Chapter 78
“What… what is this…?”
“Hm? Is this the first time you’ve properly seen Elder’s martial arts?”
Ryuyeon covered her mouth at the sight before her. The monsters’ flesh was already rotting, peeling away to reveal bare bone.
The stench was nauseating, but what pressed down on her mind even stronger than that was—
Fear.
A fear of death, inevitable for the living, bound her limbs.
Don’t move.
Don’t let it touch you.
Her breathing grew ragged, her chest tight.
As her complexion paled, Cheon Mujin placed a hand on her back.
“Ah, so it really is your first time.”
“Ah…”
His inner energy gently calmed her body.
By the time her breath returned, the last of the monsters was collapsing—not its stance, but its very life.
“Impressive. Truly worthy of being the kind of fiend the orthodox sects fear most.”
“Huh? What do you mean by that?”
“Exactly what I said. Just imagine something like that unleashed in a city.”
Even monsters with some resistance to poison couldn’t withstand this miasma.
Even diluted, it would have no trouble killing humans.
If such poison spread through a crowded city?
More people would die than even the worst serial killer could murder in a lifetime.
Which made it puzzling.
There was no way something this dangerous could be controlled with just ordinary monsters.
“Elder, you wouldn’t…”
Just as Ryuyeon began to speak in protest, Cheon Mujin moved.
The hand patting her back suddenly gripped her head, pressing it down, while his left hand swung.
The sharp clang of metal striking metal rang out, and his fist was deflected into empty air.
The force was unexpected.
But—
“That was too obvious.”
Cheon Mujin smirked, stretching out the hand that had held Ryuyeon down.
He caught the attacker’s throat. Its forelimb flailed desperately, but he easily tilted his head aside.
“Strong on the first strike, weak on the follow-up. You’re one of those.”
Some ambushers were like that—one heavy blow, then nothing.
This creature’s second strike was far weaker than the one he’d blocked with his left. Mujin tightened his grip.
He didn’t just squeeze—he rammed his demonic energy inside, wrecking its insides.
The monster, thrashing wildly, went limp after only a few breaths.
“Wh-what was that?”
“What else? An ambush targeting you.”
Clicking his tongue at the wrecked hut from the monster’s struggle, Mujin twisted its head.
Cutting would splatter blood, so he spun it until the neck snapped clean.
“Eh? It wasn’t after you, Young Master?”
“Could’ve been, but the first attack was aimed at you. So no, probably not.”
This thing was smaller than the brute that came head-on, but its stealth ability was valuable.
A mid-to-high level monster.
Had he not been wary, even Mujin might have been wounded by the initial strike.
“Not a bad tactic. Use a frontal assault to draw attention, then send hidden ones to ambush the rear. Clean.”
Against Poison Demon, it was especially good.
If the ambushers stayed behind him, that guaranteed they weren’t in the poison cloud.
They could approach without worrying about poison, so their ambush success rate would be high.
All in all, it was a sound strategy.
“What happened?”
The Poison Demon approached, having already absorbed the miasma.
His eyes glared murderously at the slain ambusher.
If not for Mujin, he would’ve charged in without thought.
“It was a stealth-type monster. Strangely, it went for Ryuyeon, not me.”
“For Ryuyeon?”
“Yes.”
At Mujin’s answer, Poison Demon frowned.
These monsters weren’t attacking randomly.
They moved with precise plans and chosen targets.
Would such creatures change their objective just because Mujin looked strong?
No. Impossible.
Then why?
While Poison Demon’s eyes darkened in thought, Mujin pondered as well.
When the monsters first appeared, Mujin assumed he was their target—because of how he’d first met Ryuyeon.
If they wanted her dead, they could’ve killed her then. Why go through the trouble of sneaking near Poison Demon?
Why indeed?
It was an unavoidable question.
Poison Demon also stood silent, deep in thought.
“…Shall we sleep on it?”
The sun had already set; darkness covered the land.
With Ryuyeon nodding off, the three chose to rest, resolving to find answers tomorrow.
“Are you saying there are more places like this?”
“Yes.”
The next day.
While Ryuyeon worked the fields, Mujin sat across from Poison Demon at a makeshift table.
There were several such poison-herb fields, Poison Demon explained, and he’d already fought monsters destroying other plots.
But—
“This was the first time they came in such numbers.”
“You were always alone then?”
“Yes.”
“Then was Ryuyeon coming here a first?”
“Not the first.”
Well, he had survived attacks alone, after all.
He must have experience, even if not formal training.
Given Poison Demon’s uniqueness, that made sense.
“Then this anomaly was either because of me—or because it was simply time.”
“Likely the latter. The work of those meddling in the Mara fields.”
“You know them?”
“Now that I think of it…”
Poison Demon narrowed his eyes at Mujin.
“You’re the one who said you slew a dragon-class monster that those people had hidden, aren’t you?”
“Yes. Why?”
“Then surely you are their target.”
“Nah, I doubt they’d act out of petty revenge.”
Mujin shook his head, then glanced at Ryuyeon.
“More likely, they’re after your disciple.”
“Disciple? I have no such thing.”
“Do you think others will see it that way?”
Poison Demon fell silent.
Most who followed him did so hoping to learn from him.
And Ryuyeon was especially gifted.
“‘Poison Human Body.’ Anyone would call him your successor.”
“It was chance.”
“Results are what matter.”
Poison Demon was unusual among the Demon Lords.
He wasn’t from the cult—he was recruited from outside.
That, combined with his Demon Lord rank, left him isolated, almost a pariah.
Unlike other Demon Lords with factions, he had none.
Only a few self-proclaimed servants eager to learn his arts.
Being an outsider meant his martial arts were unique. If someone mastered them, they could become the next Poison Demon.
Among those who entered his tutelage, it was Ryuyeon who, by chance or fate, gained the “Poison Human Body”—surpassing others from powerful families.
Mujin didn’t know how it happened, but it did.
And that made Ryuyeon a target.
Mujin knew because in his past life, Ryuyeon had been his subordinate.
Among the many who supported him in the civil war, Ryuyeon had been a solid pillar—healer not just for Mujin, but for his entire faction.
His only flaw was his frail body: a trembling left arm, countless scars, a limp, and a ruined face.
So much so that Mujin hadn’t recognized him at first in this life.
But one thing was clear: someone wanted Ryuyeon dead.
Whether directly or by trap, they were moving against him.
“The best way is for you to officially take him as a disciple, Elder.”
“What?”
“You don’t like that idea, I see.”
Poison Demon frowned, and Mujin quickly added:
“Then there’s another option.”
“What?”
“He joins me.”
“Join you?”
That sounded even riskier.
Seeing Poison Demon’s look, Mujin grinned.
“Relax. Under me, he won’t be directly targeted. I’ve already made enough noise that others won’t dare.”
He was already infamous for wiping out three assassin clans.
No one would touch him lightly.
Besides—
“I was thinking I needed one anyway.”
“One what?”
“A physician.”
The old doctor of Wupoongdae was constantly threatening to retire.
There were others learning under him, but…
Compared to Ryuyeon, who had studied Poison Demon’s medical arts? No contest.
“He can keep studying under you, Elder, but work with us on the side. What do you think?”
“Me?!”
“Yes. From now on, you’re Wupoongdae’s physician.”
“But, Elder—”
“Oh, you’ll still assist Elder.”
“Huh?”
“Help him when needed, but come to us too. Rest, work, train. That sort of thing.”
What did that even mean?
Seeing Ryuyeon’s confusion, Mujin pointed to the fading forest.
“Young man, you can’t keep going to dangerous places without at least some means to survive.”
“What does that have to do with joining Wupoongdae?”
“I’ll teach you.”
“What? You know poison arts too?”
“No. But…”
Mujin smiled and reached out.
Ryuyeon instinctively flinched back, but—
“Ow!”
A sharp pain shot up his neck. His eyes widened.
“I’ll teach you how to use your body efficiently. Enough to beat down anyone bullying you.”
“R-really?”
Had he been bottling this up?
Ryuyeon’s eyes sparkled, and Mujin patted his shoulder.
“Of course. Trust your big brother.”
“Yes, sir!”
Not only had he gained a good start with Poison Demon, but he had also achieved his original goal of connecting with Ryuyeon.
Smiling at Ryuyeon’s eager reply, Mujin led him back.
“Young Master!”
“Oh, the new recruit. Treat him well—he’s both physician and fighter.”
“Huh?”
Yu Hyeonhwa, who ran over happily to greet Mujin, froze at the unexpected newcomer.
He looks younger than us?
A kid like this, a fighter?
Well, she had been on the battlefield at his age too…
As she stared awkwardly at the smiling Ryuyeon—
“Hm? We have a guest.”
“Ah! Right! Big trouble! The orthodox faction—the Martial Alliance!”
Spotting someone approaching, Yu Hyeonhwa panicked.
What’s with her?
Mujin frowned as Goh Gyeong-un, deputy leader of the Celestial Guard, strode up and handed him a scroll.
“A mission, Young Master.”
“Hm?”
“You are ordered to participate in the Martial Alliance’s Grand Tournament.”
“…Huh?”
