“Ling-ling is my friend!”
Perhaps because he thought they were targeting Ling-ling.
Mu-yul shouted with an unusually angry expression on his face.
Of course, there was no way the language could be understood.
“If you target Ling-ling, I won’t let you get away with it!”
For a brief moment, Mu-yul and a warrior from the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace argued in different languages.
When the warrior from the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace, unable to hold back, drew his sword, the wolf beside him howled along.
“Do you think I’ll be scared?”
However, Mu-yul, who was already very angry, charged at the warrior with Ling-ling.
And the ensuing battle was, to say the least, dizzying.
The fighting style of Mu-yul and Ling-ling was one thing, but the real issue was the movements of the warriors from the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace.
“How many of Mu-yul’s are there?”
Mu-gung, who was watching the fight, shook his head, feeling dizzy.
It was understandable because the warriors from the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace fought similarly to Mu-yul.
It didn’t mean they had mastered the Shaolin Five Fists.
The first man who stepped forward used his sword as if it were the fangs or claws of a wolf, coordinating attacks with his pet wolf.
And that wasn’t all. The other warriors who followed fought similarly.
Some fought in coordination with snakes, while others fought alongside what appeared to be peacocks or other birds.
Watching the chaotic battle that seemed like five-to-one or ten-to-one, Ou-yang Pae asked,
“Don’t you plan to intervene?”
It was a reasonable question. Their comrade was fighting a group alone.
However, Mu-jin simply shrugged at the question.
“For opponents like that, Mu-yul can handle them on his own. Besides,”
Mu-jin pointed at Mu-yul, who was in the midst of fighting.
“When it comes to dealing with animals, it’s better to leave it to him.”
Mu-yul, who had been angry because of Ling-ling, was now laughing happily like a child at a zoo.
“Wow! Where did you come from, doggy?”
He asked, dodging the sharp claws of the wolf.
“Hehe! Your feathers are so pretty!”
He blocked the beak of the peacock-like bird and petted its feathers in admiration.
In the midst of it, Mu-yul was kind only to the animals, while mercilessly beating the warriors from the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace.
Though their fighting styles were similar, the level of skill was worlds apart.
‘As expected, he has mastered the latter techniques as well.’
Mu-yul wasn’t just using Leopard Fist with Ling-ling, but also Crane Fist, Snake Fist, Tiger Fist, and Leopard Fist.
He skillfully mixed five different fist techniques, making a mockery of the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace warriors.
There was a huge difference between them, who only mimicked the movements of one animal each.
‘I had my doubts, but… He’s more like an animal than the barbarians of the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace.’
He was indeed a remarkable person in many ways.
However, the most remarkable part was yet to come.
After some time since the battle began,
The warriors from the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace suddenly started arguing with their pets.
“Why are they doing that?”
When Mu-jin asked, puzzled, Ou-yang Pae frowned and replied,
“They’re asking their pets why they aren’t fighting.”
When Mu-jin looked ahead, wondering what nonsense he was hearing, he saw the animals turning their heads away from the warriors and running into Mu-yul’s arms.
Mu-yul, petting the animals cuddling up to him and the bewildered warriors of the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace, made for an amusing sight.
At that moment, a monkey’s cry was heard.
Mu-jin, thinking it was Ling-ling, realized the sound came from a different direction.
Mu-yul and Ling-ling also turned their heads toward the sound.
Mu-jin followed their gaze and saw a monkey with red fur similar to Ling-ling’s.
‘Is this why they mistook us for thieves?’
On closer inspection, the size and appearance were slightly different, but if there was only one such monkey, it was understandable to be mistaken.
The warriors from the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace, realizing their misunderstanding, exchanged flustered conversations.
Meanwhile, the red monkey and Ling-ling, recognizing each other, began chatting cheerfully.
There was also a flesh-colored monkey among them.
Naturally, they were referring to Mu-yul.
Not satisfied with just the two monkeys, Mu-yul also included the pets of the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace warriors.
He happily played with seven animals, chatting and running around.
As Mu-yul, who had suddenly stopped fighting and started playing like a child at the zoo, was playing with the animals, his companions laughed in disbelief.
The warriors from the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace, having lost their pets, suddenly bowed to Mu-yul with astonished faces.
“What, what is this?”
Mu-jin, unable to understand the continuous bizarre events, muttered to himself, and Ou-yang Pae translated their words.
“They’re speaking too fast for me to catch everything, but they seem to be saying something about a prophecy.”
“Prophecy? What prophecy?”
The two, staring at each other for a moment, could only watch the strange scene with speechless faces.
The eyes were so large and intense that it seemed like no other eyes could be described as glaring as these.
‘Should I kill him or let him live? Haa. If only he weren’t the protagonist.’
He briefly drew the character for patience while glaring at Ou-yang Pae.
Ou-yang Pae translated what the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace had indicated, pointing to a large door.
“Anyone could see that from the situation.”
Mu-jin, unable to beat a sick patient, vented his anger appropriately and followed Mu-yul through the enormous door.
The first thought that came to Mu-jin’s mind upon entering was one of speechlessness.
The sight inside was truly spectacular.
Dozens of Southern Barbarian Beast Palace warriors were kneeling in rows with special beasts that looked like divine creatures, bowing their heads as if performing a religious ritual.
However, the reason Mu-jin was speechless wasn’t because of their appearance.
At the end of the rows of people.
There sat a burly, muscular barbarian on what appeared to be a throne.
This was surely the master of the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace.
But there was an even greater presence overshadowing the palace master.
‘A dragon… does it really exist?’
A massive creature, at least ten meters long, coiled around the throne and flicked its tongue from the palace master’s shoulder.
‘Oh. Maybe it’s not a dragon?’
Upon closer inspection, Mu-jin realized it was slightly different.
For one, it didn’t have the legs holding a yeouiju (dragon pearl) or antlers like those of a qilin, commonly depicted in dragon illustrations.
It was, in short, an incredibly large snake.
‘Hmm. Not a dragon, but perhaps an imugi (a mythical creature that can become a dragon).’
Maybe this snake could ascend to the sky as a dragon after cultivating its inner core into a yeouiju over hundreds of years.
If Mu-yul or Master Uncle Hye-jeong survived until then, they might create a dragon technique modeled after an actual dragon.
‘Ah, that would be difficult.’
It wasn’t an issue of age. Just by looking, Mu-jin could tell the imugi was stronger than Master Uncle Hye-jeong.
While Mu-jin was lost in these thoughts,
Mu-yul, the first to enter the room, had a face like a child visiting a zoo.
With a red monkey on each shoulder, Mu-yul approached a Southern Barbarian Beast Palace warrior, seemingly uninterested in the palace master seated on the throne.
No, he was approaching the fierce-looking bear beside the warrior to converse.
It was incredibly rude behavior.
“Wow! You’re much older than my master!”
As Mu-yul continued to chat with the animals, the atmosphere began to change.
It wasn’t anger over the rudeness.
The warriors, kneeling in awe, looked up at Mu-yul.
As the murmurs in the large room grew louder, creating a slightly noisy atmosphere.
The palace master, who had been silently observing, struck the floor.
With that single action, the place fell silent in an instant.
With everyone’s attention on him, the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace master began to speak.
Of course, Mu-jin and his party couldn’t understand, but Ou-yang Pae had a peculiar expression.
“Why? What did he say that you look like that?”
In response to Mu-jin’s question, Ou-yang Pae answered with a reluctant expression.
“He is asking Mu-yul to become the little palace master of the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace.”
“……little palace master?”
What kind of nonsense is this?
Unnam Province, Un-hyeon.
A county located quite close to Jeomchang Mountain, home to the Jeomchang Sect, one of the Nine Great Sects.
A man in black arrived at the heart of a mansion there.
The middle-aged man, who had been working inside, asked in a leisurely tone without any disturbance.
“I came urgently because of a pressing report.”
“Is it a letter related to the Demonic Cult?” This update is available on NoveI~Fire.net
The man in black shook his head at the middle-aged man’s question and handed him a letter.
“It’s a letter concerning the Hwasan Sect.”
The middle-aged man received and opened the letter naturally.
At first glance, it seemed like an ordinary letter, but decoding it according to the code that had changed over the past few years revealed its true meaning.
‘The Plum Blossom Sword Saint has fallen…….’
The letter contained all the recent information about the Hwasan Sect.
Including the details that Hwa Myeong-gyeon, the head of the Hwasan Sect, had tried hard to conceal.
‘The Hwasan Sect’s usefulness has diminished.’
Even without the Plum Blossom Sword Saint, a renowned sect is still a renowned sect. It was at least a force better than none.
Therefore, the middle-aged man decided to accept the request written at the end of the letter.
The request was simple. It was to apply for reinforcements from the Jeomchang Sect to check the forces of Zhongnan and other groups.
‘Considering that the Jeomchang Sect has been eager to expand beyond Unnam, convincing them shouldn’t be difficult.’
Recently, after aligning with the Jeomchang Sect, which had gained significant benefits from trade with the Southern Barbarians, the atmosphere was one of wanting to extend their power throughout the Central Plains.
Naturally, the middle-aged man’s thoughts turned towards the Southern Barbarians.
Specifically, the power of the Five Poison Sect, which he had connected with the Jeomchang Sect.
‘Lately, it feels like there are oddly many things happening in this direction.’
For a while, Unnam and the Southern Barbarians, which he was in charge of, had been quiet.
However, just a few days after receiving letters from those active in the Demonic Cult, now came a letter from the Hwasan Sect.
There was no connection between them, but when many events coincide, one cannot predict how things will unfold.
‘I guess I’ll have to request reinforcements from the Jeomchang Sect and then personally visit the Southern Barbarians.’
After organizing his thoughts, the middle-aged man wrote a reply to the Hwasan Sect. He handed it to the man in black.
“There are many who are tracking our movements lately, so if there’s anything suspicious, burn the letter immediately.”
“I will carry out your order, Captain of the Five Units.”