“Ha ha.”
Ho Cheon-an chuckled softly.
Squeak!
Patter! Patter!
That was because he was riding on Seo Gong, who was galloping energetically.
Having recovered his strength through nearly two weeks of rest, Seo Gong was racing across the fields.
He was moving at such a speed that even a horse desperately trying to run could barely keep up.
“Hey, don’t overdo it.”
Squeak!
In response that seemed to say he was doing just fine, Ho Cheon-an gently patted Seo Gong’s head.
To Ho Cheon-an, Seo Gong’s anxiety was glaringly obvious.
He was running desperately, wanting to show how useful he could be, fearing he might be abandoned.
Even though it was time to gorge on spirit herbs to recover his body, he was nibbling cautiously, and that was saying something.
Ho Cheon-an decided to take his time.
Seo Gong wanted to be with Ho Cheon-an, and Ho Cheon-an wanted to take care of Seo Gong, so they could travel together and gradually get to know each other.
“Let’s rest here for today.”
As the sun began to set, Ho Cheon-an stopped Seo Gong and took a spirit herb from his pack, offering it to him. Ho Cheon-an carefully fed Seo Gong, who was hesitantly nibbling at it.
Squeak?! Squeak!
“Eat heartily, you little rascal.”
Having amassed wealth hunting rare entities and reached a ripe old age, Ho Cheon-an stuffed precious spirit herbs into Seo Gong’s mouth until his cheeks puffed out.
Seo Gong was glancing cautiously at Ho Cheon-an.
It was nice to receive plenty of good food, but even the finest beef could become torturous if eaten until his belly burst.
After running hard all day, his energy barely subdued, did it have to be more?
“Look at this guy; he’s still worrying. With that size, do you think a few strands of grass would fill your belly? This little handful of spirit herbs is nothing, so swallow it quickly.”
Squeak.
No, this was already pushing the limit.
Seo Gong carefully protested, worried that if he overate, his body would burst with so much energy, but Ho Cheon-an firmly shoved more spirit herbs into his mouth.
With resignation, Seo Gong swallowed the spirit herbs.
Ho Cheon-an chuckled as he patted Seo Gong’s head, who was sprawled out from overeating. The entity that claimed to be quite mighty was reduced to such a sorry state after just half a day of running around. It seemed he had to feed Seo Gong plenty of special nourishing meals to make him healthy.
Thus, Ho Cheon-an unintentionally scheduled a heavy food regimen and nodded in satisfaction as he leaned against Seo Gong’s body.
Feeling the soft fur and warm body temperature made all his weariness fade away.
Ho Cheon-an smirked.
Even if he was old, this body was no ordinary body.
It was a vessel that achieved invulnerability against swords, poisons, and even water. With vast internal energy and equivalent vitality, he could unleash martial arts for three days and nights without tiring.
Even after exhausting himself running all day, he shouldn’t be feeling tired. So why was he feeling this at ease?
It was probably because it wasn’t just his body but his heart that felt settled.
It was this comfort of not being alone, having someone to share warmth with.
‘Not too bad.’
Thinking that, Ho Cheon-an absentmindedly reflected on his circumstances.
In the two weeks spent caring for Seo Gong, Ho Cheon-an had gathered a lot of information.
The state of the Blood Sect. The political situation in the Huang Nation. The trends within the Martial Forest Alliance. Movements of external forces… and so on.
Based on that information, Ho Cheon-an decided on what he needed to do.
‘First, I need to solve this mystery.’
Why did Seo Gong start following him the moment they met? Having mastered array formation and various odd skills, Ho Cheon-an analyzed the blood techniques handled by the Blood Sect in Southern Blood Sect.
However, he could only find information about blood techniques and blood characters, and he couldn’t find an answer regarding Seo Gong’s attitude.
No one among the blood people in the Northern Blood Sect knew any intimate details about the Blood Sect.
Hwang Sa-min, who rambled on about being a master of blood monster techniques and the owner of the Northern Blood Sect, was merely a low-level staffer responsible for producing blood monsters. Thanks to a sudden assassination of the Blood Ancestor, he happened to lay his hands on essentially dangerous blood monsters and Iron Blood Rats, boasting of his power.
The blood people who worked under such Hwang Sa-min were just minor players, completely ignorant of the Blood Sect’s secrets.
Thus, Ho Cheon-an decided to seek out the remnants of the Blood Sect to gather clues about the current situation.
As he pondered various thoughts, Ho Cheon-an fell into a light sleep and stirred. Seo Gong, bursting with so much energy it felt ready to explode, suddenly rose to hit the road again.
Squeak! Squeak!
“Ah, I get it, I get it,” Ho Cheon-an said, chuckling.
With Seo Gong bounding ahead, they were headed straight for the True Blood Sect located in Gwangju.
“Tsk. These petty fellows definitely have a weak sense of naming.”
Upon confirming Seo Gong’s approach, the True Blood Sect quickly went into upheaval.
“An entity! An entity is coming in!”
“Iron Blood Rat? A henchman of the Southern Blood Sect!”
“Quick, inform the Honorable Lord!”
“Close the doors!”
Seeing the martial artists of the Southern Blood Sect hastily closing the doors, Ho Cheon-an tapped Seo Gong on the back—it was a signal to halt.
Squeak!
But Seo Gong shook his head and increased his speed.
Battle!
A golden opportunity had presented itself to expend the energy surging within him, and he didn’t want to miss it.
On the other hand, Ho Cheon-an felt a lump in his throat.
He was impressed by Seo Gong’s proactive stance in wanting to fight together.
“Ha ha. Alright, let’s fight together.”
From now on, he would have to give Seo Gong even more nutritious spirit herbs!
With their hearts in quite different places, Seo Gong and Ho Cheon-an nodded at each other, looking into one another’s eyes.
Squeak squeak!
Bam!
Seo Gong’s body slam shattered the front gate of the Southern Blood Sect in one go.
“Buy time until the Honorable Lord arrives!”
“How can we stop an entity!”
“Shut up! Disobedience means death… Gack!”
One blood person tried to yell at the martial artists to fight back, but it was already too late.
Ho Cheon-an’s lightning blow had unleashed its power.
The blood people, including the martial artists, quickly fell as if caught off guard.
Squeak!
Seo Gong stood up, complaining to Ho Cheon-an. He had finally found the chance to release his energy, but he did it all alone!
Ho Cheon-an, feeling a bit awkward at Seo Gong’s complaint, stepped back.
“Ha ha, my bad. You handle the next ones.”
Seo Gong snorted in frustration and stepped forward. This time, he would definitely expel all the energy boiling within him!
Roar!
With Seo Gong’s determination, the cries of the True Blood Sect echoed loudly.
Was there perhaps a hidden den underground? A massive form emerged, almost destroying an entire palace hall.
Clearly agitated, a bear entity appeared, baring its sharp teeth and gums.
Upon spotting Seo Gong, the bear entity let out a furious roar.
Kraaah!
Such tremendous volume!
The mere roar sent Seo Gong’s ears ringing, and a fierce wind blew, almost knocking Ho Cheon-an to the ground!
But Seo Gong, having absorbed that roar with his entire being, was not about to stand idly by.
Squeak!
With a courageous roar, Seo Gong quickly took a step back.
No matter how overflowing with energy he was, there were limits to what he could handle.
“Ha ha.”
Ho Cheon-an chuckled and nodded, realizing the importance of not overdoing it.
It wasn’t about the strong surviving, but about those who survive being strong.
Still, it was a fact that the strong had an advantage in surviving, so he needed to feed Seo Gong spirit herbs diligently moving forward.
Just as Ho Cheon-an was thinking this and nodding his head…
“Ha ha ha! The fools of the Northern Blood Sect are finally making a mess of things!”
The leader of the True Blood Sect, Deunggojeok, stepped forward, appearing behind the bear entity. Recognizing Seo Gong at once, he burst into laughter.
“Ha ha! Did you really think the Iron Blood Rat, which was used for nothing more than making blood monsters due to its lack of combat prowess, could defeat the elite entity of the Blood Sect?”
“Oh? Do you know about this entity?”
Deunggojeok narrowed his eyes at Ho Cheon-an’s strange question. Why weren’t his eyes the color of blood? He couldn’t fully see Ho Cheon-an’s gaze with the Black Rib covering him, but wasn’t the blood color only simply hidden by the Black Rib?
“Hmmm. It seems you were just some low-level blood person in the Blood Sect.”
“Shut up! I’m on a completely different level from the lowly laborers who were stuck doing useless jobs! I was a true martial artist of the Blood Sect, leading entities to conquer the Central Plains and spread the Blood Sect’s reputation across the world!”
Deunggojeok harbored suspicions about Ho Cheon-an’s looks and actions, but soon set those doubts aside. Now that he had brought the Iron Blood Rat, who cared if Ho Cheon-an was a blood person or not? The important thing was that an opportunity to take down the Iron Blood Rat had come right to him!
He would take down the Iron Blood Rat now and then destroy the Southern Blood Sect in one sweep, becoming the overlord of Yunnan!
Drooling, Deunggojeok gazed at Seo Gong and commanded the Blood Beast with a blood command.
[Subdue the Iron Blood Rat!]
Gwaaargh!
The Blood Beast charged straight at Seo Gong, and Ho Cheon-an stood in its path.
“Haha! You foolish creature!”
Deunggojeok mocked Ho Cheon-an. The martial artists had been defeated, yet it seemed there was still some skill in this one. But to think he would face an entity head-on!
He would become a pile of meat in seconds!
As he laughed, the expression on Deunggojeok’s face froze.
The ferocious Blood Beast, which had been rushing in, suddenly slammed to a halt before Ho Cheon-an.
The Blood Beast sat down, staring intently at Ho Cheon-an.
Why?
If it were just a hunting ground set up as it was now, even Deunggojeok would struggle to manage it.
So why did the Blood Beast stop instead of attacking its prey?
Deunggojeok hurriedly revised his command.
[Kill the one in front of you!]
Gwaaargh?
The Blood Beast blinked, giving Deunggojeok a glance before turning back to Ho Cheon-an, then standing back up.
Of course.
The elderly man before him would instantly become a bloody mess under its fierce claws.
However, reality defied Deunggojeok’s expectations.
Thud!
With a swift motion, the Blood Beast flopped over onto its side.
Gwaaargh! Gwaarrgh!
It began to whine even as it rolled, contentedly writhing around.
“Ha ha.”
Ho Cheon-an raised a hand, gently patting the massive form of the Blood Beast. The beast purred in satisfaction, and Deunggojeok along with the blood people of the True Blood Sect stood with their mouths agape.
“Seems you have some interesting information, so let’s take our time and chat a little.”
As the dazzling light of his lightning strike spread, blood people and martial artists screamed and collapsed. Meanwhile, the Blood Beast showed no concern about any of it, continuing to relish Ho Cheon-an’s gentle touch.
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