The Terminally-Ill Side-Character Inside of a Martial Arts Novel

Unlike the outer compound of the Murim Alliance where martial arts matches were in full swing, the inside was quiet.

This was because they had to control thousands of martial artists for the day, so they had poured all their manpower into that area, leaving only the minimum number of people inside.

As a result, it was so quiet that even if something happened inside, no one would know.

In the midst of this, the appearance of a maid walking quickly down the corridor looked very uneasy.

Setting aside the fact that it was a place not easily accessible to maids, the fear in her eyes was unnatural.

Her eyes, fearful as if being chased by something in a place where there was no one to harm her, quickly scanned the surroundings.

As the maid was quickly moving her feet as if wanting to hurry and leave this place, a man appeared in front of her.

“Huh…!”

A sound like someone’s last breath rang out in fear.

The man covered the maid’s mouth and put his finger to his lips.

The maid quietly nodded. The man narrowed his eyes and glanced behind him.

After a moment, the sound of multiple footsteps rang out from behind.

The man’s eyes turned fierce.

The footsteps that had been ringing for a while subsided as time passed.

Only then did the man remove his hand from the maid’s mouth.

“Th-thank you!”

The man who had saved the maid, Jegal Cheon of the Jegal clan, made a puzzled expression.

“…What are you doing here?”

“Th-that…”

As the maid was about to hurriedly open her mouth, Jegal Cheon covered it again.

The footsteps that had just disappeared rang out again.

Jegal Cheon frowned and glared behind him. When the footsteps disappeared again, Jegal Cheon removed his palm.

The maid took out a small box she had been hiding in her bosom.

“The, the elder ordered me to…”

“Elder? Who?”

“E-Elder Cheol Mugi…”

Jegal Cheon felt displeased as soon as he heard that name.

He was one of the suspicious people who had recently joined the Murim Alliance. Nothing was known about his identity, force, or background.

They could expertly use martial arts of fists, swords, and spears which were the basis of the Righteous Sect, and their skills were also certain.

But it was impossible to take an elder position in the Murim Alliance just because one had good skills.

This was the Murim Alliance, not the Demon Cult. There were many things more important than strength.

But the reason they could sit in key positions was solely due to the Murim Alliance Leader’s influence.

Jegal Cheon frowned and took the box from the maid’s hand, opening it before it could even dry.

“Ah…!”

“…”

The maid let out an exclamation as if surprised, and Jegal Cheon’s face hardened.

What was contained in the box the maid was holding was a silver pill, a Qi-Dispersing Pill.

It was a medicine that had no particular problem if ordinary people ate it, but for martial artists, it was a more severe poison than anything else.

It was a medicine that evaporated all the inner energy stored and accumulated through training in the body the moment it was eaten.

At the same time, it caused severe pain throughout the body while evaporating the inner energy.

It was similar to the pain experienced by those who had learned demonic arts when they were dying in their later years.

Because of this, those who experienced the pain of the Qi-Dispersing Pill would ask their disciples or family to kill them.

“…Why this?”

It was a very important poison that was rare even in the Murim Alliance.

Why on earth would this Cheol Mugi character…?

Jegal Cheon was about to ask the maid while looking at her, but soon stopped. What would the maid know? Jegal Cheon hid the box in his bosom while closing it and spoke softly.

“You have entered the inner palace where not just anyone can set foot. And you were in the process of stealing a precious medicine hidden deep inside the inner palace. Is that right?”

“Y-Young Master…!”

The maid knelt down, trembling at Jegal Cheon’s words.

“According to the rules, I should punish you and gouge out your tongue and eyes so you can’t speak or write about what you’ve seen here… But since it wasn’t something you wanted to do, I won’t punish you. However, if such a thing happens again, come to me immediately and tell me again. Then I’ll keep this matter quiet as well.”

“I-I understand! I will certainly inform Young Master!”

Jegal Cheon felt uncomfortable at the sight of her repeatedly kowtowing on the floor and expressing gratitude.

“Even if you failed this time, Elder Cheol Mugi probably won’t scold you much. Since it was a place you couldn’t enter in the first place, he probably didn’t have high expectations. Go and tell him you failed as if nothing happened.”

“Yes! I will definitely say so.”

Go now. Jegal Cheon jerked his chin to dismiss the maid, then let out a sigh. He took out the box from his bosom, examined the contents again, then narrowed his brows.

Right after the Murim Alliance Leader brought five people and seated them as his close aides, too many suspicious people appeared in the Murim Alliance.

And if that wasn’t enough, to even try to steal the Qi-Dispersing Pill that couldn’t be easily handled.

“…What on earth are you thinking?”

“Who do you mean?”

Jegal Cheon’s quiet muttering didn’t require an answer, but a voice answered as if responding to it. He hurriedly turned around.

“Namgoong Seolbyeok…?”

“What are you doing here?”

Following his quietly questioning voice, his eyes also lowered. He looked at the box held in Jegal Cheon’s hand.

Jegal Cheon hurriedly hid the box, but it was already too late. He must have already seen everything. Jegal Cheon gritted his teeth.

Namgoong Seolbyeok was Namgoong Baek’s disciple. If he told Namgoong Baek about this fact, Cheol Mugi, whom Namgoong Baek had brought, would also learn of this fact. If that happened…

‘I have to silence him.’

Jegal Cheon’s eyes flashed. He had to silence him before he could say everything.

Jegal Cheon drew up energy in his body to subdue Namgoong Seolbyeok.

Whether Namgoong Seolbyeok knew Jegal Cheon’s thoughts or not, he stared at Jegal Cheon with indistinguishable eyes, then turned his body before Jegal Cheon could do anything.

“Don’t get caught.”

Namgoong Seolbyeok left those words and disappeared.

Jegal Cheon narrowed his brows while following the direction in which he had disappeared with his eyes.

‘What on earth…’

His worries deepened at Namgoong Seolbyeok’s incomprehensible words.

* * *

The martial arts matches that started in the early afternoon proceeded frantically.

Matches were held on 64 martial arts arenas, and participants were quickly eliminated.

The aspects of the matches were also diverse. In some places, there were those who were eliminated without even being able to display one or two moves as soon as it started, and in other places, it didn’t end because they were so busy checking each other that it was boring. Overall, the level was low.

“Are you bored?”

I raised my head at Namgoong Baek’s voice. He took his eyes off the martial arts arena and looked at me as he spoke.

“It goes without saying for the Young Cult Leader, but isn’t Miss Moyong also quite skilled? Watching their matches must be very boring for Miss. What do you think?”

No matter how much I try to hide it, is it difficult to deceive the Flash Sky Sword City? I smiled slightly and turned my head back to the martial arts arena.

“I think I understand why you have the disciples of the Nine Renowned Sects and famous clans participate from the main tournament.”

“Haha, it’s all knowledge based on experience accumulated over a long time. Some criticize the Murim Alliance for favoring famous clans and sects with this practice, but that’s not necessarily the case.”

He sat diagonally, resting his chin on his hand, and continued speaking leisurely.

“In fact, the preliminaries of the martial arts competition are mostly attended by all sorts of people. Among them, those with outstanding skills are very few. Those people will naturally advance to the main tournament.”

Namgoong Baek rolled his eyes to look at Hyuk Dojin. Hyuk Dojin, who was staring intently at one place, turned his head to meet Namgoong Baek’s gaze.

“Is there someone interesting?”

“No. Rather than interesting, I see some strange people.”

Hyuk Dojin pointed to one place. A man in black clothes who was just coming down from the martial arts arena caught my eye.

Namgoong Baek looked in the direction he pointed and let out a low exclamation.

“It’s the Black Dao Sect.”

“I’ve never heard of that place.”

“Of course you wouldn’t. It’s a sect that almost no one knows about.”

Hyuk Dojin rubbed his chin and nodded, then looked at Namgoong Baek.

“You seem to know them well.”

“Does the Young Cult Leader know who the leader of that Black Dao Sect is?”

How could he know when he has never heard of it before?

When Hyuk Dojin shook his head, Namgoong Baek covered his wrinkled mouth with a smile and spoke softly.

“You must have heard the name. A figure who shook the world a hundred years ago. The Spear Sky Demon, Black Demon!”

Hyuk Dojin’s body noticeably flinched, then he hurriedly turned to look at the man in black clothes.

Namgoong Baek’s laughter was heard slowly.

Who could Black Demon be for him to react like that? As I tilted my head, Namgoong Baek glanced at me and slowly began to speak.

“Miss Moyong seems to be hearing this for the first time. Well, that’s understandable. He’s an old figure and also someone unrelated to Miss. But for the Young Cult Leader, he’s a very meaningful figure.”

Namgoong Baek glanced at the stiffened Hyuk Dojin and continued speaking.

“Black Demon was a monstrous man who enjoyed slaughter without distinguishing between righteous and evil. In fact, among the people Black Demon killed, even the Cult Leader of the Demon Cult was included.”

“…Even the Demon Cult Leader?”

“Unimaginably powerful martial arts! Cruelty and brutality that made people click their tongues! Because he attacked without even distinguishing the Demon Cult, he incurred the wrath of the Cult Leader, and the Cult Leader himself moved to deal with Black Demon, but the result was a crushing defeat. In other words, Black Demon killed the Cult Leader at that time… that is, the great-great-grandfather of the Young Cult Leader here.”

So that’s why Hyuk Dojin reacted sensitively. Those who had killed past Demon Cult Leaders were extremely rare.

Before the Hyuk family came to power, Cult Leaders changed frequently due to assassinations, attacks, and frequent wars, but after the Hyuk family took power, there were almost no cases of Cult Leaders being killed before they stepped down.

“The Demon Cult still harbors resentment over that incident. They’re mortal enemies. Even now, the Demon Cult is chasing traces of Black Demon. And now the Black Dao Sect established by Black Demon has appeared before the Young Cult Leader.”

I turned my head to Hyuk Dojin. He was looking at the martial arts arena with a frown.

Although it didn’t seem like Hyuk Dojin would cause trouble right away, I was somehow worried and carefully grabbed his shoulder. A small tremor was transmitted through my hand.

Hyuk Dojin slowly turned to look at me. I slowly shook my head at him.

Hyuk Dojin nodded as if understanding, then leaned back in his chair and spoke softly.

“Honestly, I never thought of it. That Black Demon would create a sect and that sect would participate in this martial arts competition…”

“Didn’t they say enemies meet on a narrow bridge? It must be like that.”

Namgoong Baek answered leisurely and stared blankly at the man in black clothes preparing for the next match.

“What do you think? How far do you think that man will go?”

“…”

Hyuk Dojin stared intently at the man with his mouth tightly closed at his question.

I also turned my gaze to the man. As if he had been waiting, the man’s head rose and turned towards Hyuk Dojin and me.

At that moment, I felt the hair all over my body stand on end.

“…If my eyes are not mistaken, he’s one of the top masters among the people I’ve met.”

“Do you think you could win against him?”

“Of course. But it wouldn’t be easy. Who is that man?”

“Who else could it be?”

Namgoong Baek chuckled and spoke softly.

“Black Demon’s bloodline, Lee Jehak.”

The moment I heard that name, I could understand why I got goosebumps.

That name, it wasn’t the first time I had heard it. If my memory wasn’t wrong…

“Ten Thousand Killing Ghost…”

He was the monster who had driven Moyong Do, who was the strongest in the novel, to the brink of death.