Tales Of The Nine Dragons [EN]: Chapter 135

Nine Dragons Chronicle (135)

Fiery Demon Blood Hand

The Mount Hua Sect and the Jongnam Sect are the most representative orthodox sects of Shanxi Province. Both are large sects with a rich history and tradition. They have shared the ups and downs of Shanxi Province for a long time and have strived for peace in the Murim [martial arts world] as members of the Nine Great Sects.

However, the two sects rarely interfere in secular affairs. Instead, the leaders of the orthodox sects who have joined the Jeongcheon Alliance [Righteous Heaven Alliance] gather to handle major and minor incidents in Shanxi Province.

Previously, the Seokcheon Sect was central to these gatherings, but after its destruction by a mysterious group, the Hocheon Gate took the lead in these meetings.

Park Ho-sang, the Lord of Hocheon Gate, a first-rate martial artist and a master of the Star Rank, known as the Black Tiger Sword of Shanxi Province, leaned against the main pillar of his manor, a painful expression on his face. A gaping hole pierced his heart as he stared at the person before him.

The attacker wore a mask, obscuring his face, but the red light emanating from his eyes betrayed that he practiced unorthodox martial arts.

“Why…”

Park Ho-sang asked why he attacked his sect, a sense of injustice at his impending death, no, the destruction of Hocheon Gate, evident in his voice. But the masked man offered no answer.

The masked man looked down at Park Ho-sang, who slumped forward, and finally spoke.

“Isn’t dying out of necessity the most basic principle in Murim?”

Death out of necessity!

It was the same unchanging truth that had been passed down through generations in the thousand-year-old Murim.

A world where people lived, scheming for money, fame, and status, killing or being killed, blinded by greed. And Murim was where such things happened most often.

The masked man slowly turned his back on Hocheon Gate and left.

The next day, those working at Hocheon Gate who lived outside the manor discovered the massacre. All the members and martial artists of Hocheon Gate were dead. They reported the horrifying discovery to the local government office in Shanxi Province.

News of the tragedy quickly spread throughout Shanxi Province, reaching the Beggars’ Sect and the Hao Gate.

If a Demonic sect had been destroyed in such a manner, people might have suspected the Nine Dragons Chief. But the destruction of an orthodox sect sparked extraordinary interest throughout Murim in Shanxi Province.

“It’s Demonic martial arts.”

A moment of silence descended upon Hocheon Gate.

While many watched with morbid interest, Geol Chung-seon, the Shanxi branch leader of the Beggars’ Sect, and Nam Seon-yeong, the Shanxi branch leader of the Hao Gate, arrived at the same conclusion.

“Would you like to check again?”

Just to be sure, they requested another examination, but the Beggars’ Sect and the Hao Gate reaffirmed their initial assessment.

“If you look at the wound, there’s a large hole in his heart. But there are no traces of blood.”

Indeed, despite the dozens of dead, there was no blood to be found in the manor.

“The other wounds are the same. The blood has congealed inside and couldn’t flow out.”

Geol Chung-seon and Nam Seon-yeong pointed to the wounds on the corpses, explaining their findings.

“Then, do you know what kind of Demonic martial arts it is?”

“From what I see, it seems like Jeonghyeol Okyeonggong [Blood-Sealing Jade Skill].”

Nam Seon-yeong nodded in agreement.

“I think so too, but in addition to Jeonghyeol Okyeonggong, we should also suspect Fiery Demon Blood Hand.”

The mention of Fiery Demon Blood Hand elicited surprised expressions from the audience.

“No way. Fiery Demon Blood Hand was thought to have been lost two hundred years ago and is no longer appearing in Murim.”

Geol Chung-seon dismissed Nam Seon-yeong’s words, citing the extinction of Fiery Demon Blood Hand.

“I understand your skepticism. But I’m saying this because we can’t rule out the possibility of Fiery Demon Blood Hand.”

Kwonma Cho Dan-un!

He was the peerless Demon King who emerged in Murim two hundred years ago, devastating a third of the Central Plains and plunging the martial world into terror. His signature martial art was the Fiery Demon Blood Hand.

So many people died at the hands of Kwonma Cho Dan-un that it was said mountains were made of corpses and rivers flowed with blood.

To defeat Cho Dan-un, the Demonic Cult, including the Cheonma [Heavenly Demon] and the heads of the Five Great Demonic Families, stepped forward. From the Demonic Faction, the heads of the Twelve Demonic Families joined, and from the Orthodox Faction, the leaders of the Nine Great Sects and the Cheonmuje [Heavenly Martial Alliance] united.

They chased Kwonma Cho Dan-un to the Ten Thousand Great Mountains of Yunnan Province and fought the final battle at Cheonnoebong, the highest peak.

The battle caused Cheonnoebong to collapse, burying most of the participants. Only a handful escaped. Kwonma Cho Dan-un was also believed to have been buried in the collapse, but his fate remained unconfirmed.

Since then, there had been no news of Kwonma Cho Dan-un resurfacing in Murim. Those who participated in the battle believed he was entombed with Cheonnoebong.

Now, two hundred years later, the assembled audience was shocked to hear Kwonma Cho Dan-un’s signature martial art mentioned.

“Why do you think it’s Fiery Demon Blood Hand?”

Nam Seon-yeong pointed to the hole in Park Ho-sang’s heart.

“Look at this wound. The blood is returning from the heart, and it contains fire energy.”

Geol Chung-seon examined Park Ho-sang’s wound carefully and saw that the congealed blood did indeed contain fire energy.

He shook his head, unwilling to believe it.

“Park Ho-sang’s martial arts are excellent. The culprit must have added yanggang’s [strong yang] energy to the attack.”

Geol Chung-seon desperately sought an alternative explanation.

Military arts had developed over time and been passed down to this day, so even if it was the Fiery Demon Blood Hand that terrorized Murim two hundred years ago, some people think that it will not be of great help now, but it is inevitable to be afraid of the martial arts used by the Demon King of terror who devastated a third of the Central Plains Murim at the time.

“It’s clear that a demon has possessed Shanxi Province.”

A low voice broke the silence.

“Jansal Sipyukgeom [Soul-Reaping Sixteen Swords], Cheonhwa Nanmu [Heavenly Flower Dance], Sosu Singong [Small Hand Divine Art], and now Fiery Demon Blood Hand… A demon has definitely taken hold of Shanxi Province.”

* * *

As strange rumors circulated about the destruction of Hocheon Gate, Murim was abuzz with activity, seeking to confirm the truth.

The Fiery Demon Blood Hand, Kwonma Cho Dan-un’s martial art, was far more dangerous than the other martial arts that had appeared in Shanxi Province. If the deaths were indeed caused by it, Murim would be plunged into a bloodbath. Therefore, they had to identify the successor of Kwonma early and either kill or imprison them.

The Jeongcheon Alliance and Saheolmeng [Evil Alliance] recovered the unattended corpses from the local government office and thoroughly investigated the cause of death through autopsies. The deeper they delved, the greater their worries became.

The Demonic Cult, having established a bridgehead in the Central Plains and secretly begun its activities, also retrieved the corpses of the Hocheon Gate martial artists and performed an autopsy. After confirming that the cause of death was Fiery Demon Blood Hand, not Jeonghyeol Okyeonggong, they wore serious expressions.

“It’s definitely Fiery Demon Blood Hand.”

“How could this happen?”

The Umseo Demon Army [Shadow Demon Army] and his subordinates, who had established a base in Chang’an, Shanxi Province, were greatly disturbed by the sudden appearance of Fiery Demon Blood Hand.

“I blocked the road to the ruined Cheonnoebong in the Ten Thousand Great Mountains in case Kwonma Cho Dan-un’s successor might appear, and Murim is stepping up to block access, isn’t it?”

“That’s right. Even now, Demonic Cult members dispatched from the main sect are stationed there, blocking the road to the ruined Cheonnoebong along with martial artists from Saheolmeng and Jeongcheon Alliance.”

“But the fact that Kwonma Cho Dan-un’s Fiery Demon Blood Hand has reappeared means that he wasn’t buried when Cheonnoebong collapsed, or that the martial artists controlling Cheonnoebong found his body and obtained the secret manual and passed it down to future generations.”

If not, Kwonma Cho Dan-un’s Fiery Demon Blood Hand could not have resurfaced in Murim.

“I think it’s probably the latter.”

“Why do you think so?”

“If Kwonma Cho Dan-un was alive, there would have been an incident at that time. Even if he had suffered irreparable injuries, he would have raised a disciple, and then Fiery Demon Blood Hand would have appeared in Murim earlier.”

The Umseo Demon Army nodded, finding the reasoning sound, and asked again.

“Then why did it appear now, two hundred years later?”

“I think it was difficult to learn martial arts with the secret manual.”

“There are difficulties? If you learn martial arts carelessly, you may be branded as a public enemy of Murim and be chased, so you mean that you plan to learn it more thoroughly and then engage in activities in Murim to some extent and exert influence?”

“I think so. The situation is different now than it was two hundred years ago, so unless he causes a bloodbath like Kwonma Cho Dan-un, the main sect will promise him a guest elder position, not to mention Saheolmeng and Jeongcheon Alliance, and try to recruit him.”

“The main sect will be no different. However, I would suggest the position of Guardian rather than the position of Elder.”

The elders of the Demonic Cult were mainly composed of the heads of the Five Great Demonic Families, so they did not want to give the position of elder to outsiders.

“The first priority is to find out who has learned Fiery Demon Blood Hand as soon as possible and make an offer that he might be tempted by.”

“If we can attract him to our side, it will be of great help to Young Master Dan Cheon-un, who is being pushed back by the Great Young Master.”

Cheonma Bang Kak has seven disciples.

The eldest disciple, Bang Hyeok-woo, is the son of Cheonma Bang Kak, and he is called the Demonic Dragon among the Ten Dragons and Eight Peaks in Murim. He is known to have achieved outstanding accomplishments among the Ten Dragons, along with Cheonryong Yong Hyeok.

The second to sixth disciples are the young masters who will lead the next generation of the Five Great Demonic Families, and they have also achieved martial arts accomplishments no less than Bang Hyeok-woo. Considering that they are young and have just passed the age of twenty, they are also outstanding talents who are comparable to Bang Hyeok-woo’s talent.

The last seventh disciple was said to have been taken in by Cheonma Bang Kak when he was away from the Demonic Cult for a while because of his great talent, but nothing else was known. Among the Demonic Cult members, he is called Muyeong [Shadow], and despite being an unknown person, he is recognized as a disciple of Cheonma and given the right to challenge to become the next master of the Demonic Cult.

The Demonic Cult originally adheres to the principle of the strong preying on the weak, so if you have the ability, you can raise your position as much as you want.

However, in order to become the leader of the Demonic Cult, you must have the permission of the Elder Council, which is centered on the Five Great Demonic Families, to challenge the leader, which is a measure created to prevent indiscriminate battles for the leader and to protect the masters of the Demonic Cult.

In addition, in order to become the leader of the Demonic Cult, Cheonma, the official leader, and the Elder Council must recognize his talent and select the next leader of the Demonic Cult, and those who are qualified to become the next leader of the Demonic Cult are given priority to Cheonma’s disciples.

Occasionally, young Demonic Cult members challenge the young leader, but in order to prevent indiscriminate challenges, the Elder Council judges his talent, status, and martial arts and grants permission to challenge.

However, these are devices created in name only, and in reality, only Cheonma’s disciples compete for the position of leader.

In the case of the eldest disciple, he is the son of Cheonma, so the Demonic Cult members who follow Cheonma are giving him strength, and the people of the Five Great Demonic Families are giving strength to the young master of the family.

In the case of Muyeong, who does not even show his face, he is treated as if he does not exist, so he has been given the opportunity to become the leader, but it was no different from being eliminated early from the battle for the leader.

Umseo Demon Army, who brought his subordinates to Shanxi Province, was a member of the Hyeolcheon Demonic Family among the Five Great Demonic Families, and he was pushing Dan Cheon-un, the young master of the Hyeolcheon Demonic Family and the second disciple of Cheonma Bang Kak.

“It’s a problem to meet him, but if we meet him, what conditions should we offer to join hands?”

“How about giving him the position of guest elder of the Hyeolcheon Demonic Family or the position of vice-leader when Young Master Dan Cheon-un becomes the young leader and rises to the position of leader?”

“Vice-leader? Do you think that’s possible?”

“Wouldn’t it be okay? Even if Young Master Dan Cheon-un is appointed as the young leader, it will take at least five years to rise to the position of leader.”

The moment he is appointed as the young leader, he can learn Cheonmashingong [Heavenly Demon Divine Art], the Demonic Cult’s protective martial art and signature martial art.

In order to master Cheonmashingong, he must undergo closed-door training for at least five years, or up to ten years, and then come out after mastering Cheonmashingong to rise to the position of leader.

“So?”

“During that time, we can identify the weaknesses of Fiery Demon Blood Hand, or neutralize it through long-term work, and eliminate it after Young Master Dan Cheon-un rises to the position of leader.”

“Hmm…”

Umseo Demon Army listened to the story, weighed the pros and cons, and nodded.

“Then there won’t be any big problems. It would be even better for us if we could recover Fiery Demon Blood Hand as a bonus.”

“That’s right.”

“Tell your subordinates to focus on finding Cho Dan-un’s successor using the informants they have planted so far. And tell them to keep a close eye on the camps of Saheolmeng and Jeongcheon Alliance, as they may be thinking the same thing.”

“I understand.”