What comes to mind when you hear ‘entity’?
There are many words that could come to mind when thinking of an entity, but the one that stands out the most in the context of an entity being defeated is clear.
Inner Dan!
After putting on her gloves, Tang Do-yeon began to dissect the corpse of the spirit wolf, and we couldn’t hide our excitement as we chatted from a little distance away.
“Looks like all that training with Oh Seong-jin paid off.”
“That’s right, it’s truly remarkable progress.”
Everyone nodded at Yeo Il-ye’s words.
Didn’t we, who were all bruised from the struggle just to deal with a half-baked entity in Shengsu?
It’s only natural that we felt a renewed sense of accomplishment as we successfully hunted a real entity using proper array formation.
The fact that our hardships while training with Oh Seong-jin weren’t in vain only added to our joy.
Squeak!
Seo Gong let out a spirited cry as if to say, “Don’t forget about me!” Hyeok Gi-rin laughed and lifted Seo Gong into his arms.
“Seo Gong! You were amazing back there!”
Seo Gong’s tail, unlike its usual droop, was stiff in joy as it twirled around. I couldn’t quite grasp the exact meaning behind it, but one thing was clear: Seo Gong was feeling triumphant, and its tail showcased just that.
“That little guy made a name for himself, huh?”
“If only Tang So-yeol had seen it! The moves were definitely on par with those of a martial arts master!”
Hyeok Gi-rin, all animated, began to boast about Seo Gong’s performance.
Squeak!
Was it aware of the praise? Seo Gong’s tail wagged even more energetically.
Just then, while everyone laughed at the sight, Tang Do-yeon returned holding the extracted Inner Dan.
Everyone gasped lightly at the sight of the Inner Dan. Even though I had seen many kinds of spiritual medicine, I couldn’t help but marvel because this was an Inner Dan obtained from a spirit I had personally caught.
“This Inner Dan is enough to create one or two decent healing medicines.”
After showing us the Inner Dan, Tang Do-yeon safely stored it in an empty wooden box before placing it in Bicheongmacha.
“There’s likely some valuable materials among the skin, claws, and organs. Of course, it will take some time to dissect that wolf and confirm its worth.”
Tang So-yeol nodded in response to Tang Do-yeon’s words.
“True. We’ll need at least a few days, possibly a week, to confirm everything. So, what are your plans moving forward?”
At this, everyone turned their attention toward Tang Do-yeon, curious about how we should proceed.
“For now, I think we should diligently search for more entities.”
“Indeed… Today’s battle revealed a few shortcomings.”
The black cat, who struggled the most to fend off the wolf’s attack, nodded in agreement.
“Right. While we need to polish up our array formation, we also need to search for entities for another reason.”
“What’s that reason?”
In response to Dokgo I-seol’s inquiry, I immediately chimed in.
“To gauge how much entity power the Blood Sect possesses.”
Right now, I was only aware that the Blood Sect could tame entities; I had no idea of their actual entity power.
Judging by the abandonment of the Red Blood Rat and their use of entities as mounts, it was merely an assumption that their power was ample.
There was no way of knowing if the Blood Sect commanded two entities or two hundred.
Until now, I hadn’t even dared to confirm their entity strength.
If we were to track entities deployed by the Blood Sect, it could lead to a situation where we would end up in combat, and escaping unscathed wasn’t really an option.
Now that I had proved with Oh Seong-jin that we could capture entities in actual combat, it was time to ascertain the Blood Sect’s strength.
However, even though I had gained the power of Oh Seong-jin, blindly trailing the Blood Sect without any information was too risky.
I needed to gather the minimal amount of information to assess the risk before moving in.
“If we search for entities to hunt them down, we should be able to gather information on which entities the Blood Sect has interacted with and which ones they have secured.”
It was a preliminary investigation into the true nature of the Blood Sect.
“It sounds quite daunting,”
Tang So-yeol remarked, and she was right.
Finding traces of entities to hunt or confirming that they had vanished was easier said than done—like looking for a needle in a haystack.
Unfortunately, aside from the Heavenly Waters Forest, the appearance of entities happened at completely random times and locations within the game, leaving no clues to pinpoint their whereabouts.
“However, it’s not entirely impossible.”
I said as I glanced at Tang Do-yeon and the black cat.
With the support of the world’s best intelligence organization, Wolbok-dang, and Bicheongmacha on our side, we had a chance.
The black cat, catching my gaze, chuckled softly.
“I’ve been gathering information on entities all along. There are a few places we could check out directly.”
As expected of the black cat—my trust wasn’t misplaced.
The black cat pulled out a map and began marking points. The dots were indeed scattered across the Central Plains.
Going through all these points would be quite the ordeal.
Upon seeing the map, Tang Do-yeon sprung to her feet.
“Whoa, this is truly an adventurous journey! As a carriage driver, my blood is boiling!”
Tang Do-yeon, already fired up, began urging us to set off. We all exchanged wry smiles before climbing into Bicheongmacha.
“Let’s go!!”
Thud, thud, thud, thud!!
Thus began our long journey to uncover the Blood Sect’s strength.
*
At an unnamed mountain base.
A masked figure quietly raced through the mountainside.
Dressed in a mask and conical hat, they were not visible to others, but their eyes were as red as blood.
Without hesitation, the Blood Person followed the hidden entrance into a cave.
How long had they walked through the deepening and widening cave?
The Blood Person’s steps suddenly halted.
Ssss!
A chilling sound like that of a snake echoed in the air.
Gazing into the darkness, the Blood Person swallowed hard at the sight of a massive serpent.
Having seen many entities, even this Blood Person felt tense at the sight of the giant serpent.
Trembling in front of that enormous form, the Blood Person felt awe for the Blood Sect’s power, which could command such entities.
With that feeling, the Blood Person knelt and shouted, “Blood Ancestor! Congratulations on the success of the great law! Blood Sacrifice! Blood Sacrifice! Blood Blood Sacrifice!”
From the darkness came the response of the Blood Ancestor.
“Report.”
“Yes! All regions are preparing for the commencement of the great undertaking without any issues! The vigilance that had risen due to the incident with the Moyong Clan and Shengsu Faction has dulled with time, and no unusual activity has been detected from the Nine Great Sects or the Five Great Clans!”
Was everything proceeding according to plan?
The Blood Ancestor gazed at the giant serpent. A being that, having seen many entities, evoked a gasp of admiration.
Could this truly be the might of a legendary dragon?
The Blood Ancestor smiled softly.
To have encountered such a being, tamed it, and faced no significant problems along the way… it was enough to make anyone chuckle.
Hearing the Blood Ancestor’s laughter, the Blood Person bowed even deeper.
Realizing something was amiss due to the Blood Person’s reaction, the Blood Ancestor’s laughter stopped.
“It’s not quite a problem, but I have one point to report.”
“Speak.”
“The movements of the Brain Knife Outcast.”
The Blood Person continued relaying the information.
“For the past several months, they have been scouring the Central Plains for traces of entities. They have confirmed hunting entities they deemed unsuitable for the great law or locating their former nests. It seems that…”
The Blood Person trailed off, but the Blood Ancestor understood what the Blood Person was hinting at.
It meant the Brain Knife Outcast was trailing the Blood Sect.
“How foolish.”
“What shall we do?”
With the Blood Person’s question, the Blood Ancestor momentarily fell into thought.
The one who had rejected their proposal was Ho Cheon-an.
‘Originally, I intended to let them taste some heat before luring them to the Blood Sect…’
With the news of discovering the legendary dragon, they opted to tame the dragon first and succeeded, but it took much longer than expected.
With the great undertaking so close at hand, was there really a need to move to capture Ho Cheon-an?
Such thoughts crossed the Blood Ancestor’s mind, leading them to realize there was no need at all.
‘Using that fool as bait would not be a bad idea.’
The Blood Ancestor recalled the rumors of Ho Cheon-an in the martial arts world.
Even if broken, it was still a precious vessel.
Though the vessel to understand the enlightenment of all was damaged, it had still succeeded several times in unprecedented feats throughout the martial world.
Considering that Ho Cheon-an was aware of the Blood Sect’s power and was known for his exploits, he could indeed become a significant obstacle to the Blood Sect.
However.
Ho Cheon-an could never overturn the Blood Sect.
Thus, the more he showcased his efforts against the Blood Sect, the greater his value as bait.
“Let him do what he wishes.”
“Understood!”
Without a hint of hesitation, the Blood Person replied, though a sliver of worry nestled in their mind.
They hadn’t been discovered yet, but if the Brain Knife Outcast continued pursuing traces of entities, it would only be a matter of time before one of their hideouts was found.
But any worry in the Blood Person’s mind was soon dispelled.
“We shall begin the great enterprise.”
The Blood Ancestor’s word, long awaited and anticipated, had finally dropped.
‘At last…! Is it starting? The rise of the Blood Sect!’
“Understood!!”
The Blood Person quaked with excitement, responding more vigorously than ever before.
The Blood Sect, which had long been lurking below the surface of the Central Plains, was finally beginning to move.
*
Zzz! Zzz!!
“Whoa! Stay still!”
Squeaking in a panic, Seo Gong was trying to escape, while Hyeok Gi-rin held onto Seo Gong’s tail firmly.
The winner was clearly Hyeok Gi-rin.
Seo Gong had failed to escape from the water barrel and would have to suffer through vigorous scrubbing until not a trace of fur or bodily fluid remained.
But I could understand Seo Gong’s desperation.
After already being scrubbing for the second time, who wouldn’t want to escape?
As I watched the scene unfold, the black cat spoke up.
“It’s a bust here too.”
“That’s right.”
It had already been three months since we captured the wolf spirit in the Spirit Woods.
We had searched more than twenty locations, found traces of entities in seven of them, and encountered entities in three.
And here we were, at the site of our third encounter with an entity.
I gazed at the remains of the recently hunted spider entity.
While there were no leads on the Blood Sect or the entities they controlled here, it wasn’t for naught.
The Blood Sect was indeed selecting entities to tame.
The criteria seemed to be based on the combat power of the entities themselves.
The entities we faced all had relatively weak main bodies and exhibited powers unrelated to their combat strength.
The spirit wolf had the ability to enhance the group, while the spider entity we just hunted could rapidly lay eggs and produce baby spiders.
I glanced at Seo Gong, who was now drenched in bodily fluid as I eliminated a few of those baby spiders.
Squeak! Squeak!
With a good amount of action behind him, Seo Gong vehemently protested his treatment.
“Hmm…”
If this theory holds, it would explain the Blood Sect’s indifference towards Seo Gong.
Seo Gong’s ability was size manipulation.
If it could alter its size at will during combat, it would be a useful ability, but since Seo Gong had shrunk its size, it never increased its size again.
Thus, its main combat power was rated weak, leading it to be tested and easily discarded.
The traces of lost beings also lent support to this hypothesis.
Given the numerous destructive traces that seemed impervious to the passage of time, it stood to reason those entities were likely strong or large.
“Entities specialized for one-on-one combat, with numbers approximately… at least ten, and at most, if we catch lucky, twenty or thirty.”
Seven locations were confirmed to have traces of lost entities. Among them, there were no leads on any winged entities, suggesting at least eight.
Considering the places we hadn’t checked yet and the rumors gathered by Wolbok-dang, it was estimated that the Blood Sect held between ten and thirty entities.
And this estimation, coupled with the selective criteria for entity capture, led to the natural inference that they might not be able to command multiple entities simultaneously.
There was no need for deep contemplation.
The Blood Sect, with a significant number of entities.
If they could command these entities together, the Blood Sect would have easily already taken control of the martial world by now.
If the entities were to band together, would the Nine Great Sects or the Five Great Clans even be a concern?
Imagining it was indeed a terrifying disaster, but it seemed we were unlikely to worry about that.
Perhaps it was fortunate, in a twisted sense, but with the situations emerging, claiming that the Blood Sect commanded dozens of entities was becoming clearer.
“Ugh.”
With a sigh, the black cat offered a wry smile.
“We need to find traces of the Blood Sect quickly.”
“Exactly. That way, we can announce it in the martial world and gain cooperation from other factions.”
The Blood Sect was a massive organization that we couldn’t confront with our group alone.
To deal with the Blood Sect, we needed the assistance of other forces.
However, even if I revealed that the Blood Sect wielded entities, people wouldn’t believe it.
Claiming that the Blood Sect commanded not just one but dozens of entities would be hard to accept without proof.
Wi Ji-cheon knew that the Blood Sect commanded entities… but Wi Ji-cheon was the heavenly demon.
The Heavenly Demon Sect does not interfere in matters outside of their own doctrine.
There was no way the heavenly demon’s representative, Wi Ji-cheon, would break the sect’s principles to testify for me, and even if he did, others would be unlikely to believe him.
In the long history of the Heavenly Demon Sect, could they really trust a sudden announcement made public?
They would likely be too busy questioning the motivations behind it.
So, finding evidence was imperative. I had grasped the strength of the Blood Sect, yet had yet to locate where they commanded their entities or any leads to their hideouts.
Without clues, I couldn’t create witnesses or secure material evidence.
While I pondered such thoughts, something occurred.
Whoosh.
A message bird flew toward the black cat.
Upon reading the note delivered by the message bird, the black cat’s expression stiffened.
“Senior, it seems the Blood Sect has attacked the Botamun in Zhejiang.”
Upon hearing that news, I let out a long sigh.
…It seems I was a step behind.
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