Chapter 105
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 105
Chapter Title: Is That Really Necessary?
October's final day.
Now it truly felt cold. Muchang, with its characteristically humid weather, always felt chilly at the slightest drop in temperature.
The sweltering summer heat that had felt deadly was gone. Just when the crisp autumn air had arrived, winter was now knocking at the door.
The shortening days made it all the more real.
The cadets of Hidden Dragon Corps Squad Seven reacted even more sensitively to these changes.
There was one reason for that.
The colder it got, the shorter the days became, signaling that that day was approaching.
The winter solstice.
The shortest day of the year.
But for the Dragon Training Pavilion cadets, it was the day of the Winter Combat Festival.
As the days passed, the cadets grew increasingly on edge.
Yet lately, there was someone even more on edge than the cadets.
Ha Mu-baek.
That's why Squad Seven's cadets were the ones watching his mood instead.
Today, too, Ha Mu-baek sat at his designated seat, his face twisted in a scowl.
He paid no attention to the cadets' training.
In truth, Ha Mu-baek was scowling as he spread his ki sense across the entirety of Muchang.
As far as his abilities allowed—stretching it to the limit.
Parts of it even reached beyond Muchang's borders.
This was something even Ha Mu-baek had never attempted before.
Extending his ki sense beyond its limits. Naturally, he couldn't help but grimace.
It could be called training—or surveillance.
He was searching for any Demonic Cult vermin that might have slipped into Muchang.
After their defeat in the last war, the Demonic Cult bastards had survived like cockroaches, slinking into the shadows.
And it seemed they'd even devised a way to conceal their demonic qi.
The four vermin they'd caught before hadn't emitted any detectable demonic qi until they'd circulated their internal energy.
In the end, he had to pierce through their methods of hiding demonic qi as well.
Ha Mu-baek had a way to do it.
The Infinite Bright Wheel Eye.
However, the Infinite Bright Wheel Eye required direct visual contact with the target.
It was different from sensing through ki.
Ha Mu-baek solved this by adapting it to detect only demonic qi.
While tracing the origin of an opponent's internal energy required sight, using the Infinite Bright Wheel Eye to probe solely for demonic qi could be done via ki sense.
Even so, expanding his ki sense to its limits while simultaneously operating a portion of the Infinite Bright Wheel Eye was taxing.
Even for Ha Mu-baek, it was grueling.
And yet, no remnants of the Demonic Cult had pinged on his ki sense.
But the ones he knew weren't the type to back off so easily.
Ha Mu-baek frowned as he withdrew his ki sense.
It was that nagging frustration of knowing cockroaches were lurking somewhere but being unable to find them.
Because of Ha Mu-baek's darkening expression, the five cadets focused solely on their own training.
"Here."
Gong Do-hyeok handed ten Mancheon Thunderbolts to the Three Spirits Leader.
He'd manipulated the ledgers to produce ten discards, and here they were.
"Faster than expected."
I'd figured at least a month, but this was far quicker.
Only possible because it was Gong Do-hyeok.
He already had full control over the All Things Union's major and minor affairs.
"And that?"
The Three Spirits Leader eyed Gong Do-hyeok's chest.
The absolute hidden weapon he always carried.
The Manch'on Golden Chain Thunderbolt.
That might just take off one of that monster's arms.
So thought the Three Spirits Leader.
Gong Do-hyeok precisely sensed the desperation in the Three Spirits Leader's gaze.
It was genuine longing for the Mancheon Golden Chain Thunderbolt.
Not a ploy to use him.
"Let me ask once more. Is he really the type to force this into play?"
"Why do you think we're pushing the deputy leader in the All Things Union from the start?"
"To obtain that."
The Three Spirits Leader nodded at Gong Do-hyeok's response.
"Have you ever wondered why we need it?"
How could he not? He'd agonized over it countless times.
Why did they need the Mancheon Golden Chain Thunderbolt?
A thought flashed through his mind at the Three Spirits Leader's question this very moment.
"No way?"
"Exactly. To deal with him. We deemed one insufficient, so we sought the blueprints and production methods."
"......"
Gong Do-hyeok was speechless.
"None of my subordinates can even set foot in Muchang. Not even I dare think of entering. We're getting info on Muchang indirectly through the Lowly Pleasure House, so honestly, we're blind and deaf right now."
Unbelievable words.
Gong Do-hyeok had briefly sensed the Three Spirits Leader's realm when he'd threatened him before.
For someone of that caliber to be too afraid to even approach, let alone enter Muchang?
"Can ten Mancheon Thunderbolts match the power of one Mancheon Golden Chain Thunderbolt?"
Gong Do-hyeok shook his head at the Three Spirits Leader's question.
A single Mancheon Golden Chain Thunderbolt held greater power.
Though called an improved version, it had evolved several stages beyond.
Gong Mu-hyeok, who whipped it up like it was nothing, was a genius beyond even the word "monster."
"By our calculations, we'd need at least three Mancheon Golden Chain Thunderbolts to render him combat-ineffective."
Gong Do-hyeok let out a deep sigh at the Three Spirits Leader's calm statement.
Then he reached into his robes and pulled out a black cylinder.
"How do you use it?"
The Three Spirits Leader carefully took the Mancheon Golden Chain Thunderbolt and asked.
"Circulate your internal energy and press the button on the back to ignite it."
The Three Spirits Leader examined the button on the back intently before tucking it cautiously into his robes.
He had no intention of testing it.
"It requires internal energy to trigger... fascinating."
"Only the leader knows the method."
Deep into the night, past midnight into the hour of the rat.
Gong So-yu quietly opened the door and entered.
The room was shrouded in thick darkness.
Gong Mu-hyeok sat in a chair by the desk, waiting with a composed expression.
At his light gesture, Gong So-yu sat across from him.
"If we could use transmission arts, we wouldn't need all this hassle."
His voice was extremely soft.
A whisper so faint she had to press her ear to his lips to barely hear it. Gong So-yu bowed her head slightly.
Both she and her father, Gong Mu-hyeok, had frail bodies, so they'd never even considered learning martial arts.
Gong Mu-hyeok had at least trained a bit of the All Things Union's internal energy, but for Gong So-yu, it was unthinkable.
"Still, once you're fully recovered, it should be possible."
Gong Mu-hyeok smiled faintly as he spoke softly.
"Yes."
Gong So-yu replied in a voice as small as her father's.
In truth, she had no idea why they had to do this.
She was just following what was written on the note her father had secretly sent her during the day.
"The escort squad follows me for protection, but they're also surveilling me."
His voice carried a poignant tone.
Gong So-yu's eyes widened at his words.
"It's because of my weak body."
He didn't elaborate further, but the quick-witted Gong So-yu inferred several possibilities.
"That's why this matter can't be known to them. Hence the hassle of calling you like this."
With that, Gong Mu-hyeok carefully placed a silk-wrapped cylinder on the desk from his robes.
The silk ensured no sound.
Gong So-yu looked at her father with puzzled eyes.
"It's called the Mancheon Golden Chain Thunderbolt."
Gong So-yu tilted her head. She had no clue what it was.
"A device with fifteen times the power of a Mancheon Thunderbolt."
Only then did Gong So-yu's eyes widen.
Young as she was, she was the daughter of the All Things Union Leader. She knew what a Mancheon Thunderbolt was.
"It's that dangerous, but it requires internal energy to trigger, making it safer than a Mancheon Thunderbolt. You can't use it without internal energy right now."
Gong So-yu listened demurely, but doubt clouded her face.
Why show her something she couldn't use?
"But you won't lack internal energy forever. Keep it for now. Just in case."
"I..."
Gong Mu-hyeok nodded firmly at her hesitant voice.
"The leader is under escort squad surveillance. No telling what'll happen to the union, so consider this preparation. That's why I had you bring what you're giving me."
"Yes."
At her father's urging, Gong So-yu carefully tucked the Mancheon Golden Chain Thunderbolt into her robes.
The escort squad was too low-level to detect their movements or conversation, so that night's secret meeting remained just between father and daughter.
Subtle movements arose across the Central Plains.
In the midst of the usual, one or two heading elsewhere—utterly unremarkable changes.
No one noticed.
Not even the Beggars' Sect or Lowly Pleasure House.
They were that mundane.
The Three Spirits Leader's subordinates, under orders, were converging on Muchang from various points in the Central Plains.
The rendezvous: Lake Dongting.
A spot somewhat distant from Muchang, yet close enough for swift entry when the time came.
"Three Spirits Leader."
Darkness blanketed an abandoned roadside shrine.
There, the Three Spirits Leader knelt on one knee, prostrating.
"Yes, Great Spirits Leader."
His low reply voice trembled slightly.
"Must we truly strike him?"
A skeptical question.
"To seize the All Things Union, we must eliminate him. Until now, his movements differed from ours, so no issue... but the All Things Union is different."
His response was steady, laced with resolve despite evident turmoil.
"We risk the error of attacking another's walls."
"Yeon Baek-ryang already fell to him."
The masked man called Great Spirits Leader nodded faintly at the Three Spirits Leader's words.
He would've surely found traces of them on Yeon Baek-ryang.
"For the grand plan, we need the All Things Union's weapons and smiths. But with him attached to the union leader, our plans are derailing."
"There are ways without clashing directly... This isn't personal grudge, is it?"
"......"
The Three Spirits Leader was speechless.
"Even if the union leader and his daughter recover, we can just kill them. Can't act now with him in Muchang, but they won't stay together forever. Wait, and opportunity comes. You're rushing."
"That makes getting the Mancheon Golden Chain Thunderbolt blueprints and methods impossible. We need to exploit the union leader and daughter withering away gradually."
"Is that really necessary?"
The Three Spirits Leader placed a hand over his chest at the Great Spirits Leader's question.
"It's necessary to take him down."
He spoke through gritted teeth.
"The Cult Leader's closed-door cultivation ends in a few years. Even he won't stand a chance then—not even one exchange. We can just prepare slowly as originally planned, until then."
"......"
The Three Spirits Leader was speechless.
Denying the Great Spirits Leader meant blasphemy against the Cult Leader.
"Fine. You've got the Mancheon Golden Chain Thunderbolt. Test its power, gauge his current level. Might be attacking another's walls, but whatever the outcome, you'll stake your life on it."
"Understood!"
The Three Spirits Leader bowed deeply at the Great Spirits Leader's permission.
"Then, hope we meet again alive."
With that, the Great Spirits Leader vanished.
The Three Spirits Leader raised his head with a resolute expression.
"Hm... the air feels kinda foul?"
Ha Mu-baek murmured, gazing at the overcast sky.