Disciple of The Three Kings [EN]: Chapter 68

The Three Kings’ Disciple (69)

068

‘Who is he?’

Baek Cheong wondered, watching Lee Ro-woon’s back as he walked away.

A presence she hadn’t even noticed.

That meant he was not only able to perfectly conceal himself, having reached the Return to the Origin stage [a high level of martial arts mastery], but also that he was more skilled in manipulating inner energy than she was, despite her being called the Jongnam Shaman.

A master without a doubt.

She had already seen his skill with her own eyes.

‘He’s opening the Heavenly Demon Tomb.’

He also clearly knew where this place was.

The Heavenly Demon Cave.

No, beyond that, his words suggested he knew even more than the information the guild had, and the Heavenly Demon Cave revealed its true form.

‘Eunha.’

He must be from that place.

And she had a guess as to who he was.

“Eunha’s unique guild member….”

She had heard that a regular guild member with no rank or position was treated with respect by all of Eunha’s guild members, and even Guild Leader Kang Eun-ha bowed her head to him.

Moreover, this must be the one who single-handedly crushed the Blue Sword Formation of Haenam.

Haenam, though they had many shortcomings to be considered one of the Nine Great Sects [major martial arts clans].

They were like that even in the Silver World, but the time of isolation Haenam experienced in the fragmented world after the fall of Silver did not exceed a hundred years.

Therefore, they possessed the glory of the past Silver, but they had not grown much due to the lack of hardship.

Baek Cheong thought that she herself could easily break the Blue Sword Formation of the Blue Squad.

But it was by no means an easy task.

Swoosh.

Baek Cheong secretly grasped the Heavenly Treasure Orb in her chest.

‘Tell me.’

The orb that reveals the truth.

This Heavenly Treasure Orb was the most sacred of Jongnam’s sacred artifacts, created by one of Jongnam’s past immortals at the cost of their life.

It was an artifact that had protected Jongnam through countless hardships, and the sacred artifact that Baek Cheong relied on more than anything else.

‘Who is that man?’

As she asked the Heavenly Treasure Orb.

Thud.

Lee Ro-woon, who had been walking, stopped in his tracks.

But Baek Cheong couldn’t pay attention to him.

Vvvvvvvvv.

The Heavenly Treasure Orb was shaking violently.

“……!”

It was showing an unprecedented anxiety, as if it would break and disappear at any moment.

“It’s best not to do useless things.”

“……!”

“If you don’t want to lose an item for no reason.”

Lee Ro-woon said those words and started walking again.

And surprisingly, the Heavenly Treasure Orb’s trembling stopped.

As if it had died of fright.

Gulp.

Baek Cheong swallowed involuntarily.

Incomprehensible.

It felt like everything she had known was being shattered.

Whoosh!

But then, Baek Cheong had to put her thoughts aside for a moment as blue flames rose in the distance.

***

“Kk… Kkyaaaaaaa!”

It screamed, expressing its pain.

Engulfed in blue flames, it spewed out black smoke.

Until just now, it was a member of the Cheoncheonha raid, with a name.

But now that the flames had subsided, it was a completely different being.

Thud!

Its reason had been burned away, and it had become a monster that only craved slaughter.

Shudder.

A chilling sound echoed from the mouths of Baek Cheong and the Cheoncheonha raid members.

Their eyes were bloodshot, and blood was flowing from their bitten lips.

Clang!

This thing, which was swinging its sword madly at her, was originally the one who held a sword to protect her.

“Haa.”

Baek Cheong gracefully blocked the swinging sword.

She spoke in a voice trembling with anger.

“Let me… send you off without pain.”

Ending their lives as quickly as possible.

Baek Cheong thought that was the only thing she could do, and she swung her sword without hesitation.

It was unknown what effect the blue flames had, but the opponent’s inner strength and physical strength had increased beyond comparison, but Baek Cheong was still Baek Cheong.

Clang!

The enemy was unable to withstand the single strike and was thrown back.

Baek Cheong kicked off the ground without hesitation and tried to plunge her sword into its chest.

Fweeeeng!

Baek Cheong’s sword tip trembled and made a clear sound.

“What are you doing?”

The man was blocking her sword tip with his finger.

Lee Ro-woon was there.

“What are you doing?”

“What?”

“I told you.”

Lee Ro-woon had clearly said it.

“I’ll tell you how Jongnam can survive.”

“……!”

“You agreed.”

Lee Ro-woon ignored Baek Cheong’s sword and turned his back.

“Jongnam will be saved.”

His hand reached out towards the incapacitated Cheoncheonha raid member.

“Kkeueok!”

Blue flames began to rise from the one who was screaming in pain.

The flames that had risen were soon absorbed into Lee Ro-woon’s outstretched hand.

“This is my space. I haven’t taken over the whole thing, but where my sight reaches is my space.”

Wasn’t that just a random remark?

As Baek Cheong thought that, the blue flames that had risen from the Cheoncheonha raid member’s body flowed into Lee Ro-woon’s hand and burned black.

“Ah….”

A sinister blackening.

But at that moment, for some reason, Baek Cheong thought it was beautiful and pure.

And only then did she realize what had just happened.

“There will be some aftereffects, but you’ll be able to recover if you rest well.”

The raid member, who she thought was finished, was back to normal.

She had seen it clearly with her own eyes.

That it had been eaten by the blue flames and turned into an undead.

But this man had reversed it.

‘Blackening.’

Dark and gloomy.

But the flames that even Baek Cheong herself thought were pure and beautiful had created a miracle.

The man disappeared in an instant.

Whoosh!

He was saving the raid members who had been swallowed by the blue flames here and there.

‘Shall I tell you how to survive?’

She had thought there might be a way.

But she had never imagined that it would be possible to save everyone like this.

‘Eunha.’

And that man.

She had a feeling that she might be encountering a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

When he had returned five raid members.

‘Good.’

A satisfied smile spread across Lee Ro-woon’s lips.

The blue flames that had swallowed the Cheoncheonha raid members.

It was nothing less than the purest Heavenly Demon Energy.

Lee Ro-woon revived them by absorbing the energy that should have been his through Absorption.

Squeeze.

And through that, he was replenishing the Heavenly Demon Energy that he lacked.

“By the time I leave….”

The final stage of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art.

‘Sanctification.’

He had a feeling that he might reach Sanctification.

* * *

“Thank you.”

Baek Cheong’s words of gratitude.

It was a sincere greeting.

“Thanks to you, we were able to save many raid members.”

She was uncharacteristically serious.

But she was truly grateful for the fact that she had saved the raid members.

“But….”

She opened her mouth cautiously.

“Are you okay?”

It was definitely a strange sight.

What she was worried about was Lee Ro-woon, and Baran.

So far, they had only encountered Cheoncheonha raid members.

They hadn’t met Baran’s guild members anywhere.

Lee Ro-woon was from Eunha, and in the end, he had failed to protect his people.

Perhaps it was only natural.

This place was a hell where even the Cheoncheonha raid had difficulty surviving.

There was no way that they, who were merely players, could have survived.

But Lee Ro-woon’s expression was too calm.

Was he also a broken person like her?

“There’s no need to worry about Baran.”

“……?”

“Because there’s someone there who can at least keep them from dying if they’re with the players.”

Baek Cheong nodded her head without realizing it.

In the short time she had spent with this man, everything he had said was right.

‘It’s certain.’

At the same time, she secretly became certain.

About Eunha, and the identity of this man.

‘The Vanguard.’

They were the descendants of the Vanguard.

Just as Eunha had revealed.

But the only thing that Baek Cheong thought differently was that they were likely to be the direct descendants of the Vanguard, not just a branch.

‘Clear energy.’

Clear and pure blackening.

It looked like a product of corruption, but that was what contained true purity.

Also, the mysterious sect called the Vanguard was not as pure and gentle as the people of Silver knew.

Jongnam, who shared the same lineage as the Vanguard, knew this.

‘Madmen.’

The Vanguard was nothing more than a group of madmen.

They were beings who would do anything for the purpose of eradicating the Demonic Path, beings who were Taoists but also deviated from Taoism.

‘This is mine.’

What he had said must have been something like that.

That the Heavenly Demon Cave was a place that the Vanguard had to destroy, and that they couldn’t hand it over to anyone else.

“If we get out of here….”

Baek Cheong said cautiously.

“I will push for an alliance between Jongnam and Eunha.”

“……?”

“Jongnam does not forget favors. You saved us all. Me, the Jongnam Shaman.”

It was an arrogant statement.

But it didn’t need to be said that the Jongnam Shaman was a more important figure in Jongnam than one might think.

“If Eunha allows it, Jongnam will become Eunha’s ally.”

“That’s not a bad thing to hear.”

“R-really?”

Baek Cheong was pleased.

“Is it also to keep Hwasan in check?”

“Of course.”

Baek Cheong said.

“I can’t tell you yet… but Hwasan is not the Taoist sect of the past that the Vanguard, or rather Eunha, thinks it is.”

“…….”

“Jongnam has endured for a thousand years. Hwasan….”

Baek Cheong said.

“They say they have been isolated for three thousand years.”

Three thousand years.

It was an easy thing to say.

It was also a time that could not be fathomed with words alone.

But their time was enough to change everything.

A time long enough for dynasties to change several times, a time in which any civilization could have a history.

If the past and the present were the same, that would be a wrong statement.

Whoosh.

At that moment, the dark surroundings slowly began to brighten.

Kwaaaaaaaang!

At the same time, an explosion was heard.

The blue flames that had risen in the distance were visible.

The blue flames that soared high into the sky were illuminating the dark world.

“……!”

But Baek Cheong and the Cheoncheonha raid members trembled at the energy they felt there.

To them, who were Jongnam martial artists filled with Taoist energy, the blue flames were nothing less than a terrifying mass of demonic energy.

A demonic energy that could make a martial artist of Baek Cheong’s level tremble in fear.

“That’s….”

The wrongly recognized owner that Lee Ro-woon had mentioned.

Thud!

Lee Ro-woon kicked off the ground without hesitation and moved forward.

“Follow him!”

Baek Cheong shouted to the raid members and began to pick up speed.

A distance that was quite far away.

Whoosh!

She drew out the power of the Heavenly Treasure Orb and shared it with herself and the raid members, and their speed began to increase a little more.

Chichichichik.

The skin was burning from the demonic energy contained in the blue flames.

Baek Cheong could tell.

‘Are they fighting?’

Those blue flames didn’t just rise up on their own.

They were burning as they collided with something.

Just what was colliding with that massive demonic energy?

‘Because there’s someone there who can at least keep them from dying if they’re with the players.’

The man’s words came to mind.

Baek Cheong was finally able to confirm the reality when she arrived.

Zzzzzzzzz!

Blue flickering noise.

It was protecting Baran’s guild members who were gathered from the blue flames.

A special barrier that was resisting fiercely, though it was precarious, as if it would be burned by the demonic energy.

That power was clearly a unique wave coming from the system core that the players possessed.

And the one who made this possible was….

“Cheong-gwi!”

The blue goblin, Lee Shin-woo.

It was only him.