On the way back to the inner city of the Heaven and Earth Society. Walking through the mountains, Occultist Jo Ui-gong watched the back of the old man ahead of him with a complicated expression. The silently walking old man was his Master and the Pavilion Master of the Grudge Killing Pavilion, In Seo-ok.
“Haa.”
How did it come to this? That fearsome Master of his now moved according to his commands. It was because he had been granted partial control over him from Mok Gyeong-un.
[As promised, I will allow you to command him.]
It was the only price Mok Gyeong-un had honored. None of the other conditions were met. He refused to teach the secret of the Six Souls Summoning Art, the second offer, saying that even if he knew it, he would never be able to perform it.
And the third, as you can see, had turned out like this. Clang! Because of the Chain of Cursed Words on his wrist, he had instead become a slave. Now, he had to follow that bastard regardless of his own will.
[I will remain in the Corpse Blood Valley, so please return and become the Pavilion Master of the Grudge Killing Pavilion.]
‘Damn it.’
He had nonchalantly given him such a command. Although he had received control over his Master, In Seo-ok, who had become a living corpse ghost, he couldn't just inherit the position without a plan. There were procedures, and he needed a proper justification.
‘What should I do?’
As expected, the biggest problem was Eldest Senior Brother Jo Tae-cheong. The Grudge Killing Pavilion had, for generations, excelled in occult arts based on hand seals and corpse ghost arts using the dead.
However, Eldest Senior Brother Jo Tae-cheong was skilled not only in occult arts using hand seals but also in Spirit Guardian arts, and had even subjugated an evil spirit monster of the demon beast class, something even his Master had not achieved.
‘…It's not for nothing that he's called the next Pavilion Master of the Grudge Killing Pavilion.’
If his Eldest Senior Brother were to find out that their Master had become a living corpse ghost, a great disaster would erupt. No, his limbs could be torn apart by the demon beast in an instant. He had to come up with a way to naturally deceive his Eldest Senior Brother.
‘This is a headache. But…’
Something has been strange for a while now. There's something I can't remember, but I don't know what it is. Didn't it feel like a part of my memory was lost because of some command Mok Gyeong-un gave me with his cursed words?
‘This is unsettling.’
What in the world was it?
‘So it can be used that way.’
Mok Gyeong-un considered it quite useful that the command he had given Occultist Jo Ui-gong earlier had worked properly. The command Mok Gyeong-un gave was simple.
[Forget that you heard my true name when you made the vow of Cursed Words. Continue to remember me as the third son of Lotuswood Sword Manor.]
He had wondered if something like this would actually work, but it did. It was said to be possible because the principle was to bind oneself with one's own will. It made him want to acquire a few more of these Chains of Cursed Words.
[Can you get more?]
[I'd like to, but it's difficult.]
According to Occultist Jo Ui-gong, the Chain of Cursed Words was a magic tool created by Myeong Ryul, the great dharma master Geum Won, one of the Six Divine Occultists. His Master, In Seo-ok, had received it as a gift when he attended a general meeting of the Occultist’ Council of Sixty-Four Divisions.
It was one of four he had received. His Master, In Seo-ok, had also researched it for over ten years, wanting to uncover its secret, but had failed to replicate its principle.
‘A pity.’
To think there were three more besides the one on Jo Ui-gong; he wanted to obtain them if he got the chance. In any case, thanks to it, he had erased the memory of his true name from Occultist Jo Ui-gong's mind. It shouldn't cause any problems.
“Shall we continue the conversation from earlier?”
Mok Gyeong-un said to Corpse Blood Valley Master Lee Ji-yeom. This was Lee Ji-yeom's office. Having returned here immediately, Mok Gyeong-un intended to finish their conversation and ask about something he was curious about.
What truly was Blue Spirit's secret? Just then, Blue Spirit's voice echoed in Mok Gyeong-un's ear. -Hey.
Mortal.
‘I'm sorry, but I don't think I can answer right now.’
He couldn't reply because Corpse Blood Valley Master Lee Ji-yeom was sitting across from him. Then, she spoke in a serious voice. -I'm asking you sincerely. Don't ask now.
‘.........’
Why?
Hadn't she become a vengeful spirit for revenge and accepted him as a disciple even though she disliked him? But he didn't understand why she didn't want to hear this. As he wondered, Blue Spirit said. -Even if not now, you will find out eventually when the time is right.
In return, if you do as this master says, I will teach you one of the Eight Arts of Shattering Thought. At her words, Mok Gyeong-un's eyes narrowed. She was the one who always said that the Eight Arts of Shattering Thought must be realized on one's own, and never gave him any clues about its forms.
And yet, she was offering to teach him one of the forms she had realized. The offer was quite tempting. -If you agree with this master's words, make a circle with your index finger and thumb. At this, Mok Gyeong-un moved the fingers he had resting on his thigh.
Then,-.........
Blue Spirit snorted as if in disbelief. It was because Mok Gyeong-un hadn't made a circle with his fingers, but had instead held up his index and middle fingers. He was asking for two, not one.
‘... He just refuses to take a loss.’
The Eight Arts of Shattering Thought were endlessly effective and valuable even if one knew just a single form. However, she hadn't taught him because she believed that the forms she had realized could do more harm than good if Mok Gyeong-un learned them now.
That was why she had intended to teach him a relatively harmless form. -You cunning bastard.
Fine.
In the end, she promised to teach them to him. She didn't know if he could truly master what she had realized, but for now, she didn't want Mok Gyeong-un to find out about this matter. No, she herself didn't want to hear how it became known.
After all, she already had her suspicions.
‘When I am ready...’
It won't be too late to hear it then. With their agreement settled, Mok Gyeong-un spoke to Corpse Blood Valley Master Lee Ji-yeom, who was about to begin the story.
“That day.....”
“Could you please stop for a moment.”
“Pardon?”
“May I hear that story later?”
“Later..... you say? But you must know what happened to the Society to understand what truly occurred that day......”
“Let's talk about this after I am a little more established.”
“After you are established?”
To the puzzled Corpse Blood Valley Master Lee Ji-yeom, Mok Gyeong-un pointed to himself and said.
“In your eyes, Lord, what do you think my current level is?”
“My level, you say?”
“My martial prowess.”
“Martial prowess. Hmmm.”
At this, Lee Ji-yeom furrowed his brows slightly, then scanned Mok Gyeong-un from head to toe. Then, in a voice that seemed to lack conviction, he said.
“May I speak frankly?”
“Yes.”
“Judging by your spiritual sense alone, you feel to be at the first-rate realm.”
‘First-rate?’
At his words, Mok Gyeong-un tilted his head slightly. It was safe to say he still had almost no enlightenment regarding the qi corresponding to the Peak Realm. However, the amount of death energy he possessed had reached the pinnacle of the Peak Realm.
Moreover, the condensed energy in his opened middle dantian had also reached the pinnacle of the Peak Realm, meaning he had twice as much energy as other masters of the same level.
‘Can he not sense my energy?’
As he wondered, he heard Blue Spirit's voice. -That might be possible.
‘Hm?’ -To begin with, death energy is not something a human can accumulate in their body or even sense.
At most, they might feel a chill or a sense of creepiness.
‘.........’ -So it would be strange for ordinary people to accurately sense death energy that has been gathered in the dantian.
‘Is that so?’
Was it as Blue Spirit said? Since death energy operated on a completely different plane from normal energy, was it difficult to grasp even for a great master like Corpse Blood Valley Master Lee Ji-yeom? No, on second thought, this could be a good thing.
‘If my opponent doesn't know my level, I can deceive them.’
This alone had considerable practical value. After all, carelessness was a useful tool for creating an opening in an opponent. Just then, Corpse Blood Valley Master Lee Ji-yeom asked cautiously.
“My Lord, are you deliberately concealing your energy?”
The strength of 'that person' Lee Ji-yeom had heard about from his grandfather was, without exaggeration, among the top three strongest in the entire history of the Heaven and Earth Society. That was why he believed this couldn't be all there was. However, “No. What you see is what you get.”
“........ Is that true?”
“Yes.”
At Mok Gyeong-un's words, Corpse Blood Valley Master Lee Ji-yeom let out a groan mixed with a bit of disappointment. It was understandable. Lee Ji-yeom believed that person had come by possessing this boy's body as a vengeful spirit in order to get revenge and reclaim their former glory and honor.
He had naturally assumed they would be prepared. But if that wasn't the case, what in the world were they planning to do in this situation?
“You look quite disappointed.”
“That's...”
He couldn't bring himself to finish his sentence. Mok Gyeong-un smiled at him and said.
“I understand why you would think that. But I possessed this body half a month ago, and at that time, this vessel hadn't even reached the third-rate realm.”
‘!?’
At Mok Gyeong-un's words, a strange light glinted in Lee Ji-yeom's eyes. And for good reason. Didn't this mean he had reached the first-rate realm in just half a month?
If this was true, it was a tremendous speed of progress.
“Is that..... true?”
“Yes. Do you not believe me?”
“No, not at all. How could I? I am simply astonished......”
No matter how outstanding one's martial talent, this speed was beyond common sense. Lee Ji-yeom's reaction was natural. Mok Gyeong-un then said.
“I know you have expectations, but no matter how different I am from the past self you know, Valley Master, I am also in a position where I must start over from the beginning.”
"Ah....."
At those words, Lee Ji-yeom nodded his head as if he understood. Then he asked cautiously.
“........ Then, in about how much time can you, my Lord, recover your original realm?”
That was the key question. Lee Ji-yeom was in a state of high excitement after pledging his allegiance. He felt like he wanted to leave Corpse Blood Valley right away and reclaim their honor together as his Lord's right-hand man.
At his question, Mok Gyeong-un thought for a moment.
‘My original realm?’
Actually, come to think of it, Mok Gyeong-un had never heard what level of martial prowess she had possessed when she was alive. She always spoke of herself as strong, but the standard for that was vague. But seeing even someone as strong as Lee Ji-yeom hold her in such awe, she was clearly stronger than he had thought.
‘Then...’
It seemed like a good idea to set a target timeframe. A gentleman's revenge is never too late, even after ten years. It means that a gentleman's revenge is not too late even if it takes ten years, implying that one should be patient, build their strength, and wait for the right time.
Of course, it's natural to cultivate patience for revenge, but ten years is too long. Thus, the period Mok Gyeong-un was thinking of was- ‘!?’ At the fingers Mok Gyeong-un held up, Lee Ji-yeom's expression stiffened. -You... are you crazy?
Blue Spirit's voice rang in Mok Gyeong-un's ear. Why were they reacting like this? He wondered, having only held up two of his fingers. -Ha!
Blue Spirit clicked her tongue in disbelief. Just then, Corpse Blood Valley Master Lee Ji-yeom spoke in a slightly trembling voice.
“Could it be... twenty years.....”
“No. That's too long.”
At those words, Lee Ji-yeom gulped dryly and continued speaking as if he couldn't believe it.
“Truly... do you think that's possible?”
“Is there any reason why I can't?”
A reply without a hint of hesitation. At this, “Ha...” Lee Ji-yeom let out a gasp, his eyes filled with genuine awe.
He was just trying to set the shortest possible target period to aim for, but was this something that warranted such a reaction?
Just then, Blue Spirit clicked her tongue and said. -For a brat who hasn't even gained proper enlightenment of the Peak Realm to boast that he'll break through the wall and reach the Transformation Realm within two years.
Transformation Realm.
It was the ultimate martial prowess, a state one could only reach by breaking through the wall and achieving the realm of the Three Flowers Gather at the Crown and the Five Qi Return to the Origin.
It was known that only the Six Heavens and Eight Stars, called the greatest masters in the current martial world, had reached that realm. And yet, Mok Gyeong-un had just declared that he would reach the same level as them in just two years. 'Is it that difficult?'
As if reading Mok Gyeong-un's thoughts, Blue Spirit said. -Die and come back a hundred times and see if that's possible. No, if you can do it, this master will call you 'Master' and serve you for the rest of my life.