Chapter 143: Jiangxi Branch (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 143: Jiangxi Branch (3)
Two forces clashed deep within the Jiangxi Branch.
The Azure Firmament Hall and the Fourth Young Master's personal guard.
Though their numbers were roughly even, the disparity in their strength was clear. The guards, who had confidently drawn their weapons just moments before, were now being helplessly driven back.
"Ugh!"
"Damn it! Why are all these famous bastards from the Ten Halls gathered in one place?"
"The White-Wing Swordsman, the Black-Crushing Fist, and even the Fate-Breaking Great Saber!"
"Did they mobilize a majority of the Ten Halls?!"
The demonic practitioners scrambled to retreat, overwhelmed by the azure Qi Waves surging from all directions.
The White-Wing Swordsman, Baekri Cheong, anchored the center of the Azure Firmament Hall, displaying his signature, clean swordsmanship. Meanwhile, the Black-Crushing Fist, Jang Mun-hyeok, repeatedly charged in, his body tempered like steel by external arts, throwing the guards' formation into chaos.
Boom!
Whenever a few demonic practitioners spotted a gap and grit their teeth to counterattack, the Fate-Breaking Great Saber, Wi Hyeon-su, would invariably swing his massive blade, unleashing a torrent of violent strikes that crushed anyone who dared to rush forward.
Damn it. It’d be harder to find someone here without a moniker, the guard captain thought, gritting his teeth as he swung his own sword while watching his subordinates get pushed back.
Looking closely, he realized the majority of their opponents were Third Clouds who had earned their own titles and made names for themselves in the Jianghu. Even the few Second Clouds among them displayed formidable skill.
"Oh? You have the luxury of looking away? Perhaps my own training is still lacking."
Swoosh!
With a sharp whistle, a longsword plunged deep into the guard captain's chest.
The captain stared down at the blade that had pierced his vital point with pinpoint accuracy, then forced his head up. Before him stood a man wielding a remarkably swift sword with a scar-covered right hand.
"Brush-Stand Sword... I never thought you were this skilled."
"How old is the information you're basing that on?"
"Ah... To think I'd die to a man reeking of alcohol."
The Brush-Stand Sword, Heo Il, twisted his wrist, driving the longsword even deeper.
As the sword tip tore through his flesh, the guard captain felt the strength drain from his entire body.
Damn it. I thought I had grasped the speed of his swift sword, but he was hiding another level to his technique.
His command was absolutely necessary to salvage the guard, which was collapsing under the Azure Firmament Hall's onslaught. He had tried to tie Heo Il down while issuing orders, but that choice only hastened his own demise.
Splurt!
Heo Il yanked the deeply embedded longsword out in one fluid motion. A fountain of blood sprayed from the guard captain's chest, but Heo Il merely gave a slight nod as if it were nothing. The falling droplets of blood splattered against the bamboo hat he wore.
By the time Heo Il killed the guard captain, the remaining demonic practitioners were already being finished off.
Man Ye-won approached, having just used a gust of sword wind to sever the neck of a demonic practitioner who tried to sneak up on Heo Il.
"Senior Heo, shouldn't you change your moniker now?"
"Why is that?"
"It seems your mastery of the swift sword has deepened even further."
"I'm still a long way off compared to the Hall Master."
"Well, if the Hall Master is your standard, then I have nothing more to say."
Shaking the blood from his greatsword, Gong Jun-am said as he passed them, "Stop chattering. We are joining the Hall Master immediately."
Having wiped out the Fourth Young Master's guard, the Azure Firmament Hall advanced deeper into the compound, heading in the direction of Namgung Jun's presence.
Yu Geun-su, moving with a vigilant eye for any hidden enemies, shook his head in amazement.
"This is incredible. Just how did they fight to leave a scene like this...?"
The area was in utter ruins, clearly the aftermath of a life-and-death battle between supreme experts. The ground and high walls were scarred with dozens of fissures, as if a giant beast had raked its claws across them. Corners of pavilions were pulverized, and deep craters pockmarked the landscape. It looked as if dozens of thunderclap bombs had exploded simultaneously.
Just looking at the destruction gave one a sense of a supreme expert's martial prowess.
"Do all martial artists who have achieved Three Flowers Gather at the Crown possess this kind of power?" Dan So-hye muttered, unable to take her eyes off the sword scars carved everywhere. Like Yu Geun-su, this was her first time seeing a battlefield swept by a supreme expert.
"The realm of Three Flowers Gather at the Crown is vast," Baekri Cheong, who had overheard the Second Clouds' conversation, chimed in lightly. "And since every martial artist's path is different, their power can't be measured by a single standard."
"What is certain," he continued, "is that any supreme expert of the Three Flowers Gather at the Crown can exert a powerful influence. There is a reason why they are called 'decisive weapons of war' in sect conflicts."
Dan So-hye, listening with interest, asked, "If supreme experts are called decisive weapons of war, what are peerless experts called?"
"A living natural disaster. The places where peerless experts clash inevitably require the maps to be redrawn. Do you know of a place called Zhushan in Hubei Province?"
Dan So-hye nodded quietly.
"Originally, just as its name suggests, Zhushan was a place with over a hundred peaks that stretched high into the sky like stalks of bamboo."
"What? But the Zhushan I visited a while ago was..."
"Exactly. The Zhushan of today has no high peaks to speak of—it's just a region of gentle, rolling hills."
At Baekri Cheong's gentle voice, not only Dan So-hye but the other members of the Azure Firmament Hall listened quietly.
"What happened in Zhushan in the past?"
"It is said that the founding patriarch of the Wudang Sect and the greatest expert of the unorthodox sects of that era fought there."
"Daoist Master Sanfeng..."
As Dan So-hye murmured the name, the conversation came to an abrupt halt, silenced by a scream echoing from afar.
"Aaaargh!"
Arriving at the source of the scream, the Azure Firmament Hall found Namgung Jun. At his feet lay the Fourth Young Master, curled up like a caterpillar and clutching his abdomen. The Qi Waves emanating from the Fourth Young Master were fading rapidly.
Seeing this, the members of the Azure Firmament Hall immediately understood the situation.
Namgung Jun had shattered the Fourth Young Master's Dantian.
"We will escort the Fourth Young Master of the Sun-Moon Demonic Cult back to the main castle."
"Yes. Bind him immediately."
As Gong Jun-am gave the order, Yu Geun-su and Dan So-hye stepped forward to bind the hands and feet of the Fourth Young Master, who was on the verge of fainting.
Man Ye-won, who was in charge of supplies, took a healing medicine from the knapsack on her back and handed it to Namgung Jun.
"Hall Master. Please take this quickly."
"Thank you."
"I'll treat your wounds right away, too."
Having developed an interest in medicine during her Second Cloud Promotion Exam, Man Ye-won would visit the Azure Medicine Pavilion for instruction from the physicians whenever she returned to the main castle. While her knowledge was still too limited to call herself a physician, she was certainly more skilled than her comrades. That was why she was now in charge of the Azure Firmament Hall's supplies.
"Fortunately, it's not very deep. There, all done."
Once the wound on his flank was treated, Namgung Jun took the healing medicine and immediately began his Qi Circulation. Even in the middle of enemy territory, he trusted his comrades completely.
With Namgung Jun at the center, Gong Jun-am, Heo Il, Baekri Cheong, and Jang Mun-hyeok took up positions in the four cardinal directions. The other members quietly moved to their assigned positions and began their vigil.
The Azure Firmament Hall stood guard over their Hall Master's cultivation.
* * *
Once he had safely completed his Qi Circulation under the protection of the Azure Firmament Hall, Namgung Jun immediately ordered a search of the Jiangxi Branch.
As the members scattered to various parts of the branch, Namgung Jun entered the largest pavilion accompanied by Heo Il.
"This appears to be the office used by the Eleventh Mirror Master."
As Namgung Jun scanned the room, his gaze locked onto a single spot.
"Senior Heo."
"Speak, Hall Master."
"Please search near that bookshelf. I can feel a strange Yang energy."
"Leave it to me."
Heo Il rolled up his sleeves and began to thoroughly search the area around the bookshelf Namgung Jun had indicated.
"Here it is."
Examining the bookshelf, Heo Il quickly found a hidden safe behind it.
"Oh."
He easily opened the locked safe and let out a soft exclamation.
"Hall Master. Look at this."
Heo Il took everything from inside the safe and brought it over: a substantial amount of banknotes, several martial arts secret manuals, a few bundles of herbs, and a small iron cage.
Namgung Jun and Heo Il examined the iron cage first.
"So the source of the Yang energy I felt was this snake. It seems to be a spiritual beast."
As Heo Il examined the snake in the iron cage, the corners of his mouth curled into a smile.
"Hmm. If I'm not mistaken, I believe I know what this is. It's a spiritual beast called the Heavenly Yang White Snake. Born with the energy of extreme Yang, it will be of great help to you, Hall Master."
After his brief explanation, Heo Il examined the bundles of herbs.
"They are all herbs imbued with Yang energy."
"It seems they intended to consume them along with the Heavenly Yang White Snake."
"Indeed. Looking at the prescription written here, that is certainly the case. Of course, it would be best to take them to the Azure Medicine Pavilion for proper verification."
Heo Il packed up the iron cage and every single bundle of herbs, leaving nothing behind.
"This is a massive harvest. To think we would obtain a spirit elixir that you can consume in a place like this, Hall Master."
"From the looks of it, the Fourth Young Master originally intended to take it."
"Hmph. He must be devastated. It's truly fortunate that after all that, it ended up in your hands, Hall Master."
Having finished their search of the Eleventh Mirror Master's office, Namgung Jun and Heo Il stepped out of the pavilion. Outside, the members of the Azure Firmament Hall, who had scattered to search the branch, had all gathered after completing their tasks.
Namgung Jun nodded as he looked at the gallant figures of the Azure Firmament Hall.
The Azure Firmament Hall and the Azure Firmament Martial Canon had both lived up to their grand expectations.
The hidden cave of the Long-Stream Cult and the downfall of the Jiangxi Branch.
Through these two events, the Jianghu would come to know of the Azure Firmament Hall's existence.
"Hall Master. What should we do with this place?"
At Gong Jun-am's question, Namgung Jun looked around. His eye was caught by the flag of the Azure Firmament Hall.
* * *
Two demonic practitioners appeared stealthily at the ruined Jiangxi Branch. They were the eyes and ears of the Sun-Moon Demonic Cult, intelligence agents belonging to the Evening Star Pavilion.
"The rumors were true. This is absurd."
"To strike not just a minor branch, but a branch governing an entire province? The Azure Heaven Association has finally gone mad."
"Let's look around first."
The two demonic practitioners slowly began to inspect the surroundings. The entire branch had been engulfed in flames, leaving nothing intact. Even though a considerable amount of time had passed since the fire was extinguished, the acrid smell of burning still lingered everywhere.
"There's nothing left but ashes. Doesn't seem to be much to inspect."
"Hmm. Still, we need something to report."
As they moved deeper into the branch, the two demonic practitioners stiffened. Then, for the first time, their eyes landed on something completely intact.
Squinting, they moved quickly toward it.
"Sigh."
When they got close enough to confirm what it was, they let out a collective sigh.
At the spot presumed to be the center of the Jiangxi Branch, a single large flag was planted upright. It fluttered vigorously in the wind, the two characters for 'Azure Firmament' inscribed boldly upon it.
The flag of the Azure Heaven Association, planted in the ruins of the Divine Cult's branch.
It was a truly humiliating sight. The two demonic practitioners stared blankly, not even thinking of pulling it down.
"This is a serious matter."
"The upper echelons are going to be in an uproar," the middle-aged demonic practitioner muttered.
"The eleventh hall, established with the Azure Star Sword, Namgung Jun, as its core."
"Calling it a mere new hall is misleading. Judging by the incoming intelligence, their martial strength surpasses that of the ordinary Ten Halls."
"The Azure Firmament Hall..."
With those final words, the two demonic practitioners vanished, their eyes having been fixed on the Azure Firmament Hall's flag until the very end.