Chapter 492

What’s up, is the status screen broken?

In that moment, a chill crept over Qing’s entire body.

A broken status screen? That can’t be good.

If the senile status screen showed you something like, “Do you want to taste some medieval fantasy instead of martial arts?”…

Qing’s eyes began to tremble uncontrollably.

Cough, a soft cough snapped Qing out of her bewilderment.

She quickly turned her head.

“Hey, Grandpa, what’s going on? You said Heart Consumption Technique, but why is Heart Consumption Technique written here? Did you just change the cover? Right?”

“Hehe, cough, cough, hehe, how ’bout that dagger, what’s up with it?”

“Lady. You’re being asked a question. Is answering a question with another question a thing now?”

“Haha, did you ever come across the Heart Consumption Technique’s secret ritual before? I was hoping you wouldn’t pick up on it until later, but since you figured it out here, I guess I’ll have to let you see it before I kick the bucket. So, tell me, how do you feel right now?”

That relieved Qing.

After all, there was no Heart Consumption Technique; it was just a cover for the Heart Consumption Technique.

Breaking down the status screen? Now that would be a disaster.

In that brief moment, cold sweat was pouring out, and her whole body felt damp, just stopping short of a panic attack.

“Phew. That was a near miss. If that was the case, someone should’ve said it outright. I thought…”

For reference, “near miss” in this case means my life was reduced by ten years, indicating just how shocked I was.

“Hm?”

At that, Am Ha-ryong’s eyebrow raised.

“Lady, then wasn’t there originally any Heart Consumption Technique? You just suffered for nothing by coming here.”

“Everything up there was just for show, so I gullibly fell for it. You should think a bit more, cough, and live your life. You’re as foolish as they come.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Who cares? If the main sect truly had the Heart Consumption Technique, why would they go through the trouble of digging up a mountain?”

Qing, who was a bit hot-headed, decided to filter out the parts of Am Ha-ryong’s words that were taking too long.

“Isn’t it because it’s the Blood Sect? Did the Blood Sect have some strange scheme without any reason?”

“You fool. It’s said to be a divine skill promising supremacy in the world? If the cult members learn it, it’d be like taking over the martial world with thousands of Heart Consumption practitioners in the lead. Isn’t that enough?”

“Wait.”

Qing blinked with that ‘expression.’

This old man’s persuasive skills were astonishing.

Qing recalled the testimonies of the technicians.

Maybe they had been cleverly covering things up but surely, the timid, daring, and comical types wouldn’t have been able to devise such a grand plot.

Perhaps it was the result of a collective desire for revenge, scheming together to deceive Qing.

Or maybe the old man was the only one in the know that the Heart Consumption Technique was fake.

Either way, the important thing was that Qing had been deceived.

But she wasn’t feeling despair or anything, so what could she do about it?

I guess I’ll just head back empty-handed.

“So, why the heck were we digging if there wasn’t any Heart Consumption Technique to begin with?”

“It’s only you and your friends who know that the Blood Sect got involved, isn’t it? If it was just the Heart Consumption Technique, who would believe it’s the cult’s mischief?”

“Ah, so you’re the type to ramble on before kicking the bucket, huh? What if you spill everything? Now I get it, I should run—”

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom boom boom boom!

The loud noise abruptly cut off Qing’s words.

It sounded as if something heavy had collapsed.

As Qing looked up to chase the source of the sound, the vertical passage above them was completely blocked.

“What’s going on? Did the Blood Sect clean everything up?”

“The box was pressed down with a weight. How do you like that? Shiny and irresistible, wasn’t it?”

“Lady. That’s why. I thought, why on earth does an eleven-pound dagger even exist.”

While she focused on traps, she overlooked the fact that there could be triggers activated by lightening the weight.

And upon thinking about it, it was quite a simple, basic trap.

One that even primitive cave dwellers of long ago could easily set up.

“Wait, what’s the problem then? Are you planning to say something childish like you’ll destroy the world?”

“Hehe, as I get older, I find I can digest old grudges. Even if it stings a little, I no longer panic like I used to when I was young. I thought that saying time is a remedy was irresponsible rubbish, but that’s not the case at all.”

“But?”

“At first, they were tools meant to be nurtured. I could’ve trained dogs better than these so-called disciples.”

When the mechanical system technicians gathered disciples, they chose wisely by closely examining their cleverness.

Because the mechanical system only relied on raw talent.

No matter how much you try to teach a dullard, they can only repeat existing techniques, unable to create anything more advanced.

Thus, Am Ha-ryong had no expectations for his disciples.

But that was just a matter of time. After digging into mountains for at least twenty years, he had grown fond of Zhang Disciple, who had surpassed forty years.

“Revenge? I never cared about that. I just thought, if I lived like this and died among my disciples, that would be a good fate. Even if the heavens were harsh, living wasn’t too bad, so I went with it.”

Am Ha-ryong let out a laugh.

“Then, even when I die, I can only think to make sure you don’t die peacefully.”

His whimsical words and the hatred behind them were quite chilling.

And that made Qing happy.

No, this old man, pretending not to care, was shedding blood tears inside.

“Hehe. You should’ve said this earlier. If you had, I wouldn’t just kill them all but bring them to you, piece by piece.”

“Too bad for you. You missed out on a good show. Hehe…”

“But do you know? Actually, your disciples aren’t dead yet.”

“What?”

Am Ha-ryong’s once-satisfied eyes widened in surprise.

“I figured it was too merciful to just kill off the Blood Sect pests, so I only killed about half and left the rest to fend for themselves? Even now, your disciples are probably desperately searching for their master. ‘Master, please come and save us, it hurts so much.’”

“You! You brat! Ugh! How could! How could you in human skin!”

“What can’t I do? I’ve seen your Blood Sect’s tactics several times, and there were times I wanted everyone to applaud and say, ‘Well done!’ after I killed them.”

Qing recalled the blood fiends she’d seen in Gwangju.

Their tragic downfall while consuming their own mother.

What a bunch of amusing idiots.

Murderous creeps who thought they were the most pathetic in the world.

Thinking they could be forgiven for anything just because they feel pitiful.

“You’re trash, and all those kids are trash too. Isn’t death mercy for those who would harm the world’s people? What’s it matter if they’re your disciples? If you truly cared, you should have given up on the Blood Sect and lived a normal life with your family right now.”

“You, you brat, ugh…”

Am Ha-ryong was the worst conversation partner.

His tone was unpleasant, and if you talk, you should at least pretend to listen.

“I’ll kill you! I’ll kill you all, you brat!”

With crushed legs, the old Blood Sect member glared at Qing with bloodshot eyes, wildly waving his arms.

Even in a state of already spewing blood and organs, his rage made matters worse, his complexion darkening as he faced death.

Then suddenly.

“You, you’ll never die easily. Heh, hehe, I’ll go first and wait…”

At that moment, all the Blood Sect’s Blood Consumption members were annihilated.

It might not be total annihilation since those still alive might be squirming upstairs.

Qing smiled gleefully. Ah, what a good show.

The end of a bad guy should be miserable.

To be so wrapped up in evil until the bitter end, with the same old line of, “I’ll go first and wait,” so tiresome, so tiresome.

But still, every time I hear it, it rings sweetly in my ears, sending warmth coursing through my body. Ah, this is really why I live!

Qing swiftly glanced around with gleaming eyes.

The old man was dead, and the Heart Consumption Technique had never existed.

Still, she wasn’t leaving completely empty-handed.

Well, let’s see if I can collect all the Ten Great Techniques.

Just then, while Qing was examining the stone chamber to figure out where to exit, the ground rumbled violently, causing dust to shower down.

Simultaneously, the walls started collapsing from all eight directions.

Clear openings appeared over the stone chamber, revealing treasure seekers and warriors gazing agog.

As they looked around, their gazes met with Qing’s, who finally said,

“Oh. Shit. We’re screwed.”

The Blood Sect’s masterpiece, the Heart Consumption Technique trap, was originally intended to stir major discord in the martial world by using a nonexistent Heart Consumption Technique as bait.

Thus, the final act, the punctuation to this grand scheme, was a story that all in the Blood Sect eagerly waited for.

It wasn’t that Am Ha-ryong had gone out of his way to concoct a plan for Qing.

If someone had opened the box, it meant someone had obtained the (fake) Heart Consumption Technique, and naturally, they would want to escape with the secret manual.

Under such circumstances, would they just leave the suspicious vertical passage sitting there?

Thus, when the eleven-pound weight (dagger) was removed, the mechanism was set to block the vertical passage leading to the central control room.

Now, they would attempt to escape.

If they managed to escape safely, it would spell disaster for the martial world.

And it wouldn’t be fun for the Blood Sect technicians to watch either.

Thus, after all that, all the stone doors and walls of the hidden passage would collapse, giving the treasure seekers their final opportunity to seize the Heart Consumption Technique.

Meanwhile, the Blood Sect technicians had planned to watch the most entertaining scene of their twenty years investment in this trap.

Because the Blood Sect leader was dead, and the technicians under him were dying.

And Qing was the first to open the box, merely sticking her head out into the spotlight reserved for the protagonist as all the treasure seekers eyed her.

Suddenly all the doors began to crash down, even the stone walls that had been mistaken for doors fell. The room in the center was now visible to all.

And there stood a woman, round-eyed and looking around.

In her hand was a book.

A book? A book!

“It’s the Heart Consumption Technique!”

As someone shouted, everyone began shouting about martial arts and techniques, the commotion resembling a bustling marketplace.

At the center, Qing took a deep breath.

“Wait!!”

Receiving attention from all directions, Qing chose her words carefully.

She slowly brushed back her hair.

It was a fake wig attached to her disguise.

The coarse texture made her heart start to calm.

Qing was currently wearing a disguise!

In other words, she was hidden!

The disguise was invincible, and the pseudonym was divine.

Qing’s confidence soared.

Let’s see now.

Now that it’s labeled as the Heart Consumption Technique, would they really believe that it’s just the Heart Consumption Technique?

Only then did Qing understand the purpose of the skeletons laid out in the room.

It wasn’t just to create a chilling atmosphere with thin, emaciated corpses, informing people that the Heart Consumption Technique was there. They also served as decoration to make the notion credible that what they were looking at was indeed the Heart Consumption Technique.

And there were other types of corpses too.

Qing could also grasp the purpose of the corpses with holes in their hearts.

If it were realized that the Heart Consumption Technique was fake, it would serve as a barrier to protect that truth.

“This isn’t the Heart Consumption Technique, it’s the Heart Consumption Technique!”

Shut up! The only thing you practiced is the Heart Consumption Technique.

Do you think I’d fall for the trick of offering up the fake secret manual while handing out the Heart Consumption Technique?

Those corpses with holes in their hearts are evidence too!

These corpses look fresh enough to jump right up, aren’t they the victims your brat killed to gain the divine skill?

And once that happens, no matter what’s said, it’ll work.

And that’s when Qing concluded.

She was still wearing her disguise.

If she could just detour for a moment, she could unveil herself secretly later.

So, um.

Having organized her thoughts, Qing took a deep breath—

“Ha! You fools! Too late! The divine skill is me! The Blood Sect’s greatest beauty and my self-given alias, Supreme Brain-slaying Young Lady! The world calls me the Flesh-eating Diva! Or was it the Flesh-eating Beauty? Whatever! The most beautiful, elegant, and noble lady in the world, the unprecedented face genius, martial talent, the absolute genius, and the strongest woman, that’s me, Unyeonjeong, the master of the divine skill!”

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