Chapter 318
Chapter 318
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 318
Chapter Title: Wudang Sect (1)
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A few days earlier.
At the outskirts of Yungzhong Mountain, where the Zhuge Clan's stronghold was located.
A gaze quietly watched the numerous riders and carriages emerging from the Life Gate of the surrounding formation, concealed amid terrain far from the mountain's base.
'That many heading out all at once... Oh right, the Murim Alliance gathering is coming up soon.'
The shadowy figure had perfectly masked his presence, slipping past the periodic scans of the Zhuge Clan's shaman patrols sweeping the area.
He stayed crouched in place, holding his breath until those who had exited were completely gone. Only after confirming several times that no signs of life remained nearby did he slowly rise to his feet.
"Phew, as expected of the Zhuge Clan. I nearly got caught without prior preparation."
A middle-aged man in worn and tattered Daoist robes, who had been lying low amid the brush, brushed the dirt from his body and let out a quiet sigh.
After stretching his stiff limbs this way and that, Cheonggwan—the shaman of the Mosan Sect—glanced back at Yungzhong Mountain's formation and lightly furrowed his brow.
'No odd vibes from those who just left. So the anomaly's still holed up in the Zhuge Clan's base?'
It had been some time since he tracked the alien spirit power manifested against the fishermen at Dongting Lake all the way here.
Though his own sect, the Mosan Sect, was a renowned house in sorcery no less than the Zhuge Clan, it was impossible for a lone shaman like him to venture deeper into the enemy's stronghold. So he had kept watch from afar...
'Strange. Their movements so far shouldn't allow for this much quiet.'
Yet even after all this time, he hadn't grasped any solid leads.
No noteworthy updates had come from his comrades dispatched to other regions either.
"Haha, what a mess. Could it be Wudang Mountain instead? The thread of fate feels clearer here, though... Did I misread the divination?"
But he couldn't just shrug it off now with nothing to show.
With a soft sigh, he soon pulled various ritual tools from his backpack.
This affair wouldn't wrap up quickly, it seemed.
And a few days later.
Another otherworlder made an appearance far from the Zhuge Clan's location and began full-scale operations.
Yet Cheonggwan, still fixated here, along with everyone else in this world, remained oblivious.
*** "Mm, this should about do it. Time to head to the next spot?"
Finding a secret vault amid the rubble of a collapsed building was child's play for Harley, whose senses far transcended common sense.
What issue could there be when he could map the underground with mere footsteps and peer through objects' materials like x-ray vision using his qi sense?
His Subspace Storage brimmed with valuables, secret manuals sent to Hubert for analysis, and a select few high-quality corpses forwarded to Hans.
Having tidied up the scene, he departed with light steps.
His mood buoyant from a haul even richer than expected.
And after a short while.
A group of five or six in Daoist robes cautiously approached the ruins left behind.
"...What in the world."
"No way this is really the Suramun Sect, is it?"
"Not a single thing intact. So their accounts were true..."
They clicked their tongues as they surveyed the utterly pulverized sect grounds.
Having heard unbelievable rumors, they'd only planned to verify from afar, but the sight was graver than described.
Their expressions naturally hardened.
Toppled buildings, churned earth, corpses strewn everywhere with blood pooling from them.
Battle scars littered the area, vividly illustrating the desperate slaughter that had unfolded.
And...
"Senior Brother, take a look at this."
"...Corpses are missing."
"Yes, not too many, but judging by the traces, it looks like they cherry-picked the strongest experts' bodies."
"No way they bothered separate burials in this chaos."
Their unease swelled as they probed the remnants.
"Signs of sifting through collapsed debris here! Looks like they were searching for something..."
"Was the goal stealing something specific from Suramun?"
"Even so, all this solo...? Maybe accomplices?"
"...But the traces match the testimonies perfectly..."
Shadows fell over the investigators' faces.
Escapees' hollow recitals replayed in their minds.
A bizarrely dressed, muscle-bound giant appearing out of nowhere.
His feral laughter as the sect crumbled under one man, top experts charging in desperation at the end.
Their consistent, hyper-detailed statements defied dismissal as delusion.
"...Senior Brother, shouldn't we link up with the Zhuge Clan? I hear they're not far."
"Agreed. With a freak who solo-wiped Suramun on the loose, safer there..."
"...Let's head back for now. The Grand Elder will decide."
After murmuring among themselves, the Wudang Daoists solemnly clasped hands toward the tragic site and hurriedly turned away.
To rejoin the main group swiftly and report.
Thus informed, Wudang ultimately opted to rendezvous with the Zhuge side.
This united the delegations of the two wary forces—who had maintained stiff relations despite prior exchanges—in one place.
*** "Huh, Suramun?"
"That explains the sudden quiet. So that's what happened."
"If true, aren't we at risk too? Suramun's lord, Gwangakpaedo, was a Peak Realm master. Wiping a sect like that—even allied with Wudang—we couldn't handle..."
"Can't just sit on our hands, though? We gotta do something..."
The abrupt Wudang contact stirred some disorder.
Hugo, senses razor-sharp, pieced it together and slowly nodded.
'...So that's how it went down.'
Put simply...
'My fault again, huh.'
Feeling sheepish, he scratched his nape.
Wudang and Zhuge bases weren't far apart.
Straight-line distance? Roughly a hundred kilometers.
Paths inevitably overlapped some, so their discovery of Harley's traces wasn't odd.
They could've linked up earlier if desired.
'Adult politics kept 'em apart. So those are Wudang warriors.'
He subtly glanced at the distant leaders conferring.
A stern middle-aged Daoist facing a Zhuge elder with a grave expression.
'...Peak Realm? True to Wudang, twin pillars of Orthodox Murim. Their leader's on another level.'
Zhuge weren't martial-renowned, but juxtaposed, the gap glared.
Hugo's original senses wouldn't have caught it, but Heavenly Mechanism Physique massively boosted his qi sense, letting him vaguely gauge it.
'Skill delivers. Spirit pill absorption's at least ten times faster now. At this rate...'
Savoring quiet satisfaction while observing—
"...!"
The Wudang elder's gaze suddenly locked onto him.
A sharp buzz—
Senses spiked, goosebumps rippling as his body felt instantly scanned.
In that fleeting clash, Hugo flashed an awkward smile and slyly averted his eyes upon noting the spark in the elder's.
'...Doh, should've managed my gaze.'
Fresh off pulping a Peak Realm as Harley, he'd let his guard slip.
'But that was Harley. Hugo's got ways to go.'
If Transcendent Realm transcended humanity, Peak Realm was humanity's apex.
Hugo hadn't touched that wall yet.
Not quite.
'Eh, Hugo's only got Strong Return Realm arts anyway, no biggie. But Wudang... could be prime opportunity.'
A Peak Realm master from Murim's Orthodox giants alongside Shaolin.
Observing up close? Golden chance.
'My martial insight's shallow for full grasp, but they've got tiered manuals galore.'
The elder finished talking and turned back to his group.
Hugo's gaze licked over, meticulously masking his eyes and face.
'Anything worthwhile on them?'
He'd studied Zhuge martial arts plenty—no real pull.
Their formation-shamanry fusion yielded solid ideas, but he craved pure martial techniques now.
Wudang experts? Ideal targets.
'Don't be greedy—share the wealth.'
Still over half the trek to Shaolin.
Crafting opportunity here? Trivial for Hugo.
*** "Phew—what a shame, such a waste."
Right after wrapping up with the Zhuge Clan.
Unhyeon Daoist, the Wudang elder, sighed to his returning group and shook his head.
"What is it? Some issue...?"
A trailing warrior cocked his head, but the elder closed his eyes, recalling the youth.
Prime skeletal structure, rigorously honed physique, inner power profoundly deep beyond his years—spirit pills galore?
Most striking: that unique constitution seeming to commune with worldly qi.
Evoking the legendary Empty Spirit Body—merging with the world, unbound inner limits.
'Not comparable truly, but if that youth grows past limits... who knows.'
How could he not regret?
A clear pillar to exalt the sect if nurtured—yet evidently the Zhuge Clan's prized successor.
Same Orthodox frame or not, neighbors were rivals proper—hardly delightful.
Painful even in stable times, let alone this chaotic era of uncertain futures.
'One snag: that arrogant temperament.'
His orthodox mind-cultivation arts let him faintly sense it.
The youth deeming Wudang elder him trivial... nay, unconsciously lording over everyone there.
Not deliberate disdain, but naturally from above—like an adult amused by children's antics. A subtle gaze unfit for such youth.
'Wouldn't have survived meeting the wrong sort. Spoiled rotten by Zhuge.'
Likely sent here to temper that arrogance—world experience to humble him.
"Heh, still wanna see his skills..."
Unhyeon stroked his goatee, muttering to himself.
The talent nagged persistently.
Future titan leading the world, or crushed by his gifts? Time would tell.
Irresistible urge to check his current achievements, though.
"If only I could arrange a chance..."
Like another, he'd converged on the same thought—yet whose will would prevail remained to be seen.