Chapter 575

The smell of blood hung thick in the air.

That was what the old man thought as he stood beneath the moon in the dead of night.

The inn was too dark to see inside. Not even a lantern had been lit, yet the stench of blood seeped out from within.

“Ha.”

Watching someone, the old man gave a quiet laugh.

“...This is ridiculous.”

He could not see everything happening inside, but he could hear it. He could sense it.

The situation within the inn was beyond absurd.

“His disciple is doing something even that bizarre bastard never did.”

Infiltrating a place and massacring everyone inside.

Yoo Cheongil.

That detestable disciple of his would never have done something like that. He would have walked straight in and torn the entire building apart.

That was only natural. It was how the old man had taught him.

“He is better than that fool.”

When it came to surviving in the Central Plains, what that boy was doing was better.

He did not fight battles he might lose.

That was what the old man had realized late in life, and the boy was putting it into practice.

He knew how to use his head.

Yoo Cheongil had not been incapable of thinking.

He simply never felt the need to.

He had possessed talent overwhelming enough to crush the world without relying on his exceptional mind.

But his disciple seemed to be the opposite.

“That strange boy has gained power.”

The old man did not know how Yoo Cheongil had left behind his will and martial arts, but the boy had inherited them and was fighting in an entirely different way.

It was curious.

And at the same time—

“How is he using demonic qi?”

He was using demonic qi.

It was unnatural.

The old man wanted to look more closely, but he could not enter the inn.

That was the agreement.

Having learned something he could not speak aloud, the old man’s eyes hardened.

“...Yoo Cheongil.”

The disciple he had wanted desperately to kill.

Remembering what that man had created, the old man murmured,

“Look forward to it.”

He would take revenge somehow and escape this place.

That was the old man’s wish.

*****

The following day arrived.

Right after killing the surviving Twin Ghost, I had slipped out of the building and returned to the residence.

Then I passed the time as though nothing had happened.

I did not bother cleaning up.

There had not been time, and I was curious.

If I leave everything as it is, how will Sky-Crushing Palace respond?

I had thoroughly thrown their base into chaos.

What would they do afterward?

I received the answer before the sun even rose.

“An attack!”

“Everyone at the inn has been slaughtered...!”

The bodies inside the inn were discovered immediately.

The Demonic Cult moved at once.

The Office of Justice.

Even the Demonic Cult had laws and rules. The Office of Justice was the body responsible for handling internal affairs and administering punishment.

Before long, its people came here as well.

“I am Pa Oyeon, one of the Office of Justice’s Three Justices. I have come to conduct an investigation.”

“I am Bang Seongyeon of the Azure Moon Sect. An investigation? What do you mean?”

He looked formidable.

He appeared to be at least in the peak realm, perhaps beyond it.

“Shortly before dawn, an incident occurred at a nearby inn. Are you aware of it?”

“Yes. I heard.”

Saying I did not know would have been an outright lie.

They had been making a racket for several hours already.

“But why have you come to us over that incident?”

“We came to investigate whether you might have been involved.”

“Us?”

“Yes.”

“...”

It was somewhat rude.

No matter that we were members of the orthodox faction, we were still guests of the Demonic Cult.

And yet he had come here to ask whether we had committed murder at the inn?

He has nerve.

I could have overturned the whole place over that alone, but I did not.

Look at his eyes.

The look in Pa Oyeon’s eyes was the problem.

He has a sound reason to believe it was us.

More precisely, a sound reason to believe it was me.

He had not come merely because I was an orthodox martial artist.

There is someone like this in the Demonic Cult.

I thought I had discarded every prejudice I could, but there was someone more impressive than I had expected.

Regardless of his martial skill, he was simply formidable.

“May I ask why you think that?”

“We are searching the entire area surrounding the inn. In addition, no incidents have occurred within the Demonic Cult recently.”

“So you assume we are the ones most likely to cause trouble?”

“If we are considering outside variables, you honored guests are the only ones.”

“I understand your reasoning.”

The fact that no incidents had occurred recently was important.

“Then could there not be someone who intended to use us as a variable to cause an incident?”

A long stretch of quiet could also mean that a storm was coming.

Someone could have anticipated our arrival and acted accordingly.

“That is correct. We are investigating that possibility as well.”

“Good. And I understand why you suspect us, but—we have no reason to do such a thing.”

What reason would we have to go to an inn and kill people?

“Correct. Which is why we must also investigate whether you might have had a reason.”

“Ah.”

So what he meant was—

“We are already on your list of suspects.”

“That is correct.”

What an open accusation.

Had they found something?

Or had someone fed them information?

There is something.

He had more information.

That confidence in his attitude had to come from somewhere.

Did someone see me? Or did someone advise him to look into me?

I did not know which, but it was an unwelcome situation.

“Fine.”

I did not back down.

“If you want to investigate, then investigate. Is there anything I need to do?”

“Thank you for your cooperation. Please come to the Office of Justice sometime today.”

“We have training at the Cult during the day. May I come after it ends?”

“That will be fine. I will see you later.”

Pa Oyeon bowed and left.

As he and the others departed, the presences around us disappeared as well.

That meant other Cult members had been surrounding us.

I am drawing a lot of attention.

Troublesome.

As I sighed and turned around, Tang Cheonil was staring at me.

“What?”

“What have you done this time...?”

“Nothing. What could I possibly have done?”

“You really did nothing, right?”

“I said I did nothing.”

Why did this bastard refuse to trust me?

“Are you saying I went to the inn, slaughtered everyone there, and came back?”

“...”

“Answer me.”

“Of course not. I know you have no reason to do something like that.”

“Then why are you suspicious?”

“...A feeling?”

“Get down.”

Tang Cheonil immediately dropped into a push-up position.

“Urgh...”

“Why do you keep saying things you do not need to say? Do you want to die?”

“...No.”

“Tch.”

I clicked my tongue once, then told him to get up.

He sprang to his feet, so it seemed his condition had fully recovered.

“Hey.”

“Yes...?”

“If anyone asks about me, tell them I stayed quietly in the residence last night.”

“...?”

Tang Cheonil stared at me with appalled eyes.

His face practically said, So it really was you.

This bastard.

“I never went out, so just tell them the truth.”

“...Understood.”

“Why will you not look me in the eye?”

He was still suspicious of me to the end.

Was I really that untrustworthy...?

...Well.

It is not as if I have done anything especially trustworthy.

I nodded.

That made sense.

Still—

Should I go?

The Office of Justice stepping in was irritating, but I had learned something from it.

Sky-Crushing Palace has definitely dug deep into the Demonic Cult.

It seemed there was an intelligence network inside the Cult working for them.

*****

I headed into the Demonic Cult.

The inside felt somewhat unsettled as well.

“Everyone at the inn was massacred?”

“Why would anyone do something so pointless?”

“Maybe the cook’s food was terrible?”

“Oh, then that would be reason enough.”

The Demonic Cultists speculated among themselves.

Insane bastards.

Who killed people because a cook’s food was bad?

Still—

At least I had not left any traces.

Though I wondered whether leaving something behind might have been better.

Who is it?

Who in this place was secretly working with Sky-Crushing Palace?

Could it be among the younger-generation prodigies?

It was difficult to rule that out. There had already been one.

I glanced around at them.

I excluded the one openly carrying that energy.

It cannot be him.

The possibility that Sky-Crushing Palace had placed someone among the younger generation was comparatively low.

Anyone capable of feeding information to the Office of Justice had to hold a fairly high position.

A person in a high position has been watching us.

That was strange.

I had been checking whenever I could, but I had never seen anyone carrying Sky-Crushing Palace energy.

Then—

Are they not carrying it at all?

If they were working with Sky-Crushing Palace without receiving its energy—

That must be it.

Of course they would be difficult to identify.

It meant I needed to look deeper.

Still turning that over in my head, I arrived at the training grounds.

“It is raining.”

The instructor spoke.

That was the first thing he said after confirming everyone had gathered.

“There is training prepared, but it does not seem particularly meaningful. It is raining, the sky is gloomy, and it would be a waste to spend time on something pointless.”

What does rain have to do with any of that?

Was he the sentimental sort despite his appearance?

That was what I wondered, but—

“So we will hold the ranking matches now. They look more entertaining.”

That bastard had clearly only wanted an excuse.

The grin on his face made that obvious.

Ranking matches?

Was he talking about taking ranking numbers?

I looked at him.

Then—

“All right. Challenge whichever number you want.”

Just as expected, he said it.

They really did everything as simply as possible here.

Did this place do nothing but fight all the time?

What was there to gain from it?

I was about to frown at the meaningless activity when—

“That sounds good...!”

BOOM—!!!

A crushing pressure burst forth.

My eyes turned toward it.

There—

“...Ah.”

Peng Dojin.

He was growling as hard aura surged around him.

“I have been waiting for this.”

His face was steeped in madness.

Was that bastard really from the orthodox faction?

No matter how I looked at him, he seemed better suited to the unorthodox faction.

Why was he that angry?

Before I could understand the situation, Peng Dojin walked forward.

I wondered who he was approaching.

“Hey.”

“Hmm?”

It was not just anyone.

“Come out. I will beat you to death.”

“...Ha.”

Heavenly Sword.

Peng Dojin bared his teeth at Heavenly Sword.