The Divine And Demonic Doctor [EN]: Chapter 386

The Divine Doctor of the Demonic Path (386)

“If it’s the current head of the Namgung Clan…”

Dan Akseon recalled Namgung Baek’s son, Namgung Ho, whom he had seen once.

With his affable eyes and likable demeanor.

He was a young man with qualities befitting the heir of a prestigious family and a righteous spirit.

“The Hwangbo Clan should have entered Seclusion [a self-imposed period of isolation and limited activity] after the Murim Alliance collapsed, right?”

Gu Hwaja sighed at Cho Akryang’s question.

“Indeed, they did. That’s what makes this so perplexing.”

The meaning of Seclusion was never trivial.

For the duration they swore, the respective clan or family could not engage in any external activities.

It was a form of house arrest, so to speak.

They couldn’t even accept new disciples during the Seclusion period.

As such, their future standing would be greatly diminished, acting as a significant constraint on their future.

This was why clans or families with some power feared Seclusion.

As they volunteered for a great punishment, they wouldn’t be directly attacked, but they had no way to deal with indirect damages, such as losing rights related to their businesses or having their retainers stolen.

Instead, no Murim force could directly attack them during the Seclusion period.

That was the unwritten rule that had supported Murim for a long time.

Therefore, for the Namgung Clan to attack the already secluded Hwangbo Clan was enough to warrant criticism from Murim [the martial arts world].

“Why on earth?”

The one who answered Dan Akseon’s question was Cho Akryang.

“A grudge, probably.”

“A grudge?”

“After Jegal Yeon ousted the Namgung Clan, didn’t he form a new Murim Alliance by bringing in the Murim families? The ones who lent their strength to that were the existing Five Great Clans. The Hwangbo Clan was the main axis. From the Namgung Clan’s perspective, it’s like being stabbed in the back by a trusted ally, so there must be a grudge. And there’s one more decisive reason.”

Cho Akryang paused for a moment before continuing.

“Didn’t they expel the Namgung Clan from the Five Great Clans?”

From the perspective of honor, it wouldn’t be strange if a sword fight broke out immediately. But the problem was the timing.

“If they attack the secluded Hwangbo Clan, won’t the Namgung Clan also walk the path of ruin?”

It wasn’t for nothing that unwritten rules were called unwritten rules.

There was a price to pay for breaking taboos.

In the future, the Namgung Clan would clearly be thoroughly ostracized by Murim.

Cho Akryang nodded.

“I don’t understand that point either. Namgung Baek’s son, whom I saw before, seemed quite reasonable. Why on earth did he make such a bad move…”

Gu Hwaja, who received Cho Akryang’s gaze, opened his mouth with a sigh.

“This matter has not yet been publicly announced…”

Beginning that way, he mentioned the information he had gathered.

“After holding Namgung Baek’s funeral, he immediately entered closed-door training as soon as the headship was succeeded. It was only recently that he finished his seclusion and revealed himself.”

Even though they weren’t on good terms during the Murim Alliance days, the Beggars’ Sect still owed the Namgung Clan a debt.

Because it was Namgung Baek who avenged the death of their leader, Lee Rip, by punishing the culprit, Seven Severing Demon Lord No Dan-yang.

“Since the new head has completed his closed-door training, we had to show at least minimal sincerity as a matter of courtesy.”

The Beggars’ Sect immediately sent someone to offer congratulations.

However, most of the Beggars’ Sect members who encountered Namgung Ho felt something was off.

“Something off?”

Gu Hwaja’s expression darkened at Cho Akryang’s question.

“His eyes were so fierce that I wondered if he was the same person I knew before. The energy surrounding his whole body was also unusual. It felt like he had the Namgung Clan’s unique swordsmanship, Emperor Sword Form, all over his body. And above all…”

“…?”

“He was emotionally and behaviorally unstable, like someone being chased by something.”

It was then that Dan Akseon asked a question.

“Are you aware of any circumstances in which poppy powder has flowed into the Namgung Clan?”

Gu Hwaja’s eyes were complicated.

“We only recently obtained that information. So we visited the Namgung Clan to confirm. But…”

Gu Hwaja trailed off and sighed.

“The head, Namgung Ho, had already left for Shandong [a province in eastern China] five days ago. Moreover, he took the entire Azure Sky Sword Squad, which could be said to be the Namgung Clan’s main force.”

“So that’s what was rushing over there?”

Gu Hwaja smiled bitterly at Cho Akryang’s question.

“We owe them a debt, so we can’t just stand by and watch them fall, can we?”

Dan Akseon, who met Cho Akryang’s gaze, nodded.

“Let’s hurry.”

Judging that they couldn’t achieve their purpose even if they went to the Namgung Clan as they were, the group immediately changed direction.

And they headed straight to Shandong, where the Hwangbo Clan was based.

‘I need to arrive in time.’

Dan Akseon desperately suppressed the unease rising from the depths of his heart and spurred on his lightness skill [a martial art technique that enhances agility and speed].

Because the difference in martial arts was so great, the Beggars’ Sect members who were following behind were already far away.

However, at this moment, the only thought filling Dan Akseon’s mind was:

‘Please don’t let me be late.’

* * *

Since ancient times, the Shandong region has been famous for having many renowned heroes.

Although it has repeatedly declined and disappeared, the Mount Tai Sect, which once possessed the greatest power in the Central Plains, was also active in this area.

And belatedly, a martial arts family emerged here, and they were the Hwangbo Clan.

Although their history was shorter compared to the other Five Great Clans, their potential could not be easily dismissed by anyone.

A vast plain running along the mountains.

Moreover, their wealth, accumulated by possessing abundant resources due to their proximity to the sea, was needless to say, and their bloodline, which was generally born with divine power, was deeply versed in overbearing martial arts.

In addition, the Hwangbo Clan, which absorbed and further developed the Mount Tai Sect’s martial arts that had been scattered, was more than enough to reign as the overlord of this region.

As such, even though they had entered Seclusion, their influence still dominated this area.

But that history was only until today.

“Why…”

The head of the Hwangbo Clan, Hwangbo Eon, couldn’t understand the current situation at all.

“Why on earth did you choose this path of mutual destruction…”

The young man casting a cold gaze from nearby was also a face he knew well.

The only successor of the former head and once the leader of the Murim Alliance, Namgung Baek, was none other than him.

Although he had seen Namgung Ho since he was a child, Hwangbo Eon was more unfamiliar with him at this moment than ever before.

Even when Namgung Ho declared war on them, Hwangbo Eon didn’t take it seriously.

Since they had already volunteered for Seclusion, there wasn’t much that the Namgung Clan could gain even by breaking the taboo.

However, Namgung Ho ignored all of that.

To actually carry out the insane act of an all-out war between clans!

Barely half an hour.

That was the time it took for the elites of the clan, whom they had so confidently believed in, to fall.

It wasn’t for nothing that the saying “Sword Ancestor Namgung” had arisen.

Their swords, claiming to be the ancestors of swords, were truly terrifying.

“Have you gone mad…”

Hwangbo Eon, who met Namgung Ho’s gaze, realized too late that the other’s eyes were somehow strange.

The gaze itself was extremely cold, but beyond that, the dense murderous intent dotted with chilling obsession and distorted madness was swirling.

Namgung Ho was silent.

Hwangbo Eon couldn’t continue speaking either.

Because instead of answering, Namgung Ho slowly twisted the sword he had plunged into his chest and drew it upwards.

“…!”

Hwangbo Eon, who was vomiting blood, slowly lowered his head.

The Hwangbo Clan, which had reigned as the overlord of this region for a long time.

It was too futile a death for the head of such a clan.

Namgung Ho didn’t avoid the blood pouring down like rain.

He simply stared down at the head of the Hwangbo Clan, who had stopped breathing, with cold eyes.

After standing there blankly for a long time, Namgung Ho slowly raised his head and looked around.

A horrific sight filled with countless corpses.

The smell of death alone surrounded the area, as if a painting of hell had been moved as it was.

It was truly a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood.

“Keuh.”

It was then that a suppressed groan escaped from Namgung Ho’s mouth.

With a face as pale as if all the blood had drained from it, Namgung Ho gritted his teeth and took out a palm-sized porcelain bottle from his chest with trembling hands.

Namgung Ho opened the bottle and poured the contents into his mouth.

Over his eyes, an unhidden sense of self-disgust was evident.

“Why?”

Namgung Ho, who was looking down at Hwangbo Eon’s corpse, slowly turned around.

“Because there’s no time.”

With those words, Namgung Ho left the Hwangbo Clan, soaked in blood.

The main gate, torn and collapsed by the relentless sword energy.

There were people approaching Namgung Ho as he stepped out onto the debris.

His sister, who had been waiting for him.

It was Namgung Hyang.

Behind her, fifty swordsmen were lined up.

It was the Azure Sky Sword Squad, the elite of the Namgung Clan.

Namgung Hyang, who took in Namgung Ho walking like a blood-soaked demon, bit her lip painfully.

A stream of blood flowed down her chin as her lip burst.

However, Namgung Hyang couldn’t feel the pain.

The sight of her brother with his abyss-like eyes was even more painful than that.

“Please stop.”

Even with his sister’s tearful pleas, Namgung Ho simply let out a dry laugh.

“I can’t stop now.”

“Brother…”

“Take care of the clan.”

With those words, Namgung Ho, who was passing by Namgung Hyang, flinched and turned his head.

He sensed a wave of energy approaching this place at an incredible speed.

‘Two… No, is it three?’

An extraordinary presence that made the nerves in his entire body tense.

Namgung Ho felt his whole body stiffen with tension for the first time since finishing his closed-door training.

That atmosphere quickly shifted to the Azure Sky Sword Squad.

And at that moment.

Namgung Hyang, who confirmed Dan Akseon’s face standing at the forefront of the figures running quickly, let out a sigh of regret.

It was Dan Akseon, whom she had longed for and hoped to see again so much.

But she didn’t want a meeting like this.

“Ah!”

Dan Akseon, who had barely arrived and examined the inside of the Hwangbo Clan, clenched his fist without realizing it.

He had braced himself to some extent due to the strong smell of blood wafting as he got closer, but he was stunned when he faced the horrific sight unfolding before his eyes.

He had rushed as much as possible, but he had failed to arrive in time.

It was fortunate that the bodies of children and women were not visible.

Dan Akseon cast a mournful gaze and stared at Namgung Ho.

The handsome features, which clearly inherited the blood of the Namgung family, were as if they had moved his father, Namgung Baek’s face, as it was.

However, the calm eyes and atmosphere of the past could not be found.

Rough breathing and unstable energy.

He had repeatedly confirmed it, but he was not in a normal state.

‘Come to think of it…’

Dan Akseon frowned as he recalled the traces left on the corpses.

Because it was too cruel to be called the Namgung Clan’s swordsmanship.

There was only one conclusion that could be drawn from this.

‘Demonic Deviation [a state of mental and spiritual corruption in martial arts cultivation]!’

Come to think of it, the point in time when poppy powder flowed into the Namgung Clan also coincided with the time when Namgung Ho finished his closed-door training.

It was then that Namgung Ho’s appearance of taking out a bottle and pouring the contents into his mouth came into Dan Akseon’s eyes.

“What did you just take?”

Namgung Ho replied nonchalantly to Dan Akseon’s question.

“Poppy powder.”

No sooner had those words ended than Namgung Ho frowned.

“Now this is useless too.”

“Don’t tell me…”

“Why? Is there a problem?”

Dan Akseon didn’t answer.

Because there were too many problems.

He could immediately tell that Namgung Ho was using poppy powder as a painkiller.

But the amount was unusual.