Chapter 100
Chapter 100
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 100
Chapter Title: Do You Think You're Qualified?
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The Southern Frontier Assembly buzzed with the representatives from the sects who had shown up to lodge their protests.
"The Demonic Cult has appeared! The Demonic Cult, after a whole six years!"
"Even if the Tang Clan and Nine Dragons Branch Family managed to fend off this surprise attack, there's no guarantee it'll be the same next time, is there?"
"Exactly. Those bastards have always been like scavenging hyenas eyeing the Central Plains martial world—"
"This incident is just the trigger. Who knows when they'll come charging in again—"
The Lion Sage King had silenced them with a single growl earlier, but now that he was gone, the voices of discontent began rising one by one again.
And it was no wonder. This was the Demonic Cult, after all.
They had been as good as dead for the past six years, torn apart by their own civil war. But the terror they had instilled in the Central Plains over the past several centuries couldn't be put into words.
Especially the sects from Sichuan and the western border regions of Gansu, Shaanxi, and Yunnan—they were the most on edge.
"Elder Crane Scholar, say something! The Kunlun Sect should be the most sensitive to this matter!"
At the center was Elder Crane Scholar, the third elder representing the Kunlun Sect.
"Heh heh, well now."
The elder let out a dry chuckle, looking troubled as he stroked his white beard with one hand.
"Hasn't the Tang Clan long served as the Wailing Wall, preventing the Demonic Cult from even dreaming of encroaching on the Central Plains? And this time too, they failed to breach that wall. Instead of thanking the Branch Leader, you're all hounding him like this—it hardly seems right."
"Ahem!"
"That's not what we—"
"There seems to be some misunderstanding, Elder. What we mean is—"
The representatives averted their gazes with reddened noses or cleared their throats awkwardly.
Elder Crane Scholar smiled affably as he turned to Tang Hosan.
"But please don't take it too hard, Branch Leader. Understand our worries. The chivalrous spirit to keep those Demonic Cult fiends from daring to eye the Central Plains is something we all share."
"Dojang, you only spoke the plain truth. If anything, it's our failing for not informing you of their movements in time. On that note, I sincerely apologize on behalf of the Tang Clan not just to those gathered here, but to all the western martial sects who place their trust in us."
"Heh heh! We didn't expect you to go that far. But with the Branch Leader showing such magnanimity in understanding us all, this is truly a blessing for Sichuan."
As Elder Crane Scholar's laughter grew louder, the representatives' faith in him swelled even more.
Tang Hosan clicked his tongue inwardly.
'Sly old fox.'
He had seen through the elder's ploy: pretending to mediate the conflict while subtly pulling the representatives' support toward Kunlun and setting them against the Tang Clan.
Yet he made no move to stop it, knowing full well that the representatives gathered here had already coordinated their stance beforehand.
The protests over the Demonic Cult were mere pretext.
The real reason they had all banded together was something else entirely.
The same reason a diverse array of sects had turned out for what was supposed to be a simple tour of the branch families by the Shadow Venerable.
"If you're truly sorry, then you'll scrap that plan to form your so-called Special Task Force."
From one corner, the representative of the Point Spear Sect—Dojang Falling Sun—who had remained silent until now, flashed a cold smile.
"That matter and this one are entirely separate."
Tang Hosan replied flatly.
This was it.
The very thing every sect in the western martial world feared.
—The creation of the Special Task Force.
It was the revival of the Stormwind Corps.
They were afraid.
Afraid that, just like twenty years ago, the Tang Clan would use this incident to seize a new sharp sword.
'Pathetic. They praise the main clan as the Wailing Wall and all that, yet when that main clan picks up a sword to crush the Demonic Cult, they throw a fit.'
In a way, these sects might harbor even more insidious poison than the Demonic Cult itself.
"Separate? How could they possibly be separate? It could lead to misunderstandings!"
"What misunderstanding?"
"Are you pretending not to know? It's the revival of the Stormwind Corps!"
Thud!
Dojang Falling Sun slammed his palm on the table and snarled.
"Everyone here has felt the horrors of the Stormwind Corps shudder in their bones! And the Tang Clan promised never to unleash them again! But now this Special Task Force out of nowhere? If that's not the Stormwind Corps reborn, then what is it?!"
After the Stormwind Corps suffered a crushing defeat on their final campaign and returned to Sichuan, they were met not with cheers and encouragement, but with cold disdain and scorn.
"The Stormwind Corps is too dangerous a blade! Look! Even the Tang Clan couldn't wield it properly and it broke! There's no guarantee something like this won't happen again!"
"Right! Their martial arts are too vicious, and their explosives could draw in the imperial court and the emperor himself!"
"With rumors already swirling that the Eastern Depot has taken notice and is turning its eyes toward Sichuan, isn't reviving them now far too risky?"
"A once-defeated invincible force is no longer invincible. The Stormwind Corps has outlived its usefulness—disband it!"
When the Stormwind Corps clashed fiercely with the Demonic Cult on the front lines, everyone cheered them on.
But there had always been no small number who eyed their power with concern.
At some point, a mere unit had grown capable of crushing one or two mid-sized sects with ease.
Rumors even circulated that the Stormwind Corps alone could rival the Nine Great Sects like Kunlun or Point Spear.
And those weren't just empty rumors.
It was the truth.
They had smashed numerous of the Seventy-Two Minor Sects, even trading blows with the headquarters of the Nine Great Sects.
The fear began to spread that the Tang Clan, owners of such a Stormwind Corps, might swallow not just Sichuan martial world, but the entire western Central Plains.
Yet no one could check them.
The Tang Clan was too mighty at the time.
The Shadow Venerable's fame pierced the heavens, and the Stormwind Corps was so overwhelming that anyone who tried to oppose them would be crushed first.
Then came the news that shattered it all: the Stormwind Corps had been annihilated.
Every sect in the western martial world sent condolence delegations with gleeful hearts.
And applied pressure.
Claiming the Corps' violent nature ill-suited the righteous faction, that their gunpowder weapons might provoke the imperial court, attaching every pretext to disband them once and for all.
In the end, the Shadow Venerable had no choice but to disband the Stormwind Corps with his own hands, and Tang Hosan had watched his subordinates depart in vain before retreating to seclusion in Nine Dragons County.
And so the years passed to the present.
After long years of waiting, the Shadow Venerable and Tang Hosan judged now the perfect time to revive the Stormwind Corps.
But the western sects' wariness remained, trying to seal it away again.
Clench.
Tang Hosan gripped his fist tightly under the table.
A sudden urge welled up to sweep away all these gazes boring into him.
'What kind of look is that—'
Dojang Falling Sun flinched inwardly at Tang Hosan's reddened glare, but brazenly met it with a defiant "What are you gonna do about it?" attitude.
He couldn't take on Tang Hosan alone, but here, so many shared his will.
Especially since Elder Crane Scholar had promised his support.
"...The nature of the new Special Task Force the Clan Leader wishes to create is different from the old Stormwind Corps."
"Do you think our eyes are blind? You think fancy words will fool us?!"
"That's—"
It was just as Tang Hosan opened his mouth again.
Bang!
The main doors of the conference hall suddenly burst open, and the dozens of pressuring auras bearing down on him vanished like lies.
"!!"
"!!"
"!!"
All eyes turned that way.
The Shadow Venerable was grinning.
"Why'd it get so quiet all of a sudden? I thought this was some marketplace racket."
The Shadow Venerable was clearly smiling.
But the pressure the representatives felt was anything but cheerful.
'What kind of human has eyes like that!!'
'I thought I'd be able to withstand the pressure this time... but he's grown even stronger since then!'
'How can he reach such heights and still climb higher—'
'That's no human—that's a demon in human skin!'
Those of similar seniority to the Shadow Venerable despaired, while the juniors fell into utter hopelessness.
The majesty of one of the Ten Great Experts of the world was a heaven they could never aspire to—like heaven itself.
Step, step!
The Shadow Venerable strode through the center of the assembly toward the highest seat at the back.
Behind him followed the elites of the Green Attendant Corps, led by Tang Yewon.
'That woman is the Heavenly Phoenix...!!'
'The monstrous prodigy who might skip over her father the young clan leader to become the next Tang Clan head, and the Shadow Venerable's sole disciple—'
'The Green Attendant Corps too... they're no slouches. Absolutely not inferior to the old Stormwind Corps.'
'From Stormwind Rogue Hero to his successor—how does the Tang Clan produce so many monsters?'
Just their arrival filled the Southern Frontier Assembly to bursting.
No matter that these were top experts from their sects—the presence exuded by the Tang Clan members dwarfed them.
"You've arrived?"
Tang Hosan rose and bowed his head.
The Shadow Venerable grinned and clapped his shoulder.
"I heard you've been through a lot."
"What have I done? I merely did my duty."
"Properly finishing one's duty is impressive in itself. Far better than loose-lipped old fools who can't help but backseat from the sidelines, right?"
"!"
"!"
"!"
The representatives, suddenly branded "loose-lipped old fools," flushed red but none could retort.
"Have a seat then."
Thud!
The Shadow Venerable plopped into the highest seat and crossed his legs.
The posture was so natural that the representatives felt like civil and military officials come to pledge loyalty before an emperor.
"Hey, Falling Sun."
"...Yes, Tang Clan Leader."
Dojang Falling Sun, under the Shadow Venerable's gaze, broke out in cold sweat beading on his forehead.
It was hard to believe this was the same man who had been aggressively pressing Tang Hosan moments ago—now he was utterly subservient.
"I happened to overhear your chat with the Southern Frontier on my way in."
Heh heh.
The Shadow Venerable's lips curled up.
"If I declare right here that I'm reviving the Stormwind Corps, do you think you're man enough to stop me?"
"What do you—"
"Or does Point Spear think it's qualified?"
Dojang Falling Sun's head snapped up.
"That's going too far, Clan Leader. That sounds like an insult to our sect—"
"Or should I climb Chang Mountain myself and smash your sect plaque? Would that help you grasp your place?"
"Clan Leader!!"
Boom!
Dojang Falling Sun's face turned beet red as he slammed the table and shot to his feet.
"If you don't take back those words, we won't stand idly—"
"Sit!"
Ruuuumble!
Dojang Falling Sun was forced back into his seat by an invisible pressure crushing his shoulders.
"!!!"
Shock spread across his face.
His heart was gripped tight by an unseen hand.
Heart Slaughter.
The supreme realm where mere will could cleave an opponent's soul was manifesting before his eyes.
'He really surpassed the pinnacle and glimpsed the saintly realm, just like the rumors said...!!'
A gaze sharp enough to slice him where he stood pierced right through.
"Thirty-two years ago, half the mountainside of Chang Mountain burned to ash by the Sword Demon Shangmu Sect. Who do you think stopped that? Me. And now you dare spout that nonsense at me?"
"!!!"
"Then the Stormwind Corps acted as your windbreak, letting your pathetic remnant bloodline carry on! And you scum dare?!"
Flames ignited in the Shadow Venerable's eyes.
Dojang Falling Sun's face drained white.
He couldn't breathe.
It was as if the King of Hell in the underworld had reached out for him.
"Th-that wasn't my intention—"
"Wasn't it? Then how's the crap spewing from your mouth now any different from outright defying the main clan?!"
Dojang Falling Sun's lips trembled as if to protest. But his throat was too constricted for any words to escape.
Gurgle.
In the end, he foamed at the mouth and toppled backward.
At that instant, the pressure on Dojang Falling Sun vanished like a lie.
The Shadow Venerable's face softened to benevolence as he cradled a teacup Tang Yewon had prepared, smiling warmly.
"Tch, come on. It was just a little joke, and you flop over like that? A sect leader no less—too timid to be of any use."
"……."
"……."
"……."
No one knew what rhythm to follow.
The representatives gazed at the Shadow Venerable with shaken eyes.
Moments ago he had been the King of Hell; now he seemed a merciful Buddha from the other shore.
"You all watch yourselves too. Health comes first as you age. You're all at that precarious point where dropping dead wouldn't surprise anyone, aren't you?"
At those words, the representatives frantically checked themselves.
'Wh-when did it happen!!'
'I haven't eaten or drunk anything since arriving—'
And yet, despite being top-tier experts of the martial world, they had unknowingly been poisoned by some nameless toxin.
This was the Shadow Venerable.
The master of deadly arts who could claim their lives anytime, anywhere.
"I get what you're worried about. You're sniffing around, wondering if this Special Task Force I'm forming is just Stormwind Corps 2.0? Scared we'll use the Demonic Cult as an excuse to put the Stormwind Corps out front and swallow you all whole? That's why you're yipping like desperate puppies, right?"
It was an outrageous insult that would have anyone else drawing swords on the spot.
"But to cut to the chase: yes, that Special Task Force is the Stormwind Corps."
"!"
"!"
"!"
"Or maybe even better. This time, I'm getting serious—I'll step up myself. If needed, I'll pass on all my signature poison arts."
"!!"
"!!"
"!!"
The representatives reeled in shock.
A saint-realm expert sharing his ultimate techniques?
This had to be stopped at all costs.
Some ignored the poison and tried to leap up, but the Shadow Venerable's next words threw them into chaos.
"But in exchange, the new Stormwind Corps won't be open just to the main clan."
The Shadow Venerable grinned.
"If needed, it'll open to your sects too. Any interested?"
In that moment, the Southern Frontier Assembly heated up with fervor.