<em>Swish.</em>
The night was thick with killing intent, shrouding the cold winter in an oppressive silence.
Henan.
A ck cloud drifted slowly towards Henan, moving like a sinister omen.
“Hehe…”
Within the nasty, murky cloud, an old man with white hair chuckled—a dry, raspy voice sound escaping his scarred throat.
The old man was the ck Dragon, a name that once struck fear across the Central ins. After unifying the Unorthodox Faction for the first time, he tried to seize control of the whole of Central ins, starting from Sichuan.
“It’s Henan.”
In the distance, buildings lit up the night. It was the domain of the Murim Alliance and Shaolin, the heart of the Orthodox Faction.
The Henan Pce.The ck Dragon’s chuckle deepened as the pce came into view. How long had it been since he’dstid on this ce? And how long had he yearned to set foot on thisnd again?
“Great King.”
A man appeared behind the ck Dragon, kneeling as he presented a letter.
“A letter for you, Great King.”
“So fast. They must be desperate.”
The letter was from the one who had summoned the him here. The ck Dragon could tell from the tone of the letter. Something had either stirred them up or maybe something had happened to their child.
After reading the letter, he tucked it away, and then turned to his follower.
“Set up a formation. We’ll need to wait for a while.”
“Your wish is mymand!”
Those lurking in the fog sprang into action at the ck Dragon’smand, setting up defenses despite the risk of being detected so close to the Murim Alliance’s territory. The ck Dragon, however, showed no concern.
“How about you join them, instead of just standing there?”
The ck Dragon’s shifted toward a figure with dark, brooding eyes. The man stared back, unflinching.
“I am not your servant, Great King.”
The ck Dragon smirked at the Pce Lord.
“I brought you here to repay your dues, and yet you stand there sulking..”
“What made you think that it was a good idea for you toe to Henan?”
“What’s wrong with that?”
“This is Murim Alliance territory. You’ve been hiding in the shadows all this time—why show yourself now?”
The Pce Lord couldn’t wrap his around the old man’s recklessness. It was utterly ineddicient.
The ck Dragon simply smiled, his voice dripping with amusement.
“It’s because the time is ripe.”
“…Ripe?”
“If you are so worried, then why did you decide to follow me? Pce Lord.”
“…”
“Hehe, I could see it all. You have hopes for it, correct? The hope for you to find something that could break the Shackle on you.”
The ck Pce Lord frowned at the ck Dragon’s words.
It was because he had hit the mark.
The Pce Lord, along with the other Four Emperors and Five Kings, couldn’t set foot in thends of the Orthodox Faction because they belonged to the Unorthodox Faction. R
No, it was now the Four Emperors and Four Kings, as one had died.
“Even with that mysterious power of yours, I suppose you can’t do anything about the Shackle on you?”
“Watch your words.”
<em>Crack.</em>
A ck aura started to rise from the Pce Lord’s body.
Despite a threatening auraing out from him, the ck Pce continued to smile.
“Are you still trying to escape the grasp of the Shackle that the Tiger Warrior put on you?”
Following the ck Dragon’s words,
<em>Swoooosh!</em>
The aura rising from the Pce Lord’s body surged into arge shape and charged at the ck Dragon. But before it could strike,
<em>Pss…</em>
the ck aura disintegrated into dust, scattering with the wind as if it had never existed.
All it took was a small hand gesture from the ck Dragon.
“How about you pick the right opponent, if you want to il.”
“…Great King…!”
“I only epted you because I was interested in the darkness you possess. Are you not aware of who you are going against?”
<em>Crack.</em>
The Pce Lord clenched his fist, pulling back his Qi at the ck Dragon’s words.
In the past, during the time the Tiger Warrior for the people of the Orthodox Faction, and the ming Demon for the people of the Unorthodox Faction were active in the Central ins, there was a time when the Tiger Warrior made a visit to each and every one of the Four Emperors and Five Kings due to his hatred for them.
No one knew of this encounter, but it remained a humiliating secret for the Four Emperors and Five Kings, one they never wanted to be revealed.
Yet, the Pce Lord remembered it all too well.
<em>-Leave the Central ins, and never enter my sight ever again.</em>
The young martial artist’s heat was hotter than any me, but instead of killing the Pce Lord, he ced a Shackle on him and let him live.
Why though?
The Pce Lord never understood why the ming Demon spared him that day.
He wondered if it was because the ming Demon wanted to see him il pathetically.
Whichever it was, the Shackle’s power was overwhelming, forcing the Pce Lord to live like a coward until he found his Heaven.
Even after receiving new power through a blessing, he could only suppress the Shackle, never fully breaking free of it.
The Pce Lord had believed he could kill the ming Demon if they met again, but unlike his expectation, he came stronger than before.
<em>One of the Hundred Masters of the Central ins?</em>
What a joke.
Such a monster like him wasn’t just a mere master of the Central ins.
The same was true for the figure before him now.
The old man, who should have vanished in death, had instead be an even greater darkness.
“Are you done thinking?”
“…I hope that you don’t forget about our promise.”
<em>Chuckle.</em>
“Of course. After this is done, I shall get rid of the Shackle in your body.”
The Pce Lord wondered what this old man could do when even his Heaven couldn’t get rid of his Shackle, but he had no other choice but to believe him.
The ck Dragon turned away from the Pce Lord and looked at Henan once again.
The lights that shone brightly despite thete hour were still beautiful, captivating the ck Dragon’s gaze.
It was splendid.
The light was so beautiful that it tempted him want to get rid of it all.
“When will you start?”
“Start huh… Yes, a month from now should be fine.”
“Pardon?”
A month of preparation?
The Pce Lord couldn’t understand why it would take so long.
Noticing the Pce Lord’s confusion, the ck Dragon immediately provided an answer.
“Their side also asked me to wait after all.”
The ck Dragon recalled the contents of the letter he had read earlier.
He was asked to wait, as something needed to be done beforehand.
<em>Though it’s rude for that young blood to ask such a thing.</em>
How dare he tell him to wait.
It was disrespectful, but the ck Dragon knew that the child would turn into a big darkness in the future, so he decided to let him off the hook.
“More than that,”
<em>ck.</em>
The ck Dragon held a marble in his hand, lost in thought.
“I should wait, as I was told that the reinforcements will take some time to arrive.”
“Reinforcements?
Someone else ising?”
“It might have been safe to proceed if only the Qinghai Sword was present, but unfortunately, I’ve heard the Sword Queen is there as well.”
“So who did you call then?”
The ck Pce spoke in an offended tone.
Even with him, the need for reinforcements meant that he alone wasn’t enough.
After hearing the Pce Lord, the ck Dragon looked back at him with a strange gaze.
“It seems like you still didn’t let go of your pride and guilty conscience. This is why you aren’t able to escape the grasp of the Tiger Warrior.”
Hearing the ck Dragon’s words, the Pce Lord formed hundreds of sharp des with his ck aura.
They were hidden in the darkness of nighttime.
The dense aura once again charged right towards the ck Dragon.
However…
<em>Crack.</em>
The ck Dragon’s hand was quicker.
“Ugh…!”
“You weren’t like this in the past. I wonder what brought you to this state.”
Was it his Inner Demons, or the Pce Lord’s relentless pursuit of his desires?
The ck Dragon didn’t know, nor did he care to find out.
He just hoped that the Pce Lord wouldn’t fully lose himself before he’d used him to the fullest.
A figure like him was a hassle to hide, after all.
“You said you’re curious who the reinforcement is?”
<em>Swish.</em>
A cold breeze began to flow.
Carried by the wind, tinged with the scent of blood, the ck Dragon spoke in his dry voice.
“Dark King.”
“…!”
The Pce Lord’s eyes widened at the ck Dragon’s response.
He was one of the Seven Night Assassins’ chiefs, and the king of assassins who had never failed a mission.
The Dark King.
He was making his way towards Henan.
“With him involved, there won’t be any failures. You only have one task, so remember that.”
The ck Dragon removed his hand from the Pce Lord’s neck and walked away.
For some reason, it felt as if his body gradually became bigger, ever since the moon came up.
“That girl with the Ten Thousand Poisons Immunity. The blood rtive of Tang n.”
The Poison Phoenix, Tang Soyeol.
“All you have to do is capture that girl and bring it to me. It’s a very easy task.”
“…The Poison Phoenix? Not the descendant of the Sword Emperor?”
The Pce Lord briefly knew of the ck Dragon enmity towards the Sword Emperor, which was why he couldn’t understand.
The ck Dragon answered with a chuckle.
“Hehe… Unlike you, I’m not blinded by my desire for revenge for me to mess up my ns.”
“…”
Leaving the now-silent Pce Lord behind, the ck Dragon walked off into the forest.
The Formation was already in ce.
All that remained was to wait for the events that would unfold.
<em>This isn’t a bad opening act to let everyone know of my resurrection.</em>
<em>To let the world know</em> that I*, the ck Dragon, is alive, wiping out the Heavenly Dragon filled with the Orthodox Faction’s hopes and future, isn’t a bad idea at all.*
The reactions of everyone will be amusing after killing a ton of Young Prodigies.
<em>But I wonder what kind of expression you’ll make.</em>
When the Central ins are drenched in blood once again, all because he failed to finish the job.
Wi Hyogun.
The ck Dragon was very curious about what expression his old friend would make.
After entering the forest, the ck Dragon leaned against a huge tree and closed his eyes.
It was where the moon couldn’t be seen.
<em>It really isn’t long from now.</em>
he thought, eyes shut.
He will not fail this time.
The Sword Queen’s presence was unexpected, but the Dark King was called for her, and the ck Dragon found a way to avoid the sight of the Heavenly Eye.
As long as he acted cautiously to avoid the Harmonic Sword, his n would not fail.
<em>As long as…</em>
<em>No one like Wi Hyogun was present at the Heavenly Dragon Academy at this time.</em>
******************It had already been a month since I started attending the Academy.
It meant that I repeated this tedious routine about thirty times already.
If I had to pick one thing toin about, it would be the constant reminder each morning that I had to endure this for an entire year.
<em>What even is hands-on training?</em>
I heard that in a week, we’d be doing hands-on training to practice what we’d learned in lessons.
I was working pretty hard since there was a risk of getting suspended if I skipped training.
<em>Though I</em> don’t <em>mind the lessons.</em>
As I’ve always said, it’s unlikely anyone here knows more about Demons than I do.
And if there were, it would be one of the instructors. There’s no way I’d fail a test on Demons designed for students.
Thanks to that…
<em>-The True Dragon has a violent personality, but he is also smart.</em>
Rumors like that were spreading again.
Like, everything is fine.
But couldn’t they just say I’m smart?
Why did they have to add the violent personality part as well?
How absurd, seriously.
<em>I seriously need to find the person who spread the rumor and fold them into a rectangle.</em>
Who’s bastard was getting on my nerves?
I will find you, no matter what.
<em>Sigh.</em>
A sigh naturally left my mouth.
The rumors, the stares, the fact that I had to stay here for a year—all of it annoyed me. But there was something that irritated me even more.
“…Fuck, how do I do this?’
I was currently by the Head’s building.
I was sitting in the field of grass where I talked with Wi Seol-Ahst time.
My goal was the same as before.
To find the secret vault in the basement of the Heavenly Dragon Academy, and I was searching for a way to break through the Formation.
However,
<em>I can’t feel it…!</em>
I wasn’t able to find the Formation that I feltst time.
Back then, it was clearly visible when Wi Seol-Ah was fidgeting with it.
After waving my hand in the air for some time,
<em>No way…</em>
I frowned as a thought crossed my mind.
<em>…Can I not do it alone?</em>
Wi Seol-Ah had guided my hand to find it.
Does that mean I can’t find the Formation on my own?
<em>That’s a bit problematic.</em>
I thought that all I needed to do was find it again since I knew the location of it, but it was a serious problem if I needed help.
<em>Should I bring Wi Seol-Ah right now?</em>
It might confuse her, but I needed to make a quick decision.
I didn’t have too much time.
<em>nce.</em>
I turned my gaze to the Head’s building behind me.
<em>I have to finish before hees back.</em>
The Qinghai Sword wasn’t in his room at the moment.
It was because of the ‘request’ I made to the Sword Queen.
<em>…But I don’t know where Wi Seol-Ah is. What do I do?</em>
If I had known this would happen, I would’ve brought Wi Seol-Ah with me.
I thought I was going to be able to find it alone since I felt itst time.
<em>What should I do?</em>
I wasn’t sure if I had enough time to run back and bring Wi Seol-Ah here.
But it was also impossible for me to cause an explosion in this ce while also hiding the recoil that would form from it.
In order to break the Formation, I would need something powerful as the ming Sphere.
But if I used that, there’s no way the Qinghai Sword wouldn’t notice the explosion.
<em>Tsk.</em>
I was in a situation where I wasn’t able to do anything.
But I couldn’t afford to just space out.
I didn’t even have the time to hesitate.
In the end, right as I was about to leave to go find Wi Seol-Ah,
“What are you doing here?”
I heard a voice from behind me.
“…What, are you observing ants or something?”
I failed to notice their presence.
<em>Damn.</em>
I remembered just now.
Some unknown power from a treasure, or perhaps another source, had dulled my senses in this ce.
When I quickly turned my head around, I saw a person staring at me with a strange expression.
“…What are you doing here?”
When I asked with a speechless tone, the bastard mirrored my expression.
“That’s what I want to ask you.”
Standing there was a tall young man, I had to tilt my head up to meet his eyes.
Tall height, a handsome face, and a somewhat tired expression.
The young man with the Wudang’s outfit, was a bastard I was very familiar with.
Seeing him, I questioned him again.
“Why are you here?”
The Water Dragon, Woohyuk.
The bastard was watching me.