Absolute Regression

Chapter 510: The Problem Is That He Didn’t Come

When a crowd gathers, there’s always someone whose body moves faster than their mind.

Shhhk!

A young martial artist lunged forward, thrusting his sword.

As he moved, another martial artist followed suit and leapt in as if not to be outdone.

Seo Daeryong calmly swung his great saber to block the attack.

Those watching were startled. He had deflected the assault by swinging that massive saber with the speed of a sword.

He fended off the first attack simply, and for the second, he imbued the blade with his deep internal energy.

Kang! Kang!

The two men’s palms tore open as they lost grip of their swords.

Seo Daeryong knocked away their blades and slung the great saber back over his shoulder as he shouted.

“Calm yourselves and listen to what I have to say first!”

The martial artists who had lost their weapons picked up their fallen swords and retreated. Perhaps they felt humiliated, as the two glared at Seo Daeryong with fierce eyes.

Dozens of sword tips were flashing toward him, but Seo Daeryong remained composed.

It was partly because his martial arts skills had greatly improved, but there was an even bigger reason.

He wasn’t here alone today.

Even if buried in the deepest trap, someone would dig through the dirt to pull him out... No, where are you right now?

If Geom Mugeuk wasn’t here, he would have to deal with the situation himself.

‘I must never use the Heaven-Extinguishing Demonic Blade Form!’

If the Heaven-Extinguishing Demonic Blade Form was unleashed, someone would surely die or be seriously injured. Then this place would turn into a hell of killing and death. Just as that man wanted.

‘I will never act according to your plans.’

Jagyeong was staring at him with a strange smile, for reasons unknown. If he charged in directly, it would become an uncontrollable fight.

‘Why isn’t he attacking?’

Given how he had previously cornered him, he wasn’t the type to miss an opportunity for the sake of amusement.

‘What the hell is he scheming?’

He was a man whose true intentions were impossible to read. In any case, he had to calm down these agitated and furious martial artists first.

‘If the Young Cult Leader were here, what would he have done?’

He had to speak and act like Geom Mugeuk. As his right-hand man, he had to bring forth everything he had seen and learned until now.

Seo Daeryong spoke in a composed tone to the martial artists surrounding him.

“I found out only later that he was the Azure Cloud Hero.”

After revealing that he hadn’t known the man’s identity, he revealed his own again.

“As I’ve said, I am the top disciple of the Blood Heaven Blade Demon and the one destined to become the next Blade Demon.”

Whether he could truly become the next Blade Demon was something only time would tell, but he deliberately brought it up. To stop the others from acting rashly, even just a little. 𝑅ÅΝȫꞖÊŞ

Even so, the murderous aura at the tips of the drawn swords didn’t subside. The moment they misunderstood him as having framed the Azure Cloud Hero, Seo Daeryong had become a heinous criminal in their eyes.

Seo Daeryong sent a provoking voice transmission to Jagyeong.

—Does your master know? That his disciple goes around pretending to be a righteous warrior of the orthodox sects.

—My master knows everything that is happening here today.

At the very least, that part sounded like the truth.

‘Is it truly Master?’

If his master had been Geom Mugeuk, he would never have believed Jagyeong’s words.

But if it were his current master?

It wasn’t that he didn’t trust his master—it was just that he still didn’t know much about him. He couldn’t be certain if his master had once taken in such a disciple.

Jagyeong began to provoke the gathered martial artists once more.

“Whether you are a disciple of the Demon Supreme is irrelevant. What matters now is that you are the heinous criminal who exterminated the Great Justice Warrior’s faction. No matter how much you try to intimidate us by leaning on the demonic cult, you will never break the great unity of our orthodox alliance!”

A war of words erupted between the two, with martial artists standing between them.

“And you are the one leaning on the orthodox sects to trap me. Evidence—I demand proof that I exterminated the Great Justice Warrior’s faction!”

Seo Daeryong did not back down and spoke boldly. The moment he lost in this verbal battle, a real one would break out—and there’d be no turning back.

“I am the evidence. Because I heard it directly from you.”

To say that the Azure Cloud Hero had heard it himself was more convincing than anything. After all, there was no reason for him to lie to them.

Seo Daeryong rebutted again.

“You really believe I’d say something like that to a person I met today for the first time? I didn’t even know he was from the Azure Cloud Hero.”

But no one believed him.

“Stop stalling—kill him now!”

“Let’s strike together!”

“Filthy demonic cult scum!”

As one person shouted, the voices of others followed.

However, no one moved hastily. Among those gathered here today were leaders of sects who had been formally invited. They were cautious. Instead of ordering an attack, they sent voice transmissions warning their subordinates not to make the first move.

It wasn’t because they trusted Seo Daeryong, but because experience had taught them that the first to act in such battles often suffered the greatest losses.

Moreover, there was no reason to become the one remembered as having “struck first.”

Once again, Jagyeong began to corner Seo Daeryong.

“Why is a demon like you even here?”

“Because I judged that someone would target this place today.”

“Do you have evidence to support that judgment?”

“I can’t show you—everything was burned.”

Jagyeong laughed openly.

“Of course it was.”

The martial artists surrounding them wore the same mocking expression—right at that very moment.

“I can explain it instead.”

Seo Daeryong quickly summarized why Phoenix Mountain Sword Gate had become the target. He mentioned several sects listed in the documents he had received and explained why this particular place had been chosen.

At the end, he added the analysis made by Geom Mugeuk—that this location would be targeted because it had a poor relationship with the Great Justice Warrior, which had already been annihilated.

In a situation like this, it would’ve been expected for someone to cut off the explanation and provoke an attack, but Jagyeong remained silent and listened.

As he stayed still, the other martial artists listened as well—because he was the one currently leading the flow of the situation.

Thus, Seo Daeryong laid out his reasoning. The martial artists exchanged glances. It was a plausible analysis.

As the mood began to shift, this time Seo Daeryong pressed Jagyeong.

“Were you invited to today’s summit?”

“I wasn’t.”

“Then why are you here?”

The gazes of the orthodox martial artists turned to Jagyeong. They were curious, too—why had someone from the Azure Cloud Hero come to today’s summit?

“I also acquired evidence that the demonic cult would target this summit today.”

“Can you show that evidence?”

“If I reveal the person who gave me the information, you all would retaliate against them.”

As Jagyeong firmly refused, Seo Daeryong added one more line.

“Or perhaps that person never existed in the first place.”

A few martial artists gave Jagyeong a particular look. Just say it already. That man isn’t getting out of here today anyway, right?

But Jagyeong chose a different way to corner Seo Daeryong.

“The martial art used to kill the Great Justice Warrior’s lord was the Heaven-Extinguishing Demonic Blade Form that you’ve learned. Now, how do you explain that?”

This was the most dangerous point in the entire matter.

“Surely you’re not going to claim that the Heaven-Extinguishing Demonic Blade Form is some common martial art anyone can learn, are you?”

Jagyeong cut off all avenues of escape.

Seo Daeryong was speechless at that question. Because he didn’t know the answer either.

Seizing the momentum, Jagyeong incited the martial artists once again.

“Do you all remember how this man tried to pin his crime on me earlier? That alone tells you what kind of person he is, doesn’t it?”

Seo Daeryong was troubled. He knew that, in this situation, claiming Jagyeong was the true culprit would only backfire.

“The Great Justice Warrior’s lord must be turning in his grave. Let us all avenge his grudge!”

Jagyeong raised his great saber high.

With that, the martial artists all activated their internal energy and released their killing intent at once.

With a smile in his eyes, Jagyeong sent a voice transmission to Seo Daeryong.

—Kill all these orthodox bastards! I’m helping you do just that, aren’t I? Use the Heaven-Extinguishing Demonic Blade Form and slaughter them all!

The martial artists slowly advanced, swords aimed at him. The sect leaders, including the Manor Lord of the Flying Sword Manor, could not afford to sit out this fight. Suffering heavy losses by charging in was one thing, but being branded as cowards was equally deadly.

Seo Daeryong stepped back.

‘If I don’t fight, I’ll die.’

To survive—just as that bastard had said—Seo Daeryong would have to unleash the Heaven-Extinguishing Demonic Blade Form.

It was truly a situation on the brink of explosion!

At that very moment, someone’s voice rang out.

“Then the Great Justice Warrior must be shedding blood-tears from eyes that cannot close.”

Everyone’s attention shifted to a newly arrived figure among the crowd. It was none other than Geom Mugeuk—whom Seo Daeryong had been desperately waiting for.

‘Young Cult Leader!’

To Seo Daeryong, it felt like a beam of light descending into the darkness. Like a hand reaching through the dirt of a deep pit to pull him out.

Honestly, if not for all the people watching, he might have run straight into Geom Mugeuk’s arms.

‘I nearly died from nerves! You were watching on purpose, weren’t you? Letting me suffer! Just to make a dramatic entrance at the last second!’

Of course, he had gained something valuable from it. When else would he have the chance to clear his name while swords of orthodox martial artists were aimed at him?

Geom Mugeuk walked forward slowly and spoke.

“The Great Justice Warrior lived his entire life upholding righteousness. Do you think he’d be pleased to see a false accusation placed on the wrong person, leading to their death? That would be the very thing to keep him from ever finding peace in death.”

His voice was low and composed, yet it rang clear in everyone’s ears.

The Manor Lord of the Flying Sword Manor asked Geom Mugeuk,

“And who might you be?”

Geom Mugeuk did not conceal his identity.

“I am Geom Mugeuk, Young Cult Leader of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.”

Everyone widened their eyes in shock. Who could have expected the Young Cult Leader of the demonic cult to appear here?

“Someone is trying to sow discord between our cult and your people, so I came to Chongqing myself to resolve this matter.”

Despite learning his identity, Jagyeong didn’t show the slightest trace of fear.

“You didn’t come here to cause this incident yourself, did you?”

Geom Mugeuk didn’t need to engage in petty power struggles with Jagyeong or the martial artists here.

He could’ve simply released his qi and suppressed them with overwhelming force. A half-hearted provocation would escalate into a fight, but absolute qi would extinguish even their will to resist.

It was a method that certainly worked—but Geom Mugeuk chose not to use it.

And that was because of Jagyeong. His gaze held no surprise or fear.

‘He knew I was here all along.’

That meant he also knew Geom Mugeuk would appear before anything happened to Seo Daeryong. And if he knew that, then he must have known that Seo Daeryong wouldn’t kill anyone from the orthodox sects.

‘Could it be? He wasn’t trying to make Seo Daeryong kill them—but me?’

That suspicion took root in his mind.

Regardless of that bastard’s true intentions, the first priority was to calm the enraged martial artists.

Keeping his gaze on Seo Daeryong, Geom Mugeuk addressed the gathered warriors.

“The man you see over there is not only the disciple of the Blood Heaven Blade Demon, but also the Pavilion Master of our cult’s Underworld Pavilion.”

Geom Mugeuk began his persuasion by first redefining Seo Daeryong’s identity.

“In other words, he’s someone appointed directly by the Cult Leader of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.”

At the mention of the Cult Leader, tension rippled through the crowd—until now, they had only thought of him as the disciple of the Demon Supreme.

“Do you know what kind of place the Underworld Pavilion is? It’s the division responsible for enforcing our cult’s laws. Among all the organizations within our cult, it is the strictest. And that man is the one in charge of it.”

Geom Mugeuk slowly began walking toward Jagyeong.

As the distance between the two closed, a suffocating tension settled over the space. Yet both Geom Mugeuk and Jagyeong appeared entirely composed.

‘Why did you come here? You must know you could die by my hand.’

Despite the warning in Geom Mugeuk’s gaze, Jagyeong smiled.

Stopping a short distance from Jagyeong, Geom Mugeuk spoke calmly.

“You say this man told you he exterminated the Great Justice Warrior’s faction? That an extraordinary figure—appointed the youngest Pavilion Master of the Underworld Pavilion—said such a thing to someone he met for the first time today? Just how stupid do you think the people here are, to pull such a cheap trick?”

He had used the word “stupid” deliberately. Anyone swayed by such words would be counted among them.

“And let’s talk about the Heaven-Extinguishing Demonic Blade Form being left behind at the site. What sense would it make for the Pavilion Master of the Underworld Pavilion to leave behind his own martial art, if he wasn’t even intending to start a war with your sects? If that had truly happened, the Cult Leader wouldn’t have let it slide. Do you really believe such a clever man would do something so reckless?”

A few of the martial artists listening gave small nods. They had already been wondering if someone might be stirring up discord from behind the scenes.

And now, hearing these words directly from Geom Mugeuk—after assuming it had been orchestrated by the demonic cult merely because the martial art of the Demon Supreme had been used—they began to suspect otherwise.

“Moreover, the Pavilion Master of the Underworld Pavilion was recently investigated and released by the Chongqing Branch of the Martial Alliance. If he had been guilty, would the Martial Alliance have released him? If you truly believe that, then you should go confront the Martial Alliance, not make trouble here.”

Not a single word of his argument was wrong, and no one could offer a rebuttal.

Listening quietly, Seo Daeryong was filled with admiration and self-reproach at the same time.

‘Ah… I should’ve said it like that too.’

At that moment, a man stepped out from among the gathered warriors. He was Bang Cheongmun, the Gate Master of Phoenix Mountain Sword Gate.

“Put away your swords.”

At his command, everyone sheathed their weapons without protest. After all, it wasn’t a fight they could win, against the Young Cult Leader of the demonic cult.

“I’ve heard the Young Cult Leader’s words clearly. Both of them and the Azure Cloud Hero said they came here upon hearing that the murderer might get involved with this sect. Fortunately, nothing has happened.”

Bang Cheongmun spoke to Geom Mugeuk with gentle eyes, but he still remained only half-convinced. Though Geom Mugeuk could have killed him earlier and didn’t, that could’ve just as easily been part of a ploy.

Regardless, he had made a promise at the Cult Leader’s Hall. At the very least, there would be no clash with the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult today.

At that moment, Jagyeong stepped forward and respectfully cupped his fist to Bang Cheongmun.

“I judged the situation to be urgent, so I arrived without prior notice. My apologies.”

“No, I’m just relieved that you came.”

Watching this scene, Geom Mugeuk felt an odd sense of discomfort.

No battle had broken out between Seo Daeryong and the orthodox sects, nor had Geom Mugeuk himself had to intervene in a fight. Yet this man showed not the slightest trace of disappointment.

—That wasn’t his goal: to make you fight the orthodox warriors.

Seo Daeryong was startled by Geom Mugeuk’s voice transmission.

—It wasn’t? Then why did he go to such lengths?

Standing among the orthodox sects, Jagyeong looked at Geom Mugeuk with that same gentle smile he’d shown Seo Daeryong the first time they met.

It wasn’t a smile born from the thought: “He wouldn’t dare kill me with so many people watching.” That smile...

—Still, he’s got guts. If he targeted me, then he must’ve known the Young Cult Leader would appear—but he came here alone?

The moment Seo Daeryong sent that voice transmission, Geom Mugeuk realized something.

—The issue isn’t that he came here.

—Then what is it?

—The problem is who didn’t come.

—Pardon?

—Why didn’t the Elder come here?

He must’ve known something was going to happen here. If so, he should’ve come and tried to stop it no matter what.

In that instant, Geom Mugeuk’s gaze deepened. He now understood what kind of smile Jagyeong had been wearing all along. It didn’t matter whether a fight broke out or not. The man’s goal lay elsewhere.

—His objective is to keep us trapped here.

—But why?

The reason was simple.

—Because the real conspiracy isn’t happening here.