Chapter 115
The Divine Thief (3)
The day the Divine Thief had announced his visit arrived.
The clouds were unusually thick, turning the night pitch-black without even a trace of moonlight.
Dong! Dong! Dong!
The sudden ringing of an alarm bell shattered the stillness of the night.
Standing guard at the entrance of Taihe Palace, Namgung Jun and Heo Il immediately turned their heads.
The bell, infused with internal energy, seemed to be coming from the direction of the Sword-Releasing Pavilion.
"Do you think it's the Divine Thief?"
"It's hard to say. If it were truly the Divine Thief, he wouldn't be discovered so easily."
Namgung Jun spread his senses toward the Sword-Releasing Pavilion.
The distance was considerable, but having reached the peak of the Supreme Realm, both the range and precision of his perception had become far sharper.
His awareness expanded steadily until it finally reached the pavilion.
As his senses swept over the area, Namgung Jun's lips hardened into a straight line.
At first he recognized the familiar presences of Heavenly Sword Hall fighting alongside the Wudang disciples.
Then he felt them.
Unpleasant presences multiplying like insects beyond them.
Countless auras filled his perception. They gathered and scattered repeatedly, moving chaotically.
A fierce battle was underway.
"I can sense a large number of demonic energies. It's a raid by the Sun Moon Demonic Cult."
"It's possible they've learned about the Divine Thief's notice. Or perhaps the Divine Thief and the Sun Moon Demonic Cult joined hands from the beginning."
Heo Il replied while taking a drink from his wine gourd, preparing himself in case combat erupted.
The Divine Thief was undeniably one of the heterodox.
As such, he never hesitated to cooperate with the Sun Moon Demonic Cult or the Eight Great Heretical Powers whenever it suited him.
Sometimes the Divine Thief approached them first.
Other times the heterodox factions sought him out when they needed his abilities.
What if the Sun Moon Demonic Cult deliberately set the Divine Thief in motion to divide Wudang's forces?
The thought crossed Namgung Jun's mind as he looked toward the Sword-Releasing Pavilion.
His judgment was based solely on his perception, so it could not be completely accurate, but for the moment Heavenly Sword Hall appeared to be holding the position firmly.
"There hasn't been a request for reinforcements from the Sword-Releasing Pavilion. We should remain where we are."
"Agreed. Moving recklessly would only create an opening for the Divine Thief."
Namgung Jun reviewed Wudang's current disposition.
Lee Seha had reinforced the defenses around the Hall of True Martial Arts together with three Heavenly Sword Hall members who excelled in movement arts.
The rest of Heavenly Sword Hall had been stationed at the Sword-Releasing Pavilion.
It allowed them to guard the location most likely to be targeted while still fulfilling Wudang's request to protect the main mountain.
And Senior Heo and I are defending Taihe Palace.
Namgung Jun had not dismissed Heo Il's suspicions lightly and had personally requested this arrangement from Lee Seha.
That was why the two of them had been assigned to Taihe Palace rather than the Hall of True Martial Arts or the Sword-Releasing Pavilion.
Whatever the hidden circumstances may be, Mount Wudang has descended into chaos. The Divine Thief should be making his move soon.
Namgung Jun turned and looked toward the Hall of True Martial Arts.
Everything there remained silent.
If the Divine Thief appeared, Lee Seha had promised to send a signal immediately.
Since no signal had come, nothing unusual had happened yet.
Tap! Tap! Tap!
At that moment, hurried footsteps approached from inside Taihe Palace.
Turning around, they saw a second-generation disciple running toward them.
Namgung Jun did not know his Daoist name, but he recognized him as the disciple who attended to Hyeonmang, whose injuries made the use of both arms difficult.
He was also the one who had brought dinner to Namgung Jun and Heo Il earlier that evening, since neither could leave their posts.
"What is it?"
At Namgung Jun's question, the disciple replied between heavy breaths.
"Senior Uncle Hyeonmang has ordered me to investigate the situation at the Sword-Releasing Pavilion! Please continue guarding this place, Young Heroes!"
"Leave it to us."
The disciple hurried past them.
At that exact moment, Namgung Jun suddenly felt something wrong.
He could not identify the source.
Yet the instincts he had honed throughout his life as a martial artist stirred violently.
Hm?
This was not the first time.
It had happened before.
As a martial artist's realm rose higher, the instincts sharpened through endless cultivation often pierced through appearances and glimpsed underlying truths.
For peerless masters who directly communicated with the natural energies of heaven and earth, such intuition sometimes approached the level of foresight itself.
And there were moments when those instincts issued warnings without explanation.
"Don't tell me..."
Namgung Jun did not ignore the warning.
In his previous life, intuition had helped him survive countless crises and avoid dangers before they manifested.
"Wait...!"
Just as Namgung Jun hurriedly turned to stop the second-generation disciple who had passed them—
Whoosh!
A sharp tearing sound split the air, cutting off his words.
Reflected in his lightning-blue eyes was Heo Il already launching himself forward.
Sliding across the stone floor with his left foot, Heo Il closed the distance in an instant and thrust his sword toward the disciple's back.
Though startled by the sudden attack, Namgung Jun immediately reached for his sword.
He had no intention of stopping Heo Il.
He trusted there was a reason behind the strike.
Just as Heo Il's blade was about to sever the man's neck—
Clang!
The disciple's figure blurred like smoke.
At the same time, Heo Il's shoulders jerked violently as he was knocked backward.
The disciple had somehow twisted around, avoided the sword with a bizarre movement, and counterattacked in the same motion.
As Namgung Jun drew the Eternal True Sword and stepped forward, his eyes widened.
That movement!
He could not identify the technique.
But one thing was certain.
It was absolutely not a movement art of the Wudang Sect.
Whoosh!
The disciple did not stop after counterattacking.
He instantly chased after the retreating Heo Il and extended his right hand, faint energy gathering around it.
His movements and attacks were astonishingly fast.
As if merely willing it was enough to make his internal energy respond.
Fast.
The moment Namgung Jun saw him move, he also launched himself forward.
Yet he was clearly slower in that brief exchange.
Left with no choice, Namgung Jun unleashed the sword wind of the Heavenly Wind Sword Art to force the man back.
KRAAAK!
The blade wind tore across the stone floor, gouging a deep trench.
The disciple lightly retreated and avoided the attack.
Glancing at Namgung Jun, he then turned his attention back to Heo Il.
"You couldn't possibly have attacked a Wudang disciple for no reason... Don't tell me you figured out who I am? No, that's impossible."
Spitting out a mouthful of dark blood, Heo Il slowly straightened his bent back.
A twisted smile spread across his face.
"That's what makes it so strange. Your disguise techniques and bone-shrinking art truly lived up to their reputation. Even your imitation of Wudang's unique movements was flawless. Your portrayal of a Wudang second-generation disciple was perfect."
"I know that. No one in Wudang noticed me. So how did a nobody like you figure it out?"
The disguised disciple seemed genuinely curious.
Heo Il laughed.
"It seems your mark was carved far deeper into my mind than I realized. No... perhaps fear is the better word."
His smile faded.
"The moment I saw you, I could barely breathe. Every instinct screamed at me to flee. Even knowing this wasn't your true appearance."
"What?"
"Master. You should have treated me a little better."
Heo Il's gaze locked onto him.
"If the fear and trauma you engraved into me had been even slightly weaker, I would never have recognized you."
He slowly raised the arm holding his sword.
The scar-covered right arm shook so violently that the blade itself trembled.
"After years of torture disguised as instruction, I've become like a dog trained through beatings. Merely feeling you approach causes my body to react."
His voice remained calm.
"Telling me to run."
Though Heo Il spoke as though he were merely recounting facts, Namgung Jun found it painful to listen.
The voice was not calm.
It sounded exhausted.
And frightened.
Senior Heo...
"Those scars on your hand..."
The disguised man's expression gradually brightened.
Like someone who had recovered a lost toy.
"You're one of the disciples the Changcheon Society stole from me. That's right. Heo Il, wasn't it? Hong Jun was left-handed, so I mostly tortured his left hand."
"You can't even recognize your own disciple's face and have to identify him that way?"
Heo Il's face hardened.
Yet the man continued speaking.
"Still, I'm curious. How did you know my target was Taihe Palace?"
"You always steal what is most valuable."
Heo Il answered with certainty.
"The manuals Wudang expected you to target—the Cloud-Stepping Vertical Ascent and the Cloud-Chasing Trace—aren't the most valuable treasures."
His eyes narrowed.
"Your true target is the Purple-Marked Bamboo Scroll—the sacred relic said to contain Zhang Sanfeng's final insights and martial arts. Isn't that right?"
A smile slowly spread across the man's face.
"Only half-correct, but your deduction is impressively sharp."
His eyes gleamed.
"Perhaps you truly were my disciple. It seems you learned more than martial arts and tricks while serving under me."
Calling thievery-related skills divine arts rather than mere tricks was one of the Divine Thief's old habits.
Hearing it again, Heo Il was reminded beyond doubt that the man before him was indeed his former master.
Then the disciple's face began to twist and shift.
His disguise art and bone-shrinking technique unraveled.
Crack! Crack!
It took less than a single breath.
The Wudang disciple vanished.
In his place stood a gaunt old man with his hands clasped behind his back.
Deep wrinkles covered his face like the bark of an ancient tree.
Hidden between them were eyes overflowing with greed.
He resembled a merchant who had spent a lifetime accumulating wealth yet never once learned satisfaction.
Had he suffered the same torture from his own master?
His right arm was covered in old scars.
Time had faded them, but they remained clearly visible.
Combined with the wrinkles of age, the sight was grotesque.
This was the Divine Thief's true appearance.
His greed-filled eyes settled on Heo Il.
Not the gaze of a master reunited with a disciple.
The gaze of a predator.
"Since we've met again, this works out nicely."
His smile widened.
"I'll kill you before I leave. At long last, I'll reclaim one of the disciples the Changcheon Society stole from me."
The Divine Thief's arm blurred.
At that same moment, the Eternal True Sword descended like a storm cloud wrapped in lightning.
Namgung Jun unleashed four consecutive strikes aimed at the old man's legs.
Yet the Divine Thief casually stepped through empty air as though walking on invisible stairs, avoiding every attack.
"You've been irritating me for a while now."
His eyes fixed on Namgung Jun.
"That blue lightning... so you're the Rising Star Sword."
Then he clicked his tongue.
"In any case, there's no one on Mount Wudang capable of stopping me right now. Even Chuk-un Yuhui—that woman specializes in swordsmanship, doesn't she?"
Ash-gray energy slowly gathered around both of his hands.
To the eye, it appeared no different than before.
But Namgung Jun noticed immediately.
The density of his qi has increased dramatically.
Had his senses not been so refined, he would have assumed nothing had changed.
It was a technique designed for concealment.
A skill meant to lull opponents into lowering their guard.
Anyone judging the Divine Thief's attacks solely by the size or brightness of his aura would suffer greatly for it.
The Divine Thief... His movement arts and miscellaneous techniques are so extraordinary that they overshadow everything else. But the level of his hand techniques is clearly...
Namgung Jun cautiously raised his sword into a middle guard.
The Divine Thief leisurely stepped forward.
"Come to think of it, Chuk-un Yuhui also helped destroy Biyeong Sect."
His voice dripped with amusement.
"I should steal your head and toss it at her feet."
Without warning, the Divine Thief appeared directly before Namgung Jun.
His hand stretched toward Namgung Jun's throat.