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The martial world has the Green Forest.
That's the polite name, anyway. They're really just bandits — criminals who threaten travelers with weapons to steal their gold and valuables, sometimes even taking lives.
And bandits like these don't only live in the mountains.
There are water bandits spread across the Yangtze Waterway Twelve Stockades, and then there are the pirates now boarding the ships right before our eyes.
"They always say the South Sea is crawling with pirates. Heh-heh, are all those men pirates, then? Looks like we need the navy out here, not the Hainan Sect."
"Mm... I don't think so. They don't look like bandits."
The moment she laid eyes on the men aboard those ships, Lee Si-a concluded they weren't pirates.
"I don't feel that sleaziness that bandits have. You know, that wild animal look — like they're about to start looting. None of that. The way those ships are moving, everything about them is organized and coordinated."
"I agree. Those men are no mere pirates."
We both turned accusing stares toward Hyeol Gyu-ryeong. The pirates who had boarded our ship and were pointing swords at us definitely seemed to have come to attack us, but they gave no sign of trying to steal gold or silver.
Hyeol Gyu-ryeong asked, "An explanation is in order. Why do you call them pirates?"
"Pirates don't have to want gold and silver to be pirates, do they?"
To be precise, those men were closer to assassins who had come to take our lives. They just happened to arrive on boats.
"They are indeed pirates."
Hyeol Gyu-ryeong shook her head firmly.
"Only, they became pirates with the goal of taking your lives. Those are the remnants of the former Hainan Sect."
"What do you mean by that?"
Remnants of the Hainan Sect. Why would the "remnants" of the Hainan Sect muster a fleet to come and kill Hyeol Gyu-ryeong — the current sect leader of the Hainan Sect?
"The current Hainan Sect leader is the Blood Sword Immortal. Use that to deduce the rest."
Hyeol Gyu-ryeong tossed us a riddle. Unlike the Mad Demon, who understood me through my blood, Hyeol Gyu-ryeong needed her own way to test us.
"It's an internal split."
But I didn't even need to come up with the answer myself — Lee Si-a deduced it right away.
"The current Hainan Sect threw in with the Blood Cult, so the original followers of the White Path rebelled against the current sect and fled. And now they're coming at you like that to kill you, the sect leader."
"Correct. They are the ones who broke away and became enemies of the Blood Cult Hainan Sect I now lead."
Swoooosh—
The boats began slowly closing in. The figures emerging from the mist were all clad in rough martial attire, every one of them glaring at us with menacing eyes.
"They want me dead. They want us dead."
They were practically itching to leap across the sea, board our ship, and slaughter everyone aboard. The thick killing intent I sensed from beyond the fog was breathtaking.
"Just what happened in the Hainan Sect that White Path warriors turned pirate and radiate such thick killing intent?"
"A great deal has happened in the Hainan Sect over the last ten years. After we formally withdrew from the Murim Alliance, there were endless internal conflicts. The question was whether to follow the one who protected the Hainan Sect from the monster that had attacked it, or to turn our backs on that life-saving grace and keep walking the original path — because the benefactor belonged to an unorthodox faction."
"That's a painful dilemma."
I couldn't know every detail of what happened ten years ago, but the key point was that the man who had saved the Hainan Sect was the Mad Demon.
If the Mad Demon had been a man of the White Path, the Hainan Sect would still be among the Nine Sects and One Gang. But because he was an extreme unorthodox martial artist — a member of the Blood Cult — the Hainan Sect had been forced to make a choice.
Ignore the life-saving grace and walk the path of the White Path?
Or cast their lot with the Blood Cult to repay the debt?
A great loss for the White Path Murim, but in the end the faction favoring the Blood Cult gained supremacy within the Hainan Sect. That was why the sect never rejoined the Murim Alliance, and the internal strife — unknown to the wider martial world — had simply continued over the past decade.
'Hainan is beyond most people's attention, after all.'
Had the island been physically attached to the Central Plains, someone would have known and spread rumors. But islands, surprisingly enough, are quite isolated and closed-off.
"In truth, roughly nine out of ten left."
Clink. Clink.
"Those who chose to join the Blood Cult and share our purpose were strikingly few. In absolute numbers, they outnumber us perhaps ten to one."
The warriors under Hyeol Gyu-ryeong's command, who had been waiting below deck, now came pouring out onto the deck. Every one of them wore martial attire in the distinctive Blood Cult style — black with bold crimson lines — and they sharpened their killing intent as they faced the pirates.
"I myself, along with many others from the Hainan Sect, personally embraced the Blood Cult. But the former sect leader and his followers all withdrew to the nearby islands. That is why, at present, there are three sects on Hainan all claiming to inherit the Hainan Sect's true lineage."
"Does that count include you?"
"Yes. Hainan Island itself, Golden Sand Island, Byeokra Island. Our Blood Cult now occupies the main island where the old mainstream used to live, while those who fled the Hainan Sect hid themselves on the other two islands."
"Now I understand who they truly are."
Swoooosh.
Cutting through the waves, the onrushing ships bore the inscription "Hainan Golden Sand." The gazes of the men aboard, staring at us, were each as sharp as a freshly whetted blade.
"So they've taken up swords to reclaim the Hainan Sect's mainstream from the Blood Cult."
Their aura was like a straight sword — old and battered, perhaps, yet unbroken. I knew it instantly.
And when I saw the white-haired old man standing at their vanguard, glaring straight at us, I understood why the Mad Demon had sent me here.
Larger in frame than the others and sporting a white beard that reached his solar plexus, the old man emanated a sword qi cold as frost as he fixed his glare on Hyeol Gyu-ryeong.
"That man — he's at the Profound Realm."
"Yes. The former Hainan Sect leader, the 'Namhwa Old Sword.'"
I had sensed his energy from a distance, and Hyeol Gyu-ryeong immediately revealed his identity.
"Namhwa Old Sword... I've heard of him. When he was young, they called him the Left-Hand Dragon as one of the Nine Dragons. They say he was a master of the Left Hand Sword who once commanded the martial world."
"A truly grandiose epithet."
It was a name that didn't exist in the future. I'd heard of things like the Wildfire Divine Sword, but Namhwa Old Sword — not even a Namhwa Divine Dragon or anything — this was the first time I'd ever heard of him.
Which meant that even if he was a master of the Profound Realm in the present day, since I had never heard his name in the future, he had most likely died before the Bloody Era of Calamity ever began.
Considering how the Blood Cult in that era had schemed to swallow the entire Central Plains, the Hainan Sect remnants on Golden Sand Island and Byeokra Island must have been thoroughly purged early on.
"But a martial artist of that caliber ought to be known across the Central Plains. Why isn't he?"
"Those men believe the Hainan Sect was stolen from them by the Blood Cult, and they are deeply ashamed of that. The day they truly retake the Hainan Sect, they will proclaim to the world that the Hainan Sect has returned to its proper state."
"So they've deliberately hidden Hainan's turmoil for a decade, is that it?"
"Something like that. The former sect leader... the Namhwa Old Sword was originally a master at the early stage of the Harmony Realm. But after he relocated to Golden Sand Island, he honed his martial arts with the audacious hope of someday overthrowing our Cult Leader."
A man known to have been in seclusion for ten years had, after a decade of effort, reached the Profound Realm. He hadn't even announced his newfound strength to the outside world and was instead busying himself with piracy — he must have given up in shame.
'This man planned to go after the Blood Cult Leader?'
In any case, the Blood Cult would eventually clean everything up on its own, but now that a convenient sword like me had appeared, was the Cult Leader simply going to have me deal with the remnants?
"Damn. They've put me in checkmate."
"It may not be entirely bad for you. Gaining that person's support alone is a great benefit, of course... but this will also serve as good nourishment for your growth."
"Are you telling us to do your work for you?"
Lee Si-a openly showed her displeasure. How should I put this — in the Blood Cult Leader's fashion, this situation was what you'd call "dumping the grunt work on us."
It was like making the youngest disciple or the junior apprentice handle something annoying. We were flabbergasted, but Hyeol Gyu-ryeong paid our displeasure no mind at all.
"Didn't I tell you? This will also be a good opportunity for your growth."
"Aren't you just dressing it up in pretty words?"
"Hmph... As expected of him."
Hyeol Gyu-ryeong drew something from her bosom — a set of three small silk pouches, each a different color. She pulled out the yellow pouch and produced a little slip of paper from inside it.
"Ahem. A direct message from the Blood Cult Leader."
"Bringing out a piece of paper like that now won't—"
"On Golden Sand Island and Byeokra Island, there are many beautiful women. The wives and daughters of the pirates. While the men are out to sea, only the women remain on the islands."
"......Oh-ho."
Lee Si-a and I both grew intrigued at the exact same moment.
"He said you'd understand with just those words. Do I need to elaborate further?"
"No need to explain, but I do have a request."
Lee Si-a and I licked our lips.
"Between Golden Sand Island and Byeokra Island — which one has more women?"
"Why don't you take us that far, at least?"
A holy land for Absorption of Yin to Nourish Yang.
Those two islands were, without exaggeration, a gold mine of Inner Energy. Hyeol Gyu-ryeong simply smiled at us and pointed toward the line of ships spread out ahead.
"First, we will head for the main island while evading those men. Starting from now — hold tight to the rails."
Clap! The instant Hyeol Gyu-ryeong clapped her hands, we heard something detach from the side of the ship. Lee Si-a and I stretched our heads over the side to see what was below.
"...Don't tell me, is that...?"
"The Blood Flying Dragon Cannon. A new naval warfare tactic devised by that person."
Clank. Clank.
Along with the sound of heavy iron masses shifting below, we could sense the force of Internal Energy being drawn upward. With Hyeol Gyu-ryeong's permission, Lee Si-a and I descended below the deck and witnessed a bizarre spectacle there.
Drip, drip, drip.
Holding their Left Hand Swords, the Hainan Sect martial artists let their own blood drip onto their blades as they gathered their qi and aimed their swords at objects resembling sword sheaths fixed in front of them.
"Are they trying to fire off the sheaths like heavy crossbows? Why?"
"...Wouldn't it be better to just shoot arrows at this rate?"
The moment Lee Si-a tilted her head in puzzlement—
"HWAAP!"
In unison, the swordsmen thrust their blades into the sheath-like structures. Sensing the energy loaded inside those sheaths, I couldn't disguise my astonishment.
"...Are they insane?"
"That's all sword qi...?!"
The martial artists were all at the Peak level. Over twenty warriors in total bled onto their own swords, channeling their blood-infused sword qi into the sheaths.
And then I knew, with pure instinct.
"There's no one else in the world who would use murim swordsmen as archers — except the Blood Cult."
The Blood Cult Leader had once said:
— Once murim martial artists reach around the Peak level, a single one of them can exert the battlefield power of a battering ram or a trebuchet, did you know that? A little research and development, and they make absolutely superb instruments of slaughter.
"......."
The sword qi coalescing at the tips of those sheaths and launching forth like crossbow bolts carried a lethality that no ordinary arrow or bolt could ever match.
* * *
"Raise the Sword Curtain!!"
At the Namhwa Old Sword's booming command, the martial artists near the bow all swung their blades to intercept the incoming sword qi.
"Everyone below First-Rate, go below and plug the holes in the ship! Peak level and above, all of you intercept the flying sword qi!"
Only Peak-level fighters could block Peak-level attacks, and the First-Rate martial artists had no way of stopping the enemy's bizarre dark arts. At the Namhwa Old Sword's shout, the warriors moved with disciplined precision.
"Kgh...!"
However, it wasn't really a dark art — they were simply firing sword qi at us.
But the method of launching sword qi across the open sea was so far beyond common sense that it felt nothing short of uncanny.
Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud!!
The sword qi arced toward us, carving intersecting parabolas through the air. Because the tips of the sheaths had been cut away and left hollow, the blood flowing along the sword qi flew toward us like arrows.
The blood was the arrow, and the sword qi was the arrowhead.
"Aaargh!"
One of the warriors was struck in the shoulder by a bolt of blood-forged sword qi while trying to maintain a sword curtain. Blood erupted from his shoulder, and he immediately collapsed to his knees.
"Stop the bleeding!"
"Hah... huff, huff...!"
The nearby warriors hurriedly began to treat him. The Namhwa Old Sword quickly filled the gap in the defensive line, swinging his sword.
"Close the distance with our ships! As soon as we narrow the range, we'll have them!"
A lethal gleam shone in the Namhwa Old Sword's eyes.
"As soon as we close the gap, we can leap right onto their deck!"
The boats carrying the Hainan Sect warriors began to surge forward faster, drawing steadily nearer.