Chapter 355

Chapter 355 – A Single Small Pebble Creates Ripples Across the Entire Pond (2)
Swish!
Gwan Mu-oe's sword flew toward Geom Yul-cheon without any warning.
For ordinary martial artists, there would normally be preliminary movements before taking action. Especially so for techniques with great power. But Gwan Mu-oe's movements had none of that.
Sashak!
The attack that came like a ghost and swung the sword had no preliminary movements or omens whatsoever.
Spit!
Geom Yul-cheon's shoulder split and blood spurted out.
It was such a stealthy sword strike that even Geom Yul-cheon, who prided himself on having sharpened his combat senses through countless battles, couldn't fully avoid it.
"Tsk!"
"It would be troubling if you're surprised by just that much. This is barely the beginning of the entertainment."
The smile on Gwan Mu-oe's lips deepened.
He felt his heart pounding.
It had been truly a long time since his last martial world journey, and this was a proper fight with a martial artist.
For the Celestial Death Cult, Geom Yul-cheon was a serious threat. Like a salmon swimming upstream, Geom Yul-cheon was tracing back the Celestial Death Cult's flow and approaching close to the source.
If they left him be like this, the Celestial Death Cult's identity would be revealed to all under heaven. Moreover, now was a critical time for achieving their great work.
After long work and waiting, the Demon Cult had begun to move according to their will. There could be no interference at all. That was why he had stepped forward.
Swigak!
His sword cut through the air and approached Geom Yul-cheon's throat. Instantly Geom Yul-cheon turned his head and avoided Gwan Mu-oe's sword by a hair's breadth. But he couldn't avoid it completely and suffered a long wound.
Geom Yul-cheon covered the wound with his hand and retreated backward. But Gwan Mu-oe didn't let him retreat obediently.
Swish swish swish!
His sword continuously dug into Geom Yul-cheon's vital points.
When Geom Yul-cheon tried to deploy the Thunder Strike Technique for a counterattack, his form had already disappeared. He assimilated perfectly with his surroundings to the extent that even the eyesight of an absolute master like Geom Yul-cheon couldn't distinguish him.
"It's useless. My sword isn't light enough for a youngster like you to handle."
"Guk!"
"The weight of the burden we carry is different from the start. You deploy martial arts merely to chase us, but we took up weapons for a better world."
Even while deploying such deadly swordsmanship, not even his breathing became rough.
Geom Yul-cheon was being cornered.
Gwan Mu-oe mocked him for not even being able to find a chance to counterattack.
"Everything has a line. A line that should never be crossed. You people crossed that line."
"That means we're heading in the right direction."
"What?"
Kwang!
At that moment, Geom Yul-cheon's counterattack began.
The first form of the Thunder Strike Technique, Lightning Layer Upon Layer, was deployed.
Thump! Thump!
Gwan Mu-oe staggered and retreated backward. The shock he received was so great that his footprints were clearly left on the ground.
Geom Yul-cheon didn't miss the opportunity and launched his body toward Gwan Mu-oe.
Kuuuu!
The second form, Blood Killing Rain, was deployed.
It seemed as if bloody rain was falling across the entire world. Just as one cannot avoid falling rain, it seemed Gwan Mu-oe too wouldn't be able to avoid the bloody rain. But his opponent was Gwan Mu-oe.
Shuuu!
He instantly disappeared in midair. His counterattack followed.
Swigak!
Gwan Mu-oe's sword appeared right in front of Geom Yul-cheon's nose, cutting through space like an illusion. But Gwan Mu-oe's sword could no longer wound Geom Yul-cheon. Because Geom Yul-cheon was already prepared.
Geom Yul-cheon wasn't weak enough to fall for the same attack twice. His Thunder Strike Technique developed more with each battle.
Kwa kwa kwa!
Geom Yul-cheon's Thunder Strike Technique deployed like a storm in succession.
The two men's fists and sword clashed repeatedly in midair.
Gwan Mu-oe moved through space like a ghost, and Geom Yul-cheon stuck to him like a leech.
If Gwan Mu-oe was given space, it would be disadvantageous for Geom Yul-cheon. Conversely, it was advantageous for Gwan Mu-oe to widen the gap, so he moved desperately.
Geom Yul-cheon gritted his teeth.
The very fact that an absolute martial artist belonging to the Five Great Martial Guests had moved was evidence that the Celestial Death Cult felt urgency, and proved that he was heading in the right direction.
"Cha-at!"
Suddenly Geom Yul-cheon threw his fist seven times in succession.
Fist energy was discharged repeatedly and combined. The combined fist energy instantly became wheel-shaped.
It was the third form, Great Heaven Wheel.
Kuooo!
At this attack of a different dimension from before, all the air in the area shook.
Sensing the unusual atmosphere, Gwan Mu-oe deployed the strongest killing technique called Phantom Massacre.
The two supreme techniques clashed in midair.
Kuwaang!
With a roar, a radius of over thirty zhang was devastated. Whirlwind patterns were carved into the earth like scars, exposing the inner flesh.
At the center, Geom Yul-cheon stood alone. But his expression wasn't very bright. Because Gwan Mu-oe's figure could be seen nowhere.
"Did he flee?"
Something was strange.
Gwan Mu-oe was definitely not someone who would flee so anticlimactically. And he wasn't a martial artist of merely this level.
Geom Yul-cheon frowned.
Suddenly his gaze turned toward the inn.
"Could it be?"
He deployed lightness technique toward the inn. He instantly shortened the distance and arrived at an annex of an inn.
Bang!
"Elder brother?"
The moment he opened the door and entered, a familiar-faced young man greeted him.
"Myeong-cheon?"
"Yes! Elder brother, it's me."
The one looking at him with a puzzled expression was precisely Myeong-cheon.
According to expectations, he should have become the target of the Void Spirit Killers. And Eum Yu-kyung should have been fighting to protect him.
Geom Yul-cheon urgently looked around and said:
"Where is Yu-kyung?"
"Big sister didn't come…"
"Could Yu-kyung have been the real target?"
Geom Yul-cheon's eyes trembled. Only then did all of Gwan Mu-oe's incomprehensible actions and appearance make sense.
He urgently rushed outside. But Eum Yu-kyung couldn't be found anywhere.

Large trees were cut down and sloping terrain was carved out and leveled flat. On the flat land thus created, huts made from cut large trees were erected.
It was daily routine that had been repeating at Shaolin Temple recently. With even the Martial Alliance's martial artists joining, Shaolin Temple, which had become short on lodgings, was continuously doing land clearing work and building huts.
Numerous workers were mobilized, and the Martial Alliance's lower-rank warriors also joined. The thick drops of sweat they shed were moistening Mount Song.
There were those walking among them. Military Advisor Nam Gung-chang and his attendants.
Miserable expressions were clearly visible on their faces.
'How did the great Martial Alliance come to this…'
It was like having their perfectly fine home stolen and suddenly having to live as tenants in someone else's house. Because of this, they had to watch the homeowner's mood even for eating and sleeping.
Shaolin Temple did its best to provide many things to the Martial Alliance martial artists, but that alone wasn't enough. Also, in the position of freeloaders, the Martial Alliance wasn't in a position to demand much. Because of this, the Martial Alliance didn't have much room to maneuver at Shaolin Temple.
Nam Gung-chang was doing his best within the limits of what he could do. But still, many things were lacking. So his worries were also deepening.
"Oh, over there?"
"It's the Alliance Leader."
The voices of those accompanying Nam Gung-chang broke his reverie. When he raised his head to look ahead, he could see Alliance Leader Nam Cheon-san and Jeok Gyeong-cheon walking toward them.
"Alliance Leader!"
Nam Gung-chang and his attendants bowed their heads to greet the two. Then Nam Cheon-san nodded and said:
"You're working hard, Military Advisor."
"Not at all. It's naturally something I should do."
"Since we've met like this, won't you walk with us for a moment?"
"Yes!"
At Nam Cheon-san's words, Nam Gung-chang nodded and followed behind. And Jeok Gyeong-cheon and the attendants quietly followed behind them.
"Are things going well?"
"For now, I'm sending personal letters to each sect to receive maximum support."
"I wonder if they're cooperating well."
"They know that if the Martial Alliance collapses, they're next. Naturally they're being cooperative."
"Fortunate!"
Nam Cheon-san nodded repeatedly.
"Right now it's chaotic, but still, within a fortnight we should be able to reorganize our forces to some degree. Once that happens, we should be able to aim for recapturing the Martial Alliance at Eyang."
"But we're still quite lacking in forces. Moreover, the Cult Leader has joined their side. It will be nothing short of a battle against demons."
"I understand. However, if we steadily reinforce our strength, we'll definitely be able to reclaim the Martial Alliance."
"Especially we need to recruit many masters who have reached the absolute level. No matter how many lower-rank martial artists we have, it's not as good as recruiting one absolute master."
"That's…"
Nam Gung-chang trailed off.
Wouldn't he also want to recruit absolute masters? But there couldn't be many absolute masters in the martial world. If they were that common, the modifier 'absolute' wouldn't have been attached.
The number of absolute masters known in the martial world was barely countable on one's fingers, and martial artists of that level were treated like treasures even in their own sects. Completely recruiting such people to the Martial Alliance could be said to be almost impossible.
Nam Cheon-san smiled broadly.
"Now the time has come."
"What?"
"Didn't I say there are previous generation martial artists similar to Senior Jeok? We'll formally recruit them."
"But that's…"
"Do you think there could be a better plan than that in times like these? Even when retreating from the Martial Alliance, if Senior Jeok hadn't been there, we would have suffered greater damage."
"Hmm!"
"If we recruit Senior Jeok's colleagues, the Martial Alliance will definitely recover its former prosperity in a short time. If that happens, recapturing Eyang won't be just a dream."
Nam Cheon-san's voice contained firm conviction.
Nam Gung-chang looked at Jeok Gyeong-cheon standing quietly behind Nam Cheon-san.
He was an absolute master who once criticized all under heaven with the nickname Heavenly Sword King. As Nam Cheon-san said, because he was there, they could minimize damage and retreat to Shaolin Temple.
Now Jeok Gyeong-cheon was no longer a forgotten master of the previous generation. Many people had witnessed his tremendous martial prowess and watched him achieve merit. Because of this, many people were showing him respect. But despite this, Nam Gung-chang couldn't shake his uncomfortable feelings.
'Having reclusive martial artists similar to Senior Jeok join is definitely good for the Alliance and all under heaven. However, if that happens, the Alliance Leader's power will become too great, leaving no means to check him anymore.'
If Nam Cheon-san gained control of the Martial Alliance like this, Nam Gung-chang would end up like a dog chasing chickens.
Nam Gung-chang urgently looked around. Including his attendants, everyone was nodding with expressions that it was natural. The tide had already turned.
Nam Gung-chang bit his lips tightly.
There was no longer any justification or basis to oppose.
He looked at Jeok Gyeong-cheon.
"Won't our request be a burden?"
"Not at all! So don't worry. They'll be even happier to be able to contribute their strength for the martial world."
"Then… we'll make the request."
"Understood."
Jeok Gyeong-cheon nodded. Then Nam Cheon-san looked at him with a smile.
"When will those people be able to join?"
"Knowing this would happen, I already sent communications. It won't take very long."
"Fortunate."
"I think so too."
Jeok Gyeong-cheon nodded repeatedly.
Nam Gung-chang's eyes trembled as he looked at the two men. But that was only momentary; soon he forced a smile.
"I congratulate you on the great increase in forces, Alliance Leader."
"Congratulations are premature. It's not too late to receive them after we completely drive out those wicked Demon Cult members from this land. So let's do our best."
"Understood."
Nam Gung-chang bowed deeply.
His eyes looking at the ground glinted eerily.
'I'll bow my head for now, but don't think I'll be like this forever. I won't hand over the Martial Alliance to your hands like this.'
He resolved and resolved again.