Chapter 419
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 419
Chapter Title: For Now, Let's Have Him Called
"What is it?"
So Hwi-woong asked Gong Son Dan-gyeong, who had come to see him so abruptly.
"There's an urgent report from the Mountain-Crossing Demonic Forest."
"What? Not that Poison Jiangshi again?"
The new breed of Poison Jiangshi that Ha Mu-baek had brought word of.
He wondered if the one that scattered the Soul-Scattering Poison had reappeared.
After the previous incident, he trusted the Demon-Sealing Corps wouldn't bury such information.
"See for yourself."
Gong Son Dan-gyeong pulled out a transcribed copy of the report he'd received from the Heavenly Eye Pavilion's Transmission Hall Leader.
So Hwi-woong lightly drew the document to his hand with a grasp of void energy.
His face hardened instantly after scanning its contents in a flash.
"This is..."
"It matches what Corps Leader Ha described... that specimen."
So Hwi-woong reread the report again and again.
"Is this even possible? I thought the jiangshi could 'never' cross the walls."
Gong Son Dan-gyeong nodded at his words.
"Indeed. Lesser jiangshi like the corpse soldiers can't even sense the spells on the walls to approach them, let alone leap over. Anything stronger is absolutely barred by the spells embedded in the walls."
"And yet it attacked the wall?"
"In the martial world, 'absolute' is just a word that doesn't exist."
Gong Son Dan-gyeong stated calmly.
So Hwi-woong tapped his desk rhythmically.
He had no choice.
Though Yeon Ja-kyeong had led the construction of the Mountain-Crossing Great Wall, the spells infused into it came from Jade Immortal Valley.
That fact had weighed heavily in So Hwi-woong's decision to accept Yeon Ja-kyeong's proposal.
"Who's from Jade Immortal Valley currently at the alliance?"
The Valley Lord wasn't there.
He always stayed in the valley.
"Jade Immortal Valley's Second Young Master is here."
Gong Son Seo-kyeong.
The second son of Gong Son Mu-oe.
With the heir and acting Valley Lord Gong Son Woo-kyeong needed to guard the valley, the second son had been dispatched to the Righteous Heaven Alliance, serving as an elder to coordinate between the valley and the alliance.
"For now, let's have him called."
"Understood."
Gong Son Dan-gyeong relayed the order to the attendant guards outside the Alliance Leader's office.
"Alliance Leader, back then we should have accepted Corps Leader Ha's proposal."
The call to eradicate the Mountain-Crossing Demonic Forest entirely and wipe out the Blood Cult.
Both Gong Son Dan-gyeong and So Hwi-woong knew their relationship with Ha Mu-baek had grown strained after rejecting it.
"It was unavoidable for the greater good. You agreed with that too, didn't you, Strategist?"
Given the power disparity at the time, they had little choice but to accept Yeon Ja-kyeong's offer.
"Hoo. In hindsight, I'm not so sure."
That was Gong Son Dan-gyeong's honest sentiment.
Was the greater good of then still the greater good now?
A sliver of doubt crept in.
Perhaps Ha Mu-baek had seen it even then.
'Was it truly for the greater good that the Alliance Leader retained his position?'
The sudden question crossed his mind, but Gong Son Dan-gyeong kept it unspoken.
Even now, seeing how the White Path Society's sect disciples behaved, it was clear they could never hand the Alliance Leader's seat to them.
So Hwi-woong had become leader precisely because of their cowardice and ugliness.
They didn't want to fight at the vanguard as Alliance Leader in the war against the Blood Cult and Demonic Cult.
How pathetic and vile was that?
Only after toppling the Blood Cult and gaining the upper hand against the Demonic Cult did the White Path Society start coveting the seat and obstructing him.
That was when they pushed the Mountain-Crossing Great Wall.
Refuse, and infighting would erupt within the alliance before the Demonic Cult war.
Yeon Ja-kyeong had slyly inserted that the spells from Jade Immortal Valley—one of the New Eight Sects under So Hwi-woong's influence—would be applied.
So Hwi-woong had no choice but to accept.
For his position as Alliance Leader and his faction's gains.
A step back for the three advances later.
"With jiangshi like this in the report, was preserving the Mountain-Crossing Demonic Forest truly right?"
"It's just one attack so far. No need to worry prematurely."
As So Hwi-woong and Gong Son Dan-gyeong conversed...
"Elder Gong Son has arrived."
The attendant guard announced.
"Show him in."
With So Hwi-woong's words, the door opened, and Gong Son Seo-kyeong entered.
"Gong Son Seo-kyeong greets the Alliance Leader and Strategist. To what do I owe the summons?"
"Come in. Elder Gong Son, forgive the abrupt call, but I have questions about the Mountain-Crossing Great Wall."
"It's been a while, Elder Gong Son."
Greetings exchanged.
So Hwi-woong cut straight to the point.
The document floated from his hand through the air and landed gently on Gong Son Seo-kyeong's palm.
Gong Son Seo-kyeong examined it immediately.
His eyes widened in shock.
"Is this possible?"
A jiangshi had attacked the great wall.
Just once, but the attack was fact.
While his elder brother and acting Valley Lord Gong Son Woo-kyeong focused more on medicine, the second son Gong Son Seo-kyeong specialized in spells.
He was the perfect consultant for this crisis.
"Hm. When we built the Mountain-Crossing Great Wall and infused the spells... we calibrated to the maximum against Dark Blood Jiangshi. The spells were originally designed to protect our valley from the Blood Cult's jiangshi assaults during the war."
During the Blood Cult war.
The martial world was pure chaos.
No one knew when or where a Dark Blood Jiangshi might suddenly arise.
One day, the divine art Chaos Origin Flow Shower spread across the jianghu.
Its true nature: the Blood Cult's Chaos Blood Annihilation Art.
Those who mastered it turned into Dark Blood Jiangshi upon reaching the peak.
Countless such horrors suddenly appeared, shattering entire sects in a day.
"Even among Dark Blood Jiangshi, their strength varies by the original martial prowess of the individual, doesn't it?"
Gong Son Seo-kyeong nodded at Gong Son Dan-gyeong's question.
"That's why we assumed the strongest possible person turning into one."
He glanced at So Hwi-woong as he spoke.
"Me?"
So Hwi-woong pointed at himself.
"Yes. According to Heavenly Eye Pavilion's investigations at the time, those who mastered the art and became Dark Blood Jiangshi gained about thirty to fifty percent more power than in life."
The actual destructive force nearly doubled, but without reason, their effective strength was rated that way.
"So the spells could block a specimen thirty to fifty percent stronger than I was during the Blood Cult war."
So Hwi-woong nodded as he summarized.
"We used your publicly known prowess at the time as the benchmark."
Gong Son Dan-gyeong quickly ran the calculations at Gong Son Seo-kyeong's words.
'The Alliance Leader's revealed level then was mid Transcendent Realm.'
Of course, So Hwi-woong's true realm was early Fusion Realm.
But he hadn't shown that much.
He first revealed his full power in the final battle against Blood Demon Gae Hong-cheon.
'Thirty to fifty percent above mid Transcendent would be late Transcendent, nearing the peak.'
The walls could block up to that level.
But if it attacked beyond the barrier...
Finishing his mental math, Gong Son Dan-gyeong looked at So Hwi-woong with alarm.
So Hwi-woong's face had also stiffened.
"Then the spells can block even a Dark Blood Jiangshi with late Transcendent Realm power."
"Yes."
"So what level is the jiangshi in this report?"
Gong Son Seo-kyeong frowned.
"Hard to assess precisely from a single attack, but... at least nearing peak Transcendent. It could resist the spells momentarily for one strike."
The two men's expressions grew graver.
"You say 'at least,' but it could match Fusion Realm."
Gong Son Seo-kyeong nodded gravely at So Hwi-woong's words.
"We can't rule that out. And if it's truly Fusion Realm caliber... the spells would shatter."
Gong Son Dan-gyeong's eyes bulged.
"We were told no jiangshi could breach it..."
Gong Son Seo-kyeong gave a wry smile.
"You both know what Fusion Realm entails. A jiangshi matching that? Unthinkable."
No countering that.
Fusion Realm.
Transcending human limits, stepping toward immortality.
The realm where one wields arts in true harmony.
"So spells can't hold it?"
"Unclear. We maxed out against the assumed limit... and you know the immense resources poured into those spells. Not sure about beyond that."
"......"
"......"
So Hwi-woong and Gong Son Dan-gyeong fell silent.
The materials for those spells had drained vast fortunes.
The White Path Society, tasked with procurement, had reeled from the cost.
That had balanced the New Eight Sects and White Path Society.
Building the wall hadn't solely benefited one side.
"Years have passed since, so they might have new spells... but applying them would require even more resources. We should contact the valley."
Gong Son Seo-kyeong.
As an elder stationed at the alliance, his own spellcraft had stagnated.
But Jade Immortal Valley was different.
Above all, it housed the world's greatest spell genius.
"Then look into it quickly. Funds are a later issue. We need to know if it's possible first."
"As you command."
Gong Son Seo-kyeong bowed and withdrew from the office.
"Do you remember what Corps Leader Ha said then?"
Once Gong Son Seo-kyeong was gone, Gong Son Dan-gyeong asked So Hwi-woong.
So Hwi-woong nodded gravely.
The room was already sealed by his internal energy barrier.
No one could eavesdrop.
Not even the Hocheon Corps elites hidden throughout the Alliance Leader's office guarding him.
"Not quite Blood Cult Leader level, but nearing it."
So Hwi-woong frowned.
The world didn't know.
The Blood Cult Leader's realm then was mid Fusion Realm.
And So Hwi-woong's was...
Early Fusion Realm.
He should have lost that final battle.
If not for the wildcard Ha Mu-baek.
"At least early Fusion Realm then, Alliance Leader."
"No proof this is the same as that Heaven-Extinguishing one. Could be another. You said so yourself then—no way there are two."
Indeed.
With more like that, the Blood Cult—facing annihilation—wouldn't have held back.
Even as their leader died, if they used just one to guard the base, there couldn't be more.
Yet...
Ominous thoughts persisted.
'I may have misjudged...'
Underestimated the Blood Cult rabble perhaps.
Maybe Ha Mu-baek was right—should have rooted them out utterly.
"We'll watch a bit longer for now."
So Hwi-woong concluded.
"Won't you tell Corps Leader Ha—no, Instructor Ha?"
"Tch. That guy might charge straight to the forest."
"That might be the simplest, surest path, Alliance Leader."
So Hwi-woong nodded at Gong Son Dan-gyeong's words.
He didn't reject this suggestion.
"You deliver the news."
"Yes."
Gong Son Dan-gyeong bowed and left the office, exiting the Alliance Leader's quarters.
His steps remained hurried.
He headed to the Heavenly Eye Pavilion's Rear Rat Hall.
To discreetly inform Ha Mu-baek.
Alone now, So Hwi-woong remained.
"He solved it last time, so probably this time too... but can't rely on that guy forever."
So Hwi-woong muttered, thinking of Ha Mu-baek.
Above all, his attitude had changed.
"Might have to step in myself this time."
So Hwi-woong sank into deep thought.
At that moment.
A messenger pigeon landed at the quarters of Cheon Gi-buk, leader of the Gongdong Sect.
Sent by Do Sim-geuk.
Yang Bi-chang's official dispatch also arrived at the Heavenly Eye Pavilion's Transmission Hall.
Told to stay put for now, Cheon Gi-buk roughly tore the message tube from the pigeon's leg at this new report.
But as he read the contents, the irritation vanished from his face.
Instead, urgency filled his expression as he hurried toward Yeon Ja-kyeong.