Chapter 25
The Worm Within the Lion (5)
A tense standoff.
Everyone had raised their internal energy to the peak, ready to strike at any moment.
“What is the meaning of this trick, Black Dragon Lord?!”
“You’re the one pulling tricks! We’re brothers of the same Black Lotus Sect, and yet you surround us?! Since when was the Patrol Division an enemy of the Black Lotus Sect?”
“Damn it! Are you treating us like those righteous sect bastards from the Martial Alliance?”
This was no ordinary protest—it was fiercer and on a whole different level.
“We are not criminals!”
“Stand down! I said stand down—!”
The martial artists shouted in defiance.
Their attire was very different from the Patrol Division’s.
On the red robes, both sleeves were embroidered with black dragons—they were the Black Dragon Division, under the Elder Council.
Flash.
The Crimson Dragon King’s eyes blazed as he grasped the situation. A chilling aura burst forth.
“It’s the Sect Master!”
“Show respect—!”
The Red Dragon Division raised their inner strength and shouted.
But neither the Black Dragon Division nor even the Patrol Division Lord lessened their intensity in the slightest.
“Lord Sect Master! What in the world is this?”
“To suddenly surround the Patrol Division like this?”
“This is disregarding not only us who have worked tirelessly for the Black Lotus Sect, but even the Elder Council, who have never withheld their support!”
“And you, of all people, knowing that the Patrol Division Lord is the blood relative of the Great Elder?!”
Instead of bowing, the Patrol Division Lord and Black Dragon Lord raised their voices against the Crimson Dragon King.
A thin, cold smile stretched across the Crimson Dragon King’s lips.
He extended a hand backward.
The Red Dragon Lord, as if waiting, placed a small box in his palm.
“This Golden Spirit Fruit, Patrol Division Lord—you were the one who obtained it, yes?”
“Yes. Three days ago, at Little Sect Master’s request, I exhausted every means and only just managed to secure it yesterday.”
So what?
He had begged me desperately to get it, and now he dares treat me like this?
The Patrol Division Lord’s face, as he locked eyes with the Crimson Dragon King, was full of anger and betrayal.
But—
“Here. Take it.”
The Crimson Dragon King handed the Golden Spirit Fruit to him without hesitation.
“This… isn’t this the very Golden Spirit Fruit I procured for you?”
“Indeed. That very one. The seal with your name on it is intact—clear proof, isn’t it?”
“Then why are you handing it to me…?”
Perhaps it was the slight hesitation in his tone—but the Crimson Dragon King’s smile only twisted higher.
“I’ll speak plainly. Eat that Golden Spirit Fruit. Right here. Before my eyes.”
“W-what?!”
The Patrol Division Lord nearly fainted.
He looked around, crying out at the injustice of such an absurd demand.
“I’m not even ill! Why should I eat a Golden Spirit Fruit?”
“You’re not a patient, no. But Golden Spirit Fruit is an excellent medicine to invigorate yang energy. For a martial artist, it can only benefit your cultivation. It won’t harm you. So go on—eat it. Right. Now.”
Tremble—
The box in the Patrol Division Lord’s hands began to shake.
So it’s you.
Kang Yong-un realized instantly.
This man had tampered with the Golden Spirit Fruit.
And the Crimson Dragon King knew it too.
His chilling killing intent swept across the leaders of the Patrol Division.
“Most of you belong to the old Black Night Moon faction, don’t you?”
The Black Lotus Sect had been formed from the merging of the Black Night Moon faction with the Demonic Lotus and other dark sects.
Most of those now facing his gaze were indeed Black Night Moon descendants.
“Instead of showing respect to your Sect Master, you dared raise your voices against me. Isn’t that right?”
“That may be so, but Sect Master, this is unfair! Surrounding the Patrol Division without explanation, treating us like criminals?!”
The Patrol Division Lord raised his voice again.
The Crimson Dragon King’s eyes grew colder still.
“If you are innocent, then eat it. Right. Now.”
“I…”
The Patrol Division Lord’s voice caught in his throat.
Eat the Golden Spirit Fruit?!
“No. I refuse. Why must I eat this? To be forced under suspicion—I cannot.”
“Why not? Did you lace it with poison?”
“Wh-what nonsense is that?!”
The Patrol Division Lord’s voice shook visibly now.
There was no need for further words.
“Fine. I’ll feed it to you myself.”
Whoosh—
In a blink, the Crimson Dragon King closed the distance, reaching out slowly.
“Uugh—!”
Startled, the Patrol Division Lord reflexively raised his hands to block.
Futile.
With a smooth motion, the Crimson Dragon King easily seized his collar.
And then—
Crunch.
He stuffed the Golden Spirit Fruit into his mouth.
“Se-Sect Master! Ugh—puh! Puh—!”
The Patrol Division Lord gagged, trying to spit it out.
Pointless.
The Crimson Dragon King immobilized him with a touch to his pressure points.
“If you hadn’t tampered with it, then eating it would do no harm, right? Hm?”
Even the chewed bits he spit out were gathered and forced back into his mouth.
Gulp.
With a press to his throat, he swallowed it all.
Moments later—
“Ghhhhh—!”
The Patrol Division Lord’s face turned black.
Poison.
The Golden Spirit Fruit had indeed been laced with a powerful, unknown toxin.
At that very moment—
“Heh heh heh. That’s enough, Sect Master.”
A group appeared at the Patrol Division.
“Great Elder!”
“Great Elder, we are wronged!”
“Sect Master has unjustly accused the Patrol Division Lord!”
As if on cue, the Patrol Division’s martial artists appealed desperately to the Elder Council, particularly those of Black Night Moon lineage.
The Great Elder raised a hand.
As if by magic, the Patrol Division leaders and the Black Dragon Lord fell silent.
“Sect Master. May I examine the boy?”
“Go ahead, Great Elder.”
Surprisingly, the Crimson Dragon King stepped back.
“Thank you.”
The Great Elder placed a hand on the Patrol Division Lord’s back.
Bzzz—
A deep resonance flowed from his palm.
Before long, the Patrol Division Lord vomited a lump of blackened blood.
“Fool. In such a case, you should have come to me at the Elder Council.”
“Ugh—! Un-uncle—!”
Barely able to breathe, the Patrol Division Lord’s brightening eyes dimmed again—his acupoints had been sealed.
The Crimson Dragon King only observed in silence.
“Take him for treatment. I forced most of it out, so with detoxification, he will recover soon enough.”
The Great Elder finished and offered the Crimson Dragon King a sheepish smile.
Then, to everyone’s shock, he spoke words that stunned them.
“Well, Sect Master, since you already know, I won’t waste words.”
“Why? You could claim that since it passed through the Medicine Hall, it was I who tampered with the fruit, framing him.”
That alone would have been enough.
Kang Yong-un’s heart pounded at those words.
I was afraid he’d say just that…
But to his surprise, the Great Elder chose otherwise.
“Heh heh heh. Useless. Why shed needless blood, Sect Master?”
“Minimum bloodshed, then?”
“Exactly. After all, only a few of us knew and acted on this.”
A confession—of betrayal.
“And why? Let’s hear it.”
“Why…?”
The Great Elder lifted his head, gazing at the sky, then chuckled bitterly. He murmured like an old man talking to himself.
“The sorrow of being forgotten, perhaps.”
“Forgotten? Even though you were honored as Great Elder of the mighty Black Lotus Sect?”
“They say a man dies leaving behind a name. But with age, the title of Great Elder means less to me than the old name of Black Night Moon. Hah hah hah.”
Crackle—
Lightning flickered in his eyes.
It was as if the old Moon Lord of Black Night Moon, who had once fought fierce battles against the Crimson Dragon King in Honam, had returned.
“I had planned to strike when chaos broke out with the Martial Alliance. But even that failed. Still, I sought only limited bloodshed. So let us finish this, you and I, Sect Master. What do you say?”
The Crimson Dragon King smiled coldly.
“Very well. Let us.”
“Thank you, Sect Master. That is why, forty years ago, I submitted to you.”
That was the end.
The Great Elder turned, clasping his hands behind his back, walking slowly toward the Elder Council as though reflecting on his final moments.
“Stay here. I go alone.”
“Father!”
“Lord Sect Master!”
Little Sect Master Yeom Jung-ho and the Red Dragon Lord shouted, but the Crimson Dragon King’s resolve could not be swayed.
“I am the Sect Master of the Black Lotus Sect. The Great Elder who built it with me deserves at least this much respect.”
That was the end.
The Crimson Dragon King strode forward alone, each step heavy and majestic like a moving mountain.
After about half an hour—
Thunderous booms shook the earth, waves of force radiating from the Elder Council.
Truly incredible.
Kang Yong-un’s eyes shone with awe.
He had already seen the Crimson Dragon King fight the renegade spirit summoners near Hongho—but this was different.
Back then, they relied on illusions, so it wasn’t raw strength against strength.
This was different—power clashing head-on.
Each was a top master in their own right, fighting with everything they had.
The shockwaves from so far away can still shake my heart?!
What use was innate qi?
The pride and confidence he had gained from uprooting heretical spells crumbled completely.
I must raise the Extreme Heaven Divine Art to an even higher level.
Though his progress had been astonishingly fast, even shocking to those who knew the beginning, Kang Yong-un was not satisfied.
Innate qi cannot be pushed further right now.
He needed the Great Heaven Divine Art. But in its current state, even attempting to practice it was dangerous.
Whether by reducing sleep, or devoting an extended period solely to training—I must rise to a far higher level.
The same went for martial techniques.
He couldn’t be bound forever to the Three Talents Sword Art and basic formulas.
Until I recover the latter half of the Great Heaven Divine Art and fully restore my clan’s martial arts, I need a higher-level technique to endure.
Once more, he drew up the Divine Art with its formulas, reaching toward the presences in the Vault of Heaven.
[Heh, the kids’ scuffle is actually pretty entertaining, isn’t it?]
As if waiting, the beings of the Vault of Heaven connected immediately to his mind.
[Hahaha. Indeed, fights are children’s games.]
[Clumsy fighters, yet earnest in their struggle, don’t you think?]
[Yes. The shockwaves are quite heavy!]
The battle of the Crimson Dragon King and the Great Elder.
Though it shook even Kang Yong-un’s heart from afar, to the heavenly beings it was nothing more than children’s play.
Indeed. Until I recover the latter half of the Great Heaven Divine Art, I must rely on their help.
Kang Yong-un unveiled the plan he had been harboring.
“Honored ones, a few days ago you said that at most, you can only barely appear in your descendants’ dreams, vanishing from memory upon waking. That is the extent of your influence in the mortal realm.”
The moment he had heard those words, an idea had struck him.
A way to extract what he needed from them, faster.
“I will accomplish what you cannot.”
He was confident it would work.
“If there are messages, teachings, or legacies you wish to leave to your descendants—entrust them to me. I will personally seek them out and deliver your words.”
Even the heavenly beings could not do such a thing.
[Ooh—! Truly?!]
[Amazing—! Child, are you truly speaking the truth?!]
Their response was immediate and explosive—far beyond what Kang Yong-un had expected.
[Child, I am Wang Chongyang. My request is that you go to Zhongnan Mountain, for there my Yujin…]
[Oh, foolish—no, kind child. I am Kongming, courtesy name Zhuge Liang, once called Baiyu…]
Tremble—
Kang Yong-un’s body shook.
W-what?! Wang Chongyang, and… Zhuge Liang?!
Names too great to bear.
Legends, spoken of only in history and myth, were suddenly appearing one after another.
