Chapter 114: Shadow Assassin (1)
27 years ago.
When Chun Woo-jin was imprisoned in a secret prison, his Dantian was destroyed.
As one of the Five Great Warriors, he thought that he could restore his martial arts at a later time, but that didn't happen.
They had even blocked the flow of energy into his blood.
'Restore my martial arts?'
He had already given up on such a dream.
Arriving at the Yongchun Group headquarters, he tried to restore his Dantian by using a cultivation method, but that didn't work.
It had been so long since his Dantian was destroyed that recovering it seemed impossible.
'I thought I accepted my fate.'
Chun Woo-jin's eyes tinged with hope as he sat cross-legged.
The place where he was sitting was the training room of the chairman of the Yongchun Group.
His heart trembled.
'Can I do martial arts again?'
Murim warriors would achieve the greatest happiness and satisfaction when they gained a sense of accomplishment. And their most desperate time would be when they lose their swords.
As soon as he felt hope, which could be called the root of martial arts, his eyes lit up.
"You must be ready."
Chun Yeowun approached him.
Chun Woo-jin gulped and answered.
"Yes."
Although he had the face of a 76 years old man, his heart was beating like a teenager. Seeing that, Chun Yeowun smiled. It was because he could empathize with his feelings.
'I hope I succeed.'
It was Chun Yeowun's first time restoring someone's lost Dantian.
This was something he had realized after reaching Heavenly Master level, but there was one person he wanted to rush to and heal their Dantian.
'Escort Jang.'
The man who took care of Chun Yeowun since he was young. Chun Yeowun always felt bad for Escort Jang, who lost his Dantian as he fell into the trap of another clan, a rival clan seeking power.
'It is possible now.'
Chun Yeowun put his palm on the old man's Dantian.
Chun Yeowun spoke to him, who was nervous.
"It will be very painful."
“… I am used to pain. Huhuhu.”
Chun Woo-jin responded with a huge smile. He had never stayed still in the prison. Yet, he was a man of patience.
"Then I am glad."
Woong!
As soon as he said that, Chun Yeowun drew energy from the nature around him.
Chun Woo-jin, who lost his skills, couldn't feel a single thing, but.
'What is this? The surrounding energy is rapidly increasing.'
In the present era, the energy of nature has remarkably faded.
Due to that, Murim warriors had to gather devices able to provide them with energy.
However, clear energy was gathering in the training room.
'Use me as a medium.'
The energy of nature condensed into Chun Yeowun's body.
At the same time, the energy which was in Chun Yeowun, soon moved to the palm on Chun Woo-jin's Dantian.
"Eck!"
An exclamation left Chun Woo-jin's mouth. The energy he felt after a long time was now filling his Dantian.
What was even more surprising was that this energy was so pure that it couldn't be compared to the devices they had.
"It will be hard to endure from now."
"It is fine."
"Good."
A red light began to shine from Chun Yeowun's palm. Nano's scan function controlled the energy of nature while seeing the condition inside the body.
'The place where the Dantian had been completely shattered is stiff. It's been so long since he was hit.'
This wasn't a problem that couldn't be recovered by a Nano.
Chun Yeowun concentrated the energy of nature in that spot.
Woong!
Then, the energy of nature fathered in the centre of Dantian.
In doing so, the stiff things were destroyed.
"Ack!"
A groan erupted from Chun Woo-jin's mouth.
It was as if the pain of destroying the Dantian was being relayed.
And this was just the beginning.
When Chun Yeowun waved his hand, the energy of nature gathered around him and turned into a small sphere.
"I will break through the blocked vessels."
Shhh!
When Chun Yeowun moved his hand, a small energy sphere condensed into his body.
Great pain took over him.
"Kuaak!"
Chun Woo-jin clenched his teeth. Even though it was painful enough to turn him pale, he preserved.
'He is pretty stubborn.'
Chun Yeowun thought that the man wouldn't be able to stand it, but he was shocked.
It certainly made no sense considering his age.
'Father.'
Chun Yu-jang looked through the window of the training room in sweat. It was about an hour after it started.
'This much should be enough.'
Chun Woo-jin's body adapted to the energy.
And the Dantian created by the energy of nature, was done.
Chun Yeowun pulled out a small bottle from his pocket.
'Blood of Qilin.'
What was inside the bottle was a few drops of the Blood of Qilin.
Once Mun Ran-yeong had recovered, Chun Yeowun had taken back the bottle.
Because he knew how crucial even a single drop of that blood was.
"Haha… sigh…"
Chun Yoewun looked at Chun Woo-jin who was sighing while drenched in sweat.
He opened his mouth and poured three drops in.
"Gulp and cultivate it. From now on, you need to handle it."
Since the vessels were opened, the energy couldn't be blocked anymore.
And he could recover his Dantian if he could cultivate the energy he received from the Blood of Qilin.
There was only one thing Chun Yeowun could do now.
It was to control the flame generated by the Qilin with his Ice qi.
"Kuaaak!"
It was only three drops, but heat still surged from Chun Woo-jin's body.
Because his internal energy was close to non-existence, he wouldn't be able to handle the three drops by himself.
The entire room began to freeze.
"Uh?"
Even the windows were fogged.
Due to that, Chun Yu-jang, who was watching from outside, had no choice but to turn impatient.
And two more hours passed.
Jjkk!
The door to the training room opened.
From there, Chun Yeowun appeared, his whole body covered in ice. Chun Yu-jang, who hadn't moved a single step, asked.
"Ancestor. How did it go?"
"Look by yourself."
"Huh?"
At that moment, someone walked out from inside the training room, with steam exuding from his body.
Chun Yu-jang, who saw that, turned teary-eyed.
'No… No way…'
He never dreamed that he could see this again. Just three hours ago, his father was nothing but a fragile old man in his 70s, and now, he was back to the way he was before the arrest.
From the outside, he looked like a middle-aged man in his 40s.
"Fa-father!"
Looking at the flowing energy, Chun Yu-jang could tell that the Dantian was recovered.
Chun Woo-jin was also unable to hide his joy. A wide smile was drawn on his face.
"Ancestor!"
Chun Woo-jin knelt down in front of Chun Yeowun.
He never thought that he could recover his Dantian and do martial arts again, but he didn't just recover the Dantian, but his body was back to its peak again.
He could feel it from the firmer skin.
"I don't know how to repay this favor…"
Chun Yeowun said to him.
"If you want to repay the favor, you need to restore the prestige of the Cult after fully recovering."
"Ahhh!"
He recovered his Dantian, and his body was back to normal.
But he still had to get used to the new body.
Chun Yeowun had forcibly returned the body into a prior state with the help of the energy of nature, but the muscles were still in a degenerated state, which now required training.
Banging the head on the floor, Chun Woo-jin said,
"I will recover as soon as possible and correct everything!"
This was something that would be solved with hard work and time. Chun Yu-jang was at a loss of words at his father's confident words.
'To restore him back to his state 27 years ago… is this what the second generation Chun Ma truly means?'
He couldn't help but be amazed at the endless abilities of Chun Yeowun. He wondered if anything was impossible for him.
Chun Yeowun asked Chun Yu-jang.
"Is it done?"
"Ah! The core refining machine?"
The installation was delayed as it took several days to retrieve the trucks which were on the way to the Murim Association. But now they could use it.
"Was it in the Sector 4 factory?"
"Yes. Right."
"Let's go. I need to take a look."
"Huh? Ancestor. You must be exhausted after everything you did today, shouldn't you rest?"
Chun Yu-jang, who was outside the training room, felt how huge of an energy was flowing inside. It was too much, and he knew that such energy won't replenish right away.
Chun Woo-jin also agreed,
"Yu-jang is right. If it isn't urgent, it is better to res…"
"No need."
Chun Yeowun immediately refused.
He understood their worries, but Chun Yeowun didn't really use his energy.
All he did was act as a medium for the energy from nature. He was mentally exhausted. That was all.
'Huh…'
Not knowing that, Chun Woo-jin and Chun Yu-jang felt bad.
One of the office buildings of Yongchun Group.
There was a hidden prison in the basement. In the prison was an exotic handsome man with long brown hair and a pointed nose in a chair with a dissatisfied face.
He was the Demon Deo, who was defeated by Chun Yeowun.
'Tch.'
How many times had he fainted in his life? After completing Chun Yeowun's order, he was able to get the heart sword embedded inside the core once he arrived here.
As he was through so much for a long time, he felt stunned the entire day.
"This… is a prison?"
"Hh. Right."
It was Chun Yeowun's second secretary Shakena, who grunted out outside the prison cell.
Upon waking up, she sensed that he had awakened his energy and came to the place.
And feeling that this was absurd, Deo said.
"I surrendered. Why am I inside here and you out?"
"I don't know. Master told me to lock you up till you wake up."
Deo clicked his tongue at Shakena's bright words.
"Tch tch, the heart hunter's reputations seem to have run out, working for humans."
Their clan considered humans worms. An insect that moved and died.
To surrender to such a being and swear allegiance to it!
"Master is different from other humans. You must have experienced it too."
Deo sighed in relief at Shakena's words. Clearly this person was different.
"… is he really human? The clan has been sending people to this planet for a long time, but this is the first time I've seen such strength."
"Huh. You say that when you only lived for 400 years."
Their average lifespan was not the same as humans. With a body structure that increases life as they get stronger, the number of years they can live is over 1,000 if they were above Marquis.
"Four hundreds is long enough. You haven't been here for long so you don't know, but humans live less than a hundred. Looking at his face, he is less than 1/5th of that. I don't understand it."
"Really? I heard from a human called BI Mak-heon that he lived for over a thousand years?"
"What? Thousand years? Is he really human?"
Deo couldn't believe the word 'thousand years'.
It was a misunderstanding on Shakena's side, but Deo was convinced.
'… well, if he is that strong, living for a thousand years makes sense. He wouldn't lose to me, who has been here for just 20 years.'
Shakena asked him as he was thinking.
"By the way, what happened to you? Did you find the traitor?"
Deo, who hesitated for a moment, nodded his head.
Not understanding what he meant, Shakena asked.
"And you are fine?"
It was definite that if they met the traitor, they would have a desperate fight. One side would be able to run away, and the other would aim for the throat of their king.
But Deo only frowned.
Smiling, Shakena said.
"You… lost."
The proud Deo had no reason to stay silent. And she continued.
"You were defeated, but survived because the traitor gave you the chance."
From the standpoint of a traitor who preyed on his own people, there was no reason to keep Deo alive.
Unless, he surrendered and swore allegiance.
"Yes, you swore to surrender to humans!"
"But it isn't breaking the clan's law!"
The predation of their kind was a taboo. Killing was fine, but only under the command of their king. However, Deo violated it and surrendered to a traitor.
"What a shame! I don't think you deserve the Count title."
"Don't talk like that. If you saw him 4 years back, you would have changed your mind."
"Him?"
Shakena's eyes narrowed at that. Deo spoke as if he didn't care.
"Right. He… he is no longer in a position to be called a traitor."
"What was that now? Not on a level to be called a traitor?"
"He has grown so strong that he no longer needs to form his own clan."
"What?"
"What do you think is the reason for him to keep me, a Count, alive?"
It was then.
Puck!
"Kuak!"
A black shadow pierced its hand into Deo's chest.
In his head was the core, which could be called the heart of Deo.
"T… this…"
Deo was startled at it. From the shadow behind him, an exotic looking man with a face full of scars and a bulging body was there.
"K-Kyle!"
Deo recognized him and called his name.
At that, Kyle said.
"He told me to bring you in, but you are leaking information to the bugs."
"You!"
Shakena, who recognized Kyle's presence, called out to him in a voice mixed with anger, and phased herself to enter the prison.
At that moment, Kyle's body went back into the shadows.
Swoosh!
Shakena looked around with narrowed eyes. She tried to sense the demonic energy again, but she couldn't feel a thing.
And Deo, who was running out of time, said to her.
"N… No use. Run away."
"What are you saying!"
"Un… Unlike me… the ones… below him…. are… strong."
Thud!
Deo's neck went limp.
"Yah! Wake up! If you die, I will be scolded by Master!"
Swosh!
At that moment, a black shadow created sharp thorns on the prison floor, trying to kill her.
It happened in a fraction of a second, but Shakena phased it.
Woong!
In that state, she reached to the floor. Purple energy began to rise around her in the form of spheres and crashed to the floor.
Kwakwakwang!
Numerous holes were drilled into the floor, and the lower floor was visible. However, the one who attacked her wasn't seen.
'Where the hell is he?'
Shakena was now serious.
She knew the demon called Kyle.
As a Count class demon, he was far lower than her rank, and in the past, he wasn't so good at hiding his energy either, so his presence was always revealed.
'I don't feel any energy!'
But now, she couldn't feel it. Even when he appeared from the shadow, she only knew it after he made a sound.
Shakena yelled!
"Where are you? Kyle! Don hide and come out to fight!"
Her cry echoed in the building. But Kyle didn't show up. Shakena continued to move around, trying to find any trail.
It was then,
Swosh!
At the sound ringing in her ears, Shakena used Phasing. Suddenly, a black shadow passed through her chest. A little late, and it would have caught her.
"You bastard!"
Annoyed, Shakena clicked her tongue. In that brief moment, Kyle's shadow seeped back into the shadows again.
"Annoying!"
The fight was troublesome because his ability was more perfect than before.
And Kyle's gloomy voice could be heard by Shakena.
"With the powers we both have, this fight will keep going on. Give up. Heart Hunter."
"There you are!"
Shakena fired an energy sphere at the location of the sound.
Swosh! Bang!
The sphere broke the wall.
"You bastard!"
Kyle's voice came out from another direction.
"I will give you a chance as you are a member of the same clan."
"What?"
"If you surrender and kill the human called Chun Mu-seong with me. I will give you the honor of working for him."
Shakena yelled out as if the offer was absurd.
"Fuck that shit! You think you can go against my master!"
Shhh!
Then, Kyle's head was out from the ceiling.
With a laugh, he said.
"Kuak, a human is your master? The Heart Hunter is a mere pet for a human! Hahaha! Humans can be killed at any time…"
Even before he was done,
"What are you, and what are you doing here?"
Kyle frowned at the voice which came from elsewhere. Unlike him, Shakena smiled and called.
"Master!"
"Master?"
The moment Kyle wondered.
Bang!
A hand pierced the ceiling and grabbed his head.
"Ugh?"
Kyle, whose head was caught, tried to seep back into the shadows, but the unbelievable energy around him suppressed him, and his body was dragged out.
Kwakwang!
"Kuaaaak!"
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