Chapter 68
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Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 67
Chapter Title: Collapse - 1
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The Murim Alliance cannot make the first move. We have to be the ones to strike first with the sword.
Dusk settled over the thatched hut. Zhang Ping had sent everyone away and was pacing endlessly inside the room lit by a single lantern, muttering to himself.
Countless strategies formed and were discarded amid his rough mutterings.
Time was short.
The news had arrived today: the Advancing Vajra had set out from Shaolin. Without a proper intelligence network, all they had were precarious guesses.
In his mind, he traced an imaginary path on the map drawn by his brush, picturing the Advancing Vajra moving along it.
He was near the Murim Alliance now. By estimation, two days, maybe three.
The once-certain victory was growing hazy.
Bai Hui's disappearance, and now the Advancing Vajra joining the enemy's ranks. Both were critical variables that couldn't be ignored.
No matter how meticulously he planned, it felt like there were holes everywhere. For a lay disciple practicing demonic arts, peak experts were the limit of what he could handle.
Only another transcendent realm master could face one from the transcendent realm. And the Sword King and Advancing Vajra were two of the three strongest in the world.
"My Lord..."
It was hopeless.
He hadn't thought it would be easy. Everyone had called it futile.
Taking down an organization with both military might and wealth was nothing but a fleeting dream—or so he himself had believed before meeting the Girl.
Even after giving up inwardly, lingering regrets had filled him with inferiority, leading a pointless life.
The Girl had given strength to such a Zhang Ping. On a winter night, she had grasped his wrist and shown him a miracle firsthand.
Let's do the impossible together. Let's take back from those who steal and plunder, and return it to them directly.
Let's burn the world together.
Victory was within reach. They had already toppled one of the Five Great Clans, and now they could put an end to the entire Jiangnan martial world.
But that one obstacle wouldn't budge.
"If only there were no Sword King, we could make it work somehow."
No matter how much of a divine maiden she was, she couldn't face both the Sword King and Dao King at once. So what should they do...
Sabak.
At that moment, Zhang Ping heard a faint sound from outside the door. At first, he thought it was a hallucination from sleepless nights over the past few days.
Despite racking his brain for every possible scheme while waiting for the Girl to arrive, they had failed. It had to be an illusion from his brain, worn out by overexerting the demonic arts.
The Girl should be out scouring the wild mountains for Bai Hui right now.
But the sound came again. Sabak, sabak—the Girl's footsteps. Zhang Ping naturally opened the door.
And there she was.
"You were waiting."
She had Bai Hui slung over her shoulder.
"Did you find him?"
"I'm entrusting him to you. This is what you wanted."
She held out Bai Hui like an object. He took him reflexively; Bai Hui was out cold.
The temporary exhaustion from the demonic arts the Girl had absorbed had hit him.
"Don't wake Hui yet—he pushed himself too hard. Give him the mission tomorrow. Everything will be fine."
"Why... are you acting like this? Like you're leaving."
"You're anxious."
Her light fingers stroked Zhang Ping's head.
Something was off. Awkward. A different aura enveloped her, unlike the Girl he always knew.
Something like warm resolve emanated from her.
"Don't do that. What you want will come true."
"My Lord?"
"Just do what you can."
Zhang Ping's pupils trembled. Madness and fanaticism churned ceaselessly within them.
His half-mad mind instinctively sensed it. Something horrific was about to happen.
"I've sinned!"
He didn't think twice. He slammed his head to the ground. His forehead struck the dirt floor as he cried out.
His plea for forgiveness was desperate. Not a hint of hesitation.
"I dared to doubt the divine!
To expand the cult's forces, I gave demonic arts even to the impure! Drawn by dreams of annihilating the martial world, I did what I shouldn't have!
I thought we couldn't win otherwise! I failed to trust your infinite power and relied on myself!"
Thud. His forehead bled from the violent impacts. The flowing blood was steeped in madness and fear.
"I'm sorry. I put too much burden on you."
"My Lord! Give me one more chance—just one! I won't doubt again! I won't do anything foolish or overstepping!"
He begged through sobs. Worried people might see, he raised his voice even louder. Desperate.
But no one heard. He himself had sent everyone away for complete silence.
"I don't need the executive position! Anything is fine! Let me follow you on your path! I won't be a hindrance, so please don't abandon me!"
"I'm not abandoning you."
Cold hands lifted him up. Her warm tone touched his heart.
As before, the Girl instilled hope in him. Calming his madness, soothing his mind. Zhang Ping's trembling eyes looked up at her.
"You don't have to push yourself anymore. You're not the only one.
No one who follows me needs to strain. I'm strong enough to bear all your weight without crumbling."
Tap. A subtle hand struck his blood points. His fatigue-numbed mind fell into sleep almost instantly.
Leaving the soundly sleeping Zhang Ping and Bai Hui in the hut, the Girl stepped outside. With her face covered by her clothes, no one recognized her.
A small resolve bloomed with her steady steps.
"Farewell."
She wanted people to lean on her. She yearned to be the savior for those desperately hoping.
Heaven's punishment in place of a silent god. That was the existence the Girl wished to become.
It was undoubtedly transcending godhood in a human body.
No ordinary feat. Yet the Girl had done it.
Combining talent that reached the heavens with the ancient flow of qi passed down through generations, she had barely forged a path to divinity.
A straight road unlike the paths proposed by countless others—no obstacles, no thresholds. A smooth path needing no spirit pills or talent for entry.
All it required was impatience. Only how desperately one yearned, how deep the plea in one's heart.
Who else but the Girl would attempt it? Everyone would call it folly.
Even the head of the Zhuge Clan, who claimed wisdom like an immortal's, or the Shaolin Long Scripture Pavilion Master, who knew every martial art in the world.
They were right. It was impossible.
The Girl knew this best as a physician.
If there were a method for anyone to cultivate without side effects, the sages would have found and spread it long ago.
Turning human flesh to steel before a season changed was impossible normally. There had to be a price.
For immediate inner power, she had advanced her innate essence and future lifespan.
She gained nerve-scraping pain and sold her peace and rest.
For faster training, she inverted her blood flow. She planted seeds of madness.
But if one harbored resentment in their heart, such costs were trivial.
The Girl gazed at the fields. Reeds thickly lined the path to the Murim Alliance's camp.
The setting sun dyed the reed beds red. Like an indelible moment.
Whiii—
The wind bent the reeds low. In her mind, the Girl pictured the Murim Alliance.
How many experts would there be? Zhang Ping had spoken of Jiangnan's martial elite.
If she killed them all, at least the cultists in Jiangnan might be safe.
The side effects of demonic arts worsened with deeper practice. Light cultivation didn't drastically shorten lifespan.
Without experts, no one would push themselves like the Girl.
The rest would be handled by Zhang Ping and Bai Hui. She trusted those two, as they trusted her.
In the vast reeds, the Girl paused and looked back. She nodded secretly to those left behind in the hut.
"I'll make it happen."
The sun fully dipped below the earth.
The sunset staining the sky blood-red was eerily vivid.
"Once the Vajra arrives, this will all be over, right?"
"Of course. Shaolin's indifference to the Murim Alliance is a blessing we can't overstate."
"Finally, those demonic cult bastards have reached Henan too. Who'd believe it without experiencing it themselves?"
The watch was boring. Especially without threats.
Even though peacetime sentry duty was the most dangerous post, things were different now. Who were they? The Murim Alliance.
Every warrior on watch was a first-rate martial artist, and just fifty paces ahead lay the lodgings where Wudang elders were staying.
No group would dare ambush or infiltrate here. With the tragedy at Guipan still fresh, who would risk disturbing the mood?
The high ones were immersed in grief and rage, so everyone kept their heads down.
The only enemies, the demonic cult, were reportedly unable to move.
"Tonight's boring as hell too. Hey, Jangga, got any fun stories?"
"If I did, I'd have told 'em already."
A deep yawn.
Beyond boredom, drowsiness crept in stealthily. As they fought heavy eyelids to stay vigilant, they finally spotted someone.
"Is that a person?"
"Looks like a woman. Long hair. Kinda creepy, though. A woman at night—maybe possessed by a ghost..."
"Hey, don't say spooky stuff like that."
Thinking it a mirage at first, she drew closer. A girl in pitch-black martial robes walked straight toward them, step by step.
One warrior shouted.
"If you're a villager, turn back! This is Murim Alliance territory!"
For a split second, he thought it was a nearby villager lost at night.
Before realizing his mistake.
'Huh.'
Come to think of it, his post wasn't facing the villages.
The only city ahead was the infamous Guipan. No living people, no villagers there.
'Then who the hell is this girl?'
He flinched, hand flying to his sword on reflex.
His reaction was good. No, excellent. First-rate sword draw.
But.
"Yes. So from here on, it's Murim Alliance territory."
By the time his sword was half-drawn, his head was already twisted.
He died without proper resistance.
"Let's begin."
Black flames trailed behind the Girl.