What is the talent of an Occultist? There must be many requirements. Among those requirements, a sense for spiritual energy is naturally included.
As a simple example, everyone has likely experienced suddenly getting goosebumps or a chill at least once. It could be a natural bodily phenomenon, but that is the basis of spiritual sense. When one comes into contact with something spiritual, the soul in the body reacts, affecting the five senses.
However, it is difficult for ordinary people to notice this. This was because the boundary between the living and the dead is clear. This could only be nurtured by being spiritually gifted or through training.
But among the requirements for such talent, there existed a supreme talent that only a very few were born with.
‘He possesses the eyes.’
That is sight. Eyes that, unlike the other senses, can accurately peer across the boundary. Occultists considered eyes that could discern this to be the best.
The middle-aged man with the eyepatch, Occultist Jo, saw Mok Gyeong-un look directly at the anomaly before he grabbed the staff that the occultist had thrown after attaching an Imperial Edict Talisman and imbuing it with an incantation.
‘I’m certain.’
The boy possessed the highest qualities of an Occultist. To think that the child of a martial family possessed a talent that even he, who could barely perceive forms with his naked eye after training under the best of masters, did not have.
“You… you can see vengeful spirits.” -Murmur, murmur!
At his words, the surroundings stirred. What does he mean, he can see vengeful spirits?
‘Aren’t vengeful spirits things like ghosts or anomalies?’
Manor Lord Mok In-dan and the Mok family brothers frowned and stared at Mok Gyeong-un. In fact, most people had a similar reaction.
‘This has become troublesome.’
Mok Gyeong-un clicked his tongue inwardly. He had acted on impulse because he didn’t want to lose the Demonic Monk, and thanks to that, things seemed to have gotten complicated. Should he have just given up, even if it was a waste?
But it was already too late for that.
‘Is he an Occultist?’
It seemed likely. He had seen parts of the curse chanted earlier in the occult arts books left by Occultist Sak. It was a typical magic art for exorcising anomalies or evil spirit monsters.
But part of the incantation was different. That means, ‘He’s from a different group than that woman, Sak.’ He was probably a member of this group called the Heaven and Earth Society.
Just then, the middle-aged man with the eyepatch, Occultist Jo, spoke.
“Since when have you been able to see vengeful spirits?”
“Pardon?”
“Can you not see vengeful spirits?”
“I don’t know what you are talking about.”
Seeing Mok Gyeong-un feigning ignorance, the middle-aged man with the eyepatch, Occultist Jo, raised an eyebrow in confusion. Does the boy want to hide his eyes? But if that were the case, he shouldn’t have stepped forward in the first place.
Occultist Jo scoffed and changed his question.
“Interesting. Fine, I’ll change the question. Why did you stop me from exorcising the vengeful spirit?”
“Hmm. I have no idea what you’ve been talking about.”
Mok Gyeong-un played dumb nonchalantly. At that, Occultist Jo chuckled, then formed a hand seal and spoke.
“You don’t know? Then I suppose it’s fine if I exorcise that strange thing again.” -Pak!
Pak! Pak! Soldier!
Battle! Rend! Forward!
It was the hand seal of the Nine Syllable Vitality Art.
‘It’s different.’
Mok Gyeong-un’s eyes narrowed. He had memorized all the books that Occultist Myo Shin, Sak, and the others had possessed. But this was the first time he had seen the hand seal the man was performing.
And he was forming the hand seal without an incantation, yet the surrounding spiritual energy was swelling to a strange degree. -Parrrr! But it was invisible to the eyes of others. To them, it just looked like he was bringing his hands together, folding, unfolding, and overlapping his fingers.
Just then, Occultist Jo formed a rectangle with the index and middle fingers of both hands and aimed. At that moment, -Paaaaaaah! Four invisible pillars shot up from the surroundings.
The pillars precisely surrounded Mok Gyeong-un and the Demonic Monk, and they were gradually growing thicker. The middle-aged man with the eyepatch, Occultist Jo, muttered softly.
“Four Peaks Linked Chain Art.”
As soon as he said that, faces formed between the four thickened pillars. Trapped by the walls created to prevent any escape, the Demonic Monk looked around, unable to hide his bewilderment.
“Shrink!”
Occultist Jo extended his open palm toward the Demonic Monk. And then made a grasping motion. -Paaaaaaah! At that moment, the four faces of the pillars that had trapped the Demonic Monk began to compress, slowly shrinking.
If it shrank completely, the Demonic Monk might be crushed. The corners of Mok Gyeong-un’s eyes sharpened. This man was clearly on a different level from the Occultists he had seen so far.
He had never seen an occult art like this before.
‘I have no choice.’
Since he didn’t know what kind of magic art it was, there was only one way to break it. To attack the caster, the occultist himself. -Tak!
“Take this back.”
Mok Gyeong-un gripped the staff like a javelin and threw it at Occultist Jo, who was performing the occult art. -Shuk! If the caster is interrupted or killed in the middle, most occult arts will be undone. But the other masked men were not about to let that happen. -Tengkang!
One of the masked men near Occultist Jo flew forward with swift movements and struck the incoming staff down with the flat of his blade.
“Where do you think you’re aiming, you insolent brat!”
The masked man was about to charge at Mok Gyeong-un, who had targeted Occultist Jo. But Occultist Jo stopped him.
“Stop!”
“Pardon?”
“There’s no need for you to step in.”
“Understood.”
The masked man stopped his attack without any questions. They were a group with a clear chain of command. Occultist Jo spoke to Mok Gyeong-un.
“You don’t seem to be possessed or bewitched. If you tell me now why you are trying to protect the vengeful spirit, I can stop the art for a moment.”
‘In the end, he’ll have no choice but to yield.’
The situation was his to control anyway. Even if he possessed the eyes, they were useless without training. Looking at that boy, it was clear he hadn’t been trained as an Occultist.
He could tell that much at a glance. Besides, the Four Peaks Linked Chain Art was a considerably high-level art that only a Moon-rank or higher could perform, so it was difficult to break with any ordinary art. But then, ‘!?’
Occultist Jo’s expression hardened as he stared at Mok Gyeong-un. It was because of, -Pak!
Pak!
Pak! the hand seal Mok Gyeong-un was forming. It was identical to the hand seal Occultist Jo had just formed, without the slightest error.
Soldier! Battle! Rend!
Forward!
‘What?’
It was the hand seal of the Nine Syllable Vitality Art. Occultist Jo was dumbfounded by the hand seal Mok Gyeong-un was forming. No matter how he looked at him, this boy was an ordinary person who knew nothing about occult arts.
And yet he was copying the hand seal so precisely?
‘What an absurd child.’
Does he think he can stop it just by copying it? If it were that easy, everyone would do it.
‘An art that uses only hand seals without an incantation or talisman is only possible for someone of Moon-rank or higher…’ -Shwaaaaaa!
In that moment, Occultist Jo doubted his own eyes. Four small pillars, invisible to ordinary people, were created. Their forms were blunt and quite crude, but they were definitely there.
“Ha…”
A small gasp escaped Occultist Jo’s lips. This was a realm of occult arts he had reached only after long years of training. And yet, he saw it once, copied it, and actually succeeded?
‘…Could this kid have learned occult arts?’
Just then, Mok Gyeong-un muttered.
“Four Peaks Linked Chain Art.”
Then, faces connected the four pillars. It was a sight that was hard to believe even after seeing it. But what was even more surprising was the location where Mok Gyeong-un performed the Four Peaks Linked Chain Art. -Papak!
He cast a Four Peaks Linked Chain Art inside the one that was already compressing with the ‘Shrink’ command. Because of this, the compressing Four Peaks Linked Chain Art collided with the other one that had formed inside it, and its shrinking stopped.
‘Look at this kid…’
Not only did he copy the art, but he blocked it in such a way. It was a considerable display of application. At this point, he couldn’t help but be suspicious.
“From whom did you learn occult arts?”
“Is there… really any reason to learn… something like this?”
It wasn’t a lie. He hadn’t learned it from anyone; he had merely taught himself from books on occult arts. -Parrrr! Mok Gyeong-un’s hands trembled as he held the 'Forward' seal of the Nine Syllable Vitality Art.
It was because he was trying to stop Occultist Jo’s shrinking Four Peaks Linked Chain Art. He had somehow managed to block it with improvisation, but the difference in spiritual power could not be ignored. Watching this, Occultist Jo’s gaze became peculiar.
‘Did he really not learn it?’
His ability to apply it, and to immediately copy and manifest the hand seal. All of this was nearly impossible without an outstanding master. Occultist Jo, who had been staring intently at Mok Gyeong-un, finally, -Chak! released the hand seal and said.
“Release.”
With that word, the compressing Four Peaks Linked Chain Art vanished completely. Mok Gyeong-un looked at him with a puzzled expression. Then, Occultist Jo burst into laughter.
“Hahahahahahat!”
Why is he suddenly acting like this? While he was wondering, Occultist Jo turned his head and spoke to the Underworld Blade King, Son Yun.
“Underworld Blade King. You can kill all the others, but hand this boy over to me.”
‘!?’
Everyone’s eyes widened. He seems to be an Occultist from the Heaven and Earth Society, but what does he mean by suddenly asking for Mok Gyeong-un to be handed over? As they were thinking that, Son Yun clicked his tongue and said.
“Doing something useless again.”
“I should have that much authority.”
The Underworld Blade King, Son Yun, shrugged his shoulders as a sign of affirmation. Then, he lifted his large long blade, aimed it at the people of the Lotuswood Sword Manor, and raised his voice, filled with killing intent.
“I was going to leave peacefully if you just handed it over, but that’s over now. You brought this upon yourselves, so regret it in the next world.”
Son Yun thought so. There was no need to figure out who took the secret manual. If he beat them all up, someone was bound to talk.
The secret manual was within the manor anyway. Son Yun shouted.
“Kill them all…”
Just then, someone cut him off and shouted.
“The secret manual that was surrounded by prayer beads inside the wooden box, I have it.”
It was none other than Mok Gyeong-un.
“Hah…”
A sigh of relief escaped the lips of Manor Lord Mok In-dan, who had been tense, wondering if he was going to break his promise. If they just handed over the secret manual, they could overcome this situation. Just then, the Underworld Blade King, Son Yun, approached Mok Gyeong-un with a fearsome momentum and said.
“You have it?”
“Yes.”
“If this is another lie, I’ll tear your limbs apart, regardless of Occultist Jo’s request.”
“Should I say I don’t have something I do have?”
Seeing Mok Gyeong-un completely unafraid, a strange light appeared in Son Yun’s eyes. But it was only for a moment.
“Then hand it over. No, tell me where it is.”
He asked for its location, in case he tried to play tricks again. However, “I believe I must first offer my apologies.”
“Apologies? You right now…”
“It seems you desire it earnestly, but I’ve burned that secret manual.”
“What?”
At those words, it was the masked men who erupted in anger. It was a treasure of the Heaven and Earth Society. It would be stranger not to be angry after hearing that such a secret manual had been burned.
But Son Yun casually raised a hand to stop them and scoffed.
“Ha!… They call this a prestigious martial family, but it’s filled with nothing but swindlers. Do you think that can be burned by fire?”
What does he mean? This time, both the masked men and the people of the Lotuswood Sword Manor were puzzled. Does he not believe that the secret manual was burned by fire?
Just then, Son Yun, towards Mok Gyeong-un, -Pwak! aimed the long blade right at his neck and said.
“You know nothing. You’ve never even seen the secret manual. Since you’ve made me waste my time so pathetically, as promised…”
“Does it seem like a lie?”
Son Yun scowled fiercely and abruptly raised his long blade.
“How insolent, to face this elder with such…”
“Only the cover made of human skin doesn’t burn. The inner pages with the content burned just fine.”
‘!?’
At those words, Son Yun’s expression, which had been filled with rage just a moment ago, changed. The fact that the cover was made of human skin was known only to a few executives within the Heaven and Earth Society.
“You…”
“Ah! For your information, the contents are right here.”
Mok Gyeong-un tapped his head with his index finger. At that, Son Yun’s expression stiffened. '!?' Was it because Mok Gyeong-un not only burned their treasure but also claimed to have memorized it?
While they were thinking that, Son Yun spoke as if in disbelief.
“You… you saw that?”