<Chapter 35> The Strong Live, the Weak Perish
* * *
Crack!
The man cried out as his leg was struck, his body rolling across the stone floor. He lay there, groaning in pain.
She hadn’t infused the kick with internal energy, nor had she used excessive force. But the pain, as if his leg were broken, was excruciating because she had struck a pressure point with pinpoint accuracy.
The woman stared down at the writhing man, her voice cold.
“Why are you groaning? You should be grateful you’re still alive.”
He swallowed his moans, her gaze piercing him like icy shards.
He struggled to his feet, her voice echoing in his ears.
“Are you getting complacent? You haven’t even been gathering information properly.”
“L-Left Wing Leader, that’s not…”
“Has our organization become like family to you?”
Gal Ye-Ryeong cut him off, her voice sharp.
She was in a foul mood.
And he dared to make excuses?
Her expression hardened.
“You know that excuses are a sin, right?”
“W-Well…”
“I heard the Luoyang branch is the most comfortable of all our branches. Have you been embezzling funds?”
She kicked him in the ankle, sending him crashing to the floor.
He gritted his teeth, suppressing his pain. His instincts screamed at him.
One wrong word, and he was dead!
“N-No! That’s not true… Ugh.”
“Then how do you explain your negligence?”
“W-We lacked the time and resources…”
“Lies!”
Gal Ye-Ryeong’s voice was as cold as ice, cutting him off.
The King of Hell Society’s Luoyang branch had been established to monitor the Yongmun Family.
Their mission was to keep a close eye on not only the Yongmun Family in Luoyang but also the Shaolin Temple in Dengfeng, working with the Dengfeng branch to gather information about the movements of the two major righteous factions in Henan province.
It was one of the most important branches, a priority for Ya Noe.
It was practically a battleground for the King of Hell Society and the Beggars’ Sect, their intelligence networks clashing in the shadows.
“Get up.”
“Yes!”
He scrambled to his feet, his posture rigid, and she kicked him in the shin.
“Ugh!”
“Does it hurt?”
“N-No!”
“Then you need to be punished more.”
Whack!
He collapsed, his legs giving way. Gal Ye-Ryeong glared at him, her anger still simmering.
“You, the leader of such an important branch, neglected to gather information about a crucial individual.”
The Luoyang Branch Leader, lying on the floor, swallowed his resentment as he listened to her grinding her teeth.
Who would have thought that Baek Su-Gyeong, a mere appraiser at the Dragon Trading Company, would become such an influential figure?
He hadn’t been a particularly remarkable individual back then.
The Yongmun Family had hired him as a teacher for their Second Young Master, Lee Jon-Hwi.
He had been nothing more than a tutor, so they hadn’t expected him to be treated with such respect by Lee Jon-Hyo.
‘Damn it…’
But he couldn’t argue with Gal Ye-Ryeong, the Left Wing Leader.
He had to swallow his frustration.
‘Why did that bastard suddenly become famous and bring this disaster upon us?!’
If it weren’t for Baek Su-Gyeong, Gal Ye-Ryeong wouldn’t be here, turning his branch upside down.
She was known for her fiery temper, even among the Three Great Wing Leaders.
And rumor had it that she was the Master’s daughter, making her even more untouchable.
Her voice reached his ears.
“How long are you planning to lie there? Get up!”
“A-As you command.”
The other members of the Luoyang branch watched their leader struggle to his feet, their expressions grim.
Why did it have to be the Left Wing Leader?
Who would have thought that one of the highest-ranking officials in the King of Hell Society would suddenly appear at their branch?
Gal Ye-Ryeong returned to her seat, leaving the Luoyang Branch Leader, bruised and battered, standing there.
She crossed her legs, resting her chin on her hand, her red hair swaying gently despite the lack of wind.
“Fifteen minutes.”
“Excuse me…?”
“Bring me all the information you have on Baek Su-Gyeong. Fifteen minutes.”
The Luoyang Branch Leader’s face paled. She was giving him fifteen minutes to gather all the records they had on Baek Su-Gyeong’s past activities.
But he didn’t dare to disobey.
“A-As you command!!”
***
The members of the Luoyang branch scurried about, their feet pounding against the stone floor as they raced against time.
Even Jeong-Gak, the Branch Leader, was forced to join the frantic search, his body aching from Gal Ye-Ryeong’s beating.
They managed to gather most of the information on Baek Su-Gyeong within the allotted time, but they were exhausted, their bodies slumped like wet paper.
And the amount of information they had gathered was pitiful.
Gal Ye-Ryeong narrowed her eyes as she examined the documents Jeong-Gak had presented to her.
“This is all?”
“I-I apologize. This is all we have.”
“Any other reports?”
“We have a report on the Sun Moon Cult.”
“I’ll hear it later. You’re dismissed.”
“As you command.”
She watched Jeong-Gak limp away and summoned Jam-Sa.
“Jam-Sa.”
“Yes, Left Wing Leader.”
“Go to Master Baek. I don’t like those two vixens clinging to him.”
She had been frowning while waiting for Jeong-Gak to return with the documents. It seemed she had been thinking about this.
It was an unexpected order.
Jam-Sa hesitated.
“But Left Wing Leader…”
“Don’t make me repeat myself, Jam-Sa.”
She looked up from the documents, her eyes as sharp as a predator’s.
He hadn’t been serving her for long, but he knew what that look meant.
Don’t disobey.
He was her bodyguard, so he had no choice but to obey.
“…As you command.”
She returned her attention to the documents.
“Nothing must happen to Master Baek. Eliminate all variables. Understood?”
“As you command!”
“Go!”
Jam-Sa vanished, his presence disappearing from the room in an instant.
Gal Ye-Ryeong twirled a strand of her red hair as she examined the documents Jeong-Gak had brought her.
Her reddish-brown hair was a sign that she had mastered the Blood Shadow Demon Skill, a secret technique of the King of Hell Society.
She had a habit of twirling her hair when she was deep in thought.
“This is strange…”
Baek Su-Gyeong’s name appeared occasionally in the documents detailing the Yongmun Family’s activities, but there was no explanation for why he was being treated with such respect by Lee Jon-Hyo.
Of course, he hadn’t been an important figure back then, so it was a miracle that they even had this much information on him.
“He was a tutor for that idiot, the Second Young Master. An appraiser at the Dragon Trading Company and a tutor for the Yongmun Family’s Second Young Master… How is that possible?”
It was a mystery.
Appraisers usually had a lot of free time, but their duties weren’t limited to simply assessing the authenticity of treasures.
The porters usually handled the initial appraisal of goods, which was why appraisers often had little to do. However, their responsibilities weren’t limited to identifying treasures.
She had heard that they sometimes acted as internal investigators, monitoring the activities within the trading company.
Gal Ye-Ryeong stroked her chin thoughtfully.
“It says here that the Yongmun Family paid the Dragon Trading Company to hire Master Baek, but… Well, he wasn’t the only appraiser at the Dragon Trading Company.”
She convinced herself with a plausible explanation.
She finished reviewing the documents and took a break.
“I definitely need more information. A lot more. It’s only been six months. It’s not surprising that we lack information on someone who rose to prominence so quickly, but…”
Baek Su-Gyeong had appeared out of nowhere, like a meteor streaking across the sky.
She couldn’t believe that someone with such influence on Jianghu had been a mere appraiser at the Dragon Trading Company.
Pressuring Jeong-Gak wouldn’t yield any more information, so she would have to observe Baek Su-Gyeong herself and gather more intel.
She scratched her chin and called out, “Branch Leader!”
“Yes, Left Wing Leader!”
Jeong-Gak, as if waiting for her summons, rushed into the room and prostrated himself before her.
Gal Ye-Ryeong crossed her legs, her gaze fixed on the bowing figure.
“You said you had a report on the Sun Moon Cult?”
***
The Sun Moon Cult.
They were the ones Jianghu referred to as the Demonic Cult.
They called themselves the Sun Moon Cult, or more formally, the Sun Moon Divine Cult.
They were the largest single faction in Jianghu, controlling the lands of Xinjiang beyond the Tian Shan mountain range and constantly threatening to invade the Central Plains.
They were more of a religious organization than a martial arts sect.
At the heart of Xinjiang, in the city of Ürümqi, stood a magnificent palace that dominated the landscape.
It was the Sun Moon Divine Palace, the residence of the Sun Moon Cult Leader, their absolute ruler.
And within the deepest recesses of the palace, a man sat on a throne, a book in his hand.
“The Heavenly Demon… The Heavenly Demon…”
The word resonated within him.
A single word that could stir the heart of the Sun Moon Cult Leader.
How extraordinary.
He was the leader of the Sun Moon Cult, revered as a living god by his followers.
“Intriguing.”
Who was this Su-Gyeong?
He had dared to introduce the Heavenly Pole True Cult, a rival to the Sun Moon Cult, into his story, igniting a fire in the Cult Leader’s heart.
“The strong live, the weak perish…”
The Cult Leader chuckled, the boredom that had been clinging to him like a shroud seemingly dissipating.
His laughter echoed through the hall.
“Master Su-Gyeong, you’ve awakened me from my slumber. Hehe, hahaha! Hahahahahaha!”
No one in Jianghu could have predicted that a single book would have such a profound impact on the Sun Moon Cult.
Deep within the lands of Xinjiang, beyond the Tian Shan mountain range,
Something was stirring in the Sun Moon Divine Palace in Ürümqi.
“The strong live! The strong will inherit everything! Even my own bloodline will not be exempt from this iron law!”
The Iron Law of the Strong.
A new law, one that would shake the very foundations of the Sun Moon Cult, was born.
Thank for the chapter 🔥
So he actually helped them create the common setting of ‘demonic cult only worships absolute strength’?