Genius Martial Arts Trainer

Harvest

Not long after Mu-jin subdued Hwang Gon, the battle concluded.

This signified the eradication of the Five Poison Sect from the Southern Barbarian regions.

Most of the poison masters belonging to the Five Poison Sect, including the sect leader, were killed, and those who joined to assist them also met a similar fate.

Of course, Mu-jin’s side wasn’t without casualties either.

The Red Tiger Group, who fought against the warriors of Shinchun, lost a few members, and the combined casualties of the Beast Palace and Taiyang Palace exceeded a hundred.

However, considering that the enemies numbered close to eight hundred, these were minimal losses.

Several factors contributed to minimizing their casualties: exploiting the enemy’s poison formation, the Beast Palace Master and Taiyang Palace Master leading the charge, and Mu-jin and Ou-yang Pae keeping Hwang Gon occupied.

Amidst the corpses and the wounded from both sides lying on the battlefield, the people of Beast Palace and Taiyang Palace were busy cleaning up the aftermath.

With the situation somewhat under control, it was time to start the interrogation.

The reason for including Ou-yang Pae was simple.

“The plan has completely changed, so it’s better if he knows what’s going on too.”

Mu-jin could inform Ou-yang Pae after interrogating Hwang Gon, but he thought it would be more credible if Pae heard it directly from the source.

Upon reaching the secluded spot, Mu-jin dropped the unconscious Hwang Gon to the ground and slapped him hard across the face.

“!!!”

Hwang Gon awoke from his unconsciousness, his eyes filled with confusion.

He couldn’t understand why he was still alive. Realizing he couldn’t move his body, Hwang Gon cursed inwardly.

“Torture won’t work on me.”

Like other warriors of Shinchun, Hwang Gon had undergone torture training from a young age.

However, Mu-jin had no intention of torturing him.

Mu-jin took out a pill from his pocket— a Simnyeong Pill.

Mu-jin had requested reinforcements from the Sichuan Tang Clan not just for their expertise in poison but also to obtain this pill upon discovering a key figure of Shinchun.

Mu-jin forced open Hwang Gon’s mouth, shoved the Simnyeong Pill in, and moved his jaw to make him chew and swallow it.

“Mmph!!”

Hwang Gon tried to resist, but it was futile as his acupoints were sealed.

Soon after.

“It’s done.”

Seeing Hwang Gon’s dazed eyes, Mu-jin nodded in satisfaction.

“What’s your name?”

“Hwang Gon.”

“Your position in Shinchun?”

“I’m one of the Five Leaders.”

Hearing the expected response, Mu-jin glanced at Ou-yang Pae before asking Hwang Gon another question.

“Are you the one who leaked information about Taiyang Palace and the Red Tiger Group?”

“Yes.”

Ou-yang Pae showed a moment of surprise, but Mu-jin continued with his questions.

“Why did you do it?”Nôv(el)B\\jnn

“I received a letter from the Demonic Cult. They asked me to set up a trap that Ou-yang Pae could not escape from.”

“So, does that mean Shinchun has spies within the Demonic Cult as well?”

“Yes.”

Hearing more shocking news, Ou-yang Pae struggled to maintain his composure.

But what came next was even more surprising.

“Who is the highest-ranking spy within the Demonic Cult?”

“The Second Leader.”

“Same rank as you.”

“Yes.”

“What position does the Second Leader hold in the Demonic Cult?”

“He is the Bright Left Envoy.”

“!!!”

This unexpected revelation widened Ou-yang Pae’s already large eyes.

Unlike the Right Envoy, the Left Envoy appeared to protect the Demonic Cult.

“Geum Yang-hwi’s words were true!”

Geum Yang-hwi’s claim that the Left Envoy was a traitor turned out to be true.

It wasn’t just a defection; he had always been a spy for another faction.

Meanwhile, Mu-jin thought, “As expected.”

Having read the first part of the novel, Mu-jin knew that the Left Envoy was a traitor.

However, the novel did not mention any connection with Shinchun.

In the first part, the Left Envoy merely pretended to be a corrupted defector and lost his life to Ou-yang Pae.

But after reading the second part and becoming the protagonist of the third part, Mu-jin suspected that one of the envoys was likely connected to Shinchun.

“Then, is the Right Envoy simply a defector?”

Mu-jin asked, just in case, and Hwang Gon, under the influence of the Simnyeong Pill, shook his head.

“No.”

“Then?”

“The Right Envoy is brainwashed by the Yin-Yang Gu.”

“!!!”

“Yin-Yang Gu? What is that?”

While Mu-jin was in shock, Ou-yang Pae, observing from the side, interrupted.

After Hwang Gon explained everything about the Yin-Yang Gu, Ou-yang Pae, with a furious expression, asked again.

“So, are you saying the Left Envoy fed the Right Envoy the Yin-Yang Gu?”

“Yes. The Yin-Yang Gu is undetectable in a miraculous elixir, so it was disguised as such and fed to the Right Envoy.”

“Then, what about my father? No, what about the Heavenly Demon?”

“When the current leader of the Demonic Cult entered seclusion to master the Heavenly Demon Divine Art, the Second Leader and the brainwashed Right Envoy set a trap, causing him to enter a state of Qi Deviation.”

“So, the Heavenly Demon’s position is currently vacant?”

“I understand that he is not dead. He’s merely a living corpse.”

“…”

A power struggle among half-brothers.

Thinking it was merely the Demonic Cult following the law of the strong, they had overlooked everything.

It turned out that all of this was manipulated by Shinchun.

As Ou-yang Pae tried to process the shock, Mu-jin asked perhaps the most crucial question.

“So, how many others have fallen victim to the Yin-Yang Gu?”

Mu-jin initially thought that the Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng given as a prize at the Yongbongji Conference was the first and last instance of the Yin-Yang Gu until he learned about the Right Envoy.

Hwang Gon’s response made Mu-jin tilt his head in confusion.

“Only the Right Envoy of the Demonic Cult and the Shaolin Dragon.”

To think his own nickname would come up here.

“Ah, Shinchun must think I consumed the Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng!”

As Mu-jin pondered how to leverage the enemy’s misunderstanding.

Srrrng.

Ou-yang Pae drew his sword abruptly and pointed it at Mu-jin.

“It means you could also be brainwashed by them anytime.”

“I didn’t consume it, so put that sword away.”

“Didn’t consume it?”

“Yes.”

Mu-jin replied with a sullen expression, then asked Hwang Gon to confirm for Ou-yang Pae.

“That Yin-Yang Gu I supposedly consumed, was it in the Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng that was the prize at the Yongbongji Conference?”

“Yes, it was.”

“If it’s that, I found it suspicious and smashed it. When I turned it into powder, I found a tiny bug inside the Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng.”

Mu-jin shot a questioning look at Ou-yang Pae, as if to ask, “Do you believe me now?” However, Ou-yang Pae looked at Mu-jin as if he were crazy.

“Smashing the Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng, a miraculous elixir of the ages, without consuming it.”

From a logical perspective, only a madman would do such a thing.

“On second thought, he might indeed be a madman.”

Finding this somewhat reasonable, Ou-yang Pae eventually sheathed his sword.

Having somewhat convinced Ou-yang Pae, Mu-jin turned his gaze back to Hwang Gon.

“Time seems to be running out.”

While Mu-jin had anticipated a connection to the Demonic Cult, too much time had been wasted discussing the Yin-Yang Gu.

So, Mu-jin decided to ask the most pressing question first.

“So, why were you here in the Southern Barbarians?”

“To use the Five Poison Sect and Jeomchang Sect to dominate the Yunnan and Southern Barbarian regions.”

“That’s understandable for Jeomchang, but why go to the trouble of the Southern Barbarians? If your goal is to unify the martial world, wouldn’t it be better to concentrate your forces in the Central Plains?”

“Our goal is not to unify the martial world.”

“???”

Mu-jin wore a puzzled expression as Hwang Gon spouted something unexpected and outrageous.

“Our aim is to open a new sky. To establish a new empire.”

“!!!”

“Our leaders are those who will command the army when the new sky opens. We have been promised the position of Grand General. I, who was in charge of the Southern Barbarians and Yunnan, was to command the forces of this area when the new sky opened.”

Despite the outlandish nature of the tale, it started to clear the fog in Mu-jin’s mind.

“Damn it. So that’s why they didn’t act openly despite having such power?”

Shinchun’s strength was formidable. Just based on what he knew, the Eight Leaders were comparable to the top martial artists of the current martial world, such as the Seven Kings and the Three Swords of the World.

Of course, some of them, like the Head of Unhyangwon from Sichuan and the Wolf King, had died, and Hwang Gon was also destined to die soon.

But what if Mu-jin hadn’t intervened?

In terms of both quantity and quality of martial artists, Shinchun’s power was almost equal to that of the entire martial world.

Given that one of the Eight Leaders, Hyeok Jin-gang, was openly active, it was possible that one of the Seven Kings could be a leader as well.

Moreover, there were higher ranks than the Eight Leaders, so there could be even more skilled martial artists hiding.

Hence, Mu-jin had thought.

With such similar strength, they were acting covertly to minimize casualties.

But now it seemed that unifying the martial world was just a means to an end, not the ultimate goal.

“So that’s why they were so keen on controlling the leadership.”

From the beginning, they intended to use the forces they had gathered as pawns in a larger game.

For a future war against the current imperial family.

Having thought this far, Mu-jin asked another question.

“So, who are the Eight Leaders of Shinchun, and those higher than them?”

“The First Leader is Hyeok Jin-gang of the Demonic Alliance. The Second Leader is the Bright Left Envoy of the Heavenly Demon Cult. The Third Leader is from Shandong province… cough.”

But before Mu-jin could get a full answer, Hwang Gon suddenly coughed up blood and his gaze started to clear.

He hadn’t resisted the Simnyeong Pill.

“Damn. Is the time already up?”

The poison from the Simnyeong Pill had worn off, causing a phenomenon similar to a candle flickering before going out.

* * *

Shortly after Hwang Gon coughed up blood and died.

Breaking the awkward silence, Mu-jin spoke.

“So, what are you going to do now?”

“What do you mean?”

“Now that you know why the upper echelons of the Demonic Cult are rotten, you must have some thoughts.”

“I am more determined to cleanse the cult. Nothing has changed.”

Having already chosen the path of betrayal, it was more about confirming that this path was correct. It would be difficult to return to the cult now.

Then Ou-yang Pae turned the question around and asked Mu-jin.

“By the way, why is a disciple of Shaolin so interested in the affairs of the Demonic Cult?”

“I’m not particularly interested in the Demonic Cult. I’m just chasing these guys, and it just so happened that they’re involved with the Demonic Cult this time.”

Ou-yang Pae snorted at Mu-jin’s answer.

“If these guys were your target, you could have conducted the interrogation alone. Dragging me into this and letting me hear this information must have had some intention.”

Smart as he was, Ou-yang Pae quickly grasped Mu-jin’s intentions.

“Let me be clear. Though I have learned the truth about the upper echelons of the cult thanks to you, I have no intention of playing along with your plans after cleansing the cult, Shaolin Dragon.”

Ou-yang Pae had known about Mu-jin’s identity for some time.

Having revealed himself as a disciple of Shaolin, and with others calling him Mu-jin, it was impossible not to know.

Given the nickname Shaolin Dragon and his reputation as the top prodigy of the orthodox sects, Mu-jin’s name and moniker had spread even to distant Xinjiang.

Naturally, identifying him from just his name wasn’t difficult.

And now, bringing up his nickname meant that Ou-yang Pae intended to draw a line between himself and Mu-jin or Shaolin.

Mu-jin understood the intention and pondered for a moment on how to respond.

But since this clever fellow wouldn’t be easily fooled with mere wordplay, Mu-jin scratched his head and spoke with half sincerity.

“I never intended to control the Demonic Cult. What would I gain by controlling a cult full of demons?”

“Then what was your intention?”

“I thought you might be able to turn the Demonic Cult into a somewhat better place.”

“What made you think that?”

“While on your mission, you moved separately to eliminate bandits out of pity for the common people of Linzhi. And it was also because of what you said last time. You mentioned that martial artists consumed by demonic arts are not true martial artists, right?”

“…”

“I just thought that if someone with that mindset became the leader, there might be fewer demons in the Demonic Cult.”

Ou-yang Pae, hearing Mu-jin’s answer, looked at him with a complex expression.

“…So, a monk is still a monk.”

There were various sects in the Central Plains that followed Buddhist teachings besides Shaolin.

And the disciples of such sects were often murderous maniacs who couldn’t kill enough demonic people, constantly shouting for the extermination of demons.

But the true Buddhist teaching as advocated by Shakyamuni Buddha was compassion.

It didn’t mean unconditional forgiveness.

True compassion was to make the sinner repent, realize, and be freed from suffering.

“Come to think of it, despite knowing I was the descendant of the Heavenly Demon, he didn’t kill me. He told me to refine my demonic arts so that others wouldn’t be consumed by them.”

Rather than killing the opponent, the intent to guide them was, no matter what anyone said, similar to that of a highly virtuous monk.