The grouped walked, no monsters, no bosses. Only drag marks that led to a cave. As they entered the cave, Cheng threw his hand up. "A dozen goblins up ahead."
"Who goes first you or me?" Yeol asked.
"Well obviously, i do. Respect your elders." Cheng chuckled
"True, but you're uglier. So I'll go first." As yeol finished Wu Jin dashed through them, knocking them both against the wall of the cave.
As the four walked around the corner, Wu Jin stood with a goblin pinned against the wall. Eleven bodies laid headless around him. He looked at Cheng and Yeol. "We don't have time for your foolishness." He stabbed the orc in the heart and dropped him. So-Yeon ran by and pushed him out of the way. A cage rested thirty feet behind him.
With one swift stroke of her blade she cut the hinges off the door. "Where are the others." She asked as she bent down.
"Eaten... by three massive monsters." One of the scouts replied.
Yeol helped So-Yeon get the remaining scouts on their feet. "We need to get these men out of here."
"We should destroy this gate first, so this doesn't happen again." Wu Jin looked at So-Yeon.
As the last of the scouts got on their feet Blue's system pinged.
[System Notification]
[Horde Incoming: 200 goblins - 2 Orc bosses]
Blue yelled. "We got company." As he pointed 50 goblins appeared around the corner. Behind them stood an orc, similar to the last one, but he was wielding a massive sword. With one swing the orc killed half of the goblins standing in front of him. "Dinner!" He growled.
Wu Jin looked behind to another corridor. "You all head back there we will hold them off. Find an exit." He yelled at the scouts.
"You heard him." So-Yeon yelled.
Another massive orc, bigger than the one standing in front of them appeared. "Lowly beings. You're meddling with forces you can't comprehend. Surrender and serve... or be our next meal."
Yeol, Wu Jin, So-Yeon and Cheng launched their assault. Blue stood back. "I'll just get in their way."
Blue watched as the four elders sliced through the goblins with ease. They attacked the orcs, but their healing factor was much better than the first. "We can't move to well. The cave is too small." Yeol roared. "Duck!" Cheng yelled. As the three other elders ducked, Cheng gathered qi on his blade and slashed. Sword energy flew forward, slicing through goblins like butter. The two orcs stood laughing.
Behind Blue a scout came running up. "There's something back here."
Blue looked at the elders then back to the scout. "Show me."
The scout led Blue around the corner. A massive red stone stood in the middle of a shallow pool, floating just above the surface.
"That feels like... the crystals."
[System Notification]
[Cleanse The Anchor. Champion]
"Champion? What the fuck are you talking about? How do i cleanse the anchor?"
[Place your hand on the anchor.]
"So, you're selective when you appear and talk."
[Quickly]
"Fuck... okay." Blue walked forward and place his hand on the anchor. Golden light poured from his hands and wrapped the giant red crystal.
[Corruption: 50%]
[Estimated time to cleanse: 2 minutes.]
As the system panel disappeared Blue heard the screams. "Fuck fuck fuck... hurry up will ya!"
Blue listened to blades clashing, meat being torn into. The elders being thrown into walls for two minutes straight.
[System Notification]
[Corruption cleansed]
[Energy transfered]
[Status: 1 star Master ----> 2 star Master]
[The monsters can no longer regenerate]
Blue sprinted toward the four elders. "DO IT NOW! THEY CAN'T REGENERATE!"
Cheng grabbed So-Yeon and Wu Jin. He looked at Yeol. "All yours." Cheng fell back with the two towards Blue.
Yeol smiled and released his qi. A poisonous fog filled the cave. Cheng stood patiently keeping Yeol's qi from reaching anyone. As the qi retracted, Yeol stood on top of both orcs, a head in one hand. The other orc's veins were black and buldged. Some of them had completely burst, leaving Yeol covered in its blood.
"I got them. They are dead now!" Yeol yelled with a grin on his face.
Wu Cheng looked back at Blue. "What did you do?"
Blue explained the crystal and his system cleansing the corruption. "That crystal felt just like the small ones in the vault."
"Interesting." Cheng stroked his beard.
Wu Jin stepped next to Blue. "So they regenerated from the power of the crystal." He sheathed his sword. "If what you say is true, it appears we have much more to worry about with Hyeon than we think."
So-Yeon had already went and brought her scouts back. "Let's go home."
As they walked towards the gate to leave, Blue was staring at the ground. "Champion? What does that mean?" The word replayed in his head over and over.
Wu Cheng looked Blue up and down. "Seems you gained something back there."
"..."
"You can't hide it from us Blue." Yeol put his arm around him. "Your qi is out of control right now. You ascended to quickly."
"When we get out of here Blue you need to cultivate." Wu Jin ordered.
As they left the gate and returned to Murim, a welcoming party awaited them. Mu Jang stood at the front. Behind him were the rest of the boys.
Ryul didn't hesitate, he rushed forward and hugged Blue. Then he turned and lightly punched So-Yeon on the arm. "How many times are you going to put him in danger?" Ryul asked. Wu Jin spun his head giving So-Yeon a deathly glare.
So-Yeon sighed. "Hyung was never in danger. In fact he saved us all."
"Wait... you?" Ryul looked back at Blue. Then So-Yeon. Then back to Blue.
Blue laughed. "Yup. She believes it. No more stab wounds for me... at least from her." Blue looked at Wu Jin who was walking away.
Ilho walked up and turned to look at what Blue was staring at. "Yeah. You're fucked. He was pissed when he got here."
"You can stay in my room Blue." Jinhu chuckled.
"You may want to go stay at Shaolin or with my dad at Namgung for the time being." Ryu slapped him on the back.
"Amitabha. I fear he will not spare the rod this time. What would you like served at your funeral?" Hanjo asked. The boys all laughed. Blue stared wide-eyed at the rod in Wu Jin's hand.
So-Yeon cleared her throat. She gestured for Blue to follow her. She grabbed Yeol and Cheng as well.
"What did you mean by the crystals you found in the vault." She asked.
Blue told her about the crystals. "They were filled with a power that I thought was qi. Almost like a legendary elixir. When I picked one up... my system yelled at me, told me to dispose of them. Said they were corrupted. Just like that anchor back there."
Yeol looked at So-Yeon. "He's not just out with a vendetta on the Tang."
"He might be moving against all of Murim." Cheng interrupted.
"You think he's somehow tied to the gates?" So-Yeon looked puzzled.
Wu Cheng crossed his arms. "I do. The way he gained power, he got those damn taoists to even leave their precious mountain. Even the Heavenly Demon was brought into the fold. It's too neat. He's ambitious sure. But he's never held sway as he does now."
Hundreds of meters away in the shade of the pines. Two masked men sat perched on the canopy. They watched the group as they talked. "Can we get closer?" One asked.
"No, those old men will notice us. She told us to not get caught. Let's go." Both men turned and vanished into the forest.