Chapter 347
Chapter 347
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 92
>Chapter Title: Rumor (1)
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The Tang Clan of Sichuan's declaration of seclusion.
It was a decision made out of necessity, with no other options available, but as a martial clan, the Tang Clan did everything in their power to delay the news from spreading outward.
However, despite their efforts, the news of the Tang Clan's seclusion spread across the entire Central Plains at an astonishing speed.
The Tang Clan of Sichuan was a martial family bound by blood ties.
Even if they strengthened their lineage through connections with branch families and collaterals, they did not completely exclude marriages with outsiders.
When it was sufficiently beneficial to the clan, they would form blood alliances through marriages with prestigious orthodox sects.
As a result, there were some individuals from outside within the Tang Clan, and no matter how hard they tried to keep it secret, some details of that day's events inevitably leaked out.
-Flutter, flutter!
The messenger birds they dispatched flew straight into the intelligence divisions of various martial clans.
Since the birds carried the news, distance was meaningless, and before long—less than half a month later—the information even reached the Justice Alliance, the heart of the orthodox factions.
The Justice Alliance's main headquarters housed the Military Affairs Division, which also served as their intelligence bureau.
The one overseeing the bureau was the Justice Alliance's First Strategist, Zhuge Doyang.
Someone burst into his office in a hurry.
-Thud!
"Who... Ah! Has Vice Leader Wei come?"
Zhuge Doyang rose from his seat and clasped his hands in greeting.
He wondered who would barge into his office without permission, but it was Wi Tak-hyeon, the Vice Leader of the Justice Alliance and its second-in-command, known as the Full Resolve Reverse Sword.
As one of the Eight Stars, the pinnacle experts of the current martial world, he was counted among the top five masters even within the Justice Alliance.
He usually wore a face close to a smile, but now his expression was quite grim.
"Is this true?"
Vice Leader Wi Tak-hyeon thrust a red scroll report toward him.
Seeing it, Strategist Zhuge Doyang let out a sigh that was almost a lament.
"Hoo. I sent it via express messenger asking for urgency, and you're only seeing it now?"
"Do you think the express approvals coming in lately number just one or two? For something like this, you could have told me directly."
"I had plenty to handle because of this too. And I marked it on the red scroll with gold thread as something that absolutely needed immediate processing, didn't I?"
"......"
At his words, Vice Leader Wi Tak-hyeon clicked his tongue and soon spoke in a tone of surrender.
"......Understood. My apologies for overlooking it. But what is this thunderbolt from a clear sky? The Tang Clan declaring seclusion—what nonsense is this?"
"It's exactly as written in the report."
"Exactly as written...? That the mighty Tang Clan of Sichuan admits defeat to a single person and goes into seclusion? Does that even make sense?"
Under normal circumstances, he wouldn't have come to the intelligence bureau even for an express report.
But this report was not something to be glossed over.
The name in the report wasn't appearing for the first time.
There was one affiliated group within the Justice Alliance that, claiming detachment from worldly affairs unless in exceptional cases, refrained from involvement.
It was the Shaolin Temple of Mount Song.
Known as the origin of orthodox martial arts and the center of the righteous martial world.
Shocking news had come from this very Shaolin.
[Shaolin's One Hundred Eight Arhats Formation defeated by a single warrior.]
It was utterly shocking news.
As far as history went, the One Hundred Eight Arhats Formation of Shaolin had been defeated by one person only once, during the Ancient Martial Forest era, or so the tales went.
But that instance was different.
That person was the universally acknowledged World's Greatest Swordsman.
Yet it had happened a second time.
And with the formation that had since taken that event as a lesson, mended its flaws, and become renowned for even greater power—the One Hundred Eight Arhats Formation, no less.
"......Heavenly Demon."
The name of the one who shattered the One Hundred Eight Arhats Formation with a single step, they said.
Who knew if it was even his real name.
Heavenly Demon, of all things.
Who would name themselves that?
It was a title fit only for madmen treading the paths of evil demons and unorthodox ways.
"What in the world is this guy's identity?"
"We don't know."
"You don't know? Anything at all?"
"We know nothing. It happened inside Shaolin, but even what little is known came from the Golden Guard warriors who entered."
"No description of his features? No clues about any affiliation?"
"We heard he looked extremely young."
"Extremely young?"
Vice Leader Wi Tak-hyeon clicked his tongue.
Once one reached a certain realm, appearance meant nothing.
Among those who attained enlightenment, there were plenty who underwent bone transformation and reclaimed their youth.
The problem was the precise description.
"We need to find him. This has gone beyond something we can ignore."
Shattering Shaolin's One Hundred Eight Arhats Formation with one step could be seen as mere flaunting of immense martial prowess.
But the Tang Clan of Sichuan's seclusion was different.
The Tang Clan was a pillar of the Justice Alliance and one of the Seven Great Clans of the martial world.
Their influence on the orthodox martial world was considerable, and now they had declared sixty years of seclusion.
The Tang Clan alone was a great force, but their absence meant no one left to check the unorthodox factions' poisons and hidden weapons.
First Strategist Zhuge Doyang nodded in agreement.
"You're right. The moment he forced the Tang Clan into seclusion, it became clear he's no orthodox figure but closer to an evil path wanderer."
"That name—or title—heavenly Demon is already evil path through and through. More worrying still. We already have the Heaven-Earth Society, Evil Chain Alliance, Green Forest, and Yangtze Waterway Gang causing headaches..."
"His very appearance could shatter the current balance of the martial world."
"Shatter the balance?"
At Vice Leader Wi Tak-hyeon's question, First Strategist Zhuge Doyang spoke in a grave tone.
"The Heaven-Earth Society aside, the Evil Chain Alliance has been quiet lately, leaving the unorthodox factions without any standout unifying force."
"Unifying force......"
"Yes. Any faction needs a prominent central figure. We call them leaders with the qualities of a head or heroes."
"Heroes? Ha! What heroes could evil demons and heretics be?"
"At least to those who follow the evil paths, he'll be imprinted as a hero. He toppled Shaolin's honor single-handedly and forced the Tang Clan into seclusion. Has there ever been anyone in the evil paths this bold?"
"........."
Vice Leader Wi Tak-hyeon's expression grew even more serious at Zhuge Doyang's words.
Indeed, among the unorthodox, no one had made such a mark with just two actions.
"Vice Leader. We can't let this slide. He's truly dangerous."
"I know that much. I'll convene a meeting immediately."
"Yes. Hurry. Martial artists who have heard the rumors are already calling him the new sky."
"The new sky? You don't mean......"
"Yes. Not one of the Six Heavens, but the seventh heaven."
‘!!!!!!!’
The emergence of a new sky bordering on evil.
It was dire news for the dominant orthodox factions, but glad tidings for the somewhat suppressed unorthodox ones.
* * *
[......Though he has passed, he was the master I served, so I hope you'll forgive the form of address.]
[I'm not particular about that. Please continue with your story.]
[Understood. When the Clan Head returned, his neck bore more red spots than usual. Seeing them, I knew he had used the Formless Poison Art. It wasn't something that could arise from mere training.]
The wounds visible across his body, along with the tears in his clothes, clearly indicated a major battle.
[And?]
[At the time, I didn't know his opponent was the Haeyoung Medicine Immortal Sect Leader Elder.]
[You wouldn't, since you didn't say.]
[Rather, upon hearing the description from the Clan Head, I suspected it might be the Ghost Sword.]
‘!?’
A glint flashed in Mok Kyung-un's eyes.
An utterly unexpected figure had appeared.
[Ghost Sword? What do you mean?]
[.......Upon his return, the Clan Head dismissed all escort warriors except a few protectors and sent them to search the valley downstream for a body—though whether it remained intact was uncertain. From the attire and broken sword he described, it had to be the Ghost Sword.]
* * *
Mok Kyung-un stroked his chin with narrowed eyes.
It was unexpected information.
Putting it together, Grandfather's first encounter was undoubtedly with Tang Clan Head Tang In-hae.
The man had come with the intent to kill Grandfather from the start.
By slaying him, he aimed to claim Ye Song-ah, the woman who inherited the prophetic ability.
Thus, after poisoning Grandfather with formless poison, Tang Clan Head Tang In-hae vanished midway.
But the one who existed in that gap of disappearance seemed to be the Ghost Sword.
[He appeared to be pursuing someone, heading somewhere.]
Those were the words of Yi Gwang, the Second Realm of the Secret Assembly, who delivered the final blow to Grandfather.
The Ghost Sword had been chasing Tang Clan Head Tang In-hae.
The two clashed, and if Escort Leader Tang In-hu's words were true, the victor was Tang In-hae.
"Hmm."
Uncertain if the body was intact, and with the red spots on his neck as aftereffects, Tang In-hae had used the Formless Poison Art on the Ghost Sword.
Up to this point, it seemed the Ghost Sword had been killed by Tang In-hae.
Yet those connected to the Secret Assembly didn't consider the Ghost Sword dead.
‘......Nearly half a year since then.’
No matter how secretive a point organization the Secret Assembly was, failing to notice an executive's death for half a year made no sense.
Thus, the likelihood that the Ghost Sword survived was quite high.
‘He withstood the formless poison?’
Unexpected.
Unlike Mok Kyung-un, whose blood was poison incarnate, the Ghost Sword had no means to counter formless poison.
How had he survived?
The more he learned, the more enigmatic this man became.
He had avenged those who directly killed Grandfather, but the masterminds behind them remained at large.
To catch them, he still needed the Ghost Sword.
‘......The Assembly Leader is the key, after all.’
The deceased Yi Gwang had said the only one who could summon the Ghost Sword was the Heaven-Earth Society's Leader.
For now, the Leader was the sole path to contact the Secret Assembly, leaving no choice but to return to the Heaven-Earth Society.
His revenge was not yet complete.
It would end only after killing everyone behind it.
-Clop, clop!
Mok Kyung-un sat inside a carriage.
There were two carriages in total.
One was the one Tang Clan Head Tang In-hae had tried to flee in, cleverly repurposed by Seop Chun and Mong Mu-yak.
The group was split: one carriage held the Finance Hall Leader, Seop Chun, Mong Mu-yak, and the Holy Fire Command Leader.
The other had Mara Hyeon on the driver's seat, with Mok Kyung-un inside alongside Ye Song-ah, still unconscious, the granddaughter of the Holy Fire Command Leader, and Pal Dok Majang Gu Yang-su.
The reason Gu Yang-su rode in this carriage was singular.
To detoxify the paralyzing poison afflicting Ye Song-ah's brain.
Tang Clan Head Tang In-hae hadn't merely sealed her acupoints; to prepare for any contingency, he had also induced a coma with a brain-affecting drug.
Thus, she had been unconscious for nearly seven days.
But from half a day ago, thanks to Gu Yang-su's detoxification, she showed signs of recovery, her eyelids fluttering slightly—she seemed on the verge of waking.