Chapter 36: Might Makes Right Without Shame.
The Temple of the Mad Gale had all of its major masters rush out and line up to receive the carriage of the Vice Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult.
Among those of the Temple of the Mad Gale, it went without saying that the Lord of the Temple of the Mad Gale stood at the very front.
It was because he knew that there was no surviving by running away.
That was why the Lord of the Temple of the Mad Gale, who had come rushing out in haste, was flustered to see that Flashing Light Blood—an expert of the same level as himself—was merely acting as the carriage driver.
Moreover, Cold Blade Blood, who opened the carriage door and bent at the waist, was also a Peak Master Level expert on par with the Lord of the Temple of the Mad Gale.
At that sight, every warrior of the Temple of the Mad Gale grew tense.
Then, from the carriage that all of them were watching with strained eyes, what descended first was not a person, but a wolf with patches of fur missing.
Flinch.
The turmoil caused by the Blood Wolf had not been limited to Sichuan and Xinjiang alone. Cheonghae Region had also suffered considerable damage.
The Temple of the Mad Gale was no exception.
The number of masters who had fallen to the Blood Wolf alone far exceeded ten fingers.
As the gazes of those shocked by the reappearance of the monster that had left such deep, unhealing scars upon the Temple of the Mad Gale gathered, the Vice Cult Leader was finally seen stepping down.
He looked younger than expected, and more vicious than imagined—a man, no, a youth.
Even so, no one believed that appearance at face value. The Vice Cult Leader had made his name more than twenty years ago, and it had been fifteen years already since his brutal methods had reached their peak.
And yet, around the Vice Cult Leader’s leg… the Blood Wolf rubbed its head against him and gently wagged its tail.
“Son of a—”
Just as someone’s muttered curse slipped out, it was swallowed back in.
It looked exactly like a puppy acting cute.
The absurdity that rose on everyone’s faces at that sight turned into immediate acceptance as soon as they recalled the identity of the one the Blood Wolf was fawning over.
After all, it was Emperor Salyejin.
That alone was enough to make everything understandable, as Yul Han was radiating an overwhelmingly divine presence.
Cold Blade Blood, who stole a brief glance at Yul Han as he passed by, felt his breath catch in his throat.
‘Demonic Energy!’
Even while standing still, he was the sort who looked as if he would pounce at any moment and draw blood, murderous intent dripping from him—yet for some reason, he had raised his aura and even wrapped himself in Demonic Energy.
The reason was not hard to guess from the appearance of the Lord of the Temple of the Mad Gale and the masters under him.
Including the Lord of the Temple of the Mad Gale, every warrior of the Temple who had come out to greet them was bent deeply at the waist, crushed by the Vice Cult Leader’s divine might, unable to even properly lift their heads.
As Yul Han approached them, he asked the deeply bowing Lord of the Temple of the Mad Gale,
“Are you the Lord of the Temple of the Mad Gale?”
“Y-Yes! On behalf of the Temple of the Mad Gale, I welcome the Vice Cult Leader’s visit!”
He shouted with a fair bit of bravado, but he could not stop his voice from trembling.
At the Lord’s lead, the high-ranking masters of the Temple of the Mad Gale who had come out to greet them all shouted in unison,
“We welcome the Vice Cult Leader’s visit!”
From the voices of those shouting without even being able to straighten their backs, thick fear seeped out.
The masters of the Temple of the Mad Gale—called the rulers of the Tarim Basin, the mad killing wind of the wastelands—were frightened.
That was only natural. Even Cold Blade Blood felt his breath choking from the sheer amount of Demonic Energy that was overflowing atop the Vice Cult Leader’s chilling killing intent.
Because of that, Yul Han spoke to the Lord of the Temple of the Mad Gale, who stood at the very front of the thoroughly cowed masters.
“Follow me.”
After tossing out those words, Yul Han swaggered inside, and the Lord of the Temple of the Mad Gale hurriedly followed after him.
Normally, Cold Blade Blood would have followed like a shadow, but this time, he remained behind together with Flashing Light Blood.
It was because there had been a prior order from the Vice Cult Leader to do so.
The problem was that, with Cold Blade Blood and Flashing Light Blood—experts on par with their sect lord—remaining behind, the other warriors of the Temple of the Mad Gale could not straighten their bent backs.
It was out of fear that straightening up here might be taken as meaning that they believed those two were beneath notice.
If at least a vice lord had been present, someone might have tried to strike up a conversation, but none of those remaining in the Temple of the Mad Gale had that kind of nerve.
Thus, as the high-ranking warriors of the Temple of the Mad Gale remained bent over, Cold Blade Blood and Flashing Light Blood watched them with indifferent gazes.
After entering the Temple of the Mad Gale, Yul Han walked into the first building he saw without hesitation and took a seat. At once, the Lord of the Temple of the Mad Gale threw himself face-down before him.
“P-Please spare my life, Vice Cult Leader.”
“You send your subordinates to point their swords at me, and then ask to be spared—is that what you are saying?”
“I-It is a misunderstanding. I never, absolutely never, gave the order to swing a blade at the Vice Cult Leader. Truly.”
“You never gave the order?”
“Yes. Truly. Please believe me, Vice Cult Leader.”
“Believe you… If I were to believe you, what would the Lord of the Temple of the Mad Gale do for me?”
“Pardon?”
Perhaps it was an unexpected question. The Lord of the Temple of the Mad Gale raised his head to look at Yul Han—only to bow it down again far faster than he had lifted it.
The Vice Cult Leader’s eyes he had glimpsed for that brief moment were burning so fiercely it felt as though they would gouge his eyes out.
“I-I apologize. I must have gone mad to dare question you… I-I will do it! Whatever it is, if you give the order, I will do it.”
“You will do anything—truly?”
“I swear it.”
“I despise those who treat promises lightly. I think even the air they breathe is a waste.”
“T-Those are most righteous words, Vice Cult Leader.”
“That is fortunate. It seems we think alike.”
“Th-Thank you, Vice Cult Leader!”
He did not even know what he was thanking him for, but as the Lord of the Temple of the Mad Gale continued to bow his head repeatedly, Yul Han spoke to him.
“Then I will trust that promise and take my leave. As for what the Lord of the Temple of the Mad Gale—what the Temple of the Mad Gale—must do, I will send someone shortly to inform you.”
“I will await your command with absolute loyalty, Vice Cult Leader!”
Yul Han rose from his seat, leaving behind the Lord of the Temple of the Mad Gale lying flat on the ground, and spoke in an indifferent tone, as if he had just remembered something.
“Ah! The Golden Flower Manor—though you will see for yourself later, it has become an important place to the Bright Cult. Do not touch it. Neither the Golden Flower Manor nor that household’s daughter.”
Such an immense torrent of Demonic Energy was pouring out before his eyes that the Lord of the Temple of the Mad Gale had no leisure to ponder where the Vice Cult Leader’s true intent lay.
With no room left to weigh this or that, the Lord of the Temple of the Mad Gale slammed his head into the floor.
Thud.
“I obey your command!”
Having extracted unconditional obedience, Yul Han walked straight out. Even after the Vice Cult Leader had departed, the Lord of the Temple of the Mad Gale was unable to rise for quite some time.
It was not because he had willingly pressed his head to the floor.
Just as he had been about to bow deeply, a terrifying hidden force had surged forth and smashed his head down into the ground.
That it was the Vice Cult Leader’s handiwork was obvious without needing to ask. If someone could manipulate a master of his level so freely…
The Lord of the Temple of the Mad Gale felt his hair stand on end, yet he still could not rise because there was no strength left in his knees.
Thus, believing himself to have narrowly escaped death, he was left behind as Yul Han’s carriage departed, exiting the lands of the Temple of the Mad Gale—Deokryeonghap.
Rumors were frightening.
After the Hundred Paths’ Number One had been slain and the Martial Alliance forced to its knees, the demonic factions had rejoiced—but only briefly. Once rumors spread that the Vice Cult Leader had cut down the Vice Lord of the Temple of the Mad Gale in a single stroke, people stopped approaching the carriage.
More terrifying than the question of why he had been killed was the notion that the Vice Cult Leader’s filthy temper had flared.
After all, a protruding nail gets hammered down, and if one did not stand out, there would be no hammer coming down.
That was how the demonic factions thought.
Thanks to that, even though the carriage traveled openly along the main road, the journey continued in relative comfort.
Of course, bandits of the Tarim Basin would occasionally approach, only to see the Bright Cult’s banner fluttering from the carriage and flee with their tails between their legs.
Perhaps because the journey had grown dull, when they made camp near a small city called Gyeokimok in central Cheonghae Region, Cold Blade Blood spoke up.
“Vice Cult Leader. May this subordinate ask you one question?”
“Please speak. If it is a question from either of you, I am always prepared to answer.”
“Thank you. Then I will gather my courage and ask. Why… is that?”
“What do you mean?”
At the Vice Cult Leader’s counterquestion, Cold Blade Blood continued.
“From the Golden Flower Manor onward, you suddenly adopted such hardline measures… Before that, you were so gentle it almost caused concern. This subordinate does not fully understand the Vice Cult Leader’s intent.”
At Cold Blade Blood’s question, Yul Han gave a bitter smile.
He could not say that what he had believed to be justice had not truly been justice, nor that what he had judged to be righteous conduct had not been true righteousness.
And so the answer Yul Han chose was somewhat indirect.
“Might Makes Right. I intend to follow what you once called the pride of the Bright Cult.”
To be strong yet righteous, to be so overwhelmingly powerful that none could challenge him, yet still serve as a model for others—he had resolved to embody such Might Makes Right. In that sense, it was not entirely untrue.
At the end of those words, Flashing Light Blood suddenly cut in.
“Might Makes Right without shame, is that what you mean?”
Yul Han looked at him, puzzled, and Flashing Light Blood continued.
“Fifteen years ago, before that incident happened, the Vice Cult Leader used to say this all the time. That you wished to become a supreme powerhouse who would be ashamed before no one. You used to tell us that, and then say we should walk that path together.”
“I… said that?”
“Yes. I still remember it vividly.”
Seeing Flashing Light Blood wear a wistful expression, as if summoning memories of the past, Yul Han grew curious about the thoughts of the former, true Vice Cult Leader.
‘What was he thinking, exactly?’
He wondered how someone could harbor such thoughts within the ecosystem of the Bright Cult, a sect even called a Demonic Cult.
Even so, he decided not to bury himself in thoughts he could never know.
What mattered now was not what the true Vice Cult Leader had once thought, but what I—what Gwak Yi-han, who had become Yul Han—was thinking.
And so he decided.
He would not clumsily prattle on about justice or righteousness with his mouth alone, nor assume that only his own way was right.
In other words, instead of simply declaring that things were unacceptable, he would try following their thoughts, their methods, as well.
That did not mean he would follow blindly. At the very least, he would walk a path that left his heart—his own conscience—unashamed.
Coincidentally, that resolve closely resembled the words that had just come from Flashing Light Blood.
So rather than laboriously explaining his changes, Yul Han chose to ride on those words.
“That is right. Might Makes Right without shame. I wish to walk that path. Will you walk it together with me?”
At Yul Han’s question, Flashing Light Blood replied as if he had been waiting for it.
“Of course. I will always stand behind the Vice Cult Leader.”
At Flashing Light Blood’s answer—so befitting a devoted follower of the Vice Cult Leader—Cold Blade Blood gave a bitter smile and nodded.
“Might Makes Right without shame… Not bad. It is also a call for us to advance as true powerhouses. Very well. I will follow.”
At Cold Blade Blood’s response, a smile appeared at the corner of Yul Han’s lips.
Cold Blade Blood was beginning to recognize that the twisted ferocity there was, in fact, joy.
As he surprised himself with that realization, the Vice Cult Leader’s voice reached Cold Blade Blood’s ears.
“Then let us take our first step by stopping by Mount Kunlun.”
Apparently displeased by Yul Han’s words, Cold Blade Blood let out a grumble.
“No, but why must that first step be at Mount Kunlun of all places…?”