novelraw Chapter 74
Chapter 74
Chapter 74
Danmok Yeon did not think he would lose Cheon Ha-seong. If Cheon Ha-seong had not mastered the Heaven-Shattering Will Art, things would have gone as he thought.
He was confident that if he just put his mind to it, no one in the Divine Cult could escape from him.
Then he belatedly remembered that he had lost Cheon Ha-seong once before.
‘This… could I lose him at this rate?’
He felt a sense of tension for the first time in a long while and performed his lightness skill.
It was to the point where he had even used a cherished talisman to perform the skill.
Since there were almost no cases where he had to use a talisman, it meant this was an incredibly special situation.
‘I have to find him before he gets to the Azure Sea Sect.’
The reason Danmok Yeon was thinking that was because there was something he wanted to teach Cheon Ha-seong.
If one were to think he was doing so out of a burning love for the Divine Cult, that would not be quite right.
Danmok Yeon was a little more interested in the numerous corpses and deaths that would inevitably follow the annihilation of a sect.
If not for a crazy bastard like Cheon Ha-seong, no one would dare dream of such a thing. But that bastard had dreamed of it, and it seemed there was a possibility he would succeed.
How much would all those deaths, and the fear felt by those on the verge of death, help his own power of the arts?
Danmok Yeon's power of the arts used such dark energy as its nourishment.
‘It's not like it's only good for me, though.’
Though no one had said anything, Danmok Yeon, feeling a pang of guilt for no reason, made an excuse to himself.
‘He'll be happy if I tell him I brought the Danmok Demonic Clan bastards, right? Then maybe he'll do as I say.’
Normally, it was not difficult for him to control another's mind with his power of the arts.
Even if the opponent was a martial artist, and even if they were a master, it was possible to some extent. But with Cheon Ha-seong, it did not work.
He desperately wanted to find out what the problem was, but it was still an unsolved mystery.
‘There he is!’
When he found Cheon Ha-seong, having almost reached the Azure Sea Sect, Danmok Yeon was so happy he almost shouted.
[Cheon Ha-seong!]
Danmok Yeon immediately sent a telepathic message.
Seeing him send a telepathic message while simultaneously performing his lightness skill at full power, one could tell how profound his internal energy was.
Cheon Ha-seong had not thought there would be anyone who would send him a telepathic message there. Then he looked back and saw the old senior was following him.
Cheon Ha-seong looked at him as if it were strange, wondering how the person who had disappeared without a word had come here.
Danmok Yeon quickly approached and stopped next to Cheon Ha-seong.
“You truly have no fear. What kind of place do you think the Azure Sea Sect is, to be going there alone? Are you crazy to want to die? If you wanted to go that badly, you could have at least waited for me.”
“How did you know where I went? Why have you followed me?”
“I have my own methods. More importantly, it seems your prediction was right.”
Cheon Ha-seong looked at Danmok Yeon, wondering what he meant.
“The bastards of the So Demonic Clan really did go to the Central Plains. And it seems they have started to cause trouble in various places.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. A person I know told me. It seems things have gotten quite out of hand.”
Cheon Ha-seong had the thought that Danmok Yeon must have a considerable information network. To have already heard news from the Central Plains, it meant he had people planted in various places.
‘As expected of someone who has lived for over a hundred years.’
Cheon Ha-seong thought that if he could just win Danmok Yeon over, he would be a great help.
“So what do you intend to do now?”
“I must go to the Central Plains. I must stop the bastards of the So Demonic Clan. And I must protect the followers of our cult.”
“You're going alone?”
“That is the plan.”
“Then I will go with you.”
At Danmok Yeon's unexpected words, Cheon Ha-seong was startled.
“Why would you do that?”
“I have a debt to repay you. And I am curious about your martial arts. I want to see for myself what the Heaven-Shattering Will Art is like when it is fully mastered.”
“I have not yet achieved complete mastery.”
“It seems so. But you will, soon enough. I can feel it.”
Danmok Yeon looked at Cheon Ha-seong with an unreadable expression.
“And there is one more thing. I want to see the end of the So Demonic Clan with my own eyes. I want to see the downfall of the family that has caused me so much suffering.”
His voice was filled with a chilling hatred. Cheon Ha-seong felt a shiver run down his spine. This man was dangerous. But he was also a powerful ally.
“Alright. Let's go together.”
Cheon Ha-seong made his decision. He didn't know if this was the right choice. But in this situation, he needed all the help he could get.
The two men looked at each other for a moment, then turned and began to perform their lightness skill. Their figures disappeared into the darkness like two streaks of light.
They were heading for the Central Plains. A place of endless conflict and intrigue. A place where the fate of the Divine Cult would be decided.
“And try to learn what I teach you. You should consider what I am about to teach you an infinite honor. I don't usually teach it, but I am trying to do so because I see a sprout in you.”
Cheon Ha-seong wore an expression that asked if he really had a reason to learn that right now.
Danmok Yeon had thought from the beginning that Cheon Ha-seong might come out like this, and the thing he had worried about had happened.
Danmok Yeon's pride was truly hurt, but thinking that now was not the time to be asserting such things, he held it in.
Then he rummaged in his clothes, took out some talismans, and thrust them into his hands.
“I brought these when I went to get the Danmok Demonic Clan bastards. They are talismans I have made over the years. I brought them thinking that you would probably be better off performing the arts with the help of something like this. I absolutely do not give these to just anyone, and each and every one is truly precious, so receive them with a grateful heart.”
Cheon Ha-seong received them, unable to even say thank you. He just wanted to give them back. They were things he hadn't wanted to receive in the first place, but hearing that they were so precious made him even more hesitant to accept. It was because he thought that if they were so precious, it would be better for someone who could use them well to have them.
However, Danmok Yeon, as if knowing what Cheon Ha-seong was about to say, quickly turned around and pulled his hand away.
“The important thing is to hide your form and throw your opponent into confusion. And to create a fog in the surroundings to heighten their anxiety. If you just do a few things that are outside of common sense, your opponent will quickly feel confused. What would happen if a voice were heard from somewhere, but they couldn't tell which direction it was coming from?”
Saying that, Danmok Yeon began to explain without any prompting.
In his own way, he was giving precious teachings, but Cheon Ha-seong had no desire at all to be listening to such things right now.
The thought that he had never experienced something so ungrateful and just plain bewildering would not cease.
However, Danmok Yeon was not one to be easily daunted. He could not give up either.
Once he started talking, it was quite fun. It seemed Cheon Ha-seong had the head and the ears to understand what he was saying.
Taking a disciple, passing on what one had realized over a lifetime to someone, was no ordinary matter. No matter how much he had extended his life with his arts, he could not live forever. He had already extended and extended it to its limit, so the time he had left would be about twenty years at most.
Having already lived for over a hundred and several tens of years, no one would sympathize with him for having only about twenty years left.
However, the person in question, Danmok Yeon, did not feel that way.
He thought that it might be difficult to master the Heaven-Shattering Will Art in the time he had left. To such a person, what would it be like if he gained a disciple to whom he could pass on everything he had accomplished in his life?
Then, even after he died, that disciple would inherit and carry on his martial arts, and his name might continue to remain in the world.
Until now, Danmok Yeon had never made such a thing the goal of his remaining life. But this time, he had become a little interested in it.
The biggest reason he had had this thought was because of the reaction he had felt from the talismans when Cheon Ha-seong had accepted them.
The talismans were reacting to Cheon Ha-seong. No matter how much of his own amazing power of the arts he had infused into them beforehand, it was something that could not be expected if Cheon Ha-seong's own receptiveness was not high.
That meant that if Cheon Ha-seong just learned the method, he would be able to perform the arts easily.
It was the same as how the might each person displays is different even if they learn the same sword form. With the same learned sword form, one person might display the power to cut paper or a strand of hair, another might cut a person's bones and bisect them, and another might be able to cut down a large, thick tree.
The arts were bound to have similar differences, and Cheon Ha-seong had already surpassed the passing mark.
Cheon Ha-seong thought that if he left Danmok Yeon as he was, all of his own plans would come to nothing. He didn't know why Danmok Yeon was doing this, but this was not a matter he could just meekly back down from.
“I am sorry, Senior. But I cannot listen to you right now.”
“Right. Do what you want to do. I am not trying to stop you.”
Danmok Yeon's pride was a little hurt, but he followed Cheon Ha-seong as if it were nothing. And in the meantime, he continued to speak from the side.
“If you just listen, even if you don't understand it right away, it will all be helpful later on. It is an overreach to try and understand everything right now. So at first, just listen with the mindset of taking it all in.”
Seeing him go that far, it seemed he had no intention of stopping.
Cheon Ha-seong let out a small sigh inwardly and decided to accept it, thinking of it as his fate.
“If you attack after making your opponent defenseless, the possibility of the attack succeeding is high, right? But you don't know how high your opponent's martial prowess is, do you? At that time, regardless of the opponent's prowess, you just have to fluster them.”
He was so earnestly saying something so obvious that one could know it without being told. Who didn't know that? However, Danmok Yeon continued in a voice full of conviction, not yielding in the slightest.