CLS-Chapter 622

Chapter 622:

“That’s not what I’m trying to say. It’s that everything is falling into place.”

“Falling into place?”

“If we reason logically, it can be understood quite simply.”

“Hm?”

Zhuge Moon-in pointed to those who had collapsed.

“Those people would be impossible to control.”

Wei Jeong-han tilted his head.

“It would be nice if you could explain it in terms that are easier to understand.”

“Yes. So then…”

Zhuge Moon-in cleared his throat lightly and continued.

“Hundred Sword Castle devised a plan to make those people go berserk and bring down the Central Plains. It was a move no one could have thought of. But that had to be done with tremendous risk as collateral.”

“Risk?”

“Yes.”

Zhuge Moon-in’s face hardened.

“This time it somehow ended without conflict, but if those people had attacked Hundred Sword Castle during their rampage, they would literally have been smashed to pieces.”

“Mm, indeed.”

Wei Jeong-han nodded.

Those who went berserk lose their reason. There’s no way they would distinguish between the Righteous Alliance and Hundred Sword Castle when fighting. Naturally, they would rush to kill everyone in sight.

From Hundred Sword Castle’s perspective, they couldn’t help but consider that risk.

“Are you saying that’s why they prepared countermeasures for situations that might arise?”

“Yes. Otherwise it wouldn’t make sense.”

“Hmm.”

Wei Jeong-han let out a contemplative sound while looking at the fallen people.

“Would that be possible?”

“It wouldn’t be difficult. They just needed to find demonic arts that would show weakness to Hundred Sword Castle’s martial arts.”

“Hundred Sword Castle’s martial arts?”

“Yes. Hundred Sword Castle’s martial arts. And that means…”

“Stop.”

Wei Jeong-han cut off Zhuge Moon-in’s words.

“Let’s leave it at that.”

“Understood.”

Zhuge Moon-in didn’t continue speaking.

But everyone present could understand what words were hidden behind that.

‘Wei Yan-ho’s martial arts and Hundred Sword Castle’s martial arts share the same foundation.’

It was only natural.

Wei Yan-ho was the Sword Emperor’s disciple, and the Sword Emperor came from Ten Thousand Swords White Family, the predecessor of Hundred Sword Castle.

Ten Thousand Swords of the Ten Thousand Swords White Family was restructured after the Sword Emperor’s emergence. That meant the martial arts they used as their foundation was precisely the Sword Emperor’s. So the areas where those people sought to gain advantage through martial arts would all return as advantages to Wei Yan-ho as well.

‘What an absurd situation.’

Considering that Hundred Sword Castle’s greatest adversary right now was Wei Yan-ho, it was a ridiculous situation. But how could they have imagined such circumstances?

“Anyway, his luck is fucking amazing.”

Jang-il clicked his tongue.

You couldn’t tell if this guy had good luck or bad luck. Looking at what he experienced, he seemed abandoned by heaven, but looking at the results he produced, he seemed blessed by heaven.

He always fell into the worst situations, but created the best results within them.

‘And the remarkable thing is that it’s not particularly due to his own efforts.’

If Wei Yan-ho heard this, he would probably shout about how much effort he had put in, but Jang-il really thought so.

Take this incident, for example.

If those people hadn’t been weak against Hundred Sword Castle’s martial arts, even Wei Yan-ho wouldn’t have been able to subdue them so easily. Even if he had subdued them, he would have inevitably suffered some casualties, and if he hadn’t suffered casualties, he himself would have had to endure massive damage.

But heavenly fortune upon heavenly fortune overlapped, and he succeeded in cleanly resolving all of this.

“Anyway, really.”

Jang-il kicked Wei Yan-ho with a thump.

Wei Yan-ho rolled around and crashed into a tree.

Watching that scene, Jang-il clicked his tongue. The people of the world needed to see this.

Without a doubt, this incident would spread as talk of Wei Yan-ho’s heroic deeds and such. Having such thoughts made Jang-il’s stomach churn with irritation.

“Great Hero Wei.”

“Mm.”

“What shall we do with these people?”

Wei Jeong-han looked at the fallen people and shrugged his shoulders.

The number wasn’t just one or two. They couldn’t possibly take care of several thousand people.

“I sent word to the Righteous Alliance, so support should come this way.”

“That will take quite some time.”

“Isn’t he the Divine Strategist? He would have already figured out our movements. About now, the support team he sent in advance should be arriving.”

“Certainly.”

If it were someone else it might be different, but if it were Divine Strategist, it was possible. He was always someone who read others’ thoughts one step ahead. Even if Wei Yan-ho failed, support would be needed, and if he succeeded, support would be even more necessary.

“They seem to be coming over there.”

Wei Jeong-han smiled as he looked at people approaching in the distance.

‘Even though he spoke that way, he believed in him.’

If he hadn’t been confident that Wei Yan-ho would resolve this matter perfectly, he couldn’t have sent a support team to arrive at this timing. Perhaps the person who trusted Wei Yan-ho most in the world wasn’t Wei Jeong-han but Divine Strategist.

“Shall we go meet them then?”

“Yes.”

Wei Jeong-han took the lead and began walking. Zhuge Moon-in followed behind him, and behind them, Jang-il grumbled while rolling Wei Yan-ho along.

Mu-san and Peng Dao-ji sighed and followed behind.

“Namu Gwanseum Bosal.”

“Your Buddhist chant sounds a bit different today.”

“Today seems like a day when compassion is needed.”

“Compassion?”

“Yes, compassion.”

Mu-san glanced back slightly. Countless people had collapsed unconscious. From the fact that no one was getting up from their spot yet, their condition was probably quite serious.

‘There will be deaths.’

In the end, it was unavoidable.

He could only hope that resentment over those deaths wouldn’t flow toward Wei Yan-ho.

If you thought about it logically, all resentment should be directed toward Hundred Sword Castle. But humans weren’t such beings. People tend to blame the weak nearby rather than the strong far away.

Of course, you couldn’t call Wei Yan-ho weak, but…

‘He’s manageable.’

He was young, and his background wasn’t that impressive either. Of course, he would rise steadily from now on, but taking out frustrations on Wei Yan-ho would be more comfortable than making all of Hundred Sword Castle an enemy.

Everyone wouldn’t let things flow that far, but…

‘The martial arts are the problem.’

When those people regained consciousness and learned what they had experienced, some would discover that there were similarities between Wei Yan-ho’s martial arts and Hundred Sword Castle’s martial arts.

At that time, how they responded would be more important than anything.

“But there’s one thing I don’t understand…”

“What don’t you understand, benefactor?”

“So, if what that inkwell said earlier is right…”

“Mm?”

“There’s that Sword Emperor’s Manual or whatever.”

“Why are you suddenly bringing up the Sword Emperor’s Manual?”

“Who made that?”

“…”

Mu-san’s eyes widened slightly.

Who made it? Who?

It was something he had never thought about.

“Wouldn’t it be the Heavenly Demon?”

“The Heavenly Demon created demonic arts that are easily subdued by Hundred Sword Castle’s martial arts?”

“As long as they don’t use those demonic arts themselves…”

Mu-san closed his mouth.

It didn’t make sense.

To understand the compatibility of martial arts and create martial arts that would be extremely compatible, you needed understanding of both martial arts. Then did Hundred Sword Castle provide their martial arts to the Demonic Cult side in order to create such martial arts?

‘That’s ridiculous.’

No matter how stupid Hundred Sword Castle might be, they wouldn’t have forgotten that they would eventually have to fight the Demonic Cult. Providing your martial arts to a potential adversary?

Even third-rate martial halls wouldn’t do such a thing.

“And there’s one more part I can’t understand no matter how much I think about it.”

“Let’s hear it.”

“Just when did they start preparing this?”

“…”

Peng Dao-ji shook his head.

“It’s strange. The Demonic Cult and Hundred Sword Castle joined hands decades ago. And they created the Sword Emperor’s Manual… martial arts that look like Hundred Sword Castle’s martial arts on the surface but are actually demonic arts. Hundred Sword Castle spread this, and those martial arts are also subdued by Hundred Sword Castle’s martial arts. Isn’t that right?”

“What’s strange about it?”

“Is this something humanly possible?”

Mu-san couldn’t answer.

“In other words, the Heavenly Demon who presumably created these martial arts now isn’t human. He’s a being who has mastered both Orthodox and Demonic Cult martial arts and can play with both.”

“Because he’s the Heavenly Demon.”

Mu-san’s answer was simple.

Logically, it didn’t make sense. But realistically, it was possible.

The name Heavenly Demon was one that could turn all impossibilities into possibilities.

Couldn’t you tell just by looking at Baek Mu-han’s case?

Baek Mu-han, who competed with the Heavenly Demon for the title of greatest in history. What kind of being was that Baek Mu-han?

Just looking at the current Wei Yan-ho, and just listening to the stories Wei Yan-ho told about Baek Mu-han, he was already a being who couldn’t be called human. It would be more appropriate to call him an immortal.

Wei Yan-ho already had no rivals within the Orthodox faction. Didn’t that guy who knew nothing of humility show both fear and respect whenever Baek Mu-han’s name came up?

Based on his words, Wei Yan-ho wasn’t even a tenth of Baek Mu-han yet.

That was the Heavenly Demon who stood as Baek Mu-han’s equal. If the Heavenly Demon truly existed in the current Demonic Cult, if the Heavenly Demon’s revival had been achieved in some way, then discussing impossibility by their standards might be meaningless.

“That’s exactly why it makes even less sense.”

“…Please speak more clearly.”

“Would you join hands with a Demonic Cult that has the Heavenly Demon?”

Mu-san stopped right there.

Then he looked back at Peng Dao-ji with shocked eyes.

Those words struck right at the heart of the matter.

“If the Heavenly Demon created the Sword Emperor’s Manual, then Hundred Sword Castle must have known of the Heavenly Demon’s existence too. They would have had to provide their martial arts to some degree. Without the name of the Heavenly Demon, they couldn’t have dared create such a situation.”

“…That’s right.”

“But he’s the Heavenly Demon. Even if the Heavenly Demon had only half the abilities we’re thinking of now, Hundred Sword Castle couldn’t handle the Demonic Cult and the Heavenly Demon. Yet they help them conquer the Central Plains? Whose turn would be next?”

“…”

“There’s no competing for supremacy or anything. You’ve been seeing it recently too. How tremendous a being is who exceeds common sense.”

Of course Mu-san knew.

Because he was watching Wei Yan-ho.

“Cooperating with a Demonic Cult that has the Heavenly Demon is impossible. No matter how deep their resentment, they should first inform the Central Plains of this fact and destroy the Demonic Cult. Otherwise, everyone will die.”

It made sense.

Certainly.

“Yet Hundred Sword Castle joined hands with the Demonic Cult. No matter how much I think about it, I can’t understand that choice.”

“Hmm.”

“Moreover…”

Peng Dao-ji paused slightly before continuing.

“If that Heavenly Demon truly exists, why doesn’t he come to the forefront? Even with half his known abilities, the current martial world couldn’t stop him.”

“…”

Peng Dao-ji shook his head.

“There’s definitely something. Something we don’t know about. Looking at the situation, the Heavenly Demon should exist, but when you think about it carefully, the Heavenly Demon doesn’t exist. Like… Yes! Like a ghost, a ghost. Existing yet not existing.”

A chilling feeling came over him.

Existing yet not existing.

That meant…

“Do you think there’s a reason the Heavenly Demon can’t come forward?”

“I don’t know. But one thing is certain…”

Peng Dao-ji turned his head to look at the distant sky.

“What we see now might not be everything. Perhaps already… Yes, it might already be too late.”

“…Amitabha.”

Mu-san’s Buddhist chant, filled with doubt and unease, couldn’t ring out as clearly as usual.