Participating in the Black Heaven Assembly (1)
“Ooh! Such fine silk and cotton batting!”
Hyeon Yucheon’s business acumen was extraordinary.
At this moment, he was selling off the goods he had seized from Yi Jeonggap’s group to a merchant caravan.
And not in Hebei Province, where fabric prices had plummeted, but to a caravan from Henan.
“Do they please you?”
Hyeon Yucheon asked again.
The quality was truly exceptional, beyond words—enough to leave even the pickiest merchants speechless.
The defective items Lady Huireung had discovered were merely a few planted secretly in collusion with Butler Kang, so the overall batch was naturally impeccable.
“We’ll buy them all right now!”
There was no need to inspect further.
Hyeon Yucheon managed to offload the entire lot at an excellent price, and the result?
‘Items bought for ten gold nyang, multiplied dozens of times over!’
Once again, Hyeon Yucheon and the Demon Sword Sect soared to new heights.
With this, the Demon Sword Sect no longer had to worry about supplies. Among the many prestigious orthodox sects scattered across Hebei Province, it now ranked at the top in terms of wealth.
“We at the Demon Sword Sect will personally escort the shipment back.”
Even more encouraging was the revival of the Demon Sword Sect’s reputation—a faction once dismissed as Sapa rabble or a fallen sect.
Of course, some merchant caravans tilted their heads at dealing with a Sapa sect.
What trust could one place in a mere Sapa outfit?
But that doubt didn’t last.
The Gold Amount Escort Agency provided full support and introduced connections, and above all, the influence of Jeong Se-in and Lady Huireung among Hebei’s upper crust helped them overcome the crisis.
“We look forward to doing business again.”
The Henan caravan left overjoyed, placing their trust in the Demon Sword Sect. Word soon spread, creating an upward momentum.
It was on the return journey to the Demon Sword Sect, flush with massive profits, that it happened.
“Sect Leader!”
A voice suddenly called out for Hyeon Yucheon.
It was the urgent tone of his senior brother, the Flash Light Flying Gentleman Eum Ji-myeong.
‘What’s happened?’
Hearing his senior brother’s voice, Hyeon Yucheon realized something serious had occurred and jolted in surprise.
Lately, only good fortune had come their way, making Eum Ji-myeong’s frantic tone feel utterly foreign.
“What’s the matter?”
Instead of answering, Eum Ji-myeong handed over a letter.
Its contents were utterly unexpected.
Hyeon Yucheon scanned it calmly with his eyes.
In this era fraught with many hardships, to raise the voice of the Sapa alliance… the Black Heaven Assembly, to select Sapa’s strongest late-generation talent, shall be held.
Regrettably, your Demon Sword Sect does not qualify among the five sects for direct advancement to the main tournament.
Thus, we send this letter permitting participation from the preliminaries. We ask for your understanding.
The venue for this Black Heaven Assembly is… Great Dark Valley.
If the orthodox factions had the Dragon-Phoenix Assembly, Sapa once had this Black Heaven Assembly.
It was a tournament to crown Sapa’s top late-generation disciple. Back when the Demon Sword Ghost Lord was alive, it was held annually.
But after his disappearance, Sapa forces fell into repeated decline, and the Black Heaven Assembly had been on indefinite hiatus for the past five or six years.
Now, it was being revived.
Yet the Demon Sword Sect had to start from the preliminaries.
Having always been the central host and a direct qualifier for the main event, this was a grave insult.
“Hmph.”
Hyeon Yucheon knew this well, so a groan escaped him the moment he finished reading.
He read the invitation aloud to his subordinates, and as expected…
“Those damn bastards!”
“We used to host the Black Heaven Assembly ourselves!”
“Even if the Central Plains has changed, starting from the preliminaries? This is too much!”
They all vented their fury, faces flushed with rage.
Swoosh!
Hyeon Yucheon’s eyes darkened as he read the letter’s end.
“The Black Heaven Assembly will be held at… Great Dark Valley.”
Even the hosting sect had been decided without them—excluded from deliberations entirely.
Great Dark Valley was one of Sapa’s Five Great Sects with direct main-tournament berths, a traditional powerhouse.
“Great Dark Valley has eyed Sapa’s throne since Master Demon Sword Ghost Lord’s days—ambitious lot,” Eum Ji-myeong added from the side.
He was right.
Great Dark Valley, one of Sapa’s Five Great Sects alongside the Demon Sword Sect, was a gathering of typical Sapa warriors in a mysterious valley shrouded in white mist—a massive faction.
Bellicose by nature, every member a skilled fighter; they were no easy opponents.
“Hah! The Black Heaven Assembly might as well be ours… and now we’re not even invited to pick the host?”
“Climb up from the preliminaries, they say?”
Even the Black Wolf Three Swords spat out their indignation at this harsh reality.
No matter how swiftly the world changed, this was outrageous.
Yet Hyeon Yucheon didn’t rage—instead, he shook his head.
“No need to get overly angry. We should accept it.”
He said something astonishing.
“……?!”
The disciples looked puzzled.
“Regrettable as it is, this treatment reflects Sapa’s—and the Central Plains martial world’s—exact view of Demon Sword Peak right now.”
Hyeon Yucheon explained logically.
No matter that they’d crowned a new sect leader and conquered Black Sword Peak—the news hadn’t spread far, and Black Sword Peak was a mere offshoot, not even in the lineage of Sapa’s major sects.
Thus, the prevailing opinion was that the Demon Sword Sect’s resurgence was temporary.
“But that’s no reason to despair.”
Hyeon Yucheon clenched his fist, rallying the dejected disciples.
“If I enter the Black Heaven Assembly and prove the Demon Sword Sect’s untapped potential—that we’re far from dead… Sapa will turn its eyes back to us.”
Faces brightened at his words.
“Right! The sect leader can do it.”
“He’s not just late-generation level—he’s already among the Central Plains’ elite!”
Thinking of Hyeon Yucheon’s prowess filled them with pride.
“I will participate in the Black Heaven Assembly preliminaries.”
Before the watching disciples, Hyeon Yucheon declared his ambition.
His plan made sense.
If he won Sapa’s grand festival, the Black Heaven Assembly—
‘Especially an overwhelming victory—then the Demon Sword Sect’s true revival would be undeniable.’
It would aid the sect immensely.
With lingering supporters and remnants still out there, if Hyeon Yucheon returned as champion, revival was only a matter of time.
“Sect Leader, there’ll be plenty of mockery and disdain.”
Eum Ji-myeong spoke, face etched with concern for his junior.
Indeed, during the Demon Sword Sect’s dominance over Sapa and the entire Central Plains, it had admirers aplenty—but also those suppressed, biding their time, sharpening their blades.
“Great Dark Valley, hosting this… they’ve rebelled against Master Demon Sword Ghost Lord since old times.”
Eum Ji-myeong couldn’t hide his worry.
“And… the Quick Sword Party, newly ascended to Sapa’s Five Great Sects in our stead, will be gunning for you.”
Elder Jeong Inheon chimed in without reserve.
After the Demon Sword Ghost Lord’s disappearance and the sect’s fall, the Quick Sword Party had taken the Demon Sword Sect’s spot among Sapa’s Five Great Sects.
Pursuing extreme speed swordsmanship like the Demon Sword Sect, with similar temperament, they were perpetually compared—and treated as its inferior knockoff.
Now that fortunes had reversed, Quick Sword Party members picked fights and sabotaged Demon Sword Sect disciples at every encounter.
“No worries. If those fools scared me, I’d never have stepped into the jianghu.”
Hyeon Yucheon resolved himself.
‘Quick Sword Party or Great Dark Valley—doesn’t matter.’
Truth be told, the Sapa Five Great Sect he truly targeted was elsewhere.
The Blood Dragon Room, where his eldest senior brother had been taken captive.
He had to meet him somehow—to discern if the scarred man was truly his senior brother or the traitorous third senior brother.
“It starts in a month.”
Great Dark Valley lay in Shaanxi Province, not far off—plenty of time considering travel.
“Just watch. When the Black Heaven Assembly ends, we’ll see who’s laughing—and which sect rises.”
The Demon Sword Prince smiled brightly.
Over the next month, Hyeon Yucheon made full preparations as sect leader.
He entrusted Eum Ji-myeong with temporary sect leader duties again and left second Black Wolf Sword Cheonjung and third Cheonjwa to guard the Demon Sword Sect perfectly.
Then he visited the Haeha Guest House.
“…So, I’ll be leaving Hebei for a while to participate in the Black Heaven Assembly.”
This was, of course, to explain everything to Jeong Se-in.
Her fair face flushed, tears welling up, but she held back.
“Take care of yourself. Don’t get hurt, please.”
She was being considerate, lest he feel burdened or uneasy.
“Yes, sister. If anything troubles you, come straight to the Demon Sword Sect without hesitation.”
Fortunately, with Lady Huireung—now Hebei’s premier lady—backing the Haeha Guest House, there was little worry.
After bidding temporary farewells to everyone, Hyeon Yucheon set off for Great Dark Valley with Cheonu, eldest of the Black Wolf Three Swords.
As super peak experts, their travel speed was blistering; soon they reached Xi’an, Shaanxi’s hub buzzing with Black Heaven Assembly fervor.
“So many people.”
“Yeah. Even in decline, it’s Sapa’s festival carving up the Central Plains—makes sense.”
Chatting idly, Hyeon Yucheon and Cheonu headed to a famed inn in Xi’an.
With the assembly starting, good food would be scarce for a while—they aimed to savor one last meal.
They picked a suitable inn and climbed to the second floor for dinner.
But what was this?
“Hm?! That blood-dragon embroidery on their uniforms…!”
Surveying the floor, Hyeon Yucheon spotted warriors in distinctive garb at the far end.
In Sapa martial world—no, the entire Central Plains—only one group dressed like that.
Sapa’s Five Great Sects: the Blood Dragon Room!
Since his eldest senior brother had been taken there, he desperately wanted to speak with them.
“Are you Blood Dragon Room warriors? I’m from the Demon Sword Sect, looking for my senior brother, Brilliant Light Demon Sword Ga Jinuk…”
Infusing his voice with inner power, Hyeon Yucheon called out—but disappointingly, the distant Blood Dragon Room warriors vanished without a glance back.
“Damn!”
Even the usually taciturn Cheonu couldn’t hide his regret when—
Sudden trouble erupted.
“Wait! Who? Demon Sword Sect?”
People who’d overheard Hyeon Yucheon climbed to the second floor.
Sapa warriors with narrow, long swords.
No need to guess which sect wielded such weapons.
‘Quick Sword Party warriors!’
Hyeon Yucheon sensed it instantly.
Yes.
The Blood Dragon Room he sought was nowhere, but he’d unwittingly summoned the pesky Quick Sword Party.
One might panic, but Hyeon Yucheon smiled instead.
‘Perfect timing. I was fuming over missing the Blood Dragon Room bastards—now I’ve got stress relief.’
He’d found his punching bag.
“I’m the new sect leader of the Demon Sword Sect. Got business with me?”