novelraw Chapter 115 : Turning Point Through Clash (5)
Chapter 115 : Turning Point Through Clash (5)
Chapter 115: Turning Point Through Clash (5)
Deep within the Blood Rock Hall, the main temple of the Heavenly Sound Cult.
In the darkness, seven red candles flickered. Each candle burned a crimson red like blood, chilling the entire room with its hue.
Lord of the First True Army, Gwak Un, sat with the Blood Rock Sword resting on his knees.
Despite being sixty-seven, his back remained straight. Long hair streaked with white draped over his shoulders, and eagle-like eyes flashed between the deep wrinkles of his face.
The crimson robes were spread across the floor.
From the Blood Rock Sword at his waist, a faint red aura rose.
Rustle! Rustle!
Footsteps echoed.
Sasaha of the Lord of the Tenth True Army entered through the door. Her expression was as cold as ever.
“You’ve come,”
Gwak Un’s voice rumbled low, colder than ice.
Sasaha clasped her hands together in the formal Po-gwon greeting.
“I pay my respects to Lord of the First True Army.”
“Stand. There’s no need for formalities between us.”
Gwak Un toyed with the Blood Rock Sword. Its crimson patterns reflected in the candlelight, writhing like a living serpent.
“Ma Ungyeol is dead.”
A blunt, straightforward statement.
Sasaha’s eyebrows twitched slightly.
“I’ve heard.”
“Was it true that Jin Mukgyeol of the Spirit Union killed him? There’s no smoke without fire… Ma Ungyeol’s subordinates were willing to stake their lives saying it was definitely Jin Mukgyeol. Does that make sense?”
Gwak Un’s eyes pierced through Sasaha.
Sasaha lifted her head, showing no hint of surprise in her gaze.
“I’m also puzzled.”
“Puzzled?”
Gwak Un sneered, the corners of his mouth coldly curling.
“Can a Spirit Union martial spirit be transferred?”
“No.”
“Can it be duplicated?”
“No.”
“Can it serve two masters?”
“Such a thing… does not exist.”
Sasaha paused briefly before answering.
Gwak Un rose from his seat. The Blood Rock Sword scraped the floor sharply.
“Then there is only one conclusion.”
He stepped toward Sasaha. A cold killing intent brushed against her skin.
“If Jin Mukgyeol of the Dark Blood Points killed Ma Ungyeol, it is a clear betrayal. The question is… why would the Lord of the Tenth True Army betray? Why?”
Sasaha’s expression stiffened.
Gwak Un’s question was razor-sharp.
“That is….”
“Ah! No need to answer now. Investigation will reveal the truth. This world is strange. No matter how well you hide it, secrets will surface. Remember my words when you think and speak henceforth.”
Gwak Un turned his back. The crimson robes fluttered in the wind.
Footsteps hurried outside. A subordinate of the Heavenly Sound Cult knelt at the door.
“Lord of the First True Army! Report!”
“Speak.”
“The news of Ma Ungyeol’s death is spreading. The temple is in turmoil! The Cold Wolf Sect’s Gugwi also infiltrated the main temple, stealing a Minor Mastery Body and killing Ma Ungyeol. The Lord of the Tenth True Army played a significant role. Is it… betrayal? Such rumors are spreading.”
Gwak Un’s eyes gleamed coldly. He looked at the Lord of the Tenth True Army.
“So it seems?”
The next day, at dawn.
In the main hall of the Heavenly Sound Cult, the bell tolled.
Dong! Dong! Dong!
The heavy toll reverberated across the mountains—a signal for urgent assembly.
All nine remaining True Armies and key officials gathered, except for the deceased Ma Ungyeol, the missing Sa Hyeollin, and the still-vacant Seventh True Army. Tension marked every face.
The gaze on Sasaha, Lord of the Tenth True Army, was not kind.
Gwak Un stood in the center of the main hall.
“Lord of the Tenth True Army, Sasaha.”
His voice filled the hall.
Sasaha stepped forward. Silence descended.
“From today, all powers of the Lord of the Tenth True Army are suspended.”
Murmurs rose.
“This matter is of utmost gravity. The Tenth True Army will be summoned to the Grand Investigation Hall for inquiry.”
Sasaha’s expression remained unchanged. She bowed calmly, accepting the Lord of the First True Army’s order.
“Understood.”
“Until the investigation is complete, all duties are suspended.”
The hall stirred at Gwak Un’s decree.
Each True Army commands its own sky. Even the Lord of the First True Army cannot act freely against the Tenth True Army. Hence, the cult leader summons for the Grand Investigation Hall. Publicly suspending authority was unprecedented.
“Could there be a misunderstanding…?”
A cautious official spoke.
Gwak Un’s gaze fell upon him. The icy stare silenced him.
“Misunderstanding?”
Gwak Un sneered.
“The evidence is clear. The Spirit Union martial spirit of the Tenth True Army killed the Eleventh True Army.”
Sasaha raised her head.
“I will follow the Lord of the First True Army’s orders.”
Her voice remained calm.
Yet the atmosphere of the hall grew heavy. Cracks began to form within the Heavenly Sound Cult.
Whispers spread from every corner of the main temple.
“The Tenth True Army killed the Eleventh True Army?”
“That doesn’t make sense. Could the Tenth True Army do that? No matter how insolent the Eleventh True Army was… this isn’t right.”
“But there is evidence.”
Martial artists walking through the corridors whispered.
“Rumor has it the Tenth True Army has been plotting against the Eleventh True Army for some time.”
“Really?”
“A struggle for power, of course.”
The rumor spread like wildfire.
Meanwhile, voices rose defending the Tenth True Army.
“Sasaha wouldn’t do that. She’s always so cautious.”
“Cautious, my foot! Are you saying someone created Jin Mukgyeol? Jin Mukgyeol ambushed him! An ambush!”
“That… I’m a bit…”
On the other side, voices of suspicion grew louder.
“They say the Tenth True Army colluded with Gugwi… could it really be?”
“I don’t think it’s a maybe. Before… didn’t they go to the Spirit Essence Mine to take the Spirit Essence? Do you believe Sasaha got tricked?”
“So, are they switching sides?”
The Heavenly Sound Cult began to split in two.
Gwak Un listened to all this noise from his room and chuckled coldly.
“Hoho! No matter how much I despise the Eleventh True Army… is killing them like this acceptable? Not like the Tenth True Army. What happened between the two? Still, this isn’t right. How foolish. Hoho!”
His hand caressed the Blood Rock Sword. The red aura deepened.
Sasaha sat alone in her room.
She recalled Ma Ungyeol’s corpse. The wounds on the Gyeonjeong, Gokji, and Danjung acupoints… Jin Mukgyeol’s technique left pinching marks along the acupoints, exactly the same here.
“At this rate… there’s no way out.”
She muttered.
The cause is too clear. Even someone who doesn’t understand martial arts would know this is Jin Mukgyeol’s method.
“Jin Mukgyeol. Come forth.”
Sasaha summoned Jin Mukgyeol.
A spirit draped in robes appeared. Its hands still hung limply at its sides.
“Try attacking that tree. Gyeonjeong, Gokji, Danjung. In order.”
Sasaha pointed to a tree outside the window.
Sssshhh!
Jin Mukgyeol moved.
Fingers shot out like lightning, piercing the tree trunk. The angle was precisely aimed at the back of the neck and shoulder.
Sap flowed from the hole in the tree.
It was identical. The same wounds that killed Ma Ungyeol.
“There’s really no way out of this. Hoo!”
Sasaha sighed.
Jin Mukgyeol never left her. That she was certain of. He could not be lent to anyone, nor had anyone taken him. She could not even imagine such a thing happening.
But the evidence was undeniable.
Jin Mukgyeol killed Ma Ungyeol using the Acupoint Method.
Sasaha’s gaze darkened.
Night deepened.
“May I come in?”
“Please do.”
The door quietly opened.
Gwak Un of the First True Army entered alone. He wore crimson robes and the Blood Rock Sword at his waist.
“I wanted to understand what happened.”
He closed the door as he spoke.
“At the Grand Investigation Hall, it won’t be possible to have a private conversation. Best to find out beforehand.”
Sasaha rose.
“Lord Jin… I truly—”
“This situation… you know that simply saying it isn’t you isn’t enough.”
Gwak Un stepped closer. A strange gleam flickered in his eyes.
“I want to believe you.”
His hand rested on her shoulder.
“But there must be more certain evidence to truly trust you.”
His hand slowly slid downward.
“At this point, I can’t say you didn’t do it.”
Sasaha stiffened.
“What more must I prove? What’s not done is not done. There’s no need to believe it, and… I am confident.”
Gwak Un’s hand touched her thigh.
“If you become mine…”
Smack!
Sasaha struck Gwak Un’s cheek.
The sharp sound echoed through the room; his head jerked sideways. A red handprint appeared clearly on his cheek.
Silence followed.
Gwak Un slowly turned his head.
A cruel smirk crept across his lips.
“Hohoho…”
A low laugh emerged.
“You know me, don’t you? I never let go of what I desire. You must have guessed I’ve wanted you for a long time…”
He looked down at Sasaha.
A voice dripping with killing intent.
“This time, I intend to take you. You’ve given me the opportunity… looks like it will happen? Hoho! We’ll see at the Grand Investigation Hall. There’s nothing wrong with being my woman, right?”
He walked toward the door.
Bang!
The door slammed shut.
Sasaha was left alone, her fists trembling.
Gwak Un’s ferocity and greed were well known. The death of the Eleventh True Army was just an excuse for his claws to reach her. But she had no way to resist. In martial arts or soul-summoning, the gap between Gwak Un and herself was as wide as heaven and earth, like an adult versus a child.
Rank and authority were no different.
There was no choice but to let Gwak Un have his way.
‘I’m going to be humiliated. There’s no way to escape.’
The next morning.
A notice was posted on the Heavenly Sound Cult bulletin board.
「Until the investigation is complete, all authority of Lord of the Tenth True Army, Sasaha, is fully revoked. The Tenth True Army is confined to her residence. Visits are prohibited. No one may meet her. From today’s Jin Hour, all maidservants and attendants are to leave.」
The decree fell.
“With this measure… it’s almost certain, right?”
“The phrase ‘until the investigation is complete’ is added… but with clear evidence, return is unlikely. What I’m curious about is why? What could the Tenth True Army want?”
Murmurs grew louder.
In the past, the Eighth True Army, Guun, defied the Heavenly Sound Cult and defected to the Cold Wolf Sect. Since then, one of the Twelve True Armies had sided with Gugwi, killing a fellow.
Meanwhile, Gugwi retreated to a deep cave to rest.
Jang Unhyeok, Yeon Socheong, and Jin Geonmu were all battered but alive.
“What was that? A spirit in robes?”
Yeon Socheong asked.
Jang Unhyeok and Jin Geonmu looked at Gugwi.
They had seen it too. The robed spirit had circled behind Ma Ungyeol and killed him.
Had Gugwi possessed such a spirit?
“That… actually, I don’t know. Where it appeared or who it is? I don’t even know the name, so I can’t summon it.”
Gugwi shrugged helplessly.
The robed spirit suddenly appeared, killed Ma Ungyeol, and disappeared.
Gugwi immediately chased it into the Realm of the Threshold.
Blue light enveloped him. He tried to seize the dissipating light particles. But at that moment, the Spirit Flow Core went out. No, the blue light weakened significantly. As if it had exhausted its power.
Eventually, the robed spirit’s light dispersed somewhere within the Realm of the Threshold.
Gugwi did not give up. As when choosing a Spirit Union martial artist, he poured his thoughts into the Spirit Flow Core. He recalled the robed spirit’s appearance and called forth a suitable light.
But no light came rushing.
“What happened?”
Gugwi’s worry deepened.
Yet one thing was certain. If the robed spirit hadn’t appeared, he and his companions would have been killed. It had saved them all.
Whoooosh!
The dawn wind blew outside the cave.