Chapter 278
Chapter 278
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 280
Chapter Title: Converging Evil Sects
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Nangong Hyeok's gaze quietly turned toward the window.
It was a clear, spotless sky without a single cloud. As he gazed at the deep blue sky like a vast ocean, Nangong Hyeok organized his thoughts.
"I've done just about everything I can."
The training to elevate the martial prowess of the elders and ordinary warriors was still ongoing.
He had focused on redefining the concepts of martial arts and enhancing their practicality.
Ways to survive.
Training centered on increasing survival rates, even if just a little, by taking down enemies.
Naturally, this had boosted their overall strength as well.
Nangong Hyeok suddenly realized that the people of the Nangong Clan were following along better than expected.
No, more precisely, they knew what they needed to do on their own.
At some point, Nangong Ryong and So Hye-yeon, who no longer came to see him, had secluded themselves in their quarters, while Paeng Jung-hyeok had picked up his sword again and was charging alongside the Thunder Dragon Squad.
Everyone was doing what they could in their respective positions.
"The Thunder Dragon Squad is holding their own pretty well too."
Right after Nangong Hyeok, the Thunder Dragon Squad was suffering the most casualties.
Not content with their murderous workload, he had even intensified their personal training.
They too had witnessed and felt things in Sichuan.
They had experienced firsthand the joke passed down in the jianghu: "Go out into the jianghu, and you'll die within three days."
Experience wasn't something you could easily obtain, and it was never to be ignored.
The Thunder Dragon Squad had it now, and they could no longer be dismissed as mere elites of the Nangong Clan—they had surpassed that.
The same went for Nangong Ryong and the others.
'Still not enough.'
The level of martial arts was always relative.
Compared to the Nangong Clan's warriors, they wouldn't yield to anyone, but against demonic cults, it was different.
The demonic cults that had once swept through the Central Plains in an instant. Their prowess, which they had encountered multiple times before, was still at a level where victory wasn't guaranteed.
They needed to grow more.
Become stronger, grit their teeth harder.
That was the only way to avoid lying down in a sea of blood and corpses.
Nangong Hyeok's eyes sank calmly.
'This will become experience once we survive it.'
Nangong Hyeok regulated his breathing and circulated the Azure Heaven Bright King Art.
The clear, pure energy of the Azure Heaven Bright King Art, starting from his dantian, spread through his entire body's meridians.
The energy of the Azure Heaven Bright King Art, flowing long and steadily along his blood vessels, brimmed with power.
A subtle resonance arose from the deepened energy.
As if his muscles had toughened and gained strength, the Azure Heaven Bright King Art's energy surged wildly.
It was growing stronger.
And clearer.
The movements of the Azure Heaven Bright King Art became vivid in Nangong Hyeok's mind, as if he could grasp them.
The energy, spinning rotation upon rotation, returned to his dantian.
It instantly dissolved the impurities accumulated overnight and drew in the surrounding energy through every pore in his body.
Nangong Hyeok opened his eyes.
A flawlessly clear gaze illuminated the room.
His gaze turned toward the door.
At that moment.
"Young Master Yi! Young Master Yi—!"
With a clamor from outside, So Geolgae burst through the door.
Bang! Thud!
Nangong Hyeok furrowed his brow.
"Are you trying to smash it down? Is this your room? Barging in like that, you Beggar's Sect beggar?"
"Big trouble!"
"Close the door, you punk."
"That's not important right now. Right now......"
"What could be so important, you bastard?"
"Look at this."
So Geolgae, barely catching his breath, handed Nangong Hyeok a bundle of urgent letters gathered from the Beggar's Sect branch in Anhui Province.
"What's with all these?"
"Read them quick! It'll be faster than me explaining!"
"Pushy, aren't you."
Urgency laced So Geolgae's voice.
His expression grew gravely serious, tension filling the air.
Nangong Hyeok quietly read through the letters.
Once he finished, he neatly folded them and stood up.
So Geolgae hurriedly spoke.
"We need to summon the leadership right now and devise countermeasures......"
"No need to panic."
"Pardon?"
"It's come, as expected."
So Geolgae was left speechless by Nangong Hyeok's calm demeanor.
Had he not seen the letters?
Or did he not grasp the severity?
Even a random dog dying in the street would shock him more than this.
So Geolgae's mind grew more tangled by Nangong Hyeok's nonchalant reaction.
He even felt embarrassed for rushing over so frantically.
Why is he so relaxed?
'It can't be.'
This was a reaction no one who had properly read the letters could show.
Nangong Hyeok glanced at the dazed So Geolgae and headed outside.
"W-Where are you going?"
"We need to call a meeting."
"Ah...... Y-Yes!"
So Geolgae stammered in surprise before responding.
* * *
The Nangong Clan's elders and leadership gradually gathered in the Heavenly Bow Hall.
Despite the bewilderment from the sudden emergency summons, they responded swiftly.
The atmosphere among the leadership grew heavy.
Being called together so hastily during such a busy time meant something serious had befallen the Nangong Clan.
"Beggar's Sect?"
"Hm?"
"Why is the Beggar's Sect here......?"
The leadership, arriving at the Heavenly Bow Hall, was taken aback to see So Geolgae occupying a seat.
No one had expected a Beggar's Sect member to be present at a summons by the Family Head.
But they soon intuited that the situation was dire.
Nangong Jangcheon's gaze swept over the leadership before settling on So Geolgae.
"Deputy Branch Leader So. Everyone's here, so please begin."
"Yes, then."
So Geolgae stepped forward with a rigid expression.
Whoosh!
From his bosom unfolded a map depicting Anhuiseong Province and the surrounding regions of each province.
So Geolgae pinned the map firmly to the wall.
Mystification rose on the elders' faces.
They wondered why he was suddenly pulling out and posting such a map.
But they held their questions and watched So Geolgae silently.
So Geolgae took a breath before speaking.
"I am So Geolgae, Deputy Branch Leader of the Beggar's Sect. You must find it strange for a disciple of another sect to enter the Nangong Clan's Heavenly Bow Hall. However, given the urgency, I ask that you hold your questions until after my explanation."
The leadership nodded at So Geolgae's words.
After a brief pause, So Geolgae began swiftly marking the map with his brush.
The soft rustle of the brush on paper echoed quietly in the silent Heavenly Bow Hall.
So Geolgae drew circles on the map, wrote something, and continued.
"An order came down to the Anhui Province branch of the Beggar's Sect today."
"An order?"
"Yes. It contained reports on the movements of various sects."
The puzzlement among the people deepened.
It didn't make sense for So Geolgae to come to the Heavenly Bow Hall just to report on other sects' activities.
Amid the leadership's quizzical gazes, So Geolgae tapped a circle and pressed on.
It started from Fujian Province.
"The first report was an urgent notice that Fujian Province's hegemon, Ghost Sword Manor, along with its rivals Blood Cloud Fortress, Black Flame Gang, Kunyang Sect, and dozens of mid- and small-sized sects, were crossing Mount Wu toward Zhejiang Province."
"Hmm?"
"And around the same time, a report came that White Cloud Sword Sect from Baekun Mountain in Jiangxi Province was moving northeast."
So Geolgae's brush moved across the map, his words quickening slightly.
"In eastern Jiangxi Province, Raksha Palace, Black Water Pavilion, and Ghost Snake House are moving west, while over a thousand demonic path sects in southern Zhejiang Province are heading north."
Lines were drawn on the map with each explanation.
The leadership's faces, blinking in surprise, gradually paled.
The movement lines of the sects on the map all pointed in one direction.
Still distant, but clearly forming distinct paths.
With each line etched on the map, the elders' faces turned from pale to ashen, beginning to tremble.
"Are you saying they're all heading toward Anhui Province?"
"W-Why would they......?"
"It must be coincidence! There's no reason for them to come to Anhui Province!"
"These places had no connections...... Could it be for revenge against the Black Dragon Sect? They're all unorthodox scum......"
"Where's the loyalty among unorthodox sects? It makes more sense they're coming to seize the Black Dragon Sect's territory!"
"Hey, Deputy Branch Leader! What's going on? Is this real?"
Chaos descended upon the leadership.
So Geolgae replied in a calm but heavy voice.
"That's what the Beggar's Sect has confirmed."
"......!"
"We've verified that sects from various regions are simultaneously converging on Anhui Province, with the confirmed number approaching two thousand. And that scale is still growing."
Shock lit up the leadership's faces.
They stared at So Geolgae in stunned silence.
"S-So many are coming to Anhui Province?"
"What in the world for?"
"What is this......?"
"War...... They mean to wage war."
Someone's muttered words froze the atmosphere in the Heavenly Bow Hall solid.
It felt like a massive boulder had crashed down.
Over two thousand unorthodox forces converging on the Nangong Clan?
Groans erupted here and there at the overwhelming numbers and scale.
And even more sects were joining......
The confusion and shock intensified.
So Geolgae swallowed dryly.
He fully understood the Nangong Clan's turmoil.
For unorthodox sects from different regions and dispositions to simultaneously swarm toward the Nangong Clan without apparent reason was beyond strange—it was suspicious.
Over thirty such sects had been identified.
Enemies pouring in from all directions, besieging Anhui Province.
In truth, the Nangong Clan's domain extended west to Zhejiang and Jiangsu Provinces, so they were practically at the doorstep.
Overwhelming numbers and momentum.
No matter how lofty the Nangong Clan's prestige or its status as one of the Five Great Clans, it wasn't enough to fend off foes swarming from every side.
It was like a bolt from the blue for the once-peaceful Nangong Clan.
As the Heavenly Bow Hall grew disorderly with groans pouring from all sides.
Nangong Jangcheon, who had been silently studying the map, calmed the leadership.
"Enough. The enemies are already arrayed against us. Rather than questions, our priority is devising countermeasures—what we must do."
"Hmm!"
"Deputy Branch Leader, thank you for bringing this news amid the chaos. We are grateful for the Beggar's Sect's righteousness."
So Geolgae bowed his head heavily.
Nangong Jangcheon narrowed his eyes slightly at the map.
'Demonic cults...... demonic cults.'
Muttering the name inwardly, Nangong Jangcheon swept his gaze over the leadership.
He spoke lowly.
"We enter a wartime state now. Halt all external business temporarily and prepare for war."
"......"
"Chief Steward! Inform the Righteous Heaven Alliance and neighboring sects of our main house's crisis and request support."
"Yes, Family Head!"
Nangong Jangcheon prepared for war in a steady voice.
So Geolgae admired the sight.
Nangong Jangcheon's orderly command and demeanor were easing people's anxieties.
The meeting continued in the heavy atmosphere.
"They say crisis breeds opportunity. In our clan's eight-hundred-year history, we've faced countless such crises and overcome them every time. And we've always been vigilant......"
Nangong Jangcheon's voice sank.
"This is merely one such trial. Return to your positions and prepare for war."
The leadership nodded with resolute expressions and rose from their seats.
Nangong Hyeok, who had listened silently to the meeting, also stood, his eyes gleaming.
He quietly slipped out of the Heavenly Bow Hall.