Chapter 633
The voice outside was whispered as if to hide, but the urgency behind it and the hurried footsteps gave it away.
“G-Grand Palace Lord!”
At the call, presumably from a guard, the Beast Miao King and Yal Mok sharply turned their heads.
“There’s trouble on Mount Aino—!”
‘Crash!’
A fierce wave of energy exploded from within, sweeping through the interior of the shrine.
The decaying doors were blown to pieces as the Beast Miao King, eyes wide, roared at his subordinate.
“Trouble at Mount Aino? What do you mean by that?!”
And just then, before the voice even finished ringing, a soft bell chime echoed directly in my ear.
‘Ding.’
‘ A Sudden Quest [Unknown Omen] has been generated!
[Unknown Omen]
The Forbidden Land of the Southern Barbarians—Mount Aino is screaming.
High and perilous peaks bear the shredded corpses of the dead, and across sheer cliffs, blood of unknown origin flows.
Shrouded in black clouds and mist, endless shrieks rise from the mountains, instilling fear in all.
And now, a new path has opened before you.
Type: Sudden Quest
Restriction: Jin Taekyung
Objective: Investigate Mount Aino within the time limit (Incomplete)
Reward: ???
Failure: ???
‘ Will you accept the quest?
‘“Unknown omen,” huh…’
I muttered internally, already thinking they should’ve named it something else.
Not “Unknown Omen,” but “Blatantly Obvious Omen.”
Still, no matter the name, the answer in this situation was already determined.
‘Accept Quest.’
‘Ding.’
‘ You have accepted the Sudden Quest [Unknown Omen]!
‘ Time limit has been set!
‘ Time remaining: 4 hours 59 minutes 59 seconds.
Time, once frozen, began to flow again. And within seconds, we were cutting through the deep pre-dawn darkness, racing toward Mount Aino.
—
They say the warriors of the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace grow up alongside fierce beasts.
Raised together from childhood to build trust and bonds, and once their coming-of-age ceremony is complete, they are formally acknowledged as warriors and become lifelong companions with their beasts.
But even with a centuries-old tradition like this, there were, as always, exceptions.
‘Shhhk! Crash!’
The Beast Miao King, Yal Cheok, was one of those exceptions.
He never needed the help of a beast—not as a child, not even now.
He ‘was’ the greatest warrior the Southern Barbarian Region had ever produced—he ‘was’ the beast itself.
Charging through dense jungle ahead of everyone, the roar that burst from his lips was wild and mighty.
‘ROOAAARRR!’
A literal beast’s roar.
It was far more savage and primal than Shaolin Temple’s Lion’s Roar technique.
And that cry, fierce and brutal, cut through the darkness and spread swiftly, sounding a warning.
From atop the ridge, dozens—hundreds—of torches flared to life.
Yal Cheok turned to the guards racing alongside and shouted.
“Gisan! Dogok! Go to the Outer Palace! Find the chiefs staying there, calm the people, mobilize warriors, and prepare for a possible invasion!”
“Yes, sir!”
“Wonhu! Manjeok! You two, head to the Inner Palace. Mobilize the Miao warriors and defend the palace!”
“At your command!”
“The rest of you—track down the other great chiefs! Inform them of what’s happening and have each of them send a hundred elite warriors to Mount Aino!”
He issued crisp orders to the ‘Seven Miao Tigers’—the elite bodyguards of the palace.
Then his gaze fell to his youngest son, running behind him.
“Mok-ah.”
“…Yes, Father.”
Yal Mok’s face was dark—not from the night, but from knowing what would come next.
And as if expecting it already, he answered in a subdued tone.
Yal Cheok responded firmly.
“Go with them. Gather the Miao warriors and raise a unit in preparation for the worst.”
“But…”
“Have you forgotten? You are a vice-chief of the Miao Tribe and the Young Palace Lord of the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace.”
And that was the moment I was reminded why Yal Cheok was the Palace Lord of the Beast Palace.
When we first met, he seemed laid-back, like a lazy old lion.
But now, he was a beast staring down prey—razor-sharp and dominant.
And Yal Mok was not foolish enough to disobey his father’s command in a time like this.
“…I will carry out your command.”
Despite the answer, Yal Mok did not immediately leave formation.
Instead, running alongside me, he came closer and offered an unexpected proposal.
“Take him with you.”
“Huh?”
‘Grrr?’
The “him” he referred to was the white tiger, of course.
Which made the offer all the more surprising.
Southern warriors consider their beasts as not just comrades—but family.
‘Shhk!’
I ducked to avoid a branch and asked cautiously,
“You’re… giving him to me? Like some kind of adoption?”
“Don’t be ridiculous!”
‘GRAWR!’
“Jesus! Why are you so mad? You could’ve just said no.”
“It’s not that! You need to conserve your strength as much as possible to help my father!”
‘ROOOAARR!’
It’s true what they say—hearts can connect without words.
Both the man and the beast were freaking out together.
But still…
‘Riding would definitely conserve energy.’
Even though my reserves of internal energy were vast—rare even in the Central Plains—they weren’t infinite.
If we were going to fight Dark Heaven, led by the Southern Demon Empress, it would be smart to preserve energy like Yal Mok said.
‘Good kid.’
I hadn’t been in the Southern Region long, but I understood what it meant for someone here to offer their beast.
Looking at Yal Mok with pride, I decided to offer him a gift in return.
“Here. Don’t be shy. Give and take, right?”
‘Rustle…’
As the wind passed through the leaves, Nam Ho—still being carried under my arms like luggage—spoke with a solemn expression.
“Am I a package now?”
“If you were, I’d at least be able to throw you at enemies. But sadly, you’re not even that useful.”
“You disrespectful little—attacking an elder—!”
“No whining. Just go. You’ve got retirement plans, remember? Don’t get dragged into something like this. And my people won’t sit idly either.”
It wasn’t dismissal—it was protection.
No matter how seasoned Nam Ho was as a Silent Heaven Pavilion agent, he hadn’t trained even a single martial art technique.
And he knew that better than anyone.
He let out a heavy sigh and replied with a solemn nod.
“Tell the Fire Dragon Pavilion this. The Pavilion Lord is calling.”
“That’s enough. I trust you’ll tell them what to be wary of too.”
At last, the fuse had been lit in the Southern Barbarian Region.
The only question was—who lit it?
An enemy from the outside… or from within?
Nam Ho, his aged body hiding a sharp mind, nodded slightly.
“Pavilion Lord. One last thing.”
“Yes?”
“Don’t get hurt.”
“…Ah.”
“And definitely don’t die.”
I smiled instead of replying.
Receiving Nam Ho from me, Yal Mok gave a nod, then kicked off the white tiger’s back and soared into the air.
‘Tap! Shhhk!’
Their shadows faded into the darkness.
As the others veered off with the Seven Miao Tigers, the Beast Miao King, galloping like a massive bear, picked up speed.
‘Crack!’
Branches snapped, foliage trampled.
Riding on Yal Mok’s tiger, I heard the wind slicing past my ears—and a voice.
“You think this is Dark Heaven’s doing?”
“We won’t know until we get there. But I’d say the chances are high. There’s at least some kind of connection.”
I looked at Yal Cheok’s hardened expression and asked again.
“So, what exactly is Mount Aino?”
“A forbidden place. No one enters without permission.”
I already knew that.
Nam Ho told me. So did the system.
So his answer wasn’t very enlightening.
“But isn’t that true for most of the Southern Barbarian Region? Even the Beast Palace.”
“It’s different.
Very different.
That place is guarded by only the best warriors from every tribe.”
“Why?”
“It was about 300 years ago.
My ancestor’s ancestor—long before my time—lived in these lands.
Back then, over a hundred tribes were locked in endless war, killing and being killed.
Dozens of tribes were wiped out. The survivors retreated into the deepest parts of the region and founded their own sects.
And they began dealing in something more dangerous than any weapon or beast.”
At that moment, a conversation with Jeok Cheon-Gang flashed through my mind—about the Southern Beast Palace’s past tied to the Flame God School’s history.
That history was one of the reasons the Beast Palace had joined the Great War between Justice and Evil.
‘In that case…’
There was only one answer. I muttered softly,
“Poison. It’s poison, isn’t it?”
“Yes. That was the beginning of the Five Venoms Sect, which spread terror through the Southern Region for a hundred years.”
We scaled cliffs, launched over hills, and sprinted across treetops.
Yal Cheok slapped aside thick trees like nothing as he continued.
“They say so many died. The rivers were filled with dead fish, and the animals that ate them died too. Wells were poisoned. Strange diseases spread. Thousands—tens of thousands—perished. And in the face of that, the scattered tribes finally united and began a new war.”
That was the birth of the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace.
But death bred more death. Revenge birthed more revenge.
As the Beast Palace and the Five Venoms Sect fought a brutal war, an outsider from the Central Plains arrived.
“He called himself the Master of the Flame God Sect. A name no one had heard of, but it didn’t matter. He entered our land and burned a hundred Five Venoms warriors alive.”
He hated poison. Like most martial artists, he despised it.
And not fond of the ambush, he smashed the balance of power and led the Beast Palace to obliterate the Five Venoms Sect.
“But the real problem came after he left.”
The Five Venoms warriors were reduced to bones.
But the venom and beasts they unleashed in their final moments multiplied in secret, deep in the mountains.
Slowly. Quietly.
And that very place…
“That place is Mount Aino.”
Following his pointing finger, I looked up.
There, far in the distance, cloaked in clouds and mist, stood a mountain black as death.