Chapter 622: Not a Miraculous Encounter But A Miracle

“Once upon a time, four peerless masters vied for the title of the world’s strongest.”

Baek Suryong’s voice echoed softly. Even though he didn't use any inner arts, the arena quieted down.

“Gulp...” Someone swallowed nervously.

Beside her, the Blade Demon So Jigwang crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes.

Everyone gathered for the Dragon and Phoenix Tournament focused their attention on Baek Suryong. He was a peerless master who had joined the ranks of the Ten Supremes before his thirtieth birthday. Moreover, he was a handsome man with a unique, enigmatic air about him.

The Azure Dragon Hero was just one of the many titles that preceded his name. The astonishing speed at which he had reached his level of martial arts raised suspicion, as did the fact that his students had all learned divine martial arts techniques.

“I don’t think of this as a simple miraculous encounter either.”

Until now, a similar question must have lingered in many minds: How on earth did he get so strong so quickly, and how does he know so many divine arts?

Now, the man with the most secrets in the world was finally about to reveal his origins.

“The names of these four heroes are Moyong Hon, Hyonwon Hu, Maeng Ho’ak, and Eun Yerin.

To clear the air, Baek Suryong began his story with a light joke. “All four masters were incredibly egotistical. Their personalities were so eccentric and disagreeable that it supposedly took them a year just to start speaking to each other properly.”

He chuckled at the memory of his four masters. Although the story itself was anything but boring, he continued in a monotone voice.

“Coveting the peerless masters’ martial arts, the Blood Cult devised a plan to capture them. Deceived by betrayal, threats, and trickery, the four masters were locked away in the Blood Cult’s underground prison for years and subjected to every kind of torture imaginable. All so the Blood Cult could steal their martial arts...”

Finally, a forgotten truth emerged through the sole successor of the four peerless masters.

“Those bastards!”

“Accursed Blood Cult!”

As Baek Suryong described the Blood Cult’s heinous crimes, the crowd seethed with anger. Some could not hold back and swore aloud.

In contrast, the Nine Sects’ martial artists were bewildered. The elderly Sword Sage and Supreme Buddha narrowed their eyes as if recalling something from the past. The younger ones, however, had no idea what the Azure Dragon Hero was talking about.

Despite the varied reactions, Baek Suryong continued his story in the same placid tone.

“Despite the endless torture and threats, they never yielded and patiently planned their escape from the underground prison. One day, after ten long years of waiting, the day finally came for them to put their plan into action.”

He paused and glanced around at the enthralled crowd. Countless auras mingled together, making it nearly impossible to single out any one person.

Nevertheless, he was certain that somewhere out there, his former trainees were listening. For their sake, he no longer wanted to hide his masters’ history.

“In the end, the four peerless masters broke out of the Blood Cult’s underground prison and escaped.”

“AHH!”

Exclamations of relief rippled through the crowd. The young boys and girls in the audience leaned in, engrossed. They listened with rapt attention as if an old man had gathered his grandchildren to tell them a folktale.

Wiji Cheon shivered. “M-Mr. Baek...”

Except this was no fabricated tale. To Baek Suryong, the memory was as vivid as yesterday.

“...Unfortunately, the Blood Cult noticed their escape and blocked their path. Countless Blood Cult forces charged in to kill them. Eventually, even the Blood Demon himself appeared. Still, the peerless masters fought desperately, never giving in to despair. They had families to return to, cherished people to protect, and lovers with whom they had promised a future.”

If this were a clichéd heroic tale, the story would have a happy ending, with the protagonist and his friends defeating the villains and living happily ever after.

Regrettably, this story’s ending was far from happy. Even so, Baek Suryong maintained a neutral tone throughout the telling.

“In the end, the four peerless masters destroyed more than half of the Blood Cult’s forces in that desperate battle. But... even they couldn’t avoid sustaining fatal injuries.”

Gasps of pity erupted from all over the stands.

Baek Suryong’s story enthralled the crowd with its mysterious allure, and his powerful presence and handsome looks were not the only reasons. There was something almost magical about the way he painted a vivid picture of his previous life’s experiences.

Before long, the entire crowd was holding its breath, hanging on to his every word.

“Blood flowed endlessly from their mangled bodies, and inner qi scattered from their ruptured qi centers. And yet, and yet...”

Baek Suryong closed his eyes for a moment.

He often dreamed of a different future, one in which his masters escaped the Blood Cult, returned home, and lived happy lives. They would meet at Master Eun’s wedding or Master Maeng’s sixtieth birthday party. Master Moyong’s son would grow up and marry. Master Hyonwon would return to his clan to teach the next generation the art of bladesmanship.

And standing beside them, free from the specter of the Blood Cult, were himself and his former trainees.

Opening his eyes, he smiled faintly and changed the story’s ending, the only lie in an otherwise true story. “And yet, the four peerless masters... succeeded in escaping the Blood Cult.”

“Phew!” Several children sighed in relief.

Baek Suryong was not finished, though. “The cost of escape was their martial arts. Rendered defenseless, they went into seclusion to evade the Blood Cult’s pursuit. There, they recorded their experiences and divine martial arts before succumbing to their wounds.”

Until now, not once did he mention the involvement of a Blood Cult martial arts instructor. His goal was to tell the forgotten story of his masters and restore their honor. He did not want to diminish his credibility by adding a fantastical tale about his own reincarnation.

“The names of these four heroes are Moyong Hon, Hyonwon Hu, Maeng Ho’ak, and Eun Yerin. They were the peerless masters known as the Sword Saint, the Sky Sundering Blade, the Viridian Forest Bandit King, and the Ice Moon Goddess. They are... my Masters.”

He finished his short story with emphasis on the last two words.

Now, he had said everything he wanted to say. He turned to the Benevolent Sage, who was glaring at him.

“Are your questions answered now?”

“Hah! What nonsense! Do you really think people will believe the ridiculous story you just made up?”

Baek Suryong ignored the furious Benevolent Sage and looked at the Supreme Buddha and the Sword Sage, who were deep in thought. If they did not believe him, he would simply have to convince them.

“Supreme Buddha, Sword Sage.”

His demeanor was no longer that of a junior addressing his elders. The joint successor of the four peerless masters held more seniority than anyone else in the murim and did not need to use any honorifics.

“You have long claimed that the orthodox sects and the Murim Alliance saved the murim by destroying the Blood Cult, but do you truly believe that was possible with your strength alone? When you invaded the Blood Cult, were their forces truly at full strength?”

“...Amitabha. They were not.”

“...No, they weren’t.”

The two titans of the orthodox spoke the truth. They vividly remembered the final battle—the crumbling pavilions, the sparse enemy ranks, and the bloodthirsty cultists who charged at them despite being grievously injured.

At the time, they had heard that the conflict was due to an internal dispute within the Blood Cult. However, if Baek Suryong’s story was true, then there was much more to the whole affair than previously thought.

Baek Suryong sneered. “What the leaders of the orthodox judged to be an internal conflict was, in fact, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity created by my masters.”

“......”