The Patriarch of the Northern Heavens - Chapter 114

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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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Master of the Bukcheon Sword Family – Chapter 114

It was only natural.
After all, the Dark Emperor’s words meant he had seen through my thoughts.
A situation that sent shivers down my spine.
I feigned ignorance and spoke.
“I’m not sure what you mean…”
“Haha. No need to deny it. I’m not here to cause you any harm.”
“Ahem. My apologies. I greet you, Dark Emperor Senior.”
I quickly shifted my demeanor and bowed respectfully.
Further denial seemed likely to invite trouble.
The Dark Emperor grinned widely as he regarded both So Hye-rim and me.
Meanwhile, So Hye-rim appeared utterly shocked by my words.
“J-Jin Ho-wi. The Dark Emperor Senior? You don’t mean… one of the Thirteen Venerables…!”
“Shh, lower your voice. What if someone hears?”
Around the Dark Emperor, a barrier had already been erected.
The chatter of the surroundings remained audible, but he had woven a delicate barrier to prevent our voices from escaping outward.
Though many people crowded the area, none paid us any attention.
It was as though we had been excised from their awareness.
“Pleased to meet you. I’m So Yeon-u. As you know, I manage this Black Market.”
“We are…”
“Ah, no need for introductions. I’m curious about your identities, but I only came over because I found you interesting.”
“Interesting?”
“You’re wearing a face-concealing mask, aren’t you? Your true form must be different. From what I sense, you seem to have just come of age—am I right?”
“…!”
“Hehe. Your reaction tells me I’m correct. There are countless people hiding their identities in this Black Market, but it’s rare to find someone your age who has reached such heights. That’s why I decided to speak with you. And as for this young lady here…”
The Dark Emperor’s eyes deepened for a moment.
“She possesses tremendous killing intent. She’s suppressing it with a mysterious aura. Is that Buddhist energy? Truly extraordinary. It must have been difficult to control such killing intent. Could she be the legendary Cheon Sal-seong?”
“…”
Both of us could only be astonished.
Truly, a member of the Thirteen Venerables.
He had discerned our circumstances at a glance, without any explanation.
“Hehe, forgive me. I shouldn’t pry further into your affairs. I’ll stop here.”
“I appreciate your consideration.”
“Think nothing of it. I simply discovered you guests while working and grew bored. But you still haven’t answered my question—how did you know I was So Yeon-u?”
“I have a good intuition.”
I answered brazenly.
There was no way I could reveal the Sword Spirit’s existence, no matter what.
As the Dark Emperor fixed his gaze upon my eyes with an intrigued expression, I felt a chill run through me.
Wasn’t my opponent an absolute master who held my life and death in their hands by mere existence?
It was deeply unsettling to have to lie to someone of such caliber.
But.
“Hehe. I see. There are occasionally people with such keen intuition.”
The Dark Emperor seemed to have decided to let it pass.
Whether he knew and was overlooking it or simply didn’t notice, I couldn’t say.
Either way, it was clear he was willing to overlook the situation.
For me, it was an incredibly fortunate turn of events.
“For both of you to have come here means there’s something you’re after, yes?”
“Yes. We came to purchase a certain item we need.”
“I see. Do your best then. I don’t know what you’re trying to buy, but I’ll offer my support at least.”
The Dark Emperor said this and chuckled softly.
“Well then, I must return to my duties.”
The moment his words ended, the qi concealing his surroundings dispersed.
The Dark Emperor reverted to being an ordinary Innkeeper, bustling about busily here and there.
I exchanged glances with So Hye-rim and transmitted my thoughts through sound transmission.
[M-Master, is that person really the Dark Emperor?]
[He likely is. If not, there’s no way he could have seen through our condition at a glance.]
[Why would someone of the Dark Emperor’s stature work as an Innkeeper here?]
[Perhaps he has some purpose, or it could simply be a hobby. What matters is that we’ve confirmed he bears us no ill will.]
Had the Dark Emperor harbored any malice toward us, he would never have let us leave unharmed.
Considering the gap in strength between the Thirteen Venerables and us, we would have died in an instant.
Given that the Dark Emperor wielded martial arts similar to the Assassin’s, we might have perished before even comprehending what was happening.
But since that didn’t occur, it meant he had merely found us interesting upon seeing us, without taking us particularly seriously.
[In any case, we’re fortunate. It seems he doesn’t intend to involve himself further.]
[That’s right. He probably just thought of us as somewhat unusual customers.]
[Let’s focus solely on obtaining the Ten Thousand Beasts Commanding Flute. If we act passively out of concern for the Dark Emperor’s attention, we might lose it to someone else.]
[Yes, Master. I understand.]
We quietly finished our meal and settled the bill.
After that, we spent time conducting investigations.
We began gathering intelligence by making the rounds—learning what items would be auctioned and who was after what.
“Hmm. It seems the notable items are primarily elixirs.”
The Immortal Form Pill, the inner core of the Ten-Thousand-Year Fire Lotus, and somehow, a Summoning Pill.
According to the information we purchased from an information broker, these items were registered among the auction goods.
Given the nature of these items, it appeared many were vying for them.
“And there are martial arts manuals too. The Primordial Tyranny Path Scripture… doesn’t the name alone sound ominous?”
“It does seem so. It appears the Peng Family came here precisely for that.”
The Primordial Tyranny Path Scripture was a martial art left behind by Pae Wang, a master from the Hebei Peng Family who had defected to the Evil Faction.
Its characteristics were said to be extremely tyrannical and intense.
Though he had lived his entire life in the Evil Faction and died there, it was hardly strange that the Hebei Peng Family would seek to recover it.
Since the martial art derived from the Peng Family would be reluctant to pass into other hands, acquiring it would also help us refine and develop our own family techniques.
‘That’s why someone of Peng Seo-ho’s caliber came personally.’
Moreover, this served as a warning to the other participants.
A message that the Hebei Peng Family had set their sights on it, so the rest should abandon any hopes.
I believed it would have some effect.
“And the Ten Thousand Beasts Commanding Flute that we desire….”
“It seems less popular than expected?”
According to the information broker, there were few who actually sought the Ten Thousand Beasts Commanding Flute.
At most, only those with peculiar collecting desires or those with special purposes showed interest.
That made sense.
Since the Ten Thousand Beasts Commanding Flute was known as a sacred treasure of the Nanman Beast Palace, possessing it came with considerable burden.
One could easily find themselves at odds with the Beast Palace.
So there were few willing to pursue it.
The only competitors worth noting would be Leisheng Valley, perhaps?
‘I’m not entirely sure why they’re after the Ten Thousand Beasts Commanding Flute.’
Initially, I thought they intended to use it to manipulate the Beast Palace at will.
With a sacred treasure in hand, they could threaten or sway the Beast Palace into submission.
But in my first life, didn’t they desperately protect the Ten Thousand Beasts Commanding Flute even while driving away the Beast Palace itself?
There was clearly some deeper reason behind it.
Though whether I could uncover it was another matter entirely.
In any case.
We observed the surrounding situation while waiting for the Black Market to officially open.
And so, several days later….
The day the Black Market formally opened arrived.

* * *

We entered the auction house using admission passes we’d purchased in advance.
“We already paid to enter the Black Market, and now we have to pay again just to buy admission passes? This is unreasonable.”
The admission passes themselves were quite expensive, and I could hear So Hye-rim’s quiet grumbling.
I offered a wry smile and took my seat in the section assigned to us.
“By the way, miss, it seems quite a few notable figures have gathered here.”
“The atmosphere feels ominous. It looks like there are skilled masters mixed in throughout.”
Most of those present were martial artists.
Among them were the genuine article—those who had come seeking rare elixirs and secret techniques.
Perhaps that explained it.
Their overall level was remarkably high.
These were people capable of holding their own position anywhere they went.
Dozens of such individuals.
‘They’ve come from all corners of the martial world without discrimination.’
I observed their auras silently, contemplating the gathered energy.
Regardless, I hadn’t come here to fight these people.
So it was better to stop probing and instead focus on how to obtain the Ten Thousand Beasts Commanding Flute.
Then, at that moment.
“Distinguished guests who have traveled from every corner of the Central Plains, welcome. I am Go Yeop, who will be conducting this auction. Please call me Auctioneer Go.”
The auction officially began.
The man who introduced himself as Auctioneer Go smiled faintly before proceeding to introduce the first item.
“Now, the first piece I present to you is a painting. This is a work by O Do-ja, a master painter from the Tang Dynasty….”
The first item had nothing to do with the martial world.
Perhaps for that reason, the martial artists’ reactions seemed rather lukewarm.
“One hundred taels!”
“One hundred twenty taels!”
Yet there were those—whether genuinely interested or merely shills—who began bidding against each other.
Soon O Do-ja’s painting sold for a price exceeding two hundred taels.
Watching this, So Hye-rim whispered.
“This is different from what I expected. I thought it would happen in a quieter atmosphere.”
“I haven’t experienced it myself, but I’ve heard that auctions among Central Plains merchants typically follow three methods: direct verbal bidding, sealed bids written in secret with the highest bidder winning, and hand signals exchanged between the auctioneer and bidders to determine price.”
“So this one is using the first method?”
“It seems necessary to ignite the passion of those participating in the auction. With voting or hand signals, it becomes difficult to exploit the psychology of escalating excitement.”
But with the noisy, direct calling of prices, people’s participation could be leveraged far more actively.
Not to mention, it provided ideal cover for any shills operating in the crowd.
We watched the auction while exchanging such observations.
Since it was still early, no truly valuable items had appeared yet.
‘But it should be coming soon….’
It was at that very moment I had this thought.
Whiiiing.
A sudden gust of wind informed me that more than dozens of people had gathered outside the auction house.
‘What is this?’
But I didn’t have time to discern its nature.
Crash!
“!?”
Black-masked martial artists burst through the entrance of the auction venue and suddenly scattered something into the air.
I immediately swept away the powder approaching my vicinity with wind while observing the situation.
“My inner energy won’t move…!”
“It’s Paralyzing Poison!”
“What!?”
“Who are you bastards… Arghhhh!”
Chaos erupted immediately.
The martial artists who had suddenly stormed in were indiscriminately slashing at those inside, launching their assault.
‘I never anticipated this.’
I drew the Windgod Sword and my eyes gleamed with intensity.
The Black Market was under attack by an unidentified force.

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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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