Chapter 39 — Black Spirit Valley
The owner of the voice was Jin Gwang-ung.
I hadn’t even sensed his presence, yet he was already standing behind us.
Jin Gwang-ung scanned the search party members one by one with sharp eyes.
“Looking at the sorry state of you lot, you seem less like a search party and more like kids going on a picnic.”
With just those words, the noisy atmosphere instantly sank.
The search party members all shut their mouths and lowered their heads.
“Did this search mission look like a game to you? Both the scouting team and the investigation team have lost contact. Do you understand what that means? It means your heads could fly off at the slightest mistake.”
“……”
“If there’s even a shred of thought in your thick skulls, you should roughly understand what I’m saying.”
Myeong-jeon swallowed hard, Hyun-kwon bit his lip tightly, and Yu Seol-ah quietly nodded.
I also remained silent, digesting his words.
Jin Gwang-ung’s gaze, which had been sweeping over the search party, stopped on me.
“Especially you, Han Mujin.”
“Yes, Master.”
“Great Assembly of Elders winner, successor of Azure Cloud True Person… If you head into this search mission drunk on such useless empty titles, you will be the first one to lose your head. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
Jin Gwang-ung’s voice was unusually heavy and serious.
I cupped my fist and replied.
“I will keep it in mind, Master.”
Jin Gwang-ung raised his gaze and spoke to the search party again.
“There are only two things you all need. A cool-headed eye to judge the situation, and legs that move quickly after making a decision. Remember only these two. Only these two will protect your lives.”
“Yes!”
The search party members shouted in unison as if they had rehearsed it.
Jin Gwang-ung lightly jerked his chin and said.
“Looks like you’ve roughly understood. Then, let’s go.”
We only took the luggage we had prepared in advance and immediately left the training ground.
***
Following Jin Gwang-ung, we left the Kunlun Sect.
He seemed to know the way to Black Spirit Valley well, as he raced down the mountain path without hesitation.
Jin Gwang-ung, running at the front, looked back and said.
“It’ll be annoying if too many eyes see us. From now on, we’ll move quickly using routes that avoid attention.”
Whoosh—!
As soon as he finished speaking, Jin Gwang-ung shot forward, slicing through the damp forest air.
It was movement art at such tremendous speed that even his footsteps were inaudible.
I and the other search party members chased after him with everything we had.
The cold mountain wind tore at our clothes as it passed by.
We poured every ounce of strength into our movement techniques like madmen.
At first, we managed to keep up somehow, but expecting to maintain that speed was too much to ask.
As time passed, the speed of the search party members except Jin Gwang-ung began to slow down.
After more than three or four hours, everyone reached their limit.
Thanks to the massive internal energy I had gained from the Frigid Ice Snow Lotus and the opportunities I had received so far, I was barely able to endure.
But the others weren’t in the same condition.
“Haa… haa… haa.”
“Huu… huu… keuheok…….”
The search party members following Jin Gwang-ung began gasping wildly for breath.
Myeong-jeon was especially bad.
“Ka-ha… ack… keuheok… keok… At this rate… I’m going to die…….”
His face, which had already turned pale, was now becoming deathly white like a corpse.
It seemed his internal energy was the weakest among the search party.
‘He’s going to become a corpse before we even reach Black Spirit Valley.’
As I glanced at Myeong-jeon’s face and shook my head inwardly, Jin Gwang-ung, who had been sprinting at the front, suddenly stopped.
Only then were we able to rest for a moment.
Hyun-kwon and Yu Seol-ah collapsed to the ground, breathing heavily.
Seeing them, Jin Gwang-ung let out a deep sigh while still standing.
“Haa, what a bunch of slugs. Groaning like this after only this much. If I have to match your speed, it’ll take three days just to reach Black Spirit Valley.”
He looked at Myeong-jeon, who had collapsed exhausted on the ground, and spoke with disdain.
***
“Huu, what kind of search am I supposed to do with these guys?”
At Jin Gwang-ung’s words, Hyun-kwon struggled to his feet and said.
“I-I can do it… Elder…”
Seeing this, Jin Gwang-ung shook his head.
“Just sit down. Looking at your wobbly legs is making this old man dizzy.”
Jin Gwang-ung scanned the surrounding ridges and grumbled.
“Do I really have to babysit these brats’ rest time too…? What a handful.”
“……”
Jin Gwang-ung let out a long sigh and pointed his chin toward the upper ridge.
“Anyway, we can’t go any further today. Even in the mountains, it gets dark quickly. We’ll rest here. You four, don’t move from your spots.”
Though his words were rough, his eyes were carefully assessing our condition.
He looked over each of us one by one and shook his head.
“Haa… I must be crazy for agreeing to take charge of these brats. Huu… I’ll go scout the surroundings, so stay put and don’t do anything stupid while I’m gone.”
With those words, Jin Gwang-ung lightly kicked off the ground.
But right before he left, I noticed his gaze sweep over us one last time.
It felt like he was checking our physical states one final time.
Leaving that brief glance behind, he disappeared like the wind over the ridge.
***
Once Jin Gwang-ung was completely out of sight, Myeong-jeon let out a long breath.
“Whew, I really thought I was going to die. Why is First Generation Elder Gwang-ung in such a hurry?”
At his words, Hyun-kwon spoke in a low voice.
“It’s probably because of Black Spirit Valley. The place where the disciples went missing happens to be there…….”
“Because of Black Spirit Valley?”
When Myeong-jeon tilted his head in confusion, Hyun-kwon let out a short sigh.
“You really came without knowing anything.”
“Well, Elder Gwang-do isn’t particularly close with Elder Gwang-ung, so he didn’t tell me much… But is Black Spirit Valley that special of a place?”
“It’s less special and more of a taboo. Especially for First Generation Elder Gwang-ung.”
“A taboo…?”
Hyun-kwon glanced around carefully before answering in a cautious voice.
“Black Spirit Valley is the site of Kunlun Sect’s greatest tragedy.”
“Tragedy?”
“Ten years ago, the Heavenly Demon Cult bastards invaded all the way to Kunlun’s entry path. You must have heard about that.”
Myeong-jeon nodded.
“Yes, I know. At that time, the Heavenly Demon Cult killed our Kunlun people and fled.”
“At the time, the Heavenly Guard formed a pursuit team and chased after the Cult bastards. The place where the remaining Heavenly Demon Cult forces hid was Black Spirit Valley. And that’s where the trap went off.”
“A trap?”
Hyun-kwon nodded heavily.
“While the Heavenly Guard warriors were focused only on the fleeing remnants, other Heavenly Demon Cult bastards who had been hiding in Black Spirit Valley in advance suddenly attacked. Many of our Heavenly Guard warriors lost their lives on the spot.”
“Lost their lives… how many?”
“Twenty-nine…”
“Oh my god…….”
Myeong-jeon lowered his head with a dazed expression.
Hyun-kwon also wore a somber look.
Yu Seol-ah, who had been listening to their conversation, quietly continued.
“At that time, Elder Gwang-ung was also part of the Heavenly Guard. And most of the Heavenly Guard warriors who died then… were Elder Gwang-ung’s disciples.”
“What? His disciples?”
***
Yu Seol-ah gave a bitter smile as she looked at Myeong-jeon, who asked in a trembling voice.
“When the tragedy occurred, Elder Gwang-ung was not in the sect. He had been dispatched to the Orthodox Alliance on the Sect Leader’s orders. So he couldn’t protect his disciples.”
“He must have heard the news late.”
“Yes. As soon as he heard the news, Elder Gwang-ung immediately rushed to Black Spirit Valley. And… he personally collected the corpses of his disciples scattered there.”
“Personally?”
“Yes… Alone… All the corpses of his disciples lying in Black Spirit Valley…”
Yu Seol-ah continued in a sorrowful voice.
“After that, Elder Gwang-ung voluntarily left the Heavenly Guard. I heard from my grandfather long ago that he suffered greatly from the guilt of not being able to protect his disciples.”
I quietly listened to their conversation.
Suddenly, the face of Jin Gwang-ung I had seen in the Sect Leader’s Hall at dawn came to mind.
His expression that had hardened at the mention of Black Spirit Valley.
‘So that was why… The reason he didn’t take on disciples and didn’t teach me any martial arts.’
I inwardly reflected on the words Jin Gwang-ung had casually said to me before.
— Just live roughly. Don’t step forward. Getting stronger in martial arts only brings annoying things.
The words he usually tossed out suddenly carried a different meaning.
‘…He didn’t want to lose anyone else.’
Jin Gwang-ung, who was thought to live the freest life in Kunlun, unbound by anything.
But perhaps he was the one most tied down by the past. Such a sorrowful thought crossed my mind.
‘Jin Gwang-ung…….’
The sun was slowly setting beyond the mountain ridges.
The red light stretched long down the ridges, seeping in like an old wound.
With the sunset behind him, I saw Jin Gwang-ung returning from scouting the surroundings in the distance.
As I watched him approach with the setting sun, a strange ache tightened in my chest.
***
The next morning.
We began moving again as soon as the sun rose.
Unlike the previous day, Jin Gwang-ung adjusted his movement technique speed to a moderate pace.
Thanks to that, the other search party members, including me, were able to follow him without too much difficulty.
It happened after we crossed three mountain ridges.
The sound of flowing water began to reach us through the wind.
It brushed past our ears at first, then grew louder, echoing beneath our feet.
As the path curved slightly, we saw a clear stream of water flowing down beneath a sheer rocky cliff.
The water, shimmering silver under the sunlight, stretched long down the deep valley.
At that moment, Jin Gwang-ung’s steps suddenly slowed.
He stopped and slowly turned around as if sensing something.
“…Everyone, stay sharp.”
There was not a trace of his usual grumbling.
His voice carried a suffocatingly sharp alertness and heavy tension.
I turned my head following where his gaze pointed ahead.
Between the interlocking cliffs, a dark and deep crevice revealed itself.
Even from a distance, that space untouched by sunlight gave off an ominous aura.
The valley beyond the crevice was eerily silent, as if it had been holding its breath for a long time.
Jin Gwang-ung stared at it silently for a while.
His shoulders trembled ever so slightly.
‘…….’
I quietly stopped behind him.
Myeong-jeon, Hyun-kwon, and Yu Seol-ah all held their breath without a word.
Only the sound of the valley stream filled the quiet space.
A moment later, Jin Gwang-ung’s muttering voice reached my ears.
“…We’ve arrived.”
Black Spirit Valley.
The place where Jin Gwang-ung’s forgotten past was buried, and the location where the truth we had to uncover from now on was hidden.
════════════════════
📚 Want More?
Join the Premium Tier to read 15 advanced chapters of this novel and get access to all my other ongoing and completed novels.
⚡ 15 new chapters every week
📖 5 completed novels
📚 An Ongoing series
Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/cw/Vritratls
This novel is available in the (Martial Artist) collection on Patreon.
════════════════════