Reincarnated Sword Ghost

Chapter 139 : Blood Cult

Blood Cult

Geonchang District in Jiangxi Province was quite a distance away.

We had to change horses several times at the courier stations.

At times, we even had to nap in turns atop the galloping horses.

Ever since departure, Yeom Baek had given the order to keep riding without rest.

He also mentioned that the cult had their disciples posted all over the Central Plains.

He said we couldn't let them notice the martial artists of Heavenly Martial Hall gathering one after another in Geonchang District.

We didn't know for sure if they were truly monitoring the Heavenly Martial Hall's warriors' movements, but there was no harm in being cautious.

The forced march, riding day and night for several days, was not easy even for the most robust martial artists.

"There are more and more reasons to slaughter all those bastards."

Baek Il-gang grumbled beside me as he gripped the reins tightly. He was someone who disliked horseback riding.

Although he'd gotten proficient enough to ride comfortably, it didn't mean he'd learned to enjoy it.

It was only after nearly ten days that we arrived at Nampung-hyeon in Geonchang District.

"Doesn't seem like a poor village. The grounds are quite large, too."

"That's why those bastards picked this place to settle."

Jo Gwang and Baek Il-gang exchanged a few words. They were right.

It wasn't a bustling city, but a typical mid-sized town one could find anywhere in the Central Plains.

There was no sign of famine or hardship either.

Baek Il-gang asked,

"So, what will you do now?"

"We'll do as the corps leader instructed. We'll strike them right away."

"The name of the sect they're disguising themselves as—was it Heavenly Blade Gate?"

"Yes."

Jeong-un nodded and slowly nudged his horse forward. We were right in the middle of the market streets.

Perhaps because outsiders of our age were rare, the residents glanced at us from the corners of their eyes.

Jeong-un briefly scanned the crowds, then approached a man around his own age.

Clip-clop, clip-clop.

As we drew closer, the man's complexion quickly darkened.

Understandable.

There were four unfamiliar martial artists from outside, none of whom he'd ever seen.

Three wore obvious swords at their waists, and the only woman among us had a face that clearly marked her as someone of high status.

It would have been stranger had he not been cautious.

"Uh, uh..."

With eyes wide in fright, he began backing away. His face showed nothing but fear, ready to bolt at any moment.

Jeong-un stopped his horse, dismounted slowly, and walked over to him.

Then, he raised his hands in a martial salute and spoke.

"I am Yu Jeong-un of the Heavenly Martial Hall. May I have a moment of your time?"

"...!"

The man's eyes widened as he stared at Jeong-un. His pupils trembled as if he were in shock.

Not only had he never expected such courtesy from an unknown martial artist, but the request itself completely blindsided him.

"You... You're a hero of the Heavenly Martial Hall?"

"Yes."

"Someone like you, what could you possibly want... with me...?"

Jeong-un understood the man's trembling voice and the way he struggled to finish his sentence.

To commoners, martial artists were strange beings—beneficial to be under their shade, but not to be entangled with directly.

They were superhumans who could end lives with the flick of a finger, and half of them were rumored to have vicious tempers to match.

They were not people you could simply avoid with caution. The best way was to not get involved at all.

But now, one had approached and spoken to him for the first time—it was only natural to feel uneasy.

"I heard there's a sect here called Heavenly Blade Gate. Can you show me where it is?"

"Heavenly Blade Gate, you say..."

For a moment, his gaze shifted. He clearly knew what it was. After all, who wouldn't know which martial sect had set up in his own town?

But he hesitated, reluctant to get involved in unnecessary trouble.

Rustle.

Jeong-un slipped a hand into his robe.

Even at that small movement, the man flinched, but Jeong-un ignored it and fished out a small pouch.

He extended it toward the man and spoke.

"If you guide us there, I'll reward you."

The man, looking puzzled, slowly accepted the pouch and opened it.

"...!"

His eyes grew even bigger. The pouch was full of coins.

That much just for one round of directions?

It might have seemed suspicious, but there was no time to second-guess.

The amount was simply too great.

"P-please, this way."

And so, they followed after the man.

Since Jeong-un didn't get back on his horse but walked while leading it, the rest of the group also dismounted and walked.

Before long, the man peeked over his shoulder anxiously and quietly spoke up.

"What brings such noble martial artists of the Heavenly Martial Hall here...?"

"We have an acquaintance to visit."

"A-at Heavenly Blade Gate, you mean?"

"Why do you ask?"

His reaction was odd.

It was, of course, just an excuse—they had no acquaintances here.

In truth, they were here to wipe out an entire sect.

There was no way we could explain to a commoner that the people who settled here were the Blood Cult, an unorthodox group.

Besides, their fate was already sealed, so there was no point crafting a meticulous lie.

"They rarely go out at all," he said. "Their main gate hardly opened even during this winter..."

"Has anything odd happened in town?"

Jeong-un asked.

"Odd... how do you mean?"

"Like people disappearing, for instance."

"There have been a few cases like that lately. But there's nothing we can do, and even the local authorities don't pay much attention."

Behind us, Baek Il-gang snorted.

It was obvious what that meant—he understood the situation.

Jeong-un, too, nodded slightly.

A sect that never shows itself publicly, people disappearing, and authorities who don't care.

The clues matched up almost eerily well.

"H-here we are."

After walking a bit farther, we arrived at the location of Heavenly Blade Gate, on the outskirts of town.

The man didn't guide us all the way to the main gate; he just pointed with his forefinger from a distance.

That was enough.

"Thank you."

"W-well, then..."

The man hurried away, looking back in disbelief at what he'd just experienced, clutching the pouch of coins tightly in both hands.

"What do you want to do now?"

Baek Il-gang asked.

"Their martial prowess isn't that high, I heard. We can walk right up to the front gate."

Jeong-un answered Baek Il-gang's question.

We started moving toward the large, imposing gate at a leisurely pace.

Judging by the long wall extending to the side, they occupied a sizable stretch of land.

'Where do they get all the money and labor?' Jeong-un wondered as he walked.

A few townfolk glanced at us but quickly moved out of the way.

Once things started, there'd be no avoiding attention. It was better to finish quickly.

Standing by the gate as guards, two men eyed us.

Their faces showed no tension as they leaned against the wall until they noticed us getting closer and narrowed their gazes.

"Halt! Who the hell are you guys?"

We kept walking, undeterred.

As our steps continued, the instant Jeong-un's next foot lifted from the ground, his figure blurred.

Fwoosh!

Their expressions of shock lasted only a moment.

Thud!

Jeong-un's right fist punched deep into one guard's solar plexus.

The cultivated power pent-up in his wrist exploded into the man's body, rupturing his inner organs completely.

Instant death.

Crunch!

The other one had no chance either.

He didn't even see his companion die before his own ribs and heart were crushed instantly.

Thud, slump.

Just like that, the two guards at the gate collapsed in an instant.

"Well, you should at least give us something to do, you know. If you keep taking the lead like this, what's left for the rest of us?"

Baek Il-gang said as he approached the gate, laughter lacing his voice.

Apparently, he was rather pleased by Jeong-un's swift handiwork.

"We need to wipe them all out,"

Jeong-un replied.

"The sinister energy these guys give off is enough to prick your skin. Needless to say, all of them are... Blood Cultists."

He reluctantly spoke their name.

He didn't want to, but there wasn't really a better word to use.

"I can feel it too. The dozens of ki waves moving inside are filthy and distinct. Mind if I open the gate?"

Jeong-un nodded and glanced behind him.

"Gasp!"

"T-that's..."

The townsfolk, who had been sneakily eyeing us, now fled in terror.

A martial artists' battle.

Everyone knew that even ten lives wouldn't be enough if you got caught up in it.

Seeing the glances, Tang Yerin mumbled quietly, "... If someone saw us, they'd think we were unorthodox fighters ourselves."

"I'll be a little more careful next time. We're still outside the gate, so I tried not to show blood and didn't draw my sword."

"No, that's not—"

Tang Yerin hurriedly shook her head at Jeong-un's apology, realizing it was absurd to worry about appearances when slaughtering the unorthodox.

Baek Il-gang chuckled at the exchange, took a large forcible stride forward, and thrust out his right hand.

Crash—!

The large gate shattered completely, splintering and flying apart.

The bursting energy was so powerful it ruffled the hair of everyone nearby—a clear demonstration of overwhelming cultivated power.

The conversation Jeong-un and Tang Yerin had just shared became meaningless in the face of such an uproar.

As they looked at each other, somewhat dumbfounded, Jo Gwang sidled up, lowered his voice, and whispered to Jeong-un,

"With a slightly different path in life, that one might've been a tainted target himself."

"...."

Without answering, Jeong-un crossed the broken threshold.

The wide interior view came into sight: a drill ground of white stone, various buildings—at first glance, it could've belonged to any regular military hall.

If not for this ominous aura.

"You lunatics!"

"We have intruders!"

"What were the guards outside even doing?!"

Shouts erupted, and the cultists swarmed out—there were a considerable number of them.

Their outfits were uniform enough, but the ki each gave off was disturbingly alike.

'So, their martial art forms a system...'

The seriousness of the situation hit home.

If such people, in such numbers, structured their martial arts step by step, they would become more troublesome than any other unorthodox group.

"How dare you kick in the main gate of our sect...!" one shouted.

Baek Il-gang scoffed at the words.

"A sect? Did you hear that nonsense? Immersed in their stolen identity, aren't they?"

He then strode forward a few steps and kept talking.

"That's right. I'm here to tear down your nameboard today. If you're a martial world sect, you must have a sect leader. Let's see his face."

As they reached the center of the training grounds, they were quickly surrounded.

The cultists even blocked the escape route.

But none attacked yet—they seemed to be waiting for orders from their leader.

"How dare such brats... Do you even know where you are...?" someone sneered from amidst the crowd.

A middle-aged man, face twisted in a grimace, walked out slowly.

But his face was deathly pale—not just with fear, but unnaturally so.

Under his skin, green veins pulsed hideously. He was anything but normal.

And Jeong-un had seen this look before.

'Just like that one...'

The one who pretended to be a merchant guildmaster back when they overtook Dangyang County had looked just like this.

Was this what happened when one trained the blood arts of the cult to a significant degree?

Right then, Baek Il-gang spoke up.

"Are you the sect leader here?"

"And if I am? Who the hell are you?"

"I'm a swordsman in training. I'm here to challenge your hall, so let's fight to the death. If you're really a sect that pursues martial learning, you won't refuse, right?"

"What? Are you insane?!"

Jeong-un shot a sidelong glance at Baek Il-gang.

'... Why does he look so excited?'