The Terminally Ill Young Master of the Baek Clan-Chapter 443: The Annihilated Azure Forest (2)

A few days earlier.

Despite being the middle of the night, Azure Forest was bright.

There was no other reason.

It was because all those old pavilions were burning.

Screams full of agony and the clashing of swords echoed beneath White Cloud Peak.

Relatively, above White Cloud Peak it could be said to be quiet.

Of course, until a short while ago earth-shaking noises rang out, but after the fight was decided silence settled.

Thud, thud.

Heuk-am’s build was enormous.

His height was nearly twice that of an ordinary person, so his weight must have been at least a thousand pounds.

Yet when he walked the sound was more secretive and quieter than that of a normal person.

The floor of the storage vault was soaked in dark red blood.

Because of that, Heuk-am’s huge footprints remained clearly visible.

Heuk-am stopped abruptly and looked down.

In front of him a corpse was slumped.

The corpse spoke.

“…Heuk-am.”

He was still alive.

“Guardian Gate Leader.”

Heuk-am quietly called the Azure Forest Lord.

The Forest Lord’s chest had a gaping hole.

It was a fatal wound inflicted by Heuk-am’s Black Cloud Great Heavenly Palm.

Victory was assumed, but Azure Forest Lord Im Gi-hak fought more fiercely than expected.

Heuk-am glanced at his own footspace.

His left hand had been cut off. It was cut by Im Gi-hak’s sword.

The Forest Lord did not use psychokinesis.

Moreover, within Heuk-am’s domain, not even a Great Immortal could interfere. It was Im Gi-hak’s pure swordsmanship.

“I acknowledge your strength. You have attained the ultimate of humanity.”

“You are surely the world’s number one.”

That recognition of martial might was the greatest praise Heuk-am could give.

He was the Heuk-am who had once faced the ascended Sword Emperor.

And yet Forest Lord Im Gi-hak’s level was a step above the Sword Emperor’s.

Of course, Im Gi-hak did not take pleasure in those words.

“Heh heh, huh, haha.”

He laughed weakly, his chest pierced.

He raised his wrinkled eyes and looked up at Heuk-am.

“As expected, you are not human.”

The Forest Lord could not be the world’s best.

He could not defeat any one of the three Cardinals.

The Forest Lord had lived nearly a hundred years and was an unparalleled warrior who had mastered all of Azure Forest’s martial arts.

He knew countless techniques and even secret ancient knowledge.

He knew the Evil Cult’s purpose, and the duties of Azure Forest and the Guardian Gate.

And even the true identities of the Cardinals.

“You poor souls… huh.”

It was Forest Lord himself who was surely dying.

But Im Gi-hak spoke that and sneered at Heuk-am.

Heuk-am did not feel anger at that.

He simply and silently approached the well in the center of the storage vault.

He removed the iron plate.

He brought his hand close into the gaping well.

A void-absorbing power similar to psychokinesis was exerted.

The sealing box that had been submerged deep under the water floated into the air.

The sealing box was a container made purely of meteorite.

Its appearance was extremely intricate. It had as many as ten lock-like mechanisms attached.

Heuk-am grabbed the heavy box and handed it to his waiting underlings outside.

They were Heuk-am’s loyal followers called the Dark Twelve.

A few of them slowly approached the Forest Lord.

The Guardian Gate was the Evil Cult’s sworn enemy. They intended to finish the job.

“Leave him.”

Heuk-am stopped them.

“He will die soon anyway. Even with an imperfect and pitiful body he reached the pinnacle of martial mastery. Respect him.”

The Dark Twelve, who had been about to take the Forest Lord’s head, obeyed Heuk-am’s command.

The Forest Lord chuckled.

“Now the Guardian Gate is finished. Having lost what you were to protect, what will you guard now?”

It was mockery.

The Azure Forest, which had long interfered with the Evil Cult and the Cardinal’s plans, had finally perished.

But even dying, the Forest Lord did not lose his spirit in this situation.

“Fool. Did you think what we protected was that trivial box…?”

“What we protect is none other than people… to protect people.”

The Forest Lord’s head had already dropped.

The faint light in his eyes dimmed. That he had spoken until now was a miracle.

“…The spark, the spark. Don’t forget. For us…”

He could not continue.

The Forest Lord no longer breathed.

He was completely dead.

Heuk-am glared at the Forest Lord for a moment, then turned his body.

They took the sealing box and left White Cloud Peak.

The dead Forest Lord.

Under his hand the character ‘Up’ was written.

What could be above if you look up?

Of course, the ceiling.

Duels between true masters are naturally carried out in three dimensions.

There was no intact surface. Walls, floor, ceiling alike were damaged.

The mighty qi waves had punched holes in the ceiling in many places.

Strangely, the very spot above where Forest Lord lay dead was completely undamaged.

Yi-gang and Dam Hyun climbed up to the ceiling.

They lit their eyes and after looking around they found a written letter.

It certainly seemed to be left by the Forest Lord.

“Well now.”

Dam Hyun hurriedly unfolded the letter.

Yi-gang ignited a True Samadhi Fire in his hand to provide light.

The contents of the letter were not long.

“…Therefore, you should recover all the forbidden treasures. Also, go to the Five Flower Great Library and collect the books and records there. The root of a sect is the history and years it has gone through. The Great Library’s books will help rebuild the Forest.”

It seemed like ordinary content.

It instructed them to secure important items and especially to gather the books of the Five Flower Great Library.

“The most important books are the Guardian Records which are the chronicles of the ancestors… volumes one to thirty-two…”

Detailed instructions were even written.

Though it could have been dismissed as nothing special, Dam Hyun and Yi-gang’s expressions were very serious.

“Sounds right, doesn’t it?”

When Yi-gang said that, Dam Hyun nodded.

“He must have hidden something in the Five Flower Great Library.”

The Forest Lord exercised caution to the end.

He disguised the contents as ordinary in case the letter left on the ceiling was discovered.

Yi-gang said that, and the two dashed out of the pavilion without hesitation.

Yi-gang headed to the Five Flower Great Library with Son Hee-il and Jun Myung.

There, Yu Su-rin and Ha-jun would already be searching.

The Five Flower Great Library was located a little apart from the pavilions.

But it was also Azure Forest’s most important place.

Because it stored treasures and books.

The Five Flower Great Library was built using a cave in the cliff.

The cave entrance was blocked by a huge iron gate.

And that iron gate had been torn off terribly.

“Let’s go in.”

Yi-gang shouted that and led the way.

The Five Flower Great Library’s defenses were second only to the White Cloud Peak storage vault.

A mysterious gate formation had been set up, and there were many mechanisms as well.

Anyone who tried to force their way in would certainly die.

As Yu Jung-shin had explained, many intruders had died along that path.

Among them there were surely powerful people who could use psychokinesis, yet many had died.

There were bodies with severed heads and corpses pinned to the wall by iron bars.

Yi-gang entered the interior.

Yu Su-rin and Ha-jun were already there.

As expected, the bookshelves were in ruins.

Shelves had collapsed and books were scattered across the floor.

Yu Su-rin and Ha-jun stood atop the messy piles of books.

Yi-gang met Yu Su-rin’s eyes, and both spoke at once.

“Something’s hidden here.”

“Something is hidden!”

Yu Su-rin also seemed to have found something.

Instead of questioning her closely, Yi-gang simply rushed to Yu Su-rin.

Climbing onto the pile of books, he looked up at the place Yu Su-rin pointed to.

Yi-gang widened his eyes.

Indeed, Yu Jung-shin and the Forest Lord had prepared some arrangements.

“I see, they didn’t use the incinerator.”

At the spot Yu Su-rin pointed to was a mechanism with a red handle.

If you pull that handle the mechanism will spew flames.

Dangerous treasures and important records remained in the Five Flower Great Library.

They must never be taken by outsiders.

Therefore, in an emergency it is the duty of the library keeper and librarians to pull that.

So that oil would pour and burn both intruders and the treasures.

But Yu Jung-shin did not choose that.

It was hard to believe he had no time to do so.

“As expected, something was left behind.”

Yi-gang looked up at the ceiling.

This was a repository holding ten thousand volumes.

Crystal panes were set into the ceiling so sunlight shone through.

Beneath them stood tall bookshelves in neat rows.

Books had fallen from shelves and piled on the floor, but the shelves directly under the panes were intact.

Yu Su-rin asked cautiously.

“…Could Father still be alive?”

“I think so.”

Yu Jung-shin’s body was not found anywhere.

If he were to die, he would have died within the Five Flower Great Library.

“If he’s alive, he surely left us a clue.”

“Look.”

Yi-gang handed over the letter from the Forest Lord found at White Cloud Peak.

Yu Su-rin read it all and frowned.

“Is there a clue left here?”

“Yes. Can you find out what it is?”

While Yu Su-rin hesitated, Yi-gang inspected the intact shelves.

Books were densely packed there.

Yi-gang and Dam Hyun’s eyes swept over those shelves in detail.

After a long deliberation, Yu Su-rin murmured.

“I don’t know… Should we try to find the Guardian Records mentioned in this letter?”

“Yu Su-rin, you said you became an Honor Flower disciple too. Since when?”

“…Three years ago.”

Yu Su-rin answered meekly.

“Then you probably haven’t served as a librarian at the Five Flower Great Library.”

Dam Hyun and Yi-gang became Honor Flower disciples since childhood.

Among the tasks they had done was assisting Yu Jung-shin with librarian duties.

“What about the handling of Brush Eaters?”

Brush Eaters are creatures that devour letters from old books.

This place was full of extraordinary spellbooks and treasures, so such creatures appeared.

The most important job of a librarian was to catch those Brush Eaters.

“…I’ve never done it.”

Yu Su-rin answered in a strangely lacking voice of confidence.

“I see. Then it’s understandable you wouldn’t know.”

Yi-gang and Dam Hyun had grown weary from catching those pests repeatedly.

Also, their perceptive comprehension overwhelmed ordinary people.

They had a perfect understanding of the holdings here.

“The Guardian Records end at volume thirty-one, not thirty-two.”

They had immediately noticed the oddity upon reading the Azure Forest Lord’s letter.

Yu Su-rin let out an ‘ah’ of realization.

Dam Hyun found a supposed thirty-second volume of the Guardian Records.

A book that should not have existed in the first place.

Yi-gang leapt to the bookshelf Dam Hyun pointed at.

Indeed, the thirty-second volume of the Guardian Records was there.

When he pulled the book.

Creak—

A wire was tied to the book.

As the wire was pulled, the mechanism’s operation sounded.

Grrrr—

It echoed from beneath the pile of books on the floor.

The piled books collapsed downward and soon a hole large enough for a person opened up.

“They overturned the shelf to cover the mechanism with books.”

No wonder there were books spilled on the floor.

Yi-gang and his group did not hesitate and jumped into the hole in the floor.

Descending along the slope underground, they found a narrow, damp passage.

It did not seem like an old tunnel.

There were no traps either. It simply extended along the path.

Yi-gang ignited a True Samadhi Fire and took the lead.

It was quite a long passage.

In terms of distance, it must have pierced through an entire mountain peak.

A faint light began to appear up ahead.

They were approaching the end of the passage.

And someone stood there.

Backlit, it was hard to make out who it was.

“Who are you!”

Thanks to that voice, their identities became clear.

Yu Su-rin was the first to react.

“Father!”

“Su, Su-rin!”

Yu Jung-shin recognized his daughter’s voice.

And the two disciples standing before him.

“Yi-gang! Dam Hyun!”