taken them fifteen years to realize that, and yet the Young Master had grasped it in less than a year of training. They were astonished.
"And?"
All three of them blurted out the same question at once.
Seeing the way they stared at me, it was clear how much they had struggled with this issue.
"However, the internal technique passed down in my junior’s family fits perfectly with our clan’s martial arts. I was so shocked when I realized it—it feels like a blessing from the heavens. After using that technique, our martial arts' power changed significantly."
Suddenly, all three of them grabbed my arms.
Mo Biyoung grabbed my left, and the Two Wook Sword Demons grabbed my right, trembling with astonishment.
"Is that true?"
Their shaking hands revealed just how surprised they were.
Feeling the depth of their emotions, I nodded.
"Would you like to see?"
Only then did the three of them understand why the Young Master had been constantly sparring and dueling with Jong Seok, day and night.
At the time, they had worried he was overexerting himself.
"I want to see."
Mo Biyoung gripped my left arm tightly.
Then, realizing what she was doing, she lowered her head.
"Sorry, I was just so shocked."
"It’s fine. I understand."
"Here, take a look."
I drew my sword and claimed a three-zhang space around me.
Within that space, I vanished—only the sword remained visible.
And as the forms progressed, their eyes and mouths opened wider in unison.
With every single step, the intensity of my strikes caused the air within a one-zhang radius to ripple.
While others might not have noticed, these three clearly saw how much had changed from the original Soaring Dragon Emperor Sword.
"Ah!"
The Soaring Dragon Emperor Sword I now demonstrated rose and crashed like a wave formed by hundreds of ripples converging into one—a true explosion.
Compared to this, the original Soaring Dragon Emperor Sword was nothing more than a gentle stream. What I now wielded was tightly condensed and explosively timed, making the observers flinch involuntarily.
Mo Biyoung clenched her fists and breathed rapidly.
She felt completely in sync with me, immersed as if she herself were swinging the blade.
The Two Wook Sword Demons were trembling, cheeks twitching.
"Th-this is..."
"Hehehehe..."
Both let out strange laughs, utterly entranced by the swordplay.
After finishing the Soaring Dragon Emperor Sword, I turned to them and said,
"Now, the Azure Bamboo Sword. It’s a defensive sword style, and when properly refined, it becomes an impenetrable iron wall. This too became perfect when I matched it with my junior’s internal technique."
With a simple explanation, I began the forms.
Watching it, it truly looked like blue bamboo swaying but never breaking in a storm.
Seeing how it moved like wind itself—becoming one with it—tears streamed from their eyes before they even noticed.
They were overwhelmed as I brought to life the image they had replayed in their minds thousands of times.
I stopped the sword.
Yet their tears didn’t stop.
A few moments later, as they came out of their daze, I asked,
"Would you like to learn this internal technique?"
All three couldn’t even speak; they only nodded furiously in silence.
At least ten years older than Yong Hwarin, they had turned into children begging for attention.
"Then first, you should thank my junior brother and sister."
The three of them jumped up and bowed respectfully to Jong Seok and Jong Munhye, expressing their heartfelt gratitude with cupped fists.
Jong Seok and Jong Munhye smiled as they received the greeting, and responded in kind with cupped fists.
Afterward, the three sat in meditation like high monks entering deep contemplation, having received the incantation formulas from Yong Hwarin.
Thanks to that, Yong Hwarin, Jong Seok, and the others took turns standing guard for them.
After their realization, Mo Biyoung and the Two Wook Sword Demons swung their swords at all hours without rest.
Even on the road to Zhengzhou, and even atop horses, they kept swinging their hands, pouring their hearts into mastering the circulation of inner power.
Yong Hwarin continued to consider the places Ha Cheolryeong had once passed through, trying out various combinations in his head. Then, a sudden thought struck him, and he clapped his hands.
‘Ah, maybe I’ve been thinking about this all wrong. If any of the places Ha Cheolryeong visited were simply due to past connections, then of course there would be no logical link between them.’
Then he shook his head.
‘If I had known this would happen, I should’ve learned about Ha Cheolryeong’s background and story. If I had, I wouldn’t be struggling like this now.’
It was something he regretted. Even though he knew the future, he couldn’t freely make use of that knowledge, which was frustrating.
As Yong Hwarin entered meditation, Jong Seok took out a pill from his sleeve and handed it to Jong Munhye.
After swallowing it, Jong Munhye entered regulated breathing practice.
Watching her grimace in pain as she circulated her qi made Jong Seok’s heart feel like it was being torn apart.
‘Young Mistress...’
When they had fled, she had been struck by the Purple Lightning Qi of the Blood Demon Castle’s Purple Lightning Blood Demon, Jaegungheon. That energy had remained in her body, torturing her constantly.
The Purple Lightning Qi was a wicked force that could not be neutralized through breathing techniques or medicine.
She had endured that pain for five years, containing it within her body—a testament to her immense willpower.
Ordinary people would have long since taken their own lives from that level of suffering. The medicine Jong Seok had purchased with the money from Yong Hwarin was specially prepared to suppress the Purple Lightning Qi.
Jong Seok had chosen to remain in Pungnyang County as a vagabond and take escort jobs just to afford that medicine.
It was a place full of wandering warriors, which also made it easier to hide their identities.
The Purple Lightning Qi was filled with yin energy, so it had to be suppressed with medicine rich in yang energy.
As a result, Jong Seok purchased every kind of ginseng he could find—ginseng being strong in yang energy—and processed them into medicinal doses for her.
But ginseng was far from cheap compared to regular ingredients. With the money Yong Hwarin had given him, he managed to buy enough wild ginseng to last a few months.
Still, they couldn’t just increase the dosage to ease her pain.
Jong Munhye, as a woman, had an innately yin-oriented body.
Overdosing on ginseng could disrupt her natural yin balance, risking complete invasion by the Purple Lightning Qi. So even if the pain was severe, she couldn’t take too much.
Even with all the inner techniques she knew, she couldn’t expel the Purple Lightning Qi from her body.
There was a method.
But it was practically useless.
There was exactly one inner art in the martial world that corresponded in nature to the Purple Lightning Qi of the Purple Lightning Blood Demon.
It was the famous Violet Mist Divine Art of the Mount Hua Sect.
The Violet Mist Divine Art had different forms from the Purple Lightning Demonic Art, but they shared a similar nature.
However, the Violet Mist Divine Art wasn’t a publicly taught technique—it was passed down only to the Sect Leader of Mount Hua. One had to meet the head of the sect to acquire it.
And since it was a secret art not to be shared with outsiders, it was as good as unattainable.
Each member of the group was occupied with their own goals, staying busy up until their arrival in Zhengzhou.
Mo Biyoung and the Two Wook Sword Demons were almost reluctant to arrive, absorbed in training with the new internal technique.
As they began to feel the kind of power they had seen from Yong Hwarin emerging in themselves, their hearts pounded like when they first entered the world of martial arts.
They deeply wished for another three or four days.
But the carriage had already entered Zhengzhou.
"Young Master, where shall we go?"
After a brief stop at an inn for a meal, the group asked Yong Hwarin. They had come to Zhengzhou to awaken the soul of the old man that resided within Yong Hwarin’s body.
To learn the old man’s identity and absorb his cultivation power, they needed someone knowledgeable in this area.