Chapter 25
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 25
Chapter Title: Closing the Mountain Gates
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Ultimately, unable to bear watching the situation drag on any longer, Gwang-il stepped forward once more, heedless of the impropriety.
"Sect Leader. Didn't the Yun Merchants deliver the Narrow Tip Sword far earlier than expected, right on time?"
"...And?"
"With the Sichuan Tang Clan baring its ambitions in Yun Province and the unorthodox sects running rampant amid this dire state of affairs, I dare say that for our sect, which has fewer members than other schools, bolstering our strength is more crucial than anything else."
"Hmm!"
It was sound reasoning, eloquently put, and at the same time, sweet words that naturally piqued one's appetite.
If they acted on this, he could dash off to the training his heart urged him toward without delay.
Yet the position of a sect leader was one that could not so easily decide on weighty matters.
"However, doesn't that make it all the more imperative that we not slacken our vigilance against schemes from outside forces?"
"That's reasonable too, but unless they dare invade our main sect directly, how could they withstand the wrath of our sect once we've grown even stronger?"
"Mm!"
"The Yun Merchant Leader bringing the Narrow Tip Sword unbidden, or this disciple gaining a timely chance to show his meager accomplishments— I believe all of it is part of the arrangements laid by our founding ancestor."
"...Is that truly the case?"
"Yes, Sect Leader."
No one around stepped in to stop Gwang-il as he bowed respectfully.
From first-generation to second-generation disciples, everyone yearned to set aside their duties under legitimate permission and immerse themselves in training right away.
And that sentiment was shared even by Gwan-hae, who held the final authority.
Gwang-il scratched that itch once more with firm words.
"As you've seen, properly executing the Sun-Piercing Sword requires the Narrow Tip Sword without fail. Just as our founding ancestor took the Point Cang Sword into his side chamber at the end of his life."
"Hmm... Quite right. Your words ring true."
He had already been stunned to witness an entirely new dimension to a technique he thought he'd mastered.
At least among the second-generation and above who had trained in the Sun-Piercing Sword, no one remained ignorant of the Narrow Tip Sword's importance and necessity.
Thus, Gwang-il seized this rare opportunity, acting all the more proactively.
"Even if the main sect temporarily closes its mountain gates, with the active cooperation of the Yun Merchants and the Beggars' Sect, those Sichuan Tang Clan fiends or other reckless rabble won't dare act rashly."
"The Yun Merchants...?"
Gwan-hae cast a subtle glance sideways.
The Yun Merchant Leader, who had been dazed by Gwang-il's astonishing martial prowess beyond imagination, snapped to his senses and nodded vigorously, as if his neck might snap.
"O-Of course! We'll coordinate with the Beggars' Sect to strictly enforce measures ensuring no reckless scum invades Yun Province, Sect Leader!"
"Hahaha! Truly? You'll do that?"
"It's only right! We Yun Merchants are proud affiliates of the Point Cang Sword Sect, after all!"
"Hohoho! Indeed! Of course you are!"
Was it because his brother Gwan-jong had already committed an irredeemable blunder?
Seeing the Yun Merchant Leader cling desperately to the Sect Leader as his sole lifeline for survival, it was no wonder.
'Sly old fox.'
It was naturally grating to watch.
But Gwang-il refrained from commenting on such overt behavior.
After all, with the Yun Merchants' past collusion with the Beast Palace and Sichuan Tang Clan now out in the open, he was confident they wouldn't betray him or the Point Cang Sect twice.
'Better to seek survival under our sect's shadow than that.'
Merchants were shrewd calculators by nature, weren't they?
Thus, after witnessing the full-force Sun-Piercing Sword he'd unleashed moments ago, they wouldn't dare entertain other notions.
'To make amends for past wrongs, they'll throw themselves into it even more fervently from now on.'
In the end, it was far from a bad outcome.
No, compared to his previous life, it was an excellent start.
Not only would all Point Cang comrades wield Narrow Tip Swords and dedicate themselves to proper Sun-Piercing Sword training, but they'd secured the Yun Merchants as a sturdy funding source and the Beggars' Sect as a reliable intelligence network. And furthermore...
'In this life, those filthy traitors are gone from the sect.'
It was clean enough from the outset to deem it perfect.
Now was the time to close the mountain gates and have everyone enter secluded training to prepare for the coming war.
'While the elders seclude themselves... I...'
Gwang-il glanced over.
The young junior brothers clustered together at a distance, whispering among themselves.
Those naive kids who didn't even dream of approaching where the Sect Leader and sect elders gathered—somehow, he had to raise them into proper swordsmen.
'...This will be an arduous, exhausting journey.'
But it was unavoidable.
To fully repay those Southern Barbarian savages—the ones not worth sparing even if devoured—in full for the heartbreak and misery of his past life...
'In this life, I will absolutely eradicate every last one of you. Absolutely!'
The sect elders passionately discussed reusing the long-abandoned seclusion chambers.
In the depths of Gwang-il's eyes, standing alone like a solitary isle before them, a terrifying grudge churned secretly—too profound to fathom.
"Where's the Venom Dragon Captain? Still no word?"
"Yes, Family Head. Could something have gone wrong...?"
On the outskirts of Chengdu in Sichuan.
In the secluded heart of a vast estate.
This was the family head's quarters of the Sichuan Tang Clan—one of the Eight Great Clans dominating the world, and the root of all poison sects—attached to its rear garden.
The man carefully wiping a dry orchid with a cloth inside was the clan's patriarch, seen by the world's martial artists as a symbol of vengeance.
Despite his lethal reputation as one who never forgot, his current appearance was merely serene and tranquil.
"Hahaha! Me too, indeed. Listen, my chief steward—even if the Venom Dragon Captain perished without a trace, would he go quietly?"
"However..."
"The messenger pigeon must have met some mishap en route. Wait a bit longer. If no reply comes from the main family, he'll surely send word again given his personality."
"Yes, Family Head."
It was an assertion bordering on certainty.
The chief steward bowed respectfully, yet his expression remained uneasy.
He knew all too well how vital the region where the Venom Dragon Captain had been dispatched was to the clan's grand future plans.
"Yun Province."
And right then, the Family Head voiced the very word on his mind.
"A place both distant and near. Right below Sichuan, yet I hesitate to set foot there."
"I feel the same, Family Head."
"But for our clan to truly become the sovereign of all poison sects, we must seize those endless poisons of the Southern wilds."
"Indeed."
"Yet that means inevitably clashing with those barbaric Beast Palace curs, leaders of the Western Outer Evil Palaces."
"..."
"With the Qingcheng and Emei coveting our title as Sichuan's premier clan, can we afford needless bloodshed?"
"Quite right."
They'd repeated similar exchanges dozens of times before.
The chief steward had long realized this tedious Q&A was the Family Head's ritual to ease his pent-up anxiety and discomfort.
'Our current grand plan is tantamount to outright betrayal and treason against the Central Plains martial world...'
It wasn't mere obsession with the righteous faction's facade.
If things went awry, not only all righteous sects but even those depraved Southern unorthodox scum might tear the clan apart. It was a perilous tightrope walk.
Thus, his unprecedented hypersensitivity to the Venom Dragon Captain's missing report wasn't surprising.
"Don't be so hasty. The Point Cang Sword Sect has huddled in their mountain gates obediently for over a decade. We've manipulated the Yun Merchants from the shadows far longer."
"...True enough."
"Even the Beggars' Sect divisions haven't caught on—how could dullards like Point Cang notice our covert operations?"
'You know that full well, yet today of all days, you're talking at length...'
The insolent retort rose to his throat.
As the chief steward swallowed it back...
Thud thud crash!
Urgent footsteps echoed through the family head's quarters, which should always remain serene.
Bang!
"How dare you!"
Soon after, sliding doors burst open without permission.
The chief steward spat fury and killing intent, but the sweating intruder ignored him entirely.
No, he had no time to spare.
"F-Family Head! Disaster!"
"Who are you?"
"At your service! I'm Tang Gan, senior squad leader of Squad Eight in the Venom Dragon Squad, supporting the Venom Dragon Captain from the shadows!"
"Hmm. So, Tang Gan. For you to rush here, you must bear urgent news. Isn't that right?"
The mere mention of Venom Dragon Squad erased the unforgivable rudeness.
Reprimanding a mere squad leader paled against news of the silent Venom Dragon Captain.
Even the chief steward, mid-rage, shared the sentiment.
Suddenly, two pairs of heavy gazes fixed on him.
Tang Gan wiped the sweat from his brow with his sleeve and cautiously delivered the grim tidings filling his chest.
The reason a mere Venom Dragon Squad squad leader could barge into the family head's sanctum.
He'd brought justification matching that urgency to his lips.
"The nine squad members dispatched to the Yun Province safehouse under the Venom Dragon Captain... are presumed all dead."
"What?!"
"...What did you say?"
The bolt-from-the-blue news.
While the chief steward recoiled in shock, the Family Head merely hardened his calm expression.
The orchid he'd meticulously tended snapped midway—unavoidable.
It was that shocking.
A major obstacle to the clan's long-cherished ambition.
"Moreover, vile rumors are spreading widely, centered on the Yun Province proxy, that our clan colluded with unorthodox sects to plunge Yun Province into misery."
"The nerve! Who dares spread such nonsense...!"
"Chief steward."
"Urk! F-Forgive me, Family Head."
His indignation at the absurd slander was short-lived.
At the Family Head's low, subdued call, the chief steward forcibly suppressed his rising fury.
"Who started these rumors? Who dares slander our clan?"
"The Beggars' Sect proxy division, Family Head."
"...Beggars' Sect? Why them all of a sudden...?"
"The Point Cang Sword Sect raided our safehouse, slaughtered the Venom Dragon Captain's squad members, and entrusted the investigation to the Beggars' Sect."
"What?! What in the...!"
Point Cang, out of nowhere?
Why pop up now after over a decade of dormancy?
And furthermore.
"How did they even know our safehouse location...?"
"Forgive me, but this subordinate hasn't ascertained that far. From the Yun Province rumors, though, the situation has turned gravely against us!"
"Hmm!"
"Voices denouncing and condemning our clan are surging from southern Sichuan, where this subordinate was stationed, across all Yun Province! With the Beggars' Sect division as the source, few doubt their veracity...!"
"The nerve."
Whoosh.
"?!"
"F-Family Head!"
Tang Gan's fervent plea turned his face ashen.
The chief steward cried out in urgent restraint.
It was inevitable.
"Those damned beggars must've eaten something bad. Daring to pull such filthy tricks on our clan."
The lush orchids adorning the garden pots in abundance.
Stoic and proud moments ago, they had vanished without trace.
All that remained: black ash powder coating the tiny orchid stones.
Yet the Family Head, who had poisoned his prized orchids with his own hand, felt no regret.
"Chief steward. What proof emboldens those filthy beggars to bare their rotten fangs at us? The Venom Dragon Squad's presence in Yun Province alone couldn't spread such reckless lies."
"That is..."
"Speak the truth at once! Who do you think you're dealing with?!"
Fear of the Family Head's immediate fury?
As Tang Gan hesitated unlike before, the chief steward pressed with a fierce glare.
For a mere squad leader, it was an overwhelming, violent pressure from a lofty superior.
Finally, Tang Gan squeezed his eyes shut and blurted his final intel in a frenzy.
"Th-The Yun Merchants reported all our clan's activities in Yun Province to the Beggars' Sect!"
"!!!"
"They've officially requested protection from their sect, Point Cang Sword Sect, and announced full cooperation with the Beggars' Sect...!"
"All our clan's deeds in Yun Province?! Including the Beast...!"
"Chief steward!"
"?!"
Whoosh!
As he nearly slipped in haste...
The Family Head's eyes, clamping the chief steward's mouth with immense pressure, soon brimmed with dark green venom.
"Convene the high council. Immediately."
"Y-Yes! F-Family Head!"
The chief steward, belatedly realizing his fatal error and flushing, sensed the crisis and dragged Tang Gan out of the quarters.
Once their presences fully faded...
"The nerve... daring to sabotage our clan's grand plan!"
Whoosh!
Unable to contain his rage, the leaking poison spread rapidly, mercilessly melting the pristine marble floor.
"Proxy...! Point Cang!"
Marble, of all things, at a time like this!
It was obvious fuel to stoke his inner fury further.
Meanwhile, as the Sichuan Tang Clan plunged into unprecedented turmoil...
"Is everyone gathered?"
On one flank of Point Cang Mountain—ground zero for one nexus of the Family Head's colossal rage—Gwang-il faced his lifetime's direst challenge, assembling the third-generation disciples.