Chapter 553

It resembled the Azure Moon Sect’s?

What was that supposed to mean?

“What are you talking about?”

I did not understand. Heavenly Sword’s sword resembled the Azure Moon Sect’s sword?

Was that even possible?

No way.

I had once heard about someone impersonating the Sword Saint’s inheritor.

Was this that? The possibility flashed through my mind.

No, but if that were the case—

If Cloud Dragon noticed it—

That meant Heavenly Sword had let it show. Heavenly Sword was not an idiot. Did that even make sense? That bastard was......

......Wait.

My eyes narrowed.

Was he showing it on purpose?

That possibility also came to mind. I could not know for sure. There were cases where someone deliberately revealed something.

And if he did that—

If he meant to see my reaction.

That could make sense. But.

If that was the case, then not in front of Cloud Dragon.

He should have shown it in front of me.

“Why did you think that?”

I asked for now. Rather than thinking alone, I needed to gather information.

“......Because the shape and method of his Sword Aura were quite similar.”

“Similar?”

He could tell just from seeing that? As I tilted my head in doubt, Cloud Dragon spoke.

“I once dug into Young Master Bang’s sword.”

“Mm?”

My sword? What was he talking about?

“After losing to you in a spar, I spent a while doing nothing but that like a madman. I wanted to face you again someday, you see.”

“......Mm.”

So he had been obsessively gathering information? He looked embarrassed as he said it. It seemed even he thought it made him seem somewhat gloomy.

No, well, that isn’t the important part.

Cloud Dragon’s gloominess was not the issue right now. What mattered more was the martial art Cloud Dragon had seen.

“So. You’re saying his sword resembled mine? How did it resemble it? The shape of the Sword Aura?”

“Yes.”

What did it mean for the shape of the Sword Aura to resemble mine? When I asked, Cloud Dragon answered.

“......That pure-white, shining Sword Aura. It resembled the one Young Master Bang uses.”

“It resembled Radiant Moon Flash Aura.”

The Azure Moon Sect’s Sword Aura was Radiant Moon Flash Aura. No, to be exact, that was the Sword Aura left behind by Sword Saint Yoo Cheongil.

Different from other Sword Aura of the Azure Moon Sect. Its defining feature was a far brighter and more splendid light.

That became the foundation for using Moonbolt and other martial arts.

And it resembled that?

Strange. Resembled? Yes, it could resemble it.

There were many domains of heart arts, and some could vaguely resemble each other.

However, if the direction of the sword or the sword path itself was the same, that could become a problem.

What is this?

Cloud Dragon was not some third-rate nobody. He was also someone called a genius. He would not have reacted like this simply because it resembled mine on the surface.

It meant there was definitely something there.

“It is only circumstantial, but it bothers me.”

“Mm.”

I understood what he meant.

“I see.”

I replied with the sense that I would keep it in mind. Then I looked at his body.

“How is your body? Is it all right?”

“......This much is fine.”

“That’s good. Then.”

I looked upstairs, in the direction Peng Dojun had gone.

“What’s with that side?”

When I asked why Peng Dojun was acting like that, Cloud Dragon flinched. I understood from his reaction. Something had definitely happened.

“That is.......”

But when I saw him hesitate, I spoke again.

“If it’s awkward, you don’t have to say it.”

It felt like it would be better for Peng Dojun to say it himself. I decided to let that side pass for now.

Right.

That was not what mattered right now. Peng Dojun being strange was hardly a new thing.

Heavenly Sword, huh.

His sword resembled mine.

At those words, my expression twisted.

The situation had already been bothering me.

Even more now.

Because that bastard was weighing on my mind even more.

*****

A day passed.

Meaning, exactly one day had passed since training ended.

Nothing changed much during that time.

Well, it was only one day. There would be another training session, but it was not today.

Several people had been injured during the bead-related training.

So a day of leisure had appeared for their recovery.

“Mm.”

That was why I went outside. Even though we were members of the orthodox faction, no guards were openly attached to us.

They told us to go out as we pleased and do what we wanted. I heard something about the Holy Cult’s broad-minded generosity or whatever, but—

That’s just the public face.

It was only that way outwardly. There was no way there were no eyes or ears.

There were probably eyes watching us. I simply did not care about them.

Let them look if they wanted.

It was not as if I was about to do anything.

That was why I went outside. I figured the others would handle themselves and did not bother asking.

It seemed better to let them rest.

And.

I have someone to meet, too.

Someone to meet. There was someone I had to see with the end of this day.

“......You really came.”

“Would I come fake, then?”

The place I had found was none other than Woo Young Jin’s family. I had already spoken with this guy the day before.

The moment I heard there was no training the next day, I had come looking for him.

“You said you were coming, and you actually came? You. Are you truly sane?”

“What would make me insane?”

It was just, well.

“Isn’t it roughly like visiting a friend’s house?”

“......You do know that is nonsense, yes?”

“You caught me.”

Friend’s house, my ass. He was a member of the Holy Cult. How could coming to his space be the same as going over to hang out?

“What business do you have?”

Woo Young Jin was also guarded in a way that was not quite guarded. It was an unusual situation, so of course he was.

“I have things to ask. And I thought we should try getting closer.”

“What a wonderfully novel piece of bullshit. Try getting closer? You and I? Do not make me laugh. Get to the point.”

“Could you obtain something for me?”

“......Ha.”

His eyes said he had expected as much. What? Had he been hoping for something? Did he think we would really become friends? As if.

Keeping things simple and transactional is comfortable for both of us.

I was busy too. I could not waste today’s day off like this.

Especially since I would have to move even busier starting tomorrow.

“So it is a deal.”

“Correct. Let’s make a deal.”

“What will you do if there is nothing I want from you?”

“There is, isn’t there?”

“What is that certainty? Why are you deciding there must be......?”

“Ambitious people are always too busy using anything they can use. The moment you showed your face, this conversation was already over.”

“.......”

Ambition. Woo Young Jin’s reaction changed at that word. Right. This bastard had ambition. It would be a lie to say he did not.

He had admitted himself that he was on bad terms with the Young Cult Leader, and when mentioning Heavenly Sword, he had given off a subtle inferiority complex.

This bastard.

Is he aiming for the Heavenly Demon’s seat?

At present, the Holy Cult’s god was vacant. There was a high chance he was aiming for that position. No. Not a chance. It was certain.

Bastards with eyes like these were usually like that.

Eyes dreaming of the summit.

But because the road there was rugged and not easy for him, they were eyes carrying a subtle unease.

Those were the kind of eyes he had.

“......That is absurd. Even so, what could you possibly give me?”

“That is something for you to figure out. For now, do me a favor. I’ll listen to what you have to say later too.”

“What exactly is your goal?”

“It’s not that different from yours.”

“What?”

“Alliance Leader of the orthodox faction.”

“......!”

“I’m actually aiming for that too.”

“Last time, you said you were not—”

“Come on. That was just words.”

This was a lie. I was not aiming for it. What would I even do with something like that? But right now, I felt he would only listen if I said it this way.

“You are aiming for the Alliance Leader’s seat......?”

“You must be aiming for the Heavenly Demon’s seat. So let’s help each other out a little.”

“......Do you think you can offer help for that?”

“Who knows? As I said earlier, that is something you must choose. Not me.”

“.......”

“If you can’t decide, let’s just do what needs to be done. I need something, so please handle that much.”

“What.......”

“I need information on the Holy Cult’s current elders and their factions.”

“......!”

At my words, Woo Young Jin’s eyes widened. His face immediately twisted.

“You son of a bitch.”

Grab!

He seized me by the collar just like that.

“Are you telling me to sell the Holy Cult’s information?”

At the words that he should become a traitor, his attitude changed completely. Anger seemed to surge through him.

“You orthodox-faction trash does not know your place. Do you think you can do something like this and survive?”

His loyalty to the Holy Cult seemed stronger than I had expected. In that case, it was time to use a slightly different move.

“Why wouldn’t I think that? What are you misunderstanding right now?”

“What?”

“When did I tell you to betray the Holy Cult? I just asked you for some information.”

“How is that any different from what I said?”

“It is different.”

Crack.

I grabbed the hand clutching my collar and twisted it.

“Kgh!”

Overpowered, his hand was pushed away.

“Did I ask you to give me secret information? I’m asking you to organize what is already known and give it to me. You have that, don’t you?”

“......What are you.......”

“Information on the elders. And information on the factions that branched off from them. I know you have all of that. Sort out what needs sorting, leave out what you can’t give, and give me what you can. I’m too lazy to look into it myself, but if I did, I could find all of it anyway.”

“.......”

It was nothing but wordplay. This bastard knew that, and so did I. But this was enough to coax him.

Loyalty to the Holy Cult? Sure, it could exist. But.

“So. Isn’t this also an opportunity for you?”

To someone who understood opportunity, something else would be more tempting than that kind of loyalty.

At least I had given him an escape route.

The claim that I could find out as much as I wanted if I tried.

And even that I was only asking him to compile things that were publicly known, not secrets. If he heard only that, I judged that from his position, these were things he could sufficiently do.

“......How much time do you need?”

As I expected, he spoke. Hearing that, I smiled.

“Can you give it to me by tomorrow?”

“I will send someone.”

“That sounds good.”

“.......”

Distance opened between us. As I smiled in satisfaction, Woo Young Jin asked me.

“You. Are you truly an orthodox martial artist?”

“I think so.”

Sometimes I got confused too, but I was probably still one for now.

*****

I left right after speaking with Woo Young Jin. Since this guy’s family and the Holy Cult were a little far apart, I intended to move somewhat quickly.

At that moment—

“Were you waiting?”

I asked the presence I felt outside. At my question, the figure standing still by the building moved.

“What business do you have? You’ve looked busy lately.”

[.......]

The person who appeared was a masked Demonic Cultist.

One of the Eight Demons.

Severing Demon.

It was Mi Yeonhwa.

[......What exactly have you been doing?]

“What do you mean, what have I been doing?”

I shrugged and spoke to her.

“I’m doing what I have to do.”

[What you have to do?]

“Yes. What I have to do.”

The answer I had to give her already existed as well.

“I’m preparing to become the Heavenly Demon.”

[......!]

At my words, Mi Yeonhwa’s body jolted.

This too—

Was half sincere.