"If I win, you will retreat quietly."
"If I win, I will take over this place. You will leave."
At Lee Mak-jeong's words, Yeon-il looked at Gung Tae-yeong.
Gung Tae-yeong nodded. He had been planning to retreat anyway, but he was worried because he had no pretext. Yeon-il had created a pretext for him, so it was rather a relief.
An order had been issued from the alliance not to clash unless there was a separate order.
If there was that order and a pretext, there would be no problem reporting to the alliance. It would be even better if Yeon-il won.
Jin Sa-wol was sitting on the roof of a five-story guest room not far from the main gate of the inn. He had just appeared on the roof out of nowhere.
Because he had run for two days without rest, he had barely arrived at the inn at the same time as Lee Mak-jeong.
Jin Sa-wol's eyes were on Gung Tae-yeong.
He was more curious about why Gung Tae-yeong was here than the fight between Yeon-il and Lee Mak-jeong.
'Is it a lingering attachment to the Thousand Gold Vault?'
Namgung Min, the Alliance Leader, had no lingering attachment to the Thousand Gold Vault. Although he had acknowledged that it was his, the problem was the guys under him.
Zhuge Qing was like that, Son Muk was the same, and the Jo family was also like that. But from now on, there would be no clash with them over the Thousand Gold Vault.
'I'll have to find the Human Gold Safe too.'
Of the three gold safes of heaven, earth, and man, only two were currently open. Jin Sa-wol had the Thousand Gold Vault, and the Jo family had the Present Gold Safe. Then where would the remaining Human Gold Safe be?
"Uwaaaap!"
"Haap!"
With a battle cry, Jin Sa-wol stopped thinking.
Yeon-il and Lee Mak-jeong raised both hands and at the same time, they grabbed each other's hands and began a power struggle.
"Haa..."
Jin Sa-wol let out a long sigh. Because he had expected Shaolin's fist techniques and Gung Ma-yeop's Xuanwu Divine Art and demonic arts.
It was a disappointment that he had not been able to fight Gung Ma-yeop.
Since it didn't matter to Jin Sa-wol who won, he watched with interest.
Lee Mak-jeong and Yeon-il, who had clenched their hands tightly, were putting strength into their shoulders, trembling.
The two, who had similar physiques, looked as if they were showing off their strength by holding hands, but it was leading to a battle of internal energy.
The feet of the two dug into the ground up to their ankles, and a hot energy was full.
"This bastard... you know how to use your strength."
Lee Mak-jeong threw a compliment to Yeon-il, who was receiving his strength, as if he were impressed. In the Demonic Cult, he had prided himself on having no one to fight with bare hands except for the monster named Yuk Sam-yuk.
Yeon-il felt the same way.
He was confident that he would not lose to anyone in terms of strength. But Lee Mak-jeong was not an easy opponent.
"You're strong too. It's been a long time since I've had an opponent who can hold on like this."
"You arrogant bastard."
Lee Mak-jeong smiled, turned his hands, and twisted his arms. The palms of the two turned to the sky, and strength entered their shoulders.
Although Yeon-il had to lift his feet, he soon put strength and pressed Lee Mak-jeong's arms. The two trembled all over, with their arms twisted.
If they retreated here, their arms would be broken.
Yeon-il poured all his strength into his arms and tried to twist Lee Mak-jeong's arms.
"Keuk! Why don't you just give up and retreat?"
"You should give up."
With his words, Lee Mak-jeong, who had put more strength into his palms, raised his arms further up. Yeon-il's body was slightly lifted up.
"Ugh! I lost! Fuck!"
Yeon-il, who had let go of his hands with a curse and had retreated, held his arms with a painful face.
Seeing his face full of sweat, it seemed he had used all his strength.
Lee Mak-jeong smiled and said.
"Hoo hoo! I'll remember your name. It was a pretty interesting match for the first time in a long time. Now, as promised, get the hell out of here."
As Lee Mak-jeong's voice rose, Gung Tae-yeong looked at Yeon-il with a frown.
Yeon-il stood next to Woo Jeong-bong and shook his head. Gung Tae-yeong sighed as if he were pathetic and said to Lee Mak-jeong.
"A promise is a promise, so we will retreat. Let's go."
Gung Tae-yeong, along with his subordinates, left the inn and headed for the branch. He did not forget to leave a few people around the inn for surveillance.
Woo Jeong-bong and Yeon-il looked at the inn with disappointed expressions and then followed Gung Tae-yeong.
A subordinate of Gung Tae-yeong approached and asked.
"Are you just going to leave them like that?"
"How can that be? The Blue Dragon Division is coming down from the alliance, so we have to join forces with them and drive those guys out. It won't take a few days."
Gung Tae-yeong answered and then turned his eyes to Yeon-il and Woo Jeong-bong.
Yeon-il showed his arm to Woo Jeong-bong and shook his head.
"It's bruised. Look. It's hard to even move."
"Let's go to the doctor. Should I blow on it?"
"You crazy bastard."
At Yeon-il's words, Woo Jeong-bong laughed lightly. That appearance did not look very good to Gung Tae-yeong.
'The face of the Martial Alliance is not good.'
Gung Tae-yeong clicked his tongue and sighed.
'By the way, Jin Sa-wol. Where can I find this person?'
Because he had run away with a purpose, it seemed it would take time to find him.
Lee Mak-jeong, who had passed the gate of the Golden Garden, frowned at his subordinates who were trying to enter through the gate.
"No one comes in. And no one is let in."
"Yes."
The subordinates answered and then firmly closed the gate.
Lee Mak-jeong walked slowly in the garden of the Golden Garden with his hands behind his back, and when he saw a small yard and a house, he headed there.
When he arrived at the yard, Jin Sa-wol suddenly appeared from somewhere. Lee Mak-jeong, who had discovered him, had a hardened expression.
'There was no presence.'
Although he was surprised when he had received Jin Sa-wol's telepathy a while ago, it was the same now.
The telepathy was heard right after the fight with Yeon-il ended.
-It's Jin Sa-wol. Find the Golden Garden and come in alone.
Because he had heard that telepathy, Lee Mak-jeong had entered the Golden Garden and had found Jin Sa-wol.
"Did you look for me?"
"I looked for you."
"Is there a reason you came all the way here, crossing a thousand li?"
"Master told me to visit."
Lee Mak-jeong mentioned the dead Gung Ma-yeop. Jin Sa-wol knew that Lee Mak-jeong's master was Gung Ma-yeop.
"Me? What for?"
"Master said you would accept me and my family. He said you would find a way for us to live."
Although it was a story he had never heard before, Jin Sa-wol showed an indifferent expression. Lee Mak-jeong said again.
"Master talked a lot about you. He said you were the number one master of the Demonic Cult who had driven out the former Cult Leader. He said that if he died, I should follow you. He said the new Demonic Cult Leader would kill his disciples. Am I not that disciple? As master had predicted, the Demonic Cult Leader has abandoned us."
Hearing Lee Mak-jeong's story, Jin Sa-wol roughly grasped the situation. Gung Ma-yeop was a person who had fought with Dokgo Hyeon over the position of the Cult Leader.
Since he had died, his disciple, Lee Mak-jeong, was an enemy who could start a rebellion.
The biggest risk factor for the Cult Leader, Dokgo Hyeon, was Lee Mak-jeong, the master of the Blood Saber Hall. The fact that he was a master who could not be ignored must have also played a part.
"The current Cult Leader is a puppet of his younger sister. The Hall of Light Master, Dokgo, told us to go to Xinjiang. What else could that mean but to die? I never thought I would be abandoned like this after being loyal to the cult my whole life. I came here after discussing with my subordinates."
Lee Mak-jeong raised his voice as if he were angry. But Jin Sa-wol still had an indifferent face.
Lee Mak-jeong looked around and said again.
"This place is spacious, and there are many empty rooms, so it seems all my subordinates can come and live here."
At Lee Mak-jeong's intention to come and live, Jin Sa-wol shook his head.
"This is not where we live."
"What do you mean?"
"We've moved."
At Jin Sa-wol's story, Lee Mak-jeong's eyes widened. He looked flustered as it was an unexpected thing.
Jin Sa-wol said again with an indifferent tone.
"This place is close to the Martial Alliance, so it's not good for the master to live here."
As Jin Sa-wol said, Guguang was not far from the Martial Alliance. Since the Namgung family was also below, if they settled down, they would inevitably have to fight them.
There was no way the Martial Alliance would just leave a Demonic Cult member alone when they had their eyes wide open.
Lee Mak-jeong, as if he were fed up with having to move again, asked in a hurry.
"Where did you go? I'll go there right away."
"That place is far away. It's not a problem for the master to go there, but there is one thing you must follow to go there."
"What is it?"
"You have to become my person. Can you follow my orders?"
When Jin Sa-wol asked, Lee Mak-jeong frowned.
Jin Sa-wol's story meant to bow his head and come in. He had to become Jin Sa-wol's subordinate.
Lee Mak-jeong had heard that Jin Sa-wol's martial arts were equal to the former Cult Leader's.
But the story and the reality were different. And it was by no means easy to bow his head to the young Jin Sa-wol.
"Follow your orders... There's no separate Cult Leader. If I refuse, do I have to leave?"
"Of course."
Jin Sa-wol showed a smile.
Seeing Jin Sa-wol's confident expression, Lee Mak-jeong's fighting spirit rose greatly. He said, exuding a strong fighting spirit.
"Let's decide by fighting. If I win, you will become my subordinate. If I lose, I will become your subordinate."
Lee Mak-jeong, as if he had been waiting, drew the large saber from his shoulder with both hands.
The law of the martial world was simple, and it was enough to prove one's strength.
"Let's begin."
Lee Mak-jeong, as if his personality were impatient, swung his large saber with his words. A strong wind sound, bung!, echoed in the empty air.
Jin Sa-wol's hand grabbed the hilt of the Yuseom Sword.
In that fleeting moment, a light flashed, and the sound of metal hitting the surface of the large saber echoed several times.
With a clang! sound, Lee Mak-jeong, who had retreated about ten steps, opened his eyes wide like a startled rabbit.
As his rugged and not-so-good-looking face turned into a rabbit's, Jin Sa-wol laughed with a pfft! sound without realizing it.
Although Lee Mak-jeong had not counted accurately, he had seen twelve flashes of light.
"Amazing."
Lee Mak-jeong was surprised by Jin Sa-wol's fast sword, and he was surprised a second time that he had been pushed back ten steps.
It meant that the energy contained in the sword was great. Lee Mak-jeong, who was examining the surface of the large saber that had received Jin Sa-wol's sword, nodded.
'He went easy on me.'
If Jin Sa-wol had wanted to, he could have stabbed his whole body, not just the surface of the saber.
There was no sword in Jin Sa-wol's hand. Because he had put the sword back in its scabbard after unfolding the One Sword Killing Ghost.
Although he was said to be ignorant, he was the master of the Seven Halls of the Demonic Cult and a master with rich practical experience.
"Let's do it again."
Lee Mak-jeong, who had pulled the large saber behind his waist and had lowered his posture, gathered his internal energy and raised his saber energy.
As a hazy mist-like energy enveloped the large saber, his figure rushed towards Jin Sa-wol like an arrow.
Jin Sa-wol's hand grabbed the hilt of the sword.
After that, a light flashed, and with a clang! sound, Lee Mak-jeong's figure, who had raised his saber above his head, slid back three zhang.
Blood splattered on Lee Mak-jeong's neck and shoulder. He had been slightly cut.
"Hmph..."
Lee Mak-jeong stared blankly at Jin Sa-wol with his eyes wide open.
The Life-Stealing Saber Technique's Life-Stealing Slash was also a very fast saber, and Jin Sa-wol had parried it.
The moment Jin Sa-wol's hand grabbed the hilt of the sword, about ten sword shadows were seen with a flash of light. But there was no time to avoid them.
Seeing and moving were completely different things. The moment he saw it, his neck and shoulder were already cut, and a strong shock came.
"It's an amazing fast sword. It's truly the best in the world."
Lee Mak-jeong, who was speaking with his saber raised above his head, came to his senses and lowered his saber.
As he confirmed that it was true that he had driven out the former Demonic Cult Leader, his shoulders trembled.
Jin Sa-wol grabbed the hilt of his sword and asked.
"Shall we do it again?"
(End of Chapter)
