Return of the God of War - Chapter 82

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 82. Congratulations.
Gwooo-gwooo-gwooo.
Black demon energy swirled like a hurricane wind.
Its power was on an entirely different scale from the hollow aura of the White Jade Token.
With Cheon Hwarin’s ascension to the Extreme Demon Stage and her perfect harmony of essence, energy, and spirit, her majesty was nothing short of overwhelming.
Crash!
Muk Yeojin’s robes whipped violently as waves of demon energy erupted outward, threatening to consume all eight directions.
Watching that breathtaking display, a sudden thought flashed through Muk Yeojin’s mind.
“So that’s how it is…….”
A hollow laugh escaped him unbidden.
Anew, it felt as though he were witnessing fragments of Cheon Hwarin from “those days.”
‘The Woneum Sect has been treating this as an enemy?’
For just a moment, he even felt something like pity for them.
And besides, Cheon Hwarin of the future would grow far stronger still.
A legendary martial artist who transcended the Extreme Demon and Demon Transcendence stages to touch the realm of Divine Martial—that was her.
Then it happened.
Whip!
“Young Master Muk. Are you able to move?”
Yang Hui stepped forward with the Twin Ring Curved Saber reverse-gripped in hand, blocking Muk Yeojin’s path.
It was an action taken with the thought that the Extreme Demon Stage might cause Cheon Hwarin to lose herself in madness.
Muk Yeojin let out a short laugh.
“Now that’s touching. It warms my heart. Tell you what—I’ll specially inform you who possesses the Long Treasure Blade where the Old King’s legacy is hidden. Consider yourself lucky.”
Of course, this too was something he had heard from Yang Hui in the past.
Yang Hui’s brow furrowed.
“Old King or whatever—is now really the time for jokes like that?”
“Why? Not interested?”
Yang Hui shook his head.
Seeing him continue spouting nonsense in this situation.
‘This bastard must have hit his head. He’s clearly concussed.’
Yang Hui bit his lip and kept his eyes fixed on Cheon Hwarin ahead.
‘I have to stop her.’
Muk Yeojin could barely manage to stand on his own two feet.
And unfortunately, with his head injured, his judgment was completely compromised.
Yeol Cheong had managed to stem the bleeding, but she was in no condition to move immediately.
Which meant that Yang Hui alone was the only one capable of stopping Cheon Hwarin, now consumed by the lust for slaughter.
‘Can I actually do this?’
Crash!
His knees trembled.
Had he ever faced such a murderous aura in all his life?
Fear, helpless and undeniable, filled Yang Hui’s eyes.
‘Is this the power of the Demon Cult’s heir? The true strength of a Demon Incarnate?’
Now he understood.
Why she could become the next Cult Master of the Demon Cult.
Why a single faction like the Demon Cult could stand as a rival to all of Zhongyuan.
The very vessel itself seemed different.
Before her majesty, Yang Hui’s own existence felt pitiful and small.
And yet.
Crack!
Power surged into Yang Hui’s hands as he gripped the saber.
Drawing breath from his lower danjeon, he unleashed a roar like a Lion’s Roar.
“I may lack strength, but I don’t lack pride! Come on then, you demon! I’m the man who will become the greatest swordmaster in all Cheonha!”
Thwack!
“How shameless.”
Muk Yeojin struck Yang Hui across the back of the head from behind.
Yang Hui’s head snapped forward, and he turned with a dazed expression.
Muk Yeojin clicked his tongue.
“In a moment like this, you’re talking about becoming a great thief? The head of the North Heaven Yang Clan would throw a feast if he heard that. You fool.”
With that barbed remark delivered, Muk Yeojin dragged his unsteady body forward, moving slowly toward Cheon Hwarin.
Yang Hui was caught off guard.
“Wait, no, Young Master Muk! This is dangerous——”
“It’s fine. Don’t worry about me. Go and look after Yeol Cheong.”
Fine? How could any of this be fine?
She’d heard since childhood what befell a Demon Incarnate who ascended to the Extreme Demon Stage.
The legends spoke of slaughtering every living creature within a ten-mile radius—and that was among the gentler accounts.
If Muk Yeojin had been whole, perhaps it might have been different.
But shattered as he was now, he wouldn’t last even a single exchange against Cheon Hwarin—wouldn’t survive what she could do in one strike.
Yet Muk Yeojin’s stride never faltered.
Yang Hui stamped his foot for a moment, then finally turned away.
‘Fine then! Do as you see fit!’
Yeol Cheong’s condition was equally urgent.
He threw himself backward without lingering, leaving Muk Yeojin to press forward.
Soon enough, Muk Yeojin reached Cheon Hwarin’s side.
Her cool gaze fell upon him.
The tension hung razor-thin—as if she might swing that Great Stone Axe and cleave his head clean from his shoulders at any moment.
A brief silence.
Then, breaking that stillness, Muk Yeojin spoke.
“My congratulations, Sub-Sect Leader. You have ascended to the Extreme Demon Stage.”
At his composure, at that easy smile, Cheon Hwarin’s brow twitched.
She hesitated, then opened her mouth.
“How did you know?”
For someone mad with slaughter, she seemed far too human, too present.
As it should be.
She had not been consumed by the Extreme Demon Stage.
Muk Yeojin had known all along that she would not lose herself.
―When you entered the Extreme Demon Stage, what was it like?
He had asked her such a thing once, long ago.
And her answer had shocked him.
―Nothing happened.
―I’m sorry?
―Nothing happened. I was perfectly fine.
That was it.
The Heavenly Martial Incarnate.
Before such a being—the avatar of martial arts itself bestowed by heaven—even the Extreme Demon Stage could only bow its head like a meek lamb.
Cheon Hwarin herself seemed taken aback by a truth she had never known.
But since he could not explain such matters, Muk Yeojin offered this instead:
“Because you are unchanged from before, Sub-Sect Leader. It shows in your eyes.”
“…!”
Her eyes widened for an instant, then her face hardened.
“Don’t think you can brush me off with such empty talk. You knew. You knew that I would face no danger from ascending to the Extreme Demon Stage.”
Muk Yeojin deliberately turned his gaze away.
“I’m not certain what you mean, Sub-Sect Leader. I merely thought it was our only hope, and so I suggested it.”
Cheon Hwarin’s eyes burned.
“We let it pass at Sadocheon’s main stronghold, but this time will be different.”
“But—this is not the moment! Yeol Cheong requires immediate treatment.”
“Tch…”
The moment Muk Yeojin invoked Yeol Cheong’s name, Cheon Hwarin’s lips sealed shut.
She too knew that Yeol Cheong had thrown herself forward to protect her.
In the end, the two stopped their quarrel and approached Yeol Cheong together.
“We cannot.”
“We must.”
Yang Hui’s voice reached them.
“What is it?”
Yang Hui turned toward them.
Seeing Cheon Hwarin standing there with folded arms, unharmed, he flinched—though by now he felt he could face anything without surprise.
“Fortunately, no vital organs were struck, but without immediate treatment, I cannot guarantee she’ll survive. However, Yeol Cheong insists there is something she must do at once.”
Yeol Cheong pointed with one finger toward the pavilion in the Rear Garden.
“There are children inside. A ritual to prepare the Spirit Elixir materials is underway. No one but me can halt the ritual.”
Once she spoke of the children, there was nothing more to say.
At last, Muk Yeojin nodded.
“Then we shall stop the ritual and escort the children from this place at once.”
Yeol Cheong hesitated for a moment before speaking, her words coming with difficulty.
“……But stopping the ritual will take some time.”
“How much time are we talking about?”
“Even if I hurry the preparations…… I’ll need at least four days.”
Yang Hui spoke with a grave expression.
“That’s far too great a risk. We’re essentially in enemy territory here.”
His words were an irrefutable truth that no one could deny.
Yet Yeol Cheong, with an earnest heart that could not retreat at this juncture, opened her mouth.
“But my brother kept no separate servants, and no one sets foot in this Rear Garden except the White Jade Token keeper and the assassins. Since they have all fallen here, four days should be more than sufficient to hold out.”
“Did you divine this through Heavenly Divination?”
Yeol Cheong shook her head.
“Unfortunately, that is where the future I glimpsed ends.”
“More pressingly, your body is not in a state to remain bound to the ritual for four days.”
Yeol Cheong pressed down on her lower abdomen and forced herself to her feet.
“There should be various medicinal herbs in the pavilion. I can manage basic first aid…… I can endure it.”
This was a matter where opinions could easily diverge.
But Yang Hui and Cheon Hwarin turned their gaze to Muk Yeojin at the same moment.
It was a silent look saying they would follow his choice.
So deeply had today’s display by Muk Yeojin moved both their hearts.
Muk Yeojin nodded quietly.
In truth, his deliberation was not long.
His original goal—the elimination of Yeol Mujgyeol.
In reality, that was merely the means.
Not the essence.
Ultimately, Muk Yeojin’s reason for annihilating the Woneum Sect was to prevent the sacrifice of innocent civilians and his precious family and friends.
To turn back now and flee would be to abandon both his purpose and his justification.
“Yang Hui, help support her.”
Yeol Cheong bowed her head.
“Thank you. Truly.”
Yang Hui inwardly cursed.
‘……I’ve been caught in something. Something very wrong.’
Yet even so, Yang Hui carefully lifted Yeol Cheong into his arms.
“Eek……!”
“Please stay still. Your wounds might reopen.”
“Ah, yes…….”
Yang Hui did not notice both of Yeol Cheong’s cheeks flushing slightly.
Thus the four of them stepped into the pavilion in the Rear Garden.
Venturing deep within, the moment they opened the door to the secret underground chamber—
All their expressions froze.
A thick stench of blood assaulted their nostrils.
Not human blood, but the reek of beast’s gore.
And the source of that smell was—
‘The formation drawn on the floor?’
Over twenty-five children lay in rows upon the formation.
Yet the children’s condition was far from ordinary.
All of them grotesquely, skeletal thin.
“……The Shed Body Ritual.”
Yeol Cheong opened her mouth heavily.
“When the ritual completes, these children will become mummies—so fragile that merely touching them will reduce them to dust.”
Muk Yeojin’s eyes widened in shock and disbelief.
Yeol Cheong nodded in response.
“Yes…… for each Spirit Elixir, one child is reduced to powder and used.”
This was atrocity on a scale so monstrous that one could scarcely suppress an involuntary curse.
Though he had anticipated something of this, he could not help but exhale sharply at their depravity anew.
He even found himself wondering if he had let Yeol Mujgyeol off too gently.
Exhale.
A deep breath helped settle his mind.
In any case, the prime culprit Yeol Mujgyeol was already dead.
Muk Yeojin’s gaze suddenly turned to the sky beyond the window.
And then, softly, he recited words for all the countless children sacrificed until now.
‘I hope his death brings them some measure of comfort.’
Muk Yeojin turned his gaze toward Yeol Cheong.
“Then I’m in your hands.”
“I should be asking that of you.”
Yeol Cheong administered first aid, then immediately began unraveling the ritual.
Yang Hui and Cheon Hwarin gathered the bodies scattered throughout the Rear Garden.
Meanwhile, Muk Yeojin combed through the interior of the hall meticulously.
He needed to check whether there were any other children hidden away.
Or if there were any other clues concerning the Woneum Sect.
After searching for some time, a room set at the very back caught his attention.
The door hung half-open, and from within, a faint warmth lingered as if someone had recently been there.
‘This must be Yeol Mujgyeol’s private chamber.’
Muk Yeojin stepped inside cautiously.
The room was surprisingly austere. Contrary to what he’d expected—something lavish and extravagant—it contained only the bare essentials, arranged with restraint.
Suddenly, several letters resting on a desk caught his eye.
He picked one up, and his expression began to darken.
It was a letter from Muk Geon.
‘So it wasn’t merely receiving support—Muk Geon was deeply involved in the Gwangpok Clan’s alchemy operations.’
It appeared Muk Geon held the second most important role beneath Yeol Mujgyeol.
A sharp killing intent crystallized in Muk Yeojin’s eyes.
‘I beg you, do not expect mercy from me, Muk Geon.’
As Muk Yeojin turned to leave the room, another letter entered his view.
Unlike the others, carelessly scattered about,
this one lay neatly arranged on a small table.
Without hesitation, Muk Yeojin unfolded it and began to read, his face growing increasingly rigid.
‘This… what is this!’

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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