Sword God Reborn

Chapter 33 : Heroic Journey

While the Blood Demon Sect was targeting Cheon Mubaeck due to the incident in Henan.

Cheon Mubaeck was not just sitting still.

The information he had obtained by releasing Yuk Seong's restriction before.

The numerous stories of government officials and merchants that came in through the Lotus Pavilion. On top of that, by getting his hands on the Black Heart Gang, which had a firm grip on Kaifeng, one of the largest cities in Henan, Cheon Mubaeck was able to catch the tail of the Blood Demon Sect.

Of course, it was a tail.

"Their main base is in Shaanxi. You're not planning to go all the way to Shaanxi, are you?"

Neung-heo's eyes narrowed.

Crossing the border of a province was not an easy thing for the people of this era.

Although Neung-heo had also rolled around in the black-way, his territory was Henan Province, and he had rarely gone beyond that.

Wasn't the Central Plains a vast land?

Because it was a world where most people lived and died in the village where they were born.

"Not now."

Neung-heo let out a sigh of relief.

Then he suddenly rethought the meaning of the words and his expression hardened.

Not now.

Then didn't it mean that he would go to Shaanxi later?

"Damn it. Don't take me with you then."

"You don't want to be the Black Heart Gang Master?"

"Black Heart Gang Master, my ass. You know how brutal the Blood Demon Sect kids are."

"Neung-heo."

"Yes."

"The Blood Demon Sect is scary, but am I not scary?"

"I will escort you to Shaanxi."

"Well, that's a matter for later. Let's deal with the matter at hand first."

Cheon Mubaeck smirked and changed the subject.

'If it were up to me, I'd go to Shaanxi right now and turn it upside down.'

In fact, Cheon Mubaeck had had that thought at the very beginning.

But behind the Blood Demon Sect was a group called the Blood Ghost Valley.

He had to keep in mind the possibility that they would hide themselves if he completely struck the Blood Demon Sect.

Moreover, that wasn't the urgent matter now, was it?

First, to go to Shaolin and rescue the people of the escort agency.

That was first.

But there was a separate reason why Cheon Mubaeck had sent Heo Seong first and had split up.

First, the movement of the Blood Demon Sect had been caught by the information network of the Lotus Pavilion and the Black Heart Gang.

He had already figured out where the Henan base of the Blood Demon Sect was through Yuk Seong.

So after taking over the Black Heart Gang, he had been monitoring the Blood Demon Sect.

As a result, a suspicious movement of the Blood Demon Sect had been caught.

"The kids who had been quiet so far have moved in large numbers."

"That's right. The guys who were in Bonggu have all spread out to Jeongju, Gong'ui, Eonsa, Sinmil, and Deungbong."

The Henan base of the Blood Demon Sect was Bonggu County.

But the martial artists of the Blood Demon Sect had moved to different regions in a hurry, and coincidentally, the places they had moved to were all cities on the way to Mount Song.

Then what could it be?

You have to strike before you get hit. Since you know their movements in advance.

You can't just wait until you get hit like a fool, right?

"We'll go straight to Bongju and turn it all upside down."

They had made a fatal mistake.

Even if they gathered their forces and attacked Cheon Mubaeck, the chances of winning were not high.

But they had split their numbers. They had intended to hide on Cheon Mubaeck's travel route and ambush him, but that was only effective when he didn't know.

No, that wasn't necessarily the case either.

"If you misjudge your opponent and divide your numbers, you're bound to be defeated individually."

Of course, they wouldn't have just divided their numbers.

They probably had at least one trump card.

But that was all based on the assumption that Cheon Mubaeck was a normal martial artist.

That is, a skilled person who could beat Yuk Seong and Gu Jin-hae.

'I've regained a little.'

Cheon Mubaeck clenched and unclenched his hand.

He had felt it when he had dealt with the Black Heart Gang Master and the Vice-Master before.

That he was gradually getting closer to his former martial prowess.

Of course, it was still a long way off.

But the faint growth was gradually becoming visible.

His pathetic body now had a decent frame.

At least people would not think that he was the Cheon Mubaeck who had been so weak in the past.

Although it was not yet to Cheon Mubaeck's liking, as his sinews became stronger and his muscles became more flexible, the sword that unfolded in his hand became even sharper.

As he circulated the Heaven-Shaking Soul Art every day, the amount of internal energy accumulated in his upper dantian was now an amount that could not be easily ignored. Moreover, he had almost completely melted the Clear Spirit Pill he had taken a while ago.

'Perhaps it's luck.'

In fact, it is difficult to completely make an elixir one's own.

Didn't they say that 50% of most elixirs are scattered, and that if you make the remaining 50% your own, you have extracted the maximum efficiency?

Cheon Mubaeck had made more than 80% his own.

Since he had taken countless elixirs while living through numerous past lives, he had his own special method. On top of that, the infinite inclusiveness of the Heaven-Shaking Soul Art, like the sea, had no hesitation in absorbing external internal energy.

So the current Cheon Mubaeck...

"I will wipe the Blood Demon Sect from Henan Province."

He was worthy of showing that much confidence.

"Sigh. I'm so tired. I don't think I can fight."

Neung-heo let out a whining sound.

In fact, he hadn't expected the answer, 'Then you stay out of it.' He had just thrown it out there.

But Cheon Mubaeck's reaction was unexpected.

"Right. I'll do the fighting."

"Pardon?"

"Instead, you'll have to do something else."

In an instant, Neung-heo felt a sense of foreboding.

Isn't fighting the most dangerous thing?

In the martial world.

But he was volunteering to do it himself, and he had something else for him to do?

A sense of foreboding stood on end.

"Scrape up everything you can find."

It was the reason why Cheon Mubaeck was targeting the Blood Demon Sect first.

First, to strike before getting hit.

Second, to secure evidence.

Even if he went to Shaolin right now, there was no way to persuade them with an explanation.

In order to prove that it was not a self-staged act by the Azure Star Escort Agency, sufficient evidence to refute it was needed.

Evidence of the conspiracy of the Blood Demon Sect and the Blood Ghost Valley.

Where would he get such evidence?

Although this matter was orchestrated by the Blood Ghost Valley, and the Blood Demon Sect was just a sword.

The Blood Demon Sect was also a sinister group.

They would surely have sufficient evidence.

"Before they burn the data and run, while I'm dealing with the kids, gather all of it."

"Let's switch. Our roles."

"You can't use one of your hands. I, the magnanimous one, should fight for you."

"Did that guy make me stand in front until my whole body was covered in blood at the Black Heart Gang?"

Cheon Mubaeck laughed lightly at Neung-heo's grumbling.

In fact, it was not an easy task.

The more important the data, the more they would try to destroy it.

Then, in order to break through, even if Cheon Mubaeck drew all the attention, Neung-heo would have no choice but to fight.

But what could he do?

"If you're wronged, then quit being the Black Heart Gang Master."

"Can I really quitting?"

"And the position of the Lotus Pavilion Master."

"Why did I get involved with this damn Blood Demon Sect, shit. Sigh."

* * *

"You want me to use trashy ingredients like this?"

Mr. Jang, who ran an inn in Bonggu County, gritted his teeth.

Even though there was a guest from out of town at the inn for the first time in a long time, he could not hold back his anger.

"Even if our inn is not a high-end inn, we can't use trash like this as ingredients!"

"That's what I'm saying! When did these crazy bastards take control of the ingredient supply chain and start this crap?"

Mr. Jang beat his chest at the chef's words.

This was an inn that had been run for generations here in Bonggu.

So he felt a certain pride in this inn.

It was not an inn that received high-ranking officials, people from prestigious families, or important figures.

But it was a pretty good inn that outsiders who visited Bonggu County would look for first.

This was Mr. Jang's thought and pride.

But that pride was being brutally shattered recently.

"You dog-like black dogs!"

"Shh! Master. You can't just say things like that!"

The young waiter, who was watching from the side, put his finger to his nose with a bewildered face.

Then he hurriedly looked around the inn.

Fortunately, since the rumor that the plague was spreading in Bonggu County, there were few customers at the inn.

There was one group inside.

The waiter carefully examined them.

They were both people with swords by their side.

Not everyone with a sword is a martial artist, but in fact, more than 90% are martial artists.

The young boy, no, the young man, was very handsome.

The waiter had never seen such a handsome man in Bonggu County. It was an appearance that would have spread rumors in a small town. He was probably an outsider. Although he had a sword by his side, perhaps because of his pretty appearance, he did not feel like a rough martial artist of the martial world.

Looking at the fancy sword decoration...

'Is he a young master from a rich family?'

But the man who seemed to be his escort was a bit strange.

Although he was a one-eyed man, the dissatisfaction in his one eye was as if it contained all the dissatisfaction in the world. Putting aside his rough impression, his appearance, with even his right hand missing, was so scary that he was afraid to run into him on the street.

'That one looks like one of those black dogs.'

The guys that Heo-bong and Mr. Jang called black dogs were the Black Wolf Gang, a black-way faction that had a firm grip on this area.

In fact, it was a natural thing for the black-way to get involved in business.

There had been no particular problems until now.

When was it? Around the time the rumor that the plague was spreading from Shaanxi was heard, a rumor spread that the leaders of the existing Black Wolf Gang had all been replaced.

After that, the Black Wolf Gang had changed.

"Is it just our inn? The black dog bastards supply the alcohol to the gisaeng houses, they supply the medicine to the pharmacies. They supply all the ingredients to all the restaurants."

"No, let's say it's supply. I've never seen black-way guys who even take control of the supply chain, but ah, let's say that's possible. But where do they get such trashy low-quality ingredients and charge more money?"

"If this continues, the business will be ruined!"

"We don't have any customers as it is!"

In the midst of it, since plague patients were also appearing in Bonggu County, it was a situation where there was nothing they could do.

"Black Wolf? What a load of crap. Black dog bastards. What kind of heroes of the martial world do they claim to be, when they just stick their snouts in the trash can?"

"Hey. Mr. Jang!"

It was then.

At the voice that should not have been heard, Mr. Jang's face turned pale.

It wasn't just Mr. Jang. The chef, and the young waiter too.

Everyone's complexion died.

Mr. Jang broke out in a cold sweat as he saw the group of people entering the inn.

"Oh, Great Hero Jeong, you've come."

A man with a physique that was not just huge but enormous grinned.

"Great Hero Jeong? Who are you calling a great hero, you dog-like bastard? Mr. Jang?"

Mr. Jang shut his mouth like a mute who had eaten honey.

In an instant, he felt as if his vision was going dark.

At that sight, the man who had been called Great Hero Jeong, Jeong-ju, grinned.

He, who had been just a middle-ranking executive of the Black Wolf Gang, had now become a big shot who was one of the top five.

'Anyway. It's thanks to those gloomy guys.'

The sinister guys who had dealt with the leaders above the middle-ranking executives in one go.

Those guys had just taken over the Black Wolf Gang and had demanded only one thing. To take control of the supply chain of the surrounding businesses.

In fact, the black-way doesn't care about things like the ingredient supply chain. Because it's more efficient to just extort money in the name of protection fees.

But Jeong-ju had seen an opportunity here.

The new leaders had no interest in the operation of the Black Wolf Gang.

Jeong-ju had taken control of the supply chain himself, and had supplied low-quality ingredients and medicine while also raising the prices.

The profit margin he gained from that all went into Jeong-ju's pocket, and with that money, he fed his subordinates alcohol and gave them women, so he had jumped from a middle-ranking executive to a high position in one go.

"Huh? Mr. Jang. We're, huh! Protecting you like this."

Kwang!

One of the tables was completely shattered by Jeong-ju's fist.

"We are, I'm telling you. Heroes, heroes! Huh? But what? Black dogs? Black doooogs?"

"Oh my! Great Hero Jeong! This old man has made a slip of the tongue! Please forgive me just this once, just this once!"

Jeong-ju's eyes flashed.

Even before, as a black-way, he had been unrestrained, but he had not been able to be so openly outrageous. But now it was different.

Kwang!

Jeong-ju destroyed everything that was an eyesore in front of him.

He had accumulated money, and with that money, he had even bought and eaten elixirs, so he could not control his overflowing strength.

"Huh? We are heroes, I'm telling you. Instead of treating such heroes, where do you get such nonsense...!"

"Have all the heroes died?"

"..."

In an instant, Jeong-ju blinked his eyes.

A voice that came from somewhere.

It was a table at the inn that he hadn't even paid attention to.

Jeong-ju had two thoughts when he saw the young man's face staring at him.

'He's a really handsome guy. But he's unlucky.'

Moreover, the absurd thing was that a guy who just looked like a young master from a rich family had said a word.

"Neung-heo, do you think that's a hero of the black-way?"

"Sigh. Where are there heroes in the black-way? They're all the same dog-like bastards."

"You too?"

"Please make me a dog-like bastard who at least listens well."

"You know well that you're a dog."

"You son of a bitch."

Jeong-ju was at a loss for words as he saw the guys who were suddenly talking among themselves.

The absurd thing was that they had referred to them as dog-like bastards.

And in such a rough atmosphere.

Jeong-ju's eyes turned red.

"Hey, you brat. Do you know who I am to dare to spout such nonsense? Who are you? Huh?"

Jeong-ju asked in a voice full of killing intent, as if he would use his sword at any moment.

At that, Cheon Mubaeck sighed.

"I'm a real hero, you bastard."

(End of Chapter)