Chapter 133
Come to think of it, nowhere did it say that the [Blood Legion] ability
could only be applied to servants.
It said it could be applied to targets who recognized me as a true ‘lord.’
All the buffs I had used until now could only be granted to servants, so I had fallen into that preconception without realizing it.
‘Could it really work?’
I looked down at the nearest cult member.
He was a young man in his early twenties, with his hair tied in a ponytail.
The sword at his side suggested that he was a martial artist.
He was kneeling with both hands clasped tightly, worshipping fervently.
[Loyalty: Very High]
His loyalty rating was even comparable to that of my direct servants.
“Ahh, Blood Lord. You really haven't grown even a little in several months! How noble you are…!”
‘…….’
Tsk.
I knew he was worshipping me earnestly, but.
Wasn't that line a little strange? Huh?!
‘Sigh…. Is there a True Ancestor fan club in the murim world too?’
Well. Loyalty was still loyalty.
As a test, I tried granting [Blood Legion] to the ponytailed young man.
Vwoom.
A red symbol was clearly stamped onto the young man's forehead, then slowly faded away.
“Huh…?”
“A red light from his forehead?”
The surrounding cult members began murmuring as they saw the light coming from the young man's forehead.
Looking down at him with arrogant, lofty eyes, I said,
“Your loyalty is commendable, so this Blood Demon has bestowed power upon you.”
“……The, the Blood Lord personally gave me power!”
The young man who had directly received the blessing reacted explosively.
“My body feels incredibly light!”
He clenched and unclenched his fists, moved around, and let out an astonished cry.
“It feels as though my internal energy has surged all at once! My body is overflowing with strength, as though I had trained for more than a decade! Thank you, thank you so much!”
‘Holy crap.’
Watching him, I realized the true advantage of [Blood Legion].
For powerful people like my servants, a fixed increase of around 10 to all stats was merely a minor change,
but for ordinary martial artists with low base stats, it was an enormous transformation!
‘Good. Then now….’
Once the test had succeeded, I selected all the red symbols filling my field of vision.
Fortunately, I didn't have to press them one by one; I could designate them all at once.
‘Apply to all!’
Wooooong—!
Red seals appeared simultaneously on the cult members' foreheads, then vanished.
The sight looked like a red wave spreading broadly across the entire street.
Soon, astonished cries erupted from every corner of the street.
“Goodness! The pain in my knees that always acted up whenever it rained is completely gone!”
An elderly cult member threw away his cane and cheered.
“I-I can feel qi! Even a talentless guy like me can feel my dantian!”
A young cult member shed tears of joy.
“An epiphany, an epiphany…! The wall to the realm that had blocked me for years is crumbling!”
Those who already seemed to be practicing martial arts also sat cross-legged where they stood and began meditating.
Even noncombatants, such as children and middle-aged women who didn't know how to fight, gained bright complexions and overflowing health and vitality.
“Mom! I feel so much strength in my body!”
“Oh my, goodness. I feel like all my fatigue has melted away.”
Those with high loyalty received more stats, while those with low loyalty received fewer.
But if they pledged their loyalty to me, every single one received a definite blessing.
‘Wow, then this really is broken, isn't it?’
Seeing the spectacle, I let out an incredulous laugh.
Especially in a murim world, wasn't this practically a cheat code?
A power that could turn ordinary people into martial artists, novices into intermediate practitioners, and intermediate practitioners into experts.
The street was already no different from the site of a frenzied festival.
“The Blood Lord has bestowed a blessing upon us all!”
“Ooooooh——!”
“Just as the Bishop said!”
“It truly is as the Blood Lord says—one's origins, status, and talent don't matter at all beneath him!”
“Only those with stronger faith receive greater grace!”
‘Uh…. I just checked everyone who could receive it….’
I stood there somewhat awkwardly as the praise began heading in a strange direction.
“This is the moment a new legend of the Blood Cult is being written. It is an honor to be here for it…!”
While doing my best to ignore Katarina, who was beside me making a fuss and dabbing at the corners of her eyes.
Then, I discovered one interesting fact.
[Blood Legion] could only be applied to ‘targets who recognize me as a true lord.’
Amid the countless people cheering, red symbols did not appear in my field of vision above a tiny handful of them.
When I examined them with [Emotion Eye],
I found that they were either new cult members who had just joined and still lacked faith, or people who had merely come to watch after being swept up in the atmosphere.
So it didn't appear above everyone after all.
It was a system in which red symbols appeared only above the heads of those who sincerely recognized me as the Blood Lord.
‘Oh. Then it could also come in handy when looking for suspicious people later.’
With the [Emotion Eye] skill, I could roughly read an opponent's information or inner thoughts, but if their level was far higher than mine, their information was concealed and I couldn't check it.
But the crown's symbol could determine whether someone recognized me as their lord regardless of level, so it could also serve as an excellent detector for filtering out spies.
It was around the time the impromptu blessing ceremony was coming to a rough end.
From far away, I saw an extremely familiar face running breathlessly through the crowd.
The chief contributor who had grown the Blood Cult so much while I was away.
It was Bishop Cheon Ryuryeon.
“Blood Demon! Have you returned!”
***
Cheon Ryuryeon was dressed neatly in red bishop's robes.
Nothing remained of his days as an inn attendant; he now looked every inch the bishop of the Blood Cult.
[Loyalty: High]
He had initially been skeptical, but his loyalty had risen considerably.
“Bishop. Have you been leading the cult well? It seems the cult has grown quite large.”
“Yes. I will escort you to the main hall and give you a detailed report.”
I headed for the main hall under Cheon Ryuryeon's guidance.
“I had the previous inn refurbished as best I could…. Does it meet with your approval, Blood Demon?”
‘Wow.’
It was more than fine.
The inn had originally possessed a clean interior, but now it was absolutely dazzling.
There was no sign of gold plating or extravagant excess, but it had been decorated with great neatness and dignity.
Now, at a glance, it unmistakably felt like a religious facility.
“Good. Well done!”
“Phew…. I'm relieved.”
Cheon Ryuryeon smiled as he let out a sigh of relief.
“And according to Blood Demon-nim's wishes, we have provided aid to the destitute in a variety of ways.”
As soon as we sat down, Cheon Ryuryeon proudly began his report.
“First, we provide free porridge to those who are starving, and we hired physicians to treat the poor and sick.”
“Oh-ho.”
“We also subdued the vicious unorthodox sects and bandit groups in the surrounding area to restore public safety, and paid everyone working for the cult fair wages according to their labor.”
“Mm-hmm.”
“In addition, we provided orphans and vagrants with places to sleep, and even taught basic mental cultivation methods to those who wished to learn martial arts.”
“…You even taught them a cultivation method?”
“Yes! We based it on the mental cultivation methods and basic training techniques taught by the Red Moon Blood Fiend, the Shadow Assassin, and the Red Blood Sword Ghost.”
‘…….’
“Wait, that was a thing…?”
I didn't know about it either.
So the Blood Cult really had martial arts of its own now.
“Ahem! You have done well according to This One's wishes!”
“As we carried out these endeavors, countless people voluntarily asked to join our cult, which is how our influence grew so quickly. It is all thanks to Blood Demon-nim's foresight!”
Uh…. Was it really my foresight?
It seemed more like you were simply incredibly good at your job.
Cheon Ryuryeon, the deputy cult leader, had gone beyond merely following my orders and managed the organization brilliantly, even applying his own ideas.
‘At this point, he's an excellent lifelong mod… no, a blood mod candidate.’
Anyway, in conclusion, apparently the number of cult members had grown by the hundreds.
I did a rough calculation.
An all-stat increase for hundreds of people, according to their loyalty.
Permanently, too.
And I could grant additional blessings every time the cult's membership grew.
‘This crown is much more impressive than I expected.’
At first, I had thought it was more ambiguous than Deathscythe, but now I saw that the Red Crown was a growth-type divine artifact that grew stronger as my faction expanded.
It might actually be even more broken than Deathscythe.
I was almost inclined to think so.
Above all, there was one thing I liked most.
‘If the Blood Cult members grow stronger, I can farm more comfortably!’
What if not only my servants, but the cult members as well, farmed blood for me?
This was insane, absolutely insane!
It was a chance to duplicate Blood Power, plain and simple.
‘Hehe. So it really is an EX-rank item!’
If the power of [Blood Legion] was this great, I was even more excited to see how incredible the active skill, [Lord's Edict], would be.
‘Since it has a one-week cooldown, I should use it at an important moment.’
I resolved to save it carefully.
After the report on the Blood Cult's growth had mostly finished, I remembered the core objective of this climb.
‘Oh, right. Namgung Yeonhee.’
I glanced around, but she was nowhere to be seen.
Then I asked Cheon Ryuryeon,
“Where is Namgung Yeonhee?”
The moment I asked this question, the atmosphere shifted slightly.
Cheon Ryuryeon's expression, which had been bright just moments ago, visibly darkened.
“Well… Blood Lord.”
He cautiously began to speak.
“Miss Namgung is currently back at the Namgung Family estate.”
‘Ah, she went home.’
It had been several months, so it was only natural that she had returned home.
Still, she would have to receive treatment from me to finish clearing her blocked meridians, so she would come back eventually.
“When did she say she would return?”
At my question, Cheon Ryuryeon lowered his head and hesitated.
“She originally said she would return in ten days, but… she has been unable to come until now.”
Huh?
It wasn't that she wasn't coming, but that she couldn't?
I tilted my head.
“Why?”
“I made inquiries, and rumors are circulating that she has been placed under disciplinary confinement by the Namgung Family.”
‘What?’
Namgung Yeonhee… had been imprisoned by the Namgung Family?