Chapter 214. Nine in the Fifth Place (10)

The Ten Swords of the North Sea, who had been entrusted with escorting Yeo-Seol, had left her side, leaving no one to stand by the Little Palace Master’s side.

Woo-Moon continued.

“You don’t even know what the truly shameful part is; you just bark because you were threatened and beaten. Am I wrong?”

Woo-Moon had likened them to dogs. However, the Ten Swords of the North Sea could not deny his words.

“If you had any complaints, then you should have said them. But at the very least, you should have tried your best in your given mission. Even if you truly couldn’t accept her as the Little Palace Master in your heart, how could you fall short in your duties? If you truly had the North Sea Ice Palace in your hearts and were proud of its heritage, then you shouldn’t have done anything that would disgrace it and lower its reputation.”

Every word out of his mouth was right. No matter how much they disliked Yeo-Seol, she had been appointed as Little Palace Master and it was their duty to treat her as such.

The Ten Swords of the North Sea knelt before Yeo-Seol.

“We neglected our duty and allowed for the Little Palace Master to be captured by the villains. I apologize.”

Then, the other North Sea Ice Palace warriors followed their examples.

“We apologize, Little Palace Master!”

Seeing everyone kneeling, Yu Cho, Jeong Gyeong, and several more of the Snow Flower couples hesitated.

Most of them had been talents who had harassed Yeo-Seol.

‘How can I kneel before that bitch...’

At that moment, Woo-Moon sent a clear voice transmission to all of them.

“Last time I checked, you were also members of the North Sea Ice Palace. Am I wrong?”

Thud!

As his voice fell upon them, so did the pressure. None of them could endure the increased pressure and they were all forced to kneel, even Yu Cho.

Everyone was kneeling before her. When had Yeo-Seol ever seen such a sight? Moreover, there were many among them who had tormented her all this time.

“Y.... you don’t have to go this far. Please go up. It’s fine. So...”

Yeo-Seol fidgeted. Then, she went to the North Sea Ice Palace elders who were kneeling before her and forcibly lifted them up.

While the elders tried to resist, to their surprise, she was actually able to force them to stand. In other words, her cultivation had to be higher than theirs!

‘With this level of strength... isn’t she a Transcendent? And she seems to be an advanced one too!’

Yeo-Seol had never been weak; she had been bullied by her peers due to her meek personality, but she had been a Peak Class martial artist even back in the day. But even so, there was a massive difference between that and the Transcendent realm.

Ah Hee, who had stepped back, called out to Yeo-Seol.

“Yeo-Seol. Use the Divine Frozen Soul Palm right now.”

”Pardon? The Divine Frozen Soul Palm?”

“Yes.”

Following her mother’s command, Yeo-Seol unleashed a Divine Frozen Soul Palm into the air.

A clear white aura emerged from her palm, producing a plume of white vapor that blasted apart everything as it moved forward.

“She’s really a Transcendent!” shouted one of the elders.

While many high-level masters had made their appearance in the

murim

recently, making a Transcendent seem less important, the Transcendent realm was still nothing to scoff at. After all, the North Sea Ice Palace elders themselves were nothing but Transcendents as well!

The disciples of the North Sea Ice Palace looked at Yeo-Seol with new gazes. Then, Woo-Moon sent a voice message filled with bloodlust to all of the North Sea Ice Palace members.

“The entire time I was with her, Yeo-Seol cultivated whenever she had the time. Even though she had never wanted the position as the Little Palace Master, she had to have a cultivation high enough to represent the North Sea Ice Palace. Even though you bastards ignored her and treated her like an eyesore, she still felt a sense of responsibility to her position and worked diligently.”

Woo-Moon’s words touched the consciences of the disciples of the North Sea Ice Palace.

“Moreover, even though she was kidnapped by the enemy because of your indifference, she didn’t say anything. She even stopped me when I wanted to punish you like you deserved. Not just once but several times. Even now, she personally helped the elders up.”

The disciples of the North Sea Ice Palace lowered their heads and remained mute, unable to say anything.

“Remember this. Your Little Palace Master is married to a Paragon. If something like this happens again, it won’t end this easily. I can make your entire sect kneel to me before you can even think of fighting back, and you better not forget that.”

Woo-Moon wasn’t saying he would kill them. He was saying he would make them submit.

It was always easier to kill than to make someone submit, but he didn’t want to destroy them because that would sadden Yeo-Seol. Otherwise, he could simply level the sect to the ground.

Of course, Yeo-Seol had never been in any great danger, and it wasn’t as if Woo-Moon had felt any sense of crisis when she was captured, either.

However, he still couldn’t help but get angry. It was a matter of principle; this was plain and clear dereliction of duty and should have never happened.

Woo-Moon turned around, leaving Yeo-Seol to help each disciple of the North Sea Ice Palace one by one.

By this time, the others’ fights were also over.

The Saber Emperor cut off both of the Soul-Slaying Sword Demon’s arms.

“What a pity. Your father seems to have left you behind and fled alone.”

The Soul-Slaying Sword Demon simply let out a low laugh. Then, his veins bulged out as his body swelled up like a balloon.

“Agh! You fucking bas—!”

BOOM!

The Soul-Slaying Sword Demon exploded and covered the Saber Emperor in bone fragments, bits of flesh, and blood.

With that, the fighting had ended entirely.

While there were a few remnants of the Hegemon Clan left, the imperial government’s forces would soon take care of them.

’Now all that needs to be done is...’

The two advisors of the Justice Coalition walked up to Woo-Moon.”

“Young Hero So... no, Great Hero Song. It’s been a while.”

One of the advisors quickly corrected himself as he was about to call Woo-Moon “young hero” like he used to.

While it would be more appropriate to refer to him as a young hero due to his age, considering his incredible cultivation, the title of “great hero” was much more suitable.

“It’s been a while, Advisor.”

The Justice Coalition was in great turmoil at the moment. Not only had the Sword Emperor, Divine Monk, Hegemon Emperor, and the Soul-Slaying Sword Demon turned out to be members of a mysterious organization, but the Sword Emperor had even killed some of their Justice Coalition members.

The betrayal and confusion the two felt were made even more significant considering how long they’d known him and how much they had trusted him.

Many of those within the Justice Coalition had even clashed during the Sword King and Woo-Moon’s battle, tensions coming to a height as the Sword King had fallen on the defensive and was on the brink of death.

Those who still believed in the Sword King and those who had deep grudges against the Heavenly Demon Cult took the same side and argued that they should help the Sword King kill Woo-Moon.

However, the Namgoong Family, Baekri Family, Baek Family, and Kunlun Sect came forward and took Woo-Moon’s side, joined by the Shaolin Temple and the Wudang Sect, who had their own grudges against the Sword King and the Mount Hua Sect, further inciting the argument.

Right as the Justice Coalition was about to split into two factions and break out in battle, Rear Guard Leader Lee Chung stepped forward and prevented the conflict, making one side firmly stronger than the other.

Stepping forward, he spoke firmly, attesting that he trusted Woo-Moon more than he trusted the Sword King.

That was the end of it. As even the leader of the Rear Guard was on Woo-Moon’s side, there was nothing more the Sword King’s faction could say.

In the end, the Sword King was killed by Woo-Moon.

Woo-Moon looked over at the two advisors.

“From now on, we must fight a new enemy, and that enemy is not the Heavenly Demon Cult.”

***

The child washed his tiny, blood-covered hands in a flowing river.

Watching the blood flow down the river, he muttered to himself, “I miss you...”

Could the Ageless Demon Emperor really not have someone he had loved?

Although he had stopped growing from a young age because he had learned a cursed technique, he, too, had a lover in the past with whom he had shared everything. A person who had accepted and loved him as he was—Namgoong So-Yool.

He could still vividly remember the last day he had seen her. The day that she had taken the Martial Heaven Emperor’s attack on his behalf, she was shattered into pieces, disappearing like dust before his eyes.

It was only thanks to that sacrifice that the Ageless Demon Emperor had been able to meet

him

and stay alive.

“I wonder what he’s doing right now.”

An old daoist who looked more like an immortal the longer one stared at him, with an impressive white beard and a kind smile.

With his arrival, Martial Heaven’s massacre ended. Thanks to him, the Ageless Demon Emperor, the last survivor among those who fought against Martial Heaven, was able to survive and heal his fatal wounds.

“The fact that Martial Heaven failed to destroy the

murim

back then must have been because of him. But then why didn’t he destroy them?”

That day, the Ageless Demon Emperor lost consciousness as he watched the old daoist bring the Martial Heaven Emperor and the Martial Heaven God to their knees for one last time. And when he finally emerged from seclusion after healing his wounds, the

gangho

and the

murim

were going about their business just as before.

Before he knew it, the

murim

had forgotten about Martial Heaven and the various sects were busy fighting among themselves. In the midst of that chaos, Martial Heaven was once again making a plan to wipe out the

murim

and gradually executing it.

As for the Ageless Demon Emperor and the others who had fought Martial Heaven?

They were all forgotten.

In a way, it was only natural. In the end, Martial Heaven was the only one left, and they slowly encroached upon the

murim

, killing all those who knew of their existence or turning them into puppets.

When he woke up, the Ageless Demon Emperor decided to fight Martial Heaven once again.

Although Woo-Moon, a genius and a junior even he was amazed by, had offered to fight alongside him, the Ageless Demon Emperor couldn’t accept it.

He couldn’t share camaraderie with anyone anymore. His fear of losing a friend again was too great.

It... it was still too hard.

”I... I can’t do this anymore. I can’t endure it anymore. I have to end it.”

The Ageless Demon Emperor was consumed by hatred for Martial Heaven.

And after spending a long time with revenge and hatred burning inside of him, he was finally able to sense the presence of his ultimate enemy, the Martial Heaven God.

No matter where he was, he could feel the self-proclaimed God’s presence and he knew where the latter was.

The Ageless Demon Emperor considered it the help of his countless comrades who had lost their lives to Martial Heaven.

‘Thank you. I'll end this now.’

He flew through the air, leaving the nameless stream on an unknown mountain, heading to where the Martial Heaven God lay in seclusion.

***

Dozens of formations had been set up.

However, thanks to the help of his deceased friends, the Ageless Demon Emperor was better than anyone at breaking formations. It didn’t take him long to crack the formations and find a way into a valley filled with flowers and greenery that surrounded a little lake.

The Ageless Demon Emperor’s final destination was an underground room at the bottom of the lake.

Overcome with tension and excitement, the Ageless Demon Emperor opened the door and stepped inside.

‘So he’s not here. Then could he be further below?’

𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

He walked down the stairs, heading to the bottom floor.

Thud... thud... thud...

Water dripped down the ceiling.

Finally, he arrived at the lowest floor.

The Ageless Demon Emperor opened the door and stepped into a huge stone chamber.

Various skeletons hung everywhere.

No... at a closer look, they were not actually skeletons, but shriveled corpses, so dry that they looked like nothing more than bone.

And there were countless of these shriveled corpses, of all shapes and sizes.

Newborns, young children, teenagers, middle-aged men and women, elderly people... There were corpses that seemed to have a normal shape, but also many deformed ones that seemed to belong to hunchbacks and the likes. There were even some that didn’t appear like either men or women—clearly some kind of intersex people.

All of them had spikes driven through their palms and were hanging from the ceiling and the walls of the chamber. There were clear traces that showed various experiments had been conducted on them.

In the center of the chamber was a large platform.

There sat the Martial Heaven God.