Emperor’s Sword [EN]: Chapter 35

36. Messenger of the Demonic Cult.

As Pa Cheon entered the Jiangnan First Pavilion, he noticed that none of the guys who had been loitering around all morning were visible. Just in case, he took a look around, but there were no suspicious characters. As Pa Cheon entered the detached residence in the inner courtyard, he didn’t forget to transform into the Heavenly Demon Scholar using his disguise technique. As he entered the detached residence, Mu Young-jon greeted him as if he had been waiting.

“Your Excellency! Welcome. A person from the Demonic Cult has arrived.”

“Oh? Already? Hmph, they must have been quite urgent. Let’s go.”

“But?”

“Why, what is it?”

“The person… is a woman.”

“A woman? Unexpected… I understand. Where is she?”

“She is waiting in the living room. So-goon is with her now.”

“What? This is… what if So-goon says something strange?”

“I was worried about that, so I sent Mu-rin in… I’m sure everything is fine.”

As he opened the door and entered, it was clear that the person was indeed a woman, just as Mu Young-jon had said. She was carefully getting up from her seat, and after looking Pa Cheon over, she greeted him.

“I am… Zhuge Cho-hong, the strategist of the Demonic Cult.”

*Thud*

Even Pa Cheon, who rarely showed any change in his expression, was surprised at this moment.

He looked at her again.

“Please, sit down. I am the Heavenly Demon Scholar, Pa Cheon. I have heard of the strategist’s reputation that has been shaking the martial world these days.”

Zhuge Cho-hong’s eyes sparkled with endless wisdom. Her eyes were covered with a thick black veil. She wore a simple navy blue light armor and did not carry a single sword. Behind her stood three swordsmen. They were all young masters with extraordinary energy.

So-goon seemed to have had many conversations with her, as she spoke to her without any hesitation.

“Sister, this is our master. Isn’t he cool?”

*Actually, he’s much more handsome and cool!* She swallowed those words. She knew that much.

“I’m sorry, but could you please have your subordinates leave?”

“Hmm? If that’s more comfortable, then do so. Everyone, go outside.”

At Pa Cheon’s words, Mu Young-jon, Mu-rin, and So-goon went outside, and So-goon didn’t forget to say one last thing as she left.

“Sister, you have to tell me that story again later.”

At that, Zhuge Cho-hong winked one eye. The three masters who had been standing behind her also went outside.

“What exactly is it that So-goon wants you to tell her?”

“It’s nothing much. She asked who the greatest master is among the younger generation of the martial world.”

“And what did you answer?”

“I mentioned two people. One is the Heavenly Demon Scholar Pa Cheon, the Blood Demon of the Demonic Path, who is your master, and the other is Moon Yoon, the Jade-Faced Divine Dragon, who has risen as a saint of the righteous path…”

“Oh, so you rate me that highly? I heard that the Jade-Faced Divine Dragon is a master of the ages…”

“No. I think he’s rather lacking. Martial artists have started calling the two of them, along with the Martial Alliance Leader, the North Sword Society Leader, the Great Master of our cult, and the Zhang Sanfeng of Wudang [a legendary Taoist monk], the Five Heavens of the Martial World. In my opinion, you are no less than any of them. Seeing you in person, I know that my thoughts were correct.”

“The Five Heavens of the Martial World? This is the first time I’ve heard of it.”

“That’s because it’s a recent term. One interesting fact is that people are betting on who is stronger between the two young ones.”

“The two? You mean me and that Jade-Faced Divine Dragon?”

“Yes! The Demonic Path people naturally say that the Heavenly Demon Scholar is stronger, and the righteous path people say that the Jade-Faced Divine Dragon is stronger. I was also amazed when I heard about the martial arts that the Jade-Faced Divine Dragon has displayed. In comparison, nothing is known about your martial arts. There is only one survivor… But even in my judgment, no matter how strong the Jade-Faced Divine Dragon is, he cannot defeat you.”

“Why do you think so?”

“This is a conviction. I am weak in martial arts, but I pride myself on being able to see people well. I thought about how many people in the martial world could last 10 seconds against you. Even… I think that even the Great Master would be defeated by you within a hundred moves.”

*She’s an amazing woman. But your limit is… that you don’t know that the two people are the same person. Because of that, the martial world will face great chaos in the future.*

“Well… Strategist, what is the reason for your visit here?”

“To be honest, our Demonic Cult absolutely needs your power. We can fulfill any request, so please help us.”

“What if I refuse?”

“Then there’s nothing we can do. Since you can’t coexist with the righteous path anyway, you’re not our enemy. However, the power of the Martial Alliance is not something that an individual can stop. If the rumor spreads that you are here, the Martial Alliance will probably do everything in their power to eliminate you, no matter the cost.”

“It sounds like you’re saying that if I don’t cooperate with the Demonic Cult, you will spread the rumor.”

“There’s no reason not to. They can’t do anything to you anyway, and they will suffer a lot of damage, which is beneficial to us. I will do anything that benefits our cult.”

*Hmph, she’s quite a woman. She has the whole world in her head… I need to be careful of her in the future.*

“Hahahaha, that’s truly touching. Can you accept any condition I ask for?”

“Yes!”

At that answer, which came out without a moment’s hesitation, Pa Cheon looked at her eyes for a long time, a little surprised. He couldn’t feel anything. He only felt that they were sparkling brightly…

“What if… I want the position of Great Master? What would you do then?”

“Then there’s nothing we can do. Our goal is to defeat the Martial Alliance, and we don’t care who becomes the Great Master of the Demonic Cult.”

“Huh? What do you mean by that?”

“It’s exactly as I said. The Great Master has already decided to bet everything on attacking the righteous path, and he’s even willing to throw away his own authority. Of course, you have to be able to defeat the Great Master, and you have to get the consent of all the Demonic Cult members.

Some of them may even give their lives to oppose you for the sake of the Great Master, but most of the Demonic Cult members will think it’s right and follow you if your abilities are truly worthy of the Great Master’s position. That’s the nature of the Demonic Cult members. I’m the same way. That’s how strong the Demonic Cult’s determination is right now.

They have abandoned all their pride amidst countless cold treatments, neglect, and oppression. They are now able to throw away their lives for the sake of defeating the righteous path. The righteous Martial Alliance doesn’t know this. They don’t know how strong we are, and they don’t know that they are the ones who made us this strong.

Just wait and see. The righteous path will regret it one day.”

“That’s quite a confidence. But I heard that the strategist comes from a righteous family… Is there any special reason for that?”

“…I can’t tell you that yet. Only the Great Master knows the details about me. If you become a member of our family later, you will naturally find out.”

“Well… fine. I’ll tell you my conditions. Only two. First, no one can order me around or restrict my actions. Second, give me the authority to use the Demonic Cult’s organization whenever I want. That’s all I need.”

“Of course, the condition of not restricting your actions does not include treason, does it?”

“Of course. I mean, don’t hold me back, don’t put guards on me, don’t make me take subordinates, and don’t let even the Great Master of the Demonic Cult order me to do this or that. Just leave me alone.”

“That won’t be a problem for us. But the second condition might be a problem. I doubt the elders will accept it.”

“Elders? Hmph, if the Great Master can’t handle those old geezers, then defeating the righteous path is out of the question…”

Even at Pa Cheon’s sarcastic words, Zhuge Cho-hong didn’t say anything. If someone else had said that, she probably would have flared up, but did she think that the person had the right to say such things?

“Okay. I’ll accept everything.”

At those words, Pa Cheon was surprised. He was surprised that even though she was a strategist, she had the authority to make such a big decision on her own, and he was surprised by her boldness in making such a risky decision. She was something else.

“But… I have one condition too.”

“A condition? I don’t think I have any obligation to listen to it… After all, you’re the ones who want my power, aren’t you? So, you’re setting a condition? Do you think that makes sense?”

“Okay. Let’s call it a request then. First, you have to go to our cult, and second, I want you to solve one problem.”

“A problem?”

“Yes… Our Demonic Cult is facing a major crisis right now. The Great Master has long lost his power.”

*Was that so?*

“In fact, the Elder Council has seized all the power in our cult, and their power is so great that it even threatens the authority of the Great Master. Moreover, recently, there have been signs that the Supreme Elder is colluding with outside forces.”

“So?”

“If I or the Great Master’s direct forces move, our Demonic Cult will suffer irreparable damage and fall apart.”

“So you want me to solve that?”

“Yes! I know it’s a shameless request, but… I think you can do it. You can secretly move our forces without revealing yourself.”

“Well, that sounds interesting. Okay. Then the contract is done. This contract is valid until the Martial Alliance collapses. Do you have any questions?”

When Pa Cheon readily agreed without a moment’s hesitation, she seemed a little surprised and flustered, but behind that, there was joy and happiness. And from her mouth came a truly clear and pure voice.

“Thank you. I don’t know how much I hesitated while coming here. If you hadn’t agreed, it would have been very difficult for us. As you will see when you go there, it’s much more rotten than you think. There are even people who openly defy the Great Master…”

“By the way, what is my rank? You keep calling me ‘Master,’ so I guess I’m lower than the strategist.”

When Pa Cheon spoke with a playful tone, she smiled and replied.

“How could that be? Master, no, Grand Duke’s rank is next to the Great Master. You can even give orders to me. Your official title is Grand Duke of the Demonic Path. It’s one rank below the Great Master, but even the Great Master cannot give orders to the Grand Duke. You have the right to oversee all disciples and punish them at will.”

“Hmph, that’s quite a position. And a position where I have to be careful of my neck.”

“Hehe, and anyone can recruit up to a thousand people within the Demonic Cult to create a direct unit. And from now on, please speak more casually to me.”

“I will.”

He immediately lowered his tone. Pa Cheon wouldn’t refuse such a thing, would he?

“Oh, and I’m not going right now. I’ll go in a few days, so just tell me the location.”

When Pa Cheon spoke so naturally, she seemed dumbfounded for a moment. How much did she know about him? Wasn’t Pa Cheon the one who had been treated with disrespect for 20 years?

“Why? Is there something you need to do?”

“I have something to take care of.”

“The location of the headquarters is… under Dongting Lake.”

“What? Oh, I see… It seems like you’ve been preparing for this for a year or two. You’re saying that you’ve been preparing for this since before, knowing that this would happen?”

“Yes, it was an expected course of events. Whenever the righteous path becomes strong, there has always been oppression of the Demonic Path. Moreover, the current core of the righteous path has a prominent hero called the Peerless Divine Sword.”

In Zhuge Cho-hong’s eyes, a wave of resentment was surging.

*Hmm? Now that I see it, it seems like she has some grudge against him. So that’s why.*

“Then I should be going now. I’ll see you at the headquarters later. If you come near Dongting Lake, I’ll come to meet you.”

“Alright. Tell the Great Master not to worry, and that I’m an expert at dealing with old geezers.”

-Pa Cheon! That wasn’t for me to hear, was it?

=Amitabha! It feels like it was, doesn’t it?

[Why are you being so quiet? Please be quiet. Don’t say anything wrong…]

“Then, I’ll be going now.”

She got up. Pa Cheon also got up. Her gaze was filled with infinite trust for Pa Cheon, whom she didn’t know well.

*What a burdensome gaze. And that face, she’s so pretty, no wonder she’s rumored to be the beauty of the martial world.*

So, was Pa Cheon looking at Zhuge Cho-hong’s face through that thick veil? Well, if it’s him, that might be possible…

After they left, Pa Cheon called in Gwangmajon and the others. And he began to talk to them seriously.

“Listen carefully. From now on, you and I must become one. Not a single mistake is allowed. I will be active under two identities from now on. One is the Heavenly Demon Scholar Pa Cheon, and the other is my original face, the Jade-Faced Divine Dragon Moon Yoon. So, you must change whenever I change. Gwangmajon and the other three can do it, but So-goon!”

“Yes?”

“You are weak in internal energy and cannot use the disguise technique. So, you can only accompany me when I am the Heavenly Demon Scholar Pa Cheon. When I am the Jade-Faced Divine Dragon, you are a stranger to me. Do you understand?”

“Tsk, how can that be?”

“Otherwise, I’ll have to leave you behind…”

“What? Okay, fine… I can’t help it. But if I can do the disguise… will you take me with you then?”

“I understand. And… from now on, don’t make decisions or act rashly without my orders. Especially Gwangmajon, be careful. And your martial arts are too outstanding, so hide them to some extent… Do you understand?”

“Yes.”

Gwangmajon made a sullen face.

“Don’t make such a face… It’s only until our cult enters the Central Plains. Do you understand? Once the preliminary work is done, our cult will enter the Central Plains, and then you will be the vanguard and lead the children, so I’ll let you unleash your full power.”

“Your Excellency. You must keep that promise. Don’t change your mind later.”

“Yes, I promise. You’ll probably be fighting a lot. Just endure until then. You’ve been rotting in the Heavenly Demon Secret Cave for fifty years, so it doesn’t make sense that you can’t endure a few months. And Gwangmajon is fine, but you two!”

“Yes, Your Excellency!”

“Yes.”

Mu Young-jon and Dan Jang-hwa answered when Pa Cheon pointed at them.

“Do you know any martial arts of the Central Plains that you can use fluently?”

Mu Young-jon answered confidently.

“Yes, I do.”

“I… I know them, but I’ve never used them…”

Pa Cheon frowned at Dan Jang-hwa’s words.

“You are good with swords, so learn a few sword techniques from Gwangmajon. One thing to keep in mind is that when I act as the Jade-Faced Divine Dragon, you must not use demonic arts under any circumstances. Even if your life is in danger… Do you understand? In such a case, run away first. Of course, that won’t happen.”

“Understood.”

“Yes, I understand.”

He ordered and taught them many other things, but Pa Cheon wasn’t sure if they had all digested it.

Subject: [Serial] Emperor’s Sword 37. Reunion and Great Plan! Related Materials: None [59906]

Sender: Lim Sam-yeol (logos333) 2001-01-05 00:21 Views: 2590

-Emperor’s Sword-