Chapter 185. Eight Years of Hardship and Suffering (6)

Woo-Moon was handsome, and in spite of his young age, his abilities were outstanding. Barring the mysterious group called Martial Heaven, he was by far the number one expert in the

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𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

After all, there were no other Paragons out in public. And the difference between Woo-Moon and the average Absolute Master was far greater than just the bare minimum needed to win a fight.

Yoon Ha-Rin, who was lost in thought, suddenly remembered something she had heard not too long ago.

‘Oh! Didn’t they say that a new Heavenly Demon has appeared in the Heavenly Demon Cult? I thought that the Heaven Demon’s lineage had been severed... Then, is the new Heavenly Demon also a Paragon? Then, Song Woo-Moon might not actually be number one...’

Smiling at Woo-Moon brightly, as if she was overwhelmed with joy, Princess Mok Yong only belatedly saw Ma-Ra. Surprised by Ma-Ra’s incredible beauty, she felt her heart skip a beat when she saw the two people holding hands.

‘So that woman must be the assassin. I really wanted to believe that their relationship was just a rumor... Damn, it looks like it’s real.’

Princess Mok Yong's face darkened for a moment when she realized that Woo-Moon, her first love, was in love with another woman. However, she quickly shook it off.

‘I just also need to be someone he loves, right? It’s a bit of a shame that I, the future crown princess, am just going to become one of his wives, but well, whatever!’

As she smiled again, a fat soldier who also had a face blackened with charcoal came running while huffing and puffing, clearly out of breath.

“Your Highness, dear lady Princess. Princess!”

“Ah, Yu Mo! You managed to keep up without passing out.”

As expected of someone of her status, Princess Mok Yong had learned martial arts.

Although her cultivation wasn’t very high, since she only practiced martial arts for her health and beauty, it was only natural that she was much stronger and more agile than Yu Mo, who not only lacked any internal energy whatsoever but was also quite overweight.

Yu Mo had been horrified when Princess Mok Yong, whom she had raised from a young age like her own daughter, told her that she wanted to watch the battle up close and planned to hide among the soldiers.

Sadly, in the end, no parent could win against their child, leaving Yu Mo to agree on the condition that she would be by the princess’s side.

Frightened by the battlefield that she was experiencing for the first time in her life, she was amazed to see Woo-Moon fight in the sky, flying around as if walking on solid ground. Finally, she felt the exhilaration of seeing their side win.

Still, that was only for a moment, as Princess Mok Yong left her behind once again and ran off, leaving her to give chase.

Yu Mo moistened the handkerchief she had in her sleeve with clean water mixed with the finest perfume oil and removed the charcoal paint from Princess Mok Yong's face.

“Oh dear, our little Highness. What will we do about your fair skin?”

Princess Mok Yong blushed as Yu Mo wiped her face as if cleaning a child.

“Yu, Yu Mo...!”

Although Princess Mok Yong tried to complain, she couldn’t easily shake off the servant who had raised her like her own daughter.

“No! We can’t! The longer the charcoal stays on your skin, the worse your skin will get. Please stay still.”

“Hmph.”

It was such a cute and hilarious sight that Woo-Moon chucked. The Saber and Battle Emperors burst into laughter, and the Formless Flying Sword Yoon Ha-Rin put a hand on her forehead and shook her head.

One of the more tactless cavalrymen even burst out laughing before freezing and feeling the fear of death upon locking eyes with the infuriated princess.

***

Su Ran, who had been wrestling with information coming from all over, went to bed late at night.

Taking off her long scholarly gown, she lay down on her bed in only a translucent gown that subtly showed the shade of her skin below.

Maybe it was because she was overworking her head, but she had been suffering from insomnia recently, and it was only after tossing and turning for a while that she finally fell into a light sleep.

Then, suddenly, she felt rough skin brushing against her forearm.

‘... !’

Goosebumps rose all over her body. Even in her panic, she pretended to turn over in her sleep as she pulled the rope that was hidden next to her bed, careful not to let the unknown assailant notice.

As soon as she was able to do so, Su Ran opened her eyes and glared at the swine who was trying to get on top of her.

“Young Master Ok.”

Ok Ji-Gyeong flinched at her calm tone.

However, he immediately responded with a sweet smile that he regularly used to try to seduce women.

“I’m sorry for startling you. However, I’ve loved you from the moment we met. I love you, Su Ran...” he said before leaning in for a kiss. However, Su Ran, disgusted, turned her head to avoid his lips and spoke as level-headedly as possible.

“I’m sorry, but I cannot accept your feelings, young master. Please don’t take this any further and leave this place.”

Upon hearing Su Ran refuse him, Ok Ji-Gyeong became furious.

He could feel that the way the three beauties looked at him had changed ever since Woo-Moon had come to his senses and left. Thus, he was beginning to get extremely impatient.

He could feel a sense of crisis looming over him. If things continued like this, he wouldn’t be able to taste even a single one of them, let alone all three. Thus, he hid in the residence of the only one of the three who hadn’t learned any martial arts and was therefore the weakest—Su Ran.

With his pride extremely wounded, Ok Ji-Gyeong’s anger finally got to him, and combined with his impatience, led him to decide to go ahead anyway.

His hand flickered as he blocked her acupoints.

“Well, whatever. Cooked rice can’t be uncooked. Let’s see how stiff you are after this.”

Su Ran was confused for a moment, but then immediately understood what he was after. He was planning to leverage her shame at losing her virginity to him, expecting that after being forced to spend a night with him, she would resign herself to the situation and have no choice but to accept him. After all, if word came out, who would accept her like that?

‘I can’t believe he was such a despicable bastard!’

As Su Ran glared at Ok Ji-Gyeong with a gaze full of contempt, Ok Ji-Gyeong grew even angrier and cursed under his breath before beginning to tear off her gown.

Twang!

An arrow suddenly flew through the air and pierced Ok Ji-Gyeong’s shoulder, causing blood to spurt out.

“How could the final successor of Western Nihility Gate really be so wicked?” Princess Namar said, appearing with a bow in hand and exuding a terrifying bloodlust.

“ARGH!”

Ok Ji-Gyeong let out an ugly scream, fell from the bed, and rolled around on the ground.

“Shut up. Considering your status, I made sure not to hit a bone. Stop whining about a mere flesh wound, or the next one might not be so light.”

Princess Namar lifted a finger and swiftly jabbed out, unlocking Su Ran’s acupoints.

The moment she was able to move, Su Ran scrambled up and wrapped a blanket around herself before covering herself with her long scholarly gown.

“Princess, watch what you say. After all, he’s still the Western Nihility Gate’s successor.”

The faction that the two women belonged to was a force built solely to oppose Martial Heaven, the Heaven Slaying Alliance.

They were an alliance created by those who had been aided by the Western Nihility Gate when the sect was still standing, as well as many of those who had suffered at the hands of Martial Heaven.

Therefore, Ok Ji-Gyeong, who knew the Western Nihility Gate’s martial arts and touted himself as their final successor, was considered special, to the point where they had to be careful how far they went.

Su Ran looked at Ok Ji-Gyeong with cold, disdainful eyes and spoke in an unwaveringly calm voice.

“I’ll let this matter go. However, I hope something this unpleasant never happens again. It’s not appropriate for you to stay in a maiden’s room for long this late at night, so I’ll have to ask you to leave now.”

Although their hearts were burning with anger, Su Ran and Namar held back for the sake of their mission.

Unfortunately, Ok Ji-Gyeong was not the kind of person who could comprehend their thoughts, much less feel any gratitude.

He returned to his quarters, quickly applied Golden Sore Ointment, wrapped his shoulder in a bandage, and ground his teeth while whimpering in pain.

“How dare you subject me, ME, to this humiliation?! Damned bitches, you think I’ll let this go? I’ll make all three of you kneel before me and beg for forgiveness!”

***

“I’m sorry, truly.”

Woo-Moon bowed and apologized before the dead Sect Master Na Ban’s disciple-brothers and Jin Won-Myeong, who stood with sad expressions. Woo-Moon was keenly aware of his responsibility regarding Sect Master Na Ban and his disciples’ deaths. They had only joined the battle due to his request and had lost their lives because of that.

‘I couldn’t protect Mu Bi or Ha Gun-Choong. Moreover, now, Sect Master Na Ban has died because of me.’

He suddenly thought about Mu Bi and Ha Gun-Choong, who had lost their lives at the Lust Emperor’s hand while standing right next to him. Then, he remembered Na Ban’s cheeky grin and his lighthearted attitude.

Elder Na Woon shook his head vigorously at Woo-Moon’s sincere apology.

“Don’t say that, Young Hero. Senior Brother Sect Master fought against the madmen of Martial Heaven in order to carry out the law of the

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We feel honored that he was able to die for a just cause, and I know that he felt the same, so there’s nothing for you to be sorry about. He and his disciples sacrificed their lives to do what was right.”

Sect Master Na Ban had a total of nine disciple-brothers. Na Myeong, the youngest and most affectionate among them, had tears in his eyes.

Woo-Moon couldn’t apologize any further. To do so would be to deny the man’s sacrifice.

Instead, he grabbed Lightflash and drew a long line on the back of his hand.

Although the cut was deep and blood flowed down his wrist, he spoke without showing any pain.

“This scar will serve as proof that I will never forget Sect Master Na Ban’s sacrifice. I swear to be a friend of the Kunlun Sect forever. The enemies of the Kunlun Sect will be my enemies.”

After he finished speaking, Woo-Moon bowed deeply to the Kunlun Sect’s elders, cupping his blood-soaked fist.

“You little brat. Don’t forget what you just said. I’m going to bother you so much that I’ll make you cry in the future,” Jin Won-Myeong said.

Woo-Moon smiled faintly and said his farewells.

After he left, everyone stood in silence for a while. Then, Jin Won-Myeong spoke up.

“Oh, you poor little brats. He’s already gone, and we have to focus on how we continue from now on. First, we need to pick a new sect master.”

“Do you have anyone in mind?” Na Woon asked.

“I do. Him!” Jin Won-Myeong responded, pointing at the youngest of his disciples, Na Myeong.

“A-are you referring to me? Master. I’m not worthy.”

“That brat Na Ban also said the same thing before he became the sect master. How do you know how capable you can be before being thrust into the position? Only after you become the sect master will you know if you’re capable. Stop complaining and do it.”

In the end, Na Myeong had no choice but to follow the words of his master and take on the mantle of sect master. Fortunately, the Kunlun Sect was famed for having incredibly close relationships between disciples. Thus, none of his senior brothers complained; instead, they congratulated him wholeheartedly.

***

After parting ways with the Kunlun Sect, Woo-Moon sat down on a stump of what had used to be a massive tree before lying down on his back.

However, as he did so, Ma-Ra appeared right above him.

His eyes widened as he saw what she was about to do.

“What are you doing, Ma-Ra!”

Woo-Moon grabbed Ma-Ra's wrist as she tried to cut into her forearm with a dagger. She struggled to get away from him and cut herself.

“Why are you doing this? Stop it!”

Then, Ma-Ra gave him a piercing glare.

“Why are you stopping me from hurting my own body?”

“Of course, I have to stop you! You’re hurting yourself!”

“Do you hate it when I get hurt?”

“What do you mean? Of course, I do!”

Ma-Ra turned her gaze to the back of Woo-Moon’s hand, which was still seeping with blood.

“...oh.”

It was only then that Woo-Moon understood why Ma-Ra was acting this way.

She was reprimanding him for his actions.

Just like it broke Woo-Moon’s heart to see Ma-Ra cutting herself and bleeding, it also hurt her when he ended up injured due to his actions.

“I’m sorry.”

He had forgotten that Ma-Ra had been watching him. No, frankly, he just hadn’t realized that she would feel this way.

Ma-Ra continued to glare at Woo-Moon.

“It’s all just excuses. Those who will forget will forget even with a scar, and those who won’t forget won’t forget just because they didn’t have a scar. It’s all just a matter of the heart.”

“Oh...”

Woo-Moon let out a slight exclamation once again. It seemed that Ma-Ra was getting more and more eloquent.

Now, he was angry with himself and couldn’t believe that he had been so careless and foolish.

Did he really not understand Ma-Ra’s feelings? No, he fully understood her point and had known it all too well before he had ever taken such an action.