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Translator: uly
Chapter: 14
Chapter Title: A Faith Worth Believing In (信)
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Martial God (14)
A Faith Worth Believing In
"What's the Sasa Whirlpool?"
Black Wind asked.
"It's the name for a peculiar region somewhere in the desert. It's where a vortex and a quagmire merge, sucking in everything—living or inanimate—like quicksand."
"So it's not just a simple vortex, but a sand vortex?"
"That's right."
Black Wind cast his gaze to the left and right flanks and across to the opposite side. He couldn't see the end of it. No matter how far it stretched, the sand within was all slowly swirling.
"Have you seen the Sasa Whirlpool before?"
"This is my first time too."
Talli shook her head.
"There doesn't seem to be anywhere else to go but there. Don't we have to jump in?"
"This isn't a vast ocean."
Someone spoke up from the side.
Black Wind turned his head.
A woman with white hair and pitch-black eyes was looking their way. She was the Ice Palace Lord, the Ice Demon Queen Nang Ha-sang.
"You're young."
"Young?"
"I thought you'd be some ancient old hag."
Nang Ha-sang had a distinctive look.
Normally, you could guess someone's age from their face, but with her, it was impossible. She seemed old in one light, young in another.
"..."
Nang Ha-sang stared at Black Wind with a bewildered expression.
It was because of his informal speech. Usually, being addressed so casually would anger her, but this time, it didn't bother her at all. It certainly wasn't because she liked his first impression. No, she never judged people by first impressions. She actually despised those who spoke casually right away.
Yet with Black Wind...
'It's his naturalness.'
Nang Ha-sang finally realized.
His casual tone felt natural, like reuniting with a childhood friend after years apart.
"So that space over there that looks endless was created by a formation, right?"
Black Wind pointed beyond the Sasa Whirlpool.
The Sasa Whirlpool zone resembled an ocean. The massive sea of sand slowly churning evoked both serenity and eeriness.
At its center, the vortex's eye looked like a giant monster's gaze. The eye of a slumbering beast.
"Do you know who I am?"
"They said you're the Ice Palace Lord... Ah! It's the casual talk, isn't it? It's an occupational habit, so cut me some slack."
"Occupational habit?"
"I haven't shown proper respect to anyone in ten years."
"What was your job?"
"Ten Thousand Commander for three years, Thousand Commander for two and a half, Hundred Commander for one, Ten Commander for half a year."
"So you were a soldier?"
"Not full-time, so technically not a soldier if you're strict about it."
"What's full-time then?"
"I was in the Wind Squad."
"Wind Squad?"
"The war's over. Me and the Eighteen-Man Squad are the Red Witch's guests."
"...Anyway, you were in the military for ten years?"
"Yeah."
Black Wind nodded.
"Fix it."
"My speech?"
"If you don't, you won't live out your natural lifespan."
"Like I said earlier, the war's over, so it'll improve gradually. I'll make an effort. More importantly, if that's a formation, then this Sasa Whirlpool is fake too?"
He said he'd try, but he didn't seem inclined to change his casual tone at all.
"...I don't know."
Nang Ha-sang started to correct his speech but stopped.
"Cool, anyway."
Black Wind grinned.
"You didn't show respect to Yagul Cheonju?"
She couldn't help bringing up his speech again.
"He spoke casually first."
"So if someone treats you with respect, you return it?"
"Give and take. That's my creed."
"..."
"Am I the only one who thinks it's similar to the Martial God Tower?"
Cycle Demon King Gaharap said quietly.
"I was thinking the same."
Yagul Jeokson picked up after him.
"Have you been to the Martial God Tower?"
Black Wind asked Nang Ha-sang after overhearing them.
"No one here hasn't been to the Martial God Tower at least once."
"It's a place all martial artists pass through?"
"Some even bury their bones there."
"Why?"
"Because all the opportunities in the Central Plains are said to be there. Play it right, and you can strike it rich overnight."
"I see."
Black Wind nodded. He recalled the Great Yellow Gold Castle from Seo Pung's group.
'It's mine.'
Black Wind muttered inwardly.
"What do you think?"
Yagul Jeokson asked the group.
"We should observe a bit longer."
Cycle Demon King Gaharap said as he sat cross-legged. The two fell back into thought.
"Isn't that the character for 'trust'?"
Black Wind pointed up at the Sasa Whirlpool.
Three zhang above the surface, the character was carved into the wall.
"That's right. We've been studying what it means too."
Nang Ha-sang nodded.
"Shouldn't we first figure out if this vortex is real or not?"
"How?"
The group looked at Black Wind.
"Why not toss this in and see."
Black Wind pulled the demon hook from his belt and threw it.
Thunk!
The demon hook fell onto the Sasa Whirlpool and slowly sank.
"That's real."
"How can you be sure it's real just from that?"
Talli asked.
Most formations fooled the eyes, but supreme ones deceived the mind, so even seeing and feeling it wasn't enough to confirm.
"It feels real. Anyway, that 'trust' character seems suspicious."
"What's suspicious about it?"
"It's like it's saying, 'You must believe in me.'"
"..."
"People who already have a lot don't trust easily or take risks."
"So they carved 'trust' there?"
"You know the saying: 'Blessings come to those who believe.'"
"So what are you going to do?"
"Go get my demon hook."
"How?"
"Like this."
Black Wind covered his nose and mouth with a sand-proof mask and leaped into the Sasa Whirlpool.
"Huh?"
"Hey!"
Those nearby were startled.
Plop!
Black Wind's body hit the Sasa Whirlpool.
"This is real."
Black Wind grabbed a handful of sand, tossed it upward, and shouted. Soon, his figure was sucked into the vortex.
"What do you think?"
Yo Pung turned to the group and asked.
"If the Thousand Commander says jump, we jump."
So Pung was first, covering his face with cloth before throwing himself in. The other squad members followed, and finally, Yo Pung and the old man leaped into the Sasa Whirlpool together.
The group watched while deploying the Thousand Li Pure Ear Technique.
But the Sasa Whirlpool continued swirling slowly, unchanged from before.
"It's about time for the latecomers to arrive."
Yagul Jeokson glanced back and said.
The latecomers were those without sun tokens. Originally, those without sun tokens shouldn't enter. If the five with tokens had come secretly, it might have stayed that way.
But word had leaked about token holders gathering somewhere, drawing all the forces of the Border Wastelands.
They couldn't be ignored.
Ignoring them would surely spark bloodshed. So they proposed ten entrants, entering half a shichen later.
But apparently, more than half a shichen had already passed.
"At this rate, there's no point in having come first..."
Talli muttered.
"I think I'll believe it once."
Nang Ha-sang said.
"You mean believe that writing?"
Talli asked.
"Not the writing, but the Thousand Commander's interpretation of it. Follow me."
Nang Ha-sang covered her face and leaped toward the Sasa Whirlpool. Her Ice Palace martial artists followed suit.
"Let's go too."
Following Nang Ha-sang, Talli leaped in with her subordinates.
"Ugh!"
Yagul Jeokson grimaced. There seemed no choice but to jump into the Sasa Whirlpool.
He looked at his son.
"We should find another path."
Yagul Ma-ha had no intention of jumping into the Sasa Whirlpool. It wasn't just fear; he didn't want to risk his life on uncertainty.
"What other path?"
"How about flying across inside with the Void Treading Technique?"
Yagul Ma-ha pointed ahead.
"I'll check."
Cycle Demon King Gaharap immediately kicked off the ground and soared. He flew nonstop, soon vanishing into the darkness beyond the Sasa Whirlpool. The group waited for his return. But Gaharap didn't come back.
"There must be a passage."
Yagul Jeokson immediately took flight.
As expected, there was a passage beyond the Sasa Whirlpool. Or at least, not certain if it was a passage, but clearly a way out.
"Twenty zhang from there to here!"
Yagul Jeokson shouted to Yagul Ma-ha before entering the passage. With Gaharap gone, he feared losing the treasures and couldn't wait for his son.
"If we slice rocks into platters and throw them, we can use them as stepping stones?"
Yagul Ma-ha said to his subordinate.
"It's possible."
A man with a stern face nodded.
He was Mok Hwi, the Iron Lion squad leader of Hell Fortress's strongest unit, the Lion Squad.
"Let's do that."
"Yes."
Mok Hwi gave orders to his men.
The Hell Fortress martial artists went to the walls, swung their weapons, and cut rocks into round platters.
"Preparations complete."
Mok Hwi said to Yagul Ma-ha.
"That guy from earlier?"
"You mean... the Thousand Commander?"
"Yeah."
"What are your orders?"
"Kill him."
"...Understood."
Mok Hwi bowed his head. Then he quietly asked his men.
"Did you hear?"
"Yes."
"First one who sights him, kill him."
"Understood."
"Please begin."
Mok Hwi said to Yagul Ma-ha.
"I'll go first."
Yagul Ma-ha kicked off first and flew. He leaped so readily because of Black Wind and Nang Ha-sang's group jumping in. As he flew about eight zhang, Mok Hwi hurled a platter. The stone platter flew fast. When it reached ten zhang, Yagul Ma-ha kicked it midair. Propelled further, he shot inward.
"Go!"
"Kick!"
As Mok Hwi shouted, other squad members leaped.
The Hell Fortress martial artists crossed the Sasa Whirlpool that way.
"You're mine."
After sending his men, Mok Hwi, left alone, threw himself toward the Sasa Whirlpool.
"Ume, what do you think we should do?"
Storm Emperor Miyamoto asked the woman beside him. She was about five cheok tall. Dark Queen Ume. She was the Eastern Ocean's top assassin and Miyamoto's bodyguard.
"I want to test the Sasa Whirlpool."
"You mean take the risk?"
"Yes."
"Fine. Then you go into the Sasa Whirlpool, Ume."
"Got it. I'll go first."
Ume threw herself in immediately. Her mask meant no need for cloth over nose and mouth.
"Let's go."
"We're going too."
The Shadow Network martial artists and Demon Temple martial artists leaped simultaneously. They too crossed the Sasa Whirlpool using platter-shaped stones.
Moments later, the plaza was empty.
Before silence could settle, a group burst into the plaza. The late arrivals. Like those before, they spotted the Sasa Whirlpool and fell into dilemma.