Chapter 77

A man wearing a bamboo hat askew was looking down at something.

Several corpses were tangled in the dug-up pit.

The man's gaze was focused on a corpse that appeared to be a woman among the corpses that were beginning to rot. A woman who was called Ihwa in her lifetime, the very mistress of Spring Breeze.

A young man with a sharp impression approached and stood next to the bamboo-hatted man.

"What happened?"

The man answered the bamboo-hatted man's question politely.

"It's the work of Mak Hwi, the White Tiger Unit Leader of the Southern Mountains Alliance."

"Mak Hwi, the White Tiger Unit Leader?"

"Yes. That's the one."

The bamboo-hatted man's lips formed a strange sneer.

"Mak Hwi dared to touch us?"

If a Jianghu person heard this, they would point fingers and laugh at the bamboo-hatted man. Calling him a cowardly person who speaks ill behind someone's back. But if they knew his identity, most of the people who laughed would nod and quietly step back.

The bamboo-hatted man was none other than Baek Bong-pa, the Infinite Branch Leader of the Cheonma Shin-gyo. Ihwa's real identity was a demonic person belonging to the Infinite Branch.

Although it had not shown its face in the Martial World for twenty years, the Demonic Cult had steadily built up its strength over the years. It had already been twenty years since the war ended. Enough time had passed to more than recover from the devastating damage of the war.

"The Bear Bile Liquor incident has been exposed."

"How could that be?"

Baek Bong-pa frowned at the young man's report. The counterfeiting of Bear Bile Liquor was one of the main businesses of the Demonic Cult's Infinite Branch.

Baek Bong-pa knew very well how Bear Bile Liquor was counterfeited. It was a liquor that even the most avid drinkers would find difficult to recognize as fake.

The Infinite Branch operated a total of seven businesses. Among them, the main business that generated the most revenue was wiped out overnight.

Spring Breeze generated more revenue than the other six businesses combined.

"Why did things come to this?"

Baek Bong-pa's gaze turned back to Ihwa's corpse.

He couldn't understand. The only person in Spring Breeze who knew that he was a demonic person was Ihwa.

But she herself could not reveal that she was a demonic person, no matter how dire the situation. This was due to the cult's iron rule that lower-level demonic people should not reveal their identities without orders from above. It was a new order created after the Orthodox-Demonic War to avoid unnecessary external friction.

But not all demonic people were like that. Demonic people above a certain rank could reveal their identities in urgent situations to mediate.

"But?"

Baek Bong-pa's eyes questioned the man. The man was in charge of managing and protecting Spring Breeze.

At least as long as the man was protecting her, there was no need to kill a capable woman like Ihwa. No matter how well the Southern Mountains Alliance was doing these days, they couldn't kill a demonic person of the Cheonma Shin-gyo carelessly.

"Why didn't you get Ihwa out of there?"

"That's..."

Just then, two other men walked up from behind the man and said.

"I stopped him from intervening."

Baek Bong-pa was startled and stared at the two men.

They were middle-aged men with an aura that felt like great experts at a glance.

"Who are you...?"

At Baek Bong-pa's question, the middle-aged man took out a golden badge from his sleeve.

The word "Secret" was engraved on a picture of a hawk with its wings spread.

The middle-aged man revealed his identity himself.

"I am Lim Cheon-yeong, the Deputy Head of the Mystery Pavilion within the Black Dragon Unit."

Baek Bong-pa tensed up at the mention of the Black Dragon Unit. Moreover, the Deputy Head of the Mystery Pavilion?

The Black Dragon Unit was an information agency led by Sa Do-in, the Chief Military Advisor of the Cheonma Shin-gyo. The Mystery Pavilion was where the best elite demonic people within the Black Dragon Unit gathered, and they specialized in handling matters related to Cheonma. Due to the nature of their work, their power within the cult was very great.

It was only natural that Baek Bong-pa would freeze up.

"I am Baek Bong-pa, in charge of the Infinite Branch."

As Baek Bong-pa greeted him politely, Lim Cheon-yeong said in a soft tone.

"You've worked hard."

"But what brings you here...?"

Baek Bong-pa asked cautiously. Of course, it must be related to Ihwa's death.

"It's top secret."

"Yes."

Although he obediently lowered his head, Baek Bong-pa was inwardly dissatisfied.

'Damn it! It's always like this.'

But it wasn't like the higher-ups understood his situation. With Ihwa's absence, the Infinite Branch's income would be cut in half, and he would have to take responsibility for it.

"Leave this matter to us and step back."

At Lim Cheon-yeong's overbearing command, Baek Bong-pa cautiously protested.

"But this is related to the death of my subordinate. Moreover, the dead woman was playing an important role in this branch."

"This matter is being treated very seriously by this pavilion. I will report Baek Branch Leader's situation to the higher-ups separately, so don't worry."

When Lim Cheon-yeong said that much, Baek Bong-pa could no longer question him.

"I understand."

Baek Bong-pa felt inwardly doubtful. Ihwa was a valuable and important woman from his point of view, but she was not someone that the Mystery Pavilion would be interested in.

'Why did they step in?'

He felt afraid of how this matter would affect his future. But unfortunately, Lim Cheon-yeong didn't say anything more.

"Then please call me anytime if you need anything."

"I will."

After exchanging light greetings, Baek Bong-pa and his subordinates left the place.

Only Lim Cheon-yeong and Ha Yeong-gi, one of the Mystery Eight Shadows, Lim Cheon-yeong's direct subordinate, remained there.

Looking down at Ihwa's corpse, Lim Cheon-yeong said quietly.

"This matter is classified as the highest level of secrecy within this pavilion."

Ha Yeong-gi had been Lim Cheon-yeong's right-hand man for the past ten years, but he had never seen Lim Cheon-yeong so cautious.

Even Ha Yeong-gi did not know the details of this matter.

He only knew that the Head of the Mystery Pavilion and another of the Mystery Eight Shadows had been monitoring someone for twenty years. There had been several personnel changes in the meantime, but the premise that the most outstanding people of the Black Dragon Unit were dedicated to the task remained unchanged.

In short, an operation in which the most secretive people within the Demonic Cult had been involved had been going on for as long as twenty years.

A surprising remark came from Lim Cheon-yeong's mouth.

"Our Mystery Pavilion within the Black Dragon Unit was created after the Great Demon War ended. Do you know why the Mystery Pavilion was created?"

"I don't know."

"It's to specialize in one thing."

The task that the Head of the Mystery Pavilion had been specializing in for twenty years. What on earth could that be?

It was clearly related to the Spring Breeze incident this time. That was why Lim Cheon-yeong and he had intervened in this matter.

Ha Yeong-gi asked cautiously.

"What is the identity of the young man Jeok Leegeon?"

Clearly, Lim Cheon-yeong had prevented the demonic people of the Infinite Branch from intervening because of the young man Jeok Leegeon. The fact that Jeok Leegeon was involved meant that they had stood by and watched the woman Ihwa die.

"You will soon find out. Now that he has moved, we must be very careful from now on. A small mistake will lead to death. Do you understand?"

"I will keep that in mind."

"Contact the main unit with a top-priority message."

A moment later, a hawk flew up from the place.

As a hawk specially trained by the Mystery Pavilion, it flew twice as fast as an ordinary carrier hawk towards its destination. The hawk flew so far that it could no longer fly and entrusted its mission to another companion.

After five hawks had taken turns, the place where the last hawk arrived was Daechunsan, the homeland where they were born, raised, and trained.

The carrier hawk passed through ten Absolute Demonic Formations and the Demonic Family Village where the families of the demonic people lived, and arrived at a small, neat main hall. The inscription written on the entrance of the building was the Mystery Pavilion.

Flap.

The one who retrieved the message from the carrier hawk's ankle was one of the Mystery Eight Shadows.

The Mystery Eight Shadows' actions quickened as they checked the color of the string tying the message. A top-priority message had arrived.

The Mystery Eight Shadows ran to the office of Sa Do-in, the Head of the Black Dragon Unit.

"A top-priority message has arrived from the Deputy Head."

Sa Do-in quickly read the delivered message. Sa Do-in, who usually did not show any emotional changes, had a serious expression on his face.

"Issue an emergency alert within the Black Dragon Unit."

"I understand."

Sa Do-in left his office and headed somewhere.

The more he moved, the more thorough the invisible and strict security became.

The place he arrived at was a huge main hall.

The inscription on the signboard below the huge ogre statue at the entrance told in just three letters that the most important person in this Daechunsan lived here.

Cheonma Palace.

Sa Do-in entered the Cheonma Palace.

Sa Do-in slowly walked down the long corridor where the demonic energy of the hundred elite Cheonma Guardian Unit, the Red Hawk Unit Martial Artists, could be felt from all directions.

Creak.

Finally, Sa Do-in entered the Cheonma Great Hall.

Six demonic people were lined up to the left and right of the Grand Preceptor's Chair in the center, three on each side. Each one's aura seemed capable of splitting the world, and the overflowing demonic energy was so intense that ordinary Jianghu people would collapse from suffocation upon entering.

They were the Six Demonic Venerables of the current Cheonma Shin-gyo.

They were the successors of the Six Demonic Venerables who died in the Orthodox-Demonic War twenty years ago. Once young and green, they had now grown into perfect middle-aged demonic people, just like the Six Demonic Venerables of the past.

And in the center of them, an old man sat with a presence greater than all six Demonic Venerables combined. His deep eyes, whose depth could not be fathomed, were so terrifying that no one dared to meet them.

He was none other than the current Cheonma, Yoo Jincheon.

In the suffocating silence, Sa Do-in said calmly.

"Young Master Jeok has descended."

The gazes of the Six Demonic Venerables, who knew better than anyone what that meant, turned to Yoo Jincheon all at once.

A complex emotion flashed across Yoo Jincheon's face. He seemed happy, and he seemed angry. His unfathomable eyes became even deeper.

Sa Do-in added.

"He is said to have descended with the goal of Supreme Domination."

At that moment.

"Kuhahahaha!"

Yoo Jincheon laughed heartily, making the Great Hall resound.

Even Sa Do-in, who was known as the most intelligent person in the world, could not guess what he was thinking now.

Instead, he could be sure of one other thing.

Now, the time had finally come for the Cheonma Shin-gyo, which had been petrified like a fossil, to awaken from its deep sleep of twenty years.