Chapter 192: Heavenly Orchid Society (4)

Thud.

Dam Bin glanced down for a second at the Vice Leader’s body, which had crumpled to the floor after a pathetic final plea.

Then she quickly turned away with a look of complete disinterest.

'Hayeon's group should be doing fine with that kid leading them.'

She turned her gaze away from the direction Jin Hayeon, Hyeokryeon Seon-ah, and Baek Cheon had headed, and looked toward where Il-mok had gone.

"Looks like the Eighth Disciple has run into the Society Leader."

She could feel it from that surge of energy from earlier.

Even though there was quite a distance between them, the energy wave had been so intense that it reached all the way to her.

'So the rumors were true. Their Society Leader is a bona fide Supreme Peak Realm master.’

She made up her mind in an instant and started heading in Il-mok's direction.

'Even though the Eighth Young Master is starting to get past the Extremity, a master of that caliber might be too much for him to take on alone.'

It is said that achieving Transcendence with high-level Demonic Art enables the practitioner to undergo an Overhaul Body Transformation and step into the Realm of Truth. But for a practitioner of high-level Demonic Art that only mastered the art to Extremity, they are no different from what the people of the Central Plain called Peak Realm masters.

Moreover, most of the cultists struggled with this Extremity stage, with many going mad in the end.

It had nothing to do with talent. You needed an iron will to power through the horrific side effects at that level, and most people just couldn't bear the madness.

A prime example was the Third Young Master, Seo Wan-pyeong. He had reached the Extremity stage in his early twenties thanks to his exceptional talent, but remained stuck there for nearly a decade.

The biggest reason the Third Young Master had been able to break through was thanks to Il-mok's existence.

And Il-mok, the very person who had guided Seo Wan-pyeong’s development, had also begun to move past Extremity at the tender age of eighteen after grasping the basic principle of Force Qi.

But if you look at another angle, the Heavenly Orchid Society Leader was a fully matured warrior who had grasped Force Qi way longer than Il-mok and an opponent difficult for him to handle.

She started heading over to back Il-mok up, just in case.

'...Those kids are a bit scatterbrained, but they shouldn't run into the Society Leader or another Vice Leader, so they should be safe.'

Dam Bin looked somewhere in the distance with a slightly worried expression.

***

At one corner of the Heavenly Orchid Society's massive estate.

"Get out of the way!"

"Haaah!"

"......"

A team of three—a saber guy, a spear girl, and an archer—was making a whole lot of noise as they tore through a mob of thugs.

Or rather, two boisterous individuals and one quiet archer were wiping them out.

All sorts of Qis and arrows flew everywhere, slaughtering about twenty thugs in an instant.

“So where to now, Senior Ouyang?”

The spear wielder asked the saber guy in a cold tone dripping with hostility.

This was a far cry from the usual Ju Seo-yeon, the girl who was normally all bright eyes and "Jin Hayeon this, Jin Hayeon that!"

You'd think they'd have a bond, since they both worship the ground Jin Hayeon walks on, but nope. Ju Seo-yeon absolutely loathed Ouyang Mun.

And, as Jin Hayeon’s number one fan, she’d seen right through him from the start.

Ouyang Mun might look similar to her on the surface, but they weren't the same kind of person.

'That disgusting bastard, how dare he!'

Unlike her own pure admiration for Jin Hayeon, Ouyang Mun harbored filthy lustful desires.

Of course, calling it disgusting or lustful was purely from Ju Seo-yeon's perspective.

Even though Ju Seo-yeon was shooting daggers at him with her eyes, Ouyang Mun was so lost in his own little world that he just answered her cheerfully.

"Obviously we should head toward where Hayeon went."

“I don’t trust your reasons, but I'll accept your suggestion."

Since she was just as desperate to see Jin Hayeon again, Ju Seo-yeon had no problem agreeing with the creep.

Just as the two were about to take off...

"I-I think we should go help the Y-Young Master instead..."

The archer, who hadn't spoken a single word until now, stammered out.

"Miss Jeong, what are you talking about?"

Ouyang Mun and Ju Seo-yeon both stopped in their tracks and stared at Jeong Hyeon in complete confusion.

But Jeong Hyeon had used up her entire day's supply of courage on that one sentence and couldn't say another word.

Ouyang Mun stared at the trembling girl for a second, and then it was like a lightbulb went off over his head.

"Ah! Now I get it! Hayeon will obviously move to help the Young Master. In that case, it'd be much better if we help the Young Master directly!"

Through the energy wave he had felt from the estate’s central area, Ouyang Mun had also discerned that Il-mok had clashed with the Society Leader.

And if he had noticed, then Jin Hayeon surely had as well.

Which meant…

'This is my chance! I'll dive in and get hurt saving the Young Master! Then Hayeon will hold me in her arms!!'

As expected, Ouyang Mun’s head was filled with nothing but thoughts of Jin Hayeon.

'I have to be first! There's no way I'm letting that creep get a hug from Senior Hayeon!'

Unfortunately, there happened to be another crazy person here with the exact same mindset.

"Let's hurry!"

"We absolutely must save the Young Master!"

Jeong Hyeon watched the two of them suddenly get all excited and take off running and finally managed to let out the breath she'd been holding.

"Haah."

She had a thought.

‘N-Next time… I have to a-ask… ask the Young Master to place me in a d-different people.’

Of course, whether she'd ever work up the nerve to actually say that to Il-mok was a whole other story.

***

Meanwhile, the woman that Ouyang Mun and Ju Seo-yeon were desperately searching for was in the middle of fierce combat with her companions.

The scoundrels blocking their path were all executives of the Heavenly Orchid Society who had reached the Peak Realm.

Among them, Hyeokryeon Seon-ah was facing off against a spear wielder.

Clang!

She swung her crimson energy-wreathed right hand, barely managing to deflect the spear crackling with Spear Qi, then launched herself forward.

She was trying to get inside the spear wielder's range.

But despite Hyeokryeon Seon-ah's nimble movements, she couldn't quite manage to break through into the spear wielder's inner range.

Being able to use Fist Qi at her age was a talent worthy of being called a genius, but she was only fifteen years old.

Facing a middle-aged master who had experienced countless real battles as a member of the Unorthodox Faction wasn't easy.

Il-mok's starting to overcome the Extremity stage at eighteen was the only abnormality here. He was just a freak of nature in the context of martial arts.

In fact, the middle-aged spear wielder couldn't even imagine that his opponent was only fifteen.

This wasn’t just because Hyeokryeon Seon-ah was wearing a mask; she had also reached a level that should have been impossible at fifteen.

Clang!

He once again shoved her back right as she tried to dart in and take advantage of an opening.

The middle-aged spear wielder, Jang Sul, silently sighed inside.

It wasn't because of the creepy red lady trying her best to kill him.

'Shit. Where the hell did these experts pop out from?'

And the crazy part was—and he couldn't decide if this was good luck or bad—the red-clad woman he was fighting was the weakest of the three.

“Hahahaha! You really think you can catch me with footwork like that?”

The maniac who'd been chattering nonstop was throwing hidden weapons while darting around just as fast as he talked.

And the saber wielder facing that maniac was already covered in wounds.

He was a tough old bastard from the underworld, so nothing fatal had landed yet, but…

"You bastard!!"

His eyes had already rolled back from his opponent's insults and dirty tactics.

But the guy getting harassed by hidden weapons was actually the lucky one.

"Huff... huff..."

The swordsman facing the ice lady was breathing out little white clouds with every gasp.

This meant the ice technique's cold energy had already penetrated his body.

The swordsman's movements had also become sluggish.

Jang Sul knew from experience that the swordsman would lose his life soon.

'Shit.'

Jang Sul's face contorted.

He was only able to see how bad things were because he was fighting the weakest of the bunch.

At this rate, they were all going to die.

Sensing mortal danger, Jang Sul's mind began digging through past memories to survive and soon a particular memory surfaced.

Ice-wielding woman.

Red-haired lady wielding blood-colored Fist Qi...

"You're Demonic Cult bastards!"

He suddenly remembered some stories he’d heard about the Demonic Cult’s signature Demonic Ars.

The White Hand Demonic Art was a famous Demonic Art, and the Blood Fox Crimson Claw Art was also well-known as a martial art of the Hyeokryeon Family.

And this was Gansu Province, practically a neighbour to Xinjiang where the Demonic Cult was based. Of course, you'd hear stories about them around here.

Hearing Jang Sul’s words, the saber wielder also came to a rough understanding of the martial art used by the lunatic who had been chattering loudly while throwing hidden weapons here and there.

"So a direct descendant of the Five Great Demonic Houses fights this dirty!"

The most famous hidden weapon family in the Demonic Cult was the Baek Family.

But knowing their identities didn't change much.

Actually, Jang Sul had made a huge mistake.

Had he kept the realization of their identities to himself, things might have been different, but he had to go and shout it for the world to hear.

"Uhahaha! What are you talking about! We are Incarnations of Maitreya!"

While Baek Cheon spouted ridiculous excuses and put on an exaggerated act...

"Haah."

Jin Hayeon let out a light sigh and thrust both hands forward, unleashing a massive wave of pure frost from her hands.

"Kraaaah!"

The swordsman, already on his last legs, let out a final scream and swung his sword.

Crack!!

But his sword, which had already taken a beating from her Demonic Art, couldn't handle the chill any longer and just exploded into bits.

After Jin Hayeon's hands broke through the swordsman's sword and touched his chest.

Thud.

With a sickening wet crunch of shattering bone, the swordsman coughed up a lungful of blood and fell.

Witnessing his comrade's fall, Jang Sul gritted his teeth.

'I'll die too at this rate.'

Desperate, Jang Sul gripped his spear tightly and unleashed the life-saving ultimate technique he'd been hiding, trying to push back the crimson woman who kept buzzing around him like a mosquito.

Jang Sul planned to push back that damn bitch and then run. An unorthodox warrior had no obligation to risk his life for his comrades.

But why was it...

Despite the fierce energy erupting from Jang Sul's spear, the crimson woman didn't retreat.

No, she actually threw herself toward the massive Spear Qi Jang Sul had created.

Even facing the sharp, deadly spear energy that could pierce flesh and cut through bone and muscle with just a graze, her eyes held no fear whatsoever.

The only emotion in those eyes was simple.

'My big brother's enemies are my enemies.'

It was nothing less than a blind, fanatical faith.

With movements so bold they seemed to disregard her life, Hyeokryeon Seon-ah finally broke into Jang Sul's inner range.

‘Exterminate.'

In a flash, her red nails plunged into his chest and found his heart.

Crunch.

Even as the sickening sound of a bursting heart filled the air, even after she’d just taken down a master who was way stronger than her, Hyeokryeon Seon-ah turned her head with a completely emotionless expression, already looking for her next target.

"Tsk."

Then a disappointed clicking sound came from her mouth.

The remaining saber wielder was already freezing to death from Jin Hayeon's ice techniques.

"Young Master Baek, clean up those guys trying to escape."

Having already handled the saber wielder herself, she put Baek Cheon on clean-up duty, and he started chucking a storm of hidden weapons.

They couldn't leave anyone alive who knew who they were.

Just as she was getting bummed out that there were no more bugs left to squash for her brother...

BOOM!!

A thunderous crash echoed from the center of the Heavenly Orchid Society's estate.

Right from where Il-mok had gone.