Chapter 319 – Human Greed Never Has an End (1)

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Discord

Hangzhou was the capital of Zhejiang Province. Being adjacent to the sea, it was abundant in seafood and had well-developed ports, making it a place visited by countless merchants throughout the four seasons.

There was West Lake, which boasted such beautiful scenery that Song Dynasty poet Su Dongpo compared it to Xi Shi, and above all, the Six Harmonies Pagoda, which served as a lighthouse, was famous.

The Six Harmonies Pagoda, reaching a height of over twenty zhang, appeared to have thirteen floors from the outside but actually had seven floors. Streamlined stairs led to the top of the pagoda, making it perfect for viewing all of Hangzhou at a glance.

A middle-aged man wearing a blue robe stood at the top of the Six Harmonies Pagoda.

His deep, black pupils formed a striking contrast with his pale skin, as if he had never been exposed to sunlight in his entire life.

He had an overall thin appearance, but his calm atmosphere like a deep lake drew attention.

He was looking down at Hangzhou with profound eyes. More precisely, he was looking at Hangzhou Port where numerous ships were anchored.

Dozens of large and small ships were anchored in the port, creating a magnificent sight. The ships weathered by sea winds still bore the weariness of long voyages.

From small fishing boats that caught fish in nearby waters to large ships that had traveled to distant foreign countries, the variety was extensive, and accordingly, the number of people walking around the port was numerous.

From simple workers carrying cargo to merchants checking if goods were in order, and even martial artists carrying swords. The port was truly teeming with countless people.

The middle-aged man’s eyes caught sight of one particularly large ship entering the port. As if it had made a very long voyage, white salt deposits were still visible on the ship’s sails.

A glint appeared in the middle-aged man’s eyes as he watched the ship.

That’s when it happened. A young martial artist rushed up to the top of the Six Harmonies Pagoda.

“Military Advisor, the ship is entering.”

“Yes! It’s finally arriving.”

A cold smile appeared on the middle-aged man’s lips.

His name was Sang Han-cheon. In the Demon Cult, he was called the Heavenly Demon Scholar or Military Advisor.

He who had disappeared from the Central Plains for the past three years had revealed himself in Hangzhou.

“Let’s go.”

“Yes!”

Sang Han-cheon descended the spiral stairs of the Six Harmonies Pagoda.

With each floor he descended, martial artists who had been standing guard followed behind him. When he had descended all seven floors, over seventy martial artists were following behind him.

The martial artists, all radiating extraordinary presence, were Sang Han-cheon’s escorts. Originally, Sang Han-cheon didn’t like receiving such grand escorts, but recently he had no choice but to accept such protection.

One of the martial artists following behind him carefully approached and spoke:

“Military Advisor.”

“Speak.”

“Urgent news from Sichuan Province.”

Sang Han-cheon’s smooth stride came to a complete stop.

“Sichuan Province?”

“Yes!”

For a moment, a chill flashed across Sang Han-cheon’s eyes. It was because he had an ominous feeling.

Hangzhou and Sichuan Province were located on opposite sides of the Central Plains. The distance was well over five thousand li. Therefore, no matter how quickly news traveled, it would take at least ten days. So the urgent news the martial artist was conveying meant something that had happened ten days ago.

“Speak.”

“The Demon Mother has escaped from Sichuan Province while injured.”

“The Demon Mother?”

For a moment, Sang Han-cheon’s pupils shook.

“That’s correct. She has temporarily taken refuge at the branch in Yunnan Province.”

“There’s no danger to her life?”

“It seems so.”

“What about the Ten Soldiers? I definitely instructed them to protect the Demon Mother.”

“That’s…”

The subordinate making the report hesitated for a moment. Then Sang Han-cheon’s gaze turned fierce.

“Speak quickly.”

“Four died, and the rest suffered various injuries.”

“Hmm!”

A groan flowed from Sang Han-cheon’s lips.

The Ten Soldiers weren’t simply rising talents. They were the future hope that the Demon Cult was strategically nurturing. Not only Sang Han-cheon but even the Cult Leader was paying special attention to the Ten Soldiers.

“Were there those in Sichuan Province who could put them in such predicament? Don’t tell me the Tang Clan betrayed us?”

“That doesn’t seem to be the case.”

“Then?”

“The Fist Demon…”

“The Fist Demon?”

Sang Han-cheon’s voice unconsciously rose.

Sang Han-cheon usually showed almost no change in expression. His usual belief was that a military advisor must maintain cold rationality in any situation. But now, large cracks were spreading across his face.

“The Fist Demon? You mean Dam-ho?”

“That’s correct.”

“He’s in Sichuan Province? Not at Mount Hua? Then why didn’t I know about this?”

“Sichuan Province is too far away, so news was delayed in reaching us.”

At his subordinate’s words, Sang Han-cheon bit his lips until they bled.

If not other places, Sang Han-cheon personally kept track of Mount Hua’s movements. It wasn’t for any other reason. It was because Dam-ho was there.

Having seen Dam-ho’s military power directly, he knew well how his danger exceeded imagination. That’s why he regularly received reports about Mount Hua.

The subordinate who had been watching Sang Han-cheon’s mood closed his eyes tightly and spoke:

“And…”

“Is there more to report?”

“Yes!”

His voice naturally trembled. He had to. Even he was afraid to report this content. He couldn’t predict how Sang Han-cheon would react to this report. It was such shocking news.

“Speak.”

“The Iron King of the North and the Demon Sword Immortal have passed away.”

“Who killed them?”

“The Fist Demon… Kek!”

CRASH!

Suddenly, the person making the report flew backward vomiting blood. Sang Han-cheon, who had been listening to his report, could no longer restrain himself and struck with his palm.

The subordinate making the report trembled briefly and then died. But Sang Han-cheon didn’t even glance at him. No, he couldn’t.

“Fist Demon, grrrr!”

He was angry enough to momentarily lose his reason. This was the first time in his life he had displayed such violent emotion.

Because of Dam-ho alone, the grand picture he had been drawing was being ruined. The mental effort and dedication he had poured into drawing in the Thirteen Branches was truly tremendous. The one he had drawn in was Seok Mu-gang, the leader of the Rock Cliff Stream.

But not only Seok Mu-gang but even Cheon Oh-gyeong, the inheritor of Sword Stream, had lost their lives. It was a shock great enough to shake the very foundation of the Demon Cult.

“Aaaah!”

His desperate cry echoed across the sky of Hangzhou.

Only after venting everything inside him like that did Sang Han-cheon regain his reason.

“What about the Tang Clan?”

“They too seem to be in a difficult situation because of the Fist Demon. They’re asking for help from our cult, but what should we do?”

Another subordinate stepped forward and answered hurriedly. Clear tension was visible on his face.

“Tell them to handle it themselves. After all, both sides joined hands out of necessity.”

“Understood.”

Sang Han-cheon’s eyes were gleaming with madness.

After all, they had joined hands out of necessity. There was no loyalty whatsoever in it.

“Anyway, there’s nothing we can do in Sichuan Province. Leave the Fist Demon to the Tang Clan and we’ll focus on our work here.”

“Yes!”

Once he made a decision, Sang Han-cheon regained his original coldness.

The distance to Sichuan Province was over five thousand li. It was already too late even if he acted now, and there was nothing he could do. In that case, cleanly cutting off concern was bad for mental health.

“Rather, this is a golden opportunity for us. The more the Fist Demon rampages, the more people’s attention will be drawn to Sichuan Province. We must never miss this opportunity.”

“Understood.”

Sang Han-cheon pressed his lips tightly together. Fresh blood was visible through his pressed lips.

While restraining his emotions like this, the place he headed to was the port where the large ship had just entered. As soon as he arrived at the port, a gangplank was lowered from the ship. And a man who appeared to be in his late thirties descended from the ship.

He was a man with an impressive sharp gaze like a hawk, contrasting with the relaxed smile on his lips.

Behind him in gray martial robes, hundreds of martial artists in identical attire could be seen. The appearance of martial artists all radiating identical atmosphere and presence as if cast from the same mold was bizarrely eerie.

Sang Han-cheon approached the leading man.

“Welcome.”

“Did you wait long?”

“Not at all!”

Sang Han-cheon smiled gently.

If anyone else had made him wait like this, he would have unleashed fury. But the man in gray was someone with sufficient qualifications to make him wait.

Ten Thousand Shadows Divine Lord Lim Hak.

One of the Four Great Corps Leaders and the gray martial artist said to possess ten thousand shadows. At the appearance of this martial artist who was among the best even within the Demon Cult, Sang Han-cheon felt his mood, which had fallen to the bottom, recovering.

‘You can rampage to your heart’s content in distant Sichuan Province, Fist Demon. Instead, we’ll cut off your lifeline.’

***

Clatter clatter! Clatter clatter!

The sound of horse hooves echoed clearly on the stone-paved official road. As the sun was setting, a black horse appeared on the official road.

On the black horse sat a man dressed in rags. The one wearing completely torn black clothes was Dam-ho.

The gazes of people around the official road turned toward Dam-ho.

“It’s the Fist Demon.”

“The Fist Demon has really appeared.”

People immediately began to stir.

Some of them were people living nearby, but a considerable number were people who had come here specifically to see Dam-ho’s appearance.

It was to directly witness the legend of the Fist Demon being written in Sichuan Province.

Dam-ho had come this far by breaking through the dragnet led by the Tang Clan. During this time, no sect, no martial artist had been able to stop Dam-ho’s steps.

Countless sects had suffered near-annihilation damage, and a tremendous number of martial artists had died or been injured.

Now people felt awe rather than fear toward Dam-ho. The fact that an individual could become this strong. The fact that he could stand proudly against the super-massive force called the Tang Clan made them tremble.

Everyone dreamed of it, but Dam-ho was doing what they thought impossible. People wanted to see such Dam-ho with their own eyes.

As if telling the story of his journey so far, Dam-ho and Black Ghost’s entire bodies were dyed red with blood.

People stared at Dam-ho and Black Ghost in fascination.

Then suddenly commotion arose from behind.

“It’s the Tang Clan.”

“Tang Clan martial artists have appeared.”

People’s gazes turned backward. Then they saw a group of martial artists approaching.

At the appearance of martial artists in green robes, which could be called the symbol of the Tang Clan, people held their breath and retreated.

As everyone knew, the Tang Clan was a family that used poison and hidden weapons. Poison and hidden weapons had no eyes. If they loitered nearby unnecessarily, they could meet with misfortune.

A man walked out from among the Tang Clan martial artists.

“Truly remarkable. To make me move personally.”

The man who spoke in a voice as cold as midwinter northern wind and snow was Tang Sa-il, the head of the Tang Clan. At his appearance, the people who had come to see Dam-ho held their breath.

Tang Sa-il could be called not simply the owner of the Tang Clan but the overlord of Sichuan Province and its strongest martial artist.

At his appearance, Dam-ho raised his head, which he had been lowering, to look.

Led by Tang Sa-il, countless Tang Clan martial artists were glaring at him. Tremendous military power incomparable to the sects that had spread dragnets until now was blocking his path. Still, there was no particular change in Dam-ho’s expression.

Dam-ho dismounted from Black Ghost and walked toward him. For a moment, Tang Sa-il and all the Tang Clan martial artists flinched.

They were overwhelmed by his appearance and force, which showed no hesitation even against Sichuan’s strongest military power.

Shameful expressions appeared on the Tang Clan martial artists’ faces. They were ashamed of being momentarily overwhelmed by Dam-ho’s presence. They soon boosted their fighting spirit and glared at Dam-ho.

Though that would be enough to intimidate most, Dam-ho looked at Tang Sa-il with an indifferent expression.

Tang Sa-il’s pupils became transparent like glass beads. His appearance, changed like snake eyes, added eeriness.

“Fist Demon.”

“……”

“You die here today.”