Chapter 1250: Scorched World

The hidden refuge of the martial artists to the north.

It was only for a moment that I was surprised by the fact that this place was where Mi Hyoran served as the representative.

Since I couldn’t just stay here, I first stopped the arguments and began to move.

The direction was north. Whether Tang Cheon-gi agreed with Poison Phoenix’s opinion or not, the route was north.

Around the time the surviving martial artists moved together. There was one problem.

“Are you thinking of following us.”

“Hm?”

It was me.

Tang Cheon-gi asked, looking at me.

“I’m asking if you’ll be coming along to where we’re moving from now on.”

“……Then, am I supposed to just stand here?”

“……”

His eyes conveyed that he knew that wasn’t what I meant. Seeing that, I scratched the back of my head.

“Well, I don’t have anywhere else to go, and I just woke up not too long ago, so I don’t have any information either.”

“……”

Tang Cheon-gi continued to look at me with suspicious eyes. It seemed he still had no intention of trusting me.

Honestly, by this point, it didn’t matter whether he trusted me or not.

“Cheon-gi-ya. Stop it.”

“Noona. But……”

“Have you forgotten who just saved you?”

“……!”

Tang Cheon-gi shut his mouth.

“I’m not saying it’s wrong to be suspicious, but isn’t it a bit much to act like that towards the person who saved you?”

“……However. Yo Ma-gap called this guy a Disciple. He confirmed that this person is not human.”

“……”

It seemed like he was referring to the handcuffs that shone when worn. It seemed that was the problem, making Tang Cheon-gi uncomfortable.

“That can happen.”

Poison Phoenix nodded, looking at Tang Cheon-gi, and said.

“So. Are you saying that Young Master Baek is someone who summoned a Disciple and is now a threat?”

“……”

Tang Cheon-gi couldn’t bring himself to answer those words.

‘Is it because the justification is lacking?’

The justification for summoning a Disciple.

And the justification for killing the Disciple that was summoned with such effort.

That must be what Tang Cheon-gi considered insufficient.

‘In other words.’

No matter what my current state was, in their eyes, I was a being who could kill and eliminate them anytime if I wanted to.

Since I, like that, went out of my way to eliminate a Disciple. It seemed ambiguous even to Tang Cheon-gi.

‘I wasn’t exactly mocking that.’

The situation isn’t too bad.

‘And.’

Ssssuuuu.

I checked my insides. The things I gained by absorbing Chu Yeong-yeon’s energy.

‘It hasn’t decreased, but-‘

It didn’t increase either. Since enough to be saved by using Seong Chang flew away, what remained was enough to work with.

‘Should I have used it sparingly?’

I tried pouring it out to gauge the state of the absorbed energy, and I felt a slight regret.

‘As for the divine power side…….’

There was no change in that aspect. It seemed that what Chu Yeong-yeon devoured as divine power didn’t amount to much either.

‘Perhaps it’s because the body of a Disciple itself is divine power.’

I don’t know if it’s because there was nothing worthy of being called divine power, but what I gained from the fight was ultimately just a little energy and some information.

‘I don’t know if it’s because they’re Disciples, but Ma Do Cheon Heup Gong works.’

Ma Do Cheon Heup Gong draws in the energy of Disciples. It meant I could recover energy.

‘……However.’

It’s just recovery. Not regeneration. The vessel was still not functioning properly.

Still, having a means to recover energy is good news. Furthermore.

‘Perhaps.’

It might be possible to find a clue here.

‘Moreover……’

Wriggle.

I thought, looking at my shadow.

If being a Disciple means the body or existence itself is divine power. It means they are the perfect kind of entity for my Greed to be active.

‘Greed swallows divine power.’

At first, I thought it was only for beings like dragons, but as I progressed, I learned that the scope was ‘divine power’ itself.

‘What a strange ability.’

Useless to humans. A power born solely to deal with those who possess divine power.

It’s like.

‘It’s telling me to devour everything.’

Greed. A selfish instinct that says no other divine power should dare exist besides me. Something contradictory and bizarre.

It couldn’t be helped but be a power that strongly resembled its master.

‘……Hmm.’

I clenched my fist slightly. Putting aside matters related to Greed. What was important now was something else.

‘The fact that Chu Yeong-yeon’s body was divine power.’

If other Disciples here are the same.

‘……Does it feel like the divine power of the main body?’

If that Disciple is in a situation where they receive power from something. It could mean the divine power of the main body.

‘If the main body is here.’

Is it Sword Empress?

I wondered if she, who became the first Disciple, might perhaps be the main body distributing divine power.

‘Hmm.’

I nodded.

‘I need to find Sword Empress first.’

I need to figure out what’s happening in this damn world.

I needed to know the Demon Lord’s intentions too. And most importantly.

‘I need to escape first.’

I had to get out. From this damned world.

“Young Master Baek?”

“Ah.”

My thoughts shifted, and I came to my senses at Poison Phoenix’s words.

“Yes.”

“What were you thinking so deeply about…?”

“I was just having some stray thoughts. What is it?”

“……Ah. It’s nothing much.”

Poison Phoenix said, looking at me.

“First… I wanted to say that it seems okay for you to come along.”

It was a cautious statement. I could feel the gazes of the other martial artists. They still seemed suspicious, but because I had helped them, their suspicion seemed to have turned into a half-hearted one.

“That’s fortunate.”

I chuckled.

In any case, the outcome wasn’t bad.

---

Three days have passed since we started traveling together.

As we moved together, I gathered more information.

The first is-.

‘The number of monsters is greater.’

The number of monsters is far greater compared to where I knew.

It was a truly strange number. Well, if you move just a little, monsters are busy popping out.

Even.

‘I can’t even see the ranks.’

The monsters had no color. Just monochrome, merely black.

Where green and blue should have been abundant, there was a clear sign of strangeness.

When I asked Poison Phoenix about this, she answered as if there was nothing strange about it.

‘It was always like this.’

This world was always like this.

‘It must mean it’s been like this for at least a year.’

I don’t know if it’s always been like this. Because it’s different from the place I know.

‘There’s a possibility this isn’t the place I knew.’

I kept this possibility in mind too.

‘……Since that Demon Lord bastard made a move anyway.’

Opening the Demonic Mirror Gate and sending me here.

I recalled that part.

‘That was definitely…….’

Cheol Ji-seon.

It was the same as what that guy used.

‘Hmm.’

As I was thinking about this puzzling matter.

“……Hey.”

A voice came from beside me. It was Tang Cheon-gi.

“Why?”

Even as I asked, I actually knew. This guy had been hesitating whether to talk to me or not since a while ago. I wondered when he would finally ask, but it seemed he had finally arrived.

“Let me ask just one thing.”

Tang Cheon-gi asking a question? I wondered what he was going to ask.

“……That thing you used last time. What was it?”

“Huh?”

Last time?

“What are you talking about, ‘last time’?”

“The power you used when killing the Disciple. That. Is it your martial art? It doesn’t seem like Elder Pae-jon’s martial art.”

“Ah.”

I knew what he was asking.

‘He’s talking about Seong Chang.’

Yeomok Seong Chang. Tang Cheon-gi must have seen that and asked me.

‘……Ha.’

This is absurd.

“……Did you wander around for three days just to ask about that?”

“Who was wandering around…!!”

He was wandering around. I knew he’d been wanting to ask something for days.

‘That’s right.’

As far as it’s known, I’m Elder Pae-jon’s disciple, and what I use should be martial arts-based.

‘Since I suddenly used fire-based techniques.’

That must have been what puzzled him.

“Perhaps. Is that your power?”

“Power?”

“I’m asking if it’s the power of a Disciple.”

“Oh……”

Look at this guy?

“Are you testing me?”

“……”

“Ah, you’re not even testing me. At this point, you’re asking outright.”

It was the same as asking if I was a Disciple. The suspicion in his eyes hadn’t diminished at all.

If you’re going to be wary, do it secretly. It’s strange how he looks at me like that.

‘……Does Tang Soyeol resemble this side?’

The naive part seems to resemble this side.

“It’s not like the power of a Disciple, so rest assured.”

“……Then what?”

“Everyone has their circumstances, right? Don’t worry about it.”

“……”

Seeing that I had no intention of answering, Tang Cheon-gi frowned. His expression was truly honest.

“I don’t trust you.”

“Yeah. You look like it.”

“How can I trust you when you don’t give me any information?”

“……Who asked you to trust me?”

“What?”

“It doesn’t matter whether you trust me or not. Nothing will change because of it.”

Even if Tang Cheon-gi didn’t trust me, the current situation wouldn’t change.

Everyone here probably knows that.

“The degree of reassurance you feel because I’m here is likely greater.”

“……”

Tang Cheon-gi was speechless.

Because he knew that too. The past three days. The fact that the group’s journey had been unusually smooth wasn’t a coincidence.

‘A sense of security.’

The fact that they were relatively less anxious about surprise attacks from Disciples.

That was because I was here.

It was a sense of relief, thinking that someone would stop the Disciples if they came.

“……You.”

Tang Cheon-gi wore a surprised expression.

Did he really think I wouldn’t know? No way.

Silence passed. When Tang Cheon-gi spoke again after a moment without uttering a word.

“……If we go to the northern hidden refuge like this, you might run into trouble.”

That was a somewhat unexpected statement.

“They aren’t dull and foolish like us. I don’t know what they might do regarding you.”

“Oh. What? Were you worried about me?”

“……You…!!”

As soon as I teased him because it was amusing, Tang Cheon-gi ground his teeth.

“You damn bastard.”

As if his words were meaningless, Tang Cheon-gi charged forward.

Watching him, I chuckled.

‘Is he really worried?’

Even after saying he didn’t trust me.

‘……Uncle Dok Wang was cuter than I thought.’

The younger days of Dok Wang seem more humane than expected.

As I was having those thoughts.

“……We’ve arrived.”

Poison Phoenix said from the front with a tense expression.

At her words, I looked straight ahead.

‘Hmm.’

Far in the distance.

I saw a huge wall.

A wall so large that it seemed impossible to build in just one year.