Love Ballad of the Tyrant King

Chapter 7: Jaseung, He Returns

“My god! So you killed the Severing Demon?”

Dan Woobin’s voice trembled slightly.

Lee Jaseung nodded, looking no different from when he had earlier admitted to killing the Hidden Death Valley assassins.

“You knew who he was, right?”

“One of the Eighteen Elders of the Asura Demon Sect, so I’ve heard.”

“And you still killed him knowing that?”

“He tried to kill me.”

“Couldn’t you have escaped?”

Lee Jaseung's expressions hardened as he stared at Dan Woobin. Dan Woobin spoke while lowering his head.

“I’m sorry. I'll take that back.”

Even if the opponent from the Demonic Cult, suggesting the Leader of the Black Way Alliance turn his back and run was an unforgivable offense.

Dan Woobin spoke again with a softened voice.

“I’m just worried. If the Demonic Cult learns of this…”

“They won’t. Not a bone remains.”

“You are so carefree huh.”

Dan Woobin spoke while shaking his head.

“From now on, you mustn’t get involved with the Demonic Cult.”

“Why not?”

“What do you mean why not?”

Dan Woobin looked speechless.

“Are you really asking that?”

“I know you want to avoid unnecessary conflict. But I’m asking what happens if we clash with the Demonic Cult.”

“We will meet our end.”

Lee Jaseung glanced at him with a probing gaze.

“I don’t care how you look at me. We’d be annihilated. No matter how strong you are, it is impossible for us to win against the Demonic Cult.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. Let me break it down for you. The power balance among the Orthodox, Unorthodox, and the Demonic Cult is as follows: the Orthodox Faction holds four tenths, Demonic Cult another four tenths, and we, the Unorthodox Faction hold two tenths. That’s just a rough estimate. Truthfully, they probably have four times our strength at the very least.”

“Then why haven’t the Demonic Cult attacked us yet?”

Dan Woobin responded without hesitation.

“Because the Orthodox Faction holds the other four tenths. If the balance breaks, then they will strike the Demonic Cult.”

Lee Jaseung nodded in silence.

Dan Woobin understood how Lee Jaseung felt as he was incredibly powerful.

He was stronger than any previous Leader of the Black Way Alliance, and arguably the strongest master martial artist from the Unorthodox Faction especially at his young age.

“You are young, my Lord. If you rule wisely, you could lead the Black Way Alliance for the next sixty years.”

“What, are you afraid I’ll start a war with the Demonic Cult?”

“If I'm being honest, yes.”

“That won’t happen.”

“Thank goodness.”

“...Yet.”

“Pardon?”

Dan Woobin's eyes widened. Lee Jaseung gave him a teasing look.

“You’re joking, right?”

“...”

“It was a joke, yes?”

“Yes, it was.”

Dan Woobin felt a chill as it didn’t sound like a joke at all.

He then glanced at the woman lying on the bed.

“By the way, what do you plan to do with her?”

Lee Jaseung had yet to make a decision regarding her.

Dan Woobin asked again.

“Will you let her live?”

There was a grim undertone to his words. Considering she was involved with the Demonic Cult, he was implying that killing her off was one of the options.

Lee Jaseung didn’t find Dan Woobin’s cold-heartedness unpleasant. It was good to have multiple options.

“Eliminating her would be the best decision.”

After hearing Dan Woobin, Lee Jaseung drew his dagger without hesitation.

“Then I shall.”

Dan Woobin quickly blocked his path as Lee Jaseung raised his dagger.

“Wait! Why are you so impatient?”

“Didn’t you say I should kill her?”

“I did, but still…”

Lee Jaseung narrowed his eyes.

“Why? You don’t want me to kill her because she’s pretty?”

Dan Woobin responded in a firm tone.

“No! You know I’m not that kind of person, right? I mean, I already have someone I love and you know that!”

Dan Woobin’s face turned bright red.

Lee Jaseung found great amusement in teasing him like this.

He already knew that Dan Woobin didn’t truly want to kill the woman. He was simply emphasizing the importance of secrecy.

“Both the Hidden Death Valley and the Demonic Cult moved to kill this woman. That means something important is at stake with this woman.”

After hearing Dan Woobin, Lee Jaseung handed a metal box that was beside him.

“It wasn’t about her, but this instead.”

“May I open it?”

Dan Woobin opened the box after Lee Jaseung nodded.

Then, a bronze doll activated and started to demonstrate its martial art.

“Woah! This is incredible huh?”

Lee Jaseung nodded. Though he was more interested in the martial art he learned rather than the doll itself.

“Have you ever heard of this box?”

Dan Woobin shook his head. Mook Young hadn’t recognized it either. Even with their vast knowledge, neither knew what it was.

“What will you do with it?”

Lee Jaseung looked down at the woman after Dan Woobin asked carefully.

She really was beautiful. It was enough to catch even his eyes that never cared for women.

Just then, the woman regained consciousness and opened her eyes. As her vision slowly cleared, Lee Jaseung touched her pressure point.

She fell back asleep again. He gently placed the metal box back into her arms.

“Mook Young.”

“Yes.”

“Take her back to where she came from and wake her there. Return after confirming she woke up.”

“Understood.”

Lee Jaseung spoke to Dan Woobin this time.

“We’ll be returning to the Alliance now.”

It was foolish to have a lingering attachment to a beautiful woman. He had to be cautious with beautiful ladies if he wanted to live a long life in Jianghu.

He had learned this as a survival rule long ago.

* * *

After returning to the Alliance, Lee Jaseung secluded himself in his training chamber.

Today, he faced a critical moment in his martial art training.

It had been a month since he returned with the power he gained from the metal box. Every day, he trained the new technique he learned.

In truth, if it had been sword-based martial art, he wouldn’t have cared so much, but it was a close-combat technique instead which was ideal for someone using short daggers.

Moreover, this would cover his vulnerability when he threw his daggers in battle and was barehanded.

He felt like he could create something entirely new by combining the martial art from the box with his own.

Because of that, he put it to the test today. His inner Qi had already changed to pure Yang.

His heart pounded as he didn’t know what the outcome was going to be.

His dagger technique was known as the Yama’s Dagger Art, created by a monk who had broken his vows and reached enlightenment at life’s end.

It later became one of the Eight Great Martial Arts of Jianghu.

Even martial arts had trends.

Old techniques were bound to become outdated, but Lee Jaseung refined the Yama’s Dagger Art to deadly perfection, enough to kill the previous Leader of the Black Way Alliance in just forty-seven moves.

Even so, his martial art wasn’t the strongest in the world. His art excelled in illusion and dark arts, and had resistance to Demonic Qi.

But it was weak against the Orthodox Faction’s martial arts.

Dan Woobin once said this.

“There are probably at least ten people in Jianghu who’s stronger than you.”

If he said it, then it was likely the case. Maybe there were more, maybe fewer. The point was, there were enemies he wasn’t able to defeat yet. The chance of this was low, but it was possible for him to die if he was unlucky with his opponent!

“Though of course, none of them are as young as you.”

So what? Should I wait for them to die of old age then?

I rejected such a cowardly idea.

Lee Jaseung began performing the Yama’s Dagger Art. It consisted of six forms.

Dagger of Unshakable Stillness.

Dagger of the Great Circle.

Dagger of the Dancing Peacock.

Dagger of the Night Demon.

Dagger of the Enlightened one.

Dagger of the Radiant King.

He executed all six in sequence.

His new inner Qi felt unfamiliar, but its power hadn’t decreased one bit. Instead, it boosted Yama’s Dagger Art’s strength with Qi of Yang.

If his previous power was ten, it was now fifteen. And with double the Qi, his overall combat strength had more than doubled.

If Dan Woobin saw him now, he wouldn’t claim that there were ten others stronger than him.

But Lee Jaseung had no plans to tell Dan Woobin about this. It was good to hide one’s strength if possible.

After finishing his training, Lee Jaseung laughed happily.

“Hahahahaha.”

It wasn’t his laughter that echoed in the hall, but his confidence.

* * *

Meanwhile, far away, Lee Jaseung’s martial art was being imitated.

Clack, Clack.

It was the bronze doll who was executing the martial art. However, it was just empty motions without its inner Qi.

The woman who was watching, slowly closed the metal box. She was the one who met Lee Jaseung back then, and she was wearing a beautiful robe.

She was already beautiful, but wearing it made her look like a celestial maiden.

Her face was troubled however. She had watched it hundreds of times, but she wasn’t able to get the grasp of the doll’s secret technique.

She spoke quietly while biting on her lips.

“Something is wrong.”

She thought of that day. She woke up by a riverside where she fought those assassins.

For some reason, none of the assassins were there and the metal box still remained in her arms. She wasn’t able to understand the situation, but she left that area immediately.

How did she live, and what happened to those assassins?

The lady recalled a faint silhouette of a man. He for some reason felt familiar, but she wasn’t able to remember his face.

“...Perhaps.”

She began to think that the box was switched. But she would’ve noticed it if this wasn’t the real box as she had looked at it hundreds of times.

That was why she risked her life that day.

Then, she heard a man’s voice from outside.

“It’s Sang-gi, my lady.”

She closed the metal box and put it back in her robes.

“Come in.”

A man stepped in. He was Chu Sang-gi, her sworn protector.

Rather than giving off a nimble and swift impression, there was something about him that made him look dull, but he was very loyal.

After greeting the woman, Chu Sang-gi spoke in a serious tone.

“Preparations are complete.”

Chu Sang-gi was a man who didn’t know how to hide his emotions. After seeing his face, the lady asked with a soft tone.

“Are you still angry at me?”

“...”

“I’m sorry, truly. So please forgive me.”

“You left without me. Do you not know how dangerous that is?”

“Sang-gi.”

She spoke with gentle authority. Chu Sang-gi naturally bowed down.

“Yes, my lady.”

“It was just that important.”

He already knew it. For her to risk her life these days meant that something was dire. But it only grew his anger.

Her life was hundreds of times more precious than his own, but it was in danger instead of his which made him feel frustrated.

She soothed him with a soft tone.

“I know how much you were worried for me. I won’t do that again.”

“I will protect you with my life.”

“Yep, thank you.”

“Let’s go. They are all waiting for you.”

Despite hearing Chu Sang-gi, the lady walked towards the window, unhurried.

Her gaze deepened as she looked outside. After staring for a while, she spoke in a calm tone.

“Father often used Go to teach me how to survive in Jianghu. When in trouble, cut off the opposite side you want to capture, discard those who have no purpose. Save your pieces, then strike… But yet.”

She turned her head, her eyes were filled with despair.

“What if there were two enemies instead of one? What if they make two moves to my one? What about three or four? He never taught me that.”

Chu Sang-gi’s lips moved, but he wasn’t able to say anything. She’d lost her father not too long ago.

But she smiled after driving her fears away from her mind.

“Still, I won’t flip the board. I will win this game no matter what.”

Chu Sang-gi's eyes burned with loyalty as he spoke.

“Yes, you will, my lady.”

“Let us go now.”

The woman left the room first, and Chu Sang-gi followed after her.

She walked down a long red carpeted hall. To Chu Sang-gi, it looked like his owner was walking a blood-soaked path which made him clench his fists.

‘My lady, I will protect you with my life.’

There were massive doors at the end of the hall. Two martial artists standing by the entrance greeted her respectfully.

The lady stopped in front of them and took a deep breath.

After calming herself for a moment, she nodded to herself. When Chu Sang-gi gave a signal from behind, the guards at the entrance pushed open the massive doors.

A brightly lit great hall was revealed.

It was packed with hundreds of people. Judging by their attire and their aura, they were all seasoned experts of Jianghu.

She began to walk through the crowd.

Her beauty was so striking that no one dared even to speak to her. Her face was filled with confidence and the weakness she had shown earlier by the window was nowhere to be seen now.

Countless eyes focused on her.

She was able to feel it. The attention she received was not only filled with respect, reverence, loyalty, and familiarity.

Among those seemingly friendly gazes lurked distrust, irritation, jealousy, and killing intent that surpassed hatred.

Yet she continued to walk forward without being deterred. One day, she was going to repay them all, tenfold.  

Behind the platform, there was a large plaque with bold letters written on them.

Northern Sky Clan.

It was one of the three great clans protecting the Orthodox Faction, as well as the strongest individual force within it. That was the Northern Sky Clan.

She stepped onto the platform and all eyes locked on her. After quietly scanning the crowd, she began to speak in a calm, clear voice.

“Esteemed warriors of Jianghu, I thank you for traveling from afar to attend this ceremony for the new head of our clan.”

The Northern Sky Clan, the greatest guardian of the Orthodox Faction.

I am Baek Seolyoung, the new Lord of the Northern Sky Clan.