Chapter 202. Eight Years of Hardship and Suffering (23)

After everything was over, Woo-Moon spoke.

“I won’t be staying here any longer. It’ll be harder for you if I just keep looking at you in this state. I’m leaving.”

Only then did Woo-Gang nod and open his mouth.

“Thank you. When I’m no longer ashamed... When I pull myself back together and I am once more worthy of being the Palm Martial Emperor’s grandson and your brother, I’ll go find you myself.”

“...I’m leaving now.”

Although they didn’t share any warm words, Bi Yeo-Jeong felt as though the two brothers were being exceptionally affectionate.

After Woo-Moon left, she walked over to Woo-Gang and grabbed him.

“You should get treatment first. Let’s go back.”

However, Woo-Gang refused to let her support him.

Standing on his own two legs with difficulty, he held Bi Yeo-Jeong’s hand tightly.

“Thank you. I’m sorry for showing you such a bad side of me all this time. Just don’t let go of my hand... ever. I’ll handle walking on my own.”

With eyes filled with tears, Bi Yeo-Jeong nodded vigorously.

“Mhmm! Yes, I understand, senior brother.”

***

Si-Hyeon was worried. Her maid, whom she cherished and cared for, had suddenly disappeared.

However, despite the many people searching for her, it took a while until she was found.

In the room of the vice cult leader, who had gone out for whatever reason.

In a state that couldn’t even be called a corpse.

After brutally murdering her, he left a letter on the maid’s body, cursing and denouncing Si-Hyeon for humiliating him, and simply left the shrine.

The news reached Si-Hyeon’s fiance, the Blood Heaven Asura Squadron captain, Hwi Ji-Gang.

“What? The vice leader betrayed us?!”

Hwi Ji-Gang jumped up at his subordinate’s report.

As was the case with every force, betrayal was highly condemned, and this held doubly true for a faith-based organization like the Heavenly Demon Cult. There was only one end for traitors to the cult, and that was death.

Moreover, he had murdered the only person their lonely lord had been close to, and he had done it so cruelly! It was only natural for Hwi Ji-Gang to be enraged.

“Gather everyone immediately! Send the fastest of our homing pigeons to each outpost to block that bastard! We’re chasing after him to kill him!”

“Understood!”

The net had already been spread by Si-Hyeon’s order. The cultists scattered throughout the area would be able to block Bloodrush Archdemon and buy time for Hwi Ji-Gang to arrive.

The Blood Heaven Asura Captain Hwi Ji-Gang used his movement technique to its fullest to chase Bloodrush Archdemon.

‘You bastard! You dare betray our holy cult and our Lord! I will not spare you!’

***

The Allied Forces of Good and Evil gathered their strength and joined forces to attack the Heavenly Demon Cult. With the extermination of the Cruell Sandstorm Riders by the Imperial Government, the North Sea Ice Palace, and the Kunlun Sect, the Allied Forces were able to fight the Heavenly Demon Cult with peace of mind.[1]

As news of Woo-Moon’s survival and return gradually spread throughout the

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, the Allied Forces of Good and Evil sent a messenger to the Baek Family to invite him over.

Woo-Moon knew it was for the best if they stopped fighting against the Heavenly Demon Cult, as they were also in opposition to Martial Heaven. However, he didn’t have any good feelings toward the Heavenly Demon Cult in the first place.

He knew that they were involved in the strange events that led to Si-Hyeon’s death. Whether they wanted to protect her or not, that was irrelevant; the fact of the matter was that she had been living a peaceful life, and the involvement of the Heavenly Demon Cult had resulted in not only her death but also the deaths of the Palm Martial Emperor and the Night Spear Devil.

That led to his wariness of and discontent with the cult. Moreover, although it had not been confirmed with a hundred percent certainty, the Hebei Peng Family was said to have been destroyed by the Cult, and Peng Tianhao had also been killed, causing his negative feelings to deepen.

“Well, I guess I should go and figure out how things are going.”

Woo-Moon considered who he would be taking with him to the Justice Coalition. He was worried about what would happen to the Baek Family while he was away.

If something were to happen again, this time, they could really be destroyed.

However, taking them with him to the Justice Coalition would also be dangerous. It would be the exact same result if they were to lose to the Heavenly Demon Cult while the entire family was there.

Moreover, it was realistically impossible for everyone to go anyway.

‘There’s nothing we can do.’

He couldn’t just stay with them and do nothing just because he was worried.

In the end, he decided to take Ma-Ra and her guards, Eun-Ah, and Yeo-Seol and her entourage. His two disciples, the Song Family Guards, and the Baek Invincible Forged Squadron would not be going with him.

“Cousin Hye-Ryeong seems to have changed a lot. Of course, reflecting on her actions is nowhere near enough to overcome her sin. However, in the current situation, the Baek Family desperately needs the help of people like her. As the head of the family, you should think well about this and find a way to use their power,” Woo-Moon said as Ye-Ye greeted him.

In fact, Ye-Ye was thinking the same thing. She had only been holding herself back because she was worried about how the others—specifically Woo-Moon—would think. Thankfully, Woo-Moon had brought it up first.

Ye-Ye herself actually had a massive grudge against the two sisters, more so than anyone else in her family. After all, it was her father they’d bullied throughout his life. However, seeing that they had indeed changed, she knew that it was for the best if she could use their power,

“Understood, Uncle.”

Woo-Moon smiled warmly and set off towards the Justice Coalition, where they were preparing for a battle with the Heavenly Demon Cult.

***

Upon reports that Woo-Moon’s cultivation may have reached the Paragon realm, the Allied Forces of Good and Evil decided to welcome him with the utmost sincerity.

Even if he wasn’t a Paragon as rumored, Woo-Moon had become the young hero of the entire

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through his feats in the battle against the Black Bull Gang; he was worthy of such treatment anyway.

So, the Allied Forces of Good and Evil selected experts from the Righteous Faction and the Evil Factions’ Hegemon Clan and sent them to welcome him.

The Righteous Faction had sent Elder Dok Bi-Gae of the Beggar Gang, while the Hegemon Clan had sent their Second Elder, Shim Bu-Myeong.

They waited for Woo-Moon in a village in the middle between the Baek Family and the Allied Forces of Good and Evil.

“Oho! Young Hero Song! It’s been a while.”

Dok Bi-Gae greeted Woo-Moon first with a big smile. However, Woo-Moon didn’t remember him very well.

“I, I’m sorry, but I don’t seem to remember...”

The old Dok Bi-Gae quickly cut him off.

“Hahahaha! You don’t know how sad I was when I heard the horrible news that you had died. Thinking of how the rising sun of the Justice Coalition had gone just like that... but I’m so happy that you’ve returned alive!”

As he spoke, Dok Bi-Gae glanced at Shim Bu-Myeong and smirked with satisfaction.

However, Shim Bu-Myeong snorted inwardly.

He could sense the awkwardness and could tell that Woo-Moon didn’t know Dok Bi-Gae that well, if at all.

‘Poor-ass bastard, do you really want to brag about how close you are to a child?’

While it was a little insulting, Shim Bu-Myeong had also been dispatched with orders to maintain a good relationship with Woo-Moon.

“I am Shim Bu-Myeong, an elder of the Hegemon Clan. I am honored to meet the hero who played the most important role in destroying those Black Bull bastards and slayed the Lust Emperor.”

Truthfully, whenever Woo-Moon had first met these people, core members of major powers, he had always been treated quite poorly, ignored, and pushed back. So, when these people he was meeting for the first time pretended to be friendly and complimented him, it felt awkward.

“Ah, yes... ... yes, yes, thank you.”

Seeing Woo-Moon greet them dryly, Yeo-Seol couldn’t help but burst into giggles.

“

Pfft!

”

She felt much more pride when her partner was praised than when she herself was praised. However, she had to maintain decorum, so she looked away to hide the big grin on her face.

The two people who had greeted Woo-Moon in a competitive manner belatedly looked over at Yeo-Seol.

“By the way, Young Hero Song, this lady is...?”

“This is Young Lady Ha Yeo-Seol of the North Sea Ice Palace. We have a... We’re engaged at the moment.”

The moment Woo-Moon answered, their attitudes toward Yeo-Seol changed completely.

“Oho, I was wondering where Young Hero Song found such a peerless beauty!”

“The two of you are a pair that suits each other marvelously! It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that Young Lady Ha is unparalleled under heaven when it comes to beauty, and Young Hero Song’s youthful valor would make even Pan An and Song Yu cry!”[2]

Yeo-Seol felt proud when the two praised her and Woo-Moon, while Woo-Moon’s face turned bright red because of their incessant flattery.

At that moment, he heard Ma-Ra’s voice in his ear.

—Are you happy?

The two before them were really shameless. The fact that they’d been selected to greet Woo-Moon was undoubtedly based on this qualification.

‘Well, he’s a beggar, so it makes sense for him to learn how to flatter others in order to get by. That’s understandable. But... who the hell is the other guy?’

“Then, who are the rest of the people in your retinue?” Shim Bu-Myeong asked.

“These are the Ten Swords of the North Sea of the North Sea Ice Palace. They are Young Lady Ha’s guards, as she is the Little Palace Master of the North Sea Ice Palace.”

The Ten Swords of the North Sea were the North Sea Ice Palace’s representative experts. They were not a force that could be ignored.

“It’s nice to meet you. I’ve heard great tales of your incredible prowess.”

“Seeing you all, I realize that it is not for no reason that the North Sea Ice Palace has been famous for seven centuries.”

The North Sea Ice Palace was considered a foreign sect, as it did not belong to the Central Plains. It also belonged to neither the Righteous nor the Evil Faction; in fact, they were treading the line in-between. For that reason, both Dok Bi-Gae and Shim Bu-Myeong greeted them in a friendly manner.

𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

Through this introduction, the two elders had also gained new information.

The person before them was the Little Palace Master of the North Sea Ice Palace. In other words, the successor of the Otherworldly Ice Fairy Ah Hee had been chosen. Moreover, that successor had come to the Central Plains and was standing right before them!

‘And she’s Song Woo-Moon’s new fiance?!!’

‘So it could be said that both the Baek Family and the North Sea Ice Palace are now the forces of this Song Woo-Moon kid. So basically... he’s already formed his own faction?’

However, there was something they didn’t know yet.

The Baek Family and the North Sea Ice Palace weren’t the only ones that could be called Woo-Moon’s forces. He also held rule over the Heaven Slaying Alliance and the unified Assassin Gate through Ma-Ra. Even though they were not large forces, they were not weak by any means.

In addition, Woo-Moon also had the authority to mobilize the imperial government’s troops as the Martial Subduing General. Of course, they weren’t completely under Woo-Moon’s control and weren’t loyal to him. However, it was still true that he could borrow their power if he wanted.

Dok Bi-Gae and Shim Bu Myeong only knew about a part of Woo-Moon’s forces.

If everything were to be revealed, not only these two but the entire

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would be surprised. As revealed by the destruction of the Cruel Sandstorm Riders, the power of Woo-Moon’s combined allied forces was very much comparable to that of the Hegemon Clan or the Justice Coalition.

Moreover, his personal cultivation was high enough that he could even face these powers by himself, as an individual. If he wanted to, he could defeat the entire Justice Coalition, Hegemon Clan, and the imperial government on his own, as they didn’t have Paragons. Of course, that was assuming Jin Yo didn’t get involved.

Even if all of the Absolute Masters of the Hegemon Clan were to attack him, they wouldn’t be able to defeat Woo-Moon. The same went for the Justice Coalition and the Imperial Government.

That was how strong Woo-Moon was now.

After finishing their greetings, the two elders guided Woo-Moon and his party to the Allied Forces of Good and Evil’s main camp.

At that moment, Woo-Moon suddenly heard something.

“It seems like something is going on.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Woo-Moon disappeared.

“

Huh!

Where did he go?”

At that moment, Yeo-Seol received a voice transmission from Woo-Moon.

“He went that way. Since he heard the sound of fighting over there, he said he would go on ahead and we should follow him there.”

Shim Bu-Myeong and Dok Bi-Gae were dumbfounded at those words.

Woo-Moon had suddenly disappeared before their eyes.

Since a person couldn’t just pop out of existence, it could only mean one thing: Song Woo-Moon was fast enough that their eyes couldn’t keep up with his movement.

‘Is... is he really a Paragon like the rumors say?’

Woo-Moon suddenly appeared where the wounded Heavenly Demon Cult’s vice leader, Bloodrush Archdemon, was about to be caught by the Blood Heaven Asura Squadron.

‘They aren’t from Martial Heaven... so it must be the Heavenly Demon Cult. But this is the territory of the Allied Forces...’

“What is the Demonic Path doing here?”

Woo-Moon’s words were cold and filled with hostility.

1. The original says Kongtong Sect, but the Kunlun Sect was the one to join them. ☜

2. Pan An and Song Yu are among the most handsome men in Chinese history and are often used as a foil to show how handsome someone is. ☜