WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS x FLAME NOVELS

Translator/Editor: Chen

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◈ The Former Supreme ◈

Chapter 30: Mr. Jong (3)

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When Master Jong opened his eyes, he was sitting in a chair with his pressure points sealed.

'Why am I...'

What had happened atop the cliff began to surface through the haze of his memory.

'Those people! Who the hell were they?'

The man who had appeared without a sound and drawn his sword on him had been formidable, but the woman who appeared afterward had possessed an overwhelming presence. She had not released even a trace of killing intent, yet merely looking at her had made it hard for him to breathe. On top of that, she was a peerless beauty. Master Jong was well-informed about the martial world, but no fitting name came to mind.

'Baek Socheon's former subordinates?'

Thinking it over, that could not have been it. If they had been his subordinates, they could not have said they wanted to stomp on him.

As time passed, Master Jong's eyes adjusted to the darkness.

'...!'

Only then did he see the dozens of people surrounding him.

And the woman standing directly before him.

'It's her!'

He could not see her clearly in the darkness, but he knew by instinct. Even through her faint silhouette, her presence stood out. It was not simply because she was a woman, nor because she was releasing any special aura. She literally had presence.

Master Jong tensed his abdomen and asked, "Why did you bring me here?"

No one answered.

"I don't know what you want from me, but you won't get anything. Let me warn you, torture won't work on me either."

At last, the woman in front of him spoke.

"I heard you were a cold-blooded man, but you sure have a lot to say now that you've been captured."

As Master Jong had expected, she was Cheon Geuk.

"You don't need to confess."

"Then why did you capture me?"

"Because there are things I need to hear."

Master Jong could not understand.

'How can she hear what I have to say if I don't confess?'

Once his eyes had adjusted a little more, Master Jong saw a corpse lying nearby. To his shock, it was the informant who had sold him information.

'How did they find him?'

The man had been cautious and skilled at hiding his identity. Master Jong's fear of his opponents deepened.

Then a young girl entered.

"You're awake?"

She looked no older than twelve or thirteen and was an adorable child.

"I'm Na Sarin."

The girl who introduced herself as Na Sarin had a voice as clear as a nightingale's. She walked up to Master Jong and stared directly into his eyes.

"Clouded. It's hard for a soul to be this impure."

The moment their gazes met, a shudder ran through Master Jong's entire body. Those were not the eyes of an ordinary child.

"You... You're not a child, are you?"

"Good eye. It would've been nice if my growth had stopped when I was around twenty. Still, it's unfortunate, but manageable."

Her words made it clear that she suffered from a Heavenly Affliction that had stopped her growth at an early age.

Amazingly, she was an old woman over eighty years old. Of everyone gathered here, she was the oldest.

She was a master of the Soul-Seizing Art, especially skilled at controlling another person's soul to extract a confession. Her growth had stopped as a side effect of learning forbidden arts too early.

In this situation, Master Jong was more frightened than he would have been if a burly man holding torture instruments had stood before him.

"What are you trying to do to me?"

"What could you possibly have done to end up before me?"

"I..."

He had committed so many evil deeds that even a whole night would not have been enough to confess them all.

"It's all right, child. You don't have to speak. I'll find out myself."

The moment Na Sarin finished speaking, red light flashed from her eyes.

Whoooosh!

The crimson radiance shot into Master Jong's pupils. From afar, it looked as though a red line connected their eyes.

When Master Jong's eyes turned red, Na Sarin asked, "Were you the one who placed the assassination commission to kill Liang Qiu's family?"

Na Sarin's once clear voice now echoed as though it came from deep inside a cave.

"Yes. It was me."

The truth flowed out without fail, his voice also seeming to come from deep within a cave.

"Where did you place the commission?"

"With the Seven Sword Society."

"And the Seven Sword Society accepted it?"

"They did."

"Did they kill everyone, including those who did not know martial arts and the children?"

"Yes. That was one of the conditions of the commission."

"Why?"

"So it would look like an incident caused by a personal grudge."

"Who ordered you to place the commission?"

"The Mythic Gang Leader."

Na Sarin looked back at Cheon Geuk. Her gaze asked whether this was enough, and Cheon Geuk looked around at those gathered there.

They were the Assassin Alliance's leadership, including the Disciplinary Court Master.

They nodded as well. Some wore bright expressions, while others looked grim. Those with bright expressions supported Cheon Geuk, while the grim-faced ones opposed her and had close ties to the Seven Sword Society.

Regardless of how they felt, it had been proven at that very moment that the Seven Sword Society had violated the Assassin Code.

At Cheon Geuk's signal that it was enough, Na Sarin sighed and stepped back.

Though she was perhaps the greatest master of the Soul-Seizing Art of her generation, drawing the truth from someone was not easy. Each time she performed a confession art, it consumed a considerable amount of internal energy and mental strength.

Cheon Geuk respectfully bowed to her.

"Elder, thank you for your hard work."

The other assassins bowed respectfully as well.

Everyone gathered here had absolute faith in Na Sarin.

Na Sarin was the most senior among the elders who had served the Assassin Alliance for a long time. She had lived solely for the Assassin Alliance through the reigns of several Alliance Leaders, earning the assassins' utmost respect.

Na Sarin lightly clasped her hands in salute to Cheon Geuk before walking out. Her disciples came to support her.

Once she left, lamps were lit, illuminating the room.

With the Soul-Seizing Art over, Master Jong had lost consciousness and slumped over.

A short while later, someone entered.

The person Cheon Geuk had summoned was the Seven Sword Society Master.

His expression darkened as he looked around.

His ominous feeling had been painfully accurate.

Cheon Geuk had sent a carriage and invited him to have a drink alone with her. Several things had troubled him, but he had no choice except to go. Defying the Alliance Leader's command would mean standing against the Assassin Alliance.

Still, he could not bring subordinates to a drinking gathering meant for just the two of them. Before leaving, he had summoned Second Sword and ordered him to prepare for anything.

But what if even the Disciplinary Court Master was present?

'This isn't good.'

Hiding his unease, he asked, "Alliance Leader, what is the meaning of this?"

No one answered. Those who had been close to him wore regretful expressions. The closer they were to him, the darker their faces looked.

'This is really not good.'

At last, Cheon Geuk spoke.

"Society Master, why did you do it?"

"This old man has no idea what you mean."

"Do you know who that is?"

Cheon Geuk pointed at Master Jong, unconscious in the chair.

"Who is he?"

"He is a martial artist from the Mythic Gang who placed an assassination commission with your society."

"Many people place commissions with our society."

"I'm sure they do. Then let me ask again. Of all those commissions, how many violated the Assassin Code like his did?"

"Violated the Assassin Code? Our society has never violated the Assassin Code even once."

Though his voice rang out powerfully, the Seven Sword Society Master's heart was filled with despair. The fact that everyone had gathered to interrogate him meant the evidence was conclusive.

"Elder Na has already finished using her Soul-Seizing Art. Of course, we had gathered plenty of evidence before bringing that man here."

"I know nothing about this!"

He raised his voice as though he had been wronged. The Seven Sword Society Master looked around at those surrounding him. They were all people he knew. Some were close enough to call each other brothers. Yet not one person stepped forward to defend him.

"It seems my subordinates mishandled this matter. I will uncover the truth and punish them."

Who would accept such a shameless attempt to shift the blame, especially before these people? They all knew exactly how assassin organizations operated. It was impossible for subordinates to violate the Assassin Code without their leader knowing.

Cheon Geuk spoke calmly.

"I'm not asking you to plead your innocence. I'm giving you one final chance to speak before you die."

Realizing that it was already over, the Seven Sword Society Master no longer insisted on his innocence. He let everything go and shouted proudly.

"I wanted to become Alliance Leader too."

"Then you should have challenged me. Why did you violate the Assassin Code?"

"Because I needed the Mythic Gang to make that damned challenge. I would've taken your place in the end! If a young bitch like you could lead this alliance, then I could become Alliance Leader too!"

She was a woman. She was young.

Those were the two reasons rebellion had begun.

"I would lead the alliance better. The Assassin Code? Why do we need that sort of thing? A life is a life, so why should those who don't know martial arts or children be spared? If I were Alliance Leader, I would've helped everyone earn more money."

Cheon Geuk stared at him and spoke coldly.

"That's why you could never do it. You don't even understand why. Even if the Mythic Gang and the entire world had helped you, you would never have sat in my seat."

The moment she finished speaking, Cheon Geuk vanished in a flash.

Swish.

Slice.

The sound of air being cut and flesh splitting came almost at the same time. The result was death.

Spurt!

Blood sprayed from the Seven Sword Society Master's neck as he collapsed to the side.

Thud.

Cheon Geuk stood behind him, holding a dagger dripping with blood.

The Seven Sword Society Master's blood dripped from its edge, sharp enough to cut with a glance.

It was her signature weapon, the Death King Dagger.

With martial arts centered entirely around this single dagger, she had become the greatest assassin under heaven and ascended to the position of Assassin King.

No one present had seen her movement clearly. Not even the Seven Sword Society Master, who had been facing her, had caught it. It was a movement technique of the highest level.

"This is not a position someone like you can covet."

Cheon Geuk, the Assassin King of her generation.

She possessed supreme skill. It was only because that strength supported her that she could lead these brutal assassins as a woman.

She gave the Disciplinary Court Master an icy command.

"Disciplinary Court Master, arrest the remaining six leaders of the Seven Sword Society immediately. If they resist, you may eliminate them all."

"I accept your command."

"Also, from this hour onward, dissolve the Seven Sword Society and disperse all its members among the other organizations designated by the alliance."

An irresistible authority poured from her.

"I will obey your command."

The Disciplinary Court Master and the Disciplinary Court's assassins vanished from the room in an instant.

With the Seven Sword Society Master dead, resistance from the other six leaders would be meaningless. With clear proof that they had violated the Assassin Code, they could not refuse the Alliance Leader's order. If they resisted, every assassin in the Assassin Alliance would move to eliminate them.

Cheon Geuk turned her gaze toward the alliance's leadership.

"If anyone violates the Assassin Code again, I swear on my name that I will punish them."

The remaining assassins all prostrated themselves.

"We accept the Alliance Leader's solemn command."

At last, a satisfied smile appeared on Cheon Geuk's lips. She had officially eliminated the strongest opposition faction within the organization.

* * *

When Cheon Geuk came to see him, Baek Socheon knew the result just by looking at her expression.

"You worked hard."

"How did you know? Was it written on my face?"

"No."

"Then how?"

"The presences of the people protecting you became gentler."

In other words, he had read the presences of the Four Heavenly Assassins.

Caught off guard by his answer, Cheon Geuk shook her head.

"Did you hear that? He sensed your presences and guessed what happened."

Their presences vanished in an instant.

They usually concealed them completely, but had deliberately shown Baek Socheon a little of their presence. It was a warning after the incident where he slapped Cheon Geuk's cheek, telling him that they were by her side and he should not act carelessly.

Yet he had noticed the change in their presences.

"You don't even have internal energy, but you sure are good at sensing presences."

"Why would I need internal energy? You sense a presence by feeling it."

"That's not something just anyone can do."

She formally thanked Baek Socheon.

"Thank you. It's because of you."

Baek Socheon held out his hand.

When she tried to take it, he slapped the back of her hand.

"I'm asking for the money."

"Oh, honestly. You really know how to ruin a person's mood."

She took an envelope from her robes and handed it to him. It held ten banknotes worth ten thousand nyang each.

"It's clean money with no connection to us, so you can spend it without worry."

"Thanks."

The Seven Sword Society Master and the other leaders had all been officially eliminated.

Baek Socheon's arrival in Wencheng had set off a chain reaction, eventually destroying the Seven Sword Society, Zhejiang's largest assassin organization.

"Now, you'll keep the rest of your promise, right?"

"Even if I ask why you want to find Elder Radiant Assassin, you won't tell me, will you?"

Baek Socheon nodded. Since she had not expected an answer in the first place, she took the lead and said, "Fine. It isn't far, so let's go now."

As the two walked toward the carriage waiting in front of the branch, Cheon Geuk said, "I never imagined a day like this would come with you."

"Neither did I."

"Let's live a long time. We'll go through all kinds of things from now on."

"That's a strange thing for the Assassin King to say."

"Please!"

The carriage carrying the two of them swiftly left Wencheng.

Footnotes:

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