Chapter 137

In a small, windowless room, Darkness muttered.

“This is why I warned you. That bastard is not human.”

Though he hadn’t taken a single step outside, Darkness knew what was happening at the Small Thunder Sound Temple.

Every day, several monks of the Small Thunder Sound Temple were dying.

This mad slaughter would never end until every living being in the Small Thunder Sound Temple was dead.

“There’s no way to catch him through normal means.”

Darkness muttered, looking at the workbench before him.

On the workbench lay naked children who looked to be about ten years old.

At the Small Thunder Sound Temple, they were called Child Wolves.

The Arang were all children who had been kidnapped from nearby villages.

Besides Darkness, there were quite a few madmen in the Small Thunder Sound Temple. One of them was Mokwon.

Mokwon injected the kidnapped children with various drugs to enhance their physical abilities. Since it took a long time to build a foundation by teaching them basic Martial Arts, he sought to improve their physical capabilities in a short period through drugs.

As he expected, the children’s bodies developed at a very rapid pace. But there was a problem.

While their bodies became suitable for learning Martial Arts, their minds remained tender.

A tender mind was bound to be a hindrance to learning Martial Arts. So, Mokwon devised a terrible plan.

He made the children fight each other in front of their parents. The parents of the loser were killed.

As this situation repeated itself several times, the children’s minds were thoroughly destroyed.

Their human emotions were worn away, and only a destructive desire remained.

It was just as Mokwon had wanted.

He taught the children one of the Small Thunder Sound Temple’s demonic arts.

The demonic art, named Reverse Guanyin Demonic Art, was a unique demonic art that was a reverse interpretation of the Shaolin Temple’s Guanyin Divine Art.

Theoretically, one could wield immense power upon reaching complete mastery, but in reality, it was impossible. This was because the Reverse Guanyin Demonic Art was an incomplete, half-baked martial art.

The essence of the Reverse Guanyin Demonic Art was to stimulate the human brain to unleash all of its latent power, thereby exhibiting great strength. However, the human brain was not as simple as one might think.

Its potential was infinite, but if all of its abilities were unleashed, the brain itself could not withstand it and would melt down.

That is why the human brain places a restriction on itself.

It has restricted itself from exhibiting abilities beyond a certain level.

As long as the limits set by the human brain existed, it was impossible to achieve complete mastery of the Reverse Guanyin Demonic Art.

Even if one did achieve complete mastery, there was no guarantee the brain would remain intact.

One misstep, and there was a high probability of becoming a demonic practitioner with not a shred of reason left.

That was why any monk in their right mind would not even glance at the Reverse Guanyin Demonic Art.

Only Mokwon was crazy about the Reverse Guanyin Demonic Art and researched it using the children as subjects. However, his research was at a standstill, making no progress.

Even after obliterating the children’s reason, he had failed to break through the limits of the brain.

“So you’re saying you’ll break the Arang’s limits?”

A small figure who had approached at some point looked up at Darkness.

The owner of a face as hideous as Darkness’s was none other than Mokwon.

“Yes! I can do it.”

“Really?”

“Have you forgotten what my specialty is?”

“Kekeke! Manipulating the human mind is your specialty, indeed. What about it?”

“To manipulate the human mind, you must first seize control of the brain.”

Only then did Mokwon’s eyes sparkle.

He had realized what Darkness was after.

“Hoh! So you mean to forcibly release the limit by controlling their minds. But if you do that, the brain won’t be able to withstand the excessive pressure and will collapse.”

“It’s still worth a try.”

“Hmm!”

“Think of an Arang with its limits removed. Its senses will surely develop abnormally. If that happens, we might be able to find that assassin bastard hiding like a rat.”

“So that was your goal. To find and eliminate the assassin.”

“So that I can live.”

“Hehe! I like it.”

Mokwon laughed grimly.

These were children whose bones had not yet hardened.

No matter how much they were enhanced with various drugs, their physical abilities were bound to be inferior to those of the monks. If the limits of such children were suddenly released, their brains and bodies might not be able to withstand it, and their very selves could collapse.

One wrong move and all ten or so of the painstakingly raised Arang could die. Yet, Mokwon readily joined Darkness’s plan.

It was because he was at a standstill with no further progress anyway.

Although he had poured his heart and soul into creating the Arang for years, he had no lingering attachment.

New children could be procured at any time.

Darkness approached the children.

‘A pity I abandoned that girl. She was the finest material…’

He deeply regretted abandoning Won Gayoung to save his own skin. But it was something he couldn’t take back now.

Now was the time to focus on the children.

“To catch a demon, you need a demon on your side.”

＊＊＊

Blood Buddha sat cross-legged on the highest platform.

A red mist shimmered around his entire body as he closed his eyes. The red mist soon took the form of a Dragon and swirled rapidly around him.

This was a phenomenon that occurred when one achieved complete mastery of the Heavenly Dragon Layered Supreme Gang, the ultimate martial art of the Small Thunder Sound Temple.

Since the Small Thunder Sound Temple had established itself in the Southern Wood Forest, only three abbots had ever mastered more than ninety percent of the Heavenly Dragon Layered Supreme Gang. With just that level of mastery, they had all completely dominated the Murim of Tibet.

Blood Buddha became the first abbot to complete the Heavenly Dragon Layered Supreme Gang.

When he opened his eyes and stopped his Qi Circulation, the red dragon swirling around his body was absorbed into his nostrils and disappeared.

“Hoo!”

Though he had achieved great mastery, Blood Buddha’s expression was not at ease.

It was because of the assassin who was roaming the inside of the Small Thunder Sound Temple as if it were his own home.

The entire Small Thunder Sound Temple was shaking because of a single assassin. It was just as they say, one loach muddies the whole pond.

If the assassin named Pyo Wol was left alone, no fish would be able to live in the great pond that was the Small Thunder Sound Temple.

Until now, Blood Buddha had left it to his subordinate monks to find the assassin themselves. He had thought they could overcome a trial of this level. However, contrary to his expectations, the assassin was not caught, and the damage and fear within the Small Thunder Sound Temple only grew.

He had to find and eliminate the assassin before it was too late.

But there was one strange thing.

“Just why is that bastard targeting our temple? What grudge does he have?”

Darkness had only said that he was being chased by the assassin for no reason; he couldn’t say why the man was chasing him.

This was because Darkness didn’t know the reason either.

He never would have thought that the courtesan who died because of Ximen Pyeong was the cause.

Blood Buddha stopped his thoughts there.

The number of people who held a grudge against the Small Thunder Sound Temple was as numerous as the stars in the sky. One of them might have achieved their current prowess through exceptional talent. Or perhaps another sect, envious of the Small Thunder Sound Temple, had put out a commission.

“In any case, I just need to catch the assassin. I can uncover who’s behind him later.”

It was then.

“Blood Buddha. Darkness requests an audience with the abbot.”

The voice of a monk standing guard outside was heard.

For a moment, a deep sense of displeasure clouded Blood Buddha’s face.

This whole mess had started because Darkness had brought trouble trailing behind him.

Because of that, not only Blood Buddha but all the monks of the Small Thunder Sound Temple did not look upon Darkness favorably.

After returning to the Small Thunder Sound Temple, Darkness had hidden in his quarters and not shown himself. He had heard that he was plotting something with Mokwon, the head of the Arang, but he had not yet received a detailed report.

“Tell him to enter.”

As soon as Blood Buddha’s permission was granted, the door opened and Darkness entered.

Upon entering the room, Darkness immediately prostrated himself before Blood Buddha.

“I greet the abbot of the great Small Thunder Sound Temple.”

“Enough with the formalities. What business brings you to me?”

“I have a way to catch the assassin.”

Darkness answered in a confident voice.

“How?”

“I have released the restriction on the Arang.”

“And so?”

“It has created a very interesting product. Using it, we will be able to catch the assassin.”

“Are you certain?”

“How could I lie to the abbot? I would bet my life on it.”

Darkness grinned.

Although the Black Cloud Mist was swirling around Darkness’s body, Blood Buddha could tell that he was smiling.

It was not often that Darkness showed this much confidence, so his curiosity was piqued.

“You would bet your life on it?”

“While being chased by him, I never once saw his face. The humiliation I felt then is something no one can imagine.”

The assassin had thoroughly toyed with Darkness.

He had driven Darkness into a corner, only ever confirming that he could kill him at any time.

For Darkness, who had lived his life toying with others, the memory of that time was so shameful that he never wanted to recall it again.

Because of that, even after returning to the Small Thunder Sound Temple, he couldn’t sleep for a while and spent his nights wide awake.

He spent several days and nights with his eyes open, trembling, not knowing when the assassin might come. That’s when he realized.

If he couldn’t kill the assassin, he would never be able to escape his shadow and would have to spend his days in agony.

So he went to Mokwon and told him to entrust the Arang to him.

It was to face the demon by releasing the restriction on the Arang. And his intention was a partial success.

“You’re confident, I see?”

“If I fail, I’m a dead man anyway. I will bet my everything.”

Thud!

Darkness answered, slamming his head on the floor.

The assassin had followed none other than Darkness into the Small Thunder Sound Temple. That meant this situation would not end until he himself was dead.

That was why Darkness was betting his life on this.

Blood Buddha silently watched Darkness for a moment.

Darkness’s resolve was palpable.

‘He’ll bet his life?’

When a subordinate says he will bet his life, a leader cannot turn away without losing face.

Blood Buddha rose from his seat.

He issued an order to the monks guarding his residence.

“Summon all disciples to the Manwol Hall at once.”

“Understood.”

Blood Buddha’s order was instantly relayed to all the disciples of the Small Thunder Sound Temple.

Though they wondered at the order to assemble without exception, they gathered at the Manwol Hall.

Even though the situation was chaotic because of a single assassin, Blood Buddha’s command was still absolute in the Small Thunder Sound Temple.

The Manwol Hall was so vast that there was room to spare even when all the monks of the Small Thunder Sound Temple gathered. Also, with no obstructing structures and only thick pillars supporting the ceiling, the interior was visible at a glance.

A large red cushion was placed on the highest dais.

It was the seat of Blood Buddha, the Jijon of the Small Thunder Sound Temple.

Once Blood Buddha sat on the red cushion, about ten elderly monks entered and sat on the dais just below.

Following them, the Mara Blood Monks and other monks took their seats in order.

When all the monks of the Small Thunder Sound Temple had entered the Manwol Hall, the doors were firmly shut. Not only that, but iron shutters were lowered over the windows as well.

Thud! Thud!

All doors leading to the outside were closed.

Now, the Manwol Hall was completely isolated.

The leader of the Blood Thunder Ten Monks asked Blood Buddha.

“For what reason have you gathered all the disciples?”

“Darkness requested it.”

“What? Why Darkness?”

“He said he has a secret strategy to root out the assassin.”

“A secret strategy? Can we trust it?”

“Who knows! But since he said he’d bet his life, he must be somewhat confident.”

“That sounds promising.”

The old monk nodded his head.

He did not particularly like Darkness. He detested Darkness’s ability to play with the human mind. But apart from that, he knew that Darkness’s abilities were outstanding.

Once all the exits were sealed, Darkness appeared. But he was not alone.

Three young-looking children were following him.

Two boys and one girl.

They were the Arang squad.

To be precise, they were the survivors of the Arang squad.

The moment the brain’s restriction was released, most of the children had died, vomiting blood from their seven orifices. It was the price for releasing the restriction that had naturally formed to protect the body.

But among them, three had survived.

The surviving children all gained abnormal abilities.

As the Reverse Guanyin Demonic Art released the restriction, it greatly blossomed the latent characteristics within the children.

Senses as sharp as a beast’s and mysterious abilities that could not be explained with words.

Darkness was confident.

That these children could find the assassin.

Darkness gave the order.

“He is definitely among us. Find him.”