Chapter 295
Chapter 295
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 295
Chapter Title: Subduing Tiger Temple's Mountain Gate
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The mountain gate of Subduing Tiger Temple.
Many people had gathered at the place, which was still a mess and not properly restored yet.
"Take care on your way."
"Thank you for your help."
When the Annihilation Squad, who had come for their mission, announced their departure, people gathered to see them off and exchange farewells.
Danri Gwancheon approached Namcheon, who was standing off to one side with disciples of the Qingcheng Sect.
"Do you plan to remain at the Emei Sect, Martial Uncle?"
"If we've come to help, shouldn't we see it through to the end?"
Namcheon gazed at Danri Gwancheon, clad in his white fluttering robes, and smiled gently.
"No matter how much the Evil-Black Alliance has fled, who knows when those bastards might return. So I plan to stay until the Emei Sect has regained its stability."
"I see."
Danri Gwancheon's expression grew complicated.
It was good to help the Emei Sect.
But he couldn't help worrying about the Qingcheng Sect.
Chin.
As if reading those thoughts, Namcheon stepped closer to Danri Gwancheon and gently placed both hands on his shoulders.
"Don't worry about trifles. Focus on the task given to you first."
"But our sect is also in danger..."
Namcheon watched Danri Gwancheon, who couldn't hide his anxiety, and promptly moved his lips.
"What did the Sect Leader always say since ancient times? Protecting the righteous path and saving the common folk is precisely..."
"...the Way of Qingcheng."
Danri Gwancheon naturally murmured the words he had heard hundreds, thousands of times.
Namcheon grinned at that.
"What you must do is not fret over guarding our sect, but drive out the vile evildoers for the sake of the righteous path and the common folk."
Danri Gwancheon closed his eyes at Namcheon's compassionate words, accompanied by a smile, then opened them with a much more relaxed expression.
With the anxiety wiped away, his eyes now shone with clear resolve as he quietly spoke.
"I'll be off then."
"Go carefully."
Hearing the reply, Danri Gwancheon immediately turned away.
He seemed to have firmly resolved not to look back.
'...For the righteous path, for the common folk.'
Repeating his master's words inwardly as he walked, Danri Gwancheon arrived where the Annihilation Squad had finished their farewells.
"Finally here? You're late."
Ho Kwanggae looked at him and grinned slyly, draping an arm over Danri Gwancheon's shoulder.
It was a very familiar attitude.
The Danri Gwancheon before arriving at Emei would have immediately brushed off the arm on his shoulder, but now it was different.
He merely furrowed his brow slightly.
It was because trust and camaraderie had built up from fighting side by side, entrusting their lives to each other in the Emei Sacred Battle.
"So what'll it be? Stick with the Annihilation Squad, or head to Qingcheng Sect?"
Ho Kwanggae asked with a sly tone.
It was almost teasing.
"Do you think I could go to Qingcheng Sect on my own without the Vice Leader's permission?"
"Ugh, way to be no fun."
At the calm response, Ho Kwanggae withdrew his arm from the shoulder.
Then he scratched the back of his head vigorously.
Fresh white dandruff fluttered everywhere.
Danri Gwancheon quietly stepped back, shooting a displeased glance, but Ho Kwanggae didn't stop.
He scratched even harder and spoke.
"Man, we're really busy, huh? Only four days of rest, and now another mission right away."
With a sigh, Ho Kwanggae grumbled.
He had thought he'd finally get some proper rest and return to headquarters, only for another mission to drop.
And it wasn't just any mission.
It was a muster to take down the Immortal Heaven Cult.
It could be even more dangerous than the bloody battle at the Emei Sacred Battle, where lives were at stake.
Recalling the fierce fight at Emei made his body shudder involuntarily.
But he soon chuckled.
'With the Vice Leader around, it'll be safe.'
To him now, Cheonhwi was a special existence.
A trust beyond ordinary faith.
He was convinced that as long as Cheonhwi was Vice Leader, the Annihilation Squad would never fail a mission.
"Let's get ready first. They said the Inspection Squad has horses prepared."
Ho Kwanggae said, looking at the Annihilation Squad members.
"Come on, hurry up! You know what the Vice Leader will do if we're late, right?"
As Ho Kwanggae naturally took the lead for the Annihilation Squad...
"Amitabha."
"We won't forget this grace."
"We pray for your safe journey."
Cheonhwi shrugged at the Sect Leader and elders, who were politely clasping hands in farewell.
"Just contact us if you need us again."
With that, he turned away.
Many eyes were on Cheonhwi.
Not only the Annihilation Squad, but Dong Sogang, who had delivered the muster order, and the Second Company of his Inspection Squad stood neatly arrayed.
Glancing over them, Cheonhwi suddenly felt puzzled.
The woman named Seong Yebin, who had come with Dong Sogang, was standing at the mountain gate with the Emei Sect's nuns and her subordinate company, not here.
"Huh? Isn't she coming?"
"We can't just leave the Emei Sect as is, can we? Seong's company and the Suppression Squad will stay a few days to help with cleanup."
A reply came from the front to his mutter.
It was Dong Sogang.
"You're not staying?"
"I'd love to, but given the situation, one of us has to go with you all."
Finishing his words, Dong Sogang glanced at Seong Yebin.
Her expression was impassive.
But having traveled with her for days, he could tell there was dissatisfaction beneath it, so he awkwardly scratched his head.
Originally, staying together was their joint mission.
But the sudden muster order meant one had to join the Annihilation Squad for this mission.
And since the Emei Sect was all nuns, they decided to leave Seong Yebin's Suppression Squad, led by a woman.
Cheonhwi looked at the awkward Dong Sogang, then promptly turned to leave.
It wasn't something that interested him anyway.
"Let's go."
With Cheonhwi's curt words, they began descending the mountain.
The Annihilation Squad quickly fell in step with his unhesitating stride, followed belatedly by Dong Sogang and the Inspection Squad.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ The official road heading south from Sichuan.
Dozens of horses thundered down the usually silent path.
And at the center of that horse procession.
A single carriage advanced at high speed, escorted by the horses.
Inside the jostling carriage.
Four men sat there.
Cheonhwi and Dong Sogang, Ho Kwanggae and Danri Gwancheon.
Dong Sogang couldn't tear his fixed gaze from Cheonhwi, seated opposite him.
Plum Blossom Divine Sword Cheonhwi.
The man shaking the current world was a remarkably youthful young man.
'Did someone that young really accomplish all those astonishing feats?'
A hollow laugh escaped him.
The rumors about him were absurdly exaggerated.
The one who routed the Bandit King.
And the one who took Nongjil's life.
He looked far too young to have overshadowed those who had made their names and martial prowess resound across the land, enough to make one doubt.
'But it's all reality.'
Dong Sogang let out an inward sigh, clicking his tongue and lightly shaking his head.
Hadn't the So-un Temple Master said it himself?
Nongjil had lost his life to the sword of that young Daoist, the Plum Blossom Divine Sword.
'Having such a young master in the Murim Alliance is a blessing, something to rejoice over...'
His eyes grew complicated.
Cheonhwi's appearance in the Murim Alliance was no different from great fortune, a cause for unbridled joy.
But he couldn't purely rejoice.
When he first ventured into the jianghu, he too had been a warrior dreaming of dominating it and becoming the world's greatest.
But that didn't last long.
What kind of place was the jianghu?
Masters were as numerous as grains of sand, and geniuses surpassing them were just as plentiful, forcing him to abandon his dreams.
Still, he had his own pride.
After thirty-five long years of diligent training, he had reached his current realm and position—enough to take pride in.
Yet even that pride crumbled.
While looking at the young Daoist before him.
With someone possessing the talent to achieve the world's greatest dream he had forsaken right in front of him, how could he simply rejoice?
Jealousy welled up.
His insides burned, his mouth felt bitter.
'Enviable. If only I had that kind of talent...'
As the bitterness he swallowed sank into his eyes...
"Tell me what you know about the Immortal Heaven Cult."
A voice suddenly rang out.
It was from Cheonhwi.
Ho Kwanggae reacted instantly, as if he had been waiting for it, and answered.
"One of the Five Great Evil Gates that rose to prominence a hundred and thirty years ago, a demonic cult. Its influence is so immense that it's said most sects in Guizhou follow the Immortal Heaven Cult's doctrines."
Ho Kwanggae answered promptly.
It was a familiar sight.
"Sounds like they've got quite the power base."
"Among the Five Great Evil Gates, their forces stand head and shoulders above the rest."
Ho Kwanggae's brow furrowed as he replied.
"Just their branches scattered across the Central Plains number over twenty, and their followers exceed hundreds of thousands."
At Ho Kwanggae's words, Cheonhwi's lip twitched momentarily.
'Followers numbering over a hundred thousand?'
Even at the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult's peak, the followers had maxed at a hundred thousand.
Yet this was said to be more.
"The Immortal Heaven Cult reveres immortality, and their cult leader..."
Even amid that, Ho Kwanggae continued his explanation, spittle flying.
Like a fish in water.
Ho Kwanggae poured out every bit of information he knew until the carriage stopped.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Five days passed.
Thanks to their nonstop gallop, perhaps.
The Annihilation Squad and Inspection Squad arrived at the muster point a full day ahead of schedule.
The designated gathering place from the muster order was Yibin in Sichuan Province.
Exiting the official road, the Annihilation Squad and Inspection Squad soon entered a single path.
It wasn't an official road, but it was wide.
How far had they gone?
They arrived at a ferry where the vast Yangtze River's waves were visible at a glance.
At that moment.
"The Annihilation Squad...?"
"Must be that detachment that helped at the Emei Sacred Battle. Huh, but composed of such young later-generation disciples."
"More importantly, is that Plum Blossom Divine Sword in the carriage?"
Murmurs arose.
Cheonhwi looked out the window.
The place teemed with people.
All clad in martial robes, staring piercingly at the carriage.
They were Murim Alliance warriors gathered to dismantle the Immortal Heaven Cult.
Then the carriage jolted to a stop.
"We've arrived."
One of the Inspection Squad members on the driver's seat announced, and Dong Sogang stood first.
"Then I'll head out first."
With that, he promptly disembarked.
"Shouldn't the Vice Leader go first?"
At Danri Gwancheon's question, Ho Kwanggae, about to exit first, froze awkwardly.
He glanced cautiously at Cheonhwi.
While sweating bullets.
His expression showed worry that he might get scolded for trying to exit first.
But Cheonhwi didn't care about such things at all.
"Nah, do whatever. Exit first or not."
With that, Cheonhwi casually picked up the two swords he had set aside.
Then he followed Danri Gwancheon and Ho Kwanggae, who had exited ahead, out of the carriage.
"...Hm."
"That young Daoist..."
Various voices leaked from the surroundings.
At the same time, gazes stabbed at him like needles from all directions.
Hundreds gathered at the ferry.
All their attention was focused.
But Cheonhwi was nonchalant.
To him, who had led a hundred thousand followers in his previous life, this much attention was nothing.
Damn, they've gathered a filthy lot.
As Cheonhwi blankly surveyed the crowd obscuring the Yangtze...
"Vice Leader?!"
"Make way."
A commotion erupted from the front.
The distant clamor grew closer, and the crowd split in two.
And through the gap, a figure approached with slow steps.
Step. Step.
A circular aura emanating from his footsteps instantly dominated the space.
The presence of one who had attained a profound realm.
The surrounding warriors, overwhelmed by his energy, retreated.
In an instant, no one remained within five zhang radius centered on Cheonhwi.
Finally stopping right before Cheonhwi, he met his eyes and smiled brightly.
A smile of genuine delight.
Cheonhwi also smirked upon seeing him.
The approaching man was familiar.
Chu Gyegwang, the Wandering Sword.
The Inspection Squad Leader who had previously visited Mount Hua Sect and escorted him to the Murim Alliance.
Grinning broadly, he spoke in a low voice.
"It's been a while, Cheonhwi Daoist."
"Yeah, it has."
"Haha, I've heard the rumors about you taking down Nongjil."
The smiling Inspection Squad Leader stopped laughing.
"Is it true...?"
"Why would I lie?"
"Hahaha, you're reliable as ever."
The Inspection Squad Leader was pleased.
Nodding vigorously up and down, he gazed intently at Cheonhwi and spoke.
"But you arrived just in time. We were about to hold a meeting among the leadership regarding the Immortal Heaven Cult's raids..."
"A meeting?"
"The opponent is the Immortal Heaven Cult. We can't just charge in blindly, can we?"
Hm, is that so?
Cheonhwi tilted his head.
In both his previous and current life, he had charged at enemies the moment they were deemed foes.
At that moment, the Inspection Squad Leader turned and continued.
"Follow me."