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SERIES: Return of the Divine Thief
CHAPTER 5: Return of the Divine Thief
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Return of the Divine Thief - Chapter 5
*Sssshk-*
“Gurgle, krrk……”
A faction member, his throat slit, clutched his neck and collapsed.
Many faction members had already fallen at Jo Yangtae's hands.
The Lodge Leader of the Red Bridge Faction and his three Elders, seeing that Jo Yangtae was far stronger than they'd anticipated, tried to flee, but.
“Where do you think you’re going, Lodge Leader!”
*Whoosh-!*
Enraged, Jo Yangtae threw the sword of the man he had just killed.
*Clang-!*
“Kugh…!”
The Lodge Leader barely managed to parry the blade and quickly retreated.
Soon, they were out of the room and on the stairs.
Leaving the clash of weapons behind them, the Elders asked urgently.
“L-Lodge Leader! What should we do?”
“…I have a plan. Follow me for now.”
The Lodge Leader intended to consume the Poison Flower Lotus he kept in the training hall.
‘I was saving it for when my mastery reached a higher level, but I have no choice.’
In the not-so-distant past, the Lodge Leader had acquired the Poison Flower Lotus by a stroke of luck.
While traveling, he had ‘coincidentally’ discovered the remains of a merchant caravan attacked by bandits. ‘As it happened,’ there was a shabby chest the bandits had overlooked, and ‘of all things,’ it contained a Poison Flower Lotus that pulsed with an extraordinary energy, visible at a single glance.
Since it was his first time seeing the real thing, he was hesitant to consume it recklessly. So, he consulted a renowned apothecary who was ‘conveniently’ staying at the Red Pavilion.
The apothecary had told him.
That it was indeed a Poison Flower Lotus, but an exceptional one.
He said it was a supreme elixir that contained far more yang energy than any other.
However, if the one who consumed it was not sufficiently prepared, they would only be able to absorb a fraction of its power.
He had advised that it was best to take it when facing an inner demon during a training breakthrough, which was why the Lodge Leader had kept it in storage.
‘But if I die here, all that is for naught.’
Jo Yangtae was stronger than expected, but if he could absorb even a tenth of the Poison Flower Lotus's power, he would have a fighting chance.
‘Jo Yangtae is strong, but I have three Elders on my side. If they hold him off at the narrow entrance to the training hall, I should have enough time to assimilate the Poison Flower Lotus.’
The Lodge Leader reviewed his plan as he headed for the underground training hall.
The basement of the Red Pavilion, which he hadn't visited in a while.
The musty smell, which lingered despite his orders for regular maintenance, reminded him of his youth when he had devoted himself to training.
Following his faint memory, the Lodge Leader stepped on the panels of the sequence lock in order.
He was slightly concerned about the Elders behind him memorizing the sequence, but he could always change the code after surviving this.
Soon, with a *grrrnd-* sound, the door to the training hall opened.
The training hall, once a place for martial arts practice, was now filled with dusty weapons and neatly arranged gold, silver, and treasures.
The Lodge Leader strode to the chest in the back where he kept the Poison Flower Lotus and opened it.
But, inside—
“…What is this……”
“You’re slower than I thought, Lodge Leader. I’ve been waiting for a while.”
A calm voice echoed through the training hall.
Between the Lodge Leader and the Elders, a young man who looked to be just past the age of fifteen suddenly appeared.
In his hand, he held a small wooden box.
“You, you! That box!”
“What about it?”
“Hand it over, now!”
“No.”
*Snap.*
The Lodge Leader felt something snap in the back of his neck.
Who in the world was this punk?
How did he get into the training hall, why was he holding the Poison Flower Lotus, and above all, how could he be so insolent?
As his thoughts stuttered to a halt from the sheer absurdity of the situation, an Elder who recognized the young man shouted.
“That face, I remember it!”
“Elder Heo. Do you know him?”
“He’s the tomb-builder that bastard Jo Yangtae keeps around.”
“A tomb-builder…? Why is someone like that here…?”
A tomb-builder, at a critical time like this?
No, more importantly, how could a mere tomb-builder be in this place?
As the Lodge Leader’s face flushed red with unanswered questions, the young man spoke.
“Thief.”
“…What?”
“Not a tomb-builder, a thief. And when a thief visits a rich man’s house, there’s only one thing to do.”
Muryang replied, cleaning his ear.
“This is the work of the greatest righteous thief in the Central Plains. Hand over everything you have.”
“Nonsense!”
Before the words were even finished, Elder Heo rushed toward Muryang.
A fierce attack, just as expected from an Elder of the region's top underworld faction.
In his past life, the Muryang of this time would never have been able to face him.
But.
*Thwack-*
Lightly dodging the sword coming at him, he plunged his own into the Elder’s neck.
“Your spirit is good, but you should keep your legs closer together when you charge.”
“Gurgle…”
Elder Heo tried to say something, but with the sword piercing his throat, no words came out.
A moment later, he died with a look of disbelief on his face.
The same was true for the Lodge Leader and the two remaining Elders.
Elder Heo hadn't been appointed an Elder just because he'd been with the Lodge Leader for a long time.
He had the skill to back up the title, yet he had lost his life to a single strike from a tomb-builder.
It took them a moment to process the unbelievable situation.
“Elder Heo!”
“How dare you?!”
“You must have a death wish!”
Muryang spoke to the Lodge Leader and Elders who were cursing at him.
“Too much talk. If you’re from the underworld, stop yapping and come at me.”
They couldn't respond to Muryang's threatening tone.
No matter how careless he might have been, Elder Heo had been taken down in a single blow.
They couldn't underestimate him as a mere tomb-builder; they had to take this seriously.
“L-Lodge Leader! While we attack him, you must retrieve the Poison Flower Lotus!”
This tomb-builder was clearly an accomplice of Jo Yangtae.
Elder Heo was dead, but they still had the numerical advantage.
It was obvious that if the three of them pressed him, an opportunity to snatch the elixir would arise.
“If you won’t come to me, then I’ll be so rude as to start.”
Muryang charged.
The two Elders also drew their swords in a hurry.
And they swung their blades at the approaching Muryang.
*Fwoosh.*
Two glints of sword light flew toward Muryang.
A candlestick was sliced in two, and a sharp gash appeared on a pillar.
But Muryang was no longer there.
“A little better than the last one.”
The two Elders turned their gazes to where the voice came from—behind them.
“Wh-when?!”
The Elders were shocked by Muryang, who was far faster than his aura suggested.
But they couldn't remain stunned for long.
Because Muryang, now using his Movement Technique in earnest, had vanished again.
“Where, where is he!”
“Here.”
Muryang, who had appeared before one of the Elders instantly, thrust his sword.
“You bastard!”
Their opponent's movements were extraordinary, but because they weren't caught off guard, they wouldn't fall as easily as Elder Heo.
However, the battle proceeded with Muryang in control from start to finish.
‘How can a kid be this skilled!’
‘Didn’t they say he was a tomb-builder?!’
The skill of this tomb-builder, who looked to be in his mid-teens, was anything but ordinary.
The Lodge Leader watched this unfold in silence.
He was looking for a chance to snatch the wooden box, but he couldn't find an opening.
‘Just where did this kid come from?’
His swordsmanship was impressive, but his Movement Technique was truly peerless.
No matter how talented one was or how great a master they had, martial arts was something one had to master on their own.
Even if he had both talent and a master, it was impossible for someone of the tomb-builder's age to display such movement technique.
‘Is he a direct descendant of some great clan?’
While focusing on finding an opening in Muryang's defense, the Lodge Leader speculated on his identity.
But his thoughts did not last long.
*Thwack!*
Because Muryang, while fighting the two Elders, had kicked various objects at the Lodge Leader.
The objects Muryang kicked flew straight toward the Lodge Leader at high speed.
They weren't threatening, of course, but they were enough to disrupt their coordination.
“You bastard! Using such dirty tricks!”
“The martial world may be ruthless, but there should be a minimum of courtesy!”
Courtesy is something one shows to people.
By Muryang's standards, these men were less than beasts.
“For dogs, you bark quite well.”
The two Elders were enraged by Muryang's reply.
They wanted to tear him to shreds right then and there, but it was all they could do just to block his attacks.
‘At this rate, we’ll be worn down and killed.’
They hadn't suffered any major blows, but minor wounds were accumulating as time went on.
They had to make a decisive move before they lost too much blood and their movements slowed.
“Elder Mok!”
Elder Mok understood the meaning behind the shout.
“Understood!”
As Elder Mok replied, a faint, bluish aura enveloped the two Elders' swords.
“A quick, decisive battle? I like the sound of that.”
Muryang also sent his internal energy into his sword.
The internal energy, which was pure and serene within his dantian, erupted with a profound yet sinister aura as it was released.
The sight made the two Elders break out in a cold sweat.
But they couldn't back down now.
*Thump!*
The two Elders stomped their feet, and a dull thud echoed from the floor.
In contrast, Muryang's step was as silent as a feather touching the ground.
That wasn't the only difference.
Unlike the two Elders, who tore through the air with their hair flying, Muryang advanced as smoothly as if he were gliding on ice.
The two Elders instinctively knew they would be gravely wounded in this exchange.
Hoping it wouldn't be them, they closed in on Muryang from the left and right simultaneously.
*-Flash.*
In that instant, Muryang's sword flashed like lightning.
Elder Mok hastily tried to defend, but it was too late.
Muryang's sword grazed his wrist, knocking his own sword away.
“Ugh!”
He almost dropped his sword from the searing pain, but he was a martial artist.
He managed to hold on to his sword, but that was all he could do.
Muryang spun and sliced through Elder Mok's torso.
‘This is my chance!’
Despite Elder Mok's death, the remaining Elder did not stop his attack.
Instead, he thrust his sword, hiding it behind Elder Mok's corpse.
He intended to skewer both Elder Mok and Muryang at the same time.
Truly a move befitting the underworld.
‘This attack will land-!’
But then he felt a sharp sensation pass through his neck.
*Shwick-!*
A sword strike as fierce and fast as a gust of wind.
A moment later, a thin red line appeared on the Elder's neck, and then.
*Fwoosh.*
His head separated from his torso, spewing blood.
“……”
The two Elders died without landing a single proper attack.
As the Lodge Leader was wondering what to do, he heard a familiar voice.
“Lodge Leader!”
It was Jo Yangtae.
‘Damn it!’
Dealing with a single tomb-builder was already a struggle, and now Jo Yangtae had appeared.
Jo Yangtae, who entered the training hall brimming with confidence, stopped in his tracks when he saw the dead Elders.
The one who had killed them was clearly Muryang, who stood there with a casual air.
Unconcerned by Jo Yangtae's arrival, Muryang studied him.
“Let’s see. Arms are intact, face is intact. Looking good.”
The sword scar that had crossed his face in his past life was gone, and his severed left arm was perfectly intact.
He was covered in blood, but seeing that all his limbs were intact, it was safe to say he was in far better shape than in his past life.
Jo Yangtae had many questions for Muryang, who was scrutinizing him.
Did he know things would turn out this way? Why was he in the training hall? How did he know of the Lodge Leader's evil deeds and his own past?
But now was not the time for such questions.
“…I will kill the Lodge Leader.”
“Be my guest.”
His objective, the Dokhwa-ryeon, was already in his possession.
It was only correct to let the man avenge his own parents.
Leaving Muryang behind without a word, Jo Yangtae walked toward the Lodge Leader, radiating killing intent.
Watching him approach, the Lodge Leader's hand, hidden within his robes, began to fidget.
‘Two against one. Both of them are stronger than me. I have no allies. In that case…’
Having made his decision, the Lodge Leader bit down on the antidote pill he had kept hidden in his mouth.
-Crack.
It was a faint sound, but Muryang was not one to miss it.
There were usually two reasons to crush a pill kept in one's mouth.
To commit suicide to avoid a gruesome end, or to take an antidote before using poison.
And given the Lodge Leader's character and his desperate cling to life, the former was highly unlikely.
“Hmph. This is what you get for acting so high and mighty with your pathetic skills.”
The Lodge Leader pulled a vial of poison from his robes and smashed it on the floor.
Crash-!
*Whoosh-* A mist with a slightly sour stench rapidly filled the training hall.
Muryang held his breath and instantly lunged toward Jo Yangtae.
*Whoosh.*
He grabbed Jo Yangtae by his blood-soaked collar and hurled him out of the training hall.
As he flew through the air, Jo Yangtae felt the internal energy in his body begin to scatter.
‘Energy-Scattering Poison!’
Even in the underworld, not everything was permissible.
Using poison, in particular, would make one a public enemy of all nearby underworld factions.
It was an unwritten rule born from the fact that if everyone started using poison, all semblance of order among the factions would collapse into utter chaos.
But Muryang, who had actually inhaled the poison, remained unfazed.
‘I breathed some in, but as long as I don't inhale anymore, it's not a problem.’
He could easily finish off someone like the Lodge Leader while holding his breath.
But then, something happened that even Muryang hadn't anticipated.
Saaaa-
He tried to use his internal energy to expel the inhaled poison, but the energy seated in his dantian began to purify it instead.
And that wasn't all.
The purified poison was absorbed into his own energy and returned to his dantian.
Faced with this phenomenon that defied all common sense, Muryang paused his attack.
Seeing this, the Lodge Leader, who assumed Muryang had succumbed to the poison, roared with laughter.
“Haha, serves you right! Go on, try moving like you did before!”
“Like before?”
Muryang smiled quietly and clenched his fist.
*Squeeze-* The feeling of his fist, now decidedly stronger and tougher, made him smile.
“That might be a little difficult.”
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