“Master.”
At the Soul-Devouring Demon Sovereign's cry, Jin Ha-gun and the Demon Slaying Branch warriors understood.
That the Wind Heaven Sect Leader had arrived.
That the man standing proudly at the prow of the giant ship was the Wind Heaven Sect Leader.
The Soul-Devouring Demon Sovereign had said she was late because she was meeting someone important; they now knew it was the Wind Heaven Sect Leader.
“The Wind Heaven Sect Leader came all the way here?”
The Soul-Devouring Demon Sovereign answered Jin Ha-gun's surprised question.
“Branch Master Jin, you have no idea how much the Young Cult Master has worried about this.”
Jin Ha-gun thought of Geom Mugeuk.
Whenever he thought of him, the first image that came to mind was his smiling face.
He was always thinking of teasing him with foolish jokes, but he never missed a single detail.
He was, after all, the kind of person who could make such a large ship appear in a moment of crisis.
She said he had no idea how much the Young Cult Master had worried for him?
“With so many esteemed people having come all this way, how could I not know?”
Just then, the water people with their heads above the surface shrieked strangely in excitement upon seeing the ship.
To be precise, it was a shriek directed at the Wind Heaven Sect Leader standing at the prow.
Having seen them up close, Jin Ha-gun could feel it.
That their excitement and anger stemmed from fear.
Even the water people, created through the Soul-Devouring Art, could sense the Wind Heaven Sect Leader's presence.
The Wind Heaven Sect Leader slowly uncrossed his arms and held out a hand.
Something formed in his hand.
A fishing rod imbued with red energy extended out.
“Well now, shall I show off my skills for the first time in a while?”
Shwaaaaa.
The red-energy fishing line shot out.
The water people in the line's path were caught one after another and flew into the air.
Red energy seemed to swirl around their bodies as they soared like puppets, and then.
Pop! Pop! Pop!
The water people disappeared into droplets in mid-air with cute popping sounds.
Shwaaaaa.
Again, the fishing line with its red energy cut through the air.
This time, even more water people were flung into the air and burst into droplets.
The water people caught and destroyed by the Wind Heaven Sect Leader's fishing did not reform as they had before.
To the onlookers, it seemed like child's play, but the water people on the receiving end screamed and hid beneath the water.
“You rascals, where do you think you're going!”
This time, the Wind Heaven Sect Leader waved both hands.
In his hands, a giant net appeared instead of the fishing rod.
The net, shimmering with red energy, spread out toward the sea.
Chwaaaarrrr.
This time, a full net of water people were caught and lifted into the air.
The net had sucked them in as they tried to flee.
“A full catch!”
Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop!
Jin Ha-gun and the Demon Slaying Branch warriors could never have imagined it.
That the fearsome water people would vanish just like this.
No, the water droplets bursting into particles everywhere in the air, catching the light, were even beautiful.
And just like that, all the water people were gone.
The Wind Heaven Sect Leader looked down at Jin Ha-gun below the ship and asked cheerfully.
“How was that? Was I cool?”
In truth, Jin Ha-gun didn't know much about the Wind Heaven Sect Leader.
But he had heard enough about him through Geom Mugeuk to have some idea, so he smiled and said.
“You were very cool.”
The Wind Heaven Sect Leader crossed his arms coolly again, like a ship's captain.
The Soul-Devouring Demon Sovereign was the first to leap up, saying.
“Alright, everyone, come aboard.”
Following the Soul-Devouring Demon Sovereign's lead, Jin Ha-gun and all the Demon Slaying Branch warriors leaped onto the ship.
The ship was high, so warriors with weaker lightness arts couldn't make it in one jump and had to kick off the hull midway to get up.
Jin Ha-gun leaped up, carrying Gwak Ju, the hostage.
Gwak Ju was moved that Jin Ha-gun had taken care of him throughout the entire terrifying battle.
Even while carrying him, Jin Ha-gun was the first to land on the deck.
Once on the deck, Gwak Ju belatedly expressed his gratitude.
He hadn't had a proper chance to thank him while the fight was raging.
Feeling he had to do it now.
“Thank you so much.”
Jin Ha-gun replied softly to his thanks.
“Save your thanks for your sister. She is the one who sent us here.”
A look of deep emotion crossed Gwak Ju's face.
He knew without being told how much his sister must have struggled for his sake.
“Please, you must save me. I have to see my sister.”
He knew he had been kidnapped because his sister was an artisan at the Iron Workshop.
He didn't resent his sister.
Instead, he worried about how upset she must have been, how much she must have blamed herself.
That's why, when he saw her, he would be sure to tell her.
Before saying thank you for saving me, he would say this first.
I'm okay.
I'm really okay.
Jin Ha-gun said to him.
“We will make sure to get you home.”
All the Demon Slaying Branch warriors landed around Jin Ha-gun.
Once all his subordinates were on board, Jin Ha-gun walked over to the Wind Heaven Sect Leader.
“Sect Master, thank you so much for saving us.”
Jin Ha-gun bowed respectfully with a cupped fist, and the Demon Slaying Branch warriors behind him all bowed in unison.
Gwak Ju and Grand Master Hwa Song also bowed their heads.
They had truly met the Wind Heaven Sect Leader at the very gates of hell.
“What is that Young Cult Master doing, letting his friend get cornered like this and not even showing his face?”
As expected, the Wind Heaven Sect Leader started badmouthing Geom Mugeuk the moment they met.
“Then again, he's always been a selfish and cold person. He puts people through hell and never bothers to show up.”
“My friend is likely in a difficult situation as well.”
When Jin Ha-gun defended his friend, the Wind Heaven Sect Leader firmly shook his head.
“Impossible! Whoever is facing the Young Cult Master is the one in trouble.”
As he said this, the Wind Heaven Sect Leader habitually glanced behind him.
Usually, whenever he cursed the Young Cult Master, the man would appear behind him, but not today.
A flicker of disappointment crossed his eyes for a brief moment.
Setting aside his disappointment, the Wind Heaven Sect Leader came up beside Jin Ha-gun and asked casually.
“What has the Young Cult Master taken from you? A treasured sword, or maybe some treasure. Come on, I'm like a big brother, so you can tell me everything.”
Jin Ha-gun was flustered, not expecting such a question in this urgent situation.
Sect Master, can't you see that giant wave rushing towards us?
“No, nothing.”
“Right, I was embarrassed and hid it at first too. Eventually, you'll end up sharing everything.”
Jin Ha-gun realized the Wind Heaven Sect Leader was far more free-spirited than he'd heard.
Was it because he was this kind of person that he became friends with Geom Mugeuk? Or did he change like this because he became friends with Geom Mugeuk?
After greeting Jin Ha-gun, the Wind Heaven Sect Leader's gaze turned to his disciple.
The Soul-Devouring Demon Sovereign bowed her head, looking ashamed.
“I'm sorry. I should have finished it with my own hands.”
“No. You fought well enough.”
It seemed the Wind Heaven Sect Leader had watched her entire fight.
He looked at the approaching great wave and reached his hand into the air.
Fshhh!
Blue energy bloomed in the air as if caught by his fingertips.
“The Blood Heaven Soul-Strengthening Art cast here is too strong. I've never seen such a powerful Soul-Strengthening Art. It must have been prepared for a very long time.”
Jin Ha-gun nodded and said softly.
“You see it clearly. This plot was decades in the making.”
The person most heartbroken by those words was Grand Master Hwa Song.
He had spent so many years with Jin Hyu as a colleague, like a friend.
And for all that time, he had been deceiving him.
Meanwhile, the wave drew near.
Standing atop the wave, Jin Hyu was staring at the Soul-Devouring Demon Sovereign.
The wave approached more slowly than its natural speed.
He must have been observing the newly arrived Wind Heaven Sect Leader as he rode the wave.
The advancing wave stopped.
It hung high in the air, frozen like a painting, and Jin Hyu raised the wave even higher to meet the Wind Heaven Sect Leader's eye level.
He recognized his opponent as the Wind Heaven Sect Leader.
“The crazy bitch even called her master.”
The Soul-Devouring Demon Sovereign felt sorry for her master, feeling she had caused him to be insulted along with her.
“I'm sorry.”
The Wind Heaven Sect Leader didn't mind at all.
“A rough tongue from an opponent is just proof of how well you fought.”
Soothing his disciple, he threw a sharp remark at Jin Hyu.
“Only I am allowed to curse my disciple. Got it, you cowardly old man!”
Jin Hyu's aged eyes instantly sharpened.
He had heard the word 'cowardly' enough for one day, so his reply was not gentle.
“I've heard the rumors about you. They say you abandoned the Wind Heaven Sect to cling to the Demon Sect?”
Of course, the Wind Heaven Sect Leader was not one to lose a war of words.
“To be precise, I sided with the Young Cult Master.”
Just when it seemed he was meekly admitting it.
“The same Young Cult Master who's been neatly taking your heads, one by one. Speaking of which, it seems you're the one who clung to the wrong side?”
Kurrrrrrumble!
As if reflecting Jin Hyu's mood, the surrounding waves rose higher and dark storm clouds rolled in.
“Yes, I knew a day like this would come eventually.”
Killing intent flowed from Jin Hyu's body.
He revealed an even more powerful presence than when he fought the Soul-Devouring Demon Sovereign.
His revealed aura was different, as if his hidden skill was not just a fraction, but a significant portion of his power.
Staring at him silently, the Wind Heaven Sect Leader spoke unexpectedly.
“When I was young, I heard a rumor. That someone with a heavenly genius for the Soul-Devouring Art had appeared in the Central Plains.”
The Soul-Devouring Art Jin Hyu was displaying now was at a level of mastery reaching the ultimate state.
More than other martial arts, the Soul-Devouring Art depended on talent.
Without being born with it, one could never reach such a level.
No matter how much help he got from the Blood Heaven Soul-Strengthening Art, defeating his own disciple, the Soul-Devouring Demon Sovereign, in the Soul-Devouring Art was no easy feat.
He must be the one who was called a genius.
“I heard news of you disappeared at some point. It seems that talent didn't extend to your judgment.”
Jin Hyu scoffed.
He did not deny that he was that person.
The Wind Heaven Sect Leader confirmed his suspicion was correct.
The reason he remembered was because of his own personality.
He too had grown up hearing that he possessed a heavenly genius, so when he heard there was someone like that in the Central Plains, he had been jealous and envious.
He remembered cursing him for a long time.
“This world of ghost-play is truly small.”
The gazes of the two men locked in the air, separated by the churning sea.
Then Jin Hyu also asked the Wind Heaven Sect Leader.
“And you, why were you won over by the Young Cult Master?”
This was the thing he was most curious about regarding the Wind Heaven Sect Leader.
To give up his position as Sect Leader to follow the Young Cult Master? It was something he simply couldn't understand.
“I wasn't won over.”
The Wind Heaven Sect Leader sighed and added.
“I was kidnapped. By the Young Cult Master.”
Jin Hyu didn't understand what he meant, but Jin Ha-gun, who was listening, smiled faintly.
He understood why he described it as being kidnapped.
It was the feeling of coming to your senses and finding Geom Mugeuk in front of you saying something like this.
You, you've been kidnapped by me.
Yes, he could fully sympathize.
Of course, Jin Hyu sympathized with neither the words nor the emotion.
“How dare you walk into my world on your own two feet. It seems you enjoy being kidnapped.”
Jin Hyu began to raise his inner energy to its absolute limit.
Blue energy erupted from his body.
Shwaaaaaaaaaa.
The clothes of those on the ship fluttered in the fierce wind.
The wind began to blow stronger and stronger.
Soon, sea spray began to rise from the ocean, and whirlpools started to form.
Kwaaaaaaaa!
There wasn't just one whirlpool.
Whirlpools began to form all around the ship they were on.
They increased one by one, until there were more than ten.
It was a terrifying sight just to behold.
The whirlpools originating from under the water gradually grew larger, and their speed increased.
He thought they were meant to shatter the ship, but that wasn't it.
Something rose from the whirlpools.
Pwaaang! Pwaaang! Pwang!
What shot out from them were giant tentacles.
He had used tentacles that came from his back when fighting the Soul-Devouring Demon Sovereign before, but this time, they were tentacles like those of a giant octopus from the depths of the sea.
Kwaaaaaaaa!
Tentacles flew at the warriors from all directions.
Jin Ha-gun and the Demon Slaying Branch drew their swords in unison and leaped into action.
Kwwang!
A giant tentacle slammed down on the ship, making it lurch.
The Demon Slaying Branch warriors scattered in all directions, unleashing Sword Qi.
The Sword Qi cut into the tentacles.
Pshaaaaak!
Blue blood flowed from the tentacles.
When the blood fell on the deck.
Tssssssss!
Blue smoke rose as it melted the deck planks.
“It's poison smoke!”
The warriors covered their mouths and noses and retreated.
Jin Ha-gun sent the smoke far away with a palm strike and shouted.
“Don't cut them recklessly!”
With the tentacles now impossible to cut recklessly, the situation for the Demon Slaying Branch warriors became even more difficult.
The Wind Heaven Sect Leader remained standing at the prow, arms crossed.
One of the tentacles flew toward the Wind Heaven Sect Leader.
The Soul-Devouring Demon Sovereign, standing beside him, gathered her remaining inner energy and thrust her hand toward the tentacle.
Fwooooosh!
The advancing tentacle burst into flames.
The tentacle cried out and retreated into the water.
After extinguishing the fire, the tentacle that re-emerged did not attack the Wind Heaven Sect Leader.
The deck was in absolute chaos.
A warrior was wrapped by a tentacle and lifted into the air.
Jin Ha-gun leaped and swung his sword.
Shwiiiiik.
The tentacle, cut by his Sword Qi, released the warrior.
Jin Ha-gun snatched him from amidst the splattering blood and saved him.
Watching the scene with calm eyes, the Wind Heaven Sect Leader asked the Soul-Devouring Demon Sovereign.
“What should be done in a situation like this?”
“We must find a way to break the technique.”
“Then find it.”
The Soul-Devouring Demon Sovereign first looked at Jin Hyu.
He was still standing on the wave with his eyes closed, controlling the tentacles.
Three or four tentacles were guarding him.
Killing him would naturally make this space disappear, but her master wouldn't be asking for such a fundamental solution now.
“The way to break it is in the water.”
Since the tentacles came from the water, the solution must also be in there.
The Wind Heaven Sect Leader looked at her steadily and said.
“Shall I go?”
“Ah, no. This disciple will go.”
Without hesitation, the Soul-Devouring Demon Sovereign dove into the water.
Seeing this, Jin Ha-gun followed and dove into the water.
He knew that the Soul-Devouring Demon Sovereign's inner energy was almost depleted.
“I will help.”
After Jin Ha-gun went in, a few Demon Slaying Branch warriors who saw him followed suit.
“They're all so young!”
The Wind Heaven Sect Leader's eyes deepened as he looked at the water where they had entered.
Then, Jin Hyu opened his closed eyes.
As he looked at him, the Wind Heaven Sect Leader patted the ship's railing and said.
“I lost a lot of weight recently, but after having a few drinks with that disciple of mine from the Outlands, I got a potbelly right away.”
He's talking about his potbelly in this situation? Jin Hyu wore an expression that said, is this guy insane?
Of course, even so, the gazes the two men fixed on each other were terrifyingly cold.
Gazes that would not allow a single moment of weakness.
“You asked why I was won over by the Young Cult Master? I was no different from you. As long as I fulfilled my own desires, I didn't care if others lived or died. But this detestable Young Cult Master pretends to care for others first. His dark intentions haven't been revealed yet, but they will be one day. Right?”
As the Wind Heaven Sect Leader laughed loudly, Jin Hyu spat out as if he were pathetic.
“What bullshit.”
Then, the Wind Heaven Sect Leader's eyes deepened.
“That's right, that's why. You grew up being called a genius, and I grew up being called a genius. But this is the result. What's the use of being a genius in martial arts? When narrow-minded people like us stick together, we only end up with this kind of bullshit. That's why. That's the reason I sided with the Young Cult Master.”
The Wind Heaven Sect Leader finally answered the question he had first posed himself.
“To try living a little differently.”