Chapter 21: Bloodline (4)
by fnovelpia
I’ve completed the class change quest.
The new class name is none other than Bloodline Sect Leader.
And I’ve obtained loot.
That loot is none other than countless Demon Kin.
Because of this, Cheongun couldn’t help but feel excited.
Having devoured the entire Demon Sect Bunta and acquired so many Demon Kin, focusing solely on martial training for a while would yield significant results.
And then, the information I just obtained:
Even if one loses their demonic arts—no, even if they lose all their martial arts—once someone has been a Demon Kin, they are still classified as one.
This was good news for Cheongun.
The criteria for being judged as a Demon Kin had broadened.
As much as he wanted to verify more, Cheongun simply filled his dantian with natural energy and left the Golden Jade Hall.
Now that he had taken over a faction, there was something he had to do.
And that was earning their loyalty.
Of course, crushing them under sheer force would be easier, but that wouldn’t really make them his faction.
If he wanted to reign here like a king and live comfortably, winning their hearts was just as important.
The core of human relations, passed down since ancient times in China:
Guanxi— connections.
He had to become family with them.
Only then would they step forward for him when he was troubled, endure hardships in his place, and ultimately, even lay down their lives for him.
Cheongun swept his gaze over the assembled executives and spoke.
“Who am I?”
“You are the Sect Leader.”
“Right. I am the Sect Leader.”
“……”
The executives gulped nervously, carefully watching Cheongun’s expression.
Their opponent was a monster none of them could defeat even if they all attacked at once.
And judging by his demeanor, his personality wasn’t exactly pleasant either.
No, it was downright vile.
So, it was best to tread carefully to ensure their safety.
Then, Cheongun asked:
“Then what are you?”
“Huh?”
“What exactly are you?”
It was an utterly unexpected question.
There was only one possible answer to “What are you?”
“We are martial artists.”
“Wrong. Martial artists are those who purely train in martial arts. Why did you learn martial arts? Wasn’t it to stab others in the back, commit dirty deeds, grovel before the strong, and bully the weak? Then you’re not martial artists— just thugs with swords.”
Their faces twisted in disgust.
What a delightful sight.
“Again. What are you?”
“……”
“No quick answer?”
“Even so, ‘thugs’ is a bit too much…”
At that, Cheongun scoffed as if amazed.
“What, you’re upset I called you thugs? Ah, right. My bad. Even if it’s true, calling you thugs to your faces— I’ve committed an unforgivable sin.”
“No, it’s not that serious…”
“The sin is too grave to atone for. What can I do? This worthless Sect Leader’s debt can only be repaid with your lives.”
At those words, the men jolted in shock.
“W-Why our lives?!”
“A Sect Leader’s sins must be repaid with the lives of his subordinates—that’s the Bloodline Sect’s rule.”
“Huh? We’ve never heard of such a rule!”
“Of course not. I just made it up.”
“……”
They thought to themselves:
Is this guy actually insane?
“Alright, then let’s die.”
Swoosh—!
Cheongun abruptly stood up and drew his sword.
At this sudden action, the executives’ faces turned deathly pale.
“We apologize!”
“What did you say?”
“You’re right, Lord Hakju. We’re not warriors—we’re just peasants with swords.”
Only then did Cheongun curl the corners of his mouth in satisfaction.
This was what worked best in the Black Way.
Because the strong ruled, it was possible to seize control of an organization like this, through sheer force.
Of course, there was some resistance, but that too could be crushed— with power.
This was only possible because this was a place where only those with the strongest will to survive gathered.
“Do you know what I hate most in this world?”
“What would that be?”
“Peasants like you, waving swords around and acting tough.”
“…My apologies.”
“Oh? And you think an apology fixes everything? Then why do something worth apologizing for?”
“……”
The officers shut their mouths completely.
Since anything they said would just give him an excuse to berate them further, they chose the extreme option of keeping their traps shut.
Seeing this, Cheongun spoke again.
“Answer me.”
“……”
“Not going to answer?”
“……”
Only when Cheongun rested his hand on his sword’s scabbard did they finally reply.
“We’ll restrain ourselves.”
“Let’s do better from now on.”
“Yes.”
“You sure talk well.”
“……”
Cheongun berated them however he pleased.
This wasn’t just stress relief.
It was also part of his strategy— to clearly imprint the hierarchy by breaking them down.
Because if the pecking order wasn’t established early, the Black Way bastards would climb over each other endlessly, without any sense of boundaries.
Well, that’s enough of that.
It was about time to get to the main point.
“From today onward, Hyeolyeon Hall will completely break away from its old path.”
“Completely, you say?”
“Yes. If before, it was just a den of bastards where peasants gathered to do trashy things, Hyeolyeon Hall will now walk an entirely new path. That doesn’t mean abandoning the Black Way’s identity. I’m not from the White Way, nor do I intend to define the Black Way as purely ‘black.’”
Cheongun had little interest in labels like orthodox, unorthodox, black, or white.
From the start, even the unorthodox factions had their own definitions and values, operating within their own established codes.
If the unorthodox factions had completely abandoned all rules and recklessly walked the path of the Black Way, the Justice League, the imperial court, and the authorities would have long since joined forces to crush them.
What mattered more than factions was conviction.
It was that very conviction that had allowed Cheongun to cling to survival like a madman from the moment he first woke up in this world.
“What are you all?”
“Peasants.”
“No, before that.”
“…People.”
“Right, you’re people. So how did you, born as people, end up as peasants?”
At this primal question, the officers exchanged glances.
“Most of you here weren’t born with silver spoons in your mouths—you probably couldn’t even suckle your mother’s milk properly.”
“That’s correct.”
“To survive, they wouldn’t have cared about the so-called factions divided into white and black by those bastards. They just wanted to eat, to survive— compromising their conscience over and over, enduring on the streets, sometimes stealing and plundering from others.”
The executives listened silently to Cheongun’s words.
There wasn’t a single false statement in what he said.
“That’s how life at the bottom is. If you live weakly, you get trampled. If you act kind, you’re seen as a joke. If you don’t take, you get taken from.”
Cheongun kept a sharp eye on their expressions.
If earlier they had been swallowing curses in their hearts, now at least they were listening with the attitude of those willing to hear him out.
“And yet, those bastards sitting high above, laughing among themselves and playing their noble games of martial arts, dare to preach about righteousness, conscience, and guilt. How fucking laughable. What the hell do they know about the reality of the bottom? Hypocritical sons of bitches. Who the hell are they calling lowlifes?”
“……”
Cheongun had also spent years as a wandering orphan.
It would’ve been one thing if he had been born an orphan from the start, but to have had parents and friends, only to suddenly be thrown into the uncivilized ancient Central Plains and forced to live as a wandering orphan— the despair from that gap was nothing short of hell.
“Do you know why I hate lowlifes who pick up swords?”
“Why?”
“Because once one bastard picks up a sword to survive, others follow, and chaos spreads.”
“……”
Cheongun stood and walked to the window.
“So from now on, I won’t divide the Blood Edge Pavilion into the meaningless boundaries of black and white.”
He declared his resolve firmly.
“The Blood Edge Pavilion will walk only one path from now on.”
At that moment, Jin Cheonwoo, standing at the back, cautiously asked,
“What path is that?”
“Eradicating Demons.”
Eradicating Demons.
The name of the cheat mode Cheongun had activated before transmigrating.
“We will become the vanguard in the fight to destroy the Demonic Cult.”
“Huh?”
“We’ll take money from the Demonic Cult, supplies from the Demonic Cult, intel from the Demonic Cult. Fuck it—we’ll just feed off the Demonic Cult to survive.”
“……”
Why?
Because I like demonic beings.
In the first place, to survive in a world where the mod is activated, you have to follow the set path.
Since the mod named “Eradicating Demons” was applied, there’s no choice but to walk the path of “Eradicating Demons.”
You could say it’s a necessary step to live a peaceful, humble life in the Central Plains.
Demonic beings scattered across the land—
Grant me your strength.
Then, an old man who had been listening quietly spoke up cautiously.
Jang Baek-san, the Blood Edge Pavilion’s treasurer— shortened to “Old Man Jang.”
“Um, Pavilion Lord.”
“What?”
“What about the tribute we’ve been paying to the Heavenly Demon Cult?”
“Obviously, we’re cutting that shit off.”
“But if the tribute stops, they’ll send enforcers to collect.”
At that, Cheongun sharply turned his head.
“Those enforcers—are they demonic beings?”
“Huh? Well, if they’re sent by the Heavenly Demon Cult, wouldn’t they be?”
He skimmed off the tribute money.
A lion is coming.
That lion is a demon.
In other words…
‘The demon… can be copied…?’
This is it.
Cheongun trembled all over with shock.
The executives, who had been quietly watching, looked at him with eyes that said, This lunatic is starting again.
“When is the tribute due?”
“Today.”
“So you’re saying they’ll come soon?”
“They’ve always come during the Sulsi hours (7 to 9 PM) on the due date, so likely.”
This is absurd.
Then I can’t miss this opportunity.
Cheongun roughly threw on a robe nearby and asked Old Man Jang.
“Old Man Jang.”
“Yes, Guild Leader.”
“Do you happen to have a fishing rod here?”
“???”
Fishing? All of a sudden?
Old Man Jang blinked in confusion.
****
8 PM.
A time when thick darkness had settled.
A young girl approached, leading six escorts.
They soon arrived at the Hyeolyeon Guild and immediately reached the gates of the annex where the guild leader resided.
There, Old Man Jang was waiting.
“Old Man Jang, it’s been a while.”
“Yes, young lady. Is the sect leader well—”
“Enough with the greetings. The tribute money.”
“Uh, young lady?”
“Don’t bother me and just bring it quickly.”
“Well, about that…”
Old Man Jang hesitated, rubbing his hands together before speaking cautiously.
“About the tribute money…”
“What about it?”
“Could you lend me your ear for a moment…”
“???”
The girl blinked.
Old Man Jang smiled kindly and gestured for her to come closer.
With his harmless appearance, the girl clicked her tongue and leaned in, pressing her ear close.
The old man whispered in a scratchy, aged voice.
“Heh heh, you took the bait.”
“What?”
At that moment—
Whoosh!
A fishing line, hidden until now, sliced through the air.
And coiled around the girl’s neck.
The old man then channeled energy into his fingers and precisely struck the Jugular Acupoint (巨骨穴), a technique he had quickly learned from Cheongun.
Snap!
Instantly paralyzed, the girl’s mouth gaped open and shut like a fish.
Old Man Jang swiftly plucked the poison pill from her mouth.
And then—
“Surround them!”
Led by Jin Cheonwoo,
the warriors of the Hyeolyeon Guild, who had been lying in ambush, rushed out from all sides and encircled the intruders.
“???”
The girl’s eyes widened in shock.
For the first time in her years in the martial world, she had fallen for something as absurd as fishing.
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