Chapter 301 : One Who Learned the Original Source

Silence descended upon the Martial God Realm.

Already seated in a prime viewing spot, the Divine Thief patted the ground beside him, signaling for Jin Seong-un to come over.

Jin Seong-un quickly walked over and, with a rare look of pure interest, stared at the scene unfolding before him.

A man and a woman stood facing each other.

The Noble Enchantress, a master of internal arts acknowledged even by the Sword Immortal.

As someone who, despite being human, had reached a level comparable to immortals, her prowess required no lengthy explanation.

And the Blood Demon, regarded as the greatest demonic lord in all history.

Throughout history, there had never been another disaster like the Blood Demon Cataclysm, where a single man alone caused such a massive blood calamity in merely three days.

Even the Divine Thief and the Merchant King preferred to avoid clashing with the Blood Demon, yet the Noble Enchantress looked at that terrifying man with her usual gentle smile.

“I’ll go easy on you.”

Who in the world could say such words to the Blood Demon?

The Blood Demon merely released his Blood Demon Qi with an indifferent expression.

Saaaaaa—!

The vast Martial God Realm, once dyed deep blue, slowly turned crimson. It was as though the Blood Demon Qi was devouring the entire world from the ground beneath his feet.

Even from a considerable distance away, merely watching made Jin Seong-un feel an ominous and unpleasant sensation constricting his entire body.

“Here I come.”

The Noble Enchantress gave a brief declaration.

With a faint smile, she released her pure white Women’s Moon Qi.

The most ominous energy in the world and the purest energy in the world.

The red and white energies collided without yielding an inch, scattering brilliant colors in every direction.

“It looks just like the sunset hanging at the end of autumn.”

The Divine Thief muttered quietly.

Jin Seong-un turned to look at him.

The man looked utterly intoxicated by his own words.

“…….”

Soon, the Noble Enchantress suddenly charged toward the Blood Demon.

Even Jin Seong-un lost sight of her for an instant.

By the time he instinctively shifted his gaze toward the Blood Demon, she was already there.

The Noble Enchantress reached for the Blood Demon’s heart.

The Blood Demon made no particular resistance. From the beginning, this was not a duel but an experiment to test her new martial art.

Brilliant Women’s Moon Qi burst forth intensely between the Noble Enchantress’s slender fingers resting upon the Blood Demon’s chest.

At the same time, the dark crimson Blood Demon Qi fiercely surged against it as though refusing to permit it so easily.

Kuuurururung—!

Like thunder crashing against thunder, a deafening explosion rang out, shaking the entire Martial God Realm.

Jin Seong-un stared tensely at the Blood Demon and the Noble Enchantress. By now, the Women’s Moon Qi should have deeply penetrated the Blood Demon’s body and begun attempting something within.

Once again, it was impossible to even imagine the profound mystery of destroying all three dantians—upper, middle, and lower—in a single instant by applying the principles of the Original True Face Art.

“Hmm.”

At that moment—

The Blood Demon let out a short groan despite his indifferent expression. It was an extremely subtle reaction, but because it was the Blood Demon, everyone looked shocked.

Even the moment his eyebrow twitched slightly—

The Noble Enchantress staggered and was flung two steps backward as if rebounding away.

Though it had only lasted a brief moment, things beyond verbal description must have occurred between the two.

“…….”

The Noble Enchantress and the Blood Demon looked at one another.

Both now wore expressions as though they had just witnessed a monster.

The Blood Demon nodded as if briefly reviewing what had happened inside his body, then returned to his original spot and lay down once more.

When Jin Seong-un and the Martial Gods continued staring at him, he seemed bothered and turned his body away, presenting them only his back.

Since it seemed impossible to hear the Blood Demon’s thoughts on the matter, Jin Seong-un approached the Noble Enchantress and asked,

“What happened?”

“It’s still an incomplete martial art, so there was a small mistake. Things nearly became dangerous.”

“A small mistake…?”

The Noble Enchantress smiled shyly.

Jin Seong-un looked at her with a dumbfounded expression.

Could the words ‘small mistake’ and ‘dangerous’ even belong in the same sentence?

It was an internal art meant to destroy every acupoint, meridian, and all three dantians simultaneously. Even the slightest error would inevitably lead to irreversible destruction.

The Divine Thief, standing nearby, gave a thumbs-up toward the Blood Demon’s back.

“What a real man.”

It was praise directed at the Blood Demon.

If it had been him, he would have caused an uproar, shouting that she was insane or that she had tried to kill him.

As the Noble Enchantress shoved the Divine Thief’s face aside with her palm, she continued speaking.

“I destroyed all three dantians. But he didn’t die. During the process, a slight mistake also tore apart his lungs and heart, yet he remained perfectly fine.”

The Noble Enchantress looked at the Blood Demon with an exhausted expression.

The Blood Demon, after having all three dantians and his vital organs destroyed, had merely let out a quiet “hmm” before instantly restoring everything.

The Noble Enchantress spoke to Jin Seong-un.

“Seong-un, it truly is fortunate that you weren’t born in that man’s era.”

Yet to Jin Seong-un, the Noble Enchantress herself hardly seemed human either.

Even for Jin Seong-un, whose body was the Heavenly Martial Body, her Internal Arts Method remained in the realm of the incomprehensible.

Once again, he realized just how extraordinary the people within this Martial God Realm truly were…

At that moment, Jin Seong-un’s eyes met the Divine Thief’s.

After a brief silence, the Divine Thief suddenly jumped up and shouted,

“You just had disrespectful thoughts, didn’t you? Huh? You were thinking, ‘Wait, is this guy really qualified to be here among them?’ Weren’t you?!”

“N-No, I wasn’t.”

Jin Seong-un stammered for once.

The Divine Thief stared at him in disbelief before suddenly unleashing movement arts.

“Step Without Shadows! Nightscape Body! Heavenly Black Step Descending from the Sky! Bewitching Vision!”

Needlessly shouting grandiose technique names, he darted around Jin Seong-un in a showy display of movement arts. He moved madly in every direction around him.

It was as though he were desperately proclaiming, “I’m also someone worthy of standing among these people!”

Jin Seong-un nodded and said,

“I truly can’t follow your movements with my eyes.”

“Hahahaha!”

Finally satisfied, the Divine Thief stopped and stood proudly in place.

Having barely escaped the crisis, Jin Seong-un soon turned back to the Noble Enchantress.

“Once that martial art is completed… would I be able to learn it as well?”

The Noble Enchantress wore a troubled expression.

She held Jin Seong-un’s talent in extremely high regard.

At the very least, when it came to controlling internal energy, she believed there were scarcely any throughout history who could compare to her. Perhaps only the founders of Buddhism and Daoism.

In her eyes, Jin Seong-un possessed talent approaching that same level.

Even so, she could not answer easily.

The incomplete martial art she was desperately pursuing still remained a profoundly difficult realm that even she herself had yet to fully comprehend.

“Seong-un, if you attempt to learn it recklessly, you may suffer Qi Deviation. So I cannot give you a definite answer right now.”

“I see.”

Jin Seong-un nodded with disappointment.

Well, once he became stronger in the future, he could simply ask again then.

“Master, there is something I must tell you.”

Now came the main matter.

The Noble Enchantress lightly nodded, signaling him to continue.

“I met a woman who used Women’s Moon Qi. In truth, it wasn’t completely identical to yours, but at its foundation, it was definitely the same energy.”

The Noble Enchantress’s eyes widened.

For a brief instant, joy crossed her face.

Yes, she had expected this. Grand Duke Jiang must have helped her disciples escape in the end, even while slaying both her and the Nine-Tailed Fox.

Her disciples had admirably preserved their lineage for two thousand years.

“So… did you pass down the Women’s Moon Heart Method?”

The request the Noble Enchantress had made to Jin Seong-un was simple.

If he ever discovered those who inherited the lineage, she wanted him to pass on the now-completed Women’s Moon Heart Method.

Jin Seong-un hesitated briefly before answering.

“……She died. She was stirring up the Thunderclap Sect using Soul-Seizing Arts.”

“What?”

Jin Seong-un explained everything he had seen and heard at the Thunderclap Sect without omitting a single detail.

What kind of person she had been, what atrocities she committed, and what kind of death she met.

“So-wol…”

The Noble Enchantress quietly repeated the dead woman’s name.

Her expression looked incredibly complicated. She pressed a hand against her forehead as though suffering a headache and dizziness.

Jin Seong-un finally voiced the question that had lingered in his mind.

“How was she able to use Soul-Seizing Arts with the Women’s Moon Heart Method?”

“I trust your eyes, Seong-un. If you judged it to be Women’s Moon Qi, then it must be true. Assuming that… it was likely mixed with another sinister art. Women’s Moon Qi is an energy like blank paper, so such a thing would be possible.”

Two thousand years was an endlessly long time.

Even if the Noble Enchantress’s disciples had successfully preserved their lineage hidden from the world, there was no guarantee that the descendants of those descendants had remained unchanged.

No, expecting that the lineage had remained true to its original purpose was instead overly optimistic.

Perhaps they had mixed with other sects along the way, or perhaps disciples had fallen into corruption and accepted evil arts.

The Noble Enchantress’s expression became deeply troubled.

Even the Martial Gods cautiously watched her mood.

Especially the Merchant King, who had such an outstanding descendant in Lee Seowon, felt oddly self-conscious.

After a brief silence, Jin Seong-un asked,

“For now, I plan to track them down. Apparently, they belong to a sect called Yusogung. As for what happens afterward…”

Jin Seong-un stared directly at the Noble Enchantress.

No matter what sort of people those who inherited Women’s Moon Qi had become, their treatment was ultimately for the Noble Enchantress to decide.

Soon, she spoke with a sigh.

“They may be far stronger than you imagine, Seong-un. If they use forbidden arts, then they may also wield especially vicious and bizarre sinister techniques.”

“I’ve already considered that.”

As always, Jin Seong-un remained calm.

To begin with, he had never deeply worried about an opponent’s strength while walking this path.

He simply did what needed to be done.

The Noble Enchantress fell silent in thought for a moment.

She did not wish to burden her disciple. Yet she was still human, and she did not wish to leave alone those who committed evil using her martial arts.

Perhaps it was the unique sense of responsibility possessed by Grandmasters.

After much consideration, the Noble Enchantress finally spoke very carefully, almost apologetically.

“……If they truly are inheritors of the Women’s Moon Heart Method, and if they have fallen into corruption and committed evil deeds in some way, then as one who learned the Original Source, Seong-un… sever their lineage.”

“I will do so.”

Jin Seong-un nodded casually.

If anything, it was welcome news. Had his master not spoken these words, he would have felt uneasy leaving the people of Yusogung alone.

Soon afterward, Jin Seong-un gave the Martial Gods a brief farewell and stepped outside.

---

According to the branch leader, the place where the woman named So-wol had been encountered was called the Heavenly Silkworm Black Market.

For now, Jin Seong-un planned to head there and search for clues.

By nature, a black market was not a place anyone could freely enter. Since it dealt in goods difficult to trade openly, only invited individuals could gain access.

Even those invitations were handled with extreme secrecy and required multiple rounds of verification.

Jin Seong-un had no talent for such things.

Thus, naturally, he headed to Lee Seowon’s office.

As Jin Seong-un entered, Lee Seowon looked up from his documents and spoke.

“Thanks to you, the matter regarding the Heavenly Pillar Stone Quarry was resolved very favorably. Daepyeong Trading Company profits because they no longer need to pay cleanup costs, and we can proceed with construction far more quickly.”

“That is fortunate. The Thunderclap Sect Leader agreed to assist until the matter is fully resolved, so there should be no problems. By the way, Chief Steward Lee. Do you happen to know of a place called the Heavenly Silkworm Black Market?”

Jin Seong-un believed there was nothing Lee Seowon did not know.

Sure enough, Lee Seowon nodded even at the sudden question.

“Of course I know it. It belongs to us.”

Jin Seong-un blinked.

“It was among the spoils from the Myriad Gold Manor incident. Of course, after we took over, we no longer buy and sell people like traditional black markets did.”

“Ah.”

Indeed, there had been a black market among the spoils.

Lee Seowon continued explaining.

“At first, it gave me quite a headache. It was exactly the kind of place the Innkeeper would hate.”

Buying and selling humans as slaves.

Handling stolen goods and items with grotesque or inhumane origins.

Yet simply discarding the place would have been wasteful, considering the quality of goods and influential people connected through it.

So Lee Seowon subtly altered only the methods while preserving the black market itself.

“We mostly deal in Murim-related items now. Things like various spiritual medicines, ancient treasures of unknown origin, and fairly high-quality weapons.”

Such items were difficult for ordinary merchants to handle. One wrong move and they would be cut down by some blind Murim warrior.

Lee Seowon had exploited exactly that point.

He created a place where such goods could be bought and sold anonymously and safely.

Since no other black market of this kind yet existed in the current era besides the Heavenly Silkworm Black Market, it was proving rather profitable.

“But why do you ask?”

Jin Seong-un briefly explained what he had seen and heard at the Thunderclap Sect.

Lee Seowon narrowed his eyes.

“So you intend to find clues related to that woman. But explosives were supposed to be among the prohibited items there…”

Lee Seowon let out a quiet sigh.

After all, he could not personally oversee every business under their control. Thus, each operation had its own managers.

“It seems the restructuring hasn’t been fully completed yet. Even if not for this woman’s matter, I suppose I should visit once.”

“I’ll take care of it while I’m there.”

Lee Seowon looked apologetic.

Managing the businesses was his responsibility as Chief Steward, so he did not wish to burden the Innkeeper with such matters.

Still, he knew this issue would be handled far more effectively if Jin Seong-un personally visited.

The rough men dealing in black markets would not fear someone like him, the Chief Steward.

“……This should really be my responsibility. Sigh. When do you plan to leave?”

“Immediately.”

“Then…”

Lee Seowon was briefly calculating what preparations should be made for Jin Seong-un’s journey when—

Creak, bang!

The office door swung open with an imposing sound.

Seomun Ak strode in with his massive frame and an arrogantly smug expression.

“Excellent. Is this another new evil?”

Apparently, he had heightened his sensory qi and been eavesdropping.

As Jin Seong-un stared at him in disbelief, Seomun Ak continued,

“I’m coming too. Ah, and Moyong Hyeon is coming as well.”

Ever since reaching the complete Peak-level Master realm, Seomun Ak had been restless every single day.

He wanted to accomplish feats that would shake the Murim world, so he had eagerly awaited Jin Seong-un’s return.

After all, Jin Seong-un had a peculiar talent for attracting the Demonic and Unorthodox Paths to the inn.

But now that Jin Seong-un was leaving again immediately after returning, Seomun Ak could no longer endure it.

He absolutely had to follow.

“But why is Young Master Moyong…”

“Well, I’m not exactly happy around him either, but he’s useful nonetheless.”

Jin Seong-un looked at him with newfound surprise.

Had Young Master Seomun finally matured?

However, Seomun Ak’s true intentions were entirely different.

The ‘usefulness’ he referred to meant having an audience nearby who would watch his growth, feel jealous, and suffer because of it.

Apparently delighted just imagining it, Seomun Ak burst into loud laughter.