Chapter 190
Chapter 190
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 190
Chapter Title: No Rest for the Weary
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“They're coming, Sect Leader Senior Brother.”
“......I see.”
The Sect Leader stroked his chest once as he watched Cheonhwi's group ascending the mountain.
“I was worried they were a bit late...... but it was just needless concern.”
“Needless worry. Didn't Cheonhwi go with them?”
The Martial Training Pavilion Lord chuckled from the side.
Seeing that smile, the Sect Leader unwittingly softened his own expression into a gentle smile.
“You're right.”
It was a statement brimming with absolute trust.
It was only natural.
Cheonhwi's actions and deeds up to now had instilled that trust in them.
As the two smiled...
“Huh? What brings you out to the sect gate?”
Cheonhwi, who had approached before they knew it, asked.
The Sect Leader gazed at the genuinely puzzled Cheonhwi with a pleased expression.
“Just getting some fresh air.”
“Huh? Fresh air?”
Cheonhwi looked at the Sect Leader with a face that said, What the heck is that?
What kind of pie-in-the-sky nonsense is this?
There was fresh air everywhere.
No need to come out to the sect gate for it.
Well, whatever. I was planning to meet the Sect Leader anyway.
Cheonhwi met the Sect Leader's eyes.
“The mission's complete.”
“Good work, everyone.”
The Sect Leader looked past Cheonhwi's shoulder. Jeokgeom and Cheonhyang, along with the Secret Sword Squad and Flame Spirit Squad, looked utterly exhausted just breathing.
“......You must have had quite the ordeal.”
“Ordeal? Nah, that's just them lacking stamina.”
Cheonhwi clicked his tongue.
“Their legs are shaking after just that short distance? Tsk.”
Just that short distance......?
A route that would take four days on horseback, crossed in two days with movement techniques!
A few of them bristled at that.
Those who had come from Sayugok had returned to Mount Hua Sect as quickly as possible, repeating only movement techniques and qi circulation.
And it wasn't even a short distance, so from their perspective, it felt unfair.
But...
“......”
Not one of them spoke up.
Having spent time with Cheonhwi, they knew his temperament all too well and kept their mouths firmly shut.
They could clearly picture what would happen if they said something.
At that moment, Cheonhwi muttered softly.
“Getting this tired? Man. Looks like we need to ramp up the training even harder.”
It was like a bolt from the blue.
Even Jeokgeom, who had trained under Cheonhwi the longest, freaked out and hurriedly rushed over.
“M-Martial Uncle!”
“What?”
“T-Training's already overwhelming as is. If we make it harder from here, it'll be too mu—”
“Oh? So you're saying you can't handle it?”
Jeokgeom broke out in a cold sweat.
“N-No, I just thought maybe easing into it gradually...”
“Wow, pretty laid-back attitude you've got there.”
Cheonhwi glanced at Jeokgeom and the Secret Sword Squad.
“Didn't you gain any insights from this mission?”
“P-Pardon...?”
Cheonhwi pointed at each Secret Sword Squad member with his index finger, rattling off their flaws fluidly.
“Those three over there took injuries to their arms, and Jeokun nearly got sliced in the side—I saw that. And those two together...”
“Gasp!”
“Wh-When?!”
As he listed shortcomings without missing a single one, their faces grew darker and darker, heads drooping lower.
“And Jeokgeom.”
Cheonhwi's finger finally pointed straight at Jeokgeom right in front of him.
“You weren't injured, but you got distracted by the Secret Sword Formation midway, took a shallow internal injury. Right?”
Jeokgeom bowed his head deeply.
“......Yes.”
“No critical injuries, but ten with minor ones. And that's not all. If the Secret Sword Formation had been properly executed, half of those minor injuries would've just been bruises. But what? Training's too tough? After ending up like this?”
Cheonhwi shook his head side to side.
“No sense of crisis at all.”
“......”
“Why do you think we train?”
Cheonhwi narrowed his eyes.
Then he glared at the disciples lined up behind Jeokgeom and spoke.
“To prepare for real combat.”
“Prepare for real combat...?”
“No matter how hard you train or how high your realm gets, one mistake in real combat and you're dead. Look at yourself. Thanks to sparring and training with me this time, you won more easily. Right?”
“Well...”
“What if I hadn't taught you the Secret Sword Formation or we hadn't sparred? Think about it.”
“......!”
Jeokgeom's body shuddered violently.
Like lightning had struck him, he bit his lower lip hard as he trembled.
“A few of us would've met our ends.”
“You get it. So how can you say that knowing it?”
“I'm sorry. My judgment was lacking; I failed to grasp Martial Uncle Cheonhwi's wise intent.”
Jeokgeom bowed deeply.
“Tsk, better late than never. Now that you've realized it, time for training, right?”
“Pardon?”
As Jeokgeom let out a dazed sound...
“Falling Goose Peak, three laps.”
Cheonhwi grinned and pointed at the peak of Falling Goose Peak.
“I'll give you a generous hour.”
With those words, his smile deepened.
Now grasping the situation, Jeokgeom and the Secret Sword Squad's faces turned ashen.
“No waaay!”
“I thought we could finally rest...!”
The Secret Sword Squad wailed in frustration and bolted off at full speed.
Watching them, Cheonhwi tilted his head.
“What are you lot waiting for?”
“Us too...?”
Cheonhyang asked in bewilderment.
“You think not?”
“......”
“One hour.”
The Flame Spirit Squad then chased after the Secret Sword Squad at full tilt toward Falling Goose Peak.
As everyone began ascending Falling Goose Peak...
“Shouldn't they rest a day?”
The Sect Leader approached.
“No. That'd set us back.”
Cheonhwi cut him off firmly.
“We're already playing catch-up. Rest even a day, and we'll suffer double or more tomorrow. Better to push through the pain now for the long term.”
“Makes sense.”
The Sect Leader nodded.
Putting things off was easy.
But catching up on the postponed was harder than anything in the world.
Especially in the current situation.
Then Cheonhwi spoke to the Sect Leader.
“Got something to say. In private.”
A moment later, Cheonhwi and the Sect Leader arrived at Purple霞 Pavilion and sat facing each other.
Pour pour—
The Sect Leader poured tea and asked.
“What's this about?”
“We took down Sayugok this time.”
“Right, you took down Sayugok...”
The Sect Leader's eyes widened slightly at the casual remark.
It was bewildering.
The mission he'd given Cheonhwi was to aid Hwayu Escort Agency, not destroy Sayugok.
“How did that happen?”
“Turns out the ones who attacked Hwayu were from Sayugok. So I uprooted them while I was at it, in a fit of anger.”
“In a fit of anger...?”
The Sect Leader stared in disbelief.
He couldn't even laugh.
Just wipe out a sect on a whim?
He'd never heard of such a thing in his life.
The Sect Leader rubbed his forehead.
A slight headache crept in.
Everything's fine...... except that confidence is worrisome.
He let out a deep sigh and looked at Cheonhwi.
He was concerned.
Not only peerless in martial prowess, but brilliant in mind too.
But perhaps because he was so exceptional, his actions lacked restraint.
I just hope that confidence doesn't become his downfall later...
The Sect Leader smiled bitterly and spoke.
“I'll contact Jongnam separately.”
Cheonhwi smiled.
He gets it right away.
The Sect Leader's eyes grew serious.
His gentle demeanor vanished, replaced by the full weight of his authority.
“A total war staking Shaanxi's fate.”
“And we end it for good this time.”
“End it for good means...”
The Sect Leader's eyes flashed.
“You have a way?”
Cheonhwi nodded and said.
“Tell Jongnam Sect to hold off for about half a month.”
The Sect Leader's eyebrows twitched.
“Better to move before they realize Sayugok's been wiped out.”
“Attacking now only gets the frontmen. The puppet masters behind will cut tails and flee.”
Cheonhwi half-closed his eyes.
“Then more Shenzhou Evil Clans will pop up elsewhere.”
“So you're saying wait.”
“Yep.”
The Sect Leader asked with a puzzled expression.
“But if we keep waiting, they'll hide deeper.”
“If everything collapsed, sure. But only Sayugok's down; the other Shenzhou Evil Clans are mostly intact.”
The Sect Leader stroked his beard.
“Hm, so it's not yet time for them to cut tails.”
“You don't rebuild a slightly damaged hall from scratch. Cheaper and easier to repair what's broken.”
Cheonhwi's lip twisted.
It was a smile hinting at some scheme.
“Cornered like this, they'll poke their heads out one last time. That's when we uproot them all and crush them. So they never set foot in Shaanxi again.”
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Four days later, the top floor of Wind Moon Tower.
Normally a space filled with fine guests, clinking glasses, and laughter, it was deathly quiet now.
For good reason: no courtesans were present.
Only two men occupied the room.
They were the Golden Whip Division Deputy Leader and the Soul-Seizing Sect Leader.
Upon hearing of Sayugok's destruction, the Golden Whip Division Deputy had secretly contacted the Soul-Seizing Sect Leader for an emergency meeting.
Yet for about an incense stick's time, they exchanged no words, only tilting their cups.
After a while...
“What now?”
The Soul-Seizing Sect Leader spoke first.
His gaze fixed on the Golden Whip Division Deputy.
His eyes swirled with myriad emotions.
Anxiety, agitation, panic...
Mostly negative.
And rightly so. The Shenzhou Evil Clans had only just joined hands and begun stretching their legs.
Now one pillar had crumbled.
“......Do we have any say?”
The Golden Whip Division Deputy was surprisingly calm.
No—resigned, almost enlightened.
“Once the Shenzhou Evil Clans unite their power, we've crossed the river of no return.”
As the Soul-Seizing Sect Leader's face twisted...
“You know it well.”
A soft voice interjected.
A woman sat between them.
As if she'd been there all along, perfectly natural.
When did she sit down?
......No presence at all.
The Golden Whip Division Deputy and Soul-Seizing Sect Leader's backs grew damp with sweat.
They knew she was an expert.
But this was on another level.
As they sweated coldly...
“Shall I tell you how to turn this around?”
The woman whispered.
The Golden Whip Division Deputy's eyes widened.
“There's a way?”
“Simple.”
The woman's red lips moved.
“Request support from them.”
“......Full-scale war?”
“Got any better ideas?”
The woman's eyes curved slyly.
“They've already taken huge losses helping you. They won't want to lose more of what they've built.”
“The opponents are Jongnam and Mount Hua. Even with support, numbers are limited. We lose on elite count; odds are near zero.”
“Then don't fight sect versus sect.”
“What does that...”
“Propose a duel staking your sects' fates.”
“......!”
“......D-Duel?!”
The Golden Whip Division Deputy and Soul-Seizing Sect Leader recoiled in shock.
It struck at their weakness.
If outnumbered in elites, limit the clash from the start.
But there was a problem.
“Jongnam has the Jongnam Sword Saint and Mount Hua the Divine Sword, plus countless experts. Even in a duel, no chance.”
The Golden Whip Division Deputy spoke skeptically, and the Soul-Seizing Sect Leader nodded vigorously in agreement.
Seeing this, the woman licked her lips.
“That's why you request support.”
“......An elite?”
The Golden Whip Division Deputy's eyebrow twitched.
“Think they'll send one of that caliber?”
“They'll be thrilled to. Better than sending hordes of troops—just one elite handles it. And duels mean no deaths, so nothing to regret on their end.”
“Win, great; lose, deny it.”
The Golden Whip Division Deputy bit his lip.
In the end, they'd use them as pawns to the last.
But what choice did they have?
They were the ones who'd joined hands.
The Golden Whip Division Deputy sighed and said.
“Even so, can't beat the Jongnam Sword Saint or Mount Hua Divine Sword.”
“No need to worry. The Jongnam Sword Saint's left Shaanxi.”
The woman's lips twisted.
“And the Mount Hua Divine Sword's at the Murim Alliance now—takes time to return. Hurry the duel before they arrive.”
The Golden Whip Division Deputy was tempted for a moment, but...
“What if they refuse?”
He hit the core issue.
“No, they absolutely can't refuse. 'End this pointless strife with a duel,' we'll say. Delay or reject it?”
The woman's eyes narrowed.
“Can they handle the public's gaze?”
She spoke with utter conviction.
They were the Nine Great Sects.
The Shenzhou Evil Clans were upstart unorthodox factions.
If the unorthodox offered a duel to end a long conflict, and the righteous delayed on purpose?
It would cause an uproar.
Branded as sects worthless without their Sword Saint and Divine Sword.
Jongnam and Mount Hua's already shaky prestige from losses to Shenzhou Evil Clans could hit rock bottom.
The Golden Whip Division Deputy asked cautiously.
“Think we can win the duel?”
“Depends on whose elite they send. Even without Sword Saint or Divine Sword, they're full of tough ones.”
“Then, what about you?”
The woman smiled brightly.
“Easy if it's not the Sword Saint or Divine Sword.”
The Golden Whip Division Deputy's eyes went wide.
She meant guaranteed victory.
That level of skill?
He scrutinized her closely.
Her confident eyes held no tremor.
“Good.”
He stood and said.
“I'll request support immediately. Soul-Seizing Sect Leader, what about you?”
The Soul-Seizing Sect Leader, who had listened silently, grimaced but nodded.
“I'll follow. No better option after thinking it over.”
“All agreed, then.”
The woman rose slowly too.
“In ten days, send letters to Jongnam and Mount Hua in the name of Sagwi Alliance.”