CHAPTER: Chapter 40
=========================================
The instructor’s quarters of the Demonic Academy, shrouded in darkness.
The residence of “Iron Fist” Ga Cheon-ak was, like its owner, somber and spartan.
Sarak―.
The silence was broken by an uninvited guest.
“Who’s there?”
A masked figure emerged from the shadows.
“I am from the Serpent-Scorpion Mo Clan. I hear Instructor Ga Cheon-ak has been tasked with investigating that whelp, Uncheon. Hand over his admission records and any weaknesses you’ve found.”
The man cut straight to the chase, placing a heavy pouch on the table.
Clink.
A dull metallic sound.
It was filled with heavy silver nyang.
“This should be more than enough for your troubles.”
Ga Cheon-ak, arms crossed, looked down at the man with a face like stone.
It was true that he had ordered a background check on Uncheon.
The Serpent-Scorpion Mo Clan was trying to exploit this opening to buy him off.
“……”
When Ga Cheon-ak remained silent, the man mistook it for assent.
He continued with a vile smile.
“I hear you’re rivals with Instructor Jeok Mugwang, aren’t you? Tsk, tsk, isn’t Instructor Jeok pathetic? To be defeated and humiliated by a mere brat like that.”
Ga Cheon-ak’s thick eyebrows twitched.
“Pathetic?”
“Is he not? I even approached him to offer a chance at revenge, but he had the nerve to get angry instead.”
The man chattered on excitedly, oblivious to the fact that the air in the room was growing as heavy as lead.
A moment later, Ga Cheon-ak’s lips parted.
“He only got angry, you say….”
Ga Cheon-ak slowly rose to his feet.
Wooooong―.
An oppressive aura, like a great mountain of rock rising, pressed down on the man.
“That Jeok Mugwang… he’s mellowed out quite a bit. It’s a wonder he didn’t tear you limb from limb on the spot.”
“What? What do you mean…?”
“You people seem to hold not only Instructor Jeok but the entire Demonic Academy in very low regard.”
Kwaduk!
Ga Cheon-ak’s hand shot out like a bolt of lightning.
His hands seized the man’s head, along with the money pouch on the table, in a single motion.
“Ugh, ugh?!”
“Uncheon… that boy is not someone that snakes like you can insult with your forked tongues. He is a ‘martial artist’ whose defeat even that prideful man, Jeok Mugwang, acknowledged.”
Crack.
Ga Cheon-ak’s grip tightened.
The grip of the Iron Fist, said to be able to crush steel like dough.
The silver nyang in the pouch ground against each other, screaming, as the man’s skull, unable to withstand the pressure, began to deform.
“How dare you come to me with such a filthy bribe? There are limits to insulting an instructor of this Academy. Know that this money will be your fare for the underworld.”
“S-spare…!”
Kwa-jik―! Jjeojeojeok!
A horrific rupturing sound echoed through the room.
“Gurgle…!”
Under Ga Cheon-ak’s terrifying grip, the hard skull and the silver nyang were mashed together, kneaded into a pulp.
The man’s head exploded before he could even let out a proper scream.
Spilled blood gushed over the table, staining the scattered silver nyang crimson.
Ga Cheon-ak casually shook his blood-splattered hand and muttered coldly.
“…How insulting. To think they’d try to buy me with a mere pouch of money. Did I look that pliable to them?”
A shadow appeared in his otherwise empty quarters and answered.
“How could that be possible?”
Ga Cheon-ak looked down at the lump of flesh sprawled on the floor and gave a cold command.
“Adjutant, return this man to the Serpent-Scorpion Mo Clan, along with his filthy money. I have a message for them.”
“……Hmph!”
The Master of the Poison Fang Hall trembled with rage at the ‘gift’ delivered before him.
The trusted subordinate he had sent had returned as a mangled heap of flesh mixed with silver coins.
Beside it lay a letter written in blood.
[A warning. The Demonic Academy is where the future of our Cult is nurtured. Do not wag your filthy tongues.]
“Grrrind…!”
A hissing sound came from the armrest of the chair gripped by the Master, and black smoke billowed up.
The wood was melting under his toxic energy.
“How dare a mere instructor of the Demonic Academy!”
The prestige of the Serpent-Scorpion Mo Clan, one of the Twelve Guardian Clans of the Cult, had been dragged through the mud.
Their promising disciples had been defeated, an Elder had been crippled, and now, a common instructor from the Demonic Academy was openly mocking their clan.
“Are you telling me both the investigation and the recruitment failed?! What is all this fuss over a single cadet?!”
Just then, a shadow prostrated in the darkness hastily lifted its head.
“Not everything has failed, Master!”
“What?”
“We failed with major figures like Ga Cheon-ak and Jeok Mugwang… but we succeeded in recruiting one of the greedy Assistant Instructors in the Demonic Academy who lacks a powerful backer!”
The Master’s eyes glinted.
“Oh, is that so?”
“He is a newly appointed Assistant Instructor with a weak position, and he holds a grudge against Uncheon for a past humiliation.”
The shadow reported with a sly smile.
“According to our intelligence, the whelp Uncheon regularly travels between the Inner Archives and the Demonic Physician's Hall. If we use the recruited instructor as bait and strike when his guard is down, we have a chance of success.”
A cruel smile finally spread across the Master’s lips.
The source of all this trouble was one person.
There would be no better opportunity than now, while the Life and Death Venerable is in secluded cultivation.
“Hmph, very well. Deploy the elites of the Poison Fang Hall. With an accomplice on the inside, I will not tolerate failure.”
The Master of the Poison Fang Hall reached out as if to clutch the very air.
“While the Life and Death Venerable is in seclusion, bring that whelp before my eyes! I will pry his mouth open myself!”
“As you command…!”
“Hoo… Huuk….”
Inside a training stone chamber, tucked away in a corner of the Inner Archives amidst the inky fragrance of thousands of ancient texts.
The sound of ragged breathing echoed rhythmically.
“Archive Ghost” Baek Ri-hyeon watched the scene, clicking his tongue.
‘…That madman. Is that how a human being trains?’
At the end of his gaze was Uncheon.
Uncheon was doing push-ups, shirtless.
Not ordinary push-ups, but handstand push-ups.
He supported his entire body weight—no, the weight of the jet-black Blacksteel Cold Iron shackles on his arms and legs—with only his two hands.
‘That’s not easy even with just his body weight… but with all that extra mass…?’
Baek Ri-hyeon had sensed a change in Uncheon the moment he returned to the Inner Archives.
The cold, chilling aura emanating from his body was clearly a sign of internal energy.
However, right now, all he could feel from Uncheon’s movements was the searing heat of a body screaming in agony.
‘He doesn’t even seem to be using his internal energy….’
Baek Ri-hyeon’s observation was accurate.
Uncheon was deliberately restricting his internal energy.
He was enduring that absurd weight with nothing but pure muscle, bone, and willpower.
Udeudeuk.
The muscles on Uncheon’s back twisted like ropes, crying out.
The sweat pouring from his entire body soaked the floor, forming what looked like a puddle of rainwater.
‘Extreme physical torment….’
But Uncheon’s expression was not one of pain.
If anything, it was serene.
He was performing the forms of the Heaven and Earth Movement Art, regulating his ragged breaths with the Life-Extending Breathing Method.
‘Exclude internal energy, bolster the body’s life force, and temper bone and flesh to their absolute limit.’
It was a desperate struggle to withstand the Heavenly Reversal Art, and at the same time, the path of a martial artist that Uncheon had chosen for himself.
‘I will forge a vessel of steel that can contain the Yin-Cold Energy and Yang Energy coiling within my body… and endure the Yin-Yang Primal Spirit Severed Meridians.’
His arms, which he had been training since dawn, trembled violently, and his blood vessels bulged as if they would burst.
Sweat flowing from his entire body drenched the floor.
This was his limit.
“Hup!”
With one final push, Uncheon sprang up from the floor, launching his body upright.
Thud―!
The stone chamber vibrated under Uncheon’s weight, amplified by the Blacksteel Cold Iron.
“Hoo….”
Hot steam billowed from Uncheon’s mouth.
Every muscle in his body was screaming, but he felt refreshed.
Ever since his rotating Dantian had formed, his body’s recovery speed had increased dramatically.
Training of this intensity would have left him bedridden for days before, but now, he felt fine after just a moment to catch his breath.
‘…This is what it feels like to train properly.’
He was wiping away his sweat and steadying his breathing when a voice spoke.
“Don’t you think you should take it easy? You’ve learned to use internal energy now, haven’t you? How long are you going to keep training your external body?”
Baek Ri-hyeon emerged from behind a bookshelf, a feigned look of annoyance on his face.
Uncheon chuckled and wiped the sweat from his body.
“Were you watching?”
“I wasn’t trying to. It’s just that your barbaric grunting is disturbing the tranquility of the archives.”
Though he grumbled, Baek Ri-hyeon kept sneaking glances at Uncheon’s hardened physique.
It was hard to believe this was the body of a patient with severed meridians he had seen just half a year ago when Uncheon first arrived at the Inner Archives.
“More importantly, isn’t today the day?”
“…The day?”
“Tsk, I knew it. Did all the blood rush to your head and make you forget your schedule?”
Baek Ri-hyeon crossed his arms and gestured outside with his chin.
“The sun is already at its zenith. Today is the day for your joint research with Miss Seol at the Demonic Physician's Hall.”
“Ah… has it been that long already?”
He had lost track of time, lost in the throes of his training.
As Uncheon hurried to get dressed, Baek Ri-hyeon cleared his throat and casually added a word.
“Ahem. And… I’ll be going with you today.”
“You? I thought we were mostly done organizing the necessary medical texts from the Inner Archives.”
As Uncheon asked back, puzzled, Baek Ri-hyeon’s face turned red.
“Well… that is, I think Miss Seol might have missed a few texts.”
His true intentions were obvious to anyone.
Baek Ri-hyeon had always shown a peculiar interest in Seol-yeong.
Hearing the news that she had improved thanks to Uncheon, he must have wanted to see her for himself.
Uncheon didn’t bother to probe further and simply smiled faintly.
Even if his motives were personal, he was still a physician. He would be a help to the research, not a hindrance.
“Well… sure. I’m sure Miss Seol will be happy to see you.”
“Hmph. I am merely going to provide support as the person in charge of the medical texts section! Don’t get the wrong idea!”
Though he kept clearing his throat, trying to hide his feelings, he was clearly pleased by the ready agreement.
Baek Ri-hyeon put on an air of importance, but his steps were much quicker and lighter than usual.
Most telling of all, he was grinning from ear to ear.
The two left the Inner Archives and headed for the Demonic Physician's Hall.
Baek Ri-hyeon, who was leading the way, suddenly slowed his pace.
“Hmm…? This is the path we always take… but something feels strange around the Inner Archives today.”
Uncheon did not answer immediately.
Instead, he swept a hand over the Blacksteel Cold Iron wrapped around his wrist.
“I thought it was about time they came.”
“……!”
It had been four months since the Life and Death Venerable entered seclusion.
As his joint research with Seol-yeong accumulated, his path between the Inner Archives and the Demonic Physician's Hall had become routine.
If someone were to target him, now was the most opportune time.
However, he couldn't yet be certain if the ones who took the bait were truly the Serpent-Scorpion Mo Clan, or just the dogs beneath them.
“Still, I'll have to see how many have come. And who decided to move personally.”
Baek Ri-hyeon’s face stiffened.
“Wh-what… Don’t tell me?!”
“If something happens, do not stray more than half a step from my left side.”
It was not a joke.
Baek Ri-hyeon swallowed dryly.
Uncheon’s voice was far too calm.
That calmness was, paradoxically, even more chilling.
The moment the two entered the forest path.
Pssh―!
A short, thin sound of something slicing through the air tore through the darkness.
Uncheon’s eyes flashed.
Grab.
He roughly yanked Baek Ri-hyeon by the collar.
“Kuh!”
Half a beat later, a jet-black needle grazed the spot where Baek Ri-hyeon’s neck had been and embedded itself in the trunk of a tree.
Tsssss―!
In an instant, the tree bark melted, turning pitch-black.
The color drained from Baek Ri-hyeon’s face.
“A p-poison needle…!”
Before his shock could even subside, the silence of the forest shattered as killing intent flooded the area.
Swish-swish-swish―!
Black shadows leaped out from all sides of the forest.
Figures clad in night-traveling clothes and masks, despite it being broad daylight.
They spread out in a semicircle, cutting off the escape route, and completed their encirclement in an instant, maintaining a precise distance from one another.
A formation without a single flaw.
It was clear at a glance that they were trained assassins.
“Kekeke… I’ve been waiting, you brat.”
A man who appeared to be the leader emerged from among the shadows.
His voice was low, as if intentionally suppressed, but he couldn't hide the excitement simmering within it.
“The Life and Death Venerable is in seclusion, and Gal Muh-eun is holed up in his office. Who will save you this time?”
Uncheon slowly placed a hand on his scabbard.
“It seems I won’t have time to wait for anyone else.”
He took half a step back toward Baek Ri-hyeon and added in a low voice.
“Don’t panic. The more you do, the more likely they are to strike you first.”
Baek Ri-hyeon looked offended, but he couldn't refute it.
‘…Damn it. It’s infuriating, but he’s right.’
If not for Uncheon, the sudden poison needle would have ended his life.
“It doesn’t matter if you kill his companion.”
The leader laughed cruelly.
“Get him! Capture him alive, but if he resists, you have my permission to sever his limbs!”
The moment the order was given, the assailants surged toward Uncheon.
Seeing this, a panicked Baek Ri-hyeon shouted.
“U-Uncheon! You have to get away!”
But Uncheon did not flee.
“No. There is no greater folly than showing your back to assassins.”
Crack.
Instead, he lightly rolled the wrist adorned with the Blacksteel Cold Iron and took a step toward the approaching shadows.
Uncheon’s gaze turned cold and settled.
“Stay right behind me. There are more of them than I expected.”
Author |
Chusang (秋霜)
Publisher |
Samyang C&C Inc.
Editor-in-Chief |
Editorial Department
Published by |
Samyang C&C Inc. - Dream Books
Address |
7th Floor, Gwangseong Building, 28 Bongeunsa-ro 114-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, Republic of Korea
UCI |
G720:N+A063-20260306113
Blog |
blog.naver.com/dreambookss
Twitter (X) |
@dreambookss
Submissions |
[email protected]
The contents of this book may not be used in any form or by any means without the written permission of Samyang C&C Inc. - Dream Books.
0 Comments