Chapter 23: Portent (1)

Memories of the past flashed through Geum Jong-so's mind.

In the middle of a dark night, a man with sparse grey hair hurriedly packed something.

He was carrying luggage and opened the door, when the young one saw that, the man stroked his hair.

[Things have changed. I, no, we will do our very best to put everything back in place. Sigh... now you are the head of the family. Take good care of your mom.]

He raised his head and looked at the man with tears in his eyes.

A face which was blurry even in his memory, the man bent down to the young one's level and said.

[... if I don't make it back, forget all the memories you have of me. And live your life like an ordinary person.]

As the words kept coming, the tears which the young one was holding back began to flow.

The man with grey hair spoke with a sad voice this time.

[If I knew this would happen, I would have passed everything down to you... no. This is better. This is the end. Unless it's a real crisis, you should never reveal what you learned to anyone. If I don't come back, move... remember. Goodbye, my son.] (*)

Pang!

A small wave of qi stroked his head.

He was lost in his memory.

Geum Jong-so looked at Chun Yeowun, unable to calm his emotions.

'What is this person's identity?'

It has been 27 years already.

Contrary to his fears, no one recognized the martial arts he used.

It was as if the martial arts were erased from everyone's mind.

'Damn it!'

He didn't know how to deal with it.

He never dreamed that something found in Beijing would be recognized in Shenyang, which is closer to the border.

'Should I run away?'

That was a nice option, but impossible.

The nano bomb was in his body, and this monster would catch him even if not for the bomb.

Geum Jong-so bit his lip.

There was no other option. He had to fight and run.

Kiik!

Geum Jong-so parked the car.

Cars were passing by, but not many people were there.

Geum Jong-so opened his mouth without turning his head.

"... who are you?"

He just recognized his martial arts.

Either an enemy or an ally.

Geum Jong-so was quickly trying to judge the situation.

He was aware that nothing could be done.

The only hope he had was because of what Chun Yeowun said.

'No matter how many years have passed, there isn't a single person in Murim who uses the expression Sky Demon Order anymore.'

Black Sky Company or Demonic Cult.

Only the members of the Order used the official name.

While he was nervously looking into the mirror, Chun Yeowun said,

"Come outside."

He was puzzled, but he didn't have much choice.

Geum Jong-so stood in front of Chun Yeowun, who was standing to the right of the parked RV. He couldn't even look into Chun Yeowun's eyes.

That was when Chun Yeowun said.

"The skills you learned, show them all."

"Huh?"

"Don't make me say it twice and unfold them."

Geum Jong-so frowned at the sudden request.

Although it was said that there were a few people, cars only passed rarely, and using sword skills was still difficult.

'What is he thinking?'

He couldn't figure it out.

After hesitating for a while, he finally gave up.

Taking a moment, his brilliant kick cut through the air, and the technique appeared.

Papapapapak!

Gorgeous and quick kicks one after another.

A martial art that couldn't be seen by others, yet Geum Jong-so always trained.

He took pride in his secret martial art.

When he was done, the words that came out of Chun Yeowun's mouth were,

"It's a mess."

Chun Yeowun shook his head with a disappointed look.

Hating those words, Geun Jong-so said.

"What are you even talking about?"

Surely the monster recognized the technique, but he couldn't perform it, yet he called it a mess.

Chun Yeowun said,

"I don't know where you learned the technique, but why does the formation change so much with each attack? And where did you sell the other two techniques?"

'Ah?'

Geum Jong-so's expression changed.

Actually, he learned the technique at a very young age, when he was four or five, he himself wasn't sure if he was doing it correctly.

And he knew that it could be wrong too.

But in the end, the words, two techniques, caught his attention.

"H-How do you know that?"

It was then.

Shhh!

"Huh!"

Chun Yeowun suddenly grabbed his wrist.

Before he could even try to shake it off, energy penetrated through his wrist.

Woong!

"Euk!"

If he resisted the energy, he would end up with an internal injury.

He stood there without being able to fight the opponent.

Chun Yeowun, who scanned his body, finally said.

"Why didn't you learn the Pure Genuine Mind Method? No, it would have been better if you learned it."

'!?'

Geum Jong-so was at a loss for words.

He never imagined that someone would know about it.

The Pure Genuine Mind Method is paired with the Pure Kick that he had learned.

"You are killing the technique."

If Geum Jong-so knew the entire technique, he would use mind cultivation methods along with the technique, but he couldn't.

It was because a certain internal energy cultivation method was needed to use the technique.

Geum Jong-so asked with a trembling voice.

"Wh-What the hell are you? How can you..."

He couldn't understand.

It was embarrassing that someone else knew more about the technique than the heir of the clan.

No wonder he was shocked.

Thanks to Nano, Chun Yeowun had more than 70% of the Demonic Cult's techniques in his head.

And he even remembered the highest techniques of the other clans.

It was no exaggeration to say that Chun Yeowun is a moving martial arts technique book.

That's one thing, but there's another reason why Chun Yeowun understood it particularly.

'Baekgi.'

It was because of a martial artist Baekgi, one of the Six Swords and a supporter of Chun Yeowun.

Baekgi, a member of the Six Swords, was one of the closest aides of Lord Chun Yeowun.

Having met someone who succeeded in his technique, Chun Yeowun couldn't turn a blind eye.

'If Baekgi saw this, he would have been angry.'

This was nothing less than trash of a descendant of Baekgi, who was a perfectionist.

Maybe the teaching wasn't accurate.

"W-Who are you? By any chance, do you know my father?"

Instead of answering, Chun Yeowun asked,

"Are you a descendant of the Pure Kick Clan of the main cult?"

Too many questions.

To call it the main cult meant that Chun Yeowun was presenting himself as a member of the Sky Demon Order.

Geum Jong-so, who heard that, spoke in a trembling voice.

"Are you... are you really a senior in the cult?"

The voice was full of genuine welcoming.

When he first heard the words 'Sky Demon Order,' he was confused and disturbed, thinking that the man was trying to lure him out.

"Answer me."

When Chun Yeowun didn't deny it, Geum Jong-so clasped his hands together.

Pak!

"Geuk Jong-so of the Pure Kick Clan greets the senior!"

But as soon as the words were finished, Chun Yeowun made an abrupt action.

Grab!

"Kuak!"

He grabbed his neck.

At him, who was flustered, Chun Yeowun said.

"Are you trying to deceive me till the end? If what you are saying now is true, you were never a member of the cult."

Clench!

Geum Jong-so's eyes went wider as Chun Yeowun began to clench harder.

One last time, he wanted to test if Chun Yeowun is really a member of the Sky Demon Order, and it seemed to be true.

Geum Jong-so opened his mouth with difficulty.

"S-Senior, I was trying... to confirm... if you were... really from... the cult... I, I... apologize... keuk... apologize."

Pak!

When he said that, Chun Yeowun released his hand.

Despite not being caught for a long time, Geum Jong-so coughed and then took the pose again while bowing his head.

"Baek Jong-so of the Pure Kick Clan of the Great Sky Demon Order formally greets the senior!"

Right.

The name wasn't Geum, but Baek.

Geum Jong-so or Baek Jong-so thought that if Chun Yeowun was really a member of the cult, he would realize the mistake in his name.

If Chun Yeowun accepted the first greeting, then he was an enemy.

But now, when he found out that the man in front of him really was a member of the Sky Demon Order, he couldn't hold back his tears.

"I am... I am really happy... to have met... the senior of the cult..."

Chun Yeowun smiled a little as he looked at Jong-so crying.

He was so worried when there were no traces of the Sky Demon Order, but he unexpectedly found a descendant of Baekgi, one of his closest aides.

'A descendant of Baekgi... this is nice.'

For the first time since he fell into the unknown time axis, he was happy.

Of course, it wasn't just about feeling good.

"Why did a descendant of the Pure Kick Clan of the Great Sky Demon Order turn into a public security official?"

Chun Yeowun didn't like the status of Baek Jong-so, who was an official yet a spy at the same time.

'Ah... he knew that too.'

Baek Jong-so's expression darkened.

He thought that he was just under suspicion, but it seemed like Yun Mun-pyeong noticed the truth.

Otherwise, Chun Yeowun wouldn't have known.

"There were... some circumstances."

"Circumstances?"

His voice was mixed with anger.

It seemed like the descendant had some kind of problem.

Chun Yeowun was about to ask, but Baek Jong-so said,

"Senior. Before that, would it be fine if this junior asked something?"

Jong-so had something he was really curious about.

If Chun Yeowun knew his martial arts this well, he guessed that he should be related to his father or someone higher in the Sky Demon Order.

"I permit you."

As the permission fell, Baek Jong-so asked.

"Thank you. Actually, I'm sorry for referring to you as just senior, so I would like to ask you about your name or title when the Black Sky Company was still alive."

He wondered about his real identity.

Despite him being young in the past, Jong-so still remembered the names of several people his father was close to.

Since he didn't remember the face, he thought he might remember something if his title or name came up.

However, Chun Yeowun didn't answer.

Shhh!

The black handguard on his right wrist gently changed.

Chachachachachacha!

It was shocking.

As the blackguard moved, it took the form of a sword.

Baek Jong-so's eyes widened at the appearance of the exquisite sword, which was giving out a black hue.

"This, this is..."

Baek Jong-so's two eyes were staring at the text written in the middle of the black sword.

Sky Demon Sword

'!!!'

For a moment, it felt like a thrill ran through his body.

He fell onto his knees and cried out.

"Baek Jong-so greets the current Chun Ma of the Great Sky Demon Order!"