Chapter 549

After we had already obtained a bead, a little time passed.

At most, half a double-hour. Around that much time had gone by.

“How long are we supposed to do this?”

Letting time pass was one thing, but how long was this training period supposed to last?

When I asked Woo Young Jin how much more we had to do, he said,

“It ends when the sun sets. Once night falls, you’re not allowed to be outside.”

“You’re not allowed outside? Why?”

“It’s a law of the Holy Cult. When the moon rises over the Cult, no one may exist outside. That is why only a few guards remain out, and no one wanders around.”

“...You can’t go outside once the moon rises, huh.”

I felt as if I understood something.

This—

[It is indeed related to the Divine Tree.]

“...”

The Heavenly Demon gave me the answer. It matched what I had guessed too.

The Divine Tree I had seen earlier.

And the atmosphere of the Holy Cult, which seemed to be hiding something else besides.

That was probably the reason behind the law he had mentioned.

That was clearly—

An outbreak of evil ghosts.

The Holy Cult’s dense spiritual energy.

The evil ghosts that must have fed on it and grown.

That seemed to be the problem.

No.

Thump.

With my heart trembling, I felt an energy from far away.

This can’t just be called an evil ghost.

I could not even grasp where it was. Everywhere. Or perhaps east, west, north, and south.

An alien force and energy could be felt from every direction.

Something that did not stop at the level of an evil ghost.

A god.

A god-class evil ghost.

I could tell that something worthy of being called a calamity was watching this area.

*****

Rattle.

Rattle.

Rattle.

The sound of something rattling slowly sank into a damp space.

A small sound spread large, covering the space.

And amid that gap, at the center of a place whose location could not be known, there stood an enormous Divine Tree.

If Bang Seongyeon had seen it, he would have raged and cursed, asking what kind of tree this was supposed to be.

Or perhaps he would not have believed it.

A vast tree.

Someone stood before it.

Originally, this was a space where only the Heavenly Demon—

The master of the Holy Cult, the being called Sky, could come.

The one standing there was an unknown woman.

The woman, her face hidden behind a mask, merely looked up at the tree.

Silently, without a word.

Without even making the sound of breath, she simply stared.

Then—

Rustle.

From the Divine Tree, which had almost no leaves left, a single leaf fell to the ground.

The woman watching it picked up the leaf.

“...”

The moment she picked it up, the leaf crumbled away and scattered into the air.

Looking at it, the woman opened her mouth, which had been still until then.

“...The time has come.”

Whoooosh.

Wind blew.

There should have been no passage in this sealed space, yet somehow, wind blew through it.

“The key must have arrived.”

The woman murmured.

The key.

It seemed that had returned to this land.

*****

Kugung—! Kugugung!

“Aaagh!”

“Kuaaagh!”

Screams rang out along with rough explosions. People rolled across the ground from the impact.

They were martial artists wearing the Holy Cult’s martial uniforms. I approached the ones who had staggered and collapsed.

“Bead.”

“Krr... kh...!”

At my words, the young man’s face twisted.

“I don’t have one...! It was taken from me long ago.”

“Bead.”

“I said I don’t have one!”

“If I search you and find it, I’ll break another bead, all right? Choose carefully.”

“...”

The young man flinched at my words, and before long, handed me the bead. His face was full of resentment.

“How did you know I had it...?”

At those words, I put away the bead and looked at him.

“People hiding something important have tells. Their pupils shake, or they unconsciously try to cover something while moving. Especially when facing someone strong, they become more guarded, so it shows. That’s how I knew.”

“...You checked all of that?”

“No. Honestly, I guessed.”

“You crazy...!”

It was a joke. I had already figured out from his behavior that he had it, but there was no need to explain all of that in detail.

Nor any need to teach him.

Or maybe not. I had already told him, so whether he believed it or not was his business.

“Why...! You should already have a bead...! Why are you taking ours?”

“Hm?”

I tilted my head at his words.

Why was I taking it?

Why was he asking something so simple?

“The rules were made so that beads could be taken, so why ask why I’m taking them? Why ask such a meaningless question?”

“...Krr.”

Two beads meant you passed?

What a ridiculous idea.

In the Holy Cult’s world, where strength was everything, telling people to steal beads meant—

More.

It was a task meant to make them take far more.

That much was obvious.

“You don’t have that much time, do you? You should hurry up and move. You’ll fail like this.”

“Damn it...!”

The two who had ambushed me hurriedly disappeared. I had not touched their joints or anything of the sort, so they should have no issue going to fight again.

As I watched them vanish, Woo Young Jin, who had been observing, spoke.

“I don’t understand.”

“What?”

“Why let them go? It would be easier if you broke one part of them.”

“What kind of violent thing is that to say? A person shouldn’t be so ignorant and cruel.”

“...Is that something a bastard who steals every bead he sees should say?”

“I pursue peace in my own way. If they don’t touch me first, I don’t touch them.”

“They didn’t touch you.”

“If they circle around nearby, that means they’re preparing to ambush me. I struck first.”

“You just said you don’t touch people first...”

“Why do you talk so much? That’ll make you unpopular.”

“...”

This bastard...?

I heard Woo Young Jin mutter that quietly.

Ignoring it, I asked,

“How many beads do we have now?”

“Six.”

“Mm.”

It was not a small number, but it was a little disappointing. I would have liked to collect more.

At this point, they won’t even come near me anymore.

Was the armband the problem? Or was it because I had crushed Gyo Yeon? The Holy Cult’s younger-generation prodigies were no longer approaching me.

That was not good. It would be easier to find them if I drew at least some attention. I could feel that they were starting to hide.

Searching for them myself was one option, but...

“That sounds annoying. So what should I do now?”

“What do you mean...?”

“We have to steal more beads. Then we need to find people!”

“...”

At my words, Woo Young Jin looked at me as if he were looking at a madman.

Why? What did he want me to do about it?

I feel like I should at least fill ten.

Instinctively, I wanted to reach ten. That meant I had to encounter people holding beads at least four more times.

Then...

Should I run around myself?

As I was briefly thinking that—

“Hm?”

I felt something.

Where?

Wind blew.

My gaze turned toward a faint floral scent.

It was a familiar energy.

Could this be—

“What are you?”

Someone landed lightly on the ground. I looked over in surprise.

It was Yu Yeon.

She appeared with a subtle fighting spirit around her.

What was with her?

“...”

Yu Yeon looked at me. The one who arrived behind her was Hyo Yeonri, who had teamed up with her.

“...How far are you going?”

Her tired voice reached us, and Hyo Yeonri also noticed us. I saw her stiffen when she saw us.

“...Are you insane? Why did you come here?”

“...”

As if she did not care what Hyo Yeonri said, Yu Yeon took something out from inside her clothes.

Beads.

Three beads.

They were the ones she possessed. She showed me the beads and looked at me.

What was that?

That gaze could not possibly mean...

“...”

I also pulled the beads from inside my clothes.

When I showed her six, Yu Yeon put her beads back inside.

“...Six? You already gathered six... No, why six?”

Hyo Yeonri reacted as if she found it strange, but Yu Yeon came first.

Clack.

She lifted her sword and faced me.

“What? You want to fight?”

Nod.

Yu Yeon nodded.

She wanted to fight?

I had to look at Yu Yeon with puzzled eyes.

That was when—

“No, what are you talking about? That’s different from our plan. You suddenly ran off, and now you want to fight?”

Hyo Yeonri spoke with her face crumpled. Apparently, the two had not agreed on this.

“Why fight? And even if we do, why fight them? If we’re going to collect beads, we can get them from someone else—!”

Whoooosh—!!!

Before she could finish speaking, wind surged.

Energy began to flow from Yu Yeon’s body.

“...”

She seemed serious.

I did not know why she suddenly wanted to fight me, but—

Three beads.

It was not a bad number. If I won here, that meant I would get all of them.

Clack.

I drew my sword.

I could not remember the last time I had sparred with Yu Yeon.

A fight, huh.

It did not seem like a good choice on her part.

But well.

It was Yu Yeon’s choice.

“...No.”

Hyo Yeonri sighed. I saw her stop speaking and lift her fan.

Ah.

First move.

It seemed she mainly used that fan. Seeing that, I asked Woo Young Jin,

“Can you win?”

“...Against whom?”

“That lady over there.”

“If you mean Lady Hyo...”

Woo Young Jin frowned. He seemed hesitant to say anything.

Was she at a level where he could not confidently say he would win? She seemed stronger than expected.

“Then that means you can hold out.”

“I can win—”

“Hold out.”

Whoooom.

I heightened my energy sense.

If I was facing Yu Yeon, there was something I wanted to test, and something I wanted to try.

“I’ll be there soon.”

Crackle, crackle, crackle—!!!!

“...!”

Woo Young Jin and Hyo Yeonri both flinched as they looked at me.

Moonbolt.

The Azure Moon Sect’s energy wrapped around my entire body.

A deliberate state of complete absorption.

I activated it and approached Yu Yeon.

With one step, my vision changed.

After closing the distance in an instant, I thrust my sword.

Shwaaak—!!

Kwajajajak—!!

Sword Aura swept across the ground. It was where Yu Yeon had been, but she was no longer there.

Yu Yeon had already moved too.

She flew toward me. Her sword path was clean and sharp. The trajectory was refined, and its speed was swift.

Swift enough to feel somewhat threatening even after I had reached Moonbolt.

Kwaaang—!

I deflected it with my sword. A faint vibration tingled at my fingertips.

Oh.

The pressure felt stronger than before.

I loaded more strength into my lower body.

Kuguguguk.

I crushed the ground beneath me as I dug in. Using Sword Aura, I guided out a crescent moon.

In the late afternoon, I drew a half moon.

I dug in toward Yu Yeon once again. Just as I thought I should strike her arm away like this—

Shwaaak.

“Hm?”

Something passed by.

Drip.

“...”

I covered my neck with my hand. A little blood flowed.

Look at this?

I turned around. Yu Yeon stood behind me, and I felt an orderly energy and a strangely subtle atmosphere.

“Ha.”

Seeing that, I laughed.

“...You.”

Step.

I met Yu Yeon’s gaze.

I had been wondering where I had felt this sensation before.

“Body-and-sword unity?”

“...”

Body-and-sword unity.

Yu Yeon had stepped into that realm.

Astonishingly.