The Fabled Sword Empress
"Since it's already come to this, you might as well spread the rumor across the entire Central Plains in earnest."
"Just a moment ago, you were tearing into me for bringing it up at all—"
"Do you really want a beating? Or are you just eager to have your subordinate beggars look at you with pity?"
"I apologize. I shall do my utmost."
Ga Aksang knew that despite her foul temperament, Ryeong was fundamentally a righteous soul. During the slaughter at the Paeng Clan, she had appeared like a demon incarnate, but once he learned the truth behind her actions, he had come to see her as someone striving tirelessly for the peace of the Central Plains.
For quite some time, the Central Plains had been shrouded in an uneasy dread brought on by the localized strikes of the Demon Blood Divine Cult. That oppressive atmosphere had reached its zenith when the Wudang Sect was ambushed and a horrific massacre unfolded in Xi'an of Shaanxi.
Yet Ryeong had confronted the Demon Blood Divine Cult head-on at the Tang Clan. She had led the battle in Hubei to a decisive victory, and now she had not only subjugated the Ghost Spirit King but also rooted out and eliminated every last infiltrator lurking within the Paeng Clan.
Ga Aksang was convinced that Ryeong was the one the world needed.
When evil reared its head, a force of good had to rise to confront it. Since the moniker of the Sword Empress had already taken root, making the most of it might just kindle a beacon of hope across the Central Plains. In truth, even if she had forbidden him from fanning the flames, he had planned on quietly disregarding her wishes. From the perspective of the Beggars' Sect, there was no rumor more alluring or potent than that of the Sword Empress.
"Might I ask where your next destination lies?"
"I'm heading to Liaoning. I have business with the Moyong Clan."
"I strongly advise against going to Liaoning right now. The very reason I have been spreading your title as the Sword Empress can be found there. That region has already fallen."
"What?"
Ryeong's eyes snapped wide at the unforeseen revelation. Liaoning had fallen? Geographically, an invasion would have required sweeping down from the North Sea. As for the Sword Palace in the east... word was that the Demon Blood Divine Cult was currently pouring all their focus into subduing them. Had Liaoning been overrun not by the Cult, but by some other faction from the Outer Realms?
Ryeong's gaze sharpened, her demeanor shifting subtly. Ga Aksang felt a dry thirst seize his throat. The fall of Liaoning was intelligence of the highest secrecy. Because Hebei sat in such close proximity, the news had to be kept under strict wraps.
It was entirely possible that the force occupying Liaoning was indeed the Demon Blood Divine Cult, and that their next intended target had been the Paeng Clan. If Ryeong's actions had preemptively severed that advance, she deserved nothing short of profound praise. That was precisely why Ga Aksang wished for her to remain in Hebei. Should the hostile forces occupying Liaoning march south, it would be impossible to find a military asset as formidable as her.
"Shouldn't news like that be spread as quickly as possible? Why are you keeping your lips sealed tight about that while blabbering only about me?"
"Top-secret intelligence has already been dispatched to the Murim Alliance. Reinforcements should arrive in roughly three days."
"Then I'm going on a scouting run. Tell Jinyeong I'll be back within a day, so she should stay put."
"Young lady? You cannot go alone—"
Ga Aksang reached out to halt her rash departure, but she had already vanished without a trace.
"Her temper might be atrocious, but... she possesses every quality of a true grand chivalric hero."
Even if he could not fathom her innermost thoughts, Ga Aksang was now entirely certain that Ryeong would grow into a pillar capable of leading the righteous factions of the next generation.
Meanwhile, Ryeong hurtled toward Liaoning, pushing her lightness arts to their limits before unfurling her blazing wings of fire to accelerate even further.
"Huh? Those flames... could it be?"
"It's the Sword Empress! The Sword Empress is flying through the sky!"
Word of her martial arts had evidently spread with astonishing speed. Catching sight of the brilliant blaze streaking across the heavens, the people of Hebei raised their voices in heartfelt gratitude and awe.
A strange, unprompted prickle warmed Ryeong's chest. The feeling was so utterly foreign that she found herself wondering whether the grand masters of the Orthodox sects indulged in their rampant hypocrisy just to bathe in this kind of adoration.
Yet this was no time to wallow in sentimentality. Liaoning was a vital strategic chokepoint. If Hebei served as the northwestern heart of the Central Plains, Liaoning was the bastion that supported Hebei and provided the first line of defense to detect an invasion. Even if its collapse had sounded the alarm for Hebei, it was never a territory meant to be sacrificed so casually. And above all else, Liaoning was the home of the prestigious Moyong Clan.
According to Ga Aksang, virtually no survivors remained within the province. Just how massive an army had swarmed across the border to wipe out every living soul?
A few hours later, Ryeong reached the border of Liaoning. Narrowing her eyes, she hovered in the sky above. Whether the enemy detected her presence or not was of little concern. To ascend to such altitudes, one had to be a peerless master who had attained at least the Supreme Demon realm. And if someone of that caliber attempted to climb toward her, she could easily turn on her heels and flee at full speed.
Furthermore, if news from Liaoning had been kept from Hebei, then the invaders who struck Liaoning would likely not yet know of the Ghost Spirit King's demise or the total slaughter of their spies within the Paeng Clan.
Ryeong openly observed the enemy's movements from the open sky. True to her suspicions, a thick, nauseating stench of demonic qi permeated the air. It was indeed the Demon Blood Divine Cult that had crushed Liaoning. Yet there was a distinct abnormality: unmistakable traces of deep ice arts lingered across the desolate landscape. It meant they had dragged forces from the North Sea Ice Palace along to conquer the region.
"Look up there!"
"An intruder! There's an intruder in the sky!"
Having manifested in such an ostentatious blaze, Ryeong was spotted by the Cultists in an instant. Yet none dared rush her recklessly. Not only was she suspended high above the heavens, but there appeared to be no master of the Supreme Demon realm in the immediate vicinity. Taking full advantage of their hesitation, Ryeong simply gave her sword a casual swing.
It was nothing short of an aerial bombardment. Augmented by gravitational acceleration, the descending arcs of sword astral qi fell upon the Cultists like an unavoidable natural disaster.
Rumble! Rsssh-boom!
The sudden, overwhelming onslaught threw the Cultists into utter disarray. Just as Ryeong was beginning to wonder where on earth they had gathered such an enormous host, a cluster of slender, razor-sharp icicles shot straight toward her.
Hiss!
Flaring her wings of fire outward, she drastically raised the ambient temperature. The icicles instantly liquefied and boiled into steam before they could reach her. Through the vapor, Ryeong caught sight of a silver-haired man. He appeared to be a Transcendent Realm master dispatched from the Ice Palace. Behind him, troops clad in the distinct garments of the North Sea emerged, followed by high-ranking squad leaders of the Demon Blood Divine Cult.
"I'll call it a day here."
Ryeong folded her fiery wings and invoked the Ghost Soul Steps, completely erasing her presence. The warriors of both the Ice Palace and the Divine Cult shook their heads in bewilderment, having lost sight of her despite looking right at the spot where she had hovered a moment prior.
"So that girl is the Sword Empress who slew the Ghost Spirit King."
At that moment, a strikingly handsome man exuding a bloodthirsty aura stepped forward, his crimson hair catching the wind. It was none other than the Fourth Blood King, Sa Gon.
Incensed by the death of the Fifth Blood King, Geuk Pyeong, the Cult's main headquarters had dispatched him directly into the Central Plains. Until only a few days ago, he had been fighting relentlessly to secure dominance over the North Sea. The moment that grueling campaign concluded, he had been assigned a new objective—and as its opening salvo, he had succeeded in laying waste to Liaoning, home to the Moyong Clan, one of the Five Great Clans.
It was then that news of the Ghost Spirit King's demise had reached him, accompanied by reports of a young girl bearing the title of Sword Empress. Seeing the intruder utilize such bizarre and elusive techniques, he immediately realized she was the one.
She was more than worthy of bearing the mantle of Sword Empress at such a tender age. The divine, transcendent aura she possessed was something that even the most venerable Daoists of the Wudang Sect could scarcely rival. To those who wielded demonic qi, she was an absolute, natural antithesis. Only now did Sa Gon fully understand how Geuk Pyeong could have suffered total defeat despite commanding such a formidable force.
Of course, understanding the circumstances did not excuse the man for being an idiot. If the enemy proved powerful, one ought to lay countless ambushes and wait; what kind of fool stood idly by only to be slaughtered like cattle?
"Hear my command, all forces. In four days, we strike Hebei."
Cultists and Ice Palace warriors alike dropped to their knees before him. No one dared defy an order issued in the name of a Blood King. Yet there was one critical detail the Fourth Blood King had overlooked: by launching this unprovoked assault on Liaoning, he had incurred the wrath of the Imperial Court, which had turned a blind eye to the affairs of the martial world until now.
"Your Imperial Majesty. Liaoning has fallen. If this continues, We fear those heretical fiends will bring their blades to the very gates of the Imperial Palace."
Beijing, the Forbidden City.
It was the seat of the Great Ming Dynasty's imperial court, the paramount fortress of the Central Plains where the Son of Heaven resided under the ceaseless, round-the-clock vigil of one hundred thousand Embroidered Uniform Guards. Yet that sanctuary had been abruptly thrown into a state of high alert. Liaoning Province, situated right on the doorstep of Beijing, had been completely overrun by demonic heretics.
The Moyong Clan had been established in Liaoning partly due to their heritage as descendants of the Jin Dynasty, but also to serve as the answer to an unspoken imperial necessity: that a renowned martial clan must stand as a bulwark in the territory closest to the capital. And now, that bulwark had crumbled.
This signified that the martial buffer shielding the imperial road had been entirely erased. It also meant that the moment had arrived when the Pact of Non-Intervention between the court and the martial world could be broken with absolute justification.
"Do you seek Our judgment, Regional Military Commissioner?"
Seated upon the dragon throne, looking down upon all beneath the heavens, the reigning Ming Emperor addressed Wei Jiping, the commander overseeing the military governance of Liaoning Province. The sovereign's piercing insight was beyond the comprehension of ordinary mortals, and merely enduring the weight of that imperial gaze forced the commissioner to swallow hard.
"From antiquity, the Pact of Non-Intervention dictated that the court shall not meddle in the affairs of the martial world."
However.
"This incident in Liaoning has crossed the line. We hereby authorize the deployment of the Embroidered Uniform Guard."
The eyes of the Son of Heaven burned with unyielding fury.