The Start of the Purge Operation
When Namgung Taeseong spoke up in high spirits, Jegal Jinhyeon cut in.
"If we all move together, there is a risk that information will leak or we’ll be exposed. Let’s depart separately and gather in Sichuan Province instead."
At the mention of Sichuan Province, Sohui’s expression darkened with an unpleasant memory, so she decided to stay behind at the Martial Alliance with Jegal Jinhyeon.
In any case, she couldn’t take part in the fighting since she hadn’t learned martial arts, so it was a sound decision.
The junior talents set off for Sichuan Province one by one in small groups.
"Brother, shall we go together?"
Paeng Hoyeon came over to me naturally.
We were on good terms, so it was a welcome suggestion.
"Let’s do that."
Just then, Cheongpung tapped my shoulder from behind and spoke.
"I want to come too!"
Cheongpung said with a broad grin.
Looking around, I saw that we were the only ones left behind.
Since I had rather liked Cheongpung’s personality during our earlier sparring match, I readily agreed.
"All right. I’ll be relying on you."
"And I’ll be relying on you too, Paeng Sojeo."
The three of us set out together for Sichuan Province.
Along the way, we talked about many things.
"We’re about the same age, so how about speaking casually with each other?" Paeng Hoyeon suggested to Cheongpung.
What surprised me most on the journey was learning that Cheongpung was actually a little younger than I was.
It astonished me all over again that I had struggled so much against someone younger than me.
"Sure! Let’s get along from now on!" Cheongpung said, beaming as he grabbed Paeng Hoyeon’s hand.
"Then can I call Han Gongja by older brother too?"
Being called older brother for the first time in my life felt oddly strange.
The corner of my mouth twitched upward.
"Sounds good. I’ll speak casually too."
Thanks to Cheongpung’s easygoing manner, we became close in no time.
Once we had warmed up to one another, we started asking each other questions out of curiosity and eventually began sharing our own stories.
"As for me, I was born as the youngest child in the North Sea Ice Palace. My parents wanted to let me live however I pleased."
"Your parents sound wonderful," Paeng Hoyeon said with a hint of envy.
"They were. So, to be honest, I never really learned martial arts in the North Sea Ice Palace."
"Don’t tell me you taught yourself?" Cheongpung asked, startled.
"There wasn’t a sword technique like mine there. But I wanted to practice the sword from the time I was young, so I learned only the inner method from my father and trained the sword on my own."
I told them, one by one, about going to Heavenly Sect and receiving instruction from the sect master, about taking part in the martial arts tournament, and about fighting the jiangshi in Sichuan.
Cheongpung and Paeng Hoyeon listened in fascination, as though they were hearing a story from a fairy tale.
"All right. That’s my story. Who’s next?"
When I finished, Paeng Hoyeon naturally began her own tale.
"As for me, I was born in the Paeng Clan, and from the time I was little I lived with a saber in my hand. The Paeng Clan believes that saber techniques are the best."
"Do you dislike saber arts?"
"Not at all. If anything, they suit my personality well. What bothers me is that the Paeng Clan is one of the Five Great Clans."
"In what way?"
"If it’s one of the Five Great Clans, isn’t that just a famous family? Sounds great to me," Cheongpung said, unable to understand her complaint.
"That’s the problem. Since it’s such a prominent family, there are far too many outside events we have to attend. The Five Great Clans exchange meeting. The Saber Clans exchange meeting. And above all, we often have to attend events held at the imperial court."
"That does sound annoying."
"That’s why I send my older brother to all the troublesome ones," Paeng Hoyeon said with a quiet chuckle.
"But are the Five Great Clans even invited to the imperial court?"
"Of course. They’re technically subjects of the imperial court, after all."
I was confused.
Wasn’t there supposed to be such a thing as martial and civil powers not interfering with each other?
A vague memory of a wuxia setting came back to me.
As if sensing my doubt, Paeng Hoyeon went on.
"The Paeng Clan is one of the noble families whose local autonomy is recognized by the imperial court. Among families like that, the five with the greatest prestige and military strength are called the Five Great Clans."
"I see... then is our North Sea Ice Palace also under the imperial court?"
"The North Sea Ice Palace isn’t. It’s treated as a foreign people? A force outside the imperial court’s direct rule. Heavenly Sect is the same."
I had never paid much attention to the balance of power until now, so it was all quite fascinating.
"That’s all for me. I’ve never attended any of those events, so I don’t really have anything else to say."
Paeng Hoyeon finished with a bright smile.
As if he had been waiting for his turn, Cheongpung began his story.
"I was an orphan!"
That opening line was so shocking that Paeng Hoyeon and I both held our breath and exchanged glances.
"I was abandoned in front of the Mount Hua Sect’s main gate, and Mount Hua took me in. Thanks to that, I got to learn martial arts and use them, so I’d say I was pretty lucky."
"Ahem. The Mount Hua Sect is called one of the pillars of the Nine Great Sects, but how are the Nine Great Sects different from the Five Great Clans?"
To ease the awkward mood, I asked a question.
"The factions belonging to the Nine Great Sects are basically a kind of organization, each with its own inherited martial arts. They have nothing to do with territorial rule or political power."
Through Paeng Hoyeon and Cheongpung’s stories, I was able to learn more about the structure and state of Central Plains.
By the time our talk had gone on that long, we reached Sichuan before we knew it.
When we arrived in Sichuan Province, everyone else was already there.
As the last group to arrive, we joined the others, and Namgung Taeseong gathered everyone before leading us toward the blood demon’s hideout in Qingcheng.
On the way there, Namgung Taeseong explained the details of the information and the operation.
"The blood demon has currently occupied a bandit settlement. It seems the original bandits living there were either wiped out or turned into jiangshi. Our plan is as follows. We surround the area from all sides, then gradually narrow the encirclement by cutting down the jiangshi little by little. But in the meantime, the blood demon might escape, so we’ll form a breakthrough unit to punch straight into the center, confirm the blood demon’s position, and stall for time or personally eliminate him."
"Then I want to be on the breakthrough unit!" Cheongpung said brightly, raising his hand as if this were all great fun.
"I’ll decide the members of the breakthrough unit myself."
Since that assignment was bound to be dangerous, Namgung Taeseong selected the most elite among the junior talents for the job.
The breakthrough unit consisted of six people: me, Namgung Hyeongeom, Cheongpung, Geumgang, Shin Yu-eun, and Jinmu.
Paeng Hoyeon looked quite disappointed that she hadn’t been chosen for the breakthrough unit.
Come to think of it, Huyu hasn’t said a word.
With Huyu, who had always been so arrogant and full of bluster, saying nothing at all, I looked around for him.
But he was nowhere to be seen.
"Alliance Leader, I don’t see Huyu anywhere."
"I heard Huyu had an urgent summons from Qingcheng Sect, so he returned there."
Namgung Taeseong answered me with a grin.
There was no reason for Qingcheng Sect to have any urgent summons in this situation.
Looks like losing to me was pretty embarrassing for him.
Thinking that made me feel satisfied all over again.
Lost in those thoughts, I soon reached the area near our destination.
"All right, everyone to your positions."
At Namgung Taeseong’s command, the junior talents quietly surrounded the bandits’ hideout.
Inside the hideout, jiangshi that had lost all reason were wandering about.
It was clear enough that this was the blood demon’s refuge.
Once everyone had finished preparing, Namgung Taeseong shouted, "Begin the purge!"
The junior talents launched their attack, and the six of us in the breakthrough unit led by me quickly smashed through the jiangshi’s encirclement and headed for the center.
The jiangshi were almost exactly like the ones we had encountered on Mount Gongga before.
That made them easy enough to break through, and we were able to reach the building that looked like the bandit chief’s house in the center without much trouble.
The other five, all of whom were excellent martial artists, followed behind me while cutting down jiangshi with ease.
"Stop."
When we got close to the building, a group blocked our way.
They appeared to be the bandits who had originally owned the settlement.
But something was wrong.
"Are you not a jiangshi?" Namgung Hyeongeom asked the man in front of us.
"A jiangshi? Don’t compare me to such a worthless thing. I was chosen by that person!"
The man looked, by any standard, completely out of his mind.
But one thing was certain: he was hostile to us.
Without a word, I lowered my stance.
"Let’s break through quickly."
Everyone agreed with me.
[Draw]
I swung my sword lightly at the man.
The man reached out to block my blade, but his arm was cleanly severed without effort.
Since he can talk, I’ll just neutralize him for now.
Thinking I could still gather information from him, I didn’t kill him and simply cut off his arm.
But that turned out to be my mistake.
"GAAAH!!!"
With a horrible shriek, the man picked up the severed arm and pressed it back onto his shoulder.
Then the cut surfaces began writhing and knitting together again.
"What is that?" Shin Yu-eun gasped at the disgusting sight.
"Namu Amida Butsu..."
Like Shin Yu-eun, everyone in the breakthrough unit was stunned speechless by the impossible scene before them.
"This is the grace of that person! The power of those who have been chosen!"
And then bandits dressed much the same as that man began to surround us.
"Drive out the intruders!"
The men didn’t seem to fear being cut at all; no matter how many times we struck them down, they simply reattached the severed parts and came charging back at us.
"If we keep dragging this out, the blood demon may escape," Namgung Hyeongeom said calmly.
"I’ll open a path!"
Cheongpung grinned cheerfully and poured internal energy into his sword.
[Namgung Boundless Sword Art, Second Form: Storm Wind]
[Plum Blossom Sword Art, Third Form: Flurrying Blossoms]
Namgung Hyeongeom and Cheongpung’s combined strike opened a path for an instant.
I quickly exchanged a glance with Namgung Hyeongeom and immediately rushed into the building.
Shin Yu-eun and Geumgang followed me inside, while Namgung Hyeongeom, Cheongpung, and Jinmu blocked the doorway and began their defensive battle.